~Tasteful Vessel~ (yaoi) (o/a)

[Dis Gun Be Gud]

Dmitri Gavrikov

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Poe nodded a little and responded, "I'd almost forogtten it was getting to be that time of year again...I used to love autumn." The colors of the leaves as they changed and the crispness in the air had been some of Poe's favourite things about autumn. Halloween, of course, was a big draw as well. It was his favourite holiday, not because he enjoyed dressing up or scaring people, but because of the ancient meaning of the holiday - honoring those that had passed. Considering that his family own a funeral home, Poe had always had a somewhat unusual veiw of death, and he veiwed it not as an ending, but a new beginning. Even years ago, when his visit to the castle had gone so terribly wrong, he hadn't been afraid to die....after what the vampire had put him through, Poe had been praying that he would die, just to put an end to the pain. He shook those thoughts away when Akira asked if he had ever gone to the festivals when he'd been human and he shrugged a little. "Sometimes," he responded, "My mother and father usually made me take my younger sister, since they usually had too much work to do to take her. Did you go to them often?"

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Aubri wasn't about to back down from the kitten's challenge; he had faced bigger, tougher cats and even large dogs and come out on top, no way was he going to be intimidated by this little furball. He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws, cleaning one of his paws as the kitten hissed at him, just biding his time. He was smart enough to know that if he hit the kitten first, then he'd be in trouble. If he waited for the kitten to start something, however, then who would blame him for standing up for himself? He huffed lightly and, as Loki spoke to him, Aubri almost seemed to nod in response to his comment, keeping a close eye on Zen as Loki ate and then finished up the dishes.

The castle had gone strangely quiet and Dmitri wasn't certain that he liked that - where was everyone? He was pondering that when he heard Loki's gentle voice behind him and turned to see what he wanted. When asked if he was alright, Dmitri smiled wearily and responded, "I'm fine. Just....a nightmare." A very, very vivid one, one that he hadn't had in years, but still just a bad dream - why had it shaken him so badly? He stood and folded the quilt that had been covering him, draping it neatly over the arm of the sofa before making his way across the room to where Loki was standing as he said, "Thank you for checking on me, though." He didn't dare explain that it was their memory-locking session earlier that may have stirred up demons Dmitri thought that he had long since dealt with. Loki was so sweet and Dmitri could just tell he'd feel terribly guilty for it, even though it wasn't his fault in the slightest.

Poe Allison
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[Neji Hyuga # 1]

Akira Mori

Akira looked over at Poe as he told him that he use to love this time and that he almost forgot what time of year it was. "What do you mean you use to love the autumn?"He asked the red as he looked back out of the car. "My favorite time of year is the spring since the cherry blossom trees in front of my home would bloom making everything look beautiful."The purple haired teen said thinking about the spring time in front of the inn. Akira than heard Poe talk about his times at the festival with his family and smiled a bit. When he asked him if he went to the festival before he nodded. "I use to when I was a kid and my mom was still around."The teen said as he started to think back about it. He would remember his mother dressing him up in a kimono and taking him to the festival to play some games and eat food. "But ever since she passed I had been stuck up in the inn working."Akira said with a sigh as he looked at Poe. He than looked out the window and realized that they were here. "Pull over when you get the chance we're here."He said the red head vampire.

Kyla Glass

[Lil_Chibi_Panda-chan]

Sɑϻυеɭ Ηɑɭe

Rubbing his head where Vincent had knocked him on the head Sam looked up at Vincent slightly confused. It all made sense though when he heard Vincent explain that he had only been joking. "O-Oh..." Was all he could manage to say, now he felt pretty stupid. He should have known that, he just wasn't thinking. He had just wanted to help Vincent, just to repay his kindness for today. After all what was a little blood in return for saving his life and taking him flying? He smiled softly and nodded when Vincent told him not to give himself up so easily. He also made a mental note for himself to remember not to take everything Vincent says so seriously.

He smiled and stood up when Vincent said he was feeling a lot better, he then held a hand out to him. "Want to back inside now?" He asked with a grin. Sam was still pretty hungry, he never got the chance to eat before Vincent took him outside.

[einaoi]

♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙Sʜɪʟᴏʜ Lᴀғᴀʏᴇᴛᴛᴇ♙ ♘ ♗ ♖ ♕ ♔

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Shiloh was not happy in the slighest as he waited outside the eerie castle, fixing the ruffles on a stupid maid dress his friends had forced him to wear for this dare. Well, he did admit it truly complimented his slender figure, but still. He was the son of Westin Lafayette. He should not have to subject to this type of dare, especially because it took away any sense of masculinity he had at his young age of seventeen. The blonde boy sighed, and took a video with his cellphone of him in front of the castle. "Okay, you damn bastards." he hissed, making sure to fully express his hatred of this dare. "Here I am in front of the castle. I'm also wearing the stupid maid's dress you guys bought me, and if I get out of here alive I better get my two hundred out of it. You got that?" he said, and stopped the phone, stashing it in a pocket on the dress.
He hesitantly took a few steps toward the building. He didn't die yet, so everything was going swimmingly. He tucked some blonde locks behind his ear and kneeled down, picking the lock to the entrance. He listened to the two picks intently until he heard a click. A triumphant smirk pulled at his lips. He was in. Stepping inside the building, blue eyes gazed around, scanning the room for the alleged 'vampires.' He was ready to murder one if necessary. He stepped further into the building, travelling deep inside the heart of the grand castle to explore.

OutOofClues: Free~ I also plan to improve his posting format~

[Wild_Rain_Falls]

Zen hissed at Aubri as he didn't seem to care that he was threatening him. Arrogant old man! He watched as Loki left, miffed when the older cat was told to watch him. He didn't need to be watched! Huffing, he walked awwy from Aubri as he tried to find his owner. Though he soon got distracted when he saw someone come into the castle, a blond male to be exact. Narrowing his eyes, he hissed at the newcomer before looking for Loki again around the castle.

Loki stared worriedly at Dmitri as he seemed shaken up about something. Soon the silver haired vampire responded that he had a nightmare. It must've been a bad nightmare if Dmitri seemed to be so shaken up about it. He watched as Dmitri folded the quilt that he had placed on him earlier and set it on the arm of the couch as the silver haired vampire walked towards him. Then he blushed when he thanked him for checking on him,"W-Well I wanted to be sure that you were still resting since I finished cleaning." Then he looked up at the older as he asked concerned,"Dmitri-sama? Are you sure you're alright? Aaron you strong enough to go hunt?" He remembered that Dmitri said that he needed to 'eat' after he rested and wondered if the other was even up to it.

[Dis Gun Be Gud]

Dmitri Gavrikov

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Poe glanced at Akira and responded, "I'm not so crzy about changing seasons anymore. They jsut remind me that I'm never going to change again, that I'm going to stay exactly as I am for the rest of my life." Worse, they reminded him that everyone he loved would evtually die, and he would not. Even if their deaths would mean thy had passed on to a new life somewhere else, he would still miss them, especially his parents and younger sister. "Sounds like your mother loved you very much," he said as Akira talked about attending festivals with his mother when she had still been alive. He wondered for a moment or two about his own mother; when he could, Poe sometimes snuck away from the castle to visit his family, often watching from afar while they went about their daily lives. He nodded when told to park when he found a spot, the little black car easily gliding into an empty space along the street. He climbed out of the driver's seat, then walked around and opened up the passenger side door for Akira, offering a hand to hp him out. A few passers-by paused a moment and stared at Poe, as if they recognized him, but after a bit of subtle mental influence from the vampire, they carried on with their evening, some of them deciding he wasn't who they thought he was and some of them forgetting they even saw him, depending on how sensitive thir minds were.

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Aubri frowned and followed after Zen, to make sure that the kitten didn't get into any trouble and didn't go poking around where he didn't belong. He followed the kitten until they encountered a blonde human. The one-eyed cat frowned at the stranger and hissed at him, wondering who he was. He hadn't thought that any more humans would be arriving. He watched the blonde closely before deciding that an intruder into their home was more important than watching Loki's irritating kitten. He turned and trotted away to find Dmitri or one of the other vampires that lived in the castle.

The question of whether he was strong enough to hunt was a sobering one. He still felt a little shaky, and the nightmare had him feeling off center as well. He shook his head and said quietly, "Not tonight, no. I'll need to rest a little more....tomorrow, perhaps." Though he knew that blood would help him recover quicker, he wasn't going to head out of the castle in less than top condition. There were younger vampires that lived in town, fledglings that would give anything to take out one of the castle's residents. They kept the peace in the area, keeping the newborn vampire population under control and making sure that the other supernatural creatures in the area didn't get out of hand and cause trouble. He never left the castle unless he was at 100%, jsut in case one of the younger vampires decided to try and do away with him. Dmitri supposed that he could have taken blood from one of the humans that had come to the castle - they had come to serve, after all - but something about taking blood from another without it being willingly given jsut didn't sit right with him.

Poe Allison
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[Neji Hyuga # 1]

Akira Mori

Akira heard what Poe said about how he felt about the changing seasons and looked down at the floor. He forgot for a moment that vampires live for a long time and they see hundreds of years go by. The purple haired teen felt bad for him because he would be sad if his loved ones died while he lives on forever. The teen than snapped out of that thought when he heard the vampire say that he loved his mother very much and he nodded. "Yeah I did."Akira said as he watched Poe pull up to a parking spot.

When Poe parked the car and got out Akira was about to open the door when the red head vampire already opened it for him."Thanks."He said as he noticed the other offering him a hand and he smiled and grabbed onto it. The purple haired teen noticed pretty quickly how cold the red head's hand was remembering that vampires are also considered to be dead. "Your hand is really cold."Akira said as he kept his grip on his hand. He than noticed that people were passing by the both of them and also noticed they stopped a bit as if they noticed something but than quickly just moved on. "People don't remember you do they?"The teen asked the red head vampire.

[einaoi]

♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙Sʜɪʟᴏʜ Lᴀғᴀʏᴇᴛᴛᴇ♙ ♘ ♗ ♖ ♕ ♔

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Shiloh had been wandering aimlessly through the castle. Honestly, the last thing on his mind was the vicious vampires that lived here, but instead that the interior design here was gorgeous. It had a certain air to it that really reached out to the blonde. He felt as though he was window shopping for furniture. It was so elegant, though. Shiloh couldn't help himself!

He turned once he heard a hiss of what seemed to be a cat... Said cat was lacking an eye, but he grinned. What an interesting little furball. He got onto his knees and smiled at the little fellow. "Hello~" he said quietly, being sure to not startle the cat. It took him a minute to actually look up and see a departing... Man. Was he a vampire? If he was, what an attractive vampire indeed. He figured that it was just a kid trying to scare him. How pathetic. But Shiloh would play along.

"Come back here, mister~" he sang sweetly, and began going after the man. "Is this your house? It is very lovely. Very lovely indeed."

OutOofClues: I assume the blonde human was Shiloh?

[Wild_Rain_Falls]

Loki was still worried about Dmitri and wondered if the other was even up to hunting tonight. He heard the other speak quietly that he couldn't tonight as he needed more rest and possibly might hunt tomorrow. Would he last until tomorrow? He was concerned about the older vampire not being able to last that long until tomorrow. What if he was still too weak than what would Dmitri do? He really wanted to pay back for what Dmitri did for him by sealing his memories temporarily so he could help him deal with the painful memories. He bit his lip as he tried to think of something that he could help the silver haired vampire. Maybe....no he wasn't sure if Dmitri would allow that but he did want to help the other. He looked up at Dmitri as he asked timid about asking this,"Dmitri-sama? You can have some of my blood...if it helps."

Then he panicked as he didn't want to offend the other as he quickly explained,"I'm not trying to offend you or anything or force you to! I just thought that at least you had some of my blood, that it would help you recover faster so you can hunt. I also wanted to thank you for helping me and I want to help you as well. I trust you that you won't hurt me." He smiled brightly at the end as he did believe this. Dmitri had so many chances to hurt him but he never did and that made him trust the other so much. Sure the thought of a vampire taking his blood had terrified he in the beginning since his fear of touch, but that fear had been lessened greatly especially when Dmitri never tried to hurt him or touch him before. Loki trusted the other completely and was willing to help the other if he did want some blood from him.

Zen was still looking for Loki as he wondered where the little human was. He heard a voice down the hallway as he looked and saw the same blond human following Aubri. Why was this human here still? Narrowing his eyes, he went back to searching for Loki while also seeing if there was any other intruders that may have come into the castle. Why were these humans coming here anyway? He still wondered that about Loki and some of the other humans he briefly saw.

[Dis Gun Be Gud]

Dmitri Gavrikov

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Poe looked down at their joined hands as Akira commented on how cold it was. Seeing their skin side by side made it clear that Poe wasn't human - Akira's skin held a healthy glow, a flush of color beneath the surface that spoke of live and vitality. Poe's, on the other hand, was ashy and grey, his veins just barely visible as dull lavender lines beneath his skin. "It happens when you don't have a pulse," he murmured, more to himself than to his companion. At the mention of people not knowing him Poe glanced up at the passers by and said, "I can make them forget...well, sort of. Most of them don't really know me, they just know my face from the missing person posters. It's not hard to make them think that their eyes are playing tricks; Dmitri taught me how." People that had known him, like his parents and sister and the very few friends that he'd had back when he had still been human, were best avoided. His mental powers weren't nearly as strong as the Russian vampire's. Dmitri would have been able to make his own mother forget his face, but all Poe would be able to do was give himself a migraine from trying.

He shrugged a little, as if being so easily forgotten was no big deal, and turned towards the nearby stand. He could smell the food being cooked there, so that must've been the stand Akira had been talking about. He headed in that direction, keeping his grip on Akira's hand. Normally being so close to another person, especially a living person, made Poe uncomfortable, given that his control over his instinctual need for blood was a work in progress, but for some reason, he didn't really have a problem with Akira's presence. Even the fact that he could feel Akira's pulse through their joined hands didn't seem to bother the red haired vampire.

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Dmitri had turned to leave the parlor, having sensed an unfamilair person entering the castle, but he paused when he heard Loki's tremulous offering of his own blood. He stopped in the doorway between parlor and hallway, considering. It owuld speed his recovery, but given what he knew Loki had suffered, perhaps that was not a good idea, even with Loki's memories locked away. Surely the small brunette was only offering his blood out of a feeling of obligation, obligation spawned by both the terms of the dare and the service that Dmitri had down for him by locking his painful memories away until he was ready to deal with them. He was silent as Loki started talking rapidly, apparently thinking that his offer had offended the silver-haired vampire, saying that he wanted to help and to thank him. Eventually, Dmitri shook his head and responded, "I cannot. I don't want you to feel as if you owe me anything, Loki." Loki's trust in him had also influenced Dmitri's decision; once he gained someone's trust, he treated it like a precious artifact and would never do anything to damage it.

"Besides," he said, trying to draw Loki's attention away from the subject of blood, There's someone in the castle. A human, but not Sam or Akira." As if on cue, Aubri appeared, meowing unhappily, sounding as if he was complaining about the human that had entered. Loudly. Dmitri stooped down, scratched the battered old alley cat behind what remained of his left ear, then stepped out into the hallway just as a blonde appeared. Apparently he had been following Aubri and the cat had led him right to the vampire. Dmitri frowned slightly at the sight of the stranger, but a glance at his outfit answered the question of what he was doing there. Like Sam, Loki, and Akira, this young man had apparently been dared to spend a week in the castle, facing the "vicious" vampires.

He heard the young man's question about the castle and responded, "Mine and a few others, yes. I'm guessing it's going to be your home for the next week or so as well, judging from your attire." Aubri, still meowing his complaints about these strangers taking over their "territory", quieted slightly when Smoke trotted across the parlor and sat down next to him, the female cat nuzzling the grumpy old tomcat lightly as a way of telling him to shut the hell up and quit his whining. Dmitri sometimes compared them to an old married couple, with Aubri playing the part of grumpy old man and Smoke the patient wife (especially since she wasn't above giving him a bat upside the head if he was getting particularly irritating).

Poe Allison
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Bananazilly

Wild_Rain_Falls

Neji Hyuga # 1

[Wild_Rain_Falls]

Loki watched curiously as Dmitri looked to be about to leave the room until he seemed to stop when he considered what he said. He did trust Dmitri that to not hurt him if he chose to drink blood from him. The thought of it now, he didn't mind and he wouldn't recognize himself earlier that he would be so trusting about it. Soon Dmitri responded after a while and he was surprised when he said that he didn't want him to feel as if he owed him anything. Before he could respond back, the taller male said that someone was in the castle, another human but was confused when he said ti wasn't Akira or Sam. Who could it be? Was it another classmate that was dared? He looked down to see Aubri had entered and smiled as Dmitri petted the older cat and wondered where Zen was. Wasn't Aubri watching him? Soon enough he heard a 'meow' and a twining around his ankles. He looked down to see said tabby twining between his legs. He giggled as he picked up Zen, who purred in his arms as he petted him.

Loki looked up as he peeked his head out of the parlor and spotted the blond male. Was that Shiloh? He didn't think the other had been dared here to come as well since he recalled that Shiloh never really took things from certain people. Though he could be wrong since he didn't know the other that well. He looked over at Aubri who was meowing a bit though it lessened when the female cat was nuzzling against him and he smiled warmly at the sight. It was really cute and that it made it look like the two felines were a couple. He wished he had a camera but he didn't want to make Aubri mad if he did since he was sure any animal hated a picture taken of them with a flash.

[Neji Hyuga # 1]

Akira Mori

Akira heard Poe mutter something but could not understand what he was saying. He heard the word the pulse but that was it so he assumed it had to be something about him not having a pulse. The purple haired teen decided not to bring it up because he knew already that the red head had gone through a really bad experience. When he heard the vampire answer his question about how people seem to be ignoring him he nodded. "I see so you have some mental powers like Dmitri. Can you read people's mind than?"He asked as he looked at the vampire.

As the two walked towards the takoyaki stand Akira noticed that Poe is still holding his hand. It caused him to smile a bit because not too long ago it would seem that the red head would not go near anyone and now here he is holding his hand. "Poe have you ever been this close with someone before besides a family member?"The teen asked all of a sudden as he looked at him waiting for an answer.

[einaoi]

♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙Sʜɪʟᴏʜ Lᴀғᴀʏᴇᴛᴛᴇ♙ ♘ ♗ ♖ ♕ ♔

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Shiloh grinned as he was addressed by the older man, the supposed vampire. "Hmmm... Well I can honestly say I loved what you did with the place." He said, glancing around the room. Shiloh stopped once he heard that he was going to live here for a while. A week was waaaaay too long to not openly go out to the theaters, or with friends or eat normal food. What the hell would these people make him eat? He prayed that it was at least something tasteful. Brushing his concerns away, he smirked at the man. "Heh, you noticed? My friends provided it for me. A bit chilly, but it truly complements my figure." he grinned and smoothed down the ruffles, more to cover his legs than anything.

His blue gaze followed the cat before he saw another pair of feet, definitely smaller than the pair he was looking at before. He brought his attention to the little chestnut colored haired boy. Ah... He had seen this kid around before at school, but he never knew his name. Shiloh tried to distance himself from everyone but a few friends—the same asses that dared him—-and a few teachers. He folded his arm, cocking one of his hips to the right a bit. Pursing his lips, the blonde studied the boy. It was a unique name... He remembered that much. "Luuuuuciii. No. Lock? No. Loki. Loki? Loki. " he said, affirming his own question. "I think my acquaintances overheard the dare that you and a few others were given. So now I'm stuck here as well. I surely couldn't turn down something, that would hurt my family's honor of being men. They called me inexcusable names, so I am here to prove them wrong." he said, and shifted his weight to his left foot.

OutOofClues:

Kyla Glass

Wild_Rain_Falls