From the window in my sand castle

“Ah! There you are.” Balancing on her toes on the lower level of the two story tall play house, that looked more like two Magna-Tile square boxes stacked on top of each other with a slide spiralling from the top one, the brunette human reached as far into the top level as she could. She didn’t have much length to go on but she absolutely refused to have to crawl all the way inside. She wasn’t a kid anymore. She didn’t have the same agility as her younger brother’s showed when they were there earlier that day to play around. “Come.. on..” she mumbled, clearly pretty strained as her fingertip just around could touch the shoe, that Collin for some reason had dropped and then walked all the way back home without noticing or pointing out to any of them. Leading to her having gone to get it.
She gave in halfway and pushed her upper body a bit more up so she could lay on a little further up on her stomach even though it meant she didn’t have any solid ground under her feet anymore. But it seemed to work! “Got you!” She grabbed the shoe by the hook of her finger, and immediately glided out of the entrance hole of the upper block and all the way down to land triumphantly on her feet in the sand, holding the bloody show. She breathed heavily out as if that tiny little stunt had been enough to leave her exhausted. And it probably had. It had really been at struggle, not only to look for the shoe but also get it. Luckily, the weather wasn’t blasting heat. The cold winter air actually felt very refreshing against her flushed cheeks.

She took a moment to just stand there before getting on with it an going back home. Looking down at the shoe in her bandaged hand. A lot had happened but at least everything was more or less over. The link on her cousin broken and done with. The maniac gone as if he had evaporated. Things were looking up! Looking up she scanned her surroundings. Tensing up in her cheeks as she looked at the darkness of the hour a bit differently than she had done for most of her lift. She wasn’t scared or unnecessarily uneasy. Especially not there. There had been made an effort to keep the park lit up with countless bright lamppost. And the playground was no exception.
Another heavy exhale provoked a cloud of white mist as her warm breath froze in the low temperatures. She should get back home. A nice warm bath called her name. And there were some left over lemon sponge waiting for her as well.

The next thing that happened seemed both out of character for her but also entirely in character when she suddenly heard something and didn’t just remain standing. Or; she did. But she stiffened up more than she’d usually would. She was much more jumpy and hastily started looking around for what had caused the sound. Until she realized that it wasn’t only sounds but also voices. Loud demanding voices. And she sensed a tingling down her spine as she gulped. The voices came closer. Rather quickly actually. Desperation suddenly filled her as she looked around once again, this time more searching then reminiscing and within a moment of blank mind, she threw herself onto the ground and scooched herself in under play house. The space between the sand and the bottom of the slightly raised playhouse was just big enough for her to somewhat comfortably lay there and be hidden. It also did so she wouldn’t see anything that was happening, so she had to rely on sounds for now. Cramping the shoe into her with one hand, she strategically placed the other on over her mouth. As if whatever could hear her breathing couldn’t already hear her heartbeat..

Outfit

Another day, another hunt.
He had just given up on this annoying and sneaking woman vampire. There was no way he was ever gonna keep chasing her. It was NOT worth it.
so, here he was now, chasing another vampire. A way easier one. He was old vampire. But defiently not a wise one. Every stypitically mistake a vampire could make. he was now making. it was sort of amusing to Mono. and sort of what he needed. a job easily done.
what he had not expected was for the vampire to run to a playground. Here the vampire tried one last time to attack Mono, to have his life ended right then and there. It all happened so quickly. Mono brought out of his string of steel and silver. and with one grab around the neck and a smack, the head was seperated from the body. The head of the bloodlustfully monster tumbled through the sand and landed in front of playhouse. With some dry blood on his face, Mono stretched and placed the string in his belt. The blood dripping from it as he went over to pick up the head.
Here he turned it around and checked it. for a second he wondered if he should keep the fangs. Nah. He shrugged and prepared to drag the body and head down to the sea, when something caught his attention. someone or something was in the playhouse.
"Who´s there?" he hissed annoyed and ready to strike. he was not in a mood for another fight. But if it was needed... it was needed!

She must have been on the hair of it because she had barely positioned herself somewhat comfortably when she heard the frantic sound of foot steps in the sand. She heard them run and very abruptly stopping again. She noticed the shadows of the person but then she quickly became aware of yet another one. One that moved with a bit less haste and desperation. It didn’t seem like an actual chase per se and it seemed even weirder that it would’ve ended there, on the playground of all places. She had heard of drug deals happening at places like this more often than as a parent and guardian it was comforting to know about. However even if it was just a drug deal she wasn’t about to crawl back out from her hiding spot. She was there now and it was clearly best if he stayed there until whatever was going on passed…

Slit.
Maeve paled. It was a very distinct sound, the ripping of flesh. It was moist and she was convinced that she also heard some sort of gurgling. Then a heavy thump, audible even on the soft, sandy substrate. The sand was unfortunately not soft enough for whatever had fallen to ground to not roll in her direction and she suddenly met with the dead eyes of a severed head. Both open wide and gruesomely bloodshot from the strangulating, that had tightened all the way through their neck. She immediately had to choke a scream and ultimately ended up letting out a very short and muffled squeal before managing to press her hand even closer to her mouth. And now also her nose. She was staring right back ad a severed head. A severed head. A real one. The more she looked the sicker to her stomach she felt. She had seen a leg being impaled by a chair leg and she had seen blood practically spew from her cousin’s eyes and she had seen a man being mauled by a werewolf but this was very different. This was right in her face. A very clear indicator of death and not a natural one at that.
She jolted as soon as she heard the sand crunching under the remaining person’s feet as they stepped closer to the head, closer to her. Oh god… She had been sure that she’d be found as they picked up the head but whoever they were mustn’t have even thought her to be there, since… nothing happened. Thankfully. Maeve had nearly dared removing her hand from her mouth when; Who’s there?

It was a male’s voice, possibly a very strong individual to have just cut off the head of someone and she pray for him to not find him. Although, she couldn’t help but feel a familiarity to the tone and accent. Still, it wasn’t enough to make her reveal herself. Instead she held her breath and good as she could and curled more together, accidently making the material of her jacket swish against each other. He hadn’t seen her before. Maybe he thought she was actually inside the playhouse and not under it? Hopefully he’d look at see nothing and go about his day…

Material switch against each other in weak, weak sound. So weak that had the wind not been silent, he might not have heard it. But, he did and now there was a witness to the crime he had just comitted. And in the rule of a hunter. He had to make sure that it stayed unseen.
Understandably, the person chose not to come out from its hideout. So Mono just had to come in. Silently and still ready to attack in every minute, he squatted down and tilted his head, just enough to get a look of who was hiding in the children´s castle.
And the face he saw... was not what he had expected. Far from!
"Maeve? I can´t believe it... what... what are you doing here?" He straightened himself up and now waited for her to get out of her hideout. That it is if she decided to get out. As he looked down at himself he realised that he was soaked in blood. Or whatever sort of liquid that was running through a vampire.
"I assume you just saw that... I do apologise... but you have to believe me..." Here he squatted down again and tilted his head. A soft smile was on his lips. Which did not fit with the blood on his face. "Trust me, Mae - Mae."
It was a long time ago that nickname had escaped his lips.

Maeve was rather shocked or the more correct term would probably be freaked out. Which he understood 100 %. After all, not far from them and in Mono´s hand, was the rest of what used to be a vampire. The way she asked if she had been ignorant for the last 12 years, he hissed and made an embarassed face. To that he did not know what to say. It was rather impressing that she hadn´t figured out all the horrors of this world. He placed the head behind his back and slowly let it hit the ground in hopes of not freaking her out.
"Okay, okay, uhm, deep breath... deep breath...I know this looks bad... okay it looks rather horrendous..." he admitted and took a deep breath himself. "Look, I´m not sure this happens every night and yes, maybe I should Have told you what I do... at night... uhm... Okay, lets just, calm down, get rid of this body and then get the hell out of here alright?"
Her freaking out was sort of making him freak out as well! The sticky feeling of blood on his hand did not help either.
Wherever she had agreed or not, he picked up the head and grabbed the headless body by the collar, to drag it across the sand and towards the lake. Shortly he stopped to look over his shoulder and down at Maeve. He considered apologising... but for now it was probably just empty words for her.
"I´ll explain everything later," he softly said and then continued walking to the lake.
How did he explain all of this to her? and should he explain EVERYTHING or just the obvious part. His mind was racing as the lake got closer and closer.
He was torned between being excited of seing Maeve again and just get the hell out of there so she couldn´t ask questions.

Maeve’s sensors, however human and weak they were compared to what other created that she shared a world with, were on constant alert, so even though Mono had been careful with the dropping of the head, possibly trying to move it more out of the way for her well-being, she still noticed the sound of it hitting the ground. Her eyes automatically moved towards it when… Deep breath. The bloodied man’s words immediately caught her full attention and there by adverted her eyes back to his as he instructed her in whatever breathing technique he seemed to deem necessary. She didn’t feel particularly prone to hyperventilate at that moment, which in and of itself was surprising - and worrying - but as soon as she gave in and did as he said; took that deep breath, she noticed the panic her body had started experiencing while her mind had attempted to push it back away from her conscious. She kept eye contact with him while she filled her lunges and then blew out through tightly O’ed lips. She managed to do it once before a smile of utter disbelief and irony broke through instead due to his continuing monolog. “Horrendous, yea. You could say that. You just killed someone!”
How were people so nonchalant about ending someone else’s life?! He hadn’t been the first she had witness do just that, but he was the first that she had known and thought very differently about. Never in her dreams had she ever imaged the Mono Amar, her cousin’s goofy side-kick, would do something like this. And definitely not as calmly.

“Wait wait? Get rid of i-…” She wasn’t even allowed to finish her sentence when he was already on his way off with the limp, and headless body. In that instance she looked far more confused than frightened as she looked from him in the direction of where he was going. He wasn’t about to… was he? “Oh god. Please don’t tell me you’re just going to dump the body in the lake,” she partly begged, as she crossed her arms around herself. She shortly scanned the area as if she was worried that someone would see them. Them. Not just him. She felt like an accomplish.

And yet she didn’t help him with whatever he was doing, disposing of the body. She just stood there, a good distance from the action. Watch. She didn’t look away. It didn’t seem real at all. Especially no with how he acted on it. Like it just a big rat or some other pest he got rid of. Carefully she slowly sat down on the grassy hill. Her legs pulled up as a protective measure and one of her hands having moved to grab tightly around the jacket over her chest. She didn’t feel faint. She never did before she’d faint. All she could do to prevent it from actually happening was to calm her poor heart which was exactly what she was doing while purposely ignoring the question of why she was waiting for him…

The way she looked at him, made him want to crawl back in his hole and not return, until he was sure she would no longer be judging him. Unfortunately, he knew she would always judge him. She would no longer look at him and see the same Mono that she was introduced to some years ago. He wouldn´t even recognize that guy either.
So, in the beginning, he just ignored her and continued to drag the body towards the lake. It had to be done. The guy was dead. They could not turn back time.
The last words she said to him, made him stop dead in his track, look over his shoulder and over at her. Something in him told him that she felt guilty about the vampire’s dead. Which she shouldn´t be feeling. He was the one with blood on his hands. All she was, was a friend on the wrong place at the wrong time.
He mumbled a “I´m sorry,” before looking ahead again, still dragging the body after him, with the head in his other hand.
Just like he had done a million times before, he threw both head and body into the water, knowing some fish that would immediately starts to nibble at the dead skin. Watching the head and body disappear under the surface, made him take a deep breath, before turning around, now ready to face Maeve once again. His mind told him that she would probably run away or slap him. Maybe she would even do both.
“Maeve, I know I have a lot to explain and I can´t even know if you want to know,” he started to tell as he got closer and closer to her. “I´m a vampire hunter and has been trained to be it since I was ten. The reason to why I am one is a longer story… I understand if you rather want to walk away, than listen to it. But, just know, I would never hurt you or kill anyone without a reason.”
This was one hell of a speech. NOPE. It just sounded like an excuse to have a permission to kill vampires.

To Mono it was a good sign that she did not run away from him. Instead he stayed back and asked into what he was doing. Still with doubt in her warm voice. He took a deep breath before answering the dreadful questions.
“Yeah, he was a vampire and I do not hunt them for sport… I uhm… I hunt them for…” He heard himself doubting his own words. What was he doing? Was he saving himself or was he hunting these innocent creatures for sport?
No… No that was not the case! He saved a lot of life by hunting and killing vampires! He was sure of it. They were not all innocent! A bunch of them killed for sport not only for surviving!
“I hunt them for my own… protection… and to help their future victims… You do know what they do to survive and some of them even does it without caring… They…” He stopped the second he realized that he was also killing without caring.
He was the selfish one. He hoped to save his own life by killing a bunch of vampires.
He crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring how the cold hit his skin, making the hairs stand up. “No… No I am not hurt… don´t worry… I uhm… I attacked him first.”
There was no reason to lie. She had already seen the worst he could do.
Her questions to if Cecilia and Ethan knew, he looked at the ground, pushed some sand around before returning his eyes at her. “Yes, they both know and yeah, I have heard a bit about Ethan, but I was not quite sure if he was or not… or if I am just misunderstanding. Cecilia knows… she is not happy about it… but she knows.”
He wasn´t even sure if Cecilia didn´t appreciate the killing in the sake of his safety or for the innocence life of some vampires. “I would love to answer every question Maeve, but come on, we need to get out of here before someone comes.”

It felt as being scolded by his mother. A person he had not seen for many, many years. But yet, he still remembered what it felt like, getting caught doing something he should not be doing. For a second, he therefore lowered his head in shame, driving his foot from side to side.
He knew this presented him as a weak. Yet, he could not put his finger on he felt the need to act like this, just because it was Maeve scolding him.
Was the source his childhood crush on her?
Perhaps.
as this came as a realization to him, he raised himself up and looked at her, one eyebrow raised high almost in arrogance. Who was she to judge him? Was she so much better than him?
For some reason he felt so angry all of sudden.
“yes, he was a monster. He killed for fun and not only for food… his kill count is higher than our ages multiplied together,” he answered with a hissing tone.
for some reason he felt so angry and defensive. Although he knew what he was doing was wrong. He had been saying that to himself all life as well.

as she once again scolded him, he raised his arms up in the air in surrender and turned his back to her.
“I wanted to WALK away, not grab a coffee or jump into a taxi, just walk away back to my place,” he scolded back and checked over his shoulder to look at her. “I know there is no excuse for what I do. If you want to follow me, then you are more than welcome, but I cannot force you to go with me.”
Slowly he started to walk. He knew this was stubborn and far from gentlemen behavior. Especially towards someone who had just witnessed him decapitate someone.
Suddenly he stopped, sighed loudly, only to turn around to look at her. He waved softly with his hand as he spoke. “Look… I don´t need you to understand… I should rather respect that what you saw is far from normal…”

Understandably they misunderstood each other. Or… he knew deep down that he was the one in defense and she had the natural reaction to all of it. She had just witnessed a murder. Vampire or not. It must still be traumatizing.
Just like her, he was rather embarrassed by the whole situation or rather embarrassed by his outburst of defense. He wasn´t even sure how to act properly.
wait… it wasn´t her first vampire murder?
Rather perplexed he slowly walked towards her. “Wait… have you witnessed another vampire being murdered or have you witnessed a vampire killing someone? Then why are you…”
Reacting like this towards me… he finished in his head.
He shook his head by his question. He reached out for the wipe and tried his best to wipe away the blood. It wasn´t easy. Some of it was even stock in his hair.
after some time, he finally got most of it away, walking over to a trash can to throw out the wet wipe.
“I never imagined that this would be the way we would meet again,” he softly stated.
did he try to start a new topic and maybe get her thoughts on something else? yes, that was most defiantly the case. He could although feel how her anger still laid over her as a thick cologne.

Even with him not finishing his sentence, she understood him and even answered it, which made him listen closely. Back then… she had not been eye to eye with a severed head. Yeah… had he known she was hiding underneath there… he would not have been killing the vampire in such manners. Although it was one of the most effective ways to kill them.
He was not sure what to answer to it. So instead, he stayed silent, removed the blood from his face and tried to drive the topic elsewhere. Only for Maeve to agree and slowly turning it back again. Or… she told him how she was the only one living that mundane life. If only she knew… Cece had not known about all this before some years ago either. And when Mono thought back on that time… she had reacted just like Maeve. Freaked out about everything, not to mention, furious at Mono for not telling her from the starts.
“I know… sometimes… I dream of that Mundane life,” he admitted and sighed a deep sigh, just like her. With a calm voice, she now asked something he had never thought, that anyone would ever ask him. Was he a human?
“Yeah… yeah, I am a human… a human that has been trained since he was ten to kill vampires and to not seem weak in front of them,” he answered carefully. “I don´t know what more to say… what about you… are you also still a human?”

Not that you being human makes any of this alright!
To that, he took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips, making them rest there. “I know, I know. I have told myself that a lot of times too.” But he did not stop doing it. He felt as if he couldn´t. Or if he did, the vampire who was supposed to kill him, would come and end his life.
The second she mentioned a god, he raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding what God had to do with all this. Mono was far from Christian. He although decided not to comment on it. It would be a waste of time.

Her answer to her question fired back was not what he had expected. She had some sort of special ability. Which, at least in his head, made her far from a normal human. But then again… what was normal in this world? It seemed as everyone had their own abilities and their own struggles with it. Mono would be surprised if there still was “normal” human life out there. Or… mundane. As Maeve had described it.
As he noticed her signs of being cold, he was about to again ask them to find shelter again when she described her “ability”.
Immunity? From the supernatural?
Puzzled he starred at her. Now rather curious of what this meant. “How? I mean… how immune? I mean… how did you figure it out? And… does it mean that no abilities will work on you… or any supernatural beings can hurt you?”

// beklager sene svar C:

To Mono… it all sounded rather… complicated. Yes, he had known about the supernatural since he was ten, but there was still so much to unwrap about it all. Especially abilities. They were as different as fingerprints. Maeve´s was one the few that Mono had not came across before.
Cece? A Mutual acquaintance?
“I uhm… I´m not quite sure I understand what you mean there either… I am at my slow this day,” He mumbled with a blush, followed by a chuckle, as he ran a hand through his short curls. It was as been a young lad again. Which felt rather weird if he might say so.
“What bomb? You mean… the supernatural? Or am I misunderstanding something… again.”

“My ability? Oh, I am able to heal myself and others,” he explained and the looked down at his gadgets. “I was able uhm… to do that thanks to the gadgets being magical themselves. It helps me a lot since I am only a human.” He shrugged.
Slowly he raised his gaze again and smiled softly at her. “Not that it makes it any more okay.” He teasingly winked at her, referring back to her own words.

It was peculiar how they started and how they were now. Having a calm and nice conversation with his childhood crush, Who had just been a witness to him beheading a vampire.
Her way of trying to explain his dense mind her ability must have been amusing to her. He resembled a question mark. Although, he did his best to understand and after her second attempt, with the speech about neutralizes the power.
“Ohhhhh!” he burst out. “I think I´m slowly getting it.”
Her way of gazing at his gadgets, only for a few seconds, made him gaze down at them himself. The silver string was still leaving trails of blood. Coloring the grass from emerald green to red.
“I know…” he mumbled. “But… I… It´s either me or them.”
Selfish? Yes, indeed.
“Listen, Maeve… let´s uhm… go to dinner or something like that… or… If you refuse to be seen public with me, we can go to my place and I get if you do not wanna do that either.”
what was he even saying?