A bounty, uncollected.

Alexis walked over and placed her hand on Taylor’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze.
“Enough Taylor, release him.”
She muttered, eying the hands that constricted around the man’s neck.

She glared down at the bounty hunter before gazing up at the sky, it was getting lighter, and she could not hang around here any longer.

“I am better than you hunter.” She hissed the last word in spite. “So I will let you live, but so help me if you harm another of my kind ever again it will be me hunting you down.
Do I make myself clear?”
She spoke down at him firmly.

She exhaled heavily; he was pathetic, crying in the face of death, but, he had a passion for life if it was worth pleading over.

Her black raven wings ripped out of her back, extending to their full size behind her.
“I can’t stay here and chat, I need to get back to the mansion before sunrise.”
She turned away from the two of them, her wings readying themselves.
“Taylor…thank you, I won’t forget that you saved my life today, I hope that we may be able to put things right between us.”
She turned to smile softly at the woman.

“I’d like to talk to you at the mansion when you make your way back, I’ll be in the library.
Please bring him with you; if he stays here with all those wounds he won’t last long, I’ll see if I can find Zeke to fix you both.”
He was the only lycan that she knew who would heal Taylor and the new wolf.

Without another word she kicked off of the ground and flew back towards the mansion, hoping that Taylor respected her wishes enough not to kill the lycan, she would of carried him back to the mansion herself but he was too heavy for her to make it back in time with.

His voice was hoarse as he cried out again, almost too much in pain and too exhausted to make a noise. He could feel the blood slipping down the back of his neck, and hear the broken bones in his chest crack, but the pain was somehow distant. Almost as if he were watching himself die, rather than feeling it.

He could feel himself wail and writhe as the woman trod down on his bullet wound, but it wasn't him doing it.

It was terrifying, how he could feel himself beginning to slip away, as if he weren't even there anymore. He didn't want to die.

He was almost completely still even as she wrapped her hands around his neck, clutching at her arms to attempt to pull her off, but weakly, barely tugging, having almost given up.

"I understand. Thank you." he choked out hoarsely to Alexis.

He couldn't say very much now. His head was spinning from blood loss and the lack of oxygen, and he could feel his limbs becoming distant. Silver eyes slowly slid closed as he lost consciousness, hand slipping away from Taylor's wrist. The werewolf breathed shaky breaths, barely alive, but just there.

Only just.

Taylor growled unhappily at what Lex had decided, but nodded her head

alright then. i'll bring the mutt for healing. she muttered before Lex left

she smiled a little back, her eyes fading back to violet and the dark veins fading away so she was just Taylor again

however, when she turned her gaze back on the lycan, she scowled darkly

be thankful she is being merciful, for i wouldn't have been. you've just killed what little good mood i had left she hissed. letting go of the lycan and letting him fall to the floor

pulling out a small knife from her boot, she stabbed it into the guy's shoulder

every time i see you beginning to die and/or pass out, i twist the knife to wake you up. so man up and hold on dearly to the life you just begged for she growled, dark shadows leaping up and wrapping around the two of them after Taylor had slung the guy over his shoulder, and used the shadows to take them to the mansion's library

she sighed quietly though

Zeke and Moe really were going to kill her....and Gia may have a fit at the blood on the carpets

Alexis sat upon one of the leather couches, she had only just made it home in time and set about healing her own wounds, a large goblet of blood by her side as she cleaned out her burns, hissing softly at the sting.

She lay back on the leath with a sigh and gazed up at the roof, hoping that she had made the right choice by letting him live.

She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples.
"You're getting soft Alexis."

He whined quietly with a jerk, eyes flickering open again. Compared to what he had been through already, the pain was little, but it was enough to stop him from passing out.

His eyes flickered open hazily, focusing in on his wounds and the blood. It was then that he realised how much he had actually bled. When he had been fighting, he hadn't noticed but...

"Where are we?"

when Taylor stepped back out of the Shadows, they were in the Library, and she saw Lex tending to her wound

she carelessly dropped the Lycan on the floor and quickly made her way to a chair, hissing as the pain began registering on her and the shadows fading away from her wound

she was limping heavily and going a bit pale from pain, but she grit her teeth and bore it

heya. kept him alive. as requested she said, obviously unhappy.

the guy took a chunk out of her leg, yet she wasn't allowed to kill him

you're in the Cacciatori d Sangue library. try not to bleed over the carpets too much or i'll get in even more trouble than i'm already in. she said harshly, bringing her injured leg up to rest her boot on the table and tore up some fabric from her shirt, and made a tornquette out of it just above her wound

she hissed painfully

motherfucker fucking sonofabitch this hurts like fuck! she swore in a hiss, gritting her teeth together

slumping back in her chair, she lit a cigarette and took long drags from it

"Thank you, Taylor.
I half expected you to kill him regardless of what I wanted."

She chuckled softly and shook her head at the elf as she dropped the lycan to the floor.

"Zeke's on his way, he's the only person I know that is able to heal all of us.
Though he was surprised that I asked for him."

Alexis got to her feet and tore strips from her skirt, leaning down to bandage the cuts that riddled the man's body.

Zeke had been more than a little confused when Alexis had rocked up at his door at day break.

But regardless he had came to the library like she had requested, all she had to say were 'Taylor' and 'fight' and he understood what was going on well enough.

He shook his head when he entered seeing the three of them bloodied and broken.

"What the hell happened here?"
He asked looking each of them over, the unknown male seemed to be the worse off so he padded over and knelt down beside Alexis.

"Feel sorry for you mate, looks like you pissed off the wrong ladies."

His head lifted as an unknown man walked into the room, eyes taking in every detail about the man. Another lycan could either be a rival, a friend or a mortal enemy. He hadn't exactly had good experiences with other werewolves, so he was a little tense, but the man didn't appear to be hostile in any way, so he relaxed a little.

I don't know if I'd call that elf a lady, exactly. Evgeni thought, but kept it to himself. He would wait until he recovered before he would make any comments that could potentially get him beaten up.

"Hello."

Taylor grumbled a little more before hearing someone approaching

when she saw Zeke, she whimpered a little and tried sinking into the chair more

however, the movement made her leg jolt and she hissed, sitting straight again and continued to tend to her wound as she smoked

she growled as the Lycan spoke

"sSo the cur can speak. i obviously didn't do enough damage to his throat then." She huffed, trying her best to clean out her wound a little

however, now she was beginning to feel the effects of the Lycan venom and she began feeling a little warm

she bit her tongue and shook her head to try and rid the nasty feeling

"This one is a bounty hunter, tired to kill me, hence the burns on my body and the bite out of Taylor's leg.

He's got broken ribs and legs, I think slight silver poisoning to his hand, he touched my blade."

She explained to Zeke as she stepped away from the Lycan, best just leave it to him, pack healing would be the best thing for him at the moment.

"Well fuck... you guys had a bit of fun then."

His eyes twitched over to Taylor for a moment, she had been bitten by a lycan, he would have to deal with her quickly after he stopped this guys bleeding.

He patted the man's shoulder softly and smiled at him.
"You'll be alright mate, you're not the only one who's been beaten up by these two, I'll take care of you." He chuckled.

"Let's get these bullets out, bite on this, it's going to hurt like a bitch."

He added, rolling up a piece of cloth and placing it in the man's mouth, it was for his own good.

Zeke leaned over and dug his fingers into the wounds, pulling out each bullet.

Once he was done moved behind the couch, taking off his pants and immediately changing into his wolf form.

He produced more saliva this way and could tend to everyone much faster.

Padding back over he lowered his muzzle and licked at each of the man's wounds, which quickly started healing over.

Evgeni gazed up at the man, frowning in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. He half-expected the man to attack him, so he leaned back warily and watched his every movement cautiously. In his old pack, they wouldn't have bothered trying to heal an injured pack mate. In fact, he would have been lucky if they hadn't tried to "put him out of his misery".

Was he trying to get close to him just so that he would snap his neck? But then... the man didn't seem hostile, and it wasn't as though Evgeni had any choice. He had lost a lot of blood and he needed to be treated or he could die.

"Sure." he mumbled, still eyeing him cautiously.

His teeth clenched down on the fabric, letting out a strangled, agonised noise, muffled into the cloth. The man twisted on the floor, trying to still his movements as he found that it only hurt him more.

He whimpered quietly as the wolf's tongue lapped over his wounds, feeling the pain dull down to a sting. His head fell back to the floor with a soft clunk, staring up at the ceiling.

So he would be here for a while, now. He wasn't sure when he would be able to even move again. He detested feeling this weak.

Taylor chuckled darkly at the other's pain, but decided to not concentrate on him too much

she was occupied with her own thoughts and pains

her leg was beginning to burn slightly, and she wasn't happy about it

so she tightened the torniquette to stem the flow of the Lycan Venom more, ignoring the fact it really did feel too tight and was getting pins and needles

she sighed heavily and slumped back in the couch and looked at her hand that the Lycan had bitten as well

she made a 'Tch' noise and let it fall back into her lap. Zeke will sort it soon enough

her violet eyes then turned to Lex

the vampire had wanted to speak to her....but what about?

either way, Taylor braced herself for when Lex finally wanted to speak up

she glared down at the Lycan that was making too much noise and had to suppress the urge to knock the cur out

although, her uninjured leg and one of her fists did twitch

Alexis sighed softly as she slumped back down in one of the couchs, running her hands through her hair, she didn't need any assistance from the lycan.

A night spent in the dark would heal her enough though she looked at her hair in disgust, the burnt ends would have to go.

"Once you're healed hunter, I am sending you my hair dressing bill."
She folded her arms over her chest, looking less than amused.

Zeke moved his concentration to the man's legs, at least they were clean breaks, they would heal pretty quickly.

Shifting back for a moment he placed a splint of each of his legs and tied them there firmly with strips of cloth.

"The bones will mend in a few days, looks like you will be staying in bed until then. But other than that, you're alright.

If you want I will take you to the infirmary to get you cleaned up and in bed."

He got back into his wolf form and padded over to Taylor, nudging her leg softly with his nose before laving a thick coat of saliva over the wound.

Don't let Moe find out about this Taylor, she'll give you a good scolding.

The large black lycan yawned slightly and slumped down to lay on the ground in case he was still needed.

Evgeni hissed as Zeke moved his leg, trying to sit up, but crying out quietly when he felt the pain in his ribs.

He lowered himself slowly down to the floor wincing and nodded at the man.

"Thank you. And yes, please."

It felt odd saying "thank you" to someone. Nobody had ever offered to help him before, and truth be told, he found it a little disconcerting. He kept expecting the man to have another motive.

she rolled her eyes, her bad mood getting the better of her

"I won't let her find out. she has that cat. I hate cats. If she remembers that, i'm screwed. of course I won't tell her anything. it'll only make her worry needlessly." she huffed

she had tried to repress the shudder as her wounds were licked clean, but found it difficult

it was a dog's tongue laying on Dog Drool over her wound

she had to bite back what probably would have been the girliest squeal you would have ever heard from the woman

however, despite biting it back, she still let out a squeak and convulsive shudder

idly, once Zeke had settled down near her, she let her hand dangle down and stroke the fur on Zeke's head

"so what was it you wanted to speak to me about, Alexis?" she asked, her attention now focused on the vampire, and completely ignoring the half dead lycan writhing on the floor

Alexis turned to face Taylor as she ran her hands through her burnt silver hair.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me back in town, if you had not come along I don't think I would of made it back here before sunset."

She cleared her throat slightly, dropping her hands into her lap.

"I know this will sound strange coming from me of all people but, we have both hurt each other, we have fought against one another for a hundred years, I want a new life here.

I don't want to be a vampire with a large price on my head.
I'm willing to look past everything that has happened between us and start over again.

We may never be best friends but I want to at least be civil because I think we both know that I will be staying around here for a long time."

Zeke padded back behind the couch and shifted back, pulling his jeans back on and moving back over to the man.

"Lets leave the women to chat, I'll get you settled in, my names Zeke by the way.
...Try not to let this ruin what's left of your pride."

He replied with a smirk, not explaining what he had just said, he knelt down beside the man and scooped him up in his arms.

"Goodnight girls."
He called as he carried the bounty hunter out of the library and moved him to the infirmary to get cleaned up and put to bed, he's even be kind enough to fetch the man something to eat.

Taylor sighed quietly and gave a small smiled

at Lex's words, she felt a massive weight lift off of her chest and she could breath easier

she inhaled deeply, relishing the feeling

"that's....you've no idea how much i wanted to hear that. i've been running around everywhere trying to find forgiveness for my actions, for the things i've done in the past." she said, slumping back and her smile developing into a grin as she felt her wounds healing and her relief wash through her

she ran her hands through her hair

"aye...we have been fighting for too long. a century long fight isn't something i have the energy for any more. *chuckle* it would be nice to find civility and not have to worry about having my neck suddenly torn into should my guard go down here....in all honesty, it would be nice to befriend ya, as i've seen you're very different from...before the shit hit the fan. i think in a place like this, it's better to have friends rather than enemies. she said, the tiniest hint of pink dusting the bridge of her nose

she hated moments like this, but she was too relieved and happy to be brash and harsh with this woman

she'd been doing that for too long

she wanted rest

Alexis smiled softly.

"I've been rampaging for far too long in retribution for something that happened eight hundred years ago.

I am tired, and I am lonely, I don't want that life anymore and I am glad that you feel the same.

Others will learn to forgive you as I have, give them time.

No more violence, and no more bloodshed between us."
She responded softly, extending her hand out to the elf.

Alexis wanted to live in peace, she wanted a life of sprawling out on the garden lawns, reading in the library and conversing with friends. She could not have those things if she clung onto her hatred, so no matter how against her nature it was, she was just going to let it go.

Taylor smiled and reached out as well, still wincing as her leg mended, but grasped her hand firmly and shook it

it was then that she felt the last thread of the bond that set everything off snap, the last run on her arm fading away to nothing

she could feel nothing form the girl in front of her now

just her presence. no emotions. nothing.

Taylor grinned

they were Both free from their pasts now...able to move on instead of poking old wounds and making them fester

they were on equal ground now and allowed to start afresh

she let out a breathy chuckle before out right laughing, flopping back into her chair and snickering with relief and freedom

oh, she could still feel that touch of darkness from Lex..but that was now permanent feature for her now...she would hold onto that with all her life force if it meant it didn't go back to lex to fully taint her again

"i'm glad that this has happend, Alexis. i think we both earned our rest from fighting *chuckle*" she said with an easy grin, looking at the patch of skin where the final rune faded away

"Indeed, I look forward to just relaxing.
I have people that I want want to look after now, Aodh and Aeker."

She smiled softly, the two really did make a good couple, better than Aodh and her would of, she liked Aodh but could not see herself with him, not like that.

She did start thinking of him as more of a brother now, one she would gladly welcome into what was left of their family.