Callum <8bite
Callum's eyes snapped open with a jolt. He looked around, quickly remembering the situation. Shit. He'd fallen asleep for a moment there. How long? Not too long evidently, he could hear shuffling from the master bedroom. Nate and Dawn must be looking through the clothes.
It seemed that even a minute's rest had been enough to restore clarity. He'd remained undetected for all this time. He'd evaded capture from the police and managed to flee persuers of whom he'd had no forewarning. It wasn't as if he hadn't already proven he was strong enough to get through this, but bringing Dawn into the equation to begin with had been a mistake. Now Nate was looking out for her sister rather than herself. Ideas turned over in his mind, as a piecemeal way forward slowly assembled itself.
There was a slight creak from outside. Callum remained still. Someone was trying to get downstairs. A subtle smirk formed on his lips. No doubt it was Nate. Prowling around, looking for a way to escape but he could still hear Dawn in the bedroom. So even if Nate found a way out - and everywhere was locked, with the keys on the desk in front of him - she wouldn't leave without her sister. So Callum didn't even to have to worry about getting out of his seat just now. If Nate was willing to escape alone, she'd have done it back at the river.
He got onto the computer again and started punching away at the keyboard. His eyes scanned the monitor as listings appeared. He opened several entries to new tabs in his web browser, as his plan materialised on the screen. His heart beat steady as he calculated the risks. How long would the police take to get his identity? Maybe twelve hours to find anything useable at the warehouse. Another day or two for forensics to process and find a match; Callum had kept a low profile for years. There wouldn't be too much for him on the system.
If he was still here in two days, he'd be trusting too much to luck. But that should be enough. He stabbed away at the keyboard a few minutes longer, until everything was set in place.
Then he listened at the door. Dawn was still in the bedroom. He couldn't hear anything downstairs.
He felt almost a sense of admiration at how Nate was managing to be so stealthful in searching for whatever it was she thought she was looking for. With a satisfied grin he stood up, and padded softly out of the door, and downstairs to the ground floor. Cautiously he looked around. He felt a thrill, almost as though this was finally, in a small way, an opportunity to put the Amazonian to the test, and outstealth her.
Nate<8bite
At the bottom of the stairs Nate hesitated until she heard the taping of keys on a key board resonating out on to the landing. She'd managed to slip by him now all that was left was making something of the time she'd salvaged. Lithe like a leopard she might as well have slunk around the house on her hands and knees as, with her muscles contracting beneath the loose knitwear, she slid towards the kitchen pulling out each draw with a gritted silence before turning towards the living-room.
Her search ended up at the windows feeling along the sills for any small keys when she paused. No keyboard noise. Nate stood painfully still her ears forced to their maximum concentration as her eyes darted about in the darkness. After a few seconds she turned back to searching her body lightly quaking, wound tight on alert, there had to be something...
Nate paused again at a creak. She twisted her head round her chest contracting at how shallow her breathing had become in order to avoid any noise. Her stomach coiled and knotted with anxiety and something she could only associate with thrill, the frightful kind you felt in a game and here came the moment of uncertainty. Was it:
Paranoia
Sincere.
She could hear Dawn upstairs making subtle sound for distraction but Nate feared the distraction had become her own enemy, that he knew she was down here and was now using that noise to hide from her.
Paranoia Nate. Keep searching.
She turned back, though now whilst searching for a means to escape she felt compelled to distinguish a weapon in the dark her heart hammering within her chest like a drum to the ear. If she had hackles they'd be raised, claws they'd be on show...instead all she had was her god damn fists and against the male side of her spieces strength came in unbalanced.
Callum <8bite
He moved around the dark ground floor, slowly and silently, inching around every corner, until eventually he spotted her looking around vainly for something which might hint at an escape opportunity. Grinning broadly, he manouvered himself invisibly through the dark until he was right behind her.
Then, with a grunt he spun her around and pinned her back against the wall.
"Looking for something? Anything I can get you?" he sneered. With his renewed confidence he was able to relish the sensation both of the achievement of having caught her by surprise and of the physical contact with her. Not to mention that she was still fresh and warm from the shower.
He scanned has eyes down over her, recognising the sweater, and snickered.
"It suits you." he said, softly caressing her side with one hand, still pressing her to the wall. He looked back into her eyes engagingly, and continuing in a sincere, quiet, charismatic tone.
"Listen we're all safe here for now. But we can't lay low for long. Maybe a day. Then you and I are going to have to leave. Your sister can stay here, she'll be fine, someone will come for her. But you've followed me here. You can come with me somewhere nobody will think to look."
Seeing her face and feeling her rise and fall with each breath compounded his certainty. There was only one way to become her sole protector, and make her truly his own and that was to take her away from everything else she had to worry about.
Nate<8bite
She heard a grunt and barely lurched forwards before two large hands seized her from behind and spun her round pinning her to the wall with about as much effort as that needed to pin a rag doll!
Sincere.
He sneered at her and it took will not to snarl back furious she'd been caught so easily even with precaution. He smelt of the river and felt like it too, his skin upon hers tingled as her warmth fought against the unpleasant cool of his hands. He was impossible to relate to- some stone cold reptile who relied on the warmth of others to keep his unhallowed heart beating.
She observed his eyes drop and jerked her body at the snide compliment wanting to disrupt his view but she pressed back against the wall feeling her body twinge when he revealed the next plan. She was relieved to think Dawn would be left- she'd be safe- Nate was already in some part of her mind calculating what Dawn could do as soon as she was alone but another part of her deflated at the idea.
Alone once again. With him. Her reptile. Somewhere no one would think to look.
It was the cemetery all over again except what were the odds of her being found again. She struggled to control her reaction- her chest naturally rose and fell at a quickened pace with panic her head lowering as her eyes darted across the pitch black surroundings.
It'd be different this time. There had been no kidnapping this time round. She'd chosen to come back round for a second bite at the bone. Thats how he saw it. Willing. She knew that from the way he reminded her she'd followed him here. She'd followed Dawn...and she'd follow her home too but...
Pinned there Nate's head rose as her eyes fixated themselves on him. She didnt feel much like going home yet even if she could. Not knowing that he was still out there lurking in the shadows- if he didnt have her- who would be next. She couldnt live always looking over her shoulder.
When Dawn was safe...Nate felt a feral pull in her chest summon itself...when there was no one but her and him.
She'd make sure to keep him from even fantazing about kidnapping another- she'd make sure she was the last.
Dragging whatever composure she could Nate tilted her head to the side and pressed forth pushing towards him rather than away into the wall so it seemed for a second he was defending himself against her instead of being the one offending her just by attempting to keep her in place. Her body coiled forwards with female flexibility as she inclined her head forth. She felt danger but dangerous. Fear was thick in her bloodstream but she felt by forcing herself close to him- the unnatural, unexpected... uncanny proximity was a threat- something to be wary of.
Her face came inches from his and as much discomfort she felt from being so close something made her feel buisness like about it.
Her lips parted ever so slightly. "Who are you?" she murmured her tone low and voluptuous.
Dawn<8bite
It had taken Dawn along time to even find anything she could wear. Now she had she was wearing a white shirt, which was tucked into a blue pair of baggy jeans. They felt strange, alien even, they partially hung off her body and even though the were dry their warmth was no real comfort to her.
She kicked the pile of crumbled and creased clothes that sat in a bulk on the floor, and knelt down slowly shifting through the large volume of mismatched clothing. She wondered who their previous owners were and why they had been left so uncared for in this house. More importantly, she wondered if Nate was okay. She had only a few moments ago told Dawn to continue making noise and before creeping out the door trying to find a way for them to escape. Escape for him.
Who was he?
Dawn still didn't know. Perhaps this was his home, but why then was there also womens clothing mixed in with the rest. Surely he couldn't have a wife or a girlfriend. He must live alone, after all he had kidnapped both her and Nate and although he probably hadn't expected to take them here, he didn't seem anxious about them being in his home.
Dawn threw some of the clothes out of the pile, ensuring that she was rustling the clothes loudly enough. She hoped Nate would be back soon. Every moment she was gone Dawn felt waves of anxiety crash down upon her. Questions rushed through her exhausted mind doubting whether her sister was okay. Had she found a way out, or had he found her creeping around downstairs...
Callum<8bite
As he held her fast, Callum exhaled in delight at the visceral power that rose again within her. He was like a hunter expertly subduing a beautiful, exotic, very dangerous creature. But then something in Nate's countenance changed and in response Callum's smirk waned slightly.
She pushed away from the wall not an attempt to struggle free but so as to square up to him, and the muscles in his arms even allowed it, taken aback at suddenly finding himself on the back foot, and permitted her approach as a sports fighter might tolerate the proximity of a longstanding adversary who'd won his respect many times over. It was clear that Nate was not a pawn in his game; she was a player.
"Who are you?" her voice came enigmatic and equivocal.
His eyes diverted for a moment - though her face was so near to his - as he processed her question. For years the only thing he'd ever been asked that was even remotely similar, was when he'd had to give his name. Other than that, he had no answer.
"Callum." he said eventually, removing his hands from her entirely and straightening up. He looked around the room, trying to remind himself of something else by which he could communicate who he was, but there was nothing which he identified with, or had even really looked at with any sort of consideration in years. His eyes fell back to Nate.
"Other than that it's not important." he said sharply. "Going to make a clean break from here soon...you'll see. Nothing we leave behind will matter anymore."
Fascination formed in his mind at how he no longer saw in Nate a strength that was there to be consumed; despite the fact that the spirit in her was like nothing he'd encountered before. The thrill of simply being in the presence of that energy had, for the first time, a much greater appeal.
"I'll try and find something for us to eat. You go wait," he said, tipping his head towards the hall and the stairs. "Then get some sleep. I've just got a few things to take care of."
Nate<8bite
'Callum.'
Such a lucid reply. Was that it. Just a name.
Just a name yet it filled so many gaps- the mysterious, inhumane him had a name. Nate would have thought him having a name would make him seem more...ordinary. He released her.
Yet still, there was evidentally something irregular lingering about him. She was suprised to realise after finding out his name that she'd doubted he even had one. That he just- existed.
"Other than that it's not important." he dismissed sharply.
It was difficult to imagine him having a history which was most probably why she struggled with the aspect of this being his family home even though it was made obvious to her he had one.
How could some one like this have a natural origin. Start off as average as herself and become...this. Or perhaps he didnt start off average. That would always be the arguement. Was it natural or learnt. Did someone influence him to be this way? He seemed keen to keep anything vital about himself to himself and at least that was something they could silently agree on. Nate didnt want to know excuses.
"Gonna make a clean break from here soon...you'll see. Nothing we leave behind will matter anymore." he added.
Nate's eyes flickered over his face in attempt to see what he meant...by a clean break- she figured they were going somewhere...but where disturbed her. What was he thinking... her eyes broke out into analysis begging to break down his expression when he cut her off with a casual gesture towards waiting whilst he found food for them all.
Like flicking a switch being reminded she hadnt eaten caused her body to descend into a state of extreme hunger and with that her concentration was vanquished. She paused shoulder to shoulder with Callum at the mentioning of sleep and other things. Her gaze slid to the side and she gave him a lengthy stare.
Other things. Like what.
Nate turned her eyes away after a few moments and stalked towards the stairs. She may know his name, things may be different this time but he was still the dominant one. No longer a predator she was no longer prey but there hung a tender line between them. Slinking up stairs she felt relief to be away from the heavy atmosphere they created together. The competing stealth. Everything felt left to instinct around him, back to the basics of animality.
She paused at the top of the stairs staring down the dim hallway. She slid to a crouched position keeping an eye open and aware to the sounds and goings on downstairs. At least Dawn would be safe soon.
As for herself...she could never be certain.