On the Heels of a Hound (Adrie)

Gregor Wildlife Area - West of Starling City

"...I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain, he was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fooks,  to get a big dish of beef chow mein..."  Nikolai sung to himself, barely audible over the hiss of steam emanating from the last of the glowing embers.  The stream of deftly aimed urine doused the last of the fire, leaving an acrid odor in the air.  Dusk had come and gone, the full moon now the main source of light in the Georgia night.

"You remember that one don't you?  Werewolves of London?  Warren Zevon?  Pretty sure you were around when that came out." With a final shake, the Russian zipped up and moved to gather up the gear, eyes darting to his companion. Well, she was more than a companion.  The woman appeared ten years the man's junior, a beautiful twenty something that seemed more the mall type than the outdoorsy kind.  But Adreana was so much more.  She had about 150 years on her consort, and their dynamic was not what it appeared.  It was not Nikolai who was in charge.  It was Adreana who was the Mistress, and Nikolai the servant.

They traveled light.  A small tent of black fabric, to provide a secure resting place for the vampire Seer.  They carried only enough rations for Nik, for the Hunter himself would provide sustenance for Adreana from the fount of his arteries. Most of the gear fit into a back pack, bedrolls and tent tied to the frame along with a machete.  Nikolai inspected a 9mm Glock and holstered it, then a second handgun designed to fire rounds with encapsulated mercury.

"I am thinking he is not moving much at night.  His run here, and the constant shapeshifting would require a lot of energy.  He will have to hunt and feed at night.  That should give us a chance to catch up with him."

Dark eyes shifted towards the sound of a voice and Adreana grinned at the silhouette of the man standing over what remained of the fire they’d built late the night previously. The song was a familiar one, but it was the voice that had tugged her lips upward. He might not be the best when it came to belting out tunes, but he was all hers. On the flip side of that coin, however, she was also all his. Lilli and Costanzo may have been Adreana’s best friends for over a century, but her connection with Nikolai had been cemented in blood. The two of them were back in town, which suited Adrie just fine, as she rather enjoyed spending some quality time with her consort.

“You hear him howling around your kitchen door
You better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated last night
Werewolves of London again.”

Her own voice was soft as she sang the next verse over to her consort, a devilish grin still gracing her lips. “Remember that one? Who do you think inspired that song? Warren, Waddy, and the Everly brothers weren’t Hunters, after all. They were just dudes with guitars and access to a record label,” she chuckled, bumping into her consort with a playful elbow.

Giving the pack a once-over to make sure everything was zipped up and secured tightly, Adreana paused near the edge of their encampment and let the silence of the forest overtake her senses for a moment. The area around them was quiet for the most part, but she was used to nature shutting down near her. Further away, the rustle of small critters diving into burrows while the nocturnal hunters readied for the long night echoed into her keen ears. Smoke and piss dominated the general vicinity, but standing upwind of the fire pit, she could pick out a few other scents.

Their prey had been through this area the day before, but he’d pressed himself hard to get ahead of his hunters. He’d gotten a bit careless and had left a trail. Still, he’d had the benefit of not being forced to stop when the sun came up. She’d insisted on continuing even if at a slower pace, using her jacket to shield her pale flesh from the sun’s harsh rays, but had eventually caved after an hour of trudging.

Now that the moon was out, though, the hunt was back on. The scent of their mark - a werewolf stupid enough to cross the Tribe - clung to the inside of her nostrils and she opened her mouth in order to get the taste of it on her tongue. “He’ll have stopped to shift a few minutes ago when the moon finally came out, and I doubt he made it running all day after the chase we gave him last night. He’s cleaned his wound and healed by now, though, I’m sure, especially with the help of that full moon.”

Although Adreana’s voice was light and calm, her agitation was obvious to anyone who knew her well. Just because she was agitated, didn’t mean she needed to be harsh, though. She hated the idea of people being mean simply because they were faced with the fact that sometimes, life didn’t always go as planned, and so she tended to let things slide off of her like water off a duck’s back.

“I’m not even sure he’ll know he’s being chased once he shifts and the urge to hunt and kill takes over. Costa doesn’t lose track of the time he spends in animal form, but I’ve heard rumors that Werewolves do. Of course, I’ve never known a Werewolf personally. They’re a bit too feral, even for me. All set?”

Beneath the surface, Adreana was twitching with anticipation. She could probably use her accelerated rate of movement to catch up to the rogue Werewolf in no time, but that would leave Nikolai here alone. He wasn’t slow by any means, of course, but there was only so much her blood could do for him. If anyone asked her, she could handle a werewolf on her own. Deep inside, however, she much preferred the idea of Nikolai being there with her. He had her back no matter what, and she his.

Of course Adreana would remember the song.  Music seemed to run in her rich, undead blood. Her sheer age had afforded the forever young vampiress a library of musical history in her complex and somewhat demented mind.  But her supernatural nature made her talents for dance, singing and playing music almost magical.  It had become a game for them, tossing out random lyrics.  Adreana always won, but hearing his mistress sing AC/DC one moment and the theme to Sesame Street the next was more than worth it to Nik.

As Adreana lingered, searching the silenced forest with her primed senses, the Hunter slung the backpack over his shoulders.  Nik was clad in worn jeans and a black sweatshirt, a leather jacket over that, and hiking boots.  Though he had a powerful flashlight handy, Nikolai did not use it.  the beam hindered Adreana's keen night vision, and though he could find clues in places where the werewolf had been, it was the sight, smell and hearing of the vampire that kept them on the quarry's trail.   Unlike Lillianna,  Adreana had a beast inside her.   Nik was part of her, their blood mixed, and he could see beyond the carefree and easygoing nature of Adreana, where a dangerous creature was chained, as violent and fearsome as the beast they hunted.  Even Nik feared that vengeful monster within his mistress, for she was not always the most stable person.  Life with Adreana Zelati was never, ever boring.

 The full moon provided enough light for Nik to maneuver, for the blood of the vampire that thrummed through his veins offered enhancement to his human senses, aiding his vision at night.

The hunter drew up close to the petite vampiress.  Nik liked being close to Adreana.  Aside from Adrie being, well, hot as hell and a bundle of fun, the blood bond that bound the consort to his mistress naturally drew Nikolai to her side. Adriana was batcrap crazy (Nik would never dare say so), but she and Lilli had pulled him from the gutter with an empty vodka bottle in his hand.  Adrie had chosen him to be hers.  She was his savior, mentor, benefactor and vampiric sugar mama, he was her willing sacrifice, devout groupee, blood junkie and Russian boy toy.  Above all of that, they were friends.  Wonderfully weird and twisted friends.

"Ves' nabor, moya zavisimost'"* Nik replied in Russian with a wink and a grin.  He could see the beast within the playful vampire hungry for the hunt, and the pair headed out, Nikolai looking to Adreana to pick up the werewolf's trail.  "Lead the way, Tiz.   Just don't run off and leave me behind when the fun starts!  Let me get a few rounds into him.  Not that you need the help, but make a guy feel useful.  I wanna look good for my lady friend."   He laughed, flashed a boyish smile  and took his turn to nudge Adreana with his shoulder.


*'All set, my addiction'

The musical game Adreana played with Nikolai was one which offered her a great deal of amusement. It was rare he could stump her, what with her affectation for anything and everything with a beat, but he’d done it a handful of times. Each time he bested her, she took the loss poorly by pouting and calling the game stupid, but inwardly she brimmed with pride for his cunning. The tune of one of his victory songs popped into her mind as she surveyed the area and when she turned back towards her consort, she was humming quietly.

Standing in a shaft of the full moon’s light, her outfit was revealed to be more than just shadows that clung to a humanoid shape. She wore a simple black t-shirt with a v-neck over her torso, but no jacket. Unlike Nikolai, the chill of the night did not affect her, as she lived every moment with the chill of death looming over her. Black skinny jeans encased her long legs, disappearing inside a pair of calf-high boots whose mercury-plated toes glinted in the moonlight. To the untrained eye, they were very shiny steel-toed boots; to those who knew better, she called the metal silver. Costanzo had told her the true weakness of the Lycans - and their cursed Werewolf kin - long ago, but she refused to give away such a secret to just anyone.

Nikolai had, of course, been granted access to such knowledge. Their connection ensured that he would keep any secrets she gave him. His place within the Tribe - besides at Adreana’s side - was as a Hunter. Knowing the true weakness of a supernatural creature could be the difference between life and death in his line of work, and she much preferred his blood to remain pumping throughout that perfect body of his.

As he stepped up beside her, Adreana inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. It was a familiar one, and it helped to keep her calm, even as her adrenaline fought to send her charging after their prey at top speed. With her impulses back under control, she finally turned to face the Russian beside her, a smile filling her lips. When she spoke, the hint of a playful growl could be heard in the soft timbre of her voice as she adopted a natural-sounding Russian accent. “Poydem, moy pitomets.” Let us go, my pet.

And with that, she began to move in the direction her nose led her. She moved at a brisk pace, but not one that Nikolai would suffer to keep up with. His words beside her, voicing his concern about her leaving without him, caused her lips to tug upward in a grin. One hand slipped out as his shoulder nudge against her own, catching his with elegant fingers. “I would never leave you behind, Nikolai. And you have nothing to prove to me.” Her words were sincere, as was the gentle smile that fell into place upon her small face. Giving his hand a quick squeeze, she released it from her grasp and continued. “...unless a hotter, more badass Russian comes into my life and offers himself to me. Then it’s on like Donkey Kong between you two.”

The giggle that followed would show that she was only joking. Sure, she was not confined to only have one consort, but that was the way she liked to keep things. It was simpler that way, not having two people constantly vying for her attention. Drama and tension were two things she abhorred, and having only one consort kept both away. Besides, Nikolai was all she could ever hope for in a consort, and then some.

A new scent caught Adreana’s nose as they continued onward and her eyes strained to see further to where the source of it resided. It was not their prey, but it was a good potential for bait. Grinning from ear to ear, she reached over to grab the backpack from him. The weight of it would not hinder her as much as it did him, even with his heightened abilities thanks to her blood. “About a mile northeast, there’s a deer. We should be getting close to the area our prey shifted by now. Using Bambi as a distraction when he catches the scent, we can attack from both sides. What do you think?”

Unlike some of her kind, Adreana respected her consort and never turned down his opinion. She had been hunting longer than he’d been alive, but it was always smart to gain insight from others in case they’d seen an otherwise missed detail. Nikolai’s opinion was especially valued by her in these situations due to his own supernatural ability to see things in the area as they had occurred. Her own visions circulated around death, whereas his was a spatial thing, and thus considerably more useful in these situations.

The hunters moved out, Vampiress and Human covering the moonlit terrain at at good clip, the pace measured by Adreana, who knew well the capabilities and limits of her consort, the gait of his longer legs, the endurance her own vitae afforded Nikolai.  Once they were back on the trail,  Adreana assuaged Nik's half-serious concerns with her usual effectiveness, the flash of a gorgeous smile and the cool squeeze of his hand assuring the consort she would not leave him in her dust.  The Hunter smiled back, but the grin was short lived, fading as the vampire goaded him with a taunt.  For an instant, Nikolai stopped in his tracks, staring after Adreana with a flat visage, as he quickly mused whether his mistress was serious.  But the bubbling giggle betrayed her teasing, and Nik's smile returned as he jogged to catch up with her again.

Nik watched the Seer as she slowed a bit, inhaling, her gaze glazing as she discerned a scent. Then she turned take the weight of the pack.  He let the strap from the backpack slip from his shoulder.  Nikolai's insistence on carrying the gear was chivalrous, but not practical.  The vampiress possessed incredible strength, of which her consort had personally witnessed, and it would serve their mission better if the human remained as unencumbered as possible.

"Sounds like a plan.  If we are going to flank him, we need to make sure we stay down wind.  Keep him in the dark as long as possible."  Nikolai slipped the special handgun from its holster under his arm, pulling back on the slide and chambering a mercury round with a familiar click.  His narrowed gaze surveyed the dimly illuminated landscape.  Images wavered then materialized in his mind's eye.  The same woods around them, but the lighting slightly different, twilight's last gleam, a figure passing through.  Adreana was spot on in her tracking, as usual.

"He passed by here..." his hand raised, pointing to a low rise, "...he shifted there, less than thirty minutes ago."  Nikolai turned and gave Adreana a wry grin.  He loved hunting with his vampire mistress, like the eager hound at her side.  As they closed in on their quarry, adrenaline coursed through his veins, sharpened by the vampiress-tainted blood that carried it. "The deer will be a perfect distraction, we should be able to get close."  

Adreana’s keen ears caught the sound - or rather, the silence - accompanied by Nikolai’s momentary pause. She turned her head to make sure her joke hadn’t killed him where he stood, but he caught on to her humor quickly and was back at her side in no time. Though she didn’t say anything, it felt better with him there beside her. She was physically more than capable of surviving on her own, but mentally, having loved ones around her was a necessity at all times. Costanzo was possibly the only one she’d ever admit that fact to, but as her oldest friend, she trusted him to keep her secret.

Sure, she could compel Nikolai to keep the secret - not that she doubted his loyalty in any fashion - but some things she liked to keep as quiet as possible.

Inhaling deep, she let the taste of Nikolai roll over her tongue as he stepped closer to hand off the backpack. The vein on his neck caught her attention and she licked her lips, letting a tiny smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Now was not the time to give in to her desires, however. Perhaps once the job was done, they could spend the rest of the night here in the wilderness, drowning in the taste of each other.

Dark eyes flickered up and away from Nikolai’s neck as he spoke, agreeing with her plan. She nodded briefly, turning her attention back towards the forest around them. Beside her, she heard the telltale ‘click’ of a bullet being chambered. It was good of him to be prepared before they got too close to their adversary. The werewolf had sharp senses in his human form - he’d be able to discern that man made noise in an instant if they were much closer.

As silence fell over the area, Adreana turned back towards her favorite Russian. His eyes were focused, but she knew from experience that he was not seeing quite the same thing as she was right now. When he returned to the here and now, her gaze fell to where his finger pointed. With a nod, she moved up the rise, her eyes skimming the ground in search of tracks. Like a hound, she latched onto the trail and a feral grin spread across her lips as she loped after the scent.

“Circle east. I’ll catch it in the north.” Her head canted slightly, listening to the quiet rustle of the breeze slicing through the woods. “Wind is in our favor if we keep it heading northeast,” she said, her tone low and matter-of-fact. She turned then, to head north, but paused and whispered softly to her consort. “Khorosho, moy solnechnyy svet…” Be well, my sunlight.

With that, she sprinted off into the woods, using a quick burst of her supernatural speed so that she wasn’t tempted to stay at Nikolai’s side.

Once out of earshot, she dropped her speed to a brisk walk, giving her consort time to catch up from his end. The deer was precisely where she’d thought it would be, and although she was downwind of the herbivore, it was easily spooked. She watched it dart east, only to zip back towards her a few moments later. A knowing smile formed on her pale face as she caught sight of Nikolai hidden amongst the brush to the east.

It wasn’t long before the deer was panicked enough to stop paying terribly much attention to where it was going. The usually graceful creature traded silence for speed as it barreled headlong through the woods. Adreana’s adrenaline spiked, but she managed to keep her inner beast at bay for the most part. In an instant, the predator inside of her burst forth at the sound of a snarl and the sickening snap of bone. The deer’s hoof beats stopped, only to be replaced by a growl of pleasure.

Her own throat rumbled with predatory glee as she burst into the small clearing where the Werewolf was claiming its prey. The wolf was larger than a mundane creature of the same breed, but she rushed in without the glimmer of hesitation. Compared to the shaggy beast, Adreana was a child. Only the sharp fangs and crimson of her irises gave away the truth of her nature. At the intrusion, the Werewolf pounced backwards, giving himself a few yards of extra space to prepare for the ambush...

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OOC: Feel free to move the Werewolf as you see fit. ^_^

Even in the moonlight, Nikolai caught Adreana's hungry gaze, the swipe of her tongue over plush lips.  It gave the hunter a rush, for as much as the vampiress desired to sink her fangs into his flesh and taste his sanquine vitae, the consort wanted to feel the assault of her ivory spikes and the press of her hungry mouth against his skin.  Fortunately, the Seer restrained, turning their attention to the hunt at hand.  Though, Nik hoped for such an encounter after they caught their prey.

The human listened to Adreana's instruction, again feeling a hot flutter in his stomach as she uttered her parting comment in his native tongue.  he replied in kind. "Vsegda , moya prekrasnaya t'ma."  Always, my beautiful darkness. He nodded and watched the vampire depart with supernatural speed.

His own legs, strengthened by the blood of the vampire within him, pumped as he ran, dodging trees and bounding over logs until he was roughly east of where Adreana suspected the deer to be.  he crouched in the underbrush, pistol in hand, concentrating until he saw the shadowy figure of the animal.  He did not see the vampiress, but saw the effects of her presence as the deer jerked its head up and froze for an instant, then darted in his direction. Again, only a slight movement on his part alarmed the creature, and it juked in a different direction, now running in a panic.  It disappeared, but the sound of its flight was immediately silenced, replaced by a more ravenous racket.

Nikolai bolted from his concealment, breaking into the clearing as the feral vampire  squared off with the massive beast, the carcass of the deer between them.   Adreana almost dripped with ferocity, her small girlish form now crouched like a wildcat, her pearly fangs bared and gleaming in the moonlight.  The werewolf likewise bristled, the giant canine's own array of teeth stained crimson with the blood of the deer.  An outsider would have put his money on the great shaggy monster.  But Nikolai knew better.  His money was on Adreana.  She was as much a predator as the werewolf, more so than any of the vampires of the Tribe.   She was a vicious as a school of piranha.

The consort had entered at an angle to Adreana, and his appearance caused the were to shift his position slightly.  His beastly gaze swept from one intruder to the other, unsure of which threat to take out first.  He knew what Adreana was, that she posed a greater threat.  The moment passed in a breath, and the wolf-beast coiled on his haunches and lunged at the vampire with fangs and claws bared.

Nik raised the gun, squeezing off two rounds before the werewolf tangled with Adreana and would prove more difficult to target.  The mercury rounds slammed into the shoulder and side of the large beast, causing it to howl and cringe slightly, though its momentum would still carry it into the vampiress.  Nikolai knew the shots would not kill their quarry, but it would weaken him, tossing his mistress even more of an advantage over  the larger shapeshifter.

A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips as Nikolai’s words drifted after her on a cool breeze. As sappy as the endearments were, they were true. Despite his tendency towards the nightlife now that he was Adreana’s consort, he was still human. He could go into the one place she could not - sunlight. Her sire, Gaius, had cursed her to this long ago, and while she no longer hated the beast she had become, she did miss the feel of the sun on her flesh. If she was honest with herself, it was for that reason she had not turned Nikolai in the first place.

But that was neither here, nor now.

Adreana let the pack fall from her shoulders as she moved in, making sure that it was far enough from where the tussle would be so that Nikolai would have no issues getting to it if need be. Both beast and girl paced for a few moments, each of them gauging the other as their instincts dictated. She heard Nikolai’s arrival half a moment before he appeared in the clearing. The Werewolf heard him, too, and she noted the way it turned in order to keep both vampire and human in its sights.

The larger threat was easy enough for the dog’s sharp nose to pick up, and in no time, it was charging Adreana. She heard the cacophony of gunshots and knew Nikolai had hit his mark as the tangy scent of blood suddenly permeated the area. Without the slight encumberance of the backpack, she allowed her full strength to come into play, the powerful muscles in her legs sending her flying to meet the large beast in the blink of an eye. Its howl of pain and frustration followed the echo of gunfire into the cool night air, but it only sent a rush of excitement coursing through Adreana’s veins.

Her prey was injured. Now she truly had the advantage.

Despite its wounds, the Werewolf’s massive form plowed into Adreana. She met it mid-pounce, each of their momentum nullifying the other’s. Sharp fingernails sunk into the Werewolf’s scruff as she fought to keep a hold on the creature. Both wolf and girl tumbled to the ground, spinning in mid-air so that the beast’s clean side was a viable target for the vampiress’ consort. With an unnatural growl, Adreana pulled sharply on the Werewolf’s neck fur and brought one knee up, slamming it hard into the beast’s jaw. Even with her enhanced strength, she knew it wouldn’t be much of a blow.

A sharp hiss escaped Adreana’s lips as pain exploded in her abdomen. She’d been trying to keep close enough to the Werewolf that his claws could not reach her, but she had not calculated the recoil from her knee jab. Fighting past the pain, she focused on the beast inside of her, and on the rage it felt. After a few moments of trying to keep the Werewolf still so that Nikolai could sink a few more mercurial bullets into the creature, she finally let go. Sharp canines scraped across her arm, and crimson stained her pale flesh, but she dipped to the beast’s right so that her body was blocked from Nikolai’s sight by the creature itself.

She would heal quickly, so she didn’t worry about the wounds being created. Nikolai might, though, and she didn’t want him to risk his life by jumping into the fray full-on. She had no doubts Nikolai could handle himself against a creature like this, but she didn’t want to find out just how reckless the blood lust of a consort could be. As the Werewolf began to turn towards her, Adreana charged forward. One fist plunged towards the beast’s ribcage, pounding the fur surrounding one of the first bullet wounds. The Werewolf’s howls of pain dragged a slight grin onto Adreana’s face as she used her other hand to grab onto the creature’s neck before swinging herself up on top of it.

Rather than sitting like a rider on a horse, she crouched down low in order to utilize her legs in conjunction with the strength in her arms. Both hands plunged into the thick fur of the Werewolf’s scruff, her supernaturally enhanced muscles straining against its own as she fought to snap its neck. Even if she pulled this maneuver off, she knew better than to consider the creature dead until its entire head had been removed from the body.

The sight was bizarre, the large, mangy werewolf and the black-clad, petite girl meeting in mid-air across the clearing in the white light of the full moon.  It glinted off of the shiny mercury tips of Adreana' boots, and hinted at the hues in the colored strands of her brunette hair.  The combatants fell to the soft earth, locked in a struggle of supernatural strength.  

Nikolai shifted closer, juking for an open shot.  He could see his vampire mistress dig iron-like nails into the beast's thick hide, driving her  stone-like knee into its heavy jaw.  The Hunter saw the Seer wince as their foe struck at her abdomen.  Nikolai grit hit teeth.  Adreana was his life now, literally, and even though this was what she did, that the vampiress healed miraculously, it angered the human to see his mistress harmed. He itched to kill the thing.  

Adreana managed to shift the creature around, placing it between herself and her consort, offering a clean shot.  Nik instantly snapped the handgun up, the expert marksman needing less than a breath to aim and fire.  Three more mercury rounds pumped into the werewolf's body, carefully placed to wreck joints, while avoiding any collateral effect to Adreana.

She had given him the shot, and once the bullets sank into the wolf's flesh, the vampire relinquished her grip.  It was a team effort, one the natural wolves knew well.  Tire an opponent down with unrelenting attacks on different fronts.  As the ferocious she-vampire pummeled and clung to the beast, Nik weakened it.  But both mistress and consort knew what would have to be done to exact final vengeance against the transgressing shapeshifter.  As Adreana lauched herself onto the werewolf's back, wrapping her coltish, powerful legs around it, lean arms grasping at its head and neck with vice-like strength, Nikolai made a beeline for the pack.  The creature slavered, clawing desperately at the viscious she-devil twisting at his neck.

Nik didn't stop as he passed the gear, grabbing the hilt of the machete strapped to the pack and drawing it without missing a step.  He would circle around as his regent torqued the straining vertebrae of the howling werewolf.

This showdown at high moon might have gone to the werewolf if it had depended upon strength alone. Adreana was not a weak creature by any standards, despite her petite frame, but the werewolf’s large frame packed quite a wallop. Rather than using sheer force, Adreana used other assets to whittle away at her opponent. So long as it was given room to charge and pounce and throw its weight around, the werewolf was truly a threat. Perched upon its back where the massive jaws and sharp claws couldn’t reach was the safest, most tactical position in the entire clearing. Having the height advantage was what every warrior strived for.

Having back-up was just an added bonus.

As she continued to crouch atop the beast’s back, she made sure to lean forward on the balls of her feet so that the mercury toe of each boot pressed up against the werewolf’s flesh. She could feel the beast’s strength beginning to wane with every passing moment moment. The sound of Nikolai’s gun reverberated through the air - once, twice, three times. She braced with every jerk as bullet after bullet sunk into its uninjured side. Judging by the way the werewolf faltered and yowled, she guessed Nikolai’s shots had been smartly directed, rather than just sent into its flank.

One hand dug in, her already pale knuckles whitening as she clung tightly to the half-mad beast. She used her other to send blow after blow into the werewolf’s skull until she caught the sight of Nikolai with the machete. Gritting her teeth, she wrapped one hand up and under the dog’s jaw, slamming it shut before wrenching it up and around. The werewolf whimpered as its teeth were clamped down upon its pink tongue, but it went silent upon the prompt snap of its neck.

Adrena let out a sigh as she hopped to the ground, her boots hitting the soft earth at the same time as the werewolf’s body. Glancing up towards her consort, she offered him a small smile, nodding for him to go ahead and finish the job. "Another one bites the dust..." she sang quietly, shooting Nikolai a quick wink before taking a few steps back.

She allowed the pain to return to the forefront of her mind as she turned to inspected the wound in her abdomen. Not the worst hit she’d ever taken, but definitely one of the messiest. Her nose scrunched up and she lifted the hem of her shirt in order to get a better look. The bleeding had stopped, so she knew the healing had begun its process, starting from the inside out. It wouldn’t be long before all that remained of the wound was a blood stain and a tear in her shirt.

"God, she is gorgeous..."  Nikolai laughed to himself as he circled the battling preternaturals. the heavy machete gripped in one hand, the mercury pistol in the other.  Adreana was a tenacious beast, clinging to the larger werewolf's back like a hellcat.  Her dark mane was disheveled, tossed about her as her small, iron-like fist pummeled the thick skull of the creature, rattling its brain.  There was strategy to the vampiress' feral assault, as Nik saw her gorgeous form shift to dig the mercury-tipped boots into the failing shapeshifter's body.  Her dangerous eyes flicked to her consort's, recognition in their unholy depths, it was time to finish it.  With pride, the human watched his mistress grit her fangs, lean arms wrapping around the head of the great monster, her muscles cording and straining  as the werewolf flailed vainly, gurgling desperately as the vampire twisted its bones and sinews.  Then, with a loud satisfying crack, their prey was silenced.

Adreana leaped from the collapsing beast, boots landing lightly on the forest floor.  When the breathy lyrics of the old Queen song left her bloody lips, Nik met his vampiress' gaze.   Her consort responded to the nod and wink with a wry grin. "Damn, you are so hot when you kill things." Then Nick moved to the motionless heap of fur.  He knew, if left long enough, the were could very well get right back up again.  Gripping one big ear flap, the hunter yanked the heavy head to a position where he could get a clean cut at its neck.   Raising the machete, Nik hacked at the beast.  The sharp blade bit through thick hide and muscle, sinking into the bone.  The man tugged the machete free and swung again, this time completing the cut.

Gripping the severed head at the back by the scruff, Nikolai stood, holding aloft their trophy for Adreana to see. "You don't eff with the Tribe.  Or my Adrei." He quipped.  Then he saw the wound across the flat plane of the Seer's stomach, the torn, bloody shirt lifted in her hand to expose the slash.  Even as they watched, the bleeding stopped.   The wolf's head fell to the soft earth with a thud and Nik moved to stand before Andreana. "Fu...you are alright, right?"  He asked, concerned,  his smile gone.  A hand reached to brush along the healing wound, feeling the rent flesh of his vampire regent.  The pads of his fingers glistened with the crimson trace of Adreana' blood, and he sucked the cool vitae from each, savoring the stolen treat.  "I'll buy you a new black tee shirt next time I am out." He offered.  "Too bad you don't scar, that would be a beut."  The roguish smile returned, once he knew his goddess was okay.