Palindrome

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

"Annie, Charles, Dylan, this is Christian! Christian, these are my friends that helped with the hunt today." Penny introduced everybody to each other. There were nods and exchanges of salutations before Christian sat down next to her. Penny thought Christian looked nice and she had to look away in hopes that she wouldn't be caught staring. She always liked a man in business or business casual attire. Christian always dressed nice, but it seemed he at least put in some effort for tonight's dinner. Meanwhile, Penny just wore a t-shirt and some old jeans.

When Christian and Charles started complimenting her, Penny blushed and tilted her head down so her hair would hide her face. Christian was good at flattery and he never failed to make her feel strong and seen. Charles also seemed to hop onto the 'compliment Penny till she dies of embarassment' train as well. "It was just my first time, you two. There's a lot more I need to learn. No need to praise me so much. I do want to continue hunting though." Once her face felt less red, she tucked her hair behind her ears. She could feel Charles' arm on the back of her chair and sometimes his fingers brushed against her side. Penny leaned forward slightly in her chair to study her menu. She was grateful for Charles and everything he did for her today, but she barely knew him. She didn't know why he had to be so touchy. Penny would've been fine if he just rested his arm on her chair, but it seems he wanted to send a message. To whom, Penny didn't know. Penny looked up and saw Dylan throw a straw wrapper at Charles for something he said.

"Don't come after me! It's true! You totally had the hots for that shapeshifter!"

"I told you to never bring that up!"

Annie cackled and slapped her hand on the table. "No way! You almost slept with her?!"

"I'm leaving." Dylan threatened, but he never made a move to leave. Penny smiled at their display of friendship and hoped that one day she'd find some friends she was that close with.

Penny saw Christian staring at the menu and she raised her eyebrows. His face remained passive, but Penny remembered how he said that reapers don't eat. Maybe he didn't know what to order. Penny leaned towards him to look at his menu and she placed her finger on the brisket sandwich. "Don't think so hard," She said quietly. "You can never go wrong with brisket." Penny pulled her hand away and smiled at him. He smelled really good. He always smelled good, but tonight he seemed to be wearing some sort of cologne or perfume.

"Penny! You wouldn't believe what happened to Charles the second week we started hunting together!" Annie's voice called Penny's attention away from Christian and back towards the group. Penny raised her eyebrows.

"Oh?" She chuckled when she saw Charles' reddening face.

"Don't you dare, Annie!"

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny gave Christian a warm smile. "I think it would be wonderful if you came."

Penny was the last person to show up to the diner. She walked in through the doors and the noise from all the patrons bombarded her senses. Families and couples enjoyed their meals with smiles on their face. The atmosphere was contagious. Penny smiled when she saw Charles waving her over to a table in the back of the diner. "Hey guys!" Charles gestured to the seat next to him and Penny smiled. He pulled it out when she went to sit down. "Oh! Thanks Charles." Despite his gentlemanly ways, Penny's eyes strayed to the door of the diner. Christian said he'd show up just slightly after she did, so she waited. "I have a friend joining us. I hope you all don't mind?" She glanced around the table. Dylan kept his usual scowl, but Annie shook her head with a smile and Charles laughed.

"The more the merrier!"

"We're celebrating something that this person probably shouldn't know about. Are we sure it's ok for your friend to join?" Dylan took a sip of his water after voicing his suspicions.

Penny shook her head. "He knows about the vampires. My friend that died to them was his sister. I figured it would be rude to celebrate without him." Just as she finished her explanation, the diner bell rang and Penny's head snapped to the door. Christian walked in and Penny stood up to wave at him before gesturing to the empty seat to her left. "Just in time." She looked up at him when he approached and smiled. This was probably one of the happiest moments of her life. She was glad Christian decided to join them. He helped her so much, she wanted him to celebrate too.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny nodded her head seriously. "Interesting. I've heard of skin walkers. They sound freaky." She piled her plates together and left the room service cart just outside her room. "I guess the real next step for me is to find a permanent place of residence. I don't have the money to keep staying in a nice place like this. Maybe I can buy a small house. Or a trailer that I can lug around if I do decide to hunt."

Penny watchd Christian try to look busy around the room and she frowned. Was something bothering him? "Did you want to go to dinner with us tonight? We can make up some story about how you were the brother or something of my friend that died." Penny smiled micheviously. "We can introduce you as Mr. Reaper. I used to know someone with the last name Reaper, so they wouldn't suspect a thing." Of course Penny wouldn't call him Mr. Reaper in public, but she wanted to tease him a little bit. However, it would be really nice if Christian decided to go with her.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny picked at the rest of her food and watched as Christian finished putting everything away. "I'm not entirely sure what to do now." Penny admitted. This past month had been her constantly living in fear and plotting her revenge. Now that she finally accomplished her goals, what did she do now? Her life before was lackluster and she found herself feeling depressed at the thought of going back to mundane life. "After we had killed off most of the vampires, I kept thinking about how much I admired Charles, Dylan and Annie. They risked their lives to help people. I kept thinking that I wanted to get stronger so that the next time something happened, I'd be ready."

Penny put her fork down and slouched back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Perhaps I'm crazy for thinking this is a life I'd be happy having."

Penny's phone rang from the bedroom and she stood up to get it. There was no caller ID, but she knew it as Charles calling to schedule dinner for the three of them and their date. Penny stared at the ringing phone for a few moments, debating on ignoring it or answering it. She didn't know why she was so apprehensive. "Hello? Charles?" She walked back into the living room area.

Penny listened to him talk on the other end and she gave a small giggle at some lame joke he told. "That's not necessary. Let me treat the three of you tonight. How about that diner we met at?" He told her about a movie that was playing in the theater tomorrow night. Some cheesy horror flick about werewolves.

"I'll be leaving town the day after, so tomorrow night would be great, if that works for you." Charles stumbled a bit on his words. He was clearly a little nervous and Penny wondered if he dated a lot.

"That sounds fine to me. I can meet you there?"

"No need. Let me pick you up."

Penny gave him the address of her hotel and promised to meet him in the lobby before hanging up. "I guess Charles is taking me to a horror flick about werewolves. Tell me, are those real too?" Penny asked Christian, curiosity lingering in her tone.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

"I want to get married, eventually. Having kids kind of scares me, but it's not off the table either. I'm not in it for the sex, unlike some people in today's world. I didn't grow up with very stable relationships. My parents didn't get along. I suspect they loved each other at some point, but my dad grew distant and my mom took it out on me." Penny smiled sadly at Christian. His hands were warm against her skin and she almost complained when he took them away. Cold air met her skin and she dropped her shirt to cover her now bandaged gash.

"You mean it?" Penny said in almost a whisper, her eyes meeting his. She was slightly in awe at the way Christian unabashedly called her kind. She'd been called kind before, but not in a way that made her feel appreciated and seen. Christian was somehow able to make her see the world in a different light. He was kind too and Penny didn't see that in a lot of men or women nowadays. "I'm sorry I caused you such trouble when you were supposed to take me to the afterlife. I don't know what came over me. I was just... I don't know. It was very out of character for me. I know we've kind of talked about this before, but I really wanted to apologize. Sincerely. And say thank you. You say I see the best in people, but I think you may be a better version of that. You could've ignored me and let my body die, but you didn't. I don't know what you had to do in consequence of letting me live, but I'm sure it wasn't great."

Penny didn't know why she felt the need to apologize. She'd already kind of apologized and talked to him about it before, but she wanted him to see how much she cared about what he does and how he feels... That's what friends did, right? Penny couldn't help but feel like that was the wrong terminology.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny found it endearing how Christian took her 'do your worst' joke seriously. Despite how knowledgeable he was, he seemed almost like a kid when it came to certain things. The car, for example. Penny giggled almost the entire way to kill the vampires, just because Christian would not stop touching the buttons and looking out the window. Penny realized that there was a lot of things that he probably didn't get to experience. Especially in his line of work.

Penny winced as Christian cleaned out her wound and she took a deep breath to help with some of the pain. It wasn't too bad after it was cleaned. That was until Christian started applying the antiseptic cream. He left a trail of goosebumps with his feather light touches and it caused Penny's breath to hitch. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the feeling of something, she couldn't put a finger on that lingered in her chest. "Oh, that." She chuckled awkwardly. "He did. I guess I didn't really have a reason to say no, so I took him up on the offer." Penny paused, in contemplation. "He seems really nice and sincere. I don't think I'm the best judge of character though. My last boyfriend wasn't exactly a saint." Despite the somewhat awkward topic of conversation, Penny was kind of glad Christian asked. She wanted his opinion on Charles and she took his curiosity as him accepting her proposal of friendship. "Besides, it's just a date. Nothing more, nothing less."

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny removed her towel to show Christian her seeping wound and he nodded before disappearing. She smiled, amused, and sat down to eat, the towels pressed against the wound again. The food was possibly some of the best food she'd eaten in a while, which was weird to her. She'd had almost the same thing a few days ago and it tasted bland. Penny chewed thoughtfully before deciding that it must be because she was no longer plauged by what haunted her. The world seemed brighter and her outlook had turned more positive. She didn't feel like she was living in fear and paranoia anymore. The vampires were dead, she was eating delicious food, she had a handsome reaper to converse with, and she had a date with a cute guy planned. Penny paused mid-chew and shook her head. She was delirious with pain and was post-adrenaline rush. Handsome reaper and cute guy? Penny must be losing her mind.

Penny was halfway through the food when Christian returned. She gave a bright smile. "Welcome back!" She watched as Christian set everything down and crouched beside her. Penny met his eyes and she realized that they were a deep, dark brown. They were kind. Far kinder than any man's eyes she'd ever seen. Penny cleared her throat and moved her eyes away, focusing on the towel that was against her. Her face heated up and she nodded. "I know some first aid, but nothing too advanced." She threw the towel to the floor and lifted her shirt up so he could see the gash. "Do your worst. I'll just mess it up."

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny grinned at Christian. "Despite all the blood, it was..." Penny had a lot of words to describe how she was feeling, but she wanted to pick the right one. "Cathartic." Penny accepted Christian's jacket and put it on. The lingering warmth from his body soaked into her shoulders. There was still blood in her hair and some on her face, but at least the most of it would be covered. "But, before we talk- I think my first order of business is a shower."

When they arrived at the hotel, the first thing Penny did was get in the shower. By then, the blood had already dried and crusted in her hair. Luckily, the hot water was able to get most of it out. If you looked closely, you'd see a little bit of a red hue to her blonde hair, but Penny decided it was faint enough, no one would point it out. She put on some clothes and lifted her shirt up slightly to see the long gash that stretched diagnally across her stomach. She frowned as it lightly seeped blood. It stung and throbbed, but it wasn't unbearable. She sighed. She'd need to bandage it somehow. She grabbed her towel and pressed it up against the wound to keep it from lightly dripping on the floor and clean clothes.

"I'm done, but I think my stomach needs to be bandaged. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Penny called out to Christian as she entered the living room area. Penny felt her stomach grumble. Yeah, she was hungry too. And tired.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny raised her eyebrows in surprise. What a guy, asking a girl out who is covered in vampire blood and surrounded by rolling heads. It was almost comical. "Oh. Um," Penny didn't have a reason to say no and Charles wasn't a bad-looking guy. He was actually pretty handsome, but Penny didn't think she had the best judgement in character. She supposed his sudden shyness and awkwardness was endearing? She sighed and gave a small smile. Why not? He clearly was interested in her and Penny wouldn't mind a little distraction. Perhaps he'd help her get started in the hunter world too and give her more details. "Sure, I don't see why not." Penny glanced at Christian and she felt heat rise to her face that he had witnessed that. Her heart quickened a little bit, but she brushed it off as being nervous for going on a date with Charles. "I, uh, I'm gonna head out. You have my number." She gave him another smile before walking out of the house and towards her car.

The sun was still between midday and sunset, so not much time had passed while inside. She rushed to her car as fast as she could in an attempt to avoid looks from pedestrians. A woman covered in blood leaving a house and rushing to a car? Not suspicious at all. She got into her car and started the engine. Her face heated up again when she remembered what she told Christian before she ran in to fight the vampires and she groaned, resting her head against the steering wheel. What was she doing? Telling Christian she cared for him and then going on a date with Charles? Penny stared at her dash through the big hole of the steering wheel and frowned. She only told Christian she cared about him as a friend. A pang of guilt and uncertainty throbbed in her chest and she furrowed her eyebrows. If that was true, then why did she feel like this? "Christian?" She called out. She saw him at the house, but it didn't seem like he followed her to her car. Maybe he was giving her space? Even so, she wanted to see him and celebrate her victory.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny was ashamed to admit that she had gotten the numbers wrong. She ducked underneath a fist and stumbled forward from the momentum. She quickly straightened up and turned just in time to swing her machete right into the throat of the vampire that was almost on top of her. She machete lodged itself halfway into the neck before stopping. Blood spurted all over her face and dripped off her hands, making the machete handle slick. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blood staining her blonde hair. She had to ignore the nausea that rolled up into her throat. "I'm fine!" She responded to Charles' comment. She wasn't sensitive to blood, per say, but this much blood was a little excessive.

Unfortunately, the vampire that had her machete halfway through it's neck was still alive. It gurgled something that Penny assumed was some sort of vulgar comment before trying to kick her. Penny let go of her machete and took a few steps back to avoid the kick to her abdomen. She looked up into his face and frowned. She recognized him. He was the one that talked to her after she woke up from being kidnapped. Him and one other vampire were in the room with her, but as she glanced around, she saw Dylan beheading the other one. Her scars itched again and her blood boiled. Rage filled her and an all consuming need for his death overtook her thoughts. He stumbled a bit and Penny used that to get in close and put her hands on the machete again. She yanked it out before swinging it again where the gash on his neck still was. With more strength than she thought she had, she sliced right through the neck and beheaded the cursed vampire. The anger in her gut died down, but she felt the adrenaline rush through her body. A wave of relief washed over her now that more than half of the vampires were dead. Charles, Annie, and Dylan were holding their own really well.

Annie beheaded the last vampire in the room before taking a breather. "Penny, are you okay?"

Penny nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't seen their leader. Her name is Beckah." Penny looked at Charles and Dylan. "When we find her, please let me have the final blow. She's the one that killed my friend."

Charles nodded and nudged Dylan. Dylan rolled his eyes but shrugged. "Most of the vampires came to greet us at the door. Beckah might either be trying to escape or hiding somewhere."

Penny shook her head. "I got to know Beckah at the library over the course of a few weeks. She doesn't seem like the type to escape and cower. Especially when she revealed herself to me. She's cocky. She'll think she can beat us- even if it's four against one." Penny looked towards the stairs. "I'll bet she's upstairs, waiting."

Annie nodded and started up the stairs. Penny followed behind the three. Adrenaline coursed through her veins still and she wanted to start fighting already, just so she can get his over with. Penny realized that maybe she needed to start working out so she'd be prepared for the next fight. Penny paused on the landing. Next fight? There was no one else to fight after this. Penny watched the hunters search the rooms and she realized she admired them. Here were these completely ordinary people, helping her get her revenge. They hunted things like this for a living. Helping others and saving people. Penny wanted to do that. She wanted to help others that have been in her position. She grew almost giddy at the thought of being a hunter herself. She'd spent her entire life living in a haze and not knowing what to do with her life. At least this would give her life meaning.

"Here!"

Penny rushed into the room at the end of the hall and she heard laughter. "Penny- it's good to see you again. Imagine my surprise when one of my brothers told me you had escaped!" Beckah giggled. "I thought for sure I had killed you. I was sad at first, but you tasted delicious, so I tried to get you back. I was then surprised for a second time when I heard that you got rid of my Redcaps." Beckah walked closer to the four of them and she smirked. "I figured you'd come back to me one way or another, so I waited." She eyeballed Charles and Dylan and batted her eyelashes at them. "Looks like you brought some handsome company. I wonder if they taste as good as they look!"

Beckah lunged for Charles. Dylan blocked her attack and Annie dove into the fray. Penny clutched her machete so hard, her hands hurt. Beckah just liked playing with people. The scar mark at the base of her throat where Beckah had fed, burned as if it were on fire. Penny screamed through her teeth and jumped into the fight. It was long and there were arms and legs everywhere. Beckah managed to get a few scratches in on Penny. One on her left cheek, a few gashes in her stomach, but none of them burned as much as her bite marks did. Penny was proud to say that she landed a few cuts on Beckah as well. Luckily, Charles and Dylan were able to keep Beckah off Penny to avoid any serious damage.

Penny swung her machete as Beckah's left knee and smiled when the hit landed. There was a snarl and Penny watched as Charles was able to pin Beckah to the ground. Dylan and Annie joined in holding her down. She bucked and kicked under their weight, but despite having super strength, she wasn't able to get them off. "What are you doing? Just kill me already!"

"There's someone here who wants the honor of killing you." Annie looked at Penny with a sad smile. "Come on, kid. End it."

Penny felt tears well up in her eyes and she stood by Beckah's head. All her scars burned and itched. "You've plagued me for a little over a month, Beckah. I hope that I plague you in the after life... if there even is one for something like you." Penny raised her machete high in the air and brought it down with all her strength. It sliced through and with one last screech, Beckah's head rolled. Penny felt bile rise up her esophagus and she fell to her knees before turning and retching. She felt a hand on her back, but it wasn't as warm as Christian's hand when he had comforted her back in the hotel. She let tears fall to the ground in front of her and she sniffed.

It was finally over. Her limbs felt tired and her body ached. The cuts and gashes on her cheek and torso ached, but Penny didn't really care. She straightened up and gave a bright, wide smile to her new hunter friends. "Thank you." She said, sincerely. "I'd like to pay you back somehow, maybe buy you dinner, but first... there's someone I need to talk to."

Penny wondered how awkward it would be if she just rushed out of the house and called for Christian like a mad woman. No. She'd wait till she was in her car where no one could hear her and then she'd call him. Penny looked down at her clothes and ran her bloody fingers through her hair. "Actually... I may need a shower before I talk to anyone."