Speak of the devil

Dedicated to @Jamie

DATE | 15th of September
TIME | Night
WEAHTER | Its raining cat’s and dogs
PLACE | A small, abandoned cabin  
ATTIRE | Some jeans that has seen better days the same with her t-shirt.

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It had been earlier today when Mariella had called him up after Ayah had asked for him. For some reason Sariel hadn't come home over the last couple of days, and naturally she was worried. Even if he didn't know Sariel that well, he did for a fact believe she wouldn't just get up one day and make a choice to leave, not Ayah at least. And with the information Ayah had on the matter that Sariel still was looking into the lead he had given her back then, he already knew where it was possible to find her. It didn't look good. Quentin was one thing, a stupid foolish boy who thought he had the world in his hand, then you had the people who taught him this. Jamie had a few nice days with his family, Yesterday being invited to Irina's birthday celebration - it seemed like it was a good balance, a few good days balancing out the ones coming after like this one. This was also the main reason why Jamie took this on himself, giving his brothers a break from what ever drama and chaos Lelantos was up to.

Having met up with Ayah shortly he had gotten a shirt to catch a scent, but in the rain it was really no use to track. Jamie thought to himself for a moment that he should just have asked for help, but no, he was going to do this. He could deal with Lelantos if it came to that - it wasn't like he was directly an enemy to them. He had asked Ayah to give him a few hours, if he wasn't back before then or heard from him, she was to call for back up. Jamie just hoped it wouldn't come to that. It was quite the trouble to find, but in the end he made it towards a cabin in the woods. These woods in Athena were no joke, and he had really no idea where he was, but he damn well tried.

By the end, he saw some hunters and picked up a few stones. It didn't take more than two throws before having knocked the first two out. "It's raining rocks tonight gentlemen," he mumbled to himself. He did carry a few sets of small knives, but rocks. It made it look less of what it was like, and he didn't have to go over pick up his weapons. He made it towards the cabin, aware of what was going on, he could smell her blood, making his blood boil and forced him to take a deeper breath in to not let the anger control his actions. He looked to the side seeing one sitting by the door, guarding it. Good thing he had kept one more rock, he moved his eyes around, finding the perfect branch, and there were a few birds sitting, keeping shelter from the heavy rain. He threw the rock, having it land just right in front of the birds scaring them to make noise, having the guard walk towards the sound, giving Jamie a chance to sneak up behind him, and place his arm around the hunter's neck till he passed out. Jaime searched the guy, finding a set of keys and rushed to the door. The rain made it hard to see at good distance, but as far as he could tell - he couldn't see more people for now. He moved his eyes to the door, trying to luck the door open. Damn keys.

Jamie finally got the door unlocked, and took a deeper breath in as he opened it. Getting inside. If he hadn't been in this field before, and seen worse, he would possibly have frozen in place - but he could think later, actions were required. So, he picked up one of his own knives, and walked over to get her out of the restrains. "You are a hard woman to track down," he breathed out and looked up into her eyes. "I will get you out of here, okay?"

He was going to get her out of here, Jamie had already put his mind on that, and people knew there was very little things that could push him out of a path once his mind had been set. Jamie was as aware of what happened outside as the rain allowed him to, as of now the rock throwing had sent people to a sleep, but he didn't know how many was out. So, when he asked her if it was safe, he could only reply on what he thought and what he could hear, "could've been better but nothing we can't get out of," he nodded on his next inhale. Jamie got up as she tried to get up from the chair, but too drained from energy to make it far, he looked back shortly. They had only been giving her water over the last few days? He cursed in a lower voce, if this was Quentin and his family, he would personality give them a visit. "No, it's alright - I got you this time," he looked back at her, grinding his teeth a little as he tried to figure out the best way to get out. He had his own tracks to follow getting here. Maybe they could make it to Nigel's cabin in the woods and take it from there. It would be the best and safest choice for her. "This is gonna hurt," he bowed down a little bit, placing his arm on her back, just below her arms, giving her arms a chance to hold on to him for extra support. Jamie needed at least one arm free in case of close encounter with anyone. At least they could count on his aim.

Then he made it towards the door, the fastest they could go without straining her. Jamie took a deeper breath as they returned to the outside, the rain still heavy making everything more blurry than he liked. Moving through the muddy ground wasn't easy, and he grunted a bit while keeping himself alert. Every single sudden movement or thought of movement had his head turn to the side. Then a sharp burn reached the middle part of his back, making him groan a bit. He turned his head to see one of the hunters had fired at him from the ground. "Seriously pal?" The wound didn't take more than seconds to heal, despite the extreme injuries he had taken a week ago. The hunter tried to reload and prepare for another shot, making Jamie take his throwing knife out of his belt, and without much thought to it just threw it. To people who didn't know of his skills in this area, it just looked like a mindless throw. But Jamie only missed when he meant to. The knife pierced perfectly in guy's shoulder. "Next one goes to your skull, so get the fuck out of my sight," he yelled after the guy who now was busy tending to his shoulder. Seemed like the guy made the right choice to leave them alone, making Jamie walk a bit further.

Jamie would be lying if he said he knew where they were headed at this moment, he just followed his intuition, which was usually good. It seemed like the rain started to dial a bit down, making him able to at least see a bit further ahead of him, giving him the idea that they were headed the right way.  

He knew she was in pain, was tired, but right now he also knew they needed to push through. He wasn't going to leave her behind or slow down for that matter. It would be a matter of time before the hunters would realize she was gone, and maybe even regroup. But they would be stupid to step into the home of a set of other hunters - if he was lucky they knew better than that. Jamie breathed out as he finally saw the hut, and walked further towards it, or that was till more of her weight suddenly fell on him making him almost lose his balance if it hadn't been for his quick reflexes. Her small comment made him chuckle a bit, "yeah, how about take you out for dinner sometime instead?" he took a deeper breath in, not the place to ask someone out perhaps. Yet, it wasn't like their meetings had been anything that would seem ideal either, however his brothers voices roamed annoyingly in his head. However, the way she breathed out confessing she couldn't walk further, or almost unable to. He took a deeper breath in, and fished an extra set of keys up and handed them to her. "It's alright," he assured her before without much though Jamie adjusted his grib around Sariel while bending down his knees, caring her bridal style the last way towards the hut, after letting Sariel unlock the door he entered. Jamie cursed a bit to himself that he couldn't help others heal, damn it would have been convenient if he could.

The shapeshifter closed the door with his left foot and walked towards the bathroom, placing her on toilet seat. Jamie took a deeper breath in, yes he had had some training in taking care of wounds, but as someone who healed by themselves faster than any vampire - it wasn't really like he had kept on listening. They were both soaked from the rain. Jamie had no idea how fast she naturally healed, but this exhausted he didn't assume it would be quick. "Tell me what you need," he sat down in front of her, looking up into her eyes. He was a bit scared of moving away form her, the last thing he wanted was for her to fall to the side and or collapse. And he did not know where Nigel kept his medical stuff, and it wasn't really the kind of phone call he wanted to make - even if Jamie himself was fine.

Jamie had a lot of questions regarding why she had been taking, why she was foolish enough to go on a mission like that on her own - okay the last one he wasn't going to pin-point, he was the definition on being foolish and stubborn enough to do such thing on his own. Her requesting a bath to get some warmth back to her body was perhaps a great idea. Jamie could only imagine it being nice soaking in a warm bath to get some heat back, so he nodded and burned his front to the bath turning it on so the water could heat up. His eyes turning back to her as tried to get the torn up t-shirt off. "Me shy? You must have mistaken me for someone else," he chuckled a bit low, before turning his front towards her again, placing his fingers around the fabric, helping her pull it off. "There we go," he placed the t-shirt on the ground next to him. His green eyes ran over the bruises and cuts, determining the seriousness of the injuries compared to the many he had seen in his life. Even if there was a lot, he also came to the conclusion that she was lucky, if the hunters had wanted her dead, they could have killed her off. He wondered why they hadn't.

He moved his eyes back to hers as she once again spoke, the small laugh that turned into a cough making him shake shit head a little bit. "Don't strain yourself love," he gave her a warmer smile. "Regarding skipping steps, don't worry about that - I've never really been one to follow the rules much either way," he chuckled a bit. He moved his hand over to the bath to turn off the tab so it wouldn't be overfilled. Then he helped her getting out of her trousers, the rain hadn't really helped a lot since the fabric just seemed to stick to their skin. Then he got up on his feet to at least hold her as she could step into the warm bath.

It was odd for him to meet someone who didn't take offense or at least gave him a nervous stare, when helping in a situation like this. Jamie would love to say that like most shapeshifters he was used to people not being judgmental or think twice about flashing the naked skin - but it wasn't the case. Jamie knew what it was like to be different, even if it didn't seem like such a big deal at the moment, it for sure had been growing up. Jamie didn't know much about having scares on his body, or having things he wanted or wished to hide, because of his skin healing so quickly it never left him with nasty reminders. It however, didn't mean he didn't notice when someone didn't want him to see something, and despite her carefree way of letting him help, he got the feeling that there was a part of her she wasn't ready for him to see yet - which was more than alright, they barely knew each other. His eyes couldn't help but wander over her body as she got in the bath.

Jamie took a deeper breath in, then she mentioned he should get out of his soaking clothing as well. He let his eyes wander down himself for a moment, as he completely in the moment had forgotten all about it. He took off his jacket which was in his luck it was somewhat waterproof, not that anything was truly waterproof after being out in a rainstorm like that. "How about you get warmed up," he took the lightly soaked black t-shirt over his head and placed it over his arm along with his jacket, then looked at her. "And I will see if there is anything in the kitchen to cook a decent meal? Get you filled up with something other than water," Jamie suggested. He also needed to chance his clothe, at least he could steal some of the stuff Nigel had in his closet. Which meant he could most likely find something she could borrow as well.

Jamie chuckled a little by the teasing remark and the little smirk on her lips, making him raise his eyebrows shortly as he clicked his tongue. "Right," he nodded as she confirmed that food was a good idea, then he walked out of the bathroom, leaving her to just relax. He went into seeing what Nigel had in store from the closet and just jumped in the first pair of trousers he found, then hang the wet clothing up for drying before making his way to the kitchen. Archie was perhaps the best cook of him and Nigel, but Jamie could cook well - especially got his skill since Olivia had been the pickiest eater he had ever seen, and McKenna having nightshifts time to time he had been responsible for the cooking. However, it was some time ago since he had found himself cooking a healthy and delicious meal for himself or others. But he liked it, cooking even if he had been out with friends and they wanted to order out, he would rather mix something quick together as a form of stress relief.

So, the shapeshifter just started mixing whatever he could find, some ground chicken, with whatever vegetables he could find and mixed it all together. He turned his head around as she stood in the doorframe only wearing a towel, complimenting the smell of the dish. "I hope it tastes just as good, it's not like there is a lot of stuff to throw in. But to be fair, I've been swinging by here at least for an hour or two over the last couple days," he confessed. It was nice to get some space from the people in the clan, also just clearing his head a bit. Which was the reason why there was actual a bit of food, he hoped he could convince himself to cook - which seemed like have worked. "I put some clothe I found on the bed you can take," he turned his eyes back to the pan, "food should be ready within a few minutes time."

Why? Jamie was a proud soul, didn't like to admit when he was attached to something or wanted to be close to someone - not always at least. Admitting he felt more home here than with the hunter friends, that was a lot. Because they were the distraction from the chaos that he was so caught up in, but seeing his brothers again, his sister - meeting his nieces, feeling a part of a real family again. It was putting things back into a perspective, viewing things in the way he used to years ago. "I just needed to get my head a bit more clear," he replied with a small smile, as he listened to her go to the bedroom to get dressed. Jamie hadn't even realized it was getting cold, standing in front of the stove.

Jamie found some plates and started arranging the plates, really feeling himself, even humming a bit to while fixing up the last things. He turned his head around as she once again spoke, apologizing. Jamie pressed his brows a little together, waiting for her to elaborate what she felt sorry about. Then she explained, more than explained actually, she opened a bit up to him, which had him tilt his head a little bit. He knew what she had said, it was only the beginning of the story, but he wasn't mad about it. "It's alright, it was a lot. I hadn't even expected any of it," Jamie replied, of course it was his family and all. Still he hadn't expected everyone to show up. "Yeah, phone is right there. I already texted Mariella to tell her, but I reckon Ayah would like hearing from you that you are in good hands," he replied and looked over at the counter not more than few steps from him where his phone was placed.

He chuckled a little bit, well he did have a more advanced phone, he liked upgrading to the newest models. But having someone not being able to find a name, he wasn't always used to that, however, he didn't comment on it other than walking over there and help her find the number. Jamie gave her privacy to just call Ayah, by trying not to listen in too much. He still wasn't sure about how the two of them had met, not that other than the outcome was what mattered about it. He was just curious by nature. Jamie took a deeper breath in around the same time she did, and breathed out turning around, taking her in for a moment. "How are you feeling?" He then asked with a small frown on his face, he knew very well that she wasn't feeling great, but just because he knew that - it didn't mean he couldn't ask. Then he grabbed one of the plates along with a knife and fork. "Here you go," he then grabbed his own turning to the living room, sitting in one of the chairs and placed the warm plate on his thighs. "Did they say anything to you while you were there?" He asked curiously, mostly regarding to know who it was, if his theory was correct or maybe they wanted something else. He couldn't know for sure, and he also wanted to make sure that they weren't just going to hunt her down again."Or never mind, we can talk about that tomorrow."

Jamie then took a deeper breath in, okay perhaps he should find something else to talk about other than the events of this night. "You and Ayah, what's the story there?" He allowed himself to ask while picking up some food with his fork to eat.

It was no surprise that she felt horrible, really, he did appreciate the honesty more than anything else. You met so many people around the world who just waved their hand saying they were fine. No one deserved to go through anything like that, and yet he knew it happened all over the world. Creatures being taken tortured so they could find their nest, pack, or clan. It was truly horrible and still he had been a part of some horrors like this before. Jamie watched her as she started eating, smiling a little to himself as it seemed like she enjoyed the meal. Also confirming the food was good. “I’m glad,” he replied with a softer smile looking up at her. Jamie listened to what she had to say regarding how her and Ayah had met. It seemed like quite the clash. Truly a horrible way to get thrown into each other’s arms, but he had spent time with Ayah, not much, but enough to believe Sariel as she said Ayah was quite lovely. Even if he had been a bit sceptical about Mariella having found a sister and all that. “She seems lovely,” he nodded to confirm before taking another bite.

Jamie was still angry about what Quentin and the clan had done to that village. He was completely out of his mind. And by now he had gotten and update on just how much that boy had lost it, enough to make Elenora cut him off, see that was something. Jamie took a somewhat sharper breath in before finishing up his dinner, late night snack or what the called this meal. The eating silence didn’t bother him, it was nice to sit and eat with someone where you didn’t have to be aware of everything they did.

Sariel was for sure something else, not that he had anything against it. It was just the way she talked, the way she saw things that was from a completely different perspective than the usual people he walked to. Jamie listened to her, narrowing his eyes just a little bit as she explained for him what she meant. Not good at reading people, but good at manipulating them, he licked his lips a little bit. Then she mentioned the last person she let in, had left her, making Jamie breath out. People leaving wasn't really something Jamie had seen as a main issue of his, mainly because he had a few close friends and that was around it. It had been easier back in London, where he could just live beyond the supernatural world, have friends who didn't know what he was. People treating him like a human being, which was different than what he had gotten from his childhood. "I think she thinks the same about you, I mean, she tried tracking you last time - went through a lot of trouble to get a hold on me," he informed with a warm smile. "I don't think she is going anywhere," Jamie addressed looking at Sariel.

Letting people in was a hard thing though, he did understand that. It was the hardest part of being back, and actually allowing himself into his brothers lives again - having them let him in. He hadn't realized how much he had needed that. But also having Archie back. It was beyond anything and he was utterly grateful for whoever had held its hand over his brother giving him a new chance. "But it sounds lonely too, being concealed away from everything and everyone."

Loneliness came in many shapes and sizes, sneaking up on you when you didn't expect it. To some it was a deadly force and for others it was just a passing, the worst, you never really knew how it would hit you. "There might be some truth to that," he clicked his tongue a little. Then his thoughts were shifted as she mentioned that she hadn't tried a lot. It wasn't like he had experienced a lot in his childhood as well, but he had no idea how old she actually was - the tricky part with the supernatural and with some abilities. He had missed out on a lot in that sense of his childhood and young adulthood, where it wasn't till he had met McKenna who had showed him the world in a way. But haven't tried much could also mean a bunch of things. It could mean not having tried sailing, not going to the cinema or a carnival - a lot of different things. "Things like?" He asked as he took another mouthful of food on his fork.

Jamie had always been quite blunt, and he picked up on most people asked him or the way they said things - making him question it. Which was dangerous when he had been younger too, putting question marks on most things he was asked to do, or things he heard that he found odd - or simply just wanted an explanation to. So, of course she had tabbed into his curiosity of what she meant by those words.

Jamie looked at her while she talked, because he was curios and interested in what she had to say. She had never been in a relationship, never experienced anything it included, he folded his lips a little bit while listening feeling the frown on his face as his brows pressed a little together. Family dinners. Jamie clicked his tongue a little, "yeah it is," he breathed out by the question about family dinners. He hadn't had real family dinners after his wife and kids had been killed, not til he came back here - well they had had one dinner, with his brothers and their girls, along with Mariella. And he looked forward to doing it again. But he hoped there would be more dinners, maybe one day he could actually find a job here and by a home here in town so he could be close to his family. Then maybe one day he could return the favors and invite people over. He did have the money from when he had sold his old house and everything that was in there.

Before he could say anything else about that, she spoke again, and he listened again. Mentioning she had tried some things with a guy, making him frown a little bit more. They had went to the movies, been at an art museum, he chuckled a little bit. "Well, you've met my family now, so I guess you can borrow them for a family dinner experience sometime?" Jamie suggested with a soft smile. He could at least help with that, well he could help with a few others if he was being honest, and even if he often was very brazen, Jamie also knew it wasn't something he should joke about. "And I did promise to take you out for dinner sometime, so that can count as a first date - if you want it to be?" he took the last mouthful of food from the plate and looked back up at her.