Possible Small Group RP (2-4)?

[Fallen_Razielim]

((OOC: I feel so confuzed! I thought you were a man, and BLUE! Howdi.))

Seth looked down at Raziel, noting with clinical detachment that he was embarrassed by the current arrangement. She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Sire, I am sorry but this is for your own good. You are in no condition to walk. Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be." She made sure he was secure in her arms before she began following Vorador.

When she entered the room she noticed immediately that this was no guest room. The furnishing were of the best quality, and well suited to each other. While decadent, she could appreciate the subtle beauty invoked by the gentle blending and transition of the wood, velvet, satin, and cotton. The whole room was a painting drawn from the deepest night, bathed in dried blood and ancient wood. The accents in the room neither overplayed their parts nor fell back into obscurity. So, while it may not have been her style, Seth immediate fell in love with the balance and symbiosis of the room. It was a perfect location for a vampire, and she was honored he had opened it for her Sire's use. As she gently laid Raziel down on the grandiose bed, she whispered, "Thank you Sir. You are most kind, and I apologize for my misjudging of your character."

She listened as the older vampire turned and left, briskly stalking down the hall. Please let him figure out what is wrong... Pulling back the covers she gently rolled Raziel under them, and then tucked him in, making sure that none of his scant body heat would be able to escape. Then she set about looking for a basin of water and a cloth. She knew this was no normal illness, seeing as it had been inflected by demons, but that didn't mean that bedside manner wouldn't help comfort her Sire if nothing else. Anything to ease his pain would be worth it. She finally found a suitable basin and routed around in the adjoining bathroom for water and a cloth.

Plunging the cloth into the water, she steadied her own nerves. She wasn't losing anyone. She didn't need her Sire, right? She had never really needed anyone before. Respected? Yes. Associated with? Yes. But never needed, even back when she had been a human. Her life had been one of servitude, in each new stage she had encountered. There was no reason to get so worked up by all this, right? But as she turned, damp cloth draped over her talons, and saw the pained face of Raziel, those thoughts flew from her mind. Something was changing inside of Seth, and she knew that she would never leave his side. Although she had yet to understand why.

She gently swabbed his sweating brow, periodically dipping the cloth into the cool water to cleanse it. She delicately moved and began cleaning the wound in his arm and any other surface wounds he had suffered. The look of the arm gash was worrying her, but she fought back her fear. She'd seen worse on the battlefield, but those had been from steel and silver, not demons and monsters. Which was worse? She really wasn't sure.  

[Queen Sarafina]

Raziel blanked out momentarily when he was placed up the covers, the heat being too much for him to stay conscious for long, but when Seth returned, swiping his brow with a cool cloth, his eyes flitted open once again. "What's... what's going on... where's Vorador?" He asked, not recalling the other leaving the room or anything that was going on really, but some of that didn't even have to do with the fever; both Seth and him were both left in the dark, that is until Vorador's return... with a strange looking book under his arm.

"It's been a long time since I've looked at this, I had forgotten that I had put it away for safe keeping." Vorador said, blowing the dust off of the heavy book before opening it up and flipping through its many pages. "How's he holding up?" He referred to Raziel without looking up from the text.

"I'm still very much alive... thank you." Raziel murmured quietly, not having the energy to do much besides that. "Don't talk like I'm not in the room... I can answer for myself."

"Ah, you're still coherent? Surprising, most wouldn't be after taking in that much venom from the Sherquite..."

"Sher... quite?" Raziel breathed, hoping for an answer from Vorador to as what that was exactly, but the other still had his full attention on the book and didn't hear Raziel, or either he was ignoring him until he found what he was looking for.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth folded the damp cloth and laid it over Raziel's forehead. "You're being taken care of..." Seth had no idea why he'd ask something so simple, but he probably wasn't very conscious of things at the moment. "Vorador is... somewhere. He went off muttering about a book he needed. I suspect he'll return once he finds whichever book holds the answers he needs, we all need." She dipped her talons in the water and flicked some onto him, doing the best she could to cool him down.

Then she heard Vorador's footsteps approaching from down the hall and she turned slightly from her perch at the side of the bed. "He's coming back." She said quietly. Seth remained relatively still while Vorador and Raziel bantered, relieved to see her Sire have enough energy to have such spunk.

"Sherquite? Why does that sound so familiar..." She looked over at Vorador. "I'm assuming that you found the book you needed?"

She stood and walked towards the green vampire, needing to read through the book herself. "May I?"  

[Queen Sarafina]

Finding the page he needed, his tapped his claw on it before handing the book to Seth. "Don't lose that page. Read it to Raziel if you must, I already know what it says for the most part, but after you're done, I'm going to need it back if I am to make an antidote for the Sherquite venom." Vorador told her, going to sit down at his writing desk where he had placed the beak wrapped in a curtain. "You're lucky you saved the beak, Raziel, if you hadn't I wouldn't be able to make an anti venom."

Raziel sat up as best he could in bed, even lifting his head look effort. "But... why would I need an anti venom?... would in not be easier for me to shift into the spectral realm and rid myself of this poison in doing so?" He asked, watching Vorador unwrap the beak.

"If you could be patient for a few moments, I could explain why that is impossible." Vorador replied, glancing back at Raziel. "And lay back down, you fool, do you want to make yourself worse?"

Raziel laid back down as Vorador went onto explain. "As the book says, the Sherquite is a demon not of this world. The one that pierced your arm was a queen Sherquite as I assume you've already gathered, the rest were just drones, but their venom has the same potency.

"The Queen lays her eggs in the victim after injecting the venom. Her larva require a long gestation period in a controlled temperature, but even a living vessel is not enough. The venom heats the blood to almost unbearable temperatures that could cause death if it wasn't for the second purpose of the venom."

"But why... do I have to lay under all these blankets if I'm burning up?" Raziel groaned, wishing more than anything at that point that he had a freezing lake to jump into.

"I'm getting to that, Raziel." Vorador sighed, getting up from his chair and heading toward the bed. He sat down on it, but not before pulling the covers up more over the bed-ridden wraith, since he seemed to have managed to kick them down when he sat up before. "If your temperature gets lower, the venom will react and heat you up even more. You think this is unbearable? Think again.

"This is how the Hylden interrogated and tortured the ancient vampires they managed to capture during wartime. They domesticated the Sherquite, made it only so a few of them could breed, but the rest were made to do what they did to you. After two months, the venom wears off and the larva emerge as fully-fledged Sherquite, killing the host. But with no larva to worry about, the Hylden could torture the vampires all they wanted, because you see, the second aspect of the venom makes it so the soul cannot leave the body, therefore, the host cannot die and take the larva with it. This is why you need the antidote... or would you rather wait around two months, bedridden with fever? I can make that possible if you don't behave yourself and lay still." Vorador smirked teasingly.

Raziel just sighed, grumbling a bit as he turned his head to the side and shut his eyes. "I guess I don't really have a choice..."

"Good lad." Vorador said, patting Raziel's leg through the blankets before standing up, looking to Seth. "I trust you'll take care of him while I work on that antidote, yes?"  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth took the book reverently, careful not to damage the ancient book with her talons. Her eyes began skimming the page, picking up the history of the Sherquite with a growing revulsion. Vorador was right, the Hylden had used these beast demons, priding themselves in how LONG they had kept some victims under the effects of the poison. Again and again the book dictated the horrible fates of those afflicted. The final birth of the Sherquite sounded like a release for many of the poor prisoners. She looked over at Raziel, horrified that he was suffering under such a hideous affliction. When she was finally satisfied through her reading that he would not die that very night, she carefully handed the tome back to Vorador. "It is my duty to serve him. You need not worry of that."

Turning from Vorador, she returned to Raziel's side, dousing the sweat stiffened cloth with cool water. She began to mop at his forehead again, slowly working her way down to his shoulders and chest. She was careful not to pull the blankets back too far, worried that if she let him get too cold that his pain would only increase. Laying the cloth back over his face, she returned the blanket to its place up under his chin, and she leaned back against the chair she had dragged to the side of the bed. Closing her burning orbs, she thought back to the pain of being eaten alive by the acid of the Maelstrom. She knew the pain of fire licking at her very soul. What would have helped her then? She looked at the pain wracked form of her Sire and sighed.

Cupping some water in her taloned hands, she poured some into the hollow track of his throat, hoping that it might help. She watched him sleep fitfully for a long time, careful to attend to any shift or pain she could notice. She never got tired in this wraith body, her corpse-like prison, and for the first time she was glad for that. When she was nearly certain that he had slipped into a suitable dreamless state, she began singing, soft and quiet. It was an ancient song of her people, from when she had been human, from before her father's turning into a vampire, before the sacking of their tent village. She had been a gypsy in those foggy years of lore, and a tiny portion of herself remembered her human life.

The song was simple, quiet, and haunting. A lullaby for the dead, not for the living. How appropriate, neither her or Raziel were truly either anymore, were they? She didn't know how her voice would sound, but she hoped it was soothing. After a while she stood and leaned against one of the bed posts and fell silent, merely watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. She needed to feed though, her hunger for souls making her hands ghost in and out of the Material realm. She reached forward and gently caressed his face, however, with her hands as ethereal as they were, she doubted he would notice. Then she turned and went in search of a quick morsel, hoping Vorador might have some human in storage whose soul she could plunder.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Satisfied with her answer, Vorador took his book back, grabbing the queen sherquite's beak as well before heading out of the room to go and work on the anti-venom.

Raziel didn't say anything as the older vampire left, remaining unusually quet, the fever probably making it hard for him to come up with a decent retort. He was just about to go to sleep - or in this case lose consciousness - when Seth began dabbing at him with the cool cloth again. He groaned faintly, the water not enough to make a big difference in his temperature, but it was soothing and distracted him from the fever somewhat. He was able to fall into a more comfortable rest with her attending him, his pride forgotten; he really did need someone to take care of him while he was like this, he hated to admit, but he was just thankful that he had Seth to do it. She was so kind to him, Raziel had almost forgotten what such kindness felt like...

Lucky for Seth, Raziel didn't need to feed and he just kept on sleeping when she went to look for a soul to replenish he energy with. Vorador met her in the halls, he had been working hard and needed a little something to eat before he continued lest he burn himself out.

"Looking for something, my dear?" He asked, noting right away her almost transparent form.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth closed her eyes for a moment, trying to fight off the nausea that almost always overtook her when she was low on spiritual energy. She opened her eyes again when Vorador addressed her. She eyed him for a moment, stalling a moment to figure out the best way to formulate her request. "You keep humans on hand, correct? I require nourishment, a soul. One should suffice for quite some time, but I have not eaten in days and, as you can see, my connection to the Material realm weakens as I starve myself." She bowed slightly to him, carefully following vampiric precedents of propriety.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Vorador nodded, leading her her down the hall to where a few holding cells were "I'm guessing by the way you look, you wont be particular about who you eat, so I hope this will do..." He said, opening the door to reveal a young woman inside. She was hardly wearing anything, her chains could cover her better than the small pieces of cloth that covered whatever little signity she had left. She whimpered, pressing herself closer to the wall, very well knowing the fate that awaited her.

"Do you want to go first, or shall I? It doesn't matter to me though, she'll still be fresh and warm with her soul gone." He said to Seth and the woman began to sob, though Vorador looked as impartial as ever, maybe even a little annoyed, like this human was nothing more that a yapping dog that needed to be silenced.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth nodded gratefully to Vorador and walked through the open doorway, swaying lightly on her feet. She approached the nearly catatonic woman and laid a hand on her shoulder. The least she could do for the poor girl was use the one special gift she still had from her vampire unlife. She closed her eyes and flooded the woman's body with calm and pleasure, letting her die happily; after all, it was a painless way to go, a blessing after whatever she had been through up til now. Then she shrugged and the banner fell from her shoulders, leaving her stark naked, although she doubted anyone in the world would mind a naked skeleton in their room. She smiled internally at that thought as she sucked the girl's soul from her body.

Relief flooded her body, and the nausea receded. She stood stock still for a moment and let the soul transfer through her. She wouldn't need to feed again for another week or so, she thought wearily. Then she moved away form the girls prone form. "Thank you Sir. I will now return to attending my Sire." She turned about face and walked out of the room. Back to attending the sick...  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Vorador didn't much care for letting his prisoners feel bliss before they died. He did however let them, to prevent them from squirming so much when he fed. But if he had wanted the end of their life to be enjoyable, they wouldn't be down in the dungeon now would they?

He wasted no time draining the lifeless form so as not to let the blood go cold. Though while feeding, he was put into a hypersensitive state, like all vampires were when they drank warm blood. His large, green ears twitched with a sound Seth could not hear. He snarled quietly, standing up and rushing out of the cell.

"Hurry!" Was all Vorador said as he passed Seth, heading straight up to his room where Raziel was being kept. He burst through the door just in time to see a large, hideous, demon bird picking up the barely conscious Raziel in its beak. The poor, sickly wraith was doing his best to get the thing to drop him, but he was just too weak and eventually went limp in the demon-bird's beak.

Vorador hissed, grabbing the nearest thing - a vase, and hurling it at the creatures head. It squawked from the impact, dropping Raziel back on the bed. But before Vorador could get the other to safety, it had put it's massive talons on Raziel, holding him there as it spread its wings defensively, guarding its prey.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth whirled around when she heard Vorador's warning, and then turned again when he rushed past her. RAZIEL! Her legs moved of their own volition, propelling her past the vampire and up the hall. She attempted to make the turn, but ended up having to run up onto the wall and launch herself off of it and into the room.

A hideous beast was assaulting Raziel, holding him in its obsidian beak. Its head swirled around to look at them. A vase flew from the other side of the room and hit the beast square on its head. Vorador... Once the creature dropped Raziel, Seth rushed forward. Her wings snapped open and she half jumped, half flew into the creatures downy chest, knocking it back and away from her ill sire. She dug her talons deep into its throat, relishing in the warmth of blood that ran down her arm, staining her blue body red.

Then she fell back, scrapping viciously at her ears. The creature was emitting a horrendous, piercing screech; one that Seth knew would have caused her ears to bleed and rupture if she had blood left. As it was, the blast knocked her senseless to the ground, and she gasped sharply when the demon beast gashed open her back with its razor sharp talons, ripping through muscles and breaking three ribs. Seth dug her talons and claws into the ground and shoved the creature off of her, rewarded by the sound of a fourth rib breaking under the strain.

She twisted her body suddenly, grabbing onto the left leg of the demon and slingshotting herself up onto its back. She jammed her two taloned hands through the eyes of the beast, enjoying the spasm of pain that shot through it. "Vorador!" She dug her arms in further, attempting to hold the creatures head back through pain and sheer will power.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Vorador moved to unsheathe his sword, but when the thing screeched, he had no choice but to cover his sensitive ears - he was only lucky he didn't get the full brunt of it like Seth did, or with his ears, he'd probably be a lot worse off than she was.

He didn't hear her due to his ears ringing, but it was obvious enough by her looking at him that he had to finish it off while she still held it. So pulling out his sword, he strode forward and shoved the blade right up through the bird's head and into its brain. It toppled over once the sword was pulled free, but it still twitched.

"They really are pulling out all the stops, aren't they?" Vorador growled, sheathing his sword despite the blood on it before crossing the room toward Raziel. He gathered up the smaller vampire into his arms, making sure to cover him with plenty of blankets as he did so soon Raziel was hardly visible. "Be thankful my sire has so much faith in you or else I wouldn't be doing this..." He didn't care if Raziel could hear him or not. He looked to Seth. "It's no longer safe here. We're going down to my study."  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth held the bird as well as she could, scraping the back of the eye sockets with her talons. When Vorador shoved his sword up through the bird's skull and it began to topple, Seth found her left arm was still stuck and she couldn't dislodge it in time before the great bird toppled over and landed, full force, on her broken ribs. Seth fought back a howl of pain, suppressing it into a whimper in the back of her throat. She didn't feel pain like most people, so if it hurt that badly... she would worry about all that later! She clawed her way out from under the bird, doing her best to not make a noise, not give notice to the fact that each motion only worsened the pain from her back and hollow chest. She wondered what she had left that could hurt that badly. It wasn't like she had soft organs to puncture or skin with nerves to sever.

She looked around the room when she finally got up and nodded to Vorador. Stepping over the twitching corpse, she grabbed the bundled Raziel and hauled him up into her arms. This time she couldn't suppress the pain and she gasped, inhaling sharply. She shot Vorador a scathing look, the last thing she needed was for him to worry about her. "After you..." She managed to force out, amazed anew at how much pain talking generated. Her arms locked securely around her Sire, unwilling to let him know of her carelessness. She was better than to get so wounded by a single opponent! Mentally chastising herself, she set off after the ancient vampire.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Vorador was about to offer to carry Raziel in Seth's stead, seeing as she looked to be in pretty rough shape, but by the look she gave him, he guessed he would be doing nothing of the sort. It didn't matter though, he wouldn't argue about it, the sooner they got to safety the better and it didn't matter to him who was carrying who.

"Sherquite eaters." Vorador said once they where in his study. He was lighting a strange smelling incense and placing all around the room. "The unspoken are definitely after him if they were to send a demon bird. They eat the Sherquite larva out of the living host, it could smell the venom on Raziel."

Once he was finished with the incense, the stuff obviously meant to cover up Raziel's smell, Vorador headed back to the table where he was working on the antidote. "Now where did I put that syringe..." He muttered, looking for the last item he needed to cure Raziel - the empty needle which would soon be filled with the anti venom.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth followed Vorador, fighting through the pain and attempting to listen to the knowledge he was imparting to her. However, she did not understand the context. "Unspoken ones? Perhaps you should tell me just who or what we're truly dealing with here." When they got to the study, she found a chair and sat down, tired and cringing slightly. She shifted Raziel's weight, supporting him as well as she could against her body until Vorador produced a clean space to lay him down.

"That bird wanted to eat the larva?" She looked down at Raziel and a hint of a laugh crept into her voice, "Aren't you popular, Sire..." She leaned her head back and took a few deep breaths, regretting it immediately when pain shot through her chest again. Those ribs were obviously hitting some remaining sensitive portion of her chest cavity. Perhaps once Raziel was helped, she would go and find a secluded spot and snap the bones back into place, that would at least ease the pain. She had an extensive field knowledge of medicine from years on the war front, and she knew it would only hurt worse if she didn't reset the bones.