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Post by Naomi Blackwell on Apr 19, 2011 16:20:58 GMT -5
Wandering around Sunnydale after dark was like asking for death, as anyone who'd lived in the town for any extended period of time knew very well. And thus it was around this time, just as the sun was beginning to set, that the streets started to clear. People drove home from work or hopped from bar to bar, sure, but it wasn't too often that one was spotted taking a nighttime stroll. Especially not alone.
But then again, danger seemed to attract Naomi like a magnet. Not out of any impulsive need to prove herself to anyone, really, but more out of a certain irresistible fascination with the things that went bump in the night. And besides, she was a detective. It would've been shameful to make a point of avoiding the very areas where crimes were known to occur, even if said crimes were committed by things that...weren't quite human. The last murder that had occurred had been two nights ago; a man found cold in an alley with multiple puncturing neck wounds. To most, it'd look like the work of some sick psychotic freak. But Naomi had immediately pegged it as the work of some sick psychotic undead freak. And that meant that solving this case, if it were even possible at all, was going to take a different approach than a normal murder would.
It was a bit cliche to claim that a criminal would return to the scene of the crime (which, incidentally, had occurred only two blocks from where the detective was currently located), but from what she could gather...vampires liked to pick out specific hunting grounds. The most experienced of them, at least. Which meant that this area still had some potential as far as pursuing the case went...
..But, really, Naomi was just here to enjoy the pleasantries of an evening stroll! Sure there was every possibility of running into some terrifying creature of the night, and sure she'd armed herself unusually well for a citizen out for a walk...but, why not put an edge on things?
She pulled her jacket a little tighter around her body, bracing against the cool frequent winds that the evening seemed to be producing, and continued on down the street. A drink at the bar was beginning to sound appealing, but the brunette was a bit too restless to allow herself the leisure of alcohol this early into the night. Instead, as the daylight slowly seeped away, she'd --
"Oh!"
Naomi let out a startled exclamation as she very nearly walked right into someone, veering to the side just in time to avoid some clumsy sort of collision. It would've been instinctive for most people to immediately apologize after a little mishap like this, but Naomi was too busy being furious with herself for letting her attentiveness slip...as well as wondering what sort of potentially dangerous (to be fair, nearly everyone was potentially dangerous as far as she was concerned) individual had managed to get so close without her noticing.
With narrowed eyes, she turned to gaze at the stranger. Analyze first, apologize later...she had to be safe, after all. |
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Post by Spike on May 9, 2011 10:31:02 GMT -5
Stalking the streets like some typical creature of the night. Prowling, perhaps. Maybe hunting? No. Spike had realised, after considerable effort put into thinking about it on his part, that he wasn't actually doing any of those things. Oh, he could do, sure. He could go and grab some little morsol, or some happy meal, rip them open then go out and find someone, anyone, to kill. It was the fact that he wasn't really in the mood to do any of that which was slightly odd. Spike was, for lack of a better word, sulking.
He had been sulking ever since Dru had brought that soddin' new kid home. Ever since the entire...crappy situation had gone to, well, crap. How the hell had he been meant to know that the blonde one was the Slayer yet wasn't the only one? And really, it had been the kid's little mission thing. No need for them all to shout at him for messing it up, which he bloody hadn't done. Except he had messed up, really, because even after all of that, his Princess still wasn't feeling right. She was still his princess, right? There was the kid now...And that made him growl, snapping his teeth.
He was walking without a destination in mind, just stalking through the streets of this hell hole. Not really looking for anything either, not even looking for trouble (which was another odd thing, for Spike). Just walking and having a good long think about life (or unlife) and his position in it. Or, as he had said before - he was having a sulk. Spike couldn't even sulk like a real vampire though. When they sulked, when Darla or Angelus sulked, someone got ripped apart. Spike, being the nancy boy that he was and hating himself for being, just wanted to be comforted. Some vampire he was. Damn it, all of this was making him feel like a bloody fledgling again! He growled at that as well.
"Oi!" he snarled as he suddenly came to his awareness at the sound of a woman's voice, "Are you blind, or what? Watch where you're bloody well going!" He had stopped and turned to glare at her, blue eyes narrowed and standing out against the usual paleness of his face. No, he was not in a good mood. There was nothing which had happened lately which could possibly make him in anything resembling a good mood, really. Walking, or being walked into, by a bloody...whoever or whatever this person was didn't help out much.
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Post by Naomi Blackwell on May 10, 2011 10:27:06 GMT -5
"Are you blind, or what? Watch where you're bloody well going!"
The detective didn't flinch at the ill-tempered words, though they weren't doing anything to make her feel less abashed for being responsible for the near-collision that had just occurred. Instead of immediately replying however, she took a moment to look over the individual: a man, reasonably young - perhaps in his late twenties - with bleach-blond hair and an obvious London accent. The last was interesting in itself; Sunnydale wasn't exactly a prime attractor of international tourists...but it wasn't this that prompted Naomi to do more than simply apologize and walk away. It would hardly be professional to make a judgement based upon first impressions, so it wasn't the man's Billy Idol-esque punk looking-for-trouble sort of look that made her want to inquire further either.
No, it was simply the fact that she'd seemingly stumbled upon an (albeit irritable) person who actually didn't fear what might lurk in the shadowy streets of downtown Sunnydale at night. And no more than two blocks up from where a murder had recently occurred, at that. ...Which...wasn't a crime in itself, but it was interesting to say the least.
"Sorry. I...guess I must've been distracted.." And it still irked her that she'd been distracted enough to let her guard down, but she wasn't going to concern herself with that too much at the moment. This man could have seen something, after all...or he could be a potential suspect. But branding him as a potential suspect would also be branding him as a potential vampire, and Naomi was hesitant to jump to that sort of conclusion. Then again, assuming otherwise would mean she was now wasting the time of a citizen who didn't seem to be in the most pleasant of moods. ...Ah well.
With a slight smile, she made a quick decision not to waste time beating around the bush, and briskly held out her hand as she introduced herself. "Detective Naomi Blackwell. Please be assured I don't usually make a habit of almost running people over, Mr...?" She trailed off curiously, allowing an expectant pause to take the place of her words as she waited for the man to either introduce himself, or...tell her to sod off. |
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Post by Spike on May 11, 2011 15:57:51 GMT -5
A sweet little human girl, judging by the voice - just like every other little prat who walked around this crap hole of a town. Damn he hated this town. He didn't want to stay here, really. In fact, he quite fancied going back to New York - some of the best bands would be playing there again this time of year. But of course this vampire wouldn't go anywhere. Not when his Princess was still here, even if said Princess didn't seem to...want him anymore. He shuddered at that very thought. He didn't think he'd be able to handle that, and right now, that fear was translating into spitting anger at anything which walked into her path. Like this prat.
"You guess? No shit, sherlock." Spike said harshly, shaking his head a little. How idiotic were the little humans, here? Running around like happy, free, walking meals on legs. Walking into him. Him, the big bad predator! Damn the world was going downhill, wasn't it? And oh, how wonderful. An actual Sherlock, detective, whatever. "How did I guess?" He was already letting his tongue get away with murder, but that was better than himself gettin' away with murder. Spike wasn't a moron - killing police soddin' officers drew attention. Coppers looked for cop killers.
He looked at her blankly. She was waiting for something? What was she waiting for? No way, she wasn't waiting for him to say anything, seriously? Something really, really was wrong with this place. "You have got to be kiddin' me. You wander up to every bloke you almost knock to the bloody ground, introduce yourself, then leave a handy little bittle gap for said bloke to shove his own name into? Are you kiddin' me?" He shook his head in disbelievment, turning away slightly. "No wonder this town's goin' to the utter dogs, being grabbed by the neck." |
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Post by Naomi Blackwell on May 11, 2011 21:51:24 GMT -5
Well, she'd gotten one thing right: this guy certainly wasn't in a cheery mood. The fact that he had the snark to match the generally defiant vibe he gave off wasn't particularly fortunate for her, but then again her job never really had been easy. Naomi raised her eyebrows slightly as the man rebuked her implied inquiry, clearly indignant at her behavior. ...Well to be fair, she had introduced herself rather abruptly, but it was quite rare for her to waste time with pleasantries - especially when there was something she wanted to know. And now she had yet another question to add to her little list: was this man simply agitated, or was he actually being evasive?
"Only the ones wandering around downtown Sunnydale two blocks from a recent murder scene. At night." Naomi replied as casually as if she'd just been asked a genuine question, and not a spitefully sarcastic one. "Pretty brave of you." Not that she was genuinely accusing him of anything; she had no reason to...yet. But making even a vague implication would allow her to test his reaction...plus, it was just kinda fun.
'Course, the line between 'fun' and 'dangerous' was a bit blurry for the detective these days. Most likely, Naomi wasn't doing herself any favors by continuing this conversation...but at the moment, it was difficult for her to actually care. She brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and took a step back, like a buyer at an art show trying to make sense of a piece from a better vantage point. "Not that you don't look like the kind of guy who can take care of himself. But those 'dogs' you mentioned? They're kinda all over this part of town." Not that she'd actually been able to get a decent glimpse at any of 'em...mostly, all she'd been dealing with lately were common criminals.
That was who most of the police department seemed convinced was committing these murders. Common criminals. Pfft. Sunnydale should be so lucky... |
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Post by Spike on Jun 2, 2011 4:56:01 GMT -5
Oh...yawn. Spike rolled his eyes again as the human started to prattle on again...but then perked up slightly, unable to help himself. "Murder scene? Really? Is there blood?" He knew he probably sounded like an over-eager child - like on of the over eager children he could remember Dru playing with for quite a long period of time. But she liked kids, liked to coo over them. Perhaps he was slightly childlike in his mannerisms because of her...but nah. That brought far too much actual thinking to be a real true theory.
Brave? For him? Oh, he almost laughed at that as well. Spike didn't bother classifying himself as brave or as a coward - he was neither, really. He got bored easily and went to find something with a space of danger to liven things up a bit, but of course he felt fear. Nothing like a good dose of that emotion to be the power being throwing yourself into the middle of a fight against the odds. Well, that and sexual gratification, but he didn't want to say that. Saying that would mean thinking of Dru, again, and he was meant to be pissed at her. He was bleedin' pissed at her. As much as a Love's Bitch ever could be, anyway.
"Maybe you should be the one at home then. All tucked up warm and snug in your beddy-byes. Maybe you should let the wandering around the streets thing go to the guys who do look like they can take care of themselves. The ones who don't look like fresh meet," he said softly, his eyes never leaving hers, and a faint upwards uirk of one of his lips the only facial expression. Low voice, but yes, soft...warning, if you will, Spike did't know. He just liked speaking in that voice when pissed off. "Cause, you know, the big bad's could be just around that corner. Waiting to...sneak up...and grab you. And the little police chums here that you have wouldn't want that now, would they?"
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