Free Running Snare [WWF; Edge, Christian]
Dec. 26th, 2018 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schizoauthoress_libraryTitle: Free Running Snare
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG
Spoilers: during "In Your House 24: Breakdown" (September 27, 1998) after Edge's match
Warnings: vampires, blood
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1136
Summary: Edge hadn't expected to see his 'brother' at ringside, and tracks Christian down. Or maybe Christian lets himself be tracked. They talk.
Note: "A free-running snare is a wire loop restraining device which relaxes when the animal stops pulling and a self-locking snare is a wire loop device which continues to tighten by a ratchet action as the animal struggles."
Free Running Snare
Edge stalked through the crowd, barely noticing as the fans reached out to pat him on the arms or the back as he passed. While the announcers had been confused about 'who' had been at ringside, Edge was at a loss over the 'why' of Christian's sudden appearance. Now that he was searching for it, Christian's scent was like a beacon to his preternaturally sharp senses.
If Christian thought he'd lose Edge in the crowd, he was sorely mistaken.
Edge picked up the pace when he got to the ingress that led from the arena's seating area to the concessions and entry area. He was losing the trail, which he did not want to do -- he hadn't spoken to Christian since before running away from Gangrel, and he was afraid that Gangrel would find Christian first. The last thing he wanted was to face the two of them together.
Christian's brighter blond hair drew Edge's eye easily -- he was very close to the doors to the outside. A bolt of panic gripped Edge at the sight. 'Don't lose him!'
It was probably stupid. It was definitely against the rules for blending in with the mundanes, but at the moment, Edge couldn't care. He ran, at vampiric speed, and grabbed for Christian's arm.
Just as fast, Christian whipped around as Edge reached out, and snagged Edge's forearm. He flashed a smile full of fangs at Edge, and pulled his wayward 'brother' toward a door marked "Employees Only Beyond This Point".
The pair of them stumbled into the narrow hallway. Edge caught himself on the wooden frame of a bulletin board behind glass, and Christian released him a moment later. There were no particularly fresh human scents here, but the chemical odors of various cleaning supplies were obvious. This portion of the 'back of house' must be used by the custodial staff, and they were probably occupied with things like keeping the washrooms relatively clean during the event.
The two young vampires finished separately scanning their surroundings, and looked at each other. Christian pushed his sunglasses back into place with the fingers of his right hand at one corner of the frame, then straightened up to stare at Edge. Edge reached out, and Christian didn't move.
Edge curled a hand around Christian's wrist and simply held on, feeling the other vampire's slow pulse thud against his palm. Christian regarded him in silence. There was no judgement in that dark gaze, but no curiosity either. Christian would not ask for a justification for the contact. Edge was glad of that -- he still wasn't used to these silences from Christian, and unspoken disapproval would be too much to handle.
"What are you doing here?" Edge asked, repeating the question he'd asked before. Christian hadn't answered then, and the distraction cost Edge the match against Owen Hart. But somehow, the loss felt... distant. As though, with Christian here, it wasn't as important as it might have been.
Christian was of Gangrel's line, too. Christian was family. The vampire instincts that so often ruled Edge now pulled him toward family, and Edge had been alone for months. (Sure, it was Edge's own choice to strike out on his own, but it hadn't been the original plan. Christian should have been with him from the beginning.)
Christian regarded him in silence for a few more slow heartbeats, then spoke. "Come home."
Edge released Christian, drawing back warily. "Dave put you up to this."
Christian shook his head. "I miss you." He made no move to close the distance between them, allowing Edge to retreat out of his range.
"You said you didn't want to be a pro wrestler," Edge protested. "That's why I left, and why I didn't ask you to come along."
The laugh lines around Christian's eyes were apparent as the vampire held back a grin. "I said I was thinking it over."
"But --"
"You didn't wait." Christian shrugged. "I decided that I do want to follow the plan."
It was Edge's turn to shake his head. "I'm not going back. I'm not letting Gangrel control me again."
A displeased growl rose from low in Christian's throat. "It wasn't like that."
"It was!" Edge snapped. "He said he wouldn't take control, but I feel him in my head all the time. He could make me do anything, and I'd go along with it."
"Dumbass," Christian said with a sigh. He lifted his right hand to his mouth and bit down on his thumb, slicing himself open right across the tip of the digit, marring his fingerprint. The blood, Christian's blood, welled up dark and tempting. Then he held out his bloodied hand in offering.
Edge wavered. He and Christian had exchanged blood before; the act connected their minds, similar to the bond each shared with Gangrel, albeit temporarily. If he drank Christian's offered blood, he'd be able to get a glimpse at Christian's understanding of the situation. And if he allowed Christian to drink his blood, Christian would be able to feel what Edge was feeling. He wanted that connections with his best friend again. But...
"I miss you, too," Edge said, "but I can't go back."
There was no anger in Christian's eyes, and no sadness either -- while Edge felt near overwhelmed by both emotions. It was disconcerting how differently they had reacted to the change. His best friend looked at him through placid, inhuman eyes and said nothing.
'What happened to him?' Edge wondered, as he continued to back away. His brain supplied the answer a breath later: 'The same thing that happened to you! He followed you, and Dave made you both monsters!'
Christian didn't stop staring at Edge. He lifted his hand to his mouth again and ran his tongue over the cut on his thumb, applying healing saliva to close the small wound.
One of Edge's hands hit the frame of the door that led back to the public areas of the coliseum.
"It will all be good again, once you come home," Christian said, low and intense and so, so certain.
Edge ached to say yes. He wanted to take back what he'd done; wanted to never have run. He wanted to be at Christian's side like always. He wanted to trade sarcastic jokes with Luna, not avoid her as he'd done since coming to the WWF alone. He wanted the steady presence of his sire; he even missed those stupid, rambling stories that Gangrel laughed over too much in the retelling.
But Edge hated his own wanting, and he hated the idea of admitting defeat, especially to Gangrel and Christian. So he ran from Christian, as though something awful chased him off.
The one time he glanced back -- just as the door closed between them -- he saw Christian smiling, unmoving, just watching him run.
*-*-*-*-*
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG
Spoilers: during "In Your House 24: Breakdown" (September 27, 1998) after Edge's match
Warnings: vampires, blood
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1136
Summary: Edge hadn't expected to see his 'brother' at ringside, and tracks Christian down. Or maybe Christian lets himself be tracked. They talk.
Note: "A free-running snare is a wire loop restraining device which relaxes when the animal stops pulling and a self-locking snare is a wire loop device which continues to tighten by a ratchet action as the animal struggles."
Free Running Snare
Edge stalked through the crowd, barely noticing as the fans reached out to pat him on the arms or the back as he passed. While the announcers had been confused about 'who' had been at ringside, Edge was at a loss over the 'why' of Christian's sudden appearance. Now that he was searching for it, Christian's scent was like a beacon to his preternaturally sharp senses.
If Christian thought he'd lose Edge in the crowd, he was sorely mistaken.
Edge picked up the pace when he got to the ingress that led from the arena's seating area to the concessions and entry area. He was losing the trail, which he did not want to do -- he hadn't spoken to Christian since before running away from Gangrel, and he was afraid that Gangrel would find Christian first. The last thing he wanted was to face the two of them together.
Christian's brighter blond hair drew Edge's eye easily -- he was very close to the doors to the outside. A bolt of panic gripped Edge at the sight. 'Don't lose him!'
It was probably stupid. It was definitely against the rules for blending in with the mundanes, but at the moment, Edge couldn't care. He ran, at vampiric speed, and grabbed for Christian's arm.
Just as fast, Christian whipped around as Edge reached out, and snagged Edge's forearm. He flashed a smile full of fangs at Edge, and pulled his wayward 'brother' toward a door marked "Employees Only Beyond This Point".
The pair of them stumbled into the narrow hallway. Edge caught himself on the wooden frame of a bulletin board behind glass, and Christian released him a moment later. There were no particularly fresh human scents here, but the chemical odors of various cleaning supplies were obvious. This portion of the 'back of house' must be used by the custodial staff, and they were probably occupied with things like keeping the washrooms relatively clean during the event.
The two young vampires finished separately scanning their surroundings, and looked at each other. Christian pushed his sunglasses back into place with the fingers of his right hand at one corner of the frame, then straightened up to stare at Edge. Edge reached out, and Christian didn't move.
Edge curled a hand around Christian's wrist and simply held on, feeling the other vampire's slow pulse thud against his palm. Christian regarded him in silence. There was no judgement in that dark gaze, but no curiosity either. Christian would not ask for a justification for the contact. Edge was glad of that -- he still wasn't used to these silences from Christian, and unspoken disapproval would be too much to handle.
"What are you doing here?" Edge asked, repeating the question he'd asked before. Christian hadn't answered then, and the distraction cost Edge the match against Owen Hart. But somehow, the loss felt... distant. As though, with Christian here, it wasn't as important as it might have been.
Christian was of Gangrel's line, too. Christian was family. The vampire instincts that so often ruled Edge now pulled him toward family, and Edge had been alone for months. (Sure, it was Edge's own choice to strike out on his own, but it hadn't been the original plan. Christian should have been with him from the beginning.)
Christian regarded him in silence for a few more slow heartbeats, then spoke. "Come home."
Edge released Christian, drawing back warily. "Dave put you up to this."
Christian shook his head. "I miss you." He made no move to close the distance between them, allowing Edge to retreat out of his range.
"You said you didn't want to be a pro wrestler," Edge protested. "That's why I left, and why I didn't ask you to come along."
The laugh lines around Christian's eyes were apparent as the vampire held back a grin. "I said I was thinking it over."
"But --"
"You didn't wait." Christian shrugged. "I decided that I do want to follow the plan."
It was Edge's turn to shake his head. "I'm not going back. I'm not letting Gangrel control me again."
A displeased growl rose from low in Christian's throat. "It wasn't like that."
"It was!" Edge snapped. "He said he wouldn't take control, but I feel him in my head all the time. He could make me do anything, and I'd go along with it."
"Dumbass," Christian said with a sigh. He lifted his right hand to his mouth and bit down on his thumb, slicing himself open right across the tip of the digit, marring his fingerprint. The blood, Christian's blood, welled up dark and tempting. Then he held out his bloodied hand in offering.
Edge wavered. He and Christian had exchanged blood before; the act connected their minds, similar to the bond each shared with Gangrel, albeit temporarily. If he drank Christian's offered blood, he'd be able to get a glimpse at Christian's understanding of the situation. And if he allowed Christian to drink his blood, Christian would be able to feel what Edge was feeling. He wanted that connections with his best friend again. But...
"I miss you, too," Edge said, "but I can't go back."
There was no anger in Christian's eyes, and no sadness either -- while Edge felt near overwhelmed by both emotions. It was disconcerting how differently they had reacted to the change. His best friend looked at him through placid, inhuman eyes and said nothing.
'What happened to him?' Edge wondered, as he continued to back away. His brain supplied the answer a breath later: 'The same thing that happened to you! He followed you, and Dave made you both monsters!'
Christian didn't stop staring at Edge. He lifted his hand to his mouth again and ran his tongue over the cut on his thumb, applying healing saliva to close the small wound.
One of Edge's hands hit the frame of the door that led back to the public areas of the coliseum.
"It will all be good again, once you come home," Christian said, low and intense and so, so certain.
Edge ached to say yes. He wanted to take back what he'd done; wanted to never have run. He wanted to be at Christian's side like always. He wanted to trade sarcastic jokes with Luna, not avoid her as he'd done since coming to the WWF alone. He wanted the steady presence of his sire; he even missed those stupid, rambling stories that Gangrel laughed over too much in the retelling.
But Edge hated his own wanting, and he hated the idea of admitting defeat, especially to Gangrel and Christian. So he ran from Christian, as though something awful chased him off.
The one time he glanced back -- just as the door closed between them -- he saw Christian smiling, unmoving, just watching him run.
*-*-*-*-*
