Path of the Vampire forum

When the photograph was handed down, Levi’s frown grew a fraction deeper. It was a key - nothing particularly significant as far as he was concerned. At one point it had been a treasure: that last piece of the puzzle that could unlock the door to Theodosia’s throne room. It was interesting that it was regarded as being something so positive given everything that had transpired after her awakening, but he was going to keep those thoughts at bay as he listened to Every speak and lay out the events as they’d happened.

The Italian’s interest piqued at the mention of the redhead, though his reaction was subtle, verging on non-existent. That indifferent, yet surly look was so set in his features that it was almost like he’d been popped out of a press just like that. He lifted his eyes from what he was doing to look back at Every for around half a second and then continued to stare into space as he listened and brooded. Truth be told, his indifference wasn’t disingenuous or worn as a mask to save face. Levi was something of a pecora nera or black sheep, regardless of the family he was in. He hadn’t been in contact with Prudence since they’d been digging in that Siren’s pit with Grant back in Swansdale. Which had been… When had that been exactly… maybe three years ago? It was certainly one of the last significant events he had remembered before all that **** with Valachi, and before he’d had to go into hiding. But now it was the redhead who was hiding out and he had no real way to confirm whether their actions in Swansdale had had any real impact on the goings-on with this ancient Vampira.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter. Much like squabbling over who was responsible for letting the ***** out of her tomb in the first place. Every had gone on to describe it like she hadn’t had any choice in the matter; that rash actions on Ariadne’s part resulted in them having to choose between their own lives and Theodosia’s. Though, the choice was never going to be that simple when something as mundane as Telepathically Appraising the ancient Vampira could result in a migraine and bullets were made as significant as throwing butterflies into a volcano to stop the lava spewing at you. After two Vampira had died and two scuttled off in defeat, the fate of Harper Rock was left in the hands of two Humans. Levi had had to smirk at that; a cloud of smoke chuffing out of his nostrils. It always made him wonder just how much luck and chaos could be proportioned to life’s events in contrast to sentient design. Had Theodosia expected any of this to happen or was she just as surprised as everyone else had been when the dice had rolled and she ended up playing the hand that was dealt too?

It would be impossible to truly comprehend the perspective of an evolved creature - as it would be for an ant to comprehend exactly what it’s like to be Human. It’s why Levi never prescribed to this idea that Vampiri were somehow evolved versions of mankind. They were superior in a lot of ways, but intelligence was a rare thing and that higher-level thinking was not something that Levi thought was possible from their race. Humans, by nature, were emotional creatures as it was and Vampiri took this dependence on emotion circuits straight toward traditional Darwinism and basic emotion theory. The result: a grim version of Pixar’s Inside Out. But while Paul Eckman’s theory suggested that people were ruled by these six basic emotions - happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger - the idea was that being consumed by any one or smaller group of these emotions for too long was damaging to one’s emotional and mental health, and thus, their overall survival.

All organisms, even single cell organisms, must have the capacity to detect and respond to significant stimuli in order to survive. The more complicated the organism, the more sophisticated its ability to detect and respond to those significant events must become. With mammals, the basic survival functions related to feeding, defence, and procreation were believed to have been dealt with by the olfactory system, neocortex, and cognitive functions - meaning that they used basic learning and memory, reasoning, and planning capacities, and, in humans, language to determine how to survive. It wasn’t until around the 1950s that emotions were considered as even being part of the equation. And even 70 years later - after decades of questionable, inhumane experiments - there’s still no clear hypothesis as to the true benefit of emotional evolution. The general perspective, however, is that emotions evolved to enhance man’s survival attempts - such as learning fear and joy for negative and positive experiences can ingrain them more deeply in the subject’s memories. Yet, it’s just as clear that emotional instability can cause just as many fatalities; from individual accidents, suicides, murders, and when leaders can guide enough people into all out war.

So if Vampiri were only capable of being bred out of Humanity, then Levi couldn’t see them as something great, something evolved. People were stupid. A person could be smart, though. A person like him. A person who kept mostly to themselves. This Theodosia could be a person like that too. Just as Every had said; it had been months since this mysterious, ancient creature had been woken from her tomb and she hadn’t done ****. She’d scared enough motherfuckers for them to seal her down in that Labyrinth in the first place and now that she was awake, she was keeping a low profile. There were reasons for that **** and the reasons didn’t settle right in his gut. If he were in her position, he’d be plotting for revenge or getting back on track to where he was before those bastards had done him in. So, that just left them with the question: was Theodosia a threat?

And just like that, the white-haired freak had opened his mouth to say exactly what had been stirring in Levi’s mind. Umber eyes flickered over to the location, sporting a measured glare. His features updated from mild frustration to the addition of concern too quickly to calculate as it seemed that their Telepathic companion was having a migraine of some sort - perhaps thinking was too much effort for the poor sod. Still, the Italian had to admit that it had a point. He felt better about the whole thing when the brunette, Caligrace, supported the theory; supplying an honest, unapologetically self-serving motivation behind it all. They were all in this for themselves at the end of the day and it was genuinely refreshing to hear someone just say it instead of hiding behind some bigger, better reason like they were somehow better than everyone else. He cracked a smile and outted his cigarette; his hands dug deep trenches into his trouser pockets as he leant into the wall behind him.

“Right. So, this'll be the part where we figure out how to fix the world then, yeah?” Levi said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t asking a question. There were these rare moments, usually when the Italian had to work with others, when he spoke his thoughts aloud, in rhetoric. “Coz this ain’t an isolated event. The world is aware of the **** that’s going down in this city, even if we’re hoping that most of them are sceptical and looking the other way. Have any of you got connections beyond the city to know what the verdict is looking in? Coz they’re the folks you’ve gotta control, really. I would say. If you wanna make this whole thing blow over. Or else there’s the other option.”

Levi paused there. For one: because he’d spoken a lot in a short amount of time and didn’t enjoy the echo of his own voice despite being in the top 10 most egotistical bastards in the world. And for two: because he was still testing his audience and wanted to know what their response would be. Did they give a **** about what he had to say? Would they respect his advice even though they wouldn't like it? After all, Harper Rock city was their city and few could imagine a future without it, it appeared to him. So the other option wasn't a nice option. It required the kind of sacrifice that would be necessary for true and long-lasting success, but when that advice came from an unlikable stranger, it wasn't likely to be taken like a spoonful of sugar.

She was factual.

She didn’t have time to make up stories, to feign innocence, to shove blame aside. If others felt that way, that was their prerogative - but, time had passed. She had blood shed and she had more important things to do than to listen to it any further. Statements had only changed for a few, lies and omission unfocused on. You couldn’t please them all, and she’d never given a damn about that in the first place.

Every folded her arms in front of her chest and listened to the conversation around her.

“She told us that she was most comfortable with her creations and wanted to continue her work in peace.” Her lips fell into a frown as she considered it all, “And that we would be able to reach her, to share knowledge and lessons overtime.” Something in her gut told her that killing her would have made things significantly worse. Every’s eyes drifted to the white haired Myk, and then to the others as she continued, “If she was going to do something significant enough to **** us over by now, she would have already.”

Humanity was the more present concern.

“Rumors fly, but the American President, while not bright and a pompous ***, seems to be the one to shoot first and ask questions later. You hear a lot in the clubs.” Fear, while had driven people out of the town, had also brought some inside. “Humans aren’t entirely our enemy. We’ve got allies, if you know where to look.” One that had been strongly for the masquerade, Every still looked uncomfortable saying it despite the connections and friendships that she’d made overtime. Times had changed and adjustments had needed to be made. “I believe we need to convince those here in the city that we’re capable of providing a mutualistic symbiotic relationship,” To clarify, she further said, “As Myk stated, we’re capable of doing monstrous things, yet humans are as well. In the same aspect, we have multiple incredible business owners here in this room. We may not like each other, but I doubt it can be argued we haven’t maintained despite the circumstances. We could help the economy. Help diminish the appearance of crime.”

There was an adjustment of her jaw, a shifting of her body.

She didn’t like to stand still at all.

"They don't have to like us, but if we can convince them they need us, it'll set boundaries with other countries outside of this place."

She’d heard this tale a thousand times before - and still, she remained quiet, raptly paying attention to the brunette as she continued to explain what the once entombed vampire had said. It wasn’t until she was done speaking that she finally sighed, one shoulder rolling back as she ran her fingers through her thick scarlet curls, “I have a few people outside of the city that I can start talking to, to see what’s going on,” she said, first addressing Levi before her gaze shifted towards Every. “What exactly do you propose us business owners do? I could run a few events out of any one of my businesses, plus Lyngvi we can use for whatever purposes.” There was another shrug, and then she was turning, fingers brushing along the back of a chair before she moved to stand behind it.

There was no purpose for this action, other than to distract her from the various emotions shifting throughout the meeting. With nothing more to say for the time being, really, she tapped her nails against the chair and tipped her head, attention steadily drifting from face to face as she waited for someone else to speak up. She only hoped it was to help and not hinder.

As it was starting to become a nuisance turning his head to face the Italian standing so stubbornly at the back of the room and then everyone else, Myk decided to get to his feet. The sound of his heels making contact with the floor was absorbed by the grass of the rooftop garden and the foliage surrounding them, yet he felt like he was walking around on thunderclouds. Perhaps he was imagining it - and he was the sort to become distracted and dissociated from a moment in reality by his own brewing fantasies - but there was a certain tension mounting around the group. Sometimes, saying nothing at all wasn’t necessarily for the better, and Myk scanned the surfaces of Alexandrea and Mortll who had been there in their own little bubbles of silence for what felt like an absolute eternity to him. Still, he felt a swell of the storm emanating from the Shadow at the other end of the room who, as Myk recalled, had suggested on The CrowNet that the real solution to Harper Rock’s little problem was that there were people living in Harper Rock in general. Maybe Levi was generally misanthropic or had a unique sense of humour, because to consider his actions here tonight said that the Italian was, in his own way, offering advice and assistance.

“It might be possible to fix the outside by working on the inside,” the Telepath offered with a casual shrug, lifting a single shoulder before it fell in line with the other. “It’s about relationship reforming, I suppose. A task that you Allurists should be good at,” he said with a wink pointedly in Alexandrea’s direction. “Though it comes down to everyone taking responsibility for their actions, doesn’t it. We want to avoid doing those things that make us look bad and reinforce a good or useful position on the planet so that we can remain upon it. And,” Myk sighed as his pewter eyes looked to each individual in the room. “The couple of us who’ve gathered here today won’t make that much of an impact alone. We can take these lessons and share them out, I guess. But as far as having a list of action plans and responsible candidates? I regret to say that we just don’t have the numbers…”