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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 10, 2008 16:29:42 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]The vampire kingdoms have slowly dominated Earth. There are a few rebels against the vampires, including humans, vampires, lycans etc. Sadly, most of those rebels are shot down when they attack. Few have lived to tell the tale, and have suffered serious injuries. A destroyed town that not even the vampire nobles, who rule, dare send their men is where the rebels stay.[/glow]
Arsen walked quietly through the crumbling ruins of the city. It had been given the name of Guardian. The people here were probably the last who remembered what had passed nearly 200 years ago. These were the people who raised the next generations in silence, trying to keep themselves alive from the shadows.
Arsen came to the city edge. There it was. The vampire capital.
"Soon," He murmured "Soon."
He turned away from the glowing capital and back toward the ruins. He felt responsible for the change of hands, the change of cards.
He was once one of the vampire generals, leaving most weary of him, of his actions. Arsen didn't blame them. He couldn't.
Now, he led the rebels, trying to balance out the power, forcing the vampires back into the shadows where they belonged. Where they should've stayed.
He snarled and headed back through the ruins, ignoring the elder humans who shied away from him as well as the younger ones who flocked him. To the young, he was a hero. To the old... well, they hadn't forgotten.
And he had to bear the guilt.
Though, there were a few humans that were his friends. And a girl he was particularly fond of. She trusted him, She followed him.
And she happened to have to be watching the orphan children while Arsen did his rounds of checking the city, Guardian.
He had to give a small smile. As soon as his chore was done, he could help her with the orphans.
(NOTE: Even though I'm using Arsen, this does not coincide with my other roleplays including Arsen. Meaning, the other Arsen roleplays will not be mentioned here. Or, it can take place after Blood Betreyl, which means that Calling may have to join. ><)
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 11, 2008 23:19:02 GMT -5
((Sorry it took so long, I wrote something up and then tried to post, but my school's internet turns off at like 6 and it deleted my post and blocked the site )) The vampiric, red eyes slowly faded back to a more normal greeny-gold color as their owner evened out her breathing pattern, matching it to the sounds of the many heartbeats she could hear in the room behind her. Besides the heartbeats, the only sounds she could hear were the children's ragged breathing and an occaisonal nervous movement that made the rasping sound of cloth against stone; the footsteps that had set her and the others on alert had passed, meaning that so had the danger. The vampiress forced her features to even out, knowing that she had to make her face welcoming and reassuring, even if, inside, she felt like her heart was breaking for these children she was protecting. Slowly, her body relaxed, each individual muslce coming uncoiled and she subtly shifted her weight back onto her heels instead of on the balls of her feet, as if for attack. This entire process took a few seconds, but even those few seconds made the girl feel guilty. They were a few more seconds that these children- these orphans- had to live in fear. A fear that already compromised most of their daily lives; the fear that would make up the rest of their lives if Arsen and the refugees here in Guardian did not triumph over the vampiric city. Swiftly, the vampire turned, not too fast to frighten the orphans with her superhuman speed, but enough to relieve them of their worries and doubts; through this one action, she conveyed all of her protectiveness for them. "Don't worry," a warm, musical voice reassured them as it danced from her mouth. "Nothing will harm you here. You are safe, I swear." The children around her immediately relaxed, releasing a sigh of relief and passing the word along to the others that remained hidden in the shadows of the ruined building. The vampire watched the relief spread like quicksilver; she saw the trust and reassurance of safety flash in each child's eyes, though wariness flashed there just as often. The vampiress understood the wariness, though. Despite the trust that bound the orphans to Arsen and herself since they were the only ones that the children could trust, the ones that were protecting them, the children would always be wary of vampires, as well they should be. The orphans would always feel that vampires were the enemy, simply because of the world they had been born into and of whom ahd made them orphans. And still, in her ears, echoed the sound of her own heart breaking. Is this what he would have grown up like if he had lived? Living in fear everyday? Unable to rest because he is afraid of what might come after him when he closes his eyes?Jaenelle-who-had-once-been-van Arryn gently smiled at the orphans around her, encouraging them to catch a few hours of sleep. The once-Hunter began gliding gracefully through the makeshift beds of the refugee children, touching their faces gently with her fingers or kissing their temples to give them sweet dreams- offering them the rest they so desperately needed but could not find on their own. As she walked among the children, she hummed a lullaby, one she had learned to comfort a very special child. A lullaby that was woven with several vampiric charms. Charms that the man who had placed her in charge of the children had taught her. As Jaenelle thought of Arsen, a smile wormed its way onto her lips. The small smile made the children smile back at her sleepily as the charms interwoven into the songs started to do their work and that made Jaenelle smile all the more brilliantly. None of the orphans recognized the bitter edge to that smile. Jaenelle wondered at herself- still able to smile at merely the thought of Arsen after all these years, after everything they'd been through. Oh, the smile was different than it had been at first when everything had been so simple, but seemed so difficult. Now, though it still held the same guileless love that it had possessed in the beginning, the smile was tinged with sadness, regret, and the suppressed emotions that even Jae didn't want brought to light. The smile had changed....seven years ago...after that night. As Jae walked among the children, she saw the same boy's face reflected at her over and over; she saw him in every child suffering from a vampire's harsh bitewounds, every child who had caught some incurable disease- the normal children, the sick chldren, the deranged ones and the depressed ones. But, she especially saw him in the dying ones- the orphans that knew they were going to die, the ones that she wanted to save so badly and could not, and the ones that had simply given up on life. Jaenelle saw that boy in every child she looked at, every face reflected him back at her, even as the vampire tried to tamp down on the memories and thrust them into the back of her mind. That night...the night seven years ago when she had left the city with Arsen- forever. The night that made her wish that sometimes she could hate her love, even as she realized that that hate would tear her in half. The night that had made her wish she was still mortal, if only to have tears to cry. That was the memory that Jae strove to forget- strove to make disappear into the darkest pits of hell. Expertly, she quashed the emotions and the myriad other memories that welled up, instead focusing on waiting for Arsen to get back, waiting for the time of night when it was quiet and still and neither of them had to worry about anyone finding Guardian and could go out and hunt. Jaenelle reached the back of the collapsing building and began to flit back to the doorway, laying a comforting hand there, humming a little louder and more soothingly here, but refusing to look at anyone's face. Finally, her eyes came up and met the blackout fabric that served as the doorway for the place that had come to be called the Child's Sanctuary; Jae let her eyes slip back into the vampiric red that she never let any of the orphans see, afraid that it would stir up bad memories, and used her now sharpened eyes to see out past the blackout cloth and onto the nearly abandoned section of Guardian that the Sanctuary was located. The Sanctuary's location was a secret- as much to protect the refugees from the orphans (who were unstable in many ways) as to protect the orphans from the refugees (who might hurt the children or be a bad influence on them). The once-Hunter leaned against the threshold of the door, looking out on the abandoned city as a single drop of blood slid down her cheek. If there really is a God, please....why are you punishing us like this?
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 11, 2008 23:36:18 GMT -5
(DAmn, that sucks. ><)
Arsen made his way quietly through the city, checking the emptied crumbled buildings and making sure that those homes that were occupied were closed securely.
"Remus," he called, entering one of the main buildings. The main center.
"Sir?" The boy looked up from a map infront of him.
"I'm taking my leave for the night. You should too."
"Yes sir. Hows Jaenelle been?"
"Better since she's been with the orphans," Arsen sighed, leaning against the table.
"And you?"
"Who can say," He murmured, "I'll never forget. Its they're fault."
"The blood bank here is getting low."
"The count?"
"200 left. ONly enough for a few more weeks with the other men we've got."
"Tell them they only get one each now, not two. We don't have many donors left."
"Yes sir. Go to her. You need to be with her. I'm going to finish up this map and head home myself," Remus said, turning to the papers.
"Good man. See you in the morning," Arsen sighed and headed back out the door, "I fear that our days here are numbered."
"I too. Now go or I'll never finish."
Arsen smiled and left through the door, checking the houses on his way to the Sanctuary. He smiled a bit, seeing Jaenelle in the doorway.
"If they're all asleep, I believe you can take your leave," He said softly, brushing some of his hair out of his face. It was time to get it trimmed again, "You need to sleep."
He brushed the blood off her face, "Come, my love. The city is quiet. I think Shadow is taking a run through the city."
He grabbed her hand gently and smiled, kissing her neck, "I missed you."
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 11, 2008 23:57:28 GMT -5
Jaenelle smiled softly at Arsen if not still a little brokenly, reaching out and tucking the offending strand of hair behind his ear delicately. It held better when she did it; it always had. At the same time, she grasped the hand that was near her face tightly, running her fingers over the calluses and scars lovingly, knowing exactly where each one was and knowing what each came form.
"It is, but how long will it remain that way?" she murmured back softly, pushing off of the doorway, still holding on to his hand, but letting their intertwined fingers drop to her sides. "There is no time for sleep," Jae mumbled impatiently, running her free hand through her hair agitatedly before turning back to Arsen, something akin to worry in her eyes. "I do not think we should stray far tonight, love. Someone was sniffing around here earlier and frightened the children..." And me, I was scared too...
Jae did not need to add the unspoken part about herself. She knew that Arsen would hear it; he had always been intuitive like that. The once-Hunter had been scared too. Not for herself- never for herself after that night seven years ago- but for the Child's Sanctuary. At least one place in Guardian had to remain pure and the Sanctuary had to be that place; it just had to be. If it wasn't, Jae doubted tha tany of the children under her care at the moment would ever be able to trust again. And she, herself, was beginning to trust again as well.
Seven years may be long in human years, but it was merely the blink of an eye to a vampire, especially a young one as Jaenelle was; it was amazing that she was still not wildly trying to attack anything that moved after that night. In part, it was because her creator had such close contact with her- Arsen had kept her from sliding into madness, especially after having been changed and then suffering such a massive loss in the way of that child; Arsen had also kept her alive through the change, something that technically should not have been possible since Jaenelle had been a fullblooded Hunter in a past life. What she and Arsen had done together was a blood betrayal and while her brother, Var, had died cursing her, Jae had never doubted her choice until she lost the life that she and Arsen had so carefully built.
For now, though, all she truly wanted to do was to forget and hunt. To give herself over to the side of her that was allowed to be wild and to express emotions that edged beyond simple protection and love- the side that expressed her zeal for life and her passion for her love. Jaenelle shook her head and brought herself out of all the clutter of thoughts that had clouded her brain; she almost scowled at the moment of weakness that she had expressed and immediately pressed foward, not wanting Arsen to know how much she relied on hi, even now.
"Ignore that last comment, Arsen," Jae mumbled nervously, tugging on his hand. "Let us have good hunting while the night is young and still."
((It was very sucky and made me mad grrrrrrr))
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 12, 2008 0:41:52 GMT -5
"Hes bothering you, isn't he?" Arsen murmured, "You're agitated."
He brought their hands to his mouth, kissing her's, "I'm sure it was one of the lycan. They have to watch the Sanctuary too."
None of the Nobles or their men were sent to Gaurdian. Ever. It had been sheer luck that Arsen and Jae came across it that night.
He shut his eyes against the memory. He could still recall what had happened perfectly.
Arsen had just returned to the capital with his men-they'd concured another city. Jaenelle set down the small boy when she saw Arsen. He invited the boy with opened arms. His son...
Then the shooting started. The boy had been gunned down, halfway from either parent. Arsen sat, shocked, before springing on his men. They'd killed him... They'd killed him...
Arsen shook the memory away, "Remus is finishing the maps. Hopefully the next group we send will come home in one peice. The last men we sent had chips in them... We had to deactivate those chips and blank their memories when they were captured....
"Daemonar's getting smarter... He's learned how to catch them.
"And from the cold I'd say its going to snow this winter.... The first time in 200 years...." Arsen sighed, running a hand through his hair.
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 12, 2008 17:06:01 GMT -5
Jaenelle watched the emotions and memories flit through her love's eyes and wanted to growl at herself for her own stupidity. Of course she wasn't the only one hurting. Of course her mate would be hurting at the same time; he was her other half and that meant they shared emotions and pains and hurts like anyone else. The once-Hunter pulled Arsen into a hug, weaving her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest as she offered the only sort of comfort to his last statement that she could. Jae's eyes hollowed out and deadened as she watched the memory once again, forcing herself to relive it and rid herself of it for the moment.
Her eyes, which had been bloodred a moment ago but were now the more familiar golden-green, lit up and she smiled that pure, guileless smile which made her face light up for the last time when she saw Arsen come into the courtyard of the castle. Their four-year-old son, Larial, who had been named in the elvish way and whose name meant Night Hunter, squirmed impatiently in her arms, wanting to run to his father. Jaenelle held him for a moment longer, not out of fear, just in joy to hear that small heart beating fiercely, unstopped by time until he turned eighteen, the age when all natural-born vampires froze; she held her son because she could see her mate returning to her and in a few moments they would be reunited as a family. The thought made her breathing quicken and she smiled happily still as Larial gave one last great squirm and almost dislodged hismelf from her arms.
"All right, all right," Jaenelle had murmured to her child, smiling down at her son for a moment longer, not fearing the guards that were entering the courtyard at Arsen's back. They were trusted friends, used to hers and Larial's presence and Arsen did not mind if he showed how much he loved his family in front of them. "Remember to tell your papa that you love him, all right?"
"Yes Mama!" Larial had exclaimed excitedly, still squirming. "And you love him too, right?"
"Yes, and I love you too, Larial," Jae had said, placing her small son on the ground and kissing his black hair, squeezing him once more before letting him begin to run across the courtyard to his father. She had watched her son's steps with a fierce kind of pride burning in her, watched as Arsen's arms opened up to receive their son. Larial was strong and healthy and he would one day be the First's heir- his father's heir. That also tugged a smile from her lips and she continued to watch until she heard the gunfire and watched as Larial's body jerked in midstep as over twenty bullets entered his body. On her face, the smile twisted into a scream of horror mixed with a snarl.
"NO!" the once-Hunter had snarled out, racing forward and catching her son's body before it hit the ground, but he was already gone.
Jaenelle had watched as the culmination of all her and Arsen's hopes and dreams had dropped to the ground, begun and ended with their son. That one moment hung suspended in the air, but it was shattered when the screams from Arsen's men began. Jaenelle had just sat on the ground, cradling her son's body to her chest and shuddered harshly, unable to cry the tears that she so desperately wanted to, as all around her Arsen piled the bodies of his men, killing them one after another in his rage.
After remembering though, she shook her head and returned herself to her rightful mind, barring the pain and grief that always accompanied the memory, promising it an outlet when she went hunting.
"They will," Jaenelle murmured soothingly into Arsen's chest after a moment as she felt the memory's grip subside. "I know they will because you will have told them what to do and you are right. Trust in yourself more."
That was an often repeated piece of advice. Arsen, sometimes, did not like trusting himself or his decisions Jaenelle had found, but Jae would always help him be strong and stand tall- always.
"And Daemonar's always been smart...he's just never applied himself in a way that would really show it off. After having rebuilt Crimson Moon, brought together the remaining Nobles, and creating a vampiric army....I think he at least deserves the title of smart. Even if, at times, he acts supremely stupid," Jaenelle growled out, thinking of the orders that he had given Arsen's men that had killed their son; he had believed that the boy made them weaker and they needed to get rid of the distraction. After another stolen moment to quell her anger, Jae slowly replied to Arsen's other comment, "Snow will be nice...."
She had never seen snow, growing up in a world that had been completely taken over by the Hunters and destroyed ecologically; this snowfall would be the first she would ever see. Would have been Larial's first- that thought disquieted her and she pushed it away, instead thinking of the other children.
Quickly, the once-Hunter added her own report, turning her face up to look into Arsen's eyes and catching the hand that was running through his hair in her own, "The children will sleep for several more hours. They were frightened and scared after the intrusion earlier, but I wove a few of the charms into the song. They won't wake until we return."
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 12, 2008 18:10:00 GMT -5
"All right," Arsen said softly, "Come. We must go out in the woods to hunt. The supply packs of blood we have are running low."
He smiled at her, "Lets go, my love. I'm hungry."
He led her through town quetly, not speaking and keeping his head down, locking himself within memories. No matter how hard he tried, deaths kept flashing through his mind.
This was one of the nights that he would spend in Shadow's company, leaving Jaenelle to sleep. But tonight...
Arsen planned on staying with her. He needed her company as much as she needed his. It seemed that all they had were each other now.
They didn't need anyone else yet.
If jaenelle wanted, they'd try to have another child. He didn't want to bring it up yet. Seven years wasn't long enough.
'Hell,' He thought, 'A hundred years wouldn't even be long enough.'
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 12, 2008 22:40:11 GMT -5
Jae watched Arsen's back as he tugged her along after him. The memories were weighing down on his shoulders and she could see it in the way her lover walked and moved as if he was in pain. Utilizing her vampiric talents, Jaenelle shielded her face from view and dimmed her vampiric aura farther that it usually was in case anyone looked directly at her, even if there were only lycans and other rebel vamps running around at this time of night. No one knew she existed; everyone knew that Arsen had a person who he trusted more than anyone else, but they didn't know who it was, what gender they were, or even where they lived. For all they knew, the person could be living in the vampire's city and Jae wanted to keep it that way. This way she could protect the Child's Sanctuary, still be a central part of the rebellion, grieve in solitude without hurting another being because the once-Hunter knew that she would hurt another adult, yet stay close to Arsen.
They passed a lycan who had a blanket pulled around his shoulders tightly and who sniffed at her curiously as they passed. Jae drew closer to Arsen instinctively, hiding her face against her lover's back, extending the shielding around her face to mask her scent as well.
Don't ask, she thought desperately, refusing to look to either side as they passed by the lycan. Don't ask.
Finally, they were on the outskirts of Guardian, the opposite side from the one that faced Daemonar's city and Jae dropped the shielding, extending her vampiric aura around herself once more and smiling slightly as she did so. It felt good not to have to keep herself with in defined limits so that she wouldn't scare the children or attract attention from one of the rebels. This was the first time in months that she and Arsen had gone outside of the city together since it had been months since they really needed to go hunting; Jae had only anticipated the hunt this night because she knew they were running low on blood packs and would most likely need to conserve them if they were besieged. The vampiress knew quite well that usually, Arsen would have gone with Shadow on nights like these, letting her sleep since she got so little of that precious commodity nowadays. She couldn't really blame him though except to recommend that he get more sleep himself and sometimes come back to her. Oh, Jae loved working with the children and taking care of them, Shadow came around every once and a while when he wasn't busy and visited her, but...Arsen....she hadn't really gotten to talk to him by herself in a very long time. It was going on about three months now that they hadn't been alone or slept in the same place; in truth, this reality tired her. Jae never got to comfor Arsen except with a brief touch or glance and he never got to hold her either and it was damaging both their sanities; now, whenever they were together, the main thing on their minds was Larial because it was the only time they had to really grieve, seeing as they were so involved in the war effort. It was taxing on their relationship and, at night, Jae felt oddly alone even in a room full of children. Sometimes, Jae even wondered what would happen if they had another child, but she didn't want to bring a baby into this world- not this wartorn wasteland- and she would always dismiss the idea quicky, afraid to voice it to Arsen.
The vampiress shook these thoughts away from her consciousness and instead let go of her lover's hand, flinging her arms out wide and letting her aura rage wildly around her. It felt so good to let it out after these long months of stuffing it into a box so that no one would find them or hurt them. Even if she was a relatively weak vampire, since her Hunter blood had reacted badly with the vampiric venom, her aura was still a beacon, especially to the Vampire Prince Daemonar since he had spent so much time with Jaenelle, Arsen, and Shadow before and after the Hunter had been turned. These thoughts too fell from her mind though as the night welcomed her and the nearby forest, which still stood after all these years and guarded Guardian, beckoned. Jaenelle turned, some of the innocence returning to her smile, mixed with a wildness that had never been there before.
"Come, my love, the night is young and the hunt is calling..."
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 12, 2008 23:00:15 GMT -5
Arsen looked up at her and gave a small smile, "Yes..."
He paused and looked down for a moment, though, and closed his eyes, before sighing quietly. He smiled and looked back up at her.
"Come then, love. With a night like tonight, there are bound to be deer out."
he took a few experimental steps before grabbing Jaenelle's hand, "Lets hunt together tonight. I've missed you very much."
He pulled her into the woods slowly before running fast enough to keep up with her, holding her hand tightly.
He felt happy again. He gave a small smile and closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the forest air.
"I don't know what could make this better," He said to her, "I'm with you, the love of my life, the moon is full, there are no clouds for once. It nice."
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 12, 2008 23:39:06 GMT -5
"Nothing could make it better,” Jae agreed quietly, lying to herself all the while. "And it's going to snow for the first time in centuries."
Soon, though, the words stopped flowing from her lips as her senses sharpened and she lost the ability to speak in human words as the alien consciousness crept across her own and took her over, wanting her to attack anything that had blood pumping through its veins and that was alive. The thirst that overtook her was overpowering and demanded to be quieted; she had kept it under control up until now, but with Arsen next to her and his hunger as great as her own- it drove her wild. The huntress started picking up her pace and raced as quickly as she could through the woods, somewhere along the way losing her grip on Arsen’s fingers. Her bloodred eyes quested in the darkness, searching for anything to slake the thirst which is when she and Arsen arrived on the crest of a hill and looked down onto a small hollow.
That's when she saw the deer.
~~
Another pair of vampire eyes quested in the darkness also. They belonged to a man who stood on one of the numerous balconies of his capital city, looking out over the plains to the forest which he had crossed long ago in the company of the First vampire, a werewolf, and three Hunters- one of which was now Immortal.
The Vampire Prince, now King, Daemonar, stood looking out over the shadowed landscape to the trees and reminisced on how he had come from there to this grand city, the rebuilding of Crimson Moon. How had he gotten from being a refugee himself and was now rebuilding the vampire regime? Well, he had stepped on a lot of people to do it- not literally, well, sometimes literally, but he had trampled on their free will and their loyalties until they were forced to come with him. Since he had started his empire, the King had made only one bad choice and that consisted of having his godson, Larial, killed.
The belief that had led him to do it had been sown by his advisors who had probably merely wanted revenge on the First and his mate, and it had all been a power play in the end. A disaster that led to the alienation of the two Immortals who might’ve helped him end this war long ago. Now, Daemonar was alone. No Shadow- who had left long ago-, Jaenelle van Arryn- that cursed Hunter-, or Arsen- the First vampire and his….grandfather. Of course, he wasn’t literally alone; he had his own, pregnant mate now and several pregnant and un-pregnant concubines, including a werewolf that resembled Caya, Shadow’s sister, quite a bit, but he meant alone in the sense of those who had rescued him from the original Crimson Moon. Not that it truly mattered to him because, to those people, he had always been just another nuisance, a bastard who cared not a whit about any of them.
Daemonar made a quick slicing motion through the air and, by the time it was ended, his captain of the guard stood next to him.
“Yes m’lord?” the male asked politely, standing at attention behind his King.
“How’s our spy progressing in the ranks of the Guardians?” Daemonar asked quietly, turning his head slightly towards the man all the better to hear his answer.
“He’ll have infiltrated them thoroughly soon and will have the location and layout that we need to complete our plans.”
“Good,” Daemonar murmured. “Good. And, remember, I want the First, that blood traitor, and his so-called mate-“
Here he trailed off, waiting for the captain to finish his sentence as he had been drilled to.
“Returned to you alive and unharmed…relatively unharmed on the girl’s part,” the captain said, licking his lips; he had seen the Hunter girl before but never dared try anything because of who her mate was, but, now that they were in disgrace with the King, lots of accidents could happen; for instance, her getting chained to the wall in his set of rooms in the castle instead of the dungeons.
“Perfect.” Was all Daemonar said before dismissing the man; oh who Jaenelle would squirm when his captain finally sank his claws into her. The King couldn’t wait.
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 12, 2008 23:55:47 GMT -5
After a few kills, Arsen had come back to his senses and relaxed in a tree near Jeanelle, letting her finish, without interuppting her. He knew how testy Jaenelle got when she was hungry.
He looked back the the vampire kingdom which seemed to glow in the moonlight, as though it were made of gold.
"Daemonar..." He murmured softly and stood on his perch, "I'll get you for what you've done. I've been kind to you in the past, but no more.
"Its going to end when the snow falls. You wont send out men during the snow, but we will."
He snarled at the city for a moment, briefly wondering.
Arsen had blamed himself for Larial's death--after all, it had been Arsen's men who'd attacked. And still, in the months, the years, following, Arsen continued to blame himself. He still did. But now...
He wanted to take it out on Daemonar. It was that little punk's fault in the first place.
'If I'd... killed him when I had the chance,' He thought, 'No, if only you didn't screw your queen. this wouldn't be happening.
'Though.... Jaenelle came out of it....'
He looked back at her momentarilly, and smiled happily. One of the first times he'd given a true smile in years.
~~~~~
Remus sat quietly, slowly finishing his maps.
"Remus?" Shadow entered carefully, "I knew you'd be here. Arsen has you working like a mad dog?"
"No, I need to get this finished."
"Listen now, Remus," Shadow murmured, 'I fear that Daemonar has eyes here. I've been feeling like I've been watched.'
"That doesn't happen to you often, " Remus murmured.
'Watch your back. I plan on having everyone assemble and scan their chips. No chip they die. Even if it isn't registered.'
"But, the children don't have chips," Remus objected, standing, "We can't kill them. It'll rip Jaenelle up."
"I'm going to speak with Arsen and Jaenelle about the children. Don't worry. Now, lock those up and get to bed. Remember, I pull rank."
"Yes, Shadow," Remus smiled softly.
"Night, kid," Shadow smiled back and headed out.
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 13, 2008 11:49:38 GMT -5
Jaenelle, in her blood-induced madness, caught the smile that flit across her mate's face for a moment and that finally calmed the bloodlust that had been tearing her apart. As a younger vampire, it took her more blood to get to the point where she could survive for a little longer than it did Arsen, but she appreciated him staying nearby while she fed, even if she didn't realize the significance of her act while the vampire side of her took over.
Feeling Arsen's eyes on her made her fingers clench and unclench slowly at her sides as a shadow of the tattoo that had blanketed her features in life flickered into being over her features, Jae started a little and then snorted at her reaction. Her tattoo usually reappeared over her features when she was intimidated or wanted to hide and, if it ever appeared at all, it appeared when she was around or near Arsen lately. The tattoo had almost become her equivalent of a blush and she couldn't dismiss it or summon it at will anymore. No one had noticed as of yet because Jae only blushed around Arsen and usually, when they were together, it was dark and he wasn't looking at her, and she was hoping that he wasn't looking at her now....this showed weakness and it bothered her.
Finally, though, the tattoo faded off of her features and the once-Hunter gracefully scaled the tree that her mate had climbed up and then slipped over to where he stood on one of the limbs, looking out over Guardian and to Daemonar's city- the deer carcasses could wait . That sight was the farthest thing away from her mind right now- Larial, the Child's Sanctuary, the rebels, everything was forgotten for this one moment.
"What are you thinking about, love?" Jae asked, reaching out and twining her fingers with his before leaning her head on his shoulder. "You're smiling."
And you look beautiful and....happy.
~~
Daemonar stood silently at his window and the wind coming off of the plains smelled of cold times when frozen water would fall from the sky; something he himself had only seen once, long ago when Caya had snuck him outside. Thinking about Caya made Daemonar feel tired and alone; he trailed his hand through his shoulder length black hair and then dragged it over his finely featured face. The King should not feel so alone, he decided, especially on the eve before a such an important victory as he would have when his spy finally made a breakthrough into the refugees tomorrow. Daemonar smiled dangerously, revealing his fangs that were now wicked curved on the ends, like barbs, to maim and kill any victim he decided to bite now.
Quickly, the King walked out of his suite of rooms, past his mate's rooms where the guards saluted him smartly at the door, through the plushly decorated corridors, and into the section of the palace where the concubines were kept. Daemonar swept up to a particular door that had an intricate carving of a wolf worked into the wood and knocked swiftly; the door gave way immediately and a young woman in her twenties stood in the doorway, her golden eyes glowing happily when she saw who stood at her door.
"M'lord," she greeted. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm lonely," Daemonar said bluntly, looking into his concubine's eyes and pressing himself in through her doorway and closing the wooden barrier behind him. The girl giggled and then took the vampire's hand, leading him to the bedroom in her set of rooms.
"I can help with that," the lycan girl murmured as the wolf ears on her head perked forward eagerly.
"Good," Daemonar murmured before pushing her down and beginning a dance that both of them knew intimately.
--
An hour later, the werewolf girl was running her delicate fingers through his hair and Daemonar was sighing softly against her neck as he lay beside her.
"What're you so happy about, m'lord?" the girl asked, interested as she saw a satisfied smile grace his features; Daemonar never smiled around other people and she felt blessed to see it. "You're smiling."
Daemonar looked up at the girl and smiled again, even more brilliantly than before, as his plans once more ran through his head and the feeling of imminent victory swamped him.
"Oh, Caya, all my dreams are about to come true."
Caya just looked at Daemonar for a moment before smiling back at him, brilliance for brilliance and....love for love.
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 13, 2008 19:05:34 GMT -5
"All the good times," Arsen murmrued softly, "That I've had with you. There are alot of them, love. I don't want to forget. Like when I first managed to court you. I kept begging, remember?"
He kissed hte top of her head, "And the days we spent living life everyday thriving for the next.
"Soon, it will be like that gain. With the second vampire fall, it will return to that simplicity, love. I promise you that."
He turned her head toward his, kissing her gently, "I promise."
~~~~
Remus stratched quietly at his seat and rolled up the maps. It was cold. And quiet.
He took the maps to the vault, opening it quickly and throwing the maps inside, and reset the combanation. If what Shadow said was true about a spy, then every percaution had to be taken.
Arsen may have been trusting, but Remus was far from it.
Remus had been created in the vampire capital after all. He was ment to be an ultimate weopan. But, being a mutt, he was cast aside.
He bared his teeth in a small snarl. He may have been cast off, but now he was on a new side.
Remus's reason for taking vengance? Remus's mother had been taken by Daemonar for his own needs and left Remus to the scientists.
He never did see his mother again.
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 13, 2008 20:46:42 GMT -5
"If I remember correctly, I begged you at first and then thought I fancied Shadow for a while which you soon put out of my head with all your insistent pleading," Jaenelle murmured quietly, still looking into his eyes deeply as she left her mouth still close to his. "But, you promise that it will return that way, for always and ever?"
The words were childish, but it had been a familiar way of promising each other the world a few years ago when they were younger and hadn't been so sullied with the world's troubles. Before Arsen could even think of answering, though, Jae leaned in and claimed his lips gently. When she pulled back, she leaned her forehead against his and looked up into her lover's eyes slowly, feeling the silky weight of her mouse-brown hair settle around her shoulders.
"When this war ends, do you think...maybe, do you think we could...try again?" Jae asked bashfully, pulling away from her mate unsurely, afraid of what his answer might be or of the straight-out rejection that might be there.
~~
Caya reached out and touched Daemonar's face gently as she watched her lord's face relax into sleep. Usually, he never stayed with her after the deed was committed, though he visited her more than he visited any of the other girls- or even his mate. It was a wonder and probably a byproduct of her tainted blood, most of the other mistresses hissed venomously behind her back, that she wasn't pregnant yet.
The blond werewolf's fingers dragged delicately through her Master's black hair which had come out of its neatly tied back horsetail which had been bound by a leather thong. The thong itself was wrapped around her wrist right now, as a bracelet, just another moment of closeness to her lord, represented in the smallest of gestures; hte only gestures that he seemed to accept.
"I love you, Daemonar. I always have, even when you were younger, and I always will," Shadow's recreated sister murmured softly, curling up tighter around the man that had once thought her dead and then striven to bring her back.
~~
"Is someone named Remus here?" a small voice asked as the decrepit door to the central building creaked slowly open. Small, padding footsteps followed the voice as a short someone slid around the corners of the desks that were in the building and stepped out from behind piles of paper and reference books.
A little girl, around 11, finally stepped into view, black cat ears twitching on her head and a tail swirling agitatedly around her with horrible scars as if from acid, ravaging her face and the rest of her visible skin, which was quite a bit since her clothes were shredded and torn as if by teeth. The little shifter even had a bite wound in her shoulder that was beginning to smell like a rotting carcass and was most likely infected.
The little girl continued on in a small voice, "In the city...they said there's a place...out in the plains where...children could go. I was hoping this might be the place. The sentry who said his name was Gareth told me that if I could find Remus, he could tell me where to go."
Her big green eyes with the cat-like pupils revealed a nature that was half-feral and still half-human. Eryn, the little shifter, had never felt remorse for the acid that had slid across her skin and disfigured her, but the other incidents, the ones that had left her always half-wild, half-transformed; those were the ones she regretted and the ones whose meories she had buried deeply and let cut her over and over again until the scar tissue on her heart was so thick that she believed nothing could cut them open again.
"So, Mr. Remus, sir, can you help me maybe find...somewhere...where no one blames me for being...well, me?" Eryn asked as tears sleeted down from her eyes silently; she hated asking for help, hated submitting to someone who hadn't forced her to submit, but she wanted to be safe and if, in order to be safe, she had to first damagae herself some more than...it wouldn't matter, she kept telling herself. Even if this Remus made her do something horrible like that guard, Gareth, had to tell her the information; she never wanted to see another man...ever.
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 13, 2008 22:33:43 GMT -5
"Ah, yes," Arsen murmured to her reply, "Of course. But, I still pleaded, remember? Besides, I got it in the end."
He smiled gently, "And, yes, love. If you'd like to try again, we can. I know we can't replace him but...."
He pulled Jaenelle into a hug, "We can try again love. We have all the time in the world."
~~~~
Remus watched her for a moment before picking her up gently, as though he were a fraid she may shatter in his arms, "I'll take you somewhere safe. But, you have to stay quiet, understand? ONly a few people can know."
He locked up the room, putting things under locks and tucking the keys into his pocket.
"You'll be just fine here," Remus murmured and carried her out to the back of the city--toward the lycans and misfits. Away from the humans.
He knocked on the first door of that section, "Shadow? Open up."
Shadow opened the door slowly, "Remus, what--?"
"Shh," Remus murmured, pushing into the room. It was small, one bed, a chair and a fire place, "I need you to watch the girl."
"Girl?" Shadow murmured, closing the door, "Why not Jae--"
"The girls not human, old man. Can't you smell it?"
"I smell burned flesh, Remus. Calm down. Why are you so upset?"
"Gareth told her to come here. I don't trust this," Remus said, setting the girl on the bed, pulling the blankets around her shoulders, "I would've taken her to Arsen, but he's not in, remember? he's off with Jaenelle. They should be back soon."
"I'll watch her untill then. Go get ome sleep my friend," Shadow said. Remus nodded and headed out.
"He'll keep you safe, little one," Remus said before taking his leave.
Shadow quietly turned to the girl, "You can sleep there for the night. Tell me, are you hungry and whats your name? I'm very tame, not to worry. I wont bite."
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 13, 2008 23:25:55 GMT -5
"All the time in the world," Jaenelle echoed, nestling farther into Arsen's side, a little more subdued and quieter.
Being Immortal was taxing, she had never thought of it that way when she was mortal, but now that Arsen had shared his Immortality with her, she felt as if the world began when she was turned and would end when the world gave up. Thinking about it, the vampiress realized how long that was and almost wanted to despair. Yes, she wanted eternity with Arsen, but she was afraid that sometime in the future he would get bored with her and find someone else...someone not as dependent on him and not as damaged by things such as her son's death and such.
"We should head back soon," Jaenelle said reluctantly after a long stretch of silence which she had spent resyncing her breathing pattern with Arsen's and staring at the golden city that was heartbreakingly beautiful and perfect but so very deadly. The once-Hunter suddenly, rashly pulled her mate's head down and soundly kissed him as she had not gotten to do in a long time- the fire that ignited in her heart calmed her at the same time as it excited her, but Jaenelle pulled away before it become too bright and fiery to be too tempting.
"I think...we should do this more often," she said thoughtfully, pecking Arsen on the cheek before jumping off the tree branch and landing quietly on the forest floor several stories below, unharmed, several moments later. "We need to get rid of the carcasses so no one can track us, but then, I'll race you back to Guardian, old man!" she teased laughing, grinning madly as she had not in a long while.
~~
Eryn flinched back from Remus' touch, even if he was holding her gently. She didn't want to be touched by anyone- especially a male though- it made her feel dirty, used. And then, when Remus left her with this....other person...Shadow who she didn't trust at all, Eryn began shaking violently on the bed, crawling into the corner farthest away from the male in the room with you.
"I'm E-e-eryn, sir." the shifter girl stuttered quickly, not looking at Shadow. Why had Remus abandoned her? Why? "W-w-w-where's R-r-remus going?"
Her eyes were still averted from the werewolf and she had pulled her knees up in front of her chest, a clearly defensive position, as she shook violently merely from being in a room with a male that smelled like Gareth- like the musk of a wolf.
"Please d-don't hurt me, sir. P-please," Eryn pleaded, still not looking at Shadow and still shaking in the corner as she began rocking slowly back and forth. "Please, I just...want to be...safe."
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 13, 2008 23:51:03 GMT -5
Arsen smirked and licked his lips, dropping down after her, "Which part, love?"
He lifted a few of the carcasses, "The lake. The bodies will float in the water eventually. We should leave them at the shore for the scavengers. Then, you'll get your race, Kid."
~~~~
"Remus is going home to sleep," Shadow murmured and moved to the fireplace. A small pot was tucked in the embers, making his dinner, "Don't worry, miss. I wont lay a hand on you."
He pushed the tattered blindfold behind his back, his earring clicking softly, "I made soup if you'd like some. You should eat."
He moved to sit on the beat up chair in the corner, "I wont hurt you, little girl. Remus is a freind of mine. If you trust him, you should trust me."
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Remus will take you to see Arsen and jaenelle tomorrow. You'll like them. Their son would've been your age if... That poor boy," he murmured.
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Post by callingxforxblood on Nov 14, 2008 21:00:41 GMT -5
"Well, not really the hunting, I guess, but....maybe just the being together more often," Jaenelle murmured softly, watching as Arsen picked up the carcasses. Her eyes traced the muscles that rippled under her mate's shirt and she smiled softly, longing to run her hands over Arsen's body or touch him somehow and...a few months of ago, even up to a year ago, she would have, but now it felt like things were different and she no longer felt comfortable doing so. Their relationship was changing because of distance and knowledge and Jaenelle was quite sure that she didn't like it, but she was unsure how to change it. After all, Arsen's and hers relationship had been her first and they had gotten very serious very fast. He was her first and only while she knew that Arsen had at least had one other serious relationship before her.
"Mkay," Jae murmured to her his second comment a little dreamily, leaning down and hefting a deer carcass over her shoulder easily and picking up another's leg to drag it along behind her; a feat that should've been impossible for a girl her size. "Then let's hurry!"
~~
Eryn still watched Shadow carefully, but she crept forward softly towards the small table in the room, slipping into the chair across the table from Shadow.
"You're really Remus' friend?" she asked after a moment, eyeing the soup hungrily. "You promise? Who're Jaenelle and Arsen, who are you talking about?"
~~
Daemonar woke suddenly in the middle of the night, feeling something flickering at the edges of his consciousness that was familiar it felt like, like- Arsen's aura. That bastard of a grandfather had finally come out from under whatever wards he'd crawled under. An aura as strong as the First's could not be hidden by just dimming it; he would still shine like a star in the darkest part of the universe which meant he had been deliberately hiding under wards, but now, Daemonar could feel his aura.
The King looked at his Caya a little sadly, depressed that he had to leave her while she slept, but he finally kissed her forehead and climbed out of bed, pulling on his pants, but leaving Caya in his shirt- a memento of this short time together. He glanced at her still a little sadly before leaving, uncaring of his state of dress; it's not like anyone didn't know what he was doing when he visited Caya.
A guard looked at him and blushed a little but followed him quickly down the hall when he snapped his fingers at him.
"Find your captain and tell him to follow his senses and bring Arsen to me. Now go."
Daemonar kept pacing down the hall as the vampire guard peeled off and started jogging off to find his captain. The King stalked into his office and rang a bell that would call his advisors from their beds and to him. They needed to talk and they needed to talk now...if they caught Arsen then...that might just turn this war around and, if they caugth Jaenelle, Arsen would do whatever they said. Daemonar smiled devishly.
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Post by †Arisen† on Nov 14, 2008 21:19:32 GMT -5
Arsen smiled at her and started off, but turned briefly to look back at the castle, "yes... Lets hurry. I don't like this scent on the wind."
He started off, keeping pace with Jaenelle, scanning the shadows, watching, waiting for something to try and take them by surprise.
He was ready if anyone should try and get the upper hand.
He took her to the lake quietly, dropping the corpses on the bank, "Hurry. I don't like the air. Its too still. Not even the insects are speaking. Stay close."
~~~~
"Yes, I am a friend of Remus. I'll get you some soup once its cooled a bit. Jaenelle and Arsen lead us here. They are friends of Remus as well. Jaenelle watches the orphanage. You'll be safe there. No one here will hurt you, miss Eryn," Shadow smiled at her, I promise. Now."
He stood and headed to a cupboard fishing out some bowls and spoons. He returned and set them on the table.
"Tell me," He said as he sat down, "Did you come from the capital?"
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Post by callingxforxblood on Dec 13, 2008 18:52:31 GMT -5
Jaenelle dropped the carcasses on the edge of the lake and glanced over at Arsen.
"Why are you worried, love?" she asked quietly, drifting over to him quietly and putting a reassuring hand on his arm. Sure, there was something different and nature seemed to be holding its breath for a single moment, but Jae wasn't as sensitive with her vampiric senses yet and the night just seemed welcoming, not threatening. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll be right back, there's only a few carcasses left, just stay here."
Jae turned around and started running back towards the feeding site, leaving Arsen by himself for a few moments. It was only a few moments, but once she was out of his line of sight, the snarling and cries of pain started.
~~
Daemonar's guards had followed Arsen's psychic signature out into the middle of nowhere and they laid in wait, watching as the First and his mate played around for a little while and then started cleaning up. The captain nodded to himself slowly; that was how come the Crimson Moon vampires hadn't found any kills that would mark the First's passing, the two vampires had been cleaning up after themselves very well.
The captain suddenly felt a presence in his mind and cringed back submissively, letting Daemonar take over his eyesight to see what he saw. When the King had seen his fill and pulled back a little, surrendering control of his subordinate's body back to him, but remaining in his head, Jaenelle moved away from Arsen.
Move now, the voice in the captain's head ordered when Jaenelle was finally back at the feeding site, as far away from Arsen as she could get.
"Go," the captain said, signaling to his team with the hand motions that they had learned during training that it was time to move.
Immediately, the ten other vampires ran forward, ambushing the once-Hunter as the Captain moved in behind them, smiling twistedly as Daemonar once again took over his mind and watched as one of his guards bit the female in the shoulder. The vampiress screamed and then turned on the male, snarling, trying to bite him back. Slowly, slowly, the guards were wrestling Jaenelle to the ground, though, and Arsen was nowhere to be seen.
Daemonar kept smiling as he watched the First's mate scream in pain as one of the guards pulled her head back by her hair and bent down to bite her and suck her blood- the first violation of many. Sharing of blood was retained between partners and parents and children, biting another vampire without their consent was like rape.
The Captain, or Daemonar actually, snarled at the guard first. Daemonar had rights to the first bite and he intended to take them, even if he was controlling another's body. The guard instantly moved back and the captain stepped forward, smiling twistedly before kneeling down next to the girl and pulling her chin up to look at him.
"Hello Jaenelle, remember me?" he asked quietly.
The vampiress leaned forward, snapping at the Captain, but the two vampires holding her arms held her back and the one behind her slapped her across the back of the head. The girl snarled at the guards, but when she looked up at the Captain again, there were tears in her eyes and a cut along the side of her face.
"Daemonar," she choked out quietly.
"That's right, it's me, Jaenelle" Daemonar said, staring out of the Captin's eyes into his grandfather's mate's as he leaned down to bit her neck.
~~
"Yes," Eryn said quietly, watching Shadow carefully, but listening attentively as he talked. "Crimson Moon is...a bad place to be."
She shuddered quietly, thinking of all the horrible things that she had been forced into in the 'houses' that they ran to curb some of the vampire's more violent and sexual tendencies.
"Very bad," she mumbled quietly, looking at the floor underneath her chair and letting her dirty hair cover her face so that her expression was hidden, even if Shadow couldn't see it.
~~
Caya woke up, gasping and alone. She reached out to the left where Daemonar slept when he came to her, but the bed was cold and she was alone. His shirt was still hugging her body and the leather that had bound his hair was still around her wrist, but she was still alone. Slowly, Caya started crying, feeling empty again in the wake of another of Daemonar's visits.
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Post by †Arisen† on Dec 13, 2008 21:06:09 GMT -5
As soon as Arsen heard the snarls and cries, he hissed, "No."
He took off at a dead sprint and immediately was slammed down, doubling over. Arsen glanced up at one of the gaurds before swiping at him, shredding the other man's shirt his nails tearing the skin.
"Back. Off," Arsen hissed before leaping at the other man and slamming his head into the ground before tearing toward Jaenelle's scent.
ONly to stop as he entered the scene.
"No!" He dove toward the captain, ignoring the other gaurds jumping at him. Arsen felt his shoulder slam into something hard, but he wasn't sure what and barrel-rolled to his feet and jumped into a crouch.
"Let. Her. Go." Arsen snarled. The men slolwly started to laugh, "Its me you want. Leave her out of this."
Arsen yelped suddenly as he was slammed into the ground. One of the gaurds lifted Arsen's head, pinning his arms back.
Arsen gave a brief snarl before flinging both men away.
"I'll say it again. Let her go. Now," Arsen snarled crouching. Like so many times before the shadows at his feet started lashing out. But this wasn't like before, so many years ago. he couldn't control it before. But now....
But now he could. Arsen had more than one trick up his sleeve and had been taught how to block out unwanted entry into his mind.
Thank God for Shadow.
~~~~~
Here," Shadow said suddenly handing her a bowl of soup, "It may be a little hot. Its an old family recipe. I think you'll like it."
Shadow gave a small smile before frowning, "You'll be very safe here. We'll have you cleaned up tomorrow, how does that sound? There's a bath house down the road."
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Post by callingxforxblood on Dec 14, 2008 2:28:57 GMT -5
The Captain stood up lazily, pulling away from Jaenelle's neck, but motioning slowly to the guards that still held Jaenelle. There were three holding onto her and preventing her from going anywhere and Arsen had just taken down another three or at least incapacitated them for the moment, so there were four left standing around, trying to anticipate the First's next move.
Daemonar, controlling the Captain's body was smirking at his grandfather as he dragged Jae along behind him by her hair, enjoying the jerks that she was giving as one of the guard's nails dug into her arms a little too deeply or he yanked her hair too hard.
"Hello Arsen, do you remember me, Grandfather?" the King asked, peering out through his Captain's eyes. "You might not want to and my powers might be limited by who I'm controlling, but, rest assured, I can kill your little Huntress here just as easily in this body as any other. So you might want to just listen to me right now."
~~
Jaenelle snarled at the guards holding her when she saw Arsen, her struggling renewed. The First would not be cowed by simple guards, but she could be. The once-Hunteress was a young vampire and, while she had Arsen and Shadow as teachers, the death of her son had severely upset her vampiric training and she had never really recovered from it, though, lately, she had been moving past it.
The girl felt pain as the guards yanked her to her feet and then pulled her forward. When she looked up at Arsen and watched as the shadows flit around him, for one moment she thought lucidly how beautiful he looked in the midst of this chaos. Then, the Captain yanked on her hair again and she lost the moment.
"Arsen, run! Please, just disappear. Don't listen to them, please!" she begged before the guard behind her cuffed her in the back of the head again, making her eyes water.
~~
Eryn smiled a little and took the bowl of soup, tasting the potatoes and venison that was in it. There were some spices and other things that the little shifter couldn't name; Eryn had been trying to be good and show off her meals, but, instead, she dug in and started to eat the soup as fast as she could. Logically, she knew that the soup wouldn't be taken away from her, but she couldn't help thinknig that it wasn't going to be and the little girl scarfed it down.
"I would like a bath..." she mumbled after sitting for a moment, content with her full bellly, but feeling slightly embarassed that she had eaten all of Shadow's food too quickly and that her tongue was now burning.
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Post by †Arisen† on Dec 14, 2008 11:48:36 GMT -5
Arsen snarled, his hands fisting, "Let her go and I'll give you five minutes. Just... stop hurting her."
As he watched Jaenelle, his jaw clenched, "I won't run. Not again. We've done enough running. I can take him anytime, any form he takes."
He breifly alerted Shadow to what was going on, warning him.
"What do you want, kid?"
~~~~~~
Shadow smiled at her, watching Eryn eat. He started eating his own meal, pausing when Arsen told him what happened.
"Excuse me a moment, Miss Eryn. I must go tell Remus something. You can come along if you'd like," Shdadow stood.
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Post by callingxforxblood on Dec 14, 2008 21:49:31 GMT -5
"Damn it, Arsen! RUN!" Jaenelle shrieked, throwing herself against her captor's arms against. "Refugess run, we're refugees. JUST RUN!"
Didn't he understand? This wasn't just about them anymore. They both had to worry about Guardian now and if something happened to both of them then there would be no one to foster the rebellion and make sure that Daemonar, even in her mind she spit out the word, was brought to his knees.
The guard behind her hissed and smashed his fist into the back of her skull, Jaenelle squeezed her eyes shut in pain, refusing to cry out anymore, but opening her mouth in a silent howl of pain. That fucking hurt, goddamnit! The trapped vampiress snarled, thrashing, before being smacked across the face by another unforgiving fist. Jae stilled again under her captor's heavy hands and glanced up at Arsen ruefully, forcing him to see what would happen to the rebellion if he left it alone- it would be crushed. In the face of that, Jaenelle didn't matter; the children, those children that she had worked so hard to protect, they had to survive. If they didn't, Jae had a feeling that she would lose herself to the protective beast within and never come back.
"You know he's not going to keep his promises, Arsen, run, please," Jaenelle begged one last time, her vision swimming from her head being so brutally hit so many times. "Please, love, run. Please, I don't mean as much as what we'll lose if you don't leave."
Another smack and the once-Huntress saw stars, but she refused to fall into darkness with them and remained hanging onto consciouness by a thread.
~~
Daemonar smiled, shaking his head at the ex-Hunter's foolishness. It was a pity really, she had been turned by the First Vampire and was now an ex-Hunter and an ex-human, yet she was still such a nuisance. Then his gaze shifted to Arsen, hearing the words of his proposal and shaking his head. So like his Grandfather to be honorable and do the right thing- protecting his mate- even in the middle of a war. Only him, only him.
"I might be wrong, but I think you've gone senile, old man. I hold the best bargaining chip in my hands right now, Jaenelle once-van Arryn, and you expect me to just let her go?" Daemonar clucked his tongue gently, as if chiding a child; like he had chided Larial long ago. "That won't be happening any time soon. No, I think we'll talk just fine like this," he motioned to one of the four vampires that weren't engaged at the moment and the man went and stood in front of Jaenelle, baring his fangs and putting them inches from her jugular, making the half-unconscious girl shiver and try to pull back, but being forced forward by a hand on the back of her neck, "with your mate's life in the balance. I think that will make you much more receptive to what I have to say, don't you think so, Grandfather?"
~~
"I-I c-can?" Eryn asked undecidedly, beginning to stutter again; having frozen halfway out of her chair from which she'd tried to scamper out of when Shadow had moved too quickly by standing up. He had frightened her with his sudden movements and now she was a little more wary of him, but she still wanted to see Remus again, after all, that Gareth -she shuddered- had told her that Remus was the one she needed to see. Even if she already had seen Remus and Shadow was very nice, she wanted to see him again.
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Post by †Arisen† on Dec 14, 2008 22:28:25 GMT -5
Arsen flinched and looked away, his hands fisting even more. He bit his lip, causing it to bleed.
"Of the people I've regretted not killing, its been you. So far you've taken everything from me," He said softly. He shuddered for a moment before looking back, his face apathetic. His hands relaxed.
"Well, what do you want? I'm listening. I'll listen better if you stop hurting her. And stop fighting Jaenelle. They wont hurt you if you don't fight. And they wont kill you. They nee me. Don't you Daemonar. You can't handle anything, can you?
"Not the first fall, not me as your family, not even your own godchild. You can't handle things not going your way, can you? You're still just a child. You haven't changed."
He was still for a moment before diving at the gaurds holding Jaenelle. He felt himself crash into them, pulling Jaenelle away. The shadows around him started lashing out and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
Arsen managed to pull jaenelle away from the others, crouching over her and snarling.
"You have me outnumbered, I have her safe. I'll ask again, what do you want?" The shaodws around them didn't weaken or dim, but contined to lash out at the gaurds, "I'm listneing, Daemonar. Tell me what you want you pathetic little shit."
~~~~~
Shadow nodded, heading for the door, "Come along, Miss Eryn. Its not a long walk."
He opened the door and stepped outside, waiting for her. There was a small breeze outside and he turned slightly, "Ah. Things are changing, old friend? Don't worry. We have it covered here. Don't worry. We will wait for your return."
Shadow sighed softly, "Theres a coat on the bed if you'd like it, Miss Eryn. Its cold out tonight. Colder than it has been.
"The winds of change."
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Post by callingxforxblood on Dec 19, 2008 14:59:22 GMT -5
Jaenelle flinched away from the coldness...the deadness in Arsen's voice and words when he spoke to Daemonar about times long past. Even now, the mere mention of Larial, even if Arsen didn't say his name, was enough to make her want to lie down, curl up and never move again- her only son represented her biggest failure, the failure that had ripped her life apart and almost ripped her mate and her apart- it still was. She lifted her head slowly to gaze up at Arsen, her dark hair falling over her face and obscuring her view partially, but she was still able to see when Arsen attacked and she summoned enough energy to roll her body with his attack, making sure that when her mate hit the guards, he didn't hit her. Then she allowed her dead weight, since she was mostly unconscious, to be hauled away from the guards and protected by Arsen; he was always protecting her, she never was able to protect herself. That disgusted her, but it was hard to find her way in the vampiric world without him anymore, she found, and that thought left her still standing at Arsen's side, afraid to find out what would happen if she tried being her own person for a while and hating herself for it.
Weakly, Jae lifted up her arm and punched Arsen in the shoulder, hissing at him all the while, "I told you to run, bastard."
Her voice was weak, but affectionate as she lay on the ground under the protective form of her mate, watching the lashing shadows attack the guards. She rolled herself over onto her stomach, still underneath Arsen to watch the attack better and to be better able to defend herself if the need came- though she doubted she would need to. Jaenelle had intimate experience with those shadows and knew how much simple cuts from them could affect a person's well being. The once-Hunter began purring as she watched the destruction her mate was able to wreak, pushing up against Arsen's chest from the ground- her arms shaking with the simple effort to hold her up this high- and letting him feel the pleasant rumble that was traveling through her body at the mere sight of watching their enemies being ripped apart, though Daemonar's host body stood far enough away to not be hurt, watching the destruction of his guards calmly.
Jaenelle finally decided, as she lay back down on the ground while glancing up at Arsen and then out at the guards, that part of the reason she had never really tried to become her own person, apart from Arsen, was that she had been with him since her turning and that she also felt safe with him. And, watching his shadows, she could understand her own thinking, even if only for a few moments before the self-hate, a byproduct of Larial's death- one that Arsen didn't know about, descended once more.
~~
Daemonar hissed at his guards to back off after a couple of them had been foolish enough and so overtaken by bloodlust that they had launched themselves at Arsen's shadows and been caught to ribbons. Both crept back, wailing in pain, licking their wounds and snarling at the First and his mate, safely ensconced behind the shadows. The King laughed again when he heard Arsen's words; he would never get it, would he?
"Yes, you are outnumbered, Granfather," Daemonar said mockingly, testing Arsen's limits. "But I'm surprised that you haven't just killed everyone in your attempt to escape. That would seem like a much more....vampiric thing to do. But, I guess, your little Hunter has reformed you, has she not? You're no longer a vampire, you're just a weakling."
His guards turned to face him with horrified expressions, looking at their captain, who was being controlled by Daemonar, with terror running rampant through their eyes. Why was their King trying to bait the First? Was he trying to get them killed or was this some part of the bigger plan. Silently, Daemonar shared another laugh in his Captain's head. They would never know would they? They would never know that everything, Crimson Moon's fate even, hung on Arsen's next move.
"But, while I have you here, I might as well read the charges to you."
The Captain's body motioned and one of the vampires that had so far emerged unscathed from the melee and had stayed behind the rest stepped forward. He wore the fussy clothing of a scribe and the glasses on the end of his nose were just for show; vampires didn't need such things- they were perfect beings and that included eyesight.
"Arsen, First Vampire, Grandfather of our Beloved King Daemonar, son of Mayrin who was daughter of Arsen and Saiya, his true mate.... and the First's second Mate," the scribe looked up from the scroll accusingly at the First; vampires only took one mate and that bond was supposed to be eternal. To even have a second mate, which only so far Arsen had supposedly done, was condemned, horrifying, and seen as taboo in the eyes of the vampiric world; the vampires of Crimson Moon saw Saiya as Arsen's true mate, though she had been Queen and therefore mate to the King, but, only Arsen knew the true story of that and he had never told anyone if he and Saiya had been mates (which was a bond deeper than just sleeping together). Not even Jaenelle really knew. And, calling Jaenelle Arsen's "second Mate" was a slur on her, basically calling her a whore who had stolen him away from Crimson Moon's Queen long ago; that was, of course, how she had been looked on in the capital, but no one had dared say anything because of the forbidding presence of Arsen that had always stood at her shoulder. Finally after a long silence, in which Daemonar saw Jaenelle tensing all her muscles as if in pain, the scribe continued, "the fledgling vampire, Jaenelle once-called van Arryn, ex-Hunter and ex-human, are being called to the High Court of Crimson Moon on the following accounts of criminality and active betrayal of their vampiric nature:
"One, they have acted against the natural laws of the vampiric world by being together and, out of this wedlock, having created a child, which was then duly executed as it was a smear against the very nature of vampires."
Daemonar watched as Jaenelle tensed even further, her expression half-frozen between a snarl and breaking down.
"Two, they fled the capital city of Crimson Moon after slaughtering a large number of guards after said execution, though their reasons for doing so were unknown."
Now, Jaenelle did snarl, a weak and pathetic sound, with her eyes slightly unfocused; the Huntress had never been a fast healer and she was still off-kilter from when his guards had slammed her head with their fists.
"Third and finally, the two vampires, after blaspheming their very nature with their unholy union, have doubly defied and betrayed it by fostering a rebellion in the wastelands outside the capital, making them trators to the state."
The scribe finished, rolling up the scroll and stepping back as Daemonar's host body stepped forward.
"I am willing to waive these charges and let you come back to Crimson Moon in exchange for you leaving your little rebellion and coming home," Daemonar said after a moment.
He knew Arsen wouldn't take this way out, but now his Grandfather would know. He would know why, when Daemonar crushed the rebellion, he would take Jaenelle away and rape her mind with his powers and he would know why he then gave her body to his guards and he would know why his grandson twisted his grandfather's very nature and essence to do the same to his mate and then turn him into a super-soldier and father of a line of super-powerful vampires. Arsen would know that Daemonar did this because Arsen had scorned his grandson's attempts to bring him back into the fold and because his grandson hated his second mate. Arsen would know why and that would make victory all the sweeter.
~~
Eryn slipped over and picked up the coat, sliding it on over her weathered clothing and grinning like a fool because of how warm it made her. Then she scurried outside, pushing her dirty hair out of her face and looking up at Shadow, happily, not having heard the rest of his strange soliquoly to the wind.
"Ready!" she announced happily, boucing up and down, making the coat flap slightly and her black cat ears bounce.
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Post by †Arisen† on Dec 20, 2008 18:15:45 GMT -5
Arsen snarled, "I would never go back unless it was an opprotunity to correct a mistake I made long ago."
He gently lifted Jaenelle, "And I may be weak, but at least I don't hide behind others."
He took a step back, the shadows still lashing, "And those charges mean nothing. Being one of my blood, Daemonar, you should know why I killed those men. Your face was on each of them."
He slid Jaenelle onto his back, "If Caya was killed again, you would kill those who murdered her, would you not? You know very well why I killed them."
He dashed forward and ran past them, the shadows lashing out at the captain, remaining gaurds, even the scribe. The shadows even hit the trees. He was heading home.
~~
When Arsen and Jaenelle made it back to their makeshift home, Arsen laid Jaenelle in bed. The house was partially crumbled. The bedroom and living room were the only two rooms still in tact. The only rooms that could still be used.
Every now and then there were orphans or some of the sick staying in the living room. Those few children who required constant watch. Those few who may or may not die over night if they wren't watched at all times.
"Don't be angry with me, love," He murmured, exposing his wrist for her, "I couldn't leave you. I can't loose you too. Daemonar took Larial from me. I can't have him take you too. You both were my world, Jaenelle. If I lost you too, I don't know what I'd do.I don't think I could stand to stay alive.
"Now, drink. You need your strength."
He gave a small cough, covering his mouth with his hand. Curious, he'd never had to coiugh before.
He wiped his hand on his pants, he figured this lungs were feeling the cold.
But he'd smeared blood on his pants and was too focused on jaenelle to realize it.
~~~~
Shadow smiled at Eryn, "Come little one. Lets hurry."
He gently took Eryn's hand leading her away, "Stay close, now."
A few werewolves and other shifters littered the streets, staring at them with dead eyes. They were the last of their kind. They had lost hope long ago, but they stayed. This was better than doing nothing.
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Post by callingxforxblood on May 9, 2009 23:38:49 GMT -5
Jae looked up at Arsen from the bed, the wounds inflicted starting to heal slowly, but the strength of doing so making sleep grasp at her consciousness with greedy fingers. Sometimes, she felt so weak next to him, who was always strong, always the one boosting them out of sticky situations; there was an old bitterness that sang through her veins and the feeling of inferiority, but when he looked at her like that, she could never stay mad for long. Smiling gently, Jae grabbed Arsen’s wrist and pulling him down on the bed next to her, placing her head in his lap and keeping his hand loosely caged in her own.
“How could I ever be angry with you?” she asked quietly, running her fingers over Arsen’s wrist lightly, not looking at it yet and instead just looking up at his face and enjoying the moment. “It was my fault that I got caught. Sometimes, I feel so weak next to you. But, I don’t need blood right now, I’m fine.”
Jaenelle almost winced at the outright lie; she needed blood, not desperately and she could probably hold the slow burning thirst back for at least a week or two before she caved, but she could not justify taking blood from Arsen, especially after the fight he’d just been through. It meant she would have to go hunting sooner than she planned, but she could take care of herself and she would go far away from Guardian before revealing her presence; that way she would keep the city safe and still satisfy her needs….this time, she’d go alone, though, Arsen would be needed here in the city in a week and would not have time to chaperone impromptu hunting trips.
Jaenelle started a bit, startled out of her scheming to leave her mate behind, when she heard him cough and, while Arsen may not have noticed, the scent of the First’s blood permeating the air made Jaenelle’s slow burning thirst start rushing faster, instead of moving like lava it started moving like a river and she almost wanted to snarl. She was so damn weak! However, the once-Hunter’s occupation with leaving Arsen in Guardian was immediately alleviated when she smelled the blood.
“You’re bleeding!” Jaenelle snarled, pushing her bruised body up and pulling her head out of Arsen’s lap. “You’re bleeding and you were asking me to take blood from you?”
Jae sniffed cautiously, trying to find the source of the bleeding and she leaned down, pressing her nose to the fabric of his trousers and then following the scent to his palm, licking the blood off of his hand to try and find the source, but, when she pulled away without having seen anything, she began to panic slightly. The smell of blood was still fresh in the air and the scent was no longer coming from the First’s hand.
“Arsen, where are you bleeding from?”
~~
Eryn slipped into Shadow’s shadow and trod after him softly, viewing the other refugees with distrust. The little shifter had learned long ago the price for freely handing away trust and how it could leave you broken and aching. The desperate looks of lost hope and standing on their last leg were heartbreakingly similar to the ones that Eryn had grown up seeing and she shivered, pressing herself closer to Shadow’s side and hiding her face in the werewolf’s solid body.
Crimson Moon, she didn’t want to remember Crimson Moon. Did not want to have to remember the price she’d had to pay to escape that place, even as the smell of her own burned flesh rose up into her nose and choked her senses, Eryn forced herself to try and forget.
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Post by †Arisen† on May 10, 2009 0:20:18 GMT -5
Arsen looked down at his hand, then back at Jaenelle. He shrugged.
"I dunno," he ran his hand over his mouth then: "Get Shadow. Or a healer."
He was trying not to worry her, but he knew his responce would make her worry. He ran his hand down the side of his shirt and cursed softly. There was a small tear in the old fabric,
"Now, Jaenelle."
~~~~~
Shadow lifted Eryn into his arms, "Don't look at them. Don't pay them anymind."
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Post by callingxforxblood on May 10, 2009 0:39:26 GMT -5
"You're lying to me. You know what's wrong," Jaenelle said brokenly as she watched Arsen's expressions shift; she could tell when he was lying and, even if it was just to spare her feelings, the once-Hunter hated it. She hated how Arsen felt that he always had to protect her and her hate made her angry.
Without another word, thoughs she spared him a half worried- half angry glance, Jae swiftly turned on her feel and rushed out the door, away from their small house, set farther away from the city and closer to the woods, and back towards Guardian and towards Shadow, the person that Arsen needed more than her right now.
Shadow! the thought was filled with pure agony and fear as Jaenelle sent it in the hopes that the werewolf would hear her and come closer so that she could find him easier; otherwise, she would have to search all of Guardian and raise a ruckus, especially since no one besides Arsen, Shadow, and Remus knew who she was.
~~
Eryn buried her face in Shadow's neck, turning her back on the world once more, just as it had turned its back on her. The little shifter let the werewolf carry her closer to Remus even as Jaenelle raced closer to the city, hell bent on finding Shadow and bringing him back to her mate.
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