Path of the Vampire forum

Posted: **10 Jan 2018, 13:24**

Freddie had heard that breathing helped.

With stress, anxiety, excitement, even – breathing helped. Exercises that filled one’s lungs but expelled all the bad carbon dioxide. It was supposed to clear the system, somehow. The bad energy clung to the bad carbon dioxide and was flung free, leaving the body cleansed. Did he believe in that? Maybe. Maybe not. Did it matter? Deep breath in one, two, three, four, deep breath out one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, deep breath in….

And so on, so forth. Whether it did exactly what it proclaimed to do didn’t matter. Regardless, it made Freddie feel better. Freddie, or Lancaster? Which should he call himself? He had to breathe, now, because he was standing beneath a glowing sign that read Lancaster’s. His pub. A pub he owned. A pub that was his, that he started. One of the numerous businesses, he assumed, that kept his bank accounts flush.

He’d not yet got back into the rhythm of sleeping at night and doing practical human things during the day, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get back into that habit (even though he did hang out in the sun whenever he had the opportunity, basking in one of the things he had missed the most, glorying in the warmth and the absolute miracle that was that glowing orb in the sky). Truth be told, he needed to practice breathing again, because sometimes he forgot. And because he honestly wasn’t sleeping very well. It was all still a bit overwhelming.

Which is why he asked himself why he’d come back to this pub.

But he supposed it felt a lot like home, in a way. Even that hops scent that rushed from the doors every time someone came or went fired the synapses in his brain in all the good ways. Deep down, despite whatever issues he’d stumbled across, he was happy. Ultimately. He felt the cold again, was bundled up against it, and this was a good thing. And if he wanted things to go back to normal, to settle into something like he’d said he wanted to settle – well, he had to get back to the bar. He had to take the reigns again. He had to dredge up all those memories that hadn’t yet resurfaced, and he had to get back to himself, who he’d been those six or seven years ago before he’d ended up in Harper Rock.

It was up to him to take the first step.

And so he did. Holding his breath, he took one step and then another toward the entrance to Lancaster’s, and he pushed open the door. He stepped inside and turned toward the bar. Should he just walk behind it? Go into the office? Sit down, like he’d never left? Were the same employees even still hired? He had to get there, first, to find out.

Freddie approached the bar.

Posted: **06 Feb 2018, 13:11**

[Wearing]

Shadis had heard from Elena, who had listened to rumours, that Lancaster was back but she didn’t believe them, at least not until she saw Elliot himself pushing through the doors to his own pub. The woman had stood frozen on the spot for a moment as she tried to process this. How long had it been since she had seen him? Over a year maybe? ’Well maybe you could stand there like a dumb mullet or get moving, huh?’ Came the familiar voice of the ghost that seemed to haunt her every waking moment. It was easy to ignore him as the day rose, because for some reason he too left with it. Maybe even ghosts kept to a routine even after death?

However, the ghost had a point and her hurried steps had her pushing through the exact same door in no time and she called out. ”Oh thank god! Elliot! You’re back!” The vampire cried out as she came to a stop behind him and she wasted no time in talking. ”I’m so glad that you’re alive and ok. I want to you ask you so many things, but I need to talk to you before I get side tracked. I’m being haunted and no I’m not kidding. It appeared yesterday I think and you didn’t hear this from me, but I don’t know what to do. I don’t know nearly enough spells to deal with something like this and I was hoping that you might know something.”

A chuckle had her turning her brown eyes towards the ghost as it circled the man before her. ’Are you sure that this is the same man that turned you? I mean, he looks human to me and I was human.. That is until you killed me.’ Her eyes narrowed upon the ghost and that was when she heard it, the heart-beat. Slowly, her gaze slowly shifted back to Elliot as they focused upon his chest. No. She wasn’t losing it was she? Did she imagine that? Thump. Th-Thump, came the distinctive sound and slowly her jaw dropped. How was this even possible? Keep calm, Shadis told herself, which had her slowly straightening herself and collecting her jaw from the floor.

’I bet you didn’t see that one coming either,’ Chuckled the ghost again and again she wished to be able to kill him. He was obnoxious. Slowly, she drew in the man’s scent. Could she be wrong? Did the man just look like Elliot but wasn’t really him? However his scent suggested that he was indeed Elliot. The woman angled her head to the right then as a frown descended upon her brow. Could he be a twin of Elliot’s that she didn’t know about? Could a twin’s scent be similar if not the same? ”I’m… Sorry. I must have the wrong person. You’re not a vampire, you can’t be, you have a heartbeat. You must be a twin of Elliot’s that I don’t know about… I’m Shadis, Elliot’s childe. At least, that I know of? I mean, you can’t be him… Can you? You’re… Well, I don’t mean to be offensive, but you’re human.”

Perhaps it was shock, or maybe confusion. Either way, the woman took another step back from the man. Was the rumours of a cure true? If this was Elliot, then were the rumours of a cure really true?

Posted: **19 Feb 2018, 08:01**

Freddie hadn’t even taken two steps before he was accosted.

Accosted, he thought, because to begin with he was confused. The embrace came from behind and the woman knew his name, but did he know hers? He waited for her to let go, waited until he could face her; she at least gave him time to consider her, to take in every feature, every turn of phrase, her scent, the sound of her voice. Oh, he didn’t deny that she knew him. That had become a common occurrence. People knew who he was, he just had to catch up.

Her relief at his return was abundant though Freddie chuckled when she started to talk about her own issues. Was she relieved because he was okay, or was she relieved because she had someone who might be able to give her answers? The story he had to tell was complex, and yet it took a back seat to her haunting.

Yes, he believed her. Why wouldn’t he? He may have been human again but he still knew what it was to be a vampire, and the numerous difficulties that came with it. He didn’t begrudge the woman her problems, nor that his were second priority. It was in his nature to remain selfless.

While she talked – now questioning whether he really was the Elliot she knew or not – Freddie understood that there was a connection. Vampire or not, he could still feel it. The two knew each other in an intimate way, though not intimate intimate. He knew that his lack of memory could be insulting, it could be offensive. But he knew who she was. He knew, he just had to dredge it up. Eventually he shook his head.

”No. You’re not wrong. I’m Elliot. I’ve just been through a lot and you’re gonna have to bear with me,” he said, tone buoyant. The heaters were definitely on inside the pub, and he could feel the heat. He peeled off the top layer, the coat now draped over his arm. ”Just give me a second…” he said, holding out his hand as if to dissuade the woman from saying anything else while he looked at her. He looked hard… and then closed his eyes. He could see her. She was in a room, and there was blood. Lots of blood. When he opened his eyes it was to glance at the door he knew would be there, near the back of the pub, the one that led up to the backpackers. And then up at the ceiling, as if seeing through.

Suicide.

Shadis.

”Shadis,” he breathed. ”How long has it been…?” Yes, he knew she had asked him about being haunted. They could get to that. But there were quite a few things to cover, first.

Posted: **26 Feb 2018, 10:06**

The man asked her to hold on for a moment and she angled her head while she quietly watched him. Elliot, she had missed him, but it was primarily her fault for burying herself in her books and attempting to locate Trahir. Finally, he breathed her name and a smile curved her lips. So he did remember her! However, she realised that he wasn’t kidding when he had said that he had been through quite a bit. If it truly was her sire, then how the hell did he become human? ’So the human does remember you, pity,’ Spat the ghost and she scrunched up her nose and growled softly. ”Quite, Fido. You’re ruining this moment,” Shadis snapped at the ghostly paladin as he crossed his arms and huffed. ’I’m not a dog, my name is West.’

Right, so the ghost had every right to be all huffy because she called him by a dog’s name? He might as well be a dog with the way that he followed her everywhere. Brown eyes focused upon Elliot then as she apologetically smiled at him. ”Sorry… It has been a little over a year now I believe? When Trahir disappeared, I sort of… Buried myself under a pile of books and occasionally dug myself out to fail at tracking. I mean, what good is being a wolf if you can’t really track? But never mind that… You… You have been off my radar for some time. I had Elena keep tabs on you, but you sort of disappeared yourself. I feared that I had lost both you and Trahir.”

Shadis lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose then, ”Honestly, I should have kept better track of you instead of looking for the ghost of my lover who is potentially dead now. I should have kept better contact with you, but I see that you got your wish.” The allurist sighed as she opened her eyes to view the male once more. He was human, which meant that the rumours of a cure was true? She always knew that he never wanted to feed upon a human and now he didn’t have to feed on anyone. The woman didn’t know how she felt about it, but she couldn’t really say anything much about it. What right did she have to say about it?

West grumbled something before his form shimmered and disappeared from her sight, at least for the moment. West, whom she had killed and then ran to Elliot afterwards, bleeding and temporarily stuck in wolf form. One could say that she had taken her sire for granted and she had known that she had, but burying herself in a pile of books was something that she had always done even when she was human. Even her own mother had to chase her down, which ultimately led to her death. Shadis should have learned by now that those she cared about would have something happen to them that would take them away from her. ”What happened to you? Are the rumours of a cure true? Can a vampire really be cured?”

Not that she wanted it for herself, because she counted being a vampire as a blessing and had always been thankful to Elliot for saving her when he had, because it meant that she could keep her promise to her mother. The promise to live. ”Ugh, there is so much that you need to catch me up on. Maybe we should sit down and catch up over drinks, because I feel like you’re a stranger all over again.” Shadis had this nagging feeling that she couldn’t shake, but she wouldn’t spare any thoughts or words to them just yet. However, she was painfully aware of the fact that he was human and she a vampire. Could he really still be her sire? Or was he lost to her? No, she couldn’t think like that, not yet.

Posted: **12 Mar 2018, 13:45**

Trahir. Trahir. Try as he might, it didn’t matter how often Lancaster repeated the name, he could not recall who Trahir was – or whether the name ought to be familiar or important to him. It wasn’t long before his own curiosity was answered, his misunderstanding cleared up. The ghost of a lover. Someone important to Shadis, then, and not necessarily important to Lancaster. A name he didn’t have to focus on, yet – given the numerous questions uttered by the woman, there was plenty else to discuss in the mean time.

Once she suggested sitting with a round of drinks, Lancaster nodded. A glance was spared for the bar, so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. Familiar because he knew it was his, could feel that this place was like home, but foreign because it had been so long. Roxette had been taking care of the place in his absence, and bars generally had a high turnover of staff. Would he even know anyone?

In the end, it didn’t matter. Roxette happened to be in attendance – no longer a thrall because he didn’t have the power, but a loyal employee nonetheless. Lancaster had hauled her up off the streets and out of addiction (a thrall couldn’t take drugs if her ‘master’ didn’t allow it). He’d have to keep an eye on her now that his orders didn’t hold sway, just to make sure she didn’t slip. But she looked well, healthy – she was completely vibrant as she approached and threw her arms around Lancaster’s neck.

”Oh my ******* god, Lancaster. Where have you been?!” she asked, glancing at Shadis then back again. ”Are you gonna stay this time? Are you … I won’t interrupt, just. Come see me later, yeah?” she said. Lancaster nodded, his fingers curled around Roxette’s forearm, affectionate. Clinging to her as one does to something they’d thought they had lost, though Lancaster hadn’t been aware he’d lost anything. Well, he’d ben aware he’d lost memories he assumed could be important, but the specifics had been vague, blurred.

”Sure, Rox. For now can you ah… we’re going to take a seat. Can I get a whiskey and dry and whatever Shadis here wants?” he said. Roxette nodded, waiting for Shadis’s order before she slipped back to the bar. Lancaster surveyed the bar before finding an empty booth where they could sit and chat. As much as he wanted to explore the place like it was brand new to him, he knew he had plenty of time. And relationships with others was more important than physical objects.

”Trust me, I even feel like a stranger to myself. But… yes. There’s a cure. I have been cured, though it’s not without its consequences. It’s not the reason for my memory failure – the cure is only half the story,” he said, sliding into the booth. ”The short version? I lost my mind, became rabid and wild. Was saved – went by Freddie for a good long while, until I started to get snippets of my memory back. And then was cured. And you’re… being haunted…?” he asked. He didn’t disbelieve her. After everything he’d been through, how could he?

Path of the Vampire forum

Back to Basics [SHADIS]

Back to Basics [SHADIS]

Re: Back to Basics [SHADIS]

Re: Back to Basics [SHADIS]

Re: Back to Basics [SHADIS]

Re: Back to Basics [SHADIS]