Fantasy Blood Curse [Private]

[Reena]

Of the five major kingdoms, Caspia was without a doubt the largest kingdom and Jessa had traveled all over it during her 100 years alive. She didn't have any family, at least that she could remember, so she just kept wandering...hoping to find a place that felt like home. On the way, she did what she could to survive. She took odd jobs from people, mostly thieving and burglary. It helped put a little food in her stomach so she didn't need to survive off rats and scraps she picked up in her feline form. As a Werecat, Jessa was born with the ability to practice magic and to transform into a cat. She chose to spend most of her time in feline form, but this particular day Jessa was in her human form. She needed to be in order to complete a job she was currently on. Her client wanted a very specific item from a magical antiquities shop. As a witch, no one would even blink at the sight of her wandering the aisles of the shop.

The job was easy enough. She was in and out of the shop within a few minutes, and had quietly slipped the item her client requested into a pouch hidden in her cloak. She bought some cheap ingredients for another spell, which helped ensure the shop owner (an older mage) did not have reason to suspect her. She left the shop and slipped into the crowded streets of the marketplace. She needed to find a quieter place in order to be able to shift into her feline form. She could travel easier that way, get the object to her client. As she maneuvered through the crowd she felt someone following close behind her. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking through her peripheral vision. She spotted a flicker of long, silver hair. It was too quick for Jessa to tell much else, but he or she was definitely tailing her. She slipped into an alley as soon as it became available, ready to shift and run...or fight if absolutely necessary.

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

The night has always changed the air of a town. This fact was always true, regardless of where, even before Ceres was cursed he'd sensed this. Somehow the cobbled streets, friendly shops and lively taverns did little to offset the dark feeling that pervaded crowded areas like these during the night. Once the sun fell, it mattered not how many lanterns were lit.
Dangerous beings lurked in the shadows of alleys waiting, preying on the unsuspecting.

That particular night Ceres was one of these dark beings. It was something a high elf like himself would feel the sting of shame to admit. Something kept secret from the world and haunted him since the day he was branded.
His hair was in a loose braid, his clothes of the softest silk- rich and so unlike the robes of commoners that he looked out of place here, especially in a darkened alley stalking some girl. He was of noble birth- but at the moment he was nothing more than a mindless creature searching for its fix.
But at the moment Ceres couldn't "see" what he was doing. Only that as soon as they were alone, he was grabbing her arms and forcing them up- trying with strength unbeknownst to even himself to pin them hard against the brick wall surrounding them.

 

[Reena]

Jessa hadn't seen it coming. She knew he'd be following her, was prepared for a fight even, but she didn't have a second to gather her thoughts. As skilled as she'd become over the years, having had to protect herself from a variety of creatures, the slender creature that suddenly had her arms in a vice grip was nothing she ever could have been prepared for. By all her observations, he should have been an elf. He had all the signs: silver hair, slender build, slightly pointed ears, and silk clothing. His strength was abnormal, and his movement almost feral. Jessa fought hard against his grip; she transformed one hand into a cat paw and slipped it quickly out of his hold before transforming it back into her human. She left the nails as cat claws, though, and quickly slashed her attacker across the face.

"Get off me, monster!" she shrieked as she made to run out of the alley and back into the crowded streets, where it would be unlikely he could continue to attack without someone stopping to help.

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

Ceres sucked in a sharp breath as three horizontal lines of blood began to well up on his cheek. He backed up a step, his hand coming up to touched the superficial wound. He was quiet, but his eyes- his irises were a red as the blood on his face.
There was a breath, a pause and Ceres' expression seemed to change. He took in his surroundings in confusion first before it quickly turned to fear.
"I..." It was not the first time he'd woken up like this. He didn't know where he was- just that an insane thirst parched his throat and a headache like nothing else seared his head with a pressure that felt like plunging in the depths of the sea.
"I'm so sorry." He rasped, his throat dry, his body screaming for relief- this is what he felt before he lost himself. He didn't trust himself to maintain this control for much longer. In fact- it was already slipping.

"Run.. Please..." He couldn't kill- he couldn't- not again. Just the idea made him nauseous.

 

[Reena]

Jessa's step faltered as she was just about to make it out of the alley. She whipped around to see the stark change in her attacker's posture. He had shrunken into himself, his eyes had changed colors...Jessa wasn't sure what was going on, but she had an idea that something wasn't right about this elf. Elves were perfectly capable of being violent creatures, but they also weren't feral or wild...not like she could sometimes be. Elves were calculated in their violence, and usually it was a political move more than anything else. There was definitely something not right with this particular elf. Something made her wonder if she should try to help the poor creature.

"I...I'm so sorry. Run...Please..."

Jessa bit her lip, frozen with hesitation. She knew she only had moments before the feral creature returned and this pained elf that stood before her was gone. And she had gotten away from him once, there was no way she could get away again. If she was going to do something to help, it would probably be the last thing she did. On one hand, Jessa had never been the selfless type. She'd lived her entire life for herself, why start caring for someone else now? On the other hand, it's not like she had much to lose. No family to miss her, no life to leave behind. In a split second, Jessa made her decision and she pulled the mystery object out of her pouch. She'd have to steal another for her client...that or skip town. The object was an enchanted chain, made to subdue even the strongest of creatures for an extraordinary amount of time. She placed the chain in her mouth and shifted into cat form, quickly running tight circles around the elf in order to wrap the chain tightly around him. It seemed to work, even as his eyes began to shift colors again.

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

Ceres growled- he couldn't help it, his eyes maintained it's bloody color as the chain was wrapped around him. He was a stranger to his body and his thoughts which were slowly consumed by the desire for blood- for killing.
He fell back as these magical chains looped around him- binding his arms to his sides and seemingly moving on their own like boa set to constricting him. What's worse was the feeling they produced. Draining- like all his power and strength was being temporarily disabled- and since elves like himself were completely magical in nature- he felt this effect with incredible sensitivity.

Sense and recognition returned, but so too did a spell of dizziness. This chains were no friend to magical creatures- whatever it was.
His eyes melted back to their snowy gray hues. His head fell forward as he sucked in pain, labored breaths.

 

[Reena]

Jessa quickly shifted back into her human form as the chains bound themselves to the Elf. She could tell they were hurting him, but the effects were supposed to wear off as soon as she removed the chains. It was just a temporary solution so that she could try to safely help.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice taking on an almost purring tone. She'd spent too much time as a cat lately. "I'm trying to help. I know it hurts right now, but I don't think the alternative solution of either allowing you to kill me or allowing you to run into the streets and kill others was any better."

She kneeled down on the ground before him, though his eyes were lowered and she knew she wouldn't catch a glance at his eyes. Instead she removed another hidden pouch from her robes and stuck her hand in, rummaging for the specific ingredients of a spell she thought might work. She had no idea what kind of enchantment, or maybe even curse, the elf was under...but it was definitely magical since the binding chains had cut it off. She had a catch all spell removal she would try. She tried to work quickly, the only sound to accompany her movements being his labored breaths and small whimpers of pain. She apologized numerous times and within a few minutes had a spell bag whipped up.

"Mala et abierunt!" she chanted, stomping on the bag with a satisfying crunch. She didn't see a change in the elf, and she wasn't sure if it was because the chains were still affecting him or because her spell didn't work. "Can you tell me what's wrong with you? I don't think that spell worked...I'm sorry, I'm only trying to help."

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

Ceres slumped back against the wall, watching blurrily as the girl shifted back into a human and set to work on some sort of enchantment or spell- of a nature which the elf wasn't completely familiar with. Spells were definitely not his forte, after all. Even still he opened his mouth to stop her- to save her from expending her magic and her resources- but alas it was no use, he still harbored some internal hope that some how she'd be successful..
After the crack and the words, Ceres pressed his head against the wall. She wasn't the first to try to help him- certainly wouldn't be the last, but he knew the only way to undo a curse was to find the person who cast it. If they were still alive...
"Sorry for the trouble, miss..." His voice was ragged, laced with pain. He looked up to her weakly. "It's just a curse," he murmured, knowing the she'd understand the futility of trying to break it soon enough.

"Comes out at night... You don't have to trouble yourself with me- if you rather call the authorities of this town tell them to put me in iron... I can't break from iron."
Most fey creatures and elves were weak to certain things- iron being the main one.

 

[Reena]

Jessa nodded in understanding. "I see," she responded. "Just hold on one moment...I'll be right back. "Celare!" she murmured the cloaking spell on him so that if anyone did happen to come into the alley, they wouldn't likely see him. It didn't make him fully invisible. For that she would need additional ingredients, but just a basic camouflage smell was something that would always work. She darted from the alley and back into the crowded town square. There was a blacksmith nearby that she could probably swipe some iron from. She didn't think it would be fair to put him in chains, just shackles. It only needed to last until the morning. Sure enough once she made it to the blacksmith's stall, she found several pairs of shackles hung on his racks for sale. It was almost too easy to swipe a pair and make her way quietly back to the alley.

"Okay, I'm back. I'm going to put these on you first, and then I'm going to remove the chains. That should ease the pain and then maybe you can tell me a bit more about your problem.The basic spell may not have worked, but I think you'll find I'm quite resourceful." she explained to him as she worked to put the shackles on. Once she was sure they were secured, she quickly removed the chain and tucked it back into her pouch. Her client wouldn't be able to tell it had been used at all.

"We can start with names, when you're ready. I'm called Jessa."

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

Ceres didn't know how to react when the mysterious cat girl cloaked him and then left him on his own within the alley. He was only alone for a little while before she came back with a pair of shackles. Soon enough his wrists were bound and the chains were off. His body relaxed as energy and magic returned- yet soon he knew his control would be lost because of it.
"Jessa... That's a nice name.." He had nothing against this girl- against anyone in this town... He didn't know why his senses brought him to her. Perhaps something in her blood. He was sickened by the thought.
"Ceres," he murmured, staying seated and still on the stones. Here it was wet and cold, but it was really the only thing keeping his mind his own- keeping him from lunging at this kind woman and sinking his teeth into her slender neck.

"By morning I'll have more control." He grunted a little as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "It's the night- it's been so long since I... I..." He couldn't continue the sentence. He was ashamed- broken. There were moments where he wondered if surviving had a point at all. It was his fault that this happened.

"Since I've consumed blood." The curse was something he told no one else about. Until now he had always been able to fight it. Well, that is, until these last few nights..

 

[Reena]

Jessa watched him cautiously as she was crouched nearby him on the ground. She didn’t get near enough that if he did lunge he could get to her easily. She did want to take the chance. He told her his name and she repeated it in her head over and over, memorizing the way it sounded and the way it might feel rolling off her tongue. Being a feline for so much of her life, she had come to really rely on all of her senses. She had heightened sight, smell, and hearing. Even though her senses were dulled in human form she still liked to sharpen them when possible.

“Ceres.” She finally said allowed and then gave it a quick nod. He seemed to be relaxing, at least enough to utter a few words to her. She listened as he finally confessed what curse he was under. Jessa couldn’t say she was familiar with blood curses, but she knew they weren’t uncommon. Blood curses were the origin of vampires...which told her that it wasn’t often someone was able to get them removed. However, most witches places these curses on humans. Elves had their own magic, and witches didn’t generally mess with them.

“You must have really done something to anger a witch in your life,” she said, a smirk teasing on her lips. She didn’t know if joking was appropriate at this time, but she went ahead and tried it any way. “If blood is all that is holding you back, why do you not just consume it when needed? Vampires certainly survive,” Jessa questioned. She didn’t know much about how vampirism or blood curses worked so she was genuinely curious.

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

Ceres looked away- clear shame touching his gaze. "I did," he admitted quietly- but he didn't seem willing to elaborate on this witch.

"Drinking blood... If I did such a thing..." He shook his head. He was not a vampire- he was an elf! But with this curse he was reduced to the habits of a dark creature- one that his regal family would spurn if they knew the truth. Already Ceres had been away from home for months looking for the witch in fear that his family might some day learn of his curse.
"I don't know how I would ever obtain blood in the first place..." Just asking for someone and paying for it was certainly an option- but that was definitely only if he could find someone willing to do that- and it wasn't like he could drag them with him as a personal blood supply.

 

[Reena]

Jessa purses her lips. She knew elves were proud creatures, and it was unspoken in his gaze that clearly this was part of the issue. She didn’t want to offend him, but she also didn’t feel like it was right of her to let him loose on the world with a curse like this. Clearly he’d been getting along on his own, but how many had died because of it? Jessa was out to protect herself, and herself alone. And yet something in her stopped her from walking away from the elf. From Ceres.

“Well blood is easy enough to find. Ask any witch. We need it for spells all the time,” she said, brandishing a small dagger from inside her cloak. She twirled it around a bit, eyeing it. She watched as a look of panic flashed in Ceres’ eyes.

“Relax, elf. I’m not going to give you my own blood. Witch blood is bad stuff anyway,” she teased, raising an eyebrow. “But like I said, I’m quite resourceful. If you’d like to keep in control, just say the word,” she offered. She wouldn’t force her help on him. It seemed like a good compromise.

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

"Yeah," he half laughed rolling his eyes, "but with little to trade?" Of course the coins in his pouch wouldn't last forever, and of course he never stayed in one town long enough to make money. He'd never be able to pay for a constant blood supply and sure as Hell, no one was giving blood away for free no matter what 'amazing connections' witches had. That would make no sense. Did be mention that just any blood contained in jar wouldn't suffice? He watched her warily, used to only the wrong in the world with very little right to be had. How could he trust this woman, a witch no less? She was offering aid but asking for nothing in return. No one was that selfless, and even if they were, Ceres would never trust it.

"Besides, you swiped all this stuff, am I right?" He knew she didn't just have these heavy shackles stuffed in her clothes to begin with. That and they looked oddly familiar to something he'd seen outside of the alley. "You're a thief." He accused softly. "And while I'm out of control when I'm like this, my aim isn't to take from people, hard as that may be to believe..."
He lifted his gaze, knowing he hardly has any right to say these things, yet Ceres was starved for blood, his mind anxious, tired, angry, fou'. He was like a wild wolf trapped in the corner.
"Pah," He turned his head from her a few strands of his silver hair falling in his stubborn set face, "Why don't you just call the guards and have them take me to the prison? It'd be easier that way right?"

 

[Reena]

Jessa tossed her head back and laughed, her vocal chords vibrating lightly. He accused her of being a thief. He wasn't wrong, but then again...who was he to judge?

"You are funny, elf. So very righteous even when only minutes ago you were ready to tear my throat apart and drain me of my blood. The curse that's been placed upon you doesn't turn you into an animal. Contrary to what you may believe, magic can't force anyone to do something they wouldn't already be capable of doing. It just inhibits your control, and perhaps accentuates certain qualities. The monster you think some witch has cursed you to be has always been inside you. That monster would take my blood in a moment if I released it, but you won't accept my help because you think me petty and savage for stealing from others," she monologued a bit, allowing herself to revel in the fact that he was rather quiet. She didn't often speak with other humanoid creatures.

"I have spent most of my life looking out for myself, surviving day to ay any way I could. In truth, it would make little difference to me if you were successful in your attempt to consume me. There is very little this world has to offer me. So when I offer you my assistance...it's not because I feel compelled to help you. It is simply because I have nothing better to do. Of course, if you'd rather spend eternity in jail...because you elves are basically immortal if I remember correctly...don't let me stop you. The authorities will come looking for me when they realize the antiquities shop has been robbed. I've overstayed my welcome in this town, and people are already beginning to suspect me. But imagine their surprise when they find a feral elf instead of a petty thief," Jessa spoke, getting up very quickly and turning to leave the alley. She wasn't sure if Ceres would change his mind, but at this point she only cared because it was a thrilling game of cat and mouse. Who was the cat? And who was the mouse?

 

[Ammagaruqnik]

"You're joking," he muttered when she told him that the curse only enhanced him, that it lowered his inhibitions. That, it wasn't the curse that made him a beast, that it was himself, it was how he always was. Suddenly he hated her. He hated this witch and he hated how much sense it made. Her words were like fresh acid on an open wound, and while it wasn't a revelation, Ceres certainly avoided thinking about it. He was not a monster. He was not evil, nor had he ever wished to kill someone innocent.
But he has wished to kill someone before.
In fact, he has killed someone before.
He still found it hard to believe that she was offering to help merely out of boredom and lack of further purpose, but chose not to voice the suspicion. She probably would just laugh again, and he still wouldn't feel confident in her answer.

"Fine," He was still jittery with the curse and the manacles on his wrists were heavy so his arms rests down in front of his body. The chains were so this that they didn't rattle so much, they just clicked deeply. He stood up and leaned against the wall for support. He already conceded in the fact that she was right. Of course he didn't say it out loud, but he needed her. Jessa already seemed to know that.
"So how do you plan to get the blood." His throat was twisting, burning with thirst. It felt like a hot iron was being jammed down his throat and some how he was able to speak. So hot, white hot. It was so intense that often times it threatened to rob him of consciousness, or turn him into a mindless hunter.
Sometimes it succeeded.

 

[Reena]

Jess pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, scrutinizing the jittery elf. He had mentioned earlier that blood just from a bottle wouldn't do, so she assumed it needed to be fresh. Most blood for spellwork and curses did need to be, so she assumed his curse didn't function any differently. Clearly it needed to be more than animal blood, since it wouldn't bring shame on him in the same way. Likely it needed to be human, or at least humanoid blood. Many creatures had similar blood to humans, but it would probably be easiest to get blood off a human. They tended to be the most gullible. Not that they were stupid...but just more desperate generally.

"There's a dock in this town. Where there's a dock, there are some lovely ladies usually desperate to get whatever they can for whatever they have. They're usually willing to trade spells and remedies for anything they have. And they've definitely got plenty of blood. Will that do?" she asked, wanting to make sure that she didn't waste all her efforts on blood that wouldn't satisfy his curse anyway.