A Broken Spell

[derpina]

Name: Layla Owens
Age: 21
Personality: Layla is courageous, almost stupidly so. She's not afraid to look danger right in the eye and hold her chin up. She's a small girl with a large character and she's incredibly curious, which can get her into trouble at times. Because of her smaller height and form, she's one of the best at sneaking around and is light on her feet. She can move fast and quietly and is an expert after years of sneaking into cemeteries and condemned homes at night without getting caught. She's also an excellent climber and can scale buildings and trees like a monkey. Her personality in general is a bit like a monkey. She can seem kind of odd at times, especially to her family and friends, and she can be unpredictable and is incredibly spontaneous. One of the best examples of this is her hair. She loves to dye her hair constantly to odd and eccentric colors, a reflection of her own personality. Her uniqueness is a way for her to get attention, though she is naturally odd. She is loud and exuberant, but don't let her eccentricity and joyous personality fool you, she is incredibly smart especially in the field of technology, though sometimes lacking in the field of logic. She's adventurous and loves a challenge even if it is dangerous and when mixed with her arrogance when it comes to her abilities, she can easily get in over her head, but she's nothing if not a fighter and can get herself out of tough situations, even if just barely. Surprisingly Layla doesn't like the dark or the night at all, in fact, she much prefers sunlight though she knows that her job requires her to operate in the night.

Biography: Layla grew up in a family of four. She was the second oldest, so in other words, the dreaded middle child. With two younger siblings for her parents to take care of, Layla never really got much attention. The style and personality she has now developed as a result of that. In order to stand out from her siblings, she began to adopt odd hobbies, odd clothing choices, and even an odd personality. Her parents though perplexed were not too concerned since it didn't seem to affect her grades or her social life. Layla moved out when she was eighteen to a small one-bedroom apartment in the bustling city and still keeps in contact with her family. She currently attends a university for technological sciences and has a part-time job as a paranormal investigator. Layla knew she wasn't a psychic or had any particular gifts when it came to the paranormal. She was just smart and handy with technology. In fact, her job focused around disproving their existence. She likes learning about the history of the places she investigates, and the thrill of exploring an abandoned facility, and she loves coming up with new gadgets to help her get some evidence to prove or disprove her findings. She doesn't necessarily believe in ghosts and spirits, if she were honest, but recently she's been getting unexplainable readings on her devices.

Appearance: (though her hair color changes often)
[SPOILI]

[/SPOILI]

 

[Elflady]

Name: Ashley 'Ash' Tyrell
Age: 24 (physical)

Personality: Stubborn, arrogant and self assured Ashley often gets sarcastic and snappy when he is annoyed or feels like he is pushed to a corner, as a teenager and young adult Ashley had trouble controlling his emotions but after the first few decades learned to control himself, most of the time. But he can also be kind and considerate, being raised to be a gentleman and respect others and always behave. However as the years went and after his loss he became more closed off and also is starting to see humans as less capable and weak, as beings in need of protection against the creatures of the night. Ashley isn't eager to pull all attention to himself, when he was younger he was wilder and also more of a womaniser but as he grew out of that he became more calm and appreciative of some quiet time. Often having a smirk on his face, when not having his indifferent slightly annoyed mask, Ashley used to like having fun and be around people though that has changed a lot. He has a tendency to be grouchy when things don't go as he please yet he can be quite sweet when he wants to, he likes to think over his actions and not act rashly although if mad or stressed he has a tendency to act without thinking.

History: Born in 1757 to a merchant family he was moderately wealthy and was expected to continue his fathers job as he was the oldest and while he was very free as a child and teenager Ashley took his duties seriously as he aged. When he was 24 Ashley was walking home late from work and saw a woman in pain, and as the gentleman, and womaniser, he instantly headed over to help her only to be attacked himself. The woman had only feigned injury to lure him in and she bit him although she didn't kill him. Later she helped him adjust as a vampire, saying she only turned him for fun to have something to do and because she hadn't had any immortal company for long.

Ashley never grew attached to the woman, Paige, he loathed her for turning him into a vampire like herself and eventually he had enough of her ruthless killings and he killed her himself. The more years that passed the more obvious it became to others that he was not normal and so to avoid causing panic Ashley saw to it that his sister married a good and able man so they could take over the family business. Then he left, travelling under the guise of a scholar at times or a rich nobleman other times and he saw more of the night creatures as he called them and himself. He realized quite quickly that going around feeling sorry for himself over his fate would make him a depressing self destroying type and that didn't fit his personality. So Ashley decided to made the best out of it and learned to enjoy the perks of being a vampire and accept the downsides.

He grew colder with the years and drank from humans without restraint although at times he tried to constrain himself and left them alive. But he still believed it wrong how many creatures hunted and killed so recklessly and he knew that one they might pose a serious threat to humans and he wanted to put a stop to it. Around this time, 1849, he met Madeline, a vampire as well and at first they just travelled together but eventually they fell in love and while they never got the chance to marry they posed as a married couple many times. Madeline also shared his view, believing that other creatures was getting out of hand.

Together they found a spell that when cast would send all creatures with the gen for immortality into a deep sleep, and they could remain awake if they took precautions. Believing they'd found a solution they split up to gather the needed herbs and objects faster, but when Madeline didn't return Ashley frantically searched for her only to see she'd been killed by another night creature, giving him more reason towant the creatures shut away from the world.

Furious and in sorrow Ashley managed to finally get everything together and prepared under an equinox moon but he did not use the herbs that would have kept him and Madeline awake. Instead he made it so that the sleep would be permanent by using himself as a key, a key to the sleep. As long as he slept so would all the other creatures. Finding the perfect place to hide he performed the spell and fell into sleep. Never expecting to one day be stirred from his sleep.

Appearance:

Spoiler

 

[derpina]

Layla looked up at the towering front gates of the cemetery with its sharp, barbed points and looming presence as if it wanted to keep whatever secrets it held in as much as it wanted to keep trespassers out. She felt a chill go up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold night around her. She loved the thrill of the search and felt a rush of adrenaline even before she went inside.

Layla looked once to her left and then once to her right, making sure that no one was around before moving to the part of the gate where it joined the rest of the metal fencing. She knew that this was the easiest spot to climb over since the hinges that held the gate to the fence provided perfect footholds for her to use to climb what would otherwise have been a challenge. Even still it was no easy task to climb up and over. The hinges were very far apart and the gates towered over her, but she managed to get over and land on the inside of the cemetery with only a few minor scrapes and bruises which she obtained in her haste to get over the gate as fast as possible. That was the hardest part of her investigations since she usually just stayed at the cemetery until sunrise when the gates were opened once more and then casually strolled out the front entrance.

Layla had been wanting to come to Sunnydale cemetery for a while now since she's been hearing stories and rumors down at the college. Apparently something strange has been happening recently and no one knows why. Layla, though a paranormal investigator, is a bit of skeptic. She wasn't one to jump to unreasonable conclusions and her curiosity had gotten the better of her and led her here -- the source of all the rumors.

Pulling out an LED flashlight and a Electro-Magnetic Frequency Detector, Layla began her investigation. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she could see her breaths coming out in little puffs before her. Was it this cold before? she thought to herself as she went further and further into the cemetery. This cemetery was incredibly large and yet before she knew it, she reached the forest that began at the edges of the backside of the cemetery. There were no fences or gates here since no one would go into the cemetery through the forest. Just as she was about to turn around, she heard a startling noise and jumped slightly before realizing it was just her EMF Detector. Feeling another thrill go through her, Layla looked up at the menacing forest before her and decided with a sudden determination to go in. Her eyes had long since adjusted to the dark of the night around her, so although she stumbled here and there, she was able to get around just fine. Still, she thought,my vision at night isn't perfect. She was scraping herself quite a bit in between all of the shrubbery and she knew some of her cuts had already begun to bleed. She took a look behind her, but could no longer see the cemetery and just when she thought that perhaps she should turn around, she found something that made her blood run cold as well as causing her excitement to increase. If she thought the regular part of Sunnydale cemetery was old, this just takes the cake. The gravestones and old mausoleums looked to be centuries old and her EMF detector was going so crazy right now that she had to shut it off before she gave herself a headache. But a different pain caught her attention. It was coming from her right leg, and perhaps she didn't realize it because of all the adrenaline that was now wearing off, but she had a pretty deep cut in it. And it was bleeding and actually starting to hurt. A lot. With an exasperated huff, Layla slowly lowered herself to the stone steps of an old mausoleum and pulled out a small first aid kit to clean her leg, if only a little to get the bleeding to stop.

 

[Elflady]

On the eve of the spring equinox the moon stood high in the sky, in its fullest stage and seemed to be larger and gave of a brighter glow than normal, lighting up tendrils of fog that sneaked across the field and snaked around the graves. The air was clear and fresh with the peculiar scent of night, the one that Ashley had enjoyed even before being turned. This night however he had neither time nor interest in noticing the beautiful almost enchanted, night as his heart ached while he made preparations. Not even hunger would have broken his concentration should he not have fed before coming here, this was too important both for his peace of mind and the safety of the humans.

Working quickly, long fingers expertly handling the bottles and pouches without shivering from the air that grew gradually colder as the time grew late. Soon enough all the vials were standing in a row, filled, mixed and ready to use. All deadly poisons to humans and some even dangerous to the creatures of the night, if all went well he'd either die or fall to a deep sleep, whichever was good with him he only needed to stay asleep and all would be well and good. Still as a statue Ashley looked at the bottles, the old graves around him was not used often anymore so he'd be alone here but closing his dark brown eyes pictures flew past of what should have been. Snapping his eyes open Ashley gave an annoyed sigh and proceeded to clean away what he had used this night, empty pouches, bottles and other assorted things, hiding them in the mausoleum behind him where it would never be found.

Finally satisfied his presence here was erased Ashley brought the last vials with him inside, pulling the heavy door of the mausoleum close behind him ensuing it was thoroughly locked and secured. This left him in absolute darkness, although to him it was still as clear as during early dusk. Never been one fond of tight spaces Ashley supposed that without a lid it wouldn't be so bad and so he heaved the lid off of one stone coffin and removed the bones, throwing them into a corner, he may spend the rest of time in sleep but he didn't want to lay on top of a heap of rough bones.

Without thinking too much about it Ashley took the vials and one by one emptied the four poisonous liquids thinking they weren't as bad as he'd been warned. Then the pain coursed through his body, and even with his dulled sense of pain Ashley doubled over in agony, pain seemed to sear a hole through his abdomen making his head spin and limbs tremble. It was like nothing he'd ever come close to experiencing and he was certain that this would be too strong even for him, his legs gave up and he fell down, slumped over the coffin's edge, not able to remember the coffin or even his plans.

But as the pain slowly started to ease up and Ashley regained enough sense to fully pull himself into the coffin to ease the pressure on his sore stomach he managed a faint grin of satisfaction, now everything would go as planned and as long as he didn't wake up he'd succeeded and fulfilled his promise.
-
The first feeling that registered was an annoying sound that seemed to pierce his ears, the soft silence that had surrounded him for so long was slowly starting to lift. Ashley fought against it, he refused to wake up and forcefully tried to pull the darkness closer, trying to wrap it around his brain and fall back into his decades long sleep. But a familiar scent finally cleared up enough haze for him to recognize the burning sensation in his throat and despite his foggy head Ashley knew the smell of blood was close. The blood had ultimately destroyed his sleep and finally he opened his eyes and shakily tried to sit up, he could almost hear the creaking as he set his limbs to use for the first time in who knew how long.

Dust and cobwebs was all he could see among the coffins in the small room of stone and he remembered what had put him here but as soon as that became clear in his mind Ashley knew something was wrong. Even his hunger took second place here, he was not supposed to wake up, everything was done to make sure he never woke up, so what in the world had stirred his deep sleep. Shaking his head to clear off the lingering fog Ashley managed to move out of the coffin and stand up, weak and stiff from his long inactivity he stretched and tried to remove as much dust and cobwebs as he could with just his hands.

Then the scent of blood hit him again and he realised for him to smell it this strongly through the sturdy mausoleum there must be someone just outside. He was pretty sure it was not an animal thankfully, they may be a good substitute but could never match the taste of human blood. Gripping the handle Ashley easily tore the lock off, glad to feel some strength return to him at least, but as he proceeded to pull the door open it hit him it may not be such a good idea to kill whoever was on the other side, what if that person was responsible for him waking or knew who was, perhaps it was better to get the person to talk first. Stepping outside Ashley was prepared to strain his recovering body into a run as a scared human ran off, he was not in the mood for a chase now but he supposed answers were important enough for that.

 

[derpina]

Layla heard it before she saw him, the sound of someone moving from within the mausoleum. At first, she jumped a little, thinking it was the wind or one of the strange occurrences that occasionally happened when she was investigating. She doesn't chalk it all up to paranormal events right away, once again, she thought it was the wind. But the mausoleum was closed off to the world, barely any air could get inside and as the sound got nearer, it was unmistakable -- those were definitely the sound of footsteps.

Layla's heart was pumping. She definitely knew what she heard was no ghost, there was a person in the mausoleum. Thoughts ran through her mind at a mile a minute as she got up and ran in a random direction in a panic. Whoever they were, she doubted they were harmless. After all, who, besides herself, hangs out at an old cemetery at night. They could have been a drug addict or a member of a cult or someone dangerous. She tried to be as silent as possible as she ran, hoping in vain that they wouldn't hear her. A glance back shot that down as she can see a dark figure giving chase. Layla abandoned any hope of not being detected and broke into a full sprint. Her lungs burned, her stomach was cramping, and she was getting careless, getting cuts and bruises that were deeper than the one that had caused her to bleed.

Looking back once more, she could see the figure getting nearer and didn't realize the hanging branch that stood in her way as she was turned around. Before she knew it, she slammed face first into the large branch before flipping backwards and falling onto her back with an "oof". Her body groaned in protest as she scrambled upwards once more, but it was no use, her legs had given out.

 

[Elflady]

Ashley sighed as the girl took off running before he had barely emerged from the mausoleum, just as he had feared. Taking off after her Ashley had to strain his muscles to keep up at first but gradually the stiffness vanished and he gained speed. As he stretched his muscles to run faster Ashley relished in the feeling of wind against his skin and how it ruffled through his hair removing dust and dirt, the sheer joy of running momentarily took over. To run faster than a horse could carry you and compete with the wind was a pleasure that easily weighed up the disadvantages of being a vampire.

The human ahead of him was so slow in comparison to himself and had he not been weakened by his long sleep and still stiff he would have caught up already, but even though most of the stiffness had vanished Ashley would have to eat and rest before he would be entirely back to normal. But lucky for him, though not for the human, she was not paying attention ahead and smacked into a low hanging branch. Slowing down to a jog and finally stopping by her almost as soon as the human hit the ground Ashley looked at her to see if she was injured.

Except her many small wounds that tempted him with the sweet scent of blood she was probably not too hurt, she would have a hell of a headache though with such a blow to the head. Part of his brain was swallowed by instincts as hunger burned in his throat, he hadn't eaten for so long but Ashley held it back, ignoring the need, he need to know why he had awoken and it was important that it wasn't for long or else trouble would soon spread across the world.

"Are you alright?" Ashley asked the girl as he knelt beside her, ready to grab her in case she tried to run although that seemed unlikely at the moment. Looking at her more closely noting her odd hair colour Ashley wondered what kind of weird place he had awoken in when humans looked so strange. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"