This is a thread between Nolan Bennett and Chatton Mayes on the role playing site based on True Blood and the Southern Vampire Mysteries written by Charlaine Harris.

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Dracula and the Wolfman

Nolan went about her normal closing time rituals with the same exhausted attitude as usual. Sweeping the floors until they passed her cleanliness exam and cleaning glasses until she could see her reflection in them. Perhaps she cared a little bit too much, but it would mean she would have less to do in the morning at opening time. Giving the bar one final cleaning, she threw the dirty rag in the sink and reached into her pocket. Nolan always put her key in her back pocket; it just always seemed like a good place to put things you don't want to looe. The empty bar was serene, relaxed, and quiet. Those three adjectives could only be used to describe her bar at a time like this. Nodding her head slightly, the quiet was something she needed a lot more of.

Slipping the key into the keyhole, Nolan securely locked the door. Nobody had ever busted in before, but she wasn't the kind of person who felt like taking chances. Her luck wasn't always the best either. The night air felt refreshing against her skin, the breeze messing up her hair. She had that indescribable feeling her in her gut tonight wasn't going to end like normal. Nolan smirked, she barely knew what normal was anymore.

Shrugging and tossing the strange feeling aside, Nolan reached into her back pocket for her car keys. Yet, the cliché and undeniable feeling of being watched caught her attention once more.

A typical wolf's bite can exert roughly 1,500 lbf/in (Pound For per Square Inch). His bite was roughly 5000 ibf/in, equivalent to the African Crocodile. A typical wolf's land speed was 's gallop was just short of 50mph. An average gray wolf measures in about 2 feet 6' inches and are anywhere from 5 to 6 and a half inches long. A average male gray wolf can weigh anyway up to 70 and 115lbs with some Alaskan wolves as heavy as 150lbs. Red was nearly 3 and a half feet, coming up to a small woman's waist. He weight in somewhere in the 200lbs between meals. Red's head and snout was nearly twice that of average. His canines were five inches in length.

The consensus was Red Travis was a big werewolf. The biggest in all of Louisana.

His footsteps padded as it crossed the empty boulevard, its lumbering formed moving deceptively quick across the blacktop. It took a step and a half and with its front legs it climbed atop the roof of the only car there. Her car, Nolan Bennett's. It lifted its head, it sniffed the air, it lowered it smile. Its eyes smoldered like coal in the darkness. His redwood color haired bristled. Its hunches went up and it's top lip unfurled, revealing dagger. Its tongue lulled in its mouth, heavy husky breath coming from its snout. A face of hunger stared at her.

Getting eaten by a wolf on steroids was not on her agenda for tonight. The sounds of heavy footsteps slowly walking along the blacktop grew louder and louder until the earsplitting screech of claws against glass rang in her ear. Well, there went her windshield. No! Not the car you idiot!That was the only thought running through her head, besides the thought of her getting devoured by that thing perched on top of her car. Just her luck, almost as soon as she gets a new car it gets nicely scraped up by an animal that looked like something out of a bad SyFy movie. Locking eyes with it, it was evident it was hunger and Nolan was on the menu for tonight.

There had been several werewolves that had visited the bar earlier today, but she didn't see why any of them would bother sticking around. Nobody bothered to stick around, except her. Most people had their fill of whiskey and beer and left, without saying another word. So she probably didn't know who this guy was.

Coming up with a plan would be a good idea. But unless somebody magically appeared and saved her from certain death, well her night would end a little more bloodier than preferred. But she couldn't help but look a the werewolf as it stood upon her car, gazing down at her as if it were waiting for her to make the most move. She could always shift and fly the hell out of here, but she knew he was far too quick.

And it was. Too quick and too big and too hungry to not catch his prey. It took a step forward, it's claws digging into the metal of the roof like shears cutting thorough tin, made a whistling sound as the wind entered the gorges of its feet. It skirted back. Its head dipped into its shoulders. Its back legs curled, tensed, seem to rest upon the pale pink belly. And the eyes. Staring straight ahead. Not batting, not blinking, just staring, little fires in the brush at midnight.

And when it leapt it made a sound like a man coming up for air, and it's jaw snapped like traps made of animal bone. Clack clack clacklike wooden toys. It angled it's snot to the base of its neck, paws up to drill her down, mouth wide and expectant. Its breath washed over her for an instant and then...

Chatton and the beast went down. His arms held it close like a lover. The creature turned and got over to its side and it's jaw snapped and Chatton moved his head and felt it's muzzle against his cheek. They wrestled, man and thing wound in a delicate dance. Red bit into his collar and he heard the bone crack under his skin like saltines in a bag. He felt the pain, the bones knitting between the spikes of enamel and break again as he pulled free. He stood up and shouldered the wolf and he picked it up and he threw it on the ground and he stepped on its head and it just looked at him with surprise, as if he just swatted it in the nose with a newspaper, and Chatton kicked it, hitting it into a light post. The light post bent in like a soda can and Chatton turned and looked at Nolan.

" Get to the car! Now! "

The words came out like bullets and Red came onto him once again like a freight train, slamming into him with a hairy ram, taking him down, jaws snapping.

Cringing at the ear shattering sound of claws destroying the top of her car, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. The longest three seconds of her life. Its eyes met hers and made its mission clear to his prey, who was craving some Shifter. This must be what the prey of a lion must feel like. That feeling deep down in your gut that repeatedly screams at you telling you how truly screwed you really are. Nolan might as well start digging her own grave, as if there would be any pieces of her to bury once he was done with her.

The beast recoiled, positioning himself so that he could easily leap off the car and right onto his helpless victim. Nolan would be easy prey. She had no time to shift and save herself, and this animal was far too quick and far too smart to trick. He opened his mouth, and for a split second she imagined herself positioned right between his canines. His breath smelled of death and decay, which could only meant that she would not be the first to meet their ends underneath his dirty paws.

Her eyes shot open, as the familiar vampire lunged at the beast, bringing him down. As she stood there afraid to move, she stared at the vampire whose voice was ringing in her head like a broken record. With that thought in mind, the light post pent like plastic and that's when she knew where she'd seen him before. It had been here in this very parking lot, where he had slid into her car and asked her a string of odd questions. Odd was turning out to become more and more of an understatement with each passing second. Nolan wasted no time with small talk and she followed his orders, kicking it into high gear as she reached for the car door and quickly yanking it open.

Its jaw snapped, open then closed, hinged like cabinet doors. They closed beside his neck and opened again and closed and he put his hands between them just as they closed and forced them open a fraction of an inch. It struggled with it's muzzles, shaking it's head as if it was trying to flick water off its eyes. Its claws dug into his shirt and skin and racked his chest and three long gashes formed and closed themselves. The pain was incredible. Bitter like old wine, still burning even as he healed. For a moment, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and were lost.

He got his hips over to the side and rolled his left leg over the red-orange belly of the beast. His bent knee came up and separated Red's stomach from Chatton's side and his shin found a niche on the inside of the wolf's leg. Chatton stretched his leg and then threw his weight to the side and the wolf was dragged up and to the left. He powered thrashing dog up and broke his clasp and Red flew and hit the ground so hard that he bound. It made a whining noise and then a grunting noise and then it spun back up on its four legs and looked at him the way a child looks at his mother after being told " No." It lowers his head and raised his hunches and readies to pounce and Chatton knew that it would go for his throat again.

But that's before the car swerved and knocked into it like a baseball into a 9 inning curve, sending Red flying across the parking lot. The door flew opened and Chatton jumped inside, closing it behind him.

The last time she felt this scared, she was having her wisdom teeth taken out. However, this scenario could actually killher, therefore it was deemed as a little more terrifying than having someone stick your gums with a drug filled needle. Nolan literally jumped into the driver's seat, searching for the cars that seemed to be eluding her. Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she victoriously pulled them out of her back pocket. The only thing she could focus her mind on was getting out of here alive, and in one piece as well. She really didn't feel like giving up an arm or a leg, or both. Just sitting here wasn't going to get the two of them out of here alive.

As she started the car, Nolan watched in awe as the monstrous wolf battled the vampire. The odds could be in anyone's favor, it was a tough call. The blond shoved down the gas pedal, maneuvering it so that it would knock the wolf hard enough to leave a mark. Which is just what she did. Nolan couldn't remember the last time she had felt that proud of herself. Even though she cringed at the sound of machine slamming into beast, the car was already damaged enough as it was. These things could always be repaired, but that didn't mean she wanted to think about the disastrous repair costs.

"What the hell was that thing?" Nolan didn't know how else to describe that animal.

Marks from where the tires had sped out and burned into the asphalt were a remainder, but under the smoke of the carbonized rubber the car disappeared into the lane. They rode on, engine burning, and for a while Chatton could do nothing but slump in the backseat, the back of his his head resting against the window. He could see the nightjays perched upon the highlines, they're eyes like polished black stones, reflecting them as they passed. Chatton wiped the blood off his neck and chest and he looked at the hole in his shirt, thinking "Got to find a replacement ".

He turned his eyes up and looked at her thorough the rearview mirror.

" I believe he calls himself Red Travis. I believe I had killed him a few months ago, but it turns out I was wrong. "

He sat up on the chair and looked at her thorough the gap between the passenger and driver seats.

" And how have you been? "

Nolan really hoped nobody could see the tire marks, and she definitely hoped that nobody would ask about it. She had plenty of gas in the tank due to her filling it up prior to returning to work this afternoon after she took a quick lunch break. Everywhere you looked there was darkness, a cold black sky sitting calmly above. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the sky and not a sound to be heard, except for the muffled sound of the car's engine. Nolan's car had seen much better days than this one. Glancing over at Chatton, she could day he had as well. Her bar was now just a dot in the background, drowned out by the stars. That bar seemed to be the main target for ever trouble making deviant this side of Shreveport. Seems like it attracted whatever Fangtasia decided to throw out.

The name Red Travis was not a familiar one. Nolan wasn't one for names, so it was no surprise to her that she struggled to match a human face to the name. "Can't say I've ever met him, prior to tonight. I think you got him pretty good this time. Thanks for saving my butt. I really didn't feel like becoming dog chow tonight."Nolan replied with a sly smirk; even though nothing about that was humorous a little harmless smirk helped ease her nerves that were still going haywire from that nearly fatal encounter with Red.

He didn't say where he wanted to go, and she was unsure if she should inquire about it or not. At the upcoming spotlight, Nolan debated about taking the road that would lead her on home. Besides, she had nowhere else to be tonight. "I've been doing all right, trying to keep myself out of trouble. Which obviously hasn't been working out too well for me."

He sat up and stood in the car with his back hunched against the roof and his frame hanging over the chasm between the seats. Awkwardly he slipped one foot up and over the median and placed it at the floor of the passenger side. He maneuvered to one side, arching his back over the shoulder of the seat and knocking down the arm-rest by accident making his ascent to the passenger side that much more uncomfortable as he was forced to glide close to Nolan's shoulder. He sucked his other leg up and laid a hand on the head-rest of the driver side and gingerly slid down the side until his rear met the seat, his left leg still turned awkwardly in the well. He brought his other limb over and he adjusted himself soon thereafter.

He cleared his throat and looked at the road.

" You can slow down." He said as he looked down at his shirt.

The fabric was sticky with blood and began to smell. He poked his finger in the hole and tore it open, wider and wider until it was the size of his fist above his stomach. He looked at the road and the emptiness beyond. The redness of the stoplight that held them, painting her face with technicolor crimson, as if she was something out of a Argento film. He saw the blood ease, pulsing from her neck at a slow and steady rhythm. He heard her heart in his ears and felt hungry. He sat back against the chair and played with the thread of his shirt.

" It seems you do attract trouble. Not a month shy I ask you how to kill a werewolf and here you are attacked by the very same hound I was hunting. Needless to say, I am sent a twirl by the serendipity of it all. "

He looked down at the place between his feet and reached down and pick something up from just before the seat and raised held it up. He read the card to himself and then said.

" Have you been talking to the F.B.I, Ms. Nolan? "

She hadn't been paying much attention to the car's speed, or to driving for that matter. Nolan had been keeping a lead foot on the accelerator from the minute she slipped the key into the ignition. At least she had been smart enough to fill up the car before work earlier this morning. "Right."She replied with a nod, letting the car gradually slow down on its own. The bright red stoplight illuminating the night, demanding that Nolan slow down her beat up Camaro to a complete stop. She glanced over at Chatton, trying not to take her eyes off the road but she ended up failing.

"I might as well write 'Werewolf Bait' on my forehead, huh? I should have seen this one coming. Damn werewolves and their superior bullshit."She couldn't ignore their 'We're better than you, deal with it' attitude that they seemed to radiate. As if their sour personalities weren't bad enough. She could see why she might be a target for a pissed off, hungry werewolf who had a taste of bird. Life had been fairly boring and slow up until the moment she accepted ownership of that bar. Common sense would tell her to sell it, but she didn't have enough of that to give a damn about it.

Her attention switched to the card he was in holding in his hand. She had gotten that not too long ago, from a pale looking man who told her about a recent murder. He asked her a few questions and requested that she report to him if she found out anything else. Since he departed, she hadn't heard anything about the case. "This guy came into the bar asking me if I knew anything about a recent murder. He told me to call if I found anything out."

The light flipped from red to green in a leap and the car sped off continuing into the darkness. More buildings now. More city. Turned into the streets and been shepherded in thorough the boulevard. Take the long way home, he thought, and sat back in his chair. He held the card in his fingers and rolled it thorough his hand. He turned the back of it and read the name in black marker. Charlie, with a swirled lowercase E. He turned it back and read the front. SPECIAL AGENT - OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROVISIONS. Chatton chewed his tongue.

" I do not see the coincidence in this, Ms. Nolan. I believe your meeting with Agent...Aiden and your attack tonight are somehow linked. Enlighten me of the particulars of the case and I'll do my best to investigate for you. "

The moment the light flashed from red to green, she forced down the accelerator and sped forward. The only thing she could think about was that folded up card he was holding in his palm. How could I have forgotten about that?She almost felt bad for not putting it on her refrigerator or somewhere obvious where she would be able to find it easily if need be. Raising a blonde eyebrow, she looked over at the card for a moment. Coincidence? No, there was no way. The two events had to be linked and Chatton was right. She leaned back in the chair, trying her best to relax but her efforts weren't succeeding. It wouldn't be the first time.

Her memory of their talk was fuzzy, but she remembered the important points of it. "Right. He um, told me that they had found a body that looked like it had been ripped to shreds by some kind of animal." She really hoped that she was remembering that correctly. The last thing she wanted to do was to give him false information because her memory was less than reliable. But she just went on with her gut feeling.

" The victim...was she...displayed? "

Chatton looked at her and the shadow crossed his face until his eyes seem to hover in the darkness like polished marble. He put his white hand on the dash and laid his elbow on the shoulder of the seat and when he leaned in he could smell her fears coating the pores of her body. He felt hungry suddenly and he pulled away from her from her and opened the window to let the air in.

" Mmm. I am starting to get very hungry, Ms. Nolan. I think it would be a good idea to part company right about now. "

Nolan lifted a perfectly blond eyebrow at Chatton, realizing that was his way if subtly saying 'Hey, pull this car over or I'm going right for your jugular' and she would much rather part ways than end up on the side of road minus a few pints of blood. "I never saw the body and if I remember correctly, Mr. Aiden didn't have any photographs of the crime scene on hand with him."She had a strong stomach, that was for sure. But the last thing she would want to lay eyes on would be the mangled up body of the poor woman. Nolan could only imagine what her last few moments alive must have been like. Sheer agony, no doubt. Bon Temps had experienced its fair share of murders not too long ago, only a few weeks before Nolan moved to Shreveport.

Nolan could firmly stand her ground against a group of testy Weres, but a hungry vampire was one force to be reckoned with. She tried to cover her fear with blind confidence, but her true emotions were bleeding through and he could tell. Not that she was trying to act like this, it was just she could feel his eyes eying her neck. "I think you're very right. Do you want me to just drop you off here?" She then remembered that vampires tended to move a little faster than humans and other species did.

" It's alright. You won't need to stop. "

He opened the passanger door. Over the whip of the wind and the night sound that caravaned in, he said.

" There is a chance it could try again. Keep to yourself and spread the massage amongst the other Weres to keep a tight lip..."

He turned his body to the road underfoot and his feet hung limply over the speeding tar. He gave fledging look to her. His brow crowned with sympathy.

"Be safe, Ms. Nolan. I would for anything to happen to you."

He stepped off. His body disappeared under the car. There was a jostle and a bump and he reappeared briefly in the rear view as a tumbling obstruction in the pale street light, receding as she drove away.

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