when no one's watching [annika]

[ANNETTE DORYCE MASON]

And through the rising and falling apart, We discover who we are

Silence.

In the perfect world, there was nothing more, but silence.

It was silence that had driven Annette to the woods that night, in the hope that maybe just maybe all her demons would disappear if she was able to do this. Finally. That maybe she'd be able to sleep at night, that maybe René would disappear. Or well, maybe if she'd die tonight, he'd end up disappearing. That sounded like a nice thought, she'd be gone, he'd be gone. Only she'd go up to the afterlife (whatever that may be) and he'd disappear.. as if he had never existed. The thought of that was a soothing thought, it was what he deserved. Everything he had done to her was more than painful and now he was back to rub it even more into her face. If he had been wise, he would have never shown himself to her and cared about her as least as possible. That would've been a relief for the both of them, because Annette was not willing to forgive him, nor did he have the choice to leave her alone. If she died, he died, it was simple as fuck and René was a selfish bastard.. He did not want to disappear as if he had never existed.

But banning her obnoxious older brother out of her thoughts, Annette focussed back on what she had to do; kill Nikita Redfield. Things that had been said had been confusing her, and in the back of her mind there was a voice nagging that maybe, again just maybe, Nikita had not been lieing. That he had been telling her the truth about David. But well, the truth is so hard to believe when it's so painful. Then it's better to believe the lies you have made up in your own head, which don't hurt anyone but your enemy. Because, well Nikita was still her enemy. He had humiliated her the previous time they met, but it would not happen again. She was prepared. She had her arrows, and even if they wouldn't kill Nikita, they'd hurt anyways, and she had her special blade that would bring him to the hells where he belonged. She had zero empathy with him, or well, so she thought, and it would be hardly an issue to kill him. To be exact, it would be no issue at all.

It would be as easy as killing any other supernatural. Annette was a professional, she knew how this worked. She was good at it, surprisingly, given her soft and bubbly personality. It was hatred that had driven her to this spot and hatred that would drive her to thrust that knife through his heart and have him disappear right in front of her. He'd hurt, she'd make him hurt. Her sense of rationalism was blurred by her hatred for him, by the way he messed with her head and made her believe that her brother was a cold, merciless murderer. Because though Annette was a hunter, she did not agree with the ways of hunters like that. She had accepted it by now, because most hunters were like that, but she did not agree. At all. Only the evil ones had to hurt, had to burn, had to pay for everything they had done to innocent people. But those who were actually good or neutral (she had met a lot of those in her life time), those did not deserve that faith at all. She'd protect her best friend Damon Ellis with everything she had and same went for Ruben, the father of her baby and one of her closest friends. They were both supernaturals, but they meant no harm (apart from occassionally breaking a female's heart), so why should they be punished for crimes they did not commit? The only reason for killing them would be merely because they existed.

As she was sneaking through the forest, her velvet tred inaudible for even those with the sharpest hearing, like only a real hunter could, she wasn't actually on the ground. No, the blonde was up, in the trees. Her bow was swung around her shoulder, the arrows on her back. Her knives were strapped to her underneath her sweater, because yes, she had more than one. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that a supernatural could not take away her knife. They could. So always be prepared, have more. You should see the girl's house. The army would be jealous of her arsenal for one person. She could move through the trees swiftly, and above all; silently. Other hunters always joked around about her being Robin Hood, but she didn't think it was an insulting remark. In fact, it wasn't so at all. It was easy for her, because she was so tiny. Though she had to say she had had to tied her knives higher and lower around her body than she was used to. Her belly was sensitive and she knew she had to succeed now, or there would be an interlude of atleast 5 months. Most probably 6 or 7. If Annette had been wise, she had listened to the demon's advice, and waited. She wasn't thinking of her little baby in her stomach right now. Though a more ironic and pessimistic voice in the back of her mind, whispered how losing her baby wouldn't be so bad, it would solve all her problems. But it wasn't the reason she was doing this. Annette wanted him to pay for what he had done. Pay for everything.

She stopped when he stopped, taking her bow from her shoulder with the smoothest and softest movement. It was routine really, she had done it a thousand of times. To the huntress, a bow was like a dangerous extension of her arm. The girl took one of her arrows out and aimed, squeezing her eyes a little for better view. Her breathing slowed, as if always did when she focussed on her archery. The blonde let go of the string, sending the arrow flying in his direction with a scary precise aim. She was good, okay, it was about time he noticed and acknowledged that. She wasn't gonna make the same mistakes she had made. Those times were over. The arrow wasn't meant to kill him, or hit him in his heart, because Annette knew that was just a waste of arrows. But if he hurt, it would be easier. And the girl wasn't cocky nor foolish enough that this would be an easy fight. Places her hands on the lowest trunk of the tree she had been hiding in, Annette twirled around it, before landing on the floor, not even wobbling. Shit just got serious. "Goodevening, Nikita. What are you doing out here at this nocturnal hour?" She asked, her voice so light and sweet that it would send the shivers over someone's spine, that's how creepy it was. Annette was in the zone now, she was ready. It was time.

FOR NIKI/NAGA, 1166 WORDS, OUTFIT

[NIKITA ETHAN REDFIELD]

it's a lovely night with that look in your eye

[/size][/color]

but you still sleep with your back to me

Nikita was tired.

He had grown weary of the game weeks ago, finding the hunter's efforts to kill him tiring and ridiculous. He could not even enter a convenience store without her trying to ambush him outside, much less get out to shower a few caterpillars in the rose bushes. All he had to do was poke his head out before an attempt to scar his face with a nasty arrow would be foiled. And then came the running, the fleeing, the notion to continuously defend himself from whichever assault that Annette would swing his way. He was unable to attack because of the foetus in her womb, and that was the main reason why the huntress wasn't following after her brother in the afterlife. He found her boring and stupid for chasing him, but at the same time, intrigued and amused by her actions. It was a perpetual game of cat and mouse with only one winner. As much as Nikita grew weary of Annette and kept saving his own neck, he was also tired of his life. It did not seem worth it, to be forever hunted. His only crime was to defend himself, and he felt no qualms on taking Annette's brother's life. That man was far from innocent, and if anything, he pretty much deserved it. How long though, was he going to allow this reckless hunt to continue? Even the best games became mundane.

Annette's lithe movements through the woods did not escape his keen ears. Had he been anything else but human, there was simply no way to escape the gentle plod as leaves were quietly crunched and branches were snapped. The blonde was good, he'd give her that, but the fact remained that she was still human, and could be easily killed. All it took was a simple stab in the right place, and she would be gone. Yet, Nikita knew that he would do well to be cautious when it came to her, for he knew how powerful a weapon vengeance could become. Her anger would be channeled into killing him, but there was also a risk factor involved in it. She was human, and she would become reckless. She lacked the keen, lithe senses of any supernatural creature, but the demon was sure that her skills of being a hunter would make up for it well enough. No one was perfect, perfectionism was non-existent. It was a fact.

It seemed only a matter of time before he was attacked. The woods had become his temporary solace, and it was where he usually composed his music. Yet, he was unable to feel surprised or even shocked when the paper he was composing notes on suddenly vanished from his hand, as quick as lightning, leaving behind a nick in his hand that began to bleed profusely. Black eyes followed the trail of where the paper disappeared to, and there it was, pinned to the trunk of a birch, an arrow quivering in its center. The demon clicked his tongue in resignation when he saw that whatever he wrote was now incomprehensible. He'd rewrite it again later. Rising up from the forest ground, he took no notice at the sound of Annette approaching, and calmly walked over to the birch, pulling out the arrow and stuffing the torn piece of paper into his pocket. There was no way he was going to begin littering now.

Pity lit up Nikita's dark gaze when he surveyed the huntress. Twirling the arrow in his hands, his reply to her greeting was to flick it towards her, where it landed at her feet with a soft thud, it's sharp head quivering in the earth. He nodded slowly at her greeting, crossing his arms casually over his chest, surveying her with a long look. He had to admire her determination in killing him, but he wondered how long would it take for her to reach her limit. With a baby on the way, it really should not be long now.

"I do not think you would care to know," He finally spoke, his words soft. "I would ask the same of you in courtesy, but..." He trailed off, not finding any need to finish the sentence, knowing full well that she knew that he knew what she was doing here. It would be just another night in another attempt to end his life, and another night of him defending himself. Perhaps it was time to take a different approach...soon. "Shall we begin?" One last fight, and then he was done. His eyes flashing, a thin smirk playing along his lips, he arched his back into a fighting stance, the demon in him howling in glee and blood. He would not take her life, but he was going to allow her to take his. The dark male was exhausted with this life, and constantly having her on his heels was not making it any better. A long finger rose towards Annette and flicked towards him, taunting her, daring her to make the first move.

"Come."

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[/b] - NOTES ilu[/div]

template created by NAGA for use on NIGHTMARE.[/center]

[ANNETTE DORYCE MASON]

And through the rising and falling apart, We discover who we are

Annette was not scared, not at all. She knew that whatever would happen today, would be her faith and she was embracing it. The girl wasn't afraid of death, as a hunter you looked in the eye of death a lot, so she was no longer afraid. It wasn't that she craved dieing or didn't mind to die, but she had accepted it as a risk that came with what she did; hunt supernaturals. Those who deserved to die, those who hurt people that did not deserve to get hurt, she was out to get those. And maybe it was a way for her to deal with her frustrations, who knew, but it worked. Her martial arts practices always helped to, but nothing felt better than the justice that ran through you once you had killed a bastard who deserved it. Don't get me wrong, Annette wasn't too fond of the whole killing thing, she wasn't. If she didn't have to, she wouldn't, the way she'd never kill Damon or Ruben, or any other supernatural that meant no harm. She'd even be nice to them. But there were a lot of supernaturals who meant harm to the world, like some vampire called Ryanna Coliste, who ran a human slavemarket. That was just disgusting and those were the things one needed to destroy. They had been causing terror far too long on this planet already.

And Nikita Redfield was one of those, so she kept on telling herself. Even though deep deep inside her, her inner voices were battling with each other about this issue, because Annette wasn't deaf for the other stories she had heard about David being a hunter, but she just pretended that one of the two voices wasn't there. This shouldn't be complicated. She was just gonna fight him, she was gonna win, that was gonna be it. It should've happened that way a long time ago, it hadn't so far, but that was to stop now. Nikita's head would be hers. The blonde knew she had to be careful, because if she allowed her temper to take over like she had done the other time, she was not gonna survive this. She needed to think straight and keep her head cool, for herself and her baby. The long interlude really wasn't what she was looking forward to. This had to be fixed now, and either of them would leave this earth today. And Annette damn sure hoped it wouldn't be hers, because even if she wasn't afraid of death, she still clinged to life like any other normal, mortal person did. For immortals life didn't matter anymore, but she understood why they'd defend themselves when being attacked. Never go down without a fight after all.

She observed him and felt the confusion feeling hit her stomach again, and no, it wasn't the little kid inside there throwing a party, but the tight feeling of a knot in her stomach every time she saw Nikita these days. His ability to hold on to his lies was astonishing, it nearly made her doubt. But she couldn't let herself do that, she couldn't allow him to mess with her mind like that. Demons were known for playing mindgames with their enemies or victims (Annette wasn't dumb, she knew she wasn't Nikita's victim, he was hers in fact) and she wasn't gonna let him do that to her. She knew what she had to do, she had a plan. There were knives strapped against her body, she had a bow. Nothing could go wrong. She just needed to stop confusing herself, that was all. But it was just.. the way he just sat there, doing absolutely nothing but scribbling stuff down. Maybe it were plans on how to achieve world domination, but somehow Annette doubted it. She usually was quite a good judge of character, but somehow her revenge and hate had overshadowed that trait. When she looked at him like this he nearly looked harmless. The mindgames, Annette. Don't let him deceive you, she told herself sternly, and watched as the arrow hit his hand. Not the exact place she had been aiming for, but well, everyone has off days.

Annette watched him, blaming the adrenaline for how her body reacted to those dark eyes looking down on her. she followed the arrow with her gaze, before slowly bending to get it, placing it where it belonged again. She knew Nikita wouldn't attack her when she was in a vulnerable position, so far he never had. He really seemed like a gentleman. Then he started speaking, and the monotone, stoic voice was enough to make her realize who she was talking to again and why she had to stop being so silly. It wasn't difficult, this wasn't confusing. She'd just beat him ass and kill him, that was all that had to happen. She could do this. Honestly she could. "You are right. And I'm doing fine." The blonde said, flexing her fingers, her eyes never letting go off his. When he asked her whether they'd start already, this brought a tiny smirk on the blonde's face, before she nodded, getting into her fighting position. Annette took the time to control her breathing, to get her chi right, her balance, everything that she needed. When she got all that right, the girl striked.

FOR NIKI/NAGA, ENOUGH WORDS, OUTFIT

[NIKITA ETHAN REDFIELD]

it's a lovely night with that look in your eye

[/size][/color]

but you still sleep with your back to me

With the probability of this being the last night that his existence on the world would be known, the young demon was already prepared to have the blonde kill him. It was by all means, not because he was allowing her to take revenge on her beloved late older brother, but rather, liberating him from the shackles that bound him to this world. Though he was only reaching his ninetieth year, a far cry from the much older and more experienced demons around him, Nikita wanted to see his parents again. As apathetic as he usually was, he did miss his folks, and their dying screams still haunted him until this very day. He did not care much about revenge unlike Annette, and saw no need to hunt down those that had taken their lives. And when his revenge was done, what would he do next? Had he chose to make that notion the purpose of his existence, there would be nothing left for him when the deed was finally done. And through it all, he would have devoted his life to nothing more than finding the killer of his parents. That was not how life should be lived. Immortal or not, it should be properly lived to its fullest.

Not when there was nothing left.

If Nikita had the ability that the immortals possessed, which was telepathy, he would have laughed out loud at the prospect of playing mindgames with her. The thought of him being a deceptive bastard of trickery would have amused him to no end. The demon was not the type to lie, and his monotone voice often spoke blunt facts instead of inconspicuous lies. Had Annette's emotions had not been clouded too much by vengeance and anger, it would have been perfectly obvious that he wasn't lying. He had declared his innocence, but the huntress had chosen to ignore it deliberately, instead choosing to pursue a pointless hunt he was already tired of. Demons were indeed notorious for their deception, but Nikta had always been an exception, as well as a few others, such as one he met the other day, a demon called Ella.

He would let her have her way tonight, by his own terms of course. There was no way that Nikita was going to go down without a good fight. It was the last kind thing he could give her that she didn't deserve: the thrill of the final hunt. A wooden nod was his response to her that she was fine, and his ebony eyes never left her when she prepared herself to strike. He had not taken martial arts over the past decades, but he indeed knew how to fight. It was a skill that he had picked up and improved on over the years. Though it lacked the grace and elegance of every typical martial art, his own fighting methods had been developed over experience and near-death moments of trying to survive. Cracking the bones in his neck and flexing his fingers, he waited patiently for her to make the first move. Over the times that he had fought her, he had learned to read and predict most of her movements, and she his. This would not be an easy fight had he the determination that he was going to get out of this alive, but times were changing.

When she lunged and struck at his face, Nikita allow himself the blow, but not before he was able to slide a foot underneath hers. Twining his leg around her ankle, he twisted it and kicked out with other foot, propelling him backwards. Straightening his arms out and landing perfectly in a neat crouch with his knees bent, the demon grinned impishly and lunged towards her in return carelessly. The reckless maneuver implied the notion that he had a trick up his sleeve that could take her out anytime, and it wasn't something that Nikita often did, but this time he was serious. As he had decided, he was going to let Annette take him out, and with his chest exposed, it was all too easy to slam him down and plunge the knife into his heart.

As much as he was going to allow his own death tonight, he was still not going to allow himself to make things too easy for her.

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template created by NAGA for use on NIGHTMARE.[/center]

[ANNETTE DORYCE MASON]

And through the rising and falling apart, We discover who we are

If you looked at it objectively, it was strange Annette Mason had accepted the chance of death for tonight, when she still had enough to live for. Sure, Manuka was giving her a hard time, especially the gossips were, and the hunters who did not accept her with a hybrid fetus in her uterus, pushing her outside their circle and making her basically an outcast amongst the hunters, but things were getting better and she got support. She got support from Kingsley, from her housemate Jude, from her best friend Damon, she got support all around and she loved those persons with her entire giant ass heart. Because despite her defenses against love and feelings, Annette had a big ass heart of gold, maybe too big for her own good, and she rarely ever killed supernaturals, only those who deserved it. She was a good person, she was kind to most people and maybe she was a bit crazy and maybe she made more mistakes than most people did, but she meant well, and she would never purposefully hurt people who did not deserve it. So it hurt her that people who were so important to her like Westley and Jackson shut her out, while all she did was love them. Jackson was like a father to her, Westley was one of her closest friends and maybe once upon a time he had been more, but by now that was beyond ruined. And she did not even want that stuff, so it did not matter. She just wanted his friendship back.

Maybe the blonde just hoped killing Nikita Redfield would bring her some peace of mind. Would silence the voice of her brother in her head that he had died for nothing, even if everything pointed into the direction that he had. That he had done things she was totally against, that he had deserved it to die. But no. He hadn't deserved to die. The David she had known could never have been that person. It were all lies. Lies, lies, lies. Her vision was clouded and her mind just did not want to believe that that was right in front of her. Her intuition was screaming she was wrong, and her intuition was flawless, but she had decided to not listen to it, because it was wrong. It never was wrong. Maybe Annette hoped that with Nikita gone, she oculd focus on her baby, finally, and maybe hope that Ruben would open up to her again, at least tell her what he was up to. That they could go back to the way they had been as friends, flirting and teasing, though people assuming they were boyfriend and girlfriend and playing those parts just for the heck of it would get to close now. They were having a kid together, even if they weren't gonna keep it, and that changed their dynamics and probably for good, and Annette regretted that. But she wasn't going to focus on that now. Now was not the time. Now was the time to focus on destroying Nikita.

Her eyes observed his handsome face as he just looked at her, not even replying to what she was saying and she guessed it was too late for chit chat anyways. This was what it came down to. She knew this wasn't going to be easy and she did not want it to be. If he fought back, the satisfaction of defeating him would be even bigger. She knew she was in a disadvantage because she was pregnant, but don't forget we're talking about a girl who's been doing martial arts since she was like 5. Her knives and bow were like dead extensions of her arms. Annette was dangerous and it was about time supernaturals started to see that. Even if she was pregnant. So when she striked and hit Nikita's face, she knew this was only just the beginning, but it had set a warning. She was not to be messed with. Pain was something Annette hadn't truly felt in years, because pain was an emotion one could switch off. It was a mere warning signal from your body to your mind that something was wrong, and you could switch it off. Mostly. His foot hitched behind her ankle and before she knew it she was falling, but Nettie knew how to fall. The moment her foot left the ground, she turned around and stepped forward to catch herself, only to swiftly turn around as she heard him attack again, not striking for his free and open chest like she could have, because she knew better than to walk into a trap open-eyed, and thus instead her hand shot out to grab his shoulder as her knee him on the side, clashing into this ribcage. But it didn't stop there. In the dojo they called Annette 'the lightning bolt', because she was famous for her fast and destroying strikes. She was merciless and swift because of her tiny frame, and pressure points were always the fun thing to do. So her hands and feet rained down on Nikita in several martial arts combinations, and it wouldn't stop. Not until he'd either way collapse or break her attack with one of his own.

Get ready to rumble.

FOR NIKI/NAGA, 881 WORDS, OUTFIT

[NIKITA ETHAN REDFIELD]

it's a lovely night with that look in your eye

[/size][/color]

but you still sleep with your back to me

It suddenly dawned on the demon on what a lovely night it really was, and he was busy spending it by fighting a relentless hunter. With a cool, cool breeze whistling merrily through his ears and a bright, yellow moon shining down on the both of them, Nikita realized that he very well could have stayed in with a cup of coffee and sit at the balcony of his apartment, enjoying the night air. He could be lounging in the after hours of the night with only his thoughts to keep him company, and any dream that he had would be permissible at that very moment, regardless of how illogical or irrational it was. Had the demon been capable of emotion at that very moment, he would have actually been upset that he was allowing time to tick by by doing this activity. Although it was mandatory and essential that he fought her tonight, just like how he had to everytime she tried to ambush him, Nikita wished that he was back home at his apartment with his own thoughts, instead of fighting for his life. The thrill was nice and all, and plus it gave him a good workout, but the introvert in him was not liking any of this, not one bit. He was a musician, not a fighter, for pete's sake.

Her blows were painless to his apathetic personality. Nikita was accepting like how a table would accept drinks being slammed down to it every night. Compared to the hell and pain angels could bring to him, this was getting knocked in the face by a baby. There was no way he could die from this, unless Annette possessed one particular blade that could end his life in an instant, which not many hunters had the privilege to have fortunately. Still, it did not stop him from being a weary duck, and while she was beating the crap out of him, his foot rose and he hooked it over her neck, twisting it over. His other foot kicked into her shins firmly, pushing her away from her. And soon enough, she was back, attacking him swiftly, not giving up and quite determined for his life.

Nikita had no idea how long they sparred then. The night was young, but time kept trundling along. The attacks seemed to be endless, and the two of them continued sparring in a deadly, yet beautiful dance. Blow after blow she kept raining down on him, and assault after assault he dodged gracefully. It was then did he suddenly decide to drop his guard, giving her the opportunity that she desperately wanted. Forget everything, he was going to give her what she craved. He felt himself being slammed onto his back on the ground, and was soon looking up into her wild blue eyes. How beautiful yet deadly they were, just like their little dance.

A knife was produced. The demon decided to take the time to marvel at how shiny it really was. His hand rose to grasp hers, the one that was holding the weapon. He lowered both their hands down to his chest, the tip of the knife barely grazing his shirt. His lips curled into a thin, humourless smile, and he poked the knife into his skin, almost playfully. "Well, go on." said Nikita softly. "Stab me, hunter. Into the heart, mind you." Ebony orbs flashed in interest, locking on to Annette's blue ones. "Is this not what you wanted, Annette? A parting gift from me to you I must say, the opportunity that you always wanted." She would be able to avenge her brother at last, and as much as the demon loathed the hunter that had tried taking the life of those mermaids, he held no such disgust for his younger sister.

Nikita had already made his peace a long time ago, and so, was not afraid of death. His ninety years felt done, and at least he would not have died alone. Instead, he would have died an honourable death by fighting. There was no way he could come back from hell if he was stabbed by the knife, his existence would be erased forever. But he didn't care, because he was already finished. His dark orbs gazed expectantly into Annette's eyes, asking her to just do it already, and give him the reprieve he seeked. All he wanted was to just go already, and maybe see his parents again hopefully. At least he would leave quite the legacy behind, given the amount of music that he had composed.

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[/b] - NOTES speeding this up <3[/div]

template created by NAGA for use on NIGHTMARE.[/center]

[ANNETTE DORYCE MASON]

And through the rising and falling apart, We discover who we are

Had she not been in the situation she was in, Annette would have probably done this an entirely different way, or not done it at all. Her emotionally unstable life needed something stable, something vast to hold onto, hence her notorious quest to seek out and kill Nikita. Part of her knew she wouldn't stand a chance, since though she had been taking martial arts since she was like five or something, the blonde was still a tiny 5'1 sized girl. and a mortal human, where as Nikita with his enhanced speed, strength and senses was also taller than her, so there was no way she could win. Maybe she was looking for a way out of everything, she did not know what it was, but Annette needed to have a feeling that at least something in her life was steady. Something in her life was always the same, and it was her chasing Nikita, them fighting before she lost again and he got away. And though she wouldn't admit it to herself for anything in the world, that was exactly what was going on here. It was why she -a seemingly harmless hunter to those who were innocent- had chosen to want to kill this demon, even if everything inside her told her he was innocent. She told her inner voices of reason just to shut up, because he was manipulating them, so she could ignore them, but that didn't make it less true. She needed something to hold on to, and finding Nikita was what had kept her standing for all these years as she lost the last family member who she had actually cared about and who cared for her, and now killing him was going to get her through the situation she was in now, all by herself.

But she couldn't stop it either and soon they were fighting, going from left to right and back, turning around each other like they were dancing, the beautiful dance of martial arts and fighting, in which he blocked her blows and she blocked his, going from side to side and up and down and it was everywhere. They were everywhere. The voice of Westley echoed through her head as he told her that David had been a pretty hardcore hunter, and how betrayed she felt that everybody had failed to tell her this. At first she hadn't wanted to believe it, so instead she had gone to Jackson and asked him, and he had answered the same. Her brother was had been a lethal, against-all-others hunter and she had yet to believe it, but she just couldn't. Even though all the fact pointed in that direction, the huntress truly couldn't. So they kept on fighting, dancing, and it was wearing her out and didn't seem to put a dent into his defense. Annette was never going to win this and she knew it, so she was quietly already saying goodbye to her life, and apologized to the baby in her stomach, even though she knew that it might be better for that hybrid to not be born, no matter how much she hadn't been able to kill it.

But then everything changed. Suddenly Nikita's defense broke and they were on the ground with her on top of him, the knife already drawn to push it right into his heart. But his hands folded around her own and pointed it there, nearly touching his skin as he looked at her with those dark eyes, those incredibly dark and beautiful eyes of his as she only just noticed now. And then as he spoke again the realization hit her, her heart pounding in her chest as she listened to his words, her eyes locked in his gaze, unable to move. He was letting her do this. An innocent man and yet he was letting her kill him, sentence him for a crime he didn't commit. It hit her like a ton of bricks. Closing her eyes, the girl took a deep breath to start the movement, only to find her body on lock down. She couldn't do it. She plainly couldn't do it. Opening her eyes again, she stared down at his for a millisecond. "Fuck." The blonde said, standing up again and tossing the knife away into the sand in her fury, before stalking away, and out of his sight slammed her fists into a tree, resting her head against it. She cursed herself, hated herself for being there, and making such a fool out of herself. She couldn't do it. What kind of hunter was she, if she couldn't even kill her biggest nemesis? Letting out a deep breath she heard footsteps behind her, and she knew they could only be of one person. "If you have come to mock me, then I will tell you now to leave me alone." She said with a rough voice, breathing out some air as she refused to open her eyes and tilt her head away from the tree to look at him. She had embarrassed herself, made a fool out of herself and was unable to kill the person she had been wanting to kill forever. She was probably the most worthless hunter in the entire world.

FOR NIKI/NAGA, 878 WORDS, OUTFIT

[NIKITA ETHAN REDFIELD]

it's a lovely night with that look in your eye

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but you still sleep with your back to me

Ironically enough, Nikita valued life above anything else. Life was a privilege, a gift that was given to you the moment you came into this world. Life was for living, using whatever it had to offer, and using it to its fullest. Life was your heartbeat and the sounds of you breathing. It was the grass underneath your feet and the wind blowing through your hair. It was a world, and being born was an invitation into said world. You could do anything you wanted with it. It was the notion that Nikita had stuck by despite his tragic past. His parents being killed while he hid in a cupboard, and him never feeling anything more than curiosity and content. He was a demon, hunted down by most hunters alike, and demons that his late parents had wronged. But Nikita had carried on, pushing forward. He wasn't done yet. He hadn't fully experienced what life had to fully offer. Tonight however, was one of them. The thrill and feeling of your life hanging in the air, balancing precariously, all in the hands of one person. A dangerous gamble it was indeed. The demon knew that his life was now being held in the hands of the huntress, but he trusted that she would do whatever her heart asked her to. There was no right or wrong thing in life, such things depended on the perspectives of society on what was acceptable, and what wasn't.

Nikita was quite content lying on the forest floor like this, straddled by the beautiful, deadly blonde, with a knife poking his chest. He could almost imagine it, the blade piercing his skin, ripping apart tissue and muscle, and straight into his heart. Blood would stain the leaves underneath him in the moonlight, eerie and macabre. It was quite the messy sight in his head, but how strangely beautiful. He was able to orchestrate and bring about his own death with his own thinking. Annette may have killed him, but he would have been the true mastermind, pushing and proding, shaping her into doing what he wanted of her. It was twisted, Nikita had indeed manipulated her, but he had pushed her towards her goal of killing him once and for all. The amount of control he had had over this was satisfying indeed, and all he needed now was for Annette to stab down. Whether or not she decided to, he didn't mind. All Nikita was doing was shaping his own story, and it was up to the huntress now to see which road it would take.

But he was innocent! It was unfair, a crime to kill someone for something that he had not done. A typical demon trait, his penchant for games and trickery had led her to this. Ever since Nikita knew that reason and proclaiming his innocence was not going to work, he had decided to take matters into his own hands. Let the girl kill him, but he would be behind it. A lifetime of running and hiding had not once appealed to him, he would only be wasting time without appreciating life. Patiently he waited, staring into her eyes, only to blink when she swore. A thin smile curled around his lips. Ah, she had realized that he was innocent after all. It was almost a shame.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position after Annette got off him and disappeared. Rising to his feet, the demon calmly brushed off leaves from himself and sauntered over to where the knife had been thrown. He bent down to pick up the shiny weapon, spinning it around with his fingers. Nikita knew that he should have walked away and disappeared then, but common courtesy told him to return the knife. It was only polite after all. He took his time locating Annette, the huntress hadn't gone that far, what with her and her pregnant state. "I did not come to mock you," replied the demon softly, still twirling the knife. "I came to return this." He held it out to her, and after she took it, he closed the distance between them and gently brushed his lips against her cheek. A small gesture, one he knew to be of appreciation, or so he thought.

"Thank you."

TAGS nettie WORDS

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[ANNETTE DORYCE MASON]

And through the rising and falling apart, We discover who we are

Annette's fists kept descending into the tree as if it was a dummy she used for practicing her martial arts. Never before had she seen such a useless hunter as she was herself, never before had she felt so ashamed of anything she had done. It should have been so simple. She had him, his life depending on her as she could cut through his chest and into his heart within seconds, she had been prepared, she had been able to do it. But she had felt the beating of his heart against her knife and seen the darkness in his eyes that somehow told her that he hadn't lied, that he was telling the truth. And right at that moment all the pieces of the puzzle fit, and the blonde realized her chase of this demon had only been a way for her to not feel the guilt and the pain that she felt when her brother died. To not feel the embarrassment and the shame of the fact that her brother had killed innocent people, her closest friend, she didn't want her opinion about him to change, but it had already, and she hated herself for it. Annette was a fuck up, she was the only person who could never get anything right, she was the only one who always fucked everything up when she had the chance to make things right. She fell in love with the wrong people who would only hurt her, people preferred her brother over her, and hell, she couldn't even blame them, because she was a mess and he was not. Nettie was a weakling, and she knew it.

Her mother had always predicted that nothing would come of her, that she'd end up lonely in the gutters, probably pregnant, with no job and no money and nothing. And though her business was doing perfectly well, Nettie had fucked up the rest of the things. She was pregnant by someone who she didn't love that way, they weren't in a relationship and he had abandoned her, even if she had thought he was one of her best friends. And she didn't blame him, because Ruben wasn't the one for commitments, and she wasn't the one for commitments and all of this was frightening and confusing, but it still hurt. It hurt so much to not have somebody right there next to her when she needed them. The hunters had shunned her for all the right reasons, but it still hurt. She understood all of them, but yet it hurt her so much that sometimes it felt like she wanted to rip her heart out of her chest and just be done with it. But she didn't. Instead she went on a quest to kill a demon of which she knew was innocent, pretending she knew he wasn't, just so she could channel all her frustrations and sadness and all the pain into this quest, this hopeless goal that she had set up for herself and with that she had become someone she wasn't at all. The blonde wasn't a merciless killer, she only killed those who deserved it, and this demon was not part of that. Self-defense was a literary definition that the woman knew all too well, and she couldn't blame him for that, she couldn't be mad at him for that, but that didn't mean she wasn't frustrated. She was a hunter, she had become a hunter because of this cause, to kill the murderer of her brother. As a hunter it was in her nature to kill supernaturals. And yet, she couldn't do it. Annette was weak. She was so weak.

And then suddenly he stood there behind her, while the blonde was busy beating her own fists to pulp, bleeding and all those fancy things. He was the last person she wanted to see right now, the last person she could handle now, because the only reason he could be here was to mock her, to taunt her with her failure, because now he no longer had anything to fear. She couldn't kill him, and he knew it. She had been caught into his games without knowing it, dancing in circles like he wanted to and now she just felt dirty and used, and weak and just overall fucked up because of her own stupidity. She called herself a hunter, but she wasn't worthy of the title. Maybe they were right about shunning her from their hunting community, she didn't fit in there after all. She was too weak to stand her ground, to do what she had to do and she defied their community by giving birth to this hybrid baby. It was against everything they stood for. But once again she was proven to be wrong about her so-called nemesis when he spoke, telling her didn't come to mock her, only to return her knife to her. She couldn't say anything, but just took the knife without saying a word, tucking it back in her boot where it belonged as she gazed at the demon, wondering what he was up to again now. Why didn't he just run and let her wallow in her misery and shame for a while? Why did he have to come here and stare at her with those dark, enchanting black eyes, as he returned her knife to her as if she had lost her shoe while running here? And then he stepped closer to her, leaned in and Nettie felt herself hold her breath for a moment, until his lips pecked her cheek, and he.. thanked her. Her words were lost as she just gazed at him, unable to have any words for this. She couldn't say 'no problem' as if he thanked her for letting him borrow a spoonful of sugar or something.

But she observed his handsome face, and remembered how part of her had enjoyed their little cat and mouse game, and how she suddenly had an urge that she couldn't really describe. And blaming it on the pregnant hormones for not being able to oppress those things, Nettie did it before she even realized how she grabbed his face, and pressed her lips on his.

FOR NIKI/NAGA, 1037 WORDS, OUTFIT