Graveyard

[Vikteren]

Vikteren paused, a few corridors up ahead. Damn. The fledglings had slowed him down--and his follower had increased his or her speed. There was very little doubt that it wasn't a follower. Nobody moved that quickly without purpose. They were tracking him. For a moment he debated waiting in hiding for the follower, to discover his or her intent, but he decided against it. It would only slow him down. And it was quite possible that they meant him no harm--although unlikely. He shook his head, an ordinary movement made strangely foreign by gift of vampire grace, and turned. Keep moving, keep following the trail of--one of the vampires caught sight of him, managed a scream before being rudely interrupted by the seperation of head from neck. Oh, damn again.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

With her preternatural sight Antha watched him, unable to help but utter the faintest sound of disgust. This was a terrible mistake she knew, but she couldn't help it. She felt like a girl with a death wish on all accounts.
Claire almost got dragged into this, she thought with remorse, He could have been killed by my recklessness! She felt like lingering back in the empty, bloodstained room she stood in now, not far behind Vikteren. She wanted to just stand there and agonize over her stupidity.
As these thoughts overtook her, the undeniable work of the umbra as they pleaded for her to return to the surface world, there was a faint crackling off in the darkened corner of the room, hidden from her sight as her mind struggled to gain control over it's own thoughts. And there was a voice too, a faint whispering her human ears barely detected.
They were continuing with their pleas, the spirits clustered around Antha, but still they were forced into obeying her and within a split second a ring of fire had enveloped her, just barred from her flesh as it illuminated the entire room and sent a wave of fierce heat throughout the series of icy chambers.

 

[Vikteren]

Vikteren turned and hissed at the sudden wave of heat. Fire heat, sun heat. Gods and angels, damn again. No vampire then...and no pure human could follow the bloodspoor. A witch. He backtracked along the corridor, slid into a niche between the walls of bones to think. He cupped his hands against his mouth, then grimaced and lowered them, involuntarily tasting their blood on his fingers. The girl at the bar? Antha? Had she followed him? For what godsdamned bloody reason? He frowned and looked back. Maybe he ought to go ask her. But--he looked down at his hands, red up to the elbows, and touched his blood-stiffened hair. Well, he would if she didn't attack him on sight. He stood, gracefully, and began retracing his path.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

As the room lit up, a thin, pale figure could be seen struggling to stand in the corner. Blood. The hunger that consumed him was driving him forward, towards Antha. But she hesitated, her pity for him sinking in. In a way it sickened her, that she might not want to hurt this creature that had every intention of draining her dry. Then again, for all she knew it could have been the spirit's sympathy for him.
Whatever the reason, she overlooked it and extended her hand, gathering the flame in her palm before letting it loose on the struggling creature. He had only a moment to scream, of which he took every advantage, nearly deafening Antha even, before he was merely a pile of grease and ashes heaped on the ground. She could just see his soul rising from these ashes as she bended over to scatter them, dispersing in an instant as he was sent somewhere beyond even the witch's sight.
For a moment Antha stood staring at this odd spectacle, not a single clear emotion swimming in her head. She felt like something cold and wicked, staring at her victim the way she was. But these thoughts she cast aside and did what she always did, she moved on. Vikteren had fallen behind for some reason or another, a puzzling factor to her, but as she tried to keep up she quickly let it slip from her mind.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

As the room lit up, a thin, pale figure could be seen struggling to stand in the corner. Blood. The hunger that consumed him was driving him forward, towards Antha. But she hesitated, her pity for him sinking in. In a way it sickened her, that she might not want to hurt this creature that had every intention of draining her dry. Then again, for all she knew it could have been the spirit's sympathy for him.
Whatever the reason, she overlooked it and extended her hand, gathering the flame in her palm before letting it loose on the struggling creature. He had only a moment to scream, of which he took every advantage, nearly deafening Antha even, before he was merely a pile of grease and ashes heaped on the ground. She could just see his soul rising from these ashes as she bended over to scatter them, dispersing in an instant as he was sent somewhere beyond even the witch's sight.
For a moment Antha stood staring at this odd spectacle, not a single clear emotion swimming in her head. She felt like something cold and wicked, staring at her victim the way she was. But these thoughts she cast aside and did what she always did, she moved on. Vikteren had fallen behind for some reason or another, a puzzling factor to her, but as she tried to keep up she quickly let it slip from her mind.

Vikteren caught sight of Antha as she rounded one of the walls of bones, and jerked back out of her line of sight. So it was her. Perhaps he should have been angry, perhaps even a little fearful. She was, after all, one of the most powerful Mayfairs of their line. But--no. The vampire glanced back towards the corridor, then turned and walked, slowly, into view. He was not exactly a reassuring sight. His hair was matted with blood, his hands and arms covered in it, and the boneless, inhuman sinuousness of every movement never put humans at their ease in any case. And his eyes were green again. "Why are you following me?" he said flatly. Even his voice sounded wrong. But Vikteren didn't feel like engaging in pleasant banter now.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha took an unintentional step back, barely noticed even by her own mind. Fear had stricken hard, rendering her somewhat useless for the time being, and leaving her with all the color drained from her face. She tried finally to divert her eyes, certain he could see her fear. Antha, you're an idiot.
"Does it matter?" She was able to keep the traces of fear clear from her voice at least, and she was so very grateful for that. "Honestly, I don't know why you'd even bother to stop and confront me." Again she took another step back and found herself against the wall suddenly. A little sound of shock issued from her lips, just barely audible, as she spun around and faced the mass of bones. It made her feel sick for a moment, but it did a somewhat decent job of diverting her attention. Some of the color even returned to her skin as she overcame the initial shock but stood staring in a sickened state of mesmeric curiosity.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha took an unintentional step back, barely noticed even by her own mind. Fear had stricken hard, rendering her somewhat useless for the time being, and leaving her with all the color drained from her face. She tried finally to divert her eyes, certain he could see her fear. Antha, you're an idiot.
"Does it matter?" She was able to keep the traces of fear clear from her voice at least, and she was so very grateful for that. "Honestly, I don't know why you'd even bother to stop and confront me." Again she took another step back and found herself against the wall suddenly. A little sound of shock issued from her lips, just barely audible, as she spun around and faced the mass of bones. It made her feel sick for a moment, but it did a somewhat decent job of diverting her attention. Some of the color even returned to her skin as she overcame the initial shock but stood staring in a sickened state of mesmeric curiosity.

"Yes," he said, matching her even tone of voice. "I would prefer to know. If you are simply exploring the catacombs out of a morbid interest, you would more than likely find another section less--shall we say, active. If you are following me, as I believe you are...why?" He stood there, motionless as only one without breath could be.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

She stood silent for a moment, her arms wound around herself as if she were cold. "I really wish I could say," she said softly, her voice little more than a whisper. "Stupidity perhaps, rebellion, senseless valor..." She quickly lowered her head, letting her hair fall as a veil in her face. "Then again, maybe I'm after revenge." It felt as if she were speaking nonsense, every little word that popped into her head. But she was simply desperate for sound to calm her fear, something other than his voice the way it was at the moment.
Vision was failing her, if only slightly, and her head was becoming hot as if with fever. And as the umbra were desperate to make her realize, something was moving in the room behind her, clad entirely in shadow so that physical vision couldn't catch it. She thought momentarily to turn and set it aflame, but she knew better. After all, masked as the creature's waves were at the moment it must have been powerful. In her current state, it was best not to make any sudden moves until she knew more.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

She stood silent for a moment, her arms wound around herself as if she were cold. "I really wish I could say," she said softly, her voice little more than a whisper. "Stupidity perhaps, rebellion, senseless valor..." She quickly lowered her head, letting her hair fall as a veil in her face. "Then again, maybe I'm after revenge." It felt as if she were speaking nonsense, every little word that popped into her head. But she was simply desperate for sound to calm her fear, something other than his voice the way it was at the moment.
Vision was failing her, if only slightly, and her head was becoming hot as if with fever. And as the umbra were desperate to make her realize, something was moving in the room behind her, clad entirely in shadow so that physical vision couldn't catch it. She thought momentarily to turn and set it aflame, but she knew better. After all, masked as the creature's waves were at the moment it must have been powerful. In her current state, it was best not to make any sudden moves until she knew more.

There was a brief blur of movement, then he was next to her, his hand--those tainted hands--against her skin. His hand--cold as ice-- against her cheek. "You're burning up," he said, without a trace of surprise in his tone of voice. There was a brief pause as Vikteren inclined his head, considering. Then, "If I escort you back to the surface, may I have your word not to return here? These catacombs...I am quite certain you could protect yourself, here, but I would not wish to test it. Many of my kind call this place home, and you would be but one against--" he cut off, stood up straight, and looked over her shoulder. Vampire senses were different from any sort of physical human senses, and this presence was getting entirely too familiar.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha shifted slightly, her hand darting up to separate his from her cheek lest he feel the sudden flush in it. "They're strong..." she whispered softly, barely loud enough for his vampiric ears to hear it even. The umbra surrounding her shifted in an effort to enclose Vikteren, feeding on the will of her subconscious mind. But she was too fear stricken to notice, her entire focus cast on the moving shadow.
"Guten Tag. Willkommen zu meinem bescheidenen Aufenthaltsort."
She didn't feel the need to turn around; she knew the voice as well as she might the voice of death had she ever heard it. Besides, what other vampires around the city knew such fluent German?
"Are we not going to speak? Come now, no need to be rude Miss Mayfair." Her pulse quickened as his breath softly hit her neck and his cold, hard fingers closed on her shoulder.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha shifted slightly, her hand darting up to separate his from her cheek lest he feel the sudden flush in it. "They're strong..." she whispered softly, barely loud enough for his vampiric ears to hear it even. The umbra surrounding her shifted in an effort to enclose Vikteren, feeding on the will of her subconscious mind. But she was too fear stricken to notice, her entire focus cast on the moving shadow.
"Guten Tag. Willkommen zu meinem bescheidenen Aufenthaltsort."
She didn't feel the need to turn around; she knew the voice as well as she might the voice of death had she ever heard it. Besides, what other vampires around the city knew such fluent German?
"Are we not going to speak? Come now, no need to be rude Miss Mayfair." Her pulse quickened as his breath softly hit her neck and his cold, hard fingers closed on her shoulder.

Vikteren gave the new arrival a cold stare. "Whoever you may be," he said, stepping around Antha and gently pulling her behind him, "It is still impolite to interrupt a conversation. You shall remain silent until we are both finished, or you may leave us." At least, this vampire could attempt to leave them. Antha probably wouldn't like any more bloodshed in her presence, so he would be forced to wait until she returned to the surface. But Vikteren couldn't afford any rumors about his whereabouts, at least for the present.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

For a moment Antha stood again paralyzed. Had she been alone, she might have been driven into a fury. But that was a side of her she'd rather Vikteren not see. So cautiously she touched his shoulder to get his attention, moving closer as if she were afraid he'd withdraw from her. "Please don't provoke him. He's not someone to be underestimated." She leaned over a few inches to get a better look at him, watching his eyes as they focused on Vikteren. "After all, witches do make the best vampires." Quickly she scanned the area behind him, looking for any sign of movement. But it was still in the darkness, even the spirits told her as much.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

For a moment Antha stood again paralyzed. Had she been alone, she might have been driven into a fury. But that was a side of her she'd rather Vikteren not see. So cautiously she touched his shoulder to get his attention, moving closer as if she were afraid he'd withdraw from her. "Please don't provoke him. He's not someone to be underestimated." She leaned over a few inches to get a better look at him, watching his eyes as they focused on Vikteren. "After all, witches do make the best vampires." Quickly she scanned the area behind him, looking for any sign of movement. But it was still in the darkness, even the spirits told her as much.

"Neither am I," he said flatly. It wasn't a boast, it was a simple statement. Vikteren had taken down his fair share of his own kind over the century. If this one decided to be a bother now, he wouldn't even wait until Antha was out of earshot. "And you still have not answered my question." He kept his eyes on the presence.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

She watched him for a moment, considering, before she quickly shook her head to signify no, her red-gold curls battering her face as she did so. "I'm not leaving. I have something I need to do. Besides..." She hesitated for a moment, considering whether or not to say it. But very quickly she decided against this and so replaced the thought with another. "I won't let him see me give up. He'd never let it go." A slight blush came to her cheeks, half out of fury, as she stood thinking over her words. And of course this sent a little smirk to his lips, though he didn't once look at her.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

She watched him for a moment, considering, before she quickly shook her head to signify no, her red-gold curls battering her face as she did so. "I'm not leaving. I have something I need to do. Besides..." She hesitated for a moment, considering whether or not to say it. But very quickly she decided against this and so replaced the thought with another. "I won't let him see me give up. He'd never let it go." A slight blush came to her cheeks, half out of fury, as she stood thinking over her words. And of course this sent a little smirk to his lips, though he didn't once look at her.

He glanced quickly over his shoulder at her expression. "And what would that be?" he inquired, turning his gaze upon the presence. "If you have an ancestor entombed within these walls, it would be easier to pay your respects on the surface," he said, although he really didn't believe that was what she was here for.