Fantasy A New Order [Closed]

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn had a few drinks before the owner arrived. It was clear that he knew he was in trouble and had no problem kissing up to avoiding being left out in the sun to die a slow a painfully death. "I love this place. Plenty of areas to take people to feed, plenty of backdoors to sneak bodies out of. I've even heard that you have one heck of a crematorium downstairs. No stench, no smoke. Virtually undetected," Shawn said after a stammered greeting and question on his visit. "Yes sir. Nothing but the best for the Oringinal's investments, sir." "Then why is it that I have hunters inquiring to our human partners about this place!" Shawn was obviously annoyed, the main reason was what he was now being called in this place. If a normal human heard the word Original uttered, they would think that meant he was one of the main six that were created but in this day and age that is not what is meant. An Original was one who was changed by an Original and the name is passed through the ages to the heirs. Lucifer had this title and when Shawn took over the estate he inherited it. Shawn didn't like the title for two main reasons. The first being that it was the last thread holding him to the man that destroyed who he was; and the second being that hunters usually hit those with the title with everything they had, which was more trouble than it was worth. So naturally, Shawn couldn't stand the title used in his presence. Shawn took the last sip of his drink and set the cup down, the vampire owner flinching as the cup hit the table. "Sit down," Shawn ordered, and sure enough the vampire obeyed. "Now I asked you a question and I have not received an answer." "Well we've recently changed a few younger adults than usual and tey have been a bit...rebellious." "What's being down to calm them down?" The vampire paused and looked away not really wanting to answer the question, but Shawn could tell what was being done. The worthless sack of flesh was doing nothing about it. "Who's is your heir?" "That would be Marcel. He's downstairs hunting." Shawn got up and walked behind the tembling vampire. Resting each hand on the shoulder of the owner he leaned down and whispered, probably the very words he was hoping not to hear. "Let's hope for his sake, he's a better business man that you." Before the vampire could beg for forgiveness, Shawn snapped his neck and turned him to a pile of ash. "Retrieve his heir, but do not inform him of the reasons for his summoning?." There was a scramble of vampire before Shawn returned to his seat and poured himself another drink.


His mind began to wonder elsewhere while he waited. "Wonder who Laura was hunting right now...with all this insanity in Paris she might be here." He chuckled at his own hopefully thinking. One vampire had stayed behind with Shawn. "Go to the bartender and have him make me a good and warm bloody Mary." With a bow he left, Shawn to his own thoughts and a half of bottle of rum.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


“Now…” Laura trailed off, her attention was clearly not on the vampire in front for her. She was checking for cameras, two way mirrors, anything that would give her away too quickly. It was one thing to kill him but her target was someone else and she needed to live long enough to find him and get out alive herself. “That’s a little more private, isn’t it.” She grinned and knelt on a large leather ottoman, prying the cork from a bottle of champagne. “So tell me, how many girls do you bring up here?” She was trying to keep the conversation going as she planned her way out of the room. “Don’t be facetious now, I can tell when I am being played for a fool…” Laura, still kneeling leant forward and filled his glass. “Come sit with me,” the vampire spoke with a low and commanding tone, she assumed it was impatience, neither the less Laura agreed and sat by him, the volume of the music below them vibrating through the floor. She didn’t get a sip of her champagne before the vampire got handsy with her. Laura tried to gently rebuff his advances, knowing a misplaced hand would give away the hiding place of her weapon. “Slow down,” she cooed, he didn’t. “I don’t even know your name…” Laura was ever-careful of his body language, knowing that he could easily turn and go for the kill. “It’s Marcel, not that it matters, what’s yours?” His voice was lowering to a growl and adrenaline was beginning to course through her. Laura leant further into her target; nearly sat on top of him, her eyes lit up with the knowledge of his name. If she could take out two orders of a bloodline she’d be in for a good night. “No you’re right it doesn’t matter.” Just as his lips made their way along her shoulder and neck Laura brushed his leg with her hand. He grinned but before he could make any comment Laura thrusted her knife into his chest with one solid blow –she was precise and his body fell away from her, dissipating as she stepped back. “Fuck.” Laura breathed heavily with a smile. “One down…” She didn’t want to jinx it and made her way out of the room pulling the door handle upwards and outwards; jamming the locking mechanism; at least until a vampire became concerned and forced it open.


The corridors were confusing but she knew the general direction she was going; up. For an organisation based around the defilement and destruction of innocent lives Laura thought the security was considerably more relaxed than expected. She encountered another vampire on her way up an extravagant staircase. “And where do you think you are going?” He towered over her by at least six inches; she put her best acting face on. “Oh!” Laura took a step back from him in shock “Oh, I… Marcel, he sent me this way?” She held her shoulders forward and nervously picked at the side of her dress. “He said I needed to wait for him up here? But… Um, could you show me the way out? I think I just want to head home…” The vampire quickly changed his demeanour. “Oh, no it’s alright you come with me and Marcel will show you out, I’m sure he won’t be long.” Laura rolled her eyes as the vampire led her up the stairs and motioned towards the door at the very end of the corridor. Laura didn’t know if it was the right room for certain, but from what she remembered it would be facing the right direction. Halfway down the narrow and dark corridor she looked behind her and the vampire had gone, probably to find Marcel, she was going to need to be quick. She picked up the pace but as she reached the door she hesitated, she had seen two people in room before; Laura hoped it was the man she was looking for. The door creaked as she pushed it open slowly, trying to drink in her surroundings again. She saw no one, the room was empty. Laura cursed herself for taking too long with the other vampire and not focusing on her target. She stepped further into the room, it certainly looked like the lavish room she had seen from the lower floor. She turned around the corner and her jaw dropped. It couldn’t possibly be. “No, fuck… no way.” She began to edge her way back towards the door but heard voices from the other side. “Oh fuck,” she whispered, losing a handle on her gutter-mouth. Reaching behind herself Laura was just able to reach the internal lock and turned it over. She stepped forward again unsure of her next move.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn had finish the bloody Mary that was brought to him and the rest of the rum in the bottle. Even vampires could be light-weights and unfortunately he was one of them. "The hell is taking them so long." The vampire watching him shrugged, probably betting that in his inebriated, Shawn was not a threat. Shawn got up and stumbled towards the door angrily. "If you want something done right, got to do it yourself." The vampire that was watching over him tried to stop him, stating, "Maybe they found him and he's feeding. No one like to be interrupted when they're eating so give them a bit more time." "No." With that Shawn shoved out the way and stumbled down the hall. The vampire easily caught up with Shawn, and continued to try to reason with him. "I don't have time to wait for him to be done eating." "But you can barely walk. I'll send someone to tell him you are waiting. I know where he feeds." Shawn mumble some inaudible gibberish as he started opening door after door; each time yelling for Marcel as he opened them. The vampire that accompanied him, whose name Shawn finally learned was Carmel, just followed; hoping that Shawn would exhaust himself or get confused and end up back where they started.


After a few doors and about a half an hour of searching, Shawn rounded yet another corner and nearly tripped over his own two feet; but caught himself just in time to see a door closing. "And Bingo was his name O," he sung the childish song as he rebalanced himself and head for the door. "I highly doubt that was Marcel. That the boss's old room and seeing as you told the others not to inform him of his new status I doubt he'd have the balls to go in there." Shawn looked at Carmel, who could only sigh as he could see Shawn was going to look anyway. "Look if you got a problem with me, you can go back to the room. If he's there you have an idea of where I'll be. So see ya." Carmel shook his head and pressed on with Shawn. "Why are you in such a rush to find him?" "I'm a very impatient man." With that being stand, he grabbed hold of the nod and flung it open, revealing another room similar to the one he had met in upstairs but in the back of this room was another room. "Got you cornered now," was all Shawn whispered as him slowly swayed to the room, Carmel refusing to actually enter the room.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ??

Laura Riley


Laura nearly lost her balance as she walked to the centre of the room, she knew that the vampire in charge of this establishment had been reckless big this topped it off. Slumped over on their side was the body of a young woman, except it wasn't any woman; Laura had worked with her few times in France. She was a hunter. Laura had seen more than her fair share of bodies during her life. But seeing one of her people hunched over and discarded like trash made her feel sick. First instinct was to try and take the woman's body out of the room, away from the vampires but she knew there was no feasible way to smuggle it past humans, let alone the creatures that had robbed her of life. There was no time to try and think of another way around the situation, she could hear loud voices from the corridor she came from. Laura looked around the room for another way out, there was little use hiding from a vampire, she only hoped that she hadn't been too loud in the shock of finding the body.


She entered through the next double doors in the room. The room looked more inhabited opposed to the office before; and fortunately no dead hunters. She tried to control her breathing to slow her heart rate, knowing in a place like this her anxiety would give her position away like a homing beacon. Had she been alone she would give herself the time to go over the room with a fine-toothed comb; the information she could have gotten would be immense, but she heard voices and wasn't sure if they knew she was here. Laura needed to hide or better yet get out completely. She locked the double doors behind her and headed for the balcony that overlooked the Parisian city scape. She hadn't found her target but she would be able to stay in Paris a while longer; continue to scout him and take him out another night. The wind had picked up, sending a chill through her; looking upwards there was a ladder to the roof, Laura wasted no time in climbing up, hoping for a safer passage to the ground on the other side of the building. She heard movement from inside and tried to climb faster but whether it was the wind threw her off balance or the inexperience of climbing a wet ladder in heels, Laura lost her grip and balance. Falling backwards she hit the balcony hard; everything was spinning as she tried to push her-self up and back on her feet. Laura groaned and laid back; the world fading to black around her the threat of vampires no longer a priority as she lost consciousness.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn opened the door with ease to find the old owner's collection of trophies and the sickened him but ignored them as he heard the double door beyond them click. A vampire could easily jump from this height and it irritated him that he was going to lost his quarry. As he stubbornly made his way to the doors he heard commotion behind him. Carmel had finally braved the room to address Shawn. "Apparently sir, there are hunters about. Marcel is believed to be dead at the hands of one of their daggers. The couch cushion that lies behind him proves it." "Oh well that's unfortunate." Shawn soon became painfully interested of what was beyond those double doors now, but only looked over his shoulders to since his babysitter was still there. "Sir I must insist that we return to the meeting room so that you can be protected until further investigation and capture of the hunter is complete." Shawn's attention returned to him and with eyes that were dazed with alcohol yet sobering clearness he simply stated, "Get out and leave me be. I am much more capable of handling hunters in this state than any of you useless mongrels that call yourself vampires." Carmel was taken back by the emotionlessness in his tone. Being unable to form words under the cold stare, he bowed and left Shawn to him own devices.


Shawn not free of distracted turned to the doors of the balcony again. Then his attention was directed to one of the motionless woman on the floor, closest to the doors. He slowly walked to her, trying to keep his drunken stature upright. One near her he allowed himself to fall to the floor next to her. He saw a tattoo he knew all too well on her side. Some vampire hunters kept of their kills and would represent them somehow; this one had chosen to do so by tattoo times, place and grade of target on her side in small Kanji symbol. "Services you right. Gloating is never something that goes unpunished." He them got up, nearly falling over and returned his attention back to the door. After trying the knob, he confirmed it was locked. He could've kicked it down but what would be the challenge in that. He pulled out an old pocket knife and began to pick at the lock. He had read how to do it and remembered it clearly, but his intoxication made things harder than it should be. He began to whistle some tone that would send chills down most anyone spine and hoped that the hunter he could smell lying on the other side of the door felt that way too. Once he maneuvered his knife through the latched of the lock, he smiled darkly and whispered, "Let's see what behind door number one."

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Searing pain began to radiate from the back of Laura’s skull. The ringing in her ears bringing her back to her senses. She tried to sit back on her elbows but the ringing intensified and her head swam. She fell back against the cold concrete, her blurred vision returning to her slowly. At first there was no way to tell how long she had been out for but the fact she was still breathing gave Laura a pretty strong feeling that it hadn’t been long. “Oh god…” She groaned as the ringing began to subside, giving way to the sound of the door she had locked being tried. Her eyes widened as with the impending threat. Laura used what strength she had left to force herself from the floor to standing, if there was any chance of getting out alive Laura knew she had to leave now. Pulling herself up with the balcony railing proved easy enough, but as she took a step towards the ladder for a second attempt at escape a searing pain shot from her ankle to her knee. Laura stumbled forward and grabbed the door back into the building; the pain seared with each movement she made but Laura made no sound. She grit her teeth and winced as the door to the room slowly swung open. Laura saw no choice but to face this head on. She leant forward and grabbed her blade from its holster and held it ready to attack. She didn’t see a positive end to this.


Laura held her blade tightly as she waited from a distance for the vampire to enter. When he did, her eyes widened but her stance remained unchanged. “Shawn?” She whispered, unsure of who might be with him or listening. “S…Shawn?” She repeated herself as she saw the look in his eyes, he was different to when she had saw him last. Laura couldn’t move from her position, partly from the pain that was spreading up her leg but she didn’t want to make any sudden movements. It was a blessing Shawn had walked through the door as she wouldn’t still be standing but this was time was different. Last time they had met Laura hadn’t killed one of his own. Laura could only assume that Shawn was in Paris as he had a connection to the vampires here. Here she stood with the death of one of his kind on her hands; ready to kill again if needs be.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn's face went from killer mode to confused in a heartbeat. "The heck are you doing here," he slurred. He was a bit disappointed the murderous hunter on the other side of the door wasn't someone he was more willing to kill but was happy to see her. "You put that away. I won't bite." Bad joke, he knew but she needed to relax, he could see she was in pain and he wanted to help. Then his mind had a clear moment, free of alcohol that had been clouding it for a bit. Laura had killed Marcel and was now being hunted herself. There was no way he could just waltz out the front door with some random human that he found on the balcony of a off-limits room. Normally he would scoop her up and jump over the balcony but the alcohol was still very deep in his system and he was in no condition to just down with her in his arms; he would do more damage to the injuries that she already had. The world began to sway for him so he leaned against the door and slowly slid down to the floor. He was sleepy now, definitely the finally effect of the alcohol. He bit his palm to cause enough pain to stay awake. He then began to think of other ways out, but the more he thought of things the more his mind kept coming to one thing. "Why would I have to sneak out?" That was the main question and he could not find a viable answer. He just knew that Laura was wanted for her crime and either he turned her in or have the vampire of Europe turn on him. Through clouded eyes he looked at her and smiled. "You look nice tonight. You look good enough to eat this time." As the words left his mouth, an idead popped into his head.


"Laura. I have an idea," he said slowly getting up. He walked over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "If we don't get you out of here you will either be killed slowly as possible or you will be changed. I want to avoid either of those opinion for you but it is going to come with a bit of pain." He looked at her closely before continuing his proposal. "I need you to let me bite you. Not to feed but to create puncture marks like I have fed off you. As an....Original heir I have the authority to take jurisdiction of the punishment of hunters who have done harm or killed a vampire. I can carry you out the fron tdoor no questions asked." He explained his plan and waited for her reaction. This plan would not work if she was not in, for if she resisted the toxin that comes with the just puncturing the skin it could make her very sick; but telling her this might cause more hesitation than it probably already will. He hoped that she would see this was the only way out and go with it.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura couldn’t move from her position as Shawn spoke to her, there was something about being in pain and cornered that made Laura to feel like a deer in headlights. The grip on her knife was unwavering until she watched him slide to the floor. She took a cautious step towards him, but the same pain shot through her leg and Laura stumbled. Staying put on the spot she brought the knife back to its holster and watched Shawn carefully. “That’s not funny Shawn, I’m here to do my job. Not very well it seems.” She exhaled quickly, the sound resembling a chuckle; but Laura’s dead-set expression betrayed the amusement in her voice. “If anyone else had entered the room I’d be dead, no questions.” She ran a hand through her hair in frustration at her current predicament. Laura’s eyes glazed over as she lost herself in thought about how she was going to explain this to her superiors; if she ever got the chance to. Her attention was quickly drawn back to Shawn as he commented on her appearance. Her chest tightened her heart missed a beat, regardless of how much she trusted Shawn, the sentence made her fell physically sick “What did you say-.” Laura was cut off by Shawn’s explanation.


His hands on her shoulders were a welcomed source of balance as she took some of the weight off of her injured leg. She watched him closely with great concentration, she was willing to do what was necessary to get out alive. Only when he mentioned piercing her neck did her eyes widen with shock; Laura’s instinct was to pull away from him. She pushed both her palms into his chest to thrust herself out of his grip; she instinctively stepped back on her injured leg. Laura let out a stifled cry, the pain forcing her off the leg and back towards Shawn. “You can’t be serious.” She paused, her brow furrowed in thought; her eyes slowly meeting his. “Wait, you didn’t tell me you were an Original heir?! When were you going to tell me that?” Her mind was all over the place but her thoughts were quickly drawn back to the immediate situation as she realised an Original heir wouldn’t be left alone for too long with a hunter supposedly loose in the building. “Puncture marks? Just bite marks?” Her mind was racing with questions. “Here and now? Wont others know you didn’t feed…Can you stop yourself from feeding?” Her last question trailed off from her lips. She hadn’t expected Shawn to be a bloodthirsty monster, but the lure of blood for a vampire could be irresistible at the best of times. “I… trust you.” The words were hard to say, she winced at the thought of being bitten, her hands gripping his shirt tightly with anticipation. “Oh god, how do I explain this.” She took a sharp breath in. “Oh shit, just do it, bite me.”

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn expected the reaction nonetheless. A vampire wanted to bite her, an Original heir at that. She pushed him away and fell back on what he figured was an injured leg, for she screamed out so loudly he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one heard and came running. It was a relief that no one had. Maybe Carmel had told the other that he would handle the hunter situation and they had left the area. As he turned back, she was falling back into him, nearly knocking him still in his sobering state over. She seemed to be becoming aware of how much he had actually thought this through. Then she revisited the thing that he had tried to smooth over with quick mention, the part about being an Original heir. "Well......to be honest I wasn't." He smiled nervously but then she became frantic it seemed. First asking if him a series of question before telling him to go for it. It was clear she was not keen on the idea but it had to be done. "Don't tense up. That will make it hurt worse than it needs to." He need to instruct her through this to make sure she understood what was going to happen in the next few moments. "After I bite you, you'll feel numb just go with that feeling it'll make you go limp and it'll keep your heart rate down so it's like I had fed," he whispered as he moved aside her hair and bared his fangs. Moments later, he dug into her neck and released the toxins he spoke of. He stopped himself from taking more than the trickle of blood that came from that initial bite. His eyes were red with that small taste and he even hovered before pulling back. He couldn't and wouldn't feed off of Laura. She trusted him to stop and he would not fail her.


He then waited for a moment and watched her body's reaction to the toxin. He was sure that he heard footsteps from the corridor that he had followed with Carmel to get here and knew that they were coming to see if he was a pile of ashes himself. He also remembered that they would not release him until he picked a temporary lead for the local clan. He clicked his teeth at remembering this and as the footstep grew closer, he ran through the list of the local elites that would want to clean up this mess of their killed comrades. He could promote from within until he could think more clear and not have a wanted hunter in his arms, life hanging in the balance. "That's what I'll have to do for now."

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura began to tremble as Shawn explained the process of being bitten, she couldn’t bear the thought of it but she couldn’t think of another way out of this. She closed her eyes as his face closed into hers, she felt his hand brush her hair aside and instinctively Laura held her breath. She couldn’t help the tension in her shoulders as he bit down; there was no warning. Her lips parted as if to scream or gasp but the pain was to intense, she felt frozen in time as she was all too aware of his fangs in her neck. After what seemed like an eternity his fangs left her neck, Laura could feel a small amount of blood pooling around the punctures but it felt ice cold. She turned to look at Shawn, confused by sensation; her body in shock. As she looked to him the world around her seemed to slow down, her eyes were wide as she looked about the room noticing everything was blurry. The slowing thud of her heartbeat was clearly audible. Her fingers released Shawn’s shirt; her knuckles aching from the intensity of her grip, it was now that Laura became aware of the toxins taking affect in her body. The sensation was all-consuming, she tried to lift her arms but they were heavy and slow to react. Laura remembered the instruction to not fight this feeling and she went limp in Shawn’s arms; her full weight being supported by his. She tried to speak but she had no energy, all she could do was leave her life in his hands; both figuratively and literally.


What Laura hadn’t expected was that she would still be conscious through the process. She had closed her eyes as blinking had become difficult and slow, but she was still listening to everything in the room. She hear voices talking to Shawn about business matters, matters that as a hunter she should have been paying close attention to, but her mind began to drift in an out of memory. One moment she hear Shawn electing another senior vampire to regain control of the operations in Paris, the next she heard his childish laughter and calls to come a play. She tried to fight the memory and focus, but it was too strong to ignore. She reached out to the memory but her arms were too heavy and non-responsive, she watched their childhood memories roll by until she reached the memory of being told he had gone. The feeling of hurt left a sour taste in her mouth. Laura didn’t know how much time had passed, but she became aware of the feeling of the cool night air against her skin. This helped Laura become more aware of her surroundings, she was sure she was outside now, she fought the toxins in her system and whispered, “Shawn, thank you.”

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn had done his business and quickly left with the hunter in his custody. The other vampire smiled as he announced that he would take over her punishment, he eyes red yet piercing cold to confirm the lie. Though the vampires would not allow him to drive back to his hotel and sent a lower ranked on with them. As they walked to the car he heard her whispered and fought back the smile. "Wonder if that's the guy who turned her into a hunter. Funny same name as you, sir." "It's always been a small world." The vampire climbed into the driver's seat and Shawn climbed into the back, Laura cradled in his arms. "Are you waiting to get back before the punishment begins sir?" Shawn just looked at the vampire and he kept his eyes on the road and spoke no more. Shawn never really used his title before and it was quite intoxicating how much power he had with little effort. They were soon at the hotel where he would be staying and in his room. He was not alone with Laura who still seemed to be under the effect of the toxin but he figured it would fade soon since he didn't feed. He laid her on the bed and began to untie his tie. Looking down at her, he realized that she was still bleeding. His eyes hovering over the two small streams of blood as the dripped on his pillow. He could feel his eyes now focusing on her neck again and had to turn away. "Got to bandage that." He went to the bathroom and found the room's first aid kit. He took out the antiseptic and cotton balls before taking a deep breath and facing her. He quickly, yet gently, cleaned the wound and dressed it. "You tensed up....it might scar now."


After returning the kit to its place he sat in a chair he had placed opposite of the bed. The sun would be up soon and he was fighting sleep. He had long sobered up and now just wanted to make sure that the toxin didn't have some adverse effect on her. He had heard that some humans if not fed on can go days in this state and the longer he had her around the harder it would be to explain her presence to her followers. After a few moments he was jerked awake by almost falling out the chair. He slapped both sides of his face and decided to watch TV. He flipped through the new and such before landing on something that brought a smile to his face. It was an old carton channel and it was showing a show that he and Laura use to watch as kids. In fact, it was the last episode they had watched together. He smiled and watched it would get ecstasy of the past; remembering as they sung the theme song and made predictions of how the show would go on after it came back from a commercial break.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Laura recognised the change in temperature and guessed that they were in a hotel, she didn’t think it was the one she had checked into, but she couldn’t be sure; her eyelids had grown too heavy to keep open. She wondered if it was another effect of the toxins in her system but something told her she was just tired after a hectic night. She felt the comfort of the bed she was laid on, but whether it was from the bite or exhaustion Laura fell into a deep sleep. It was a feeling of nausea that woke her from her dream-like state. Her eyes shot open and she bolted upright, the room began to spin but Laura forced herself off of the bed and to standing, lifting her foot slightly and holding the wall. “Bloody hell, how long did that knock me out for?” She scanned the room for a clock and realised that not a great deal of time had passed, it was still the same night. She touched the dressing on her neck, reminding herself of her reality. “Well,” Laura paused, looking at Shawn sat at the foot of the bed, “What do we do from here?” Laura had no answers for herself, she needed to get out of the hotel first and foremost and now she knew Shawn’s blood origins she was sure that there would be security covering the place. She sat back on the bed and sighed heavily, it was a sigh of relief. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it out alive. Shawn, thank you… I can’t think how much you’ve put on the line.” She winced as she stretched her leg out in front of her, testing her range of movement; it was pretty limited. “I think I will survive this, but…”she touched the bandage “How do I get this past my superiors?” Laura had never witnessed someone be bitten and survive as a human.


“I’ll figure something out.” Laura began to adjust her dress, “I still have time to get back to my hotel room and call my…kill… in without any suspicion being raised.” Laura cringed at her own words, she didn’t want to shadow Shawn’s kindness by being crude about the life she had taken, if she could call it that. “Maybe our paths will cross again, under more positive circumstances.” She smiled at him, it was difficult to believe her own words but she could hope. Laura ran her fingers through her hair and peeled away the dressing from her neck slowly “I’ve always been a wimp with this stuff,” she laughed “I can’t just rip the bandaid off.” She touched the puncture marks, surprised by how they didn’t hurt. “How do they look? I have a feeling I’m going to be wearing my hair down for a while, and investing in some polo-neck sweaters.”

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn looked over his shoulder as Laura came to. He waited until he was addressed. "Go our separate ways I guess." He hadn't actually turned to face her but he could hear her moving behind him. She thanked him and he nodded. He was still hungry. Her blood, it tasted different than what he had before and it wasn't that it was from a human vessel or even a hunter's; he'd drank from both before. He knew his eyes where still red, craving to return to the marks he had left. She pointed out how she would need to explain it to her superiors and then brushed it off saying that she'd figure it out. She seemed be a bit too open about her recent victim but then again he didn't care for the snot-nose vampires of Paris so he was indifferent to the statement. She began to peel back the dressing and Shawn instantly tensed up. The dressing or the wound, he couldn't tell, gave off the scent that he had buried in its cotton chamber. She made some comment about being a wimp but he couldn't focus on that. He began to argue in his head. "Smells so good....no I can't feed on her.... but a little bit won't hurt.... she said yes once.... but only to help her escape.... it’s the least she can do for the favor." These thoughts quickly fired back and forth as his eyes turned black from hunger. Then she made the worse mistake she could she asked him to look. Unable to fight his urges, he looked over his shoulders and saw his mark. She was talking about ways to cover it up and as she finished her sentence he had her pinned to the bed. "Just....just one more taste," he whispered as he leaned toward her neck. As he looked closer, he realized the smell that got him riled up was the dressing and not his bit for it had stopped bleeding. He nuzzled the puncture marks slightly with his fangs and that's all it took for it to start bleeding again. He didn't bite again, just licked up the droplets as they left her wound. This was proving to be more frustrating than satisfying and so it was becoming more and more tempting for him to bite her again. He let out a low growl of frustration as he brushed his fangs along her neck again; debating in his head again if he should just bite her and fully re-open the marks he'd created.


He pulled back and looked at her, eyes still black pits. "Wouldn't you be happier if we could stay together and not have to hope not to see each other on the battlefield?" He leaned in to whispered the next part in her ear. "Just say the word and you will truly belong to the world of darkness that you know you hunters dance in so carefully." His voice was as dark as his eyes. He was in feeding mode and he would not be pulling himself out of it anytime soon as he continued to lick the few droplets that left her neck.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚

Laura Riley


Before Laura could ask about the best way out of the building without arousing suspicion she found herself forced back onto the bed. She didn’t cry out in shock or fear, instead her attention was solely on the textured ceiling, desperately trying to stay calm. Laura knew that if she panicked her heart rate would increase and encourage more blood to the puncture marks; along with playing to Shawn’s predatory instincts. She focused on a steady breath in, and a steady breath out. Laura could feel the knife strapped to her leg and thought about trying to reach it, at least she could regain some control with a weapon to hand. She tested her upper body strength by resisting Shawn’s hold on her but after a few squirms she realised that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with brute force. Laura promised herself that if she got out of this room alive she would focus more on her strength instead of speed, not that it seemed it would do her a great deal of good. She tried the same with her legs but the heat radiating from her left ankle reminded her to be careful. The feeling of Shawn’s fangs against her neck made her stomach tense up; his tongue savouring the few drops of blood forcing her to speak out. “You don’t have to do this.” Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. As Shawn pulled back from her neck to look her in the eye she realised the danger she was in. She hadn’t seen a vampire with eyes like this since the night she had been attacked as a student years ago.


His words disturbed her, the gravitas in is voice sent chills through her body. She needed to think fast or she would be joining him in darkness. “That wouldn’t be much fun, would it?” Her voice wavered as she regained her composure “Where’s the excitement of being on the same team?” She bit down on her lower lip, there was only so long this could go on for before the sun came up. It was too risky to try and wait until then, Laura thought it was some miracle that he hadn’t killed her up until now. She wanted to appeal to his better nature, the child that she knew years ago; but this was serious, Laura contorted her wrist and slipped it from Shawn’s grasp and grabbed her knife in one swift movement. “Don’t test my conviction Mr. Blakely.” Her words were harsh and her stare cold. She pressed the blade between them “I could end your life before you have the chance to take another drop of blood from me,” she pressed the tip of the knife into his chest, watching and waiting for his next move.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

"Hmmm true. No point in making you strong enough to fight back or to take away this delicious nectar I've found." Shawn felt her slip away but was too focused on the little of blood that was teasing his instincts to feed. His attention was only removed when he felt the blade against his chest. All he did is smile as he pulled away from her neck. "Should we call her bluff or should we let her go to a different death?" His eyes were soft but still black. He stood up and back away from her. He leaned against the wall next to the bed still smiling but now it was wicked. "How many vampires can be here in a few seconds to restrain my new plaything?" Shawn had reverted to the vampire that killed half of the humans of the village, a true monster. All because of a small taste of Laura's blood. He waited for her reaction to his statement, to see how she would try and figure things out. "You move Laura. Better make it a good one, but a little bit of advice before you do. The hotel is ran and operated completely by vampires and humans that are loyal to vampires. When we entered I'm sure that runt that drove us home told a few people about you. Vampires don't have much else to do but talk so by now most if not all staff know that you shouldn't be wondering the halls alone. Now think who would have a more..."


Before he could finish his question, the show he had been using as a distraction earlier was back from its commercial break and now had his full attention. "That's right.... we watched this together.... she’s my friend..." As he stared at the screen his eyes turned to the hungry red they were before the attack. He wanted more of her blood still but in this state he had more control of the hunger. Without looking back at her, he began to speak. "The room next door is empty, if your ankle will allow in there is a fire escape connect to it. It leads to an alley that isn't that well-lit that you can slip in and out with little chance of being seem." His head dropped and he turned towards her, he couldn't look her in the eye. "You should go." He then walked to the foot of the bed and stared at the screen. She had seen what he had become and what he could do; a fond farewell until next time was not likely to happen again and if they saw each other again it was likely she would kill him on sight. Then he remembered something. "One more thing. I heard a rumor that holy water and blessed salt mixture get rid of puncture marks. Some old vampire told me that's how he would feed off his human lackeys and then send them out into the world so that no one would be the wiser." He never faced her and if she crossed in front of him he’d probably turn his head. He was ashamed that she saw that part of him, the part that he had subconsciously promised himself that she would never see. She was only supposed to see her childhood friend that how just reappeared in her life with an allergy to sunlight and not a blood thirsty monster. Now instead of hoping to see her again, he begged that their paths would never even come close to one another.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚ Laura Riley

Laura didn’t move so much as an inch until Shawn was standing and away from the bed. Her knife still pointing towards him, she stood on the other side of the bed. She didn’t take her eyes off of him, her own predatory instincts kicked in as Shawn uttered the words ‘plaything’, it echoed inside her for a moment and filled her with disgust. “Plaything!?!” Laura raised her voice to Shawn and marched back towards the bed with a noticeable limp. Her rage was getting the better of her and her judgement. “You just try me, you haven’t seen half of what I am capable of, Shawn.” Laura rolled her shoulders back and growled “You think I give so much as a damn whether I live or die by you or your follower’s hands? There will be more hunters like me.” Laura was speaking the truth, she had no desire to live longer than the time she was given. Since leaving her family and friends behind when she joined the brotherhood, Laura had been reminded every night that her life was fleeting, meaningless but with the opportunity to serve a higher power and a righteous purpose. “Let them talk about me, they can know that I escaped the grips of an original heir and lived to talk about it. Even more, took his miserable life!” She was ready to lunge for him when she was caught off guard by the cartoon on the television. She hadn’t realised the TV was on until then.


Her attention was taken by the TV for a moment, she looked back over to Shawn who had moved with his back towards her. Laura saw it as her time to strike and end what she had started in Hungary but as Shawn urged her to leave she couldn’t go through with killing him. There was something inside him that cared about her wellbeing; she took chances and head towards the door without hesitation. Her walk was forced and she grimaced with each step. Laura paused with her hand on the door knob. She didn’t turn to face Shawn, instead Laura listened and nodded her head, “Thank you.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say and closed the door behind her and head out of the hotel following Shawn’s instructions. With a bit more effort than usual she had reached the ground and head into the Paris metro system. It didn’t take long for Laura to reach her hotel room. She pulled her dress off and threw it on the other side of the dishevelled room, picking up her mobile as she went into the bathroom to run a bath. “No there was sign of the lead target, I spent long enough there, second in command was taken out.” She omitted her encounter with Shawn. “I’m going to need a medic in Paris, I’ve busted my foot or something.” Laura forced a laugh to mask her discomfort as she slipped into hot water “If you could teach me to climb in heels sir that would be grand. Okay, two weeks.” Laura dropped her phone on the other side of the bath and let out a sigh of relief; she had two weeks recuperation and a medic was on their way to look at her injury.


Laura decided to stay awake and try to adjust to a daytime schedule for a while, enjoy Paris whilst she recovered, safe in the knowledge Shawn and his followers couldn’t reach her in the day, ignoring the fact she may have been followed back for now. After the medic checked her over her injuries were confirmed to be minor and could heal quickly with rest. The medic was someone Laura had worked with before and when they commented “It’s not like you to wear a scarf Laura, you feeling alright? It’s hardly cold in here.” Laura laughed and shrugged “It’s been a long night, get some sun on me and I’ll warm up.” She cringed, the bite coming to the forefront of her mind again. She couldn’t shake the image of Shawn’s black eyes and the monster she has seen in place of who she knew. Laura quickly realised that she too had shown an uglier side of herself as well; her ruthless and predatory side reserved only for hunting, tonight it could have gotten her killed. “First stop the cathedral.” Laura murmured to herself as she sunk further under the covers of her bed, waiting for the sun to rise and warm the room. Her eyes were heavy and she wondered if she could have a catnap before heading out.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn was unable to sleep that day, for each time he closed his eyes he would see Laura; with anger and disgust to him and his words. Someone below him must have heard him pacing in his room as he looked for something else in place of sleep. Two humans, a woman and her child, were sent to see what they could do. They were sworn Loyals, humans that serve vampire and worship them like gods. Originals were almost untouchable in their eyes and the woman was more than happy to do ask Shawn had asked. "Go to the vampire council, tell them that those that are currently placed in charge of the club can stay in charge for the next week or two. I'll change them if I see no use in them. Also go to the crypt and explain to them that, those new out-of-control fledglings are taken care of or put them in their place or the will be joining Marcel and the original boss in death." The woman smiled, nodded and turned to leave. "Stay here with Master Shawn, sweetie," the woman said addressing the child who had turned to follow her mother. She nodded and returned Shawn's side. Shawn knew what the woman hoped, that Shawn would change or feed from and kill her child; it would be an honor either way. All Shawn could do is sigh and walk to his bed. "I saw that human leave here...wasn't she a hunter you were going to kill." The words came from the soft spoken child and eyes quickly found her. Fear in his eyes. "Who else knows?!?!?" The child shook her head, noting only she had seen her. Shawn sighed again, this time in relief. "Did you follow her or know where she is?" Shawn might be able to use this child and even save her from the world of darkness that was slowly swallowing this innocence standing in front of him. "I followed her, she's staying at a hotel not far from where daddy lives." "Good. I need you to take something, a note, to her." The girl nodded and stay on the edge of the bed as Shawn went to the desk and one a stationary wrote Laura a letter that would express his regrets and hoped.


Dear Laura,


I want to apologize for the monster you saw last night and because of that I hop we do not have the unlikely fate of meeting again. That being said I must in this most of awful of times ask you a favor of friends. The girl that is now by your side needs to stay with you. Maybe you can send her to one of your siblings or maybe allow her to stay with that brotherhood of yours. Just let her stay away from those like me. I know I have no right to ask this but I do not see her family of Loyals saving her and I can't watch her be swallowed by the darkness that has taken me. Thank you for all you can do.


Love Sincerely,


Shawn





Shawn then put the small note in an envelope and handed it to the child. "Do not leave her side unless she orders it. I give you this command and expect you to follow." The girl nodded eagerly and soon is off. Now more exhausted than he had remember being moment ago and so he laid in the bed, atop the comforter and its sheets, soon drifting to sleep; depite the nightmares that haunted this sleep.


The small child knew where the hunter had gone and gotten there in no time but not knowing her name all she could do is sit in the lobby and wait. She remember her face and would approach when she left out or came in. She quietly sits there and looked around, no one paying her any mind even as she swung her feet and hummed nursery rhythm tunes.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚ Laura Riley

The sensation of falling jolted Laura awake, she looked around in panic, the day was nearly over and she had not gotten out into the city. More to the point she hadn’t broken her sleep cycle and was going to be awake for the majority of the night. Laura groaned at the thought of staying in her hotel room for the night and watching TV, but she had little choice; she was on rest until her leg healed and that meant keeping out of the line of fire. Throwing the covers back and standing she was pleasantly surprised at the weight she could bear on her leg “Impressive, doc,” she mumbled as she made her way to the shower. The medication and medical intervention provided by the brotherhood was often experimental, they had ties with pharmaceutical companies all over the globe. She remembered the time one of her superiors had tried to encourage her to take a new type of military steroid supposed to aid hunters in matching the strength of vampires. Laura’s attire was decidedly more casual than the previous night’s. She pulled the high-neck jumper over her head and winced as she bent over to put on shoes, she hadn’t worn jeans in a while; Laura had forgotten how much they restricted her movement. She added to her restriction with a leather jacket. Before heading out she checked her hair; making sure that even if her jumper moved, her hair pulled over her shoulders would hide her bite. She slipped her phone into her back pocket at took the stairs to the ground floor. She wondered if the church nearby would be open, it wasn’t too late yet. Laura thought of all the ways she could convince or coerce the priest into handing over the blessed items when she walked straight into a small child. “Woah, sorry, are you okay?” Laura paused, wondering if the girl only spoke French, but she seemed to understand.


Laura took the note from her and looked around her, “Where are your parents?” She mumbled as she opened the envelope and began to read the contents. Her eyes widened in disbelief, she folded the note and forced it into her jacket pocket. “What’s your name?” Laura nodded “Well my name is Laura, I need you to come with me okay? We won’t be long.” Laura took the young girl’s hand and led her through the streets of Paris, she paused outside of an old music shop and took the note out of her pocket, and she read it one more time before pulling her lighter out and burning it. “We don’t need a paper trail now do we?” Watching the ashes plume upwards she took a hold of the little girl again before kneeling down to her height. “I don’t know how you know me, or how you know… well, I need you to be careful about what you say here about vampires, you could get yourself into a lot of trouble.” Me too… Laura thought as she stood back up and knocked on the closed shop door. A man opened and with a few hushed whispers Laura and her small companion were allowed inside. They went down many flight of stairs before reaching a large open room, the place was quiet with only a few hunters around. “Stay close little one.” Laura cooed as she noticed the gaze of hunters, they approached another flight of stairs, she often forgot how far underground they were. She reached an empty office and with the young girl shut the door behind them. “I have a friend here who will keep an eye on you, make sure you are safe.” Laura couldn’t imagine being so young and brainwashed to believe that vampires were some kind of Gods. “Don’t worry, your parent’s know you’re with me, it’s much safer here for young ones.” Before she could finish trying to reassure the girl she was interrupted by the presence of an old friend. “Marcus!” Laura exclaimed as she stood up and hugged him tightly. Marcus was a tall and muscular man, overshadowing Laura in every aspect; he had been one of the hunters who had agreed to the military steroids. Before he could ask anything Laura ushered him out of the room and closed door, keeping the girl inside. “I need a massive favour, and you can’t tell anyone higher up.” Marcus nodded slowly and listened to how this girl had come to be in her hotel lobby and her connection to the loyals.


“Alright,” he groaned. “I’ll keep her safe, find her a family to go to, but if this backfires I can’t save your ass for not calling it in properly.” Laura nodded and gave Marcus another hug “I’ve missed you, thank you.” Laura didn’t go back into the room with the young girl; she didn’t want to leave her with a group of hunters but the alternative was no better. Laura made her excuses and went to leave the stronghold, not wanting to get involved in anymore operations. Laura breathed a sigh of relief as not even Marcus had contemplated her full involvement with the situation, though she still checked her hair was pulled forward. She walked slowly through the quiet streets of Paris’ industrial quarter, until she heard the scream of a young woman, it couldn’t be far away. “Oh for fuck’s sake.” Laura grumbled as she picked up the pace trying to find the source, hoping the woman was at the hands of humans instead of a vampire. “The night I go out without a weapon.”

 

[AyanaRenewed]

The little girl waited most of the day for Laura to appear. The woman she was sent to serve was preoccupied with something so she figured she's have to get her attention some other way. She stepped into her path and was nearly knocked over. When asked if she was ok she nodded and offered her the note that Master Shawn had entrusted her to deliver to her. The woman asked about her parents but that was neither here nor there and waited for her to finish the letter. She was then asked what her name was and smiled. "I have no name yet. We don't receive names until out sixteenth birthday or changed." The response was calm and precise for this was the life she knew and it was the answer she was to give to those either not familiar with her way of living or to a vampire who was testing her Loyal merits. "Hi Laura, it is an honor to meet you." With that she happily took her hand and followed her without question. They came to a music shop that she had seen before; it always seemed to be closed and she assumed it had been shut down for years. Laura read the note again and set it ablaze. She was given a warning and then she knocked on the door and when the girl was about to tell her it had been closed for a while there was an exchange of whispers and the door opened. After an uncountable amount of stairs, they enter and office. The girl had never been in one before and was curious about the chair. She would not move from her new guardian's side until a man by the name of Marcus. When Laura led him out, she immediately ran to the chair and climbed into it. It was then that she realized it spun and began to spin in it, giggling at her little bit of freedom. When Marcus came back in, she stopped and waited to be scolded. Instead she was greeted with a smile and an offer to be spun even faster. It would be a while and Marcus telling her it was time to go before she realized that Laura had left her in his care. Now she understood, Master Shawn sent her away from her family, to live away from him, the clan and anyone who was connected to them. She couldn't understand why but that made her so very happy.


Shawn woke up to someone opening he room's door. It was the mother of the child he hoped he was able. She bowed and apologized for enter and waking him. "I assumed when I knocked, my daughter would answer." Shawn sat up and began to get dressed, if he was here then it was night and it was time to head out and look for the fledglings that he knew the local clan would ignore and he would have to come back and take care of. "Master Shawn, where is my little one?" Shawn looked at the woman out the corner of his eye, wearing no expression. The woman who had no emotion on her face then smiled and bowed again. "Thank you for the honor." With the sincerest of smiles, she spoke those words and this made Shawn sick but he couldn't let her see that emotion on the face of an Original heir and so he turned and dismissed her. He finished dressing and left to start his hunt.


According to the reports that had originally brought him out here, a good bulk of the attacks had occurred in the industrial district. He wasn't too far so he decided to walk and enjoy the night, for it was still warmer than the temperatures that he was used to. He entered the district and thought he would be able to relax before anything happened but that was far from the truth. As he popped one of his cigarette, he hears a woman's scream. "Come one guys, can I at least try and slowly kill myself," he mumbled as he took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear. He then took to the rooftops and quickly made his way to the source. It was then that he realized it wasn't the fledglings that he had come to hunt but hunters that had one of the young vampires pinned. "Makes my job easier." He then sat on the roof's ledge and watched the scene unfold as he retrieved he cigarette and lit it. He wasn't sure if he was going to give the fledglings a chance to redeem themselves or just wipe them out but one less to deal with was one less problem for him; he just needed to make sure that the hunters got the job done.

 

[Volarit]

Laura Riley encounters Annaliese Montbelliard‎


It didn’t take Laura long to reach the scene of commotion but it wasn’t playing out quite as she expected. She slowed down at the entrance of the alley way and squinted at the figures in front of her. The woman pinned to the wall was being attacked but by a hunter; a hunter she had trained with no less. “Annaliese…” Laura couldn’t help the scowl that etched itself across her face, she hadn’t seen Annaliese in at least six months, and they hadn’t departed on good terms. The two had both sworn allegiance with the brotherhood around the same time and spent a considerable amount of their training with each other since, including group missions. Laura took a few steps towards the pair when Annaliese lifted one hand away from the squirming fledgling in her grip and pointed at her. “I don’t know why you’re lurking in the shadows here; I thought you were on medical.” Her French accent was thick and charming, but it didn’t disguise the venom in her voice. Laura equally could not contain her spite, despite the whimpers from the vampire in front of her she continued to talk towards the situation. “I am on medical, not that it’s any concern of yours what I get up to on my time off…” Laura circled the two women, looking at the fledgling a little closer. “Well well well, looks like you’ve caught yourself a baby…” Annaliese scoffed, pulling a pistol from inside of her coat and pressing it against Laura’s chest. “Here, make yourself useful and keep an eye out, if this one’s master is any good they will have sensed her distress and will be on their way, I’m just trying to find out who it is.” Laura nodded reluctantly and looked to either end of the alley, so far so quiet. Annaliese was getting nothing from her captive when she looked over her shoulder at Laura “So if you’re not assigned a target why are you out at night?” Her voice dripped with scepticism, she was about to continue her interrogation when the young vampire raised her voice, with less fear.


“I’ve seen you before…” Annaliese glared at the vampire, in no mood for games when she realised that she was talking to Laura behind her. Laura froze, knowing too well what the vampire was about to say. “You were at the raided nightclub yesterday, except you were being… carried out by-.” Laura wasted no time in turning around and shooting the vampire; piercing the heart with one shot. The crack of the gunfire ripping through the alley and the convulsions from the dying vampire force Annaliese to lose her grip. “What the fuck are you doing?” Annaliese exclaimed as she charged at Laura “What was she saying? What happened in that nightclub?!” Laura backed away at the same speed further down the alley, know too well her former target partner’s temper could get out of hand. “It’s not what you think Anna, it was all part of my cover…” Annaliese removed her second gun from its holster, letting it hang by her side “Then why did you kill her? I was working for information.” “You were taking too long Anna, guarantee a few higher vampires will be here by now.” Annaliese scoffed and reached out for Laura’s shoulder, gripping it tightly. “You are up to something Riley, you stink of guilt… don’t think I won’t catch you out.” Laura wanted nothing more than to punch Annaliese square in the throat as her restrain was adding pressure to her bite, a dull pain spreading down her arm; but she kept a stone-faced expression and spat, “You do that Anna.” The French hunter let go, nearly pushing Laura over as she ran in the opposite direction. “Watch your back Riley, I certainly will.” “Oh piss off” Laura mumbled walking towards the other alley exit. In truth Annaliese had shaken her, if that vampire had been able to say another sentence she would have been in serious trouble with her superiors. She continued to walk at a fast pace, she still had Anna’s gun and had placed inside her jacket, it helped her feel more secure on the dark streets. It didn’t take long for the pain in her leg to slowly return, slowing her down “I guess I can kiss a normal sleep pattern goodbye.” She grumbled knowing that the panic she was feeling was going to keep her up until sunrise. Laura knew she needed to get of Paris in order to distance herself from the last twenty-four hours but with all the commotion, it was going to take an even bigger burst of vampire activity for the brotherhood to relocate her for the time being.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn watched the scene with little concern for the tortured vampire and very little to the overall situation as he continued smoke. He was just about to get up to go when became frozen in place. Laura had entered the alley way and confronted one of the hunters there. As he listened he learned the name of French hunter, and Annaliese was more a unwanted comrade rather than friend. They were hoping that higher ranked vampire would come to the aid of the young vampire but Shawn and no one else that would be able to help in this situation would help her. There was a bit of ordering around before the fledgling pointed out Laura and the situation from last night. This made Shawn tensioned up immediately; if this vampire said his name or his rank this would be the end of Laura and the secret they share. He almost jumped down into the alley to silent that fledgling himself, but Laura did it for him and he was able to sign a breath of relief. The French hunter went off and Shawn held back a hissed as she grabbed onto Laura's shoulder. Soon the two parted ways and through his now slit eyes he watches this Annaliese until she was out of the alley and then out of sight.


"How dare she lay a hand on her! What gives her the right?!?" Shawn hadn't realized he'd bitten through the butt of his cigarette until he was calm enough to feel the burning of the ashes on his leg. After sweeping the burning remnants off his leg, he looked up in the direction that he saw his friend going; if he could call her that. He decided to follow her on the rooftops, not sure if he could or if he wanted to approach her. Well he wanted to, to beg for forgiveness and see what he could do to help but though his vision was clouded he saw how much she wanted to cut him down where he stood; so the question of the matter still was could he without instantly meeting an end at her hands. As he watched her, she began to limp slightly and so she decided that this was his chance to approach her. He quietly dropped down to the streets behind her; letting her get a good distance out of striking range and a good time to dodge the bullets she may still have, he cleared his throat to get her attention. After that he braced himself for what would come. Once she was done, he could take her to a Loyal's home and get her the things to cure her bite marks since all the churches in the city were certainly closed at this hour.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚ Laura Riley

Laura had reached the entrance of a small garden when she heard a noise behind her. She had expected it to be Annaliese returning for her missing gun. Laura turned around sharply, ready to storm in her direction “What?” Not in the mood for silly games or being snuck upon. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Shawn instead. “Why are you here…” Her voice trailed off; eyes wide with surprise. Laura took one step back, wary of her surroundings and the nearest exit. “I took care of the girl,” She paused, realising how that could be misinterpreted “I mean, I took her to a safe house where a friend of mine works from, he will keep her safe; he has a family of his own.” Laura paused, she wanted to talk about the other night but they were in the open and she didn’t know how he would react. “Were you there before? Did you hear?” She took a few steps back into the shadows of the trees that blocked the deep orange streetlights “If I hadn’t had the gun in my hand that would have been it.” She leant against the tree shading her, looking up into the branches. “I knew I should have come clean… but… then that would have put you in danger and,” She let out a sharp breath, the words difficult to say “And I can’t seem to do that, despite all I’ve seen, all I know, I can’t seem to do it.”

 

[AyanaRenewed]

When she turned, almost angry, he figured she had assumed it was that girl from before. He was relieved that when she realized it was him she didn't point the gun at his head. He didn't know how to answer the question that was presented to him. Why was he there? He just looked away until the little girl was mentioned. He looked up and little terrified when she simply said took care of her, and sighed when she explained. "Thank you. I'm glad you were able to help her hopefully we got her out in time." Shawn was smiling and glad she was even talking to him after the incident that had just happened between them. "I was and I did." He watched as she concealed herself into the shadows of a tree while he remained in the shadows of the alley that she just exited. "If you didn't have the gun, I would have stopped her but that probably still blown our secret out of the shadows." As she spoke of why she didn't just come clean, he couldn't help but smile. "Thank you for your friendship and loyalty." As he spoke those words he heard movement behind him; a sound that he knew too well so followed. He dodged a knife that was being flung at him. He was on the rooftops again, trying to see where the knife came from so he could see where the next one would come from.

 

[Volarit]

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__________________________ ●✚ Laura Riley

“Our secret.” Laura repeated Shawn, a smile breaking her stony expression. The moment was short-lived however, the clatter of a knife on the cobbled street outside of the park brought her attention to Shawn’s disappearance. She knew better than to stick around, especially if her suspicions were right. Laura sunk further into the shadow of the large tree and began to back slowly towards her next cover. She focused on controlling her breathing through her nose as not to draw attention to herself. The grass hadn’t been watered anytime recently and there was a soft rustle of dried leaves underfoot, there was no way that she could avoid making her footsteps audible, but to Laura’s relief there were two voices coming from the alleyway and they were engaged in a heated conversation. Laura took a risk and peered over the hedgerow she was now crouched behind. I bloody-well knew it. In the distance Laura saw Annaliese and another hunter, her mind immediately jumped to her having been followed. A knot gripped her stomach with the realisation that she might have been seen with Shawn. “I told you a higher vampire would show up, we just have to keep looking.” Laura could make out the conversation in bits and pieces but it was clear that they hadn’t seen her.


Laura continued to back away until she was out of the park and the industrial quarter. She felt a pang of guilt linger in her chest as she wondered if Shawn was okay, Laura comforted herself with the thought that he had dodged the knife and must have gotten out of the way quickly. It didn’t take long to reach her hotel room again, getting changed for bed Laura caught sight of her bite mark and made it a priority to wake up in the day and get the supplies she needed to sort the situation. Her sleep was interrupted by the heart-stopping volume of her phone. The message relayed to her was simple. The brotherhood weren’t putting her up in a five-star hotel to play tourist; that she was to report to Marcus’ safe house and complete the rest of her recuperation there in order to gain more information for her next target.


Reaching the safe house late afternoon Laura set to work reading personnel files in a small dorm room. She had been tasked with assembling a group of hunters to target a rumoured gathering of vampires. The reason for the gathering was unclear still, but Marcus thought it was a good opportunity for Laura to get experience running a group hunt with lesser experienced brethren. She had been assigned to work alongside Annaliese with this but Laura had been left with the ‘desk work’ whilst Anna did recon out on the bustling streets. Laura’s mind kept wandering as she weighed up the skills and deficits of each team member, she hadn’t seen the little girl that she brought in yet. She wondered if she was still here. The thought brought Shawn to mind, hoping he had gotten back to his room safely. Thinking of Shawn brought a sense of panic to Laura that punched her in the chest. She reached out to her neck, she hadn’t stopped to pick up any of the blessed materials needed. It will have to wait. Laura cursed herself, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to leave the safe house until next Tuesday when the hunt was planned. She resolved to wearing high-necked shirts until then.

 

[AyanaRenewed]

Shawn was glad that he saw her smiling before he was chased off. Apparently, the two hunters, this Anna girl and girl and some younger hunter, had followed either him or Laura. After he was sure he didn't need to draw them away from his human friend he was or on the rooftops. He gathered the rest of the fledglings with a bit of too much ease but it was down. There would have to be a gathering of what to do with the untamed group and if they were to live who would be responsible for teaching them how to behave in this new form. He decided that it would keep them in his hotel room, best way to make sure someone watched the wild bunch. The meeting would be a week or two and would only last an hour to keep such a large group of vampire out of the way of being detected.


The week seemed to drag on and he was ready to get out and about. After being in Paris so long he became a bit fond of it, the idea that Laura would spend more time here made it irresistible not to call this lively place home. The arrangement would have to wait until the meeting due to the fact that he was playing babysitter to a group of blood hunger fledglings. He kept them under control but almost at the cost of his sanity and their lives but everyone survived. Shawn took them to the meeting place, a warehouse used from a Loyal's business. Shawn was the first one there with the group and could do nothing but what he had done all week; light-up a cigarette as the group began to wrestle and play like the children they were labeled as by vampires and hunters alike. "Not so rough! Jeez...where have you guys been?!?! I've aged over a thousand years dealing with these pups all week so let's get this in order so I can go." Shawn instantly addressed the other higher ranked vampires as they slowly made their way in. "Of course they're not in the rush...they don't want to deal with them other." So after the group entered, things were underway and it was clear that this meeting wasn't lasting just an hour as planned. Shawn hung back, this was not his decision and he would say nothing on it.