It was a bad choice to go at night. Aria never did well with being left in the darkness. The candles would go out soon and there were not many lightning fairies around to light the way for her. She was alone on a dark street in a very risky part of the Towne Center. Her cheeks flushed as she pulled her leather jacket closer to her body. It shouldn’t be this cold during the time of year, but then again…it was probably her nerves.
She knew better than to go alone.
Softy she nibbled at her cherry colored lower lip while her blue eyes scanned the outside of the structure. It looked like some kind of religious building or perhaps an organization affiliated with the elves? Still the location seemed desolate like many of the buildings on the street. She said nothing as she slowly walked up the steps with a delicate click of her heels. Aria raised a manicured hand to the door handle. ”You can do this.” It was part of her job.
Asking Ookami about it would’ve been smarter.
She found the paperwork in a stack of files submitted for the Council Member’s review. She hadn’t thought anything of it as she opened the yellow envelope and read the contents. It was a brief and cryptic report, but one that she should’ve sought guidance on…not decide to go out and investigate herself. Though if it was something that could endanger the Council…she would rather she act on the topic than her superiors. In many ways she was far more expendable than they were.
Her nerves were a weakness.
Hesitation gripped her as she lingered with her hand on the door. Slowly she pulled it open and stepped inside the building carefully and quietly shutting the opening behind her. At first glance it just seemed like a dusty old church. It was dark and certainly creepy, but not all bad. Though as she stepped further into the space, the smell of blood hit her like a ton of bricks. First vampire then elf wafted through her nostrils as she moved through the space. She walked slowly towards one of the areas that lay further in the space. She and before her lay the form of a man…or rather what was once a man.
Putrid.
Aria clawed at her stomach as the urge to puke rushed over her. The smell of blood was horrendous, but seeing was a whole other challenge. She struggled to breath as she bent over and retched out the remains of her dinner. Her body was shaking as she looked up…only to be met with the face of another man…a vampire deceased by the stairs. She winced before losing the remains of her stomach contents.
Horrible. She would have to report it.
She stood there coughing and shaking for a few moments as she tried to gather herself. This was absolutely wrong, but her investigation was only beginning…she needed to move forward. Slowly she made her way over to the stairs. Like a frightened child she used her hand to cover her eyes as she walked past the remains of the vampire’s body. If she didn’t look at it she wouldn’t get sick, but that didn’t mean she was any better. Her stomach continued to churn and flip within her abdomen as she made her way up to second floor.
Without a word leaving her lips Aria moved through the space toward her desired destination. The arrangement of the area was odd. Like some kind of material gathering location. What could they possibly be seeking out in an old church? Well, whatever the case- she stopped outside of the room marked 24B. Her eyes widened at the discovery she made there. Children sleeping and the smell of lingering blood and chemicals?
She felt the tears before she realized she was crying. Slowly she brought a hand to her mouth and continued to stair into the space. The sleeping forms of the children mixed with the bodies of the elf and vampire. This place…there was not way the Council would do something like this right? Surely Ookami wouldn’t agree! She felt her pulse pounding in her ears as she tried to keep from puking again.
Trying to follow along with the instruction, she gave many exaggerated nods to him as he explained. "Got it."
She definitely did not get it. She picked up the paper nonetheless. Maybe she'd figure it out anyways.
That noise behind her... was it tears? She didn't even have time to examine it as she noticed the demon's hand reach for another knife. Letting out a blood curling scream, Yume ducked quickly. Perhaps by chance, perhaps by calculation, the knife grazed her hand with a deep cut, slightly altering its course. Tears began to well in her face as she whined in pain, Another confused scream as she held her head tightly with both of her hands.
He'd launched the knife with blistering speed. It was, after all, a motion he'd practiced for ages, practiced to perfection. An abundance of physical strength and reckless abandon helped, too. From the second he'd started drawing the map, someone else's presence had intruded on his peace of mind. At first, he wondered if the elf had flitted out of and then back into consciousness, but that wasn't happening anytime soon. As the other intruder had approached the stairs, with more weight to their step than the other kid would have, the heavily masked yet still present scent of a vampire arose. Right hand, down to left hip, thumb and middle finger slipped onto the grip, pointer finger on the back of the blade. Arm whipped forward from a coiled position, knife sliding forward out from a palm-up, angled hand, its path guided by his placed pointer finger. And maybe a little dark power, or more than a little, what did it matter? At this range, no spin was needed on the throw and there was no chance for severe mess either, not where he'd aimed for at least. But the kid just had to... Did she not notice it was another vampire?
"Cazzo Madre di Dea! Kid, what are you doing! Puttanata!" he yelled amidst her screaming. Without time to register where on the vampire the knife had actually ended up landing, Laimbeer pulled a bandage roll from inside his stained jacket. They were seldom used, only needed when a visit ran past sunrise, which was very rare. Moving as if he flashed forward from where he was standing to where the kid was on the ground, the demon knelt down and threw some sloppy bandaging together over the wound. Laimbeer turned his head up towards the vampire intruder and placed his hand on another knife. He hesitated, not of his own volition but from a frigid pull he felt from his own shadow. Begrudgingly accepting the suggestion, he stayed his hand for a moment, expecting some kind of sound from this woman other than the retching he'd picked up on from downstairs. She'd been struck in the shoulder, nowhere near the major arteries, lucky her, supposed Laimbeer. His free hand felt for the cleaver contained in his jacket. Through the dark glass of his mask, the shell of which he improvised from canvas riding helmets and touched up with a coat of turquoise paint, his eye not obscured by hair sparked with an emerald sheen.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 22, 2020 8:32:19 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
Aria was still as she continued to look into the room. The children on the bed seemed to be sleeping peacefully, so at least they weren’t suffering a great deal while unconscious right? She couldn’t understand why a place such as this would exist. What did the people running it hope to- No she needed to stop thinking naively. There were many reasons that some would use children for a blood source. Vampires need it.
The sound of another female voice hit her ear. As she turned her head a weapon impaled her shoulder. She let out a started cry. Her hand move to her left shoulder instantly as she whipped her body to face the attacker. A soft growl rolled off her tongue as she gave a good look at the duo. The helmeted figure was bandaging the girl’s finger?
The vampire hesitated to approach them. If they were witnesses to the situation here then perhaps they would have answers. Though she snapped out at the thought of a peaceful approach when she took notice of another weapon in the stranger’s grasp. His one visible emerald eye clashing with her sapphire as her anger flared. She ripped the knife from her flesh and launched it back at him. Her aim being for the hand that was fiddling with the other knife rather than a vital point. ”Step away from the child!
He could have sooner loosed an immense yawn. Slipping the cleaver out from under his jacket, Laimbeer used it to swat down to the ground the knife she'd sent tumbling back towards him. He swept it up back into his pocket with a single fluid motion. "Che culo! Idiot, if you left the knife in, you wouldn't bleed as much!" he shouted. Why was he shouting? For her benefit, no less. She was another vampire, wasn't she?
In any case, his cleaver would be far more difficult for the kid to interfere with. He pat the kid on the head and lunged forward at the vampire from where he'd been kneeling. Changing direction, Laimbeer shifted his weight from his forwardmost foot to his rearward one, letting him stop on a dime to coil up for a swift swing as opposed to continuing to charge in a single, predictable direction. Leaving what seemed like afterimages, Laimbeer began to release his knife arm forward, staring the vampire in the eyes all the while. The cleaver's arc had just become parallel to the vampire's neck, its intended destination, before it vanished altogether.
Of course, the knife did not truly vanish. It just dropped out of sight, as did Laimbeer. For the sharp-eyed, the demon's shadow had opened and swallowed him, and his knives, up.
Sparks flew from the stone wall as the cleaver cut into it. Laimbeer panted, looking at his changed surroundings. His world had gone dark, for less than a second, and he felt chills all about himself. He wouldn't realise how he'd been transported away until much later. "Manache!" he spat. After assessing his surroundings, the demon leaned against the stone wall, a common feature of Middle Pavane tenements. Even if he wanted to backtrack to Snowbridge Hall, there'd be no guarantee even he could reach there in time. Laimbeer put away his tools and began trudging towards any place he could fall asleep under for the day. At least the sun wasn't up. And maybe the kid would be able to follow instructions after all, provided the vamp didn't bleed her out first.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 22, 2020 23:01:48 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
Aria watched as her feeble attack was swatted to the ground like a toy. This was fine, a small warning before she intended to move. Though within moments they were clashing. His blade at her neck and her hand hovering within the cloth of his jacket ready to dig her claws into his flesh. She would gut him before he ever stood a chance.
Though a supernatural force stepped in and he was gone. Her neck had nothing more than a mere scratch and the wound on her shoulder was rapidly closing. It ached but closed quickly none the less. She glanced around the space before looking at the young girl with a bandage on her finger. Slowly she approached her with a gentle smile before kneeling to her height. ”You’re safe. There’s no need to be scared. My name is Aria. What is yours?”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of candy. She held it out to the girl. ”Would you like some?” She pulled out another piece and unwrapped it before placing the chocolate on her tongue. Though she quickly felt herself growing pale as she realized she was kneeling next to two other vampire corpses. Four dead in total. She would contact the Council once she gathered a bit more information on the topic.
Heavy breathing, heavy breathing...Yume had learned this technique to decrease stress in her dreams once. Her eyes shook as she stared at the ground, recalling the demon's final message to her before he left. Though, it wouldn't matter at this point, she thought, not with Yukai -- no, he wasn't Yukai anymore. She could smell it. He was dead. Again.
She was shocked by the warm touch of a lady above her. She had all but forgotten she wasn't alone. Without blinking, her wide eyes fixated on Aria's face, desperately searching for a hope within.
"D-don't," she stuttered as she stared at the chocolate below her. As much as she tried, she could not calm herself. The situation was...bad. This was all very bad. Bad bad bad bad.
"Yume," she barely muttered her name between breaths working on focusing on the girl in front of her. "C-cute girls shouldn't be here. Hide."
She noticed the fear in the young child. It was something she expected, but due to the current circumstances…Aria wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. The child was a witness to the crimes, but she was also clearly innocent. What could be done?
The vampire had to think carefully. Though her mention of her name and the hesitancy in her warning made her hesitate more. Was Yume scared for her? She nodded her head. It would be safe….she was hopeful for that. ”It’s okay. I won’t let anything else happen to you Yume. Are there…any other children here?”
As her anxiety began to build, she dug her nails into the roots of her hair. "Many! Many..." she tried to speak. "Kiddos here. Um, um..bro here too, but, bro is dead now maybe." Tears filled her eyes as there was the sound of a thump from behind her.
Yukai had made his way up the staris. His previously stitched eyepatch was nearly ripped entirely off his face leaving open wounds all around his eye. Bloodstains on his hands and on his jacket, everywhere. Although his blue eye had closed, a shining red eye from beneath his eyepatch was wide open darting from corner to corner of the room.
At the sight of her brother, Yume ran towards him quickly. "Yukai!" she screamed and rushed to hold him in her arms. She turned towards Aria, tears and snot covering her whole chubby face. "Erica, please help! Yume not even care if you curse for eternity. Please...Can you?"
Aria watched as the young girl embraced the boy who came up the stairs. At first she was ready to strike in order to protect her....Yume. Though as she watched the panic in the child's face she did quickly come to understand the situation of the halfling children. They were in danger...and the boy was covered in blood. His eye patch was ripped away from the flesh...and his eye gleaming. She wasn't sure what would happen...but she would help.[break][break]
"Yukai....Yume....I will take care of it." She approached hesitantly and held out her hand to the boy. Slowly step by step until she was a short distance from him and his twin. "Come with me...the bad elves won't hurt you anymore...I'll keep you safe..." She knew this was a risky choice, but her expression was soft as she looked at the two halfling children. She would protect them...who else would if she didn't?[break][break]
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
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4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
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