LORE: The Reluctant Damsel and the Dysfunctional Hero

[Soran Nightblade]

Now that the gate was up on the cart, the embarrassed farmer was easily gathering his now-exhausted chickens up into the cart while Vlad turned away to face Tenele.

"And what is that for," he said skeptically as he saw the smile on her face. His expression faltered suddenly. The faint scent of blood hit him like a drug, making his head spin for an instant before he realized it was coming from her. The pang subsided as quickly as it came and was replaced with a blizzard of confusion, though he made certain his thoughts no longer played across his face. Wearing a smirk, he glanced down and took note of the cut on her arm. Even a serious wound should not have caused what just happened.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele shook her head for a moment. "No reason, Dracul," she told him putting the cloth back in the pocket of her pants to wash it later. It wasn't a bad cut so she could let it bleed a bit to get air to it.

It brought back the memory of Vlad licking her arm after that fight. He told her that it made the wound heal faster, though she didn't entirely beleive that.

"Have you finally grown a heart that you now help us lowly mortals?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"I'm shocked that you think so little of me," Vlad retorted arrogantly. "If I'd wanted to help him, I'd have told him to secure both latches." As he said this, the back gate of the cart, which the farmer had now pulled halfway down the street, creaked ominously and thunked open, creating an exit through which the chickens flooded victoriously back out onto the street, running this way and that. The farmer dropped the handle of the cart and looked back at the birds in dismay, this time closer to tears than rage as he frantically began chasing them down again.

Vlad grinned at the scene, but his mind was on other issues. For whatever reason, it seemed his hunger was not within its normal control. He needed to feed, soon. Having Tenele's wound flapping in front of him like a cotton candy stick was not helping much. "Know anyplace good to eat around here?" he asked cryptically."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele arched a silver eyebrow at him and took his arm in hers, though she felt a pang of pity for the farmer she was tired of picking up chickens.

The young half-elf led the vampire away from the scene so the farmer couldn't bother them into helping again. "I know a place to eat for me, but not you," she told him with a smile. "Though I'm sure there are plenty of criminals around for you to munch on... After all its Hepian."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's red eyes seemed to glow with intensity as he gave Tenele his most cunningly sadistic smile. "Shall we pay them a friendly visit?" he asked, lifting her arm as he spoke and running his tongue smoothly against the wound on her arm. He felt the anticipated white buzz of pleasure as he tasted her, along with a more dangerous sensation that he knew was connected with hunger. The hunger did not startle him this time, now that he knew to expect it, despite the fact that he still did not know why.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele watched Vlad as he lifted her arm and licked the wound. Her eyes watched him with a facinated look in them as they followed what he did. She didn't know why she was so drawn to him at times. It was like he had this intoxicating way about him that when he did certain things it made her want to... Well, she didn't quite know what it made her want to do, because she didn't understand the feeling.

"Sure," she told him,her voice faint. Tenele swallowed and pulled her arm away before she decided to give into the strage feeling.

"All we have to do is walk down some dark alley or tell some body I'm a noble lady and you'll have at least five to feast on," she told him, her eyes still had the facinated and transfixed expression to them.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vladimir turned and grinned darkly as he spotted an alley that appeared to be a prime candidate for Tenele's suggestion. The mouth of the alley was an unfinished brick wall that had half-crumbled due to either an explosion or a very rough street fight, and the roofs of the adjoining buildings loomed partially over it such that it was darker than the light of the surrounding street. Voices speaking in low tones were coming from the alley. Vlad teleported to the rooftop and moved to observe the humans below, leaving Tenele to climb the ladder that stood nearby.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele shook her head to get her head straight again. She looked at the ladder. She wasn't fond of climbing things that looked old and rotten, but she didn't exactly have the teleporting ability like Vlad, though she bet that came in handy.

Tenele grabbed onto the ladder and began to climb up it until she made it half way up and one of the small wooden beams going across broke. She had to catch herself and thankfully the rest didn't break. She pulled herself the rest of the way to the top of the roof, but said nothing so she wouldn't ruin Vladimir's hunting.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's hearing picked up the sound of the ladder rung snapping, but he had more confidence in Tenele than to expect her to need assistance climbing a ladder, so he remained eavesdropping on the humans. By the time Tenele had caught up, the vampire had a sense for the situation taking place. Below them, two men had brought a young woman before an older woman, who was apparently her owner. It seemed the younger woman was a prostitute who had refused to work and the men had brought her back to be dealt with.

"Stupid whore," the older woman spat, slapping the teenager across the face hard enough to produce a trail of blood across her lip. Her voice dropped to a maternal, condescending tone, "Your contract ends when I say it ends. Now, be a smart girl and finish your work. Take her away," she ordered flatly to the two men, who dragged the half-sobbing woman away down the corridor.

The older woman stood for a moment in the alley, counting the money the two men had handed to her, then turned toward a seedy looking door half hidden in shadows at the side of the alley. Vladimir didn't wait for her to reach the door. He shot from the roof and landed on his feet in front of her, straightening up a good foot taller than she was and gazing lustfully into her eyes with a half-crazed grin. "Good evening,...Dinner," he greeted in a too-still voice that seemed to mesmerize her with fear and confusion and something else as his arm draped seductively around her shoulderblades and curled her toward him.

She struggled half-heartedly backwards, caught in his ruby eyes like a sparrow that looks into the hood of a cobra, and then the fight went out of her and she stood trembling in his arms, too paralyzed to move.

"Good girl," Vlad said, leaning to her neck. She remembered her instincts then, batting at him with her arms and scratching at his chest, but the futile battle lasted only a few moments before the ecstasy of the bite stilled her, and soon he lowered her lifeless form to the ground.

On the roof above, other trouble was brewing. Unfortunately, Vlad had picked the wrong rooftop to tromp on, because inside, a meeting of some local organized crime groups was taking place to discuss the assassination of a critical target. Needless to say, they were paranoid about security. Hearing footsteps on the roof, three men soon appeared through a hatch a few yards from where Tenele was standing, and looked at her suspiciously.

"You! Don't move!" the leader, a short man with broad shoulders and a crossbow demanded firmly. The other two men, taller and armed with daggers, spread out and looked ready to attack at any moment.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele spun around, she had been laying on the roof, over looking what Vlad was doing, now she was lying on her back, holding herself up with her elbows.

"Damn it Vlad..." Tenele said, looking at the three for a moment as she slowly stood up.

"Hi there boys," Tenele said, watching the man with the cross bow more than she was watching the other too.

She didn't imediatly reach for the sword at her waist, since she didn't want to be shot yet. "Is there a problem?" She gave the most flattering look that she could muster and placed an elegant hand on one of her hips. If they got close enough she could at least use one for a sheild.

[Soran Nightblade]

"You're on private property, miss," the man with the crossbow growled. Thought his words were tame, it was clear that he assumed her intentions on their roof as malicious. "Get up and come over here, now," he ordered, the crossbow trained on her chest.

Vlad looked up toward the roof as he heard the conversation taking place, smirking. That girl couldn't stay out of trouble. Riding high on the euphoria of his meal, he pulled the woman's body to the side of the alley and listened to the situation developing above him.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele needed to get closer and what the man asked was just what she needed. She put her hands in the air, the wind catching her sliver hair and blowing it off her shoulders and behind her. The half-elf walked over towards the man with the crossbow, not breaking eye contact the whole time.

"I really didn't know I was breaking any rules... I just like heights and well, its very pretty up here..." Tenele said innocently, as she finally reached them, her green eyes sparkling in the light.

[Soran Nightblade]

When Tenele was within a few feet of them, the two thugs went out for each of her arms, daggers at the ready in their other hands. The crossbow remained trained on her, and if she resisted, the arrow could be expected to launch.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele waited as long as she could. She watched he cross bow and when they reached for her she moved quickly to the said. The man to the left reached for her wrists and found it, but before he could get a tight enough grip she twisted her wrist around until her hand was holding his and she used her strength to send him towards the man with the cross bow, when he was heading in the direction she kicked his gut hard and it impaled him on the arrow sticking out of the front of the cross bow.

She saw a flash of a dagger and held her arm out, blocking arm coming from the side. She brought her other arm up quickly so the man couldn't grab her and she kicked forward. He stumbled backwards.

Tenele pulled her sword as he caught his balance and ran towards her. She aimed the blade forward just in time to run him through.

She caught the glimps of his eyes as he stared at her, rather astonished to have himself impaled on the end of a woman's sword.

It was a katana, the katana that the Shogun had given to her. She wasn't very skilled with it yet, but it had a pointy end and did the same when you stabbed someone.

The man with the cross boy pushed his buddies body off his weapon and took aim on Tenele again. Tenele had managed to work her way to the edge of the roof again.

[Soran Nightblade]

At the commotion above him, Vlad had just decided he should go watch the show when a tremor went through his form, chilling his blood even though he abruptly felt unpleasantly warm. He took a step forward and felt a rush of dizziness followed by intense nausea, burning and freezing like his whole body was somehow at war with itself.

Glancing up again at the roof, he stumbled sideways into a corridor too narrow to even be called an alley, where his thoughts raced in protest as he was overwhelmed by nausea and lost the meal he had craved. "Hell," he cursed, still gaining his composure as he pulled himself back to his feet and teleported - an act which now sent an unsettling pain through his chest - to the rooftop adjacent to Tenele's.

The man with the crossbow pulled back the trigger and fired straight for Tenele's chest, narrowing his eyes at the skillful woman.