9:39 [GB]

He was glaring at her again, what there was to gain by shooting looks, Vicky didn't know. His forehead was on fire, so warm that Vicky flipped her hand over and defrosted her hand on it. She thought about trying to do the same with her other hand but thought better of it, Bear'd get suspiciousness and she'd hurt herself in the process. The boy had closed his eyes, the blood from Vicky's hands smeared onto his face. He looked almost... innocent? Well, he looked less rabid, let's not go any further than that.

He started chuckling, a horrible sound that looked like it took a lot of effort. "You should be proud of yourself.... so far, you're the only one that's.... that's gotten me this beaten down." Vicky looked at the wound and back up at Bear's face. She sat up a little straighter, taking his advice and finding pride in this. Vicky figured that if anyone else had hit him this hard he'd be dead already, abandoned in the snow. There was a pause and the only sounds in the square were the wind, and the heavy breathing of Bear and herself.

"It was your knife. I- I got your name from your knife," Vicky shifted her weight and returned to applying pressure to the wound. Were you actually supposed to do that? Oh god, she was going to kill him. Bear needed a doctor, but did she really want to get him one? It would be more trouble that it was really worth. Vicky should just get up and leave... but how far would she make it before she collapsed into a heap?

Looking at the ground, she realized exactly how much blood was in the snow. She was drenched in the stuff; sticky yet slick between her fingers. Checking to make sure Bear wasn't looking, Vicky touched her tongue to the stuff, licking it off her finger. Bitter, metallic but there was something else in it she couldn't place. She went back to pressing the wound. God, she had no idea what to do- then something that seemed so crazy it just might work.

Vicky let go of the wound again and started scanning Bear's legs, feeling on his calves until she found a hole in his pants. She pinched the end of her needle and quickly tore it out of his skin with a triumphant smile. She turned back to him, presenting the needle and her grin.

My turn for some fun.

Thread. She needed thread. Vicky ignored Bear's grumbles and looked at his clothing for something suitable to use. She saw the sleeve of his shirt was torn a bit, but it was on the arm farthest from her. She reached over him but couldn't reach. Mustering up some strength, Vicky swung her leg over him so that she was straddling his stomach just like he had done to her earlier. Vicky's fingers were on the string, ready to tear a piece out, thread the needle and sew up his side- but something stopped her. She was looking at his face. Bear's eyes were closed, his skin smeared with blood, his dark hair flailing every which way. Vicky's gaze then moved to the needle in her hand. A spark ran up her spine and Vicky's goal changed. She could stitch him up later, right now she could get her revenge. Bear would be the prey, Vicky would make him feel what she had.

Leaning forward, Vicky bent over until her lips were right by his ear which meant she was practically laying on top of him, keeping him down.

"Is it really that exhilarating?" Vicky asked, using a tone she didn't know she had. Vicky leaned back a little, just enough to fit her hand holding the needle up to dig a scratch into Bear's face. The cut was actually pretty shallow compared to most of the injuries of the night. The cut started below his left eye and ran down to his chin, curving with his face. Blood started to drip from it and Vicky leaned forward again, her body moving without consent, and ran her tongue along the cut, letting the iron taste sit in her mouth and the red liquid roll down her chin.

He tried to get up, throwing some weight forward only to crumple back down. He just gave up, no fight anymore. Sad. Bear was a whole lot more fun without the gash in his side. Less dangerous now. Less... exhilarating. He was just laying there now, prepared for anything Vicky was going to do to him.


"Just get it over with, whatever the hell you want to do to me, then get the fuck off of me." Could he not take it? He just accepted his fate? Pathetic.

Vicky leaned against his chest, looking at his face, a bit disappointed. Her finger traced the fresh scratch on his face.

"What is it, Bear?" she said, the words slipping out in the same sultry tone. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it?

Vicky continued dragging the tip of her finger over the scratch.

"How boring," Was he just going to lie in the snow? Lame. She needed to do something. Something that could trigger a response- anything really. Her eyes drifted up to his eyes, then rolled down to his lips. Vicky felt a little light bulb turn on above her, making her sport a wide grin. She closed the little space that was between them and touched her lips to his.

"Cassandra is better off dead," Vicky said, breaking away. "Why live when all you have is a man that can't satisfy?"

It wasn't until she said that did Vicky realize there was something wrong with her. She stopped for a moment and took in the situation. She was sitting astride a man that tried to kill her in the bitter cold trying to coax a response out of him. Vicky wrapped her mind around it but then dismissed it. Everyone has those kind of days.

Don't you fucking talk about her like that!"

Suddenly the boy who had been paralyzed with pain and had allowed Vicky to scratch up his face was suddenly beyond pissed off. She couldn't find a word that described the fury that exploded from him. Suddenly he was sitting up, all but forgetting about the wound she managed to finally land on him, and his hands were at her neck.

Shit.

Vicky wasn't in the best position to leap off him either. Her legs were stiff from the cold and straddling someone who is choking you is hard to escape from. Bear's hands clasped around her throat and pushed down on everything concealed underneath the delicate skin there. Instinctively her hands flew up to scratch at his hands but the sudden, tearing pain in her left arm made her throw it back down. Frantically, the nails on her right hand worked at his skin, trying to scratch all the way through his hand. Vicky sucked in one more breath before her air was cut off completely.

That's when the lightbulb went off. Vicky opened her eyes which had closed in concentration, and started to stare at Bear's face. She let her right hand relax and then fall in her lap. With her eyes glazed over she rolled them into the back of her head and let her entire body go limp, slumping against the madman.

Oh Ripred, let this work. Make this guy a sucker for five minutes- please!

Yes! It worked! Hahahahaha Bear is such a sucker for falling all these half-baked plans Vicky keeps coming up with! Ha! Ha....

Shit, what now?

Her cheek was resting against Bear's shoe, her eyes still held closed but with her heart racing. The breath she'd be holding became useless and stale. Slowly letting it out, Vicky let another clam one slip between her lips. What to do. What to do. The man had stopped shifting and had settled into stillness. What was he doing? Vicky had felt the hilt of Bear's knife being pulled from her hand. Ripred, what now?!

She couldn't stay like this forever. Lying in the snow- she'll die. Eaten by Bear- She'd die. So Vicky Barci took in a deep breath and did the only thing that sounded reasonable in her head. Run.

Quickly, Vicky pushed off the ground with her right hand, still cradling her left arm to her chest, and stumbled to her feet. Taking a step back, she tripped over her own feet and the slickness of the road. Falling on her back, the air was pushed out of her lungs, but Vicky still tried desperate attempts are crawling away from the boy. She flipped onto her stomach and clawed at the stones paving the square.

This worked better in my head.

Did he touch her cheek? Vicky shivered at the thought of him grabbing her face preparing her skin for butchering. Bear's fingers had wrapped around her ankle but Vicky still tried, fruitlessly, to get away. His grip on her wasn't all that tight, but it was still there keeping her in place. She probably could have broken out of it if she had really tried.

Just as Vicky was accepting her fate Bear said something that twisted her thoughts in such a confusing pattern that she didn't know what to think of it.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The words sounded like a threat- but the tone? Vicky had heard Bear growl in ear enough tonight to know that that statement wasn't powered by rage. It was... Vicky couldn't even find words to describe it.

Vicky slowly turned over onto her back, scooting a little bit closer- but not too much. She was still far enough away to make a break for it (like she could actually run anywhere at this point). Cradling her left arm to her, Vicky looked at Bear, letting her confusion show on her face.

"Uh... safety?" she didn't know if she should have answered at all, but his tone made it sound like a sincere question instead of a rhetorical one.

Bear didn't respond. He just sat there, his hand wrapped around her ankle, looking at her. Vicky could only stare back. Bear's face wasn't contorted into rage or any emotion Vicky could easily read. There was something about his eyes that she couldn't place, there was something in the way his fingers were laced around her ankle that held another motive.

Vicky's heart settled to a somewhat normal pace, but her chest still heaved with the effort of breathing. Suddenly his fingertips slid from her ankle and he was moving towards her. Vicky's heart leaped into her throat, almost positive that he would run his knife over her neck. Instead he leaned his head down and caught her lips with his. It didn't feel like any of the other kisses she had gotten from Bear that night. It had a different feel, a different taste, a different power behind it.

Her right hand had flown up to his chest when he leaned in, but now it was limply hanging over his shoulder as Vicky worked her lips with Bear's. She broke their lip lock for a moment, leaning back a little so she could examine his face. Heat went to her cheeks for no apparent reason and she met Bear's lips again, hoping he didn't see it.


Part of Vicky wanted this all to be a dream, but the stronger, hungrier part wanted it to be all real. Vicky knew which side she was on now.