Chapter Text
The stone church cast a terrifying silhouette against the cloud filled sky when the lightning filled the inky night. It hadn’t begun to rain yet, but the young woman hiding in the damp alleyway between the close-set buildings was already covered in muck and grime. Her dark brown curls have loosed themselves from place, much to her dismay. Katherine “Kitty” Pryde did not mean to go about the town like a ragamuffin, but the damp weather and her rather... peculiar activities gave her hair a mind of its own.
Her beautiful rapier clanked softly against her boots as she snuck closer to where her quarry had run off. A shadow, a glimpse of a dark figure and a sticky crimson blood trail had led Ms. Pryde directly to this alley. Excitement shot through her body, sharpening her focus and heightening her senses. It was times like this when she realized how apt her feline nickname truly was. The prey had vanished from sight, but instinct told Kitty her moment to strike had come.
With a leap as graceful as a dancer, she dashed into the darkness of the now abandoned place of worship. The creature, pale as bone and slicked from lip to breast with blood, whipped to face her. He’s weak, Kitty thought. She drew her sword, a three foot steel blade, as wicked and quick as a shadow. The dark imp, a vampire straight from the pit, snarled.
“Any last words, villain?” Kitty asked with a sly grin, knowing full well her blade would remove the demonspawn’s head before it could utter a syllable. Her witty flourish was stopped abruptly by a silver swordtip bursting forth through the vampire’s heart. Black inky shadows and sulferous dust burst out from its corpse, revealing the slayer.
She was not tall, but had a good few inches on Kitty. Her blonde hair shone even in the dark gloom of the church, the only spot of color in an otherwise entirely black wardrobe. Blunt cut bangs cast a shadow over her face, but Kitty could tell the woman was entirely too attractive. After the initial shock passed, Kitty got mad.
“Excuse me, but that was my prey! Didn’t you hear my handsome line?” she called out at the woman. She gestured to her sword arm, still raised to behead the vampire, “I am clearly posed for the disposal of vampiric vermin!”
The blonde woman scoffed and began to walk away. Kitty hitched up her overcoat and took chase. The other girl’s sword gleamed in a way Kitty’s steel never did. Must be silver, Kitty mused. The blonde’s cold air bothered Kitty, reminding her of the cruel girls at her boarding schools. Kitty sped up to close the gap between the two of them.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me! I’m a hunter, too! We could work together,” Kitty said as she struggled to keep up with the other girl’s longer stride.
The blonde girl stopped suddenly causing Kitty to stumble over herself. “I work alone,” the girl said, “And I certainly do not work with… swashbucklers.” The last word was accompanied by an icy glare in Kitty’s direction. Kitty frowned at her comment, but couldn’t protest. She had outfitted herself in a truly piratical outfit, and now, too late, she realized she looked like a child playing adventurer. By the time Kitty looked up from her own clothes, the beautiful girl was gone.