Fantasy A New Order [Closed]

[Volarit]

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A private roleplay between LavenderArsenic & AyanaRenewed

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Name Shawn Blakely


Age 25


Race Vampire


Occupation Vampire Noble heir


Personal History Shawn grew up a good part of his childhood poor but never let it get him down, even when he was bullied at school for not being able to do things most his classmates could do. Then there was a sudden change, his mother was just as confused as hr was and his dad never told you. He'd assumed he won the lottery or something because even after things changed, neither his mother or father worked. He was still not rich but he was happy and could easily get what he wanted. As he grew older, his parents started to isolate him more and more; he started to be home-schooled by age 8 and by age 10 his spent little to no time with his friends unless he snuck out. He could not remember ever being punished for this behavior just told that he was loved and never to do it again. If you ask him, he'd probably say that angered him more that anything. On the night of his thirteenth birthday, his family was visited by a man he'd never met before but his parents had grown to know all to well. The man, whose name he never learned, had come to collect on his father's debt for his master; this man had come to collect Shawn. He remembers the warmth of his mother's hug and the warmth of her tears that were dripped on his shoulders before being ripped away. This is the moment that would change his life and send him spiraling into a darkness that would consume him.


His new home would be in some small town in Europe, with a man by the name of Lucifer Valentine. He told Shawn that he would inherit his wealth in exchange for inheriting his curse as well. That night Shawn was bitten and changed. Normally, new vampires immediately go on a feeding spree but Shawn would resist until the seventh night, where he would wipe out half of the town's population before Lucifer would bother to stop him. He grew cold after that, growing distant even from the people of his new world. Unable to figure out what else to do, he continued his studies and became the accountant of the estate. Once he knew how the money flow worked and took control of it, Lucifer vanished. He would never admit to anything but rumor in the underworld was that Shawn got rid of him permanently and took the estate. Now, Shawn comes and goes as he please at night, never feeding on the people of the local town. He always goes into the cities to hunt, often flying to Paris and such to feed. At one point he does return home to find his parents still living comfortably off of Lucifer's estate and happily with a new family. They also disappear but no one care to whisper why they might have gone missing, for anyone who did disappeared as well.


He never encounters hunters because he was much too careful, but lately, growing bored with the idea of immortality, he purposely provokes them; he has even killed in front of them before wiping out whole teams. He would return home every morning with a small bit of happiness buried in his regrets and he knows that unless someone stopped him he would definitely be the true Valentine heir that he was still fighting not to be.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley


The rattle of the train coming to a halt was enough to jolt Laura from sleep. Twelve hours from getting off the plane in Düsseldorf she arrived at her destination. Working at night wasn't getting any easier. As part of her training her training Laura had spent months at a time adjusting to the dark and resetting her body clock but there was always a feeling of dread that hung in the air when she watched the sun settings. Today it was for a different reason, after nearly five years of constant supervision and team working she was going out on her own. She had a hit assigned and it was up to her entirely to get the job done. Slinging her rucksack over her shoulder and stepping onto the platform Laura took a moment to survey her surroundings. As expected for a small town the station was fairly quiet; people were returning home after a long day's work but there was a sense of urgency in the air. Laura couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling of unease but she had been informed about reports of mysterious deaths and disappearances. The police didn't want to talk and neither did the local residents. Organised crime had been ruled out and it had been up Laura to investigate and if necessary, eradicate the threat. With the help of her team-mates there was very little doubt about what was going on here.


She had been assigned to stay in an empty flat near the centre of town. No guest house or hotel were taking customers, but just as well, Laura would be able to keep her cover for longer if she could stay out of sight. It wouldn’t be long until nightfall so Laura began to prepare. Sat on the edge of the small single bed Laura opened her bag and began to assemble her weaponry: two hand guns fully loaded with 13mm Vatican-blessed silver tipped bullets. She didn’t use her guns often, they were too loud and often attracted too much attention to herself. Instead she favoured the next weapon she pulled out and placed on the floor in front of her feet. Two knives, newly sharpened and blessed. Having an aptitude for close contact they were more comfortable to wield and execute. As she took the weapons and placed them about her person and out of sight she Laura thought back to how she didn’t have any back up. She always wore a GPS tracker in her jacket but no one would be able to reach her in time.


As she stood up a cloud of dust followed, glittering in the final dying light of the day. She pulled the curtains of the small one-room apartment and turned on the few lamps that had bulbs; Laura didn’t know how long that the apartment had been empty for, but from the amount of dust and grime settling on every surface she knew that it was long enough for anyone to notice if she were to be careless. There was a small mirror above a broken sink in the corner of the room, wiping away dirt and dust with her jacket sleeve, Laura took a moment to tie back her long dark brown hair. Looking at her reflection she noticed how her skin had gotten paler and the whites of her eyes were greying. It were times like this that reminded her that humans weren’t meant for this life. The night belonged to the darkness of the world, vampires included. Dressed in a grey jacket and all black she didn’t look out of place, winter was just breaking and the days were getting longer and warmer, but not enough to lose the coat.


It was time to leave, Laura rifled through her bag one more time for her phone. Dialling a number she waited for the other line to answer. “I’m heading out.” She listened intently to the reply and hung up. She put her phone back in her bag, it wasn’t safe to keep a direct line back to her brotherhood with her in case the worse should happen. As she put her phone in a small inside pocket her fingers brushed a small photograph. Taking it out she ran her finger over the surface slowly, she could almost feel her sibling’s clothes. She was looking at a photo of her back at school, her siblings and friends surrounding her on a birthday, Laura thought she must only be eight or nine. Putting it back next to her phone she wondered where they all were at this moment in time. She wondered what her eight year old self would think of her now.


Making her way down several flights of stairs Laura was out on the small streets of Nagykáta, her heart pounding. It was time to make a name for herself..

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn was always an early riser, never quite being able to let go of the sun. He hid in the corner of his room and watched as the sun beams that peeked through his bedroom curtains began to fade. As usually a servant came in an hour after the bright beams of the sun had completely faded. The servant would pick a selection in which he would pick the night's attire from and then draw him a bath. The servant would always inquire where he would venture to feed and when he would be expected back so that the room would be in order to receive the young mater of the house. "I won't be going far tonight. There will be a train of people from the city and some are very curious of the night. A hunter or two might even be in the group of new folks so I don't have to go far." With a hesitate nod, the servant vanished into the hall to allow her master to go through his nightly routine before being on his way.


Shawn dawned his usual white shirt but tonight, instead of his usual tie and vest, he wore his dark blue trench coat and headed out for the hunt. The humans of the town were all tucked away in their home but he could easily enter and feed on any number of them. The truth was he wasn't really hungry and had no intention on feeding in the local area. He sworn, years ago, that he would never feed here. There was a reason for him exploring the town, despite he lack of need to feed was there was something happening here. The town was it usually quiet self, with no people out and about but the aura of the town was off. Something was here that didn't belong or something was out of place somehow. He figured walking the street would lead him to the subtle change that had his hairs standing on end.


After a while of aimlessly wondering, he came to the town's center, where there sat an old wishing fountain. He looked and the water as he did when he was young, but unlike then he saw no one looking back. He then reached in his pocket and toss a coin in. He closed his eyes and let the darkness of his eyelids consume him before his turned and sat upon the fountains edge. "No wish for the wicked," he said, mocking one of his favorite song.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley


Laura reminded herself that she needed to focus on the task at hand. She was becoming distracted thinking back to all the team kills she had been a part of, what had gone well and what had gone disastrously wrong. She’d seen how small oversights had gotten the better of her fellow hunters and it had gotten them killed. “Snap out of it” she mouthed to herself, all too aware that the streets of the town were deafeningly silent. When she was told that the locals hid away at night she didn’t think it would be quite to this extent. Like an old western film shutters were closed on windows, doors looked locked and only the wind that tunnelled through the narrow streets broke the silence. She had been taught to move swiftly and quietly but whether it was the nerves or the silence she could hear each footstep echo and reverberate into the night air.


Laura had been walking the town for a while and there was nothing, apart from the obvious lack of human activity, out of the ordinary with the town. She had shown up to other places and found a body within the first hour. Either her information has lead her in the wrong direction with this town or she was dealing with a vampire who kept their affairs in good order. As time went on she began to doubt her judgement and her thoughts digressed to how she would tell her superiors that she had found nothing. Laura cringed at the very thought of it.


No one was expecting her back for a while, the first few targets completed solo often took more than one night or day. Laura was almost ready to call it a night for herself and get some sleep. She wondered if she would have more luck in the day with getting someone to talk to her in the comforting light of day. She liked the idea of being able to spend some time in the sun but as another gust of wind chilled her core, Laura remembered that she was in Hungary and was lucky that she wasn’t ankle-deep in snow. Laura began to make her way back towards the apartment building when out of the corner of her eye the dim lights of the small town plaza she caught the glimpse of a figure by an old fountain. She was a street away but her heart nearly burst through her chest as she flung herself against the nearest wall out of sight. She looked to the floor and the sky in a silent panic, it was as if all of her training was melting away, in that moment time stood still as she tried to collect her thoughts and go ahead with her plan. Laura tried to think that this man could be a local, or a backpacker who didn’t know the local night-time etiquette. But from what she had seen he was far better dressed than any of the townsfolk. She was hesitant to draw any kind of weapon, lest her cover be blown. This man didn’t know who she was. Laura put her hands into her jacket pockets and walked into the plaza as if she was going to exit through the opposite street. She didn’t make eye contact, all too aware that her harsh stare could arouse suspicion from anyone, lest a vampire. She often lured vampires closer to her person before striking; a dangerous but effective plan if successfully executed. As she walked into the open space away from the cover of buildings she felt more exposed, vulnerable even. The other side of the plaza felt like a mile away.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn lit a cigarette; not the ones humans smoked, this was laced with human blood and was how he kept his feedings to a minimum. He took a deep drag before looking to the sky to released the smoke. He'd been sitting out in the square for a while and the smell of human and the sound of the surrounding heartbeats were starting to arouse his animalistic instinct quite a bit; this would help keep him from breaking in and feeding. As he went to take another drag he caught glimpse of moment from on end of the plaza. At first he thought it was one servants, coming to check on him and encourage him to hunt for prey rather than feeding into such a disgusting habit. Then he thought about what he had said either, the newcomers; a hunter perhaps. As he took an inhale of his cigarette as he inhaled the air catching the scent of the figure scent. Definitely human and female, his favorite. As he watched his analyzed her; something about her seemed frail as se walked across the plaza and it made it so she didn't read as a hunter. If she was she was obvious new to the game or an amateur wannabe who had no idea how to truly fight.


So much for the night's entertainment, he thought as he watched her approached. He gave her a saluted wave as she passed him and a kind but sneak smile. He didn't say a word to her as he didn't want to remove or add the obvious tension that she carried in every step. She was walking normal pace but something about her screamed bait. She may just be a hunter's assistant. That would make more sense, he thought as she continued walking. He watched her every moment, noting her lack of eye contact. She must have wanted to stare, to glare even but that would give away her position on his presence. Not a good idea for anyone alone with a vampire, especially for hunters and their affiliates. He took another inhale of the cigarette before looking over his shoulder to watch where she went. He'd follow her and she's lead him to the hunter and kill them both. He imagined making the hunter watch as he drank her dry and snapping her neck so she wouldn't change. Once she was gone, he started thinking maybe she would change just long enough to feed off him. He thoughts ran with many ways they would die and it brought an uncomfortable smile to his face. Realizing he was smiling and shook his head; he mustn't let such dark thought comfort him or make him happy in any way.


Once she was a good distance down the next street, he throw his cigarette to the ground and got up. "Well little mouse, show me what hole you crawled out of," he whispered as he started in the same direction she had just walked.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley


Laura kept her eyes fixed on the ground. There was no way she could look up, adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she was trying desperately to hear past the sound of blood rushing in her head. She remembered the hunter who saved her years ago getting her to do things like this in London. Laura always despised being bait with good reason; more than once she had brushed with death. Now in a moment of self-sufficiency it felt like the best course of action, to use herself as bait to lure the monsters from the shadows. With each step she took towards the man she was ready to strike. However as she passed him Laura didn’t get the same sense of anticipation, he didn’t appear ready to strike. She was filled with doubt, but there was still time for everything to change, Laura’s fists were balled tightly in her pockets as she made her away out of the plaza and into the winding streets. This side didn’t look familiar to her and Laura quickly worried about becoming disorientated. She paused to push a stand of loose hair behind her ear before picking up her pace, it didn’t take long for Laura to at least assume that she was being followed. She didn’t look back, partially for fear of the worse, but mainly because she needed to focus on her direction. Knowing that if she got lost she would be lost until the sun came up.


It only took a few minutes before Laura had made it back to the neighbourhood she was staying in. But she was still being followed, that was certain. All she could picture was her death. Why hadn’t she gone in on an offensive mission? She would have been out in the open and had an advantage. But now she felt preyed upon. She wanted the man to be a run-of-the-mill mugger so she could beat him to a pulp. But any regular mugger would have attacked her by now, there wasn’t more she could do than stand her ground. She wasn’t about to risk someone getting a hold of her belongings and links back to base, even if it meant her life. In the middle of the street she stopped dead in her tracks. “It’s considered rude to follow strangers” she didn’t turn around yet, her lips twisted into a half smile the irony of the situation being she had tracked this man across a continent. “Why not come out of the shadows and meet me face to face?” Each time she spoke he confidence grew. She took her hands from her pockets and rolled her shoulders back as she turned to face what could be death.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn watched from the shadows as fear controlled her moment. She turned this way and that, but it didn't seem as through she was trying to lost him or even lead him to anywhere. He became painfully aware that she was aware of him but that did not deter him from following her. She had done this before making it clear that she was indeed a hunter, and that she was merely using herself for bait. "Where are you going anyway," he thought out of curiosity as he watched her. At first it seemed she was merely trying to get her bearing and then she seemed calm. "Comfort. She's near her base then. 'kill him and then sleep' must be were her thoughts are."





He would need to end this eventually, unlike his pale skinned companion of the evening, he could not do this all day. Just when he was thinking this, he was called out. As she spoke she did not turn to face him but he knew it was him to which she spoke. Slightly amused, he stepped out of the shadows with a smug grin. "Says the outside to my beloved town. I waved hello earlier and you didn't even give me a passing glance. Now that's was just as rude, don't you think?" He made sure to emphasize the last three words he spoke, speaking them slowly and with great malice. When she rolled her shoulders he could only smile at the thought of the impending fight that was about to occur. "Oh, do we want to play now? And here I thought that tag was the only thing you hunters were good at." And with that he crouched down into an attack position and waited for her to make a move.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley





The tone of the man’s voice sent chills down her spine. Something didn’t sit right with her but that couldn’t stop her now. There was too much at stake to show a shred of weakness. “It isn’t your town when you terrorise and kill its inhabitants.” Laura kept in mind the volume of her voice, whilst they weren’t in a street with many homes, it would only take one person to see them for innocents to be killed. She flexed her fingers as she faced the vampire “And I’m yet to find out what vampires are good at.” As he was crouched Laura reached inside her coat for her guns. She preferred the close combat her knives provided but she now wanted this ended quickly. She looked down the barrel of the pointed gun, the other by her side poised, ready to fire. Focusing on the vampire’s chest her hand faltered in the cold. He wanted her to be the first move but she was happy to wait, in her cockiness she wanted to the Vampire’s skill.


“I can wait here all night…all day.” She goaded, “The sun will be up in a matter of hours, the locals will be waking up to start there day, and you didn’t get a chance to feed…” Her words were laced venom, the same smirk twisting the corners of her lips, if she was going to die she was going to have some fun with it first. She aimed, her sight focused down the barrel of the gun. “All show no action…” Truth be told Laura was freezing and that if she waited any longer her reactions would be impaired from the weather. She decided to take a few steps forward to try and end this stalemate. It wasn’t until she had taken these steps that she got a closer look at his face. Suddenly her expression changed to that of confusion and shock. Her mouth opened slightly as if to speak his name but only the sound of her breath catching escaped her lips; its warmth curling up into the night sky. She couldn’t be sure, but the resemblance of a memory was striking.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

"More of a resident than you are," he said with the smug tone he'd been using. After she turned to face her, and replied to his tag comment he could only smile more. "You won't live long enough to see either," he hissed. He stayed in his attack position even as she pulled her pistols out and point at his heart. He could move faster than bullets, he's tested this theory time and time again. Though when she mentioned the sun, she had him there. It was then that he realized that each time he'd dodged those blessed bullets he had just fed. The question of if he would be able to do it now with no feeding in the last week, except for his blood laced cigarettes. Would that be enough or would this be his end after all? He stiffened a laugh at the thought of being relieved of this nightmare but returned to reality when she began to move. He had to focus, he had to be ready. He wanted to end his existence but would not be sent to hell without a worthy enough opponent.


Her face had be covered in shadow, but once she stepped into the moonlight, he could see her better. Something familiar? No, all humans seemed that way to him but her expression of shock said that it wasn't just the longing of the human world again. She went to say something but only a breath escaped her lips, its warmth curling into fog as it left her mouth. He couldn't had seen his name form on her lips. It had to be his imagination. He replayed the moments again and again in his head. "She was going to call my name. She knows my name! How...? Do I know her....?"


His mind now raced. He searched his memory. If she knew him, he had to know her. No, it was his imagination, but that left the question of what she had said and why she had stopped. His own face twisted with confusion and frustration, and tired of drowning in the these enough he had to know. He moved quicker than any human could react, fuel by his frustration to move faster than he ever thought he could; even after he had fed. He pinned her against the nearest wall and almost growled his words as he spoke. "Tell me what you said! Tell me what you called me!"

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley





Laura was ready to run, she didn’t know what was stopping her. Her feet were rooted to the spot as she stared dumbfounded at the man before her, every thought that was racing through her mind defied belief. Her lips were still parted, her eyes wide; searching his for any sense of recognition of her. The guns in her grasp were still poised and ready to kill, her fingers pressed against the trigger but she couldn’t pull it. Images from her childhood were flashing before her eyes, but it wasn’t moments of regret and missed opportunities; they were full of happiness, laughter and childish excitement. She could see him as a young boy, playing in local fields and woodland with her and her siblings; just like one big happy family. Her heart ached as she tried to deny what was in front of her.


Her attention was brought abruptly back to her current situation. Before she could realise what had happened all the air in her lungs had gone. Her eyes bugled and watered as her back hit the wall not too far behind her hearing one of her hand guns clatter half the street away she gripped second tighter. As he spoke she tried to look past his shoulder and into the night sky; not able to face him or the reality of the situation. But the force he was exerting onto her body made it difficult not to focus on him directly. She still couldn’t say the words; her mind raced what to do next? How could she go back to her brotherhood with a failed hit? Chills ran through Laura as she realised that it was more than likely that she wasn’t leaving the spot alive. Instead of scanning his face for any possibility that she was mistaken Laura met him eye to eye. “Sh…” The word wouldn’t come out. The other gun fell from her grip, echoing as it fell and slid between their feet. “Shawn… Blakely.” She pressed her body harder into the wall, unsure of her fate. She could have it all wrong, but there was something in his eyes that spoke to her. But that wasn’t going to save her, her arms began to tingle from the pressure against them. She opened her mouth to speak again but nothing would come out. There was so much that needed to be said, the mission had gone out the window. She remembered her knives in her coat pockets but they weren’t going to help her now.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn eyes wondered her face as he let go of her. He looked away as he thought. It was then that he remembered something, something that would make him remember. Shawn knew quite a few people where he grew up and many of them knew his name. There were only a few people that knew his last name. The kids that he often snuck out to see after his parents started to isolate him in preparation of being given away. He quickly looked up and stared at her. "How could I not have seen it?"





"Laura," he asked as he back away from her. All his cherished memories of her and her siblings as they played together; even the last party he'd had gone to, to celebrate her birthday. These memories all seemed to shatter and her shocked face took their place. He looked away and felt as though he was going to be sick. He turned his back to her. He took some deep breaths and then started to walk away. He couldn't be near her, he couldn't let his last happy memories he had be destroyed by this one moment. These memories were his last link to his humanity and he would not let them be destroyed. No, that wasn't right it wasn't that he wouldn't, it was that he couldn't. He needed these memories to keep him from completely losing himself to the darkness that was the his life now. The darkness of the night air and the bloodlust of his world.


He walked slowly, forgetting his surrounding and his time slipping away. Right now all he could focus on were his memories and putting on foot in front of the other. He would go to the plaza, have a smoke and go home. "That's what I'll do." He moved no faster to reach this goal and had made very little progress as he was still in the sight of his childhood friend as he dragged his feet along the rocky road. He couldn't will himself to move as fast as he had just a few moments ago, and at this pace he'd easily lose a rave to a snail.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley


Hearing herself speak his name felt surreal, but for Shawn to remember hers felt like something she’d not felt in a long time. She remembered him calling her name as they played in the summer, the warmth of the sun on her skin, the sound of laughter. She didn’t get time to read his expression as he turned away from her. All she could do was watch him walk away for a moment, the disbelief was slowing her down. It wasn't until she tried to step forward and kicked her gun that she realised that she had left weapons scattered in the street, she scrambled to pick them up; more conscious of their weight. She kept one in her hand, the other placed carefully in it holster.


Her instinct was to aim, she held a gun up towards Shawn's back. It was her mission and she wasn't about to show weakness, but as she looked on at the back of his head her arm and her conviction wavered. She’d never hesitated with a kill before, not like this. "You don't just get to walk away!" Laura raised her voice, “This doesn't make any sense. I..." Words escaped her as she watched how slowly he was walking, he didn’t look like he was running away, but he hadn’t killed her. She put the remaining gun back in its holster just as slowly as the first, still wary of the fact her childhood friend was a vampire and as a result her sworn enemy. Laura didn’t know whether to move towards him or away, stuck between a rock and a hard place. “Oh God,” against her better judgement she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, her decision wasn't getting any easier. "To hell with it." Laura decided to follow him back the way she had just been stalked. She took a knife from its holding and placed it in her coat pocket in case she needed it.


She kept her distance but fund herself at the fountain stood before him. “What happened.” Her words were less inquisitive but more despairing. From her pocket she drew out a small flip lighter and a cigarette. The sky caught her attention as a plane flew overhead, its lights blending in with the stars. The edge of night was being warmed by the beginnings of dawn. It wouldn’t be long

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Her panicked and, almost seemed angry, words echoed behind him, but he had no strength to fight or even face her. Shawn heard her weapons, even felt as she pointed on at him but he just kept moving. "The fountain, a quick smoke and home. She'll be gone soon...everyone leaves in die time." At last he made back to the fountain, but to his dismay, she has followed him. Why couldn't she just go or kill him even? He decided to ignore her and take out and light his cigarette. He ignored her question and after taking a long drag of his own cigarette he motioned toward hers. "Those things are bad for you." He couldn't face that question yet, he could barely face her at this time. He was surprised that his words were even audible.


He looked to the sky and saw as the dark blue of the sky began stained orange with the rising sun. He clicked his tongue as he got up. He looked at her and before turning away he spoke once more. "We can talk tomorrow. If you really want to know what dragged me into the darkness, meet me here after sunset." With those words he started off.


He arrived at the house right before the sun was visible. He got slightly burned for getting there so late. As his personal servant bandaged him, she commented on how it was obvious that he hadn't feed and now he would have no choice. "Master Shawn?" His head snapped back to her. "What?"


"Did you want me to get one of the prisoners so that you feed and heal," she asked again, a look of concern plastered on her face. Shawn merely shook his head, dissed her and laid down. He knew very well that he wouldn't be able to sleep but resting would be fine for now.

 

[Volarit]

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Laura Riley


Laura couldn’t bear his silence, she had so much pent up tension that as he commented on her cigarette she pulled it from her mouth and balled it up in her hand with the end still lit. From training her hands had become less sensitive to any and all sensations, but the slight sting from the burning end helped her hold her tongue. Her temper could easily get the better of her at a time like this. She took a deep breath and turned away from Shawn and made her way back to her apartment as the sun rose. As she left his line of sight the adrenaline began to wear off and hands shook. She struggled to get the key into the door but she eventually made it into the room and fell onto the bed, her limbs still trembling. The shock to her system kept her awake for a large portion of the morning. She watched the sun move across her room and managed to fall asleep; exhaustion setting in. Her brief sleep was interrupted by a shrill beeping by her head. The shock would have caused her to vomit had it not been for her empty stomach not bringing anything up. She scrambled for her mobile phone at the bottom of her rucksack and answered the call with a panicked “Hello?” “No, I’m fine, not successful just yet; following a hot trail.” She needed an excuse to stay another night. There had been an apparent string of killings in Copenhagen that needed an agent’s attention. If she made any insinuation that there was no vampire to hunt she would shipped off to another location the same day. Her superior sensed her rambling nerves and joked about the first kill being the hardest. “You can say that again sir, but it will be done.” She spoke with mock conviction in order to get off of the phone quicker. Hanging up and falling back onto the bed, she couldn’t face the day yet She could feel the bruising on her back from the previous night’s action as she squirmed with the discomfort of her current situation and impending decisions.


As the sun dipped and dimmed from her room she sighed heavily and decided that she was going to have to return to the plaza after nightfall. She had to find out what was going on before she moved on to her next kill. She hadn’t decided if it would be Shawn. With a lack of sleep Laura stepped into the small and barely functioning shower. The apartment building was filled with the curses as she quickly realised that the hot water was no longer on. But neither the less she was now awake. She threw on the same clothes as the night before, her coat a warm and welcome addition to her shivering frame. She holstered her weapons and set out into the evening sun. She stopped by one of the few remaining restaurants and found something on the menu she could pronounce. She stayed in there for longer than the owners were comfortable with and she was urged to head home as the streets were not safe for young ladies. She rolled her eyes and paid. She still had an hour before it was truly nightfall so Laura walked back to the small train station platform and sat on the edge. Trains only came through in the, so it’d be a long walk to the nearest city if she wanted to leave now. She spent the time chain smoking the remainder of her cigarettes, throwing the carton onto the tracks, watching it get caught in the wind and blown out of sight.


When it became too dark to see she made the slow walk back towards the plaza. When she arrived it was empty. She sat and faced the water much as she had seen Shawn the night before. Sat with her back to the world didn’t feel like the safest way to be sat, but watching the stars in the water’s reflection kept her calm for the time being. Her ears were ringing as she tried to concentrate on anyone approaching. Shawn may not turn up, but if there were any other vampires in the area she needed to stay alert. There was nothing stopping him sending someone else to finish her off.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn impatiently waited for the sun to set. It seemed to take longer than usual and it was driving him up the wall; so much so that he dung his fangs into bottom. If he could still bleed, there would be more than a mere trickle of blood running from his lip. At last the servant entered, announcing that it was now safe to leave. He would have left that minute of she hasn't insisted on changing his bandages; lecturing him on the importance of feeding tonight, and the minute she was done, he threw on the shirt she had brought in and ran for the door, not bothering to grab his coat.


Soon in the small town, he found his feet grew heavy and legs frail. He couldn't help but smile. It had been years since he had felt this level of fear and nervousness and it felt great, for it felt human. Still smiling he walked, his hands in his pockets. He hummed a tune, one he'd thought was a lost memory to him. He couldn't place it until he truly thought about it. "No wonder I tried to forget that one," he mumbled as he started to frown slightly. It was a song his mother had sung to him when he had had a bad dream. He pushes the memory and song out of his head as he entered the plaza.


He saw her and tried to smile but again the overwhelming feeling of his humanity twisted the smile into a grin that didn't seem to fit his face. It was odd, like the one he wore as a child. Her back was to him and before getting within a good stoking range he cleared his throat and tenses up. Even if she was listening for him, there still a chance she had no intention to listen to him; she could be here to end him and he wasn't sure that he would resist the resolution.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura lost track of time watching the water. Her mind flickered between work and her present situation. She became aware of Shawn’s presence and her posture stiffened. Feeling nauseous and dizzy she was aware of how fast her hear heart was beating and that Shawn would be equally aware; not what she wanted when trying to assert her dominance over the situation. After a deep breath she turned to face him, not saying a word. Her shoulders softened realising that he was alone for the moment, hoping it meant he was here to discuss the past. “I don’t know how to go about this.” She looked to him for some kind of reassurance. She felt less vulnerable standing, waiting for him to approach she stepped down from the fountain to meet the vampire before her.


“What a fucking mess.” Laura had always had a sailor’s mouth, it was the source of contention in her family home but helped her become a part of the team when she joined up with the hunters. It didn’t feel right to discuss such a matter on the streets but there wasn’t anywhere else she could. She wouldn’t invite him to her apartment, primarily because she didn’t want to be killed but if the brotherhood were to find out that she had a conversation such as this Laura imagined that her life ending at the hand of a vampire to be preferable. She sure as hell wasn’t going to enter his territory.


“What happened? None of this makes sense.” She grimaced “You’re parents said you’d moved away for school, they never spoke to us after that.” Laura paused and focused on Shawn’s demeanour; he looked weaker than before, as if he hadn’t fed; whilst she was reassured that she may have an advantage in combat; a vampires inhibitions were greatly lessened in such a state, the need to feed often overwhelmingly strong.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

The moment that she was of his presence, she became stiff and this made him do the same. He could hear her heart pounding faster than moments before. "At least I'm not the only on who's not sure about this turn of events." When she turned and relaxed a bit, he had to refrain from frowning. She wasn't nervous about the meeting for the same as him, she thought he would bring others with him. That's fine with him, she ccould thing what she wanted; he's always been happy to prove others wrong.


He slowly appoarched her until he was close enough to talk without yelling at one another. He heard her favorite line and he chuckled. "Being a hunter hasn't cleaned that mouth up at all." He continued to chuckle thinking of her using the same language after they'd done something stupid and got caught by her mother. Her mother telling her to watch her mouth as she pinched Laura's cheek and Laura telling that she would as she begged to be released. Shawn looked around and realized just how many windows faced the plaza. Though most would find this troubling, he knew no one would peeked out the shutters; not even if someone was screaming to be saved. The people would bury themselves under their blankets and wait for it to end. They would then act as though nothing had happened the next day.


He was brought back to the present situation by question. He listened to the explanation that she had been given. This annoyed him and he had to sit down, so he walked pass him and sat on the fountain; still facing her. He pop one of his blood laced cigarettes in his mouth, wincing at he went to light it. Hopefully, it was clear he was in no condition to attack her. That should calm her enough to join him sitting down, but that was up to her. She still seemed uptight so he didn't motion her to do so. "So that's the B.S they gave after they sold me to that vampire." He took a drag of cigarette and then thought about where to start his explanation. "When we first moved into the neighborhood, we had just come into some instant money. Dad played the lottery religiously so I figured that he just won it. Then things started to get weird. Like in order to play with you and your siblings, I had to sneak out. My parents wanted me to have nothing to do with the outside world, and I couldn't understand why. Then the night I left, my parents explained that I needed to make sacrifices so that the family doesn't have to go back to suffering through existence like before." He paused and took another drag as he thought as about how to continue. "I was changed that night." He decided that not to tell the 'hunter' that was listening to his story about the feeding frenzy that put the people of this town on edge like they were now.


He now just watched her face to see if there was any belief to his story. He had no reason to lie, but in his opinion she was brainwashed to believe all vampires were evil and therefore she may not believe him.

 

[Volarit]

????????????????????????????? ??? ? ? ?


__________________________ ??

Laura Riley


Laura was left speechless, as he told her his story she stood before him open-mouthed. "You were given... To a vampire... Like an object..." Her disbelief didn't arise from him thinking he was a liar, but the story was surreal. "That doesn't make any sense. What would a vampire want a young boy for?" She shuddered at the thought, hoping he wouldn't answer that question, any reason for prying a child away from their parents was horrific. "And you have been here ever since?" It wasn't uncommon for vampires to stay in one area, especially as the town seemed too terrified to revolt against the darkness that consumed it, she wondered whether the vampire infestation was generational. Curiosity got the better of her, "Are there more than you here?" As soon as the question left her mouth she realised it would sound like information she would relay back to her superiors. "What would happen if they saw you here, talking to a hunter of all people?"


The wind wrapped around her as she stood in front of the fountain, watching his every move. She knew the cigarette he was smoking was a vampire speciality, having smelt burning blood more than once. It was low on her list of priorities for now, she sat next to Shawn on the fountain ledge and sighed. "I missed you, you know..." Her voice trailed off, remembering the confusion that she felt when out of the blue she couldn't see her best friend. To the world she had moved on but there had always been a feeling of betrayal and abandonment, "We all did, if that is anything." She couldn't imagine it was, the thought of growing up so far from home under the influence of such evil was incomprehensible to her. Her heart began to slow as she felt more at ease, they had been talking for a while and as of yet nothing sinister had happened. She was aware of his current condition and the resulting difficulty to fight, Laura similarly felt physically exhausted by the last 48 hours. But more importantly she felt something beyond the coldness towards humanity that a life of killing to survive usually brought.


"I don't know what to do." Laura figures she might as well be honest about her predicament. "If I say there is no threat here I will be shipped out immediately, if I say there is, I have to act or others will for me..." Her gaze lifted from the floor to meet his "I don't have a lot of time to figure this out."

 

[AyanaRenewed]

"I've come to know that humans, when presented with a true desire, in this case money, the darkness in their heart are worse than the most sinister intention of a vampire," was the only way he could response to her disbelief. "As for what I was needed for, let me give a bit of information of the realm of vampires you may or may not know." He paused to put out the cigarette so she wouldn't have to smell the bloody aspect of it any longer now that she was closer. "Vampire do not have the ability to reproduce like humans. Their numbers can only grow by turning others. Like in human society, there are those with great fortune that are not very willing to let float around if anything happens to them. From what I heard, the vampire that took me had a close call with one of your brothers in arms and decided he needed an heir to inherit his wealth in the event that came to pass. Enter desperate dad with a son who fits his liking," he said pointing to himself.


He heard how he was missed and smiled, even chuckling. "You know I didn't feed for a week after changing. I kept thinking of how every time I would fall or something and you would give me the most determined look and tell me not to give up. When I finally fed, I cried. I think I even called out to you, apologized for giving in." He continued to smile but it was weak, sad even. The next few questions came to him and he nodded about always being there. "Don't feed here. One of the perks of being rich I can go anywhere, don't even to really need to feed from humans. I can easily order blood bags, which I might actually have to do soon." He reached for his injured arm and sighed. "As for your question on our numbers, you've got to know that there's no way I can answer that. No offense, I'm happy to see you but the fact is you ARE a hunter and I'm nowhere near being human."


He then listened to her predicament and thought. He had just gotten her back, a link to who he was then, and he didn't want her to slip away. He thought about more hunters in the area. He may not hunt in the area but his servants did and it would be irresponsible to put their lives in danger. Most of them helped him cope after he went on his feeding frenzy, even putting their lives on the line to stop him when the master refused to let him stop. "What would happen if you tell them that it was a curse instead of something that goes bump in the night. Something that makes people think they are seeing things and hurt loves ones and then blame it on things like me?" It wasn't unheard of, he had castes a spell or two like that but she didn't need her to know that.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura wasn’t heartless, as she heard of his first feed tears clouded her eyes as she tried to fight her mind’s eye creating the image for her. She blinked back her upset to focus on his loyalty; nodding at his answers, knowing that there was very little chance she would have gotten anywhere with her line of enquiry. She thought about his proposition for a moment; lying to her superiors was something that she had never done before and felt increasingly uncomfortable about her. “I don’t know.” She took a deep breath and enjoyed the silence as she tried to weigh up her options. The moment was cut short as a shrill tone pierced the silence, sending her heart rate sky high. “Fuck!” She clutched her chest with one hand and forced the other into her pocket, answering the phone she thought she had left in her apartment room. It was incredibly unusual to be contacted when hunting a target. The hand clutching her chest moved to motion Shawn to be quiet as she stood up and moved away from him to take the call. She was aware that she was still well within ear shot but she felt more comfortable.


“No, I’m fine, there’s no sign here.” She had forgotten to notify her superiors that she was reinitiating her search. Laura paused, being interrogated and berated for her carelessness. In truth she had been too preoccupied with meeting Shawn again. Hunting was not the first thing on her mind. “I understand. No, no clear vampire activity in the area. Did you send a new recruit to scout the area?” She rolled her eyes with a half-smile, of course they had, it was lackey work. “Do they know how curses work? There’s been no evidence of bodies turning up here for years.” She nodded again slowly as she listened to her instructions. She looked over to Shawn as she was told the expected, she was needed elsewhere and would be collected for re-deployment at sunrise. “Understood, I will be there.” She hung up put her phone away, not sure of what to say next. “Well… that settles that…” Her hands were thrusted into her pockets, balled into fists as she tried to process what she had done and the consequences that she could face. “You and your people are safe for now, I don’t think anyone will come sniffing around for a while, so long as no one finds a body.” She looked away, feeling sick at the thought of aiding the death of more innocent civilians. “I guess this is goodbye, again.” She tried to force a smile, but her mouth twisted to a grimace. “At least we get to say goodbye.” As painful as this felt, Laura was glad that she wouldn’t have to see Shawn like this again; she wanted to remember him as the child she grew up with and not what he had become. “I should probably get going.” Her voice was soft, she didn’t want to betray the sadness she felt with a falsely confident demeanour. She couldn’t bring herself to wish him well, she knew that the life he had was one that caused, and usually ended in misery. “You should keep away from the edge of town, for your own sake.” Laura looked to the floor, disheartened. “I’m glad I got to see you again, even under such circumstances.” She tried hide the slight waver in her voice “Goodbye, Shawn Blakely.” She held back the urge to reach out and touch him, for fear that she wouldn’t want to let go. Laura held his gave for a moment and hoped that he would not follow her as she turned away to leave.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

He saw her tears and how they disappeared as she focused on the point he would not reveal the number of his followers in the area. The truth was that the manor that he lived in was so big and he kept to his room and the study so he didn't encounter everyone so he had no idea how many were actually under his care. He was about to joke about how she was just as loyal to her brotherhood as he was to his clan; but he was interrupted by her phone. "I thought hunters never carried their phone," he thought as he watched her. He didn't like the way this side of the conversation was coming and when she looked at him his still heart ached. She was leaving and there was nothing that he could do short of holding her hostage. That came with several problems, one including more hunters in the area. When she spoke, finializing what he had feared. "They're sending you away.....? Why not tell them there was a lead if you thought the curse gig wouldn't work. I would have told the others that they could have a human or two or something." As he said these word he couldn't look at her, and resisted digging his fangs into his lower lip.


She was saying good bye. It was clear she was not at all happy about it but she seemed to want to keep her distance. He had lost his friend for to long for her to leave like this. As she turned to walk away, with what he thought was a melodramatic way, he hugs her from behind. "It's no where near time for the sun to come up. We've got at least three hours before the sky will even be colored with its rays. So...not yet....do say bye yet." As he spoke he buried his head into the curve of her neck. She smelled nice...no she smelled delicious but he happily resisted feeding from her. He hadn't realized it but he had egan to cry into her shoulder but he refused to release his dear friend, making sure not to hold her too tightly.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura hadn’t expected Shawn to reach out and hold her. At first she stiffened with his touch but when she realised that he didn’t mean her any harm she relaxed into his arms. She rested her head back towards his shoulders, looking up to the sky with clouded eyes. Tears only fell onto her cheeks as she felt his tears on the nape of her neck. Her world had be turned upside down in a matter of hours. She could have tried another tactic with her superiors but she knew full well that curses weren’t in the territory of a vampire hunter and all she wanted was to keep Shawn safe for now. She he had to remain loyal to her brotherhood but she couldn’t bear being any part of harm coming to him. But for now it was just the two of them in the darkness. Laura turned against Shawn’s hold to face her childhood friend she placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyes didn’t reach his face; she was preoccupied with how much the both of them had grown. “I hope we never have to meet under these circumstances again.” She met his gaze, truth be told she had no idea how they could ever meet again without it being in the context of death and war.


The hours melted away from them. It was becoming too close to daylight for her comfort. She needed leave and collect her few belongings and meet at her pick up location. “You need to get out of the sunlight before it’s too light.” She held onto his arms again, her grip tighter than before; knowing this really was goodbye. “Good luck Shawn.” She couldn’t say goodbye again. She turned her face away, trying to shield him from her tears. She pulled away from him and began to walk back to her apartment; her pace quickening as to try and lose him, she couldn’t hesitate now and neither could he.


She was ready to leave within minutes. The apartment was just as dark and dilapidated as it had been when she had arrived only a few days prior. Waiting at her pick up location she watched the sun rise over the far off mountains. Laura felt that she had aged ten years from her experience with Shawn. Part of her hoped that they would meet again, she spent the majority of her car ride back to Budapest thinking about all the scenarios where they could spend time together. A small smile warmed her face as she imagined but just as quickly as it had appeared it disappeared; realising that she had been imagining them in the day, the sun out and shining brightly.


From Budapest Laura flew to Paris to await further instruction. The clan in Copenhagen had been struck enough that the brotherhood didn’t feel they were a threat for now. By the time she reached the French capital the next day she was exhausted; she was given the time to recuperate by her superiors, owing it to the first time out on her own taking its toll. But she knew it was because of Shawn, not able to get the image of him out of her mind. Eventually she did sleep deeply, so much so, that when she awoke Hungary felt like an awful dream. She tried to treat it as such, that she would never see him again. There had been chatter about a rising group of vampires that needed taking care of in Western Europe, not affiliated to any known clan. Laura took this as an opportunity to get herself back out into the field and prove her worth as a hunter. Reminding herself of her purpose and value in eradicating evil would do her good.


Laura greatly preferred the cooler climes of northern Europe and America that what she was experiencing as she stepped off of the plane. When she had been in Romania and Hungary there had been snow and ice, the perfect weather for concealing weapons under layers of clothing. The first she did on the other side of the airport arrivals gate was strip down to her vest top and trousers. “Jesus fucking Christ” she moaned to her team. They laughed and half-heartedly shared her sentiment but Laura was certainly feeling the heat; she blamed it on her nerves. The team was an odd set up, Laura was one of three hunters, the other two with their prospective assistants. They had travelled in as a team but had separate marks to deal with, all in different areas of the city. Sat in the back of a large blacked out vehicle they were being dropped off in their prospective areas. Laura had drawn the short straw when it came to targets. Her vampire ran a string of night clubs and bars where young women were being drugged and disappearing, some being found days or weeks later with countless puncture marks. She knew that there was no way to know where the vampire would be or when but she had to give It a go and have better luck than last time. “Well here goes nothing.” She groaned, hauling her larger bag out of the car and shutting the door behind her. She was stood before a rather luxurious hotel, it wasn’t somewhere she was used to staying in any respect but the brotherhood worked on the premise that Laura was going to need to look the part in order to fit in and find her target. She was posing as a business woman on a weekend break with the girls. “This is going to be fun…” She mumbled. Laura enjoyed the idea of dressing up for once but she was going to need to be creative with where she held her arsenal with a dress like the one she had been given. “Oh well, bring it on.” She got set to getting ready, the group were reconvening the next morning, there was no time for error.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn felt her body stiffen and then relax. He wanted to stay like this, even if the sun came to end his existence now he would be content as long as his end meant he didn't have to say good bye to her this way. Why is it when he finally had a piece of him again it had to be ripped from him? It was in these moments he remember why he locked his heart away. Human pain is literally an eternity for an immortal like himself. He could feel her tears, as they feel from her cheeks onto his hands. There were warm, so much like the sun that had been stolen from him so long ago. It was being taken again and he hated this more because of the two worlds that had come to lived in. She turned to face him but seemed unwilling, or maybe unable, to look him in the eye. She said that she hoped to meet him again but he knew that was unlikely; and wished him luck. With that, she slipped from his grip and quickly walked away. Shawn wanted to scream but refrained and seeing the rising sun decided he should go as well. He was greeted but not in the mood in interact with anyone in the house. He told his main servant to order some blood bags and have them brought to him room upon their arrival. He also gave strict orders not to disturb him for nothing short of an emergency. She nodded and carried out her duties as instructed.


A few days had passed, he had long run out of the blood bags he had order. He finally emerged from his room and went to his study. He needed to do something other than mope around, so why not business. He would only be allowed to mope like this for an enternity if if investments were doing well. He looked into Asia markets first, they were doing well and being well to keep from being detected. He then checked his American investment, finding no problems there, he finally checked his European market. It seem business was booming but he grew irritated with the fact that the night clubs that one of his subborinates were running were drawing a lot of attention. "If this moron keeps this up every vampire in paris is going to end up dead to the hand of hunters." The word hunters made his heart ache and the imagine of Laura popped into his mind. He growled as hit kicked himself for getting so attached again so quickly. He need to stay focus. When his usual servant came to heck on him, she could see the irritation on his face. When asked why, of course he lied. "I have to deal with morons for business partners. Arrange things so that I can be in Paris in the next few hours." She bowed and wen to make the arrangements. Vampires often employed humans to help them travel during the day and so that would be required for this trip but as he ordered he was in Paris that night.


Upon his arrival, he took in a deep breath of the evening air. The sun was just setting and so the night was young, giving him plenty of time to enough the warmer air. He knew it wasn't spring or summer but late winter was always better here than Hungary. "Ah how I miss these warm nights! I really must find a place in a city like this." With a smile on his face he disembarked from the airport. He always got to play with his favorite toy when he left the dank and snowy Hungary area and though this trip was for business rather than pleasure, that didn't take him away from his favorite toys. His car collection. This time he was driving his favorite import, a SSC Tuatara that was all black with black-out windows. If he wanted to he could drive this bad boy out in the daylight. And after a nice night drive he pulled up to a hotel that the vampire, and thus he owned. Of course the staff knew who he was as he pulled in. He was created in a similar matter as he would be at his manor and escorted to a VIP suite. "Tell you boss I'll be visiting his main establishment later tonight and that he better be there." The escort bowed and was one his way. Since he was going to a club he'd dress the part, he's packed for just that reason. He pulled out an all black outfit, a causal button up shirt and some comfortable slacks. And he couldn't make an appearance without a nice red tie to accent it all. He showered, got dressed and headed out. As he drove to the club he loosened his tie and decided to leave it that way for it was more his style. After arriving, he climbed out of his car, lit and cigarette and made his way inside to wait. He'd probably not wait for an explanation but he's see how the night would progress.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura thanked her ‘active lifestyle’ as she pulled her dress up over her frame; there not being a great deal of room for error. She adjusted the skin tight black dress to sit where she needed it to, the slit up her thigh thankfully staying where it was supposed. She stood before the mirror slipping on a pair of black heels, they weren’t impossibly high but she didn’t want to run in them. Her plan was one of stealth, the only weapon she needed was one of the knives she usually carried inside her jacket; only this time it was strapped to the inside of her thigh. She wasn’t used to being so dressed up, nor with her hair down whilst working; she certainly felt glamourous. It was another string to her bow in order to charm her way to the vampire with a mark on his head. The hotel room phone rang and Laura teetered over to the side of bed. “Yes, thank you I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Her taxi had arrived. Picking up a small shoulder bag and checking her hair in the mirror she was on her way. She had asked her driver to take the long way around the city in order to get a feel for the area, were there alleys and tunnels she could use to her advantage if she needed to get away. Laura felt confident that she would get in and out without anyone knowing was has happening. As the taxi finally pulled up at the nightclub she stepped out onto the pavement and looked around, so far there was nothing unusual about the place. Laura smiled at the absence of a big flashing sign reading ‘humans wanted’ hopefully there would be more of a game here.


She made her way into the building with no difficulty, just another pretty girl spending a night out in the city of love. Through a set of heavy double doors the music quickly overwhelmed her senses, it took Laura a moment to adjust to her surroundings. The night was young but the club was nearly full, Laura pushed her way towards the bar and got a glass of water; her plan quickly paid off when a man approached and asked her about the drink “Are you pregnant?” This blunt question riled Laura up a little, having no patience for indignant men. “No, do I look pregnant to you? I’m taking blood thinning medication and I don’t want to get drunk.” She watched the man’s expression and he gave nothing away, he clearly was not working for any of the vampires who were lurking on the dance floor. But sure enough another man approached her who she knew from a mile off was a vampire, his eyes screamed desperation when she repeated that she was a risk of bleeding out with the medication she was taking; a vampire’s dream come true. Laura felt that she was being too obvious but after a few songs dancing she was being invited away from the main floor of the club and upstairs. “Come with me and have a few drinks, we’ll keep you safe and make sure you don’t have any falls, wouldn’t want you to cut yourself.”


Laura played coy for a while longer before supposedly giving in and following the vampire upstairs. He wasn’t her target and she was going to need to find a way to lose him sooner or later; the way he was eyeing her up like a walking blood bag was unsettling, if she got the opportunity she would take him out as well. Walking up the narrow staircase, she was lead into a side room that looked down onto the dance floor, stepped onto the balcony and looked at the few other rooms on the same floor as her. “What’s over there?” Laura pointed to a room slightly higher than them on the opposite of the club. The vampire came up behind her, resting his arms around her waist, moving her long dark hair from the nape of her neck. Laura didn’t flinch, not wanting to give the game away so early; she was sure that he wouldn’t want to end the night here. He leant his bodyweight into her back and pointed to the room she was looking at “The club owner is up there; stuck up bastard entertaining guests.” She smirked “What, a guest like me or?” “No, like his boss, guest.” Laura’s demeanour changed, disappointed at the thought that her target was busy, she didn’t want to have to do this again another night. “What a shame…” She turned to face the vampire as she leaned back onto balcony rail “I would have loved to have a drink up there.” Laura began to wonder how visible the room she was in could be from up there. She turned her head to look again, she could see two people up there. “Why don’t we pull the curtains? A bit of privacy?” She felt the weight of her knife as she pulled the curtains; the only way she could see herself getting up to the next floor was taking out this vampire first. Her only worry was having been seen on the way up.