Disclaimer: I don't own Blade or any of its characters. I do Max, Xavier, Rev, and Cam, so no stealing!
Chapter 3: Tree Stump
Whistler watched as the two came down the stairs and took in the young woman. With her being unconscious and Blade pissing him off, per usual, he didn't get a chance to really examine her. Fiery red hair to her shoulders, bright green eyes, small frame and short of stature, just a little over Blade's shoulders. For some reason, this girl reminded him a bit of Abigail with her toned arms, looking ready for a kill – not that Blade knew about Abby.
"Aren't you gonna introduce me to your old man?" she asked, but Blade just looked between her and Whistler before walking over the table that held his serum and the last bit of the cure that Whistler replicated from Karen's notes.
"Abraham Whistler," he told her, scowling at Blade as he offered a hand to her.
"Max Doyle," she replied, shaking his hand.
"Over here, kid," Blade called crudely, and Max walked over to him, rolling her eyes and mumbling at being called a kid.
"What are you doing with that?" he asked curiously, but Blade didn't even look at him.
"Hope you're not afraid of needles," Blade commented, but Max muttered she'd always hated them. Whistler watched as Blade injected the mixture of silver nitrate and essence of garlic into her arm and turned his back to the two hunters, sighing. He knew he was right. "So, finish your story," Blade ordered calmly as he moved next to Whistler, who was paying attention now, and Max sat on a counter, unconsciously rubbing her arm.
"Xavier and I were the wandering vamps for about a year or so, feeding off the homeless and stray animals, until Rev found us. Rev was former priest from Mexico, but a gang of suckers trashed his parish and he got into the hunting game; moved all over the place. Been to every state from how much he talked," she explained, smiling lightly at the memories. Remembering whose company she was in though, she came to her senses and grew serious again with a light shake of her head. "He never told us why he took us in, but he did and took us to this woman he knew, a doctor, Karen something, and she cured us." Hearing that, a look past between Blade and Whistler, but Max didn't seem to notice. "After that, Rev was our father, our teacher, and our own personal priest until he died of lung cancer. Ironic, isn't it? He dusted vamps for the better part of his life, and he was taken down by Menthols."
"How long have you been human again?" Blade was a no nonsense kind of guy; Max was learning that quickly.
"About twelve years now." She looked around the room until she saw her things: her kitana, her guns, her ammo, everything. "I've been looking for my brother. A now dead contact of mine said that Xavier was back in the vampire community, that he'd been turned again. I need to find out if it's true. That's one reason why I've been hunting more and more. You see, after Rev died, we went our separate ways. Thought it was best." Max scoffed, shaking her head at how dumb they were.
"Any leads as to where this brother of yours might be?" Whistler asked, finally deciding to join the conversation.
"Supposedly, he's with a clan that goes by the name Talos, under the House of Chthon. It was a rumor my contact had heard so I don't know if it's legit. I don't know much, but like I said, just started to gather information when my man bit the big one."
"Two hunters are better than one," Whistler commented seriously. "You two should work together." Blade looked at Max a moment, who just looked confused, then he grabbed Whistler's arm and led him to a corner so they couldn't be heard.
"Are you out of your damn mind, old man?" he hissed, but Whistler just remained calm.
"Maybe, but you sure as hell are if you're thinking of letting her back out there alone. You know what'll happen; she's got a mark – a scent – whoever owned her will come after her…or more lackey's."
"Her master died two years ago. One of the Bloodpack," he informed the old man, somewhat amused.
"Oh…" Whistler looked back at Max, who was know admiring his guns. Oh, yeah, she definitely reminded him of Abby. "Still, she should stay."
"You're saying you'd rather have her here with us than out there alone, even though she can take care of herself? You didn't even want her here in the first place."
"So, I changed my mind," he stated, the humor dripping from his voice, as he walked back over to Max and his guns. "The room up there is yours, just do as we say; hunt when we hunt, kill what we kill. No stragglers and no strays."
""Strays"? Oh, you mean like me?" she questioned sarcastically. He just nodded, and Blade soon returned to the little circle. "Hmph, I feel so special now," she joked lightly, crossing her arms defiantly.
"Don't take it personal. I could always call you tree stump," Whistler told her with a small smile.
"I'm not that short!" she protested, then sobered up and looked at Blade. "Am I?"
"Compared to him?" he asked, nodding to Blade. "Well, he's just so big."
"If you kids are done, we got work to do," Blade interjected. The hybrid gathered up his sword, then tossed Max hers. They needed information, and they needed it now.
And he knew just where to get it.
A/N: The Talos family House was never mentioned, not to my knowledge anyway, so I stuck them with Chthon since that's the only one they fit in out of the six: Chthon, Leichen, Armaya, Saqqara, Erebus, and Falsworth.
P.S.: Three pages total.