NationStates Jolt Archive

The King of Undead Demons, King Velarium, was walking down the corridor in his palace. Being one of the ancient vampires, though looking no older than twenty, he had nothing more to fear from the humans who once hunted him, and no longer had to hunt for his food, as his food was brought to him in chains. This did get boring, occasionally, and he had led hunts in other nations more than once. This was such a time. He had called ten of his elite guards to meet him in the main foyer, which was where he was headed. He met with them, and headed to the Demonic Airport. He showed his fake passport to the lady at the check-in desk, and went onto the plane. This was how he added to his kingdom: Allow the guards to sire new vampires from various nations, and sire some himself. And so he found his seat, and sat down, with the guards in various other seats. They weren't employed to guard the King: anything he couldn't handle, they likely wouldn't be able to either, they were employed to guard the palace. Apart from on the hunts led by their king. Then came the announcement: "This is your captain speaking: please fasten your seatbelts, and have a safe trip. This flight's destination is..."

OOC: And you, fellow players, get to decide who I visit (though I would prefer a nation who is aware of the existence of vampires: more interesting that way...). This is intended to be a fairly serious rp (just using the issues gets boring after a while). The standards I am using are the ones used in the Assington Vampires rp, and can be found at http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=103078.

The king is an ancient, as has been mentioned, and the ten men who went with him are fairly old as well. The youngest is centuries past being a fledgling. None of them carry blades, since their bare hands, feet and teeth (for a silent kill) are good enough. They do carry pistols, but they shouldn't need these, if they are hunting properly.

Deal with us as you will. Feel free to receive us, and try to kill us/drive us off/worship us. We won't bite... hard...

Oh, and if any other vampires feel we are entering their terratory without permission, or if any freelance vampire hunters wish to join in, then they can also feel free to make themselves known.

edit: Changed numbers to ten.

((Alas :shock: , these creatures of the night shall not be plaguing me, unless they go to Mars.))

Bump. Surely someone is interested? No? Oh well. I'll give it a little bit extra time (a week or so) for someone to "volenteer", before I abandon this attempt at a roleplay.

OOC: i'm interested, but i don't do causes, like fighting vampires, without being paid, so...

OOC: Most of Slutbum Wallah doesn't know or care about vampires but we have a small division of the SpecOps network, SO-17, dedicated to their containment. There are very few vampires around in Slutbum Wallah though, so the SO-17 operatives are equally few and underfunded. I'd be happy to look after your little expedition for a while but there'd be no real challenge for you till someone else joined.

How about I make the hunting party smaller. Ten, perhaps?

OOC: You're still gonna completely overpower SO-17. Unless you find some hunters for this too there won't be much competition.

OOC: i'll hunt, it'll be fun, but SOME kind of compensation is needed, and what kind of vampires here? the wooden stake kind or the silver kind, or what?

Our neighbours are always welcome to hunt in our lands. I rarely partake in such activities myself but I am sure that one of the younger members of my house would enjoy the experience. You might consider it a chance to strengthen diplomatic ties, if you have a taste for that sort of thing.

- King Aericura of the Kingdom of Mortal Terror

((OOC: The Kingdom of Mortal Terror is a nation of mortal humans ruled over by a fairly merciless royal family of vampires. Suffice to say "101 ways to kill a vampire" is not exactly on the government-sanctioned reading list in this country.))

OOC:Ya know.....I'd join. But I'm grounded right now, and wouldn't be able to post much. Be interesting to test a few of my Black Sun's against some vampires. Maybe even throw in Dominic Wrathe, my vamp. But, sorry.

OOC: I have done several RPs involving vampires, but I have no chars able to participate, as all the ones that know about vampires and where to find them are either dead or, in the case of the undead ones, cremated.

OOC:

Gade: Consider yourself hired by an anonymous contractor. They are the silver type. See the link in my first post.

Mortal Terror: Not this RP I'm afraid. When this hunt is over, then perhaps. Meanwhile, your younger vampires are most definitely welcome to join us (just so long as they are fairly young, and not too many: there are already some very powerful vampires in the nation, and I don't think Slutbum Wallah could take any more).

Slutbum Wallah: I have received a TG from another hunter proffering her services. The Queen of Karyou herself. She is a little too powerful, I think, but if she sends someone a little weaker, then that's a second hunter. I'm sure that a few more will come before we do anything too drastic... By the way, what is the nation like? In terms of general architecture, the look of the people, and other things like that? Just so that I'm not too inaccurate in what I post.

Crimmond: Why don't you create a new character. Or you could have one of your current characters on holiday in Slutbum Wallah as the vampires strike.

Sigma Octavus: I have a similar problem: I can't post from anywhere other than college, because I don't have the internet at my mum's house. How often can you post? I mean, unless things get really intense, (vast battles kind of intense), not being able to post very frequently shouldn't be too much of a problem.

OOC:

Claude, Duke of Whitwell will join you then. He's young (less than 100) and eager to learn what he can from the hunt.

OOC: Most of Slutbum Wallah is a great big dusty plain, dotted with the occasional mouldering remains of an industial town and cut up by the paths of polluted rivers. Almost the entire population of 2 point something billion live in three enormously sprawling cities and though the country may be rich, the people are poor. The vast majority of the cities are slums, only ever patrolled by conventional police forces in extreme circumstances.

OOC: Like Mortal Terror, the Gothic Underworld is ruled by the Vampire King Louis, and his sister Crown Princess Adelia. However, vampires make up only 5% of the population, and they generally do not kill, preferring instead to ask nicely for their feed, and generally the people do offer them some of their blood. Moreover, the King is a benign vampire, and so are vampires who live in the Gothic Underworld, and that is why they behave as they do instead of some other vampires in the country. Needless to say, they will accept your party in a diplomatic fashion, although they will expect your party to respect the local laws concerning vampires, which boils down to: No killing! I know this would be a boring setting, so you may treat it as a transit stop if you may.

(OOC: 5CN's vampires are shunned... They were nearly exterminated about 200,000 years ago, when they worked with the orcs, centaurs, and undead in a war that rocked the precursor to my nation... There are only about 312,093 vampires living in the Five Civilized Nations out of a total population of over 1.9 billion...)

very well, i'll prepare myself and my ship for the mission.

OOC: Can I play the role of Velarium's son and bodyguard, whose loyalties may be torn later between a human and his filial commitments?

OOC: I'm interested. It's about time I got back into the RP. I'll be bringing Silk, who'll be hired by an anonymous contractor like Gade's.

OOC: I would like to enter this as a vampire fledgling. I am very experianced in rping a vampire, does the name Kain Irenicus/Shentavo ring a bell? :)
Got an idea for a pretty interesting vampire.

OOC: Oh Christ, not a Shentavo. Vampires that didn't have to feed and were immune to everything that made a vampire a vampire. What a load of bollocks.

OOC: I also have an idea. My character is recently born vampire, or I mean created. She was human and just got bitten by one. She has no idea what to do with herself and knew of your character's place and came there. Would that be okay?

(OOC I know, that is why I have abandoned the Shentavo vampire, for all his interesting personality. I tried to make him weaker, but it was hard to do because of the Shentavo background as such. I would be involved with the plots of the Shentavos where demons attack and heroes rise up....enjoyable for a time, but not my thing anymore.

No, mind is actually "realistic" if such a thing is possible with vampires! :P

OOC: As many know, there is a sect within the Argonian people who hunt vampires as an anchient tradition. For most of you, this is embodied in Whiptail, the lone wolf hunter who uses a myrid of weapons & his masterful use of sarcasum to combat the vampiric foes.

Whiptail is not of this group, he hunts for atonement for past crimes. For those of you who remeber the Whips & Blessed Silver RP, & Arakesh Quickclaw, this sect of hunters should seem more familiar.

I give the host of this RP the choice of dealing with Whiptail, who is a highly powerful, yet not godmodish character who uses firearms, swords, and a smattering of magic to hunt. Whiptail relies on his extremely keen senses to detect his foes.

Arakesh hunts in a party of four, using traditional means used for centuries by Argonian vampire hunters. They use no firearms, and all but Arakesh are expendable. Arakesh relies on tracking skills & extreme atlethic ablility (IE wall-running, uneven bars, wall-jumps) to locate & infiltrate the strongholds of foes. Arakesh is a skilled swordsman & unarmed fighter, but less so than Whiptail. Arakesh is somewhat less stealthy than Whiptail.

As both characters are Argonian or Dark Argonian, they are immune to poisons. Dark Argonians like Whiptail have a high resistance to fire-based attacks, due to a moderate amount of halon contained in their black scales. Being primal reptillians, both species can see in the dark. Arakesh has senses above that of a normal human, where Whiptail is even more gifted, able to detect the gunpowder of concealed firearms & the scent of hidden explosives.

I leave the decision up to the host.

OOC: i've got some intrest in this so tag, also will this be taking place in smackbum walla if not i wish to voulteer my own nation i've got a couple of really intresting things in there (remember to post red eye system somewhere) :twisted: If not would it be possible to play a local vampire (planning on a WoD vamp if that matters).

Slinks away into the darkness

*bababa bump

OOC: Sorry I took so long in replying. Slutbum Wallah is the target for our hunt (and there are plenty of people willing to give them aid against us). I've already posted a link which details the vampires' strengths/weaknesses in this RP. Please note that all vampires are to use these features during this RP (for the sake of consistancy).

Wandering Argonians: I have no problem with you sending Arakesh (and his party) along, but I'm not too certain about Whiptail.

Talaran: If you could post (or tg) some of the details of your character, then I'll be glad to have you with us (provided, of course, your character is not too powerful).

Amanda: By all means. I see no reason why not.

Ramadoon: Certainly. Go ahead. I don't think the King has a son, being undead (for the past thousand or more years: so long even he can't really remember), but you may be one of the bodyguards if you wish...

Mortal Terror: I will await your Duke at the airport. Please let him know that he is to hide his imortality in public during this hunt: we would rather our targets not know we are here until our first kill.

Rhinara: By all means.

IC:"... Slutbum Wallah. Please remember that there is no smoking on this flight."

The King was quite relaxed, having never suffered from jetlag. His only worry was that the plane might arive during the day. But if that happened, then it happened. He fell asleep, having eaten quite well before setting off (airline food wouldn't really make him less hungry anyway).

A few ours later, he awoke, the plane just about to land. The speakers began to produce sound once more: "This is your pilot speaking. We are about to land in Slutbum Wallah. Please fasten your seatbelts, and remember, this is a no smoking aircraft."

The plane landed, and the king, along with his bodyguards, got off of it. It was just after sunset, and he was hungry...

"Gade Iverus, bounty hunter." he stated neutrally for the customs agent at the window
"Very well, Mr. Iverus, have you any fruits or vegetables?" he asked looking up at the imposing, and obviously displeased, bounty hunter
"No." he stated blankly, his hand tightening on the hilt of the Katana at his waist, a knife slid down his right arm and then retracted as he flexed his fingers, the young custom agent was getting very nervous,
"R-Reason for visit?" he asked shakily, Iverus eyed him closely, sweat had broken out on his forhead, he leaned in close to the agent
"Contract killing." he said with a grim smile, the man shrank back a ways, Iverus stood to his full height,
"Enjoy your stay with us Mr Iverus." the official said shrinking back still from the bounty hunter, Iverus grunted and moved off, walking through the airport briskly, covering his assorted weapons with a long overcoat, he came to the outer doors of the airport and quickly pushed his way through
" Finally," he remarked to himself, he'd always hated airports, pointless he'd called them, he felt the hilt of the blade under his coat, and depressed a button on the scabbard, he heard the dull squishing sound as the silvernitrate secreted itself out of the scabbard and onto the blade, always best to come prepared he thought...

The Vampire King waited in the lobby for the young Duke to arrive. On more than one occasion he considered not bothing to wait, and hunting immediately, but his small nation couldn't afford to insult the larger one which the Duke came from. Suddenly, he saw an armed man. Still alive, from the smell, so it couldn't be the Duke he was waiting for, but he wondered why anyone would enter an airport armed. Then he overheard the man. The king thinks to himself, "A bounty hunter, eh? Must be that Gade fellow I hired to make the hunt more interesting." He then smiles to himself, and takes a seat. The Duke shouldn't be too long now...

OOC: Undead Demons, when I do arrive at your palace, will the king be there to personally take care of her, or will it just be one of your servants?

IC: The sunlight struck her face and she cried out in pain. Her fingers, caked in blood, came up to her mouth and her bloodshot eyes widened. Fangs.

So, it wasn't a dream, how could this happen to her.

~Savanna walked home after her job at the local hooters restaurant bar. She walked the two blocks ever night around two in the morning. She heard a kitten crying in along the side of the street. She was a sucker for animals, especially kittens. This one was all black and its yellow eyes flashed at her. She was still in her work outfit and was worried the kitten would scratch up her bare legs or even her white short shorts, or her hooters top. So, she bent over to stick her hand out, so the kitten could smell her hand first. Then the kitten skitters into the alley, between the two buildings. Savanna grumbled, "Great, how am I going to help you if you run away from me." She walked into the alley, not making a sound, she had on white K-Swiss shoes and they allowed her not to make any noises. She saw the eyes flash and she walked towards them. Then she made contact with someone a bit taller than her and very broad and muscular. She wasn't worried, she knew some techniques to aid herself.

She stepped back, but the person was fast and he was on her. She blocked his hit and made contact with his strong jaw. He was too fast for her and she couldn't figure it out. She was within three seconds flat on her back and his dress shoes were on her flat stomach. Her muscles twitching under his weight. She uttered one word threw her breaths, "Why?"

His voice very smooth and aged, "Doesn't matter does it really." Then she saw his face. Something between an angel and a demon. Beautiful, but terrific. She otherwise could not describe it. Then all she could remember was pain and him saying, "It wouldn't hurt so much if you didn't fight." After that was dark. ~

Now, she was still in the alley, figuring why he didn't just kill her, or did he. She read many fiction stories of vampires and that such, but maybe they were non-fiction. She couldn't figure where the blood came from, was it her attacker's. It would make sense. She touched her neck and there was no mark, just a dull aching pain. Her eyes welled with water. She stood up shakily and reached for her cell-phone. Why hadn't she used it last night, no time she thought. She called her close friend Sarah May. Her friend had confided in her that she was a witch. Sarah May would know what to do.

"Sarah May?"

"Yes, Savanna? I called you last night at work. You didn't get my message. Dammit. I was worried. I still am."

"I need your help Sarah, I..."

"I know, well not technically, but come here."

Savanna walked to Sarah May's, which was a block away from where she lived. She was lucky it was real early in the morning and a weekend; no one was out yet. Her friend pulled her in and got her cleaned up. Savanna changed into some different clothes. She put on some low-rise jeans and a small pink baby-tee. She pulled her straight brown hair into two pigtails and walked out into Sarah May's living room.

"You look different." Savanna looked confused. "I mean you still look hot. You always do, but this is different. I mean you look like an angel crossed with a demon."

Savanna began to cry. Of all the things she could say.

"Sorry, but it is true. Besides don't cry, you never cry."

Savanna wiped her eyes and nodded. She had to be strong. "What do I do?"

Sarah May told her of a place in the nation called Undead Demons, how noting Savanna laughed. She would go to the place where the vampire king lived.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She arrived with nothing, but her purse and things she kept in it. She walked up to the door, almost falling to her knees. She was so exhausted and she knew why. She knocked on the massive door.

As a Toreador vampire, Gabriel von Braun was one of the most handsome, not to mention self-loathing, men in the Vampire King's court. Known to be a playboy in the midst of men, he rarely dabbled in the affairs of his breed until that one instance when he actually saved the King's life.


It had happened a few decades ago during the Millenium Ball that celebrated Valerium's one-thousand-year reign. The unwitting ladies' man had inadvertently fallen in love with a hunter of his kind, and she for him...Both were fully aware of the other's identity and dared not mention that knowledge, but only Gabriel knew the consequene of this "abomination." Had his brethren found out, he would've been cast out into the sun to perish, and she would be consumed by the lycanthropes the King kept for his amusement.


Anna Romanov was never fed to the wolves. They never did find out about their forbidden love. He had converted her to his race without the knowledge of the King, but at least they were together. In time, she had forgotten the blood the vampires spilled at her family's farm, perhaps due to Gabriel's deep love and commitment for her. But it was not long until those fires were rekindled by way of her stumbling upon Valerium's old scrolls, one of which recanted the death of her family. She went berserk, going after the King with a murderous rage. It was Gabriel who was called upon to reason with her, but she was beyond salvation. Anna had already been set off, and during the ensuing battle between the two lovers, a wooden stake had managed to find her heart by Gabriel's own hand.


He was recruited right on the spot as a bodyguard after Valerium had witnessed Gabriel's loyalty to him, but it soon became apparent that he had been "weakened" by the incident. Whenever he fought to protect the king, it was done half-assed and half-heartedly, without much effort whatsoever. It was fortunate, however, that he had gained a reputation as a folk hero in the kingdom after having fluked with the killings of a few Lycan assassins...His popularity had grown so much that the King could not simply cast him out of his office with a simple snap of his fingers.


So Valerium did the next best thing. Gabriel was rewarded, for his "valiant" service, the title of head guard at the palace. He would supervise security and maintenance there while the real bodyguards would protect the King.


-------


The knock of bone and tissue against the brass doors were amplified by the palace's cavernous halls, which provided a medium for even the slightest whisper to be heard in each room. So rather, it was a booming clatter that awoke Gabriel from the trance television had put him in. With a press of a button, the channel changed from the Tom and Jerry 'toon to the security camera's pan of the front door. Immediately, he froze and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. For a fleeting moment, he saw Anna standing there.


No, it was a mere trick of the eyes. How could he even tell with such a crappy resolution? I knew I shouldn't have bought this piece of sh*t from the Russians...


Gabriel let out a grunt of annoyance as he got himself off the couch and shuffled over to the door. He hated being bothered by unwanted visitors, especially ones that reminded him of a dreadful past. Sliding the slit open, he welcomed the visitor. With such a ragged appearance, he took her for a beggar from the nearby town.


"Run along, peasant. If you're here for food, you should already damn well know that we don't have any here."

Savanna looked upset at the man. She was coming here for help and she thought they would help her. She flashed her teeth, revealing two long canine teeth on each side. Her voice heavy from exhaustion, “Yes, I am hungry, but food does not quench my need.”

She stuck her food into the door and pushed her way in closer. She didn’t care who this guy was, she wanted in and needed to talk to the king. She pushed the guy out of the way and made her way into the opening.

“I need to talk to the king.” She looked at the man and her eyes began to roll to the back of her skull and reached out to grab unto the man. She gasped, “I am sorry, please, help me now.”

Silk stood on the roof of a tallish building, vision lenses over her eyes as she scanned the street far below for abnormal signatures - specifically, undead ones. The goggles zoomed in slightly to provide a better view of the street scene, then shifted modes from the normal light range to different spectrums in order to detect anything unsual.

All clear. She zoomed back out and scanned the various building tops, mostly projects where the many poor citizens of Slutbum Wallah inhabited. Nothing there either. The lenses switched back to nightvision mode, which, unlike most nightvision goggles that made everything green, was normal colored.

She was garbed in all black and carried a rifle, among other weapons and gadgets. Not long ago, she was contracted to hunt vampires here, and the contractor left no name, not even when part of the payment was transferred to her account. No matter. Knowing who hired her was not as important as fulfilling what her end of the bargain was.

Time to move on to the next site.

OOC: So can I still join? I have a character I want to throw in. A human raised by a vampire for the most part. Successful hunter. He could be waiting at the airport or near it for the group.

"Oh my..." A fledgling. A newborn vampire who had no clue about the new life she now had to live. Gabriel hurriedly carried her down to the cellar where a refrigerator preserved bag upon bag of both human and animal blood--all "donated" of course from Valerium's own medical industries.


"Try this." He poked a hole through the bag with a fang and cradled her in his arms like a baby, holding the bag up to her motuh. "Stay as long as you'd like. The king welcomes visitors such as yourself. However, he is not here at the moment...He is...busy. Travelling."


Gabriel wasn't quite sure what to do with her...Her uncanny resemblance to his deceased love had made him uneasy, perhaps even attracted to the newcomer. The only differences he could make between the two was that Anna was a bit taller and had raven black hair. Aside that, the similarities were striking.


"Oh, in all the excitement I believe I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gabriel von Braun, keeper of the king's home. Well, at least one of them, anyway...What's your name?" He brushed her hair aside to take another glance at her face...perhaps she hails from the Romanov family line...

Savanna drank the warm liquid, she knew she had to weither she liked it or not. She felt it run down her throat and settle into her stomach and moments later she felt a bit better, with more energy to respond to the person who had helped her.

She cocked her head to the side, Gabriel, "Gabriel, isn't that the name of an angel?" She smiled softly, "Well, you are my angel and I the servant of the above Lord. My name is Savanna Decante."

She sat up and stretched, she was really starting to feel better. She frowned when she heard him say the king was gone. "I was told he would know what to do with me that he knows of my friend Sarah May Jones. I really need some help." She began to study her fingers nails, she never asked for help. "What can you do for me?" The same sweet smile returning to her face.

Had his heart still have the functions of a normal human's, it would've melted right away once he saw that bright smile from the once-frail woman. Savannah... Such a...a beautiful name. Sav...annah? Images of his love raced through his mind in a matter of milliseconds, and he responded by choking back tears.


"Well for starters, I could tell you why blood happens to replenish your energy, or why your complexion has become a bit...paler than usual. But since you've already found yourself here, I think you already know why. You are a vampire; most likely a Toreador like me. You've retained, perhaps even enhanced, your beauty and will always stay that way. Standard procedure, actually. No more sunbathing, no garlic, and avoid wooden stakes. And try not to touch silver. We seem to have a slight allergic reaction to it."


With a rather merry skip, he led her down to the main hall where a fifteen-foot portrait of King Valerium stood on the north wall, regally dressed in a military costume against a velvet background. "And that is King Valerium...The hall is usually filled to the brim with guests, but since he is not here, neither are they. Hmm. Perhaps I should call him and tell him of your arrival..."


Gabriel glided effortlessly towards the phone without using his toes. He had tried to fly for decades now, and this was the farthest he ever got. Maybe it would impress the girl...


When he dialed the number for the King's satellite phone, one of his bodyguards picked it up. "It's Gabriel. Can you put me through to Valerium...? We've got a new one in our midst..."

OOC: Sorry I'm late: as I mentioned earlier, I'm unable to post from anywhere other than college.

Sigma: You can wait all you want, but if you try to stop ten vampires single handedly then you will either die or become the second fledgling in the rp (unless I just consider you not worth killing)...

IC:
Valerium's satelite phone rang, so he answered it.

"Yes, what is it?"
"A fledgling? Very well, get her fed, and get her over here. Hunting isn't particularly good in Undead Demons, but she needs some form of training if she's to survive out in the world..."

The King hung up, and muttered to himself, "Someone else to look after..."

Gade walked silently down the street, careful to not be seen, he hated being indentified, people, even cops, just fell on their knees and confessed their sins, thinking that the bounty was on them, and begged for mercy, he hated it. his overcoat flapped a little in the wind, as he walked past an open alley way, he heard a hiss, and stopped, looking in, he saw a dull shape scramble to the back, and followed it in, the alley twisted in a most pleasing fashion for one who comes from the underworld, but not for Iverus, suddenly the shape stopped, Gade flung off his coat and put his hands on his blasters, the figure spun and lunged at him, so quickly, it knocked him to the ground, he flung himself o his feet, and turned slowly, looking at every part of the alley
"You'd be better off not trying this vampire, I'm not here for you." the crude beast, probably a native, cocked its head and lunged again, this time gade was ready, he sidestepped and kicked the beast, knocking it head over heels, the armour he wore augmented his strength 20 times, at least, and he could easily lift 200 pounds without it (OOC:do the math here) the creature stood up and shook its head, and lunged again, he caught it this time, by the throat and lifted it off the ground with one hand, he unholsetered one blaster and put it to the Vampires stomach, blowing a hole clean through the undead thing, it screamed in a sick parody of human pain, Iverus dropped it, holstered his weapon and drew his sword, the silver nitrate had dried on the surface and clung to the blade, coating it, he stood over the vampire, raised his sword, and brought it down quickly shearing through muscle and bone, the things head rolled off, and Iverus walked away, picking up his coat and poutting it back on, "the next time" he reminded himself " Will be more challenging."

Savanna watched him and his every movement with awe. She saw him in a different aspect, she saw his potential to move and then it occur. She shook her head, how very odd. She saw him float to the phone and nearly gasped, it came out as a exaggerated expiration. She blushed as he looked at her.

She never blushed, she was used to the looks.

"So, do I get to do that also? I usually am off ground only when I am in a plane."

Her gaze returned to the portrait of the King. It felt to her as if his eyes were on her and would never leave. She couldn't decide if that was calming or freaking to her.

She glanced back to Gabriel, "So, Angel, we are similar? But I assume you to be quite older than I. When where you turned?"

She began to touch his face and his arms and stopped as his chest when she realized what she was doing. She blushed once more, "Sorry, everything is just so different now."

A scream. An inhuman screech. Silk cocked her head in the direction of the sound. The source must have been some distance away, but her earset was able to pick up on even this distant a sound and amplified it into her ears.

No more time to waste. Must investigate. She moved in the direction from where the sound came from, going from rooftop to rooftop of buildings, occassionally using her grappling hooks and rope for those gaps that were a little to large for her. Not many people tend to look up at the top of darkened, tall buildings at night, so not many, if any, people saw her. And all they would have seen anyway was a black figure moving across a blackened night sky.

She did not know where exactly the source of the scream was, but careful scanning of the vicinity led her to an alley with an unusual pile of ash. The lenses over her eyes scanned the spectrum again, searching for signs of danger. When none presented itself, she secured her rope and climbed down the side of the building into the alleyway.

Vampire ash. And her scanner detected residual energy traces from a recently-fired blaster. It appeared that she was not the only one here hunting vampires.

OOC: The point of Arakesh hunting in party is because he is much less expeirenced than Whiptail.

IC:

The evening air was cold on Arakesh's scales, his light, homespun clothing doing little to warm him. Such was the life of a hunter, to endue hardships in pursuit of one's prey. Arakesh & his fellows where unique in that they belonged to an anchient society that hunted vampires, reather than marshland beasts to feed the village.

Arakesh was not alone in his hunt, with him was his brother, Alkesh, who was the son of his father's second wife. The party contained four in total, all of the Quickclaw clan. There was Arakesh, who fought with a silver-edged katana. Then there was Alkesh, who killed with a staff shod with silver at the ends. The third was Ket, older than the rest, who fought with only his hands & feet. The last was Letle, a bowman. All carried stakes carved from Argonian Blackwood, a material that sapped the energy from a vampiric heart, storing it to enhance the power of the stake...

OOC: More later...

OOC: I'll go through with it. Not take a frontal approach. One on ten will be fun.

Dante, as he liked to be called, watched the vampires exit the airplane. HE was sitting in a bench, and looked like he was travelling. He had baggage with him, too make him seem less suspicious. He watched the party out of the corner of his eye under the bandana he had wrapped around his forhead. He looked very much the part of a wandering person just out of college.

"Perfect. They're here." He smiled the wicked smile of a professional killer of humans and otherwise.

"But..." Before Gabriel could finish his sentence, the King had already hung up. He exhaled deeply, wondering about what he should do now...There was no way to get to the airport, seeing as he had been left with no money or mode of transportation to get there; it seemed that Valerium's entourage took with them everything but the kitchen sink whenever they traveld.


Well, he could "float" with Savannah in his arms to the airport, but that ability was nothing but a cheap parlor trick. He hadn't fully mastered it yet and was limited to five minute sessions before all his energy would be spent.


I'm thinking too much... He barely heard the girl speak something about being "off the ground" and surmised it was probably a question about his levitational skills. "This...takes years to practice, I'm told. Only the Ancients have mastered the art of flight, and I am unable to float for a few minutes before I become tired."


"So, Angel, we are similar? But I assume you to be quite older than I. When where you turned?"


"I'm certain that we are both Toreadors, and the only difference between us as you've mentioned is age. I was 'turned', or rather, voluntarily gave up mortality as I like to put it, around a century ago by a vampiress promising me eternal life..." Eternal life. That wasn't really the case for Anna, was it...?


Tears began to flow from his now-bloodshot eyes, when suddenly, he felt her hands caressing him. Immediately, he lost his levitational concentration and fell to the floor flat on his back. Gabriel uttered a grunt as he picked himself up, brushing away invisible dust that had somehow "stained" his clothes. Then he noticed her cheeks turn rosy pink...He had never seen a vampire do that before, and certainly not a Toreador.


"How...how did you do that?"

The king suddenly got that little itch in his back, right between the shoulder blades, which suggested that he was being watched. He looked around, and sure enough, he saw someone, sitting on a bench, watching his party. He looked less than quite ordinary, but that was out of the ordinary in itself. No ordinary person looks completely ordinary. He frowned slightly, and used the telepathic ability inherent in all vampires to listen in to his thoughts. He heard the thought, "Perfect. They're here," and then he just turned away, shaking his head, and stopped listening.

"Foolish mortal. He shouldn't be too difficult to defeat should he try anything," he thought. The party continued to wait for the young duke and the female fledgling. This was going to be a long and boring night...

OOC: There should be a car with tinted windows somewhere in the garage: we generally travel light. Besides, it's night-time still. You can always walk, since it's only two or three miles...

OOC: Just gonna trail along with my guy, pick up habits and weaknesses.

Dante looked away when the target looked in his direction. He stood and walked to the shop that sold pretzels. He bought one and walked back to his stuff.

Damn, they probably know I'm here. Can't try anything for a bit.

Savanna touched her slightly warm checks and laughed. "Sarah May told me that vamps are pale and do not change colour, but since I am influenced by the wicans I would have different characteristics and abilities. I do not know if that is one of them, I really cannot explain it, maybe the king can. Basically, I can do what she can and I can do what vamps do with more time, practice and experience." She paused as to remember all the things Sarah May had told her.

"She wants me to figure this out," arms stretched outward, "and then come back to "witch craft"." Savanna began to laugh, "She said was my easy part."

Savanna poked her head around the part of the building they were at and then frowned, "Does this place have a bathroom?"

Gabriel chuckled upon hearing the question about where the bathroom was. The place was so big that sometimes even he didn't know.


"Well...umm...last time I checked, it was down the hell behind you, 12th door to your right." As he watched her dash down the corridor, he remembered that they...the King and his men...never took the black Mercedes with them. They always traveled using the Lincoln SUV's in their motorcade, leaving at least one vehicle in the castle for emergencies.


As she was doing her business, he wandered about the house looking for the keys. It took him a while to remember that they always hung it near the entrance for easy acces...he should've known better. A quick study of a map revealed that the airport was actually closer than he had originally thought. Two miles...They could get there on foot, but why not travel in style instead?


He phoned the King again to ask what country they were staying at now.


"Your majesty, we will be leaving the castle for the airport soon. May I ask where I should book our tickets to?"

Tag

The king heard his phone ring, and answered it.

"Valerium speaking. I see. Very well, thank you for letting me know. Bye."

It was Duke Claude. He was ringing up to inform the king that he wouldn't be able to come along after all. The phone rang again.

"Yes? Slutbum Wallah. The next plane there should be departing within two hours. I would advise coming fairly quickly, as we are only five hours away from dawn, and I didn't bring much by way of extra food with me."

Iverus stopped his vigilant walk down the streets suddenly, looking up wildly at the buildings roofs above him, his hands immediatly to his weapons, a small throwing knife flicked down his arm,
"I'm not alone," he thought to himself, he saw a vague shadow on one of he buildings, which disappeared suddenly, he ran into the alley and activated the repulsors he had intsalled in the footwear of this suit, he glided silently to the top of the building, stopping just before his head rose above the side, he heard muffled footsteps as his watcherr quickly scampered away,
"Not so fast little one" he thought landning on the roof and running at top speed across it, he came closs to the figure running, but it pulled away, he stopped, "What am I doing?" he asked himself, drawing one of his weapons, he thumbed it down to the lowest setting and fired a stun beam at the figures leg, numbing it as they fell, he cam up behind it
"Now, if you'd be so good as to tell me who you are and why you were looking after my kill?"

Silk trailed the executioner of the vampire whose ash she recently discovered. Moving swiftly and silently on the roof tops, she scanned him for his vitals and other stats.

Human.
Male.
Carried an assortment of weapons beneath the overcoat.
Armored power suit.

The guy was quite nearly a walking tank.

Then he looked up, right in her direction. She immediately pulled back out of sight and slowly moved away. She peeked a glance behind her and changed modes on her lenses so that she could see almost right through the building. The man she was trailing, his skeletal structure highlighted in a bright blue under this mode, was floating up toward the roof of her building from the alleyway. He could fly? No, must have been a part of the power suit or something...

She began moving faster, running and jumping over the various obstacles on the rooftop to evade her pursuer until one of her legs went limp.

Bloody he-

With a twist of the torso, she managed to fall on her back as she drew her rifle and pointed it toward the man. Her black suit, along with the lenses and the breathing apparatus, covered every inch of her to prevent her identity from being revealed, but the voice that answered the question was clearly feminine.

"You may call me Silk," she calmly said. "And I'm here to hunt. Possibly the same creatures you are, if I may be so bold to assume, considering your kill back at the other alley."

Savanna walked back to where Gabriel was, she saw him hang up the phone once more. She was laughing. “Umm…I kind of sprayed myself with water.” She stretched her little baby tee out; her pink bra could be seen through her shirt. “Damn, foreign sinks. Heehee…You got anything for me to wear, or should I just deal with it?”

"Umm...uhh..." The delayed reaction was a clear indication that he wasn't totally paying attention to what she has said, but rather what she had done. Gabriel shook himself awake and tried to come up with a more coherent response.


"Well...The only clothes left in the house are mine. I'm not really much of a dresser; my closet is just a row of suits. And...I am a tad taller than you are." He rubbed his forehead as she measured her with his eyes. Savanna was about six inches shorter than he was.


"Anyway, we don't really have time to waste. I was told that we must leave for Slutbum Wallah before dawn...There is a car in the garage that we can take."

"Silk eh?" Iverus said to the slender figure lying before him, he holstered his weapons and stepped back.
"You can drop that," he said pointing at the rifle "it won't pierce my armor anyway, not before you're down and out. Well, if we're here for the same thing, I would suggest an alliance, only temporary mind you, but still, two hunters are better than one. And if you get nothing else out of this meeting, remember this, don't sniff around the kill of another hunter, we don't appreciate it." he said, sitting on the ledge of the building, moving his katana so that it wouldn't bend under him, he looked at her, she moved to her feet easily, he judged her quickly, athletic, quick, not very subtle, inexperienced perhaps, well equipped,
" I know my way around here, i took a job here not too long ago. If you are here for vampires, then it would be best to work together, their cagey creatures, what do you say?" he asked offering his hand to her...

The king continued to wait patiently. Every so often he checked up on the human watching them, wondering whether he was considering trying something again. He considered listening in to the man's thoughts, but decided not to bother. There would be no point. If the human was going to attack, then they would defeat him easily. So he continued to wait.

OOC: this glorified bump was brought to you by Undead Demons.

Savanna laughed at Gabriel. "I suppose I better just deal." She walked out to the door over to where the car was and got into it.

On the stort trip to the airport she just starred up at the sky and gazed into the deep light blue and watched as the scattered clouds flew by.

A big smile came to her face. "It has been awhile since I have been on the plane, I love it. This will be fun."

As they walked to the terminal she studied him, how old is he?

She asked him, "When where you born a human?"

Arakesh & his party moved through the night, keeping track of their quarry through smell. Argonians where a highly predatory species, adapted to hunting in the dark & confined marshes of their homeland.

They tracked a small group of vampires to a residence, where the party attacked, Letli firing silver arrows while Ket & Arakesh worked as a team, with Ket ripping the heart out of a victim & tossing it at Arakesh, who would slice it in two with his silver-edged blade. Alkesh pummeled his foes savagely, the silver ends of his Blackwood staff becoming bloody with each successive swing.

Within moments, all six vampires where dead. Three belonged to Letli, with his bow, while the others had a kill apiece. Arakesh cut the fangs from the mouths of the victims, distributing them among those who made the kill. Letli's where to be driven into his bow, while the others had the honor to wear them as necklaces since their kills had been at close range.

The hunting party left the corpses, then vanished into the night...

(OOC: sorry for my absence)

Silk held back the impulse to mention that his body armor was not going to protect his head (OOC: assuming he's not wearing anything on his head, since I didn't see any mention of such a thing. Please do correct me if I'm wrong), and someone with extensive sniper training did not need to look through the crosshairs on the sight to know where exactly the muzzle of their firearms was aimed at in close range.

She too assessed the other player in this hunting game. He seemed cocky, over-confident of himself. But that was probably due to the fact that he was good enough in his vocation to be that way. Still, he was not getting off on too great a start with her.

That did not matter, though. Her task here was to eliminate vampires, and if this guy was willing to help, then the easier it would be for her. She took her right hand off of the rifle and clasped the proffered hand. "An acceptable proposition," she said as she got back on her feet and doublechecked her gear. "I don't believe I caught your name?"

OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply, but college isn't open during the weekends. This is pretty much another bump, since nothing has happened as yet as regards the King and his party...

OOC: nope, no helmet

IC: "My name? I'm Gade Iverus, bounty hunter and professional killer." he said, Hoping that she had not, the mark of excellence of any true hunter was that no one knew who he was or hwat he had done.
"If you've got any leads on these things, then now's the time to voice them, not just the locals mind, the King of Undead Demons is around, and if I get a half a chance, I'll dust him on sight."

The king of undead demons? Silk thought. Would that make him a vampiric demon? How odd...

"You seem to know more about who's here and who's not than I am," she said, arching an eyebrow that was hidden underneath her black suit and goggles. "I'm merely on the hunt."

She approached the ledge, scanning the various ranges of spectra available on her lenses. As the various modes flipped by, something briefly lighted up in the distance before it disappeared again when the spectrum being scanned changed. Silk stopped the scanning and went back a mode, and the objects became visible again.

Now what was this? Whatever it was, it was hard to detect, not showing up on various spectral modes, including infrared.

"I've got something," she told Gade. "It's definitely not human. Doesn't look vampire either."

She zoomed in, but the figures were still too far away for her to see anything distinct. "There's a small group of them. Four or five, and on the move."

Dante began to wonder if the target wasn't doing anything because he obviously knew that Dante was sitting here.

I'll kill you.

He smiled, stood up, and left.

Once outside, he ditched the bags he had with him, keeping only one, his longest. Inside he held his sword, made of a titanium/silver mix that had taken a while to get right. Aside from that, he had twin Glock-18's and plenty of ammo.

He felt the chain around his neck, and held up the dog tags. They read 'Dominic Skyler Wrathe'.

I'll get you eventually.

He had been hunting the one who had taken him in as a child for quite a while now. Once Dom had taken off, Dante swore to hunt down and kill him. He had travelled, killing vampires, trying to gain enough experience and skill to one day take on his former mentor.

But first.....

And he walked to a better vantage point to watch for his target.

Gade moved to the edge of the building, looking over were silk had pointed, he didn't see anything, but that wasn't exactly surprising, no visual enhancements,
"Wait." he said quietly, flipping open a small comms port on his wrist, he tapped in a few numbers and let his arm fall,
"What?" Silk asked, as nothing appeared to be happening, suddenly, a great whooshing sound as unseen repulsor jets activated, and Gade began floating gently, bobbing in the air
"Do you want a lift, or can you manage to get to them on your own?" he asked lightly, holding an arm out to the woman

Arakesh & his party kept going until they reached an abandoned warehouse. They paused while Ket landed a swift kick on the wood around the lock, splintering it. Arakesh finished the job by hacking the lock free. Alkesh & Letli swept into the dark building, performing a quick room-clearing.

Alkesh gave the signal for 'all-clear', then Arakesh & Ket entered. The building would do for a daytime base, a place to rest & eat while their prey awaited the setting of the sun. Three hunters slept while another kept watch... Letli kept a steady eye on the door, an equally steady hand on his bowstring...

Ah, so that's how he got up here.

Silk looked back to the distant figures. She did not want to be carried by him. Especially since he could doublecross her and drop her in the middle of the air. But it would save a lot of time, especially since the creatures were already on the move in the distance.

She ever so slightly moved one hand, gently touching her grappling hook launcher, which she would be needing if he did decide to betray her. Slinging her rifle onto her back, she reached out quickly and said, "Let's go." She was not going to like this trip.

And so the two started after the Argonians.

Gade lifted Silk easily and clenched his fist, activating the directional controls, the repulsors automatically picked up speed, and in minutes they were over the heads of the Argonians, Gade settled on a roof and let Silk go, he crouched down and drew his weapons,
"All right, I'll drop down there and get their attention, you cover me from up here with that rifle of yours." She nodded and Iverus stepped to the ledge of the building, and jumped off, landing heavily behind the Argonians, with his blasters drawn
"All right freeze right there, or you're both piles of Charred carcass."...

OOC: I would like to point outt that Arakesh & his party are inside a warehouse. The only way to get behind them is to crash through the roof or through a wall, which would alert them to your presence. This is not a good idea because you'd have three highly skilled melee fighters attacking you in close quarters, where guns are useless. Letli is unique in that he is a bowman, and hunts in the close confines of the Black Marsh, making him suited to such combat.

As a side note, Argonians faintly show up on thermal scanning, since they do not produce all of their own body heat. The tropical climate of their homeland, the Black Marsh, provides enough warmth to eliminate the need to bask like lesser reptiles. Hunters have learned to function on what little body heat their own bodies produce, which is held in by the burlap-like material of their clothing. This would make it difficult to determine how many opponents you'd have to deal with, should you enter the building, which is never a good idea.

As I have stated before, Argonians have keen senses, scent being among one of the most useful. There would be the possibility of one of the hunters detecting Gade by the scent of burned repulsor fuel, allowing them to set a trap for him.

I'll let this mishap slide, for the sake of the RP, just be sure to read whatever I italicize, since it usually contains information on actions that affect the setting, such as breaking the lock on the warehouse & entering the structure.

IC:

Letli didn't move, his understanding of English was somewhat less than good. Alkesh & Ket rose from their makeshift beds of cardboard & plastic insulation, Alkesh bringing his staff into a ready position. Ket assumed a ready stance. Arakesh was nowhere to be seen.

Somehow, someone had snuck into their temporary hideout...

The invader barked out commands in a language Alkesh knew little of. Ket, a Quickclaw-clan warrior, had no understanding of the invader's language, but he understood the look of the weapons the attacker carried. Such weapons where considered weapons of dishonor among the Argonian people, and where not used. Arakesh chose to make himself known at this moment...

Something cold & sharp pressed against Gade's exposed neck, tickling his jugular vein...

"Lower your weapons, softskin, or I shall take your head as my trophy..."

The Argonian hunter hissed in his opponent's ear, keeping away from the windows of the warehouse in the event the invader had any outside support...

OOC: Silk might remeber Arakesh from the 'Whips & Blessed Silver' thread.

Silk rolled her eyes as Gade crashed through the ceiling window, sending thousands of glass shards raining down to the floor with him. With a shake of the head and a sigh, she moved to the edge of the horizontal window and went on the lookout, the nightvision mode on her lenses making the darkness bright as day. She set up her grappling hook and rope, just in case the hothead down there got into more than he could handle.

The audio enhancers over her ears picked up on a quiet hiss from a hidden source. It sounded...familiar? No...no, couldn't have been. But this was not the time to sit and debate that. It seemed as if Gade may have been in trouble.

She slid down the rope and landed softly on the ground. The Argonian with a sword at Gade's throat looked familiar too...but then all of those lizards looked alike. Still, it was worth a shot.

"Arakesh?" she asked.

Arakesh looks in her direction as Ket & Alkesh move forward. Letli shifts his aim to Silk, as a precautionary measure...

"I believe I know you... You are known as Silk, correct?"

Arakesh gestures in Gade's direction...

"Do you hunt with this brash softskin? As the Nak'Tarash says 'Discretion is the better part of valor'. He would do well to learn from the words of a wise hunter..."

Arakesh narrows his slit-pupiled eyes...

"I assume you hunt the lapdogs of the one your kind call 'Say-Tan'. Is my assumption correct?"

OOC: sorry, had computer troubles over the weekend

IC: Gade smiled faintly as the blade at his neck scratched the soft outer layers of his skin, he felt a little more than chagrined that he had been caught like this, no matter,
"This isn't a stalemate friend, I have two high powered energy weapons aimed at both your friends, now you may be an excellent hand to hand warrior, but unless you can dodge a blaster bolt, you can lower that sword right now." he said "I'll lower these if you want to lower that. Since we appear to be hunting the same things, I'd suggest that we work together." he grinned sharply "Unless you're afraid of a little competition?" he said chuckling to himself, the blade at his throat scratched a little deeper as he had said 'afraid' and was at this point most uncomfortable
"Well what do you say?"

vlad raised his eyes and saw fresh meat appearing down the warehouse,he had just finished feasting on one of the 'former' workers.He flew up to the sealing and hung on,looking down through his malice filled eyes he pulled out a sdmall sleek set of pistol's and took aim.He wispered to himself.I shall feast on your flesh.

300 yards and closing......

OOC: sorry, had computer troubles over the weekend

IC: Gade smiled faintly as the blade at his neck scratched the soft outer layers of his skin, he felt a little more than chagrined that he had been caught like this, no matter,
"This isn't a stalemate friend, I have two high powered energy weapons aimed at both your friends, now you may be an excellent hand to hand warrior, but unless you can dodge a blaster bolt, you can lower that sword right now." he said "I'll lower these if you want to lower that. Since we appear to be hunting the same things, I'd suggest that we work together." he grinned sharply "Unless you're afraid of a little competition?" he said chuckling to himself, the blade at his throat scratched a little deeper as he had said 'afraid' and was at this point most uncomfortable
"Well what do you say?"

Arakesh nodded in Letli's direction...

The young bowman sent a shaft tearing past Gade's head, the wind from it rustling his hair...

"We have won, softskin... Accept it. You may kill two or three, but you will fall as well..."

Arakesh lowered his blade, taking a step back...

"Our partnership all depends on why you hunt... We hunt out of tradition, it is the ultimate test of a hunter's skills to bring in the fangs of a vampire... Why is it that you hunt? Out of fear? Malice? Hate?"

The veteran hunter sheathes his blade... Letli retrieves his arrow, while Alkesh & Ket seat themselves...

Gade considered the question for a moment
"Pleasure, and money." he said shortly, raising his chin slightly with pride "I've hunted being from one end of the galaxy to another, I hunt because nothing else I do challenges me, hunting a sentient being is the only way to truly test myself." he said, holstering his weapons

OOC: Was waiting on Ramadoon to post, but I will just post without his reply.

IC: Savanna looked out the window and walked the clouds sail by and dazed off into a deep sleep. She awoke to the Captain announcing their arrival and she stretched her arms. They walked up to a black Mercedes Benz and flew across the road. Moments later they arrived to where Gabriel was told the King would be. OOC. Sorry not descriptive on the arrival wasn't sure what to work with.

IC: Savanna was hesitant to get out of the car. She still had on the same clothes and she just didn't feel fit to meet the king. She forgot his name so quickly and she blushed again. They walked up to where some men where standing and she starred at them. She couldn't believe her eyes; she had never seen a whole group of beautiful men in one area. She blushed once more. She couldn't find the king and she searched. One gentleman's clothes stuck out a bit more than the others and when he turned to face her, she softly gasped, sounded more like a loud whoosh. He looked more beautiful than the picture.

She had no idea how to react.

She stuck out her hand and smiled. "Hello."

OOC: Was waiting on Ramadoon to post, but I will just post without his reply.

IC: Savanna looked out the window and walked the clouds sail by and dazed off into a deep sleep. She awoke to the Captain announcing their arrival and she stretched her arms. They walked up to a black Mercedes Benz and flew across the road. Moments later they arrived to where Gabriel was told the King would be. OOC. Sorry not descriptive on the arrival wasn't sure what to work with.

IC: Savanna was hesitant to get out of the car. She still had on the same clothes and she just didn't feel fit to meet the king. She forgot his name so quickly and she blushed again. They walked up to where some men where standing and she starred at them. She couldn't believe her eyes; she had never seen a whole group of beautiful men in one area. She blushed once more. She couldn't find the king and she searched. One gentleman's clothes stuck out a bit more than the others and when he turned to face her, she softly gasped, sounded more like a loud whoosh. He looked more beautiful than the picture.

She had no idea how to react.

She stuck out her hand and smiled. "Hello."

Out in the darkness, a sniper observed the black Benz pull up...

The nightvision scope on his custom-built WA-2000 panned left, bringing the crosshairs onto the woman exiting the car...

Peter Zion had been waiting for several hours for this meeting. His intel hadn't been real precise as to when it would take place, but it had pinpointed the location. Zion was a mercenary sniper, of the finest caliber. He'd served with the USMC's Recon teams for several years, earning a reputation as someone you'd want to be watching your ass in a firefight.

His current contract stated that he was to kill the supposed 'king' of Undead Demons. The .300 magnum with sterling silver jacket in the chamber of his surpressed rifle would do the job nicely... He'd wait for an opportune shot, now wasn't the time...

(OOC: Bleh, sorry I've been absent for a week.)

"Correct," Silk said in reply to Arakesh's first question to her, then looked over at Gade as the latter was gestured at. "An alliance of convenience. And he's right; we're going after the same thing here, and hunting in a pack is sometimes more effective than hunting alone. As I'm sure the four of you gentlemen are well aware," she looked at each of the Argonians.

Arakesh nods...

"You are correct... I suggest that I hunt with Gade-Iverus & yourself. Alkesh will lead Letli & Ket. Is this satisfactory?"

Arakesh looks to both Silk & Iverus...

"It'll be fun working with you again," Silk said with a grin that was hidden behind her small breathing mask.

She looked up. "It's nearing dawn. Perhaps we should find somewhere to rest for the day - somewhere a little more secure," she tilted her head toward Gade's handiwork in the ceiling window above.

OOC: Sorry I'm late in replying... between exams and work, I haven't had any chance. By the way, the undead can be called demons can they not?

IC: Velarius shook her hand, fairly formally, and sent his message to her telepathically, not wanting to be overheard. Greetings, young fledgling. I understand you came to my palace seeking aid. I will teach you what you need to know to survive as a vampire and guide you through your first kill. I suppose a hunt is probably the best way to do this, but we haven't got enough time until dawn. He then spoke normally, so that it wouldn't appear too odd.

"I have a hotel room booked. Come."

He then smiled. Not the kind of beautiful smile that you would find in one of those soppy, romantic vampire novels, but a perfectly ordinary smile. Quite a grin actually. This should be a challenge... I haven't taught anyone in centuries. He then heard the human hunter's (Dante's) thought, grinned again, and said, "Let's go."

Outside the building, he sniffed the air and looked around. Of all the windows in the apartment building in front of him, only one was not lit. He thought to his comrades, Something's wrong...

She did not appear surprised, but her thoughts would tell otherwise. She couldn't believe that he was so...so down to earth. Well, at least she could feel comfortable with her teacher, but was that wrong? A hotel? She blushed once more and who would she be staying with? She brushed the idea by and assumed there would be more than one room. She followed him, along side Gabriel.

OOC: sorry for the lateness

IC: Gade cocked an eyebrow at Silk
"I've always held that stealth is mostly for ninnies." he said brushing some of the glass off of his armour, "If you'd like, I've had dealings here before, and I have a fair number of contacts, most of who owe me a few favors, I'm sure I could impose upon one or more of them to put us up for the night." resting his hands on his weapons, he grinned rakishly
"I'm sure we could find a nice warm rock for you fellows."

I think we may have a sniper to deal with. If he's watching anything, it'll be the car. It's a nice night for a walk...

With that, Velarius began to walk in the direction of the hotel. It was in easy walking distance, and he had had a private meeting with the manager. They would not be disturbed.

Zion flicked the zoom on his scope up a few notches, bringing it to its maximum of 20x. One of the individuals leaving the car area looked a lot like his target. The merc sniper kept the crosshairs on him, the laser rangefinger built into the scope scrolling wildly as his aimpoint shifted. Zion squeezed the first trigger on his weapon, readying it to fire. The second trigger was a hair trigger, and would fire his weapon.

He dialed the volume on the shotgun microphone mounted on the barrel up a bit further, hoping he'd catch someone calling the guy 'his highness' or some other royal title...

"A hotel? They're making this too easy."

Dante looked up at the building from across the street.

He would go in and take them out. He felt that others were hunting his target, and if they got in the way, he would kill them. Just another job.

He drew his sword and sheathe from the single bag he carried. He took off the trench coat he was wearing and strapped it on. Leaning down, he unzipped another pocket in the bag. Pulling out his twin Glock-18s, he put them in the holsters he had on his hips. Taking clips of silver, HE and AP clips from the bag, he put them each in a different holder around the holster belts. He removed a single clip of High Velocity rounds, thinking he might need the extra power.

Standing up, he put the trench back on. He pulled up the collar around his neck to hide the handle of the sword. He pushed the bag into a bush, and began to wait.

OOC: I was never in the car that you're watching, Mercenary Soldiers, I decided to walk it. Remember? Also, inter-vampire communication, when it's something that they don't want anyone to hear, is done telepathically.

IC: Velarius wasn't nervous; he was never nervous. He had never had reason to be nervous through life or afterlife, if it could be called that. But he still knew he was being watched, and was slightly uneasy. He even knew where he was being watched from, so if he wished to take care of the matter, he could. There was just the small matter of it being about half three in the morning, during the Summer. Dawn was approaching quickly, so they couldn't afford to take any detours. Then, the King had an idea.

He led his little entourage into an alleyway, and took the fledgling's hand gently, and the hand of his head of security. They then began to float. Over the rooftops, they glided at very high speeds for about ten minutes, too fast to be seen by anyone not looking especially for them, and then they successfully entered the hotel just fifteen minutes before the dawn. Walking would have taken them nearly half an hour.

The King went to the manager of the hotel. "I trust you have our room ready..."

"Yes, sir, I do. Would you like your luggage taken up for you, or would you rather take it up yourself."

"I think I will take it up myself. I don't like people routing through my property."

"Very good sir."

They entered the room, which was, quite apropriately, room 13, and the guards removed their guns from their holsters and put them onto a table in the middle of the room. The king then broke out the blood bags. He passed them out to each of the people who came with him, and finally had one for himself.

The room was fairly lavish in it's decoration, as this was an expensive hotel, with large rooms. It had been chosen specially for the hunt, due to the broken windows which necessitated the boarding up of the windows. Which was just perfect for the vampires' purposes.

After they were finished eating, he turned to the fledgling, and said, "I think it's time to begin your training. We can't do much in here, but we can do a little, such as the psychic ability which is as much a part of vampirism as sucking blood, and the various different things you will be weak against. When we go hunting, I will teach you the things that I cannot teach you in here, and I will guide you through your first kill. But first, I think it's time to teach you how to handle yourself in a fight."

Savanna felt much with the king right now as they glided over the rooftops. She remained silent, but her emotions and hormones inside were chaos. She couldn't explain the feeling of flying, but it overtook her and she let it happen.

Shortly thereafter they were at the hotel and she found herself with a bag of blood in her hands. The flight must have left her consumed by it. She watched the others and then slowly brought it to her mouth. She focused her mind to tell her it wasn't blood, but it was V8 juice and it was healthy for her.

Her stomach churned at the hearing of a fight. She never liked to fight, she only used her abilities for self-defense. She shrugged her shoulders. "What kind of fight?" Not realizing she was leaving herself open for attack.

OOC: sorry for the lateness

IC: Gade cocked an eyebrow at Silk
"I've always held that stealth is mostly for ninnies." he said brushing some of the glass off of his armour, "If you'd like, I've had dealings here before, and I have a fair number of contacts, most of who owe me a few favors, I'm sure I could impose upon one or more of them to put us up for the night." resting his hands on his weapons, he grinned rakishly
"I'm sure we could find a nice warm rock for you fellows."

Gade's sarcastic humor is lost on Arakesh...

"That would be satisfactory. Alkesh, Letli & Ket will stay here."

OOC: I was never in the car that you're watching, Mercenary Soldiers, I decided to walk it. Remember? Also, inter-vampire communication, when it's something that they don't want anyone to hear, is done telepathically.

OOC: I know that. Your would-be assassin doesn't. He typically kills humans, and since your king looks human, he's going to use what he knows works. As you said before, he's watching the car. I assume you have a body double in the car, since it's one of the better ways to defend against sniper attacks.

I'm also wondering how Sigma Octavis knows there's someone watching the king through the scope of a rifle. It's dark, so there's no lense flare. You've said nothing about infared goggles. I'm confused, how does this Dante fella know?

IC:
Zion narrowed his eye in frustration... 20x wasn't enough in this case. Facial features where blurry, and there where no items around like favorite foods or cigarettes to use to confirm the I.D. of his target. Zion kept the first trigger pulled, and waited...

The basics of hand to hand combat are always useful for a vampire, so I will teach you some of that. I have also brought a spare gun in case something like this happened. It's silenced, because the police have a habit of turning up when gunshots are heard, and it uses silver rounds. You shouldn't have to use it, but as a just in case measure. I will be teaching you how to handle that properly.

Valerium pulls out a silenced micro-uzi and a kelvar target. Standing at such a distance as the kelvar isn't damaged too much, he points the gun at the target, one handed, and pulls the trigger. Recoil doesn't seem to affect him in the same way as it would a human, because he reloads it, hands it to the girl and thinks, You should be about strong enough to manage that. Vampires are somewhat stronger than humans, even fledglings like yourself. Try it.

Savanna's eyes widened as she feels the gun cold and heavy weight in her hand. She didn't breath for some time and then gasped for air. She had to do this and she would.

She looked the gun over, studying its every nook and crany. She looked at the target and straightened her arm, so that it was parallel to the groung and matched her eyesight. Her fingers twitched and she held her breath. She closed her eyes, yes both, and pulled back. She arm shook a bit and then she opened her eyes up. She looked at the target and there was a hole right under the left arm pit.

She looked at the king, "Not bad for a beginner?"

OOC: sorry for the lateness

IC: Gade cocked an eyebrow at Silk
"I've always held that stealth is mostly for ninnies." he said brushing some of the glass off of his armour, "If you'd like, I've had dealings here before, and I have a fair number of contacts, most of who owe me a few favors, I'm sure I could impose upon one or more of them to put us up for the night." resting his hands on his weapons, he grinned rakishly
"I'm sure we could find a nice warm rock for you fellows."

Gade's sarcastic humor is lost on Arakesh...

"That would be satisfactory. Alkesh, Letli & Ket will stay here."

Gade rolls his eyes
"Whatever you say, come on, my contacts are a goodly ways away."

The young hunter nods...

"Indeed. If that is true than we must move quickly. My kind are not a common sight in this nation, and as such I must move under cover of darkness to avoid un-nessecary conflict with the local population. The last of my kind to be seen here was Whiptail, a great hunter who slew many vampires in this land. I fear I will suffer the consequences of his actions if I am seen and identified."

Arakesh glances around warily, still unsure of the security of the warehouse...

OOC: shit, sorry about this everyone but this is my last day of posting, I had an internet source lined up for the summer and it fell through, so I won't be posting often, very very sorry about this

OOC: Don't worry about it.

IC
Not bad at all, but it might be an idea to keep your eyes open next time. But there is something else I should teach you first. I forgot all about it. Were you psychic before you were turned?

Psychic, she had heard about that before, but hadn't experienced it till now and it was confusing to her. She didn't know if he could hear everything she thought. She blushed remembering all the things she thought about him. Then she spoke.

"Nah, this is all new to me." Hmmm. I wonder?

"Am I able to do this at anytime, or is it only when I am like hey I want to read your mind?" The corners of her mouth turned and she winked at the king.

The King grins slightly, listening to the young fledglings thoughts. He hadn't done that earlier, but he was curious as to what she was blushing about. He had seen blushing vampires before during his thousand or more years as a vampire.

You should be able to send messages with your mind. Like I do when I don't want to be overheard by nosy neighbours. Also, there will be some degree of telekenesis, and you should be able to listen in on what a person is thinking at the time. First, the telepathic messages. Think the message while concentrating on a mental image of who you are sending it to. Easy as that. As for listening in, you have to be within hearing distance. Concentrate on the person you want to listen in on, and their thoughts should start entering your mind as well. You may attempt both abilities now, if you wish. Oh, and you would have felt another presence in your mind had I decided to listen to your thoughts. Non-psychics wouldn't notice it, but a psychic, or, for that matter, a vampire, would.

OOC: Bump.

Oh. It kind of made sense to her now. But...

"How am I able to hear you in my head, without me concentrating on you?"

OOC: Merc, it only said he felt there were others there. That whole sixth sense thing people get.

OOC: MS is a bit of a reality nut.