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 Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:26 pm
Alucard's home forest. Clear night, brilliantly lit. Alu is scaling the steep path to where the river drops down over his cave home. He was very nearly there. The smell and sound of water was unmistakable, and the path was levelling out once again. Never before had Alucard reached the waterfall's head; time and again he had been thwarted either by lack of stamina or shortage of time. Tonight was different. Tonight the Runt was with him to cheer him on and warn him of slippery spots, and his legs were longer than they had ever been.
Alucard was nearly at his prime, and it showed. In the moonlight his pale coat showed ghost-white and cast harsh shadows on the trees and ground. Nevermind that his flank was dark with sweat - at this height the stallion could be sighted easily for miles.
Guided by his bat, the vampire Kirin pressed on.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:41 pm
 Alluna had never much been one to stay in one place. She always had ways of wiggling off and doing her own thing always straying back to wondering what it would be like to finally call someplace home. She was young and considered herself stupid, as far as she was concerned she knew very little about the world around. Nothing about what the world really could be.
On this night she lay perched upon a rock, this would be her bed tonight. She would sleep soundly listening to the thundering sound the falling water created. Watching the water, her eyes half closed, she wondered what the fall may be like to any unfortunate soul who may get caught within the stomach of the waterfall.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:12 pm
Alu would have loved to tell Khalidia that the sight of the waterfall was so beautiful it left him breathless. This would be true if the climb itself hadn't got to him first. His legs felt like jelly and his sides were heaving - but the moon was beautiful and the view was just a few more steps away. Before he took another step forward, however, The Runt let out a soft squeak - and on a night like this it was easy to spot why.
Close to the edge (how daring of her!) was a lovely mare, mostly ebony like Khalidia, but green where his friend was blue. Alucard was taken aback for a moment. He hadn't expected anyone to be here at all, much less a member of his own kind. How he had travelled the forest and the caves night after night without meeting her before, he couldn't figure out... or maybe she was just passing through?
At any rate, it was really convenient to reach a place he had never gone before and make a new friend as well. Hoping she was too sleepy to be startled, he decided to greet him from where he stood in a patch of moonlight.
"Good evening to you, stranger!"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:25 pm
Her head rose, giving a quick shake to try to awaken herself, "Oh..? Hello?" She peered in the direction of the voice. Another of her kind, at this time? "Am I... Um.. Should I not be here?" Carefully she rose to her feet, her tail flicking slightly as her sleepy body tried to maintain balance.
Being one to never stay long she never really knew who belonged were, always wondering is she would get in trouble for being somewhere. As she eyed the stranger, her eyes seemed to examine every inch of him. He was stunning. Almost giving her chills and he stood in the moonlight.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:37 pm
What a strange question, thought Alucard. What gave him the right to tell anyone else where they could or could not go? In the caves, yes, maybe, because the food in there could only support so much. But this was open forest and under the sky, with no shortage of food, space or water.
Besides, someone as tired as she was should be allowed to rest anywhere they liked, so long as they weren't getting in the way. The vampire Kirin had to hold back a laugh as he recalled the time Silarial tripped over him after waking up, since he flopped down for a nap in the middle of a narrow tunnel.
"Why shouldn't you be here?" He asked, stepping slightly closer so he need not raise his voice too much over the thundering of the water."You can be anywhere you like, so long as it doesn't harm anyone."
It was then that he caught sight of the waterfall. His attention shifted for a moment, for the stallion was enchanted by the way the water glittered and moved.
"Incredible..." He murmured softly, quite forgetting his manners - he hadn't even introduced himself yet.
((And no, he has no notion of territory whatsoever. xD))
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:54 pm
"I would never harm a thing.." Alluna sighed peering at the water. "It is very beautiful.."
It had been the sound of the water that had drawn her to rest her, never once has she seen a water fall so grand as this one. It was like something one was only allowed to dream of.
"May I... Hm.. My name is Alluna.. I am sorry if I disturbed your night.." She spoke in a soft and mellow voice, almost motherly. Alluna had yet to meet many others, always confused about how to act around them and very careful with her words. "May I.. ask your name?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:01 pm
Alucard started, the mare's gentle voice drawing him out of his reverie. She spoke like Silarial - mature and experienced, even though she didn't seem much older than he was. He wondered what the reason for that was.
"Great to meet you, Alluna," he said, touching his nose to hers briefly as he acknowledged her name. "My name is Alucard."
He gave a wry smile and a flick of his tail. "I think if either of us should be sorry, it would be me... The night is not young, and you seem tired. Shouldn't you be asleep?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:11 pm
Alluna let out a soft laugh at the touch of his nose against her own. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Alucard."
She closed her eyes for a moment, a smile forming faintly, "On the road I have taken there has never been much time for rest, tonight is a rare night. One of beauty and wonder.. Why spoil such a precious thing?"
Alluna had not intentions of sleeping on this night anyways, she had fully convinced herself to fight off sleep as long as she could for a sight like the one before them may not be something she lays eyes upon again for a long time.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:29 pm
"On the road.. does that mean you've travelled very far?" Alucard was intrigued - he had grown up in this forest since he was an egg, and never had to roam much with the protection of Silarial and her caves. Besides, there were those nasty cats in the forest preventing him from going anywhere.
I guess I was lucky to find a home, and family. He thought about what it was like to travel to other lands and meet more Kirin, then realised all his ideas about travelling had either Khalidia or Silarial with him. He tried to picture wandering alone, and found the thought unbearable. The Runt had to be with him, at least... and even then, The Runt was a cave resident and might not come along.
"Forgive me for asking two questions at once, but have you been alone all along?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:44 pm
"I have." Alluna stared at the water quietly for a long moment, running her tongue along her lower lip, "I have been alone.. For most of what I can remember."
Her eyes moved back to Alucard, a smile still on her face, "I travel, I roam, I rest and feed. Bathe. I never seem to have a reason to stay anywhere long and nowhere ever seems to have a reason to keep me there long."
How she longed for a place to stay though, to not have to wander though silence, wary of even the softest sounds. Restless nights, cold, rain. She'd bared all of it for so long it had become almost a luxury to think of actually have a come and other Kirin to return to.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:03 pm
Alu tilted his head, considering.
"I'm not the only one who lives here, so I'll have to check with the other two first... but you can stay here in the forest and my part of the cave as long as you like, if you want. At any rate, they're friendly enough and would love to hear about your experiences in other lands."
At this point, The Runt unfolded her wings and flapped over from where she was resting in a tree. She made a wide circle, glided past Alluna, and then belly-flopped on the stallion's back, tiny claws clicking against the scales.
"Ah... I suppose you'd have to be able to live with bats as well, I'm afraid," continued Alu, embarrassed at having forgot his pet.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:09 pm
Alluna smile grew at the offer, even if it was only temporary it was a place she could finally call home, "I can live with bats~ I'm sure they are much nicer than some of the other beasts I've seen..And.. even if it does feel like a luxury one such as myself requires, It would be a change.."
She brushed her muzzle against Alu's in a friendly and thanking geasture, "You are a very kind stallion. A heart of gold in this pale moons light."
Her vision peering in the direction of the small bat perched on the others back, a pet? Unusual.. A companion of such size, "May I ask it's name?" Her eyes were full of curiosity. She couldn't help herself but keep asking questions and wondering.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:48 pm
Alucard was flattered by the compliment, but didn't really feel he deserved it. She needed a place to stay, he offered her one - it just seemed the right thing to do. He only hoped Khalidia and Silarial wouldn't mind... and there was also that issue about him being a vampire.
Might as well tell Alluna now before she thought too highly of him. What was the worst that could happen? He'd lose a friend, sure, but the green-maned mare could just move on. Better she know everything on the first day than only half the story - that was the mistake he made with the last mare his age he befriended, and he didn't want to repeat it again.
"It's a she, and I call her The Runt because she was the smallest of her family. She's pretty feisty, though; fights off creatures twice her size when pressed. Her family is special because they're the only bats in the cave that drink animal blood..." He paused, then quietly continued. "Like me."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:22 pm
"Drink blood?" Alluna's ears flicked at the sound of the word, "Vampire...?"
Her eyes were curious as she looked over him, he looked like any other Kirin. How could something like that be true? She figured he must not be bad though, he could have easily attacked her in the sleepy state she'd been in.
"You drink blood? Like a Vampire.. Do you.. drink the blood of other Kirin..?" Her hoof lifted off the ground slightly, returning to the ground in an uneasy movement as she waited for an answer.
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:02 pm
At least she hadn't started running immediately, and for that he was grateful. Alucard took a deep breath, and tried to be as honest as he could.
"So you already know what vampires are. I hunt the forest creatures and take only as much as I need. So no, I don't drink Kirin blood, so long as I have a choice; and I don't want to taste it, ever."
While he had kept steady eye contact so far, he turned to the waterfall at this point and watched the water churn and froth.
"I'm afraid that once I do... I won't be able to stop." The stallion flicked his tail and addressed Alluna properly once again. "There, so now you know what kind of monster I am. Are you still certain about staying here?
I wouldn't blame you if your answer is no."
There, the truth was out. Alucard watched for her reaction, prepared to move aside and let her leave if she wanted to.
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