Lore: The Seer of Lies

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:05 pm

Tenele gave a week nod as he lifted her up. She stared at him through half closed eyes as he carried her closer to the stream. "Oh, how I've longed for a bath..." she said, a touch of humor in her voice.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:22 pm

Vlad frowned and walked faster. The weakness of her voice and her dragging eyes made his chest tighten, his skin chill with gooseflesh. He realized as he carried her that he was afraid. He was terrified by the way she was acting, the things she was saying. Afraid that she wouldn't make it. He reconsidered, wondering if he could somehow get them to Lowight immediately. He was no doctor. One thing was for sure, if anything else happened to them, he was going to try it, one way or the other.

They reached the stream and he set her down just beside it. Without hesitating, he climbed down into the water. It made what was left of his pants cling to his skin. The water came up to mid-thigh on him. He rinsed the blood of his hands, then pulled off his shredded shirt and soaked it in the ice-cold water. He took the wet cloth and began sponging the blood and dirt off her skin. He cleaned the wound on her side and licked it quickly, before enough blood could ooze back into it to set him off. The coagulant in his saliva would help it clot. He felt the need rising in his blood, but stopped himself from lingering with his tongue on her broken skin or enjoying it as he usually did. He pulled his head back and knelt in the rushing water, letting the icy temperature cool his brain.

He composed himself slowly, then returned to the task of cleaning her skin and her other wounds. Some of them were obviously infected already. Her fever burned hot despite the cool water on her skin. Vlad fought against a sigh. Only humans sighed.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:31 pm

Tenele laid there for a moment and as he licked her wound she chuckled softly. "Once... when I realized they were covering my body in cuts I though, 'Vlad would have a feild day with an excuse to lick my entire body'," she grinned and turned her head to the side, watching him for a moment.

She grew quiet and glanced down at her leg. She sighed heavily. "Vlad... your going to have to push it back... push the bones back together. They could... start healing like that and I'll have a crooked leg forever. I'm already ugly as it is, I don't want a crooked leg." She was trying to make her voice sound joking, but she knew she didn't look the least bit pretty with all the bruises and scratches and infected burns and cuts. She probably would be littered with scars.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:43 pm

Vlad met her eyes again. He'd done about all he could with the water on her wounds. If there were medicinal herbs lying under all this snow, he wasn't sure he'd recognize them anyway. "If only we were safe, I would clean every inch of you with my tongue and dwell in the scent of your skin and what lies beneath it," he said, a trickle of lust showing in his voice. Vlad's passions were a bit different from human sexuality, but in some ways just as intimate, if not more. "You are not ugly. You never will be," he added as he set his hands on either side of the broken bone in her leg. He didn't warn her, he just suddenly twisted his hands, and the bone reset with a sickening crunch. Vlad's grip remained firm in case she struggled. The bone wasn't going anywhere.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:50 pm

Tenele screamed and that seemed to have hurt more than when they had actually broken it. She clutched at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes as her upper body withered. She hadn't breathed until a nearly a minute later and gasped for breath, panting as she tried to ignore the pain.

"Ow..." was the only thing she could think to say. She glanced back at him, tears trickling down her cheeks. Tenele still panted for breath, shaking harder now.

She reached down and grabbed his hand, holding it in her own as tightly as she could.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:59 pm

Vlad held the bone in place with one hand, one perfectly steady undead hand. His other hand grasped hers tightly. He pressed his lips to it, moving them in a slow circle and then touching his cheek to the back of her fingers. He slowly climbed out of the water, rotating her so that her leg stretched across the ground in front of her. He propped it on the bundled rag he'd been using, then moved a few steps away to find a good, solid piece of wood. He came back with a log about three inches in diameter. Flad set it on its end, drew out his claws, and dashed them across it, shredding the wood like paper. It fell in flat strips on the ground. Vlad gathered them and broke them to the right length. Then he went back to Tenele and began securing the wood strips to her leg with the leaves he'd collected. He moved as slowly and gently as he could, but there was just no way to make this hurt less. It took him about ten minutes to set up the splint securely. It wasn't a comfortable device, but the bone wasn't going anywhere. He glanced up at her when he finished, a little reluctant to see the tears on h er face.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:06 pm

She reached out to him, grabbing onto his arm and tugging on his arm once he was finished. She wanted him to lie next to her. She wanted him to hold her. She was nearly out of it now and though she had no strength to actually pull him to her she hoped he understood.

Her broke arm was probably more cracked than anything. It wasn't disfigured, however she couldn't use it. So she reached out to him with her good arm, her hand gently wrapping around his muscled arm. "I missed you," she said in a faint voice.

She smiled at him softly and it was clear she wouldn't be awake much longer. She was tired and she too needed rest.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:11 pm

Vlad was wondering about splinting her arm as well, but when she pulled on his arm, he saw a need in her eyes that seemed more important. He slowly leaned down next to her, lying on his side and stretching his arm under her head. She felt warm, albeit too warm, and secure beside him. "I missed you too," he confided quietly, holding her eyes. He couldn't believe he was saying it, but it was true, and the circumstances weren't exactly normal.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:20 pm

Tenele sighed softly against him, tilting her head to nuzzle against his cool body. He felt good against her burning skin. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know if she should tell him the horrors of what had happened or keep them forever to herself. She didn't know whether she should make small talk, or just shut up. The only thing she could think to do was rest against him. She laid there very still against him, hiding her face so he wouldn't see that she was crying. Still in shock... and so very happy to be close to him again.

She tilted her head, using some of the last bit of strength she had to bring herself closer to him and there she kissed his lips softly, lovingly. Then Tenele lad herself back down on his arm, snuggling ever closer to him before she let her weariness take her. She fell a sleep in his cool arms, unable to stay awake any longer.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:08 pm

Vlad lay still next to her, her soft kiss still lingering on his lips. He could tell she was crying; the irregularity of her breathing and the trembling of her shoulders was obvious in contrast to his stillness. He just waited patiently for the inevitable, for her body to fall still and her breath to go heavy with sleep. He could sense it immediately when it finally came over her, a soft fading of her pulse.

He watched her sleep for a few minutes, but it was like torture. He bare neck pressed hot against his arm, and lay exposed and unsuspecting against the air. He didn't want her, not like this. Not even for play, his need was just too strong. If he tasted her, he would kill her. He was the only insulation she had against the cold weather around them, and neither of them were wearing much, so he was reluctant to leave her side. But he couldn't keep her warm forever; she would need food and medicine. He had to get her back. He slid slowly out of her arms and stood up, He wondered briefly if his hellhound would willingly lie at her side, but scratched the idea. Evil things only respected power. He couldn't command it as he was now.

He walked into the forest, his ears on high alert for any sound of human movement. He didn't like leaving Tenele alone. Dark was falling, and the forest was not a peaceful one. He continued on a little further and heard the faintest sound, like a crying sound. Coming around a crop of trees, he discovered a woman lying against a tree, nursing a broken ankle. There was a basket next to her filled with some kind of vegetable., and a large pack that she must have been carrying. A traveler.

She glanced up at him, noticing him from the corner of her eye. "Who are you?" she said nervously.

Vlad didn't answer. She was young, maybe twenty years old. She was alone. She was hurt, and it was nighttime. She was going to die here anyway. "Are we near a village?" he said, his voice blank and even.

She turned her head, studying him. "No, the closest one is Hepian, and that's...oh, god, I should never have made the trip alone," she said sorrowfully. "There's a small one to the south, but it's abandoned. All boarded up. The people just left after what happened to Hepian."

Vlad frowned. So the village wasn't just in hiding, it was evacuated. He should take this woman's blood. She wasn't going to make it. "Did someone attack you?" he said.

"No...no one travels this way anymore. I wouldn't have either, but I got lost and much too far north. I'm amazed you passed this way..." she looked at his ashen face and tattered clothing worriedly. "Are you sick?" she said worriedly. Vlad fought a bitter smile. She, worrying about him?

He paused a long moment. "Do you have any medicine?" he asked, his voice cold and calm.

"I have a small first aid kit..." she murmured nervously, noticing something strange about his manner.

Vlad knelt next to her and untied her travel pack, pawing through the contents. He pulled out her first aid kit and opened it. There was a vial of powder that he recognized as an anti-inflammatory and some dried leaves called bruisewort that were used on cuts and scrapes. A very weak disinfectant. Vlad took them and pocketed them, handing the bandage to her. "Wrap your ankle." Then he pulled out a robe and a thin sweater, and to her embarrassment, a pair of black panties, and set them aside on the snow.

"Hey, what exactly are you doing?" she said, getting annoyed now, but clearly too scared of a strange man in the forest to yell at him.

Vlad didn't respond. He dug deeper in the bag and found her rations. There was enough for a day, maybe two. He took half of it and set it with the clothes, putting the rest back. The last thing he found was a necklace with a large metal pendant covered in runes. It scalded into Vlad's skin as he touched it. Ah, a holy necklace. He swung it out, averting his eyes from it and bundling it into the robe. Then he turned back to her. She literally jumped as his bladelike claws jutted from his fingertips. Vlad pressed his hand down with the other and razed one of the claws off, wincing with the effort. He gave her the two-foot long claw and she just stared at it, so he set it on the ground next to her.

"Don't fall asleep. Protect yourself. Someone will be back for you," Vlad said, stuffing her belongings under his arm. He scowled and got back to his feet. Sinead had lifted all limits on his power unconditionally. He needed no permission to feed right now. But call it whim after a really bad day, or maybe she just looked too much like Tenele, he didn't feel like killing this woman. He felt her angry eyes on his back as he walked away, back to where Tenele was sleeping. He covered her with the cloak and began mixing the medicine with water from the stream, rubbing it lightly onto her cuts and wounds. He had a feeling she was too far out for it to wake her up, but he couldn't let her sleep too long. As soon as he could stabilize her, they were going to go for it and take their chances with the journey back to Lowight.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:29 pm

Tenele groaned in her sleep, her eyes flickering and her head tensing. She jerked and with a gasp her eyes flashed open. It had been at least an hour since she had fallen a sleep. She glanced around frantic, staring up at the night sky. Then she saw Vlad and all her fears were at ease. She wasn't in that cave and everything had been real. She felt fabric over her form and glanced down to find a cloak had been draped over her.

"How..." she asked, her voice tired. "Did you eat something..." she paused for a moment. "Or should I say someone?" For some reason she found that funny. Maybe it was the fever. Maybe it was the infection, but she found the saying incredibly funny. She laughed gently, the sound like music.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:39 pm

Vlad looked up at her, as if pondering his choice of words. He was glad she was awake, but uncertain about her question "Yes," he lied evenly, meeting her eyes. "...No. Nothing worth eating." He was sitting crosslegged next to her, and was immediately disappointed that he'd wasted his lie. "I found this though," he said, handing her the blunt end of a loaf of bread and some uncooked pea pods. "Use them to wash this down," he said, setting the vial of powder next to the food. "And then we'll get going."

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:55 pm

Tenele nodded and rolled over so that she was sitting on her side. She pushed herself to a sitting position and took the vial first. She opened her mouth and pored the powder down her throat. She gaged at first, the taste was horrible. Then she dropped the vial and picked up the bread, quickly eating it. She didn't realize how much of an animal she looked like. She hadn't eaten in... Well, she couldn't remember. She didn't remember them giving her food after Lothos left her with his Queen. He had taken rather good care of her compared to his Queen. Then, again she guessed it was because he had considered her his... consort.

Tenele's expressioned slacked and she chewed slowly, clearly in thought about something disturbing. Then she shook it free and smiled at Vlad. "Thank you," she said softly. She pulled herself close to him after she had ate her small meal. Once she was leaning against him she dragged the cloak up her near naked form. She was still shivering and was still burning up, but it did seem that cleaning her wounds had done some good.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:02 pm

Vlad leaned back on his hands and watched her eat. There was something comforting about it and how normal it was. As if they weren't half-dead and stranded some hundred miles from Lowight with state-of-the-art Vlad wannabees possibly trailing their teleportation path.

He gave her time to sit for a few more minutes, and he didn't miss the distant look she sometimes got in her eyes. Probably, terrible things had happened in that cave. He wasn't ready to ask. Thinking about torture and blood would only excite him right now, and he needed to keep his mind away from feeding. "Are you ready?" he asked her, standing up.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:10 pm

Tenele looked at him, pushing against him and leaning her head on his shoulder. Then he rose and asked her whether she was ready to leave or not. She didn't even ahve to think to answer. "Yes," she said. "I'm ready. More than ready. I want to go home."