Dark Days: 1888

William took a swig of his beer. It was a peculiar feeling he was having; the rain was lashing the windows like bullets, the cold wind was howling through the streets and he was sat in a comfy chair, drinking. He took another swig, listening to the conversations of people around him for anything he'd be interested in. A couple of things caught his attention, but it wasn't anything to go off of. Perhaps London had been a mistake after all.

The drops of rain hit the pavement in rhythmic succession. Thick globs of water hit his exposed head as well, soaking into his blonde hair and wetting it down. A drop of this liquid breaks from the damp strands and finds its way into the forest of his blonde mane and for a moment gets lost within this tangled maze. The rest of his outfit is also subject to this treatment to which the headmistress will no doubt chide him over. Truth be told, this outfit of his has seen far worse than a few droplets of water. He stands still, allowing this to happen, not because he enjoys the feeling of a cold dampness hug him. For Gideon Gunther, he stands with the tip of his pistol's barrel, silver bullets loaded, pointed in the direction of an unholy beast.

Oscar walked slowly. He liked London whilst it rained, which was good considering how much it obliged him by doing so. He had his umbrella up in one hand and was enjoying a brisk walk through the streets. Though the air was cold, he had chosen a nice selection of furs to keep him warm. He had no real destination, though he imagined he would end up squirrelled away in the corner of the Lord's Beard putting pen to paper as he had found himself a lot lately.

The battleground, a narrow sidestreet in a derelict part of London, many of the beasts crop up here in search for easy prey. The beast, an infant Shade left to die after the unfaltering determination of a certain few Hunters to purge those which must not live. Like what was once known as its "mother", this Shade will see the end of its life. This particular Shade has taken the form of a four legged creature. As ragged breaths emerge from its unsettling form, the clearly visible lungs pulsate. An exposed ribcage acts as a window to see this happening. The smell of singed skin surrounds the both of them, something Gideon has never been too fond of. The black creature contrasts the day bestowed upon them, they usually only come out during the night so they can act as shadows while feeding on the lives of anyone they come across. This one must have gotten desperate to feed. Its mouth opens, maybe hoping to stun Gideon with the sound, but it is of no use. Gideon stands as a statue, gun pointed still and waiting for the beast to make its move.

A gang of children ran past Oscar as he walked, laughing in the rain. He gave a slight smile, glad to see that even in the working class districts, one could still find the laughter of children. It gave him a couple of ideas that he might write down later on, once he had tired of his walk and the rain and the dreariness that 19th century London offered to all its visitors.

The Shade's legs scramble as it barrels at Gideon, the visible lungs try desperately to pump oxygen into it in order to fuel it. It gains ground and leaps into the air, using its legs to spring itself up, maybe hoping that having the higher ground, or in this case, air, would give it some sort of advantage. Gideon's finger slams the trigger of his gun as the Shade reaches the apex of its jump and his hand moves due to the recoil of the weapon. Gravity forces the Shade into a freefall into a collision course with Gideon, however, with a quick two steps to the side, the beast crashes into the broken pavement. Gideon looks the Shade over as it slowly begins to dissolve into a puddle of black goo while the rain washes it away. Gideon holsters his gun and with no more reason to be in this area, he departs. He emerges from the alley to see multiple pairs of eyes slam against him. Judging looks from all around question his reason for being there and whether or not it has him who had disturbed their "peace". Some even look at him in fear, most likely due to the gunshots.

He walks a fair distance up to a woman sitting on the wet ground, her belly grown to be rather large as it bulges from her ragged clothing. Gideon bends down and she reels back in fear as his hand vanishes into one of his pockets. This look changes to a small smile as he produces a few coins, enough to buy a meal at the very least. He clasps her hand in his and leaves the gift in it. He stands up straight and makes his way out of the slums.