LORE: Training a Hell Hound (MATURE)

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad was horrified hearing Tenele describe his situation to Atul. "Don't get the wrong idea," he said, pushing onto one elbow so he could look toward the door. He looked bizarrely human in the bed without the usual vampiric pallor or intrinsic energy about him. "She's exaggerating."

[Emora Deen]

Atul looked at him. "Oh, I'm sure she is," Atul told him as he came to stand next to Tenele. "But, for the sake of humoring her, shall I help you pretend need help? Else she'll bug us until we give in anyway."

Tenele rolled her eyes, something she rarely did.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad grimaced, unable to tell if he was being teased. "I don't need help, I just can't....Well....let's say I couldn't walk. I mean, we'll pretend that I can't walk and that i need your help to get into the next room," he muttered.

[Emora Deen]

"We both know Tenele over reacts about things," he told Vlad to make him feel better. "So we'll keep this up so she won't bug either of us." He leaned forward, grabbing one of Vlad's arms and lifting it over his shoulder. His inhuman strength pulled Vlad up from the cold soaked sheets and half-melted ice cubes and onto his feet, though barely. Tenele came around to the other side, though she was much shorter than Vlad and Atul, she slipped his other arm over her shoulder and they proceeded to help the vampire out of the room.

They walked several doors down to one that seemed to be unoccupied and Tenele let Atul take it from there as she opened up the door for them and closed it behidn them. The room was large, with a huge open area leading towards a balcony. This one, as did the first room she had when first arriving to the palace, did not have windows. It had pillars spaced out along the open area, with long pannels of thin fabric blowing in the breeze. There was a low round bed in the center of the room with pillows pilled across it. There was a curved loung chair, and an ornate dressing table. The walls were creme and the floors were a tan marble. Of course, as did everything else in the palace, there were gold accents on nearly everything.

"There you go," Atul told Vlad as he set him down on the bed. "Now, we've humored her."

Tenele scowled at them both, her arms folded. "Thank you."

[Soran Nightblade]

By the time they got to the new bed, Vlad was actually holding onto them a little too tight and had to remind himself to let go when they set him down. "She just wants to see good looking men hanging on each other. She's secretly very wild," he said breathlessly, sitting under his own weight. He was getting a little revenge on Tenele for outing him to the prince. No, the king.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele's mouth fell open and she actually turned a light shade of rose. Atul glanced to her, which only made her emberassment grow. "I, ugh... I'm going to go check on stalker and look for my sword." She turned and left the room, almost too quickly, closing the door behind her.

Atul laughed softly. "She was a lot more emberassed than I thought she would be about that comment. Looks like Tenele doesn't want anyone knowing if she's wild or not. I guess she has that lady-like reputation to keep up." He went over to the lound and laid back, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, did something interesting happen and I miss it?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"I ate something that didn't agree with me," Vlad smirked tiredly. A wave of dizziness made him sink back across the bed. He stretched his sore arms out at his sides, and his expression sobered. "Actually, I drank holy water to see if it would make me stronger. I've probably got her worried out of her mind, and I can't hide this from her."

[Emora Deen]

Atul blinked at his words. "You... drank holy water... to make you stronger?" Atul asked carefully to make sure he had heard the vampire right. Even though he knew he had. "And what in blazes gave you the idea that it would make you stronger? Tenele should give you a good kick in the rear for being that thick headed." Atul sat up a little bit, resting his elbows on his knees. "You are lucky you are still alive."

* * *

Tenele opened the door to the room and closed it behind her. Since Stalker was in the room she wanted to keep the door closed so no one would come in and mess with him. She saw him in the position he had been in earlier, and she went to him, running a hand through his fur. "Thank you for listening," she told him, kissing the top of his head. Then, she crawled forward and lifted the skirt around the bed only to find that the whole bottom was framed in wood. That meant her sword couldn't have gotten kicked under the bed.

Now she was really worried. She went to the bathroom and the towels they had used the night before. She even moved things around that they hadn't touched. She went back to where she could have sworn it had been, and still did not find it. Standing in the center of the room, Tenele put her hands on her hips, looking around. She felt a small tug at her heart at the thought of her mother's sword missing or stolen.

The room was silent, until that silence was interupted by the sound of metal scraping against stone. She whirled around, almost whirling right into the tip of her sword. “Oh, careful,” a sultry voice said to her. “It’s rather sharp.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad shook his head slowly against the sheets. He had no good excuse for what he agreed to other than "The queen made me do it," and he wasn't about to say that, either. He absently pulled his arm over his still-throbbing chest. "This may look ridiculous to you, but power is important. It means I can do what I want, kill what I want, protect what I want. Otherwise, I'm just someone's pet monster."

In the other room, Stalker snarled at the heels of Tenele's attacker, but this time, he didn't seem to have the reserve strength to move. He sent out a subliminal call to his master, but there was no guarantee that Vlad's mind was open to him at that moment.

As it happened, it was. Vlad glanced at the door instinctively as a vague sense of urgency called to him from the wolf's mind, as it had when the hound was stranded on the shore. All he really saw was shadows of black on gray. Was the beast finally passing? "You just got me here, but do you suppose you could get me back to that room?" Vlad asked somewhat resignedly, showing no reserve this time about requesting the other man's help. After all, Tenele wasn't there. "My dog's dying."

[Emora Deen]

Atul walked towards the bed, looking down at Vlad with a skeptical gaze. "Dog's dying? This will no doubt upset Tenele gravely," he whispered, bending down to grab Vlad's arm and tugging on it to pull him to his feet.

* * *

Tenele met the dark eyes of the one pointing her own sword on her. His hair was dark and disheveled around his face, and he had a scruffy look about him. Across one of his eyes was a leather patch, and a deep white scar cut across his cheek. "Can I help you?" Tenele asked her eyes following the length of his blade, er... her blade. Her fingers flexed as she contemplated the idea of snatching it from his grasp, wondering if he was actually a good fighter. He probably had no formal training.

"You're the Goddess right?" he asked, tilting his head.

"No," Tenele replied, her face turning a bit angry. She was getting -really- tired of that.

"No, I think you are. I mean, I've never seen someone that looks quite like you..." He raised the point of the blade and brushed her silver hair from her shoulder. Tenele went rigid, not wanting to move while it was so close to her neck. She knew how sharp that blade was, after all, she was the one that sharpened it. "So... how much do you think I could get if I sold you? I bet there are a lot who would pay a pretty good amount to own you."

"I'm not property to sale," Tenele growled. "And your delusional if you think you can try."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad tried his best to stand up under his own weight, but just sitting up made his head spin. He didn't fight Atul's grip on his arm as he was hauled up, but he wound up quite literally hanging on the new king. The thought of what he would look like being dragged down the hallway like this made him hesitate on his decision to see what was wrong with Stalker. He was tempted to tell Atul to let go so he could fall on the floor and stay there, but the hound wouldn't be calling after him if it wasn't absolutely critical. Since when did the wolf start summoning him and not vice versa?

"Wait. Just give me a second," Vlad breathed, leaning backward against the side of the bed. His vision was swirling again...it didn't seem like a good sign. His body wasn't recovering; he was just hanging where the potion had left off.

[Emora Deen]

Atul looked at Vlad seriously. "You need blood," he told him, taking the cuff of his thin silk shirt and rolling it up to his elbow. "I'm not quite sure how demon blood will react with whatever you swallowed, but it will have to do some good at least. Drink it," he told Vlad, nudging the vampires shoulder with his wrist upturned. "Its stronger than human blood, so you should recover fast."

* * *

He walked forward with the sword tip to her chest. She backed up until she nearly toppled over the dresser, the plate she'd eaten on the night before clattered to the floor in a shower of shattering ceramic. "You're going to be very good," he told her calmly. He was strangely confident for a theif, Tenele thought.

"You can dream," Tenele replied. She hissed when the tip of her own sword cut a thin lin across her collar bone.

"Pathetic," a voice muttered from the darkness of the bathroom. Tenele glanced over the shoulder of the theif to that darkness.

"Did you hear that?" Tenlee asked, because the theif hadn't responded.

"No," he told her, arching an eyebrow.

"We need to get out of here," Tenele told him quickly.

"What?"

"I -need- to get out of here," she replied more sternly.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"Move," Tenele replied, putting her hand against the flat edge of the sword and pushing. There was someone in that room, someone waiting for something. What, she wasn't going to stay around and find out. There was a low rumble of laughter, and this time the theif heard it too. He slowly turned to glance over his shoulder.

Tenele took the opprotunity to run to the door, but before she reached it she slid to a stop and turned back to look at Stalker. She didn't want to leave him there... But, he wouldn't want her to stay... and Neither would Vlad, and she wasn't about to get herself into more trouble. Stalker would be fine, they had no reason to harm him. So settled with this thought she whirled back around, and right into a firm bare chest. She toppled backwards from the impact, landing on her rear at his feet, and he just laughed.

The theif nearly made a mess of himself at the site of the God suddenly appearing out of thin air. A misty appirition that had suddenly solidified in the blink of an eye. Verin glanced his way, and just as swiftly dismissed his presence. "Hello, Tenele. Oh, there is no need to grovel at my feet yet," he smiled at her, and it was unsettling. "I only came to talk."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad felt a twist of hunger as Atul pressed his veins so close to him. He suddenly stopped breathing and went still, the way a hunter does when it stalks pray. A minute ago he couldn't have even thought of feeding, but smelling blood so close, just under the demigod's skin, was abruptly enough to make his chest clench with anticipation.

He looked up at Atul through red-hazed vision, and knew he didn't have to confirm his permission twice. His eyes took on a dull glow. He grasped Atul's wrist, not that the man needed to be held down. Then he leaned down and bit into his arm. The taste he'd interpreted as Verin's immediately struck him as it had the last time, but this time, he was able to notice that despite its similarity to Verin, it wasn't exactly the same power. It was something unique to Atul. The blood was insanely relieving, like he'd been starving for weeks and gone beyond the point of hunger. His eyes closed in rapture as he drank, feeling the surge of new energy pour over him.

He had to force himself to finally stop. He pulled reluctantly away from Atul's arm and placed a hand firmly over it to stop the blood. His eyes were lit with wild red fire. The intensity of the half-god's blood rendered him speechless as he flicked his neon eyes gratefully up at Atul.

[Emora Deen]

Atul took his arm back, placing his hand flat against the bite marks. “I trust you’re feeling better now?” he asked, tilting his head a little at Vlad’s brightly glowing eyes. “Don’t need to be carried anymore I hope?” Atul was very much amused by that, even if it was a little wrong to be so. Atul’s eyes narrowed. “Even after that spell, Verin’s presence still lingers in these walls.” Though, he’d only suddenly noticed.

* * *

Tenele scooted further back from him and stood to her feet, dusting her hands off. “Only came to talk?” Tenele asked warily.

“You see,” Verin began as he edged further into the room, glancing behind her to the hell hound. “I’ve begun to realize that I might have the wrong approach to things… And the wrong view of this world. It seems, that despite my obvious power and ability, I continuously fail to get what I want.”

“Maybe you just have bad luck?” Tenele replied, letting a four foot distance between them stay mandatory as he circled like a shark. “I can sympathies, really.”

He smirked. “So I watched, and I observed, trying to figure out what this anomaly was, this… overpowering force that rivaled and often even overtook me. Something so powerful, it could defeat a God.”

Tenele narrowed her eyes. “What are you getting at?”

“Example. Vlad… By every logical factor he should be mine. He should bow and contort to my every whim. Yet, look at him, completely free. Unaffected by my taunts and draws. Even when he was at the brink of bloodmadness Why? Why, I asked myself. You know, Thar was not always the good ole’ boy that he is now. No, he was just like I was. Hunger for power, glory, worship.”

“Like you were?”

“I’m getting there,” Verin interjected.

“But, then he changed. He became what he is now. The pure god, the good one, and even then, I asked myself why. And then there is this hell hound. He, who should be ravenous and uncontrollable when out of contact with his master, was tamed, obedient to a human. Why?” Verin turned a thoughtful gaze to the ceiling.

“Love,” Tenele replied softly, and Verin’s gaze snapped back to her.

“Yes. This… unseen force that humans are so found of. Time and time again it causes me to fail. It, is stronger than me, and we both know that doesn’t sit well with me. The concept of love is… not known to me. It is a word that does not fall easily from my lips. But, I began to wonder… If this force is so powerful… and love is so strong with those of pure hearts… could I learn to be as them. Could I throw away my hate, and my anger, and my disgust for humanity to learn this thing called love. Could I learn to love humans as much as Thar and Attara.”

“You just got through calling us humans pathetic, and now you want to learn to love us?” Tenele asked him disbelievingly, arching an eyebrow.

“I wasn’t calling you pathetic. You are far beyond pathetic. After all, you’ve bested me… a God. Worthy, would think, of some respect. That thing behind you is what I was calling pathetic.”

Tenele glanced over her shoulder to the thief. “Oh,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Well, there I have to agree with you. I don’t understand. Are you using me as a therapist?”

Verin turned away and walked towards the side of the room where Stalker was lying. “I need someone to help me learn why I should love humans. Someone to help me see. Someone to teach me this… love.” Verin was smiling with his back turned to her, and it was a truly evil smile. He knew Tenele’s heart. He knew her sympathies. He knew her weaknesses. He knew what she would fall for, and what she would not. Helping people, even a God, is what Tenele did best. Just like her mother.

“Then, go out into the world and find someone to fall in love with,” Tenele replied. “You can’t know love by killing your potential soul mate.” Tenele folded her arms, but watched him warily as he lazily walked to where Stalker was lying.

“I want you to teach me,” he replied, his back still turned to her.

Tenele froze, her mouth opening slightly. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you…”

“I want you to teach me.” He knelt down next to Stalker, even though the beast surely didn’t want him anywhere near him. But he was still one of Verin’s… and Verin wanted to test his loyalty to the human.

“Don’t touch him.” Before Tenele could even stop herself, she walked quickly to him and grabbed the hand that was reaching out for Stalker.

Verin tilted his head up towards her and then without so much as flinching he twisted his hand around in her grasp and grabbed her wrist. He tugged and pulled her down to the floor, whirling around until she was flat on her back and he was angled slightly on his side. He wasn’t sitting on top of her, just casually propped on an elbow, his hand around her throat. He wasn’t even squeezing, it was just simply resting there. He angled his upper body to bring his head even and in line with hers. “It’s a proposition I know you’ll want to think about.” He removed his hand from her throat and placed it on the ground on the other side of her hip.

“You’re going to let me think it over?” she asked him slowly.

“I’m trying to change, remember?” he replied with a dark smile. He was handsome, frighteningly so, but his beauty was profoundly hideous when accompanied by his personality. “I want you to come with me. To be mine, if only for a little while, and show my why I should love humans as my brother loves them.” His eyes flickered over her face and he was suddenly aware of how truly identical she was with her mother. Except for her eyes… but he definitely couldn’t consider them a flaw.

“To be yours?” Tenele questioned warily.

“I would think only in a platonic sense, but if you are so inclined,” he suddenly grinned deviously, but wiped the wicked look from his face.

“You’re insane to even ask me this. After what you’ve done to me? To Vlad? What makes you think I’d say yes?” Tenele asked angrily, she wanted to spit in his face… but that was probably a bad idea at the moment. She couldn’t exactly run for it.

“Because it could save countless lives,” he replied simply. “If I learn to what my brother has learned. If someone shows me why humans are worth keeping alive… Then maybe I’ll stop this war. Maybe I’ll call off Shea. Maybe… just maybe… I’ll learn the value of life. I’m a God. I live forever. Life has no meaning to me. I want to know, so badly, what this is that makes you who you are. I want to know why Vlad has forsaken what he should be, completely changed how he should be. I want to know this, more than anything at the moment. I want you to teach me.”

“Why me?” Tenele asked, confused and a little frightened by the concept.

“You’re the only human of pure heart that I haven’t had killed or wouldn’t run screaming from me in the night. It has to be you. You’re the only one. Just think of all you could save if you are successful. I’m only asking that you come with me, keep me company, befriend me. That’s all I’m asking. Just tell me that you’ll be mine for a while. I just need to hear those words.”

“I can’t just tell you that. I can’t just do something like that. I don’t even know if you’re telling the truth.” Tenele flinched when he touched her face.

“If I wanted to harm you,” he told her softly. “I would have come in a demon’s body and dragged you kicking and screaming back with me. Think about it, Tenele. I’ll give you time enough to think about it.”

“And what if I refuse?” Tenele replied.

Verin’s black eyes flickered with something. “Hmm… haven’t thought of that.” He smiled suddenly as if he had found something amusing.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad pushed up to his feet, his legs feeling stronger by the moment. "I feel fine," he breathed in disbelief, stunned that the pain had really stopped. No longer was his body made of loose rubber bands. Atul's blood surged through him like four pitchers of coffee, making him almost jittery with energy. This was the kind of rush humans became addicted to when they could find a way to obtain it. He briefly wondered if it was possible for him to become addicted to Atul. Mental note, he probably shouldn't rely on the demigod too often.

Stalker's urgent presence persisted through the blaze of energy in his head. "I'd better get down the hall," Vlad said. He looked back at Atul, analyzing him for a moment. The man had seen him at his lowest moment, and taken care of him while trying to humor his pride. It had been humiliating anyway, but it had also shown him the degree to which he trusted Atul's friendship. The no-life king didn't have a lot of friends. "Thanks," he said. With that, he teleported from the room.

What he saw when he materialized in the other bedroom was, for a moment, too preposterous to take seriously. Taking on a cautious stance next to Stalker's snarling form, he blinked at the image of Verin and Tenele and some other buffoon he didn't know, wondering for a second if he had jumped the gun on using his magic so soon after recovering.

"Just because we have a waterbed now doesn't mean you should go inviting random men in for a room party," he interrupted, putting a hand on his hip. "And they're not even attractive. I swear, that one looks an awful lot like Verin."