Stella Gibson had never felt particularly threatened, working in Belfast. Certainly, the threat of violence from various armed paramilitary groups was a realistic one, though she'd been initially doubtful about needing to be issued a firearm, but despite that and a few run-ins with people more than a little hostile toward the police, she'd never felt unsafe, at least not any more than she did at home in London.
This place, on the other hand, is another story. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's a crawling sense of unease in her gut that makes her feel on edge, and for a woman who works in law enforcement, who sees human depravity on a daily basis and is so used to not being afraid of very much at all... to say she doesn't like it would be an understatement. Yet — here she is, walking by herself at night, despite her own awareness of the statistics that say that's a terrible idea. If asked, she'd say she's just trying to get her bearings in a strange place. The gun in the shoulder holster neatly concealed under her long dark coat at least provides some small sense of security.
Stella stops, for a moment, underneath the tree branches, fallen leaves crunching under the soles of her high heeled shoes. The festive lights cast a dim glow on her hair and face and the nearby picnic table, though after a few minutes of listening she gives up on trying to find the source of that relentless ticking noise. She decides, eventually, to sit down at the table for a moment to catch her breath — or at least that's what she intends, except that she puts her hand down on the wood surface and her fingers touch something wet.
Startled, she pulls her hand back, turns it into the light to inspect her fingers, and sees the by now very familiar deep red stain of fresh human blood. Her eyes fall on the corner of the table, where there's a small, bloody puddle — and more, where it's trickled off the edge of the table and down onto the bench seat, and from there into the grass. Someone bled here recently, and now Stella would really like to find out who — and why.
[ Info for those who aren't familiar with her or her canon. This is a bit of a riff on scenario 1, I suppose. It's up to you where the blood actually leads if you want to have your character help investigate — a dead body? An injured person? A vampire? Is your character bleeding? Who knows. ]
stella gibson | the fall
This place, on the other hand, is another story. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's a crawling sense of unease in her gut that makes her feel on edge, and for a woman who works in law enforcement, who sees human depravity on a daily basis and is so used to not being afraid of very much at all... to say she doesn't like it would be an understatement. Yet — here she is, walking by herself at night, despite her own awareness of the statistics that say that's a terrible idea. If asked, she'd say she's just trying to get her bearings in a strange place. The gun in the shoulder holster neatly concealed under her long dark coat at least provides some small sense of security.
Stella stops, for a moment, underneath the tree branches, fallen leaves crunching under the soles of her high heeled shoes. The festive lights cast a dim glow on her hair and face and the nearby picnic table, though after a few minutes of listening she gives up on trying to find the source of that relentless ticking noise. She decides, eventually, to sit down at the table for a moment to catch her breath — or at least that's what she intends, except that she puts her hand down on the wood surface and her fingers touch something wet.
Startled, she pulls her hand back, turns it into the light to inspect her fingers, and sees the by now very familiar deep red stain of fresh human blood. Her eyes fall on the corner of the table, where there's a small, bloody puddle — and more, where it's trickled off the edge of the table and down onto the bench seat, and from there into the grass. Someone bled here recently, and now Stella would really like to find out who — and why.
[ Info for those who aren't familiar with her or her canon. This is a bit of a riff on scenario 1, I suppose. It's up to you where the blood actually leads if you want to have your character help investigate — a dead body? An injured person? A vampire? Is your character bleeding? Who knows. ]