Path of the Vampire forum

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

* Athena had been working herself ragged lately. It was a bad habit of hers. The woman enjoyed being busy, it kept her mind at ease and helped her with her grave need to do something with her hands. While she worked all the hours she could, she would wander round the City looking for things to kill. She loved her drums but as of late she hadn't played, too busy working or sleeping in weird places. After a few more checks she planned to look for something small to rent but for right now? She would sleep wherever she could. As for tonight, she hadn't exactly meant to but she was snoozing against a wall in the mausoleum, a book clutched in her right hand even as she slept soundly. One of these nights she could find herself wounded simply because she didn't think any better to tome home where she was always safe.

* Cosimo Alessi the last time Cosimo had checked out the Mausoleum, he hadn't had a chance to actually explore. He'd ended up talking to Athena, instead - and then going home directly afterwards. This time, he made good use of his time; he discovered he could not kill the hulking masses of flesh that he had found out were called Mooncalves. But he could kill the Ancient Zombies just fine. He looked like he knew what he was doing as he stalked around corners and down hallways, but really he was avoiding the Moons and going after the Ancient. But even then, he wasn't sure he'd spend too much time down here. It was too dark. Too gloomy. Depressing. He went to round one corner but saw a Mooncalf up ahead; so he backed away, keeping his eyes on the monster. Of course not watching where he was going, though; his back foot colliding with something fleshy. And he fell backwards. The Italian landed hard on his backside; he almost thought he heard something crack. The sword clattered out of his grasp, and he shouted, cursing none too mildly in his native tongue.

* Athena was suddenly jerked awake, her knees instantly raised after a quick pain rang over her legs. "Ow!" she muttered, her eyes opening wide as she slowly pulled herself up from her slump against the wall so that she was sitting up straight. "Hm.." she mumbled, her eyes slowly opening and closing as she reached her free hand to rub over her eyes. She was still sleepy. When her eyes adjusted she saw Cosi just laying there, sword tossed aside and he was cursing. "What's got you all crabby?" she mumbled, yawning right there.

* Cosimo Alessi could see, in the distance, the Mooncalf had turned toward the sound. Its hulking mass now lumbering toward them. It took him a few seconds to realise he'd tripped over a... "Were you SLEEPING?" he asks, incredulous. After everything! "I tripped! Over you!" he winced, trying to move to stand to be able to face the threat now coming their way, but a sharp pain in his backside had him cursing again.

* Athena tipped her nose some towards the man when he yelled at her. About to huff before she suddenly heard the loud sound. What the... "Oh Thanks Cosi!" she muttered, quickly getting to her heels as she reached behind herself for her gun that she kept tucked at the back waistband of her leather pants. "****." she muttered, letting her book fall on the ground as she raised her gun and started to shoot. It shouldn't be too hard for her, these days she was killing both Ancients and Mooncalfs easily. It would be soon that she'd need harder targets.

* Cosimo Alessi let Athena deal with the Mooncalf. She deserved any challenge it might offer her, as far as Cosimo was concerned. Behind her, he tried to roll onto his hands and knees, to push himself up into a standing position. Something had definitely broken as he'd landed. And he hoped it wouldn't take too long to heal. It was hindering all kinds of movement. At least he could be thankful that it wouldn't add yet another scar to his collection. Not on the outside, anyway. As soon as he was standing, he went to collect his own weapon. Only when he bent over, his back spasmed and he was swearing all over again. All this, while trying to keep an eye on the woman with her gun, and the hulking Mooncalf who probably wanted to eat them alive.

* Athena didn't seem bothered by it. Then again, she didn't ever seem bothered by much. Her attitude was usually breezy when she wasn't busy being cranky about something or another. Yawning, she held her gun and kept shooting over and over the exact sequence that she developed over her nights in the mausoleum when she wasn't tripping Cosi. Bullet after bullet seemed to do no good with the Mooncalf but as she continued - it seemed to slowly work, taking the Calf by surprise and making it even more irritable as she made damage. It was a few bullets later and more than halfway to them that the damn thing dropped dead. "That thing could have killed me!" wasting no time in pivoting on her heel to yell at the man who she had tripped.

* Cosimo Alessi glared at the woman. "Yes, it could have! And you would not have had any time to even pull your gun because you were asleep! I would not have tripped and broken if you were not asleep! You do not have the right to be angry with me!" he said. He was leaning over with his hands on his knees, waiting for the spasm to pass - and feeling like he wouldn't be able to stand straight again without more excruciating pain. The lower half of his back felt numb. Haphazard hair fell over his eyes and he could not even move to get it out of the way.

* Athena glared right back. "I have every right to be angry with you!" she shouted, shoving the gun back into the back waistband of her pants as she made her way to him. "You could have watched where you were going too ,you know!" she muttered, irritable as she made her way to him. When she was only three steps away from him, she paused. "...Are you alright?" she asked, her nose wrinkling with concern.

* Cosimo Alessi grumbled. "I was trying to avoid the mostro. I do not need to watch because there should not be sleeping bodies in my way," he said. Yeah, there could have been dead bodies, or fallen debris, but that was beside the point. There was anger in his eyes and a frown on his brow as he shook his head. "There is a broken bone. I think," he said. He did not answer the question. He was male, after all - he had his own pride to look after.

* Athena continued to glare even if everything else about her seemed concerned. She didn't like being yelled at. Besides, she was also feeling just a little ping of guilt when she saw how hurt he must be. "Here, let me look at it for you." she said, taking half a step closer. The stiletto on the ground made a little sound but than that she was quiet for once. She would not move to get closer unless he said it was okay, she respected personal space the most.

* Cosimo Alessi waved Athena away. What would she see, anyway? Just bruised skin, probably - if there was even a bruise yet. Cosimo did not know whether it would heal too quick for there to be a bruise. But then, he didn't know whether this was so bad that he wouldn't be able to... who was he kidding? He'd sleep like the dead regardless of how uncomfortable he might be. "No, thank you. I am sure it will heal. You do not get to look at my backside tonight. You do not deserve it," he said, cringing. Yeah. There was that old Cosimo, still. Even now, when he was feeling like an invalid.

* Athena grunted at him when he waved her away. Her lips pressed into a line and with that she shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather pants. "I sure hope you will heal, you're a vampire after all." Then he made his joke and she simply laughed and shook her head once. "Thank you for not scarring me." she teased, struggling to stay put when she actually did want to help. Her head tipped, ebony hair falling over her shoulder as she kept her blue eyes on him just in case she did need to swoop in and help him.

* Cosimo Alessi was actually terrified that if he stayed hunched over like this, he might get stuck that way. Maybe his back needed to be straight for it to heal properly. He ignored the negative comment about his backside (he thought he had a pretty good one) and focused on trying to stand. He took a breath that he didn't quite need, and held it. He counted to three in his head and straightened out, swiftly. Like ripping off a bandaid. It hurt about as much as he expected it to; there was another string of curses, and bright stars blinked at the edge of his vision. There was another spasm, but he was determined to stay upright. He stumbled forward instead, feet scuffing the stone flooring, his hand reaching for the nearest thing to keep him balanced. Which happened to be Athena.

* Athena looked away for a moment when he struggled in his pain. It felt like an intimate moment and that made her feel uneasy. Of course, she stayed right where she was just in case he needed help. It was when she heard his feet moving across the floor that she glanced back towards the man. "Cosi." she muttered, moving to take a step that would land his hand over her shoulder. Athy stood up straight then, to help keep him balanced. It had been a movement she hadn't thought through and when his hand landed on her shoulder- she froze and her back straightened. "You should have just let me help you." she snapped, it helped ease her feelings about him touching her to ***** at him. So she did.

* Cosimo Alessi wasn't as skittish about physical touch given how distracted he was with the pain. It felt as if bone had splintered in there, somewhere; as if the shards were grinding together over nerves. And he realised, now, why he had stumbled. The numbness had spread down his legs. He really had landed hard. His hand found Athena's shoulder and he was glad for her straightness; glad that she didn't move. Although he grasped at her shoulder, his arm ended up draped, hand shifting to the other shoulder as he leaned heavily. He couldn't help it. Without support he'd fall over again. If she wanted to be rid of him, she could deposit him against the wall. As it was, he hadn't yet noticed her discomfort. "You are helping me," he panted. "I ... just need to stand. Here. Just for ..." he winced. He didn't know how long it would take to feel any better.

[font=#808000]* Cosimo Alessi[/color] wasn't as skittish about physical touch given how distracted he was with the pain. It felt as if bone had splintered in there, somewhere; as if the shards were grinding together over nerves. And he realised, now, why he had stumbled. The numbness had spread down his legs. He really had landed hard. His hand found Athena's shoulder and he was glad for her straightness; glad that she didn't move. Although he grasped at her shoulder, his arm ended up draped, hand shifting to the other shoulder as he leaned heavily. He couldn't help it. Without support he'd fall over again. If she wanted to be rid of him, she could deposit him against the wall. As it was, he hadn't yet noticed her discomfort. "You are helping me," he panted. "I ... just need to stand. Here. Just for ..." he winced. He didn't know how long it would take to feel any better.

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


* Athena 's body first twitched before it stiffened, as if now she truly were as cold and hard as she often felt inside. With the touch of his body her facial features twisted with the discomfort of how close Cosi was. The man's hands were on her, sure, on her shoulders but ON HER. Her long pale nose wrinkled, every muscle in her body flexed when he touched her. The urge to throw him tightened her stomach muscles but she remained still. Forever cold when he might have needed warmth. The injured man was suddenly draped over her thin body then and her head turned away as if she couldn't bare to see him so close to her. Maybe if she couldn't see it, she may reject it entirely. "Mhm." she mumbled between tight red lips, slowly though, she began to guide them both to the closest wall so that he may use that instead. Athena still refused to touch him back, her arms were hanging uselessly at her sides. It was enough to let him lean.

* Cosimo Alessi might have been oblivious to the discomfort to begin with, but it didn't take long for him to notice it. Normally those helping others who could not walk properly for themselves would grab a hold of their arm, or wrap an arm around their waist so as to better guide them, and balance them. Not Athena, though. She may as well just be a perambulating walking stick. Cosimo grunted as they reached the wall and he let Athena go so that he could throw his back up against it; push it ramrod straight so that it might be able to heal that way. He had a small smile on his lips, despite the pain. He had suffered worse than this, right? "Do I smell?"

* Athena couldn't help herself, once she was free she took two giant steps away from the man. Now smoothing palms over her sides, the cropped tank top she wore to cover most of her top while leather pants covered the rest of her. There were peaks of flesh when she moved, a completely different message from how she was using her hands now as if to 'dust his touch away'. It took her a moment but she finally looked over at him as if she were the one in pain. "No, you don't. Touch makes me uncomfortable." As if that weren't obvious, Athena.

* Cosimo Alessi nodded, slowly. He glanced down at the ground, as if assessing his own body, before looking back up at Athena again. He didn't take it personally. Each to their own. "I understand," he said. He could have argued the point. That there was nothing in the touch. That touch made him uncomfortable, too--but not this kind of touch. The intimate kind would make him uncomfortable, because of what it could lead to. The kind that he hadn't felt in months. Thinking about it now, nothing stirred. He could remember how it felt, the fire that it could spark. But it was as if his passion was now coals gone cold, no hint of life in them at all. The briefest of frowns creased his brow before he cleared his throat and pushed the thought away. "I will keep it in mind," he said with an understanding smile.

* Athena slowly shook her head at the man's understanding words. His understanding smile. It was with every word that she could feel her body tensing up again, her right heel pivoting her so that she may face him better. She exploded. "What do -you- understand, Cosimo?" she snapped, using his name as a weapon against the very man who knew and still said he'd understood. The very understanding she needed. The very understanding that frustrated her. How could anyone understand? How could anyone be this selfish and cruel? She couldn't help him even if she had wanted to. Her entire body froze up like the cruel and heartless ***** she had turned into with the death of Hunter. "You understand nothing. You know nothing!" her small body shook then, her eyes closed. It was her own self who she was angry at. It wasn't him. She had failed him already and she was doing so again.

* Cosimo Alessi didn't move. Couldn't move, really. The area at the base of his back was hot, and his skin prickled with a pins-and-needles-like sensation. He could only assume the nerves were slowly twining themselves back together, the bones that were broken fusing like they should. He didn't dare move, and disrupt the process. He could only stand there and take the barrage of Athena's anger, his hair half covering one eye, his mouth turned into a grimace. "I understand plenty," he said, his voice calm. "You cannot presume you are the only one to have had bad things happen. To have... reasons, why they might not want to be touched in particular ways. I understand enough," he said. A subtle way of telling Athena that she did not know everything, either. And she did not have the right to make such bold assumptions.

* Athena heard his words and perhaps that's what made her snap. Her eyes closed tighter, her hands clenched at her sides. It was with every pulse of her pain, of her frustration and of her rage that the shadows around the woman's heels began to flick and fight each other into rising from the mausoleum ground and slowly slither like a snake it's way up the stiletto heels, her shoes, and then around her ankles. "I never said that, Cosimo." she snapped again, her eyes opening to show darkened blue hues. How did her voice get that low, that deep? "You say that you understand enough and yet you know nothing of my pain." she paused, her lips pursing at him as if he were a child. He understood. He understood. Why are you getting so angry, Athena? Why did she feel like she was going to break when he had just fallen against her? "And I know nothing of yours. Don't pretend to be there when you will be gone tomorrow."

* Cosimo Alessi still didn't move, even though this time he wanted to. Hell hath no rage like a woman, right? Is that how it went? And here was this woman's rage, not just a vibe radiating from her core, but an actual physical thing that looked like it could lash out at any moment. But he knew he hadn't healed, yet. And besides, he had too much pride to turn tail and run. Even though he knew he didn't deserve any of this. "Exactly. You know nothing of mine. How do you know I did not say I understand simply as a way of telling you that I understand not to touch you again? I will not touch you again. I swear it. Non ho idea di che cosa si sta parlando! Gone where? Where am I going?"

* Athena also knew he didn't deserve any of this. Of course, she wasn't mad at him. She was mad at herself. She was mad because he knew more about her than anyone else did. He understood and she hated it. His simple understanding was bile in her mouth. He knew of her pain and it just made her downright MAD. It brought her more pain. He kept talking and she could hear his words. She wanted to stop, she begged her body to stop. It didn't stop. The shadows that were once creeping up and around her ankles shot up and over her entire body to choke around her ivory throat. For a moment, everything was quiet and just as it had been quiet- the shadows that once held her captive pulsed and dispersed, causing the entire building to shake once with an exhale of unneeded breath.

* Athena stood tall while the building shook once. It didn't phase her, her lips pressed into a thin line before her tensed shoulders relaxed. The shadows, the energy around them weakened and the building eased back as well. No more shakes, no more moving shadows. It all seemed to be at rest now once she got her rage under control. Athena's fists unclenched and she had a few hollow indentations of where her nails once had dug into the flesh of her palms to cause her to bleed. "Cosimo," her voice her own once again, she swallowed and looked at the man with an apology worn even on her face. "I am.. sorry. I'm struggling.." she cleared her throat. With what? "I hadn't meant to.." Taken by shock herself. Where had all that come from?

* Cosimo Alessi had his palms flat up against the wall behind him as the foundations shook. Why he clung to desperately to a wall that could crumble easily in this decrepit place, he did not know. Probably because it was the only solid object that he had a hope would save him. There was no way, if a quake shook this place to its ruin, that he would even dare to reach out to Athena for balance. Never again. He wondered whether that pulse was intended to shatter him; because he did feel it, rattling his bones, just as it rattled the very building they stood in. How could one compete with that? He stared at Athena as she seemed to calm down; he shifted his hips, tested his back. Maybe he would be able to walk, now. He peeled one hand away from the wall and flexed his fingers. If not walk, he could, in the very least, reach for his tome and disappear. He didn't know what to say. This seemed to be a theme, with this woman. Whatever he said, as innocent as it could be, could make her angry. "What was that?" he asked. Although it was within his nature to offer some kind of sympathy at this point, he didn't dare. Offering sympathy was what got her angry to begin with.

* Athena couldn't deny it. What was that, Athena? Her rage, her pain, everything she felt and everything that she was dealing with alone. She hadn't dared to speak about herself to anyone besides Cosimo and that's simply because he had found her at the right time. That pulse, that building-shaking-pulse had been her. She knew the answer. She knew what to say. Her red lips parted, another breath wheezed through and her shoulders finally fell from their once proud position. She wasn't proud now. "Me." she whispered, her eyes fell from his face down to her heels and then finally back at him. She knew this would probably be the last time they spoke. Last time she would see his face, hear his voice. Think of him without shame. "I hadn't meant to hurt you." she finished her sentence, reached in her pocket for her tome home and left her things behind. Things could be replaced but her wounded ego? Not so easy.

* Cosimo Alessi cursed under his breath. He was both relieved and annoyed. She hadn't hurt him. Not really. Not on purpose. He could hardly accuse her of laying in wait to trip him and break his tail bone. Which still wasn't working like he wanted it to. Athena disappeared and left him there with her stuff, which he would have to try to carry home. Because that's the kind of man that he was. To try to track her down; maybe hang out in the catacombs. Just so he could return her belongings. He stood there up against the wall for another hour, maybe, before he finally felt okay enough to bend down and collect the various items he needed to collect. Only then did he use his own tome to get home, stashing the items away until they could be returned to their rightful owner.