LORE: Training a Hell Hound (MATURE)

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad took a second to think about her words. Even if it had been a joke, hadn't he just said to her the night before that everyone has to have a weakness? What was Sinead's real reason for demanding this of him? "I can't disobey it if it's an order," he said, walking over to her and putting his arms loosely around her shoulders. He looked down at her and gave her a grin. "I mean, I literally can't. And it won't necessarily be another four years. Maybe he's thought of something."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele didn’t look reassured by his comments, in fact, she looked just as worried and aggravated as she had before he tried to console her. “Will you have to go away?” she asked him seriously, not really sure if she could take being apart from him any again. After all, they had just reunited only three days ago. She wanted to go speak with the Queen, but sadly she wasn’t a hallway down anymore. She wanted to make that man go away, or disappear, and suddenly horrible thoughts entered her mind. Tenele closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. “If you must, then I guess nothing I say can do anything about it.” Tenele didn’t know what she was going to do if she knew Vlad was in pain. She might lose her mind.

[Soran Nightblade]

"It'll be fine," Vlad said, putting his arms more closely around her. "I'm going to go talk to him." He took a step back from her and gave her a reassuring look. "I won't just let him do anything he wants. I have someone I want to protect, after all," he grinned, touching her cheek. "Maybe it would be best if you waited here."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked down at the oversized robe. "I think I'll go wondering to find some clothes," she told him softly, leaning up onto the tips of her toes and kissing his lips softly. "I'll be back in a minute or two. Shouldn't be too hard to find some." She walked and knelt down next to Stalker. "I'll bring you some water on my way back." She rubbed his head gently before walking towards the door. On the way out she cast the Dr. a very dark glare to let him know that she wasn't found of him in the least, and then she passed him by.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad watched her go and took a deep breath. He walked out after her and met Maxwell's eyes. "Alright, let's talk," the vampire said flatly, gesturing for him to get into the room.

The doctor strode in, and he didn't have to remind Vlad to shut the door. "Yesterday can't be a good enough reason. Why does the queen want this done now?" Vlad demanded.

Maxwell smirked and studied the vampire for a few moments. "Clever as always, aren't you? I won't hold this back from you. A few days ago, a monastery near the border was attacked."

"Arken?" Vlad asked.

"It's not clear who it was, but it's possible that it was Arken. The invasion took place at night, and among the things taken was a large sanctuary that had been filled with religious artifacts, including a valuable statue that contained several pounds of blessed metal."

"That could create a lot of weapons," Vlad acknowledged.

"It could have been a common group of bandits and not Arken. But even if our enemies don't have these items, the fact that a church was robbed is an issue. The border areas have been growing increasingly chaotic due to the fighting, and the monasteries are among the few refuges people have against Arken. If the anarchy grows worse, the queen may lose control over the region. Even if you have nothing to fear from Arken, if you're sent on a peacekeeping mission there, you'll be of little use protecting the churches when you can't even cross the threshold."

"Hold on now. Peacekeeping? Protecting churches? This doesn't sound like my line of work," Vlad scoffed.

"The queen decides your line of work," Maxwell asserted.

"Of all the things that need attention in this war, why would she send me there?" Vlad persisted irately.

"Because she needs Lady Raider there."

That sent the vampire into a blank silence. The queen was trying to let him stay at Tenele's side. "But that won't work," he mused. "Assuming I give you my cooperation, what makes you think I can do now what I couldn't do then?"

"I've developed a vaccine," the doctor said simply.

"A vaccine. Against holy magic," Vlad asked flatly, crossing his arms.

"Yes. All you have to do is drink it."

"What's in it?" the vampire demanded skeptically.

"Holy water."

Vlad burst out into wry laughter. "Isn't that the same thing we tried last time," he sneered.

"I coated it on your skin. I never had you drink it."

"Oh, brilliant. That makes a lot of sense, because soft tissue melts into goo much more slowly than, you know, skin," Vlad said.

"It isn't just holy water. I've spent years making this vaccine. I had to have it blessed."

"You blessed holy water. Did your mind dull these past few hundred years?"

"It was blessed by a unicorn. It takes a while to find one and convince it of the importance of my cause.

"A unicorn. Really." Vlad was about ready to throw the man back outside, possibly through the window.

"They can heal the dead, Vladimir. If my calculations are right, the unicorn's enchantment will be just enough to prevent the holy water from killing you."

"And if it's not "just enough"?" Vlad scoffed. "No, I think you're going to need a better plan."

"We can do it the old fashioned way," Maxwell offered.

Vlad shook his head ambiguously, and sat back against the bed, trying to come to terms with this insane situation. He drew a deep breath.

"You're breathing. Don't do things that are unnecessary," Maxwell corrected him flatly.

Vlad stopped mid-breath, shooting the man a cold glare.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele tried to hide from people, which was a really silly thing, but the last thing she wanted is more bowing and praising. So she sort of snuck along the walls and ducked behind things when she saw people. For one, she was in a thin silk robe, that only made her emberassment grow. So she found the room that she had originally occupied the first visit to the palace, hoping that maybe her old clothes were there. Sadly, they were not. So she dug through the closet, since it was obviously a woman's room... and low and behold there were clothes.

She pulled from the assorment a black dress, because the rest of them were black. Not that she didn't like black, she just usually found herself going with pastels, or bue and occasionally red. She slipped from the robe and pulled the dress on over her head, tying all the ribbons around her waist. It was a one shoulder dress, had a thin bit of gossamer going over on shoulder and attatchign to the back of the dress leaving a steam of black fabric to cascade down to the hem. She needed to find more clothes if they were going to be leaving, because she couldn't very well stay in the same thing for two weeks... and what if they weren't leaving? She would still need clothes.

Tenele went a few rooms down, but all the clothes there were four sizes too big. So she went to another room and found scantly clothing that she probably wouldn't even have the guts to wear before Vlad. Eventually though she decided to go back to Vlad and look later. She wanted to know if he had agreed to that mad man's scheme.

Oh, just the thought angered her. Just the mere mental picture of Vlad in agony and that man's brows furrowed at the confusion of why his ideas weren't working. She wanted to hit him, and she wasn't even near him.

[Soran Nightblade]

"This potion of yours, it isn't just some hunch, is it?" Vlad asked coldly.

"My research suggests that if it can be survived, it will result in immunity."

"And about the little matter of surviving," Vlad brows twitched in irritation.

"Well, I had the unicorn mass produce the potions and then I tried them out in an extensive double-blind study on a bunch of expendable human test subjects," Maxwell mocked. "Really, a little faith would be appreciated. I know more about your body's limits than you do."

"So comforting," Vlad murmured flatly.

"If you wish, when the potion has run its course, your blood can be used to create a cure to your hellhound's illness. Honestly, I had hoped to try the potion on the hound before you, but in its current state it wouldn't survive the process.

"Again, filling me with confidence," the vampire snorted. "So that's it? No backup plan, no safety net if it doesn't work? And you think I'll agree to it?"

"I don't expect it to fail. You are essentially my life's work. I'd hardly waste your life casually. At the same time, I won't be done until you're complete. Frankly, I was disturbed when Sinead filled me in. Lingering with a human companion, keeping your hellhound in your presence like some kind of pet, getting tricked into standing on a holy circle? It seems you've gotten sloppy by becoming so accustomed to humans. How many times have I told you that you're far above their level? This kind of sentimentalism will tarnish your power."

"You can stop lecturing. I'll try your concoction, because your track record for not killing me is clean so far. We can deal with it after Tenele returns."

"You have no need to consult a human for permission regarding your own-" Maxwell began lecturing.

"After she returns, so I can explain it to her. Sit down and keep your pants on, old man," Vlad snapped.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele opened the door and twirled with a pitcher of water in her arms to close the door. The thin fabric of her dress floated around her as she did, her silver hair sweeping up into the air. She then turned back into the room and froze as if her happy little picture had suddenly been ripped to shreds. "Hello," she replied a bit coldly to Maxwell, moving to where there was a basin and empty pitcher. She took the bowl and filled it with water and then moved to set it in front of Stalker. She knelt there in front of him, her hand resting on his head. "Now you drink it, or I won't scratch behind your ears," she warned him with a gentle smile, turning her attention to Vlad.

[Soran Nightblade]

Stalker's eyes opened to look at her, but unlike the night before, he didn't seem motivated by her bribe. He just lay very still and ignored the water she'd brought.

Vlad watched her interaction with the hound, ignoring Maxwell's impatient stare. He waited for her eyes to come up to his. "I see you found a dress," he said, a bit dazzled by her appearance despite the doctor's presence. "The doctor and I have agreed to try one plan. If it fails, he'll go back to Ighten and drop the issue. It should only be a couple hours," he said, glancing at the doctor for confirmation.

"I can't estimate the time," Maxwell offered coolly.

[Emora Deen]

"Can I come?" Tenele asked him softly, her expression worriedly turning back to Stalker. She pushed the bowl of water towards his nose, taking some into her hand and smothing it acrous his muzzle. She thought maybe he would be interested in the scent or get a taste for it and realize how much he wanted it.

[Soran Nightblade]

Stalker lapped his tongue out across her hand and took some of the water, knocking most of it onto the floor. Then he closed his eyes without bothering to drink from the dish.

The vampire made a face at the idea of her watching him drink holy water. He was torn between seriously wanting her there and knowing perfectly well that he shouldn't let her be anywhere near it. "There's no need to...It's probably going to be pretty boring," he attempted so poorly that even Maxwell rolled his eyes.

[Emora Deen]

She wiped her hands on her dress and Tenele's brow furrowed. "For a vampire I'd suspect you to be a better liar," she told him as she rose to her feet, folding her arms. She watched him for a long moment and then gave a heavy sigh, glancing down at Stalker but not really looking at him. "Vlad, if you don't want me to be there... I'll understand. I don't want to watch you be in pain. I don't want you in pain at all, but the last thing I want to do on top of that is watch you be in it. But, I don't want you to be alone while you're that way more. I'd rather be with you to help you, than to leave you alone in your agony. But, its your decision and I won't argue with you this time. This is your choice to make, and your pain to take... I just want to help deaden it if I can."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad narrowed his eyes and looked away. It would be extremely selfish to bring her. "I'd like you to stay here. If things get nasty, the doc will come find you," he said. "Also, that warning you got last night seems suspicious, and the rain seems to have let up, so it might be best to avoid being by yourself. I'd appreciate it if you could hang around Atul or something for the day."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele nodded. She wasn't pleased by his responce and strangely maybe a little hurt, and half of her wanted to argue. However, she had promised not too. "I think I'll be fine by myself. It was just a crazy old woman, Vlad..." Tenele argued about that instead.

Finally she gave a sigh, because she didn't even feel like arguing about that in place of what she was really upset about. "Fine, I'll visit him for a little while." Her attention turned to the doctor and she went to stand directly before him, pointing a finger in his face. "If he dies, or you do anything to bring him close to death... Whatever pain you inflict upon him will be like an itch compared to what I do to you, got it?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"I have my own reasons to keep Vladimir alive. I hardly need to add yours to motivate me," Maxwell snorted. "Now, let's get down to things," he said, looking at Vlad. "Do you know of a suitable place?"

Vlad was still looking at Tenele as he spoke. "In the lower levels, there should be a prison," he said calmly, like he was pointing out a good restaurant.

"Lead me there," Maxwell said.

Vlad stood up and walked to the door. He cast another quick look at her before going out. "Be careful," he said. "I'll see you soon."

With that, he and Maxwell left the room and were on their way to the palace's dungeon.