* PAY FOR IT -- leo

Resisting the urge to grab the pack of cigarettes from her back pocket, Altair’s cold eyes turned to the sound of footsteps against the stone of the cliffside. She could not deal with this right now. It was quite literally impossible to find peace in this place. Not that she usually went looking for peace. But she’d been trying to find something to keep her content as she picked up the pieces and threw out the pills and tried to think before doing. But it was hard to erase years and years of self-destruction. It was pretty fucking impossible, at this point. Her manicured fingers twitched near her pocket. Nicotine is an addiction, too. But she didn’t think she’d ever be able to give it up either way. So quickly as if someone would see and stop her, she lit up and took a deep breath. Much better.

Her Zippo was still in her hand when the boy approached, and she narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t shakign anymore, thank god, but she was far from a good mood. With the hand that held her lighter, she drew out a wide arc of fire, like she was sending a warning. It didn’t touch Leo, not yet. But if he put her in an even fouler mood, there would certainly be trouble. ”Any closer and it’ll be a trip to the medical wing,” she warned, voice cool. She didn’t know who this kid was or of the predicament he was in, and she could really care less. ”And tell your friends to fuck off, too,” she added, noticing others running up. She rolled her eyes. These were the cliffs, not a goddamn track. ”I am not in the mood for this goddamn fucking bullshit,” she muttered on her breath as she blew out more smoke like a chimney. No, she rather liked comparing herself to a dragon.

The Fire girl rolled her eyes when Leo spoke. He sounded like a timid thing, and she didn’t go through her head thinking of which element he belonged to. As usual, she didn’t care about anyone else. ”I don’t give a flying fuck who they are,” she seethed. ”Just get the bloody hell away from me.” The term ‘friends’ was used in lieu of ‘company’ or another similar word for whoever the fuck was making their way over there. Because she just didn’t care who they were and what they were doing up here. Sure, she didn’t own the cliff or anything, but she wanted to be left alone. Just one moment of peace in this hell. That would be good enough for her, just something to calm her nerves.

Apparently, the kid just wasn’t getting it. Altair narrowed her eyes as he pleaded with her to save him. ”I’m not the goddamn Batman,” she muttered, shaking her head. What did this kid think, any stranger standing up on the cliffs was ready to save his ass from what was apparently a stampede of bullies. ”I’m sure they won’t kill you,” she said, and the words weren’t a comfort on her lips—they were a simple statement. ”Maim you, maybe. But no worse than what I can do to you.” And that made it clear what kind of person Leo was dealing with. She was not a nice girl, she was not a kind girl and she certainly didn’t go out of her way to save pathetic boys who couldn’t take care of themselves. She sighed with frustration when he kept begging. ”There is nothing you can do for me,” she said with a snort. Okay, now he was just getting annoying. She narrowed her eyes as he spoke. If she did what this kid said and—

Well then. The kid was struck in the head with lightning and doubled over. ”Jesus Christ almighty,” she said as she rolled her eyes. ”Fine, I’ll fucking do it,” she snapped, just as irritable as she sounded. She shook her head at the Thunder guy who was acting like she’d just helped him in capturing some animal. ”The fuck you think you are, the SWAT team? Bitch, I do not have the time.” She flicked back the lighter after the inflicted some more pain on Leo, a ball of heat blasting the leader and his little lackies. ”Fuck. Off,” Altair hissed, Fire winding around her hand dangerously. ”Unless you enjoy the smell of your burning flesh.” This was not an empty threat, as the expression in her face proved, cigarette hanging from her mouth. Maybe this was what she needed—violence to blow off steam.

Who did she think she was? She gave a dry smirk, filled with zero humor. ”I’m a pissed off mother fucker who is about to kill you.” Altair had morals (well some) but she hadn’t exactly decided how she felt about murder. Then she thought that he could have been someone’s brother, and it almost made her want to not kill him. But there was something else Altair didn’t have, and it was restraint. She was getting a bit better, but when she was in this kind of mood it was difficult for her to show such a thing. ”Get the fuck off, before I incinerate you,” she told the jackass, slowly and somehow cool. Still threatening. She was always threatening, an imposing presence by far. And she liked it that way.

After they left, she took out the cigarette and muttered through a puff of smoke, almost forgetting the kid down on his knees, almost like he was bowing to her. ”I don’t ccare what the fuck you do,” she said, rolling her eyes with the cigarette poised by her mouth as if she were about to inhale it again. ”Fucking drama queen,” she muttered, shaking her head. Really, that was a little extreme. Servant? She may have been a bitch, but she didn’t have servants. ”You know what you could do right now,” she said, almost pleasant. ”You can kiss my ass.” Then she hesitated for a moment. This guy—still didn’t know his name because she didn’t care enough to ask—was willing to do whatever to repay her? She was a girl who did not admit that she had any sort of weakness or need, especially anything that needed fulfilling from another man. ”What’s your name?” she asked gruffly.

She stubbed out the cigarette and look at him, not even asking if he needed to go to the medical wing. ”If you want to repay whatever fucking debt you think you owe me, try not to piss me off and stay out of my way.” She wasn’t going to be seen with him, anyway, she didn’t really talk to other people, save for Andy and Brett. Those were people she could stand. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to stand him. However, a little humor entered her at the moment. Why not have fun with this, since he seemed so serious about it? ”And you said you can clean? Fine, come over to my apartment on Wednesdays and I’ll put you to work.” Well, he’d be good for something, at least. Hopefully once he felt like he paid his dues he’d get out of her way.

Why the fuck was he blushing? Is…he bloody serious? Altair blinked at him slowly, as if trying to figure out whether or not he was being serious. ”It’s an expression,” she said simply, tilting her head before returning her attention to anyone else but him. The men who slept with her were essentially kissing her ass in a multitude of ways—if it was their thing and because they had to pay her. While some considered it degrading, like stripping, she thought of it as empowering. And in a way, manipulative. But she didn’t need to manipulate Leo for anything, because he didn’t have anything she wanted. But whatever, she’d just use him for what he thought he needed to do. ”How about I call you my bitch,” she said smoothly. ”Because that’s essentially what you are.” And behind these words were a warning. He could back out now if he wanted, disappear from her life. It would be better for him—she was not a nice person at all, and what she did wasn’t showing mercy. It was pure violence to blow off some literal steam.

Altair flicked ash over the cliff. ”Downtown.” Altair told him the apartment and number. She narrowed her eyes after that. She didn’t trust him, of course not, and she’d be watching him like a hawk whenever he was over. She chose Wednesdays because she was free most of the time. ”Let me establish some ground rules, that will be enforced with my Fire if you manage to fuck up. You will not touch anything unless I tell you that you can. You will go nowhere near the closet, or I will slit your throat. When I tell you to do something, you will do it. And if you even think about fixing the hole in the door, I will bring the wrath of God upon you.” She said the last part coldly, venomously, to show him how serious she was. If he thought that just because he was effectively her maid that he could go ahead and touch something that was like a piece of Syria, he was dead fucking wrong.

Altair went through the mail as she sat on the couch, in the process of getting ready for her shift tonight. She hadn’t wanted to go to work, but someone got sick and she needed to fill in. That is not my job, stupid fuckers. Her sister wasn’t home, so she was starting on note to explain why Altair wasn’t home and why there was food in the oven. ’Assholes want me to wor tonight. Eat something. Love you.’ She put the pen down on the coffee table. Should she be looking for a better job? She didn’t know. She didn’t think of it as something degrading, but she did want something that could pay better. Unfortunately, she was still in high school and would be for a while. That made her grate her teeth. She had a sister she needed to take care of, if she was in high school until she was nineteen, there were little chances she’d get a good job. Maybe I should get back into modelling. After she got her life back together, it was a strong possibility.

She heard a knock on the door, and wondered if Ro was home, forgetting that she’d told Leo to come over on Wednesdays. Not caring that she was clad in only her underwear, she pulled open the door and leaned her forearm against it, staring at the boy on the other side. ”The fuck do you want from me?” she said blandly. And then she remembered the day, having been thrown off by the shift for work. ”Oh right, I told you that you can clean.” Altair rolled her eyes and walked back into the apartment, giving Leo a nice view of her g-string. Shamelessness was one of her specialities. ”Start with the bathroom. There’s a lot of hair in the drain, you enjoy that.” She smirked as she picked up the bills again, completely natural in her undies. ”Don’t touch the showerhead, its broken,” she added almost bristling because that was the night she disappeared from her life.

Looking up at Leo with her fierce blue eyes, she said, ”I’m working tonight, so you’ll have to make haste.” She waved her hand to shoo him away, bracelets jangling together almost as an addition to the sound of impatience. She’d be leaving in an hour or two, so it wasn’t like he was exactly going to be cut short. As he busied himself with cleaning, she dressed. But not really, because she was effectively putting a bikini top over her bra and a skirt that just barely covered her ass. After getting at least that done, she observed Leo and warned, ”You break anything else in this place, and I’ll bury you under the floorboards.”


[LOL GRENDEL REFERENCE. <33 AND ENJOY THE SCARRED INNOCENCE, LEO.

Jesus, he’s quiet. She ruffled up her hair, eyeing the kid who had declared himself her indentured servant. A curious eyebrow lifted when Leo closed his eyes, she simply shook her head. Whatever, she didn’t care about whatever was up with this kid. She just wanted to get some shit in this apartment done, since neither of the sisters ever had the time. Plus, that was what Syria wanted to do—Why do you think, Altair? her thoughts scolded her. She tore open a bill. Another thing she needed to work on was her spending issues. She almost sighed, but not in front of this kid. That was like a weakness.

Arms crossed over her proudly displayed chest, she watched as he did the dirty work she absolutely hated. True, she was a neat freak, but she was mostly too lazy or busy to get to doing any of the work. So maybe this kid was good for something. ”Vaccuuming needs to be done. There’s dishes in the sink and laundry needs to be done. There’s washers and driers on the first floor, I’ll give you the quarters.” She believed that was all she had right now, and it actually felt like a burden being lifted off her shoulders. But she wouldn’t thank Leo or anything like that. Altair never thanked anyone.

She caught him saying something under his breath. Court-something? She thought for a moment—surprised that she even cared—and then got it with a cheeky smirk. She knew that she’d be late thanks to the short notice, so she decided it’d be better just to get dressed here. Of course, she wore a long overcoat and brought a change of clothes for when she went home. But usually, she just changed in the rooms. ”Stripper,” she corrected. Smirking, she added, ”Courtesan is my side job.” Altair shook her head, going back over the coffee table to pull out a cigarette and light up. She swore that it wasn’t an addiction. ”And could you call the cable guy?” she called to him. ”Goddamn fucking TV hasn’t been working and I need my Hawaii Five-O.”