Path of the Vampire forum

Narla wanders in, earbuds stuck in her ears with the music loud enough for the beat the be heard by any normal person she passes close enough by. Her clothing is a pair of worn jeans, shoes in a worse condition, and a black long sleeve shirt. She still wears the same hoodie jacket as the day before, but it was ripped, and what was left of the blood that soaked it at one point still stubbornly clings to the fabric. Her hood is pull up to hide her face, and consequently the bag under her eyes.

Shivamet
is tucked up against the wall like the cast aside corpse of a zombie. The gravity of his wounds unnerving due to the way torn flesh lacked any sort of pink or red. Blood had vacated his entire body, he didn't have a single drop left. The tears across his chest and shoulder, even shredded through his cheek towards his temple, through his leg, the ragged stump of one wrist and the missing foot made him look like a zombie that had been point blank shot in the head. The problem was that his chest was barely moving, that imperceptible rise and fall, unnecessary but animated nonetheless. Has the leg that was missing the foot tucked under his other calf, behind his knee so it wasn't as obvious. Even if EVERYthing about him was obvious. Bone white hair swept down his sculpted chest, interrupting the scarring and tracing of tattoos like he was some ancient skeleton that just happened to still have flesh hanging off of its structure. When Narla walked into the building his eye just...opened. It didn't blink, it stared out in front of him, cataracts giving a perfect moon like shine to it that glinted with an unspoken feral intent.

Narla
stares blankly out in and around herself, watching people, watching ghosts. She is glad she cannot hear the din of their conversations through the white noise of her music. Her mud-hued eyes shift from face to face.. to.. face... Until Narla catches the eyes of the corpse against the wall. Corpses weren't unusual in Harper, moving or otherwise. This one was clearly staring in her direction. She couldn't tell if it was dead. It seemed so.. no one reacted to it, it reacted to no one else.. perhaps she was seeing another soul. Perhaps this room was full of spirits and that was why no one had said a word or cast a glance. Narla takes a step closer, slowly, watching the mutilated body cautiously for even the faintest of movements until she was about three strides away from it.

Narla
mumbles, "What happened to you...," speaking her thought aloud without expecting an answer.

Shivamet
Shivamet was not used to being approached, no one approached him usually, even when he didn't look more like death than normal. Everything about him destroyed common logic, common understanding of how the world worked. Just to see him walk when he could, just to see him move, just to see his eyes focus or shift over left one with the soul deep feeling of utter wrongness. It shouldn’t have been possible, the intelligence, the intent, the promise in his eyes had most who saw him avoiding eye contact, avoiding looking at him or even thinking too much about what they’d seen and what it meant. What it could mean. So to say he stood out was an understatement. And even if...said standing out, went against the ingrained perception of death, everyone who saw him...recognized the look of it, the feel of it, and feared it. This did not in any way mean that he was grotesque, far from it. Somehow, the pale tone to his skin only made the soft moon touched gleam of curving muscle all that more evident, a bare sweep of sheer, almost bone white that had one marveling at the fact that one so...old...possessed such signs of fitness. Sharp, angular lines were etched into the light tone of his skin, a foreign pattern inked in black ink

Shivamet
He seemed lanky, yet for all that the way his black pants rode his hips, the way the soft, ragged material swathed each finger and enveloped each hand and arm in shadowy, contrasting darkness gave him a proportionate feel. Then you got to his face and saw his opaque eyes, his iris holding no color except that of pure bone, of ivory, a purity to the lack of color that seemed to gleam out past the white of his eye as though the hottest fire burned within his soul and mind...one that had burned every hint of blue...of yellow or red or orange away and eradicated it. This was only compounded by his injuries. Even if the way his eyes opened a little more, focused, tracked, left no doubt that he was very aware of his surroundings.

Shivamet
The question took him by surprise and for a moment he worked to remember how to speak. His voice a soft grating whisper, like the breathy sigh of some late night horror flick. "I was attacked."

Narla
's eyes narrow. She would not dare test how physical this being was. There was a glaring animosity in his eyes but his demeanor was too calm.. She glances casually around them for a second before moving her earbuds. She did not expect the shredded corpse to talk, but the fact did not visibly surprise her either. She could read his lips well enough to grab the word 'attack' at least. Narla let her hearing adjust to the noise of the crowd she perceived around them, before focusing her attention on him again to the best of her abilities. "What by?" The words tasted sour in her mouth. She didn't know of this person was really there..

Shivamet
He wasn't used to being spoken to, especially not by a human, they usually skittered away. Even if they didn't see him the weight of his gaze was enough to push pulse points up against thin skin in an enticing way and get the fragrant allure of sudden perspiration to cloud the air around them. It drove the bravest men restless and she was...not a man? Still, the conversation was nice, the unexpected nature of it not detracting from his enjoyment of it.

Shivamet
"Fae beasts...and humans..."

Shivamet
seems almost derogatory with the way he spit out the word. A lip curl showing off sharp fang for a moment.

Narla
falls quiet for a moment, but nods subtly to his answer. She did her hand into her remaining good pocket to take out a penny. American currency was worthless here so the copper coin had sat in her pocket uselessly for some time. She crouches down to set the penny on the floor, then gently slides it towards the talking corpse. When she finds it is stopped by his body, Narla sighs something between relief and regret, and sits down on the floor. "I'm sorry to hear that... Do you want me to find someone who can help you?"

Narla
*dips her hand

Shivamet
"No one would want to help me."

Shivamet
doesn't seem upset by this, just straight forward.

Shivamet
stares at the coin curiously, his attention diverting to it even if he didn't so much as shift when she sat down, aside from the slow lift of his chest for air.

Narla
You can keep it.. or leave it there.. There's not much use for a penny. People don't really like them in their pockets when they find out how little of value it is.

Shivamet
"It brings good luck..."

Narla
smiles bitterly.

Narla
Who told you that?

Narla
sits up straighter, stretching her back, before slouching in her seat. "How did you get here?"

Shivamet
"It's something I've always believed, I gather things left behind by others and weave magic through them."

Narla
You have your work cut out for you then.. It's a very unlucky penny..

Shivamet
actually moves, curling upright to lean forward and reach out with the fingers of his good hand, black material whispering against the ground as he caught up the copper piece and balanced it on a fingertip. Then his thumb caught at it and he rubbed at it to get the etching clearer so he could eye the date.

Shivamet
"Sheer force of will...why do you say that?"

Narla
sets her elbows on her knees, and twines her fingers together so she can rest her chin comfortably. "You're missing a few parts.. I guess that's why.."

Shivamet
finds a rare smile pulling at his lips after a moment before his gaze returned to the coin he'd caught up.

Shivamet
"I will heal."

Shivamet
"And if I do not...then I will finally step through into the Fade..."

Shivamet
seems almost eager, voice gaining a rasp to it when he said the word fade, the harsh whisper only adding to the slight tilt of his head and studious intensity of his features.

Narla
considers him in silence for a long moment, "Is that the final resting place.. for vampires?"

Shivamet
"For those who don't crawl back out of it eventually yes..."

Narla
...Would you want to?

Shivamet
mulls that question over thoughtfully, gaze turning a little distant. Isn't sure, wants to see it with his own eyes, wants to feel it soak into his incorporeal body. Wants to hunt spirits and wraiths and lost souls. He licked out at his lips, wetting them just slightly.

Shivamet
"Eventually yes..."

Narla
Why...?

Shivamet
"A locked door is only useful if one has the key to it...if going through the door excites me...holding the key to the door instead is my true purpose. The power...to pull people back out and use them like puppets...versus merely mingling with lost souls...I suppose that is worth life to me."

Narla
tilts her head and lowers her brows as a spark of interest lights her eyes. "You mingle with souls?"

Shivamet
gaze skips past her to land on the sliver of formed shadow with it's half defined face and poignant features, narrows eyes at it a little and then glances back at her.

Shivamet
"Yes..."

Narla
follows the path to where he narrowed his eyes at the shade, then returns her gaze back to his. She smiles a little. "You see them, too.. but... why do you mingle with them?"

Shivamet
"I consume them..."

Shivamet
hasn't really managed to mingle too much.

Shivamet
"Or bring them back."

Narla
blinks her confusion. "..how? They have no bodies."

Shivamet
"Every soul has a body."

Shivamet
"You just have to find it."

Narla
frowns and casts her sights to a side. She could not argue with that.. given how often she gets 'requests' for the task.

Narla
eventually looks back to Shivamet, "So you're a necromancer of some sort?"

Shivamet
"Yes."

Shivamet
seems proud of this, also surprised that she called him out. Is still mulling over the idea that she can see ghosts and spirits too?

Shivamet
is struck by the intense desire to grab her and cart her back to his lair, narrows eyes at, but is too injured to do so let alone walk through the open city with her in tow causing a scene.

Narla
manages a smile, then a chuckle that she smothers with a hand. "I thought that was only in video games. That's actually pretty cool." She sighs into a more sober expression, "I would help you.. I just don't know where to take you.. I don't know if you'd burn in the sunlight or if you would attack me. I don't like leaving you here though.."

Shivamet
"If you take me to a grassy area I can show you some of what I can do?"

Shivamet
doesn't seem truly concerned with his own injuries getting in the way of that, does seem shocked at her offer to help though.

Shivamet
"It would be safer for me to return home...but where I live...it is...as distressing for humans as my appearance is."

Narla
shakes her head, "I've seen worse... If you show me what you can do, I'll help you home." She smiles a sweet little smile.

Narla
Deal?

Shivamet
looks shocked. The expression taking a moment to fully settle, just sort of stares at her askance. Then after a moment of intense silence holds out his black gloved hand.

Narla
me holds out her own to shake his gloved hand, then shifts closer to help him onto his foot and stub.

Narla
holds out her own to shake his gloved hand, then shifts closer to help him onto his foot and stub.

Shivamet
catches her hand with shocking strength. Eyes fair alight even as a sudden gut wrenching weakness suffused every limb, the ends of her hair drying out like they were about to catch fire and dissolve. The drain of his presence a daunting thing, his fingers not letting her jerk her hand free. Seems absolutely aware of the weight of his influence but pulls just enough to get her to brace so he can use her waning strength to get to his feet anyways and then lets go of her hand, black gloved fingers trailing soft past her palm and fingertips teasingly.

Narla
felt her energy leave her and a wave of exhaustion take its place. She stumbled forward over her own feet, trying to fight the disorienting wave to focus and will herself back onto her feet. Her lungs strained briefly for air, they seemed to only grab just under what she needed. Narla urged herself to her feet, and when she trusted her body enough, she looks back at him and encourages him with a weaker voice. "We're off then.."

Shivamet
expected her to put distance between them, to get nervous, to run. Is so expectant of this, moves sublimely well for someone who's so damaged. Is shocked when she didn't, is also impressed she kept on her feet.

Shivamet
"You are courageous..."

Narla
I'm a coward..

Shivamet
"A coward would cower at death's touch..."

Narla
's jaw sets but she keeps walking, slowly and unsteadily making her way to the door. She only stops if she sees he isn't following her.

Shivamet
almost...almost wishes he could control the affect he had on living things, but he couldn't yet. Not yet. Especially not when he was this weak. He glanced towards the door, eying it as though it were an enemy due to the distance that still remained between his broken body and it. Would like to simply walk, knows that's an impossibility. Will need to find some sort of cane or stick to use when they head for the grass. He watched her move to walk towards the door, envying each step she took.

Narla
observed him, taking his hesitation for uncertainty. If she touched him again she might not be able to see this through. She wondered if he would even feel confident enough to leave this place. "What's wrong?"

Shivamet
"I will need a crutch of some sort..."

Shivamet
admits this with a challenging sort of air. Still half expects her to draw some sort of weapon and shoot him like everyone else who laid eyes on him did.

Narla
squints and wavers on her feet, scanning the mall for a store or kiosk..

Shivamet
"I would ask for your support but I would drain the strength out of your limbs. I cannot control it..."

Narla
Wait here.. I'll find something..

Shivamet
"Okay..."

Shivamet
doesn't have anywhere to go or any way to get there. Can't even go after her to feed, can't feed more than once per day, body would throw it up because of how injured he was. Reaches out to rest his gloved hand against the wall to half lean into it.

Narla
disappears through the door out onto the street. Each precarious step dragging her for the bank. She rests a minute or two, before gradually working her way for a shop nearby then making her way back to Shivamet with what appears to be a cane. Her breaths are heavy, and she herself felt like her body was a metal weight, but she is no less determined. "Will.." she huffs, "..will this .. work?" she inquires, offering the cane to him.

Shivamet
had his eyes closed while she was away. Doesn't really expect her to come back anywhere near him. So when her voice and her sluggish heartbeat and scuffing footsteps encroached again his eyes opened and he stared at her incredulously. He reached out before she could take back the offer and caught fingers around the smoothed wooden handle of the cane, dropping it down to transfer some of his weight to it. Is shocked at the wicked relief he felt at being able to move under his own power again. Was miserable. Admits that now. Caught between wanting to antagonize someone to please finish him off and wanting to drain every human within sight and knowing he couldn't. It had been a struggle for her, he could tell. He didn't have enough strength to bolster her up, let alone himself.

Shivamet
"I owe you..."

Shivamet
is said like a promise, like an oath. The words grating hoarsely out of his chest in a raw whisper.

Narla
shakes her head, "Let's... get you out.." she encourages with a faint smile and slowly walks with him towards the exit.

Shivamet
gives her a considering sort of look and then when she moved towards the exit he followed her carefully. There would be no running from soldiers that they saw, there would only be taking more bullets until they managed to put him down. But from what he remembered the wilderness was not too far away from the building they were in. So he slipped outside and made the first face of pure agony at the light. It wasn't full day, it wasn't even possible to see the sun past the buildings around them, but the light burned at him anyways, itching at already seared nerves. A hiss escaped him and then he squinted, searching for anything green.

Narla
paused and bit her lip. She struggles a moment to shrug off her backpack, digs through it for her umbrella, then fumbles to open it and hold it over him. "Sorry.. I didn't know if.. if that would happen.." Narla then searches for some bare grass as well. "Is that a good spot?" She points across the road to the grasses peeking out from behind one of the buildings.

Shivamet
was not expecting an umbrella of all things? Actually lets out a soft gasp of relief at feeling the sudden shade fall across his face and chest. Fine trembles had caught him up and he felt the heat that had scorched all the way through his bones fair echo about his body.

Shivamet
"I am used to it...yes...it is."

Shivamet
moves to head towards it, mindful to keep close to her and under the umbrella. Doesn't even care if he looks strange, knows he looks strange. A humorless sort of smile catching at him.

Shivamet
"Everyone will think you are shielding a zombie from the sunlight..."

Narla
is patient making her way across the pedestrian walkway with him. Any other day that detail might not have mattered but... people were less likely to barrel through them with a car and Narla preferred it that way. They were surely slow, but she doesn't care. "I thought about that.. I don't really care.. I'm used to people looking at me strange.." She smirks a little, "But.. in all fairness, would it be too far-fetched to say a vampire is a very sophisticated zombie?"

Narla
tries to temper her humoring smile, but she fails at it.

Shivamet
"When did you realize you could see spirits?"

Shivamet
sounds wholly curious, his response to hers avoiding the statement/question she'd asked. He felt like a zombie. He couldn't say really what the main difference was. Both the feral vampires he'd seen and the zombies had the same glint of crazed instinct in their eye.

Shivamet
"I would like to figure out the difference one day...why one dies and remains whole and the other dies and falls apart."

Narla
hums low and nods, "I'm interested to know, too.. About the difference.." She nibbles the inside of her cheek, "I was in middle school.. 8th grade. My dog was killed by one of my neighbors.. but he showed up in my room the next day.. No one else saw him." She huffs a little laugh through her nose, "He's the only animal ghost I've seen...My parent's sent me to a psychiatrist that said it was because I missed him so much.. that was why I saw him... Then I saw my sister's bestfriend's dead grandmother that same year. She offered me cookies when I came over and asked me to find her body."

Shivamet
"Maybe one day I'll figure it out...I will let you know if I do." He listened to her response, mulling it over. That she had the sight like she did made her a kindred spirit. He was able to see wraiths and spirits all over Harper rock that no one else could see. He hadn't felt burdened or singled out by it, it was the least of his 'flaws'.

Shivamet
"They are real...you are not crazy."

Shivamet
figures she should hear someone say that. Steps onto the grass and immediately the soil roiled like a zombie was tearing up through it, or a swarm of beetles was churning it up underneath it. The thin brown and golden death laden weeds that sprouted up churned around his foot, tangling about him in thorny wildness.




------------------------------
This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Veil Tower area. Participants and rewards were: Narla earned 2020 RPP. Shivamet earned 3558 RPP.

Shivamet
"Maybe one day I'll figure it out...I will let you know if I do." He listened to her response, mulling it over. That she had the sight like she did made her a kindred spirit. He was able to see wraiths and spirits all over Harper rock that no one else could see. He hadn't felt burdened or singled out by it, it was the least of his 'flaws'. "They are real...you are not crazy." Figures she should hear someone say that. Steps onto the grass and immediately the soil roiled like a zombie was tearing up through it, or a swarm of beetles was churning it up underneath it. The thin brown and golden death laden weeds that sprouted up churned around his foot, tangling about him in thorny wildness.

Shivamet
Shivamet quit

Shivamet
Shivamet quit

Narla
lets another smile break through, though softer and without humor, a sort of agreement. When Shiva steps on the the grass and the soil shifts and bubble, she watches with a furrowed brow, expecting a zombie to lurch from the ground. Instead, weeds burst from the floor and engulf him, Narla takes a step back to avoid getting caught in the wild embrace of thorns, but she is remains close enough to keep that umbrella over his head. The look of astonishment stamped itself clearly onto her face. "You control flora too??" The emphasized surprise drags out the lilt in her voice at the end of the question.

Shivamet
"Control...loosely I suppose..." He stared down at them and then even as the brown killers twined he let his influence out, the weeds changing from dead to green, grass regrowing in soft fragile green. Flowers bloomed, little blue petals unfurling as the weeds blossomed and stilled. He'd freed them from their tortured struggle to not be consumed by death, the blind need they'd had to be noticed something that was appeased by the decision he'd made to bring them to life. Such was the struggle of the dead until he touched them though. Plants were simply pure enough, primal enough, to show this struggle.

Narla
smiles warmly, "That's quite a gift, as well.. It's.." she tilts her head, "..it's strange, how your touch can kill a person like myself.. but provide life for the weeds.." She ventures to gently brush the petal of one tiny blue flower. "It's beautiful.. how representative of the cycle of life and death it is..."

Narla
Thank you for showing me..

Shivamet
"It would not kill you, merely weaken. I have one foot in the Fade...I have since I died...you feel death channeled through my body. I was not able to bring them to life at first. It was just death, growing and tangling around every footstep. But I've learned. I'll be able to do the same thing to a person soon..."

Narla
blinks, "Really? The same as the plants?"

Shivamet
"Yes...I can pull spirits out of the fade and restore them...temporarily. I can bring up to the point of death and pull someone back and I can turn...but what I want is to be able to do this...just as effortlessly. Where no matter who or what it is at my feet I can find them, pull them back and restore them if I choose to."

Narla
looks thoughtfully at the plants, "There are plenty who want be in their bodies... But .. it doesn't sound so simple.." She lifts her eyes to his, "How would you sew the soul back into place? ..Would it be temporary?" Narla hesitates a beat, then closes her mouth. She knew she was asking far too many questions.

Narla
Sorry..

Shivamet
"It depends on how long the soul has been dead...if it is within moments...hours...who says I would let it escape to the Fade? Maybe I would simply draw life back into the person right there after having taken it away. Once someone's been dead for awhile...putting them back into a body usually doesn't work unless its their own. In fact...I'd imagine the body they possessed would fall apart if it wasn't theirs....as for how...I'm still figuring it out. The fae know a lot about it."

Shivamet
"Do not apologize I do not have anyone to talk to about it...most are...disquieted..."

Shivamet
pale eyes move to settle on her face and search it.

Narla
falls into thought, imagining the circumstances he presents in his answers, but she physically relaxes a bit more when he reveals he doesn't mind her questions. "Yeah.." she laughs a little, "..I know what you mean.. It's not a light subject, I guess.. " Narla lofts her brows, "A soul could be like a puzzle piece.. can't just fit it anywhere.. Maybe there are exceptions. I've never seen it myself but possession might mean its possible for a soul to inhabit a body that isn't originally theirs.." She lifts her finger to her lip to nibble the meat before her knuckle. "Hmm, but.. why the fae? When I think of fae I think of Tinkerbell, or mermaids even.. What do they have to do with raising the dead?"

Shivamet
"They're the oldest thing in the Fade. They saw the first soul land there and they'll probably see the last. The language they have, no one fully understands it anymore but they're able to do inexplicable things when you understand how to communicate with them."

Narla
's brow lift as high as they can go. "Were you trying to study them when you were attacked by them?"

Shivamet
makes a face at remembering the monstrous strength of the creatures as they'd severed through bone and tendon easily.

Shivamet
"Yes."

Shivamet
"If they're not contained...they're very dangerous."




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This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Dwelling 13 area. Participants and rewards were: Shivamet earned 911 RPP. Narla earned 567 RPP.

Narla
frowns and nods, taking in the extent of his injuries again. "You held up your end. Thank you.. let's get you out of the sun." She looks around, "Where is your home?"

Shivamet
"I was arrogant...I have summoned and controlled a few of the beasts...it made me feel stronger. I've learned my lesson. They don't talk or listen when they're free to roam..." He nodded down the street. "It is...in the sewers..." He fully expected her to balk at that.

Shivamet
"I don't come up to the surface much..."

Narla
does ..pause when she hears this. "The sewers?" Her frown returns, but she continues on, "I guess its safe from the sun.. but is that the only place you can live comfortably?" She wrinkles her nose at the thought of the smell of sewage, but the thought does occur in her mind that the Ninja Turtles lived in the sewers for its safety and .. well.. most people would avoid the the place for obvious reasons. "I'm new to all of this.. stuff.. vampires and fairies.. its surreal.. I heard my parents talking about it before I was sent here, but that's about it.. They didn't believe it either."

Shivamet
"That or a graveyard...in one of the crypts or older graves..." It was macabre, but it was the truth. He watched her frown, surprised when she kept walking. His eyes skipped ahead to the grate in the ground that they were steadily approaching. "I like the dark...the quiet...being deep in the Earth I can feel it when the Fade tears more...it is in the quarantine area, underneath where the zombies were caged. Every time things shift...my walls shift with it and I can touch them, rest my body against them and feel it..." He sounded almost dreamy. As though the last time he'd experienced such a thing it had been with the same awe as any natural wonder that he'd experienced it. "Really? It is very real..."

Shivamet
it's on page two of that rp

Shivamet
oop wrong chat

Narla
's heart sped up at the mention of the quarantine area and the roaming zombies within them. She could handle the normal ones, it was the other ones that unnerved her. "I guess I expect the graves and crypts over the sewers," her voice lost some of its volume this time. "I've read about the Tear.. some things.. It's part of the reason this place is so.. crowded.. and loud.." The thought of it gave her a headache. Then the souls of the less conscious dead were another matter. They were trapped in there. She remembers the vivid screams of the ferals that sought to tear her apart, ..but it might have been just her doing the screaming. She felt her stomach twist and squeeze. The healed wound in her side suddenly burned.. She couldn't stop her legs.. Her mind was made up. "I wish I could understand those things.. wish I could see it.."

Narla
's hand's begin to shake.

Shivamet
"Nothing is as calming as being surrounded by the earth...its the only time everything is silent." He followed her, moving to slide his grip down the cane and lift the cover of the sewer up. "We can enter from here so we don't have to go into the quarantine area directly. I'll guide you...and protect you." Which was laughable given his state, but anyone who mistook the devastated mangled mess of his body for close to death did not understand his intriguing connection with it. He lifted the cover back and away and then glanced at her. "I can show you..." The words came unbidden and he meant them.

Narla
gave him a deeply concerned look with his promise of protection. He was in a horrible condition, but he was still alive.. and moving. She was dubious.. but yet certain she wouldn't be able to defend herself if he were to turn on her at any moment. Narla nods quietly, gripping the handle of the umbrella tighter in hopes it would stop her quaking. She ducks into the sewers and follows closely beside him. "Thank you." She offers again, her gaze sweeping the inside of the sewers while her nose scrunches from the arid smell.

Shivamet
He could sense her fear, he was used to fear, used to the fragrance of it, the taste of it, the presence of it. But her fear was not directed at him as much as it was the dark curving tunnels they moved through. She didn't realize but if they did run into any feral vampires, they wouldn't have dared make a move on her, because she was so close to him. It made his careful gait through the stewn hewn tunnels slow and calm. The smell settling into his senses heavily after a moment or two and then filtered away. A rat squeaked and skittered away from her foot and he moved, the sudden lunge unthinking and shocking. His cane clattered to the ground, rolled towards putrid water as his body struck the ground hard enough to grate bone and joint and then his fingers curled tight around the squirming rodent that he'd caught one handed. He crushed the fragile beast, bones shattering and organs squishing, blood running through his fingers and down to the ground. He let it fall, caught the tell and then with a quick jerk severed said tail from the broken body by sheer momentum of the gesture itself given he didn't have another hand to tear it apart. He left the still bleeding body where it lay, starvation a sick weight in his stomach that he couldn't address yet and then tucked the tail

Shivamet
into his pants pocket like it was a phone, or credit card, or some other normal thing. Then his eyes moved to her and he pointed at the cane. "Would you retrieve that for me?"

Shivamet
It didn't have a heartbeat after all, no reason to dive for it when he was missing appendages.

Shivamet
stone*

Shivamet
tail*

Narla
jolts, but her shift out of the way would have been too slow for how quickly he moved for the rat. She watched the scene wide-eyed. How he mangled the animal in one hand and stole its tail. She felt.. disgust.. her stomach twisted for a different reason now, yet it was fascinating how beast like he was in the process. Her heart beat calmed to a steadier, yet not fully regular beat. Her shaking ceased, and her expression faded into a rested smile. Her eyes follow him, tracking him. She crouches down and picks up the cane in one hand, and brushes the fur of the mangled rodent with the other. "That was cruel.." Narla coos calmly on her rise into a stand. She offers the cane. "His tail must be a valuable resource.."

Shivamet
wipes his hand off on his pants, letting the dark material stain and soak with the animals blood before he reached out to take the cane gratefully and transfer his weight to it again. Like some grandfatherly figure who'd just finished doing parkour and now needed a walking stick and had a limp. The transformation of her expression and posture made no logical sense to him. He'd expected the opposite, he was far from civilized. If she'd tried to run he would have treated her the same way as the rat.

Shivamet
"Not as cruel as if I fed from it...it was a quick death...and it is...it's part of a ritual. It's an ingredient..."

Shivamet
turns experimentally and continues guiding her, slipping into a darker entrance that led to the dwelling areas where most of the homeless lived under the city.

Narla
did not look very convinced, but she smiles and nods, closing her umbrella and tucking it back into her backpack. "Which ritual is it for?" she poses gently, following him through the tunnels to his home. She kept close, given the darker dwellings were harder for her to see than it was for him.

Shivamet
"One I haven't learned yet..." He led the way, impressed with her following him until he got to his own dwelling, the heavy stone door something that looked like it was carved into a natural cave instead of a manmade construction. When he opened it however and led the way inside incense immediately counteracted the normal heavy smell of rot and decay and fetid water. The welcome mat that he stepped over said 'souls welcome' and the rest of his decor was just as out of place. A crack ran down one of his walls from the last time the Fade had shifted, the undead that had surged up from the other place had passed by so close to his secure hideaway even if none had broken in. He closed the door behind her, locking it, relaxing finally at seeing the familiar coffin. Hearing the whispering bubble of the hot spring in the back room that he'd fashioned into a wide bathing area. The thought of going and soaking, or crawling into his coffin and passing out, both were beyond appealing, but he waited. Waited for her reaction to the ritual alter set up in the center of the room and the obvious restraint laden apparatus next to it.




------------------------------
This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Dwelling 13 area. Participants and rewards were: Shivamet earned 1545 RPP. Narla earned 874 RPP.

Shivamet
"One I haven't learned yet..." He led the way, impressed with her following him until he got to his own dwelling, the heavy stone door something that looked like it was carved into a natural cave instead of a manmade construction. When he opened it however and led the way inside incense immediately counteracted the normal heavy smell of rot and decay and fetid water. The welcome mat that he stepped over said 'souls welcome' and the rest of his decor was just as out of place. A crack ran down one of his walls from the last time the Fade had shifted, the undead that had surged up from the other place had passed by so close to his secure hideaway even if none had broken in. He closed the door behind her, locking it, relaxing finally at seeing the familiar coffin. Hearing the whispering bubble of the hot spring in the back room that he'd fashioned into a wide bathing area. The thought of going and soaking, or crawling into his coffin and passing out, both were beyond appealing, but he waited. Waited for her reaction to the ritual alter set up in the center of the room and the obvious restraint laden apparatus next to it.

Narla
takes note of the space…of the door locking behind her, ..she spent much longer scanning the interior. The crack in the wall, the bubbling waters. The ritual setup. "Cozy." She says as she takes in the red and blues on her venture around before circling the alter with a smile that has yet to fully fade. She falls into thought again, considering the altar. “You bring people here every so often, right?” Narla lightly kicks the toe of her shoe in the direction of the chains without touching them, it was solely a pointing gesture. “Are you going to do that to me?” Her gaze glides to the sacrificial circle for several heartbeats. She could imagine the hammering of a blade through the chest of some unassuming person, some stranger, herself even. “It must get loud in here..”

Shivamet
She had stepped into the room, willingly. Her feet whispering across the greeting mat without hesitation as she ventured further into his den. He didn't move, he simply waited, leaning his weight on the cane and watching her wander. His eyes tracked her avidly, interest plain on his face. "Yes..." His agreement was honest, but then he was always honest. Honesty was not one of his faults. At her wondering if he'd do that to her he blinked, surprised at her blunt questioning. "Sometimes..." he skipped over her question to answer her observation instead. "Would you scream?"

Narla
circled around the space, gripping her covered wrist and rubbing her thumb against the fabric, "I'm not sure.. I thought I wouldn't when I nearly died to ferals.. but I did. Sometimes I don't.. I can't always tell." Her hands slip into her pockets as her eyes lift to him again, "Would you?"

Shivamet
"I do not scream."

Shivamet
says this statement simply, as if it is just fact. As though he were incapable of such a thing.

Narla
raises her brow, "Not even with joy?"

Shivamet
"My voice is too hoarse...if it gets too strained then it is inaudible..."

Shivamet
nods towards the restraints.

Shivamet
"What do you think happens on that?"

Narla
mows over the fact. He had been hoarse this whole time.. "Oh, yes, that makes sense.." She stands sends an inquiring look at him, "Will I be able to watch the ritual to its end?"

Shivamet
nods in agreement.

Shivamet
"Of course? I haven't put a human on it yet." The admission escaped him candidly.

Shivamet
"You talk like you do not fear death."

Narla
bobs her head to a side in a sort of nod, "I've tried to meet death many times. Something always happens."

Narla
Because of myself.. or without.

Shivamet
"If you want to see it badly enough...it will happen..."

Shivamet
eyes the ritualistic alter for a moment and then moves stiffly past her to deposit the rats tails he'd gathered and the zombie ears and the penny she'd given him into their respective glass jars and along the shelving of his desk in the corner. The lace patterned over the black stained wood something that made each ingredient seem almost relic like. Even if it wasn't. He then turned and carefully moved back her way, diverting to head towards the pool in the back room.

Narla
watches him quietly, thinking about those words. Something in them tightened her jaw and caused the blood to boiled in her chest. She ignored it, and tempered her herself again. The way he walked around her, it gave her the impression he was stalling for something, maybe considering something. She could not put a finger on what, though perhaps he waited for those words to leave her mouth. That she wanted to die and she would not fight him if he planned to kill her.. maybe he wanted a fight. Narla did not know. "Is there something else?"

Shivamet
"Come, relax...regain some of your strength. I'm in no position to do any rituals like this...if anything...I need to feed so I can heal. The last thing I want to do is summon a Faebeast into this place and have it simply reach through my chest and rip out my heart."

Shivamet
wouldn't really mind this, thinks it would be a quicker death than losing limbs, but licks lips and eyes her, wondering curiously about her motivation for following him.

Narla
nods slowly, confusion climbing across her face. She takes a step to join him, but she looks behind herself instead, then around herself. "O..okay.." she answers, her posture growing more tense the longer she looks around. The alter she studied as if she had only seen it at the very moment, before turning to back to him. Narla sighs quietly and bites her lip.. "You can feed from me... as much as you need." She follows him, not entirely certain where they were going in this room.

Shivamet
moves into the back to carefully slip into the water in the pool. Doesn't take pants off or anything, simply sinks into the heated water, letting it lap against his wounds and revitalize him. Sets cane along the edge of the pool and then finally relaxes.

Shivamet
"Thank you...I cannot take much...I am too injured to be able to use it."

Narla
leans against the poolside, lifting her hair out of the way to expose her neck.

Shivamet
turns to eye her and then reaches out, gathering up her shirt instead of touching her directly to pull her closer and then cool lips and skin and sudden sharp teeth were felt catching in her skin. The sudden weakness combated by the usual torpor that struck at her. He retreated, trying not to cough up what he'd taken almost as soon as he struck a vein though. The wound sealed itself and then even as the daze left her everything was remembered in perfect crystalline clarity. The touch of his lips, the strike of fang, the weakness and lax inability to move and the sluggish weight on her chest.

Narla
winces, feeling his fangs sink into her skin. She is calm but still nervous over this sort of experience. It was different from before. Her thoughts slowed from the lethargy she felt overwhelm her already tired body, and she felt herself become sapped to the extent that she didn't have a single concern over drowning in the water. It was quick, she was sure it was quick, but it was enough to weigh heavily on her body. She was a ragdoll, that slouched against the grip he had on her shirt. Narla was exhausted. Sleepy. Sleep sounded nice..

Shivamet
feels the blood settle finally and gasps even as he felt Narla sag. He dragged her limp form into the water completely, drawing her close enough for her head to sink down and rest heavy against his chest. What he did, the weakness she felt, it wouldn't kill her. It would probably make it impossible to crawl free of his embrace, which he didn't mind, but it wouldn't kill her. Eventually he was going to make his way to his coffin, was going to crawl inside and close the lid and pretend he was six feet under...when that happened he intended to take her with him. He wondered what her reaction would be to waking up inside a closed coffin? His fingers played through her hair, drawing it back out of her face and tucking it behind her ear gently.




------------------------------
This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Dwelling 13 area. Participants and rewards were: Shivamet earned 1377 RPP. Narla earned 835 RPP.

Narla
knew she was moving. She wasn't sure how but she was. It was hard for her to focus on what was happening, her mind struggled to put two and two together as it was further dragged into the fog. She felt the waters of the pool flow over her face some into her nose. She coughed it up but she couldn’t remember doing most of it. It woke her up just enough to realize her head was rest against his chest. Fighting the sleep that rushed over her just a little longer, she traced the vague shape of his torso to his face. It was him, but Narla's thoughts couldn't make sense of what she was seeing and soon she was resting. She vaguely remembers the fleeting moments she was stirred awake. Feeling herself free from the ground as Shiv carried her, then being laid to rest in a bed. When she awoke again, it was a slow process, as if her body was full of bricks and was trying to decide if it was ready attempt to move again. It would be a little while before she could sit up, so she remained there lying down as she was. There was the light brush and tickle of something in her hair. It was.. nice. Soothing. It was familiar, yet alien, like something she hadn’t felt since she could remember. She like it, and she almost fell asleep to it, again.. but the desire to know what it was that played with

Narla
knew she was moving. She wasn't sure how but she was. It was hard for her to focus on what was happening, her mind struggled to put two and two together as it was further dragged into the fog. She felt the waters of the pool flow over her face some into her nose. She coughed it up but she couldn’t remember doing most of it. It woke her up just enough to realize her head was rest against his chest. Fighting the sleep that rushed over her just a little longer, she traced the vague shape of his torso to his face. It was him, but Narla's thoughts couldn't make sense of what she was seeing and soon she was resting. She vaguely remembers the fleeting moments she was stirred awake. Feeling herself free from the ground as Shiv carried her, then being laid to rest in a bed. When she awoke again, it was a slow process, as if her body was full of bricks and was trying to decide if it was ready attempt to move again. It would be a little while before she could sit up, so she remained there lying down as she was. There was the light brush and tickle of something in her hair. It was.. nice. Soothing. It was familiar, yet alien, like something she hadn’t felt since she could remember. She like it, and she almost fell asleep to it, again.. but the desire to know what it was that played with

Narla
:: her hair is what kept her awake. When she saw the pale face and colorless eyes that stared at her hungrily the first time she was close, the reality chipped at her restful state. Everything slowly came after that. She was beside him, she was damp, and she was in his coffin.. beside him. Narla's utter surprise slapped itself very quickly onto her face.

Shivamet
The cushion in the coffin was very comfortable. Not that he'd ever placed a lot of weight to feeling comfortable. But he couldn't deny with her slow heartbeat next to him, with her breath lightly stirring the air around in the dark enclosed space it was...nice. It helped him sleep, the blood he'd taken and the safety and the rest actually closing up some of the garish wounds on his body. Not all of them, but definitely a lot of them. He felt some strength come back, the feeling of being helpless fading out of his thoughts. After hours of rest he felt her stir and his eyes blinked open, the light seeping in from the seam of the lid around them enough to make his form a pale sprawl of tattooed muscle swathed in black shadow. He waited to see if she would try to escape. If so he intended to catch her and draw her back into his arms.

Narla
sits up rather quickly, consequently smacking her noggin on the cover, "Agh.." she breathes out. She rubs her head, then pauses. Her eyes swing to his form again and tried to peace together what happened.. why she was there. He was playing with her hair.. they were in a coffin together.. what if.. Narla’s eyes widen. “Uh..” She was along with a man in his bed. Narla carefully scoots some distance between them, then shoves open the coffin cover to quickly climb out. She was not ready for the sex!

Narla
makes one swing of her leg over the edge of the death bed, but she is (un)pleasantly surprised to be grabbed and pulled back in with him.

Shivamet
The resounding impact of soft human skull against the heavy ebony lid of his coffin was something he felt echo into his bones. It was a nice feeling too, just as nice as the illusive comfort of the white cushion around them. He watched her rub at her head and then stare at him. To his surprise instead of speaking coherently she put distance between them and then abruptly moved to escape. He moved faster, the same wicked feral aggression he'd had with the rat had him catching the back of her shirt before she could dive out of the coffin and then her slighter body floomfed right back down beside him. The hiss he let out an eerie sort of thing. It was wild and thoughtless and the lid thunked back down over them at their actions, signifying the quickness of the chaotic awakening and its results.

Shivamet
hears nothing but empty silence from the rest of the apartment for a moment, the coffin wholly benign now that its occupants were enclosed again.

Narla
stiffens from how harshly she was snatched back and pinned to him. His feral hiss had her squeezing her eyes tightly closed, bracing for a hit. The drowsiness returned again, her adrenaline fighting against something stronger. She focuses her energy on relaxing herself again, though the thought nagged at her. She waited, then opened her eyes as much as her body protested, feeling the drowsiness again in a comfortable place. After a couple breaths, she turns her head to lookup at him.

Shivamet
He waited, waited for her to make the decision to fight him, or to stop resisting. She didn't let him down and his hand retreated, his body managing to recline almost close enough to pin her up against the side of the coffin even if they weren't actually physically touching. "That is the first time you tried to run from me...why?"

Shivamet
can't disguise the pure curiosity in his voice.

Narla
looks a bit.. ashamed, looking back to the wall of his resting place, "I.. thought ..you were trying to.. to.. have sex with me.."

Shivamet
seems shocked for a moment, eyes widening up and is silent for a little while.

Shivamet
"I prefer corpses..."

Narla
is silent too..

Narla
then starts to giggle.

Shivamet
has no idea what to make of her laughter? Really doesn't? Isn't sure why she's laughing? Blinks at her quietly even if his mouth twitched and the slightest smile touched on his face.

Narla
turns to him still grinning at her own stupidity, "I'm sorry.. I overthink sometimes."

Narla
Most of the time.

Shivamet
"It's fine. I thought you would enjoy the opportunity to see a coffin from the inside...even if you are not dead yet...what do you think? Have you ever rested in one before?"

Narla
shakes her head, "No. I've only seen them from the outside.." She pivots onto her back, not minding being herded to close to the side. "It's comfortable, and quiet.. I would close my eyes and sleep forever if I could.." She raises a hand to the ceiling, "Its like a cocoon.."

Narla
slips into her thoughts again..

Shivamet
"I feel safe when I'm in a coffin...or buried in the earth. Both drown out everything. Do you notice, there are no spirits? They will not whisper or be seen through this...it is too small a space."

Narla
's eyes light up with this dose of reality, "Y..you're right... They're not here..." She smiles a little more, "It's truly peaceful..." With a laugh she turns her head to him again, "I could save up for one... Are.. are they expensive?"

Shivamet
shifts so is comfortable, as much as he could be with the injuries he still possessed. "They are not...it is quiet...they will not encroach in this space." o.o "Around six thousand for a decent quality one...I dug this one out of the Earth...but...it was mine. It is why my name is carved into it. I earned it through death...someone else paid for it...and when I awoke...I kept it."

Shivamet
"You are free to rest in mine whenever you like."

Narla
grew hopeful hearing she would have enough money to buy one, but.. when he mentioned how he earned his, Narla's smile faded. She knew of none that would be there if she died.. She know in her gut she was shipped off to be alone. The questions came in waves, thinking of waves to mend the problem.. His offer breaks her from it briefly, and she finds comfort in the temporary fix. With another nod she smiles again, "I think I'll accept your offer.."

Shivamet
"What I said about how I got this one upset you?"

Narla
shakes her head.

Narla
I want to earn mine, too..

Narla
Not sure how..

Shivamet
"If you let me kill you I will make sure you get a coffin as nice as this with your name engraved on it..."

Narla
's brows raise, her lips forming a loose 'o', "You would do that for me?" Her heart fills with warmth, but her the curious question remains in her eyes, "Why?" she asks quietly.

Shivamet
"The dead deserve to have a place of rest. One that protects their bodies until they come back to them. If I could find every missing body and bury them properly I would. As for you, you would have earned it, going into the other side...and when you came back...because I know I would work to bring you back, you would have a place just like this to call your own and you would know your place in life more than you do now. Because you would have stepped out of it temporarily."

Narla
grins gently at him, "Thank you.." She turns towards him in whole, tucking an arm under her head. "It's funny.. we've gone this far.. but I don't know your name.." Meeting his eyes, comfortable in her cornered spot, she continues, "I'm Narla.. It's nice to meet you.."

Shivamet
"Shivamet...you are the first person to not look at me in revulsion..."

Narla
shrugs in a lighthearted way, "I might be insane as my father said... but I feel like I can talk to you..normally. I like talking to you.."

Narla
I'm glad you aren't a figment of my imagination..

Narla
Or a spirit..

Shivamet
"Insanity is defined by other people who cannot understand what they see or hear or feel...you are not insane."

Shivamet
reclines more against the cushions, relaxing into them and letting his head rest down again.

Shivamet
pulls out a small key, an old fashioned thing that was heavy and brass and proffers it to her.

Narla
shifts to make herself comfortable alongside him. She notices the key he offers to her and accepts it, quietly astonished by its weight. "..Is this.. the key to your door?"

Shivamet
"Yes it is...I have another of course it is not the only one."

Narla
carefully tucks the key into her front pocket. "Thank you, Shivamet."

Narla
closes her eyes.

Shivamet
smiles slightly again, hasn't smiled until he met her, not since he'd awoken. Makes a noncommital noise in his chest and then his own eyes closed. "You are free to do as you want to...I need to sleep...if you are here when I wake up...that would be nice. If you are not, hopefully we will meet again."

Narla
tips her head with a softly breathed, "Okay.." She has every intention to stay.




------------------------------
This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the Dwelling 13 area. Participants and rewards were: Narla earned 1786 RPP. Shivamet earned 1421 RPP.

Key
-senses strong and utterly powerfully force in the pit of stomach a darkness emerging toward her. Does a brim survey of the area before lingering a bit more-

Ripper
forages about for odds and ends while keeping an eye out for bits and bobs. His lucky Cat's Eye shooter drops from his pocket in a clank against a sewer pipe and the supremly spherical surface begins to roll away down the inclination to roll away and land with a hidden plunk in tepid waters

Ripper
*a plunk to lay hidden in tepid waters.

Ripper
Sod and begorra!

Ripper
peers downwards of the incline to see if he can spot it, almost halfway over the edge to judge

Lana Wilson
*Lana struggles but closes the grate as quietly as she can. Producing a sigh once it connects back silently. She slowly and calmly continues to climb down into the sewers. It was just her luck to trip on the last few ladder steps. She hits the ground with a thud, producing a groan as she hits the floor. She quickly stands up her weapons in her pockets.*

Lana Wilson
"Great...so much for being quiet Lana..."

Ripper
*the labyrinthine maze of switchbacks was almost completely devoid of any life for this time of night. Droves of Hunter Footsoldiers no longer patrolled these paths any more and even none of his own kind were even to be seen during his out and about lately*

Ripper
>.> "Nice blade with a sincere edge you've got there."

Ripper
"It's not often that we see many of the dawn children down here lately."

Ripper
"Can I ask didja remember to bring along your torch though?"

Ripper
(strike that first line--replace with:

Ripper
*this loud clatter and affolwing display of clumsiness there after wards could not help but alert his already highly honed perception to notice this new comer. *

Ripper
)

Ripper
he had not yet noticed the silent elder.

Lana Wilson
*After deciding what route to take, Lana decides to keep her torch off. If there is anything she has learnt, light? That will attract anyone, or anything. Stepping lighting she holds her blade sternly in her right hand. She couldn't help but feel excited, what was it about adventure that she craved. Finding things? Danger? Possibly a bit of both. She steps deeper into the sewers, making her steps as quiet as possible*

Narla
chuckles, “Yeah.. I thought I was after that..” She frowns, “I had a lot of imaginary friends when I was a kid before then.. and when I didn’t grow out of it, it started to worry my parents. I’m sure my teachers said something, too.. Heh.. I couldn’t decide, after learning that about my ‘condition’ whether I preferred those people to be imaginary or real.. My parents took me out of school because of I was talking to myself too often.. I thought I had friends..” Her smile fades into plain line, “Turns out I was the weird kid that had none..”

Varnava
Varnava quit

Shivamet
is easy to hear because the taptap and scattering of the cane as it skipped over cement and stone echoed about the curving walls. The darkness dripping from the condensation that came out of the small stream of unidentifiable water. The familiar sound of a heartbeat was what drew him out of the shadows. His eyes searching for what had to be a human.

Narla
heard that familiar tap of his cane echoing through the sewers. She was resting her legs from a day of wandering around on and beneath the surface and getting very lost in the process. They sort of stopped being functional after some time. The clack of wood to stone was more than welcome. She stood up and slowly made her way closer to the sounds, peeking around the corner to see if he would be there. She greets him with a smile, “You found me first this time.”

Shivamet
takes a few more 'steps' if the word step could describe how he moved. Muscle untensed at the way she approached him and then he recognized her. There went that almost smile again.

Shivamet
"What are you doing back under the surface."

Shivamet
"It is unstable down here...not safe for a human."

Narla
tips her head, growing sheepish with the shrug of her shoulders, "I know.. I wanted to stop by again... See you and how you're recovering.."

Narla
I.. got a little lost in the process.. though..

Shivamet
seems thoughtfully surprised by this. His weight transferring more to the cane as he eyed her curiously.

Shivamet
"Really? I am still grievously wounded...but I can move a little easier."

Shivamet
"It will be several days before I am fully healed."

Narla
chews the inside of her cheek and examines his form. She nods approvingly. He was better than yesterday. "Have you fed, yet?"

Shivamet
"I have not...I did not want to go back up to the surface..."

Narla
nods, "You won't have to if you don't want to.."

Narla
You can feed from me.. as much as you need. I have plenty.

Shivamet
"I did not think you would come back. Every action and word you say goes against what I expect."

Narla
's smile shrinks just a little, showing more concern than content. "Sorry... I'm sorry.."

Shivamet
"Do not apologize...I love it..."

Shivamet
means this, is surprised that he admitted it though, has not loved in any capacity, much, since he woke from his grave. Could attribute the same sentimental joy at seeing her as seeing his coffin.

Shivamet
"It is as though you are the only living being in the world that would know my name if I did pass to the Fade."

Narla
's calms the gears grinding in her head when he says that. A wave of relief washes over her, "Y..you do?" She begins, equally surprised, "I'm glad to have the honor of that... It's not everyday I met someone that understands.. more than tolerates me."

Narla
You know so much.. and can do so much..

Shivamet
"It is the same feeling for me as it was for you when I told you that if you died by my hand I would make sure you got an expensive coffin to honor and hold your body. It is a good feeling..." He nodded, "I'd say then that I am probably going against your expectations as well." The addition about how much he knew had him smiling slightly. "I will share my knowledge with you if you would like..."

Narla
dips her head again in agreement. It is a good feeling. Within herself, she knew he wasn't what she initially expected. But she wasn't disappointed either.. She breathes in her pleasant surprise when he offers to share what he new with her. Narla took a step closer, fidgeting with her shortened nails, trying to keep herself composed "I..I would love that," she answers warmly.

Shivamet
"Perhaps you can gather ingredients for me...since you are able to walk through the city without dying."

Shivamet
"And when you bring them back, I will teach you how to do rituals with them."

Narla
Yes, that's perfect. I normally walk around most of the day. It'd spare you the trouble, for certain.

Narla
Let's do that.

Shivamet
"I will send you an email with ingredients I'm missing then...I appreciate that."

Shivamet
reaches out and beckons her a little closer just to see if she'd step within reach.

Narla
noiselessly gasps, "Oh.. yes.. I should give you my email.." She starts to turn around and shrug off her backpack, but stops when he motions her closer. Narla steps within reach with a curious, attentive expression and no hesitation.

Shivamet
reaches out to catch at her hair and draw his fingers down the strands without actually touching her. He didn't want her to feel weakened, it was also why he was holding off on feeding from her again.

Shivamet
"Yes you should..."

Narla
allows him to freely touch her hair undisturbed. She enjoyed it. There was a comfort she found in the tickling sensation. After some careful digging into her bag, she pulls out her phone and pulls up a notepad reminder she made for herself with her email and number on it. She did not often use her phone, so finding those things typically took her a while to do. Narla tilts the phone so he could see the page.

Shivamet
He wanted to be whole, the missing limbs still weighed on him. Being restricted to the twisting maze of the underground sewers had felt different when he'd had the opportunity to go up to the surface safely and explore. Now that he knew for a fact that doing such a thing could cost him his life...he found himself rebelling. Found himself in denial. Feeling her hair play through his fingertips made her feel more real. He watched her in a distracted sort of way as she searched about for her phone and then pulled it out. When she showed him the screen he read over her email and then nodded.

Shivamet
"That is simple enough, I will remember it."

Narla
nods twice, "Okay." She tucks the phone away again. She missed the way he watched her, spending her efforts trying not to look too clumsy when grabbing that information for him. "If you want to, we can go home and you can feed... I'm sure you're hungry.."




------------------------------
This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the sewers area. Participants and rewards were: Key earned 42 RPP. Ripper earned 303 RPP. Lana Wilson earned 219 RPP. Narla earned 885 RPP. Varnava earned 3 RPP. Shivamet earned 946 RPP.

Shivamet
Another day, or more accurately another night. He was healing up pretty well thanks to staying hidden down in the sewers. He hadn't managed to get an email sent off to Narla yet with ingredients but that was okay because he still wasn't quite strong enough to perform any rituals yet. One strike from a Fae beast, one careless invocation and the flicker of a barrier and he'd journey to the Fade before he saw her again. And that was not acceptable. So when she made her way down into the sewers this time he was there waiting for her. Standing on the narrow bridge over the rushing fetid water below them like his entire day had consisted of standing just so...leaning on the cane...waiting for her.

Narla
hurriedly slips through the sewers, mindful of the occasional, less social vampires on her way to Shivamet's door. She keeps her damaged hoodie on today, but she wore a different.. new pair of jeans, and less ruined shoes. The sour funk of the sewer did not bother her anymore due to her frequent visits beneath the city anyway, so when she spots Shivamet on the bridge, standing there with his cane still like death stole him away at that very spot, her thoughts tipped the scale of focus on him and not the poo water beneath him that she would eventually have to cross. Narla smiles upon seeing him, but its softens into something more worried, "Were you waiting long?

Kinderz
Mindful of where his feet were placed on the cement he makes his way along the wall. He was following a sound, that was moving to this exact spot and had stopped close to where he was now. His eyes narrow as he crouches to the ground, his fingers feeling the cement for any echoing vibrations. It was silent at the moment, indicating that whoever he was following had stopped, and was no longer mobile. He was moving incredibly slow that in order to drag his feet silently he had to be mindful of his movements. Glancing around the corner he saw a man, standing alone on the bridge outwards from him. His eyes widen as he skims over the other's body. Looking for any weapons peeking out from the clothing. There was no hint that the other was carrying which irritated him. He flattens himself against the corner as a corner races up to the man from down the tunnel. He listens to them talking then decides on making an appearance to appear at first welcoming. Since he was a vampire it was only polite to sneak upon someone, but then show themselves.

Kinderz
*woman instead of corner

Kinderz
His eyes drift from one stranger to the other, lazily. As though he had plenty of other things to do, to take care of, but he was here simply to be amused. He intertwines his fingers behind his back leaning his head forward a little, a fake grin plastering his face. "Hello there. The name is Kinderz, but you can call me Kinder."

Shivamet
"Long? No..." It certainly wasn't as long as it was taking for his wounds to heal and waiting for her hadn't driven him stir crazy. If anything it was nice to have a reason to step outside of his home and wander through the dark twisting tunnels. He hadn't stop to truly identify his reasoning or motivation, everything was strange, his usual habits shattered from the injuries he was still recovering from. He might have stood proud, bone white hair in a long fall down his bare back, pale skin stretched over defined muscle and light scarring from the healing wounds and black leather pants riding low at his hips and black shoes, but missing a foot and a hand had him off balance. Narla had been the only constant, the only thing to give him purpose and structure in the days, the only thing to help the time pass. The shift of movement had his head turning, his pale opalescent eyes focusing in on Kinder with only the slightest thread of instant animosity. Given Narla was there, he could define his reaction as protective. "Shivamet..." The simple response was hoarse, it rasped out of his throat in an almost whisper.

Narla
parts her lips to say, "Oh, good," and had every intention to say more if she wasn't surprised into a little jounce by the sudden intrusion of a voice that was certainly neither of theirs yet starkly familiar. She pivots around to see who it was, and instantly recognizes him. A little 'o' of surprise lightly purses her lips, "Ah.. uh, hello again.. I'm Narla," it felt strange to introduce herself so early but the others were doing it. "..Are you seeking your friends here, too?"

Kinderz
His right hand reaches up to scratch his head, mindlessly, as though it was a constant habit. He wore a simple button-up black shirt, and crimson dark red jeans. The red reminds him of blood is why he wore it. His hair, a mess atop his head, he hadn't combed it out in days. Hadn't felt the need to. He hardly cared for anything anymore for it was such an effort to? His hair flopped down in bangs that struck his eyes at times. His hand moves, blinding him shortly, as he pushed strands away from his pupils. He straightens his back to appear more friendly for he didn't know if he truly was yet? He liked to track prey, but he never devised a plan on what to do after he caught them? His black, snake leather boots, had the heel removed, so he could travel smoothly. Without trotting, loudly like a horse, his footwear allowed him the element of surprise. Which he used often. The faint resemblance of someone he knew, radiated from the woman, when she turned around. "Not really, no. I was just tracking whoever I could. Sorry to say I've been led here." he says, eerily. They didn't know his reasons yet nor was he that inclined to provide them. But talking never stabbed anyone in the back, not that he knew of, anyways.

Shivamet
His eyes didn't leave the newcomer at all, instead he perused the intruder curiously. He had to be young. He had not seen him anywhere before, the delicate beauty that clung to the disheveled look of his hair and the well maintained fabric of his clothes and glowed out of his skin reminded him of something. It took him a moment to place where he'd seen the almost angelic like qualities before and then a sudden insight had the name Grayson rising up in his thoughts. He didn't remember exactly what it was Grayson was, he hadn't interacted with his own kind enough to get familiar with their unique society and the different variances. He only knew Kinder was barely the second such vampire he'd seen...that seemed effortlessly beguiling. Completely opposite the garish and very monstrous appearance he had. If he had expected Narla to feel interested in any sort of vampire, it would be one like Kinder.

Shivamet
"Tracking...you were tracking her?"

Shivamet
doubts Kinder would have been tracking him, as he hadn't moved much in the last hour.

Kinderz
He looks down at the blunt accusation of following just 'one' target then looks up, smirking. "Not necessarily. You seem to misunderstand. I track sounds. Indeed her light steps were in my thoughts as I was tracking her, but it wasn't just her? I track sounds. The vibrations more of. The echoing vibrations started in an entirely different branch of sewer, and happened to end here. My targets differentiate by how tired or focused or hungry I am? It was a miracle in itself that I get to meet her again, but I didn't try to. Maybe I focused on something that reminded me of her, but plenty people walk lightly." he says, holding his chin up. He knew it was hard to understand, and that he wasn't the best teacher to explain it. But tracking itself was a marvel art. He squints trying to understand it with the other.

Narla
examines him a little more thoroughly than the last time. She was curious enough to follow him when she was lost the last encounter so it passed her consideration that he was the one lost this time. She recalled him saying he thought the sewers were repulsive, so it was enough to lift her brows and reveal that unspoken question. Was he lying? Narla had no powers to tell, and it was likely, but she pushed the thought into the back of her head. The waif's question became a sideways tilt of her head when Kinderz says he was tracking,, and that he was lead here.. By her? Shivamet had similar thoughts from the sound of it so there was no need to ask the same question. Her gaze traces Kinderz to Shivamet and back. Further explanation from the newer face has her nodding in some understanding. "Oh, that explains what you meant the other day. Sensing through vibrations." She saw a series with a characters that used vibrations to move around before...Something about bending the wind..

Narla
looks to Shivamet again, not sure if being followed was something that bothered him. A slight frown bends her lips, an unspoken apology. She didn't know if he preferred his privacy.

Shivamet
He had never heard of such a thing, but then he wasn't a tracker himself. He knew others that were, they were almost prophetic with the vision like way they could see and feel their target's surroundings. He himself could always feel it when someone touched his mind to appraise him, it had only happened a few times. But what Kinder described sat better with him, because it was more primal, more real than the other powers he vaguely knew of. Unlike most of his kin, his Sire hadn't deigned to teach him much about the other lineages, the other bloodlines and what they were capable of. So it hindered his social interaction, made him stand out as even more of an outcast. Fit only to lurk in the shadows under the city. "I don't often see many others down here...it used to be vampires hid in the sewers until they were packed with undead...huddled together to stay out of the sunlight like homeless vagrants...forced into a sense of community, terrified of the sunlight. But now after the Veil has torn and the Quarantine has failed and the Masquerade has been abandoned...those days are simply a forgotten memory."

Kinderz
He could relate to what Shivamet said for he had experienced the break of the Quarantine, first hand. How he turned. He had been attacked by a mob of zombies, and had been graciously saved by his sire. He was smarter now to take stock of his surroundings before going anywhere? He felt now that someone was always minding him, no matter where he went. It was similar to the conscious he had as a human. He sighs. "Yes, the outbreak of the Quarantine is a problem, but I heard some cops say that they're were working on fixing the problems. Strangely almost everywhere I go, I see a zombie or two. Even around humans? No one seems that worried to me.." he ponders, more to himself. It was strange to him that vampires had to hide, but zombies had free-reign? Ah well, microscopic problems. He doubts he could hold a vampire rights movement. He suppresses a small chuckle.

Narla
clasps her hands before her waist, listening to the details of their conversation. She wondered what the torn Veil was like firsthand, what happened on those days exactly. There was so much she didn't know but they knew. She did not want to turn this into a teaching session with selfish questions to feed her curiosities, but it might eventually become that knowing herself and her own conversations with Shivamet so far. "People like to grumble quietly and find a scapegoat for the outbreak. Not everyone, but a good few I've heard blame what's happening on the vampires.. They begrudgingly mind what's happening.. Someone is going to cause a riot eventually because they let the wounds fester and rot,"

Shivamet
He noticed the frown that caught on Narla's features, his eyes moving back to her and then he merely stared, wondering what it was she was thinking. He was no telepath though, so he only had to guess. "It will get worse...this is just the pause in the storm...the eye of the hurricane...I felt the Veil tear and I know it will tear again. Even after it was stabilized, it is a fickle thing. I think that we will see Faebeasts and Fadebeasts out amongst the people of Harper rock as well as zombies soon and eventually vampires won't be shot at, they'll be begged for help and protection and only those who prepared for it will be able to stand against it."

Narla
That will be interesting to see...

Kinderz
He nods at Shivamet's conclusion for what was going to happen next. "Yes, the food chain is evolving. Vampires will still be in danger though, the ones that are blood-thirsty as in addicted to fighting to calm their nerves? Our weak links will keep us in the spotlight some, but blood slaves will be easier to get humans volunteering their lives, for a chance to live longer. I don't know if I would just rescue a human for free." he fingers his chin, momentarily, thinking about it. "Humans, to me, are like pests in the sense they can be controlled. I would like to see the day when vampires have the upper hand. No more hiding in the shadows because of cops and things." he sighs, rubbing his eyes. "You talk like you've seen a Faebeast/Fadebeast?"

Narla
falls quiet, believing it best to keep quiet.

Shivamet
"Of course they will...there will always be danger...especially here." The idea of blood slaves appealed to him somewhat, that felt like something out of the history books, a long ago rendition of how things had been before the chaotic war between hunters and vampires had all but decimated the entire vampire population. "Humans...are necessary for survival...the responsibility of maintaining what we need to survive is similar to growing a medicinal herb or plant. If weeds or pests come to destroy the plant, you protect it and nurture it...because you know it has a purpose. More than that...sentience makes us equal. Power in the wrong hands is always misused." The words coming out of him had not left his lips since his last visit with Robert Pratt, the fanatic idealist had left the 'book of truth' in his apartment somewhere, preaching all the goals he had for guiding the vampiric community into a sort of equal peace with the humans. He hadn't joined the cause and now he feared it had been lost, but then he hadn't fully disagreed with it either. "I lost my hand and foot to the creatures, they lurk in the wilderness around Harper Rock...if you stay in the wilderness too long you'll encounter them too. It's only a matter of time before they start wandering through the cities."

Narla
remains seen but not heard, choosing to listen to the exchange rather than add to it. Both detested humans, and despite her own unpleasant experiences she found it more fitting to not disturb the flow of words with her own.. being human herself. She did not mind the thought of her existence being no greater than that of an herb. Her thoughts often convinced her she was the weed.

Kinderz
He nods agreeing with the comparison. "I agree, but I think taking care of humans could be like a farm too. We'll be the fence around them in our case. Some humans I don't mind. The do-gooders, but overall they're either a snack or an annoyance." he looks away at that. A past experience floats to his mind, of him killing a rabbit at the edge of town. Where the road and wilderness met. There were warning signs saying the same thing he was, but curiosity draws us sometimes to the dangerous things. He shakes his head at that. He would have to be more careful. Rabbit feet were lucky, but maybe he wouldn't visit the wilderness so much anymore. "I kill rabbits in the wilderness sometimes, but I'll mind your warning." his throat tightens at the sudden escape of his thoughts. The fingernails of his left hand automatically dig into his right arm at that. He usually doesn't open up to people.

Shivamet
The idea of a farm didn't sit well with him. He wasn't sure why, it had him pursing his lips a little and then his gaze turned back to Narla. He tried to imagine what her reaction to him would have been like if she'd been raised in a farm environment. Would she still have gone out of her way to rescue him? To get him home? There were choices she had made of her own free will that no other, vampire or creature alike had ever done. "I do not know..." He couldn't deny each time a bullet grazed his leg or lodged in his chest or side the hatred he felt for her kind kindled a little closer to rage in his heart. If anyone had dreamed of being feared, it had been him. Because wasn't that his only option? There was safety in being feared...if the advantage was stripped away from the one who was afraid. Narla had no weapons that he knew of...she had not pointed a gun at him even when he'd sapped her strength out of her body. But she didn't fear him. The 'control' he had over the situation with her was a mutual comradarie, not a bully like overpowering. It meant he'd have to think more on how he actually felt about the entire situation. "On the change of the hour...every time the hour shifts forward, that is when the Fae creatures strike."

Shivamet
"Short forays into and then out of the wilderness are fine, but if you let time pass you by too long then you will be torn apart."

Narla
found Shivamet's paler eyes falling on her as Kinderz speaks. She wondered what he thought of what the other vampire thought. She wondered what it would be like living as livestock among vampires instead of as wild, free-roam food. Slavery but worse. Not only were they oppressed and no longer free, but they were food. What would happen to a person who was no longer given much purpose than to feed masters with the very thing that kept him or her alive..? Would they become like the cruelly treated beasts made into burgers and chicken nuggest, neglected and fed differently to make the blood taste better? Would their lives be temporary, grown to be used for a meal or two before being discarded? That thoughtful haze returned again..

Kinderz
"Ah, I will then keep out of the wilderness more. Thank you, for the warning. I'm sorry to intrude, I just wanted to see what today had brought to me. Curiosity is both mine enemy and friend. Thank you for considering me." he sighs, looking back-and-forth from them both. He walks to the edge of the bridge, on Shivamet's right side, and looks over. "I hate sewers to be honest, I just follow the tracks to amuse myself. There isn't a lot to be done at times." he admits, looking away, hiding the eye-twitch. Sure he talked to his prey, and sure they'd usually get into a deep conversation about things. But he never felt this comfortable. Everyone was to be feared, vampire and human alike. The trust had to stop with him. He would still have friends even if he remained cautious, but then how cautious was he to follow strangers? He chuckles at his backwards reasoning.

Narla
smiles softly to Kinderz.

Shivamet
He shifted his weight a little more to his cane and then watched as the other vampire drew closer. Peering over the ledge into the tumultuous water below, the dark brown aggression of the stream a quick moving and deep thing. "You did not intrude..." Hearing how Kinder felt about sewers had him blinking. "There is more in the city, as long as you are careful. There is a lot I could do if I did not look like I should be shot on sight."

Kinderz
"There is more, I know. I just don't like being surrounded by humans, if I'm not-if one of them anymore.." he sighs at that admittance. His attention drifted away from the fact he felt comfortable. To stand next to another vampire or dead thing made him feel less alone. It was supposed to be a good thing. He holds his nose and calms his nerves as he takes in the smell. Since he now stood closer to the waste, the smell was stronger which didn't amuse him? "It's like I don't like looking back on what I once was. That I would rather be with people/things that are my future/present. On who I am now. To be honest, watching humans, disgusts me. Because I know that I'll never be one, again." he sighs at that. He didn't need to breathe yet sighing relaxed him. His eyes, slowly, drift up to meet with Shivamet's. A tight grin lacing his lips.

Shivamet
"Then you need to go where the building...the business, is all vampire owned. There are such places, where you are surrounded by your own, where you can learn new things and socialize and feel safe. Feel as though you belong. I have never been invited to such things myself, but you...even among humans you will find you are welcome. There are even those...the ones who still look beautiful who can eat and enjoy human food...go to a restaurant? Order something you used to love to eat..." Again, all things he couldn't do. "Or come below, you will run into a scattering of us down here, those who don't feel comfortable in the city either. You are welcome to visit any time you'd like. My Sire did not teach me much...but I have had time to learn how things are on my own."

Narla
's smile grows from listening to them.

Kinderz
"Aye. I will, but after I get more awareness of my surroundings. I'll end up making my own map, so I can tell where I am." he allows the warm-fuzzy-weird feelings to settle inside of him as if they all new each other. He isn't sure why he admitted that he was going to make a map? Like so? "Forgive me, if I'm stretching our formalities, but isn't she a human?"

Shivamet
"That is smart..." He hadn't used anything like a map in so long. But then his usual strategy was to wander only far enough to see something new and then return immediately where he'd started. At the question about Narla being human his smile was rather sharp toothed. "She is..."

Shivamet
"She saved my life."

Narla
wished she'd thought of making a map. Perhaps there were some already available but.. was there a map for the sewers? ..She assumed there isn't but who has time to map the sewers except for those living here, and they likely knew the tunnels like the back of their hand and wouldn't need it anyway. The world 'she' tugs her from her wheel of mental questions in time to alert her that she was now the subject, however brief, of their conversation. Narla tenses from being a topic of someone else's conversation, and offers a genuine but very awkward smile.

Kinderz
He isn't as intimidated by the pointed question as much as he should've been, but maybe some discretion should be advised. He nods. He usually was this straight-forward, so maybe they wouldn't stay friends like he thought. Well, the only one he owed his life to was his sire, and it was fine with him if it stayed that way. His eyes narrow slightly when he sees that he hit a nerve with his question. Like did Shivamet really expect him not to wonder that while they're standing here talking about humans, one stood beside them?! Or maybe, the other, expected better manners. Well, too bad. "Alright, I was just wondering how easily you could let me talk about my distaste with humans when one stands by your side? Oddly strange it seemed to me." He says, his eyes alight. He pockets his hands awaiting the supposed reaction of said male.

Shivamet
"I do not follow the Masquerade, she knows what we are. I have a distaste for humans as well. I have never had one approach me willingly. Yet she has done more than that. Talking candidly about how you feel in front of her..." he shrugged, "That is all I have done since I met her...she will not hold it against us. There is no harm done? If you were to attack her...I would not hesitate to retaliate..." He straightened, the darkness that seeped through him visible in the way the stone underfoot webbed suddenly with cracks, the entire tunnel a little darker suddenly as he reached into himself. He did not possess the strength to truly summon a dead vampire back from the Fade, but that didn't mean the power didn't boil in his veins and add threat to the situation. If he had been at full strength he could have summoned a vampiric corpse to tear up through the ground, breaching the Fade and latching onto anyone he set his sights too. "These are strange times...and I have never cared about the Masquerade..."

Kinderz
"I have no reason to attack her. I've met her before this without the intention of hurting her. Even though it would've been easy, I'm saying I chose not to. Why? I have my reasons. I just wanted her to feel important enough to be in our company, and I felt your support lacked. That's why I asked about it." his eyes lazily drift away from Shivamet's. He liked that she didn't take it to heart what he said because it was exactly how he felt. He wasn't surprised when Shivamet straightened his back and tried to appear more intimidating because he knew there were still thing he didn't understand completely. Questions that fed his curiosity were rather useless when it was so hard to care about anything. "What do you mean by the Masquerade?"

Narla
's wears her pleasant surprise at his willingness to defend her, but she wasn't sure if a smile or concern would be the appropriate reaction to the tension she started to perceive between them. Shivamet thought her worth enough to protect. That fact swirled around in her head as the darkness licked at the tunnels and the ground beneath him cracked. She had not witnessed the full capacity of what he could do but the preview was.. intimidating to her. When Kinderz presses his observation of how well Shivamet supported her, Narla frowns.

Narla
gently offers, "He has supported me more than my own flesh and blood.. " there was no anger in her tone, "..I am grateful for it.."

Shivamet
He had thought so, it was one of the reasons why he had not gotten fully defensive. Narla had seemed to recognize Kinder and he knew he'd be foolish to think that he was the only vampire she'd encounter in the city. He knew now that if for some reason she did not visit him then once he healed he would search for her and if he found her body he would bury her as he'd promised and then work to bring her back. He nodded at what Kinder said, relaxing as the other vampire expounded on his motivation. "You feel I have offended her...with my viewpoint...degraded her by talking as if she is worthless?" The quiet defense Narla spoke up had that almost smile pulling at his lips again. "She has more worth to me than what she is. She is the only one who would know my name if I went to the Fade right now...we are...friends." He didn't have friends, but he felt he could tentatively define what they had as that. "The Masquerade is the law we used to have where we were not allowed to speak to any human about what we were unless we wiped their memory or killed them. So our secret presence in Harper Rock would not be discovered."

Shivamet
"There was a time where cops and soldiers had no clue that vampires existed. Any action that was seen, hackers would delete from police records and files and assassins would hunt down any who dared break the pact of secrecy."

Kinderz
He digs the toe of his boot against the cement, clearly irritated as his hands return along his lower back, again, fingers intertwined. He walks through taking a deep breath. In his head, he would think rolling his eyes. Shivamet had stated how he felt, but then changed the subject. Well, he might as well let it go as well. He did his part by calling him out. He nods, accepting the subject-change. "Is there a council of vampires then that made that law? Or was it just past around as a code?"

Narla
finds herself trying to prevent a grin as Shivamet openly confirms what she had guessed, but she composed herself because she knew Kinderz was not entirely pleased with the friendship they had. The Masquerade was a welcome change of subject. She was convinced Kinderz would become as infuriated as he had the last encounter when his friends disappeared. She does nod to him, showing her appreciation of allowing her to live so she could die by the hand she promised that reign. Narla did not know of these laws, nor that such things existed at all in the past. It intrigued her to hear about some history she wasn't taught about in schools. How long ago was this, is one question.. another wondered if that meant Kinderz was a recently turned vampire if he knew nothing of it..

Shivamet
The look on Kinder's face did not look satisfied with his answer. He'd seen the other following along with what he'd said about his feelings, given they shared the same viewpoint? He wondered why Kinder would take offense to him being honest when the other vampire had said the exact same thing. "What I say about how I feel has nothing to do with her as a person and she knows this. If I hated her as I hate those who have shot me and stabbed me and screamed insults at me then I would treat her differently. We are friends...when I have spoken with her before about how I feel, if she isn't sure about how I feel about her she will ask me to clarify?" It was the most he had said in a long time. This conversation was running into the longest conversation he'd had with another of his kind as well. He didn't understand social graces though, so he didn't think what he said would matter. The burning desire to win Kinder's approval wasn't there, he fully expected judgement from the other. After all, he was grotesque and the other was beautify, if that wasn't a visual representation of their differences he didn't know what was. Even if he'd never been vain. "Families...there were certain bloodlines that trained any that they sired on how to hunt down and enforce the laws. Just as there

Shivamet
were families and bloodlines that fought against them. There was a lot of secret wars held in the shadows for how we should act and what we could do, but the family who enforced the laws was backed by the eldest of our kind...and they policed everything in a way that one individual could not hope to fight and survive. Many of our kind were sent to the Fade for rebelling."

Shivamet
beautiful*

Kinderz
His hands, behind him, claw helplessly at his back. He thought they were dropping the subject?! He saw Shivamet as a very naive school boy for a second the way he changed what they were talking about. Here, he was trying to be mature and move on only to go back upon the irritation. "It just doesn't make sense to me, from my point-of-view mind you. That when you talk about humans, like I do, with such distaste in front of her that you don't apologize after. It just feels disrespectful. And saying that she's important to you because of what she's done in the past isn't an answer for me because you're still side-stepping my accusation. Which is what I thought we were doing until now when you brought it up again? But the moment is passed now. Can we move forward?" he feels exasperated having to explain it again due to the fact that he probably sounds rushed. He had to get his words out quickly otherwise he lost interest. He blinks, for a moment. He didn't expect to come across an argument today?

Narla
looks down at her feet..

Narla
figures it was time for her silence again. She hated being the cause of conflict just as much as being the center of attention. She hated being the reason Kinderz thinks poorly of Shivamet..

Shivamet
Was that something he should do? Apologize for what he had said? He had not kept company with humans in a long time. None had dared stay in the same space as him. He absorbed Kinder's words with a curious sort of confusion. Mulling them over and trying to make sense of them. "You are...accusing me? Of..." he tried to define what it was, insulting her? He had said the same as Kinder though. "Will you apologize to her?" Perhaps he had misjudged and Kinder was Narla's friend? He did not know, he didn't particularly get that vibe from the other. "If I were to apologize why would I do it in front of you? Instead of with her when I am alone and not in the company of someone who does not like humans?"

Shivamet
The idea of offending her, when he'd grown to like her company so much was not something that sat well with him and he turned his gaze to Narla, searching her expression. "Narla have I offended you?"

Narla
lifts her eyes from her feet quickly, meets his own gaze and shakes her head. "Not at all.. I don't find fault in how either of you feel towards about humans."

Narla
chose to keep her eyes on Shiva rather than become curious about Kinderz' expression.. he was making her gradually more nervous the angrier he got. Never look an angry person in the eyes.. it makes you appear challenging. Narla is content to not be a challenge.

Kinderz
A deep sincere chuckle bubbles up his throat. Shivamet's intelligent was definitely amusing. Maybe today wasn't a total waste. "I honestly don't care if you do in private or in front of me? My problem is that you didn't feel guilty because you've known her longer. I have a tendency to forget things, and I didn't remember her species until just recently when I asked. It was just curious. I'll tell you, vampires will never stop surprising me, I think." he shakes his head, somewhat impressed with how far Shivamet went to defend his side of this. He had thought it was rather obvious, but if it truly was obvious he would've done it. And they wouldn't have been talking about it the last hour. He nods at that. Some things people just can't see the way he sees it..One of the things that separated him to be honest..

Shivamet
Being laughed at was definitely something he had not experienced since turning. No one laughed at him when they saw him, or talked with him. So he stared incredulously at Kinder, completely nonplussed by the intricacies of social interaction. This was reminding him why he hadn't sought out the company of his own kind. Not that he'd held any sort of thoughts about not simply offending those who saw him the moment they laid eyes on him. They would have thrown stones, come after him for breaking the Masquerade just for daring to step foot outside the sewers before. Getting shot point blank by wary humans was better than the judgement he'd received from his own kind. "I do not feel guilty, I have known her longer...I did not feel she took offense?" Guilt was not something he ever felt, either those who knew him accepted who he was and how he felt or they did not. That was as simple as his existence was. The response he'd gotten from Narla had settled him. If she was going to judge him, then it would have happened when he'd embraced her. When he'd caught her hand and drained her strength away. When she'd seen him so broken and bleeding and heard the sneer in his voice when he'd said the word 'human' when they'd first met. "My hatred is justified...just as my acceptance of her is well

Shivamet
founded."

Kinderz
He liked that response. That was good and thought out. "I can understand that. That because you know her longer, you felt no need to apologize whereas I don't dwell that far into yours or her relationship that my rules/expectations are different for the other party. Thank you for taking the time to explain your side. I like you. You are a smart one." he's completely sincere about the likeness. For a moment he had seen part of himself in Shivamet's answer as though he had been saying it to himself? He nods, satisfied. Now things would be interesting. What would they talk about with the tensions out of the way?

Narla
begins to fidget her fingers again, her gaze averting to the ground again, but she felt a subtle tremble trying to shaking itself out through her finger bones. She tried to more harshly press her digits together to halt it. She hadn't realized it was over. That Kinderz was sated,. The panic rose in her thoughts like a swarm of merciless bees. She felt her heart slam itself against the wall of her chest, speeding up as if she had just jogged over to see them.

Shivamet
He felt settled at that too, a shocked sort of look hitting against his features at Kinder saying his reasoning was sound. No one agreed with him. It was...unexpected. He nodded slowly. "Thank you..." it was a hoarse sort of whisper and then an almost smile ensued. "You are the second vampire I have spoken to...since the Masquerade ended...the second one to treat me with any sort of equality..." It meant something. Even if the injuries he was still healing from meant something else. Maybe one day he would get the opportunity to speak with more of them? The sudden trip of Narla's heartbeat had his gaze slanting over to her and a soft hiss escaping him. He straightened his weight off the cane, moving to lean it against the wall and then beckoned at her. "Narla...."




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This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the sewers area. Participants and rewards were: Shivamet earned 4590 RPP. Narla earned 1967 RPP. Kinderz earned 3571 RPP.

Shivamet
http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... t=30985&p=#

Narla
's thoughts hummed little what ifs, little doubts, droned self-blame for the conflict her presence started. A mass of noise that scrambled her sense of composure, until what ifs became why's. The chill of each question brought shuddering to the rest of her bones and she tried very hard to contain it. The waif gazes at the repulsive water running beneath the bridge with a rising fog over her eyes, but before the wall rose to close it in, she heard Shivamet call her. Narla turns to him with those shaded, panicked eyes, catching his motion for her to come. She did not speak, there was too much to form into words flying by all at once, but she approached him.

Kinderz
watches them then walks to a wall, to sit against. He criss-crosses his legs on the opposite wall of the two, maybe to keep an eye on them? There was nothing for him to say, but to observe was all he could do. An inkling of jealousy sprouted in his mind. A small tingling telling him he was alone again. That no one wanted to be with him. Which is why he had to watch them even if he didn't say anything because seeing them proved to his mind, he wasn't alone. His left leg stretches along the ground while his right leg stood for his right arm to rest atop.

Shivamet
Her heartbeat was fast, it reminded him that every time she'd panicked it hadn't been because of him. In fact, the talk they'd had of death, the threat he presented was something she seemed drawn too like a moth to flame. So he tested his theory. He was rewarded, surprised even, when she lifted her gaze to him and then she moved, answering his summons easily. He waited until she was close enough to touch and then waited some more and then his hand barely touched her head, following the curve of her cheek and then skimming to the back of her skull even as that queer pull sapped strength from her limbs. It wasn't as intense as it had been before, when he'd first caught her hand, or even when he'd fed. But it was there, a sudden weight in her bones, in her chest, the almost sick ache and chill of death. He didn't think she could step free of it, but then he also didn't think she wanted to. So he took advantage of the freedom she'd given him and drew her close, ready to gather her up against his side if she collapsed. But if she didn't, then he followed the nape of her neck to her shoulder and around to tip her neck up.

Shivamet
tip her chin up*

Shivamet


Kinderz
fingers his chin, momentarily, then inches closer. He would've cared about he looked if he was HUMAN! On his hand and knees he inches closer, hoping to erase the feeling of isolation. Oh, the burden..He continues forwards, pausing sometimes, just waiting for them to turn around and catch him. To hate him and fear him. To tell him to back off or not want to play with him. Not want to interact or talk at him like all the others.."Um.." he whispers, turning around, but he stopped. He was unsure of what to do. He felt that he knew he should go back to his wall, a time-out sort of, but he didn't want to. He sits criss-cross, in that spot and stares down the bridge.

Narla
did not expect much more than a word or two, maybe he would feed from her, but they were faint hopeful thoughts in comparison to the hive of noise in her head. Faint enough to be present but not dominate. When his cold fingers touch her skin, she feel that familiar drain of her energy, that heaviness the pressed against her as if her own body was set on top of her soul. Her shaking ceases. The steal of her energy was what wore out her mind so that it quieted, no longer making sense of the things before. Narla closes her eyes, finding herself having a harder time breathing but feeling more rested. She opens her eyes again when he grazes the back of her skull, then lifts her chin. Her mind was emptied at that point, she expected something. Felt it. But she wasn’t sure what it was. Her mind was half-asleep and in the sick ache and chill of death, Narla felt calm.. and much better..

Shivamet
He stared at her, meeting her eyes candidly, the hunger he felt still wrapped in weakness. He could not feed like normal, but here she was, down in the shadows, bringing life with her so he could work to recover. It was so much more than that though, because the ease he saw, it reminded him of the life he coaxed into the weeds that usually tunneled about his feet when he walked through dirt or grass. He'd never 'calmed' a human before. Even the daze that caught at most of them when he fed only lasted until he stepped away and then sudden clarity came. Terror came, blame, judgement, hatred. But he saw none of that in her eyes and for a moment he stared, nonplussed. Then his eyes lifted from hers, moving to search out the other. He was still there, closer now. He found he did not want to feed in front of another vampire. But at least Narla's heart had eased, was now sluggish. He brushed fingers past her cheek in a caress and then smiled a little.

Shivamet
"Yes Kinder?"

Kinderz
eyes snap to the other vampires, quickly. "I was just wondering if you were still there. That's all." he says, sadly. He stands up, but remains where he is, ready to be rebuked.




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This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the sewers area. Participants and rewards were: Shivamet earned 672 RPP. Narla earned 436 RPP. Kinderz earned 407 RPP.

Narla
cradles a kitten in her arms, walking south from the last place she found Kinderz and Shivamet. She did not have excellent senses in comparison to vampires, so she does what she can using the process of elimination to find familiar faces. She idly and gently scratches behind the kitten's ears and jaw, letting it bat her finger with its paws and bite her knuckle sassily.

Shivamet
he made no noise this time around, his steps as quiet as the grave itself. But then he'd left the cane Narla had given him propped against the bulging stone wall of his lair. Now that he had healed fully, he could move normally, no longer hobbled by the injuries he'd sustained. The limbs that had regrown had done so while he slept, he had not been awake to see the miracle of it. He'd only awoken to find a hand and foot where before there had been nothing. To the observant eye, one could see scaring around his ankle and wrist, but it was light and other than that his skin was the same color. As it was he was wearing heavy black boots and soft black gloves that stretched all the way up his arms easily and it hid any sort of hint of what had happened from sight. He heard her heatbeat and that of the kitten's before he saw them, but he stepped out of the shadows and into the light that hung down over the narrow bridge between them anyways so she could see him.

Narla
perks up and smiles sweetly to him, but to her surprise he was ..different. He no longer was torn to shreds, missing parts, and unable to move as quickly. "Wow..." Narla grins, "You made a wonderful recovery.." She strides up to him, looking him over, to make sure he is completely healed. "You're much taller." The mirth in her eyes remains as she holds the kitten up, "Feeling much better?" Narla brings the kitten down to tuck into the collar of her hoodie, and stands at his side. "Have you fed?"

Shivamet
He enjoyed the smile she directed at him, surprised still at her friendliness. The wow had that shadow of a smile lurking around his lips again. "Yes...thanks to you." Her stating that he was much taller had him smiling a little more. It was true, he was definitely much taller than she was now. When she held the kitten up the small creature hissed at him and its fur fluffed in defense, little claws coming out to latch onto anything it could hold onto. He watched her bring it closer to snuggle it up into the hood of her hoodie. "Much better, I have. What I did not hunt from humans I took from rats..."




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This thread was submitted via a live roleplay chat in the sewers area. Participants and rewards were: Narla earned 235 RPP. Shivamet earned 466 RPP.