Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[Reynarda]

Alyx cleared her throat, hoping Sebastian did not start talking about what a grand match Maksim had made and at least the little worm was good for something (though, to be fair, Sebastian would not speak ill of her betrothed in her presence) and he couldn't wait for the wedding because nope, she did not want to explain that.

"Our lands border theirs," she explained. "And our clans often work closely together." This was way too much information. Leo was going to figure it out, and she did not want to deal with this right now.

"Yes, we make sure Clan Draya isn't constantly starting fights with other clans," Sebastian said with an easy smile.

"And we make sure Clan Grivvin isn't sleeping with everyone's mother," Alyx added because Sebastian walked right into that one.

"I am surprised to see you here," Sebastian repeated with a roll of his eyes. "When I discussed coming to this with Head Elder Jahna, I believe your aunt's exact words were, 'I can't believe you're going to that, you bloody wanker.'"

Alyx pressed her lips together to hold in a laugh. That sounded exactly like her aunt. Jahna could be a very subtle woman when she wanted to be, but she did not often want to be. Clan Grivvin was best handled in a straightforward manner, anyway.

Sebastian was staring at her like he expected an explanation, but she had nothing to give him that he wouldn't find suspicious. So, she agreed, "It is surprising. I'm quite surprised, myself."

Sebastian eyed her for a second, but she was being incredibly stubborn, so he really wasn't much he could learn. He turned his attention on Leo. "You're from Allaria, correct? Tell me, how goes the war? We are anxious to have our commanders back."







With a bit of ward chalk, Astrid drew a circle up against the most nondescript wall in the room and began adding in the runes that would ward against tracking. She doubted either of her parents would try to track her, but it was better safe than sorry. Astrid settled herself against the wall and pulled a small mirror from one of her belt kits. Psyching herself up, she breathed on it, and the glass fogged. There were a few moments of waiting and then suddenly there was a face on the other side.

The face was masculine with the same nose and blue eyes as hers and was framed in greying brown hair and a pair of thick glasses.

“Astrid!”

“Hi, Dad,” Astrid said, her own face splitting into a grin despite her reason for scrying.

“Hang on, let me carry you to the table,” her dad said, and Astrid got a warped view of their sparsely furnished quarters in the capitol. Her parents' war with books and maps apparently still raged on in the many months since she’d seen them last.

Her father propped his scrying mirror up against something on the table and sat down, revealing a woman with greying blonde hair that was braided back and sharp green eyes. She had the same cheekbones and jawline as Astrid.

“Hi, hun,” the Supreme General said before putting a bite of what looked like a pancake in her mouth.

Astrid’s mouth watered. If they were eating pancakes, that meant her mom had made breakfast and not the cooks, and her mom made the best pancakes. She always put nuts and berries in it.

“You two have a fight?” Astrid asked with a small smirk. “You only make Dad pancakes when he’s mad at you.”

Astrid’s mom lifted her gaze to the mirror. “I make pancakes all the time.”

“Your mother cast the deciding vote against my grant,” her father said. “And I found out about it.”

The Supreme General rolled her eyes the same way Astrid did and pointed her fork at her husband. “Erik, we’re not putting money into a new fire mage building when they burned down the last one. There’s a war on.”

“Your mother is terrible at apologizing,” her father said in a stage whisper.

“What are you up to?” her mother asked.

“Doing some reconnaissance behind enemy lines.” It wasn’t actually a lie.

“You’re scrying during reconnaissance?” her mother asked, giving Astrid a look. “Must be important.”

“It is. And the mission isn't too serious."

“I’ll look forward to the report,” her mom said.

“Because you actually read my reports,” Astrid said proudly.

“Unlike the rest of the captains’ appalling drivel,” Astrid’s mother muttered.

Her father stared at her mother in horror. “You don’t read other captains’ reports?!”

“Erik, I hardly have time to eat.”

“That’s what lieutenants are for—reading and distilling reports,” Astrid added.

Her father looked at his empty plate. “I might need more pancakes after learning you don’t read all the reports, Freya.”

Astrid snorted.

As the conversation lulled, Astrid cleared her throat. “I did call for a reason.”

“And here I was thinking you used up one of the scrying wards just to hear your parents bicker,” her mom said lightly. “What is it?”

“We heard from some Allarian soldiers that they tried to surrender but you refused,” Astrid blurted and then held her breath. Her mother was not an angry person, but she might get annoyed that Astrid would ask so brazenly.

“I did,” the Supreme General said, taking another bite of her pancake.

“What?! Why?!” Astrid cried, letting out the pent-up breath in one whoosh of questions.

“Think about it. We are enjoying more economic growth than ever before. Our people are fed and healthy. And, the clans are at our mercy.” Supreme General Freya Leon said this as if she were explaining the parts of a ship very matter-of-factly.

“But Mom! I’ve lost men! Alyx has lost—“

“So?” her mother cut her off. “That’s what vampires are for. The loss of your soldiers is regrettable, but there’s no draft anymore. They signed up. Is your commander still behaving? I don’t trust Admiral Jorgenson’s reports.”

“You know she’s the best, Mom,” Astrid said with a sigh. “Don’t change the subject. Why won’t you accept their surrender? We have the coast and the farmlands. What more could we need?”

“Right now we are grinding them into the dust. Allaria will not be able to come back at us with their science if we reduce them to rubble. What is going to happen in ten or twenty years when they decide they want their land back? Their science would have advanced, and our greatest weapon would have gone home. We will lose, and our people will starve. And, since we are destroying them with their own soldiers and the clans’ next generation, it’s a double-fisted strike. We will be safe from Allaria and the clans.”

“But Mom!”

“Astrid, why are you fighting me on this?” her mother asked, giving her a look that made Astrid feel like a teenager again. “These are my decisions.”

“Dad?” Astrid asked.

Her father shrugged. “She makes a good argument, Ast.”

Astrid opened and closed her mouth several times.

"I have to go." Her mother set down her fork and leaned over and kissed her father on the forehead. “Do you forgive me?”

“Don’t think I’ve given up,” her dad said with a smirk. “You will sign over money for a new fire building.”

Astrid’s mom turned a smile on the mirror. Her eyes always crinkled when she smiled. “Love you, Astrid, make me proud.”

“Love you,” Astrid said softly. As she disappeared from view, Astrid turned to her dad.

He was rising as well, gathering the dirty plates. “I’d better get to the academy. Love you honey, stay safe.”

“Love you, too,” she said as the mirror clouded and then all she could see was her own stricken face.

Dropping the mirror in her lap, Astrid scrubbed at her eyes. She wasn't going to cry over this. She needed action. What was she supposed to do? She wished Alyx were just waiting outside so she could just vomit all her thoughts and feelings and Alyx could repeat them back to her and help her make sense of this mess.

She couldn't convince her mom--her mom was as stubborn as Alyx, and in her view, she was doing the right thing. And Astrid saw her side, she really did. Her mom was looking out for their people. And Supreme General Leon hadn't gotten where she was by playing nice or fair.

But it was wrong. It was wrong to use the clans like this. It was wrong to refuse Allaria's surrender when their people were dying and starving.

But what was she supposed to do about it?

She couldn't serve as a captain in the military with this knowledge. Besides, she needed to look out for her crew--and eleven of those crewmembers were vampires. Should she resign? Could she resign? Oh, damn, her mom would feel so betrayed.

Astrid lurched to her feet, scrubbing out the anti-tracing ward with the toe of her boot. She strode to the door and yanked it open. She closed it behind her and knocked on Cyn's and Rose's door. They were Allarian, but Cyn was a gem, and Alyx had gone from wanting to rip Rose's face off to checking on him, so he must at least be a decent person. And right now, she needed to be doing something with people. "Cyn? Rose? You two want to go and explore, or something? I'm getting claustrophobic."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn was in the process of delightedly examining the things he'd need to weld the hand back onto Rose's arm, and he looked up at Georgiana's announcement. He really hadn't eaten, had he? His stomach rumbled, and his face turned a rather dark shade of red.

"Ah, yeah," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, got a bit excited."

He considered for a moment, then nodded.

"I do think I'd like to sit in," he said, trying once more to speak properly. Rose wouldn't dare, because of his status, but he'd very much appreciate somebody who'd brief him candidly on the proceedings. "And, uh, I'll be fine with a bit of coffee."

There had been a plate of breakfast sat out on the table back in their room. He considered going back to pick at it, but was afraid he'd get crumbs on his nice clothes. Also, he only had twenty minutes to inspect everything here, and he was dying to see what all the room had to offer.


Leo continued to smile politely, his face giving nothing away as Sebastian poked and prodded.

"I see, well. I have not had old allegiances for a while now, so I cannot say I have any information that your brother wouldn't," he said. If Sebastian wanted to poke somebody for information, he could poke his own family. Even if Maksim was Alyx's betrothed, Leo couldn't say that he was overly fond of him anyways, so he had no trouble using him as a scapegoat.


Rose answered the door with a raised brow, eyeing Astrid's expression. For a moment, he considered asking her in, because she looked like she could use a cup of tea, but also, he doubted that was what she actually wanted. He remembered Georgiana's words from the night before about loyalties, but he dismissed them. Astrid was a captain, and he could likely gain some insight from talking to her.

"Hyacinth left earlier with the princess," he said as he stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him and then adjusting his glasses. "But I was thinking of going out myself anyways. I'm not used to being underground, myself."

He had been claustrophobic since he'd first arrived, and he was dying to go somewhere with fresh air, even if it wasn't outside.

 

[jones573]

Gigi nodded to Cyn- She would have liked to stay and examine mechanics as well, but. She knew she didn't have Cyn's critical eye and it would only be an exercise in distraction instead of utility.

"Ready to make some speeches, then," Delilah asked her as they began to meander back the way Gigi had come.

"No, but I'll be fine," Gigi responded. She did not enjoy oration, but she knew she was good at it- She just pretended she was one of her siblings, usually, and the words came naturally. Fredrick's passion for a topic, Isadora's conviction that getting what she wanted was already a forgone conclusion, Theo's poise and command of language... She couldn't match any of them, but she got pretty close.

"The Commander wants to represent Clan Draya," she told her mentor. "Do you know if she'll be allowed to?"

Delilah raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe? I dunno if someone from them is already comin', if that's what ya mean," she replied. "Haven't been exactly paying attention to the guest list," she admitted. "She prol' should be omitted since she's military, but... Elder Lucia might allow it, and she's the host, so."

Considering what she'd caught the tail end of last night, she'd guess Lucia wouldn't be wanting to refuse Alyx, even if it did ruffle some feathers.

"Why? You want her not to be there?," Delilah asked, and Gigi frowned.

"I haven't decided," she said with a sigh. "Her input would be valuable, but- Well, she's likely going to end up back with the military, isn't she? The less she can tell, the better."

Delilah snorted, though she didn't expound. Maybe like Gigi, she was frustrated by the clans' deep love of hospitality and their seeming inability to recognize that some guests ought to be prisoners instead. Or maybe she was amused by Gigi's limited imagination- Even if Clan Salazar wouldn't jail Alyx, there were other ways to make sure she didn't return to the military.

"Well, better decide soon," Delilah advised, which was not helpful. Gigi wasn't sure why she'd expected the professor might be.

 

[Reynarda]

Sebastian eyed the pair of them with a blank, disinterested face, but there was just the slightest narrowing of his eyes that Alyx knew meant he was learning nothing from Leo and was very annoyed about it. This caused Alyx's lips to quirk up proudly.

Sebastian hummed, displeased to find Alyx's fledgling was just as obstinate as she was. Despite being a wartime fledgling, he fit in right with the rest of Clan Draya, that was for certain. Still, it was interesting to hear he clung to none of his former alliances. Sebastian had assumed Alyx was controlling him somehow--perhaps she had continued to do things her way even after Eldergaard took little Cyril. Very interesting. Still, it was also annoying.

"Perhaps Alyx can convince my little brother to write more when she next sees him," he grumbled.

Alyx's smile widened into a smile that was so fake that it definitely said she would rather throw herself into lava than do that.

Sebastian sighed. There was nothing more to be learned here. "You two are headed to the hall, then? Perhaps you can accompany me."

Alyx crowded Leo to the side and gestured dramatically in the direction they had been headed before Sebastian jumped them. "After you, Uncle."

Sebastian smiled at her sarcasm and lead the way. His magic did not work if he couldn't see them, but he was not about to try to fight them on that. He hadn't missed Alyx getting protective of her fledgling, and he didn't care enough to poke at her over it. She'd always been like that.

"If I had known I was going to see you, I'd have brought you something from your aunt," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "Would you like me to take something to her?"

Alyx opened her mouth to say that wasn't necessary, but then closed it. She would likely never see her clan again, and she wanted them to know what was going on. If she sealed it, Sebastian wouldn't dare--

He rounded on them, and Alyx jerked back and reflexively ignited the air around herself and Leo. Cursing, Sebastian leaped backwards out of the range of her magic.

Alyx had not meant to zap him, but he had startled her, and her nerves were shot. She pulled up a field of energy to block his magic--and him if he attacked her over it.

But they were dealing with Sebastian, not Dominik, and Sebastian had more important things to do that start a fight with the heir of his closest ally. He stood casually, as if he had not just leapt back and was not in any sort of pain from having energy suddenly shot into his bones. "Alyxzandra, why do you think you need to say goodbye to your clan?" he demanded cooly.

Alyx glared at him, frustrated at herself for letting her guard down. "That's none of your business, Bast."

Sebastian rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Trying to annoy me is not going to work. You know something. Tell me."

"No," Alyx said.

"If they are planning on having you killed, Alyx, we need to know," Sebastian said, his tone even but firm. "What about Cyril?"

Alyx could feel him attempting to influence her, but it got distorted in her energy field. "None of your business," she growled.

Sebastian turned his gaze and his magic on Leo. Alyx grunted. Sebastian was older and better fed than she was. Her energy field began to waver, and she could feel his magic getting through.

"You know, too," Sebastian said, his tone authoritative. "Tell me what is going on."




"Great," Astrid said, because if Rose had closed the door in her face, she might have screamed. She glanced up and down the hallway.

"This way?" she asked, pointing in the opposite direction of the halls they'd been to so far.

She walked in silence for a few minutes. Rose was technically the enemy and was mercenary of some sort that knew way too much information about the vampire squadrons, but she felt like she was going insane. Alyx might be able to sit there in absolute silence while she thought, but Astrid could not do that.

"So," Astrid began. "You seem pretty loyal to your cause and all." Crap, where was she going with this? "But... what if--you know, hypothetically--you found out your leaders--the, uh, king and queen--were doing some things that you thought were... questionable, even in war? Hypothetically? What would you do? Would you be okay with it? What if it... impacted your brother or someone you cared about?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo had very, very little experience with this type of magic. He had met up with Maksim many, many times since being turned, as they were in the same fleet and their squadrons interacted regularly enough, so he had known that it existed. But he had never felt it focused on /him/. Alyx was helping, definitely, and he was sure that without her ability, he would have given in instantly. But as it was, he knew he was going to give in eventually. He might as well do so now, before Sebastian got more serious and he lost any ability to control the flow of information.

"The war is being extended due to powers beyond our control," he said, which was the truth. He was trying to be on his guard, but he had absolutely no idea if it would protect him or not.


Rose was perfectly ok with silence as they started walking, though when Astrid started to talk, he couldn't help the corner of his mouth ticking up. She must be desperate if she was going to him for advice. He wondered just what had happened that had left her so rattled, but digging too much would likely only get her to clam up.

He thought over her inquiry carefully. He wanted to be honest with her, because lying unnecessarily was a good way to get yourself confused and tied up, but also he wasn't sure /how/ honest he wanted to be. Perhaps, since it was hypothetical, vague would be best.

"Well, that's a bit of a difficult hypothetical," he said, tilting his head to the side. "It's hard to really know what I would do without knowing the specifics of the situation. But... Hm. My cause, while generally determined by my employer, is to bring a swift end to the war, with as few casualties as possible. That goes for our side, of course, but it also goes for all innocents involved. If my brother or the people I love were put in danger, I obviously would not be ok with it. But if I had to choose between my brother and, say, 500 innocent children, I like to think that I would choose the option that would benefit the most people. But that's.... Not necessarily the right option to take."

He tapped his fingers against his side, eyeing the architecture around them. There was a flight of stairs up ahead that seemed to go up. Perhaps that would lead them to one of the walls or spires that they had seen upon entering the castle. He was eager to get some fresh air again, so he began climbing.

"I realize that it's sort of a non-answer, but also, I think if you're asking me for advice about what you should do, that might not be the right move. We're different people in very different situations, so my way of thinking is going to be very different from yours. But what you /should/ do is think very carefully about what you think is important. Is it power? Is it the people who are close to you? Or is it something else?"

The stairs went on for quite some time, and when they finally opened up, he was relieved to see the sky again. They were in a tower of some sort, it seemed, and when they looked down, he could see the entrance that they came in through, along with a great expanse of the mountain beneath them. It was quite beautiful.

"I had a similar conversation with commander Draya, actually," he mused. "About what I would do in a specific situation. Our priorities were very different, but I don't think that either of us were more correct than the other. Ultimately, the decision a person makes can only be influenced by their experiences, their personal beliefs, and what they hold dear to them."

 

[jones573]

Delilah shared what little she did know of the guest list, and her thoughts on each.

It mostly distilled down to all of them being 'a tricky bastard' in one way or the other. Or their predecessor had been a tricky bastard, as most of Delilah's insight into clan dynamics and politics was some more than thirty years out of date.

"Strictly speaking, they aren't to use magics on ya," Delilah advised. "Since you are a guest and a diplomat besides. Plus, you ain't got any magic of your own and aren't used to dealing with it, so it would be taking advantage of your weakness-"

"I would be preferred not to be seen as some small, defenseless baby," Gigi said, pulling a face.

"Yeah, well, you are an important baby, holding various keys that you can bestow or deny, so- They're prol gonna use magic on you," Delilah continued. "Clan Grivvin will probably ask to at some point, to 'test your intentions' and ensure your honesty, but they will probably do so without asking, too. Cuz-"

They were tricky bastards, presumably.

"-But no one will outright attack me?"

"Not unless you attack someone else first," Delilah said. "Or say something really stupid." She couldn't even think of something that would qualify. "And I'll protect you if there's a fight," she said with a crack of her knuckles.

Delilah was sturdy but not exactly spry, and Gigi felt more reassured by own ability to avoid a fight than her mentor's ability to protect her in one.

"And no one can... Manipulate me? Make me say the opposite of what I meant to or something," she clarified, and Delilah rolled her eyes.

"Rust, girl- You might understand how magic works better than any Allarian and most of Eldergaard, but you've know idea what it does, do you," Delilah sighed. "No one's gonna puppeteer you."

Gigi knew all these things, but still. It was good to be reminded. It was just like Crane had said- Be honest as often as possible. Not just with your words, but your intentions. Show your neck to show your trust, but never bare it. Smile. Listen. Remember people's names.

It was like any other meeting. Except with higher stakes, and also people who could manipulate the elements and drain her of blood in record time. Nothing to be nervous about.

She was a bit surprised to see Commander Draya already in attendance, and even more surprised to see her talking with someone.

Gigi smiled and nodded at the Commander and Leo as she drew closer, searching the room for Elder Lucia. She would much prefer for the Elder to introduce her to the attendees if at all possible, rather than legitimizing Alyx's presence through interaction.

 

[Reynarda]

Leo's revelation caused Sebastian to let up on his attack. "Beyond--ow!"

Alyx had charged the air around Sebastian and was not sorry in the slightest. She rested a hand on Leo's back to steady him.

Sebastian turned to Alyx. "What does he mean?"

"If you attack him again, I will retaliate," Alyx warned.

"I wouldn't have to use magic if you weren't so stubborn," Sebastian said. He would have started making demands, but someone else walked into the room. His politician's expression suddenly appeared, and Alyx glanced over her shoulder.

"That's her?" Sebastian asked so quietly that only Leo and Alyx would have been able to hear.

"That's her," Alyx confirmed.

"What do you think of her?" Sebastian asked as if he had not just forced her fledgling to tell him things.

Alyx rolled her eyes. "She's rash, she's prideful, and she's obstinate."

"So you don't like her because she's similar to you?" Sebastian asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I am not rash--I plan out the things I do," Alyx muttered. "But anyway, I think she's... earnest. If annoying. And a princess."

"Glowing praise. I'm not sure that she wants you here. Curious." Sebastian finally took his eyes off Georgiana and dropped them to Alyx and Leo. "Will her plans work?"

Alyx shrugged. "I'm not sure that it matters. I want coffee."

Without so much as a parting bow, she took Leo by the arm and lead him to the table of refreshments that was slowly appearing against the wall as the clan's younger members brought out food and drinks. Coffee and tea were traditional, but pastries and fruit were also appearing.

"Are you alright?" Alyx asked Leo once they were out of Sebastian's earshot. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think he would turn his magic on you. Makes you want to scrub your insides out with fire, doesn't it?"

Lucia swept into the room, followed by several vampires--all of which were in different colors than she was. She smiled warmly at Georgiana and Delilah. "Good morning! Please, your highness, professor, have one of my nieces or nephews get you something to drink."

Given their orders, two of the younger vampires scurried off to the refreshment table, and Lucia stepped to the side, gesturing at the two vampires behind her. "Your Highness, Princess Georgiana of Allaria, Lady of Leomor, Third Researcher of the Morland Laboratories, may I present two of my clan's oldest allies."

Both of the women behind her smiled politely.

"This is Sabine, Head and Elder of Clan Killian," Lucia said, gesturing to the slighter woman dressed in shades of sage green who had green eyes and auburn hair that had been braided into a complicated bun.

The other woman was shorter and a bit broader about the hips. Her skin was tanned, her hair black, and her eyes were an unusual copper color. Lucia gestured to her next. "And this is Urszula, Head and Elder of Clan Unarah."




Astrid made a face as Rose told her he would do one thing... but also perhaps the other. She knew it was probably not the best idea to be talking to him about it since they were on separate sides of the problem, but. Well, she was freaking out a little.

She sighed as they started climbing. The air felt different, and she prayed this was a way out. She did not like being underground.

Astrid considered what he said as they climbed, and then let out a whoop of delight when they stepped out into open air. She instantly tugged on the air around them and shot into the air a few feet before landing lightly.

"I am a wind mage, and wind magi are not meant to be underground," she groaned. She leaned on the parapet, playing with the air currents so that they whistled through her hair and blew through her clothes.

She glanced over at Rose when he said he'd had a similar discussion with Alyx. "Oh did you? What was that--no, wait. I bet I can guess." Astrid chuckled. "Yeah, you can't fault her for caring about her people."

Astrid toyed with the air, forming different shapes. Her favorite was the Eldergaardian pentagram because she could do that with one unbroken line of air.

She understood Alyx's motivations. Her commander had originally wanted to wreak as much havoc as possible in the hopes that the military would decide the vampire corps were more trouble when they were worth. She hadn't expected to be used as a pawn in intra-military maneuvering, and she hadn't expected them to go after Cyril, either. And she definitely had not expected to become best friends with the supreme general's daughter. Since then, she'd been just trying to keep her people alive. Astrid wondered if, now she couldn't even do that, she would return to trying to get the vampire corps dissolved.

"My motivations are a little different from Commander Draya's," Astrid admitted after a while. "I have loved ones on both sides of the equation, and our situations are a bit different. I mean, I would protect her with my life, but..." She shrugged. Maybe she shouldn't be admitting that to an enemy, but if he had figured out Alyx, Rose could probably figure out that Astrid cared for her commander more than most captains. She sighed. "Usually I throw all my thoughts at Alyx and she repeats them back to me, but more organized. And it makes sense. But this is a different kind of battle from those we usually deal with."

She dropped the air currents and stared out into the distance. "My family being who they are made it nearly impossible not to join the military, but I did choose to be a captain because I thought it was right. Our people were starving, children were dying of hunger, people were sick. And the supreme general said we could change that if we had more farmlands, more resources. But then I got assigned the worst commander, and right and wrong became murky. Because maybe vampire lives were worth less than human lives until I met a vampire and saw that she had goals and people she loved. And then maybe it was okay to keep doing what we were doing because it was for the greater good--and if we all died out, so would the clans, right? And it was fine because at least I didn't treat the vampires like everyone else."

Astrid let out a long sigh. "Hypothetically, if it were a situation that I just could not justify sacrificing what I think is right on the alter of the greater good... I should refuse to take part? But also... my mom is who she is and I love her, and she's not a bad person, she's just... doing what she thinks is best for the nation, but. I don't want her to think I'm betraying her or that I... don't love her. But she's not in the field, she doesn't have watch her crew die or watch the hell her best friend is living. Everything is very... sterile and calm in the Dark Spires where the generals are and..." She took a deep breath. "It's not that I'd be siding against anyone, it just that this war needs to end. We achieved what we set out to do. So the right thing would be to end it."

Astrid groaned. "But I don't know how to do that--no, wait." She perked up. "That's why I have Alyx. She'll come up with the plan, and I'll be like, 'okay, I like where this is going, but how about we reduce the crazy just a bit and go from there'." She chuckled. "And that's how I knew Leo was meant to be Alyx's fledgling when he suggested contacting the enemy and borrowing their ship and then going up through the sewers because that is exactly the sort of cockamamie plan his sire would have come up with. Actually, I knew it before then, but that sort of solidified it."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo was VERY grateful when Sebastian stopped influencing him, and he didn't even make any rude comments until after Alyx led him away. Once they were not in
front of the elder anymore, he made a face like he'd eaten a sour lemon.

"That was /horrible/," he agreed. "Why do people have the ability to do that? It's - It was /horrible/."

He made sure to reiterate it as he grabbed a cup of coffee and, rather than measuring out his sugar in spoons, just grabbed the sugar bowl and dumped about a quarter of it in. Stirring it was a bit of a challenge at first, but he managed to get it going, and then downed the entire cup in one gulp without waiting to breathe.

"Ugh, that's disgusting," he grumbled. "I hate coffee so much. I don't know how you can drink it."

He eyed the tea, then wrinkled his nose and grabbed a caraffe of cream and poured it into his mug, drinking it straight. At least he hadn't downed it straight from the container, so it was fine. A shiver ran down his spine as the weird feeling of having somebody inside his nerves started to go away, and he sighed.

"Ok, better now. Can I say that I'm very glad I ended up with you and didn't have to be tortured by Maksim? Because I do not want to go through that ever again."



Rose watched Astrid's display of magic with interest, though he was soon captivated by the view once more. It was fun, to try and spot the wildlife and see how much he could identify from so far away.

"I can't say I much enjoy being underground myself," he agreed, though he imagined that being tied to air and wind would make it a bit more unbearable.

He listened to Astrid vent for a moment, before he turned around to face her, leaning back against the guard rail at the edge of the walkway.

"I understand where you're coming from," he said slowly. "But... You're focused on doing the right thing over the wrong thing, when that just... doesn't exist. Even in hypotheticals."

He added the last part with a little quirk of his mouth.

"Commander Draya aside, I also had this conversation with somebody else, once. He was at odds with his family's decisions to move in one direction while he thought they should move in another. It's not exactly the same, of course, and I don't think I could ever really understand your position perfectly or anything. But... I told him that he needed to ignore good or bad and just focus on what he wanted."

Lanea had not been pleased with that advice, and told him he made a really shitty therapist. The memory made Rose smile.

"Well, ultimately, I don't know if I can say anything useful to you, or help you figure anything out. But I think the same principle applies. What do you want? Not what you think is the right thing to do, or what's morally good or whatever. If you think that refusing to take part will change things for the better, I'd say do it. But if you base your actions on how you worry other people are going to react to them, or whether it's the right thing to do, then you're never really going to get anywhere, I don't think."

Perhaps he was coming off a little sociopathic. He grimaced. He was taking this conversation seriously, but he had never been particularly good at talking to people or giving advice.

"I mean, obviously I'm saying that because you seem like a reasonable person who doesn't want to, say, commit war crimes or anything."

 

[jones573]

In some regards, Gigi outranked everyone in the room. She was a royal from a sovereign nation, recognized as legitimate and independent by the international community. Allaria had more people, land and resources than the clans combined.

But in other regards- She was not her people's leader, or the heir of her people's leader. She was not even the heir's heir.

She placed a hand over her chest and bowed at an angle of fifty degrees to the first woman. "Elder Sabine, a pleasure to meet you," she greeted, and repeated the gesture to the second woman. "And you as well, Elder Urszula."

When she straightened, she continued. "I am honored that you have come to represent your clans today."

"This is Professor Delilah Robins, First Researcher of the Morland Laboratories," she said, gesturing to the older woman, who bowed in the same fashion, though without the warm smile.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx watched with mild concern as Leo made himself several drinks, none of which looked the slightest bit appetizing.

"It is pretty horrible," she agreed, watching him struggle to stir his sugar with a bit of coffee in it. "The first time Dominik did it to me, I shot energy through all my veins to try to get rid of the feeling. I was just a kid."

She chuckled at his declaration. "Well, coffee grows on the mountains near my clan's home, so maybe I'm more used to it than you are."

"Well, thanks. Glad to hear I'm a step up from Maksim," she said with a hint of sarcasm and a smile. She fixed herself a cup of coffee--black, without a trace of sugar or cream. "But, in Maksim's defense, he never uses that aspect of his clan's magic. He never was very good at it. He's just a prick." She took a sip of her coffee. Ah, that was good. She wondered where it was from--the area around Salazar was too arid. "If Sebastian tries that again, he's going to get my boot through his face. Believe it or not, I despise Maksim the least of his entire clan."

"Oh," she said, nodding to the two women the princess was talking to. "In the green, that's Head Elder Sabine of Clan Killian. In the reds and yellows, that's Head Elder Urszula of Clan Unarah. Killian are earth magi, and Unarah are fire magi--not very strong, though, either of them. Killian mostly uses theirs on soil for growing, and Unarah uses theirs for various displays like fireworks. Both are close allies of Salazar and are separatist clans."

A man walked into the room, looking a tad rumpled and sleepy, and made a beeline for the refreshment table. He was dressed in soft blue-greens and had blond hair and blue eyes.

Alyx bowed politely as he began making himself a cup of tea. "Elder Gerard."

The head elder smiled and gave her a nod and then nodded to Leo, whom he correctly assumed was Alyx's fledgling. Then, still not saying a word, he turned and strode off.

"That was Gerard," Alyx said once he was out of earshot. "Head Elder of Clan Bazlik. He's Commander Gustav Bazlik's uncle. He doesn't say much, and I think he may have just woken up. He's actually fairly nice usually, so I'm not sure why he's throwing his nephew to the wolves by being here. And you've seen Gustav use his water magic."



The two vampires raised their eyebrows at Georgiana. They had decided due to her royal status to treat her as an heir of a head elder, but her formality was welcome. They nodded to her and Delilah.

"No need to be so formal, your highness," Elder Urszula said with an easy smile. "We are so grateful that you have come all this way."

"And with no small amount of peril," Elder Sabine added. "My dear cousin was just telling us of your trip. We do hope our nephews and nieces in the military did not leave a bad taste in your mouth."

Urszula shot her a look to quiet her because a cheerful but rumpled vampire appeared next to them with a cup of tea in his hand.

"Ah, Princess Georgiana, this is Gerard, Head and Elder of Clan Bazlik," Lucia said.

Gerard bobbed his head almost before Georgiana had finished her bow. "Charmed, your highness," he said politely. "So glad you could make it."

Then he bobbed his head again and strode off to take a seat. All three of the other elders eyed him like this was exactly the sort of thing he typically did. Urszula and Sabine excused themselves to the refreshment table, and Lucia turned, looking for the elder she had not introduced.

Sebastian had been waiting patiently to the side until the head elders had all been introduced. It was times like these that he found not being the head elder annoying, but for the most part, just being an elder gave him more freedom--even if it meant he had to babysit his useless older brother.

At Lucia's glance, he adjusted his white coat and stepped over to Lucia, Georgiana, and Delilah.

"Princess Georgiana, this is Sebastian, Elder of Clan Grivvin," Lucia said.

Sebastian nodded politely. "A pleasure, your highness. My elder brother Dominik sends his regrets that he could not attend as there were some clan matters he had to attend to." A derisive snort could be heard coming from the general vicinity of the coffee area of the refreshment table, but Sebastian didn't even blink. "I am here in his stead."

"Sebastian is a very competent elder," Lucia said with a slight smirk. "And you can trust him to stand in for Elder Dominik."




Astrid made a face. "I dunno, I think there is right and wrong," she said.

However, she had also asked for his opinion, so it was only fair she listened to it. She considered his points. He did seem to be trying hard to help, even if she thought his points were odd. She appreciated the gesture, especially since they weren't even on the same side, much less friends.

"Did this person go with your advice?" she asked curiously.

Astrid chuckled at his addendum. "No, not interested in war crimes. All I really want is to go home, take my glider out with my dad, eat my mom's pancakes, and take Alyx to the hot springs because she needs a vacation."

She leaned on the railing, sighing. "What do I really want?" she mused. "I want my best friend to be okay. I want this war to be done. I want my mom to not hate me." She flicked her eyes to Rose. "But I can't have all those things at the same time. And I'm not sure refusing to take part will do much for anyone other than myself. Plus, something the princess said has been bugging me--don't you dare tell her that."

Astrid pushed her hair from her face. "Let's say for the sake of argument there is no right and wrong in this hypothetical." Neither he nor she thought this was a hypothetical and hadn't ever, but appearances were important. "Then I have to follow what is in line with my personal values and conscience. But that means throwing my lot in with someone my family sees as an enemy, and they aren't going to see my point of view because they don't see that enemy as a friend like I do. Because to them, the end justifies the means. But I can't use the end to justify the means. The cost is too high."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo grimaced. He couldn't imagine dealing with that as a /child/. It already made him want to tear his skin off.

"We used to drink it because it's expensive. And fine tea, too, though that's not very good either. Wine is fine, though not for the mornings. What would make this bearable is lemonade, honestly. The kind that's really sweet and has a bit of berry in it," he mused, not caring at all that he sounded a bit childish. He never understood the obsession with bitter 'adult' drinks that tasted terrible and cost a lot.

He couldn't help the sly grin coming over his face when Alyx mentioned Maksim again, because now that they were alone he could /totally/ harass her over what he had found out. All in good faith, of course.

"Hmm, you sure say that he's a prick a lot, considering he's your ~fiancee~ and all," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and using the most annoying sing-songy voice he could manage. "Right? Right? You can't hide it from me, I'm way too smart for that. Oh, but I won't tell Astrid, because I'm a wonderful fledgeling with a great sense of loyalty, and also it's really funny to watch her try to figure it out."

He eyed the people that Alyx pointed out with interest, making a mental note of who was who and what their ranks were.

"Maybe this whole thing is a lot bigger than we thought," he suggested, because it was starting to look that way. "It's starting to look that way."



Cyn, having grabbed a cup of coffee and finished oogling over the mechanics in Delilah's lab, had managed to find his way down to the meeting hall easily enough. He had asked a passing vampire for directions, and he'd only taken one wrong turn before being politely corrected by the kitchen staff when he ended up there by accident. He paused just outside the doorway, taking a deep breath to steady himself and keep his palms from sweating as he made his way into the room.

Man, but there were a lot of people here. He felt very small, all of a sudden. He spotted the princess and the professor, but they were talking to people who looked very important, and he wasn't entirely sure if he should interrupt. He was decidedly unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and he was only here because he was going to take notes for Rose to go through afterwards.

Leo and Alyx were standing by the refreshment table, and Cyn's stomach grumbled loudly again at the scent of fresh pastries. His face turned very red as he hoped and prayed that nobody noticed, though he was more than a bit embarrassed as he headed over.

"M-morning," he mumbled as he discreetly grabbed a croissant off the table and tried to pick it apart daintily rather than shoving the whole thing in his mouth. He'd already had his morning coffee, and if he drank anymore he would be buzzing the whole time the meeting was going on, so he eyed their different tea leaves with interest. Tea might help soothe his nerves, and he was in great need of that right about now.

Leo raised his eyebrows at him as he picked out a very fragrant chai blend, and then added just a hint of sugar to it as it steeped.

"I'm surprised you're awake," he commented as Cyn discreetly snagged another croissant and then a grape from the table. Grapes were so expensive and hard to get in wartime, he savoured it as he popped it into his mouth and tried not to groan happily.

"I was in the professor's lab," he explained once he was done chewing. "I'm not really important or needed here, but I figured it might be worth it to sit in, just so I know what's going on."



Rose shrugged.

"What I mean when I say there's no right and wrong, isn't that I don't think you should have morals or whatever. But... You took over our ports and farmlands. Your people were starving, so to you, that was the right thing to do. Now our people are starving. If I asked an Allarian farmer who was right or wrong, his opinion would be very different from yours. Because there's no way to benefit everybody with every decision we make, and there's no way to make everybody happy."

He hesitated for a second, because Lanea's opinion on how he'd acted and Rose's opinion on how he acted were also very different, but Lanea /was/ working with him, so.

"He did," he said, even though Lanea would argue very fiercely that he was /not/ acting according to Rose's advice, because it was stupid advice. "He won't ever admit to it, but he did. Or at least, he's going after what he wants now, rather than worrying about the good of everyone like you are."

He listened to her talk, looking back over his shoulder at the scenery. It really was nice. Allaria didn't have too many mountains.

"I think those are perfectly fine things to want," he said, and then smiled. "And that is exactly what you have to do. I'm not saying it's going to be the right choice, but if you ignore your values and your conscience, it's just going to weigh on you even worse later. Obviously, going against your family is hard, but what would you regret more? The chance - which is never entirely ensured, by the way - that they might not forgive you? Or if you continued to follow their orders and lost the people you also care about? Neither answer is right or wrong, and I'm not trying to influence you to pick either way. Because it's something you have to decide for yourself, and if I told you what I would do, it wouldn't really mean much."

He smiled then, clearly thinking that this conversation was going somewhere good, even if he wasn't really answering any of the questions asked of him.

"Sorry, I'm admittedly not really the best person to talk to about this, I think. But I do think that your morals and your values are important to you, and that is a good thing. If you don't have something like that that you can follow or rely on, then the decisions get easier, but the actual outcome of them means a lot less, I suppose."

 

[jones573]

"If anything, it reinforced my belief that they ought to be at home, instead of misused by Eldergaard," she told Sabine politely.

She made her bows to Gerard and Sebastian, though the second was slightly more shallow.

"Of course," she said, acknowledging Sebastian's qualifications without complaint. She was actually surprised by the ratio of elder to head elder- She hadn't expected so many clan leaders to come themselves. She was both flattered, and a bit intimidated.

She accepted the tea brought to her by one of Lucia's nieces with a smile, and only smelled the cup very briefly on its way to her lips.

Gigi would have drank it if it was very sour or very sweet or really any flavor at all, but she did like a bit of forewarning.

Like memorizing names and faces and titles, pretending to enjoy any food or drink offered had been trained into her from a young age- But sometimes if something was very strong, she had difficulty hiding her first wince.

The tea, however, was fine. Enjoyable even. But she wasn't here for the tea.

As she went to take a chair, she noticed Cyn had joined the crowd. She smiled at him and made a waving motion- Hopefully, he would understand that he should sit with her and Delilah as Allarians and not with Alyx and Leo as... Whatever they were.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx choked on her coffee. Once she got the coffee back out of her airways, she groaned. "Curse Sebastian. Keep your voice down, yeesh."

She could feel her cheeks darkening, but she did her best to maintain her composure. However, Leo's aggressive eyebrow wiggling and grin was making her mouth wobble towards a smile. She patted his cheek. "Yes, yes, you're very smart. And he's only mostly my fiancé. But, regardless of his affiliations, he is still a prick, and don't you dare tell Astrid. I will turn you into a floor rug."

She would tell Astrid. Once she figured out how to answer the questions Astrid would ask that she didn't know the answers to.

"She won't figure it out," Alyx said with a sigh. "And yes, you are a very wonderful fledgling with a great sense of loyalty, but"--she gripped his coat and pulled him closer--"I swear, Leonardo, if you start dropping hints, I will turn you inside out."

Alyx nodded, agreeing with Leo's assessment. "I was beginning to think that when Sebastian turned up. Clan Grivvin is a trash fire, and Sebastian is the real power--Dominik is a useless sociopath. But they have a lot of allies--partly because they've slept with most clans." That wasn't entirely true, but Alyx obviously had a very low opinion of her fiancé's clan's doings. "And, when the Eldergaard/Clan war began, our two clans turned an antagonistic relationship to an alliance that has lasted for the past few decades. They're the negotiators, we're the strategists. And despite his comments, Sebastian would not be joining this if he didn't think he could get my aunt on his side. You don't really want my aunt not on your side--the woman is a force of nature. Plus, with Bazlik, that's some of the smaller clans that are not friends with Grivvin. And Unarah is still friendly with many of the clans who do have young vampires in the military despite being separatists." She groaned. "That might be most of the clans, honestly."

She smiled as Cyn joined them and began eating from the table. "You could definitely offer insight," Alyx told him as she never liked when Cyn considered himself unimportant. "Feeling better?"

Alyx glanced at the group in the center. "Oh we're about to begin. Leo, you sit on my left. Sebastian will probably sit next to us, just a head's up."

Lucia was gesturing for everyone to gather. Her clan had arranged two rows of chairs in a semicircle, and she stood in front of them. There were quite a few more chairs than attendees as was vampire custom.

Alyx took a seat in the back and to the side. As she predicted, Sebastian sat on her right.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here?" he asked quietly.

"To listen to the princess," Alyx said, which of course was not a lie.

"Esteemed elders of the clans, Princess of Allaria, and friends," Lucia addressed the group. "We are gathered here today to discuss what will be mutually beneficial for both our peoples." The vampires nodded politely, and Lucia said, "We are represented by Clans Killian, Unarah, Bazlik, Grivvin," she paused for just the briefest second before continuing, "Draya, and Salazar. Representing Allaria is Princess Georgiana, Lady of Leomor, Third Researcher of the Morland Laboratories. As is our custom, we will open with a presentation from Princess Georgiana."

Lucia gave an encouraging smile to Georgiana and gestured her to the front of the room.




Astrid nodded. "That's a good point."

She considered his points for a few seconds. It was hard to figure out the most-right thing to do when he put it that way.

Astrid chuckled as Rose explained about this other person. He spoke awfully fondly of this person, and she wondered who he was. She wasn't about to pry, though, because she figured he would clam right up.

She sighed. "Yeah, I see your point. You don't know my mom, though. She won't forgive me if I choose the other people I care about. Because that means going against her, and she could lose everything she's worked her entire life for if I do that." She chuckled when he said he wasn't the best to talk to about this. "No, I appreciate your advice. You made some good points."

Astrid drummed her fingers on the stones. "And, you're right. I would regret losing my friend a lot more than losing my mom's opinion of me." She sighed. "But, the question of what I'm supposed to do remains. I just don't know how to fix this."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo looked incredibly smug, clearly proud that he had guessed right.

"Oh, don't worry, my lips are sealed," he said, miming a zipper. Cyn, who had missed the first part of their conversation, looked between them in confusion. He didn't really know what exactly they were talking about, but he had a feeling Leo was being a butt again.

"Don't be mean," he warned, and Leo smiled at him.

"Don't worry, she can handle me," he said with a grin.

Cyn smiled back at Alyx, nodding as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have drank that much," he said sheepishly. "I just hope I didn't make too bad of an impression."

Once everybody started to sit down, he quickly made his way over to Georgiana's spot and sat down next to Delilah. Leo followed Alyx's lead, and was pointedly very quiet when Sebastian spoke. He definitely did not want to gain his attention again.

Cyn made sure to give Gigi a reassuring smile as well. He was sure she had a very good idea what she was doing, but it never hurt to know that there were people in your corner.



Rose hummed, glad that he had been of some help at least.

"Well, I don't know exactly what you should do, but the princess clearly has some sort of idea here, and it probably has some merit to it. I can't say exactly how useful this alliance will be without knowing exactly what she's up to, but... For now, I think that you should definitely talk to your commander, once she's free from politics. Even if you can't decide on an immediate course of action, she'll probably feel better to be sure you're on her side."

 

[jones573]

Gigi had taken a seat in the front row with Delilah, and was glad when Cyn sat next to him. She wished she had a moment to advise him on what to say- Nothing, preferably.

She returned Lucia's smile, and went to the front of the room where she stood straightbacked and regal.

"Elders, I thank you for your presence today," she began. "And additional gratitude to Elder Lucia and Clan Salazar, for being such gracious hosts," she said, nodding a smile in Lucia's direction.

"I would be delighted to see more of this beautiful structure, to speak with each of you about your own homes and people, and learn of your culture," she said wistfully. "But such wishes are feckless, in consideration of the threat to those homes and those people. A threat that looms over my home and people as well," she continued more seriously.

"King Edward IV of Allaria has sent terms of surrender to Supreme General Leon," she said, pausing to let her audience consider this. "Three times now my father has tried to end this war, with offers of land and coin. Not only has the general refused these offers, she has not countered with any terms of her own."

Her father had had to fight with the Council of Nobles for the first set of concessions, but as the war dragged on- They became more and more willing to compromise.

"Eldergaard told you they would return your relatives once the war ended," she said somberly. "But they have no intention of ending this war, not any time soon. I do not know if they mean to wait until they have taken the Allarian capitol and depose my father, or until they have run out of your children to sacrifice, or some other goal which remains shadowed. The question we must ask ourselves is: Do we mean to wait as well?"

She waited for a moment, the question hanging in the air.

"Eldergaard came to you for aide because you are stronger fighters and mages, but they did not come in good faith. They came to coerce you, with threats and magic and firepower. The vampire commanders must obey their military masters, and create more and more fledglings to throw to the front lines. But," she said slowly. "We may be able to change that."

She nodded at Delilah.

"With the instruction of King Edward IV and crown Prince Theodore, Professor Robins has been hard at work, studying vampiric biology and the way magic interacts with it. Even in just a few short months, she has made promising discoveries- Her research indicates we may be able to weaken or entirely sever magical bonds, using science. We could limit the creation of fledglings. We could disrupt the use of magic. I will not -and cannot- boast that the possibilities are endless, or perfect, instantaneous ways to make Eldergaard release all vampires in military custody, and never think of subjugating you again," she admitted.

"Nor will I pretend it will be a simple task- Professor Robins and I will need your cooperation in continuing and advancing our research. We will need your knowledge and your wisdom about which avenues of research will yield the best results. And depending on what we pursue, we may need the help of the clans to implement these solutions."

The vampires were already embedded in Eldergaard, whereas Allarian forces were pushed further back every day.

"But I believe the potential risk is worth the potential reward, especially in comparison to inaction," she said with passion, reminding them of the stakes. "There are many things Allarian science and vampire magic can do together that they can not do alone: Alter the course of this war, force the Eldergaardian military to reconsider their use of the vampire corps, and show Supreme General Leon that if she will not end this conflict- We will end it for her," she finished with a slight snarl.

 

[Reynarda]

As Georgiana approached the front, Alyx gripped her nearly empty coffee mug tightly. She was starting to feel trapped again, and she wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the realization that something was once again too large for her to do anything about, or the way that Leo casually mentioned things about his life like he had never before and if she didn't send him back to Allaria he would die, or how the one clan she had thought would not be there was there or--

Oh, how she wished Astrid were there. How had her conversation with her mother gone? Was she okay? What would she do? What could she do?

Alyx shoved all that into a mental closet and allowed the numbness to settle over her. This was the only way she survived each time one of her fledglings died or she got word one of the other commanders was dead. She couldn't let herself feel because if she did, she would never get out of that mire.

Besides, she had one reason to keep going. She had made a deal with Georgiana. Leo, at least, would be safe.

Alyx was extremely glad for her conversation with Georgiana the night previous when there were quiet intakes of breath around her at Georgiana's announcement. Because having a panic attack while sitting next to Sebastian Grivvin would have been a nightmare from hell.

"That's what you knew," Sebastian said, barely loud enough for her to hear. He glanced at her and saw--absolutely nothing. Normally, when he glanced at one of Clan Draya and they had their guard up, he would see a fiery wall of stubbornness and that was it. If he caught them in one of the rare moments that they were not schooling their thoughts and emotions, he would see the echos of those--their intentions. But he saw nothing and quickly glanced at Leo to make sure his magic had not somehow gotten screwed up. But he could see Leo--who now had a healthy dose of wariness. What was going on?

Alyx could feel Sebastian staring at her, but she ignored him. He wouldn't be able to read anything because there would be nothing to read. She knew that because Maksim had crossed paths with her when she was trying to deal with a recent fledgling's death, and he had told her to stop it right now because it was freaking him out.

And anyway, she was listening to the princess. Georgiana wasn't doing a half-bad job. She apparently knew her audience. She knew what sorts of things would resonate with them, and she wasn't half-bad at the delivery.

Though, there was a bit of shifting when the princess mentioned a human had been studying their biology. They didn't like that sound of that. They liked the mention of their subjugation even less than Alyx had, but most of them were separatists, so Alyx wasn't surprised. It was easier for them to ignore than the clans who had children in the military.

But, Georgiana smoothed it over with appealing to their knowledge and wisdom, and elders liked that sort of thing. And, they all liked the thought of sticking it to Supreme General Leon and her generals.

Vampires did not clap for speeches but nodded instead. A quick glance around the room confirmed that the elders had quite liked the speech as shown by their enthusiastic nods.

The only one not nodding was Alyx, who snorted quietly. It wouldn't work. Allaria was not accounting for one crucial detail: the clans would never work together on this. It had taken the combined efforts of three clans who hated each other--Draya, Grivvin, and Pheona--to unite the clans when Leon's predecessor had begun attacking them. Alyx suspected that Sebastian was only there because he liked knowing what was going on. She was only there because Astrid had decided to take prisoners and then they had gotten shot out of the sky. And Clan Pheona was nowhere to be found. Even ignoring the more powerful clans, there was so much distrust between those who had sacrificed their heirs for the greater good and those who had withdrawn that if Grivvin and Bazlik couldn't get their allies on their side, the alliance was sunk. It was all fine and good to try to figure out a way to get the commanders back, but that clans would need some sort of proof that this alliance was worth risking their heirs for.

Lucia swept to the front, tapping her hands lightly together and encouraging the other elders to do the same. "Thank you so much, Princess Georgiana, for your stirring presentation. We are excited to learn more. But, before we speak further, we would like time to consider it, and you would like time to rest and eat, I'm sure. My clan has prepared lunch for you and your companions in the garden."

"You have some thoughts, niece," Sebastian said as Lucia spoke to Georgiana.

Shaking her head, Alyx leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I have no intention of opposing this whatsoever. You go ahead and make your alliance that condemns us all."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow. "You're not opposing this?"

"Nope."

"Why ever--oh." Sebastian's gaze drifted to Leo before returning to Alyx. "For once your need to protect and the greater good coincide," he said, rising. "I hope to see you in the next session. I'd rather not sit with those three."

Alyx gave him a lazy nod as he turned and strode off. It wasn't polite to not rise and bow, but Clans Draya and Grivvin were so familiar, they rarely were actually polite with one another.

"Typically," Alyx said once Sebastian was gone, "the two parties split up to give each a time to think on this meeting, and then they reconvene for a round-table discussion of sorts." She did her best to smile at Leo. "Shall we go see if we're included in the lunch party?"




"Well, I assume the princess just wants to end the war like the rest of us," Astrid said with a shrug. She chuckled when Rose said she should talk to her commander. She shot him a glance and a smirk. "Hypothetically."

Shading her eyes, she glanced up at the position of the sun. "It's lunch, I think. They might be winding up. You hungry? I'm hungry. Shall we return to the bowls of the mountain?"

Astrid let out a long sigh as they began to descend. "You mind telling me how my commander went from wanting to eat you for breakfast to making sure you were okay? Because I can count on one hand the number of people she even likes and most of them are her fledglings. Also, it took me six months of constant patient toil to get her to like me, and it apparently took you a few hours to convince her to at least respect you, and honestly I'm a little hurt." She grinned at Rose. "Maybe if you teach me your secrets, I could convince the princess to at least not hate me."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn had to try very hard not to glance back at Leo and Alyx during Georgiana's speech. It was a good speech, very rousing, and the elders all seemed to agree with her, but also... He worried. He worried about what this war was going to mean for his brother and his best friend, and just how this alliance was going to affect them. Working together with the clans to disrupt the magic allowing the commanders to make fledgelings was all well and good, but what about those who had already been turned? What about the soldiers who had been taken from their families and made to fight for the enemy against their will?

He had noted the general attitude of Maksim's fledgelings, and it was not at all similar to Leo's. He could only imagine why that would be, but he knew that it wasn't good, and he wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of sacrificing those people - who used to be his countrymen! - for the sake of the greater good.

But he stayed quiet, and only brought his hands together three times politely when Gigi's speech ended before he realized that nobody else was clapping. He ducked his chin as his cheeks turned red, and he waited until the parties had dispersed before walking back over to Gigi.

"That was a good speech," he said to her, because it was, and it had served its purpose quite well. "I have a bit of a better idea what you mean now, about dispersement methods."

He still wasn't sure if he agreed with it, but it wasn't his place to make his reservations known.


Leo shifted uncomfortably under Sebastian's stare, and for a moment he considered just sitting quietly and staring up at the front. But he could feel Alyx's stillness beside him, and... He was worried about her. He knew just how badly this was affecting her, and he shifted ever so slightly so he could reach over and squeeze her hand. He was there for her, in whatever way she needed him to be. She didn't need to rely on him if she didn't want to, but...

Soon the others were leaving. Leo listened to Alyx explain how things were going to work, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe on the way there we'll meet up with Astrid," he suggested, more to make Alyx feel better than anything. He was not feeling overly hopeful about Georgiana's plan himself, but he wouldn't say anything. The clans, the ones who had been born vampires, were the real victims in this war. Their suffering was far more acute than his, and he would not bring his own worries into the picture to compound his sire's.


Rose laughed.

"Yes, hypothetically. Of course," he said with a smile. When she asked him how he had changed Alyx's opinion of him, though, he looked genuinely perplexed.

"I hadn't really noticed that it changed much," he said. Well, she was a bit meaner to him at first, but he was used to people being grumpy and prickly. They usually eased up a bit once they got to know him. Wasn't that just a thing that normally happened for everyone? "I was just honest with her, I guess. Also we talked about Cyn's cat. Maybe that softened her up."

He was looking back over his shoulder as Astrid started to descend, his eyes scanning the horizon once more out of habit. A flock of crows rose from the trees along the mountain's edge. He was going to turn around, having seen nothing of interest, but...

There was a tiny prickle on the back of his neck. A hint of 'wrong' that sent a shiver down his spine, and he remembered a conversation he'd had with Lanea once, when they had first started their alliance together.

'Remember this feeling,' the vampire had said, dancing fingers along the inside of his one good arm. He had felt it tingle, that sense that something was going to happen, and then, all at once, he was drowning. His lungs were full of water that shouldn't have been there, he couldn't breathe, and though it lasted only a second, it had been one of the most terrifying experiences in his life.

'You feel that?' Lanea said as he rubbed his back, helping him cough up what had been forced up inside of him, water splattering over his chest as he struggled to get his breath back. 'That's what magic feels like. You feel that, you run.'

He didn't think before he took off after Astrid, grabbing her by the wrist and tugging her down the stairs.

"We need to meet up with the others, someone's here," he exclaimed, keeping his breathing as even as possible. He had no idea where the others were, and the second his feet hit the solid floor beneath him, he looked around wildly. Were they already inside? The Nighthawk had not crashed too far from here, and they hadn't been able to completely scrub clean the site of their camp ground. An experienced tracker would have noticed that they were there, and it wouldn't be difficult to ascertain their destination from there.

He looked down, realizing that he had been squeezing Astrid's wrist tightly, and he quickly let go. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. There was a suspicious lack of vampires around, whereas before they had been everywhere. They could just be gathered for the political proceedings, but.

He heard whistling in the hall, and his blood went cold. Not here, this was the last place he could ever, possibly want to meet him. There were too many people, people from both sides, and if they ran into each other...

"Oh, Captain Leon."

The voice was smooth and just a little lazy, sounding like the person it belonged to would rather be doing something else. Rose grit his teeth as he looked down the hall where it had come from, his muscles tensed.

The man was smaller than Rose was, but not by too much. He was still taller than any of the other men in their party, and had a fair amount of muscle on him. His hair was blond, shorn mostly short except for a small braid on the left side of his face, and it contrasted with the warm brown of his skin. His green eyes were calculating, and the smile on his face was not what one would call friendly.

"Admiral's been looking for you," Commander Lanea Grigori said, acting as if Rose were not even there. "He thought it was pretty funny how your commander disappeared off his ship with his prisoner at the same time that you took a little shore leave from yours. You know where Commander Draya and the princess are? I figure it'd be easier if we worked with each other on this one rather than me running around this whole place by myself."

Rose finally felt Lanea's gaze fall on him. It was as cold as he expected it would be, but it didn't linger with any amount of interest. He was poised to run, but he knew that if he did, Lanea would break his legs, if only to keep up appearances. He didn't particularly like that idea, and he looked around the hallway quickly to see if there was some way he could break off from Astrid and send her off to find Alyx.

It was unlikely, too, that he came alone. Gargoyle squadron did not usually participate in delicate operations where people were to be kept alive, unless it was for difficult interrogations. If he was here, somebody else was, too.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx was grateful for Leo's gentle reassurance, but it also felt like someone had shoved a silver blade through her ribs and was jerking it back and forth, looking for her heart. She warred with herself between trying to distance herself from him so that saying goodbye would be easier and savoring every second she still had to be his sire.

In the end, her selfishness won. She had shifted a little closer to him.

When Leo said they might meet up with Astrid, Alyx nodded. That would be good. She still hadn't moved from her chair. All she really wanted to do was curl back up against Leo and go back to sleep. But, things needed to be done.

With a groan, she pushed herself up. "Let's go, then."

She caught up with Georgiana and company and smiled politely.

"That was a pretty speech, Princess. Let me guide you to the garden," she added, and swiftly took the lead before anyone could tell her that it wasn't necessary. She might not oppose it, but that meant she would ask her questions now rather than at the round-table.

After walking for a minute or two, Alyx stepped back and gestured the group through a door. The garden was in the crater of a long-dead volcano, and warm sunlight fell from the destroyed cone above. The sunlight bathed a lush variety of plants that were obviously meticulously maintained and ranged from large-leafed trees to root vegetables.

A table had been set with sandwiches and tea, and two people were already seated. One had their features entirely obscured, but the other was dressed in the commander's blacks. He had his boots up on the table and was drinking someone else's tea. He had his brown hair pulled back into a very short ponytail at the back of his head but had left some strands of hair to fall around his amber eyes. Other than the large black splotch on his cheek, Maksim Grivvin looked exactly the same as he had just a few days previous.

As they entered, he grinned and set his stolen tea cup back on the saucer and stood. This was in preparation for what he assumed would happen next. "Just the people I wanted to see," he said, the same smug smirk curling about his lips that had been there when he had boarded the Dragon with the admiral. "Where's--"

Alyx burst from behind the others and crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, energy sparking all around her. Maksim had been expecting it, but she almost nicked him with the charge in her hand. He leaned back just in time, catching her wrist and discharging the energy that would have knocked him out into the chair he had been sitting in. Then, he used the momentum generated by her speed to spin them around in a graceful dance. He used the spin to off-balance her, and, because it would piss her off, Maksim ended their dance by dipping Alyx.

"There she is," he said, grinning down at her.

The mix of consternation and anger on her face was priceless and he resolved that, on bad days, he would bring it back to his mind to uplift his spirits.

However, the hand that had a death-grip on his upper arm was starting to spark with energy--Alyx had apparently decided she might get dropped, but she was taking him down with her.

"I wouldn't do that," Maksim said in a sing-song voice, drawing his lips back from his teeth and shifting towards her exposed neck. "Or we're going to find out if you're into that sort of thing."

"You put me back on my feet right now," Alyx hissed, instantly dispelling her magic as her cheeks darkened.

"No, I don't think I will. So rare I catch you this off guard." Maksim knew taking his attention off her was risky, but he desperately wanted to see what the princess thought about him turning up here. He flicked his eyes up at Georgiana and grinned. "Princess, so good to see you again." His eyes fell on Cyn and narrowed, but he didn't acknowledge him, Leo, or Delilah. "I'm afraid the admiral wants you all back."

Maksim glanced at his fledgling. "Be a lamb and fetch the princess for me." Then he dropped his eyes to Alyx, who wasn't putting up nearly the fight he thought she would, which was making him nervous because that usually meant she was biding her time. "I need to have a little conversation with my betrothed."






Astrid chuckled. Perhaps she was just hyper-aware of Alyx's behavior and what to her was a suspicious glaring was a casual glance to others. She knew Alyx was hard to read if one didn't know her. "Yeah, the honesty probably did the trick," she agreed.

She was about to ask about Cyn's cat when Rose suddenly grabbed her wrist and began pulling her down the stairs. She stumbled after him, alarmed. She trusted his instincts on this one, and she'd never seen him look so stressed.

"What? Who?!" Astrid asked, looking wildly around.

She only registered that Rose had been gripping her wrist very tightly when he let go. She was about to repeat her question when the whistling started. She whorled around to face the vampire who had spoken.

"Shit," she muttered. This day kept getting worse and worse. She had met this vampire quite a few times, and he creeped her out a little, to be honest. She had mentioned as much to Alyx, and Alyx had just shrugged and said he wasn't that bad. Though, considering what the commander of Gargoyle Squadron was known for, she felt ice settle in her stomach. If he was looking for her commander, that was not good.

She drew herself up, however. She did outrank him, regardless of whether or not the admiral had reported her as having gone rogue. "Commander Grigori," she greeted.

"I left my ship to find my missing commander," she said, annoyed that her first officer hadn't said she was sick or something. Thurston was a good first officer, but she refused to play on his team in bluffing games.

Of course, it wasn't a lie, exactly, but it kind of a stupid thing to say considering that she was standing there in Alyx's clan colors (Clan Salazar probably thought they were hilarious) next to an Allarian.

They could run, but vampires were really fast when they wanted to be. They could fight--they did out number him--but Commander Grigori wasn't a light-weight, there wasn't a whole lot of air down here, and Rose only had one arm at the moment. She could offer to hand over the princess for Alyx's safety, but not only would that not work, but Rose would definitely object to that and they needed to stay allies. She thought about warning Alyx, but Alyx would just show up and fight him if she did that, and Alyx was in no condition to be fighting another vampire commander.

But, if she could get him to a more populated area where rules of vampire hospitality would apply, then he wouldn't be able to attack the guests. Or, if he did attack Alyx, at least Leo would be there to back her up. Best case scenario would be Lucia sending him on his way. That ran the risk of him telling Clan Salazar who she was, but Astrid decided that was a risk she was willing to take.

Astrid put a hand out to steady Rose like she worried he might tackle the vampire. "I might know where Commander Draya is," she said casually. "But you'll have to follow me."

With that, she turned and strode in the direction she was pretty sure the main area was. She knew it was extremely gutsy to turn her back on a vampire who was probably authorized to injure her, but she needed him to trust her.

"C'mon, Commander, Mr. Barlowe; I don't have all day," she called over her shoulder, the tone of an inconvenienced senior officer. She prayed this worked.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo was a bit surprised that Alyx was being clingy. Normally she was a bit more reserved, but he supposed that with all the bombs that had been dropped the past few days, it made sense that she might not be her usual self. He decided that he'd indulge her anyways, and didn't get up until she did.

"So, is the garden underground too? Because how does that work?" he asked as they followed after Gigi and the others. Cyn kept sending glances back at him, but soon they were led out into the open crater, and they were also not alone.

Leo's eyes went wide, because not only was Maksim there when he most definitely should not be, but his commander had rushed straight at him instead of actually forming any kind of decent plan, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

He /wanted/ to stand in front of Cyn protectively, because Cyn looked absolutely horrified to be seeing the other commander again. He could see the burn mark on his cheek very clearly, and while the remains of his ring had been cut off his finger already, he knew that it was very telling that /his/ burns had already been healed by Astrid's wards. But he also noticed that they were not alone, and he didn't trust the fledgling in the hood at all. Georgiana was Maksim's real goal, and he wasn't about to let him just grab her.

But Cyn was standing in front of her protectively, even as his throat bobbed with a nervous swallow. He didn't have any weapons this time, not even his wedding ring, so he was woefully outmatched against a vampire. Leo looked between the fledgling and Maksim once more, before he growled and decided that Alyx could probably handle herself.

He moved to cut the hooded figure off before he could move, watching him carefully to try and anticipate his moves. It would be better if he could get the others to go back into the hall, if possible. That way they could return to the tunnels while he and Alyx kept the combatants out here in the open.

"What do you want, commander Grivvin?" Leo asked, his mouth pulled into a thin line, though the corner ticked up a bit. He didn't get along with his family. That was good, he could use it to catch him off-guard, if he needed to. "Are you here to see your brother? I met him earlier. Can't say I like him very much."



"Is that so," Lanea said, one eyebrow rising critically. He wasn't stupid, and he knew she was lying to him, but he had to admire the boldness of her bluff. She was, after all, in the middle of vampire territory. The only way she wasn't dead was because her commander was protecting her. Also there was the matter of the obvious Allarian presence.

Rose, for his part, did look like he was about to tackle Lanea, if only for the chance to talk to him discreetly and ask him what the hell he was doing here. He thought he was supposed to be in the capital! Or was that two months ago? Their last meeting had been delayed, so they hadn't seen each other for a while, and he was panicking on the inside, though he was very careful to show none of it on his face. Lanea watched him carefully, like he was sizing him up, and then Astrid blessedly turned around.

The second she did, Rose tried to convey the whole brunt of his confusion and frustration in a somewhat-non-neutral facial expression. Lanea, in turn, made a very subtle aborted gesture with his hand that was probably supposed to mean 'no, what are YOU doing here?!', and Rose shifted his foot a little, turning his body ever so slightly towards Astrid as if to say 'I'm with her, obviously!'.

Which just brought up a whole host of other questions, which Lanea tried to portray through extremely subtle hand and facial gestures while Astrid had her back turned. Rose glared at him and made a series of rapid gestures with his fingers that could have meant... Well, anything, and Lanea had to fight the urge to growl at him. He was going to get himself killed. He was going to get them /both/ killed.

"Lead the way, then, Captain," he said boredly, though his eyes were sharp as he watched her go. Rose frowned, and was looking for some kind of out, but Lanea was looking straight at him, and there was no way he'd let him actually leave. "You too, Allarian."

Rose rolled his eyes as subtley as he could, and Lanea in turn shrugged his shoulders half an inch. He was a good actor! That was how he would act with anybody else! Or, well, if it was anybody else he might have just drowned them on principal, but he wasn't about to do that now. Rose glared at him, because it would be /obvious/ to Astrid if he just let him walk like that, and they needed to keep up a front.

"Where are you going?" Rose asked Astrid in a hiss, walking sideways so he could keep an eye on both her and Lanea at the same time.

 

[jones573]

Gigi was a little concerned when her speech was immediately followed with a dismissal- Didn't they have questions they wanted to ask her? Things to discuss amongst themselves? And surely it was too soon for a meal break...

But she didn't let her concern show, and it quieted when Delilah gave her a subtle nod and seemed unbothered by Lucia's announcement.

"They probably just want to yell at each other for a bit, or at least talk harshly enough that it would be rude to do so in front of a 'guest'," the professor told Gigi quietly. "And they've don't really have a good idea of how often a human needs to eat, so," she said with a shrug. "Have a snack and let them work themselves into fits about who gets to ask you what and when, I'm sure you'll still get a chance to go into further details later."

Gigi really would have preferred to sit-in with the elders as they talked, even if she wasn't allowed to respond but- She supposed she didn't have much choice.

Especially as Alyx seemed intent on herding her out to the garden- That was promising, at least. Hopefully the Commander had something interesting to share.

"Thank you, Cyn, Commander Draya," she responded to their compliments.

"I'm gonna check on those experiments we set up last night," Delilah said, with a nod of her head in the other direction as she turned to leave.

"But you have someone to do that for you-" Gigi began to point out, but the older woman was already out of earshot. Nevermind that one of Lucia's nieces had serving as Delilah's assistant and had been instructed to record the progress of the experiments at every half hour. Delilah could have made a clone of herself to serve as an assistant, and she would still hover about to make sure things were being done correctly. "She hasn't changed at all," Gigi muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Gigi was stunned by the garden, looking up in amazement with a smile at the warmth of the sun on her face-

Well, shit. This asshole again.

Alyx didn't hesitate to protect them- Or maybe it was less about defending the group then getting her revenge on Maskim, but Gigi was grateful for the protection all the same. She reached up as if scared and startled, and palmed the two hair pins at the base of her braid, careful of their unusually sharp edges and points.

Unfortunately, subconsciously rooting for Alyx had little effect, and Grivven turned her attack against her.

"I'm afraid the admiral is going to have to learn to handle disappointment," she told Maskim evenly, eyeing up his fledgling. The helmet-like structure over his face obscured his features, but she hardly needed a facial expression to know she couldn't beat him in a fair fight.

He was tall, and big- Not as tall as Rose, but more broad-shouldered and muscular. His build was reminiscent of Fredrick's, except Freddy had always carried himself softly, careful not to use his size to intimidate. This man had no such concerns, and after a second's pause, he began to lumber towards Gigi.

"It's all right," she told Cyn, putting her hand out in front of him and squeezing his hand to indicate he should step back. She slipped one of the golden pins into his palm- Golden-colored anyways. They were actually composed... Of a different precious metal.

The fledgling caught her wrist and yanked it upwards, and Gigi winced at the slight pain.

"Why don't you go have your talk," she told Maskim, as the man grabbed her other wrist and held them together above her head. He wasn't being cruel, but he certainly wasn't being gentle. "I'm not going anywhere, this time."

She doubted any of the Elders were going to come to garden, no matter how long she stalled or how much she hoped, but maybe if they separated Maskim and his fledgling.... With the silver and Leo's help, they could probably subdue the fledgling, she thought. Then they could send Cyn to get Lucia, while Leo and Gigi trailed after Maskim and Alyx.

 

[Reynarda]

Maksim was honestly about to say that he really just wanted the princess and would gladly pretend like he hadn't found hide nor hair of Commander Draya or anyone else as long as they just handed over the princess, but then Leo mentioned his brother. Fear shot across Maksim's face before he could hide it.

Alyx took that opportunity to throw herself backwards. Her hands landed on the floor to steady herself, but Maksim, off-balanced, went flying to the floor with a a curse. Alyx kicked her legs up and around so that she landed on top of him. He knew what was happening, but she was much faster than he was. She put her full weight on his hips and hooked her boots on the inside of his thighs. Then she shoved the heel of her right palm onto his solar plexus to push him back to the floor and ignited her left hand with energy. Maksim caught her wrist before she could touch him with all that energy, but it was a near thing.

"Which brother?" he demanded, losing out on an opportunity to make a suggestive joke that he would regret later.

"Who else is here?" Alyx demanded. She tried to get her wrist free, but Maksim was far stronger than she was. The only thing keeping him pinned was the location of her boots.

Maksim groaned. One of the deeper scars on his back had split open and it felt like fire all over again. "Just Lanea and him," he said, nodding towards the fledgling. "We left the others when we realized you were in here. Which brother?"

"Sebastian." Alyx frowned. She definitely smelled blood, and she was pretty dang sure it was Maksim's. "Why are you here?"

"Oh thank the stars," Maksim sighed. He tried to slip his free hand towards a knife in his belt, but Alyx dug the toe of her boot into the inside of his thigh. He pulled his hand back from the knife. "I told you: to retrieve the princess." He slid his fingers around the inside of her right wrist instead. If he wasn't allowed to go for a weapon, he was going to distract her. "Why is Bast here? No--better question. Why are you here? You do know what this alliance could mean for us right? Last I checked you weren't stupid--just a bitch."

Alyx smirked. While she called him a prick all the time, he only ever called her a bitch when he was losing, so she had grown rather fond of the term. Except that Maksim was tracing the veins on the inside of her wrist with the tips of his fingers, and she couldn't shift away from his hand or he might be able to get up. And his eyes were wandering--oh she hated it when he did that. He knew how much she hated it. "Keeping an eye on people," she said, glaring at him and poking the inside of his thigh to get his eyes back on hers.

Maksim grinned the grin he usually reserved for Alyx as her annoyance played out on her face. Then he sobered slightly. "Look, I can cover for you and all the rest if you just give me the princess."

"No," Alyx said.

Maksim frowned. She was being stubborn, so he couldn't see her reasons. But there were usually just a few reasons she had. "Really? You're trading the safety of your captain and your fledgling for some princess?"

"No. You are going to take Lanea, your fledgling, and yourself right back out of here."

"Or what?" Maksim scoffed. "You'll tell Bast I'm here? No you won't."

Alyx arched her eyebrow. "To protect Astrid and my fledgling? It's just Sebastian--it's not like it's Dominik."

Maksim stared at her, trying to figure out if she would actually do that. She might.




Astrid shot Rose an apologetic smile. He was obviously very nervous about Commander Grigori's presence. Keeping her voice low, she said, "Sorry. I know him, he's pretty dangerous. We need to get him in a populated area where vampire hospitality can take over. And, honestly, I'd feel better trying to take him with you, me, Alyx, and Leo. But, Lucia may be able to send him packing."

She smiled and nodded at the younger vampires as she passed, and they all darted out of the way of her purposeful stride and the sight of her two companions. There were not as many of them as she expected, but she also had absolutely no idea where she was.

As a vampire who looked to be in her early teens tried to duck out of their way, Astrid stopped her. "Hey, little cousin."

The vampire was so shocked that a human was calling her "little cousin" that she stopped and looked up at her.

Astrid smiled warmly. "Can you tell me where my, uh, vampire is--Alyx? Of Clan Draya."

The teen nodded in the direction Astrid had been resolutely marching. "In the garden."

"I don't know where that is," Astrid admitted.

"Keep going, then turn left after the great hall. It's at the end of the corridor." The teen scurried off.

Astrid glanced back at Rose and Lanea. "Well, come on, Commander and... Barlowe," she added, realizing she didn't know if Rose even had a rank.

She was relieved when the air changed and she could smell growth. Astrid quickened her pace and stepped into the garden.

To find a large vampire had the princess and Leo was trying to help while keeping Cyn safe and Alyx had Maksim Grivvin pinned to the floor.

"What the hell?" Astrid demanded because this was not what she planned at all.

Alyx looked up. "Astrid!"

Maksim took advantage of Alyx's distraction and pulled her right arm out from under her and twisted his torso. Alyx did manage to get him in the groin for his troubles, so instead of pinning her like he had planned, he just ended up hugging her very tightly.

"Ugnn, you keep this up and we won't be having any kids," he groaned in her ear.

Energy sparked across his skin, and he swore. Alyx wriggled out of his grip and started to squirm out from under him, but Maksim grabbed her arm and dragged her back to him. "Get the princess!" he shouted at Lanea. "I've got--ow!"

"Astrid, the princess!" Alyx yelled. "Get your teeth away from my neck Maksim Grivvin or I swear--"

Astrid cursed. "Cyn! Go get Lucia!"

Then she turned and tackled Lanea.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn's heart was racing as Gigi put a hand on his shoulder and led him back. He could feel the weight of the hair clip in his hand, and he tried to breathe evenly so he could figure out a way to use it. The other vampire was so much bigger than he was, in height and weight, and there was absolutely no way he could handle him on his own. They didn't have any weapons, and Leo--

Leo had decided that waiting around for the other fledgling to do worse things to Georgiana was a bad idea, so he did the only thing he could think of and tackled him. Which was pretty stupid, admittedly. He was pretty wiry and small as it was, and the guy was built like a brick shithouse, and he was pretty sure that he would just bounce off of him harmlessly. But he had seen the glint of metal in Georgiana's hand, and he just needed to distract the guy long enough for her or Cyn to use it.

And then, as luck would have it, Astrid and Rose showed up, only they weren't alone. Leo had met commander Grigori before, and he didn't like him mostly on principle. It was one thing to enjoy a good fight, or a rush of adrenaline when you were on the battlefield, but it was another to enjoy /torturing/ people.

Still, it was a distraction, and Leo had an idea. Use the weight of a stronger opponent against you. He dug his feet into the ground, wrapping his arms around the fledgling's waist as he threw his weight backwards. Rose would get on him, because pro wrestling moves were /not/ made for life or death combat, but Leo was pretty panicking. Hopefully he'd let go of the princess before Leo... attempted to throw him. He may have used what little magic he had to give extra power to his muscles, and it was going to cost him, but he needed to get this guy away from Gigi.



Rose grit his teeth. He was definitely nervous, if not for the reason Astrid was thinking. Lanea's fists were clenched by his sides, and the longer they walked the more he looked like he was going to kill somebody. He curled his lip up at the young vampire who gave them directions, but he couldn't actually attack Astrid unless she attacked him first. She outranked him, and he had to play his cards carefully.

The second that they were in the garden, though, all bets were off. When Lanea saw Georgiana he rushed towards her, only for Astrid to crash into his stomach and send him flying back. She was smaller than him, but not by too much, and he growled at her like a feral animal as he tried to buck her off. He could feel his magic welling up on impulse to fill her lungs with water and drown her, but Alyx's voice stopped him. He knew she liked her captain, and he liked Alyx well enough. It would be pretty shitty to murder her friend right in front of her, so he changed his intention at the last second, the air above Astrid's head liquifying as it dumped overtop of her and covered up her mouth and nose like a bubble.

He wasn't planning on holding it, just disorienting her so he could put his palm on her chest and push her away, but then Rose was on him the second he tried to stand up. He grabbed hold of his shoulder, pulling himself around with the momentum and then bashed their heads together. Lanea cursed, his concentration on his magic dropping instantly as Rose shoved him down and straddled him, legs pinning his arms to his side as one hand went around his throat.

It might have been kind of nice in any other situation, but Lanea very, very quickly pushed /that/ thought away, because the last thing he wanted was for Maksim to pick up on it. At least the redness in his face could be explained away by exertion.

Cyn froze for a single second before he turned and took off down the hall, eyes wide as he skidded his way into the main hall once more. He was going so fast that he tripped, crashing into the table housing the deserts. Luckily the coffee wasn't included, and he was mostly just covered in cream and crumbs and jam as he tried to get his breathing under control and get across the message that he had been tasked with.

"They're-- Garden-- Military is here!" He gasped, and really, all this panic lately was going to give him heart failure.

 

[jones573]

Any hope of letting this play out the way Gigi was planning quickly went to shit, but that was hardly remarkable.

The fledgling stumbled back when Leo tackled him, but he didn't let go of Gigi's wrists. Instead he lowered them, so he could elbow Leo in the face. But it gave Gigi a moment to have both feet planted firmly on the ground and she adjusted her stance, before bringing her knee up between his legs as hard as she could. His own knees buckled at the pain and no longer holding her hands quite so high above her own head, Gigi was able to adjust her grip on the pin and drive it into the inside of his wrist with enough force to pierce his gloves and the skin beneath.

He shrieked in pain and let go of her with that hand, and his distraction meant he stopped trying to fight off Leo, who seemed to be hugging him from behind- She spun around to kick the doubled-over fledgling in the face, which resulted only in a crack along the lower half of his helmet and not quite the momentum she'd hoped would be enough to wrench herself out of his grip.

But she slipped a little further, and when Leo attempted to throw the larger man- not exactly a successful execution, but he at least moved him a few feet to the side- she twisted the opposite direction and was free. Thank you, Leo.

"Commanders, she's getting away!," the fledgling shouted roughly as he tried to scramble out from underneath Leo. His outstretched hand went for Gigi's feet as she danced out of reach, but didn't quite make it. She tripped as his fingers encircled her wrist, and she fell forward into the ground- The rocks, really. There were stars in her vision as she tried to right herself, and wetness at her temple that was trickling down her face.

She clamped one hand over the cut, as if that might deter any blood-starved vampires from scenting her wound, and tried to pull herself away. She glanced back at the tangle of Leo and the fledgling, and realized he'd grabbed at her with the wrist she'd stuck the pin in, and changed tactics.

Instead of trying to pull her foot away, she stomped down on his hand, hoping to push the sliver of silver deeper into his flesh. He made a noise of a scream before swallowing it down, and Gigi felt a surge of pity. This man was almost certainly an Allarian- But.

She squashed the pity, driving her heel down again.

 

[Reynarda]

Being snarled at by a large vampire was terrifying, Astrid realized, but she also didn't want him dragging her commander back to the admiral, so she held on. Until there was water around her face. She jerked back, calling up the air in the room to try to get the water off. But the magic dispersed, just getting her very wet, and she coughed reflexively.

Maksim clung tightly to Alyx, enduring all the energy she was zapping him with in the attempt to get him off. Their arguments had often come to actual physical fights when they were younger, so he had learned a few tricks for dealing with her tricks. The main one was that her magic wore her out real fast. She could pull energy from things, but energy was harder to draw on than something like air. And based on the strength of her attacks at the beginning of the fight, he was surprised she was still zapping him. It hurt, but pain was one thing he was good at dealing with.

Realization struck, and Maksim mentally cursed himself. Alyx had her scarf around her hips. Releasing one of her arms, he shifted so he could reach down and remove her scarf. She squirmed and hissed like a cat threatened with a bath, but he managed to remove it and throw it out of her reach. He was rewarded by Alyx going still and panting.

Panting himself, he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Are we going to talk about this like civilized vampires?"

But then his fledgling shouted for help, and Maksim cursed. One simple job. He had given him one simple job. Except that he did see Alyx's fledgling (what was that one's name, Leo?) clinging to him, so he supposed he couldn't be too annoyed since he, himself, couldn't get rid of the sire.

Maksim tried to scramble to his feet, but Alyx managed to flip over and wrapped her legs around his and grab one of his arms. At any other time he would have made a joke that would had gotten her to let go real fast, but his mind was firmly on the escaping princess. This was much harder than he thought it would be. He had not expected Alyx to be this determined to help the princess.

Judging Rose to be handling Grigori alright by himself, Astrid scrambled up to help Leo fight the fledgling who was much bigger than him. As Georgiana was the main target, it would be best to make sure she was safe, anyway. She called on the air in the room--of which there was plenty, thanks to the opening in the volcano--and shot it at the fledgling in a huge gust, hoping to encourage him to let go of Georgiana.

Lucia was talking quietly about the day's events so far with her husband when one of the princess's entourage came stumbling into the room and smacked into a table. He then started babbling about the military?

She put her hands out like she was calming a nervous animal. "What's wrong? Are you sick again?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea struggled to throw Rose off of him, though perhaps not as violently as he had with Astrid. His upper lip curled back again, but Rose just squeezed his legs tighter around his torso and his fingers tighter around his throat, making him cough. He normally would have used magic against him, if he were an ordinary opponent, but he /hated/ using magic against Rose. There was always a chance it could actually kill him, and while he played the part of a cockroach quite well most of the time, he was not nearly as hardy as an actual vampire.

Except Rose was glaring at him, his expression pinched.

"Sorry about this," he said, his voice as soft and quiet as possible so that nobody else would hear him. He released Lanea's throat, pulling his knife out of his belt and sinking it into the commander's side. Lanea did not scream, because he had trained that response out of himself years ago, but he did snap his teeth together and groan loudly. It was a non-lethal wound, he knew that, and it would lend accuracy to their fight. But god, it hurt, and also there was no way he would, in a normal situation, let up after that.

Rose's eyes widened as water filled his lungs, and he coughed and choked. It gave Lanea the opportunity to finally kick him off, and he groped at the knife still stuck on his side. That was a doozy, and he growled in pain as he pulled it out and tossed it aside. He'd let up on his magic the second that Rose was free, and it took all his energy not to rush over and ask him if he was ok as he coughed up the fluid that had been drowning him. It was a terrible, terrible sensation to feel, and Lanea felt bad for him. But also there were other people around, and he was supposed to be the big bad torturer, so he kicked him in the ribs the second that he was up.

He did at least try to kick him gently, but he couldn't pull back too much or people would notice. Maksim seemed to have his unruly fiancee under control, and Rose was at least breathing again, so he headed over to Georgiana. He grabbed her by the wrist, tugging her up and wrapping one arm around her to pin her in place. His mouth was very near to her neck, and it was an obvious threat as much as it was an opportunity to talk to her.

"I'm on your side," he said quietly into her ear, his lips barely moving. He did not want to give up his position this easily, normally, but otherwise this was going to get very bad, and with Cyn already gone to get the Salazar clan, they didn't have much time. "I'm gonna get you out later, but you gotta trust me."

He didn't dare say anymore than that. He was already making a very risky move here, and he grabbed her by the hair, wrenching her head back to further expose her neck.

"Ok, captain, commander, stand down or I'm gonna kill her. The admiral'd be fine as long as we bring back her corpse," he bluffed, and Rose did not at all look impressed with him. He struggled to get to his feet, but Lanea brought his fangs closer to Georgiana's neck the second he moved, and he froze.

Leo, who had been exhausted by his use of magic, tried to pin the fledgling down as Astrid blasted him. He wasn't as completely drained as he had been on the nighthawk, but he was still pretty tired, so he didn't know how effective he'd be against somebody this big. But then Lanea had Georgiana by the throat, and he ceased his struggling.

Lanea glanced back down the hallway leading to the bowels of the volcano, turning back to Maksim.

"We gotta get out of here before the little one gets back. We got the girl, you gonna take Draya back with us?"



Cyn felt horrible and small and stupid as he tried to get his breathing under control. He'd only ever shown the worst sides of him to these people, and he could tell immediately that he was failing to communicate the issue properly, or they would be running to help everyone already.

"The Eldergaardian military is trying to kidnap Princess Georgiana in the garden," Cyn managed finally. "Commander Maksim is here, and somebody I don't know, my brother and com- Alyx Draya are holding them off, but we need help."