Possible Small Group RP (2-4)?

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel blinked out of his stupor when Seth spoke. He realized he was starting and quickly averted his gaze to the path ahead of them. He sighed. "If it was really about the wings, do you think he would have let you keep yours?" He replied, actually wondering why such small looking things had survived the abyss.

"Kain had other reasons for doing what he did. Because of my... well not so unique resurrection anymore, I was given free will." Raziel went onto explain that everything in this world was predetermined and that only he had free will. Kain wanted to use this power for whatever reasons, and he wasn't the only one. Everywhere Raziel seemed to turn, someone was always there wanting him to do their bidding, most likely in exchange for the information he needed.

"But for once I've decided to do what I want and I want to find the answers on my own. It's why The Elder God is so furious with me."  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth stared at him for a moment before she responded slowly, "I didn't KEEP my wings. These were... given to me by the Elder God. " For some reason telling him that made her uncomfortable, made her feel as if she was a patch job trying to emulate an original masterpiece.

"Free will? Amazing." The ramifications of that thought boggled her mind for a moment. A creature who could truly choose their fate. A sardonic thought crossed her mind and she related it softly, "I guess it wasn't really free will, was it?"

She shook her head and stared into the underbrush, noticing a faint light up ahead "I think we might be getting close," She said, pointing towards the faint patch of forest. "What are you going to ask him about?"  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel looked over her scrutinizingly. So, Elder God seemed to have a better hand than he was letting on. If he could grant Seth wings, to restore them would probably be simple... but did this mean what he was also hiding a trump card? Elder God now had two rogue soul weavers on his hands, what else would he send to get them back? Or maybe he planned for this to happen... Raziel wouldn't run it by the other, but why? Why would he send an agent that was clearly weaker than Raziel as well as his fledgling? Something didn't smell right about this...

Again he had to shake himself from his thoughts when they arrived at their destination. "I want to ask him about his sire, Janos Audron. He... died centuries ago, along with the answers I needed to as why this is all happening. I'm hoping Vorador knows something." Raziel replied as they reached the gate, it taking both of them to push the rusty thing open to only have it fall off it hinges.

When the reached the front door, Raziel sensed something was very wrong...

"Get down!" He cried as he pretty much tackled Seth to the ground, the two of them narrowly missing getting crushed by the falling archway. But that wasn't the last of their problems; when Raziel looked up next, he saw two enchanted statues heading toward them.

"I see Vorador has upgraded his security since the last I visited." Raziel mused, getting to his feet and summoning his wraith blade. "I'll hold them off, you see if you can't find another way inside."  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth fumbled with her claws, still uncomfortable to think that she had such a painful memento for her master attached to her own body. She looked up though as they neared the ancient mansion. It's high gate was a bother, but they were able to push it open with a little elbow grease. The screech of the hinges hurt her ears and the crash from the gate collapsing very nearly made her jump out of her skin. She wasn't sure, but suddenly everything seemed uncomfortable... wrong somehow.

All in a moment she was thrown to the ground under Raziel's weight and momentum. "SIRE?" Her nose slammed into the ground painfully, and her vision went red for a moment. She felt him jump up and away, obviously planning on defending them both. The military officer in her scoffed just a little, she WAS a soldier, she shouldn't have to be protected! However, she reasoned to herself quickly, It wouldn't hurt anything to find us an entry point. Just think of this as a recon mission... while my sire puts himself in danger... Her nature bristled against that thought, but she followed his orders.

She sprung off the ground, using her incredible agility and strength to flip her body up off her back and onto her feet. She shot him a backwards glance and then ran full out towards one of the columns. Her talons and wings both spread out fully, getting ready to launch herself halfway up the marble post. She took one final step and then shifted her center of gravity, crouching low for a moment on her legs before she released and flew upwards. Her wings flapped powerfully for their smaller size, gaining another 20 feet to her jump. Then her talons collided with the marble, gouging their way into the surface. She went up the column like some arboreal creature, winding her way around its trunk in a much faster method than Raziel's own wall climbing ability. Her lesser weight affording her more speed.

She crested the capital of the column in a moment, kicking her legs over in an acrobatic back flip. She settled down into a crouch for a moment, surveying their possibilities. There was the front door, but it looked like it had been partially buried by the second story balcony. So, that wouldn't work. Her eyes caught sight of windows along the roof line. She would have to find a way to get to one of them... she was almost certain they would work. Seth concentrated, there just wasn't a way she could glide that far... or could she. Gripping the ledge of the capital between her talons she bunched her legs under her and readied her wings. This was going to be amazing if it worked.

She waited, readying herself.

And then, she launched.

She hung in the air for an eternity, it seemed, before her wings thrust down, launching her further across the void. Gravity's greedy fingers clawed at her, but she shrugged it off, surging adrenaline through her body and into her wings. And then, her outstretched talons connected with the far ledge, and she hung from one arm, dangling for a moment over the courtyard. She'd made it.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel had dealt with statues like these before, and while they were tricky to deal with when they numbered more than one, he had a method to it; he ran circles around them, dodging their attacks, and occasionally nicking them with his wraith blade. They weren't all too bright, and would always strike in the last place Raziel had hit them, even if it meant hitting one another instead of the small, cunning vampire. In the end, they had done more damage to each other than Raziel had, and in their weakened state, he was easily able to finish them off.

When the task was done, Raziel brushed the stone debris from his hair as he looked around for his fledgling. "Seth?" He called out into the darkness, hoping she was alright; he couldn't really keep track of her when he was fighting.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth looked down, piercing through the gloom to watch her sire skillfully dispatch the two stone giants. "Above you!" She flipped herself up and over the ledge, her back flip forming a precise arch that landed her on her feet solidly. She didn't trust the footing of the crumbling roof, so she loped along on all fours, carefully digging in with her claws and talons. The window was fast approaching when she launched herself into and through it, taking the brunt of the collision on her bony shoulder. Crashing through, she landed in the fresh pile of glass and iron bars. Picking herself up quickly, she failed to realize that she was perforated and sliced open everywhere. No blood circled through her body to ooze out, and her sense of pain was very, very dull nowadays.

Popping her head back out the broken window she called down to Raziel. "Sire! I found a way in!"  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel looked up, watching as the other made her way across the narrow ledge and through a window. By the time she had poked her head out, Raziel was already climbing up the vines that circled one of the stone pillars, then leaping over to the ledge. He quickly pulled himself through the broken window, sighing when he saw the state of his fledgling.

"Again, what did I say about being careless?" He said in almost a chastising tone, stepping closer to Seth and starting to pick the pieces of glass out of her blue flesh, the wounds immediately after. "Your body may be able to withstand this kind of damage, but don't go mangling yourself every chance you get, especially just to get through a bloody window."

"Especially when it's my bloody windows you're breaking." A voice came, and looking up, Raziel saw the vampire he came here to see.

"Vorador." Raziel said with a nod of acknowledgement, this way, Seth would know who he was.

"Raziel." Vorador said coolly, crossing his arms over his chest. He then cocked an eyebrow at Seth. "Yet I do not know the name of this one..." He continued to look at her, eyes occasionally flitting between her and Raziel; he saw the resemblance.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth watched as Raziel scaled the walls and scrambled up vines, glad to see he had found an easier route than her own. She smile, how like him. Then she took a step back to let him through. When he walked over to her and began chastising her for her carelessness, she finally took a moment to look at herself. "I... I hadn't realized, I'm sorry." She pulled a large shard of glass from her forearm, wondering at her bodies inability to feel glass piercing her, and yet perfectly registering when she got her nose smashed in.

A creaking of boards alerted her to the presence of another. Vorador, Raziel had said. So this was the ancient vampire. She looked over to her sire, unsure of what she should do. Custom dictated she apologize for breaking through his window, but she was more worried about their safety than customs. "Raziel," She whispered, "is he safe?" Her firey orbs gazed over at the strange vampire, his large ears and green skin making her distinctly uncomfortable. Something about him made her think of Kain, treacherous vampire, and she didn't like it.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel gave Seth's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "This is my fledgling, Seth." He replied, choosing not to answer her question as of this moment, at least until Vorador was out of earshot.

"Ah, I can see the family resemblance." The older vampire mused, his cat-like eyes looking over them scrutinizingly for a moment or two before gesturing them to follow him with a tilt of his head as he walked back down the hall.

Raziel urged Seth forward, walking beside her, his hand eventually slipping from her shoulder and back to his side.

"So what brings Nosgoth's little saviour to my humble home?" Vorador asked, though didn't look back at the two as he spoke. "I can't say I haven't been expecting you, though I am surprised you brought a friend..."

"To have that much foresight, I think you know more than you're letting on, Vorador." Raziel replied. He didn't come here for pleasantries, he wanted answers and he had a feeling that Vorador knew that too.

The vampire gave a small, humourless chuckle. "And you would be right on that one, Raziel. Sharp as ever I see, I don't think I can get anything by you." There was a hint of what sounded like sarcasm in his voice, but not enough to call him on it. "I will answer your questions, but please humour this old vampire with something of a visit? I haven't had company in a while..."

Raziel and Seth were seated in the den while Vorador went to fix himself a drink, Raziel taking this chance to talk to Seth in private. "We can trust Vorador. His bitter attitude may be unpleasant, but he will not harm us." He assured her, then turning his gaze to the door where Vorador left from, eagerly waiting the older vampire's return with the answers he sought.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth's eyes widened for a moment as Raziel squeezed her shoulder, but then she nodded and calmed down. When he began following the strange Vorador, she fell in step beside him. She didn't like the vampire, but... if Raziel trusted him at all, then she would do her best to be civil. She examined the rooms they passed through, committing their path to memory, lest she need to remember for a quick escape. The labyrinthine mansion also set her on edge, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been inside a building, let alone one as confusing and closed in as this one.

She didn't like the tone of voice the older vampire used when he addressed her sire, but she fought her urge to rebuke him on it. This was HIS house, they were the intruders, and... Raziel seemed to want this to be a peaceful exchange of information. She'd always believed information was easier to glean from the dead or dieing, but never mind that now.

They finally entered a large room filled with plush furniture and regal tapestries. She disliked the vibrant colors and garish lights. What sort of vampire was this Vorador, that he would adorn his home in such tasteless grandeur? Decadence, that was the only word that properly described the eclectic jumble of pricey and priceless artifacts, strewn through with hideously suggestive and provocative paintings. He obviously had a taste for the occult... and torture, if Seth knew anything about the subject matter on the walls. She scoffed quietly.

Turning to Raziel she nodded slowly, "If you believe you can trust him, I will do my best to do so as well. However, am I correct in assuming this Vorador is a bestial vampire?" She nodded towards some of the more graphic decorations and human bones, obvious disgust lacing her words. She straightened when she heard his steps approaching again. "If he attempts anything, I will defend you, Sire."  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

"He's not too fond of humans, let's just leave it at that." Raziel replied, glancing back up when Vorador entered the room, a wine glass filled with blood in his green, clawed hand.

He sat down, looking at Raziel expectantly. "Well? What is it you want to know?" He asked with an undertone of impatience. "guaranteed I know the answers to the questions you seek..." he added before taking a sip from his cup.

Raziel expected no less of Vorador, to act as he did; Raziel could only assume the death of his sire affected him more than he let on, making him bitter to everything and everyone. So he remained patient with the elder vampire. "I have asked you this before - about the sword - are you positive Janos didn't reveal anything of its significance to you?" He asked, it now being Raziel's turn to look at the other expectantly.

Vorador put his glass down, looking off like he was deep in thought... but after a few moments, his pensive face turned into agitated one. He narrowed his eyes at at Raziel. "He told me nothing... are you sure you didn't get the answers you needed before you ripped his heart from his chest while he was still breathing?" Vorador retorted coldly as he glared across the room at the wraith.

Raziel was on his feet in an instant, his expression a defencive one. "Don't you dare associate me with that monster!" He hissed, pointing an accusing finger at Vorador "I did everything I could to save him, where were you exactly?"

The older vampire remained in his chair, but it was still obvious that tempers were rising. He was about to respond again when there was a noise from upstairs - in the exact spot that they previously were. Both male vampires looked up, then back down at each other, their tempers forgotten... for now

"You better not have let something into my house, Raziel." Vorador said with a grunt, getting up from his chair and grabbing his sword - which was hanging on the wall nearby, before heading upstairs.

Raziel was right behind him. "Wait here." He told Seth, not even looking back.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth glared politely at her 'host', doing her best not to send daggers through him. She honestly couldn't say why, but she neither trusted nor felt comfortable around this vampire. Something about him set her on edge, made her think he was going to stab them in the back. Then again, she had never been the most trusting of people. Loyal, entirely to the people who she did trust, but very wary of almost anyone else.

Their argument seemed to have quite a bit of back story to it. Why was this Vorador accusing Raziel of killing his Sire? That would be a grievous offense, if it was true. However, there was no way Seth could believe Raziel would kill another's Sire, not without a indisputable reason.

And then the noise sounded from above, and the two men launched into action. "Wait here," Raziel called back to her. Seth thought about obeying that order for a millisecond before she launched herself from her chair and out the nearby window. She wanted to get up there as fast as possible, and climbing the wall sounded like a plan that would keep her out of trouble from her Sire for as long as possible. If anything happened to him... well, he was all she had left now, and she was darn well determined that she would not have to lose her whole world a second time.

Her talons forced their way into cracks and crevices, propelling her ever higher, until she was level with the roof line and the broken window. Oh my... She looked through the window to a horrible scene. Raziel and Vorador were fighting an endless tide of demons, hideous things with insectoid bodies and beak-like, needle projections. When one of them stabbed Raziel through the shoulder, Seth's mind snapped. She let herself go into assault mode, caring nothing for herself, her only mission to protect her Sire and dispatch these foul beasts. It had been an eternity since last she relinquished her will to the dark soul she housed, the blood rage that allowed her to kill NATIONS without regret, without pause. Her reflexes in her new body suddenly fit like a glove as she can flying through the window, her wings suddenly expanding with a crack. She descended upon the attackers with an animal ferocity, tearing at them left and right. They would NOT get away with harming her Raziel!  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel had no time to see if Seth had obeyed him or not, and when he finally caught up to Vorador, he had more pressing matters to concern himself with; Vorador was currently being pinned down by what looked to be like a giant, pale-coloured mosquito, and more were coming through the broken window. They were smaller than the one on top of the older vampire, but they looked just as ready to suck every drop of blood from him.

He threw his weight against the larger bug, knocking it off of Vorador while temporarily shielding the other with his body until he could get back on his feet - it wasn't like Raziel had to worry about getting his blood drained, even though the bugs seemed like they wanted to try anyway, one stabbing into his shoulder with it's beak while the others seemed confused to exactly where they could draw blood, Raziel being nothing but muscle and bone, after all.

Though they didn't have a long time to search before a good number of them were ripped to shreds. Raziel looked back to see Seth there, dispatching the insects in quite a brutal fashion. "I thought I told you to stay put!" He called to her, though he wouldn't be able to get and answer right away as Vorador was screaming at him. "Look out!"

Raziel put up his arm just in the nick of time to have the largest mosquito's beak go right through it instead of his head. It was then that both Raziel and Vorador came to the grim realization, by looking at the dripping beak, that the insects weren't trying to drain them of blood... they were trying to inject them with something.

The smaller mosquitoes that remained seemed to ignore both Seth and Vorador, swarming around Raziel and the bigger insect. That's when Raziel came to another realization: this must be their queen.

There was too many of them to deal with at once and his two friends' safety was becoming a more concerning issue for him by the second. So summoning the fire reaver, he set the queen ablaze. She screeched, trying to pull herself free from Raziel's arm without much success, that is until he ripped her out, her beak failing to come with her though, still lodged firmly in Raziel's arm and dripping with an unknown substance. He then jumped on the windowsill, tossing her out the way she came, and like he had guessed, the other mosquitoes followed her to their fiery death.

Raziel leaned out the window, panting more than he should have for such a simple battle, as he watched them burn on the ground below. He almost thought he could feel the heat coming off of them, but in reality, it was his own body starting to burn with fever. His vision swam, and he pitched forward out the window.

It was a good thing Vorador was there, quick to grab Raziel by the back of his cowl as well at the remains of his wings. "Well don't just stand there lass, help me!" He barked at her, needing her help to pull Raziel in since it was at such an awkward angle.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth's rage knew no bounds. She tore through insect after insect, rending their wings and beaks from their bodies. The carnage coated her body, sliding down her emaciated form, cleaving to pulsing muscle and gleaming bone. Something deep inside her screamed for her to protect Raziel when she saw the Queen attack him, not because he was her Sire, but for some deeper reason which she couldn't place in her rage and blood lust. Finally the beasts began to fly out the window after their martyr of a Queen, burning a fire swatch through the evening sky.

As the droves departed, her mind slowly returned to her, her senses slowly gave her information that she cared about. Raziel had collapsed and Vorador was keeping him from hitting the ground. She ran over when he snapped at her and fell to her knees in front of her Sire. "Give him to me..." A tremor of hysteria wound its way into her voice. Suddenly it all came crashing down around her, she had lost her life, her world, once before. Raziel was all she had left in this one, and he might... die? No, of course not, he couldn't die. He couldn't!

She cradled Raziel's head and torso in her lap, checking for signs of life. He was burning up, so that meant he wasn't dead at least. His breath was shallow and hurried. Her orbs snapped up and locked with Vorador's eyes, "He's ill. Do you have ANY idea what those things were, and what is happening?" She shifted her grip on her master and hoisted him up into her arms. Seeing as they were both mainly well endowed skeletons, their weight was barely noteworthy, plus she was strong enough to carry him. He wasn't heavy, he's her sire. With her arms locking him securely against herself she rose onto her feet. "Lets get him somewhere to lay down." Her glare at Vorador told him that she would do ANYTHING to help Raziel.  

[Queen Sarafina]

((ooc: I'm a girl now, woo!))

Raziel vaguely felt himself being hauled back inside the window, he knew his friends were trying to help him, but in his fever clouded mind, it was hard for him to determine what had happened to him. He was suppose to be Nosgoth's saviour and ultimately invulnerable, wasn't he stronger than this? Apparently not, as he was now basically reduced to being passed between the two like a helpless newborn.

And speaking of newborns, Raziel blearily opened his eyes when he felt himself being lifted, now being held in her arms like a baby... well a large, corpse-like one, but a baby none the less - and it made Raziel almost wish he had fallen out the window he was so embarrassed now.

"No... m'fine... Seth" He panted, meekly squirming in her grip as he looked up at her pleadingly. His cowl had been pulled down from Vorador grabbing it so one could see that his face was flushed a dark blue, not only from the fever, but from embarrassment.

Vorador had just finished pushing a large cabinet infront of the window so nothing else could get through. He then ripped down the drapes, using one of them to pull the beak out of Raziel's arm and keep in from dripping anymore of the fluid out, (which could be prove useful) and then using the other to put over the feverish vampire like a blanket.

"Keep him covered. He may seem like he's burning up, but trust me, he needs all the warmth he can get if I know my demons." Vorador said, leading her to a room - most likely his own - then going through the bookshelf there, muttering to himself as he searched for one book in particular.