Fantasy As Shifting Shadows; Worlds Merged

[poppet]

The catacombs; a maze of cobblestone 'streets' and underground living. Cade strolled lazily down a cobblestone path, ignoring others in passing. His presence demanded attention and respect, but Cade wasn't interested in those things currently. As the vampires passed, they would stop and look. The closer vampires would bow their respects. He noticed, but his mind was on other things today. The time to tell humans why the curfew had been put in place, was nearing. His plans were falling perfectly into place, without the knowledge of anyone involved as to why he really had these plans at all.


Old fashioned street lamps provided the only lighting along the pathways. They glowed a soft warm color, yet dimly. But the clay of the earth that wasn't covered in stone shown red, casting an ominous color over the catacombs. With the world underground tinted red, Cade had once believed it was just a punishment of the curse of causing so much bloodshed. He cast thoughts like those aside now though, refusing to entertain feelings of regret and remorse. Here in the catacombs, Cade was King. He knew that if the other vampires were to follow, he'd have to play that part well, even if he was disinterested in it.


Stopping near a large round fountain, averting his eyes as the water appeared to be so red tinted that it could be blood, Cade's dark eyes found a troupe of human slaves. This particular group was made of young men and women. They were fresh; outsiders. This group of slaves had not been born into the catacombs, but had been brought here over the last few days, stolen from the world of the truly living. Their hands and feet were chained together to limit their movement and stifle any attempts to escape, and they were lined up single file with one 'guard' leading, one behind, and one along side who would crack a whip if any so much as decided to talk or look around.


This was the way of the catacombs. While Cade promoted peace and coexistence in the human world, life was very different in the vampire world. As he watched the new slaves, being taken down a corridor to the area of the catacombs designated for slaves unassigned to masters, one of Cade's vampire servants approached. "Lord Vilar," she said with a respectful bow, "Night has fallen in the human world," she informed him. "Thank you, Yuri," he replied simply in calm monotone, red eyes still watching the slaves. Yuri departed, though she was never far. Cade's eyes followed a small brunette prisoner. He was male, though his hair was quite curly and reached just beyond his shoulders. His form was slender, and as he ventured to look up, Cade could see that even his eyes matched hers. A pang of longing threatened to take him, just as the guard cracked his whip against the male's back.


The ancient vampire's mouth watered. Not because of the blood, but because of the memory of that woman. "Yuri," he spoke quietly. "I want that one." Even though Yuri was not beside him, Cade would find the male in his quarters when he returned to the catacombs at first light. The slave wouldn't live long afterwards, something he would come to fear should he overhear that he was handpicked by Lord Vilar himself; the only of his kind who couldn't seem to keep his own slaves alive.


Cade wore a black vest over a thin, white, long sleeved button up. His dress pants matched his vest and his shoes matched the regality of the outfit. Even in the human world, Cade turned heads. He was obviously someone of higher standing, and his hair covered the points of his ears. Not that it mattered past the humans' curfew. Only some short time later, Cade stepped out of the old church and into the street of the town, wearing a black trench over his clothing. He looked up towards the sky as if somewhat impatient. Soon, this world would be covered in Cade's darkness. Once he found that witch who he had always harbored a connection and deep caring for, he assumed because he could consider her his maker, his real plans would be set in motion.

 

[4scorelightnings]

Abigail walked on the dark pavement of Central Square, her parents with interlocking arms in front of her. Today she was forced to wear the new netted hat her mother had bought for her outtings, and every few minutes she would have a fit of loud sneezes-- for she was allergic to the material that made the veil in front of her face, and the wind didn't help her senses in the least.





"I wonder when I can get back to my new quantum mechanics book," she said, purposely loud enough for her parents to hear, and for her mother to turn around and give her a look that kept her quiet for the rest of the way to the cafe.


Why do I have to follow in their footsteps? Why do we have to go to cafes we can never eat at? And why did we have to move to this town?


She habitually rubbed the pad of her forefinger against the cold garnet on her chest, looking around stiffly, since she couldn't move too freely in the corset and tight boots she was wearing.


Her parents entered one of the cafes, and she followed them through the doorway. The air smelled of coffee, donuts, and other sweet things that made her want to gag.

 

[Shnuydude]

Damian sighed and turned away from Rowan. "You fighting me wouldn't be smart" His eyes glowed bright red as he looked at her "it would be like bringing a bullet, no gun, just a bullet to fight a nuclear warhead" He teleported to an alley out of her sight and continued to repetitively teleport all the way to Central Square.


He walked through the doors of Elsworth Cafe and saw that their was a girl and what seemed to be her parents their, he looked around and didn't see Mary so he walked over to them. "Feel free to take your seat anywhere since your the only customers" he said with a smile "I'll be with you in a moment" He turned, walked behind the counter and through the door to the kitchen. Once out of sight He teleported upstairs and saw Mary sleeping in her bed. He groaned with annoyance "Why didn't she lock up before bed" He teleported back into the kitchen and walked through the door back into the cafe itself to see if the customers took their seats

 

[4scorelightnings]

Abigail and her parents took seats at the nearest table, and she adjusted dress and took off her hat. They rolled their utensils out of their napkins, and her mother looked distastefully at the silverware.


"Abby, darling, I think you should make more friends here. This town is much more... accepting," her mother said to her as she wiped her knife on her napkin. Abigail forced herself not to roll her eyes, and she continued to finger out a specific homotopy group on the table cloth. She only stopped when her mother slapped her hand, and she slowly slid it under the table.





"So, as I was saying, we are going to send Jeeves out with you, and you are going to tour the town. You can't waste away inside, look at you, you look like dead flower darling," her mother said, giving her a look, and then signalling to her husband when he wasn't contributing.


Clearing his throat, her father replied,


"Yes dear, you need to make the noble youth of Thornstone visible once again!" he said with a smile. Now, Abigail had to roll her eyes--just as the waiter came and walked through the door towards them.

 

[Kry]

Alistair watched the human girl for a few moments. "Your books are probably still out on the street." She seemed rather upset that the books were gone. They must have been important in some way or another. "Very well then." The vampire stood, and moved from the room. Alistair went from room to room until he found what he was looking for, his blonde German human. They exchanged a few words, then Kasimir returned to the room where the girl lay on the couch, he plopped down in the chair Alistair had been previously sitting in. Though Kasimir plopped down in it with his legs dangling over one arm and his back propped up against the other arm of the chair, his vibrant green eyes on the girl. "Hiro will be back soon, with your things." He flashed her a smile.


Without saying a word to Zamani or to Fia, Alistair excused himself from the witch's home, closing the door softly behind him. The dwelling wasn't to far from where they had previously been gathered out on the street, and so Alistair moved at a rather brisk but still leisurely pace as he headed towards his destination. If the sun had been up, he would've sent Kasimir, but it was night and his cousins were crawling all over the city. For a moment Alistair grit his teeth as he thought of the activities the others of his kind were participating in.

 

[Shnuydude]

He walked over to the table "would you like to start out with drinks?" He said with over-politeness, really he was kind of annoyed that he was serving people this late when they normally closed awhile ago. He took a closer look at the customers, wait now that I think about it, why would a family be walking around this late at night. He smirked a bit, why didn't he realize sooner considering the way they were dressed. He wondered if they would even want anything they served. Since Damian started living here he has acquired a taste for human food, although he always puts blood on it in some way so he could get the nutrition and the flavor, but most vampires couldn't stand anything that humans made.

 

[4scorelightnings]

Abigail looked up from her higher algebra doodles to see a waiter around her age.


"Ah. The servers get younger and younger," her mother said rather rudely, pursing her lips.





"We'll have... some water please," Abigail said to him, trying not to gag just thinking about it. Her mother looked at her approvingly, while her father feigned a polite smile, looking down at the tablecloth at the potential thought of gulping down ice water in the next few minutes, even though they would never even touch it.


Her mother cleared her throat, the way she did when she started a conversation.


"We just moved here, we wanted to look around the town," she explained, since it might have been weird to wonder the town this late at night, and as a family. Abigail habitually scraped her leg with the heel of her boot, and she could feel the blood trickle down her ankle. As she felt the wound quickly closed up, she felt the pent up emotion of the day fade away, just slightly. Since her parents didn't let her talk or acknowledge her emotional side, this was the only way she could let it out--physically, and when they couldn't see.


Alarmingly, she noticed that the tablecloth didn't go all the way to the floor, and anyone observant could have seen her wound healed quicker than normal, or the stream of blood running down herself.


She mentally cursed at herself for being so stupid, her parents were going to be infuriated.


I told you that feeling your emotions made you illogical.

 

[Shnuydude]

"Alright?" Why water? Not even he could stand something so tasteless. "Well I wouldn't recommend being in central square at night." Hunters aren't fun to deal with. He watched as the girl scraped her leg and how it healed quickly. He looked at the girl with a raised brow, why would she hurt herself like that. He cleared his throat "Look, you don't have to force yourself to drink water, I've got some of my extra blood in kitchen if you don't mind it not being fresh from the vain" He smiled as he looked to the mother "and I'm much older than I look, even if I don't act like it" He still feels young, probably since he didn't remember most of his life as a vampire. Normally he wouldn't have served vampires but they didnt seem to be feral like the redhead he met earlier, they seemed quite civilized, like they were trying to fit in and he liked that.

 

[4scorelightnings]

Abigail noticed the server's facial expression in her general direction, indicating that he must have seen her leg before she moved it under the table.


She was utterly uncomfortable until he said blood, which was when all three of the Thornstones looked up at him simultaneously at the vampire. After his comment to her mother, Abigail was rather surprised to see her laugh.


"My dear boy, you don't look a day old, but I can tell you that I too am older than I look too," she smiled, her eyes glinting a darker shade of red.


Abigail's father's smile turned into a genuine one.


"Some of that extra blood would be lovely sir," he said to him. Abigail glanced up at him, trying to read his expression. It looked like the moment had passed, and she hoped that he wouldn't change his mind and reveal her self-harm secret. She would really get it from her parents if they found out now.


Is it really as bad for vampires since we can heal so quickly anyway?





Wait-- how was this waiter so casual about serving blood? Wouldn't he be more cautious, just in case we were human? Couldn't my quick healing be a trick of the eye? Was that enough evidence to reveal that there was blood in the kitchen?





"Why is everyone so casual at night about being vampires here?" she asked, thinking aloud, before her mother kicked her shin. Hard.


I shouldn't have been so blunt. She looked at her mother, who glared at her, and then smiled apologetically at the server.

 

[poppet]

His dress shoes clicked over the cobblestone of the town above ground. He'd returned to this place only a few days ago on a lead that his witch was living here. Cade wondered if she had heard about what he was trying to do, with the peace treaty. She wouldn't like that, he knew. After all, she had created them to bring balance to the otherwise uncontrollable human population. This town was a hometown for Cade, which was why he'd chosen it to be at the center of his master plan. He'd meant to return earlier, but it wasn't important. His plans were well taken care of and overseen by Yuri. But now that he'd learned his witch was here, he had good reason to return quickly.


His hands lay inside the pockets of his trench, and his eyes remained on the darkness ahead, looking at nothing in particular. His senses were 'seeing' enough for him. He could hear, smell and even sense the world around him without even trying. Just ahead, a vampire stopped to pick up some items from the ground. He had long silver hair and grey eyes. Cade stopped in the middle of the pathway to watch the other. He was a pureblood, and surely he would sense the sudden presence of an original, especially Lord Vilar himself. "Street cleaning is unbecoming of a pureblood such as yourself," he said passively in his monotone voice. Even quiet, Alistair would be able to hear him, a perk of the vampire hearing, and of the power of the original. This pureblood; he smelled of the witch.


~~*~~*~~


Oh no! Her books were out on the street? He heart hammered in her chest, almost the way it had when she'd been attacked. Those things, they were more important to her than anything else she owned. The 'wolf' as she'd been called, sat on the couch beside Eleanor, but the brunette hardly seemed to noticed while her mind panicked at the idea of someone reading her personal diary or seeing her arts. Then the silver haired one was leaving. She watched him walk away, and then the blonde enter only a moment later. Her eyebrows drew together as he sat on the arm of the chair. Was this blonde man, one of them, too?


While she did feel relieved that her things were being retrieved, she couldn't help but feel that nagging question again. "Why?" she breathed, mostly to herself as she twisted the blanket in her hands anxiously. Her dull grey eyes watched the floor. It is the way things are. That's what he'd told her. "I don't understand any of this," she said finally, louder. "I- I need a moment," she added almost hastily as she stood from the couch. The blanket fell to the floor and Eleanor bent to pick it up, nearly blacking out again, though she recovered without incident. The pale girl, currently paler, dropped the blanket on the couch and excused herself. She exited the room, and immediately felt more comfortable. Alone, she could think more clearly.


When the small girl found the bathroom, she locked herself inside with her back pressed against the door. She refused to cry again, and took a few deep breaths before venturing to look in the mirror, and good heavens had that been a mistake. Ellie was a mess. Her hair had become loose in the low bun, her eyes were puffy, and there was dried blood pretty much everywhere. So she got to work washing her hands and neck, gently, and removed her clip that held her bun in place. When she was done, there wouldn't be a sign of blood anywhere but on her clothes. Two puncture wounds would linger on her throat, and her long hair would fall against her back. But she would remain locked in the bathroom for as long as she could.

 

[Shnuydude]

Damian watched as the mother glared at the girl, he didn't understand why, it seemed like a fair question. "Well since your new here you probably don't know, but after curfew the police usher everyone home. As a result the only people out at night would be vampires or hunters. And if you guy's were hunters I still wouldn't be concerned." He said with a smile and walked into the kitchen, he grabbed four cups and filled them with blood from the fridge, while he was filling the cups he wondered why the girl would hurt herself, sure vampires heal quickly but it still seemed unnecessary. He walked back out with the cups on a tray and placed the cups on the table, "do you mind if I take a seat? Its been quite a while since I've talked to a vampire who wasn't feral" Every time he met a vampire in this city they either attacked him or it was like tonight and he was trying to stop them from feeding on hunters.

 

[4scorelightnings]

Customarily, Abigail and her mother remained silent to the server's question, the male of the family responding accordingly.


"Of course my boy, sit down. I would have though there would be more civil vampires like yourself in a town like this one," he said promoting conversation as he sipped the red liquid, gesturing at the only empty seat.


Abigail studied the waiter's expressions; he didn't seem at all intimidated with making conversation with a noble family like themselves, nor did he seem too surprised after he saw what she did to her leg. She tentatively listened to her father speak, noting his open expression and remembering the boy's face.


Habitually, she ran her fingers over the polished garnet on her neck.


Don't stare too much, remember that looking at someone for more than three seconds when they aren't speaking is considered to be weird.

 

[Baconhands]

Fia let out a sigh and rolled back her shoulders, glancing aside at the 'seer' next to her. She'd never really looked at her properly; she was simple in a way, nothing really jumped out at her that this girl was any different than a regular human other than the scent of her blood. She was in a panicked state: Fia didn't need to be a werewolf to sense that and Fia couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl.


"Why?" the girl muttered, "I don't understand any of this." A wave of sympathy washed over Fia, she knew exactly what the girl was on about; it was incredibly daunting coming into the supernatural world for the first time from a human stand point. As she opened her mouth to comfort her, the girl dismissed herself and Fia caught herself staring at an empty space next to her. That left Fia and the blonde haired man alone in the room. With a sigh, she looked at him, studying him for a moment before she sat back, staring at the serum in her hand.


Fia contemplated turning; running at night just before the full moon was exhilarating for her, it made her feel somewhat free. A ghost of a smile crept across her face before she noticed she was still in the presence of the man.


The plans dripped away from her mind and she let out an angered breath. She looked at him, "How long have you known that pureblood?"


She waited for an answer before asking another question, "How good are you with animals?"

 

[Shnuydude]

Damian takes a seat and sips the blood in his cup "The more civilized of vampires are busy elsewhere, doing whatever it is that they do. I'm also mostly active during the day so I don't meet my kind at night too often" he couldn't help but notice that the girl had started playing with her jewelry "that's a nice gem you have" he hadn't heard much from the daughter except for her one question and he wanted to see how she would respond.


Meanwhile upstairs Mary had woken up and heard voices downstairs. She grabbed a silver knife and slowly made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

 

[Kry]

Alistair had reached the books without incident, no one was about, since the curfew was in effect and he figured that those who were unlucky enough to out had probably already met a tragic end. He was bending to pick those books up when a quiet voice spoke, and he almost felt the power rolling off of the creature that had spoken. For half a moment the pure blood hesitated, then, clutching those books almost gently in one hand, he straightened and turned to face the speaker. "A friend dropped these." The tone was respectful, but Alistair had not offered a bow or even a nod of his head to this original. He knew what this other was though, it rolled off the man in waves, and Alistair had lived long enough to recognize such a creature. "Is there something one such as you needs from one such as I?" They were not equals, it was painfully obvious to Alistair, this man outclassed him in every way. His tone had remained respectful, even a little bit curious.


Kasimir watched the girl on the couch, he would've answered her question but he didn't know how, and she had jumped up before he could. She had picked up the blanket, put it on the couch and was out the door faster than he would've thought possible for a human in her condition. He started to get up, started to follow, but thought better of it and just changed position a bit in that chair. "Guess she needs to clear her head.." He spoke the words quietly, and when the werewolf spoke, Kasimir's bright green eyes turned to her. How long had he known Alistair? "A long time...maybe about six or so years, give or take a few. I don't really keep track of that sorta thing.." That head had tilted to the side slightly as she asked her next question. "..I get along with most animals, but I prefer cats to wolves." His smile was a playful one but his vibrant gaze had taken on a slight wariness to it as he watched her.

 

[4scorelightnings]

Abigail looked up slightly, but not directly into his eyes.


"Thank you, you are very kind, sir." She wondered if she should further elaborate without looking too discourteous, when her father stepped in.


"Our only child holds the Thornstone family heirloom," he said, gesturing to Abigail, as if she was one of his prized possessions instead of his daughter.


Abigail sipped her blood solemnly, gazing back down and staring at the intricate artwork on the saucer. She measured the space between a spiralled painted vine on her teacup, noting that it was modeled after the Fibonacci sequence.


One millimetre, then one again, and then two, and then three millimetres...


Before her mother had to chance to notice her staring too long at the teacup, she put it down and looked up at her father who was now the one in conversation. Meanwhile, Abigail felt a prickle on her neck, like someone else was nearby. She wondered if any of the other vampires around her noticed anything unusual.

 

[papachan]

A light haired, light skinned, navy eyed vampire walked slowly down the street. A slightly shorter dark haired, pale, human waddled down the street as fast as he could, his side pressed close to the vampire. To be fair, he was supposed to have made it to the Catacombs before dark. Mrs. Whittington, an elderly patient of his had drawn out their meeting way longer than expected and he couldn't live with himself is she never made it home. The old lass reminded him of his late mother. If anyone knew Dr. Hayes personally, that statement alone was enough to understand. His vampire companion placed a hand on his shoulder, motioning for them to stop moving. Dr. Hayes looked up at the vampire.


"Glen, what is it?"He asked with a tinge of curiosity.


"Do you feel that, Mister Vladdy?"A slight accent rolled off his tongue, one that was hard to pinpoint to an unfamiliar ear. Many attributed it to a German accent, which was far from the truth. "That vibration in the air?"


The psychiatrist stood perfectly still, trying to feel what Glen had mentioned. A small pebble was lodged in the crevice of the cobbled floor, seeming to have been there for awhile. Tiny pockets of moss licked the sides of the giant stones, glistening from some rain that had happened awhile ago. He jerked from his simple admiration by a sharp jab to the gut by Glen. Exasperated, he smacked the vampire's arm in return.


"Is that how you treat your superiors, Mister Vladdy?" He teased, motioning for them to continue walking. Vladdy began to go on a tangent about how Glen was the last person, or vampire, he would ever consider a superior. This went on for awhile until Glen hushed him, and calmly reminded him that he was a human outside at night.


"Oh, I know you would be able to outrun them."


"There are few who I cannot outrun," Glen began, "But I can feel as if I am in the presence of one of those people. Please, be respectful if he graces us with his appearance."

 

[Guilded Clover]

Zamani only nodded at the human girl and Hiro before leaving into the kitchen. The kitchen wasn't as cluttered as the main room, but it still felt a bit clustered. Some paintings hung from the wall and some small carved statues stood throughout the room. On top of the stove was a well-used tea kettle. While making the tea, her mind began the drift into the seemingly endless stream of memories that poured out on occasion. She knew there were some humans who were immune to the curse of the vampire and those who were Zamani just left them alone. There was no point in doing so, she thought.


It wasn't long before her mind rested on one particular vampire. Cade was one of the first humans the witch gave the spell to. He was one of the more perfect ones as well, killing humans left and right and making examples of people who tried to defy death. He was so willing, after all. He craved power and I was the only one who could give it to him. She was proud of him and that pride overshadowed the consequences of her actions. Even after all those years, that vampire was one of the only vampires Zamani still kept in contact with. Before she wondered if he would show up, the tea kettle made its alarm. Shooing off the memories, the witch spent several minutes preparing the tea tray until she came out of the kitchen.


Then she noticed that both Hiro and the human girl had disappeared, leaving only Kasimir and the wolf. She walked past the couch and set the tray down before sitting down next to the wolf. "Do you know where the girl went?" There was a slight bit of tension in the air, likely from a conversation the witch did not hear.

 

[poppet]

The ancient vampire watched the pureblood. At one point in his life, he'd have found pleasure in toying with this being. Today, he merely watched the other. On occasion, Cade would note how others reacted to his presence. He did it without thinking, something he'd once assumed that his subconscious did to keep track of who respected and who defied him. He began to close the distance between the two of them rather lazily until he was standing only a few feet in front of Alistair. It was sort of a loaded question, asking an original what he might want. "What if I said I wanted your blood? Your life, and the powers you have acquired in your lifetimes as a vampire?"


Cade didn't want to kill Alistair at all. At least not in this moment. He was merely asking a question, to which the answer didn't truly matter. If he wanted Alistair's life, he would have had it by now. As of now, he intended on reconnecting with his witch, and nothing else interested him. Except, for that man... the new slave in the catacombs that was ever present in the back of his mind. The thought of him and his resemblance to her made his mouth water and his jaw clench slightly.

 

[Kry]

The other closed the distance between them, if his heart had been beating, Alistair was sure it would have stopped. His body had tensed a bit, but he did not back away. He held his head up, but somehow his posture still remained respectful. Perhaps in the way his eyes didn't fully meet the elder's. If they had locked eyes, Alistair knew it could have been seen as a challenge, then the other was speaking. The hint of a frown touched his lips. "Forgive me, I would have to attempt to deny you such a thing, as futile as such an action might be, I would not go willingly." For the briefest moment Alistair locked his eyes with Cade's, not quite a challenge though, but a slight hint of defiance to his better. "There is someone that I am not yet ready to leave, however, if you merely wanted some of my blood, I am not opposed to sharing."


Now Alistair took a step back, his eyes on the other. Waiting and watching, wondering what sort of reaction this ancient would have. There was a chance, even worded carefully, that this creature before him would be angry, or simply kill him as a show of power. Though looking the man over, Alistair wasn't quite sure this one would react like that, much like humans though, vampires could be very unpredictable. Alistair was very aware that if this man really wanted to kill him, he would probably already have been dead before knowing the original was even there.

 

[poppet]

Murky red eyes locked with Alistair's when the vampire responded. Cade didn't expect the other to say anything in particular. Most would fight for their lives, yet, many that he had taken did not. He assumed they'd known it was futile. He had to appreciate someone who valued themselves enough to fight until the end. But perhaps it was what the silver haired vampire said afterwards that really resonated with Cade. He had someone, that he wasn't ready to leave...


For the briefest of moments, Cade's emotions seemed to switch on despite his control over them. But as fast as they may have appeared in his eyes, they were gone. He'd had someone like that once. Many years ago, he may have pondered what it was about life that was worth living now that he no longer had her to call his own. But he would suppress thoughts like those now. "I shall bear that in mind," Cade responded. "Tell me," he continued, storing away the offer for a later time. "Where is the witch residing in this town?"


Cade couldn't know what the relationship was between Alistair and Zamani. But there was no mistaking that he smelled of her. Of what her homes always smelled like. Without waiting for a response of direction, Cade demanded of the other, "Take me to her." It certainly wasn't a request or suggestion to be taken lightly. As he gave his command, power rolled from his presence as a gentle reminder that he not be defied.


~~~*~~~*~~~


Once Eleanor had her wits about her, she emerged from the bathroom somewhat cautiously. She couldn't be sure of anything anymore. She pondered what she might tell her uncle. The man was a drunkard, a ridiculous and harmless one, and would be passed out on the couch by now. She sighed at the thought that she could very well be dead by now, and he'd never even know. At least not until morning, if her body was left to be found in the alley at all. The idea caused a chill down her spine as she stepped into the doorway.


The witch had returned with tea, and the other two were still there as well. She supposed she hadn't taken too long to wash the blood from her skin and let down her hair. She found a place to sit where she'd have space to herself, and could easily see the others. Eleanor wasn't one to cozy up on people or be where she could bring too much attention to herself. She couldn't deny that she prefered a quiet corner over anything else. Dull grey eyes looked to Zamani. The small girl obviously had a thousand questions, but what she needed most right now was rest over answers. Though she couldn't very well leave without waiting for Alistair to, so very kindly, bring her things.


Her eyelids were heavy and she couldn't stifle a yawn from her exhausted body. Ellie leaned back in her seat. "I'm Eleanor," she offered quietly, obviously losing the battle to stay awake, yet wanting to be polite. She hoped the others would tell her their names as well. She'd feel much more comfortable then. She snuck a lingering glance at the blonde, who she'd seen in some strange dream, or vision. He didn't seem nearly as heart broken as he had then. Eleanor brushed the images and feelings off as delusions brought on by her strenuous night.

 

[Kry]

Something had flashed in the ancient's eyes, for only the briefest of moments and Alistair couldn't be sure what it was. An emotion, or many of them all at once? He wasn't sure at all, but it didn't matter. "Witch?" Alistair wasn't sure, but he didn't think this one was talking about the human he had rescued. Her blood was the blood of a seer, not a witch, though in many cultures the two would've been seen as the same thing. Perhaps the original one was speaking of Zamani, her home had many things, and she had that serum already ready for the wolf. She also didn't seem like an ordinary human, there was something off about her.


Had the woman mentioned being a witch? Alistair wasn't sure, he couldn't quite recall, though he probably should've been able to. Now the ancient one was asking to be taken to the witch's home, Alistair could feel the power rippling out from this man. This man was serious, perhaps the earlier question had been a test of sorts, but now the other was very serious. "Forgive me, I do not mean to offend, but I must ask, what are your intentions if I were to bring you to the witch?" This was a dangerous game, and Alistair did not like dangerous games, questioning an elder like this could very well get him killed. Still he had to try, bringing this man to that house could very well put Kasimir in extreme danger and Alistair knew he would not be able to protect anyone from this ancient. His grip on the girl's books had tightened just the slightest bit.


Kasimir shrugged slightly at Zamani when she returned to the room with the tea. "The girl's clearing her head a bit." The German wasn't worried, the girl would come back to them when she felt ready. A few minutes later, and that girl had returned to the room. She had cleaned up a bit. Kasimir smiled at her, but this one was more of a reassuring smile, not charming or flirty. He did actually know when to behave, mostly he chose not to, but this girl had gone through a lot. When she introduced herself he spoke up almost immediately. "I'm Kasimir, and my absent friend is Hiro. He ought to be back soon with your things though..." He glanced in the direction of the entrance, for half a moment he looked almost worried. In his opinion, Alistair should've been back rather quickly, that vampire speed an all.


Those green eyes were back on Eleanor in a moment though. She looked tired, and he imagined she probably should be tired. "Drink the tea, Ellie...It's fine if I call you Ellie, right? The tea should help." Now he flashed her a charming smile, before it quickly turned to a simple, friendly smile. "Drink it and then you probably should sleep, sleep would help too. I can take you home in the morning, if you'd like." His offer was genuine, he wouldn't let her go off home alone, not right now and not in the morning. If she insisted on leaving now, he'd go along with her. It would make Alistair worry, sure, but it was dangerous out there right now, and it would've been a wasted effort to have saved this girl only to let her get herself killed an hour later.

 

[Baconhands]

Six years? That answer had honestly surprised Fia; her experiences with vampires had almost always been a negative one. How was it that the pureblood had managed to keep control for so long around what was essentially fresh meat. In fact, why hadn't the pureblood turned the human yet? Too many questions swam through her head, and as she began contemplating them she noticed both the witch and the seer had returned.


"I'm Eleanor," the seer said quietly after sitting back into a chair. Fia raised an eyebrow and looked at her; she was tired, Fia realized which was not entirely surprising given that her body had recently experienced a sudden drop in the amount of blood flowing around its system.


"I'm Kasimir, and my absent friend is Hiro. He ought to be back soon with your things though..."


Kasimir, the flirtatious human that would probably get himself killed finally had a name. And the pureblood was named Hiro. Needless to say Fia had not heard either of their name's before which did annoy her; she liked knowing as much as she could about someone without revealing a lot about herself. That was one of the mottoes she lived by: knowledge is power. However, Fia had her manners and bowed her head slightly, "My name is Fia."


She looked at the witch, "Do you by chance have another room that... I could use to change privately?"

 

[Shnuydude]

Damian was going to comment about the heirloom but before he could Mary walked into the room. "Damian?" She raised the knife slightly at the sight of the other vampires. He turned and spoke calmly "Calm down they have manners" He stood up and walked over to her "So let's not be rude" As he spoke he removed the knife from her hand and placed it on the counter. She seemed to relax once Damian was near, she would never admit it but he made her feel safe. "You were out late again" She shook her head "Do you want to be nocturnal again?" Damian brushed the comment off "I'm fine" Mary rubbed her eyes "Whatever you say. Anyways I'm going back to bed, see you in the morning Peter Pan" Without another word she left the room. Damian felt a twinge of annoyance when she used the nickname. He's known her since she was 7 and she called him that since he doesn't age. When she was younger it was cute, now she does it to annoy him. He walked back to the table with the family "Sorry about that" He thought about how other originals practically oozed power and how he was lucky that he only oozed when he wanted to, it makes it easier to be social when they're not afraid of you going nuclear "So what brings you guys to this city anyways?"

 

[poppet]

The ancient vampire was ready to move, to get going to Zamani's place of residence, but he was being questioned. Did this vampire not know that Zamani was a witch? Of course, it was possible that she was hiding her identity. Was it also possible that this pureblood and the witch had only just met? Whatever the reason for confusion, Cade gave the slightest nod. At that moment, Cade used his power to fully grasp the encounters of this pureblood. He smelled of Zamani and a werewolf. Cade would have, at one point, wrinkled his nose in disgust. He'd almost eliminated all of the werewolves from this planet, yet there was one nearby. It had been many decades since he had last seen one.


Alistair also smelled of humans. His slaves probably. The blood on his shirt was that of one of the hu... Cade's thoughts all but came to a complete stop. Quicker than the blink of an eye, Cade had Alistair against the building wall. His shirt was bundled up in Cade's closed fist, and the ancient was staring at blood stains. Could it be? He inhaled the scent deeply. No... the smell, it wasn't the same. Yet, it held very similar qualities to hers. Also, it wasn't the blood of an average human.


He'd kept Alistair there against the wall for too long. Finally he let the pureblood go. "Please forgive my lack of manners," he said, though he wouldn't care if the other really forgave him or not. Cade had still yet to answer Alistair's question. He didn't owe the pureblood anything and could find Zamani on his own, but his mind was on other things now, and he cared little of how the other might be acting in his presence. "My intentions are none of your concern," he said flatly. "But if it puts your mind at ease, Zamani is a dear friend of mine. I mean her and her friends no ill will." At the moment. For now, he would leave out the bit about her being his creator.


His murky red eyes had stolen another glance at the blood on Alistair's shirt. It wasn't in the right place, per say, to appear to be from a feeding. And that smell. Surely the pureblood knew it, too. Cade would not focus on the situation at this time. He had more pressing matters with Zamani. Alistair would take him there, he knew, lest he be made into an example right here in the street.