[Lilith Michaelis]

He was hungry. Insatiably hungry, or that's how it seemed. And it was not the sort of hunger that could be fixed by a bowl of chips or an apple. Oh no.

So Luce slipped out of the clinic, making his way to another, even seedier part of the Slums. No one would care if anyone went missing. No one of concern, anyway. He stuck to the alleyways, flitting from street to street without notice. A simple feat, given he knew these streets like the back of his hand.

[Lilith Michaelis]

It didn’t take him long to find what he wanted. Some shitstain drug dealer was finishing up doing business with who was likely his supplier at the entrance of an alley way. He had seen him around once or twice. Dealt in hard drugs, the kind that mess people up. And was exactly the kind of terrible person you would expect to be involved in that shit. He wasn't affiliated with anyone who did business with his clinic, so he was free game. As soon as the deal was over, the dealer made sure the way was clear and exited the alleyway, strolling down the street.

[Lilith Michaelis]

[[Random NPC#1338763]]

Keitan finished the conversation with a quick but firm handshake with his supplier before they parted ways. He waited for the other man to leave before exiting the alley through the opposite way, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention. The Slums may be a haven for black market dealers and the lawless but you still didn't want the wrong eyes watching you.

He was satisfied with their agreement. His supplier had ensured him he'd have what he asked for within a week and for a decent price as well. His boss would be pleased and he'd be able to line his pockets pretty well himself. Not a bad job, if he said so himself.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Streetlight after streetlight passed as he was headed home. The farther he walked, the more Keitan got the distinct feeling he was being watched. When he glanced behind himself, all he saw was some weird ass tall guy in a stupid fur-cuffed coat hanging about thirty feet back. Who the hell wore a coat with that much fur in the jungle like this? Dismissing the feeling as simple late night paranoia, Keitan continued on, humming lightly under his breath.

[Lilith Michaelis]

It wasn't but a few minutes when that feeling came back. Glancing back, the strange man was about ten feet closer. ...Weird.

Nah, c'mon Keitan, get a hold of yourself, you’re just being paranoid.

That had to be it. Even so, the dealer shoved his hands in his pockets, pulling his arms a little closer to himself. ...Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to turn the corner, just to check. You could never be too careful after all.

[Lilith Michaelis]

And turn the corner he did. He turned into an alley way and stopping about ten feet in, waiting for the weird thin man to pass him by.

Except he never did. Hell, Keitan even gave it an extra couple of minutes and the man never passed. Did he turn around? The thirty-somethin’ ventured walking closer and sticking his head out of the alley way, looking down the way he came. Nothing. He slipped back in the alleyway, turning inwards. Something still wasn't right, but... He had places to be.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Keitan felt the cold breath on his neck before he heard the very distinct “Boo.” It was a strange, two-voiced sound that ran chills down his spine. He shouted and jumped forward spinning around and pointing his pistol at the perpetrator. It was the tall thin, fur-wearing man.

But how had he snuck up behind him? No one else was out, he'd made sure of that, and he hadn’t seen him when he had looked. There was no way he could have snuck up behind him like that, not from the outside street.

[Lilith Michaelis]

“What the fuck?! Go back home, old man. Find some whore to fuck with before I decide to shoot your face clean off.” The strange, thin man merely smirked in response and took a small step forward. Keitan stood firm in his stance and leveled the pistol at the man’s head, completely serious about his threat. Something about this guy made him nervous but he wasn't about to show it.

“I mean it, back off. D'ya know who I work for? Who I am? This is your last warnin', fuck off back home.”

[Lilith Michaelis]

“Do I look like I care, boy?” the thin man hissed at him in some weird butchered accent and... something else. Something that crawled under his skin and ate him from the inside out. Something that made him feel like it scooped his insides out and laid him bare for all to see. He tried to hide the shudder as he squeezed the trigger. The pistol went off, the sound cracking through the air as the bullet hit the man straight in the forehead.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

[Lilith Michaelis]

The man’s head snapped back, blood and brain matter spluttered as the bullet exited the idiot’s skull and his arms began to go limp. But he didn’t fall. Instead, he stood there for a moment, perfectly still as a slow deep chuckle rose out of his belly and his head slowly rose back up, dead white eyes boring into Keitan’s.

[Lilith Michaelis]

“...Wh-- What the fuck are you?!” Keitan screamed, unloading a few more rounds into the man’s chest. The thinner man stumbled back a few steps, blood beginning to pour from the wounds. But other than that, shooting him seemed to do nothing. Nothing at all. He merely continued to stare Keitan down with those dead eyes, his dreadful, terrible smile curling wider.

What the hell is this guy? This. This isn't possible...

[Lilith Michaelis]

Keitan took off, zipping down the alleyway, away from whatever kind of monster this fucking asshole was.

This couldn’t be happening, Keitan thought to himself as his legs carried him on. That kind of shit didn’t exist except in fairytales and nightmares.

And even if they did exist, it couldn’t be happening to him, no fucking way. He zipped across streets and down alleyways, navigating them with ease. An easy enough endevour, given he’d grown up on these streets.

[Lilith Michaelis]

But that wasn’t going to save him. The man... No, creature... The creature had gotten ahead of him somehow. How, Keitan didn't know. It shouldn't have been able to get ahead of him so fast. Luckily, there was a turn off here, so he might have a chance in throwing it off.

He ran. And he ran. And there it was again. But there was no possible way for it to get from the other alley to this one, not that fast. No way except the one Keitan had taken.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Oh, he did so love when they ran. Everything was so much more enjoyable that way. It made the hunt that much more satisfying in the end. They always tasted better after a good chase.

Luce inhaled deeply, letting the man get a decent head start. He closed his eyes as he did so, drawing the moment out. As his eyes snapped open, he took off after Keitan, moving impossibly fast. He was going to play with this one for a bit. Draw it out.

Fear was such a delightful flavour.

[Lilith Michaelis]

He kept finding turn offs, an easy task with the way the Slums were built, and the thin man kept appearing ahead of him when it should've been impossible. Somehow, the creature kept getting ahead of him, appearing at the end of alleyways when there was no possible way for it to reach it before he did. And it began to do so with more and more frequency, getting closer every time.

There had to be a way for him to shake this thing off his trail. There had to be. If there wasn't.... Keitan didn't want to think about the consequences for that.