Moonlight Nocturne

"You're not supposed to like doing it, even if it's what you have to do!"

She looks up shakily, lip quivering, clearly trying not to cry. "... can we go run somewhere, or something?"

She's never killed someone before. She feels terrible about not feeling terrible, about remembering the slide of her knife and stake through flesh, and not... ... not the killing part. Not the part where he was just a guy, and he could have decided to be better, he could have gotten better, and maybe she could have done something different, and...

 

"...says who?" Nick hesitates. "...I mean. It shouldn't be the thing you're driven by. But... oh jeez. Nattie's better at this than I am..."

He gives her a quick grin. "....yeah. yeah. If you want to go outside, we can."

 

"... everybody. ... Peter. Mostly."

He's always wanted to keep her out of trouble. Even the trouble that feels really important to be in. How can she not protect her family, when they're getting hurt?

She smiles tentatively, leaning into Nick's shoulder for a few seconds. "... You're it."

Then she takes off out the door. Tag, you're it.

(Dexterity + Athletics = 4d10. 3 successes.)

 

"...good and bad are things you have to decide for yourself. The lines get weirder."

He blinks, then grins wide as she takes off, waiting a minute before taking off after her in an easy, loping run - she's fast, but he's keeping pace for now.

(( he got 4, but I'm assuming Elena can outpace his trailing if she tries due to fleet of foot. ))

 

She's not trying to lose Nicholas; just to play, and take her mind off things, for a few minutes. Her wild laughter doesn't help her speed, anyway.

She's headed vaguely for a park that's close to home, and when she gets there, she'll perch on a bench, waiting for him to catch up. It's supposed to be a haunted park, but she's always thought it was pretty, with the big trees framing everything. Almost like a tame forest; it's not the real thing, but it's still pretty good.

 

Nick laughs, keeping pace, then lets out an excited whoop and charges past once he sees the greenery, long legs eating up the distance at a gallop. "Race you up a tree!"

 

Elena laughs, grinning madly, and chases him at top speed. A lot of the nearby trees have low forks and branches, which make them a lot easier for a kid her size to climb. She clambers up into the nearest one, with the ease of long practice and a total failure to fear heights, and perches comfortably on a flat-ish branch about fifteen feet up.

"Haven't you been here before? It's ... famous. Kind of. Mostly for the dead people."

 

"Not really?" He hauls himself into the branches, clambering up higher, mindful of his injured hand. "Dead... oh. Yeah, okay, that makes a lot more sense..."

He wrinkles his nose, looking over. "You usually don't come here alone, Right? Ever feel... weird, around here?"

 

"... I usually go everywhere alone. Mom and Peter are busy, and this is on the way home from school. ... sorta."

It's a good place to study, when she's... kind of supposed to be at the library, okay, but all the people around make her twitchy. And she has her cell phone. It's fine!

She blinks slowly, following his gaze. "I guess. A lot of places are... weird. But no one else thinks so, so... I just study in a tree when I'm here."

Her knife is a comforting weight in her pocket, as she looks around warily. Does he mean there are monsters here, too?

 

Nick nods thoughtfully, attention roving over the park. "Huh. Okay, that's good. No... never see anything bad here? Nothing that scares you?"

 

She shrugs uncomfortably. "... it just ... feels kind of weird. But it's full of dead people, so that makes sense, right? No one's ever tried to hurt me here. It's not like school."

It's never... seemed like anything was threatening her. If she got hurt, it would only be because she got in the way. Not because she was being... hunted. So she just stays out of the way.

"... do you see something?"

 

"...eeh." Nick balances on a branch, kicking his feet. "Kind of. Nothing too big to worry about. Just... stuff around. You know?"

 

She frowns suspiciously. "... how come you can see things I can't? Can you show me how to see them?"

 

"...it runs in our family, not something that I can teach....sorry..." he smiles weakly.

 

"... oh." She slumps unhappily. "... what does it look like? Does it eat people?"

She kicks her feet, looking down. "I'd still like you if you weren't... normal people, you know."

 

"...nah. just old and kind of... lingering. The plants are nice, though..." he pauses. "...what do you mean?"

 

"... I like the plants. It's really green here." She rolls her eyes. "I'm not stupid. You're allergic to silver, and you see ghosts and stuff, and you have family all over, and you fight monsters."

Even if she stretches things, that's a lot of weird in one family, and she's pretty sure she hasn't even seen all of it yet.

She hesitates. "... and you... you're helping me learn to fight. Most people... don't get it."

It makes her feel really guilty that Nick understands her better than Mom or Peter ever have, and she hasn't even known him for a day.

 

"Silver allergies are totally legit. But sure. You got me. I'm a monster hunter from a line of monster hunters." He flips upside down, looking her way.

 

"That's still too many things to be a coincidence. Especially if everybody else is allergic to silver too." The most teenaged eyerolling. She bets they are. "... does that mean only people who are born to be monster hunters are supposed to hunt monsters?"

Does he think she's lame and weak, because she doesn't have... hunting superpowers?

"... are you a witch?" she asks, frowning. "You don't sacrifice chickens or anything, right? I don't think I could kill a chicken."

If he has some kind of family magic curse, that sounds... ominous. And she's heard that witches do rituals, um... without clothes on, which she really doesn't want to watch.

 

"...metal allergies are kinda genetic, you know." He laughs quietly. "...what? No, no way. I'm. Actually kidding about it being a lineage thing? I mean, Nattie and I are kind of... helping it become a family business, but.. there's some stuff that does run in the family, that makes us good at it, but... that's more... luck of the draw?"

He chews his lip, head tilted. "Uuuh. What? noooo. No way. The only chickens I sacrifice are my dinner, jeez!"