Fan Fiction ❯ A Raven's Cry ❯ Jacob and rooftop conversations ( Chapter 37 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Strausse 
Hey, it seems like a while since I posted. I keep managing to forget to say that my chapters are now being beta'd by my fiance, let's call her Koala for now.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.23.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 219 | Status: Completed
Hey, it seems like a while since I posted. I keep managing to forget to say that my chapters are now being beta'd by my fiance, let's call her Koala for now.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.23.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 219 | Status: Completed
A/N: One small note, I did change Furry's name to Fury. Small change, but I found I didn't like Furry.
A Raven's Cry
Chapter 37
Gar slowly opened his eyes. He was lying at an odd angle on the couch, his neck bent the wrong way. He sat up, bending his neck carefully, hearing it pop several times.
"Have a nice nap?"
Gar turned at the sound of the cultured voice speaking with an English accent. Sitting on one of the other couches was a very pale, tall figure. "Jacob, right?"
Jacob nodded in assent, "You would be Gar?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"The sun set one hour and forty five minute ago. Seven thirty two, I think."
"Oh. Already met everybody else?"
"Yes. Charming bunch."
"Starfire give you a hug?"
"Starfire, the alien?"
"Yeah."
"No. Should she have?"
"She has everybody else who's come into the tower."
"She seemed shell shocked almost. She's never seen real killing before, I'm guessing."
"I don't think so."
"These patrols are having a profound effect on her. Even if she is destroying the undead, that is not how it appears."
"Think she'll be okay?"
"Yes, given time the scars will heal."
A thought struck Gar, "I was supposed to go on patrol tonight."
"Robin went, as well as Barbara."
"Barbara?"
"Yes. Axle calls her Fury. I prefer using a person's right name, though."
"Right." Gar stood and walked into the kitchen. From within the sounds of clattering pots and pans could be heard. Soon the scent of frying tofu wafted in from the kitchen. Gar leaned out, "Is there anything you want, or do you even eat?"
"I do not require food, though if I am in the mood I can eat a small amount." He stood and walked into the kitchen. His nose wrinkled at the smell wafting from the white lump in the frying pan as it slowly turned brown.
"So, do you uh... drink blood?"
Jacob laughed at this, "Not quite. Infernal vampires need something to sustain their dead bodies, and their magic. My kind do not need blood to survive. It is basically a parasite that uses me as a safe warm place. In return it provides me with the means to protect it, increased strength and speed, and also gives me sustenance from what it feeds upon, the castoff psychic energy of those around me."
Gar flipped his tofu, "So you mean that you're like psychic or something?"
"No, I don't pick up on the thoughts of others. Your brain produces more energy than it uses, in most cases. This excess power is simply cast off, and absorbed by me. I can actively feed, though, which sometimes allows me to pick up some jumbled images and feelings. Little else, though."
"Oh." Gar flipped his tofu one last time before transporting it to a plate, "Want some tofu?"
"Ugh. No thank you."
"What's wrong with tofu? It's like the perfect food."
"It's fake meat, it has no appreciable flavor. The only reason that I eat now is for the flavor, I wouldn't eat a bland block of soybeans, or whatever it’s made out of."
Gar dropped his plate on the table and walked to the fridge. With a little digging, he soon produced a large bottle of barbeque sauce that he poured onto the block of tofu. "Suit yourself." he said as he dug in.
Jacob sat in the chair across the table from Gar, "That is an interesting scar."
Gar dropped his fork and looked down at the black scar in the palm of his hand. "It's a marriage tradition in Azerath."
"Ah yes, you are the one who is mated to a half-demon."
"I don't really like the term 'mated'. It sounds, I don't know, almost animalistic."
"Ah, married then. I was told she left, but not why. It would seem that she would be our greatest ally."
"She's not really in any condition to fight right now."
"Oh?"
"She's pregnant."
"Really? Congratulations. How much longer?"
"Month and a half."
"I see. She's relatively safe here though, is she not?"
"From the vampires, yeah. It's another house guest that we've got that I'm worried about. Slade."
"I've heard of him. Once called the Exterminator."
"I dunno. I've always known him as Slade. He's living on the fourth floor, tomorrow night is his night for patrol."
"I'm surprised that your leader would work with him."
"We're taking all the help we can get."
"Of course."
Gar finished off his tofu and stood. He dropped his dishes in the sink and washed them quickly. "I need a shower, I'll see you later."
Jacob only nodded in reply.
------------------------------------------
Robin stood on the rooftop next to the werewolf. In her human form she was smaller than him, and in her werewolf she was still smaller than Cyborg, but he had no doubt that the young woman could break either one in half. "Do you see anything?"
Fury inhaled deeply, "Farther off into the city, nothing within blocks." She took another deep breath, searching for anything the wind carried to her, "There's also a battle going on there. Gun powder, silver nitrate, and blood. Another group of hunters are taking care of them."
Robin relaxed against the wall as he studied the near empty streets. In the weeks since the wall appeared, the citizens of Jump city had learned to stay inside at night. "Hey, Fury?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you work with Jacob? Werewolves aren't bound to them anymore, so can't you leave him, go your own way?"
"I could, but I was born into this life, it's what I've always known."
"How long ago were the werewolves freed?"
"About fifty years ago." She caught Robin's quizzical look, "Werewolves aren't immortal, but because of our regeneration, we live a long time. I'm still just a kid."
"Oh." He seemed to consider what she had said, "How did you hook up with Jacob?"
"I was trying to earn the trust of a master vampire. After we weren't forced to serve them, the vampires didn't trust us. Most of them killed their slaves before they even realized they were free. Jacob showed up and started killing the vampires. I helped, then asked him to let me serve him. He won't call it that, but I don't know any other way."
"Do you want to try another way?"
"Nah. Life's good right now. I serve a kind master, and I get to make liberal use of my claws." She looked at one clawed hand thoughtfully, "There's a vampire headed our way, no three. They'll be passing the building in a few minutes."
Robin drew his sword and made ready to jump down. He activated the heat sensors he'd installed in his mask and studied the few people that were below him, all human. Then he saw them. Three human shapes with little body heat. They walked along the street slowly, seeming to be looking for something, or picking their targets.
When the vampires walked under them, Robin and Fury both dropped down. The fight was over almost before it had started. The sword pierced one vampire at the junction between its neck and shoulder, sinking deep into the heart, driven by Robin's weight. By the time his sword was freed from the burning body, Fury had finished with the other two. "Looks like we got a little action, huh?" Fury asked with a grin that showed what seemed to be hundreds of white daggers.
A Raven's Cry
Chapter 37
Gar slowly opened his eyes. He was lying at an odd angle on the couch, his neck bent the wrong way. He sat up, bending his neck carefully, hearing it pop several times.
"Have a nice nap?"
Gar turned at the sound of the cultured voice speaking with an English accent. Sitting on one of the other couches was a very pale, tall figure. "Jacob, right?"
Jacob nodded in assent, "You would be Gar?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"The sun set one hour and forty five minute ago. Seven thirty two, I think."
"Oh. Already met everybody else?"
"Yes. Charming bunch."
"Starfire give you a hug?"
"Starfire, the alien?"
"Yeah."
"No. Should she have?"
"She has everybody else who's come into the tower."
"She seemed shell shocked almost. She's never seen real killing before, I'm guessing."
"I don't think so."
"These patrols are having a profound effect on her. Even if she is destroying the undead, that is not how it appears."
"Think she'll be okay?"
"Yes, given time the scars will heal."
A thought struck Gar, "I was supposed to go on patrol tonight."
"Robin went, as well as Barbara."
"Barbara?"
"Yes. Axle calls her Fury. I prefer using a person's right name, though."
"Right." Gar stood and walked into the kitchen. From within the sounds of clattering pots and pans could be heard. Soon the scent of frying tofu wafted in from the kitchen. Gar leaned out, "Is there anything you want, or do you even eat?"
"I do not require food, though if I am in the mood I can eat a small amount." He stood and walked into the kitchen. His nose wrinkled at the smell wafting from the white lump in the frying pan as it slowly turned brown.
"So, do you uh... drink blood?"
Jacob laughed at this, "Not quite. Infernal vampires need something to sustain their dead bodies, and their magic. My kind do not need blood to survive. It is basically a parasite that uses me as a safe warm place. In return it provides me with the means to protect it, increased strength and speed, and also gives me sustenance from what it feeds upon, the castoff psychic energy of those around me."
Gar flipped his tofu, "So you mean that you're like psychic or something?"
"No, I don't pick up on the thoughts of others. Your brain produces more energy than it uses, in most cases. This excess power is simply cast off, and absorbed by me. I can actively feed, though, which sometimes allows me to pick up some jumbled images and feelings. Little else, though."
"Oh." Gar flipped his tofu one last time before transporting it to a plate, "Want some tofu?"
"Ugh. No thank you."
"What's wrong with tofu? It's like the perfect food."
"It's fake meat, it has no appreciable flavor. The only reason that I eat now is for the flavor, I wouldn't eat a bland block of soybeans, or whatever it’s made out of."
Gar dropped his plate on the table and walked to the fridge. With a little digging, he soon produced a large bottle of barbeque sauce that he poured onto the block of tofu. "Suit yourself." he said as he dug in.
Jacob sat in the chair across the table from Gar, "That is an interesting scar."
Gar dropped his fork and looked down at the black scar in the palm of his hand. "It's a marriage tradition in Azerath."
"Ah yes, you are the one who is mated to a half-demon."
"I don't really like the term 'mated'. It sounds, I don't know, almost animalistic."
"Ah, married then. I was told she left, but not why. It would seem that she would be our greatest ally."
"She's not really in any condition to fight right now."
"Oh?"
"She's pregnant."
"Really? Congratulations. How much longer?"
"Month and a half."
"I see. She's relatively safe here though, is she not?"
"From the vampires, yeah. It's another house guest that we've got that I'm worried about. Slade."
"I've heard of him. Once called the Exterminator."
"I dunno. I've always known him as Slade. He's living on the fourth floor, tomorrow night is his night for patrol."
"I'm surprised that your leader would work with him."
"We're taking all the help we can get."
"Of course."
Gar finished off his tofu and stood. He dropped his dishes in the sink and washed them quickly. "I need a shower, I'll see you later."
Jacob only nodded in reply.
------------------------------------------
Robin stood on the rooftop next to the werewolf. In her human form she was smaller than him, and in her werewolf she was still smaller than Cyborg, but he had no doubt that the young woman could break either one in half. "Do you see anything?"
Fury inhaled deeply, "Farther off into the city, nothing within blocks." She took another deep breath, searching for anything the wind carried to her, "There's also a battle going on there. Gun powder, silver nitrate, and blood. Another group of hunters are taking care of them."
Robin relaxed against the wall as he studied the near empty streets. In the weeks since the wall appeared, the citizens of Jump city had learned to stay inside at night. "Hey, Fury?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you work with Jacob? Werewolves aren't bound to them anymore, so can't you leave him, go your own way?"
"I could, but I was born into this life, it's what I've always known."
"How long ago were the werewolves freed?"
"About fifty years ago." She caught Robin's quizzical look, "Werewolves aren't immortal, but because of our regeneration, we live a long time. I'm still just a kid."
"Oh." He seemed to consider what she had said, "How did you hook up with Jacob?"
"I was trying to earn the trust of a master vampire. After we weren't forced to serve them, the vampires didn't trust us. Most of them killed their slaves before they even realized they were free. Jacob showed up and started killing the vampires. I helped, then asked him to let me serve him. He won't call it that, but I don't know any other way."
"Do you want to try another way?"
"Nah. Life's good right now. I serve a kind master, and I get to make liberal use of my claws." She looked at one clawed hand thoughtfully, "There's a vampire headed our way, no three. They'll be passing the building in a few minutes."
Robin drew his sword and made ready to jump down. He activated the heat sensors he'd installed in his mask and studied the few people that were below him, all human. Then he saw them. Three human shapes with little body heat. They walked along the street slowly, seeming to be looking for something, or picking their targets.
When the vampires walked under them, Robin and Fury both dropped down. The fight was over almost before it had started. The sword pierced one vampire at the junction between its neck and shoulder, sinking deep into the heart, driven by Robin's weight. By the time his sword was freed from the burning body, Fury had finished with the other two. "Looks like we got a little action, huh?" Fury asked with a grin that showed what seemed to be hundreds of white daggers.