Home Invasion (Taggity Solomon)

Continued from Tiger by the tail

Hours passed and day turned into night as clouds gathered and the sky opened up to wash the slums of it's daily grime. Nicole laid peacefully on the ground next to the crypt where Solomon had set her down, her chin and left cheek puffing up quite nicely from where he had decked her in order to put an end to the nightmare they had created. The chaos he possessed kept her under for hours, drowning in a relentless sea of agony as she relived some of his more daring escapades. As well as his more recent romances. The memories mixed with her own, as they so often did, and the last thing she would see would be the flames consuming her first mortal body before the cold woke her.

Her eyes flashed open, slowly coming to focus on her darkened surroundings. She lifted a hand to her face, brushing away the wet drops that assaulted her while she tried to pull herself into an upright position. She ached from head to toe, more so mentally than physically although it did transfer her mental strain to her physical form. Nicole knew right away she was quite some distance apart from Solomon, her leash that still connected them was pulled tight and that was partly the cause of her painful strain.

With the distance between them her thoughts no longer flowed into his, which was probably for the better as Nicole had a few choice words for the thief at the moment. She would pick up his note, but as soon as she scanned his neat letter she crumpled it, chucking it as far as the wind would allow her to. The thief, he wasn't getting away with.....That was when it hit her. It was undeniable, like a hole in her chest. She sucked in a sharp breath of shock, pressing a hand to her chest as she tried not to hyperventilate. Nicole staggered to her feet, rushing around to enter the crypt as her head swam with grief. She nearly threw herself down the slender broken stairs, rushing headlong into the black tunnel again," No, no, no..." Her pathetic whimpers filled the black and when she reached the end, void of its prize, her screams would echo forth from the darkened dungeon.

Three hours later...

Night had settled comfortably over the city of Librium. Many of its finer inhabitants were off to bed, but not in the slums. In the slums, the night was a far more productive time and many of its inhabitants were just waking. The sky still poured miserably, the heavy clouds blocking out the moon and thickening the darkness on the ground. Prime hunting time. The streets grew active, groups forming in the darkened alleyway and a hungry demon lurked just outside a certain apartment building.

Yes, it had taken her quite some time to make her way to the apartment building. It didn't help that his scent often overlapped itself in various places, the worst place of all was the supermarket. Nicole had almost considered asking around when she picked up the trail again and before she knew it she had found the apartment building. Still...She had sneaking suspicion that this might be a friend's place, considering all the overlapping scents. Or perhaps that lovely dove she had seen him kissing in her dreams? All the better...

" Hey...Hey girl, looking for a fix?"

A brave soul approached the lone figure of Nicole, who had been standing stock still outside of the apartment building for nearly an hour now, her gaze cast up to the higher floors as the rain soaked her from head to toe. She didn't so much as bat an eye at the man when he drew closer.

" Hey you, I'm talking to you. How much?"

The man boldly reached out and was shocked when she snatched his hand swiftly and jerked it around. His wrist snapped like a twig and the scumbag doubled forward with a cry of pain. All the while his buddies laughed from the hallway of the apartment building, pushing each other back and forth hysterically. What good friends. Nicole let her head fall, moving towards the group of men who quickly scattered at her approach but their laughter lingered in the hall. Wheeling back around she grabbed the man who now struggling to get to his feet.

" The code. " She demanded, giving him a knee buckling shake. The man sputtered," I don't know what you're talking abbooouuutt.." His words would turn into a cry as Nicole yanked him forward to come slamming against the electronically locked entryway to the apartment." Open the fucking door!" She shouted. " Okay, okay! " He whimpered, using his good hand to punch in the keys and with the green light Nicole dropped the man, swinging open the door.

" You're welcome! " He shouted after her," Coulda just fucking asked.." The dealer whined, cradling his arm against his chest as he headed off down the road to meet up with the group from earlier that approached from up the street. Meanwhile, Nicole made her way down the short hallway but instead of going straight for Solomon's door she passed right by without a single glance. With her gaze set dead ahead, she already had her mind made up making her way down to the community laundry room.

Sopping wet and shivering from the strain and cold, Nicole would quickly rummage through the dryers in search of something warm. She would settle with a skinny pair of men's jeans and an oversized navy blue sweater that fell from her shoulders. She quickly changed and just as she was pulling up the pants one of the nearby residents walked in. Nicole would grin nervously, plopping her wet cloths into a dryer. " Oops, I forgot my change.." She sighed, turning as the girl who had entered kindly rushed to spare her some," Here! " The frail girl smiled sweetly, cornering Nicole with her offering. " Thanks. I owe you one." She nodded, accepting to the tokens but as soon as her back turned on the girl she would make a disgusted face while she put the dryer to work on her clothes.

What a silly little chit. She thinks I live here..

Once again, Nicole's thoughts flowed through their connection and her whispered words would echo in Styx's mind.

I think I hit this button or does this start the stupid machine?...Should I see what she did? No, forget about it. Stupid fracken thing.

Nicole would manage to get the dryer started and as soon as she did she hurried out. The girl watched her like a hawk, and when Nicole looked back over her shoulder she would catch her peaking out from the doorway to which she would give her a small wave and a nervous smile.

Fruck, she's on to me. Stupid fool, go back to your laundry. I have bigger fish to fry..

And finally, the moment had come. Satisfied that the girl was no longer looking, Nicole rushed back a couple doors to stand before Solomon's. She leaned in for a quick sniff, still not quite satisfied but she could feel the chaos lurking just within. If this wasn't the place, she knew she had to be pretty damn close. Casually she reached up and gave the door a couple taps, leaning against the doorframe casually with a sadistic smile playing upon her lips.

It was a long walk home for Solomon, his mind whirling with what he needed to do to deal with Nicole. It would have been easier on him if he had just dealt with the fiend while she had been helpless. But that wasn't his way, he didn't kill just because it made his life easier. That applied even to the demon, though he figure that she would probably not have the same issue. He was going to have to deal with Nicole, one way or the other. So he had taken the skull that seemed link to the demon and started making his plans.

At first he had thought to just go to one of his safe hiding holes to await the demon, but then he remembered how he had heard her thoughts during the time down in the crypt. Had she somehow linked herself to his mind? If she had could she be viewing it now? Shaking his head, Styx frowned as he realized how useless that line of thought was. He had somehow heard her thoughts true, but he didn't know how. If he started speculating to badly he would overestimate his opponent and that could cause as much trouble as underestimating her. He would go back to his apartment and wait, that was all he could do. Actually, once he got back he would take a nap, even if the demon woke up and started tracking him right away he should have enough time to get a little rest.

After he had gotten home and slept for a couple hours, Styx awoke for some reason. It felt sort of like when someone was watching him with hostile intent. Looking around, Solomon shook his head as he realized he was still alone in his apartment. He stood and stretched, guessing that the sensation of being watched might mean the fiend was close by. He still wasn't quite sure how he wanted to handle Nicole, so he decided he would cook a dinner for two. If he was going to decide to kill her or not, he might as well talk to her first and he was hungry.

Proper cooking took time, and patience, and generally not help by the feeling of animosity that felt like it was boring into his back right between his shoulder blades. But if nothing else Styx was use to working under pressure. Slowly the meal was coming together and when it was almost done Styx started to hear Nicole's voice in his head. Pausing in his final seasoning, he cocked his head to the side as he could swear that Nicole was trying to figure out how to work some sort of machine. The only machines he could think of that were close were... so she was in the building probably. He left the dinner for a moment to go and unlock his front door. He wanted to try something.

Then came a knock on his door and Solomon would concentrate hard as he tried to think to Nicole if it was the fiend. {Come on in and have a seat on the futon. Dinner is almost ready. Oh and if you want to get your skull back you best behave, because it will probably be lost forever if you don't.} After that Solomon would wait for a full minute to listen for a reply of some sort to see if it worked. If it didn't then he would tell whoever it was to come on in and that the door was open, but he would have his hand on his gun at his waist. Come to think of it he should have probably loaded those blessed silver bullets he had, but it was too late for that now.

If Nicole did come in Styx would speak up. "Ah do you need a towel to dry your hair? I guess what I heard earlier was you trying to figure out the dryers. Really now they aren't that hard to figure out. Now do you want me to make you something hot to drink or would you like wine with dinner? I have a couple of nice whites and one good red right now."

Solomon's voice did indeed come through loud and clear in Nicole's mind, causing her to flinch back from the doorway and abandon her cool-calm and collected demeanor. She stared at the unmoving door in anger, how dare he? That was until she felt the prickle of someone watching her. Sure enough, when Nicole turned to look she spied the girl from the laundry room at which point Nicole pointed two fingers at her eyes and then pointed at the girl - International sign for 'watching you'. Quickly after that she let herself into Styx's apartment.

The place smelled of wonderful food, it was the first thing to hit her when she slipped past the door and pressed herself back against it to close it tight. Her bright hues surveyed the unfamiliar setting as if it were some kind of a trap. The place was clearly in need of some feminine touches, but it was surprisingly neat for a male of his species. Her eyes roamed until they landed upon Solomon in the kitchen who offered her a towel and drinks, which only made her more suspicious of the thief but she could play civilly. " Yes, a towel would be nice." She would shift her eyes innocently when he mentioned the dryers," I'm technologically challenged." She murmured,in her own defense, pushing away from the door to move further into the apartment.

Nicole would settle upon the futon, as he had directed her to do, sitting neatly while her eyes roamed once more. " Something warm would be nice, if we have time before food and wine is fine with dinner. I am not particular on the color, more so interested in its effects than its taste. What are you making?" She turned to look in his direction as she would no doubt accept the towel he would offer her with a nod of appreciation, draping it over her head at first before she leaned forward to wrap it up so that the towel sat rolled up atop her head. She would wait for him to explain the meal before diving nervously into her own thought," I don't know what you are thinking - Oh wait, I do and I don't like it Solomon. Not one bit. At least tell me where you've stashed it. I can't even .. " She turned her head from side to side, eyes half laden as she scanned the room once more. Her aura lifted from its shields this time in search of the crystal skull, spreading like hot liquid throughout the small setting only to recoil due to Styx's chaos. Nicole felt an emptiness creep over her once more, a longing just to know the skull was safely guarded.

" I don't like this." She quipped, straining to maintain her patience and civility. Nicole rose up to stand anxiously, her hands pressed together tightly as she turned to face where ever Styx was standing at the moment. " You haven't the slightest clue as to what you have taken. I don't like this.." She couldn't help but repeat herself, clearly on edge but struggling to keep her calm. Nicole didn't know what else to do. She had expected him to blow her off or fight her, but instead he had invited her inside as a guest. She didn't expect him to have hidden the skull so well, and therefore she couldn't just kill him for it. Now she didn't know what to do, but panic.

Styx grinned a little when Nicole did enter the room at his mental beckoning. That at least proved one theory right. The grin slipped though when he thought about the implications of what he had just done. If she could hear his thoughts, what else could she hear? Well that is part of why he needed her here after all, they needed to discuss how they were going to interact from here on out. He moved around the kitchen counter and toward the bathroom where he grabbed a towel out of the linen closet and gave it to Nicole at her agreeing that she would like one.

”I have some water warming now for tea, should be just a few minutes. And since we are having Sirloin strips with a feta-mushroom cream sauce over pasta I think this white will do.” The kettle of water started whistling as he spoke and he moved to pour it into the tea pot. He chuckled a bit when Nicole mentioned knowing what he was thinking and that she wanted to know the skull was safe. Pouring two cups of tea, he brought them over on a tray with cream and sugar.

”So you know what I’m thinking, eh? That’s surprising because I don’t know what I’m thinking half the time. Really I usually just go with the flow of things and see how they play out. But since you asked so nicely I will tell you this your skull is safe, for now. The only place that it can be reached is right now in this room so you don’t have to worry about anyone swiping it while we talk. After all, I would have hated to have to kill you out of hand. Never been my style to kill just to make my own life easier you know.”

He waited a moment for his words to sink in, looking Nicole in the eyes during that time. ”Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about you trying to kill and eat me. A lot of people have tried to kill me the first time they have met me. A disturbing number of people I meet for the first time really… Never mind, this isn’t about that or the fact that you’re a Fiend. Well… mostly not about the fact you’re a fiend. When we were down in that crypt, I started hearing your thoughts. And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t your intention. I’m guessing that that was supposed to be a one way street and you were peeking around in my head. And now I have to wonder if you know about my kith and kin and if this is going to be a problem. Now I could have just killed you outside that crypt, but like I said I don’t just kill someone to make my life easier. But someone going after friends and family, well… you get the picture. So I thought we could have a nice chat over dinner and you can convince me that we’re going to get along just fine now that we’ve had a chance to get to know one another.”