Another Horizon IC

[Astoria]

Collab with Skys and Alexa's unconscious body~

The dancing continued, and sooner or later, even Aresia had to give in and admit defeat. The black hair was loosening up and slowly started to enjoy the dance with Letis, maybe she would actually enjoy herself for once? Maybe she would have, if not for the fact, that the party officially ended quickly after. Aresia had to put a lot of effort in making Letis actually stop, and finding her apparent husband was also a task of impossibility. Hoping to just bring her home was also a problem, as Letis was drunk enough to simply point towards the rough direction where Illiserev was without giving any hint of where they were actually staying. Thus, ultimately, Aresia decided to bring the drunk woman to the tavern she was staying at. Which was thanks to her being rather clingy, pretty easy no matter how loud she yelled nonsense out.

On the other side of the garden, Charlotte had some problems of her own, one she met head on with a shit eating grin at first and then sighs as her friend Alexa's condition grew gradually worse. Because seriously, who gets drunk after two drinks? Charlotte had called it long before, but she hasn't expected Alexa to get shit-faced, pass-out drunk. With the party winding down around them, she wrapped her arms around her unconscious comrade, thinking it would be very welcome to run into their butler-maid friend soon.

And being the good maid butler that Aresia was, it was neither fate nor luck that led her on her way out besides Charlotte and her employer. Something seemed wrong though, Alexa was...unconsciousness?! She passed out?! Her maid butler senses tingled and she closed in one the two. "Owowow, Awwweeeesia, not scho faaast!" Ignoring Letis' complains for now, the maid butler asked the ever-helping Charlotte. "What happened?!" Did she really have to ask? Yes.

Charlotte shrugged, or at least, as much as she could while she was supporting the body of another person. "Alexa had a lot to drink. Not that that's too unusual," she pointed out, eyeing the other girl that Letis was with. "Think you could give me a hand, Aresia?"

Urgh...and here the maid butler was, torn between her employer and one of her best friends,...but duty called. "I NEVER saw her passed out though! What if her blood is poisoned?! If you take care of Letis...." - "I caaan taaake kaaare of myseeelf just fiine! I AM A STRONK AND INTEPENDENT WOMAN!" - "...I will carry Alexa, alone." Hopefully, Charlotte was at least capable of doing that.

Laughing mirthfully, Charlotte handed off responsibility of Alexa to Aresia, who seemed to be taking her duty to her employer to the extremes of seriousness. "No poison, just her being a lightweight," she refuted, adding that she was there when they both had drinks. With another shrug, she supported the other girl, before making to head out of the garden complex. "Who is she, anyway? Can I drop her off at an inn?"

Letis seemed to be clearly confused. "Awwwessia?! What's goiin on?! You betray me for THAT woman? I AM WAY BETTER THAN HER!" Aresia sighed. "Thanks. She's my friend and teacher. And we can drop her off at OUR inn." That said, Alexa was a tad heavier than Aresia remembered, but nothing she couldn't manage. "Hmmmm, you're a cutie too! Not a maiiid buuuut I don't mind taking a bite!" With that, Letis tried to nibble on Charlotte's ear.

The former noble pouted. "That's a long walk." This comment was followed up by a tactful dodge as Aresia's friend tried to take a chomp out of Charlotte's ear. Slightly perturbed but not enough to not make a mischievous grin, she shot back a retort. "Who says I wasn't?"

Maybe Charlotte was a bit drunk, too.

Letis giggled like a little school-girl. "Arr you plaaying haaard to get?! I awm Letisch! Nische to meet you!" Aresia had only a sigh for that. Why did they have their reunion to be like that? Letis was a strong drinker too...maybe the alcohol they served was just THAT strong? Giving Charlotte a slight smile Aresia now added."And don't worry I'll pay for her OWN room." - "Eeehhh? Buut then we can't cuuudddle at all!" - "Also, I don't think it will be relevant but Letis is apparently a married woman."

"H-hard to get, no," refuted Charlotte. "I like my ears."

Well, this was going to be a fun trip back home.

 

[Voltin]

Despite the atmosphere, the early time, and Ashe's own unwillingness to leave, the pair found themselves leaving earlier than the rest; something Verek would find out after the place had completely emptied out without the sight of his sister. Ashe was becoming increasingly groggy due to all the excitement and dancing she had done that day, so Escellar, ever the gentleman, offered to walk her home when he noticed, again, long before the party was over for the rest of the attendees.

The walk back to her home was much like the walk to the party; a trusting quietness shared between them, even as people scurried to and about around them. Even so, Ashe began to feel all the more comfortable with the man, and was latched to his arm "as support", instead of the uneasy distance she had enforced only hours earlier. Had they not been walking, and perhaps sitting somewhere, the witch may have even fallen asleep like that, if given the chance.

At her door, the two simply stood there. Ashe slowly building up the courage to do something she considered insane, while Escellar said his goodbyes. As he turned to leave, Ashe reached, grabbing the same arm she had been clutching the entire night to stop him. With that, she gave him a simple kiss on the cheek, before meekly saying goodbye herself and retreating indoors; no reaction from Escellar known to the girl. Despite the rampant pounding in her chest, Ashe wore a triumphant, goofy grin on her face. And without much ceremony after that, collapsed in her bed.

 

[Azathoth]

Although Verek abstained from alcohol, Elthrad succeeded in coaxing Raiga into enjoying himself and counted that as a success. Once he witnessed the islander down enough drinks to loosen up, Elthrad deviously refrained from partaking of anymore alcohol himself. It wasn't long after their drinks began to take effect that Elthrad's plan came to fruition. They ran into a group of young ladies who were eager to dance and even Verek accepted in spite of his limp. The knight found himself paired with a stunning young Dansilan who was, mercifully, graceful enough to easily pick up the austere style of dance that was typical of Astopolian nobles. Elthrad was far too rooted in his footwork to adapt to anything more flexible or diverse without practice.

After a night of dancing and talking with her, Elthrad became more and more pleased with his decision to attend the feast, and it was with a hint of regret that he finally parted ways with her at the party's close. He had offered to escort her back to her lodgings, but she had apparently come with friends who she needed to track down. Elthrad spotted Raiga still lingering, his own dance partner having since departed, and approached him. Even in this lighting, he could see something of an expression of brooding on his friend's face.

"How did you like the feast?" he asked with a faint smile, his erect posture only slightly damaged by weariness. Without waiting for a response, he continued. "I am… surprised by how much I enjoyed myself." Glancing towards the party's entrance, he spotted Verek waiting. Perhaps for us?

 

[Jakers]

"How did you like the feast? I am… surprised by how much I enjoyed myself."

Raiga jumped a little, surprised that he hadn't noticed Elthrad approaching him. The mixture of alcohol and being deep in thought had made him far from perceptive.
"Eh... it was a'ight... got better with whiskey, that's for sure." Raiga added. "...I guess I jus'... still feel like it was unnecessary. And it feels weird that som - *hic!* - some people actually know who we are, n' what we did..." Raiga continued. He remained quiet for a while, before stretching his arms wide, and giving an extremely loud yawn from his gaping mouth.

"Anyways, les' head back before I fall over... might've gone too hard on the... e-eh... shots." Raiga muttered to his pal. He still unknowingly had a stain of lipstick on his right cheek where his dancing partner gave him a kiss. She was a cutie and all, but it was only a temporary little thing. In terms of girls, Raiga didn't really know if he'd find anyone... right... for him - not that he cared!

As for Verek, he'd seemed to be waiting for someone for quite a while now. As the islander and the noble began to walk back to their living quarters, they offered Verek to join them on the walk - who accepted, considering he couldn't find his sister, Ashe. Wait, Ashe? Raiga seemed surprised by this - he'd had no idea the noodlehead was brothers with Verek. The more you know...

And so, after a surprisingly enjoyable night of dancing, fine food, and most importantly: alcohol, the three headed home.

 

[Asuras]

Fortunately enough for Raela, despite having no one "friendly" enough to lend a hand, she wasn't so drunk she couldn't walk. Though... 'walk' was a bit of a poor choice in words. Raela stumbled home, utilizing every upright object in her journey to keep herself steady and walking. Rather than a straight path back to her dormitory, it was more or less a set of paths connected to one another. Pole A to Pole B was her technique, with imminent falling in between each brief rest to find the next source of respite.

Eventually she made it back to her dorm, and using a crawling stance, managed to get up the first flight of stairs to her second-floor hall, and took slow, heavy steps with her body pressed against the wall. Her hips knocked into doorknobs several times, earning quiet mumbles of dulled pain. At her door, she looked over the number several times to make sure that, indeed, she was about to jostle the knob of her own room, and not someone other unfortunate student's. She laughed to herself; it was clear her balancing functions were far more effected by alcohol than her consideration.

With a slap to the doorknob, Raela found her other hand into her pocket and fished out a key, miraculously slipping it into the lock on her first go. Nary a moment was taken to shuffle closer to her bed and promptly fall over onto it. Still fully dressed and in her shoes, Raela nevertheless crashed into a deep sleep.

 

[ERode]

​

Night had come, the white moon shining its silver rays over the layered streets of Cykes. Many had fallen into the clutches of slumber, exhausted from the feasts and the parties, the dances and the festivities. The runetech lights had long dimmed, this particular night being one of total, complete rest. And yet, for one individual sleeping in her dorms, an exception was made.

Before Raela's mind could finally shut down, a rousing scent charged her consciousness back into full gear. As much as she wanted to sleep more than anything else, the smell of, as far as she could tell, blood, was not something her kind could turn away from, even in exhaustion. Curse her heritage. Raela pushed herself up from the bed with a long inhale, taking in the ichorous aroma.

She looked outside after opening her window, intent on identifying the source of the welcoming smell. The sheer tantalizing nature of it was something she'd rarely encountered. Rubbing her face of dreariness, Raela assumed the drunkenness was to blame. If it were this tempting, maybe she should get drunk more often.

Under the moonlight but obscured by darkness, Raela could make to rather… close, figures. Off-putting as it was to some, Raela knew well that humans in the heat of the moment were twice as likely to be sympathetic to giving her a drink. She made do with what she could.

Nearly flipping over twice on her way down due to a misplaced foot on the windowsill, Raela nevertheless made it to the ground on two feet. Perhaps it was the smell that had returned her bodily control, at least partially. Quietly and cautiously, she approached the couple, albeit in a roundabout way, so as to avoid seeming like she was headed straight for them. She knew it was better to minimize the creep factor.

Making a circle around to a further end of the street, she barely made it out from under her window when Raela tripped over something. She grunted and picked herself up immediately, bending her neck down to stare at the object that touched against the top of her feet. It was longer than she expected. Less an uprooted stone and more like… human flesh.

Raela stumbled backwards and frowned at the body she now saw. Within the darkness, she could make out only a feminine shape and platinum blonde hair. Something surfaced in her memory pertaining to the fallen girl's hair, but another wave of ferrous aroma literally jerked her head to the side. It was everywhere in the street. She smelled it in all directions. The pull of its sweetness dulled her thoughts, and she could do little else than blindly pat at the street ground, as if in search of a warm puddle to finally quench her thirst.

Though her eyes were drawn to the girl's body, she could not help but grit her teeth and crawl along the ground in hopes of finding the source of the smell. A distant thought lingered in her mind, reminding her that she was face to face with someone clearly in need, and yet it also reminded her that it also likely meant blood was about. Even further in the recesses of her cognition, Raela scorned the effects alcohol had seemingly taken on her psyche.

"Good evening, my brethren," one of the figures against the wall said, his voice a smooth, thick timbre, "Have I encroached on your territory?"

It had been a long time since she'd heard that word. It was so long, she'd nearly forgotten what it had even entailed. As her hand struck a stray cobblestone higher than the others, she winced and came to her senses briefly enough to realize someone had spoken to her. Gripping her hand, Raela sat up on her knees and stared with dulled eyes up at the speaker.

"H-huh?" she replied, confused. The word, territory, it eventually rang a long-immobile bell in her mind, and her eyes lit up, "Ah, no. I wouldn't say I had a…" Wait. Raela paused mid sentence. Why was she talking about territory in the first place? She was not that sort of vampire. Which meant…

She jumped up to her feet and stared down the unknown individual, surveying their visage in the darkness. "I'm not like that," she mumbled, "Who are you? Did you hurt these students?"

"Your time with the humans have curbed your respect towards your elders, hasn't it?" the vampire stated, an edge in his tone. "I am Eiros of the Kiluma family, vassal to Lord Alymer, tasked with the collection of cattle. If this is not your territory, then what are you?"

Raela took another step back, arm raised in surprise. She knew the Kiluma name, no doubt, though this particular member was unfamiliar to her. The more astounding part of his title, however, was its servitude to her very own father. Her first, fleeting thought was if this man had received orders from her family, and if that meant there was activity within it. All at once, countless other considerations surged into her mind. Tears welled up at the bottom of her eyes, but did not fall.

Simply mentioning her family name assured her, at the very least, that it was still alive. The chances that her father was, too, increased drastically, and Raela couldn't help but nearly cry at the thought.

"I-I am a student here…" Raela said. No, that was not right. She was as deserving of respect and notoriety as anybody else, especially before a vassal to her own family. Still, she did not want to step on any toes, well aware that things may have drastically changed in terms of structure and leadership within the Alymer's. Raela stood straight and placed a hand on her chest.

"I am Raela Alymer, of the Alymer family, daughter to Eikan Alymer himself," she said firmly, staring straight into Eiros's eyes.

"Ah, the doll," he remarked, finally disengaging from his meal. Dropping the kimono-clad girl onto the floor, like one would with leftover scraps, Eiros stepped into the light of the red moon, revealing his true form. Standing two heads above Raela, he cut a slim figure, clad in an impermeable blackness that made it impossible to distinguish how his arms or legs were positioned. Though it was clear that he had been eating, there was not a single spot of red in the corner of his mouth, and his pale skin was almost saintly. If not for his hardened, yet weary, eyes, that of a feral gold, the vampire could have been a sublime beauty to behold.

"I suppose a doll would know little about the courtesies passed between fellow aristocrats. Well? Are you going to eat? Or shall I continue my meal uninterrupted?"

Raela kept her eyes glued on the shadowy being, and leaned down to pick up the girl he had so unceremoniously dropped. Carrying her tenderly, she glared at Aveiros.

"I prefer doing it… differently," Raela said, glancing to the girl that still lay on the floor. "I have particular rituals." She wasn't going to reveal that she always asked before drinking, but she wasn't lying either way. Raela only hoped the elder would assume what she was trying to insinuate.

"I-is my father still alive?" she asked.

There was no reply to her question. Only a long silence, as he caught her gaze and held it.

And then, his pristine features twisted into a thin smile.

"Has being a student made you a dog, Lady Raela Alymer?" The girl nearly winced at his words. They were true, and she knew the implications of such a title amidst her general kind, but she doubted her father would object. She knew what was right.

"What I seek requires discretion and respect, mister Eiros. How I go about feeding," she paused, "has no implication on my status as a vampire. Not for me it doesn't."

He clapped his hands together, in mock applause. "Spoken like a true mongrel, begging for scraps on the side of the road, prostrating yourself before an inferior race. It appears that his Lordship's nurturing was effective after all."

"A shame that the honor of Alymer has been tainted so much by these subservient ideals, but…"

His mocking smile ceased, dropping into an uncaring frown. "No matter. If that was the effects of his Lordship's nurturing, then, as his vassal, it falls upon me to remind you of your nature, mi'lady."

Grabbing the used goods by her hair, he lifted her up and tossed her over to Raela. "Eat, and remember what you once were."

A singular command, as the red light of the moon darkened. Already carrying one person, Raela struggled to prevent the next from falling over helplessly. Gripping the second girl's shirt with a free hand, she gazed into her closed eyes with sympathy. Though she was hesitant, the scent of blood still churned her stomach with desire, and the two bite marks on her neck enticed her all the more. Drinking without asking was not unprecedented for her, though she of course preferred doing so. 19 times out of 20, Raela had been given permission, but in those singular cases, she had done so out of pure hunger and an understanding that what she took would matter little to the individual when they awoke.

The two girls in her grasp had already been incapacitated from Eiros, and she hoped that they hadn't been drained fully. The man called them 'cattle', and so she supposed he meant they were to be taken somewhere else eventually. They could probably stand to lose a bit more. Raela knew she was dealing with someone who would not mince words, nor adapt to her "uncultured" ways of life. If she were to get answers out of him, she'd need to play along.

Gently, she sunk her teeth into the platinum-haired girl's neck and drew some blood, instantly relieved to find that there was, indeed, some left. At the same time, her ache for blood after so long under the weight of its smell was satiated, and a long sigh escaped her nose as she drunk. After a minute of slow sips, she withdrew her fangs from the skin and sighed again, glaring at Eiros.

"Have you forgotten your manners?" That smile appeared again. "It's rude not to finish your meal."

Raela's expression did not falter. "You said you were here for cattle," she said, "A long-dead cow is not particularly useful to whoever it is that requested it."

"One is insignificant, mi'lady. Especially when there's so many others to choose from." She was stuck. Raela gripped the bodies in her arms tighter, eyes still glued to the man. If she trusted in her abilities, she'd have attacked the monster right there and then… That word… monster. She spoke ultimately of so many of her kind, and yet her goal was to rid the race of such unfortunate attachments.

But, as it were, she was powerless. She could sense it. There was nothing she could do for the girls, that night or the next. Either she would attack him and surely die, her mission thrown to the wind, or she would cater to his intents and behave like a 'good vampire', guaranteeing… absolutely nothing.

As she saw it, the two girls were doomed no matter what she did. One would implore her to be the heroine of pure heart and throw her life away in favor of justice, regardless of the impossibility. No one besides her, a well-raised vampire of noble background and potentially great future, could successfully right the wrongs of her race.

Even then, she was still in a powerless position, her dreams being just that… dreams. Nothing in her repertoire of life guaranteed or pointed towards success just yet; her recent defeat of the unprecedented Rift Beast only just a smidgen of hope.

A desperation welled in her chest, and her face cringed with confusion. No matter what she did here, these girls died. She wanted to consider, "what can I get out of this?" but such selfish thoughts, at the same time, disgusted her.

A better life than as cattle.

With a cry she sunk her teeth into the girl and lost control, sucking away at the remainder of her lifeblood, tears welling her eyes. After minutes of intermittent sobbing, Raela drew back her mouth and looked to the sky, euphoria gripping her mind after her first reckless, unimpeded meal in her life.

"Congratulations!" He said, applauding once more as she drained the life out of the girl. There was genuine...amusement in his tone, as the vampire continued on, "But, as they say...eating's only half the process." Raela's eyes lowered down, and her head followed with a worried look.

A snap of his fingers, and then…

"Ahh!" Raela's body lurched forward as countless objects impaled her from beyond her sight. Spears of blood penetrated her torso, miraculously (or perhaps purposefully) missing her heart entirely. Her hands reached for the spears in an attempt to pry them loose, but found no such respite.

All of the pain, all of the agony. None of it ceased. It was a feeling Raela was unfamiliar with. Normally her vampiric regeneration kicked in fast enough to end pain quickly, but in this case… The source of the damage was still there, punching at her body to keep going like an owner yanking at the collar of a slow dog.

Her skin twisted over the spears, grasping at a filled space incessantly and to no avail. Raela's screams filled the air, and her stomach began to rumble. What had just been a full stomach had been emptied quicker than ever before as her arcane metabolism sought after an impossible fix. She shook her head at the hunger that gripped her mind, a headache surging through her brain as painfully as the spears skewering her.

Eiros nodded, approving of his work, before walking off into the alleyways, melting back into the shadows.

Pulled through with the night wind, his final words could be heard.

"Happy hunting."

 

[Zombehs]

"Ah…" The soft noise escaped his lips as Araki restlessly stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. It seemed that today would be another of those nights… and the feeling of fullness, rather than lull him to an easy rest, filled him with energy that needed to be expended. With a heavy sigh he slipped out of bed and slowly walked over to the dresser; the cool floorboards making not a single sound. From the drawers he pulled free several rolls of black fabric and threw them into the air. Rather than fly everywhere though, the fabric unfurled smoothly and hung, suspended by his telekinesis, for a moment. As Araki lifted his arms from his sides, the cloths descended upon him and quickly wrapped the young boy in a layer of black cloth.

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and smiled at the result; it seemed nothing had gone astray this time around as well. A few slow movements showed that the costume was properly in place and then Araki jumped through his open room, telekinesis flaring to silence his landing. A quick glance revealed that everyone in the household was asleep and for a moment he stilled to watch the sleeping city beyond his household walls. Only for a moment though as his body wished to move, all the more now that he had tapped into his magic. With a hidden grin Araki crouched low as his entire body hummed, a muffled glow just barely escaping the dark cloth he'd bound himself in. Had he not bothered to be careful the roof almost certainly would be cracked as he shot past his household's walls, clearing dozens of meters with that single jump.

'Ah...' It was certainly elating to cut loose like this without a care for those that might notice. His footfalls were without a trace and he raced amongst the rooftops, just visible against the moonlight that fell onto the city. Occasionally he would launch himself high into the sky and hang for a moment, scanning all the way to the horizon, before letting gravity take hold once more. He never did tire of the sensation of air roaring in his ears as he plummeted to the ground and flaring his magic to avoid any property damage. Unfortunately, mistakes were quite common when he had a bit too much fun and tonight was no exception. Oh generally they weren't anything that was more than a minor concern, though this was perhaps a bit more worrying.

---

Araki gingerly nudged the broken tiles at his feet before he glanced around and winced. Though the damage wasn't too bad, the landing had cracked nearly every tile within a meter of his landing. Flared his telekinesis a bit too late there… but at least he hadn't shattered the windows nearby so there was that and it had been a relatively quiet accident, nothing he imagined would awaken any of the residents. With a small sigh he gathered the shattered clay pieces into a pile nearby before he hopped away once more. His spirits were slightly dampened and he resolved to bring a bit of coin to help pay for the damages some later night, but nonetheless he continued on with his night of adventure!

It was awhile before something snapped Araki out of the semi-trance state he'd fallen into just rushing over the rooftops. His magic flared, halting him instantly, as the scent of fresh blood reached him and raised his hackles. Damn… what a time to have left his main weapons at home… Yet he wasn't completely unarmed and the possibility of danger did not dissuade him from investigating. It was impossible for him to detect where the scent came from, his nose was not that keen, but it quickly turned out that he didn't need to. As screams broke the otherwise silent night, Araki leapt for the night sky and there he hung for a moment. It was hard to pick out the commotion amidst the dark city streets, but it was just another obstacle he'd have to deal with.

 

[Astoria]

Upon reaching the inn, Charlotte quickly divested herself of Letis and her drunken breath, leaving Aresia to deal with the unsavory task of waking up their grumpy innkeeper to open up another room. Lumbering up to their inn room, she found herself regretting not saving a bit for a decent yukata. While still formal, they were far more comfortable than styles and designs of the dresses in Illiserev. Indeed, she found it a miracle in itself that she was able to transport Letis in that garb, and almost immediately after entering the safety of her room, Charlotte quickly stripped off her stuffy attire for some more comfortable sleeping clothes and slipped off to bed.
But try as she might, she was unable to go to sleep unlike Aresia and Alexa, despite having essentially manhandled Letis for most of the trip and being a quarter's way to being drunk herself. She found herself tossing and turning under the covers of her cot, a rather unusual feat for the rather active formal noble. It would be one of those rare nights, it seemed; nonetheless, she closed her eyes and tried to catch whatever she could, resigning herself to idle thoughts and counting sheep.

Charlotte's sleepless thoughts of peaches and cream and senseless dreams came to a jarring halt as she heard what appeared to be echoes of footsteps against cobblestone. Feeling yet another jarring, perhaps deadly, presence beside her windowsill, her eyes flickered open. Sitting up straight, her eyes shot towards the windowsill, where she caught a glimpse of a shadow against the uneven rooftops of the building across the street, leaping from span to span like a ninja. Giving a start, she ran to the windowsill where she threw open the shutters and looked out into the night sky, hoping to catch a further glimpse, but was yet again unable to identify the man that had plagued them for the last few nights.

Perturbed, she considered waking Aresia and Alexa to finally put an end to this business. She was about to conclude that whoever it was had gotten away already when a scream pierced the silence of the night yet again. This time, Charlotte was no so hesitant. Standing over the sleeping butler-maid, she shook Aresia's shoulder.

"Wake up. Something's not right."

 

[Skyswimsky]

Luckily for Aresia, the inn keeper wasn't a douche, and waking him in the middle of the night for the sake of a new (and apparently well paying) customer was music in his ears. Making sure that Letis was indeed ending up in her single bed-room and half a drunken remarks like 'Awesia! Mai goooood niight smoochy~!' later, the maid butler could finally return to their own room.

Checking one last time on Alexa that she was indeed in no dangers through the alcohl and ultimately also changing her clothes into something more fitting, Aresia did just the same for her own suit. With all that finally done and wishing the still awake Charlotte good night, it didn't take long for the black hair to fall asleep.

...
...
...

"Wake up. Something's not right."

Aresia took a little bit of sweet time before waking up, mainly because she made up hr own story about 'what was not right'. "Don't tell me Letis is causing trouble..." Mumbling out those words under a yawn and rubbing her eyes, Aresia raised herself up and looked around, alas, Letis was nowhere to be found. Next step was to check on Alexa's bed, who seemed fine, before finally locking onto Charlotte to explain herself.

 

[Azathoth]

Elthrad's eyes snapped open. His room was modestly illuminated by the glint of moonlight reflected off of his armor, which was neatly placed beneath the window. He was in his bed at the inn, comfortably ensconced beneath a blanket which was only moderately itchy. Although he was a little groggy, nothing seemed out of place. Then why is my heart racing? There had been something that woke him up, something wrong which had ignited his instincts. A scream, was that a nightmare? No… it came from outside… someone needs my help. He surged upright, tossing the blanket aside and quickly getting to his feet.

Still feeling full of energy from the feast, he had little trouble becoming alert. He pulled on his boots, tightening the laces and sighing as he glanced at his armor. Caught off guard again, with no time to waste. Belting on his sword, he left the room without even locking the door and went through the inn's backdoor into an alley from which he reached the streets. He had no idea which way the screams had come from, so he followed his instincts and began searching through the smaller streets around the inn at a run, his hand on the hilt of his falchion. He was hoping another sound or some sort of disturbance would give him better directions, and that someone else had heard what he had.

 

[Asuras]

Her body had fallen limply to the bloodied ground, though even in her pain, Raela quickly picked herself up, powered by a singular bloodlust that commanded her limbs with far greater force than her slipping consciousness could. Muscles twitched briefly as the two spirits of her mind wrestled for full control, until finally one prevailed. Something ancient had replaced Raela.

Raela was still, eyes dulled and breath slow. She sniffed at the air before drawing her attention to the two girls still at her feet.

They were drained already, and thus insignificant to her desires. She turned away and stepped down the streets in search of prey. The scents of flesh and the pounding sounds of beating hearts reached her ears in waves; there was a meal behind every window and door. It was up to her to doom but one of them, though it was unlikely a single visit would satisfy her mad cravings.

An open window caught her eyes, and she darted to its side. Without even peering into the moonlit room, she could smell that a single individual lie within. Despite the ravenous hunger that stabbed at her gut and mind from within, Raela managed a stealthy, unheard entrance through the open window. With a gentle tap, her feet touched the carpeted ground. Even in the darkness, through the surge in animalistic characteristics, Raela could easily make out the sleeping figure of an unknown individual. Tucked away underneath comfortable sheets, their sleeping, helpless form only strengthened her bloodlust.

With slow steps, she approached the side of the bed and stared over it, surveying the uncovered neckline of her soon-to-be victim. The barely noticeable pulses of their carotid artery caused a swelling of thirst in Raela, and nary a second was had before she was on the unknowing individual. As she launched herself onto the individual, aiming her teeth straight for their neck, they rose in a fit of screaming. Having already pinned their body to the bed and their arms to the side, Raela had made it impossible under her berserk strength to break free.

She effortlessly drank as the terrified young man screamed bloody murder into the night sky.

 

[Astoria]

God dammit Aresia, this isn't time to act like it's the morning before school...

It took a few more moments for the butler-maid to get out of schoolgirl dreamland and into reality. As her companion arose from bed, Charlotte explained the situation as she moved back to grab her polearm.

"No, no, it's not Letis," she clarified. "Sorry about waking you up. Whoever's been following us has been at it again. And there was a scream," she added, unwrapping the protective cloth from her lance.
"I don't like the sound of things; if it's not us then somebody's in trouble. Let's investigate."

Finishing her sentence, she opened the shutters once again, and with a centripetal swing and a bit of gravity, swung upwards onto the roof to scan the skyline as she waited for Aresia.

 

[Azathoth]

​

Elthrad jogged through the empty streets, searching fruitlessly for some clue as to what had happened. He had yet to encounter another soul, but he was sure he had heard that scream. Then why am I the only one out here? He didn't have long to ponder that question before his thoughts were stilled by the sight of two shadows lying across the street in front of him, human in shape. A soft rasp as his sword was pulled from his sheath and the leather soles of Elthrad's boots brushing against cobblestone were the only sound in the street as he neared what looked like bodies. Blood moistened the ground beneath his feet, and as he knelt beside the first body he felt the moisture soak through the leg of his trousers.

Blond hair, its brightness visible even in the darkened street. There was something familiar about her, but rather than dwell on it he put his bared fingers to her throat. No pulse. The skin was already losing its heat due to the loss of blood. His heart began pounding against his ribs, and a cold sweat accompanied the chill running through his spine as he reached towards the other girl. He had remembered. With trembling hands he turned over the second corpse, for that was what it was, and stared into the vacant eyes of his dance partner. Anger and sudden pain twisted inside of him, threatening to make him sick. If I had left with her, if I had insist-

More screams erupted from farther down the street. He raced towards them, fleeing her cold stare, and his guilt. There! An open window, despite making the same mistake against the rift-beast, he abandoned any semblance of a plan and leapt through the window with his sword at the ready and an intent to kill stronger than anything he had felt before.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Oh, that apparent stalker person? In all honesty, if not for the various circumstances of Charlotte being all serious about that ominous one and an apparent scream Aresia couldn't care less, alas, something was amiss, and maybe the maid butler had wished to never venture out her pseudo-secure room if she knew what laid in wait. Changing into her suit with the speed of a professional once more she soon joined her friend onto the roofs. "Mhm..." The black hair looked around for a bit, true, something felt not...right...but what? The night was rather silent for now. Regardless, just standing around and doing nothing would bring them nowhere and thus, without much words, Aresia proceeded to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

...
...
...

Maybe it was some sort of luck, fate or just her hidden knack of making a good vampire-hunter coming to broad moonlight, but it didn't take the duo too long to find two bodies lying in the street. "There!" Jumping from the roof closer to the scene of the crime, the black hair was just about to examine the two as her eyes fell, guided by the moonlight, towards the bite-wound it took her mind just mere seconds before pictures of events long past flashed before her eyes.

The female bodies, the bites, the blood. "No..." It was similar. Aresia trembled. No..." Get out of my head. She wanted to scream. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. It was just a nightmare, some events long past mixed with her current whereabouts for the sake of a more realistic torture. Sure, it was most likely just a common vampire attack like anywhere else, but that didn't change that Aresia remembered. Nearly about to stumble backwards it was another scream that dragged her back into reality. "...?" A second scream...wouldn't that...? Now, her trembling slowly ceased, fear got replaced by anger, anger with hate, hate with a thirst for revenge. She knew better than anyone that the predator of this crime was most likely in no way linked to the slaughter of her family, but it did not matter. Tonight, the maid butler would find pleasure in killing. It wasn't even anything to be ashamed of, really. It was a vampire. Vampires weren't humans. No, they were just parasites to humans, and all of them deserved death.

Looking at Charlotte, Aresia finally spoke out. "Let's hunt an insect tonight." There was a tiny flame of passion inside the usually never-caring maid-butlers eyes paired up with a small smile. As if never caring about the two corpses in the first place. Following the vague direction of the scream, or more importantly, the blood-trail, it didn't take long for the two of them to find the scene of crime inside the open window. Inside, they were 3 people: The victim and the familiar blonde and culprit. Yeah, wasn't that bitch actually someone they fought side on side? Not to mention she seemed overly familiar with Charlotte? Fuck. Whatever. "Muspellzheimr" If not for the link with Charlotte and the fact they were in the middle of a wooden-building, the maid butler wouldn't have hold back, but now, she did. At least partly, the flaming punch aiming for Raela's head begged to differ after all.

 

[Jakers]

Raiga's tired eyes flickered open, awoken by some sort of... screaming? It was way in the distance; he could barely hear it. Somebody probably tripped over or something like that... then again, judging by the severity of said scream, it sounded a whole lot worse. But this city was secure: if it was anything like a Rift Beast, it would've been checked out already. Maybe they were getting mugged - the guards would be there in no time.

Raiga threw the bedsheets off himself, rubbing his head and sighing a little. The alcohol's effects had worn off already, meaning that his mind was alight with thoughts once again. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep even if he tried. Cracking open the window, Raiga allowed the gentle night air to pass over his face. Relaxing, but... he could still hear the screaming. At this point, Raiga began to disregard his earlier logic; what in the Gods was happening over there? Were any city guards awake and actually doing their jobs? It didn't sound like it.

Throwing off his kimono, Raiga slipped on his gauntlets and boots, placing on a pair of shorts to go back to his old clothing style. It felt great to get the gauntlets back on... with those things, he felt almost invincible. Talentium truly was a blessing to this world, after all. Even if the scream was nothing, at least he'd get a chance to stretch his legs.

Fully opening the window, Raiga hopped through, landing a roll to break his fall with ease. Where had the scream came from? It was hard to tell... maybe he was just imagining things, like a bad dream. Spotting a tall-ish building, Raiga easily navigated his way up the building, grabbing on to any handholds he could find - windowsils, pipes, etc - and from there, it was easy to pull his way up thanks to his upper core strength. People were asleep, so he did his best to be quiet, hard as it was.

Swinging himself up to the roof, Raiga gave a sigh as he crouched into position, easily able to balance on the roof. What a view... even if the dark masked most of the buildings, he could see quite a bit of the town from here. Although... something wasn't right tonight. The city was quiet apart from the scream, and the air was still & filled with tension.

That scream... no, it had been real. And no, it couldn't have been anything petty, unless somebody was making an unfunny joke. He wasn't a hero; wasn't trying to be, either, but he'd at least try and find the source of this problem. Creeping along the roof, Raiga was a blur as he broke into speed, attempting to find the cause of what'd disturbed this once peaceful night.

 

[Asuras]

With her heightened, bestial awareness, Raela easily caught wind (almost literally) of Aresia's strike the near moment it had begun moving. Throwing the already unconscious victim back to the bed, Raela fell backwards and rolled along the ground to her feet. Crouched low and eyes narrowed, the blood dripping from her mouth only served to further amplify the wild and unleashed appearance she'd taken since losing her mind.

Though a sense of familiarity rung in her head upon seeing Charlotte, it seemed as though the recognition was pulled from her saner self; there was no friendliness in it. Though she had yet to finish the boy, the vampiress could feel a growing sense of hunger mere seconds after stopping her feed. Another draining still wouldn't be enough. The ones that appeared before her were clearly inclined to fight, and she wouldn't have as easy a time biting down upon them and sucking them dry so long as they remained conscious... or alive.

Despite her questionable intelligence at the time, Raela could still recall to use her weapon as readily as when she was sane. A shimmering in the air signaled to her having summoned her scythe, though to the two girls, Charlotte and Aresia, it seemed as if she were holding thin air. Twisting her hand and standing up straighter, Raela licked her lips of the copious blood plastering them and grinned. An inhuman growl escaped her malevolent expression as she eyed the two girls. Her gaze shifted back over to the boy as a grumble in her stomach sent agitating pulses of hunger throughout her body. Already she was itching madly to drink again.

Taking a step towards the unconscious boy, she activated her Timeless Waning, and to the two girls present, what followed was a brief flash of steel and an explosion of blood and viscera. The boy, or what remained, was turned into an exploding cloud of blood that painted the room and its occupants with a caking of deep red. Her mouth already open for the flying meal, Raela gulped down the puddle of ichorous drink and relished at the carnage. She was surprised at how much still remained within the corpse after she'd already bitten into it.

Satisfied for but a few seconds more, Raela turned back to the girl and slid the scythe's handle down to elongate its reach before swinging the massive weapon across the room at head level.

 

[Zombehs]

'This is pointless...' The thought came unbidden as he floated above the streets, a shadow against the unblocked moon. Streams of water flowed behind his hands, growing in size with every passing moment. As a fresh scream sounded in the night Araki didn't see so much as a trace of movement in the dimly lit streets below him. He drifted downwards in the direction of the sound in the hopes that a smaller field of view would help him pick up any movement. The streams followed, marking his path and flowing past him to graze at the rooftops before rising back up.

In the end the change in view didn't really make a difference, the flame that burst to life in an otherwise dark home was what caught his attention. Without hesitation, he dropped to the rooftop with a quiet thud and dashed towards the building. The light was faint, but enough for him to take in the four silhouettes and subsequently catch the spray of blood that covered them. 'Oh shit!' Spurred on by the danger of the situation Araki abandoned any semblance of stealth, cracking roof tiles underfoot, as he sprinted to max speed. The streams of water sped up as well and the trails quickly vanished as the liquid coalesced into impossibly dense spheres that wrapped around Araki's arms. A glint of steel caught his eye against the flickering flames and with only slight regret Araki made his entrance.

The neighboring building's roof would need to some serious repairs, but the telekinetic boost sent Araki through the open window like a missile. Just barely missing the one of them, Araki didn't hesitate in the choice of his target. The floor was slick with blood and, with his momentum, it was easy enough to slide past the lady with her hands on fire and towards the scythe user. A hand was slammed into the ground to both halt his momentum at that point and detonate the sphere wrapped around it, unleashing a powerful blast of water towards Raela. Unsure if that would be enough to stumble her, his other hand was raised to the side of his face to protect himself.

 

[Astoria]

"Ra-Raela? What is this?"

Upon arriving at the abode that housed the scene of a live crime, Charlotte was more than surprised –started, rather—to see her friendly vampire compatriot in such a state. Stepping into the window, she was nearly stunned into inaction, if it were not for the actions of their vampire hating maid, who went in spells blazing. Charlotte knew not what was going down, but she was not about to give up on Raela on a dime.

She left forward along with Raela, blunt end of her lance facing outwards, in an effort to break up maid from vampire and vampire from victim, but was left empty handed when the almost feral girl dodged both of their attacks. Not about to give up, Charlotte tried to follow in, aware that she'd be at a disadvantage if Raela had her scythe out. She was all too aware of her friend's fighting style, and at the sight of a slight glint in the air, she clicked her tongue and withdrew across the room, polearm now pointed right-side out in a defensive position, expecting a retaliatory strike.

However, instead of attacking the two girls and any new arrivals, her attention turned to the room's young victim and not them. Taking the opportunity, Charlotte called out to Raela, hoping to talk her friend into a more… sane state of mind.

"Raela! It's me, Charlotte—"

The lance-wielding girl's words were cut off by what seemed to be an explosion of blood, painting the room and everybody instead in a thick coat of red. Looking at Raela in a mixture of horror and disgust, Charlotte realized that efforts besides violence would futile. Biting her lip, she had to take a moment to recover before purposefully advancing towards Raela, resolving to at least disable her. With a flipping leap, she leapt into the air, avoiding the sideways slice before coming down on the vampire with a heavy torque, intended to disarm the girl and slam her against the wall, working in concert with the burst of water from outside.

 

[Azathoth]

Elthrad had been poised to strike the unknown killer when Aresia, one of the two who were really responsible for slaying the rift beast, sent a fiery punch straight for the killer's head. The sight of flames in such close proximity sent him reeling backwards from the two, and the light given off by that flame illuminated the killer enough that Elthrad could discern that it was the other one responsible for slaying the rift-beast, Raela. A recognition confirmed by Charlotte, who had arrived with Aresia. Blood covered her face, and she was making feral sounds of hunger. A vampire? His duty as knight-errant of Astopol to kill such creatures helped to calm his raging heart. Although he regretted not having spoken to this woman before, he readied himself to kill her.

Before he could take another step the vampire had unveiled her power, splattering the victim across the room, and by extension Elthrad, faster than his eyes could follow. He had never been splattered in human blood before, and it was a jarring experience. That boy had been alive just a moment ago, but because he had been too slow they were all decorated with his remain. He had a feeling he'd never get that blood off of his hands. However, now was not the time for thinking. Hoping to take advantage of the vampire's attention on the girls, Elthrad began a charge forward, but was cut off by a blur of motion as Araki moved past him.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Fighto Collab between people

Retracting her weapon back to her side, Raela made little effort to dodge Araki's water blast. The bubble smacked into her face, bending her head and body backwards though her feet miraculously managed to maintain their place on the floor. For a second she remained bent towards the ceiling, but as a laugh escaped her mouth, she recoiled back to a stand and leaned forward.

"Hahaha!" she cackled, looking up towards Charlotte's aerial approach with a raised arm. Bringing the unseen scythe's handle up, she intercepted Charlotte's strike though the force behind it bent her arm inwards and forced her to her knees. Still maintaining her grip on the weapon, Raela grunted and thrust her arm back, intending to push Charlotte back a few paces. Turning the handle in hand upwards, she lifting the bladed portion over her head before bringing it over the air and down to Charlotte's position like a guillotine.

Aresia's attack missed. That was unexpected, considering the vampiress was busy feasting onto her victim, but apparently her vampiric senses did a lot of work by themselves. Hearing the ever helping Charlotte, who wasn't as helpful as usual thanks to the lack of sunlight, confirmed the maid butler only in her doubts regarding their relationship. "I don't care what you th-" And then the body splattered. There was blood everywhere, on her clothes, in her face, inside her mouth. The maid butler coughed, and the sight she saw upon opening her eyes again pulled her back once more into the past.

With that little gorefest going on, the fear that Aresia pushed back deep into her mind with the pure force of her hate towards vampire kind was given a chance to emerge once again. It made her freeze in place, if only for a bit, it was enough to receive the full blow of Raela's pseudo invisible weapon and the body of the maid butler crashed into one of the walls.

It hurt. "Urgh..." It hurt a lot, it was different from the self inflicting pain her more intense flames usually did to her. In comparison it wasn't even as much damage as she was used to. But it was ultimately not some sort of side-effect, no, it was an attack from a feral being that intended to kill her. Aresia needed another moment, a moment that tested her resolve, a moment where the fear inside her was pushed back once again. And now her mind was set: Even if she was Charlotte's friend, even if they were in a wooden building that could easily burn, the maid butler would do everything possible to kill the mad vampire.

It'd been a while, but Raiga had finally located the source of the trouble. Within a wooden building, his eyes shrunk a little in horror as he snuck into the shadows whilst the others were distracted by the heat of the battle. What in the hell was going on? Almost half of the people he'd fought with were here, all bloody and fighting, and seeming to focus on one girl. He'd never learnt her name, but she didn't seem to be acting normal - she'd hurt the maid badly - should he butt into this when it wasn't his business? Gritting his teeth, Raiga took a breath, before tensing his leg muscles. Punch first, ask questions later.

Bursting into the room from nowhere, the martial artist entered with almost untrackable speed as his Talentium boots glowed a sand-yellow, and, with martial grace as his body twisted into a readied position, he launched an unbelievably fast barrage of punishing kicks at Raela.

"You settle down…!" He didn't know what was up with her - he barely even knew her, to be honest, but she seemed quite cheery back at the Rift Beast. Even if his attack failed here, at least he could prove as a distraction whilst some of the others recovered.

Raiga's swift interception had possibly saved Charlotte from being split in two. The series of kicks pelted right into Raela's shoulders and face, knocking her -and her weapon- away from the downed Charlotte. The vampiress crashed into the bed frame, breaking it to pieces as a puff of carpet dust rose from the ground.

Grunting, she lifted herself from the pile of fabric and wood and grit her teeth. The blood that caked her face had become littered with dust and begun to dry. The thirst she possessed became ever clearer to her "friends" present, as her breathing became faster and harsher. It was clear as day to anyone she was hungry beyond measure.

With a scream, she launched her scythe across the room towards no one in particular, before lunging at Raiga, teeth bared and eyes flared with insanity.

She was damned quick, but Raiga's movements were also nimble, especially when his mind was focused and his fighting stance was ready. In a swift movement, Raiga grabbed Raela's hand, pulling on it as he twisted his body behind her, dodging her maddened assault as the two switched positions, both unharmed. Raiga's fighting stance went back up in an instant, his front foot tapping in front of him as he awaited the next move.
"Don't do this…" Raiga muttered, licking his lips.

Indeed, Charlotte was immensely thankful for Raiga's timely intervention. If he hadn't come flying in like a wrecking ball, she would have probably looked like a sliced roll of sushi from a Dansilan restaurant. Taking the short reprieve to recover herself, she quickly tracked her opponent across the room. Seeing her frenzied friend making a throwing action after rising from the ruined bed, she instantly stepped low, unsure of Raela's shot and trajectory.

She was surprised to hear a dull thud and high-pitched vibration of metal when the scythe hit the wooden wall, but Charlotte immediately acted knowing that she was now disarmed. Spinning her polearm, she launched herself after her vampire friend, reaching her just as Raela stopped at Raiga's position. Still unwilling to draw blood, Charlotte flipped her weapon as she slid it in front of her neck and pulled back, using the polearm to attempt to place Raela into a chokehold.

'Damn.' This room was already crowded prior to their latest arrival, but as Raiga burst in with a flurry of kicks Araki clicked his tongue in annoyance. Not that more help wasn't appreciated, but within the confines their numbers worked against them almost as much as it benefited.

The thought was interfered with as the sharp sound of parted air filled the room. Still crouched, the scythe would have passed overhead harmlessly for him, but there were others behind him. His hands dropped to his hips before he brought both up in a swift motion; expending the other sphere of compressed water to create another blast. The blast's force slowed the scythe enough for his hands to grab the heavy projectile and redirect it harmlessly off to the side; rising to bleed off the remaining momentum before its edge sank into a wall. He gave the handle a sharp wrench to bury the blade even further, hopefully slowing Raela down for a moment if she tried to free it, before he turned his attention back to the vampire herself.

Raela's head was wrenched back, and her hands instinctively reached up to grab hold of the pole that pressed against her neck. Focused on retaliating against Raiga, the berserk vampiress gave herself little time to even register Charlotte's restraining maneuver. Growling, she attempted to pry the pole loose and slip out. In her maddened, bloodthirsty state, Charlotte was undoubtedly given a run for her money, likely expending a bit of her strength to keep the girl in place. Unable to break free as fast as she'd like, Raela opted instead to deliver a swift jab with her elbow to Charlotte's torso.

Getting back on her feet, the black hair needed a very brief moment to get an overview of the situation: Apparently, the mad vampire was restrained by the ever helpful Charlotte. By now, Aresia was sure that her friend realized that the girl had to be put down. After all, she was a vampire. The only problem was that with the broken noble so close, the maid butler couldn't just reduce the vampire to ashes. So instead she needed a more precise attack that was still able to kill a vampire? Ripping out her heart and burning it was probably a viable strategy. All that was left was putting the plan into action.

"Hold IT still like that... Muspellzheimr - Laevateinn." Just like last time, the intensity of heat around the butler increased tenfold. With both of her hands burning up, she proceeded to punch her fist into the open palm of the other.

"Thou, I order thee to become my lightning and witness the falling Demon from heaven-"

It was clear that this was just part of something else, but for now, it served its purpose as the flames she gathered all concentrated onto just a single fist. With that done, all that was left was covering the small distance between herself and the vampire and pierce Raela's chest with the purpose of ripping out her heart... .