Path of the Vampire forum

[OOC: The following RP is the introduction of the curse ‘Dark Night’: You are made weaker by a lack of moon, and find yourself unable to use powers (roleplay only) during a new moon.]

The sky overhead was almost completely dark. That was, of course, if you weren’t looking properly, or if you were in the middle of the city and were burdened by light pollution. For Elliot, however, the sky, though mostly black, was a velvety sheen of dew drops, dancing and sparkling—stars, shining bright and happy to have all the attention because the moon was nowhere to be found. Of course, she could be up there somewhere. But tonight, she was not kissed by the sun. She was completely dark, and invisible to all.

Elliot found himself out on the street, feeling somewhat nostalgic. Nostalgia was always at the back of his mind, but for some reason on this night, it was stronger. At first, he attributed it to recent arguments he had had with Pi. Emotions were always stronger, these days, ten times so. He found them hard to deal with at the best of times, let alone when he had a woman stomping all over them. That’s not to say she was doing it on purpose, but nevertheless…

He didn’t agree with any of the decisions she was making for herself, but there was no way to talk her out of them. She was set in her ways, and she had her reasons, and she believed in them. Elliot admired her for having such strength, but in this matter they were like an immovable object against an unstoppable force. Neither had an effect on the other, and so it sent each of them stuck in a mire of their own steadfast morals. It didn’t do them any good, not really.

But still, they found themselves coming together at the end of the night. Ever since Elliot had found Pi bleeding and broken in the Den, after he’d nursed her and patched up her wounds, he’d realised he couldn’t possibly stay away from her any longer. There was one thing upon which they could not agree, but in every other aspect, they loved each other. They were Yin to each other’s Yang, and to be apart was doing more harm than good.

Still, Elliot didn’t know what to do. He preferred it when his life was simpler. When he travelled from one city to another, living only with what money he had in his pocket, leaving friends behind because they, too, travelled from city to city. It was an unspoken agreement, to not ever be anchored. But here he was, anchored. He was not unhappy, but he was still coming to terms. Even after two years, he was still coming to terms.

It was freezing out—truly getting into Winter—but he was being stubborn. He didn’t wear a huge jacket like everyone else was. He knew that this might give him away as something more than human, but he didn’t care. Recently he’d been host to all kinds of foolish ideas, the least of which was to go get himself into all kinds of trouble so that Pi would realise the mistake that she had made. He wouldn’t go quite as far as revealing himself via powers in public, but he was still feeling stubborn. And so he would go without true winter attire.

The first clue that he had that something wasn’t quite as it seemed was how cold he really did start to feel. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his jaw set, as he contemplated the ice that had started to form in his bones. Sure, he still felt the cold as a vampire, but he felt it in the way that one immune to it would feel it—like an observer, rather than as a participant. Now, however, he could feel it right down to his very marrow. So much so, that he actually began to shiver. He hadn’t felt this kind of freeze for so bloody long…

The second clue became apparent as he entered the blackmarket store. The shopkeeper didn’t look at him as he usually did. The shopkeeper was not swayed by the melody of Elliot’s voice; was not convinced by his slick way with words. For the first time in a very long time, Elliot did not get a discount.

Exiting onto the street, Elliot was confounded. He paused on the footpath. He stared left, and then he stared right.

”What the ****…” he mumbled, under his breath.

He was not only confounded by his seeming lack of vampiric power. He was confounded by his seeming lack of relief.

Back and forth, and then back again, that's all Liam seemed to be doing between the ritual shop and the club. He hadn't noticed the lack of moon in the sky tonight, his mind elsewhere as he traversed the the paths and roads back to Wickbridge from Honeymead. Liam always dressed appropriately for how he felt the weather to be, to blend in more easily, go unnoticed until he was ready to be noticed.

Rounding a corner Liam heard a commotion, a raucous between two people that sounded pretty serious. Drawing his pistol from it's holster under his coat, he went to investigate, finding two men arguing with guns pointed at each other, both pistols, arguing loudly, threatening to shoot each other. Amused by this, Liam decided he would shoot them both, then rob their dead bodies, but when he pulled the trigger there was a click but no bang. “****, out of ammo!” he cursed to himself, turning away and heading for the nearest shop to refill his clips.

The keeper at the blackmarket shop looked at Liam with recognition, he had been here before, but when it came to making the purchase Liam was confused at the increase in price, or more, the lack of discount. Trying then to use Palterer on the shopkeeper for a bigger than normal discount, Liam was even further confounded by still being charged full price. Something here was seriously wrong, and he had no idea what. Paying the money he stepped outside, seeing Elliot, a man he had met once before and once only, due to Gambat and his antics, only just hearing the mumbled ”What the ****…” as if his own hearing was not as sharp as usual. Stepping up beside his fellow vampire, Liam placed his hand on Elliot's shoulder to get his attention, “I'm asking myself that very same question, though I have no idea if for the same reason. The shopkeeper seems to suddenly be immune to my powers of persuasion and charged me full price for the first time in tow and half years. What's going on with you Elliot?”

Elliot met a lot of people in his line of work. There were regulars at the pub, as well as at the music store. He didn’t spend as much time at the Weapons Exchange, but he knew people from there, too. People who frequented the mall, as well as everyone he’d met, even if in passing, in the past few years in Harper Rock. The hand on Elliot’s shoulder had him tensing, and he didn’t relax immediately, even after Liam’s face swam into view (it swam, because Elliot’s eyes were watering slightly to compensate for how utterly cold it was—a sensation he hadn’t been privy to for a very long time).

It was only as the guy started to talk, in that proper way that he had, that Elliot remembered. Of course he remembered—maybe that’s why he hadn’t relaxed straight away. The first time Elliot ever met this guy was when he had attacked him in the sewers. It hadn’t actually been him, in the end, but it had looked like him. It didn’t help that, just as Liam finished talking, there was a gunshot in the distance. Gunshots, Elliot supposed, were not to be entirely unexpected in this city.

Even after he realised that there was no immediate danger, Elliot still did not relax. It was clear by Liam’s question that something wasn’t quite right with him, either. This wasn’t just an isolated incident. Elliot turned to the guy—they were just two men having a conversation on the sidewalk. Elliot gestured to the store behind him.

”Same thing. And I’m ******* freezing. Haven’t been this goddamned cold in… I don’t know how long. Is this some kind of twilight zone thing?” he asked. Once upon a time Elliot had been a trusting guy. Had trusted everyone, and gave everyone second chances. Though he was still that guy, to a certain extent, he did have his boundaries. He was confused. He had no idea what the hell was going on. He needed to make sure Liam didn’t have more knowledge than he did.

The gunshot ringing out from where Liam had been before caught him off guard, causing him to jump slightly, but only a little. Again though it seemed like his sense of hearing was lessened by something, not hearing the bang of the gun as loudly as he should have been able to normally.

It was not until Elliot mentioned being able to feel the cold, and just how cold it was, that Liam realised his cheeks were starting to feel a bit numb from the cold. Raising his hand to his cheek to make sure he wasn't imagining it, he was suddenly aware of the bite against the skin of his hand from just how cold it actually was.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, looking right at Elliot "and what is a twilight zone? I am not familiar with that term." Nothing was making sense, nothing at all. His eyes strayed upwards, curious about how the sky was tonight, and saw stars, a couple of clouds, and black. No moon tonight, which saddened him a little, as he always loved to gaze upon the moon. Lowering his gaze once more he met Elliot's eyes with his own "okay, so this has never happened to you before either I take it? Powers are not working, and the cold is hurting instead of just a sensation. I don't know about you, but that gunshot just then, my hearing isn't as good as a vampires should be tonight. There is something highly ******* amiss here!" Of course there was always the point they were both allurists, but he somehow doubted that was anything to do with it, but then again... "You don't think all allurists are being fucked with tonight do you Elliot? Maybe our path is being targeted by some Fae or human magic user?"