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<Trahir Trahison> Standing on the bridge looking over the river Trahir was as still as a statue with a torn sheet of parchment, made from human skin in his right hand.. The wind whipped at his trench coat and the paper hard enough to make the heavy material billow out, dragged in the wake of both wind gusts and the rarer passing of vehicles zooming through the night on their way to whatever petty destination their usually human occupants directed them. The river was a black serpent winding its way through the heart of the city, the moon glistening off it’s choppy surface beneath him as though glinting from reptilian scales. Trahir liked the view. The reptilian, cold, dark appearance of the water before him was for some reason a comfort to him. A herpetology hobbyist, he had long enjoyed all things reptilian. Snakes, crocodilians, lizards, even the mythological dragons of legend. He preferred the European dragons to the Oriental of course. They tended to act more as a reptile would act in his estimation, apart from capturing human females and falling in love. That part he disregarded as the pathetic attempt of humans to assert their own relevance into the truth of things. That they were nothing but a meal food for the real predators of the world, largely insignificant.

It was the same way they saw themselves in stories about vampires. An aged immortal who lost his love would be pining away for centuries, waiting for the soul of his dead love to return to him in the young and flawless body of a human female. She would meet this romantic figure and instantly their souls would connect. She would become his world and he would give her immortality.

Really when Trahir looked at the fittest and finest of the human population he saw the equivalent of a perfectly cooked steak. They were simply food. When he was not hungry they were to be ignored unless they crossed him. When he was hungry they were cows to be slaughtered. Like any predator he took what he needed. Like any good conservationist he used everything he could from the animal.

Like any good reptile, he felt nothing but the satisfaction of a full belly afterward.

He had met Velveteen at the shores of this river after the grand opening of Aysel and Zakar’s Middle Eastern themed bar. He had drowned a Paladin in it’s waters and later crucified the man in the fields to the south of his farmhouse for Dominique to find. He had sailed it’s murky depths on his boat and had plunged into its waters to avoid Fae that were chasing him. The river held a place in his heart, as black and shrivelled and unbeating as that heart may be.

If his eternity had to be spend in the all-too-coarse and unrefined locale of Harper Rock, in the northern reaches where reptiles were at best, sparsely populated, at least he could have the comfort of the river. From this vantage point he could see the park where he had as a frightened neonate (had he truly been frightened?) met his then soon-to-be Sire alone for the first time. He had been wary, he had heard of the faction she led. They killed other Kindred and here he was alone, no sire to teach him.

She had taken him in. She had adopted both he and his grandchilde Corentine, given them a home in the Hotel, aided them. Trahir was uncertain how his short Requiem would have played out without the aid of the goth woman but he was certain he would be nowhere near his current, rather enviable level of wealth or have caught on so quickly as to how to build up his own preternatural abilities. He knew he would eventually have gotten there but the timeframe would have been much much more… tedious.

Most of the others had disliked him from the beginning. He was blunt, hard-headed, quick to argue if he disagreed with another’s views and had no shame in his own activities. He was Trahir Trahison. He would do as Trahir Trahison wished to do within the confines of the Masquerade and those rules he saw fit to follow and no one but Trahir Trahison had the right to judge him. The only ones who had that right had given it up, one on the night he was created and the other when she turned her back on him. No one had to like him and truth be told very few if any of them knew him enough to truly form much of an opinion about him. He had gone to a few events and the rest of the opinions had been formed from Crownet.

Crownet was a sore spot. He had disagreed with a pet projects of one of his sire’s pets publically and they had fallen out over the matter. Since then Trahir had barely posted. The incident had been one of the main reasons for the rift between them. She had favored the insignificant one over him. Trahir couldn’t see why other that both enjoyed wearing make-up. More than a few times Trahir had heard that the one she favored clung to the coat-tails of greatness. His former wife, Phoenix, now Velveteen. Trahir had no time for hangers-on. Trahir respected the individual merits of a vampire. He’d spoken to the man, as well as a few others personally in the Old Town Cemetery and found the man rather… affected. A follower trying to lead.

As much as he belittled the situation in his mind it genuinely bothered the Killer. He’d been told he had so much “potential” but at every turn he felt as though he’d been thrown under the bus by those who had squandered their own.

He had kept the piece of his journal on him since the night he had written it. He read it every few days. His opinions hadn’t changed. If this meeting went through with Velveteen he would do as he intended, as he had told her and then he would give her the parchment and leave. It could only go one of three ways

She could be incensed at his audacity and call a blood hunt to track him down and send him to the Shadow Realm. If that was the case then he had sorely misjudged the woman from the start though it wouldn’t surprise him in the least given that hunting their own kind (or even the thought of such) gave many of their numbers an erection they likely couldn’t achieve as a mortal.

She could be indifferent, uncaring and simply disregard the writings. That would leave them as they were now. They had basically made a clean break on all personal fronts. Aside from minor business dealings indirectly through means such as the auction house Trahir had seen hide nor hare of his former instructor of all things vampire. That was the current situation, the status quo.

Or lastly, she would see things from his side. He’d not expressed them at the time to her, preferring to slink off into the shadows alone but for the one person who had not turned their back on him. Dominique. He didn’t count Nicolette. He knew given the chance for freedom and the opportunity she would be back in Paris months ago.

He holds the page in his balled up fist and watches water flow by, uncaring toward the plight of himself or any other being, mortal or otherwise.

<Velveteen> It had been a while since she had last seen or even thought of Trahir Trahison. He had become just another of her failures. Her inability to somehow hang on to those she gathered, turned or adopted, became more obvious as the years had passed. When things went as they did with Trahir she had decided that perhaps he would be the last. She had a faction she was responsible for and an ever growing line that she was a part of. Plenty to keep her busy and bury the feelings of failure and disappointment each time she thought on those she had lost.

She had half expected to see him at the auction so when he finally did appear she wasn’t particularly surprised though he remained much quieter than the last time but again she barely gave it a thought as she continued through the evening. His presence though had certainly affected Micah and she could feel the anger that came from her husband the moment that Trahir entered. All she could do was hope that they could get through the night without incident. It almost happened.

She could feel him close by as she mingled after the auctions were over and to say that it was creeping her a little was a bit of an understatement but still she ignored it until he finally spoke. He had requested to speak with her, with them both, and for the last couple of nights since Micah had not spoken to her due to the fact that she had accepted. It would have been easier to deny the request and continue on as is but that he asked at all made her curious...considering their last encounter. Trahir was more than well aware of her feelings towards his choices. The sooner it was done the sooner she could get things worked out with Micah and possibly have a viable reason for going against him though she doubted it.

She could see his silhouette easily as she wound her way up onto the bridge. Hands stuffed deep in her pocket as she approached in silence and stood beside him. Her silver gaze looked over the river as the woman stood rather stoically taking in the view. “So what exactly is this about, Trahir.” She didn’t have the inclination or the time to **** around with subtleties and small talk and she expected neither did he.

T: He felt her. The movement in his peripheral vision could have been anyone, anything. He knew it wasn’t though. It was Velveteen. He inhaled a breath as she approached, not bothering to exhale it. The purpose of the breath wasn’t to carry oxygen into his system, to refuel the lungs and charge the blood in his arteries to carry it through his circulatory system, to slowly deplete it of said oxygen and lug it back through the lungs to recharge it once more… no. It was simply to talk. The only reason the vampire needed to bother with the whole process of drawing breath.

“Before I apologize, you should read this. It will upset you.” He extends his right hand, still curled in a hard-made fist around the paper he holds. Not paper, not really, but that was the use he’d chosen for it.

<Velveteen> If what he said had any effect on her visibly she did not show it. Being upset was something that Velveteen was rather used to. But then...who knew what was contained on the page he now held for her take. Maybe it wouldn’t be that upsetting. One could only be upset if they cared and she found herself more and more resistant to giving into caring for much of anything these nights outside of those most important to her. She reached out to take the page, having no idea what would be contained within its confines but curious none the less.

<Trahir Trahison> His hand relaxes as hers draws near. His fingers uncurling to allow her smaller hand to take from his which no doubt it could simply have broken to claim. Trahir hasn’t moved his eyes from the water’s sparkling surface. His muted emotions are a dull rumble within his chest. He can remember the first time alone with Velveteen, fear, panic. It’s not like that but at the moment it may as well be. Very few people, mortal or otherwise gain any reaction from the stoic Killer other than either a haughty dismissal or a violent retribution. This is not a normality for him though. This is Velveteen.

The page in her hand, once opened and read will reveal the following:


I wonder after these last few months if I made the right decisions. The world has become a puzzle of sorts and it is not fitting together as I have been led to believe. The pieces are falling into place but it is not the same picture on the box so to speak.

Who I choose to hunt with, who I choose to share my haven with, who I choose to do anything with so long as it does not violate the Masquerade or Sire more problems... is, has and always will be my choice.


I wonder if any of those so fervently against my chosen interactions with Dominique would have neatly turned their backs on their mate at the word or another. If so then I agree that vampires do not mate. They playact at high school human relationships. The pander to the crowd. Alas, I do not remember my own high school years so I suppose the fine art of "vampire love" is lost on me. Perhaps I should read more romance novels.

I spent much of my time in the early nights wallowing in memories. Memories I gave up, scoured from my mind. It kept me to myself and for the most part I made it through each night will no loss or gain.

I met and joined up with my sire and started feeling like I was not alone. That perhaps I would have a purpose.

I'm not sure that was the case. Each and every time I have made a decision on my own, be it putting a fellow vampire out of its misery when limbless and in public to stop humans from finding it to my selection of a mate based on what I consider to be my requirements have been met with derision or outright hostility.

Even terminology I use causes friction.

It seems that if every action I take is not carefully and meticulously orchestrated by others, no one is happy. I had planned a few things to try and alleviate some of the tedium and wished to discuss them with my sire and her husband but when they came to the soiree I had planned to share my thoughts at they disregarded everything except my chosen mate and spent the entire time they were there cursing and insulting her.

She had been a hunter. A paladin. She was brought over to this life by a vampire I have nothing but respect for and who is in their faction... he is as close as family. She had an inauspicious start to her life as a vampire, staying the course as a paladin and going so far as taking their leader as a lover.

Where others scream traitor for that I scream steadfast loyalty. Misguided steadfast loyalty to be sure but definitely loyalty.

While others seem to believe that her actions warrant destruction, a sentiment I shared until recently, I see something else. I see a vampire with all the knowledge in the world about one of our enemies. I see a vampire who has slowly come around making up her own mind to do so and not simply following the masses. I see a vampire who clung to that which they knew in life as I have seen many others do. They let it go in their own time as many others do. She follows the rules now as many others do. I begin to wonder if the hatred has less to do with her past than it has to do with control.

This animosity toward me for choosing her as mine is groundless. Her sire was not ostracized for the turning, the teaching, the harboring of her which goes on even to this night.

Is a fourth grade student an adequate teacher for first grade classes? One has more knowledge than the other, true but are they a qualified teacher? I wonder if any of those so verbal in their defense of the schools, which wasn't much of a defense, more of an attack on me on every other aspect of my life, would have as a mortal, entrusted their children to a school with such... stringent teaching requirements.

I give an opinion that newborns to something are invalid teachers... the idea is met with hostility and my name outed. By family. Attached to my handle by the one vampire I completely trusted. Of course one of the schools faced an earlier accusation of being a training camp for the faction the owner belongs to. A notion that was offhandedly dismissed and yet when the school is questioned it was primarily members of that faction who leaped to the defense of the school as though it was a personal attack upon them. Oftentimes I have said, when detractors launch accusations that there is an agenda other than protection of secrecy at play, that I have seen nothing to show that is the case. I said that factions activities were neutral.

I was so wrong. The school is obviously being protected by a faction. Therefore it is likely a resource of said faction and not at all neutral.


I believe it comes down to control.

Initially when Corentine and I were engaged I was told if we were to have a marriage done by family it would be done on their time. That was a source of hostility thereafter between Corentine and myself as she told me I was being used as a puppet.

The message: You do things on our schedule, not your own.

My response: Agreeing to whatever delay would suit the family views and hushing Corentines protests.

The result: Corentine and I no longer speak, she seems to have disappeared.

I was reprimanded by a pro-tem leader for doing my job without permission. This decision of course backed by the true leader, my Sire.

The message: Hit when we tell you to. Do not think for yourself.

My response: Leaving the faction.

The result: Personal liberty. I do miss the hunts but that matters little in retrospect.

Currently the city is not a safe place for us. Those vampires Sired in the last four years are directly responsible for that being the case. The elders tried to teach them and the new guard wouldn't listen. The city is slowly growing in awareness each passing year. With that being to case why do any of the vampires turned in this span think they have the answer? Who is to say they are not a direct part of the problem and that by opening these schools they do not perpetuate the very issues plaguing our kind?

Amusing though that when a young vampire comes forward asking questions about the school, seeking answers, they are told to stand down and then behind closed doors deemed a "pissant" who should be "squashed." I wonder if that opinion of knowledge seeking neonates will be the prevailing attitude within the school as a rule of thumb.

When I elected to ask the qualifications of the owners of these schools to teach others, I am dismissed, my identity outed by family, met would outright hostility with talk of bloodshed.

The message: Don't question us, just do what we say, think what we think.

My response: None. How does one respond to such gross and outright betrayal?

The result: Threats of violence, situation left unresolved. Nothing positive came of this.

When I choose my mate I am threatened again. I say mate for that is what Jane is. We are not lovers, I do not love. We are mates. When I think of her I think of tearing into her, biting through soft flesh to get to the blackness within her. Sex is not a driving factor, it is the blood. Sex is a reaction to the lust caused by the blood. She is my partner and my mate. More my mate as we are not running a business together.

Yet that isn't the reaction toward her sire. I wonder if they would have cast such horrendous verbal abuse at her had he been there. Likely not. They respect him. Me? No.

The message: No respect.

My response: I'm through. There is obviously nothing to learn past pulling a weapon and shooting a problem. The lack of respect? It's mutual after these occurrences.

The result: That remains to be seen.

Thus far weighing pros and cons leaves the list with very little in the positive column and a large ever growing negative column as far as my interactions with Andras as a whole.

I'll be much better off sticking to those few I consider likeminded. Those who can cogently and coherently debate and think through differences of opinions and come to an agreement based on mutual respect paired with intellect.

I need a clean break from those trying to control every action I take. Jane doesn't attempt to control me. She is the better option for me.

I was told to find a place once. Find a place and dig your roots in deep. The place I thought those roots would grow was barren. I believed I was following an ideal, but it ends up it is simply a cult of personality that I was being governed by. A family would not so quickly resort to even considering violence over a member having an opinion or asking questions. They may bar the door to an unwelcome significant other, or mate as I prefer but they would not ostracize a member for that choice without giving the relationship a chance.

The roots could not take hold and were torn easily from the deficient soil.

I plan on going ahead with Elysium...

I will host a monthly salon at a private residence where all vampires are welcome. This night the building will be protected by the Eirene's Will ritual to prevent violence.

A vampire can socialize at Elysium through intellectual and peaceful debates. Snarky comments there are fine. Violence and the threats of it will simply be berated and the person won't be invited back the next month. All opinions will be allowed to be voiced, discussed and debated over without the threat of being shot for free thinking or debate.

From those that choose to attend I will make my own circle of alliances. I can't say friends in all honesty because I have been taught so recently that the bonds between our kind are cheap and easily cast aside. Easily mouthed platitudes. Respect does not truly exist if the appearance of conflict between family members meets the appearance of force so readily.

Welcome to Harper Rock.

OOC Note: This is the missing page from “Scattered Thoughts”

Trahir stands in mute anticipation of her reaction to the perusal of his own feelings on everything that happened being laid bare. He doesn’t know what the right answer for anything is and he hopes that the older vampire, even in by only a few paltry years, does.

The river looks no warmer now than it did when he arrived on the bridge an hour ago.

<Velveteen> The dark haired vampire used the light of the moon and a nearby street light , more than enough illumination, to bring to life the neatly scrawled words that filled the page from edge to edge. There was no reaction to a single thing she read and in all honestly she saw even remotely surprised her. It was everything she had come to expect from the male. The page was then casually turned toward him as she held it heavily in two fingers, much like one would a dollar bill when waiting for it to be taken in return for goods or services rendered. “Do you feel better?”

<Trahir Trahison> “No, not at all.” He reaches out, finally tearing his eyes from the majesty of the Algonquin River to those of his adopted sire’s eyes. “No, I feel at a loss actually. I feel as though everything has crumbled beneath me, I am hanging on a precipice above a vast open chasm and only one hand is there to aid me in my ascent.”

He reaches out for the leaf of mummified human skin with the too-neat writing on it, grasping the corner of the document but not retrieving it.

“I need your guidance. There are troubles brewing.”

<Velveteen> Once it appeared that he had a hold on the page she released her own tenuous grip and snuck both hands into her jacket pocket and for the briefest moment a slight grin curled at the corner of her mouth. “The same guidance you have as much said was only about controlling you?” She turned her silver gaze then to meet his. “What could be so possibly so wrong that Mr Know it All Trahison can’t handle on his own?” There was nothing spiteful about her tone despite the words, if anything one might have touched upon a curious hint of amusement in the lilt of her voice but that would be all.

<Trahir Trahison> Unaccustomed to being called out on his own words for a long moment the Killer just stares at Velveteen in mute surprise. His expression barely changes though one eyes does twitch slightly. Perhaps it is an effect of the fluctuation from the light of the moon being reflected from the water’s surface. More than likely not since trahir himself feels the small movement.

Taking a second to compose himself he tucks the paper into the inner pocket of his long, wind-molested coat before speaking. His gaze never once wavering from those silver eyes.

“Yes. The same Mr. Know-it-all is in over his proverbial head. There are plans among some of our brethren and among some mortals to make a move against the military forces at the Quarantine Zone. They are many, I am one. They seek to drive the military out but I fear that their impending actions will only cement in the minds of the mortal government the need to secure the city further. I’m a pessimist. Also I never should have turned my back on you. I should have contacted you privately about any issues we had over different incidents and we should have spoken of them over a glass of Innocence.”

<Velveteen> “You know you are being as arrogant as ever.” She turned her gaze out toward the river once more. “Though you are probably right. Their actions probably will do that. But why do you care? You of all people know what it is like to have your actions impeached upon and questioned. What makes you think you are now in a position to do it to anyone else?” Again there was no malice in her question, if anything her lack of care would like stir questions of it own. But a little more every night Velveteen was hedging towards the edges of her care limits. No fucks outside of her immediate zone were being given and that also went for the whole ideal of vampire secrecy and all that went along with it.

<Trahir Trahison> He wanted to grab the smaller vampires shoulders and shake her. He knew the results of doing so. A head or back first plunge into the icy waters of the river below followed quickly by a hunt that no doubt would conclude before he managed to even swim to shore. Instead of setting of that particular chain of events Trahir watched as she spoke, counted mentally to ten and then responded.

“Everything we do, good or bad echoes throughout our kind. When one is seen by a human and they become a hunter, we all suffer for it. When one agrees to attack the Canadian government we all will face the consequences. There’s not a tree house or a farm large enough to protect our kind from that type of exposure no matter how well protected.”

He turns his eyes back out to the river. “I attended the meeting out of curiosity. Everyone wore masks. As far as I know I was not appraised during it. It would be possible for a male, large in build and wearing a similar disguise and using the same name, to infiltrate the group.”

He glances over to see if his words garner any reaction from Velveteen at all.

<Velveteen> If he was looking for a reaction then he was not disappointed as the woman burst out laughing. “Did you just say they were wearing masks? Oh..oh please tell me they had tights and capes as well. Actually..no. Please don’t tell me that even if they do. Masks. Infiltrating the military.” She tried to stop laughing but was unable to stop the absurdity from bubbling to the surface. “Well. They sound ******* scary. Were you scared? I think you should have been scared. So….masks. They use aliases too? Let me guess...badass code names to make themselves sound cool? Sounds like some bad movie. Just saying.” She chuckled again and shook her head. “Well….just when you think you have seen and heard it all some ******* gronk comes along and proves you wrong.”

She shook her head and while the laughter had stopped it was obvious that she was not going to be able to take the rest of this conversation seriously. “So what do you really want from me, Trahir. To fly in in my invisible plane and hog tie them all with my golden lasso?”

<Trahir Trahison> He would have smiled, even laughed along had the matter not been so dire. The fact that Hallowe’en costumes were considered a security measure was exactly the problem with the plan of the newly founded faction. “No. I want you to protect that which you have always protected. I want you to act on this information and realize that the more stupid their plan sounds, the worse the situation is. They plan on infiltrating the guards of the Quarantine Zone. They plan on trying to run them off. Even if their plans had a hope of success they would need to enthrall the Prime Minister and have him issue the order to withdraw the troops. They are talking about a course of action without bloodshed that will make the military leave. One that can’t possibly work and can only get at least a couple of them caught while bumbling around in restricted areas.”

He turns back toward the river once more. The passing cars again throwing enough wind to tug at his jacket, sending it flowing out in it’s wake. Next time there was a meeting at a bridge it would be at the top, away from the traffic.

“If they actually had a solid workable plan I might not consider it such a threat to our kind.”

<Velveteen> The vampire couldn’t help the short, snide snort of distaste that escape her before she could even consider restraining it. “I’m not even sure I have it in me to bother any more, Trahir. And what did that stuff that you showed me have to do with any of this. I don’t get it. Everything you had a problem with is really no different to how others view it….any of it. What you now deem as protection is seen as many as just us controlling them. The same way you felt it seems. Or it different now because you say so?”

She turned to him then, her head canted to the side as she looked up at him, the male seemingly a little taller than she remembered. “You don’t get it, Trahir and I fear you likely never will and that is always going to create a problem for you. Unless they become an obvious threat to me or mine I don’t really see what I can do, or why I would even want to at this stage.” She brought a hand up to drag her finger across her face and in turn removed the tendril of hair that had been whipped across her features by another passing car. “Sometimes the only thing you can do is sit back and watch it all burn then rebuild from the ashes. Perhaps that time is coming.”

<Trahir Trahison> “What I wrote… the page you read was a reaction that came from feeling betrayed. Everything and everyone I thought was trustworthy and right turned their backs to me. You chose someone else over me even though they would have allowed the Masquerade to crumble. Then again when the same man believed himself worthy to teach. Aside from proper application of a woman’s make-up, there is little to be learned there. Had the instructor not been more concerned with their own appearance, and had been more concerned with instructing our kind, been old enough to do so, I would have had nothing to say about it. Likely as not I still would have refrained in joining an school. Still…

“You defended them over me and their entire basis of being worthy to educate others consisted of secrecy. The Masquerade. Not being seen by humans, avoiding it be it when feeding or using powers. If that means nothing when you are faced with a group that will, by dint of it’s feelings of security brought on simply by donning a mask, break that secrecy and throw us to the hunters… what was I ever worth to you? Was the entire thing as meaningless as a simple argument? Was there no deeper meaning in any of this? Was I that easy to discard?

“I was brought into this life, this Requiem as I think of it, by a vampire who ran away from his duty. You have taken upon yourself the duty of protecting the Masquerade. I spoke with Blake at length in private and he is only concerned with the chance to kill. Is that all the hunts were? A chance to kill our own with the Masquerade as only a thinly veiled reason?

“This group, it will fail and in doing so will shatter the Masquerade. When it does, when we’ve stood back and let it burn, what does all the work put in until now mean?”

Trahir looks back at Velveteen. His face is expressionless as he awaits her decision on a course of action.

<Velveteen> Her hands came out of her pockets and she crossed her arms across her chest as her weight shifted from one foot to the other. “You don’t see what you do, Trahir yet you hold others accountable all the time. You felt betrayed? At any point did you stop to consider how might have made me feel….over and over again. You talk a lot but refuse to listen. You feel you deserve respect but at the same time dole it out in portions you deem fit. You escalate yourself above others and think you know why they do what they do when you don’t. And then when you are treated the same way you are all affronted and hurt.”

She paused for a moment and shook her head, the seriousness of her words reflected in her eyes. “At what point did you ever stop and ask yourself or me for that matter why i did the those things. What you automatically assume as control might have some really good reasoning behind it if you ever took the time to find out. Everything you wrote about me….about Ty. I have heard before. It is the exact sort of thing commonly said among the masses. The very same masses who feel they too should be free to do as they please. And that is why I walked away from you. Your arrogance did little mask your ignorance and for me to even try was like beating my head against a brick wall. Sometimes ...sometimes you just have to cut your losses and walk away.”

A faint smile appeared on her pale lips but quickly disappeared as she shrugged and kicked her toe at the cement beneath her feet before turning to face the river once more. “That whole thing about the bonding. Was most certainly not about controlling you. It was about protecting you. Both of you. As for the other….sometimes I have to make decisions not based on emotion but based on what’s best for the faction. United leadership is what is best. Does that mean that sometimes mistakes don’t happen. Nope. It don’t. But how you react in such situations is totally on you. A verbal ******* warning….and that would have been it. You chose being right above being part of the faction. You walked away. I need people I can count on even if they aren't always happy with what must be done. That is the cost of working in a group such as Ty. Obviously it wasn’t for you.”

“Respect.” She chuckled and softly and shook her head. “You want it but at what point did you actually ever give it...without conditions attached. That ******** on Crownet. You called us out in public. Where was your care for me in that situation while you were set on your vendetta against Blake? A situation that you know I fully supported. Again that whole attitude of it being a recruiting ground or tool or whatever you said...not original thinking. Just more of the same old same old. And your girlfriend or breeding ***** or whatever you want to call her. You walked us into that with no warning and even when it was made painfully obvious that it was not going to work you chose to ignore it. And yes..Micah and I left. Again that choice was yours. It obviously never occurred to you to actually mention anything to me. Or god forbid maybe ask me what I knew or how I’d feel. So tell me Trahir…..tell me why I would be giving flying **** about how you feel or what you think when you have pretty much **** on me from the get go?”

“And on your assessment of Blake. So ******* what if he only wants to kill ...as long as he isn’t doing it willy nilly and is actually doing it as part of protecting vampire secrecy then who gives a **** if he is getting a boner from doing so. I can count on him to have my back and not break the rules and ultimately that is what matters to me. That is like saying that a cop shouldn’t enjoy his job or an athlete shouldn’t get off on his own success. As long as the goal is being achieved...who gives a rats arse?”

<Trahir Trahison> The Killer’s brow furrow’s near the end of Velveteen’s addition to their conversation. “Language like that belongs in the slums. Not amongst our kind. It is beneath us. It’s vulgar, as far beneath us as the ramblings of those like Robert Pratt. It is so very… human.” He leans forward, placing his forearms on the railing of the bridge. The steel, icy cold, gives a slight feeling of pressure to the undersides of his forearms. Trahir is beyond the phantom feelings of heat or cold. Unless it freezes him or boils the blood in his veins it is a minor inconvenience at most.

“You are right though, regardless of how you choose to word it. Not about Blake. He’s a peon. As unworthy of your attention or trust as a serial killer is worthy of the trust of a young investigator in the FBI.” He glances over to her. “Movie reference. Silence of the Lambs.”

Back to the water his eyes turn.

“I have some… issues. I suppose that is a nice way to say it. My ego, arrogance, whatever you wish to call it happens to be one. I also have to sleep in a coffin. Do you remember joking with me about that? May have been your husband. I can’t remember. Someone from the Bridge. I laughed at it then but here I am, weak as a newborn kitten without it. Funny.”

The water before him remains as choppy as their interactions. There isn’t even enough of a smoothness to allow for a ripple between them. He realizes he is not making the situation better though both seem to be willing to speak. He switches tactics at that put, bringing the conversation to the meat of it. She’s already torn the wound so he may as well hemorrhage the blood.

“I don’t feel as others do. It seems deadened. Even looking back on the journal I meant to give you tonight but couldn’t due to humans finding it…”

He takes a breath, exhales, takes another. “You are right about a lot when it comes to me. I don’t give respect easily. I am judgemental. I think of others as lesser unless they think as I do. Those are facts. They are nothing but the simple truth.

“I am truly sorry that I turned that upon you or made you feel like I had.” His expressions shifts almost imperceptibly. Tiny, almost too small for the naked eye, crow’s feet appear as he winces and his mouth, still close to perfectly shaped, does turn down an iota.

“I have nothing but respect for you. You. The woman, vampire, Sire that is here, now. I can’t say the same for others that I have met. I am desolated by the fact that I have acted against you. Truly. I would do near anything to mend that bridge.”

He turns away, the rest of his opinion hardly as acceptable to her and thus remaining unspoken for the moment. A topic change being in order he adds, “I wouldn’t have brought Jane before you if I had known the depth of your animosity, or her own. That would not happen again. Like her sire I would keep her to myself.”

He falls silent for a moment, letting the passing cars fill the void created by his lack of words.

<Velveteen> Velveteen’s amusement was about as a subtle as an elephant in a tutu dancing upon one’s forehead and it took everything in her not to burst out into a another fit of laughter. Instead she busied herself with patting down her pockets and various other parts of her person that she might have stashed something. A frown seemed to form as she continued her search eventually giving up with a muttered curse or two. “Damnit. I could have sworn I had a spare **** somewhere to give you but it seems I’m all out.” She chuckled and shook her head, instead settling for the crumpled, pack of cigarettes. Several moments of silence followed as she busied herself with lighting up and inhaling the aromatic smoke that filled her lungs before she exhaled. “You know what else is so very human? Walking around on two legs, wearing clothes and speaking at all. Being an arrogant, judgemental ****. Also very human.”

She paused and took another long draw before flicking the ash from the end cause the cherry tip to become bright in the dim light, if even only for a moment. “The truth of the matter is, Trahir, that I don’t think you have a single ******* clue what respect is. Loyalty. Trust. The concepts of everything you seem to preach is completely lost on you. And if those around me are peons then I would take one of them in place of a thousand of you any night. You do not get to judge what or who is worthy of my attention. But take heart, Trahir, there are many morons in this god forsaken **** hole who think as you.” Another draw followed by a hastily released plume of smoke that was dispersed in a sudden rush as another car sped by. “You trash talk Pratt but you are more like him than you care to admit.” She grinned a little casting a sideways in his direction.

One corner of her mouth turned downwards despite the curl of her upper lip. “A coffin ay? So how long before we can expect you to be sparkling in the sunlight? Just let me know when you wish to be put out of your misery, yes?” Her thoughts turned to Micah for a moment who would be absolutely irate to know she was here. She hadn’t meant to flat out to defy him but this was something she really needed to do for herself. She only hoped that when it was all said and done he would understand, even if he couldn’t agree.

“As for your little band of would be super heroes and fucktards….I don’t know. Perhaps you can go and pretentious prick them into submission? I’m not really interested in trying to protect anything or anyone other than those who are worth the effort and you can believe me when I tell you those numbers are few.” The half smoked cigarette was dropped to the ground and crushed under the thick soles of her boots.

“You chose this Trahir. You drew the line in the sand. You say I cast you out because you wouldn’t conform, because I couldn’t control you. Well, if that is what you truly believe then please don’t bother contacting me again. You are free of that control, free to sit on your self created pedestal of pomp and righteousness; To play god in your own little make believe world and wallow in the fact that your ineffectiveness to truly achieve anything of worth is a direct consequence of your inability to actually listen and admit to yourself that perhaps you aren’t so special.” Velveteen smirked and dug her hands into her pockets once more. “See….I can use words. But really...it would have taken much less time just to tell you to pull your head out of your arse and get the **** over yourself. Same difference.” She shrugged then and turned her whole body to face him in a show of finality. “Unless you have anymore to add then I think we are done here. Yes?”

<Trahir Trahison> He watches her in silence as she speaks. Nothing being said anything he hasn’t expected. The defense of the others, the rejection of him and his own thoughts. He watched the cherry-red tip of the cigarette flared as she inhaled it. When she finished he leaned on the railing of the bridge, the wind from the passing vehicles whipping his hair about his face as he stares out over the river again. They would not see eye to eye on this even if they could see things from the other side. They were both stuck in their ways. He didn’t know if there was a bridge to mend of if there was, if it was worth mending.

“Perhaps it is as you say. Perhaps it is as I say. More than likely, both.”He inhales another soft breath to continue,”So what happens now? You scurry back up into your tree and I slink back to my grave, two vampires who can’t possibly get along and never the twain shall meet again?”

His eyes move back toward her. “There’s not a lot of places to go from here. Two come to mind. Either we walk away from where we are together, or we walk away separately. I came seeking a resolution to what happened between us. We’ve both explained our viewpoints. You were my sire. Not by blood. Even if I disagree with you on many issues, that matters to me. So what is it to be Velveteen?”

He doesn’t turn to her. He remains as he is, arms folded on the railing just watching her as the headlights of passing cars play with her features, and the river flows uncaring beneath them..

<Velveteen> “Firstly. I don’t scurry anywhere and secondly….I truly don’t know what you want from me. What sort of resolution can there be when we both agree we cannot agree? You don’t really respect me no matter how often you say it. Your actions to date have shown otherwise. The claims you made in your journal thinger there...state otherwise...so what is left?”

She shrugged and then shook her head as if she might be trying to find some reason but coming up short. “But don’t think you are the first or the last. And don’t think that because I didn’t turn you myself that it made it any easier. I have done the same to those I have turned with my own blood. **** happens. It’s all really a lucky dip isn’t it? Some fits work and some just don’t. Maybe it’s my own fault. No..not maybe. I know it is. I know my expectations are high and I do expect far more from those I claim as my own than I do the general populace. This of course leads to much disappointment. You’d think I’d learn.”

“If you disagree with me so much then...what is there left for you here? It’s pretty obvious that you honestly don’t think you did anything wrong or deserve such treatment. It’s also pretty obvious that I think you brought it all on yourself. And I suppose when it’s all said done that is really the reason I came.”
She lifted her shoulders and held out her hands that were still buried in her pockets. “Your apologies don’t mean a whole lot because you aren’t really sorry for anything. And we both know that.”

<Trahir Trahison> “Some would say the ability two people hold to agree to disagree is the foundation of respect. It shows a respect for the free will and opinions of the other party. I suppose that is what I came looking for. Despite what you think it affected me quite a lot when you and I parted ways. Jane was there and I leaned on her more than she perhaps knows. I realize several of my mistakes. Calling Blake out about his ability to educate others publicly was one. I should have approached him or even you with my concerns rather than voice them in that forum. I should have informed you and your husband that Jane would be present at the soiree rather than leaving it unspoken. She had told me that she had history with Tytonidae as a paladin and I had thought perhaps being one of us now, that would be put to rest. I was wrong on both those counts. Had I known the depth of the animosity there I would not have elected to bring her with me.”

Trahir turns, setting his back to the railing, squinting slightly as the passing lights catch his face. He places his elbows on the railing and looks down to the asphalt as the vehicles pass by. “I suppose it could all be chalked up as a learning experience, but I was hoping that it would lead to more. We have an eternity here in Harper Rock. Mistakes will be made by everyone. Learning from them and moving past them, that’s really the only control over the situations we create we have.”

There are many things Trahir wishes to talk about, but he restrains himself. There is nothing he can say or do to sway Velveteen if she has made up her mind. In a way they are more alike than either would probably like to admit.

“I don’t care about Andras, I don’t care about Tytonidae. I wasn’t a good fit as you say for either. I do care about my Sire. When I met you less than a year ago I thought my body would burst into flames at a blessing. Even if we don’t agree on politics or how to go about our... lives… that doesn’t disclude being able to interact, speak, listen, learn from one another.”

<Velveteen> The tip of her tongue ran across the sharp edges of her teeth and she looked up toward dark sky. Her patience was running out. It was always going to be a circular argument and in her mind the only real way the pair could agree to disagree was to walk away now and leave it at that. “Actually, agreeing to disagree is something I do quite a lot. I know I am not always right and I actually have all the respect in the world for those around me. But I certainly don’t storm off like an overgrown child when they say something I don’t like. That is the difference. Your disdain for all things human is something we will never agree on. You have been a vampire for what? A little over year? So unless you came crashing to earth in a little metal spaceship sent from Krypton, or you clawed your way out of an egg then that would mean that you were human prior to this too. You can remain as ignorant of your past to your hearts content but that just makes you even more ignorant.”

She turned and withdrew her hands to place them on the icy cold railing curling her fingers about the steel. “You are incomplete and you seem to be happy that way. To use words like care and regret in one breath and then put down others who maintain human traits is not only contradictory but it's also indicative of the fact that either you couldn’t possibly know what either are and are lying to serve your own purpose or you do know and everything else about you is lie. And as far as being here for an eternity….not a single one of us knows that. It could be true...we might all be dead next week. Such are the mysteries of our nature at the moment.” She shrugged. It was the truth as she saw it. Nothing was certain at this point in time regarding their future.

“There really is nothing I can say to you about anything, Trahir. You are set on your own ideals and I am set on mine. I swear like a human. I love like a human and despite it all I still bleed like one. If I had the choice to give all that up and be like you tomorrow, I’d rather kill myself. I don’t respect you. I feel sorry for you. I do hope, that for your sake you find your way but I can’t help you.”

<Trahir Trahison> He glances up from the asphalt to her. There is much she has already said he needs to consider and his mind is starting to churn. There is the dull throb in his chest too, not a heartbeat, but the hunger, a dull pang somewhat akin to a headache in his belly. He mentally steels himself, re-focusing on the matter at hand. Was he a human? Really, deep inside was there a man like any other? Could one scour away all remnants of their humanity and somehow regain them? He knew he was mad, affected, crazy, whatever term was used to describe a sociopathic megalomaniac with a fetish for turning human flesh and bone into artwork . For one so stuck in his way of thinking he had a hard time grasping any conclusion he’d not reached on his own.

His gaze returns to the asphalt once more as she finishes. Eternity at the moment seems the only possibility. He’d seen the same faces out on the town a week after putting a bullet through them, seeing them drop dead and crumble into a fine white ash to be caught in, and dispersed by, a sudden gust of wind. He knew though first hand that their forever was conditional. His own childe was proof of that. That being the case his life, and indeed hers was only ever a few miles away from an ending point. Given who she was and who he was that likely was a topic to avoid. Trahir had sworn off the murder of his own kind and though he had always considered himself above reproach by others, he knew he could never rationalize harming Velveteen even given the opportunity and a motive. He owed her. Maybe somewhere deep within a scrap of the man that was still had his morality embedded within the cold Killer, but his mind had already categorized his reasoning as being a logical progression. It was a debt owed to her that prevented him from wishing to harm her. Simple, effective.

He was not without morales, they were just shaped differently than hers. He for whatever reason had needed to get rid of the memories of his human past. It was something he wondered about often and had taken up a variety of hobbies to avoid wondering about it more. The situation was depressing, but he simply cast that aside and focused ever harder on his nightly routine.

“I don’t remember being a human. I don’t know what you mean. I wiped those memories from my mind… I used a power. That’s all I know… being this is all I know. You say you can’t help me, but all I need is an ear and an opinion I may not have considered on my own. I know I don’t always… to be fair I rarely act on the views of others, but on occasion I-… much of the ti-…. I never consider the need to ask. I think you could help me a great deal simply by affording me the opportunity to do so.” There is for an instant a look of something on his face, something. It doesn’t last but for an instant he looks helpless, maybe scared. It’s hard to say which or perhaps both.

<Velveteen> Her silver gaze narrowed as she listened and she shook her head. He couldn’t see past the stupid nose on his own face most of the time. “If you don’t remember being human then who are you to say what is human and what is not. You only have one twisted version to go on. Your own...and yet somehow that is enough in your mind to condemn most ,including myself.” The words were sharp and the current disdain she felt was clearly heard in every syllable. “Or did your books tell you that? For that matter what could you possibly know about ‘our kind’? More books? Your own experiences? Hardly an extensive resources.”

She shook her head and once again buried her hands in her pockets as she dropped her head to watched the toe of her boot kicked at the ground. She was getting restless and this conversation as per the rest, was only going to go in circles. “Your opinions….your views are shared by so many. Why not go talk to them. I am sure they will be more than willing to agree with just about everything you have to say.” She hadn’t missed the fleeting expression though she had no idea what it was or what was going on with Trahir. Nor could she find it within herself to care. “You might not care about Ty or Andras but I do. Very much so. You don’t care for how I go about things. I do. And that isn’t to say that I am always right. I make a lot of mistakes, I know that. But ya know...**** happens. A lot.”

She lifted her head and tilted it slightly as she watched his profile. “You really don’t give a **** about my thoughts or opinions. You have proven that much over several times. So nut the **** up and tell me what this is really about because I got better **** to be doin right now.”

<Trahir Trahison> They both had better things to be doing. At least more enjoyable things, perhaps, depending on the outcome, more productive things. “A year, three, even ten likely would teach little. I do think that much of our history does lie within literature though. Yes. The sun being an issue for most of us, turning to ash when killed, a list of our powers and abilities, curses, all of that can be found in books written before, during and after the Holocaust. Yes, I think there is plenty of knowledge about us out there on the shelves of libraries and on the internet ready for anyone to read up on.”

Trahir shakes his head, bringing his thoughts back to the more relevant issues. “I made mistakes in Tytonidae. I set off a trap with a misstep, I was almost seen during a hunt by mortals and I hunted alone. I made mistakes in Andras too I suppose. I shared a very opposing view to that of you and others. I did so in a public venue. I would do things differently in retrospect. That doesn’t change the fact those faux pas happened. Like you said, **** happens, a lot.”

He stops for a moment, looks dead in her eyes. “But if I didn’t care about your opinions I would not be here trying to pick up the pieces and repair what damage we, I or you caused, whatever the case may be. Opposing viewpoints are to be expected from people who are different. That doesn’t mean the opposing viewpoint has no merit.”

He keeps his eyes on her a few seconds before turning out toward the river again, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he does. “It also doesn’t mean that the other viewpoint doesn’t matter or isn’t taken into account when it is acted against. I think we reacted in a fashion common to our kind. Hostility. We seem to be innately hostile, some of us, perhaps me more than others. Mistakes were made, reactions to those mistakes happened and I would like to remedy the hard feelings caused by those mistakes and reactions and get back on track. I need my Sire back. As you’ve said, I’m hard-headed, arrogant and do what I want. If I didn’t want you in my… life… would I voluntarily lose face by apologizing for what happened?”

<Velveteen> “The same ‘Sire’ you have openly pushed out, put down and openly embarrassed on more than one occasion? The same sire you have flat out defied and walked away from because you just had to be right? Like I said..opinions are great, everyone has one. Some are valid, others not so much. I never expected you to heel like a dog at my command yet that seems to be the image you have created for yourself. And I can’t trust you to not behave that same way in future when things don’t go your way. Whatever it was that I saw in you to start with quickly….got overshadowed and I don’t even know if the person I thought existed ever existed at all to be honest.”

She withdrew a hand and tucked back her hair behind an ear though the next car that passed was likely to free it once more. “No Trahir. I don’t think you would but I do wonder what more there is to it and figure it must be something pretty big for you to lower yourself in such a manner. I don’t imagine an apology comes easy to you but I am not buying this whole ‘I matter’ ********. I’m sorry but I just don’t.”

<Trahir Trahison> He doesn’t sigh. He likely would have if he had retained the remnant of the man he used to be. Instead he remains as unmoving as a statue. His usual implacable demeanor though has been wiped away for the moment. She is not making this easy. He supposes he has no one to blame but himself. “I admit I always have an agenda. I always plan things out and oftentimes they do not work out in conjunction with the agenda I had in mind. As always, yes, I have an agenda. It’s likely not the type of agenda you are thinking though. It’s not for self-gain or ego, wealth or power that I have come before you seeking resolution. It is forgiveness and a bond that I feel very strongly is needed among our kind. It is a bond my own childer will need, that I do not have. It is lineage and it is hierarchy and stability. It is someone who is able to give advice and comfort where I fall flat. It is someone I would trust not to lead my own childe astray.” Or turn them into Edward Cullen wanna-be’s while I’m not looking he thought to himself as he paused to inhale another breath to speak.

“In exchange I will do whatever is in my meager power to help you as requested. I will be the loyal and eager childe I should have been to begin with if for no other reason than to lead my own line by example.” He avoids the word “need” and uses “requested” instead as he is aware “need” won’t sway her. Especially when it comes to a vampire less than a year dead with no significant faction backing him offering their assistance. What did he have to offer? “I am not asking to be accepted back into your bloodline Velveteen. I am asking you to not shun me as my Sire as I did as your childe.. It was a grave mistake on my part and I would like to rectify that mistake.”

He gives a small, humorless smile. “Would you be so heartless as to leave a recently turned vampire with no one but Trahir Trahison to guide them through the emotional turmoil of their first nights? That borders on cruel and unusual punishment does it not?”

<Velveteen> Velveteen listened and while it would have been a difficult task to gauge any sort of emotion on her features she certainly thought long and hard on his words. The silence was heavy and she stared out over the river for the longest time. All the disappointments she had dealt with and stuffed away. Past and present mistakes. The words of her husband and the weight of responsibility on her shoulder. She wasn’t quite ready to let go of all that happened. It was usually when she did and let her guard down that she opened herself for more of the same.

“I can’t do this right now, Trahir. I just can’t give you what you want or need. Perhaps time will see me in a better place but I won’t make promises I can’t keep. I am sure you have enough knowledge and the ability to teach your own. If by no other measure than the mistakes you , yourself have made.” Her gaze narrowed she she turned her head slightly. “Those sometimes offer the biggest learning curves. Stay out of trouble. You will be fine.” Her weight shifted slightly and she paused as if to say something else but decided against it and turned away. “Be safe, Trahir.” She offered before walking away.

(The rest of the RP can be found here Part 2: [urlhttp://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofthevampir ... 14&t=27169]Here[/url])