The Vault: it's complicated
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This is the entire brain dump.
Train of thought premise, character snapshots, test scenes, vague ideas, less than vague ideas, it's everything I normally include for projects I can't get out of my head. Normally this gets it out of my head. This time it just inspired more. An entire trilogy. When I say this is a lot I mean it.
Please, enjoy the project I call it's complicated by Dominic Donner, links are to the songs music video and artist website respectively. I listened to this the entire time I was workshopping this idea.
Let me know if I should actually write this. Make suggestions. Let me know if I should include Jack's POV if I do.
Brain Dump
A fated romance containing the following tropes: forced proximity, power imbalance (in more ways than one), cursed salvation, war school, fuck you or kill you dynamics, shadow daddy
Basic premise: A girl is going through the human war school and has been pissing people off, so when the supernatural side of the war school needs a couple fighters to round out a one on one combat test she's the first one they send. When she's there she meets a guy, I'm thinking Jack for the name, who just gets off on fighting. And he kills his sparring partner. When he kills the guy he's noticed her watching, and is looking right at her. It unlocks something in her. It felt so intimate and private and they didn't even know each other. Well, she's decided since in the supernatural school killing isn't penalized like on the human side? She's gonna kill her partner. Exactly the same way he did. And it gets his attention. It also gets the attention of someone high ranking. She’s still a student of the human war school, but she’s officially joining the supernatural physical training. Her rooms are moved to the supernatural side as well. A private room with a ward so no one but her can go through the door. It's also the floor below Jack's room. She finds out he's a reputed animal and cold killer. It should bother her, but so should his eyes looking her over like she's a meal and he's hungry when she passes him. She's training with his classmates and just waiting to get the chance to spar him. It becomes almost a ritual for him to wait until their eyes meet to kill his opponent. For her to pass him as she goes through the tunnels to the human side. He leans there and she knows to most it would seem intimidating and maybe even a threat. To her it seems sweet. Like the passing glance they share once a day is him saying see you later. And then she's woken up in the middle of the night and told a student's been found dead. One of the mages got his power and it looked like self transformation magic. It's illegal because in order for mages with this power to be human, they had to kill. She just knows it's Jack. Especially when she's heading down the stairs for the manhunt and she literally runs into him on his way up. He's wet, but it isn't raining. It's blood. He doesn't look scared like she would have thought, given how the body he'd left was shredded. Was he really that dangerous? That uncaring? Of course he was. This is the guy who kills on the mat almost daily. And they hear footsteps heading down from his floor. So he kisses her as they pass, and when he pulls away her mouth follows his. And he pulls her to his rooms for chili peppers. Nothing seems to have changed, but everything has changed. When they pass in the tunnel it's a lingering gaze. She slows down to make it longer. And when one of the supernatural boys makes a pass at her he came up behind her. Slid his hands around her waist and twisted her chin to kiss him. Now everyone gives both of them a wide berth. The next time he kills so he can stay human, her room is sacked, and in the intensity of it all she manifests a power. Telekinesis. It's not strong, it's not much, but her dagger didn't fly across the room on nothing to kill one of the intruders. But Jake shows up, climbing through her window before she can wheel out too hard. He calms her down, as she's throwing things all over the room, and we see that he's becoming soft for her. And ONLY her. He gives her a kiss then fights and kills the other mages there as she freaks out about having magic. She's only human, total existential experience. Then someone's knocking at the door. The ward is broken now and she can't be there or she could be found out for having magic, because reasons or something, so he guides her out of her window, to climb to his. The next morning there's a new order from the higher ups. She's to be graduated from the human war school so she can be put through the supernatural war school. And first and second years have to have roommates with few exceptions. So they put her in the same room as Jack. She could manage herself with him when he was just the guy leaning against the wall as she went to human school, the guy who liked to share his kills with her. But now he's there like all the time. They're going to the same classes, they do physical training together, and now they even sleep together. Entendre absolutely intended. But he starts getting called out to the front lines of the war. They don't talk about how it affects him, but she decides to use her day off to kill a few animals and put their blood on a handkerchief. And I imagine a scene where she's testing her idea, that it's not in the killing but in the spilling of blood. Like, it’s not killing a creature to transform into it, it’s the blood making contact with your skin. And she puts a handkerchief against his back that was dipped in rabbit's blood, and he turns into a rabbit. And she cuts her hand and bleeds into his rabbit fur and he turns back into a human. Workaround reached. Higher ups see him using them in a battle when he's pulled to the front lines and decide that it's best to keep those two together. So she's assigned to the same postings as him, but in the human division. They fight against the enemy together. She learns to use her magic to make her fly and she's the lookout, where he's got all his blood samples so he's listening to her as a wolf, and sneaking up on enemy camps as a squirrel, and if he doesn't end up getting human blood on him in the process all he has to do is go to her and she turns him human with her own blood. And now it's love. Or obsession. It’s something that feels committal. The higher ups learn about the blood workaround. They send him to a different fight, telling him she's going too. But she's not actually sent. And he dies. Then she goes off. She demands to see the higher ups because everything they've done has been to bring them together. And then they set him up to die. She's told the experiment was over and they didn’t need him anymore. They’d set the entire relationship up in a series of tests, everything after sending her to die at the very beginning.
And I thought it would be so thematic for her not to really speak. Ever. But then when he dies and she decides to USE her voice it's to burn down the system that decided the man she loved, was expendable.
Possible series?
Book 1: Unheard. Or maybe Heard
A silent, disruptive cadet is sent to her death in a supernatural combat test and captures the attention of its most lethal killer by mirroring his violence, forging a silent, obsessive connection that culminates in a bloody, desperate kiss.
Book 2: Unseen. Or maybe Understood
Thrown together as roommates and battlefield partners, their passion turns to mutual salvation as they discover a secret workaround to his deadly magic, only to be torn apart by a betrayal that leaves him reported dead and her with a single, vengeful word: "Why?"
Book 3: Unspoken. Or also possibly Gone
Now a cold, calculating revolutionary, Moira burns down the corrupt system that took him, uncovers the intimate betrayal of a friend, and banishes him with the voice she'd once reclaimed for vengeance, before discovering Jack has been alive—and trapped—all along. And now he’s feral.
I'm thinking it would be REALLY thematic for her to have one point where she speaks. One scene where her voice comes out to play. And because she doesn't speak it's that much more powerful. It's not in book one at all. But in book two, when Jack is reported dead and she marches to the government building, no one stopping her because they know who she is, and she simply asks, "Why?" She doesn't have to explain, they already know she started storming their way after receiving the report. So they tell her and she answers with, "We'll see who's expendable." Then in book three she's silent again, but then she finds Jack. Despite all her efforts she can’t seem to get him back in his right head, she can’t seem to reach him at all. Then near the end, right before she realizes that her friends are right and killing him would be the most humane option, she’s like, “Jack I love you. Come back.” But it doesn’t work.
Characters
Moira is the POV character, and the FMC. She was asked as a child about her mother’s magic, and it led to both of her parents being executed from her testimony. She was 6. It was illegal at the time for supernaturals and humans to procreate. Moira was not put in the foster system like any other kid would be, but into the military training school. Most people join in their early twenties and graduate in a few years. She grew up there. Because of the weight her words held in the fate of her parents, she no longer speaks. It started as the fear that people would die if she did, and turned into something she just doesn’t do. She has a sense of right and wrong that she’s learned has to be different than the rules set upon her so she’s disruptive. She brings a stool for the short kid who is physically unable to make it up the wall climb obstacle, she burns the order missives being delivered to cadets who desperately need to study for that test tomorrow, she walks past school leaders trying to talk to her, and when she meets him? She becomes enthralled with Jack. No physical description will be given for her.
Jack is deadly. He never talks about where he came from, who his family is, or what he’s been through. He’s just the guy who’s so volatile the administration made killing during supernatural physical training acceptable. He’s really the only one who does it. He has short black hair, long enough to be a bit disheveled but not so long it falls over his eyes. They are a cold, bright blue. Like a frozen river or a clear sky on a winter’s day. His latent abilities are night vision and proximity based clairvoyance. His manifested magic is self transformation. Which is also known as killer magic because those with it have to kill humans to maintain their human form. He thinks it’s cool. Once he meets Moira he joins her silence, and learns her language. Her only source of feeling connected. Seen. Possibly with his clairvoyance he’s drawn to her because she’s the only person not planning anything. She’s not thinking about what she’s going to do she just does it. It’s instinctual. And for him, the only point of silence in a world full of inane chatter. Possible secondary POV? Please test this.
Roan is a girl. I'm thinking tall, kinda broad, redhead, brown eyes, freckled but just all over the damn place. Latent skills include hyper smell and hearing (which is where she gets her information probably), manifested skill is fire manipulation. Skill level is low, power level mild. The first, and only, supernatural to befriend Moira because Roan is chatty and doesn’t really need much socially out of Moira. She’s the information hub of the group, and really just goes with what they want to do mostly. She fills the silence Moira leaves.
Nessa is average height, and soft curves. She's human, with no latent or manifested powers. Her skills are in being lithe and dependable. Loyal to a fault, as indicated with her behavior towards Moira, her childhood friend. She's the only one who knows Moira's mother was a supernatural. She loves to dance but only when no one is watching. I see her like my own sister. Long brown hair she can braid without plaiting because she doesn't take care of the curls like she should. Once she had a short haircut and it looked like an aftro so she keeps it long and contained. Enormous blue eyes. Not cold like Jack's, but soft. His eyes are a frozen river, hers is a cozy window seat watching the rain. Dark, quiet, comfortable. She joined the military so she could be rejoined with Moira. She accepts the silence but wishes Moira would return to the girl she was instead of learning to interact with the girl she is now.
Jourd I see as someone who has the same hair as Nessa but actually takes care of it. Mid sized ringlets to his chin, that are always falling in his face and somehow always look damp. Dark brown. His eyes are the same shade of brown as his hair. He's slim, but wiry. Like a runner. His latent ability is increased speed and his ability to sway a room in his favor. Unknown if the last bit is a latent magic or just his charisma. He's friendly and social and well liked on both the human and supernatural sides of the war school. One of the rare humans with latent abilities, and Nessa’s cousin. He met Moira a couple times when they were kids, but never really knew her before. He hangs around because he and Nessa are close and because he has a bit of a crush on Moira. Not that he’s bold enough to actually tell her until after Jack takes a noted interest. And by then she’s already gone. Possibly the person giving the higher ups their intel? Ooh, double agent.
Premise Check
I really want to do a scene where she's waiting for her turn as the human disruptive enough to be forced to join the supernatural combat test. She's looking around to try and figure out the general skill level around her. And she sees Jack about to snap his opponent's neck. Just before the crack rings out his eyes meet hers. He pauses for a breath and she looks away. She should feel disgusted, horrified, this was her first time seeing someone die after all. Instead it gives her an idea. That might just get his attention. She steps on the mat, sees him standing against a wall watching her. And she not only defeats her magic wielding, supernatural opponent. She kills him. With the same killing move Jack had done. When she looks back up he's gone. But after the tests, when she's the only one walking through the tunnel to the human side, she sees him standing under one of the only working lights. His eyes slide to hers. She's already overheard others calling him a brutalist and killer. She's seen how people move out of his way when he walks. She's got every reason to be terrified. But she isn't. She feels perfectly safe. Her eyes hold his as long as they can without turning her head.
one of the anchor points is when she's going back to the human side. In that tunnel. It's usually pretty sparsely lit, every third light or so, and he's standing under the next one. He appreciates the view as his eyes rove over her, settling on her eyes. She holds his gaze until she can't without turning her head, and doesn't realize she's also holding her breath. And this happens every day.
Then there's no lights. And she still has to go through the tunnel. He's been avoiding her for the last few days so she knows he's not there. But about a quarter of the way through she bumps into someone. She's sure. She reaches out and it's actually an arch. She knows it was him shielding her. So she simply, reaches her hand out. She doesn't move, doesn't say anything, but reaches out. And he grabs her offered hand and pulls her into his chest. Perhaps there’s a kiss here? Idk yet. She hears the sound of the lights switching on. He's gone before she even thinks to open her eyes. This is the first time they show some kind of affection for each other. It’s not about attraction but choosing to be close to each other where no one can see them. If it happens in the dark it didn’t happen kind of deal.
And it's the inciting event for them to have her fully moved to the supernatural side. They take the tunnel out of the equation entirely, and she's a supernatural student now instead of a human student. Before she manifests a power. Oooh, because they know that they can put her in a vulnerable position around him and he won't kill her. They thought he would. If it were anyone else he might've.
I also imagine a scene where they're standing in line waiting for their respective turn in that days combat training. He's taken to standing next to her, jumping the line to where she is, but no one says anything because he's Jack, he's psycho, he'll kill you for looking at him wrong. And they're placed against each other. She knows he's killed every person he's gone up against but doesn't plan to lose. Because he might know what she looks like naked, but he doesn't know how she moves. Except he does. And she can feel every muscle when she slams against his chest. Her cheeks go red when he slams her against the ground and falls on top of her. She feels his erection when she flips him over and puts a dagger to his throat. She leans in, pressing just enough to draw blood, and they lay there. Exchanging breath until the squad leader calls the match.
Another time she’s talking to another cadet and Jack comes up behind her and just slides his arm over her shoulder. The other guy looks between them and Jack kisses her, the first time he’s shown her physical affection outside of sex, or where other people can see it.
Outline
Chapter one
Well the beginning is when Moira is sent to the supernatural hand to hand combat test. There will be weapons training too but that's when she's sent over. The idea is to kill her, weed her out, but she survives and actually kills one of the supernatural cadets. BUT as an introduction to her character, the separation of schools, and Nessa, I'm thinking Moira and Nessa are headed to their own combat test and a school administrator stops Moira to tell her she's going to the supernatural side to "round out" the numbers. Moira knows what this means, Nessa does too, so Nessa asks why. When the administrator starts listing demerits Moira just walks past him and towards the tunnel to the supernatural side. Nessa can be heard defending Moira as she walks away, and the administrator is angry for being ignored. Then after Moira sees Jack, after they incidentally make eye contact and they hold it while he kills his sparring opponent, her interest is sparked. The look while Jack kills the other cadet makes her feel connection. She's been so disconnected for so long that it takes her off guard how much she likes it. How much she needs it... he's the first person who just let her exist in the same space without expecting anything or existing over her. She pulls out the notebook she always keeps with her, turns to a fresh page, and starts sketching him while she's waiting for her turn. Roan sees her sketching and pipes up about it, telling Moira everything she knows about Jack. Then Moira's on the mat. She knows she's supposed to die, the other cadet knows he's supposed to kill her. Or at least wound her badly. But she's been doing combat training since she was six. Over ten years. He’s been doing it for two years. She decides, when she sees Jack leaning against the wall watching her fight, to kill her opponent the same way he killed his. When she looks back up after her win, he's gone. So now she's heading back through the tunnel, back to real life, and settling into the knowledge that officially none of this ever happened, and he's there. In the tunnel. Directly under one of the sparse working lights in there. And I see that as the first chapter.
Test Scenes
The Tunnel
I’d been the only human to survive “rounding out” the supernatural mats. And now it was over I was expected to return to my dorm room on the human side. Through a tunnel where only every third light seemed to work.
If ever there were a time to be scared it was now. The humans wouldn’t want me back, I’d been sent to statistical death for a reason, and the supernaturals wouldn’t want me. I wasn’t one of them. It wouldn’t be unheard of for someone to be killed in this tunnel.
Yet it was the only path. So I took it.
Halfway down the hall I saw him. My foot hesitated for just a moment, all he needed to know I was there.
His eyes, as blue as the clearest sky, as cold as a river in December, locked onto mine. I’d watched him kill today, now he was watching me walk away from it.
I refused to look any more than I had to. To keep from falling into that dead stare. From being pleased that his eyes seemed to like what they saw.
After his match people had grumbled that he was just there to get away with murder, He was a killer, cold blooded, animal.
As I passed him I felt his eyes on my back, and my resolve almost broke when I him speak. In a voice as low and rich and smooth as cheesecake. “See you next time.”
And I could feel him in every shadow until I reached the other side. Protecting me, even just in my imagination.
Takedown
The human combat gym had flooded, so they were using ours and we were using the outdoor mats. I was just leaning on a flag post. Waiting for my name to be called.
As the only human who trained with the supernaturals I was always alone until then. Unless you counted watching Jack if he fought at a different time than me.
Speaking of…I felt him lean on the post next to me. His arm sent thrills through mine despite being half an inch away. My eyes darted to his fingers and imagined we were normal. Would we hold hands instead of gazes?
A squad leader called out, “Jack Barrett, and Moira Gray!”
There were already rumors about us being lovers, or cousins, or even siblings. Now we were going to fight each other more rumors would take life. As for the moment, the crowd of cadets fell silent.
We went to opposite corners and waited for the squad leader to start the match. Jack’s mouth twitched into a half smile, his eyes brightened. Normally this would be him preparing to kill someone. I was confident I’d be the exception.
He didn’t know how I moved.
I’d watched every fight he’d been in for weeks and he was never there when I looked from the mat. Not since that first time.
When I feigned left I learned just how wrong I was. He expertly grabbed my arm and twisted me until I slammed into his chest. I could almost feel every ab through my leathers.
His hand flew to my throat and pushed my head up. In that low, smooth voice of his he whispered, “I bet you can’t get out of this next one.”
Then I was flipped to the ground. Flat on my back, wind knocked out of me, and he dropped heavily over me. It was my finishing move in my last match. He had been watching.
Jack was straddling me, holding my arms over my head with one hand and gripping my waist with the other. I might have been scared if I could’ve looked away from his lips.
I slid a leg up under him and hooked it around his to flip us. In the air my dagger practically fell into my hand. When we landed he was beneath me. My blade to his neck. The only sound was our breathing, moving the dust in little clouds just to prove we were there.
“You win,” He said. “Want your prize?” His hips pressed into mine and I realized.
He was hard. I dug the dagger harder into his neck, drawing a single line of red out of it. He stopped breathing and I could feel his heart skip a beat.
We stayed like that for several heartbeats. Pressed together, his erection digging into my thigh and my knife digging into his neck.
“Point Moira!” called the squad leader. I scrambled away.
Something about how Jack had felt against my stomach was starting a heat I wasn’t sure I knew how to handle.
Moira Gray, of the Gray incident
There was exactly one class I had with Jack. Common magics. I wasn’t nervous about learning the material. I’d never been one for grades anyway. I was nervous because none of the teachers, or cadets, knew me yet. Not on the supernatural track.
So when the teacher started calling on random students to answer questions posed in his lecture? He eventually called on me.
“Because matter is never created, who can tell me how creator mages can create seemingly from thin air?”
I knew the answer. But I would never tell. He had no right asking me to speak in front of a room of strangers, not even knowing my name. While I stared him down I wondered how old he might be.
“Miss, what do you think it might be,” The teacher continued. He must’ve been about fifty. Plenty old enough to know when he checked the roll. He’d see my name and fall silent himself. “You can give a wild guess if you want.”
Two seats ahead of me I could see Jack stiffening up. He just turned his head so he could glance my way.
I hated myself for noticing it. He’d stop showing up at the tunnels lately, and hadn’t so much as looked at me since that night. When the lights were out and I thought…
“Miss, it is very irregular for a student to ignore when a teacher is talking to them.” I turned my attention back to the trainer. I’d heard once I could get a teacher to cry with a glare so I decided see if it was true.
He looked down at his lectern, shuffled through some papers, and ran his finger down a list he found. “Young miss, I believe you must be the new student,” he said, a note of superiority in his voice. “Ah, here it is, Moir-”
He lifted his stupid hanging glasses up to his stupid face and squinted through them. They turned up at me, then back down to the paper.
“You are Moira Gray, of the Gray incident.”
Whispers erupted around the room that the trainer didn’t bother to try taming. I couldn’t tell where they were coming from but I knew what they said.
“That’s the girl that doesn’t talk right?”
“Didn’t she get both her parents killed?”
“I heard she’s been a cadet since she was like six,”
The only person who didn’t whisper, didn’t seem to react at all, was Jack. He just continued sitting where he was.
Eventually the teacher gathered himself together and continued with his inane lecture. The cadets quieted down. I did my best to slip out unnoticed. I’d been reminded of this, my biggest mistake, my entire life. It never got easier.
I leaned against the wall and tipped my head back to just breathe. I didn’t have to look to know I’d been followed.
Jack reached out and pulled me to walk with him. He didn’t even ask me a single question all the way back to the human dorms.
Moira is the POV character, and the FMC. She was asked as a child about her mother’s magic, and it led to both of her parents being executed from her testimony. She was 6. It was illegal at the time for supernaturals and humans to procreate. Moira was not put in the foster system like any other kid would be, but into the military training school. Most people join in their early twenties and graduate in a few years. She grew up there. Because of the weight her words held in the fate of her parents, she no longer speaks. It started as the fear that people would die if she did, and turned into something she just doesn’t do. She has a sense of right and wrong that she’s learned has to be different than the rules set upon her so she’s disruptive. She brings a stool for the short kid who is physically unable to make it up the wall climb obstacle, she burns the order missives being delivered to cadets who desperately need to study for that test tomorrow, she walks past school leaders trying to talk to her, and when she meets him? She becomes enthralled with Jack. No physical description will be given for her.
Jack is deadly. He never talks about where he came from, who his family is, or what he’s been through. He’s just the guy who’s so volatile the administration made killing during supernatural physical training acceptable. He’s really the only one who does it. He has short black hair, long enough to be a bit disheveled but not so long it falls over his eyes. They are a cold, bright blue. Like a frozen river or a clear sky on a winter’s day. His latent abilities are night vision and proximity based clairvoyance. His manifested magic is self transformation. Which is also known as killer magic because those with it have to kill humans to maintain their human form. He thinks it’s cool. Once he meets Moira he joins her silence, and learns her language. Her only source of feeling connected. Seen. Possibly with his clairvoyance he’s drawn to her because she’s the only person not planning anything. She’s not thinking about what she’s going to do she just does it. It’s instinctual. And for him, the only point of silence in a world full of inane chatter. Possible secondary POV? Please test this.
Roan is a girl. I'm thinking tall, kinda broad, redhead, brown eyes, freckled but just all over the damn place. Latent skills include hyper smell and hearing (which is where she gets her information probably), manifested skill is fire manipulation. Skill level is low, power level mild. The first, and only, supernatural to befriend Moira because Roan is chatty and doesn’t really need much socially out of Moira. She’s the information hub of the group, and really just goes with what they want to do mostly. She fills the silence Moira leaves.
Nessa is average height, and soft curves. She's human, with no latent or manifested powers. Her skills are in being lithe and dependable. Loyal to a fault, as indicated with her behavior towards Moira, her childhood friend. She's the only one who knows Moira's mother was a supernatural. She loves to dance but only when no one is watching. I see her like my own sister. Long brown hair she can braid without plaiting because she doesn't take care of the curls like she should. Once she had a short haircut and it looked like an aftro so she keeps it long and contained. Enormous blue eyes. Not cold like Jack's, but soft. His eyes are a frozen river, hers is a cozy window seat watching the rain. Dark, quiet, comfortable. She joined the military so she could be rejoined with Moira. She accepts the silence but wishes Moira would return to the girl she was instead of learning to interact with the girl she is now.
Jourd I see as someone who has the same hair as Nessa but actually takes care of it. Mid sized ringlets to his chin, that are always falling in his face and somehow always look damp. Dark brown. His eyes are the same shade of brown as his hair. He's slim, but wiry. Like a runner. His latent ability is increased speed and his ability to sway a room in his favor. Unknown if the last bit is a latent magic or just his charisma. He's friendly and social and well liked on both the human and supernatural sides of the war school. One of the rare humans with latent abilities, and Nessa’s cousin. He met Moira a couple times when they were kids, but never really knew her before. He hangs around because he and Nessa are close and because he has a bit of a crush on Moira. Not that he’s bold enough to actually tell her until after Jack takes a noted interest. And by then she’s already gone. Possibly the person giving the higher ups their intel? Ooh, double agent.
Premise Check
I really want to do a scene where she's waiting for her turn as the human disruptive enough to be forced to join the supernatural combat test. She's looking around to try and figure out the general skill level around her. And she sees Jack about to snap his opponent's neck. Just before the crack rings out his eyes meet hers. He pauses for a breath and she looks away. She should feel disgusted, horrified, this was her first time seeing someone die after all. Instead it gives her an idea. That might just get his attention. She steps on the mat, sees him standing against a wall watching her. And she not only defeats her magic wielding, supernatural opponent. She kills him. With the same killing move Jack had done. When she looks back up he's gone. But after the tests, when she's the only one walking through the tunnel to the human side, she sees him standing under one of the only working lights. His eyes slide to hers. She's already overheard others calling him a brutalist and killer. She's seen how people move out of his way when he walks. She's got every reason to be terrified. But she isn't. She feels perfectly safe. Her eyes hold his as long as they can without turning her head.
one of the anchor points is when she's going back to the human side. In that tunnel. It's usually pretty sparsely lit, every third light or so, and he's standing under the next one. He appreciates the view as his eyes rove over her, settling on her eyes. She holds his gaze until she can't without turning her head, and doesn't realize she's also holding her breath. And this happens every day.
Then there's no lights. And she still has to go through the tunnel. He's been avoiding her for the last few days so she knows he's not there. But about a quarter of the way through she bumps into someone. She's sure. She reaches out and it's actually an arch. She knows it was him shielding her. So she simply, reaches her hand out. She doesn't move, doesn't say anything, but reaches out. And he grabs her offered hand and pulls her into his chest. Perhaps there’s a kiss here? Idk yet. She hears the sound of the lights switching on. He's gone before she even thinks to open her eyes. This is the first time they show some kind of affection for each other. It’s not about attraction but choosing to be close to each other where no one can see them. If it happens in the dark it didn’t happen kind of deal.
And it's the inciting event for them to have her fully moved to the supernatural side. They take the tunnel out of the equation entirely, and she's a supernatural student now instead of a human student. Before she manifests a power. Oooh, because they know that they can put her in a vulnerable position around him and he won't kill her. They thought he would. If it were anyone else he might've.
I also imagine a scene where they're standing in line waiting for their respective turn in that days combat training. He's taken to standing next to her, jumping the line to where she is, but no one says anything because he's Jack, he's psycho, he'll kill you for looking at him wrong. And they're placed against each other. She knows he's killed every person he's gone up against but doesn't plan to lose. Because he might know what she looks like naked, but he doesn't know how she moves. Except he does. And she can feel every muscle when she slams against his chest. Her cheeks go red when he slams her against the ground and falls on top of her. She feels his erection when she flips him over and puts a dagger to his throat. She leans in, pressing just enough to draw blood, and they lay there. Exchanging breath until the squad leader calls the match.
Another time she’s talking to another cadet and Jack comes up behind her and just slides his arm over her shoulder. The other guy looks between them and Jack kisses her, the first time he’s shown her physical affection outside of sex, or where other people can see it.
Outline
Chapter one
Well the beginning is when Moira is sent to the supernatural hand to hand combat test. There will be weapons training too but that's when she's sent over. The idea is to kill her, weed her out, but she survives and actually kills one of the supernatural cadets. BUT as an introduction to her character, the separation of schools, and Nessa, I'm thinking Moira and Nessa are headed to their own combat test and a school administrator stops Moira to tell her she's going to the supernatural side to "round out" the numbers. Moira knows what this means, Nessa does too, so Nessa asks why. When the administrator starts listing demerits Moira just walks past him and towards the tunnel to the supernatural side. Nessa can be heard defending Moira as she walks away, and the administrator is angry for being ignored. Then after Moira sees Jack, after they incidentally make eye contact and they hold it while he kills his sparring opponent, her interest is sparked. The look while Jack kills the other cadet makes her feel connection. She's been so disconnected for so long that it takes her off guard how much she likes it. How much she needs it... he's the first person who just let her exist in the same space without expecting anything or existing over her. She pulls out the notebook she always keeps with her, turns to a fresh page, and starts sketching him while she's waiting for her turn. Roan sees her sketching and pipes up about it, telling Moira everything she knows about Jack. Then Moira's on the mat. She knows she's supposed to die, the other cadet knows he's supposed to kill her. Or at least wound her badly. But she's been doing combat training since she was six. Over ten years. He’s been doing it for two years. She decides, when she sees Jack leaning against the wall watching her fight, to kill her opponent the same way he killed his. When she looks back up after her win, he's gone. So now she's heading back through the tunnel, back to real life, and settling into the knowledge that officially none of this ever happened, and he's there. In the tunnel. Directly under one of the sparse working lights in there. And I see that as the first chapter.
Test Scenes
The Tunnel
I’d been the only human to survive “rounding out” the supernatural mats. And now it was over I was expected to return to my dorm room on the human side. Through a tunnel where only every third light seemed to work.
If ever there were a time to be scared it was now. The humans wouldn’t want me back, I’d been sent to statistical death for a reason, and the supernaturals wouldn’t want me. I wasn’t one of them. It wouldn’t be unheard of for someone to be killed in this tunnel.
Yet it was the only path. So I took it.
Halfway down the hall I saw him. My foot hesitated for just a moment, all he needed to know I was there.
His eyes, as blue as the clearest sky, as cold as a river in December, locked onto mine. I’d watched him kill today, now he was watching me walk away from it.
I refused to look any more than I had to. To keep from falling into that dead stare. From being pleased that his eyes seemed to like what they saw.
After his match people had grumbled that he was just there to get away with murder, He was a killer, cold blooded, animal.
As I passed him I felt his eyes on my back, and my resolve almost broke when I him speak. In a voice as low and rich and smooth as cheesecake. “See you next time.”
And I could feel him in every shadow until I reached the other side. Protecting me, even just in my imagination.
Takedown
The human combat gym had flooded, so they were using ours and we were using the outdoor mats. I was just leaning on a flag post. Waiting for my name to be called.
As the only human who trained with the supernaturals I was always alone until then. Unless you counted watching Jack if he fought at a different time than me.
Speaking of…I felt him lean on the post next to me. His arm sent thrills through mine despite being half an inch away. My eyes darted to his fingers and imagined we were normal. Would we hold hands instead of gazes?
A squad leader called out, “Jack Barrett, and Moira Gray!”
There were already rumors about us being lovers, or cousins, or even siblings. Now we were going to fight each other more rumors would take life. As for the moment, the crowd of cadets fell silent.
We went to opposite corners and waited for the squad leader to start the match. Jack’s mouth twitched into a half smile, his eyes brightened. Normally this would be him preparing to kill someone. I was confident I’d be the exception.
He didn’t know how I moved.
I’d watched every fight he’d been in for weeks and he was never there when I looked from the mat. Not since that first time.
When I feigned left I learned just how wrong I was. He expertly grabbed my arm and twisted me until I slammed into his chest. I could almost feel every ab through my leathers.
His hand flew to my throat and pushed my head up. In that low, smooth voice of his he whispered, “I bet you can’t get out of this next one.”
Then I was flipped to the ground. Flat on my back, wind knocked out of me, and he dropped heavily over me. It was my finishing move in my last match. He had been watching.
Jack was straddling me, holding my arms over my head with one hand and gripping my waist with the other. I might have been scared if I could’ve looked away from his lips.
I slid a leg up under him and hooked it around his to flip us. In the air my dagger practically fell into my hand. When we landed he was beneath me. My blade to his neck. The only sound was our breathing, moving the dust in little clouds just to prove we were there.
“You win,” He said. “Want your prize?” His hips pressed into mine and I realized.
He was hard. I dug the dagger harder into his neck, drawing a single line of red out of it. He stopped breathing and I could feel his heart skip a beat.
We stayed like that for several heartbeats. Pressed together, his erection digging into my thigh and my knife digging into his neck.
“Point Moira!” called the squad leader. I scrambled away.
Something about how Jack had felt against my stomach was starting a heat I wasn’t sure I knew how to handle.
Moira Gray, of the Gray incident
There was exactly one class I had with Jack. Common magics. I wasn’t nervous about learning the material. I’d never been one for grades anyway. I was nervous because none of the teachers, or cadets, knew me yet. Not on the supernatural track.
So when the teacher started calling on random students to answer questions posed in his lecture? He eventually called on me.
“Because matter is never created, who can tell me how creator mages can create seemingly from thin air?”
I knew the answer. But I would never tell. He had no right asking me to speak in front of a room of strangers, not even knowing my name. While I stared him down I wondered how old he might be.
“Miss, what do you think it might be,” The teacher continued. He must’ve been about fifty. Plenty old enough to know when he checked the roll. He’d see my name and fall silent himself. “You can give a wild guess if you want.”
Two seats ahead of me I could see Jack stiffening up. He just turned his head so he could glance my way.
I hated myself for noticing it. He’d stop showing up at the tunnels lately, and hadn’t so much as looked at me since that night. When the lights were out and I thought…
“Miss, it is very irregular for a student to ignore when a teacher is talking to them.” I turned my attention back to the trainer. I’d heard once I could get a teacher to cry with a glare so I decided see if it was true.
He looked down at his lectern, shuffled through some papers, and ran his finger down a list he found. “Young miss, I believe you must be the new student,” he said, a note of superiority in his voice. “Ah, here it is, Moir-”
He lifted his stupid hanging glasses up to his stupid face and squinted through them. They turned up at me, then back down to the paper.
“You are Moira Gray, of the Gray incident.”
Whispers erupted around the room that the trainer didn’t bother to try taming. I couldn’t tell where they were coming from but I knew what they said.
“That’s the girl that doesn’t talk right?”
“Didn’t she get both her parents killed?”
“I heard she’s been a cadet since she was like six,”
The only person who didn’t whisper, didn’t seem to react at all, was Jack. He just continued sitting where he was.
Eventually the teacher gathered himself together and continued with his inane lecture. The cadets quieted down. I did my best to slip out unnoticed. I’d been reminded of this, my biggest mistake, my entire life. It never got easier.
I leaned against the wall and tipped my head back to just breathe. I didn’t have to look to know I’d been followed.
Jack reached out and pulled me to walk with him. He didn’t even ask me a single question all the way back to the human dorms.
Manifested
I awoke to banging on my door. “A cadet was found dead. Get dressed and report for the manhunt.” I was so groggy it took a few moments to understand what the words meant.
Clothes were thrown on and leathers grabbed. I was still strapping myself together when I stumbled out the door to see I wasn’t the only one. As is always the case in a place like this, whispers already abounded.
A recent recruit, torn to shreds, top answer for how was someone with self transformation magic.
Usually I’d brush it off as just another rumor. This time my mind jumped immediately to Jack. If anyone had manifested killing magic it had to have been him. It was common knowledge self transformation mages had to kill to stay human.
If he really had manifested and killed someone? As everyone else ran downstairs to report, I ran up.
I didn’t know which, but he was a second year so his dorm was on the floor above mine. A quick glance showed there wasn’t any recent blood at least. I ran back down, intending to go back to my own dorm for weapons.
Familiar tingles of fear fanned through my stomach. Fear I thought I’d taught myself to ignore. Then…
His chest was granite against my face. His shirt was wet. It smelled of copper and snowdrops, and left something on my face.
Blood.
My eyes snapped to his. I had to look almost directly up see them, but they were looking back down at me. The calm I saw in those frozen depths of blue calmed me. Jack was fine.
“Guess who just manifested,” he said, a smile toying his mouth. His hand drifted just over my hip.
We heard footsteps from above, steady and official sounding, and Jack pressed me into the wall and kissed me.
I knew it was to hide his face and bloodstains from whoever passed. I knew it but…
His fingers dug into my flesh, and his teeth played my bottom lip, and I couldn’t stop my hands from gripping his ruined tunic. Breathing him in and wishing time would stop.
When his arm loosened around my shoulders, and he pulled away from the kiss I couldn’t let go. It lingered as I followed him almost a full step to keep our mouths together just another moment.
I didn’t have to live without it long. With a mumbled, “Oh fuck,” Jack slid his hands down my sides and lifted me back into him.
I awoke to banging on my door. “A cadet was found dead. Get dressed and report for the manhunt.” I was so groggy it took a few moments to understand what the words meant.
Clothes were thrown on and leathers grabbed. I was still strapping myself together when I stumbled out the door to see I wasn’t the only one. As is always the case in a place like this, whispers already abounded.
A recent recruit, torn to shreds, top answer for how was someone with self transformation magic.
Usually I’d brush it off as just another rumor. This time my mind jumped immediately to Jack. If anyone had manifested killing magic it had to have been him. It was common knowledge self transformation mages had to kill to stay human.
If he really had manifested and killed someone? As everyone else ran downstairs to report, I ran up.
I didn’t know which, but he was a second year so his dorm was on the floor above mine. A quick glance showed there wasn’t any recent blood at least. I ran back down, intending to go back to my own dorm for weapons.
Familiar tingles of fear fanned through my stomach. Fear I thought I’d taught myself to ignore. Then…
His chest was granite against my face. His shirt was wet. It smelled of copper and snowdrops, and left something on my face.
Blood.
My eyes snapped to his. I had to look almost directly up see them, but they were looking back down at me. The calm I saw in those frozen depths of blue calmed me. Jack was fine.
“Guess who just manifested,” he said, a smile toying his mouth. His hand drifted just over my hip.
We heard footsteps from above, steady and official sounding, and Jack pressed me into the wall and kissed me.
I knew it was to hide his face and bloodstains from whoever passed. I knew it but…
His fingers dug into my flesh, and his teeth played my bottom lip, and I couldn’t stop my hands from gripping his ruined tunic. Breathing him in and wishing time would stop.
When his arm loosened around my shoulders, and he pulled away from the kiss I couldn’t let go. It lingered as I followed him almost a full step to keep our mouths together just another moment.
I didn’t have to live without it long. With a mumbled, “Oh fuck,” Jack slid his hands down my sides and lifted me back into him.
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