Path of the Vampire forum

--The following transcript is a live chat RP--

<Zelda> Once again, the skates adorn Zelda's feet. Too long without them, and she starts to feel as if she's missing a limb. The quads are new, Zebra print. They're so smooth, and Zelda is on top of the world, kind of, as she glides down the street. She weaves and twists around through the crowds and around people. It's her first time away from the 'nest'; away from Nyla. She's not been kept prisoner, but she's stayed close by of her own accord. She wouldn't admit that she was scared, but she is a little anxious. Everything's different now. And she's still not quite sure what she's capable of. But she needed a little bit of fresh air--needed to feel the wind whipping through her red hair. And so she has escaped, just for a little while, stubbornly insisting that she'll be fine. Except when she fails to look both ways, gliding across the road--there's the honking sound of a horn behind her. The acrid stench of burnt rubber as tires screech. Someone shouts some choice swear words in her direction. Shocked, a little surprised, Zelda comes to a hasty halt. Whoops?

<Adriel> He had been wandering for a while; it was his usual routine. Adriel was coming to know the streets finally, but not enough that he didn't at least get himself lost at every other odd turn, only to come back upon some building, some monument, that he recognized. He stopped to cross the street, patiently waiting for the passing of vehicles. That was when he saw someone crossing at the wrong moment. He shook his head, watching, but disinterested. . .until he realized that they were not another human; a vampire, finally. Another like him. "Vampire," he muttered to himself, staring at her as if awe-struck at the sight.

<Zelda> Zelda rolls backwards, assessing the scene. The sound of the horn had come from the first car--an old Honda. The sound of the screeching tires had come from the second car, right behind--a new car, with good breaks. There was no accident. The guy in the front car was the one leaning out the window, shouting obscenities. She couldn't see whoever was in the back car--bass was thumping, from that one, and the windows were all tinted. She holds up her hands, and grins. "Sorryyyy." she shouts, before hopping up onto the curb. She shrugs her shoulders and does her best impression of innocent and naive. 'Course, she could have flicked him the finger. But, still a little raw, she wasn't sure it'd be such a grand idea. Best not to make it obvious, what she is, especially given the fact she's got fangs that don't retract. A lovely little gift inherited from her sire. She's too busy rolling backwards and apologising - she's not paying attention, and rolls straight into a bystander. Christ. Could she get any more clumsy?

<Adriel> He continued to watch her, and although he could have moved, instead his hands came out to rest against her shoulders to steady her when the to two collided. "You should be careful," the priest said, hands lowering quickly after. He, too, was vampire - but it wasn't so obvious. The teeth were hidden. His dress was dark, black clericals, the collar white, but he had a jacket loosely draped over it, as though attempting to hide what he wore beneath. "I do not know if that would harm us, but no accident is good."

<Zelda> Zelda's shoulders roll back -- although the weather is still bloody cold at night, she's not really wearing much to make up for it. Sure, her blouse is long-sleeved, but it's a sheer silk material. Thin against the elements. She can feel the coldness of the other's fingers through the material, and she flinches away from it. She spins to face the stranger, another apology ready to pounce from her tongue. Of course, the first thing Zelda does is assess the man's attire - something she cannot help. All dark. And then she gets to the collar. Priest. Weird. Her nose twitches--she knows there's something off about him. Vampire, too? Has to be. There's... oh, she can't put her finger on it. But then he says 'us', as if they're a part of some secret society. Yeah, okay. Vampire. Vampire priest. Odd! "No.... no accident is good," she agrees, eyes wide. Her brain his quick, but her tongue is quicker. "You... okay then. What do you think? Are we demons? Are we possessed by something?" She blinks, curious. She really has no shame.

<Adriel> Adriel stopped and stared at her for a long moment. Her questions came quick, but he was use to such things. People use to approach him in the strangest of places. Strangers with questions on this, on that, as though he knew the answers to everything (when really, he had asked himself the same things). "Do you feel possessed?" he asked in return, "or are you the same as you were - just enhanced?"

<Zelda> Zelda crosses her arms over her chest. She thinks about it for a second. Yeah, sometimes she feels possessed. Sometimes, for a moment or two, when she's feeling most frustrated, she's possessed with a healthy irritation toward her sire for doing this to her. But otherwise, irritation aside, she does feel the benefits. She narrows her eyes. Rather than answer the question, she takes a leaf out of the priest's book. She answers the question with another: "I take that as a no, then? Do you feel enhanced?"

<Adriel> He nodded with a patient smile; only the curve of his lips upward. No showing of teeth. "We are powerful," he answered indirectly. "But does that make us demonic? For isn't it how we use such gifts that define what we are?"

<Zelda> A glimmer of a smile tugs at the corners of Zelda's lips. Her arms are still crossed over her chest, the quads still beneath her. He speaks the truth. And Zelda hasn't quite figured out, just yet, how she's going to use her 'gifts'. She hasn't quite got a handle on them yet to make much use of them. "So what you're saying, father, is that we ought to turn our gifts to good? Become... superheroes, or something?"

<Adriel> He shook his head. "You need not be a 'superhero,' as you say, to do good. Though, you need not use them for good, either. But should they be used to harm?" His head tilted at her. "Do you want to be possessed, Child?"

<Zelda> The glimmer of good humour slips a little bit. Zelda shifts slightly on her feet, her features hardening. She pushes herself back a bit. She doesn't like that last question. Doesn't like it one bit. Is that a thing? Can it be done? Can he possess her, or cause something to possess her? "**** you. I'm not a child. No, I don't want to be possessed, thank you very much. Don't even try...!”

<Adriel> Ah, ah. He shook his head again, dark eyes suddenly pained as she moved back. "I will not possess you. Do not fear. I'm not able." That he knew of; then again, he was learning something new about what he could and couldn't do with each day passing. "Do not fear."

<Zelda> "I'm not afraid!" Zelda nearly screeches, and a little too quickly. She bites her tongue and takes a deep, unneeded breath. She forces her body to relax--the guy looks genuinely remorseful. She deliberates for a second, before forging on--ashamed of her little outburst, she seeks to remedy the situation. "I'm sorry. I'm kinda new to this whole thing," she pauses. "Zelda Faye," she says, sticking out her hand for the priest to shake.

<Adriel> He watched her in silence, unsure. Adriel was a weak vampire. He had few powers, and little strength, incase she decided to attack. But going with instinct instead, he took the hand. "I was Father de Benedetti," he said. "But I am using the name Adriel again."

<Zelda> "I'm going to go ahead and assume you're not local, then," Zelda muses out loud. Hell, that much is obvious, given the accent. It isn't a question, though. She's got plenty of questions, and assumptions did not add to the collection. "Using Adriel again," she says, then licks her lips. "So you don't want to be known as a Father anymore?" she asks. She's probably far too curious for her own good. But that's Zelda for you - right down to brass tacks. No time for waffle.

<Adriel> "No, no. . ." he smiled at her again, that patient, slow smile. "But local now, aren't I?" He didn't mind the questions; it was far better than her attacking him, as had happened too many times. Never another vampire. . .but humans. "That is tricky subject. I do not suppose many would refer to me as a Father anymore, being what I am. I have my own questions to answer."

<Zelda> Zelda shrugs. "I'm sure there are plenty of vampires wanting to confess their sins," she says. But then she actually stops to think - given the conversations she's been privy to on the Andras Crownet, she wonders whether any of them have a bone of faith in their bodies. She doesn't think much about God or religion. But nor does she condemn it in others. All she knows is that his guy, this Adriel intrigues her. There's got to be a complexity to his soul. Moreso than hers. "Your own questions? Like what?" she asks.

<Adriel> "If I will remain as this," he answered, and turned, stepping further back on the sidewalk. "Would you like to walk with me?" he asked her, "Or . . . " he stopped and looked down at the skates on her feet, his mind blanking on what it was they were called. " . . . roll?" he asked, shifting his fingers forward to imitate the movement of skates sliding across concrete.

<Zelda> "Sure. I'll roll with you, padre," Zelda says, grinning. Her lips are painted a vibrant red, and when she smiles, her whole face lights up. Zelda never smiles unless she means it. She never does anything unless she means it. Life isn't meant to be lived half-hearted. She eases forward, calf muscles flexing beneath her shiny silver pants. "You're looking for a cure?"

<Adriel> Adriel walked forward, steps measured so that they remained side-by-side on the sidewalk. "Good." He stared across at her, returning her smile. For a priest, he was young. Mid twenties, likely, but he had a young face, and could have passed for younger; his hair a brown mess tonight, for once. "That is not what I mean. I mean if I remain in the Order."

<Zelda> "Oh," Zelda frowns. Good point. If there's one thing she assumes about that particular band of organised religion, it's that they're not all too tolerant. She doubts they'd be welcoming a vampire in their midst. "That's got to suck. But you... I mean, I didn't ask for this, right? But I'm well taken care of. I've got... like, a family, kind of. What about you? Do you... have anything like that?"

<Adriel> He nodded. "I have the woman who made me into this," he answered. "Wonderful woman, though I knew not what she was doing." He paused, face tilted down slightly, as though embarrassed. "She pretend to be the angel with me. Then did this to me."

<Zelda> The frown remains steadfast upon Zelda's features. "Right. Yeah, I understand. I don't think Nyla - the one who did this to me - ever pretended to be anything other than what she was. But still. Kinda forced. Kinda didn't have a choice. But hey! No regrets. Right? Better to just... live in the moment and enjoy what's given to you. Yeah? It's not a curse if we don't make it a curse," she says, the frown dispersing, her bright demeanour once again shining through.

--The following transcript is a live chat RP--

<Adriel> His face lifted, and he nodded to her words. "I do not hate her for it. I asked for a sign. This is the path destined for me." He brushed his hair back the best he could with just his fingers. "I would not call this a curse. As I do miss the sunlight, I know that this is what I was meant to do. To be." Hopefully. His voice had grown shaky at that last bit, for he wasn't even sure anymore.

<Zelda> Zelda can hear the tremor in the man's voice. She admires him for his positive outlook - she, too, retains a positive outlook. That, at least, is something that she hasn't lost. She throws an arm around Adriel's shoulders - sure, he's still a stranger, and this amount of physical contact might be a bit weird. But this is Zelda, and she doesn't give a flying ****. She squeezes a little, a semi-hug. "You're fine, Padre. It's all going to be peachy. Just... try to enjoy yourself while you're waiting to find your... path," she says. Forever optimistic, even if she thinks its ludicrous that he's waiting for a path at all. She likes to believe she's the master of her own destiny - no one else has a say.

<Adriel> A little shocked, he turns to her. How easily she put her arm around him was surprising. The contact was different, almost foreign. "My life is not about enjoyment," he replied. "I have a calling. No matter that I contemplate? leaving it. I will keep my vows."

<Zelda> Zelda removes her arm and holds her arms up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. Getting a bit touchy, there. Fine, see if I care. Don't enjoy yourself at all. Be my guest," she says, before biting her tongue. She could rant and rave at him about how that's no life to live. Could ask him what's wrong with him. But he just looks so innocent, so bloody wounded--she can't do it. She keeps her ranting to herself.

<Adriel> "Oh, forgive me, I'm sorry." He sighed, hand touching his face, and rubbing one eye. "It is only something I think of constantly. It is a confusing subject now, for I do not know what it is I will do." He had prayed on it; he had sat for hours in the temple, head bowed, begging. But nothing had come to him yet. He remained dresses in what he was comfortable with. But at some point, he'd have to decide.

<Zelda> Zelda eyes him for a second. And then, risking the subject again, she speaks: "Did you ever think, maybe, that your supposed to choose not to be in the order anymore? That... that the path given to you is... one of freedom?" she asks. What else does he think he's supposed to do? Save the world, one soul at a time?

<Adriel> Nodding, he thought over her words. His hands moved behind his, holding together behind his back as he walked. "Yes, I have thought that." Not that freedom would have been the word of choice. He was free, technically. He chose to take his vows. And he had the choice to forsake them, if he so wished. "I would not know what to do with myself."

<Zelda> "Make new friends," Zelda says with a grin and a mischievous look to her eye. "Honestly, I think that... not thinking about it is the best course of action. If you were to ... give up your vows, I mean. Just let life... pull you along on the current. Do with you as it wants to. Hell, we have eternity now, right? There's no rush," she says. They pass by a cafe, the smells from within wafting out. Zelda take a deep breath, and rolls onward a little quicker. She wants to escape the scent of coffee. Oh, how she misses coffee.

<Adriel> "It is best I do not think about it, yes," he said. "I have much time to think later." Though he would continue to think about it every night, almost every minute of each night. Considering, contemplating, and weighing the good and bad. Coming by the cafe, he watched as she moved faster, and he moved with her. "Do those places bother you?"

<Zelda> "No, well, yes," she says. She could leave it at that, but she feels like she ought to answer some of the Padre's questions, seeing as he's been so gracious in answering so many of hers. "Used to work in one. Loved that place. But you know - can't eat things anymore. Can't drink. And it's just a reminder. So ... I'll get over it. But I avoid them for now," she says with a flash of a smile.

<Adriel> "I understand," he said, not pressing on it. "Cafes are wonderful. I have been to many since coming here. Good place to sit, to rest. And I do enjoy the smell of coffee. I would drink coffee at any time I could. There is no vow against coffee." He smiled at her, pleased at his little joke.

<Zelda> "I should hope not!" Zelda says, a little aghast. "You're from Italy, though, right? Surely the cafes here have nothing on the cafes in Italy," she asks. She's never actually been to Italy. She's never been anywhere outside of Canada.

<Adriel> He laughed. "The cafes of here are not all-so different. The language and the foods are different, but much is the same. I may like those here much better. The coffee tastes wonderful." Or did. He hadn't had a taste since his turning.

<Zelda> Zelda ponders. Maybe it's because those cafes in Italy are the ones he's used to. That's why he prefers these ones. But then another thought occurs to Zelda - maybe a bit off topic. But no so much, at the same time. "Oh, hey! So after I was turned, right, I was told all ... we all have 'paths'. Like... we're all different, somehow, with the things we can and can't do... " she started, watching Adriel carefully to make sure he was keeping track. "I very quickly realised I wasn't... there's a path, I think, where vampires can actually eat. And stuff. What... do you know what path you are? You're not one of those lucky bastards?"

<Adriel> He watched her speak, doing his best to keep up with her words. She spoke different than he was acustom, but it wasn't too different. "I am an Allurist, if that is what you mean," he answered. "If I am able to eat, I do not know, because I have not tried. It has been blood only." Bloodpacks, only. No humans. He could never, and would never, harm someone else. Unless desperate.

<Zelda> There were so many paths, and Zelda had been told a hell of a lot after she was turned. She was trying to remember, exactly, what Allurists were capable of. She feels foolish, now, for bringing up the topic - she's not really being helpful if she can't remember. As soon as it was discovered that she was a Mystic, all information about the other paths just slipped her mind. "Nifty," she says. "I'm a Mystic. I kinda can't... unless I want to...you know," and here, she mimics throwing up.

<Adriel> "Must be frustrating," he said. "To not be able. I have not thought much on food or drink. I always ate little." And drank water and wine, with the smallest exception depending on the occasion. "Does it upset you to be unable now?"

<Zelda> Zelda shrugs. "If I don't think about it, it's fine. It's like... I can eat at the beginning of the night and then the craving's not there anymore. If you're not hungry, you don't think about it. I just distract myself with other stuff. You know. Accosting random Padres on street corners and asking them deeply personal questions. It works a treat," she rambles, grin still steadfast.

<Adriel> Again, he laughed, a pleasant sound. "And do not forget. Nearly being run down by speeding vehicles in the road. Those are effective distraction, though they may be too dangerous."

<Zelda> Again, mock horror. "What are you saying, Padre? Are you dangerous?" she asks. He had said 'they', as if both speeding cars and random Padres are dangerous. Lumping them both together in the same category. "I dunno," she says, tempted to reach out and ruffle the guy's hair a bit. It's such a brown, fluffy mess already, it's near irresistible to want to touch. Given his last reaction to her touching him, though, she doesn't dare. "I think you're pretty tame. So long as you don't learn to possess people," she says with a laugh.

<Adriel> "Heh," he laughed again with her. "Not what I mean, but yes, if I learn to possess, we are all in trouble. It would be then," he pointed a finger, "only then that I would be a demon. But no worries. I am no danger."

<Zelda> Zelda smirks. She likes this guy. Perhaps he can be a little serious, but at the same time, he's willing to have a joke. No person is worth knowing if they're not able to have a laugh every now and again. "So what are you up to, Adriel?" she asks, using his actual name for the first time. "Were you doin' anything before I came and swept you off your feet?"

<Adriel> "Wandering, mostly," he said. "That's how I spend my time now. I am not sure what else to do. This is my home, now. And although I may not be happy with it, I accept it. And I need to learn this city best I can if I am to live here."

<Zelda> Zelda spreads out her hands in a gesture of good will. "Well then. Looks like I've been put in your path for a reason, then. Harper Rock, born and bred I am. Whatever you want to learn, I can teach!" she says, beaming. She'd quite happily be a tour guide. "Anything particular you like doing?"

<Adriel> Adriel shook his head, smiling slightly. Oh, this was going to be one ride to remember. "I take these walks. That's something I do enjoy." Things which were usually quiet. Until tonight.

<Zelda> "Just walking? Seriously? No other hobbies? How about a pair of skates, Padre? Want to have a go?" she grins. "If you like hockey, we've also got plenty of that," she says. Nothing to say a priest can't enjoy his sport. "Plenty of pubs and clubs. Movie theatres. Shopping malls. There's an abandoned church up yonder, if you want to have a gander," she says. She assumes he knows about the catacombs. She herself hasn't visited them, though she'd been told about them. The thought of them give her the heebie jeebies.

<Adriel> "I am a boring man, I suppose." He shrugged. "My mother owned a flower shop, if that gives any credit. We were not an exciting family." He listened to her, but shook his head at most thoughts. "Oh, I am sure you're going to open a new. . .horizon? for me."

<Zelda> "If you let me, sure," Zelda says. She can't do anything for anyone if they're not willing to let her try. She laughs, and shakes her head. "I don't think you're boring. I think you're complex. And that's not boring," she adds with a nod.

<Adriel> "We will see. Maybe I am not such boring as I believe."

<Zelda> Zelda grins. "Most people aren't as boring as they think they are. And when they are boring, they think they're not," she says, even as she's digging into her handbag. She pulls out a pen, black ink, permanent. She grabs hold of Adriel's hand. "Anyway. I'm serious. Call me," she says, holding the priest's gaze for two second, before continuing, "If you want a guide," she adds, scribbling her number on the top side of his hand. "I should get back to my sire. I ran off without telling her. She's probably frantic," she says with that trademark mischievous grin.

* Adriel stopped and watched as she wrote her number on his hand. He stared at it, as if she'd written in some alien language. "I do own a phone now, so I can call. And yes, I should be returning to the temple. I have been falling asleep in the sun too often."

<Zelda> Zelda notices the way he's staring at his hand, as if there's a bug on it that he's fascinated by. She can't help but grin. "Yeah. We don't much like crispy fried priest around here. You'd better do that. See you around, Padre. And don't forget to call!" she says, before barreling off in the direction of home.

<Adriel> He waved her off before turning the other direction, going back the way he'd come.