Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Tenele gave a gentle sigh, listening to his words as they sounded so distant. The fighting, the taxing repair of battle wounds, it took a lot out of a mortal woman, no matter her strength. So she slept despite all her better judgement, and it was a deep sleep.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad watched her slip away. He could hear her pulse drop to a dull murmur as she stopped fighting her body's wishes. He watched her for several minutes, monitoring the bandage until he was sure the wound wasn't going to saturate. Finally, he rose from her side and collected a heavy quilt that had been left at the side of the room after Tenele's rest last night. He draped it over her, followed by the less fluffy blanket they had used during their trip here.

He observed her again, standing still as the room around them. Before he found the initiative to leave, a tense knock sounded on the library door outside. Vlad turned and left Tenele's room and then walked to the wooden door. As he opened it, two monks shriveled backwards. Vlad's impatient glare didn't assist their fear.

"L.....lady Ten..nele," stuttered one of them.

"Stable. Inside. Do not touch," Vlad said, stepping aside. "And be silent."

The two monks backed further into the hall. Vlad raised an eyebrow at them.

"The h-..high priest," the 'brave' one managed to follow up, while the other just stared at Vladimir like he'd grown three heads. Well, to be fair, that wasn't all that far off base.

"I'd bet he'd like to see me," he offered helpfully, as if guiding a child through a sentence in a foreign language. "I'm going." They scattered as he ventured into the hallway with them. Vlad was too tired, for once, to take advantage of their terror. "Be silent," he reminded them as he brushed past and made his way down the hall.

[Emora Deen]

A man stood in the forest not far from the monastery. He pulled on a fur vest, exhaling a stream of fog into the cold. He reached up to the tattoo on his neck, the mark of Shea's wolf-pack, and then he scratched the stubble under his chin. Jade green eyes watched smoke loom over the monastery.

"Orders?" a voice called from behind him. Vincent Raider glanced over his shoulder to the man coming up to stand next to him.

"We're leaving," Vincent muttered. "I want no part of this battle."

"The Queen," his right hand muttered.

"It is not the Queen who ordered us to this, and I do as the Queen says, not the words of Verin," he gave an inhuman growl. "Tell the men to break camp, Dothan. There are more than enough soldiers left to pillage a monastery whose door is mere splinters nailed together."

Dothan frowned. "Something else is bothering you, Raider," he muttered.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Vincent muttered, glancing back at the monastery.

Dothan pressed his lips into a thin line. "No." He turned and left the werewolf to his brooding.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad made his way down the long church corridors. The air was still dusty from the damage that had been done to the building. Men were scrambling to repair the crushed front entry into something that might serve a functional barrier, but the ogre had done quite a job on it, and these were monks, not masons or engineers.

The atmosphere as a whole was dire, frantic, and unnaturally quiet. Vlad caught sight of the high priest directing some men with a pulley as he approached. "Your holiness," he greeted without much pomp or circumstance, drawing the old man's attention to him. All other eyes seemed to turn to him at the realization that he was in the room. "This is very, very awkward," he observed as he scanned all the horror-stricken faces.

Only the high priest dared to move toward him, though he didn't look happy about it. "Lord Dracul, how does Lady Raider fare?" he asked.

"She is resting. Stable."

"You seem relaxed about her wounds."

"I am not," Vlad informed blandly, disliking the skepticism in the man's eyes.

"You will not mind that I sent my man to check on her safety."

"These are dangerous times." Vlad's flat stare offered nothing.

"And your own...condition? You are under control?"

Vlad paused as he realized the man was not referring to his health. "I am always in control."

The priest offered nothing. "We are all concerned, having seen your form, about your...stability."

"That was a spell. That could hardly be called my true form," Vlad said. "I was never without my own mind, though it may have appeared that way. I was wearing your little pendant the entire time."

"Some of our own have perished in the...fire. Was that intended by your own mind?"

The vampire rolled his eyes. "It's a war, Priesty. We were up against a wall. I used the only tactic that would work. Fire is a blunt weapon. Moreoever, I ordered you all to stay on the wall."

"You do not give us orders, vampire," the priest warned.

Vlad's eyes narrowed at the new form of address. Before it was Lord Dracul, now he was just "vampire"?

"In case you weren't watching, Tenele and I are the only reasons this building is standing right now."

"Please don't anger him," whispered one of the men who was standing as far from them as possible.

The high priest took a deep breath. "Fine. We will speak later. Right now, we have hundreds of people trapped in the sanctuary. Some men are working on the rubble blocking the hall, but their strength is limited..."

"I get it. Is there any sign from outside."

"The forces still seem to be retreating."

"Have the watch continue, regardless of how promising it looks. I'll help with the rubble," Vlad said flatly, turning toward the sanctuary.

"Will all respect, your holiness," ventured one of the men, "You're not truly going to marry that....thing?"

The man just frowned without comment and continued directing them with the front gate.

Vlad reached the rubble, where men were staggering as they pried the rocks away in chunks and maneuvered them down the hall. They froze as he approached, but didn't scatter as the others had. Maybe they were too tired. Maybe they just needed the help too badly to complain. Maybe they'd been too deep inside the building to see him raze the landscape with dragonfire.

He walked up to the boulder four of them had been trying to lift and hauled it upward, tugging it loose from the pile and carrying it away. The others stared for a moment, then rushed to take care of the smaller targets he'd exposed. After a few moments, the work became blissfully organized and quiet, with Vlad taking care of the large obstacles while they scurried like ants around him.

His hunger burned at the edges of his nerves, making the work harder than it should have been. He preferred working to thinking, and he preferred thinking to showing his depleted form outside the front gates to scavenge for a meal. These holy men knew nothing about demons. Their ignorant attitudes toward his actions earlier served to confirm it. But the forced that had attacked them were no strangers to vampires. His movements and reflexes were terrible right now. Just as Tenele had noticed, the enemies outside would know a burnout if they saw one. And then they'd know his stunt hadn't been as easy as it appeared. He couldn't afford to let them feel safe right now.

[Emora Deen]

When Tenele woke it was cold and dark in the tower. There was no moon tonight. Clouds and smoke covered that, so she had no way to see the candles to light them. Her neck was stiff from where she'd been sleeping, and her back felt on fire from the stitches. Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position, pulling the blankets around her for modesty sake.

She listened to the silence of the church, feeling groggy and lazy... and hungry.

Tenele got up slowly, her head grew fuzzy while she stood. Her movements were slow as she dug through her back for another shirt, pulling the loose white tunic on with a ghastly cringe.

She didn't bother tucking it in or pulling on any other forms of armor. She simply tied the strings across the top and wondered out of the room.

When she was on the main floor she passed people sitting in the halls. They watched her as she passed, but she couldn't quite figure what their blank looks meant.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Lady!" called a maid as she hustled to catch up with Tenele after spotting her in the hall. Her arms were full with a bowl full of bread, fruit and cheese. She gasped as she finally caught up to her. "My goodness, you're up already! I was just bringing this to your room!" The young woman shifted the bowl to one arm and fanned herself. It was clear she'd been running around on quite a few multitasks this evening. "Goodness me, since you're this far already, come to the dining hall where the others are eating."

[Emora Deen]

The smell of the food nearly hypnotised Tenele. Her mouth watered. She gave a tired nod and followed the woman. "Have you seen Lord Dracul?" she asked after clearing her dry throat. Tenele reached up to brush her silver hair away from her pale face while she followed the woman in her slow cautious pace, almost as if she feared moving to fast.

[Soran Nightblade]

The maid blinked at her for a moment. She stammered back to attention a moment later, "Oh! After he cleared the hall for us to come back out, I heard he was working on the wall. I don't think you should go near the wall, miss, if you'll pardon my saying so. It's cold outside tonight, and you've lost a lot of blood."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele frowned. Everyone knew she lost a lot of blood, but Vlad had decidedly hidden that fact from her? She knew now of course because she felt that familiar weakness running through her. Before she fell a sleep she thought she was weary because of the battle and the stress of his awful medical skills. "I'll eat, but I really should check on him," she told the woman. "And the wall needs to be watched. We aren't out of the woods yet."

[Soran Nightblade]

The maid thought about this for a moment and nodded. "Then you won't mind if I escort you, then?" she came back with renewed protectiveness, pulling out a piece of bread and handing it to her. "Come now, I will feed you on the way."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele took the bread slowly, arching an eyebrow. She had a strange suspicion that something was wrong. Then, again, she might have been overly paranoid. They changed course back for the front entrance, and she munched on food as they went. She didn't have her coat with her, and she felt the cold air just as soon as they entered the main hall. The doors were open with a century guard of monks leaning against the walls. Small flurries of snow fluttered across the stone floor.

[Soran Nightblade]

The maid led Tenele out to the guards. "Have any of you seen Lord Dracul?" she asked the men.

"He took the North wall," muttered one of the men, his breath forming vapor as he spoke.

"This way," she said, not quite touching Tenele's arm but still walking as if she might have to catch her. Did the lady even realize how sick she was?

They came around the corner to another wall, where it was quieter. Very few men stood watch, probably because of the proximity to Vlad. The vampire had climbed up to a nook about 6 feet above the wall and was sitting in it, leaning back against the stone. His gleaming red eyes surveyed the dark landscape. His right hand was clutching his chest firmly.

The maid stopped guiding Tenele, unwilling to come closer to him. "Mind your health, my lady," she said for good measure as she waited behind with the food.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele finished the bread as she came to the staircase that lead up to the wall. She came to the top of the wall, but was still a good six feet from Vlad. She peered up at him with her tired green eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked him softly, leaning into the stone and looking up at him. He didn't look okay, not to her at least.

Her eyes went out to the forest and how quiet it was.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad glanced down at her. He hadn't sensed her coming. "Tenele," he said, startled to see her up and walking. "Am I okay? You're killing my pride." He jumped down from the wall and let go of his chest as he came toward her. She wasn't even wearing proper clothing. "We're trying to keep a low profile, here. If you wander the wall like that, every man for a hundred miles will be storming us," he smirked.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele glanced down at her clothes and then back at him as a cold wind tossed her silver hair. She crossed her arms at her chest and hid her bare hands under them to keep them warm. "I was worried," she told him, justifying why she'd been an idiot enough to come into the winter air without a coat. "I look half-dead, so I doubt very seriously I'm that attractive at the moment," she smirked back. She moved forward and slipped her arms around his waist, pulling herself to him and closing her eyes as she rested against his cold chest.