17998/Red Reign: A Rose by Any Other Name

Red Reign: A Rose by Any Other Name
Date of Scene:	20 May 2024
Location:	Roof - Renovated Theatre - The Roost
Synopsis:	Mary helps herself to a taste of Rose Wilson's blood. Rose tries to fight back and somehow puts herself into a worse position than she'd been in if she did nothing. How typical.
Cast of Characters:	Rose Wilson, Mary Seward
Tinyplot:	Red Reign

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Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose is up late. Again. Between a racing mind and the soft patter of rain on the windows of the Roost she couldn't get settled. Then came the ol' 'nic fit.' Quickly throwing on a long sleeved shirt and some ratty jeans, the one-eyed scrapper makes her way barefoot to the rooftop with a mostly empty pack of cigarettes and lighter.

She's not the only person to have spent some introspective moments up here. While the rain covers most of the roof there's a small area with an overhang where one could stay relatively dry. About the only sign of life to be had from those shadows is soon to be a spark of flame followed by the dull glow at the end of the stick being brought to her lips.

All that's missing is a counselor...not that she'd likely talk to them if there was one. As usual her thoughts stay her own, only presented by a scowl which seems perfectly content to never leave her face.

At least she can be alone. Unbothered. Just her and one of her many addictions.

Mary Seward has posed:
Alone? Not quite. Unbothered? Certainly not.

In the drizzle of the rain and the darkness of the clouds, the Queen of Blood hid her flight well. Looking down, she would find something worthy of her glimpse. A girl standing upon a rooftop. All alone. Easy prey....She seems to remember Selina mentioning that theater held home to some of the people that this city had for protectors. Must be one of them out now

The vampire turned to mist and blew across the air, downwards, reforming completely behind Rose.

She would slowly lean in, fangs bared, ready to sink in her teeth.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose has an odd little gift of being able to see forward a few seconds into the future. Sometimes. When she's seeing what's happening and she's charged up with some manner of chemicals.

None of these things are happening now. Despite the storm brewing in her mind to easily rival the gentle one blanketing the city, she's completely zoned out. She's starting to relax as /other/ chemicals circulate throughout her system. There's an underlying feeling, almost a guarantee, that the only people who might possibly be around to bother her are various teammates and not things with a penchant for turning into mist then going for the neck.

For the unseen shadow-walker it's too dang easy. This girl with so much white hair is as oblivious as they come, and with no one around should she yell out a warning. Even heroes, and villains, have their downtime.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward could almost be ecstatic for one of these costumed freaks making it simple for her for a change. She should be sure to thank this girl once she's done having her join the ranks of her undead.

Her fangs plunge into Rose's neck, and she tastes the girl's blood, closing her eyes as she wraps her eyes around Ravager.

Rose Wilson has posed:
It's a slow and steady build up with immediate results. Something about this victim reacts more acutely to the bite, not just in the way she yelps out in shock but with the instant jolt of adrenaline which further taints ...something unusual in her blood. She's clearly not another human but she's also not 'just a metahuman.' Still lingering in there for those with discerning sanguine tastes is the hint of something /artificial./ Remnants of a serum which gave her a lot of her inhuman ability boosts.

The same kind of boosts which amp up things like speed, strength, and reaction time. Typical superpowered stuff, really. But all elements which are now coming into play as Rose immediately tries to break free of this sharp toothed specter, whether by spinning around and making a grab for Mary or by slamming her back into the nearest solid object. Rose isn't picky! She has a singular focus here. Revenge can be plotted after the two forms break apart!

Mary Seward has posed:
The taste of Rose's peculiar blood held Mary's mind for awhile. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or hated it. She wasn't used to drinking anything like this.

Then, Rose began to struggle. Of course assuming she would just go down easy was too good to be true.

Yet as Rose struggled and attacked Mary, the vampiress refused to let go. Even as her body was slammed against something hard, she remained un-hindered. Perhaps, she was fixated on this girl's strange blood after all.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Surprise turns to rage, rage turns to panic. Whether with words or violence it's usually far easier to get people off of Rose's back! The cigarette is a distant memory now lying on the ground as the struggle moves out into the rain.

The younger scrapper's hands are balled into fists, muscles bunched up into cords like woven steel cable as she resists however she may. Fight or flight is already starting to shift toward the latter as the blood rushes out of her and into her assailant. Every second to pass is one where she'll be less capable of fending off Mary.

A backward headbutt? That will only worsen the wound at her neck. Worth trying, though. Maybe two or three times.

A heel-stomp on top of a foot?

Fingernails into the other lady's arms?

None of it seems to be providing any appreciable results. Which...is a big damn problem for Rose.

One last ditch effort has her trying to drag them both toward the edge of the rooftop, thinking if she can throw them /both/ over the edge the clinger-oner would either give up or get crushed while Ravager would simply have a REALLY bad week then be back to her normal grumpy self.

What other choice does she have?

Mary Seward has posed:
They both fly off the rooftop, plummeting down in no time. The woman so fixed, so latched onto Rose's neck keeps drinking away. Almost as though she hardly even realizes that they were both in free-fall. If anything, she probably appreciates it. How the hectic experience of falling so far makes the blood pump all the more fiercely.

Just as it becomes too dangerous to cling on, the reason for her disregard at the danger makes itself all too clear. She lets go, flashing Rose a smug and bloodied grin, and letting out an equally sadistic laugh as she shifts into mist once more and floats all the way back onto the roof. She'd land back there, and quickly shift back into her physical form.

Looking down at Rose and waving goodbye as she fell

And fell...

And fell...

Rose Wilson has posed:
It's a desperate bid, Rose knows as much, but she's also not the sort to give up and would /never/ let the enemy win a battle!

Except this is exactly what she just did. Falling in tune with the rain, snarling like a feral animal, it all reaches a breaking point of realization when the neck-biter is simply /gone./

Then back on the roof. Laughing.

Waving.

That one pale blue eye grows wide as she realizes where everything had gone wrong, every mistake she had just made, and how in a moment it's entirely likely that none of it would ever matter.

Blacking out before impact would have been a blessing but she can't be so lucky. A familiar jarring crunch of a body making contact and it's lights out, the last image in Rose's mind being that dark figure idly enjoying the show after scoring a free meal.

/Dammit./

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward fakes a wince as she hears the harsh thud that Rose makes when she hits the ground. "Ouch!...What a way to go!" She can't help but mock. "...Maybe, she'll rise as one of us, maybe she won't. Whatever happens, I don't care enough to stick around to see it. Thanks for the feast, you insane cyclops."

Her cackle rings out, as she takes off into the night sky.