Take a stab at it (Emrys/Xenon) CW

[Deleted]

CW; stabbing, domestic violence. (skip to the 5th paragraph to skip the dv, the 7th to skip all the actual violence)

Xantha had a Friday off work, which was quite unusual. Normally she always worked in the weekends, especially the big entertainment nights, but tonight she had a day off. It wasn't a bad thing, except for the fact her neighbours always ended up in trouble in Friday night. The guy went out for a few too many drinks and the thing walls carried the horrible sounds of his intimidation and violence towards his partner. Normally Xantha didn't butt in, knowing he was violent and therefore, dangerous. She and Mavis hadn't called the cops, mostly out of fear for her safety. Normally Mavis tended to be around to stop Xantha from doing anything incredibly stupid and impulsive on that end but she was out. Xantha didn't quite remember but she thought she was out for a date with Levi. Friday nights were the best for that.

So when he came home and the shouting begin, Xantha tried to block it out as she normally did, but it didn't take too long for her to lose patience. She put her phone in her pocket, almost regretful she hadn't actually kept her fathers card. She needed evidence, right? Then he'd do something? Well, time to collect. She paused just in front of the door and texted Mavis real quickly. Neighbour is at it again. I'm going to confront him. Wish me luck! If something bad happened, at least Mavis would know she hadn't disappeared. It wasn't exactly a nice thing to do, Xan was well aware of that, but she didn't care.

She left her own place, closing the door behind her. She had her keys and her phone so she'd be fine. She pounded on the door loudly, knowing a small knock wasn't going to cover it. The door opened to an enraged face. She smiled a little smile that oozed annoyance. "Hey, can you stop being such a jerk to your girlfriend? She deserves better than your messed up attitude. Not to mention the noise carries." Subtlety had never been her strong suit.  She looked over his shoulder at the girl who was cowering in a corner of the room. Poor thing. They did have a nicer place than she and Mavis had, all things considered. The man towered over her in a block of rage.

After some minor verbal abuse Xantha simply raised her brow. "Okay, so I'll take that as a no. What are you going to do? Beat me up too? Because I actually will call the cops, unlike your girlfriend. I'm not scared of you." She said, her attitude quite stupid and she knew that, but she was done with this. He was a horrible being and she was going to prove it. She had her phone in her back pocket recording anyway. Not that she'd mentioned that to him of course. She rudely overstepped and walked in, grabbing the girl by the hand. "Come along..." She whispered softly. "My dad is a cop, he'll get you to safety." Or well, he'd better if he didn't want her to make a scene at the bureau a second time. Not to mention worse this time. She gently guided the girl towards the door, not realising the guy had gone to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

The pain was not quite unexpected, but it didn't stop her. She felt the sharp pain as the knife sunk into her flesh and luckily the little self defence she had led her to punch him, despite the fact it could make things worse. It was a good enough hit for his drunken ass to go out cold. Xantha cursed, tears welling in her eyes as the girl looked at her. She gave her a slight look. "You're breaking up with him. Get out of here, go to the police and tell them you want to talk to Xenon Willowmoore. Tell him his daughter is your neighbour and she sent you, he'll know what to do. I'm going to get myself an ambulance." She nodded, although Xantha had full on lied, she was not calling an ambulance. For starters, she didn't want to deal with the cops herself. She held the girl back a moment, flinching. "Please don't tell them I get involved?" She asked and felt a wave of relief as the girl nodded and scurried off.

Xantha stumbled back into the apartment, her phone already in hand as she called Emrys. She had never called him before, always opting to text him. This, however, was an emergency. Considering that his stage persona seemed to be some sort of vampire fantasy she presumed him most likely of her friends to be able to deal with a bit of blood. She sat down and tried to calm herself, not bothering to remove the knife from her side. It was just going to bleed out, probably. She waited till Emrys picked up and then spoke in a bit of a troubled tone quality. "Hey Emrys? Could you possibly come over to my place? I just got stabbed.." She told him the adress and sat down, not having bothered to ask him where he'd been. He could probably get transport easily enough and she really didn't want to call an ambulance. She tried to keep calm as she sat down, waiting for Emrys to arrive. Hopefully he'd be there soon.

@emrys

@xenon (we'll tag you in later )

[Deleted]

March 2026

The day had been like any other. Waking up in the early after noon hours, leisurely showering and eating some left overs for breakfast. Taking time to play some music, writing anything down that he liked. In the evening hours, celebrity vampire Emrys made his way to the recording studio. He had been recording a number of sets, and his aunt and manager had reserved the studio and staff for him to be there all night. He was a hard worker.....when he put his mind to it, though it rarely lasted long. So it was always good to advantage of when it came around. While recording, his phone was left out, near a comfortable lounge sofa that he could rest on in between takes. But it was set on vibrate as to not distract those on the other side. He listened to music that he had previously played and sang along, his silk charmed pipes never failing.

The time came for his first little break, a chance to get some water and rest his pipes. As he walked out, he noticed his phone dancing on the hard surface it was on. He was surprised to see the caller labeled as "Agent X". A silly little joke that he hadn't bothered changing. Why was she calling? She never called, they simply texted. He didn't hesitate, casually answering "Hey, what's up?" He could hear the severity in her voice, and his breath stopped as she continued to speak. She had been stabbed? What sort of reckless thing had this muggle girl gotten herself into now. "I'm on my way." He said, grabbing his leather jacket, the one containing his wand, and was off with out a word or glance to the producer who had agreed to spend the entire night with him.

Tearing out of the room, he figured that taking the long way out of HR Records was not the best idea, especially with precious seconds ticking by. He didn't know how bad it was, but her voice told him that she wasn't in a good way. Apparition wasn't something he did often, but it was an emergency. With out a word, he was gone, his body guard unable to keep up. Precious minutes had passed by the time he found the place, entering the shabby apartment without knocking. He was certain he was in the right place, he could smell the blood from the street. He rushed over to her, first making sure that the knife in her side was the only injury. "What happened?"

@xantha
@charlotta - for reference

[Deleted]

She was thankful Emrys picked up so fast and didn't try to get everything clear before deciding to come over. He promised he was on his way and it felt like forever or a few minutes. She guessed her mind was messing with her due to the pain because otherwise he'd gotten there insanely fast. She was breathing hard, the pain making black spots dance in front of her eyes.  As he showed up she did her best to smile, although she no doubt just looked pained or constipated. "I left the knife in." She said through her teeth, fighting the naussea the pain was beginning to cause. "Neighbour. I have needle and thread somewhere. Did it go in deep?" Despite the pain her frustration and annoyance were still stronger. "Ugh, my boss is going to kill me for this." She muttered as she tried to not move while breating.

She glanced over at Emrys. "Thankd for coming, but can we do the story after we get the knife out. It's a little uncomfortable." Trust Xantha to downplay something like this due to stress. She'd call it survival instricts, although those clearly gad been lacking. She was starting to feel a little dizzy too and her tank top was sticking to her skin in a wet mess. She inhaled slowly through clenched teeth. "Please don't call the cops or an amulance? I don't want my dad to find out and get involved." She muttered as she bit her teeth down for when he'd eventually pluck the knife out. It was going to be painful but her brain was getting foggy due to pain already so it would hardly matter much. Bad neighbourhood, no wonder officer Dungbeetle had thought she'd been soliciting. That was exactly the kind of trouble that suited the neighbourhood. Though this was the first time she'd gotten stabbed,  so there was that....

@emrys

[Deleted]

True, Emrys had gotten there inhumanly fast, but if asked, he would just say that hew as in the area or something. Now was not the time to worry about his arrival speed. He noted the week smile, but now wasn't the time for pleasantries. Xantha mentioned leaving the knife in. He could see that. "Glad you did. Got any first aid hear?" He listened, thinking a needle and thread was a bit crude when he had magic. But he would see what he had to work with before pulling out his wand.

She mentioned that it probably wasn't that deep, but he was sure that it was deeper than she thought, but he could use that idea to his advantage. He looked around, trying to see what he could work with. They really didn't have much now did they? She mentioned not calling the cops, which would have been the smart thing, but he was a wizard vampire, on top of that he was also a celebrity. He didn't need any more run ins with authority. He gave a comforting smile "Now why would I go and do that." He understood keeping things low. Gathering what he needed it was finally time. "This may hurt, but I want you to look up, and keep breathing." Best she not see what he was about to do. He grabbed a cloth, and with it wrapped it around the knife, he didn't need his fingerprints on it. Charlotta would definitely kill him if he ended up in the muggle police data base. Once the knife was out, he went to work, muttering softly to himself as he did. Using his wand to start the healing, resisting the urge to bend down and drink.

Once things were mostly taken care of, He used the thread to finalize the close, that way, She wouldn't be a suspicious, though he did sterilize it first with magic. After she was closed up, he wrapped the wound up and looked at her obviously dizzy expression. He wondered. Emrys hadn't planned to go out that night, but.....After cleaning off his hands from blood, he felt around his jacket pockets for a small vial. Success. One had remained. He pulled it out and handed it to her. "Drink this, it'll help." He said glancing at her blood soaked shirt that he had ripped and moved up so he could access her wound. "We should get you a change of cloths..." He said, glancing around. It was starting to get warmer, but felt quite drafty in this place, Cold and wet wasn't a good combo, especially right now, when her body was already so weak.

@xantha

[Deleted]

Xantha didn't care, she didn't want to know how Emrys had gotten there fast or how fast it had been. She was content and happy with the fact he'd decided to show up at all. She nodded as he asked about first aid. "Yeah..." She muttered, hoping to find some sweet relief from the knife she still felt moving in her side with almost every movement and breath. It was highly unpleant. "Second drawer, left side of the oven. I have a sowing set....." She paused, balling her hand to a first to resist the pain that washed over her at the slightly bigger inhale. "It's in a box near the painting stuff." Mavis' painting stuff, for the most part. She waited patiently for him to gather the supplies, mostly remaining where she was, bleeding over the little plastic chairs that substituded the idea of a dinner table. This place wasn't even designed for two people after all. Well, at least they'd be easy to clean.

He reassured her that he wouldn't call the cops and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. One less problem for her to deal with. She wouldn't be surprised if she'd get chewed out for this choice by multiple people (Mavis and Teddy being the top of the list) but she was still glad having done it. At least they didn't have to deal with that mess again. Though it was possible they'd have to lock the doors for a while. Well, it was already a habit because this wasn't much of a safe neighbourhood so in the end it hardly changed anything. He warned her to keep looking up and keep breathing. Well, she had no intentions of discovering what the inside of her body looked like so that would be easy enough. She wasn't squirmy about blood, but well, she didn't have some kind of morbid fascination with it either. "Okay." She said after a moment, remembering it was probably better to communicate with him. She clenched her teeth, mostly breathing through them as he closed up the wound after removing the knife. Oh this was ugly. It took a lot of control on her end to keep as still as possible and resist the urge to hold her breath.

After the excruciating torture of neeldes through her skin to sow it back together she sat a lot more calmly through the now far more numb and dull aching pain of the wound as he wrapped injury up. She remained seated, knowing she probably should drink something and eat a little soon. She hadn't looked, but she figured she'd lost a fair amount of blood somewhere in there. She looked over at him as he offered her one of the vials he seemed to always carry with him. She'd never seen him take one himself but she wasn't about to argue. "Is that the rich people fixer-upper?" She asked jokingly as she downed the odd drink without question. He'd never lied to her and by now she easily trusted him with her life. She'd shown as much by allowing him to even know the location of her house. He mentioned a change of clothes and she pulled a face in distaste. "Yeah, probably should." She muttered, considering the easiest way to take it off. A small little smirk spread across her still relatively pale features as she shot him a devious little smile. "Not to be inappropriate but it might be easier if you just rip this one off me rather than me trying to squirm out of it." She said with a wink. Then she looked down for a moment. "Though I might be able to sow it back together?" She contemplated for a moment. It was likely going to look bad and the stain wasn't going to wash out properly either. It was probably doomed for the trash bin.

She walked over to the lumpy matrass on the floor where she slept and reached under it to pull out a shirt. They didn't exactly have a lot of storage so well, it was one of the places. The other half of her clothes were actually in the rather spotless (and broken) oven. She sighed as she walked over to Emrys, feeling the cold already seeping into her skin. She looked up at him. "Sorry if I called at a bad time. I just didn't know who else to call. You could leave now, if you want to." She told him, even though she kind of wanted him to stay. Being alone here? It seemed like a bit of a dangerous thing considering she'd been bleeding all over the place. She definitively needed to try and clean that mess up before Mavis got home or she'd be doing a lot of explaining to her friend. Clean up the evidence and pretend nothing had happened would work brilliantly, right? Well, probably not. It was at that point that there was a knock on the door and Xantha felt her heart sink. Despite the fact it was a polite knock over bashing, she had some concerns and stepped away from the door. She did not want to open that.

@emrys
((I figured that @xenon can jump in after Emrys if that okay with u both?))

[Deleted]

Emrys had one focused when he first arrived, take care of the wound. Unfamiliar with his surroundings, he needed her to tell him where things were. Had she not been a muggle, his wand would have summoned all he needed. Moving quickly he gathered, the. Returned to Xantha and got to work, keeping an eye on her face, ensuring she wasn’t looking when he softly used magic. Not saying much, the vampire performed his tasks, helping out his friend. The more he looked, the more he felt for her. This shouldn’t have happened, but it did. He wasn’t about to offer her money to move, that wasn’t like him, or her to accept it. So he did what he could, he was there after all.

Once done, he found and gave the girl a vile. It’s contents purely magical. It assisted bite victims replenish their blood faster after a vampire bite. So it made sense that it would help here. She took it without question, mentioning it to be some sort of “rich people fixer-upper”. At that he chuckled. ”something like that” it was good that she had a sense of humor. That meant that she would be alright. She also agreed that she should change. Asking if he could rip the shirt off. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. ”sure, but I hardly find taking cloths off you inappropriately ” he moved closer, seductively smiling at her and using the spot where the knife had impacted as a starting point, he carefully tore the fabric. He didn’t want to hurt her, so he moved slow, also wiping away any still wet blood off her skin, the discarding the fabric. ”don’t think it can be saved. I’ll get you a replacement” he shrugged, looking at the blood soaked mess. It seemed only fair.

She got up, and he carefully watched her as she moved, ready to steady her if needed. She grabbed a new shirt and moved back to him, he gingerly helped her put it on as she apologized ”don’t even worry about it. It’s easy enough to move things around. What else is a manager good for” he joked, though Charlotta was much more to him than that. He tried to keep things light, and didn’t want her to feel bad about calling. What else were friends for? She also mentioned that he could leave, taking a moment to think he shook his head ”I think it’s better if I stay” he didn’t need the story, but was sure that it happened in the building. He had seen signs of blood from the apartment next door. He didn’t want to leave her in a compromised position when who ever did this could come back. He placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. He would stay as long as she needed. Softly kissing her on the head he stood there.

Then a knock broke the silence. It wasn’t an aggressive action, but still she moved away from the door. Instinctively, Emrys moved between her and the unknown knocker. He could feel his entire body tensing. His expression stone cold, his red eyes glistened in the dim light. After a few moments, he moved to the door, placing his foot so that it would only be able to be opened a small bit. He wasn’t about to take chances. Ready for anything, especially a fight, he opened the door just wide enough for his face to show, but not much else.

@xenon
@xantha

[Deleted]

Zee was sitting at his desk, finishing his third cup of tea of the night while going over paperwork, when he had a knock at the door. One of his sergeants notified him that there was an incident in the neighborhood he notified his team to keep him updated on if anything happened in the area. It was one of the ways he was able to hone in and see what Xantha’s life was like without being too intrusive in her business, though she’d probably say otherwise. Since the incident at the station, he couldn’t get her off of his mind. At first he was afraid to tell Aimee, but eventually he cracked, never wishing to hide anything from his wife. She was supportive, aware of the sacrifices Zee had made for her, their marriage, and their new family, because he was hurting on the inside and out. The man had been living a life of guilt and lies for many years, knowing the way he treated his firstborn wasn’t acceptable for someone who strived to be considered a “good father” to by others, his community, and more importantly, his children. A good father didn’t pick and choose who's kids life he decided to be in. They just did it, naturally.

When he was notified of a domestic dispute with a confirmed stab victim, he dropped everything he was doing and headed over to the location knowing it was the neighborhood of the female Xantha was worried about, as well as Xantha. He was one of the first members of law enforcement to arrive to the empty home. He received more information on the report over his radio: A girl who lived in the apartment was at the station asking for him, saying she knew his daughter and she sent her there to see him. The informant didn’t wish to share anymore personal information but she insisted someone come over and check on her.

Upon entering the crime scene, there was a small puddle of blood on the ground and signs of a fight. As he stepped around, searching for a body, he found illicit substances, paraphernalia, and weapons scattered through the rundown apartment. His gut instinct wasn’t a good one. The sight of blood always put him into high alert so as he saw a trail of blood he drew his gun, mentally preparing himself to be stabbed or shot like he had in the past.

The Officer stepped out of the apartment and lifted his fist to the door next door, giving it three solid knocks. After a couple of moments, the door creaked open as a mans face appeared in the slit, ”Good Evening, sir, I’m Officer Willowmoore…” he introduced himself in a calm tone through the door, not wishing to provoke anyone. ”A couple of folks have rung in about the noise levels next door. I have been notified someone involved is here and have noticed there’s blood on the pavement in front of this door. Is everyone alright in there?” he asked, standing near the door, prepared to grab his gun if he had to. Zee was on a high alert in these situations, he was never sure what scenario he walking into with such minor details going in and who the suspect may be.

@xantha
@emrys

[Deleted]

Emrys was good company. She looked at his face even as he literally tore the damaged and bloody shirt off her body and for just a moment it was almost easy to forget she'd recently had a knife embedded in her body. The clothes were ruined of course, although mostly the shirt. Well, it was probably due for the trash either way so not much lost there. It wasn't like she wore her most charming outfit when all she did was sit at home on a Friday evening. He mentioned the shirt not being salvagable and getting her a replacement and she shrugged one shoulder, since she really didn't want to move the other side too much. "It's fine. It was due for the trashbin anyway. Bleeding on it just speeded up the process a little." She said as if this was a perfectly normal situation. She was worried that treating it as anything else was just going to make the reality of the situation set in and have her be off worse, even if the wound was at least closed now.

She offered him a way out in case his schedule was busy, but Emrys easily rejected that and said his plans could be rearranged. Quite the luxury to have, but she wasn't goign to question him. It wasn't like she felt all that comfortable or safe currently. Emrys grabbed her by the shoulders and placed a soft kiss on her her head. She felt a little safer and for a short moment she leaned her head against his chest, just soaking in his presence to reminder herself she was a lot safer while he was around. Or at least until his bodyguards managed to track him down. At that point she was possibly in trouble. Feeling the ache of the wound start to truly settle in as the adrenaline wore off, she walked over to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water and grabbed a pack of painkillers. It was the last they had and she pulled a face. Not much left so singles it was. Ought to take the edge off at least. She sighed as she popped a pill and put the rest of the strip back where it belonged. She then walked back over to Emrys and looked up at him. "Fine, I'd like you to stay." She admitted with some reluctance. "But you better not do anything risky if he comes back for round two because if he doesn't kill me I'm pretty sure your bodyguards of managers will and that seems like a bit of a waste to me." People cared if he got hurt. A lot of people would. She'd barely be missed, except for the select few people she considered her friends. It hardly seemed balanced if he'd get hurt. Her getting stabbed wouldn't make the news, his possibly would. To her that meant he had more value in case they needed to start a fight. After all, her little sister also mattered more than she did. Her dad had clearly chosen Xena over her.

The knock on the door scared her for more than just the obvious reason. Naturally the fear her neighbour had come back was the strongest one but there was more than just that. Luckily Emrys stepped up when he noticed her knee jerk reaction of back away from the door and had opened it, although only barely. Xantha herself was hidden from view and she couldn't see who was on the other side of the door either. She closed her eyes as her heart sank to her toes at the sound of her fathers voice and name. She had no idea how serious he was going to be about this and she cursed softly under her breath. Had the dumb man never heard of privacy? Was he just doing grunt police work now because he knew she lived in the area? She quickly walked over to the chair and took a kitchen rag to wipe most of the blood away before placing another one on top of the stain. She folded the chair, flinching at the moment required to do so and shoved it behind the paint supplies. Last she picked up the shirt and threw it in the trash, grabbing a hoodie that she tied around the waist to hide the rather obvious blood stain on her yoga pants. There, fixed. She gave a quick look before joining Emrys at the door. Unable to stop herself, she instinctually grabbed his hand, holding it tightly as she stood next to him. She squeezed it softly for a moment, looking at Emrys and whispering. "That's my dad. Don't be nice to him? He's probably not going to let this drop though." She said before giving Emrys a pleading look and opening the door up a little. She really hoped that the fresh tank top was going to hide it if her wound was still bleeding a little.

Knowing their was a particularly rough patch of wall right next to the door she consciously make a small cut in her hand, managing somehow to keep a straight face through it as she opened the door a bit more. Honestly, her side her a lot more than her hand did right now. "Hey..." She said with a resentful little smile on her face. "It's all fine. I don't know what happened next door but I went over to ask for a bandaid. I ran out and well...." She held up her hand as evidence of sorts. "I had a bit of an accident cooking. Now if you're done asking questions and stalking me, can I get back to my dinner and company?" She asked with a sugary sweet smile and an attitude that was more designed to mask the pain she was starting to feel radiating through her body than because she had the energy to waste on her dad being an invasive and nosy, meddlesome cop and useless father. She tightened her grip on Emrys a little, hoping he'd support her in this and go with the lies she'd just told her father.

@emrys and @xenon

[Deleted]

Ripping the soggy shirt of Xantha came easy, he had a good start and the fabric was old and worn. He mentioned buying her a new one, he felt it right, especially after destroying one. But Xantha said it was find, the shirt had seen better days. He wasn't going to argue. He knew that she was different when it came to finances, not having enough to freely spend like he did. In the spirit of comfort, he moved close, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. With that, she leaned her head on his chest, He welcomed it. The moment was tender, but in time, she broke it, going to get some water and take a pill. Probably some muggle medication that was meant to alleviate pain.

Emrys was confident his no bodyguard would be able to find him. They were on their own. But he felt that better for now. He had left in a hurry, and in a way that was nearly impossible to follow. And while he knew they would start their search, they wouldn't even consider checking in this neighborhood. It would escape them completely. He was confident that they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone looking for him.

He smiled as Xantha said that he could stay. Though he had already agreed to do so, and didn't see much of a reason to leave. But her words would have bene hard enough to say. He knew that Xantha was proud, she loved to do what she wanted, and much like Emrys, played by a different set of rules than the main population. She mentioned being careful if the man who stabbed her returned. Claiming that his bodyguards and manager would take it out on her. Though she didn't know, cause he ensured she didn't, that he was much more resilient than the average muggle. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

The knocks brought out a side of Emrys that he rarely showed. One even his aunt and manager rarely saw, one that she knew was never good. His entire body tense, ready for just about anything, especially to attack. As Emrys opened the door, just wide enough for his full face to be seen through. Whom ever was on the other side would not be able to see past him. When he looked, he saw an older man standing there. He address himself as an officer. By the gun that he had on him, he was obviously a muggle officer. He stayed silent, his jaw tensing. Emrys could hear soft movement behind him, Xantha was doing something, probably cleaning up. She had said previously that she had no intention to go to the hospital, why should she let a cop see the evidence of what had happened. The vampire could see the man tense as well, his hand cautiously close to his gun. Emrys didn't like guns.

After some shuffling around behind him, He could feel her rejoin him at the door, taking hold of his hand. He continued to stair wordlessly at the man on the other side of the door, calculating, weighing his options. Lucky for the man that Xantha had taken his hand. Or else he would have reached for his wand. He could still, but it would be awkward and obvious, not to mention, he'd lose his grip on the door. He finally looked over his shoulder to see her. Taking her softly spoken words and his lips curled up into a dangerous grin. Seemed as though he was going to have more fun tonight than he realized. Emrys' red eyes returned to the man, his fanged grin still showing. He moved to the side, letting Xantha up as she moved the door open some more. Emrys ensuring his grip on it, just in case.

With eyes locked on the new arrival. Xantha started to speak to the man, weaving her own little story. Emrys wondered how convinced the man would be. Emrys was still tense, and could feel the grip on his hand tighten. He squeezed back in return to silently agree to go along with her story. "I'd say it was a pleasure, but I was taught that lying was wrong." His wicked grin widening, and his cold eyes sparking to life.

@xenon
@xantha

[Deleted]

Xantha’s attitude was snotty. It took a lot to maintain his composure in this scenario because it was his daughter behind the door but he wouldn’t crack. This would be yet another lesson of patience. A virtue that was typically natural for the man, though Xan was a sore spot for him, considering their circumstances. He ignored the sweet facade, maintaining a stoic expression as he stood at the front door. ”The young lady at the stations story doesn’t match with what you’re telling me, Xantha. She mentioned a female was injured, very badly.” he told her through the slit of the door but still standing back. Zee was careful not to talk too loudly so her neighbors couldn’t hear, but he was sure people were watching, they always were in these neighborhoods.

There was static and frequencies coming in through his radio so he turned it down, ”There’s blood outside your flat, as well as on your front door. I have a legal reason to enter and I will do so if you both don’t cooperate.” he warned her, truly not wishing to proceed to escalate with force. Zee was good at his job with an excellent team behind him, he was confident in his ability to control a situation though he didn’t want to flex his power on his daughter and whoever else was in the apartment.

The man behind the door was acting odd with that wicked smile, though he wasn’t going to feed into it. Zee had encountered plenty of crazy people in his career so this was just another crayon in the box, though the red eyes set off…well, a red flag. Those were either some night vision contacts, or he was a freak of nature in the magical world. Aimee had told him plenty of stories of vampires, werewolves, and other damned creatures, though he couldn’t recall seeing them very often in the muggle world. Most magical folks were good at hiding.

Zee nodded his head, ”It’s a good thing I’m not here for anyone to like me, sir.” he told him with a small smile. The Officer was used to people saying much worse sentiments to him, someone not being delighted to meet him wasn’t going to put a strain on his day.

@xantha
@emrys

[Deleted]

Emrys had a secret side to him that Xantha hadn't expected. He was tense when somebody knocked on the door and his focus seemed so intent that it reminded her more of a predator than anything else. A very dangerous predator that was considering if this intrusion on it's territory was a threat. It would have been amusing if the situation hadn't been so serious. While she was certain that Emrys had no intention of staking any sort of claim on her (he wasn't the type) and definitively wouldn't see her small and barely standing flat as his turf she was a little intimidated to see him go from his normal relaxed demeanor like nothing could hurt him to such a dangerous creature in mere seconds. It was almost hypotising. She was almost relieved that his focus was not on her since it would have terrified her to no end, no matter how much she trusted Emrys.

Her dad started talking and while the grin Emrys gave her after her words had given her a very positive set of chills down her spine she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at her father. In stead she decided to shift her focus to Emrys, if only because it would probably annoy her father more. It grounded her and kept in mind that fighting her father wasn't clever for her and probably not for him either. She looked over Emrys while he had his attention on her father and she allowed her eyes to rake across his form, mentally undressing him with a small smile on her face. Her body was hardly in shape enough to do a lot of strenuous physical activity but that would hardly top her eyes from enjoying the dessert in her home.

Her eyes shifted back to her father and with a rather bored expression she looked at him. "And you think I'm hiding her in my tiny little flat?" She asked skeptically, speaking as though she definitively wasn't the one that had gotten badly injured. For all he was concerned, she wasn't. As he threatened to actually come into her home her expression went flat in annoyance as she glared daggers at him. "If you're going to insist I believe I'm allowed to ask for identification to prove you are who you say you are. I'm a little foggy on the details but don't you need a warrant or something? I'd be a lot more inclined to cooperate if you send over one of your little cop friends." She said with ice in her voice. "Since I am not certain you will be objective in your observations due to personal involvement." She stated with an ice cold tone. She had no intention to actually try to get along. She calmly looked at her father, despite the fact she was fuming on the inside. "You're not welcome here, Officer." She told him bluntly. The hand that was holding Emrys was starting to squeeze him in a way she worried would be uncomfortable so she forced her hand to relax just a little bit, leaning against Emrys slightly as a means of grounding herself. The last thing she needed was to blow up in his face and let the whole neighbourhood know her father was a cop. That sort of thing wasn't going to fly over all that well.

She forced herself to calm down slightly and looked at her dad. "As you can see I'm perfectly fine. My roommate is out and thus not involved in whatever is going on and well.... me and my friend here had plans." She said with a smile. There was nothing genuine about it, naturally, but it was the best she could do. She then frowned slightly and pulled a face. "If somebody got hurt, shouldn't you call in the paramedics rather than show up here? You know, bring some poor sucker so much further into debt that they wish the injury actually would have been lethal?" She asked with a critical look at her father. She didn't expect him to drop it just because she said she was fine. She was pretty certain that a large part of her stubborn nature had been inherited from her dad. She then put one hand in her hip, taking every inch of composure not to flinch at the pain she was thus inflicting on herself. "Also, could you be a bit nicer to my friend? Unlike you, I actually do trust him." She said, which was more to give him a verbal kick in the guts than anything else. It helped it was true.

@emrys
@xenon

[Deleted]

Emrys hadn't gotten a good look at the neighborhood when he was coming to Xantha's place, but it didn't seem like one that would take kindly to cops. With this thought now in his mind, his intent to keep the man out as long as possible seemed to solidify. Why let him hide in the small flat, when the eyes all around could be on him. Who didn't want their own audience? While his normal calm, cool and collected attitude were gone, and his body tense, he still lightened a little as it seemed that he could have some fun.

He could feel the eyes of Xantha on him, but his were now fixed on the man at the door. The man mentioned his reasonings for coming to the door were legal, though he didn't seem to be a normal grunt officer. He was there for a reason, and Emrys was confident that reason was standing beside him, holding his hand. He scoffed as the man mentioned cooperation, and the word "both" why did Emrys need to listen to some muggle wanna be anyways? Xantha mentioned the possibility that they were hiding the poor injured girl in her flat, but he had a different idea. His eyes glinting, he grinned, showing his fangs, and shrugged. "Not the first time someone's come to join in a three way, but that seems highly inappropriate given the paternal dynamic." he said in quite an egotistical manner. It was clear the vampire didn't take the old man seriously, and why should he? What could he do to Emrys? Though he should be sure that Xantha wasn't harmed in the crossfire, she was the one who let him off his chain.

Xantha mentioned the wan needing some sort of warrant and to prove his identification. He was confident the muggle wasn't being impersonated, cause what was the point in that. But she did mention him having one of his "little cop friends" coming by instead. She spoke in a frozen tone, and his smile grew. "Seems like a conflict of interest, you being here. Don't think family an be objective, I'd know." He gave a little wink. Neither of them would have known, but he started on his career path with a great thanks to his worldly famous father, and his manager aunt.

He could feel the grip Xantha had on him tighten, and he knew that it must have been hard for her to be so calm in this situation. ”It’s a good thing I’m not here for anyone to like me, sir.” Emrys' smile vanished. Malicious intent followed suit. He could turn on a dime, that would be clear. Though as Xantha continued to speak, naming their plans, his face shifted into quite a smug look. His look was solidified as she solemnly stated that she "actually" trusted him. His face said it all. It was a slap in the fathers face. It also contained a strong suggestion that he could only guess what Emrys and his precious girl had done, simultaneously saying that whatever he could think of, it was worse.

@xenon
@xantha

[Deleted]

The Officer sighed, “I’m here because I was the first to respond. You fit the description of the ‘blonde, 20 something, next door neighbor’…not to mention...there’s blood on your door. This is technically a crime scene, Xantha.” Zee said, feigning nonchalance. "-And who are you? Do you reside at this location as well?" he asked her 'friend'.

He listened to her and her friend counter back at his statements and it started to make his blood boil. Zee knew something was wrong but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Her friend, whoever that freak of nature was, wasn’t human. That was for sure. No Humans eyes were red. Which brought him to the realization that Xantha would be stupid enough to frolic would beasts. “We’re not sending paramedics into a hazardous situation before the area is cleared.” He told the pair, not buying into their interrogation. Zee chose his words carefully, but knew they’d have something to say regardless. “The attacker is still on the loose. Do you want me to help this girl or not?” He asked her gruffly, briefly remembering their moment at the station as he started to inch toward the door as he spoke. The Officer blocked out the juvenile and disgusting “joke” from her friend who stood beside her behind the door.

Zee waited a moment to respond. Knowing that every moment with his daughter Xantha was precious. He was never sure when the last time he would see her would be. Lately, he was starting to believe not too far and in-between…never for good, sadly.

The Officer stood tall with his shoulders back to appear unphased, ”If you don’t want me to help you, fine, but we should help your neighbor. I’ve seen this happen many times before. That man will kill her the next time he sees her, or he may try to kill you.” he warned her, looking her over, not believing her when she said she was fine. The apartment and living conditions were disgusting.

@xantha
@emrys

[Deleted]

Emrys was being a total brat and Xantha felt more at ease with his rather silly jokes. He was clearly trying to irritate her father, although Xantha had a hard time telling if it had any effect on the man at all. It had been a long time since the two had seen each other and it had been very tense when they did meet again a short while ago. Xantha saw no reason to forgive a man that didn't seek forgiveness or redemption but merely to absolve himself of the mistakes he'd made. She was pretty sure she herself was the mistake he wanted to forget or be forgiven for. He clearly didn't want to have her as part of his life, so why was he here as if he was keeping tabs on her? It made pretty much no sense at all. She rolled her eyes as he described what was supposed to be her. "Still can't get my age right." She muttered briefly, shaking her head as she went back inside for a moment, throwing a blanket over the art supplies that Mavis kept. She just needed a second to breathe. As she heard him ask if Emrys lived with her she rushed back, her face filled with horror. "Oh my Lords, no dad!" She said, her face contorted in disgust at the question. "He's just a friend. My roommate is out on a date so I'm having my own indoor party. Now get your nose out of my business." She snapped at him.

He mentioned not sending paramedics into harms way, which she could respect. Naturally he had to actually remind her of why she'd gotten stabbed in the first place. Trying to do the right thing for somebody other than herself. She went quiet, looking down at her shoes. "Fine." She said then, sighing deeply and softly placing her hand on Emrys' chest as she looked up at him with a pleading look. She didn't make it long, but she figured he'd understand regardless. The sooner her dad had done what he wanted, the sooner he'd leave again. She'd gotten stabbed in order to help the girl so it seemed pointless to go through that and not change anything for the poor thing in the end. She herself wasn't even sure why she was trying to be a good person, but she knew she'd have wanted the same if she were in the shoes of her neighbour. Her dad pleaded with her and she knew there was something more important than her pride and resentment. She reluctantly stepped aside. "Fine, I'll help for her sake. I did go over, but when he hit me I punched him in the face, like you taught me, and he went out like a light. I sent the girl off to you and went back to my flat because I don't want you to be part of my life." She said bluntly to her father as she stepped inside and motioned for Emrys to let her dad in. She only had two chairs but she didn't expect either of the men to want to sit either way and she certainly wasn't relaxed enough to try.

She grabbed another glass of water, taking a sip as she looked at her dad again. "She was quite shocked so she probably misremembered the amount of blood actually involved." She said with a careless shrug as she looked out the window, her emotions numb as her thoughts were. She could feel the evening chill enter the room, as it so often did at this hour. "I don't want her to die, but let's not pretend that anybody gives a rats arse about my life. As soon as mom is that the only one left to mourn me would be Xena and she has the support of her family." Xantha said, her expression blank and her eyes more or less empty as she looked at her father. "I have plenty of people to entertain me, that's true, but I don't usually let them see how I live. I don't tell them my tragic history or ask for their pity. Maybe a few will remember me for about a month." She said, giving Emrys a critical look. Despite their friendship there was no doubt in her mind that he'd find somebody else to entertain him and help him forget she even existed before the week was over. Perhaps Mavis would mourn her, yes, but she'd soon enough be too preoccuppied with surviving to bother trying to hold on to memories of that girl she once knew. The system didn't care, her friendships were shallow at best and she didn't let people in. Who would care and remember her. She sighed and shrugged as she put the glass down again. "So ask what you need to save the girl so we can go back to pretending you still live in Wales and I still live with mom. Seems like the easiest way out of this mess."

@emrys
@xenon

[Deleted]

Emrys was having fun, though it was hard to tell if his comments were affecting the man. It was a bit annoying if he was being honest. Xantha's father spoke in a tone that was quite reminiscent of Charlotta talking to Emrys. Ugh, so annoying. Rolling his eyes he fought not zoning out. It wasn't an easy task. But he wanted to be there for his friend. It was just something about the way adults addressed their kids sometimes. It was like they were children.

It was clear that Xantha was not happy with the man. He was good at reading people. She was obviously upset at more than just this instance. She stepped away, and he moved closer to the door, ensuring that the man would need to go through him to get in. He could understand needing to take a break. But that didn't last long. The man then addressed the vampire. He gave a grin, moving away a bit to give the girl room to yell at her dad before he answered. He couldn't help but to chuckle. "I've been told not to give my information out to strangers who don't know who I am." He spoke in a haughty tone. "If you need more information, you can always speak to my manger. She handles all my appointments." Finally moving his hand fom the door, though, careful his foot was still in the way, he slid out a business card for one Charlotta Holopainen of HR Records. Offering it to the man. Saying that Charlotta managed all his appointments just wasn't true. But she did take care of anything business related.

The man did mention that the attacker was still lose. Emrys' eyes squinted, his red eyes catching the light. Let the man try to come after Xantha. Especially tonight. The man moved closer, and Emrys put his hand back on the door. He was in control of the door, and he knew it. But his words seemed to have gotten to his daughter. Feeling her familiar touch on his chest, he moved his yes from the officer at the door to Xantha. He looked into her pleading eyes and waited. She finally agreed, for the sake of the woman she had helped. He opened the door a bit more, staying silent as Xantha fessed up to her actions to the man. She moved away, and he kept his eye on her, letting her take the lead. She motioned to let the man in. And begrudgingly, he stepped away, opening the door to let the man into the small place.

After the man was in, Emrys folded his arm in front of his chest. Emrys then leaned against a piece of wall that he was sure wouldn't fall under his weight. He listened to her, understanding more and more about her. But he wasn't one to get too involved with back story. That was in the past. Neither of them needed that information to do what they did. Neither of them fell under the illusion that they were each other's only. He saw other people as much as he expected her to entertain herself with others. Instead of focusing on the sad truth of her words, he shifted his predatory gaze back to the officer.

@xenon
@xantha