Fantasy The Configuration - The Dygarian Mansion - [CLOSED]

[mothspit]

In The Bleak Midwinter..​

Five days.​

It's been five days since you were killed. Try as you might, you still don't fully understand why. You weren't special, it just as easily could have been someone else, right? Maybe that's why. Because you weren't special. Who knows. Regardless, what time you had to yourself -- and you had a lot of that lately -- you had spent locked in the bedroom of your new home. You woke here; The last thing you remember being an intense, violent rage, and an urge for blood before blacking out again.
When you came to your senses in a room you didn't recognize, you realized all of your personal items-- phone, wallet, I.D. -- had all been confiscated. You had nothing to your name but the.. tattered, bloody clothes on your back. How comforting.

You were treated well enough in the meantime; Small bowls of blood being pushed under your door to keep you fed. Yet, you had no direct contact with anyone for the past week. You thought about running. Why wouldn't you? But that would be suicide, wouldn't it? You didn't know these people. You didn't know what they were capable of. And even if you did, could you take them? No. It was clear who held the power here.

You've been told that, eventually, you'll have some.. great power unique to you. You suppose, there's one good thing that came out of all this.

You tried to sleep; To will time to quicken with your absence. But sometimes, if you listened very carefully, you could hear the faint screams of those in agony in the middle of the night..​

But that was then. Now, forced by those who have turned you, you sit alone in the back of a luxury sports car, the heated leather seating staving off the bite of winter. You didn't see the face of the one who pushed you into the car, but you get the feeling they were just bodyguards, anyway. Just outside the window, the midnight moon greets your longing face. Snow collects on the edge of the window, and with one finger, you start tracing little sad faces in the fog. You've been handling this new life better than most, they would say through the door. Truth be told, you didn't know if that was a good thing. Vampires? It all felt so.. surreal. You still weren't sure how to react.​

The car chugs along a forested pathway, until eventually reaching what looked like a gravel driveway, coated in a white blanket of snow. When you looked up, the sudden change in terrain jerking your senses back to reality, there you saw the mansion. It stood high in it's glory, snarling lion statutes and pouncing stone gargoyles guarding it's entrance. There were other's there, too. Elegant dresses and pinstriped suits, walking arm-in-arm without a care in the world. They looked.. excited.
​

As you gladly let your mind numb itself, slipping into your subconscious, your chauffeur coughs into their fist, as if to draw your attention, once again bringing you back to this harsh reality..​

• Katya Dragunova
• Drevis Senade
• Lucas Sullivan
• Lyra Plant
• Hector De La Rosa
• Tess Lovrić

• 
  "So, uh.." Coughs the chauffeur. His blue eyes and pale skin stare at her from the rear view mirror, "..I know that, um.. You don't know me. I doubt you remember much from that night. You beasted pretty much as soon as you woke up, so we.. had to knock you out right away. But.. I was there. My name is Lance. Emma was the one who.. y'know.. did it. I'm not supposed to tell you that, but, you'll find out eventually, right? Haha.."
  
  Man, talk about awkward. This guy seemed.. really nervous. Or at the very least, sympathetic. Emma.. that name was familiar. She was the woman Katya had been living with for the past week, locked in a room under the stairs. Despite this, she's never met this Emma person..
  
  He parks the car in silence, until again breaking the awkward with a strained smile of the rear view mirror.
  
  "I'm one of Ajax's kids too, so I guess that makes me like your uncle, huh? Haha.."
  
  He pauses for a second. Then, he turns to face her over the drivers seat. From this angle, Katya can make out a vanilla folder sitting in his lap. There was a picture of her, laying unconscious and pale, stapled to the cover. Was that.. information about her?
  
  "Listen, I'm not.. really good with the whole.. consoling thing.." He gestures futilely with his hands, as if he were trying to physically grasp the right words and pull them from the back of his throat, "But.. I know this sucks. Like, a lot. I remember when it was me in the back of a car-- Or carriage, in my case-- But, you can make a life out of this. I've seen it. You just gotta.. push through."
  
  He turns back in his seat and gestures to the slew of well-dressed guests piling in the door of the mansion, "Just.. follow them. Try not to speak to anyone if you don't have to.. They're all snobs, anyway."
  
  
• 
  His driver, a man with caramel skin and piercing yellow eyes, looks at Drevis from the rear view mirror.
  
  "Welcome to the family, I guess."
  
  He chuckles to himself, reaching into the passengers seat to hold up a vanilla folder. It's about as thick as a novel; The man runs his hand through the pages, briefly scanning each one before moving to the next. There's a picture of Drevis' bloated, bruised corpse stapled to the front.
  
  "You have.. Quite the record, Mr. Senade. You're lucky we found you when we did-- You had been dead for about a day. Surprised the meat bags didn't find you before us.."
  
  That didn't sound good-- These people knew everything about him. All of his deals, both legal and.. not-so-legal. Wait.. Meatbags? Did he mean.. humans?
  
  The man continues, "Took some doing to dig up your past. A lawyer, huh? Now I see why he wanted you in his family. Good stuff, good stuff.." He sets the vanilla folder back in the passengers seat. As he pulls into one of many parking spaces of the driveway, he turns back to look at Drevis.
  
  "..My name is Daedric. Before you ask, no, I didn't make you what you are. I can't exactly tell you who did-- You'll find out soon enough."
  
  He shakes his head, "I don't know why they make me do this shit.. I told Ajax that this year, I wanted to stay out of the new bloods business. 'Course that man doesn't listen.."
  
  Daedric turns back in his seat, absentmindedly flipping through the vanilla folder in his lap, "Oh yeah, you'd best steer clear of him, too. Ajax, I mean-- You have an impressive background, but that man.. He'll eat you alive. Literally."
  
  Daedric gestures to the crowd of guests making their way inside, "Follow them to the theater. You'll be told what to do from there. Now get out of my car."
  
• 
  A woman with long, bouncing red curls and green eyes examines Lucas through the rear view mirror. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but stops herself, like she were interrupted by a thought.
  
  Then, with a stiffening posture, she spoke..
  
  "..It is always sad to see one's so young suffer the most," She said solemnly, holding up the boy's vanilla folder. On it's front, there was a picture of Lucas's splattered body.
  
  "Though, I don't imagine you need my sympathy, do you?" She smiles faintly, "No, I can tell that will do nothing for you."
  
  She sets it back down in the passengers seat and parks the car alongside other similar models. Turning back to look at him, Lucas was greeted with.. someone else. A different face was now staring him down in the back of the car. Suddenly, there were no green eyes or red hair; Instead, grey eyes-- sunken and hollow, like that of a dead fish-- locked with his. The face was now covered by a.. mask? Yes, that was it. A mask made of bones. The sight sent a faint shiver down Lucas's spine..
  
  "What good is sympathy to those who have never known it? I can see within you the soul of a man who craves destruction. How kindred, you and I."
  
  And just like that, she was gone. When Lucas blinked, the dead eyes and bone mask vanished, being replaced by the girl who had originally addressed him. She smiled as though she didn't realize what had just happened..
  
  "My name is Emma. A man named Lance was the one who.. you know. Go easy on him, alright? I know he kind of.. killed you and all.. but trust me when I say he feels really bad about it."
  
  She nods to the other guests piling in the door, "They'll show you were to go next. Take care."
  
• 
  Lyra's driver was a man who she, unfortunately, had the displeasure of already encountering; Leone Walters. Adjusting his scruff, blonde hair in the rear view mirror, his eyes briefly met hers. His expression became downtrodden and discouraged, as if.. she reminded him of someone.
  
  "Listen, I.. I want to apologize," He says with a sigh, eyeing her vanilla folder on the dashboard, "It.. wasn't my choice. You seem like a nice, normal girl, and I just--"
  
  He stops himself, gripping the steering wheel with intense pressure. He presses his forehead to it with a defeated temperance.
  
  "This has happened before. He sees someone one day from his tower, and thinks he can just-- Sorry, not him-- Me. I'm the one who has to do it. And it's not like I can say no, because that opens up an entirely different world of hurt.."
  
  Leone turns to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes pleading, "Just.. stay away from him, okay? Stay away from Adrian."
  
  With those last words, Leone gestures to the rest of the guests making their way inside. It.. doesn't look like he wants to talk anymore.
  
• 
  "..And the way you threw that last punch! Oh man, I'm telling you, I was cheering you on from the stands!"
  
  For most of the duration of the ride, Hector's ear had been talked off by, seemingly, a fan from his glory days. How he managed to find the one vampire in all of White Rabbit Valley that just so happened to recognize him, was beyond him. Just his luck.
  
  "Anyway man, my name's Jackson but, everyone calls me Jack," The man beams, round cheeks and blue eyes greeting him through the rear view, "I'm one of Marcus's younger kids. We're like brothers, ha!"
  
  Holding up Hectors folder, he flips through it excitedly, "When I heard he turned you, I begged him to let me drive you! We don't have a whole lot of people from his bloodline so, you're like the top of the totem pole!"
  
  He tears off a corner of the folder and quickly scribbles down an 11 digit number, offering it to Hector. Oh no. Was this kid.. giving him his phone number?
  
  "If you ever need anything-- Anything at all-- don't hesitate to call me, okay dude? Marcus is usually overseas so, I'm kinda like the middle-man, haha.."
  
  He points to the front entrance of the mansion, "You'll go through there and make your way to the theater. I know you'll do awesome!"
  
• 
  A woman with long brown hair and almond colored eyes stares curiously at Tess through the rear view mirror. Without a word, she begins flipping through Tess's folder with a slight grin.
  
  "Oh, I see." She chuckles, "Smuggling, eh? Thought you could pull a fast one on a 500-year-old-vampire. Nice."
  
  The woman tosses the folder back into the passengers seat with a certain smugness. She acted as though.. she were above this. Like she had better things to do. The voice was vaguely familiar.. this must be the person whose room Tess was trapped in for the past week.
  
  "Name's Florence. Ramona was the one who ordered the hit, and I was the one who revived you. She's not here tonight, though. We Manchesters don't really like getting involved in Ajax's affairs. It's personal; I'm sure you can appreciate that."
  
  She leans over the steering wheel, absentmindedly gesturing with one lazy palm and a roll of her eyes.
  
  "You'll go in there, you'll do some stuff, probably die, I'unno.. not really my problem. Get out."
  
  Jeez, talk about rude. What did she mean by 'it's personal'? ..And more importantly, what did she mean by 'probably die'?
  

The mansion foyer was.. extravagant. Large red curtains lined every wall, candelabras just barely served to illuminate the room, and the beautiful marbled floors seem to glitter in the light. Hanging from the raised ceiling, a crystal chandelier watched them all. On one wall, a string quartet was playing an elegant tune. Everyone was laughing, clinking wine glasses together. Except, it wasn't wine they were drinking. No, you knew better. That thick, red substance in all of their glasses wasn't just a really dark Merlot. You shudder at the fact you kind of want some, too.


Before long, everyone starts making their way down one of many marble hallways. As you follow, the ancient portraits hung on every wall stare you down. "Turn back!" They seem to whisper to you, "You can still turn back!"


As you ignore your better judgement, everyone starts feeding into what appears to be an indoor theater. It's like.. they've all done this before. It doesn't take long for everyone to start filling in the velvet seats, you yourself opting to sit closer to the middle. At the back of the room sat the wooden stage, and on it, as your eyes adjusted to the low lighting, there appeared to be.. chairs, bolted to the wood. You don't know why, but you had a bad feeling about this..
​

Looking around your immediate area, you notice there are others in your row that look.. just as confused as you. Maybe, they were like you..? In your recent life, during a time where you've never felt more scared, isolated, and alone.. maybe now would be a good time to make friends? It looked as though there was still some time before.. whatever this was.. would start. If anything, a simple 'Hello, how are you handling being murdered?' couldn't hurt.​

SapphireSkylines Reis Damafaud Vampunk Sacrosanctus shadowz1995 GamerKitty205
((This will be your opportunity to introduce your characters! Your posts can be split up into two parts-- If you like, you may leave some parting words for your driver. The order of the tabs will serve as the order for your characters sitting in the row. In the second half of your post, your character can talk to the person directly next to them, and even those in the middle if you don't mind leaning over others. Remember, 2 paragraphs per post, and everyone has to post at LEAST once to introduce your character. After some conversation among yourselves, I'll make my own post to further the scene.))

OOC - Lore - CS

 

[shadowz1995]

This was completely unreal....

Hector had never been the brightest bulb but this entire situation would send even the most enlightened individuals running for the hills. Vampires are real, he was murdered, he was now one of them, he was kidnapped for several days, and now he was sitting in some kind of mansion.... castle..... house.... opera.... thing after being driven there by a fan from his glory days.... who was also a vampire.

What the actual fuck?

The tanned hispanic stood a whole head above most of these elegant folk and yet, felt so much smaller than them. The feeling was maddening to say the least. Hector hated feeling weak. He hated feeling powerless even though he felt stronger than ever now. Like there was some unseen power vacuum between Hector and all the individuals gathered in the seats before him.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone in this...

There were people sitting on either side of him that looked equally as confused, bloodied, beaten, and horribly under dressed in comparison to those surrounding them (other vampires).

The former pro thumbed the scrap of paper that was forced upon him by his single, vampiric fan. He had it tucked away in the pocket of the dull, ripped up charcoal hoodie he had been killed in. Coupled with faded blue sweats and his salt-and-pepper hair, everything about him really screamed vagrant. While it was abrupt, Hector knew that having a friend in this unknown place was more valuable than gold or diamonds. In his experience, it was never about what you knew but about who you knew and he knew no one, save for this fan boy. He didn't exactly like the idea of taking advantage of loyal follower like Jack, who despite everything that happened.... still believed in Hector. That was incredibly valuable in more ways than one.

Which only made using him that much harder to do.

Hazel green irises focused on the big theater ahead where the chairs were. His eyes never moved from there as he spoke, "I think we are going to end up in that chair. One by one. I don't think they are going to kill us.... My driver didn't make it seem that way but something is going to happen. If any of you have information, I think it might be best to share." The man's spanish accent was thick but he spoke fluent english and was easily understood. It was clear by a simple glance that Hector was the oldest cat among them by at least a decade. That or he aged much, much worse than they did.

It was apparent that older man was skipping the pleasantries. There was no need to greet each other. They were all part of the same shit sandwich and Hector was certain that all of them knew jack shit about what was going on.... Judging by their confused and bewildered expressions. What they needed was information, not "niceties".

SapphireSkylines Reis Damafaud Vampunk Sacrosanctus mothspit GamerKitty205 5

 

[Damafaud]

Drevis Senade
Car ==> Estate
Theatre Hall; Nervous
Interaction: Sacrosanctus
Mention: SapphireSkylines Reis Vampunk mothspit GamerKitty205 raven flame​

The car was expensive. Luxurious, even. A show of wealth by whoever owned it, which, from what he gathered so far, was Ajax. Drevis sat, crossing his legs, in the middle of this car. He remained mostly silent most of the journey, throwing appropriate reply such as 'thank you.' 'I see.' that's unfortunate' 'I will keep that in mind.' as the driver adressed him. A one way conversation. The reason why he did so was to gather information.

They soon arrived at a mansion. Huge enough to be twice as large as his old house. Not that he couldn't get a larger one, but a small house was more practical. Drevis thanked the driver before he stepped out of the car and closed the door politely before heading toward the mansion in a slow stride following the crowd of guests. An intentional change in walking pace to allow him to organise the information he received from the driver.

"Vampires..." he muttered to himself, consciously touching his lips. He had drank blood as a human, but after he turned into a vampire, blood became sweet. As sweet as rich chocolate cake that made his blood sugar concentration jumped into a dangerous level.

Vampires were rich. At least those under Ajax were. They also possessed a strong social network as well as prominent influence in either political or governmental system. It was clear from how they could get information of his... more delicate business. The third point was he was going to participate in an initiation ritual. New Blood business, as Daedric called it. The last and most important point was, Ajax was a dangerous figure. He should stay on his toes.

The crowd of guests soon entered the theatre hall. The opulent atmosphere only made the Vampires' status as upper classes clearer. Drevis ignored all of it. Or tried to. Ignoring the sweet fragrance of blood or the intense stare of the portraits was almost impossible. He tried nonetheless. He didn't need to wear his glasses anymore, but he still did. Clinging to the familiarity to retain his sanity.

The group soon arrived at the theatre. As if herded, Drevis found himself sitting in the middle row. Peculiar. He was used to sitting near the very front, but he didn't want to this time around. He glanced to his left and right. Tattered clothes. Like his. As desperately as he tried to straighten his tie or dust his suit, the blood stain ruined the aesthetical point of the clothes. He looked at the guests in front of him. Fresh clothes. Suits of velvet.

"So that's how it is..." again, he muttered to himself. A habit he formed after spending a lot of time in seclusion of work.

A blatant show in difference of hierarchy between New Bloods and Old Bloods. Or could it be symbolism? Their clothes of death was the symbol of their old husk as humans, while they, after going through the ritual that involved new clothes, were rebirth as Vampires.

"...a bit presumptuous of me," he shook his head in disbelieve. When had he taken to making speculation? The atmosphere must be straining his nerve.

A man sitting four seats away from him said something, but it was not loud enough for him to hear. Drevis turned his attention to the stage. If it was a ritual, he would be sitting on that chair soon enough. Yes, he believed so. He turned to the woman to his left. A bit of pleasantry with someone in the same position as he was wouldn't hurt. Misery loves company.

"So? How did you die?" he asked the girl with a sardonical -- and self-deprecating -- tone. His death didn't seem like a traumatic event now that he was alive again (technically). Not that he forgave his murderers. Those bastards would pay as soon as he could find them, peel of their skin bits by bits, and lacerate them to death.

 

[Sacrosanctus]

It was hard to describe how Katya had felt when she woke up in her vacant room. One part of her felt an immense fear of the unknown, for she couldn't even begin to question the who, what, and where of her situation without wildly speculating. Another part of her felt a lingering rage, though it wasn't half as intense as the primal desperation she briefly remembered feeling when she first woke up. However, there was one emotion that completely overwhelmed the others, and that was her bemusement towards the delicious irony of her situation. Mere hours after she'd declared that she would turn over a new leaf, stand on her own two feet, and establish full control over her own life, Katya was kidnapped and incarcerated. It was blasphemous enough that anyone who saw how hard she was laughing would think she'd gone mad.

Before long, Katya returned to her default level-headed state, which quickly devolved into crippling boredom, after which she really began to worry about her future well-being. After several hours of staring at the same empty wall, Katya had just begun to seriously think about whether or not she would be starved to death before a bowl of some red substance presented itself from beneath the entrance to her room. Naturally, Katya had stubbornly refused to even go near the mystery liquid, as she already suspected that she had been put under the influence of some kind of drug when she was first abducted and wanted to avoid making the same mistake twice. However, as the days dragged on she began to feel stronger and stronger symptoms of hunger. The bowl containing the liquid eventually became impossible to ignore, as it not only seemed to gain an irresistibly delicious scent, it also somehow seemed to stand out visually. The Russian lady completely refused to follow her new vampiric instincts, but she was so naturally drawn to it that she hardly noticed when she began to heavily salivate just from looking at it. Her fierce desire to feast on this liquid grew exponentially by the hour, and she didn't even notice when her bloodlust increased enough for fangs to grow inside her mouth. At this point, her hands nearly had a mind of their own when she slowly but surely pressed the strange liquid against her lips.

Katya had fiercely rejected her desire to feast until the bitter end, but her efforts were completely overwhelmed by her new instincts. She took a terrifyingly huge gulp which consumed nearly the entire bowl, and her throat kept trying to swallow even as she reflexively choked and gagged on the stuff. It was almost as though her body were forcing it down all on its own, completely forgetting about its owner's wishes. That being said, it wasn't as if said owner couldn't change her desires. In fact, it was the exact opposite; Katya thought this liquid was the best thing she had ever tasted. It had an addictive, exquisite taste, but it hardly even functioned like any mere liquid would. It was invigorating. It somehow managed to both cure her hunger and make her feel healthier than she'd felt before drinking, and she officially abandoned her interest in common sense for pursuing this tasty new experience. It wasn't long before Katya was practically begging for the stuff.

The woman dejectedly sighed into the window of her seat. Five days later, silent reflection made her realize that getting a high off the addictive red stuff was not a smart decision. However, no amount of retrospect could make her take back what she did, nor could it explain why she was abducted in the first place. Granted, she did get an explanation, but she really didn't like what she heard. What was all this about her being dead? That was so obviously untrue that she didn't think twice about instantly shooting it down. After all, as far as she could tell she was very much alive. However, Katya decided to play along with these self-proclaimed vampires for now. After all, the one undeniable piece of information she did have was that someone did something to change her.

Katya's speculative stare was broken when the guy called Lance started talking to her. His nervous attitude struck her as odd, and with everything he said she was tempted to start asking questions. However, she still wasn't sure if she could trust everything she was being told, so she instead chose to shut up and observe her surroundings. As Katya entered the mansion, it was impossible to ignore the air of extravagance. She stood out like a sore thumb among the casually drinking people with fancy attire. The environment was so vastly different than before, she was almost convinced that the events of the past few days was nothing but a bad dream. "Almost" being the operative word there.

Katya noted that there was a ragtag bunch exiting from cars that were identical to hers. She made a conscious effort to sit near them, and judging by how clueless everyone looked she decided her best course of action was to remain silent and observant. Her vow of silence was cut short when the guy next to her asked her a thoroughly irritating question. "I would think that I'm irrefutably alive. If you're asking me to reiterate what I was told about my death, I was apparently eaten by some hungry vampire that happens to now be my relative. But, come on, use your head a little. Do you seriously believe these crazies are telling us the truth?"

 

[Vampunk]

It had felt like something straight out of those horrific tales she had always just deemed a cheap way of keeping people in line. Those horror stories of insubordinate informants being found somewhere in a ditch, discarded by whoever had needed to send a message. Or worse; wake up in some icy bathtub, freezing and nauseous, a massive gash on your abdomen indicating the absence of one or more internal organs.

For Tess it felt like both, combined with the worse hangover she had ever experienced. Her body stiff and unresponsive, an unnatural cold clinging to her slender limbs as she felt out of touch with reality. Awakening in some stranger’s room, with a massive pit in her stomach that screamed to be sated.

At first she panicked, thinking it had just been like those tall tales, her cold fingertips brushing over her flat stomach, trying to find any incision that might have been the cause of the empty feeling spreading through her abdomen.
But none could be found, and the only blood on her tainted her already dark shirt in a black, crusty stain that reeked of its signature metallic scent.


After panic, dread set in as her memories came flooding back, remembering that fateful night they had decided to smuggle some cargo that had belonged to someone affiliated with the Manchester name. It would’ve raked in some good money, enough for her to get out of that hellhole and maybe find some better-paying work in the bigger cities.

But what had seemed like the coup of her live, would’ve ended with the end of it.
All she heard from within that bleak chamber were distant voices that only grew louder once it was time for them to bring her sustenance.


Sustenance in form of the intoxicating scent of blood that would cloud her mind and compel her to greedily feed on the crimson essence.
It wasn’t long until it dawned on her what might have happened to her, her bloodied clothing, her unnatural craving for warm blood and her cold body being a literal dead giveaway to her.


And she had thought her old boss was a bloody vampire…

______________________________________________________________
​

Gazing out of the window, her fingers fidgeting with her bloody shirt, her clotted blood making the fabric brittle as its scent did little to take her mind off gloomier thoughts.

Dark, sunken eyes would blink lazily as Tess would take up most of the space on the backseat, her heavy combat boots draped over invaluable leather seats as the newborn Vampire would find herself being sassed by her driver.


Rolling with her eyes, the Serbian smuggler would shift in her seat, resting her long fingers over her shredded jeans finding a pair of hazel eyes glaring back at her from the rearview mirror.

“The displeasure’s mine, mom.” Tess grunted at Florence briefing her on recent events before making it clear that she should just get out and do what she was told.


Closing the car door in anything but a gentle way, Tess would start making her way towards where everyone else seemed to be drawn to, her hand instinctively sliding into her jacket’s pocket.


And merely finding an empty pack of cigarettes, her lips shifting into an annoyed grimace as she shook the small container. The lack of the familiar shuffle only worsening her mood.
“Tch…Could’ve at least asked if they could have some.” Tess grumbled as she soon found herself surrounded by that kind of company she never thought to tread among.


Wearing things more expensive than everything she owned, sipping from crystal chalices, and apparently being very high-spirited, Tess stuck out even more like a sore thumb as she quickened her pace, not wanting to linger here any longer than she needed to.

Soon enough she’d arrive in what seemed like a theatre of sorts, shuffling around her row to find a spot not too close to any of the other unfortunate souls who seemed to have shared a similar fate.


Dark eyes would wander around the crowd and stage, causing the corners of her lips to twitch in response, chewing on the inside of her cheeks Tess would find herself toying with the thought of maybe trying to sneak back out.

So far nothing suggested that it was too late to do so, hell, a part of her even tried to reason that her current predicament wouldn’t be too bad for business, there would be ways to find sustenance even without going into the organ poacher business…

But before she could develop that pathetic shade of a plan any further, one of the other fledgling vampires spoke, seemingly being the most reasonable of the bunch so far with a very pronounced Spanish accent.

“Don’t think I have anything to add here, friend. Except my driver being rather sure of the fact that I’m not going to survive the night, though wouldn’t be the first time we died, would it?” Tess would remark with a rather low chuckle, her eyes wandering over the others sitting in the same row as hers.

“Damn, we’re that screwed, huh?”

 

[SapphireSkylines]

Lyra sat in the car as she was being driven over. She listened to Leone carefully and took some time to respond. This Adrian guy was mysterious to her, why did he pick her out of all people? Were there others he turned aside from Leone? This whole experience was incredibly painful. First, she was locked in her room for what seemed like forever... even though it was only five days, and she actually had to drink blood to survive. She thought it was going to be absolutely disgusting, but she now found blood to be... delicious, refreshing. As a human it would've just tasted like iron but as a vampire it was different. Lyra had a temporary phase when she was young where she was fascinated with vampires, she would read a bunch of books about them but she never thought they were anything but fiction, characters in stories. Now the creatures she read about in novels were actually real and she was now one of them? She was still not used to this.

She remembered in church how her father preached that demons and sinners were doomed to a life in hell. Was she now a hellspawn who roamed this earth? The thought of being an abomination to the lord she worshiped felt devastating to her. She looked down at her lap and wrapped her arms across her chest. She'd glance up for a second to look over at Leone. "I don't blame you... you were just doing as he instructed for your own survival." she quickly paused for a few seconds before speaking again. "Okay... I'll try to keep my distance from Adrian." She wasn't sure if she could keep that promise, since she was extremely curious about this Adrian character but she would keep her distance, for now.

All of a sudden the car would halt in front of the large mansion. She'd gasp and look at the place in amazement, it was beautiful! She had never seen a house like that before. She climbed out of the car and followed Leone with the rest of the guests and headed inside. She glanced around the first room of the mansion, awestruck at what she saw. "Beautiful place..." she'd whisper to herself. She followed the rest of the guests, noticing the different people with their wine glasses. She'd give them a smile before being led into a theatre where she sat down in one of the middle rows. She looked around again, eyeing the many people with confused expressions and tattered clothes. Instead of trying to interact with anyone, she remained silent and nervously balled her fists in her lap as she looked toward the stage.

 

[Reis]

I've died and went to hell. I've died and went to hell. I've died...

Lucas forced his mind away from the mantra that he had developed over the past week. It was a sort of New Life's Resolution for him, a dedication to finding happy thoughts in times of stress. After spending pretty much his entire life in a state of constant pain and suffering, he thought of this as a chance to turn over a new leaf. From now on, Lucas Sullivan would be considered a pretty happy guy!

When he thought about it, this new life thing was off to a rather...shaky start. One moment he was idly pacing across the street, and the next he was yelling and flailing in a state of blind rage. On the first day of his stay at that dark bedroom, Lucas truly did think he was in the bowls of the Underworld, waiting his turn for condemnation. It was only a few hours later when he realized that he was still among the living. When Lucas was served his first bowl of blood, he thought it was some kind of mystery soup. There was no way Satan had something that delicious on the menu.

Lucas learned the full story soon enough. A pretty unbelievable story, but a story nonetheless. The red drink he was fed in that dark room was blood, he enjoyed it so much because he was a vampire, they were all vampires...it sounded like something out of a lame horror movie, except it wasn't. That picture of his blood-spattered body was proof enough, along with the strange way his body felt for a while now. This was real. Vampires were real. Lucas thought back to the girl in the car, the way her dead gray eyes stared past her bone mask and straight into his soul, a demon craving nothing but destruction...

Happy thoughts, Lucas reminded himself. Happy thoughts.

The mansion was more extravagant than anything he'd ever seen before. Elegant music drifted through the air, mingling with the faint, undeniable smell of blood. Lucas shuddered as his stomach rumbled, the longing for blood making him simultaneously queasy and hungry. Lucas noted the glittering chandelier overhead, the hanging portraits that were larger than him, and the raw amount of space available in the mansion. Perhaps it should have impressed him, maybe it was supposed to be intimidating, but all Lucas felt was a muted anger. Why were these bastards lucky enough to get a place like this while he scraped by in the filthiest excuse of an apartment ever made?

By the time his mental tantrum was over, Lucas was sitting in the very middle of the mansion's theater. The middle was ideal because he didn't have to worry about people walking past him on their way out of the seats. Although, it wasn't like any of them would be getting up any time soon. Judging by their tattered and bloody clothing, they were all drowning on the same sinking boat that he found himself in. Maybe they were being herded up like cattle, fresh blood for the demons to feast on.

Lucas let out a sigh. Two strikes so far, and his new life was just getting started. Focusing on his resolution, Lucas turned his attention to his surroundings. People sat on both sides of him, four girls and two guys, all starting up conversations with one another. He was surprised that Mr. Big and Brooding was the first one talking, his thick Spanish accent inquiring about any information they had. After a quick mental check-in, he decided not to reply. All he knew was that these vampires were as secretive as they were creepy.

On his left, a man in a torn up suit was speaking to a young woman who seemed rather close to his age. He was able to pick out her doubts about their state of undeath. Her points made sense, but there was a very undeniable flaw in her reasoning.

"Um..." Lucas spoke up to be heard from two seats away. His voice dropped just as quickly. "If you put your hand on your chest, check your pulse..." Lucas put his hand on his own chest, just to double check that he wasn't making himself look stupid. He had felt many emotions throughout this long week. Excitement, fear, confusion, anger... all without the typical thrumming of a heartbeat in his ears. His feelings seemed muted, lacking the physiological changes that every human experienced. In its place was a strange emptiness, a hollow feeling that he wasn't quite unfamiliar with.

Lucas's hand left his chest. "Nothing. It looks like we really are undead." He was speaking more to himself than to the others around him. It was a depressing thought. Lucas came so close to abandoning his miserable life for good. He didn't even need to feel the fear, the biological hesitation that naturally comes with such an intense action. But his death was more like a brief sleep: one moment you're tossing and turning in bed, and the next, BAM!, you're starting a new, long, miserable day in a miserable immortal life...

Screw it. Operation Happy Thoughts wasn't working out for him.

 

[SapphireSkylines]

Lyra would put her hand to her heart, imitating what the young man next to her just did. She frowned and looked down at her lap. She was an undead, and a creature of sin, no longer human. She'd then look over at the older more burly man who seemed keen on getting more information. "I don't think they're going to kill us either. They changed us for a reason. I have no idea on what specific reason but they wouldn't go through all this trouble, just to kill us. Unfortunately I don't have much information beyond that. The man who changed me seemed very apologetic for what he did... that he did it because his master wanted him to. I don't know why his master wants me to be a vampire, it baffles me how he even knew who I was. I was a complete nobody in the city I lived in, I literally just moved there three months ago." She sighed and shook her head "I don't know, maybe we're screwed." "Anyways, I'm Lyra, what're your names?" she'd ask, gesturing to the bulkier man next to her and the younger woman at the end of the row two seats from her.

Reis shadowz1995 Vampunk

 

[Sacrosanctus]

Katya shot the guy across seats a doubtful glare. She placed a hand on her chest, just to make sure he wasn't lying, and concentrated on feeling the expected drumming against it. She flung her hand towards her neck in shock, trying to feel her pulse in different locations, and finally her wrist. There was silence on all accounts. She'd somehow remained unaware of her dysfunctional heart, and the surprise was amplified by the fact that her other organs seemed to be in working order. However, the boy was right in saying there was no way she was currently inhabiting a standard human body when she couldn't feel a beating heart. Katya let out an involuntary chuckle when her mind was finally able to process the implications of this revelation. If this detail was true, there was no reason for her to believe that any of the information she'd gathered was false. In other words, Katya Dragunova was an undead, blood sucking monster whose human form was dead and gone.

"You have a point. Fine, I'll bite." She turned to face the first person that had spoken to her. She wasn't going to remain in denial forever, and decided that the best way to come to terms with reality was to talk about it. "How did you die?"

Damafaud Reis

 

[shadowz1995]

"Cojone..." the big man cursed under his breath as the people answered his question one by one. He was hoping someone had heard something else. It seems like they all heard the same story or at least, very similar versions. From what he could pick up as well, a common phrase seemed to "I was no one." or "Death". Everyone here died in some sort of way before they woke up in their current predicament.

Hector did as the young man suggested and placed his large, scarred hand over his breast and sure enough, he was greeted with silence. It was strange how someone could take such a critical function and take it completely for granted.

It seemed that no matter how old you got, people never changed.

"Damn, we're that screwed huh?"

Hector nodded gravely to the young woman's sentiment. They were all damn well fucked and they all knew it but panic wasn't the answer.

The young girl known as Lyra introduced herself and Hector gave her a nod of acknowledgement, "Hector..." he replied respectfully. His accent made the H silent and come out as Ehk-tor, as it was pronounced in his native tongue.

The third young woman expressed her belief that nothing horrible was going to happen to any of them. She seemed to share his idea that they weren't going to be killed but she was sorely mistaken on the second half of her statement.

A heavy sigh left the old boxer's lips, his eyes never leaving the stage before them. One could see gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out what they were going to do to them. "Escucha, Niña. I don't believe they are going to kill us but there are fates much worse than La Muerte. We could be esclavos.. errr.... " he paused as he searched for the English word. A few seconds passed when he finally found it, "Slaves. They could force us to serve, to kill, to dance, to fuck...." Hector took a glance at the raggedy group, his eyes holding no humor within them, "The desire for young women never leaves the markets. The.....uh.... the black markets."

"Now, we are supposedly immortal Vampiros."

"Vampiros are much harder to break and never get old and used up, correct? Some people have a taste for men as well. We very well could end up as slaves for that. Or worse, as toys."

"Or maybe you are right, Niña and there is a reason we are here and it is not to be killed or used."

The big, burly man cast his eyes downwards and it clear he was seeing something. Possibly remembering something from his past, "In my home country, it was not unheard of for young boys and girls to go missing and end up like that. We find them discarded like broken toys several months later. In fact, we heard of it quite often."

 

[Damafaud]

Drevis Senade
Estate
Theatre Hall; Nervous
Interaction: Sacrosanctus
Mention: SapphireSkylines Reis Vampunk mothspit GamerKitty205 raven flame​

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," he answered with a smile of derision on his face.

He had thought that the girl would be a close minded one. Like a believer of scietism when told Vampire is real. Couldn't she read the clue around her?

What, the fangs that appeared when he drank blood was a cosmetic transplant? A group of wealthy people with nothing better to do decide to save them from the verge of death out of pure good will? Didn't she check her pulse even once after she woke up? What a joke.

Thanksfully, the girl came to her sense quick enough, which made everything easier to explain.

"Blunt wounds, face deconstruction, and walking slowly to death by every hit. Nothing too unusual or spectacular. Just another forged hate crime," he answered, shrugging "how about you? Anything special about your death? A sacrifice for a cult, maybe? That should be an interesting death for a realist, don't you agree? Ah, the name is Drevis."

It could be said that Drevis, at that moment, was being an arrogant prick. Of course, saying it was unintentional wouldn't cut it. By degrading the value of others in his eyes, he tried to rise his confidence and condition his mental state into one where he thought "at least I am better than others". He realised doing so would hurt people's image of him and decided to make up for it later.

If he survived this New Blood initiation, that is.

Of course, while this specific arrogance stemmed from a coping mechanism, it couldn't be said that his actions and words were excusable.

He was, after all, being a bastard.

 

[Sacrosanctus]

It was impossible to hide the faint traces of a scowl on Katya's lips when Drevis answered her. His tone was oozing with condescension, but she suppressed the urge to punch him in the face since it would be unwise to start trouble now.

"Call me Katya. Lucky for me, I didn't have nearly as ugly of a death as you did. Just the opposite. I was killed by a vampire, she was apparently starving and revived me after she consumed my blood. I barely even remember the details, and the only pain involved was the feeling of getting bitten by fangs. Overall, it was honestly a rather painless death; losing my blood all at once was more lethargic than unpleasant and it was over in less than a minute." She paused for a second before raising a brow. "A realist? Please. It was only natural that I was skeptical of the situation given the context. The only solid proof I had was a lack of a pulse, and even that is barely noticeable unless you constantly keep tabs on your heart rate for some reason. As far as I'm concerned, only a complete moron would believe everything they were told without even considering whether or not it was false."

Granted, it was a lot easier to believe you're dead if you experienced an agonizing and slow death rather than a quick, painless one like herself, but Katya mostly wanted to return Drevis's mockery with a bit of her own spite. It was certainly petty, but she didn't care as long as she could get back at his snarkiness in equal measure.

Damafaud

 

[Reis]

Lucas couldn't help but leer at Hector. The situation was looking bad enough already, so why exactly did the muscle-head feel the need to make them all feel more terrified? Being dead was already a pretty mind-shattering reality to process. The possibility that their recently undead and immortal bodies would be used for an endless, brutal enslavement? He would much rather hear something positive in that moment, something that would relieve his stress rather than multiply it.

Lucas knew he was the very last person to tell others how to be optimistic, but...yeah.

 

[Damafaud]

Drevis Senade
Estate
Theatre Hall; Nervous
Interaction: Sacrosanctus
Mention: SapphireSkylines Reis Vampunk mothspit GamerKitty205 raven flame​

"Complete moron, is it?"

Her remark resulted in a chuckle from Drevis.

Everything they were told? He was told close to nothing by his new 'family'. All he did was staying in a closed room, drinking blood without knowing what his fate would be. His first day was spent clawing at the door until his fingers bleed. His first night was spent in paranoia. Come to think of it, it was pretty moronic of him to stay calm, wasn't it? He should be in more panic. More desperate and mad. More in denial of this insane reality where he just f*cking died and revived as a vampire!

...ah, I just swore in my mind.

"Heh..." A stifled laugh. Drevis hid his mouth with one hand. He was grinning from ear to ear. Pearl white teeth showed to the world, if not for his hand that covered it.

Then he laughed. An unrestrained, free laugh, as if one had witnessed an absolute hilarity. He didn't know why he laugh. What was so funny? He couldn't answer that. He cupped his mouth with his hands, muffling his own laugh. Was it so funny that he swear in his own mind? Not so, but he laughed anyway.

It took quite a while for him to control himself, and by then, he was still grinning.

"I'm a moron, is it? Fine, but if I am one, you are at a whole new level of idocy, Miss Katya." He raised his ring, middle, and index fingers.

"Three. I can give you three solid evidences that you are no longer human. Other than having no pulse of course."

"The first one is fangs. When you drink blood, a pair of fangs will protude through your gum. Somewhere near your canine teeth. This is the first evidence. The second clue is breathing. Even if you hold your breath, you won't feel the need to breath even after an hour," he closed his ring and middle finger. "the last evidence is... vast improvement of physical condition."

He took off his glasses and started dusting the lens with his sleeve.

"I have no need for this glasses since I was revived. Nor did I suffer from coughing fits and headaches as I used to. Of course, the last sign wouldn't be too clear for you, but the remaining two evidences can be deduced quite easily if you put your mind to it."

Drevis put on his glasses again. His grin had turned into a smile, but it was still directed at Katya.

"Well? What do you think, Miss Katya? Has this moron convince you of your own lacking?"

 

[Vampunk]

Before even making sure nobody was sitting in the row in front of her, Tess would rest her feet on the seat right underneath her as she made herself a lot more comfortable.
Her eyes would come to wander to her left, slowly taking in the many faces of those that seemingly had shared the same fate as her, though she doubted most of them brought it upon themselves like she had.
What a stupid idea it had been to try messing with the wrong people just for that one shot at a better fate.

Just to make sure of what they said had some merit, Tess' cold fingertips would slide underneath her bloodstained shirt as they found her chest, trying to make out anything resembling a pulse but instead just finding the same cool, dead flesh that made her skin crawl.

"Yeah, I do doubt they've just dragged us here just to kill us off, though I wouldn't put it past 'em if the evening is going to end up with just a few of us walking out of here...unspoiled and still breathin'." The serbian smuggler would muse, rolling her dark eyes as they would find Hector's hazel green ones, Tess would simply shrug, stretching her slender form as she crossed her arms behind her head.

"Seems the two of us have heard of some pretty nasty stories, huh? Had my fair share of those when still smuggling for shadier folk. You grow somewhat numb to them after a while but there's always those who tell those tall tales of smuggling live cargo, and I don't mean some sort of exotic animals, no, the kind that whimpers and pleads for mercy." The fledgling vampire would remark with a click of her tongue as she'd pull her knees to her chest, heavy combat boots dragging over the finest velvet as she'd turn to face to her left.

Raising an eyebrow at Hector, Tess would let go of a faint chuckle, be it due to genuine amusement or to try and mask the growing anticipation for what the bloodsuckers had in store for them.
"Oh, totally forgot to introduce myself, where are my bloody manners? I'm Tess, Tess Lovrić. Got my throat torn open because I thought I'd be wise to mess with some bigger fish, I did think it couldn't get any worse but the way you put it makes me doubt that." Brushing her cool fingertips through the stubbly short hair adorning the sides of her head, Tess would turn her attention over to the rest of the bunch, a crooked smirk appearing on her face as she witnessed Drevis' and Katya's bickering.
"Though I suppose us tearing each other's throat out by the end of the night might also be an option judging by how these two lovebirds bonding." The serbian woman chuckled before sinking back into her seat, her fingers instinctively fidgeting with the empty pack of cigarettes as a frown would come adorning her face.

"I just hope we'll get some bloody answers by the end of it..."

 

[SapphireSkylines]

Lyra froze in her seat as she listened to Hector talk about the sex trade in his home country. The group being used as slaves of some kind seemed like a definite possibility, maybe even for sex since everyone seemed pretty attractive. The girl at the very end of the row arguing with the man in the suit seemed very young and pretty, the man she was talking to was sharp, dressed well and had luscious dark hair, the two further down - Yvette and Lucas appeared very youthful and spry too. Hector looked a little rough around the edges but surely he could attract women who loved muscles and a more mature man, and Tess was also very cute and exotic looking. She chuckled nervously and nodded over to Tess. "Yeah me too... I'd like to know more on what's going on." she tapped her chin in thought. "... I wonder if we have like.. special abilities. Like are we super strong now? Do we have magical abilities? Can we turn into a bat and fly? That'd be kind of cool... I sort of want to fly." Lyra tried to be optimistic but it was clear in her tone of voice that she was anxious and a bit terrified.

Interacting with: Vampunk , shadowz1995
Mentioning: Everyone

 

[Sacrosanctus]

Confusion was plastered on Katya's face when Drevis suddenly broke into a fit of laughter. She determined everything she told him to be undeniably true, so she couldn't quite tell if he had gone mad from realizing the truth or if he was mocking her case.

She figured out the nature of his laughter after the following explanation, which prompted her to release a defeated sigh. It was rare for someone of Katya's ego to give up in an argument, but there was nothing she could do to protest. During her captivity, she had been habitually inhaling and exhaling without even noticing that she didn't need to. In regards to her fangs, she had embraced her new feeding instincts so fully that she didn't even register their presence. In retrospect, there was no other way to explain the sensation she had in her mouth every time she drank, but she had been so focused on consuming the delicacy that she didn't realize exactly what was happening to her. It was true that she could sense some changes, but she placed the blame on being under the influence of drugs, as she assumed that she was either put onto something with lingering effects during her captivity and these were the side effects or that she was being continually intoxicated by the drink that she didn't consider to be blood.

Overall, she couldn't completely fault herself on refusing to believe something that sounded as supernatural as turning into a vampire, but there was simply no way to explain the physiological changes to her body since it was impossible to replicate such effects using drugs. And as much as she disliked admitting defeat to someone who wore such a shit eating grin, Katya was honestly rather impressed by his keen eye for factors she didn't even begin to consider. "You make a good argument. You're certainly not as stupid as you look, I suppose."

 

[shadowz1995]

Hector had lapsed into silence as the ladies on his flanks gave their inputs. He merely nodded gravely at Tess's smuggling stories. It was clear the older gentleman wasn't much of a talker unless the situation called for it.... which in this case it certainly did. Staying quiet and reserved here wouldn't help anyone.

Luckily, everyone seemed like they wanted to talk or at least had something to say. Even the two on the left were arguing and from what Hector could hear it, it was nothing but nerves provoking the verbal conflict. He had seen it before. People arguing for the sake of keeping their heads straight or acting proud in a miserable situation. They would start crying in despair otherwise.

Hector lifted his eyes from the ground and watched Lyra as she made her.... rather strange hopes vocal. The surviving part was universal but something of having abilities is something Hector hadn't even considered. It was certainly...possible but its not like Hector had any idea. The boxer hadn't heard of vampires outside of movies, books, or halloween. The young girl's perspective was interesting to say the least.

Maybe they did have some kind of new abilities.

The hispanic reached up and stroked the thick, salt and pepper stubble on his chin. His eyes narrowed pensively as he considered the option before responding," It's certainly possible, Niña. Though, we will have to get out of here alive to find out."

Hector looked back over to the bickering duo on the other side of the bloodied group and merely shook his head before returning his gaze to Tess, "I don't think so. It looks like none of these people has seen any real violence other than you and me. Like the Americans say, 'All bark and no bite.' A dog will bark until you show it you are the wrong person to bark at. Until you show it that you bite much harder than it ever could. Then it will follow."

The big man's eyes slipped downwards to examine the dried blood collected at the top of the short haired woman's shirt. It might have even looked like he was trying to sneak a peek if his face wasn't deathly serious. After a brief moment, Hector backed up and raised his right arm to show large, discoloration in the grey hoodie he wore, just at the ribs. Several openings could be seen where a blade severed clothing and flesh all the same.

Hector turned in his seat so Lyra could see it as well before sitting straight forward, once again focusing on the stage, "I had gotten drunk at a bar and was stumbling back home when someone tried to rob me. The young man was much smaller than me but got several stabs in. I dont remember too much after because it seems I bled out on the way home...

I would like to know why they chose to revive me and not him though."

Vampunk SapphireSkylines

 

[Damafaud]

Drevis Senade
Estate
Theatre Hall; Nervous
Interaction: Sacrosanctus
Mention: SapphireSkylines Reis Vampunk mothspit GamerKitty205 raven flame​

"Of course I don't," he accepted the backhanded compliment with a chuckle.

Katya had admitted defeat. While the other New Bloods were discussing something among themselves as well, Drevis ignored them. His attention was solely on Katya and Katya alone. The reason? He had deduced three reasons to continue conversing with her from their interaction so far. He was not someone that merely relied on instinct for his social interactions, after all.

One, Katya was seated at the edge. If he turned the flow of conversation to others, there was a chance Katya would be excluded altogether. Abandoning a woman in trouble wouldn't be good for his image. Two, everyone else was already engrossed in conversation. The girl sitting next to him (Yette, was it?) was attempting a conversation with the man to the right of her. If he was to try and get their attention, he would need to bend over and increased the volume of his voice. The act of bending over was impolite in itself and he would not accept it! For reason number three...

He enjoyed his conversation with Miss Katya.

Of course, the part where he reigned supreme over her ego was the best part. And now was the time to return her compliment!

"You're not half bad yourself, Miss Katya. I like you," Drevis continued with a coy smile. He had been smiling a lot for the last ten minutes. Not something unusual when he attend tedious networking lunch.

"People say I have a horrible taste for women, but I like you."

He never knew how he missed the subtlety of a negotiation room interaction until now.

 

[Sacrosanctus]

Katya had never realized how turbulent her impression of someone could get until she spoke with Drevis. His shit eating grin had ticked her off from the start, but she could at least respect him for his impressive perception. However, she officially decided to take back any positive thoughts she had about this man. The way he casually brushed off her insult and complemented her at the beginning of his little charade already tipped her off without getting to her. She might have shown genuine appreciation for the compliment, but that had vanished moments later when he'd turned it into an obnoxious insult. She kept herself from violently ripping him to shreds in that moment and decided to feign ignorance, and she plastered a flattered smile on her face.

"That's surprisingly genuine, coming from someone like you. I must say, I think I like you too. You're an enlightening person. Just talking to you makes me feel smarter."

Katya gracefully accepted the compliment and gave yet another retort for the record, but in her head she couldn't help imagining all kinds of creative things she could call him besides "enlightening". Something a little more accurate, like an uncouth swine, a babbling buffoon, a writhing maggot or an arrogant cuckold. Just looking at him now made her want to punch him right in his bloody face hole, but she had to opt for a more passive backlash for now.

After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.

 

[Reis]

"How did I die, huh?" Lucas thought back to the final moments of his life. After his death, he had been surprised about how the experience played out. It wasn't at all what he expected. Where death once seemed agonizing enough to keep him going, it now seemed horrendously underwhelming. However, his relief towards dying such a painless death was ultimately spoiled by his disappointment at coming back to life.

The newly turned vampire shrugged his shoulders. "I was walking down the street when a car slammed into me. Some guy named Lance did it, I think. It happened so fast that I didn't even realize that I died until it was over..." Lucas trailed off, falling silent. He was honestly upset at the way he died. Because of Lance, Lucas was forced back into the effed up world that he wanted to escape from for the past several years. Who did these vampires think they were, handing out immortality as if people wanted to keep living? The idea that he would have to wait another century for his death was almost enough to make him stab through his still heart right then.

Almost, but not quite. Lucas had to admit that he was curious about these vampires. How did they get so much money without showing a trace of their existence to society? What types of powers did different vampires have? And why were they forcing this group into their lavish mansion in the first place? Lucas came to the decision that he would consider revisiting Limbo after hearing these guys out.

Lucas sighed heavily. After sitting there for all that time, continuing to talk was pretty much the last thing he wanted. But there was no way he was just gonna let the conversation awkwardly die out there, after screwing up his reputation so much already. "What about you? How did you die?"

GamerKitty205

 

[mothspit]

The lights dim. A hushed whisper falls over the crowd.
BAM. A single spotlight shines on the stage.

Any conversation you attempted to make was silenced by the newly surfaced atmosphere. What was happening? When you looked around, you were met with the stares of the other patrons sitting among you. Some looked excited, blatantly going out of their way to make eye contact. Others tried to contain their emotions, squirming in their seats and making casual side glances.

From the several speakers on the walls, a low drumroll started to sound. At its crescendo, from the curtains of the stage, a single pale hand poked out and greeted the crowd with a wave. A small laugh comes from them, but nothing more. Then, a figure steps forward; A man. He was undeniably handsome-- tall, broad shoulders and a sharp jawline at the forefront of his appearance. With one hand, he slicks back short black hair, and adjusts the (presumably very expensive) suit he was wearing. Coy, sparkling blue eyes scanned over those seated before him. His persona was not unlike that of a jungle cat, silently observing his unsuspecting prey before pouncing.

Italian leather shoes click across the stage as he approaches it's lip. He's silent at first, merely taking in all the faces staring back at him. With arrogant flair, he claps twice with his hands. As if on cue, one of the stage spotlights pans over to the middle row; It scans your face and the faces of those sitting next to you, coupled with celebratory music from the speakers. Finally, the spotlight makes it's way back to the man on stage.

"Welcome to the family!"
..He shouts with a confident voice, arms spread wide as if he were beckoning them for a hug.

"And welcome to the future!"
..Roars back the crowd as they exploded into extravagant displays of fanfare; Claps, fists pumps, and even shouts of praise. Whoever this man was, he.. had a remarkable effect. Some even stood to their feet to further the excitement for the impending events.

With a large grin and a hearty laugh, the man silences them all with a closed fist. Like dogs, they all obeyed, reducing themselves to a whisper like phantoms.
Within those whispers, you could just make out passing conversations..

"..Which one do you think it is?"
"..I don't know, the one on the end maybe..?"

"..In the middle, for sure."
"..Yeah? A hundred dollars is a lot of money to be wrong.."

"..Last year, it was two.."
"That's nothing! I remember one year it was all of them.."

"..Not many of them, this time.."
"Too many and it get's boring.."

It sounded like.. everyone was taking bets. But bets for what?

"Oh, look at you all," The man muses affectionately, his hand comically pressed over his heart, "If you would all open your bibles, please.."

Again, the crowd laughs, much louder this time. It was like they all fully recognized the cruel irony; That the newbloods among them were, most likely, believing they had died and this was their judgement day. The cursed duality of their newfound existence, with a hint of blasphemy for good measure. No, this wasn't bible study. Of all places, God was not here.

The man continues, "For our newbloods in the crowd, allow me to welcome your bright, happy faces to my home.." He gestures to the middle row, and then finally back to himself..

"..My name is Ajaxius Dygarian. Tonight, we celebrate the cruelties of life, and the marvels of death."

He doesn't waste another second. Without skipping a beat, he snaps his fingers; Curtains raise from the back of the stage, and behind them stands what looks like.. people. For a second, you thought maybe the light was playing tricks on you but no-- There stood three people, their hands tied at the wrist, and sack-like covers over their heads. On the front of them, the letters A, B, and C were crudely drawn on with a permanent marker, ordering them as such respectively. When Ajax snapped his fingers again, a set of random servants came from either side of the stage. One pair brings out a large wooden table; The others, with a less-than-graceful action, force the masked people to sit in the chairs bolted to the stage at it's front.

From this distance, you could smell a strange scent coming from them. It was.. fleshy, like.. raw meat. Not like the soothing smells of freshly ground vanilla radiating off of the fellow undead around you. Furthermore, you could just barely hear them whimpering in fear beneath the masks. Were they.. humans..?

..Oh.. Oh god. This didn't look good.

Ajax walks behind them, bemused with an knowing grin. As if he were examining paintings in a gallery, his hand runs over the heads of the fearful humans. Precious baubles of vanity; That's how he looked at them. Trinkets to be collected. Jewels to be displayed. Toys to be broken.

As he does so, he raises his voice yet again..

"For many of you, this game is familiar. But for our guests, I'll explain how this works.."

From the breast pocket of his suit, he produces a single vanilla folder. He holds it up so that, from this distance, you can see the writing hastily scribbled on their covers: EVIDENCE it read. Your mind flashes to your driver carrying a similar folder, but the word 'evidence' raised further intrigue. Evidence.. of what?

"One of these.. lovely participants.. is a murderer."

The crowd gasps.
Some feign surprise by raising a hand to their mouths.
Ajax laughs to himself, "Oh, come on. Who in this room hasn't murdered here and there?"

Everyone around you nods approvingly.
..Yeah, this wasn't good at all.

"..One of these three has committed the crime of murder," He carries on, holding the folder for emphasis, "So naturally, that means the other two are innocent. I hold in my hands all the evidence the proper authorities have collected, but ultimately, the murder was ruled as an accident, and no suspects were arrested. But we know better, don't we?"

There's a sort of hushed agreement from the crowd as they all nod their heads and smile at one another.
He tosses the folder onto the table behind the seated victims, causing an array of documents to fall out. How anyone was able to collect such sensitive material-- let alone kidnap those involved-- was beyond you. No-- It terrified you. That, coupled with your driver having an extensive dossier about you.. it made the implications clear; we can find you. We can know you, better than you know yourself.

"It's rather simple. Using the evidence provided, you will expose the criminal in our midst. If you can find the murderer in the set amount of time--"

Ajax gestures to a time clock on the back wall of the stage. As if on cue, it switches to life, each number sputtering as it reveals the aforementioned time limit; One hour.

"--You win."

Ajax smiles, clapping his hands on the shoulders of one of the masked victims. They jump in surprise, and let out a series of muffled whimpers. Were they gagged too?

"In the first half hour, you will declare one of these three innocent, leaving you with two suspects to sift through."

He begins to pace the stage as he talks, his hands neatly folded behind his back, "What is the prize you ask? Well.."

Suddenly, his expression shifts to something more.. dark. More serious. Gone was his smooth-talking, macho-millionaire bravado. This was the face of a man who not only meant what he said, but had the means to back his words up, too. This was the jungle cat from before; The ever-cunning vulture circling his prey. This.. this was Ajax.

"You save two innocent lives. That's reward enough, isn't it?"

Save.. A word implying that, otherwise, those poor, helpless souls were in danger. Though you had no reason to trust this man, did that matter? He had already displayed what he was capable of, all with a snap of his fingers and a smile. If you refused, there's no telling how he would react.. Do you want to take that chance?

His expression changes again, back to a cheery-yet-knowing smile, "Not to mention, this is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with each other, no? Think of it as.. a team building exercise."

He moves as if he's about to walk off stage, but he stops himself; How could he forget the most crucial part of the game?

"Oh, silly me, I almost forgot.. There is no penalty for exposing the wrong suspect. At least, not for you."

The way he spoke.. It was like he didn't need to explain what he meant. The lives of these humans hung in the balance. If you didn't play this sick, twisted game, you had the gut feeling something awful was going to happen. Something deadly.

"If you fail to expose anyone as the murderer before the time is up, however.." He let's the statement hang in the air, gesturing to all three of the humans with meek hand expressions.

"With that being said, our newbloods may now take the stage and begin the game!"

At his last words, the crowd again erupts into cheers and applause-- But this time, the praise was for you. You weren't about to be slaughtered as you might have originally thought; You were the entertainment for these people.

You were the executioner.
​

((Your characters can whisper to each other, and those who would dare to be so bold can speak to your lovely host on stage. if so, I'll post a reply to your character by editing your post, which you can then reply to. This will allow me to write the evidence, and after some friendly back and forth I'll post that and from there you all will have to work together. I'll let you guys know when it's time to move on. Let's get iiiittttt.))

 

[Damafaud]

Drevis Senade
Theatre Hall
Theatre Hall; Nervous
Interaction: mothspit , Sacrosanctus
Mention: SapphireSkylines Reis Vampunk GamerKitty205​

Spoiler: Burdened Mind

Hm. Had he gone too far? While he enjoyed the feeling of winning, a permanent damage in his relationship with Miss Katya would be undesirable. After all, he had only started the insults festival to cover his own unease. Drevis felt a bit apologetical now. A bit, but it was the thought that count. His smile faded after Katya's last remark. Insincere compliment that hid seething anger meant he had stepped over his boundary.

"I-"

The light dimmed.

He cursed his own misfortune before turning his attention to the stage. He should make it up to her before the damage becomes irreparable.

A man stepped onto the stage. A handsome man. A natural leader. Drevis relaxed his crumped face muscle. No trace of his smile before appeared on his face. He would soon be the centre of attention. First and second impression lasted for a long time. His glasses let off a glint as the headlight passed by him for a second. The theatrics continued. And he was bathed in the spotlight.

The excitement in the air couldn't easily be missed. Shushed conversations entered his hearing, which made Drevis strained his ears to catch what was said. Bet? On the end? Two or all? Inwardly, a crest appeared on his forehead. He had too little information to create a deduction. He hated situation like this the most, when the only thing he could do is to feel in the dark.

As if to add to his worry, the host introduced himelf as Ajax.

Drevis felt his unbeating heart skipping a beat.

One name he was worried of, and the bearer of that name was standing in front of him. His eyes widened in bafflement. Him? He had deduced that Ajax was at the very least a known figure in the vampire society based on his short conversation with his driver, but him appearing on stage raised the alarm. He clenched his fists. Whatever was thrown toward him, he wouldn't waver.

But again, Ajax was a step in front of him.

Spoiler: Start of the Game

Humans. A murder mystery. A game. This type of entertainment was the kind one would find in the dark web, but even Drevis had never watch something like this, much less play in one. After all, he still had his sense of value.

To say his hands were clean would be an overstatement. Drevis had been involved in many cases where his actions determined the life of many. Especially so when his client was a large enterprise such as a retail megacorp or a mining company. Winning the case might evict thousands from their homeland and render hundred of thousand jobless.

So what?

Unlike his sister who became a convert in her college year (Christian or Islam he didn't remember), Drevis was an atheist. Life should be enjoyed to the fullest. Altruism? Kindness is the priviledge of the rich and powerful. That was why he had no guilt over killing people for reaching his goal. He even made an innocent man faced a death sentence once within his early years. Killing people for entertainment, however...

That was where he drew the line.

However, he also knew he couldn't get on Ajax' bad side. Victory could mean a lot of things. At this case, Drevis steeled his heart and set the condition for his victory; leave the theatre hall alive, stay on the good side of Ajax Dygarian, and kill as few humans as possible.

He needed to win the game.

"Come, we should see the evidences first," he urged his 'team' at a low voice. They couldn't possibly mess this up.

Drevis stood up from his seat, walking at a brisk pace to the stage. The stares on him felt heavy. Pressure larger than the bottom of mariana trench. He ignored it. If he faltered, he was finished.

He climbed the stage. Ajax Dygarian was still standing there. Drevis gave him a small bow. An old fashioned gesture in Europe and America continent, but still widely used in Asia. His case took him abroad a few times and he felt the gesture was appropriate for the moment. A show of respect. Not too conspicuous, yet till showing his respect. As a bonus, he didn't need to get too close to Ajax.

"Good evening, Mr. Dygarian. Should we begin the game by examining the evidence?"

His mouth formed a polite smile. Practically a stranger to Ajax Dygarian, a flattering smile, or a joyous one, might had the opposite effect.

Ajax's piercing gaze looked Drevis up and down as the lawyer offered him a bow. Unable to contain himself, Ajax let's out a hearty laugh, and those in the audience laugh with him.

"Don't bow to me, boy." He says firmly, a large grin plastered on his face. Suddenly, he reaches out to grab hold of Drevis' palm and, without warning, he pulls him in closer; Ajax was now a mere inches away from his bloodkin's face. His expression had changed yet again and, despite before, was now indiscernible-- Like a statue, there was no telling what the Forebear was thinking.

"..Bowing leaves you open to your enemy. I could have just shot you, you know."

Then, he gives Drevis the firmest handshake the poor lawyer has probably ever received..

"You shake hands-- Look'em in the eye. That way you can track their movements."

..And that's where he leaves it, blatantly ignoring Drevis' inquiry about the evidence. Instead, he steps to the side to allow the others to take the stage, making it clear he wants you to just get a move on.

- Venus

 

[shadowz1995]

After an uncomfortable amount of waiting, the presumed reason they were all there finally decided to rear his head.

And rear his head the pale snake did...

Hector was very familiar with the eyes of a predator. Whether it be wild animal or human but it sent the same chill down a man's spine. The boxer would know... he saw it everyday in the mirror.

The pale elder vampire proclaimed that the ragged clothed, new blooded fledgling vampires were going to be the ones to participate in this game. The chairs were, indeed, not for them but for the prisoners that were brought in from god knows where. They were going to be the ones who held the lives of others in their hands. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly an outcome any of them had expected.

As expected, the most charismatic of the bunch decided to stride up to the stage and take the first step to the challenge. Hector wasted no time in following suit and taking up Drevis's left flank. The hispanic's eyes glowered at the human captives and no amount of mercy nor pity could be found within them. He did not know any of these people. Their lives, innocent or otherwise, were inconsequential to him.

Yes, it was unfair that they were thrust into this situation and now were being used as entertainment for a theater full of eager vampires. That fact alone stoked Hector's judicial fires.

That being said, what happened to the newborns who were being forced to play the role of executioners wasn't fair either. None of them were in a position to be "fair". Which... in a way, actually made it fair for all of them.

Hector crossed his massive arms and proceeded to drink in the sight that was Ajax. It was clear to anyone with a brain stem that Hector was sizing the man up and trying to decide whether or not he could take him. Even in his old age, Hector was confident that any person who brawled with him would be hard pressed to be victorious.

Without removing his hate-filled ire from Ajax, Hector addressed Drevis for the first time, "I will leave this to you. Making these kinds of judgments is not my strong point. Try to save los inocentes but if we start running out of time, I will make the decision myself. Whether it be right or wrong."

ector With just a glance, one could tell that Hector was not going to budge on what he had said. It was clear that the man's mind was set and no amount of convincing would dissuade him.

---------------------------

Ajax was not unfamiliar with the analytical stares that came with being a metaphorical-- and perhaps literal-- powerhouse. He was the most powerful person in the room, its to be expected some braver than others would look at him a certain way; It was a look he was all too accustomed with. Rather than shy away, Ajax calmly slides his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. With a curious expression, coupled with a small smile, he tilts his head to the side.

"¿Pensando en cómo puedes matarme, Hector?"

The fact he knew Hector's name without asking what it was.. Though on some level, it wasn't that surprising, it just made things all the more unsettling. Wait.. did he just speak fluent Spanish? Yeah.. that didn't help the atmosphere, either.

Overhearing those last words, Ajax can't help but chuckle lightly to himself, "We're no strangers to.. contestants.. taking things into their own hands. I just hope your teammates will agree with your sentiment."

He says nothing else, waiting for the others to take the stage with his cooler-than-ice persona.

- Venus

 

[SapphireSkylines]

Lyra opened her mouth to speak again but that's when the lights dimmed, so she remained silent. She then watched as Ajax walked onto the stage. He was handsome and intimidating at the same time. After hearing him speak and hearing him welcome all the new bloods, he did seem a bit charming, maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. Wrong, she was so wrong. After the welcoming they brought the three victims onto the stage. Lyra bit her lip and balled her fists again as she listened to the rules of this.. 'game'. She didn't want to kill anyone, she was a pacifist in life even if one of them was a murderer. That's when the realization hit her - she was going to have to kill people from now on if she was to survive. A pit fell in her stomach.

She took a deep breath and walked up to the stage, behind Hector and Drevis. She stood alongside the two men and then kneeled down to begin picking up the evidence papers that were scattered. Since Hector put his trust into Drevis she would hand whatever papers she could to Drevis before standing up and looking over whatever evidence papers were provided to the group. She'd take a glance out at the audience and then over at Ajax. These people were brutal and who knows what they could do to her if they spotted weakness in her. She tried to stand tall and be calm because what she was previously doing wasn't going to help her in this world. She had to adapt as fast as she could.

----------------------------------

Ajax met her gaze with unwavering blue eyes. Women.. with his insurmountable wealth, they were no rare commodity. Still, despite first impressions, he wasn't the type to walk around with multiple women on his arm. The pretty ones-- Ones that were fragile, easily intimidated, and in need of a savior-- He had a soft spot for. Who didn't?

His expression softens with her gaze, and he offers back a sincere smile with a nod of his head. Then, he gives her a coy wink-- The kind to blush the naive and sicken the experienced. Perhaps Lyra knew that, though.

Without speaking, he mouths the words, 'Good luck.'

- Venus