Raelle is an overworked Slayer, who might have momentarily died last year at her junior prom...
Scylla Ramshorn is the quippy new Slayer who doesn't always play by the rules
Title from the song Kill of the Night by Gin Wigmore
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The Slayer's job was never done, Raelle began to realize. She went to high school every day just like any other teenage girl, and at night she put down vampires... those and all of the other kinds of demons that were attracted to life on top of the Hellmouth at Fort Salem, Massachusetts. For the moment she had found a sort of routine in the unusual life she was leading, her human friends and her Watcher by her side. Raelle would not describe herself as particularly happy, but she had found some contentment in the bonds she was forming with Abigail and Tally... even her Watcher Anacostia, since moving to Fort Salem. Though this was not what she had expected, she was not upset about her situation.
The patrol could be oddly satisfying after a hard or aggravating school day. Power flooded into Raelle's muscles, her grip on her favorite stake steady and unflagging as the Slayer plunged the weapon into vampire after vampire's chest. She had come close to snapping a whole bully in half who had decided to pick on Tally, only holding herself back after Anacostia laid a surprisingly strong grip on her shoulder. Raelle could have broken away easily, but she knew what her mentor meant by the action. Understanding did not make standing still through the moment any easier. Now, she vented all of the pent up aggression into the demonic entities that insisted on bothering the inhabitants of the small military town.
"Well there is certainly a burr up your ass tonight, isn't there?" a young woman commented wryly from where she was perched on top of a tombstone. No living humans ought to look as much like they belonged in a graveyard at night as Scylla Ramshorn did right then. Raelle found it annoying and alluring all at once.
"You could join in if you wanted," Raelle grumbled, trying not to allow the beautiful young woman to distract her from the fight at hand. Slayer sense left her with a consistent awareness of Scylla's presence and whereabouts nonetheless.
"Why would I do that when watching you is far more entertaining?" Scylla asked a seductive lilt in her voice that Raelle did her utmost to pretend didn't affect her. The blonde slayer tucked and rolled beneath the swing of vampire claws slashing at her throat. She staked him from behind, moving too quickly for the vampire to react. Raelle popped to her feet at the foot of the tombstone where Scylla was seated.
"Would you care to join me for the rest of my patrol or are you going to continue snarking at me from there?" Raelle held up one hand and gave the other girl a hand as she jumped off of the memorial to land nimbly on her feet. She was most surprised to find that after hitting the soft earth, Scylla did not immediately release her hand.
Raelle smiled proudly down at the ground as Scylla looked up into a starry sky away from Raelle, hoping the dark of the night would disguise the blush on her cheeks.
"I think you should take the rest of the night off and get something to eat with me. Slaying always leaves me horny and hungry afterward." Scylla quirked one eyebrow after having regained her composure. "I know a great 24 hr diner not too far from here that we could hit up. They don't ask questions and they keep a solid First Aid Kit under the counter.
Scylla gently lifted the hem of Raelle's tank top to get a better look at the graze alongside her ribcage that had shredded the soft olive green material. At the moment, beneath the haze of the adrenaline, Raelle hadn't even realized she was hurt. "Damn it! I really liked this shirt." She groaned, pretending to not feel any of the pain. "Does this diner do pancakes? I'm not going to skip a night of slaying to hang out with you unless there are pancakes involved."
"What 24 hr diner doesn't have pancakes? Come on now." Scylla laughed and took Raelle's hand once more.
"How would you be hungry or horny anyway?... You weren't the one doing the slaying tonight." Raelle scoffed, fighting to stand up at her full height as all of the aches and pains began to make themselves known. With her free hand, she began to try shaking the vampire dust out of her clothing.
"Yes, but I was watching you... and that got me to the same place." Scylla laughed as she winked at Raelle and used the hand she had been holding to spin her in a circle with a light laugh. The pair chatted all the rest of the way to the diner.
The woman at the front desk seemed to recognize Scylla on sight, her face going pale and anxious. Immediately she reached beneath the counter and held out a first aid kit as though she were afraid Scylla would hurt her, as though Scylla had to come in and ask for it multiple times before. Scylla held up two fingers in a request for orders of coffee as she accepted the kit with a wordless nod. She led Raelle to a back corner booth and knelt down on the cold, hard tile floor when the blonde sat down.
"I know that we're Slayers, but I still want to be sure you don't get taken down againby something as simple as a regular infection," Raelle growled a bit but held the hem of her ruined shirt up anyhow. She hadn't known Scylla for very long, but it was a rare occasion when her voice would get as gentle as soft as it was then.
When Scylla was being sincere, Raelle found herself having trouble saying no to her and those mystifying blue eyes. Her fingers were soft and sure as she disinfected the long scrapes. Raelle hissed at the sting but sat as still as she was able. She watched Scylla's focused face as the other Slayer focused on her work and wondered how often the dark-haired girl had to do this for herself. Raelle had her Watcher, Anacostia, along with Tally and Abigail when she needed them. Scylla had insisted on working alone for as long as Raelle had known her.
As... intense as Scylla could be, Raelle thought even she ought to have someone who cared enough about her to be waiting after patrol. She couldn't imagine what kind of Slayer she might have become without her Scooby Gang.
"Hey, uhm, I hate saying this, but I'm still not at 100%, could you walk me back to the school? Quartermaine can take it from there." Raelle feigned sheepishness, impressed with how sly she actually was.
Scylla stood up and sighed heavily as though helping Raelle was going to be a pain in the ass. She slid her arm around the Sunnydale Slayer's waist to support her and walked with her until they could see Anacostia, Abigail, and Tally jogging up to meet them from Sunnydale High School's library. Before they had time to realize it was her, Scylla placed a lightning-fast kiss onto Raelle's cheek and ran off into the nearby woods. The blonde was frozen into place, her heart startled into almost stopping until her friends finally distracted her.
