Path of the Vampire forum

Niklaus knew his dislike of trees would turn into hatred one day and that was probably that very day. The company of two soon turned to…four?! Then one disappeared, he couldn’t see who it was exactly but definitely someone with shadow powers, so perhaps Every. Then Blake came out of God ******* knew where; the elevator was stationary and he was damn sure he didn’t come from one of the huts so where the hell did he come from?! He knew there were secret passages; other ways to get back and forth between floors without using the elevator, damn Eyrie!

Thump, crack! That was the sound that caused his frustration to peak even further. Crouching down behind the mass for cover and reaching down to slide the pads of his fingers down the back of his leg. “Did she just ******* shoot me?!” he thought, before he eventually found a hole in the back of his calf where one clawed index delved right in, blindly feeling around until that sharpened claw tip met with the small metal projectile. Extracting the piece of metal out of the bullet wound and holding it up to eye level, yup, that was a ******* bullet!

Wounds and pain were something Niklaus could definitely worked though, he would never admit that he liked pain but it was one of the things that kept him alert and going. “Pain is good, monsieur”, as Silas said in the Da Vinci Code. The Killer started a mental count of how many contenders for the shard he knew; Nishaa, Every, Roderic, Blake and now this girl whose name he didn’t know. Great, more people didn’t just mean it was going to be harder to obtain the shard but it also meant more distraction, and that the party was definitely going to get crazier soon. Niklaus liked crazy.

Gun in one hand, sword in the order, he was most likely the only one there not used to the terrain and he had to fix that. To become one with his surrounding, which prompted him to hide in shadows so he could get a better idea of how he could move between floors without using the elevator – it was too loud, an illuminated box of doom. He might have to take ‘care’ of that elevator too. Circling the latter to come up behind the vampires inside, looking for any clues to how Blake and possibly Every seemed to have moved from F2 to F3, teleportation was out of the question - way too anima exhaustive, then it struck him. They were on a damn TREE, trees had branches. He could literally see the second floor from where he was but could the sturdiest of them branches hold 300 pounds-ish without cracking? **** all the thinking, let’s see! The man stuck his gun back into his holster, his sword back into its sheath before launching himself forward as he caught the sturdiest branch his eyes could lock onto, it worked! The tree branches weren’t that brittle. after all! Dangling there, invisible before starting to work his way closer to the elevator box and the tree's trunk to balance out his weight, trying to pick up any heat signatures and also the conversation going on in the elevator box.

You succeeded in your endeavour - Jump and catch Eyrie tree branch!

You failed in your endeavour. – Shard stealing.

The Killer’s claws aided in maintaining his balance as he climbed down from branch to branch, eyes riveted on what, rather who just passed right in front of him. Nishaa was fleeing to F2, way too many individuals on the upper floor and everyone wanted the same thing – the glowing shard. He knew he would stay invisible until he pounced someone or so and blew his cover. “Ding!” The stupid elevator had moved again, doors opening and a new face, a familiar face stepped out this time, Dulce.

Niklaus observed the two women, like a creep from his ‘perch'. Trees weren't so bad, after all. Maybe he underestimated how solid wood could be.. There was something he needed to take care of and it might have been a little too extreme or destructive but it had to be done. Too many people were getting in the tree house and he had figured a way to at least limit access to the second and upper floors or just make it a little harder for everyone to travel between floors. As he expected, Dulce too had sensed the shard and looked like she wanted to see it. Nishaa was probably going to snap, which would be fun to watch but first… the elevator.

The male got as close as he could to the elevator cables, reaching back with a hand and about to withdraw his blade before he paused. Firstly, it was plain dangerous and suicidal to get -this- close and try to sever those cables manually and secondly those very cables were made out of steel; dangling from a branch and hacking at it wasn’t going to be enough. He concentrated instead, raising an arm towards his target – the sturdy looking steel wire ropes before commanding the shadows to do his bidding. He couldn’t even remember the last time he used shadowstrike but it was as efficient as ever, several brutal snaps were heard as the wires were hacked clean off, wiggling about like the tentacles of an octopus freshly taken out of the sea. The elevator started creaking as it dropped down freely, smashing into the ground floor – hopefully no one was standing there. Niklaus slid back into the shadows the moment his evil deed was done, he didn’t want to be remembered as the guy who ‘broke’ the elevator on his first visit to the Eyrie!

You succeeded in your endeavour - sever elevator cables

There was too much.

The woman couldn't concentrate, her mind being torn in a thousand directions. At first, there was nothing but Markus. His voice was like a fire that ignited through her skull and burned its way to her heart, causing her to falter. She could feel her twin in her grasp, the softness of her skin - the delicate muscle beneath her palm - and all she could think about was ripping her to pieces. The savage need to possess what she held roared inside of her, causing her vision to dim. She loved her sister. She had never once in their time together wanted to hurt her - in fact, she would have literally burned the world to ash for her twin alone. Yet, now? Now...

Now she had to die.

Gritting her teeth, the Russian watched as the bullets whizzed past her head. Arching a perfectly sculpted brow, she tried to make sense of what the **** had just happened. Who the **** dared to shoot at her? Tilting her head to the side, her emerald eyes began to shift - the green faded as the glowing silver began to take hold. Her eyes, once full of depth and cold emotion had began to twist until they became that of a wolf. Those eerily wild eyes narrowed on the man with the gun, and her lip pulled back into a feral snarl. "You have pathetic aim. Should you be here?" Her words were spoken in a growl, the Russian brogue causing them to be nearly unidentifiable. It didn't matter.

In an instant, the scene had changed. Two became three and three became four. She knew the fourth woman that joined almost as well as she knew the woman in her grasp. Every. Of course she would be involved. The second she reached for her, the Mystic simply laughed. She honestly thought she had some kind of hold over her - some ability to be able to win. Niet. The shard was hers. She didn't care who the **** she had to end to possess it. The object had taken its claim on her heart and her mind. Even her brother's voice began to falter until all she heard was the soothing, beautiful, entrancing tone of the shard. It. Belonged. To. Her.

HERS!!

In a flash of a second, everything was different. Nishaa was crawling up the branches, the strange man was bleeding as he leaped into the elevator. Every was gone and Blake was -- well, she didn't ******* know what Blake was doing. Clearly, he had a moment of delusion as he tried to charm them with his grin. Even he was in on it - even he had to possess it. With another snarl, the Russian moved without thinking. Her fingers gripped the vines and she began to crawl after her sister, her gun slung over her back. The branches slapped against the leather of her pants, and the thorns ripped through her gloves - but none of it mattered. "I do not wish to hurt you. You are twin. Just give-- it--- over." Her words were spoken in a seductive, soothing tone as she narrowed her eyes on Dulce. She didn't have time to focus on the woman however.

"Come, Twin. We can do this together, da? We hide it from all. We protect it." That should work. That should get through to her. Even as she said the words, however, her mind was working in overdrive. She would get Nishaa alone, and then she would take the stone. Right? Wrong. She knew her twin. She knew she wouldn't fall for her tricks - there was only one other person that knew her as well as Nishaa did, and that was her husband. She had to go another route.

Reaching for the woman, she twisted her legs in a vine as she reached to grab the back of her shirt with one hand, the other aiming to slip into her pocket. Her fingers twisted roughly in the back of her shirt, stalling the monkey-like woman as her fingers plucked the shard from her pocket. "No hard emotions," she smirked - and dropped her hold on the vines. Her body slid down, and a second before her boots connected with the ground - she disappeared.

---

"It is mine. No one can have it.
Mine.
I deserve.
Mine.
Better than sex.
Kirill cannot have.
Nishaa? No. Cannot trust.
I will keep you safe.
I promise."

She had to hide - and hide she did. Slipping into her hut, she quickly locked the door and slid her desk in front of it before finding a small space to slip inside. She was small enough, mostly skin and bones - she managed to tuck herself behind the bookshelf, her shard tucked safely into her back pocket. No one would touch it. It was hers.

You succeeded in your endeavour. - steal shard

I don't even hear most of what's being said. I'm looking down at my hand. The one that had a hand on Nish's boob. I hear something about a shard and she goes tearing out of the immediate area like a bat out of hell. Shard? Like the shards I find? Or a better shard? Radioactive.

Radioactive shards? I have to have this shard. It's not safe. Put in the wrong hands of the right idiot and who knew what else might be walking around in Harper Rock. A Cerberus with three pigeon heads? A lochness monster with giant bear legs and riddled with mountain lion fur?

I couldn't take any chances. It had to be mine and I had to hide it. Or destroy it even. I was going to destroy that shard and everyone would thank me later. And I'd just say it's cool, because it was. We can't afford any more attention to anything supernatural.

I stop starring at the hand that felt Nishaa up and look around. Everyone is gone. Nishaa, the one with the shard was gone. There was a loud noise by the elevator and I just shrug. Nishaa thought the shard was hers, did she? I don't think so. I do the unthinkable with a **** eating grin and pull that shard stealing ***** right to me. Or, so I think. Nothing happens. Well, **** that shard hoarder too. I'd get her and that shard some other way. I call Daegal to me and tell him to start looking for my old friend, Nishaa. The one who wanted the city to have three headed whatevers running around. Tsk.

You failed in your endeavor.

She couldn't believe it.

That *****.


She had only had the shard for a second - a split moment in time - and then it was gone. "You think so, do you?" The words were spoken into the silence of the room, her twin having already disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She had threatened her - and yet... she hadn't done a damned about it. It was nothing but useless, worthless words. Her sister was all talk - little action. Even though in the back of her mind she knew it wasn't true - she felt a brief moment of pain. This object was threatening to rip the very foundation of their relationship apart. She couldn't let that happen. She needed Nishaa more than she neede--

No.
She needed the shard.
It was the only thing that loved her.

Shaking her head, she pushed from the wall and turned her gaze through the room. She didn't need to think about it - she knew exactly where the other had gone. She had seen the tome in her hand, had saw the look in her eyes. She thought to hide from her, to keep her from the very thing that could save her life. It silenced the demons - it pushed aside her brother. Why the **** would her twin want to steal it from her? Because she does not love you like I do.

His voice was distant - but it was there. He was beginning to come alive again. Without the weight of the shard in her pocket, she was vulnerable. "I will kill you for this, Nishaa." The words were harsh as she pulled out her own tome, fingers gripping it with so much strength, she threatened to rip it in half. Her hut changed as the world swirled, until she became steady on her feet in the center of the basement. Tucking her tome back into her bag, she tilted her head as she toyed with her braid.


"Niiiishaaa. Oh, Niiiiissshaaaa."

The sound of her voice was like the most sweetest of temptations, though there was underlying haunting tune to it. It was one that her twin - in her right mind - would have known well. It was the voice of someone who had finally let loose on her sanity, the voice of someone who no longer was in her right mind. Tipping her head back, she stared up at the vines, watching for the ones that would tremble lightly - anything to give away her sister's location. After a moment, she found her target. Without hesitation, the Russian clicked her tongue and leaped up, her fingers gripping a vine to swing left and right. In only a matter of seconds, she was on the dark haired woman.

"Found you," she purred, lupine eyes narrowing dangerously. Twisting her hand into the woman's hair, she held her back as she ripped the shard from her grasp. "This is mine. I do not share. You cannot have him. He loves me. Me, do you hear? You are like lost puppy. Go find other toy. Come after again - I will kill you and your wife." The words dripped venom, that crazed look only seeming to brighten more in her eyes. The power of the shard had taken complete control - and with one final snarl, she shoved the woman back and disappeared into thin air.

---

You cannot keep me away for-- Iskra!!!

"That is right. It is okay. I have you now. I promised to protect you. She will never have you. Never."

The woman had completely lost it. She hadn't left the Eyrie - but she had found herself standing on top of one of the highest branches, her body balancing precariously as she stared at the shard. Should she swallow it? That would keep it safe, wouldn't it? No, that wouldn't work. She would only manage to vomit it back up. Where could she keep it? She had to keep it safe! She had to! She couldn't fail the shard. She needed him. Clutching her hand around it tightly, she dropped it quickly into her sword's scabbard and hid it beneath the heavy weapon. No one would find her here -- she was safe. She was safe.

IT WAS HERS.

You succeeded in your endeavour. -- Steal shard

Niklaus watched as the crazy Nishaa bared her fangs at Dulce, she seemed to be the one the most affected by the shard – probably because she held it for the longest amount of time. Then came the other chick, it was Reanna but he didn’t know her name, she called Nishaa ‘Twin’ so he was going to refer to her as that until he found out her name. Anyway, Nishaa’s twin joined the party and managed to wrestle the shard out of her pocket, infuriating the dark haired woman even further. It was kind of scary, really.

Then Reanna had disappeared and Nishaa took off chasing the latter, leaving Dulce on her own. The Killer brushed his fingertips across his holstered gun. “Shoot her, it’ll be fun!” he thought. But he did know Dulce before he met all the others, she was always nice to him too even if she nearly accidentally tried to kill him once; that bewitch vampire moment that misfired three times! He hopped down onto the floor, leaving his stalking position on the tree. Trees weren’t -that- bad after all, if that branch had initially snapped he’d have set fire to the whole damn tree anyway. Yes, Niklaus was destructive as ****. He just had a lid on that part of him most of the time.

The elevator was gone and he was pretty damn sure no one knew it was his doing. **** like that happened on its own every now and then anyway, right? Now he had another business to take care of, the lights. Withdrawing his gun and aiming at the closest source of light to him. BAM! There it went. The action brought him out of shadows, appearing instantly besides Dulce, gun in hand. He would smile at her, some kind of psychotic look in his eyes and lean in to press a kiss to her cheek. “Hi Dulce, nice to see you around here”, he cooed to the blonde before taking aim and shooting another lamp. “Shhh, we’re playing a game. And it’s better to play in the dark, right?” he explained before leaving her to complete his mission.

Oh, she how was going to kill someone.

It was her first thought when she heard the elevator break, fear coursing through her veins immediately as the shadow let out an involuntary whimper crossed with a yelp – even if she knew that she wouldn’t die, it wasn’t something she ever wanted to feel. Jumping out of the elevator just before the doors shut, Every caught hold onto one of the branches. She didn’t want to admit, but Blake caressing her childe’s leg was probably one of the strangest things that she had seen that evening.

But she wanted that shard.

One by one, she watched others arrive. Dulce. She had seen Niklaus. How many ways that? Every counted her faction mates that had shown up, but the number was lost on her as she realized she didn’t have her shard. She wanted her shard. Hazel eyes were closed. Her chest rose and fell with useless heavy breath. Below her, she heard the crash of the elevator and she swung her body forward and back, gaining momentum before flipping herself up right as if she were on bars.

She pulled herself up and stood there, watching.

Listening to the voices that carried through the branches.

Still in her shadows, Every paused and began to climb. She pulled herself up steadily, activating untraceable. It was easy. She could not be found. Mistaken for the wind, maybe, but she was fine. A shadow. She began to plot. To think. How could she get her shard? The thought was easy. At all costs, but deep down, she felt that was wrong. They were her people. Her family. She would not do it.

Things began to get dark.

Lamps shattered.

Niklaus.
She spotted him beside Dulce and eyed them. They didn’t go after each other. They didn’t have what she was looking for. Above her, there was a tussle. She could hear it. She could hear voices. Reanna, then Nishaa, then Reanna. The shadow listened carefully, her hazel eyes glittering with a plan. The threat was clear and then it was Reanna who had the shard.

And Every climbed over to a branch, dangling for a moment before dropping down and summoning the woman. She felt pulled to the scabbard and in a swift movement had her knife out, slicing away the straps before she grabbed it. Another thing. It was hers, it was hers! Stepping back, Every sprinted away towards the thicker portion of the tree, she withdrew the weapon before dropping it blade down into the branch as she ran.

The shard was in her hand as she emptied the scabbard and left it behind.

She had what she wanted.

Reanna with the knife to Nishaa’s back.

The arguing.

She couldn’t trust them, could she?

As she fell, her nails extended into claws and dug into the bark, a long trail of claw marks slowing her fall as she ignored the pain of splinters in her skin. She was back on the third platform. The elevator was broken, where could she go? Where could she go?

Frantic, Every made a dash for Micah’s old hut.

Her bare feet slapped against the wooden floor and as she reached the door, Every shoved it open before sliding inside and slammed it shut. Backing up, the smell of sex and motor oil caused her to lift her shirt to tuck her nose inside where the scent of her amber perfume made it more tolerable as she walked backwards to the wall. She stared at the door. Waiting. Thinking. Collecting an old bandana, Every tied it to her wrist and crouched down as she listened, unaware that the door was still partially open.

Steal the shard - You succeeded in your endeavour.

With the lights too now gone, Niklaus could use his hunter’s vision at its maximum efficiency. Sneaking back to where he had been sitting when he initially found the shard, retrieving his bag to see if he had anything inside that could prove useful to his quest. He would of course stock up on extra magazines, rid himself of his shirt to slip on the Kevlar vest he always carried and finally his hoodie over the latter to blend better in the dark. He decided to take the bag with him, he wasn’t going to let any of his competitors use his own resources against him. His next stop was the shop; he knew the Eyrie definitely had one on the second floor – it was a common area like Pandemonium, wasn’t it?

Inspecting his calf wound for a moment, it really wasn’t serious but he decided to mystic heal the bullet wound anyway. Casting alter ego on himself right after, he couldn’t count on darkness alone to be his ally. The harder he was to find, the better it would be for him to operate. He found the shopkeepers huddled up behind their stores, a regular shop AND a magic shop too? Perfect! Greeted by the barrel of a shotgun the moment he stepped within their line of vision, “Look guys. Crazy **** is happening here, I just need some blood packs then I’ll get you guys out of here, deal?” he negotiated. He was a good guy after all, wasn’t he? And money talked, slapping a wad of bills on the counter. The shopkeepers looked at one another and nodded, “And I need some anima orbs too. Some psycho took out the elevator so I’m going to have to teleport the both of you out.” Having a decent plan would most of the time get people to trust you, he knew that.

Quickly biting into one of the blood bags for a little top-up as the two men discarded their weapons to count the money. How predictable. This was almost too easy. The Killer withdrew his sword from its sheath and hacked horizontally at the closest man’s neck, sending his head flying towards the other male who shrieked and reached out for the shotgun that was still resting on the counter. Niklaus emitted something that sounded like a gigglesnort. Waiting until the male’s arm was lined up perfectly on top of that wooden counter, grubby little fingers snaking towards the shotgun before slamming his blade down a few inches below the shopkeeper’s elbow to sever his stupid forearm. Niklaus slapped a palm to his mouth to try to deafen his scream of agony before plunging his sword into the center of the poor man’s stomach, piercing all the way through the latter and right out of his back.

He left the blade there as blood spurted all over the floor, lifting the severed forearm by the bloodied extremity to slap the man across the face with his own hand, well ex-hand. “It was me who broke the elevator. But shhh, no one needs to know”, he whispered to the dude who was now coughing up blood, seemingly going into some kind of hypovolemic shock, woops. “Don’t die on me, bub. It’s only a flesh wou---“ he started off, then noticed his blade was still lodged in the man’s abdomen, oh well. Dropping the severed limb back onto the counter and retrieving his bloodied sword which he cleaned using the dead man’s own shirt before he fell down with a dull thud. There was a new shopkeeper in town, and his name was Niklaus.

Money didn’t grow on trees too – prompting the Killer to stash his money back into his pocket as he served himself freely; blood, anima, and bullets. Deciding to stash what he couldn’t carry around the Eyrie, a cooler bag with some blood packs behind the couch, the extra magazines went into his bag and the rest he hid behind the crafting bench along with anima orbs. Then he found the one thing that caused him to twitch, oh no he wouldn’t. Gallons of fuel, mainly meant for use in vehicles, but also to start… well, fires. He stashed those too under the nearby computer’s desk. He wouldn't need those right away but.. maybe soon. Niklaus liked, no, loved fires. The two dead bodies were dragged at the back of one of the shops, because.. dead people, yo. He had also planned a surprise too, for anyone else who might want to shop freely. Banishment tiles set on the floor at both shops along with some bear traps he found at the crafting bench. Whoever made these (It was Nishaa!), thank you! He quoted Bane as he set the traps, “Your precious armory, gratefully accepted! We will need it.” And to finish off, he stuck the severed forearm into his hoodie's front pocket just for a moment, picking up a mop to wipe some of that extra blood off the floor; too much red on the damn floor would have probably hinted people that there was something really wrong with those shops. Then the male simply trotted off, swinging his new toy (the severed limb) around. He could severely bitchslap people with that thing.