Molly and the Snake [Azraeth]

[Eureka]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Azraeth> The evening was chill, the build up of an arctic blast having washed over Harper Rock's landscape to bring with it uncomfortably freezing lows. Az's own home lacked warmth if only because he didn't associate with many humans. Of those he would never have invited them to his personal abode if only because most of them would not have understood his choice in décor. Nor the circle of magic, the blood stained altar. His home had been converted a short time before so that it was comfortable to his tastes as they applied to hunting. Sound proofing, easy to clean walls and floors that hid evidence of misdeeds well. He had invited Eureka over so that he could get to know her a bit better. On CrowNet, he'd seen she had sired someone, difficult for anyone, much less someone so new. He wanted to gauge what she or her progeny might need.


<Eureka> This whole life was still so new to Eureka, and she had been sired at the point in her humanity at which she had snapped. Something had broken inside of her and what had been unleashed was something she hadn't even understood - and then Chad snatched her up off the street and gave her immortality, and a kind of power that could be dangerous in her hands, as soon as she discovered just exactly what she was capable of. Still, she was discovering new things, and new people, and this Azraeth had reached out. Had said he would 'summon' her, whatever that meant... so Reka had wandered around in a circle, gasping when she felt the tug. One second she was in the flats, sneaking a look at the computer in the office there, and the next she was ... somewhere that looked even grimmer. Her blue-green eyes were wide, her attire fitting for some feral street kid, and her mouth agape as she found the only other soul in the room. "What is this place?"


<Azraeth> He stood with his hip resting against the altar, arms folded over his chest. There was a heaviness to the air, though the exact cause of it was likely difficult to pinpoint. Someone learned in the way of vampires might have attributed it to Azraeth's apartment being a place of death, and that unnatural stain had left its spiritual grime as residue. Or perhaps because of Raeth's communion with the Shadow Realm, the way he regularly opened windows to it, allowing the darkness to flow into his home. Some may have said it was the anguish of the fae he trapped regularly in his home, to do his bidding. "This is my apartment." He said with a smile which revealed rows of pearly teeth. The expression was lopsided, a little bit on the dopey side, not that he'd ever admit to it. A hand slid from where it lay tucked against his abdomen so he could offer greeting. The place was dark, and serpentine pupils were wide, chasms of black that cut the ocean tide that were his starburst eyes. "It is modeled after a darker place though. Welcome, Eureka. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Azraeth of Dragomir and Worthington."


<Eureka> "Jesus Christ on a ******* stick," she breathed. One of the first things she noticed was that the man in front of her seemed weighted with the same kind of heaviness that pervaded the apartment. Apartment, he said, though she felt like she'd slipped into some episode of the twilight zone. Although she glanced at the greeting hand she ignored it, her wide eyes instead slipping to half admire her surroundings, to explore tentatively like a cat in a new home. Her nostrils even flared as she attempted to sniff the place out, her attention zeroing in on the altar; on wherever it was that the scent of blood came from. Her own eyes seemed to widen, but they weren't of a peculiar shape like Azraeth's. She blinked as she turned her attention back to the man. "What's Dragomir? Why do I smell blood? Where do you sleep?" she asked, questions rolling from her tongue with no sense of grace or social etiquette.


<Azraeth> He wanted to retort that Christ had very little to do with what lay in his apartment. Indeed, chances were that if the divine did exist - its morality would have caused it to turn an eye aside from the sight. When the woman did not take his hand, he simply withdrew it, allowing it to lay at his side. He had recently begun (largely due to Lorelai and Prudence) wear clothing that did not consist of tailored suit pieces. Jeans and a jacket. Nondescript really. He had dark features and could have slipped into just about any crowd and become nearly invisible to the naked eye in the midst of every other person. "A Dragomir is a type of Worthington, those who come from the bloodline of my sire, Nikolae." He explained evenly, and then glanced back to the altar. "I sleep wherever I happen to be." He suffered from an affliction that essentially knocked him out the moment the sun came up. Comfort was of very little importance to him if only because it was pointless really. "And you smell blood because I recently performed a ritual, and while sacrifice is not generally required - I am very old fashioned in certain ways." Conversational. He watched her move around the apartment, seemingly not fussed at her choice to sniff about. "And you? You have a place to lay your head?"


<Eureka> Eureka nodded slowly, her mouth dry and her eyes hardly even blinking as she continued to look around, gaze snapping from place to place as if trying to find the remains of the sacrifice. She licked her lips and ignored her mounting desire for blood--reminded herself that she had already eaten a blood pack that night--and reluctantly returned her focus to the speaker. "Chad gave me a dungeon and told me I could decorate it how I wanted to. Except I have no money and furniture is a bit hard to steal..." she trailed off, curiously stepping toward the altar. "I wake up every night on the roof, though. The roof that Chad turned me on. I get to wake up staring at the stars and I actually really like it..." she babbled, though her words were somewhat slurred as her mind found it hard to concentrate properly. "What did you sacrifice? What for? What is this?" she asked, of course referencing the altar.


<Azraeth> He could tell that she was taking everything in, in her own way, and that was part of why he made no move to stop her, or offer her something like a seat somewhere. It seemed, to him, to be like when an animal first discovered a new habitat. They wanted to explore everything, make sure that there was no danger, sate their curiosity. Aside from Az, the only other living (for lack of a better word) thing in the apartment was Magog, his familiar - an albino death adder who lay curled up on the altar itself. She made no move to change the situation and simply lifted her head to inspect Eureka briefly before returning it. Obviously not viewed as a threat. "I have heard of that. Most would consider it a curse." He didn't comment as to whether he did. "I sacrifice any number of things from small chickens to larger things. Depends largely on the size of the spell. And this is a ritual altar. Beyond it is a circle which is used to hold a demi-fae." Terms that the woman likely did not know, or understand. "I should probably have prefaced all of this by saying that I am one of the more magically inclined of our kind. My home reflects my taste in the spiritual and infernal."


<Eureka> Eureka hasn't noticed the snake until it had moved. The sudden movement had her recoiling, if only slightly--if only until she understood what it was that had moved. As soon as she did, she found herself lightly stepping over to the alter and half laying herself out upon it, as if she wanted to crawl up onto it and curl around the snake. Her legs were spread to distribute balance but from her body from the waist up was laid out on the alter. Not touching the snake, even though the temptation was there. She knew, instinctively, that other wild animals didn't like to be touched. They liked to familiarise themselves with other living things in their own time. So Eureka lay there, become part of the furniture. When she spoke, it was a low sultry rumble--she didn't want to scare the animal away, and her eyes were fixated upon it. "I didn't know there were spells. What kind of spells?" she asked, her avid curiosity reflected in her still-wide eyes, which flicker only momentarily in Azraeth's direction.

[Azraeth]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Azraeth> Magog, to her credit, did not immediately strike - which would have been her instinct should the tempering effect of her master not been in play. She was an insanely territorial creature, who frequently remained close to Az. She was even known to attack those who thought to cause him harm, ineffective as he was against the dead or unnatural. Her tongue slid out, moving through the air before she blinked and then began to uncoil, drawing closer. Her movements were the soft flow of water, a brook, making its way across stones until she could inspect the woman. Az may not have understood the exact reason for Eureka's actions, but Magog appeared to. "There are all varieties. Some of them to do harm, some of them to bring peace, others to find one's childer. Really there are many uses. Most recently I locked this location onto a tome of homebound, which will allow the one who holds it to teleport here instantaneously." He explained briefly. "How is Chad? If you don't mind my asking. I hate to bring up another person when I drew you here to discuss other things, but I haven't seen him in some time."


<Eureka> Eureka might have shrugged but she was too preoccupied pretending to be an unmoving, non-threatening object. Though of course she knew that the snake knew it was a lie. With every breath she took that she did not need, with each word that she spoke, the snake would feel the vibrations. She knew this, without really knowing how. She should fear the snake, but she didn't. She stayed right where she was, and did not dare to try treat the snake like it was some inferior pet. It was a comrade. And equal. "He's fine, as far as I know. I'm not sure he gets out much," she said, a twitch of a smile curling the corners of her lips as the snake drew closer. She might have purred for it, had she that specific natural ability. "Maybe I should make him do what you do so he can make me a tome to my dungeon. Though I kind of like roaming. I'd prefer to do it without shoes," she suddenly realised. "Do you think anyone would notice if I walked around without shoes?"


<Azraeth> "I had gathered that. Well hopefully he is doing well. I have noticed that he has not posted on the lineage CrowNet. Some might say that he is hiding from his bloodline - not that I strictly agree with that, but I would like to see him at least speak with some of the rest of us." He left it at that though. There was a great deal of history where the bloodline and Chad were concerned. Az was entirely certain that Nikolae would want to speak with the man. The pale serpent drew close to Eureka and briefly tested the air about her before decisively roaming back to where she had originally been so that she could once more attend Morpheus in her slumber. "I think if you walk around outside without shoes on, in the freezing, someone will notice. Maybe you should wait until spring fully sets in or summer before doing that." A suggestion really.


<Eureka> Eureka visibly pouted as the snake returned to its previous state of slumber, but she did nothing to change the situation. She slipped from the altar almost like a sulking child, and straightened her shoulders--she lifted her arms over her head in a languid stretch. Clearly, she had no interest in family politics and did not grasp the notion that her turning was something of an event. It did not occur to her that there was anything wrong with Chad's behaviour. She expected nothing more from him--didn't think there was anything more to expect, really. Didn't need to ask for anything because, well... she was content. And happy. For now. "Maybe you should speak to him," Eureka said plainly, though she sounded, perhaps, bored. She began again to wander around, her fingers trailing along the walls as her gaze was pulled to a shimmering, shifting of the atmosphere. She reached out a tentative hand. "What is this?"


<Azraeth> A brow slowly lifted to her suggested. Dark curve of it slipping upwards on his brow. "If I had a means to do so, I would." He replied honestly. But Chad had been seemingly out of touch for a very long time. Perhaps he may have been wrong in that - but it was not his nature to intrude on someone else's territory. Az had never been particularly close to Chad, but Nikolae would likely want to get into contact with him. It was something Raeth would suggest next time he saw the man. "You are standing in a replica of the Shadow Realm." It seemed the previous topic had been moved past entirely. "It is the afterlife for our kind, a place of darkness. Most of our kind consider it a very cruel world, but I...have a certain attachment to it." A shrug as he let his hands slip into his jean pockets. "Anyway, I called you here because I thought I might ask you if you are in need of anything, though from what I've seen, I wager not. And your childe as well. Congratulations, by the way."


<Eureka> This time Eureka does recoil completely, giving the shimmering space a wide berth. There were a few different places in the apartment that seemed to shimmer in different ways, but she refrained from asking about any of them. She didn't particularly want to be visiting any kind of afterlife. Not now that she had gained this one. She had turned to blink, almost inquiringly. Her neck was straight and the tendons stark against the alabaster skin. Until the man offered congratulations, andEureka couldn't help but beam. "Thanks! I didn't think it worked. I found him and he was all torn up and I dunno what happened to him, but I was curious to see if I could. Like Chad did. You know, bring him back? But nothing happened and he looked dead so I left him. But I found him again. Or he found me. We found each other? Doesn't matter. He's here now. A thing of my own," she said, running out of breath and needing to suck in a new lung full. "And really I answered that question already. Is there something else I should need? I don't feel like I need anything. Why does everyone keep asking me that question?"


<Azraeth> He noted, perhaps belatedly, that the woman's hand passed across his fadeportal. So for clarification: "And that specific part of my home is a fadeportal. Think of it as a place where the world has folded in on itself. You step through it, and you will appear somewhere else. Specifically, you will find yourself at the Cherrydale station, just inside." He commented briefly before continuing. "I hope that he and you find your place in our little community." Normally he might have told her to be careful who she turned. But Az had turned people to save them before, so he really saw no point in casting his opinion on the matter. Besides. So long as a childe did not go out of the way to draw attention or break secrecy - it really didn't matter one way or the other how they acted. Not in his experience. "I would wager people ask because they care." And then a pause. "I would enjoy it while it lasts. Not everyone you will meet will be so giving, nor so nice. Those in your bloodline, you will find, may not even always be so supportive." Which was frank and honest.


<Eureka> As Azraeth spoke, Eureka's roaming became a little more agitated. She felt as if she were being lectured for something, which is not what she thought this meeting was about. Even though he was probably just trying to be nice. And to answer the question that she had asked. She couldn't really complain. Eureka had circled back around to what Azraeth had referred to as a fadeportal. "I'd happily take things that I don't need and hoard them somewhere but it still stands to reason that I don't know what the **** it is I might need. Except maybe some fresh air. I'm going to go get some fresh air. Thanks for the chat," she said. She didn't wave. She didn't say goodbye. She didn't even look over her shoulder before she vanished through the portal--rather gleeful that the thing did as Azraeth had said it would. Cherrydale Station. Who'd have thought? Too far away from where she needed to be. But the next train would soon remedy that.