RP Log - Return of the Damned
Kain (White Arsenic) and Raziel (Lady_Ourania)
Kain (White Arsenic) and Raziel (Lady_Ourania)
Kain
Left and right. Back and forth. Kain paced impatiently about, one foot after another, glaring at the ground while muttering obscenities under his breath.
He was in one of those moods again today. Raziel had betrayed him. Raziel had grown wings.
Most of all, Raziel had made Kain, the sire, practically the new God of All Vampires, seem inferior. He had shattered his ego into thousands of pieces, destroying his sanity. But oh, Kain would never have let Raziel see that. The only thing Kain allowed the inferior b*****d to see was rage: deep, horrible anger as he thrust the faithful fledgling deep into the Lake of the Damned.
Though Raziel was not faithful anymore, was he? Was he?! NO! If Raziel had been faithful to his Sire he would never have developed the wings! He would never have acquired flight, one of the few things that Kain dreamt of! To do this before the Sire could even imagine, to mutate like that, was the biggest offense that Kain could ever find in this entire world... And even now, years, ages even, after he had sent the creature away... it still hurt him.
Kain continued to glare at the ground, muttering. In disdain, he spat as he wondered where the fool was now.
Raziel
The moonlight pooled over his battered form, highlighting the outlines of his ribcage and the tiny hooks of discs that made up his backbone, the entirety of him ill-covered by only deteriorated muscle. He might have smelled his sire on the wind earlier had his nose not been so damnably hampered, senses still trying to find a way around his sudden death and subsequent return, but it would take some getting used to.
It was pure feeling that forced him away from the grove he called temporary homestead, a vendetta that carried his clawed paws out into the deeper part of the woods, where even the moon dared not peek. Something was buzzing around in his head, deadly intent like the hot-breath of a predator against the back of his neck. What?
Raziel tossed out the question, not wishing to muddle his thoughts with something that held so obvious an answer.
Where, then?
There.
A balmy rage simmered low in his non-existent stomach as he snapped through the last hint of underbrush, the tiny clearing holding the object of his passionate hatred.
"You!" His voice was a snarl, matched clearly by the heat in his eyes as they fogged over. He was here, in his exiled lands, pacing with the same wrathful expression on his face that had for so long been etched in the wraith's own features.
It was pure feeling that forced him away from the grove he called temporary homestead, a vendetta that carried his clawed paws out into the deeper part of the woods, where even the moon dared not peek. Something was buzzing around in his head, deadly intent like the hot-breath of a predator against the back of his neck. What?
Raziel tossed out the question, not wishing to muddle his thoughts with something that held so obvious an answer.
Where, then?
There.
A balmy rage simmered low in his non-existent stomach as he snapped through the last hint of underbrush, the tiny clearing holding the object of his passionate hatred.
"You!" His voice was a snarl, matched clearly by the heat in his eyes as they fogged over. He was here, in his exiled lands, pacing with the same wrathful expression on his face that had for so long been etched in the wraith's own features.
Kain
Kain was, of course, far too absorbed in his own self to notice any hint of the one that he had condemned until a familiar voice rang through the serenity of the woods. He gave a low hiss as it was passed through his brain and registered as the one that had belonged to Raziel -- and, apparently, still did. Confusion marred the features of Kain's pale face, and his ears twitched back upon his head.
"Raziel," Kain growled simply, turning his hunched form to meet his spawn. The confusion on his face switched quickly to rage, and then back to bewilderment just as easily. This was not the striking vampire that he had sent to certain doom and eternal torment within the boiling waters of the Lake; no, this was a new beast, his 'flesh' shining blue and marred, as opposed to the fair, soft skin of the being that he had known. His teeth hung from his jaw, wraith-like, and it appeared that his lower jaw was entirely missing. His form was thin and gaunt, utterly unfed.
It made Kain want to laugh. So much for superior evolution.
"What are you doing here, pitiful creature?" Kain smirked towards Raziel as he questioned him, puffing his form up with pride.
"Raziel," Kain growled simply, turning his hunched form to meet his spawn. The confusion on his face switched quickly to rage, and then back to bewilderment just as easily. This was not the striking vampire that he had sent to certain doom and eternal torment within the boiling waters of the Lake; no, this was a new beast, his 'flesh' shining blue and marred, as opposed to the fair, soft skin of the being that he had known. His teeth hung from his jaw, wraith-like, and it appeared that his lower jaw was entirely missing. His form was thin and gaunt, utterly unfed.
It made Kain want to laugh. So much for superior evolution.
"What are you doing here, pitiful creature?" Kain smirked towards Raziel as he questioned him, puffing his form up with pride.
Raziel
He might have laughed at Kain's rapidly changing expression, the indignity of the vampire's confusion a pleasant draught to drink down. But the wraith was far from amused, and the entangled veins of loathing and throbbing betrayal where encased in the wounded shell of his body. "You do not recognize your own handiwork, Kain?" He spat, moving ever closer, his head held low in the age old instinct to keep his throat away from prying fangs. The wraith stopped when he recalled that no blood ran blackly through him, lifting his ruined muzzle and staring with lunatic-touched eyes. "I would not be so cocky, were I you. It is a foolish thing to kill in a moment of vanity; even more shortsighted to let an alternative force do your dirty work for you."
Raziel stepped forward, closing in with small steps as though he were stalking prey. His anger felt heavy, slowing, but powerful and right when faced with the traitor who had damned him without a second thought. Remembering, he spread out one of his broken wings, the blue flesh nearly transparent. "Were these worth such treachery? Do they condone your actions, Kain? Or do they merely set into motion thoughts of doubt?"
He rushed forward in a blur of muscle and azure-color, a hiss reminiscent of his vampire days falling from his lips as he sought to tear into his unmaker's face. He wanted to kill, to taste immortality in his tongueless throat, and - failing that - he wanted to disfigure, to maim as he had been.
Die.
Raziel stepped forward, closing in with small steps as though he were stalking prey. His anger felt heavy, slowing, but powerful and right when faced with the traitor who had damned him without a second thought. Remembering, he spread out one of his broken wings, the blue flesh nearly transparent. "Were these worth such treachery? Do they condone your actions, Kain? Or do they merely set into motion thoughts of doubt?"
He rushed forward in a blur of muscle and azure-color, a hiss reminiscent of his vampire days falling from his lips as he sought to tear into his unmaker's face. He wanted to kill, to taste immortality in his tongueless throat, and - failing that - he wanted to disfigure, to maim as he had been.
Die.
Kain
"No being is to extend past its creator, Raziel! I am god, as far as you are concerned. And you went past god without his permission!"
Kain practically roared the last sentence, bristling, a small tinge of saliva flowing along the corner of his dark-tinged maw. His fangs were bared, and sticky with hunger. He wondered what the twice-dead would taste like.
"You needed to die for that, Raziel. No... no, you just needed to die. It appears that your skull is too thick to conceive that thought and bear it within your mind, however: do you not stand before me now?"
Kain began to laugh, slow and cruel, blue eyes lighting up with an ethereal glow, as though someone had lit candles behind their irises. The sound was caught short, however, as his foe launched himself forth, obviously aimed to destroy his creator.
Ensuring that his weight was firm upon his paws, Kain forced himself into quick motion, the sort that could only be known by those who were members of the damned, and something that he was upset to notice that Raziel had not lost upon his second death. He threw his armor-clad body sideways in a clang of bronze and a flapping of crimson cloth, hoping to avoid the lethal-looking claws of he who was once among his favorites.
Kain practically roared the last sentence, bristling, a small tinge of saliva flowing along the corner of his dark-tinged maw. His fangs were bared, and sticky with hunger. He wondered what the twice-dead would taste like.
"You needed to die for that, Raziel. No... no, you just needed to die. It appears that your skull is too thick to conceive that thought and bear it within your mind, however: do you not stand before me now?"
Kain began to laugh, slow and cruel, blue eyes lighting up with an ethereal glow, as though someone had lit candles behind their irises. The sound was caught short, however, as his foe launched himself forth, obviously aimed to destroy his creator.
Ensuring that his weight was firm upon his paws, Kain forced himself into quick motion, the sort that could only be known by those who were members of the damned, and something that he was upset to notice that Raziel had not lost upon his second death. He threw his armor-clad body sideways in a clang of bronze and a flapping of crimson cloth, hoping to avoid the lethal-looking claws of he who was once among his favorites.
Raziel
God. How dare he dub himself anything above his low-level station, his congregation of blood-suckers and rotted corpses unworthy of raising him to a deity's status. Such hunger for power and rank was what had damned them in the first place, had left Nosgoth to sink into a desolated state of ruin. Blame, not omniscience, colored Kain's reign.
But, if what he said was true, where did Raziel stand? He had been a lieutenant, a lesser creature, the right hand of his sire. And what now? Some reanimated carcass, twice dead and once revived. Being nothing, he had even less to lose.
His claws swept up a whirlwind of dirt as they slammed through the air and into dark soil, his cowl fluttering like tattered moth wings as he sidestepped, trying to cover his flank and face Kain once more. His voice was a poisonous whisper, the icy chill to complement his opponent's fiery rage. "I surpassed a cadaverous fool," His tails lashed, the entirety of him bristling as his fangs glittered pearly white over the tear-trail markings of the fabric shielding his face. "And you are my creator no more. I owe you only an excruciating, unhurried demise. Accept it gratefully."
Again he rocketed into motion, his liquid movements more emotion than fighting grace. If he could get in close, slip between Kain's defenses, he could end the skirmish within a matter of moments. But a flicker of doubt shadowed his eyes even as the thought completed itself and cycled back around, almost mantra-like in its tenacity. Could he get in close? Could he deliver the fatal blow before a well-aimed strike found him first? It had been this beast that had defeated him before: It was only sense that he lose this battle as well.
But, if what he said was true, where did Raziel stand? He had been a lieutenant, a lesser creature, the right hand of his sire. And what now? Some reanimated carcass, twice dead and once revived. Being nothing, he had even less to lose.
His claws swept up a whirlwind of dirt as they slammed through the air and into dark soil, his cowl fluttering like tattered moth wings as he sidestepped, trying to cover his flank and face Kain once more. His voice was a poisonous whisper, the icy chill to complement his opponent's fiery rage. "I surpassed a cadaverous fool," His tails lashed, the entirety of him bristling as his fangs glittered pearly white over the tear-trail markings of the fabric shielding his face. "And you are my creator no more. I owe you only an excruciating, unhurried demise. Accept it gratefully."
Again he rocketed into motion, his liquid movements more emotion than fighting grace. If he could get in close, slip between Kain's defenses, he could end the skirmish within a matter of moments. But a flicker of doubt shadowed his eyes even as the thought completed itself and cycled back around, almost mantra-like in its tenacity. Could he get in close? Could he deliver the fatal blow before a well-aimed strike found him first? It had been this beast that had defeated him before: It was only sense that he lose this battle as well.
Kain
Kain was rather busy with this fight, he was afraid to admit. His own claws forced more dirt to be displaced from the forest floor, surrounding the pair in a private dome of dust. He could hardly understand the creature's speed, not with the ghastly appeal of Raziel, not with the knowledge that he had been reshaped and reformed into a whole new life.
What was worse, the beast's claw had managed to find a small home in his face; the wound did not bleed due to Kain's current lack of nourishment, but it tore the flesh open. Not to mention the fact that it had hurt.
"I don't wish to murder you again, Raziel," Kain panted slightly between swift dodges. "If you cease this nonsense, you can live out the rest of your existence. And you don't want death: you never did, even if you don't desire to admit it." Kain managed to force a sick grin through the pain and slight fear of his 'child'.
Kain hardly felt guilt for what he had done to Raziel; he did, after all, have his reasons. But Raziel was his youngest, his newest, and therefore his last infatuation. He had been quieter, calmer, and more loyal than all others -- had he not bowed before Kain the very day that he had acquired his wings? To say that he felt guilt was hardly true, but to say that he didn't miss the lad... well.
But for now, introspection hardly mattered. For now, he had one goal and one alone: to keep himself alive. Kain barely wanted to be torn to shreds by this creation. Surely, he may never be able to die -- but is laying there for eternity, having thought with a body that refused to work, bad enough? And then there were the promises of Hell, a place he assuredly did not desire to be. He muttered one last sentence, his voice thick with a growl.
"This is your only warning, Raziel."
What was worse, the beast's claw had managed to find a small home in his face; the wound did not bleed due to Kain's current lack of nourishment, but it tore the flesh open. Not to mention the fact that it had hurt.
"I don't wish to murder you again, Raziel," Kain panted slightly between swift dodges. "If you cease this nonsense, you can live out the rest of your existence. And you don't want death: you never did, even if you don't desire to admit it." Kain managed to force a sick grin through the pain and slight fear of his 'child'.
Kain hardly felt guilt for what he had done to Raziel; he did, after all, have his reasons. But Raziel was his youngest, his newest, and therefore his last infatuation. He had been quieter, calmer, and more loyal than all others -- had he not bowed before Kain the very day that he had acquired his wings? To say that he felt guilt was hardly true, but to say that he didn't miss the lad... well.
But for now, introspection hardly mattered. For now, he had one goal and one alone: to keep himself alive. Kain barely wanted to be torn to shreds by this creation. Surely, he may never be able to die -- but is laying there for eternity, having thought with a body that refused to work, bad enough? And then there were the promises of Hell, a place he assuredly did not desire to be. He muttered one last sentence, his voice thick with a growl.
"This is your only warning, Raziel."
Raziel
Vibrations through the ground helped him where his nose and eyes failed, and the vaguest sensations of the night breeze being deflected by Kain's form helped him know where the vampire was even in the dustbowl of their battle. He felt his paw connect with pliant flesh and a flash of eerie glee whistled in his ears as he stepped back when the vampire tried to return the favor. His cowl was torn in the assault, but with no throat beneath it, the wraith remained otherwise unscathed. Raziel was astounded to find that they were nearly matched, their monstrous strengths honed to a lethal edge that clanged almost painfully whenever they met in a clash of fang and claw. They were matched, but he had one trump card left in his arsenal, one that Kain did not possess.
"I am dead already," He replied, the first hint of an age-old pain lapping in his shredded throat and in the smoking blankness of his stone-dry eyes. "By your hand and your jealousy, you smote me without explanation. By your will and your indifference, I suffered for a millennia. I woke only to carry out vengeance. I am here only to see you destroyed."
To think that he might have once idolized this creature, hung on his every word and followed each command without question. He'd decimated entire populations to please his maker, had adapted the same brand of chilling isolation that ran so deep in Kain's own character...
The betrayal ran deep, scoured into his very bones like waves that had thrown themselves into him again and again and wore him down. He had done nothing to deserve his fate; he had done everything to ward against it. Kain was in the wrong, and he was the figure of neutrality that would even the score.
He snarled as he charged, blinded by fury. "There will be no warning for you."
"I am dead already," He replied, the first hint of an age-old pain lapping in his shredded throat and in the smoking blankness of his stone-dry eyes. "By your hand and your jealousy, you smote me without explanation. By your will and your indifference, I suffered for a millennia. I woke only to carry out vengeance. I am here only to see you destroyed."
To think that he might have once idolized this creature, hung on his every word and followed each command without question. He'd decimated entire populations to please his maker, had adapted the same brand of chilling isolation that ran so deep in Kain's own character...
The betrayal ran deep, scoured into his very bones like waves that had thrown themselves into him again and again and wore him down. He had done nothing to deserve his fate; he had done everything to ward against it. Kain was in the wrong, and he was the figure of neutrality that would even the score.
He snarled as he charged, blinded by fury. "There will be no warning for you."
Kain
Kain sighed as he noted, rather then recieved a vocal translation, Raziel's decisions.
"Ah, Raziel, dear Raziel. There is so much that you don't understand, and you will never understand." Kain was beginning to find the rythm of the young... creature (he figured that he could no longer entirely call Raziel a vampire), and the fight was starting to become far too easy.
"I may be vain, Raziel. But vanity is not my entire life. You, you are just being stupid. Foolish, like the young being that you are. Even an overly-extended life, even living beyond the normal amount of years that you should have, has taught you absolutely nothing. And this... makeover, per se, does not help at all."
Giving a wide and excruciatingly toothy, hungry grin, Kain switched his pose from defensive to painfully offensive, calling upon his reserved stores of energy to fire his form into true vampiric speed.
Paws flying, armor glimmering in the pale moonlight, Kain lunged towards his foe. His intent was for his blows to hit fast and hard; not to kill, nor hardly to maim -- but to give Raziel a lesson that he was certain to remember for many a night, or, preferably, the rest of the foolish creature's life.
"There is so much you don't understand, Raziel. But maybe... maybe this will help you learn."
"Ah, Raziel, dear Raziel. There is so much that you don't understand, and you will never understand." Kain was beginning to find the rythm of the young... creature (he figured that he could no longer entirely call Raziel a vampire), and the fight was starting to become far too easy.
"I may be vain, Raziel. But vanity is not my entire life. You, you are just being stupid. Foolish, like the young being that you are. Even an overly-extended life, even living beyond the normal amount of years that you should have, has taught you absolutely nothing. And this... makeover, per se, does not help at all."
Giving a wide and excruciatingly toothy, hungry grin, Kain switched his pose from defensive to painfully offensive, calling upon his reserved stores of energy to fire his form into true vampiric speed.
Paws flying, armor glimmering in the pale moonlight, Kain lunged towards his foe. His intent was for his blows to hit fast and hard; not to kill, nor hardly to maim -- but to give Raziel a lesson that he was certain to remember for many a night, or, preferably, the rest of the foolish creature's life.
"There is so much you don't understand, Raziel. But maybe... maybe this will help you learn."
Raziel
He'd been careless. Such was thrown into agonizing light when his bungled attack was repelled with enough force to send him flying backwards, claws up to act as a weak defense. It occured to him in a haze of deadened pain that Kain had not been losing, merely waiting as he memorized Raziel's moves and flawed fighting technique. The precision with which he struck was merciless, but something about the way he pursued the attack, lightning fast but with much of strength drawn out of it... what-?
Perhaps he was a fool, to think he could have eliminated the very being that had caused him so much grief and despair.
He landed with an earthshattering crack, like a gunshot going off as something small and hard splintered beneath his weight. A stone, it had been a stone, he realized muzzily, overly-bright vision cobwebbing in his periphery. He hurt everywhere, an all-encompassing distraction as he tried to regain his feet, modest muscle rippling from the strain. Not a drop of blood fell from the wounds he received, dry as the gaping slash in his sire's face. Retreat into the Spectral Realm seemed the most obvious way to avoid being further battered, but his pride refused him such an escape, and the frazzled state of his mind hindered the idea even further.
"b*****d..." He growled weakly, dark hair haloed on the ground when his limbs failed to function properly. Would Kain's final blow send him into the land of ghosts, or would he end up in the Elder's embrace once more to be recycled for his failure. He waited in the silence of their absent heartbeats, the mask of fabric having fallen down to reveal the entirety of his disfiguring experience inside the Abyss.
Perhaps he was a fool, to think he could have eliminated the very being that had caused him so much grief and despair.
He landed with an earthshattering crack, like a gunshot going off as something small and hard splintered beneath his weight. A stone, it had been a stone, he realized muzzily, overly-bright vision cobwebbing in his periphery. He hurt everywhere, an all-encompassing distraction as he tried to regain his feet, modest muscle rippling from the strain. Not a drop of blood fell from the wounds he received, dry as the gaping slash in his sire's face. Retreat into the Spectral Realm seemed the most obvious way to avoid being further battered, but his pride refused him such an escape, and the frazzled state of his mind hindered the idea even further.
"b*****d..." He growled weakly, dark hair haloed on the ground when his limbs failed to function properly. Would Kain's final blow send him into the land of ghosts, or would he end up in the Elder's embrace once more to be recycled for his failure. He waited in the silence of their absent heartbeats, the mask of fabric having fallen down to reveal the entirety of his disfiguring experience inside the Abyss.
Kain
Kain could hardly help but wince slightly as Raziel hit the rock; his ears tinged back at the bang, and he pulled his lips into an involuntary sneer. He was unsure whether or not this act of violence and show of power was entirely necessary -- but it felt good to beat the insolent little fool to agony, after the fledgling's attempts to destroy his own creator.
Recovery from seeing Raziel's form smash into (and, subsequently, smash) the rock was quick for the elder creature, however, and he soon had his teeth bared yet again in a twisted grin.
"Raziel, you're always going to be the young fool of the group. So... naive, so... innocent." Kain emphasized the final word with a hungered tone erupting boldly from his throat, thickening his almost ethereal, hate-tinged voice.
"Innocence. Yes." Kain continued to muse as he closed in on young Raziel with slow and heavy steps. That twisted cadaverous grin was still etched over his dark lips, and his once blue eyes were now beginning to glow an otherworldly yellow. "I remember the very day that I had changed you. That innocence, Raziel, ohhh; you will never be able to comprehend how it tasted upon my lips, how it made my fangs hurt for more. But I gave it to you, Raziel. I gave you your eternity. Then, I took it away. But you have found a new eternity, albeit a sordid eternity." Ironically, that was how Kain had viewed his own vampiric curse, at first.
"I should, by all means, destroy you here and now. I should end your pitiful existence instead of allowing something that was once so very beautiful to live a life as something so... disgustingly wretched."
By now, Kain had reached Raziel, and was staring, menacingly, down at his prone form. "However, Raziel," Kain whispered into the other's ear, lifting a thick forepaw, "I don't want to do that."
The paw was beginning to move down, now, and towards Raziel's prone spine, hovering just above spot beneath the younger's crania. Kain intended to press it down as much as needed to get his point across, but was hardly aiming to immobilize or destroy the beast. He could not bring himself to do it, for whatever reason that was churning through Kain's tainted mind.
Kain's face lowered a bit more, until the blood-drinker was able to stare the soul-eater directly within the blank whites of his eyes. Kain knew not if Raziel could see him, or if he was blind, but still he took to the motion. "Don't make me do it, Raziel." Was there a bit of sympathy in that voice, now? A tinge of sorrow? It was hard to tell what was beneath the vampire's masked face and concealed tone.
Recovery from seeing Raziel's form smash into (and, subsequently, smash) the rock was quick for the elder creature, however, and he soon had his teeth bared yet again in a twisted grin.
"Raziel, you're always going to be the young fool of the group. So... naive, so... innocent." Kain emphasized the final word with a hungered tone erupting boldly from his throat, thickening his almost ethereal, hate-tinged voice.
"Innocence. Yes." Kain continued to muse as he closed in on young Raziel with slow and heavy steps. That twisted cadaverous grin was still etched over his dark lips, and his once blue eyes were now beginning to glow an otherworldly yellow. "I remember the very day that I had changed you. That innocence, Raziel, ohhh; you will never be able to comprehend how it tasted upon my lips, how it made my fangs hurt for more. But I gave it to you, Raziel. I gave you your eternity. Then, I took it away. But you have found a new eternity, albeit a sordid eternity." Ironically, that was how Kain had viewed his own vampiric curse, at first.
"I should, by all means, destroy you here and now. I should end your pitiful existence instead of allowing something that was once so very beautiful to live a life as something so... disgustingly wretched."
By now, Kain had reached Raziel, and was staring, menacingly, down at his prone form. "However, Raziel," Kain whispered into the other's ear, lifting a thick forepaw, "I don't want to do that."
The paw was beginning to move down, now, and towards Raziel's prone spine, hovering just above spot beneath the younger's crania. Kain intended to press it down as much as needed to get his point across, but was hardly aiming to immobilize or destroy the beast. He could not bring himself to do it, for whatever reason that was churning through Kain's tainted mind.
Kain's face lowered a bit more, until the blood-drinker was able to stare the soul-eater directly within the blank whites of his eyes. Kain knew not if Raziel could see him, or if he was blind, but still he took to the motion. "Don't make me do it, Raziel." Was there a bit of sympathy in that voice, now? A tinge of sorrow? It was hard to tell what was beneath the vampire's masked face and concealed tone.
Raziel
He growled in empty threat, no more able to carry on the battle then he had been able to win it. Helplessness that felt painfully similar to his decent into the Lake twined with arms of chilled embrace over his chest, and he knew then that if he ever wished to defeat Kain, he would have to do more then merely plot vengeance in some shadowy corner of his mind.
Shattered bits of rock were prodding painfully into his ribcage, but his attention was only for the oncoming vampire, trepidation clear as he attempted to gain some control of his exhausted body. Too close, Kain was too close, how was he to avoid being murdered again if he couldn't even move?
Raziel worked to ignore the words that slapped him like a lash, his ears pinned back to his head and a deep distrust for anything that Kain said rose helpfully to combat his growing vulnerability. It was easier not to listen, not to let the recollections bind to his own imperfect memories and draw them to the forefront of his stricken mind. He had tried to shatter any remaining ties, anything which may have resulted in an imperfect killing machine, but there were parts he could not bury, and others that Kain exhumed with slow purpose.
There was a sudden weight on his back, and he recognized the intention with a flash of panicked anger that caused the claws on his paws to flex in diminished warning. The wraith had no idea what a broken spine would do to him, what any shattered bones would do. Would a shift into the Spectral Realm help? Or would he be forever crippled? And what was it in his voice that caused him to shudder, to remember so clearly...
"I will not beg," He spat, the possibility of being gripped by unconsciousness still hovering at the edges of his thoughts. "And I will not stop until you are nearly as shamed and debased as you find me to be."
Shattered bits of rock were prodding painfully into his ribcage, but his attention was only for the oncoming vampire, trepidation clear as he attempted to gain some control of his exhausted body. Too close, Kain was too close, how was he to avoid being murdered again if he couldn't even move?
Raziel worked to ignore the words that slapped him like a lash, his ears pinned back to his head and a deep distrust for anything that Kain said rose helpfully to combat his growing vulnerability. It was easier not to listen, not to let the recollections bind to his own imperfect memories and draw them to the forefront of his stricken mind. He had tried to shatter any remaining ties, anything which may have resulted in an imperfect killing machine, but there were parts he could not bury, and others that Kain exhumed with slow purpose.
There was a sudden weight on his back, and he recognized the intention with a flash of panicked anger that caused the claws on his paws to flex in diminished warning. The wraith had no idea what a broken spine would do to him, what any shattered bones would do. Would a shift into the Spectral Realm help? Or would he be forever crippled? And what was it in his voice that caused him to shudder, to remember so clearly...
"I will not beg," He spat, the possibility of being gripped by unconsciousness still hovering at the edges of his thoughts. "And I will not stop until you are nearly as shamed and debased as you find me to be."
Kain
The elder could do nothing but chuckle at Raziel's pathetic growl. Kain knew that Raziel was hardly able to carry through with the primitive threat, and if the wraith managed to summon enough strength somehow, well... Kain would deem himself a mortal again.
Kain's forepaw pressed further and further into the strangely-hued flesh of Raziel's neck, threatening. His claws were now being gently forced into the flesh, not wounding, but pressing dangerously against the skin, pulling it uncomfortably taut.
"Oh, Raziel. You will," Kain paused, pressing his paw harder, his claws deeper. "Never," another long pause, "ever... understand... shame."
Internally, of course, Kain was thinking a simple thought to himself: 'Run. RUN, Raziel, you FOOL. I can't do this again... even though it would give me so very much pleasure.' Run repeated itself thus in his head, his mind's voice full of rage, confusion, even a bit of hurt.
The mantra was violent, and set to the harsh beating of Kain's heart -- that is, if he still had such a thing.
Kain's black heart had not beaten in centuries.
"Vae victus," the patriarch churred into Raziel's ear. His theme phrase, though what Kain meant by it, in this instance, was utterly unknown.
Kain's forepaw pressed further and further into the strangely-hued flesh of Raziel's neck, threatening. His claws were now being gently forced into the flesh, not wounding, but pressing dangerously against the skin, pulling it uncomfortably taut.
"Oh, Raziel. You will," Kain paused, pressing his paw harder, his claws deeper. "Never," another long pause, "ever... understand... shame."
Internally, of course, Kain was thinking a simple thought to himself: 'Run. RUN, Raziel, you FOOL. I can't do this again... even though it would give me so very much pleasure.' Run repeated itself thus in his head, his mind's voice full of rage, confusion, even a bit of hurt.
The mantra was violent, and set to the harsh beating of Kain's heart -- that is, if he still had such a thing.
Kain's black heart had not beaten in centuries.
"Vae victus," the patriarch churred into Raziel's ear. His theme phrase, though what Kain meant by it, in this instance, was utterly unknown.
Raziel
He did not grimace, though his eyes did narrow down to slits at the pressure and another pointless growl escaped before the wraith could stifle it. He could feel the Spectral Realm pulsing against him, inviting him in with the howls of countless other disembodied spirits, all of them as hungry for revenge as he was. The chance had been wasted, squandered away because of his own damnable pride and the blindness he'd adapted towards Kain and his brethren. Separation from the enemy would not serve him; his maker knew him too well and he knew Kain not at all.
And he was as torn on the inside as his exterior displayed. The hate would consume him if victory refused his grasping attempts. He had lost, and he had learned nothing of value. He had lost, but he would be afforded another opporunity. It stung more than he could have anticipated.
Raziel lifted his head when the words were uttered, the all-too familiar whisper of them accompanied by the vampire's foul breath almost breaking whatever small parts of himself Kain had left whole. "No," He whispered as he faded, his body becoming insubstantial enough for Kain's claws to slip through, bringing the ghastly, drawn face closer to the ruins of his own so that the airless utterance could flutter against his unmaker's face. "Not this time."
And then he was gone, into the arguable safety of the Spectral to recoup his losses and lament with the other phantoms.
And he was as torn on the inside as his exterior displayed. The hate would consume him if victory refused his grasping attempts. He had lost, and he had learned nothing of value. He had lost, but he would be afforded another opporunity. It stung more than he could have anticipated.
Raziel lifted his head when the words were uttered, the all-too familiar whisper of them accompanied by the vampire's foul breath almost breaking whatever small parts of himself Kain had left whole. "No," He whispered as he faded, his body becoming insubstantial enough for Kain's claws to slip through, bringing the ghastly, drawn face closer to the ruins of his own so that the airless utterance could flutter against his unmaker's face. "Not this time."
And then he was gone, into the arguable safety of the Spectral to recoup his losses and lament with the other phantoms.
Kain
"OOMPH!" Kain had, by the time Raziel disappeared, set most of his weight upon the foul creature's spine, and upon the demanisfestation of the beast from pliable reality, Kain nearly lost his balance and just barely kept himself from falling on his rear. He was not expecting this new... 'power' of Raziel's, this new ability to just... completely disappear. In fact, Kain had such a hard time accepting it that, once he caught his balance as his heavy form fell onto one paw on the forest floor, he spun a full three circles searching for the fledgling.
His eyes scanned the dust that was just finishing its process of settling, saught the beast's form first within the ridges of dirt around the hollow that they had created with their spinning fight. Mounds were settled here and there where dirt had rested after being flung up from the pair's claws, creating miniature mountians; but no Raziel. Kain scanned the treelines, then their branches.
No Raziel.
Kain was disturbed, but had a strange feeling inside of him that told him he had not killed the youngling. After all, despite his new form, would Raziel's corpse not be left behind for his continued defilement of the wretched being? Would the corpse not remain to rot in the dirt where they had battled?
Convinced, now, that Raziel had escaped from his view, Kain heaved a hefty sigh. Raziel sometimes laid heavily upon what little bit of soul the vengeful vampire had. He, believe it or not, knew how Raziel felt -- the first many years of Kain's new existance were spent in a long, exhausting fight for revenge. Though that was perhaps centuries ago (the old vampire occasionally lost track of time), he still bore hatred and spite within the nether regions of his tainted mind.
Kain shook his head slowly as he trodded away from the forest, his form low and haunched instead of the prideful vanity it usually exposed. He preferred to keep his eyes shut and to merely walk on vampiric intuition, at least for these few moments.
Pausing, Kain took one look back at the place where Raziel used to be and sighed.
Sometimes, he hated fate.
His eyes scanned the dust that was just finishing its process of settling, saught the beast's form first within the ridges of dirt around the hollow that they had created with their spinning fight. Mounds were settled here and there where dirt had rested after being flung up from the pair's claws, creating miniature mountians; but no Raziel. Kain scanned the treelines, then their branches.
No Raziel.
Kain was disturbed, but had a strange feeling inside of him that told him he had not killed the youngling. After all, despite his new form, would Raziel's corpse not be left behind for his continued defilement of the wretched being? Would the corpse not remain to rot in the dirt where they had battled?
Convinced, now, that Raziel had escaped from his view, Kain heaved a hefty sigh. Raziel sometimes laid heavily upon what little bit of soul the vengeful vampire had. He, believe it or not, knew how Raziel felt -- the first many years of Kain's new existance were spent in a long, exhausting fight for revenge. Though that was perhaps centuries ago (the old vampire occasionally lost track of time), he still bore hatred and spite within the nether regions of his tainted mind.
Kain shook his head slowly as he trodded away from the forest, his form low and haunched instead of the prideful vanity it usually exposed. He preferred to keep his eyes shut and to merely walk on vampiric intuition, at least for these few moments.
Pausing, Kain took one look back at the place where Raziel used to be and sighed.
Sometimes, he hated fate.
