Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Whee! Roleplaying has started again. =D Sorry that took so long, guys. Things probably would have gone faster if I'd paid a little bit better attention and, of course, if Gaia hadn't messed things up on day one of our poor guild's creation. Oh, and sorry about the thread name. It's hokey, I know, but it's all I've got on short notice. XD

If you're confused about anything - go read the Announcements sticky. Don't post here until you read the sticky. If you're still confused after you read the sticky, post in the Ansty Dragon and I'll answer your questions.))

***

Amerkand - Middle District - Temple of Lyl
- 7:30pm -

There was no barrier between Anise's bare skin and the cold stone floor of the temple corridor. Only her left arm, still possessed by the unholy inner fire, retained any warmth. Had the tapestry spread over Anise's chest been a few inches closer to it, the cloth would have likely caught fire instantly. As it was the tapestry failed to touch her arm, and so the temple was spared further incident. Although perhaps such a flame would have provided a useful distraction right about now.

Around her, chaos and destruction had left their marks. The broken statue in the main room. Faana and Kal-jinn's corpses, countless holes and dents in the walls, a thin layer of water resting serenely in between the stones on the floor. A lot had happened in the few short hours between Anise's arrival and where she was now. Even yet her life and the lives of her new friends were still in danger. Still unconscious, Anise was completely unaware of Blade's threat, even as the furious vampire stood over her body and shouted angrily at the others. Exhausted by the possession of her body, and from killing Kal-jinn, Anise had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, blanketed warmly in the absolute darkness and quiet of her mind. Caged like an animal, a small piece of the hateful fire raged in a corner of her mindscape, trying desperately to get out any way it could. But Anise's mental defenses were strong, especially against such a small amount of the flame, and now that her body had healed all external cuts there was no way for it to gain any power. It was trapped. Perhaps even permenantly. It burned unhappily there, contained in her brain, too small to exert any control over Anise's mind or body. Although ironically, now was probably the best time for it to be loose. It had killed one vampire, and now it was looking like the time might come to kill another. But then whoever was left would have to contend once again with the fire-demon, and this time It swore to Itself that it would not be so easily vanquished.

Anise slept on.

Standing up slowly he made sure to keep the blade he held hidden behind his body. He stepped carefully over the girl, only a step away from the vampire and stared her straight in the eyes. They were cold, hard, and very curious. His own eyes, he was sure, showed hatred and distaste.

Her words were like kindling, feeding a fire within himself. His patience was quickly growing thin.

"Get out," he said slowly, and really hitting hard on the last word. He was finished with vampires, monsters, demons, dragons. He didn't want any part of any of it. His mind wandered for a second, to a fantasy if he hadn't run away so long ago. He'd probably be farming or fishing somewhere with his father. Almost as quickly as it showed up he pushed it away. It was fake, no reality in it at all. Right now though, the vampire was real. Anise's nude body and sizzling arm were real. The cold, damp floor was real. The dagger in his hand was real, and he was getting closer to using it with each second the vampire chose to lull about where it didn't belong.

Blade didn't like his tone nor him standing up to her. "Do you think standing up to a vampire will make one go away? Stand down, human. If you will not tell me how she did this then I will have the grim satifaction of draining away her life blood, ensuring she would never take the life of another vampire, again."

With her own sword ready in her hand, she extends her arm fully with the blade's tip pointing at him. Slowly she begins her march towards him.

~7:41 PM~

What in the black depths is he thinking? Fabel wondered from her pocket-perch. She could tell that the wolf-man wasn't in any fighting condition, much less against a vampire. During Jafiel's attempt at diplomacy, Fabel noticed that his breathing was ragged, and he was sweating profusely. Neither of the men (Well, Jafiel wasn't much a man, really...) were in any shape to fight or talk, or take tea, much less attempt to stop a vampire. Even with their combined strength, bravado and stupidity helping them, it would only be a few minutes before she drained their bodies of blood.

Hell, she thought,they don't even have a few minutes. That.. vampire lady looks easilly angered. She bypass the blood draining part and start lopping off heads...
She gulped. There wasn't much head on Fabel's shoulders to "lop off", but she knew that there were plenty of ways to die.

The displays of cruelty and death she had seen reinforced the teachings of her parents-Gods damn them to the depths. They had always instilled in her a fear of death, as faeries had very short lifespans and were easily injured, as well as a hatred of the large people, who damaged the lands and tried to rule over everything with their foolish politics and wars.

Fabel knew that the faeries had been in Secotha aas long as the elves, before the humans were simple cavedwellers. She had heard of the legends of Queen Mab, the ageless faerie that lived in those days. She could become as tall as an anthro, and as beautiful as the most graceful elven lady. Her hair shone with the radience of her magic, and she was supposed to be reincarnated in the most beautiful, kind and well-behaved faerie girls.
Fabel thought they were just stories to keep little sprites in line, of course-but it couldn't help to dream. Besides, she only had one of the requirements, and it wasn't kindness of good behavior.

Her attention snapped back to the darkening temple sanctuary- ((I think that's what it's called...)) to where the man and his wolf would make their last stands, as she understood it.

That's what it had to be. No matter what Jafiel or Elda tried to do, it would end in death for all of them, she knew it.

Fabel closed her eyes, and dreamed of Queen Mab.

--7:49pm--

His jaw almost dropped, but he kept his composure and stood ready for anything. It was probably a trick until he dropped his guard long enough to die without a fight.

He listened to her every word, taking it in and digesting it within his own troubled mind. He hadn't ever met a vampire before, but the stories were nothing compared to the experience. He knew that there were many more vampire attacks recently, and he figured seeing two in one day was definately not normal..... to live was even less so. Sryne spared a glance for the dead vampire. His nostrils flared as he took in the charred scent.

He didn't need to hear that her kind was superior to his own. He knew that already. Why else would he have prepared for death so quickly? As for the barbaric nature of the species, he would have fit the senseless killing in there as well.

His surprise was increased as the vampiress lifted the body of her fallen "father" and started to walk off. He would wait for this ones return. Once he was in better health he'd probably enjoy the challenge, even if it killed him. Once the vampiress was well away from him he let his stance relax and slid down on one knee to examine the girls still firey arm. It was the best he could do and all he wanted to try, any more healing might harm her more then help her.

His muscles tensed as he slid his arms under the girl and began to lift her, being very wary of her arm. The heat was still very intense and curled his arm hairs. He took a few steps towards the nearest door and wistled to his wolf friend who pawed the doors latch until it opened and swung inwards.

((Correct me if I'm wrong. Elda is an anthro, correct?))

--7:53pm--

Sryne stopped in midstride through the doorway. Max looked up at him, a look of ergency across his mental face. Sryne looked up at the man, studying him for a moment. His idea of how to handle the vampiress was definately different from his own. While Sryne had been flirting with danger, this man had quite literally been "flirting" with danger. He studied the man without showing an expression. He was tired from everything that had happened and didn't care to keep going, but he knew that wasn't the way to handle things, he had always known that.

Sryne looked into the room, it was bare, much like his own he assumed, the damage in his was something that this room did not reflect however. There was a bed, a small nightstand, a fireplace, and one small wooden chair with a tiny little table. "Get a chair and bring it in here," he said before looking around the halls. "Better make it three chairs," Sryne noted as he counted in the cat lady and the healer.

Walking into the small room he set anise onto the bed, careful to keep her arm hanging well over the edge. Sliding the nightstand about a foot closer to the foot of the bed, he lined it up with her arm.He quickly ran to the fireplace and pushed the logs off the brass wood holder and ran back besides the bed. He slid the brass piece under her arm and lifted it onto the nightstand.

He looked at Max who sat down next to the door looking out. He stepped out back into the hallway to pick up his sword and sheath and to find the room where he had been in to begin with. He was tired of this forsaken robe he had been wearing. It was already torn to shreads, dirty, and slightly burnt. "Get the chairs and bring them into the room. The wolf will only let you, the cat lady, the healer, and her companion in, so don't think of letting anyone else into the room. And if you even think of trying something.." he said as he looked back at Max who had his lips curled back to expose his pearly whites. With this last comment Sryne walked off towards the room, scooping the sword up in one smooth motion, mid-stride.

((I appologize for my abscence. Um... where is Artemis?))

"Cat-lady?!" Elda fumed under her breath as the tall character strode out of hearing range. "If we weren't under such a predicament, I'd scorch his hairless a**!"

Jafiel stepped back, and Fabel squirmed around in his pocket. They both knew that she was likely to do something drastic, too.

Always trying to be a voice of reason, Jafiel patted her on the shoulder and consoled the miffed anthromorph. "Listen, you only have to tolerate him for a while. There's no point in staying here in the first place-I'm surprised that the constables haven't arrived here yet."

In his heart, Jafiel felt insulted by the wolf-tender's orders.

Technically, Jafiel was of a higher rank and status-if such ranks existed anymore. Physically, the man was taller and more mature-looking than he was, anyway, and Jafiel couldn't expect him to tote chairs while he carried his unconscious burden, too.

He made his way over the pitted and cracked tiles, looking for something to sit on that wasn't a pile of splinters, cinders, or soaking wet. There were a few convinantly flat-topped boulders around, as well as a crate to hold some kind of religious icon.

Jafiel sighed and lifted two of the stones, motioning for Elda to take the box in her delicate, pale hands.

He set them down in the makeshift infirmary with a grunt, and sat crossed at the knee, trying to play the diplomat. Obviously, he wasn't that good at it, but he felt obligated to be some kind of spokesperson. Fabel wouldn't say anything unless she was pissed, and Elda... didn't say much at all.

Jafiel wondered about the Elven woman, who seemed to express an ever-present haugtiness, just by...existing.

He ignored her, and turned to address the dark-haired man, who seemed to be doing a fine job attending to his charge.

"Before we start, why don't we become properly introduced?" He went through introductions, and tiled his head back to the man.

((Because I need to be able to refer to Syrne by something else-preferably his name.

As for the vampire politics: I just thought that if Kal-Jin was as old and respected as Angelina says, his "position in authority would result in power-struggles for some kind of succesor, that would probably spill out into the streets and affect normal people. I mean, vampires aren't immune to greed and power, are they? I imagine them as a group of pale aristocrats who fight over feeding territory and status, etc. Or maye that's just twisted romantism...

An outright war would probably screw up what Kurikins has planned, though, so I won't really persue it.))

((Sorry I kept you guys waiting. I'm not completely clear as to whats going on, but I've got most of it. I shall try. Note: My mom said she will get internet for me if she gets this new job she applied for, so soon I will probably be posting a lot more.))

7:53 PM

Fao watched the Lady Vampire leave the temple, carrying the charred carcass of the Red Vampire. As soon as the Lady could no longer be seen, a terrible woozy feeling swept over the elf, nearly knocking her unconscious. She stumbled quickly to the half-empty bucket of water, knelt and began vigorously splashing her face with the cool water.

Thank the Goddess, the beasts are gone, she sighed inwardly.

The water dispatched her dizzyness straight, and she sat down heavily. Beowolf came over and laid her head on Fao's lap, making a deep sound in her throat as the men left to one of the bed chambers, carrying the still-flaming girl.

After a moment or three, Fao shook her head and patted Beo's. She stood and trudged to the room where the girl was now laying. "May I help at all?" she asked the wolf man. "May I ask your names first?" she amended. "We haven't been properly introduced."