Posted by Cheryl on June 19, 2001 at 04:29:29:
My concept - I get first billing - deal. :)
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Angel
by Cheryl Leo and Verity Chastain
Cheryl put her hand behind her head, lifting her hair away from her neck. She stroked her scalp deeply, hard. Her hair had gotten quite long again, hanging over her hand like a silky, red blanket reaching past the chair back top. Those who knew her were aware that she played with her hair like this only when she was upset, thinking or aroused. This time, looking at her, it was hard to tell which state she was in.
Her green eyes, hooded, looked as if they shot sparks, almost illuminating the space around her.
Sprawled in a 60's wooden straight-back chair, at a cheap but sturdy bar table, one booted leg propped on the table edge, she looked like a guerilla fighter having one last drink before a dangerous mission, gulping the fiery fluid as if it might be her last. Her skin-tight T-shirt called attention to her nipples. She wore it over a skin-tight black leotard with above-the-knee black suede boots. She looked in those clothes like a petite ninja warrior. On casual glance, she appeared almost fragile. Anyone sensitive could feel the power emanating from her. It was part of her essence. It was tangible and strong. And although it didn't seem so right now, usually it was sensually erotic.
Many folk who had seen her only when she was seated seemed shocked when she stood up. It was easy to find oneself surprised at how slender and small she actually was. People often commented that she always seemed much taller and larger. Clearly it wasn't it her stature it was that she had a presence not to be denied.
Anyone watching her now could see the tightness in her limbs despite her relaxed pose. It was as if one could almost see a weapon slung across her shoulder, a readiness to attack at the slightest movement. The bar patrons walked lightly when passing by her table. She was alone but one could tell she was waiting for someone to join her. Then the someone, a someone named Verity, walked in, moving quickly underneath the light by the door as if avoiding the illumination; but pausing a bit too long by the bar.
Cheryl didn't miss what went on by the bar, and she sighed deeply. She hadn't missed the look that passed between Sam and the Redhead. It was still there despite the passage of all this time - that damnable connection that she could never put her finger on. It didn't matter that it was over long between the girl who'd just entered and the bartender or that Cheryl and Verity had reached a hard-one (and nearly fatal it seemed) understanding and called a truce. Still, whenever Cheryl tapped into that connection between those two, her chest tightened and she felt burnt by the heat. Anyone watching would have found that phantom weapon on Cheryl's shoulder quite a bit more tangible.
"Damn, damn, damn", she thought, "I might need somebody right now, but why the fuck does it have to be you?" But even as the thoughts formed, she recognized her growing excitement. The danger thrill infused her body as she thought of the job and the pairing, again, with her shadow sister. Verity was more than just a rival. It wasn't comfortable, not by a long shot, but the feelings were powerful and strangely erotic. All her emotions about the Redhead mixed up with the thrill of the chase the ultimate kill she was planning and those tangled feelings rushed through her brain and her loins.
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Quickly, sorrow eradicated those thoughts as she remembered what brought her to this place, this re-contact with the woman who had been such a thorn in her side. She hadn't sought Verity out for no reason. Instead, she remembered beating the pavement with her fists and howling at the moon on that night in the alley behind the bar. The vision of bending over the brutalized, broken, body of Angel haunted her dreams, chewed at her during her waking hours.
The discovery of her dear one, the way she'd whispered "forgive" would be forever branded in her mind, indelibly imprinted on her soul. She, who never cried, wept a river of tears that night. Her beautiful Angel was gone forever, tormented into death by a monster.
She remembered when she had taken the ethereal waif from the streets into her home. Angel was lovely with alabaster skin and big brown eyes and an innocent heart that loved without reservation. Cheryl had nurtured her damaged psyche back to full health and cared for her as though she were her own child. Later, Cheryl brought Angel into their odd community and helped her make sense of her unnatural desires.
She cared for her such that Angel found peace and acceptance and began to live again. Lived again, only to be snuffed out so young by a demon from hell. Cheryl shook her head as if the movement could remove the vision of that mutilated body, neck black with bruises, broken and twisted into an angle that shouldn't have been possible. Angel's long black hair had been hacked randomly so that she looked like a rag doll wearing a hideous wig.
And her body, slender and soft was carved from one end to the other. Her small breasts were hacked from her chest and left to hang from her sternum in ragged edges of meat. The words "slut" and "whore" and "cunt" were carved deeply into her flesh in red gouges. Nothing of her beauty was left to be recognizable. The horror of it all was almost too much to bear for even a woman as strong as Cheryl. She, who thought she was capable of bearing anything, found herself nearly unable to go on. Cheryl was so lost in shock she couldn't even retch at the hideous sight that fateful day.
Days later, after she shed her final tear, the cold fury began to envelop her body and her heart. After the funeral, she began her methodical search. It took her months to narrow down her suspect - and finally she had reached her goal.
And that's why she was here waiting to talk to Verity; to enlist her help.
Verity and Cheryl had been apart for a long time, and Cheryl certainly knew that Verity was far from perfect. She knew they had issues that were far from being over. But Cheryl decided that Verity was the very best at seduction and that was what Cheryl needed, seduction to bring the killer out of hiding so that Cheryl could obliterate him.
Drawing all her strength she cast the images from her mind, looked up and saw Verity coming toward the table. She smiled a wistful smile.
"Hello, girlfriend - long time no see, eh."