Another Horizon IC

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Fortunately for Charlotte, Raela's struggle to get out of the former noble's grasp was a vain one, and her grip held. She grimaced through the violent jab that she took to her side, but she held resolute, keeping the broken vampire in place like a collared dog. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her hold on Raela forever, though.

So when Aresia approached, she was momentarily thankful… until she remembered the butler-maid's particularly vicious grudge against creatures of the night. Trying to stop any additional violence before it happened, Charlotte tried to dissuade her from any rash actions through clenched teeth.

"Aresia, I've… got this under control," she began, speaking over the maid as she made her own demands. But Charlotte quickly realized she was speaking over the words of an incantation.

Aresia…!

With lightning fast reflexes, Charlotte unhinged her polearm from the vampire, and in one movement, slammed both herself and Raela into the ground to avoid Aresia's death shot. In the process, she may or may not have slammed her frenzied friend's face into the bedpost, but that was better off than dead.

This being completed, she gathered her lance, making once again to restrain Raela while putting herself between the two.

"When I said I've got this under control," the former noble began, in an irritated but held-back tone. "I bloody mean it. Stay your hand, this is neither the time nor place to deliver judgment."
 
The vampire tussled with the lance-wielder unsuccessfully for the moment and Araki considered how to best help for a moment before a sudden flame lit up the room once again. Even as he turned aside from the sudden spike in brightness, the audible chant wasn't missed and he tensed at the idea of Raela's death. While she clearly had to be stopped, death was a bit too far. She had been fine just a few hours prior at the party, and her rampage seemed to be due to severe bodily harm if the ruined state her clothes were in served as any indication. Evidently something was responsible for this, and it could still loose in the city. If they could just bring her back to her senses she might have valuable information.

He managed to place himself in between the pair and Aresia just after Charlotte had managed to avoid the killing blow. He loosed a blast of telekinetic force simply to unbalance Aresia even as his hands began to move and gather water. It seemed to be a fairly good match up, at least elemental wise. "Keep her pinned, I'll take care of the hot head," he directed to the one at his back before he turned his attention forward. "Are we really going to do this?" He could only guess that there was some grudge that the girl had against "monsters" that pushed her to try and put Raela down. That wasn't to say that he couldn't understand the benefits that simply putting her down would offer, but that was just a bit too much for him. Unable to stomach a killing for something that wasn't entirely in her control, Araki readied himself to fight if need be.
 
The situation had developed too quickly for the suddenly indecisive Elthrad to react. If it hadn't been for Araki's timely intervention, he would have been skewered by Raela's hurled scythe before he saw it coming, and the image it cut protruding from the wood gave him an acute awareness of his own mortality. Of course, it didn't help that his eyepatch blocked half of his field of vision. Fortunately, the fleet footed Raiga had been summoned by the sounds of violence as well. In fact, the fight had quickly become a strange convergence of familiar faces, and none less welcome than that of Aresia.

He remembered looking up from the ground beneath the rift-beast, seeing the flames raging above him as his mind went blank. In the overcrowded room, the thought of being in her path as she unleashed her magic again kept him back against the wall, even as Raiga struggled to get the upper hand against the vampire. Once Charlotte had gotten her weapon in a position to restrain Raela, Elthrad knew the fight was drawing towards its conclusion with an unhindered Raiga in front of her. Then Aresia uttered a familiar word, Muspellzheimr, and the hand holding Elthrad's blade began to tremble. He began sweating before the intense heat washed over him, and it took all his concentration to stay in place as the arcane flames coalesced in her hands. As long as she was here, he would be utterly useless.
 
And Aresia missed - or more like, the ever helpful Charlotte did everything possible in her power to help Aresia making miss! The flames were enough to lighten her face up, which showed nothing but detestation for the vampire. "All vampires deserve death, this thing is no exception." With Raela - and Charlotte - on the ground there was now no escape left for them. All Aresia had to do was deliver a second attack, that was, until another nuisance budged in. While the telekinetic blast was recognized by the fire woman, she didn't have much trouble dealing with it.

Nonetheless, this guy wasn't a vampire, not to mention that something was seriously wrong with this setup. "What a bother..." There were about a thousand and one other things Aresia preferred over fighting him. Maybe she could argue? That was annoying too. Sure, she could try to slip past him, but using any huge are of effect attack would mean the butler was out of her mind, which she wasn't. "3 dead people, maybe even more, and you are defending this trash? She needs to be executed, now." For now, Aresia didn't show any signs of aggression towards Araki, safe the still flaming fist. Giving a quick glance towards Elthrad she tried to get at least him on her side, who apparently had some sort of conflict with himself? "Don't you agree?"
 
Raiga was keeping fairly quiet over the scene, but most of his silence was from shock. Was... was this chick for real? She was honestly considering killing Raela, when it was so obvious to Raiga she was under some kind of spell? He hadn't seen much of the girl, but from what he'd seen, she was cheerful and optimistic, and generally a good person to be around. Not... this.

"3 dead people, maybe even more, and you are defending this trash? She needs to be executed, now." Wait. 3 dead? Raiga hadn't seen the victims, but... Gods, even if that was true, couldn't they see that she wouldn't do a thing like that?! And what was this 'all vampires deserve death' bullshit? Raiga had heard of non-aggressive vampires before, unless those rumours were wrong... Raiga didn't care anymore. He couldn't take it. The maid asked Elthrad what he thought, to which Raiga was convinced Elthrad would say to spare her... although... something about him didn't seem right.

"You honestly think this is her fault? That she'd just start acting like this?" Raiga hissed to the maid. Fire or not, she wasn't scared of the cold-hearted so-and-so one bit. Raiga looked to the helpless Raela, before shaking his head in disgust, and turning away. It wasn't his business, at the end of the day, and they could decide what to do with her. But he wasn't going to watch this.
"Whatever. Do whatever you all think's right." He mumbled, before exiting the building. He wasn't going to be a part of this any longer. His mind ablaze, Raiga clenched his fists a little, before taking to the roofs in almost an instant, leaving the scene as quick as he could. It wasn't because he was a coward - the scene was clearly under control. He just didn't want to watch somebody, who'd helped them kill a rift beast earlier, who'd beared a optimistic smile on her face, get butchered right in front of his eyes.

Little did he'd jumped past his dance partner this night. Laying beside the bloodied window. Lifeless, an expression of terror on her face, along with the other two dead corpses.
 
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Trapped under Charlotte's press, it was clear that in her state the act of mercy her friend had taken to protect were nonetheless ignored or outright unnoticed. Raela struggled to free herself again, grunting and growling at the girl on top of her. The slash she suffered from having her head knocked into the bedpost had already begun healing, though left another layer of blood atop her already reddened face.

"Release me! Graah!" she yelled to Charlotte, pressing against the ground. She was slowly gaining the upper hand the longer Charlotte remained the sole captor, Raela's body inching upwards thanks to her enraged strength. "So... hungry, help," she growled. Her plea for help, the sole sane word she'd said thus far, seemed indicative of a returning consciousness. The bestial growling returned quickly, and she was once again struggling to remove Charlotte from her back.
 
"Not sure what sort of a grudge you have against vampires, but I'm not letting you pass. Go find the one who put her into this state if you want to kill someone." Really, he couldn't just let her die because she'd succumbed to some racial instincts. He spared a glance towards the sword-wielder the maid spoke to, but ultimately kept his attention focused on the possible opponent. While he would have preferred for Raiga to stay, the fighter's departure ultimately didn't make the situation worse. An extra body to just help hold Raela down would have been nice, but it seemed that the two of them would have to manage for now.

'Damn it.' Raela's struggles appeared to be an ongoing thing if the sounds from behind him were any indication and though he wished to spare a glance back, he was almost certain the maid would take advantage of that moment. It didn't seem like she was about to settle down anytime soon though, so hopefully he could help Charlotte secure her captive better. "Brace for water," he called back a few seconds prior to gesturing his hand backwards. While not quite as powerful as the initial blast of water, the stream still flew from his control at a rather high speed and was much more focused. He hadn't been able to actually aim it given his eyes were glued on Aresia, but either his hearing had been good enough or with the warning Charlotte would be able to move Raela in front of the lash.
 
"Don't you agree?"

For a moment Elthrad didn't know he had been addressed, but when he realized their attention had turned to him, albeit briefly, he tried to focus on the scene at hand. The subdued Raela, the aggressive stance of Aresia, and the defensive stance of the younger Araki. Although he was sorely pressed in the battle he was raging against his fear, Elthrad could not afford to ignore the question while lives were at stake. Raiga made his opinion of the situation very clear, but shockingly chose to abandon the fight, leaving the decision to the others. That meant that, with Charlotte unable to act while subduing the vampire, Elthrad could be the deciding factor in this discussion. His training as a Knight of Astopol, and the words of his father, demanded that he side with her, but it wasn't that simple for him.

I just need to think, he closed his eyes and took a deep, labored breath. He saw the lifeless eyes of Raela's victims, bringing up a swirl of anger and regret, but his thoughts went farther than that. Aresia. Whether killing Raela was the right decision or not, her words were unjust. All vampires deserve death, this thing is no exception. Elthrad hadn't been there, but he knew that she sounded just like those that had cried out for the destruction of Talze Utera. All of that senseless, unquestioned violence, followed by the subjugation of the elves, his people. His mother's blood knew that Aresia's way of thinking was a disease that infected humans, turning everything they didn't understand into another obstacle to be cut down.

Elthrad's eyes opened, and his visage twisted in an expression of deadly resolve. Hopefully, no one would notice just how fragile that resolve was in the face of Aresia's magic. If she even had a hint of the chaos her fire sowed in him, he would be powerless against her. Then with slow, measured steps, he walked to Araki's side, raising his blade between himself and Aresia.

"Hatred… can never justify execution."
 
Charlotte could only grimace in response to Araki's words as Raela renewed her struggle against the hold on her. She was thankful that the others had more level-headed minds than her butler friend, putting themselves between Raela and Aresia. Although, as it was beginning to turn out, it would be very much appreciated if somebody could take over restraint duties sometime soon.

So when Raiga did his little heroic blue screen of death, Charlotte was very much disappointed. Nearly biting her lip, she continued to pull back as the vampire girl squirmed again, the group's pleas still lost on her. She found herself wishing somebody with calming spells was available on hand, but alas. Araki's declaration of water just a few moments later was a very welcome change to their overall predicament. Acknowledging his warning, she shifted slightly to the side, such that the struggling Raela faced directly into the boy's direction. This served a twofold purpose, shielding Charlotte from a super soaker blast, and of course, subduing the currently psycho girl with a healthy dose of dihydrogen monoxide.

All said and done, she finally had time to put in a few words of herself, although she didn't have much time for thinking nor speaking.

"They're right. We… We don't even know what happened here."
 
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Did no one understand?! How could EVERYONE here defend this ravaging beast? It was beyond the maid butler's comprehension. Charlotte, maybe, Aresia could understand up to an extend. But the rest? This was annoying. Truly annoying. Somehow, it made the black hair look like the bad guy, which she wasn't. Giving off an annoyed 'Tzch' Aresia spoke up. "Do as you like." The intensity of her flames lessened, but did not extinguish, after all there was the possibility of Raela going on a rampage again. Instead, the maid butler stepped towards the vampires weapon and took it into custody, Talentium was still Talentium after all.
 
It didn't seem like he'd missed if the sputters that replaced the growling were any indication and to have Elthrad on their side was a definite boon. Not only was it another body to deal with Raela, but it seemed that with him the numbers were finally stacked enough against the maid. It would been better if she simply vacated the area like Raiga had, but that this would have to do. He turned to face the pair on the ground and waved Charlotte aside as he said, "Swap places? Someone's going to need to drip some blood for her to feed." Aside from the fact that her hold on Raela seemed to be weakening, the girl was also slightly taller than himself; more blood to spare and she seemed to be the most willing out of the three.

To the taller elf he simply asked that he keep an eye on both the maid and their surroundings. The situation was already hard enough without any sudden surprises or interruptions.

For Charlotte, the offer of switching was a welcome one, and it was nice to finally have the offer. "Y-yeah, let's swap. If you can prevent her from lashing out, maybe I can do the blood thing."

Quickly swapping places with Araki, the exhausted girl sighed. Taking the opportunity for a brief respite, she sat down on a spot of the floor that was the least bloodied, propping her weapon against herself.

"Well, does anybody have a knife for that purpose?"

What? Did they actually plan to feed her now? That was ridiculous! And furthermore it was Charlotte who wanted to do this. Oh hell no. She didn't know about the other two, but Aresia had more rejuvenating power than Charlotte. If she would let that broke noble die because of the moronic behaviour of everyone but her, the maid butler could never forgive that.

"I'll do it." It was a blunt statement considering it came from the woman that wanted to fiercely kill the vampire just mere seconds ago, nonetheless her flames disappeared now completely and sticking the Scythe back into the wood she drew made a few steps forward, took off the still undamaged glove and drew her new light practice sword.

Having pinned Raela chest down as he took Charlotte's place, Araki sighed as the vampire nonetheless continued to struggle. Liberal application of telekinesis helped to pin her in place despite his smaller size though. He shrugged in response to the girl's question and simply jerked his head in Elthrad's direction. Sure the sword was a bit longer than what she had asked for, but there wouldn't be a problem if both were careful.

"What?" A bit of surprise could be heard, but the statement was mostly dry as he shifted his attention to the maid that apparently hopped ship as she pleased. Still, they weren't really in a situation where they could afford to be picky; it might actually take a number of them to satisfy Raela's thirst. "Go take it up with her," he muttered as he nodded in Charlotte's direction before he spoke to the brunette. "You should probably be ready to punch a hole in her chest if she tries anything, she should be fine if what happened at the Rift Beast was any indication." The charred body that had remained after her fiery strike against the creature and her subsequent recovery was still very much fresh in his mind.

'Punch a hole in her chest' if she acts up? Well, Aresia didn't plan for that, but in the end it looked like there was still a slim chance of delivering justice tonight. Nonetheless, with no one getting in her way the maid butler proceeded to cut her own hand and stretch it out over the vampire's mouth, there wasn't a need to really press the wound as it was deep enough, nonetheless her eyes were still full of disgust and hate upon looking down on the beast.

 
A quiet night was what it would have been, if it wasn't for the fact that a message had been received from a student in the west side of Cykes. Were the graveyard shit patrollers slacking off or something? Regardless, after a good ten minutes without any sign of the on-street guards doing anything about it, the captain sighed, downed the rest of his lukewarm water, wrapped a hand-knit scarf around his neck, before heading off, his sabre's scabbard bouncing against his thigh as he bounded from rooftop to rooftop. It would only take a few minutes to arrive, so where WERE his men?

It was too quiet of a night, and while this could have been thought of as 'peace', the grizzled guard understood all too clearly that a peaceful silence was just as quiet as a deathly one. He sailed through the air and landed in an elegant roll, before the stench of blood filled his nostrils. In the alleyway, two slumped figures laid, fine droplets of blood clinging onto their bodies like morning dew. Above, a window laid ominously open, and the sounds of struggling and rational human voices could be heard, carried by an autumn wind.

He narrowed his eyes, drew his talentium sabre, and took a deep breath.

One leap brought him up to the opposing wall, adjacent to the open window, whilst another one sent him into the ruined room, the splatters of blood even more apparent than before. Yet, all those details were minor compared to what laid before him.

Four youths, no, four 'heroes' restraining a wretched beast while they fed the monster blood.

Balls of arcane energy manifested around the room, twinkling like winter stars as the captain of Cykes's night time patrol leveled his blade.

"Explain yourselves."
 
So, in the end, it turned out that only the feeder gave any information that was actually useful. The knight, the one from Astopol, seemed only to have frustration for the late arrival of Dansila's guards, which, while understandable, still irritated him. The other two were similarly useless, and the vampire was still a rampaging monster. But the numbers matched up, even if the disappearance of his men didn't. Nodding at Aresia, he turned his sabre point to the rest of them instead, the volatile balls of energy fading away.

"The rest of you will be coming with me then. Don't attempt to run, and don't attempt to attack."

With that, he approached the vampire, gestured Charlotte to get out of the way, before bringing his hand around the magenta-haired monster's neck and breaking it. Instantly, Raela's body went slack, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, before the captain slung her body over his shoulder.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?"
~❆~
As the night wore on, Araki and Charlotte spent their time in a cozy, single-person holding cell, a small space with a pot for them to relieve themselves with and a narrow, wooden bed raised a foot off the ground, with a cotton mattress. The barred windows shed moonlight into their otherwise dark cells, and the arrangement overall wasn't unnecessarily uncomfortable. The captain had told them that someone would meet with them in the morning.

Raela, however, received much heavier sanctions on her freedom. Chained to a wall in a room with no windows and only a single, thick door, she was fed just enough blood to allow her to recover from her wounds and stay lucid. Her clothing was still in tatters, and all she had was the sound of small things scampering about on the stone floors.

Elthrad was released only an hour after he had been let in, with the only information recorded being the address of his Inn. The person who authorized his release was unknown, but that would hardly be what was on his mind as he left the guardhouse. It was clear from the shouts and the stomping of feet and the mobilization of guards that something was wrong, that there was a much greater issue than what had just transpired.

And, overhead, in the light of the moon, an airship rose up from the landing field of Cykes, heading on a supply run to Illiserev.
~❆~
The clouds were thick in the morning, a biting chill in the air. The news had spread early that day, of a vampire attack orchestrated by the 'heroes' of the Rift-Beast attack. One of their own had been a monster, and had killed what amounted to 21 different individuals, scattered across the city. Memorials, with delicate, heartfelt paintings and bouquets of off-season flowers were popping up around Cykes, as the students remembered with tears and burned with anger. Conspiracy theories were flying about, from how the heroes had slain the rift-beast simply to preserve the 'food', or how the vampire had actually been brought in by Astopol, to change the stance Dansila had on the remnants of Talze Utera. Regardless, Lucius Courtright, Fion Seyour, and Escellar Aruivantes were said to have started meetings to reinforce city defenses, as well as increase the frequency of patrols and reinforce communication channels. After all, amongst the dead were the members of the nighttime patrol from last night, and it became clear that peace had led to complacency.

The training fields of Tamamo's Gardens were filled with grunts and shouts of guards and volunteers, banding together to fight for a peace of mind that was so utterly lost in a single night.

More worrisome, however, was the amount of missing persons cases that were streaming in ever since daybreak. It numbered at 58 at the moment, and the numbers only climbed as the clock ticked away. They had all been young women, ranging from 14 to 25, and the remaining members of the Sidosa Board had began communications with the brass of Astopol, bringing in the expertise of the monster hunters to weigh in on the incident.

It was the first attack of such scale to the capital of Cykes since the end of the Talentless Strife, and it was clear that it had a lasting impact. There was a current of sorrow and regret, but under that, was an undercurrent of hatred and helplessness. Fights broke out on the streets from misunderstandings and misplaced words, and tensions were high throughout the maze-like city.

And, as the city smoldered, the snow began to fall, flakes of white melting away as they struck the ground.
~❆~
The clink of chains, and the stumbling of feet. Still malnourished and exhausted, but thankfully in control of herself once more, Raela was manhandled by two guards, hands and feet bound together by thick steel chains and dressed in bloodstained rags. Pulled into another room, this time completely devoid of any objects, yet decidedly cleaner than the chamber she was placed in before, the vampire was tossed in there unceremoniously, and left to await her fate. Like the other two nations, Dansila did not have any laws pertaining to the rights of the races of Talze Utera, and it was obvious from the faces of those guards that, if not for orders from higher up, they would gladly pump her full of drugs and drag every little secret she had out of her, before executing her.

But for now, she was forced to wait in empty room, illumination runes giving out a stark, white light.

To wait and wait and wait and wait and…

After countless minutes? Hours? Days? the door opened once more, and a figure dressed in red appeared, her yellow eyes staring with no disgust or revulsion. With a slight bow, she removed her red hat and took a disc-shaped flask that had been lying on the top of her hat.

Taking the object in her hand, she tossed it over to Raela.

The smell of human blood seeped from the stopper.
~❆~
It was loud. Loud enough that, even in sleep induced by blood loss, Alexa and Ashe were roused from their sleep.

It was warm. Warm enough that, even in the grasp of winter, sweat rolled down their face, and their nightclothes clung to their body.

It was a room, filled with others the same age and gender as them, chained to the walls and each other, bite marks clear on their exposed necks.

It was a snowy morning, the touch of ice foreign in the sauna-like heat of this room.​
 
Ashe, despite the pounding in her head, opened bleary eyes. It was not the familiar sight of her ceiling to which she was used to awakening to, instead, what she saw was the stone floor beneath her feet. She peered up and around, vision still blurry from the blood loss Ashe was unaware to have occurred. Around her, Alexa, and the sight of what could only be described as a gaggle of unfamiliar women; all bound much like she was and sweating profuse bullets despite her last knowing it to be winter.

A brief panic set in at that very moment, but much like being blown right on top of the rift-beast and almost subsequently dying only a few days before, Ashe settled herself; a few deep breaths and some mental reassurance that everything would be fine if she were to just settle down. With only the slightest of diversions of energy to her implants, and a swift tug from each arm, Ashe broke her restraints. After a brief massage of both her chaffed wrists, the witch moved over to Alexa; still unconscious. It didn't take more than a brief look to notice the two pinpricks on the other girl's neck, and as reflex, Ashe herself moved to touch her neck. The same markings, she thought before breaking Alexa's own restraints and setting her easily to the ground.

"Hey. Hey, wake up!" Ashe's voice was only just above a whisper. "Alexa! We've been abducted, and by the looks of it, by a vampire, no less! So if you don't wake up this instant, I swear I will pick you up just to drop your ass!"
 
Unwittingly, alone out of all the heroes of the rift beast attack Verek's night had been uneventful. He awoke feeling refreshed as if he'd been asleep for almost a month. 25 days of constant sleep to be exact. He rose out of bed and quickly showered and dressed in casual clothes, white and blue, knee still sore and giving him a bit of a limp. He looked over to his desk where study papers were ready and waiting. It had been awhile since he'd devoted much time to his work with recovering from the battle, pestering Escellar and visiting people. He took a step towards them and his stomach rumbled in reply. "Guess I didn't eat as much as I thought last night." he said to himself, patting the offending region.

Grabbing his cloak from his bed he headed out into the streets and immediately noticed something was off. There was a brawl occurring within sight of the dorm between two young men, students he recognised. The younger one's girlfriend stood off to the side looking scared. Even as he watched the younger student tripped his foe and forcefully threw him to the ground, before grabbing the girl's hand and running off. He didn't know either boy well, but he knew enough that the scene was very odd. And it only got worse as he headed deeper into the city. People glanced around constantly, especially young women. Their partners seemed overly protective and everything was quieter as if no one wanted to talk. For reasons he didn't understand Verek received a few glares as he moved towards the markets but no one accosted him directly.

He was almost at his destination, casting worried glances all around as he walked, when he smelled something that made him stop. The scent of lilacs, in this weather? He quickly spotted the source, three bundles of flowers on a small box with a wooden headboard above it. A name had been carved into the wood in rough strokes that showed a desperate passion in the work. Seris Yurlane. It was a name He recognised, one of his friends from the university. Almost unconsciously he approached it in his confusion. Another student, who had been sitting in front of the memorial, felt his presence and turned around. The man rose instantly, eyes wide, and grabbed the 'hero' by the collar. "Tell me it isn't true!" he hissed.

Vere's hands rose up in a gesture of innocence and his mouth dropped open in shock. It was Seris's brother Bren, red, puffy eyes streaming tears. "W-what isn't true?" Verek stammered out.

Bren's knuckles went white and for a moment it seemed he was going to punch the other boy. "You and the others. You killed all the girls. And took the rest away to feed that damned vampire. You're all Talze lovers, monsters like them!" He shook his head, "Say it's wrong, tell me where Seris is, bring her back!" A few of the crowd nearby had turned to look at the boy's outburst and those who recognised Verek didn't look very happy. Others kept to themselves and kept walking.

"I-I haven't seen Seris in days. I don't know where she is, or what's happened."

Bren threw him backwards and Verek barely kept his balance. "How can you not know? Imagine if Ashe had of been taken. How would you feel?" He spun around and dropped back in front of the memorial, sobbing.

Confused and stunned Verek backed away and started a fast walk trying to understand what had happened. Girls had been taken and killed? Was that why the city was like it was? He took off into a run. She'd been with Escellar last night, she'd be fine. And she could throw a grown man through a wall and fly off. She'd be fine.

A few minutes later he was at Ashe's house and slamming his fist on the door. It didn't open. He pulled out the key she had given him and unlocked the door, letting himself inside. "Ashe?" he called out, worry clear in his voice. He picked his way through the clutter of books and runetech devices. Her bedroom was empty, as were all the other rooms. No, no it's fine. She was with Escellar last night. She might've ... well ... had him over and gone to work with him. I'll find her there. Exiting the house, locking the door behind him, Verek ran to the glass building and asked after Escellar. Once he found the man he'd do his best to ask casually, "Hey, have you seen Ashe today?"
 
Alexa awoke with a groan to see Ashe's face above hers, yelling something that she couldn't quite make out above the pounding of her head. Giving herself a once-over, she was rather disappointed to find that she still had clothes on. Apparently she didn't manage to find someone to have a good time with at the party last night. Fantastic. No wonder she'd had so much wine and sake, then.

She grumbled blearily as she sat up, only to notice all the other girls in the room with them.

"Wait, what?" Alexa mumbled as she stared at them for a second. And then Ashe's words caught up to her. "...Right, you have any ideas on how to get out of here?" She turned to her friend, her expression locked into a state of serene, resigned fury. "Right now, I don't know or care about how this happened. All I can say is that as soon as I get my hands on some bloody talentium, everyone in here that isn't a prisoner dies."

Whoever had the audacity to kidnap her and her friend in the dead of night was going to pay dearly once Alexa found a talentium weapon. No one assaulted a Granville or a Granville's comrades and profited.
 
Against the Captain of the Night Guard there was nothing Araki could do but step aside. Any other decision would have been suicide, and thus pointless as nothing would change except he'd be dead. So he did nothing but watch as Raela's neck was snapped and simply followed behind as the man led the way. Hopefully the maid would snap her neck somewhere.
The steel door was slammed closed after he stepped in and the room darkened immediately as most of the torch light from outside was blocked. A few slow blinks gradually revealed the room as his eyes adjusted and Araki sighed at the sorry state of affairs. Citizens were dead, he was imprisoned, and by the morning he'd probably be called a monster lover as the rumors spread and distorted. The grapevine was a scary thing, one that could ensnare and choke the lives of those that fed its growth. He could only hope his family was spared, and frankly wouldn't be too surprised if by the morning he was no longer welcome in the estate, at least openly.

The thoughts weighed heavily on him as he plodded over to the cot and took a seat. Slow gestures and twirls of his fingers unwrapped the remainder of the black cloth wrapped around his body, and the lengths of fabric were folded and set aside. With that done he fell onto his back and let his gaze wander over the cell's ceiling, watching the shadows flicker to the torches outside. Sleep did not come easily and many questions and thoughts still swirled, but Araki nonetheless was able to rest.
He awoke just moments prior to the guard's arrival and had barely gotten his bearings before the cell's door was opened and light flooded in. He raised an arm instinctively, trying to shield his eyes, and lowered them when the guard spoke to get a better look. Nondescript was probably apt given the man was dressed in the standard uniform without any distinctive features and Araki climbed to his feet as ordered before being marched elsewhere.

The room was just as spartan as the cell had been, though it evidently served a different purpose. A desk served as the center piece with two chairs, while a pair of lanterns served to illuminate the room. He was sat down at one of the seats and a sparse plate of food placed in front of him. Aside from that the two guards didn't pay him any attention and simply stood at attention, leaving him to his own devices. He gingerly nudged the tray away and leaned back against the seat, awaiting the arrival of the one that was to sit across from him.

It didn't take particularly long for the door to creak open and the a new face, one unhidden by a helmet, to step in as the other two stepped out. What followed was a rather brief question period, at least that's what Araki thought. He answered truthfully for the most part, but omitted his own thoughts on the matter and stuck to only what could have been observed. Things seemed to have wound down as the guard began to finish up with his questions when a curveball Araki couldn't have expected was thrown.

"There was one thing I figured you should know." Araki's head tilted a bit in confusion and interest at that, not quite sure what the guard was leading up to. "The Idoshi siblings and Ortin Brienar?" He nodded warily, not quite liking where he thought was going given the direction of questioning and what had just happened last night. The guard seemed to notice his trepidation and sighed before he continued and said, "They were amongst those found dead the vampire's murder spree last night."

'What.' His mind seemed to blank out a bit as he processed the guard's last words. 'That can't be right.' He wanted to say something but it seemed like his lips had frozen shut and he could only slowly look away from the guard. His reaction seemed to be observed by the the guard before the other man slid his chair back noisily and announced he was free to go as he left the room, door hanging open behind him.

Shock and surprise slowly began to fade and he could feel anger roll around in his chest, boiling his blood and flaring the magic that ran through it. 'Some fucker had set Raela up, and went on a massacre with her as scapegoat. That fuck.' Hunched over from the charged sensation, Araki fought to control his breathing and calm down before the glow seeped through his clothes. For even if he was mad, even if he wished to beat the one responsible half to death, Araki also knew that it would be impossible for him. After the events of last night, he wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if there were eyes on him for any suspicious behavior. The culprit's tracks were probably fairly well hidden and an attempt to uncover them might very well just set the authorities on him. For now he needed to go see if he still had a home in Cykes and stood with a frustrated sigh.
 
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The first time Raela had awoken, she was immediately thrown into a fit of thrashing, only realizing after the first few instance of shaking her shackles that she wasn't going anywhere. Head kept forward by the neckbrace, she couldn't determine if the wounds in her stomach had managed to heal themselves, though the lack of pain and sensation of regeneration calmed her enough to assume the best. Her memory of the prior night's events were practically non-existent after she'd spoken with the unfamiliar vampire, but whatever happened worried her endlessly; she was locked up in so terrible a manner, after all. Whatever happened was bad, and she braced for the news.

Memories of drinking blood from the nameless girl and being attacked by something replayed over and over in her head. The fate of her and the vampire were the primary concerns of Raela as she sulked in the confines of the prison cell, even as she was picked up and moved to a newer, albeit less dreadful cell elsewhere. Despite the anger her captors undoubtedly harbored towards her, she felt generally safe, sure that whatever misunderstanding occurred would soon pass over when she got the chance to explain herself.

The days passed on, it seemed like, and the vampiress began to doubt her own innocence. Was it really that bad, whatever happened? What was it that she had done? The fears intensified and festered in her mind, until the moment when someone other than a guard finally arrived. Raela jumped up and immediately broke into questions; she had to have them answered then and there, lest she lose even more of her mind.

"What happened?! Why am I here?! I don't know anything about all this! Who are you? Where am I?" she spouted off to the yellow-eyed woman. Her questions only stopped when the vial had been tossed over. Raela eyed it before looking back up. She had been fed decently since she'd been imprisoned, but in the new cell she stood within, the food had stopped coming for indecipherable time. Before ripping into the bottle, however, she gave a light nod and popped it open, trying not to seem as wild as she felt. The blood was refreshing, but only to her stomach. She'd long since gotten past the cramping pains of hunger. Only her mind was at unease then.
 
The events of last night was a rather sordid matter, and with the situation deescalated, Charlotte put up no further resistance to the Captain. Sitting in the dirty, dank prison cell, the entire series of affairs left a bitter taste in the former noble's mouth, a feeling that would only be further inflamed by the dawn of the new day. While her cell mate had managed a modicum of sleep, Charlotte achieved none, and by the time Araki was called away for questioning, she was quite stressed. News from the outside did little to help her mind, which was focused on Raela and Aresia, but she managed to find some comfort in not having shared a similar spotlight as the other heroes did.

Sometime after taking Araki, another guard appeared to escort Charlotte away. The girl, who had been sitting in nearly the same position for the past ten hours, groaned as she got up, grimacing as she did. It didn't take long for her to be led into another sparsely furnished room, which was distinctly used for interrogations and similar matters. She was passed some distasteful looking weeviled biscuits and a mug of well water for a meal, and after tasting a few crumbs of the expired bread, pushed the tin tray they sat on away.

The intent in the room was obvious, and it was a short while later the same man that had questioned Araki arrived. Charlotte did her best to answer the man's questions in an objective an detached manner; a rather difficult undertaking, considering her emotional investment in the involved characters. Nonetheless, both parties seemed satisfied with her answers, and she was free to go after some formalities. Just before she was to be escorted out of the premises, however, she was stopped one last time by the helmetless man.

"A couple more things. You're staying at the Cross and Apple inn, aren't you?"

She slowly nodded yes, unsure of where he was going with his question. "One Alexa Granville was reported as missing this morning."

Charlotte was stunned, her mouth opening and closing several times before she checked herself. Normally she wouldn't be too worried about Alexa, but in light of the morning's events, even she wasn't too sure about anything anymore.

The guard sighed, leaning forward in his chair, one eye closed as if he were satisfied with her response. "Well, you're free to go."
 
Raiga heavily leaned on the oaken table, barely touching the bowl of rice in front of him that he'd planned to eat. His head hurt a little from last night... not only because of the somewhat reckless shots he'd taken, but because of the whole vampire ordeal. He still didn't know why she'd suddenly acted like that... were all vampires bound to lose control of themselves at some point? Had the maid been right - did all vampires need to be put down?

It wasn't like he knew the vampire, but he kept thinking about her from time to time. Especially when some people in the inn talked about how she was going to be executed. Some even spat insults and hate at her, although after all the murders she committed, Raiga couldn't be surprised... yet somehow, he knew it all wasn't her fault.

Raiga paused in thought, lazily eating a mouthful of rice, chewing it for quite a while before swallowing it. Maybe he was just overthinking it. It wasn't his business. Slouching in the inn for pretty much the whole morning hadn't done him any good either. The chair legs scraping splinters off the boards below him as he backed up, Raiga left the inn without a word, a few watching him as he did so. Cold air greeted Raiga as he pushed open the door.

He just needed to clear his mind.

Snow. It wasn't a thing the islander saw often, and the chill of the wind was especially potent to his skin. Lifting his head up slightly, Raiga looked into the white skies; little crystals of snow landing on his shaggy black hair. In most cases, this unusual weather and the uncomfortable daytime chill wouldn't have been pleasurable for Raiga, but for today, he appreciated it. It helped him wake up, and the cold somewhat eased his mind. The chattering of people walking across the paved streets were inaudible to Raiga's ears, as the deep brown of his eyes reflected the light grey of the sky.

This whole trip... it'd turned out to be way more than just 'another training session'. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted how stupid he'd been thinking that. Stupid and absolutely childish. The events so far had been insane, to say the least. But for now... he supposed he felt calm.

~~~​

"...Excuse me."
Raiga looked to his side without turning his head, finding the owner of an old, groggy voice. A small man, face adorned with wrinkles, and with greyening platinum-blonde hair faced Raiga, but didn't look him in the eye. His face seemed hung with depression and grief as the old man watched the floor. Raiga had never seen the man before in his life.

"Yes?" Raiga answered stiffly, after a pause.
"...You're... 'Raiga'... aren't you." The old man slowly said, his voice weathered. Raiga slowly nodded his head in reply. The old man kept quiet for a while, giving a somewhat eerie silence between the two. What did this old man want.
"I... I believe I saw you dance with... my daughter. Last night." The old man finally said; Raiga would've thought the man was upset at him for this, but by the sheer grief in his voice, that wasn't the case. "I figured she'd ask you to do that. ...She talked about you quite a bit, see. Ever since she heard about that Rift Beast event..."
Raiga kept quiet, watching the man. He didn't understand where this was going. Was he angry or upset about that? It was only a brief dance, and Raiga remembered everything that'd happened - it wasn't like he'd got that drunk.

Suddenly, the old man placed a leather pouch into Raiga's hand without a word.

"Thank you for making her happy. One last time..."

Without another word, the old man turned and left. Raiga opened his mouth in confusion, but the old man hastily left, giving Raiga no time to ask questions or return the pouch of unknown contents. Looking down slowly, Raiga peered inside the pouch - as he suspected by the weight, it was full of coins. Not enough to make him rich or anything like that, but it was still a hefty amount. Raiga didn't possess enough insight to understand why the old man had done this. He'd only danced with her, after all...

After a while, Raiga juddered still in realisation. His confused grip on the pouch of coins loosened, the bag threatening to spill on the floor from Raiga's bewilderment. That girl with light blue eyes... she'd been...
"...G-Gods, why...?!" Raiga choked. She was innocent as anything. Snow brushed over Raiga's bare chest, as the chill became uncomfortable and sickening.

That girl: one of the victims that'd been sucked dry that night.
 
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