Surround the Prey

The screaming was starting to get on Nicoli's nerves. He closed his eyes and jumped into the air, using his 'unnatural' strength to push himself further into the air than most human's could do. Then he landed on the barricade that kept the humans from getting at the vampire's house and burning it to the ground. And that's where he stood, chilling in the slight breeze that had popped up. He was more interested in finding that Grigor guy. his eyes flicked over the vampires in front of the house and smiled when he saw his new apartment-mate. He stretched where he stood in front of these humans, ignoring them as if he didn't stand on a barricade--as if he was by all accounts a simple man that was watching an amusing act.

It wasn't until some jerk behind him decided to throw a cross at him that the yelling and human's got on his nerves to the point of explosion. It singed his back before falling back down. It really did sting. It would have hurt more--if Nicoli had been a Christian in his human life, or even believed int hose sorts of things. But it was holy and it did burn the skin that it touched.

However, he simply turned to stare at the young teenager that had thrown it. The kid almost reminded him of Derek from Rexington--only more backwaters-I-was-never-taught-how-to-appreciate-differences sort of way. A telicate eyebrow rose as he reached back and touched the burned skin of his back. "You know, kid, if you think that just throwing it at us works, you have been sadly misdirected." Nicoli told the kid with a bitter smile that showed the sharpened teeth before he dropped down on the opposite side of the barricade and turned to walk towards the guy from the apartment. "So, gotta say, I never thought you'd be that Grigor Romanov." Nicoli said as he neared the group of vampires with a relaxed gait--as if nothing was wrong with him at all.
 
He could only stare. Really, that's all he could do. The damn, irresponsible little vampire who dressed like a teenager had just exposed himself to a bunch of vampire-hating humans and was now standing on a barricade. He looked, for all intent and purposes, as if he owned the whole world from there, totally confident in himself. Grigor wanted to punch him in the face. Before he got any real chance to move from his position on the ground and go to do just that to the over-confident, cocky little vampire, a small problem had ensued. He saw that a teen had thrown a cross of all things at the stupid vampire's back and if he hadn't been so against violence on his own species, he would have laughed.

The teen, he saw, definitely wasn't laughing as the cocky vampire appeared to have told him and scared the crap out of him in front of his little friends. Grigor looked to the vampire, trying to recall the name. Nicholas? Nicky? Nicoli? Yes, it was Nicoli. He frowned at Nicoli as he approachedd, crossing his arms.

"Who do you think you are to follow me here? You are unwelcome," he said this all very distinctly before glancing at his companions. "Harrison, please. Go speak with the humans and calm them. Apologize for..that one's behavior," here, he gestured to Nicoli before continuing, "..and inform them that their chldren are not in danger and have not been in danger in the years Theodore has been principal."
 
Nicoli looked over his shoulder at the scene before the 'principal's house. "Please, don't flatter yourself," he said, turning back tot his group of vampires that was watching him with such disapproving looks. "My brother was having a little fun with that human we met and so I decided to let him have his fun and go get something to eat. Only I got turned around, smelled you, and thought that I'd be able to get directions from you." It was a lie, but 'ell, he wasn't going to tell the truth to someone that glaring and calling him 'that one'. He looked at the house and saw a sad but frightened face in one of the windows on the second floor. 'Theodore' must be the man up there.

"You know, it isn't my place to say this probably, but have you ever considered letting him talk to the people?" Nico asked, looking at Grigor. "yeah, they want to murder him, but having stranger vampires telling them everything is going to be okay is probably not going to help the matter. If that guy explains why he wants to work with kids, or do whatever it is he does, then it might work. I know that if I had a kid in a school with a prinicpal that just announced his vampirism, I'd rather have an explanation from him than from some vampire that I've never encountered before. I'm not saying throw him to the lions--but sometimes calling in reinforcements isn't the best option." His grey-blue eyes were serious, his body no longer carrying a 'cocky' attitude. He cared about other vampires. To show it was another thing entirely. Before the other could tell him to stick it, he shrugged and smirked, turning to leave.

"But like I said, it isn't my place to say that. Hope you can figure out some way to fix this. I'd hate to lose a fellow-gah!" Somehow a human had snuck around the barricade and had thrown a water balloon full of holy water at the group of vampires--only to hit Nico as he was turning to leave. His skin sizzled and he gritted his teeth in pain, his lips pressed together so as not to frighten the humans with the elongating fangs. However he didn't double over. He stood stock still, waiting for the pain to stop. "Today, is simply not a lucky day for me." He grumbled through gritted teeth.

((Ooc: >3 Evil humans make Nico go gra-aaaah! ))
 
((OOC: I bet.. Poor Nico. I wanna hug him <3))

Grigor paused, about to open his mouth to protest Nicoli's ideas, but one of the women beside him spoke of first, nodding thoughtfully.

"That actually really makes sense.. If we can get him out here to talk, then I bet they would listen. After all, he's been principal for such a long time.. Some of these very people talked to him while they were in school.. If they could see his sincerity..." But she trailed off at the look on Grigor's face.

"...He is scared and sad, he probably won't even be able to inform the--" The sound of water splashing against skin stopped him and he looked over at Nicoli, then at the crowd. Yes, he disliked the vampire to a degree, especially since he had just come in and undermined him in front of his own people, but he didn't enjoy seeing a vampire in pain. He turned to the crowd.

"This is an uncalled for action on your part and it will be reported to the National Council. Until they can act, however, I want you to listen to me. The man inside that house has done nothing wrong. He has been a principal and a confidant at times to you and your children. He has served your community for the past fifteen years and that means nothing because he is a vampire? Think about how ridiculous that is. Think about how stupid that is, to disregard fifteen years of kindness just because he's a vampire. Would you do the same to your family? Your friends?"
 
Nicoli flicked water off his hands and dragged the shirt off his upper body, trying to get as much of the holy water away from his skin as soon as possible. As he did this he sloshed his way painfully behind a truck. He knew the sight of boiling skin was very uncomfortable for some to see--not as uncomfortable as having it boil on you, but uncomfortable none the less. When he was safely away from the public view he kicked off his shoes and then his pants, hissing as the material draw new lines of fire down his legs where the holy water met skin.

He wanted to howl. he wanted to tear something apart. At the same time he wanted to cry and throw fire at the humans and see how much they liked it! It had been one full water balloon, he realized as he saw how wet his pants were and how soaked his shirt had become. He stood there in the open air, grateful for the boxers he still wore. He was grinding his teeth almost painfully as he waited for the skin on his hands to stop aching. During this he looked out at the group of vampires and the house. Why had he tried to get involved? To show the vampire that he lived with that he was a tough cookie? Well he'd sure done that. That was the last time he was ever taking a water balloon for that jerk. Not to mention a cross to the back--really?

Nico wondered if he'd pissed off his ancestors so much by sleeping with men and becoming a vampire. What guy could have worse luck: having to move from a town in which he had finally found a guy that didn't care that he was a closet case and a vampire, then forced to move into an apartment across from a kid that knew Feng Shui (though that wasn't completely bad luck) only to decide to go out for a stroll while he waited for his brother to get done, then get hit by a cross and then completely drenched in holy water. So far--his week sucked. "Why couldn't this have happened to Zane? Why couldn't for once he get the bad luck?" he told the sky as he reached down, gritted his teeth and picked up the soaked shirt and wrung the shirt out before he had to drop it and wait for his burned hands to heal again.
 
Grigor tried his best not to growl at the crowd as they only responded with jeers and taunts before turning to one of his assistants and ordering them to get the principal out of his house. They quickly moved to do his bidding and soon they were on either side of the vampire as he spoke passionately about his work with the school, how much he loved the students. The crowd began to simmer down, shifting uncomfortably as the vampire before them spoke with such sadness about resigning if that was truly their wish.

Once he was sure that he could leave them, Grigor moved to Nicoli, following the scent of burnt flesh to find him. He felt some amount of pity towards the idiot, but was also slightly pissed that his idea had worked so well. As he looked at the burns and heard him question as to why his brother hadn't gotten the bad luck, he scoffed a bit. "That's nothing, child. I've had much worse injuries than a little holy water. All you need is a small meal and you'll be fine. You wanted to go the place we feed, didn't you?"
 
Nicoli looked over at Grigor and turned away, leaning down to pick up the shirt and and twisted it tightly, gritting his teeth as he watched water spill from the material. He kept doing this until it was relatively dry. Putting that up on the truck, he reached down with still burning hands and worked on his pants. That done, he turned his back on the man and pulled the damp clothes on, wincing as material scrapped across delicate skin. "I was meaning that no matter what he does, Zane has never gotten doused with holy water or hit with a cross," He said, pulling his shirt on as he felt several burn blisters on his back pop open. He grabbed the side of the truck with a grip that threatened to break the metal.

Inhaling slowly he straightened and looked over his shoulder at his back. "Damn I really liked this shirt too," he muttered before pulling on his shoes. "Where is the eating house? I can probably find my way there. Don't you have to get back to the principal's defense?" He realized the resentment in his voice as he spoke and he sighed. "Sorry, sorry. What I mean is I wouldn't trust that crowd if I were you. The principal--Theodore right--may be getting a receptive audience now, but that's no reason to just let him stay out there without a watchful eye." He knew the resentfulness had nothing to do with Grigor and more to do with his current situation and with his brother's lack of bad luck.
 
Though the cocky vampire's personality was extremely off-putting, Grigor couldn't help but look over his body. Burnt or not, it was very easy to tell that he was he had an attractive physique, and Grigor himself hadn't been able to do much "sleeping" with anyone as of a late.. (He didn't tend to get involved romantically with anyone--mortal or not--telling himself repeatedly that he hardly had need of a partner to be with him forever). It would of course be his luck that first person he had found attractive in some time would be a cocky, most likely womanizing vampire, who disliked him. His lips curled up a bit in distaste.

"The establishment is a ways. You won't make it as you are." Grigor frowned before opening his mouth again to reluctantly say his next words. "My people can handle Theodore and can handle the crowd. I was only brought in to supervise. I will...assist you on your way to the eating house. There is no room for argument."
 
"Not another one," he groaned, glaring at the ground. All his life he had had a man watching after him--first it was his father and then for the last three centuries almost it had been his brother. For once he wished that he didn't have the personality that made others think he needed constant supervision--as if he was some kind of little kid in a candy store.

"If you say the vamp'll be fine, I don't suppose I can argue now can I?" He asked as he started to limp out from behind the truck before stopping. "Lead the way, Master of the immortal bodyguards." It was a joke really. He found the profession of compromising between two systems of logic to be the most interest and he wished he had the working ethic to do it. In fact, he even thought that the way Grigor had handled the situation to be a good, fair start. But it didn't matter. No one wanted a vampire that was always being looked over by his older brother.
 
Grigor raised an eyebrow at the younger vampire. He must talk to himself often, he mused, and so didn't comment on his groan of "not another one". It hardly made sense anyway. Not another what exactly? Grigor brushed the thought aside, not particularly caring to have that much of a conversation with younger however attractive he was.

"Of course he'll be fine. He's in capable hands," Grigor followed him, smoothly stepping in front of him to lead, however what the younger said next made him stop and turn. He fixed a dark, shaded glare on him. "You'll do well to not say such things in my presence. You may not understand that what I am doing holds the utmost importance to our society, but that does not change the fact that it does. I am helping our society become equals so that what happened today to you is a thing of the past. It is not something to taunt or joke about." Grigor was, no pun intended, dead serious. He cared quite about his cause and when he heard anyone joke so frivolously it pissed him off.
 
Holding up his hands, the young vampire shrugged, "I meant it as a compliment, chill all right?" Nicoli said giving a deep sigh. "Face it, your profession right now are bodyguards for those that need it. You are protecting that vampire no? You are keeping him from having to go through pain that I went through? To protect is the main priority of a bodyguard isn't it, or has that profession changed as well since I last looked up the qualifications needed?" He pulled a smile on and shrugged.

"Guess we didn't get off on the right foot now did we? Let's start over, how about that? I'm Nicoli Wei, and you are the famous Grigor Romanov, leader of the Coalition for Vampire and Human Cooperation. You are my brother's next door neighbor. How do you do?" Nicoli asked as he held out a hand in greeting. "I am eternally sorry for showing up and overstepping my bounds by offering a suggestion. Give me a task that will remove this tension between us for I shall do anything." All of this was in the utmost polite and proper form of a gentleman from China. He even gave a little bow that contrasted with his American style clothes and haircut.
 
Grigor pressed his lips in a thin line as he gazed at him, listening to his explanation. Yes, he was right to a degree--the vampires in the Coalition for Vampire and Human Cooperation were bodyguards, but only if they had to be. The qualifications for the job did call to protect at all costs those of their kind and their human sympathizers. "...Yes, you are...correct in your thinking. However, it's not something to make light about." He uncrossed his arms, sighing.

"No, we did not," he agreed, taking the offered and hand and shaking once, firmly. "There is no need to apologize as there is no harm done. I was simply..over-reacting. I'm sure you can imagine that this is a most stressful job. There is also no need for you to relieve this tension. You are..fine." He bowed his head a bit in return to the bow that Nicoli gave, not quite as used to Chinese customs, though he had spent a year or so there in his youth.

"We should go now," he said after a moment, indicating the road ahead of them as the way they would be going.
 
((Sorry this took so long I had a meeting with a teacher I had to attend)

Nicoli smiled and nodded, glad that some of the tension evaporated from the two. The last thing he needed was a neighbor that hated his guts. He limped on the way that the other vampire motioned. He was determined not to cry out every time new healing skin pulled open again. After not drinking for two full days, it was amazing to him that his wounds were even healing at all. Grinding his teeth he kept moving.

"So, the famous Grigor Romanov lives in an apartment. I would have thought you'd buy a house or something simple. You are pretty well known in some of the circles I used to visit. Some said that you were the epitome of vampire sexiness while others called you so stern that anyone that got caught in your gaze would perish. Why did you become the leader of the Coalition?" Nicoli asked to pass the time and get his mind off the holy water bomb. It was true, he had to admit the vampire had a certain amount of scariness and an equal amount of good looks though the scariness sometimes made the looks vanish, if one was to ask Nicoli. He figured he'd want to see the man smile someday--and thus made that his goal for his new town--get the hardass to smile. It would require work he decided, but at the same time would make it oh so worth it not to screw up as his brother so fondly put it.
 
Grigor fell in pace with him, watching him move carefully. He deemed it unnecessary, and most likely demeaning to the younger vampire, to offer more help than he already was, but did make sure not to move too fast, at least.

"Famous, hm?" He couldn't help a raised eyebrow at that. Yes, he knew he was in the spotlight for many things, most especially doing all of the press coverage for the Coalition and interviewing famous vampires on their thoughts and such, but he would hardly call himself "famous". "I do make enough money to buy a house, I suppose, but I have no use for it. I have no one other than myself to look after and I hardly require much more room than the apartment offers. Epitome of sexiness I may be," he continued dryly. "..but I rarely find myself with a partner. I dislike most people. Those that I do not dislike are off limits because they are friends or family." It was true. Most the people he knew now he only liked marginally enough to consider a friend or they were his only surviving family members, namely his aunt and sisters.

He contemplated the question a moment before answering, trying to align his thoughts in an understandable manner. "I founded the Coalition for a multitude of reasons. The treatment of vampires after we "came to light", so to speak, was horrible. Worse than it was now, most especially in small towns, where it was easy for humans to come in droves and beat vampires to a second death. It was my goal to work with the humans who didn't hate us, those who would even bond with us willingly.. It was an idea much like the Gay Straight Alliances that previously had to be formed, although I must say that our "coming out" did wonders for the homosexual community in terms of acceptance." Grigor frowned at the thought a moment, wondering still, as he had for the previous years, how human hatred could direct itself so quickly at a different group. "So I started and I ran with the idea. The Coalition began and fostered more organizations, like the Interspecies Council and such. I want to see ultimate equality. I don't want it to be at the hands of another species showing themselves, but because humans--and vampires, because some vampires do discriminate against humans--realize that they are being idiots."
 
Nicoli looked at him, his face for the first time that evening serious. Even his attitude seemed to change as he listened. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't around his brother who irritated him like nothing else. Or mayhap it was because this vampire wasn't talking to him like he was idiot any more. "I was expecting you to list off different reasons than that--ones that were listed on the Coalition's website for their reasons of existence. It is nice to hear someone not lie through their teeth," he commented softly before looking straight ahead.

"The biased against the homosexual community may be over to a point but that doesn't mean that the vampires that are homosexuals are getting any peace. My brother hasn't been able to find a lover in the three hundred years he has been alive. At least none that have accepted both parts of him. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him bring anyone back to wherever we were staying. Might I make a suggestion," Nicoli asked, his eyes on the horizon ahead, though he kept a part of his sense on the other vampire's movements so that if they needed to turn he wouldn't have to move his head too much to follow. He was glad almost that the other hadn't offered to help. His brother would have thrown him over his shoulder and carried him home no matter if it was just the cross burn or the water balloon. He understood why his brother did such things--he didn't trust Nicoli to behave properly and he was worried like any other family member would have been. There was also a little guilt there on Zane's part for having changed Nicoli, but that played a lesser degree.

"I don't know how your coalition deals with this kind of things, or if there's an agency for it yet, but the gay vampire community should have a spokesperson that is separate from you. Most humans will accept a vampire. May throw tantrums if they find out that vampire is not of the straight mind frame while welcoming those homosexual humans. Sorry, I'm kind of rambling here. It's just my brother is gay and I've seen the things done to him when humans find out both sides of him. I'd like to see a day when he can say it without backfire." And the same goes for me, but no one will ever hear me admit it. Nico thought, his gaze saddening for only a moment before going back to something that someone might call seriousness but on his face seemed to show cockiness.
 
"I have learned in my years that honesty is the best policy... But to reach out to the masses, it would be rather detrimental to put 'stop being dumb asses' on the website, would it not?" Grigor would have truly put something akin to that if he could, but his associates had insisted on putting an actual agenda on there. He listened to Nicoli's next words with a grim expression, waiting until he finished to speak. He knew that their fight was hardly over, most especially for the homosexuals in the vampire community, but he had never put anyone specifically in a position to speak out for just them. It was an interesting idea that he would have to consider, at the least.

Grigor looked Nicoli over a moment, taking in how he looked so...passionate as he spoke. It was something he rarely saw, but he chocked it up to the vampire's youth and closeness of the subject to him. "...It is an idea that I will most definitely consider. I have seen how rare it is for vampires to find a lover, most especially a homosexual one, even in the vampire community. If I could find someone to specifically do outreach to that community, it would be interesting.. Unfortunately, I do not many. I believe that I know only of myself, and I am already doing my duties as leader of the Coalition, and I now know of your brother. Eventually, I could find someone, but to find the person with the proper passion, who knows how to handle crowds and is old enough to go into the light if need be.. Well, it will be difficult. It is a good idea, however."
 
Nicoli couldn't help but laugh a little at Grigor's first comment. So he did have a sense of humor. Shaking his head a little he winced and looked up and smelled the air. The smell of blood was faint on the air so that meant they were still a ways from food. He kept his face down sot hat his hair hid his face from anyone they passed and tried to hide the limp as best he could. The last thing he needed was pity.

"Are you saying that you play for that side of the team as well?" Nicoli asked, suddenly realizing what Grigor had meant. "I never would have guessed. You seem surrounded by women vampires and you never show any interest to men in your coalition. You do a very good job of hiding it. My brother doesn't hide it, but he doesn't proclaim it to the world either, but he never looks as comfortable around females. How do you do it? Wait, can you go into the light? How old are you?" Nicoli felt like he was talking to one of the Old, and couldn't help but ask the questions. It was like talking to a legend on top of a legend. It made it even harder to imagine Grigor with a girl the more he spoke. Nicoli had no intention of coming out to anyone here, especially not to the man next to him, but he had to admit that Grigor did have a sexiness that he had refused to acknowledge up to this point. But at the same time the seriousness he took with his job seemed to cancel the cute aspect.
 
Grigor raised an eyebrow at him again, drawling, "Rather astute of you to pick up on it. Yes, I am homosexual. I assume you are not bothered as you seemed rather passionate earlier about your brother gaining equal rights and representation." He ran a hand through his hair briefly, sighing. "I may be surrounded by women, but it is because I am most comfortable with them. I had no brothers growing up and I was raised with my aunt and my older sisters, who turned me when I was..twenty something, I think. I am..." He paused, thinking back. He knew he was old enough to be able to go into the sunlight--he had to be, to be able to do all those interviews--but it was difficult to pinpoint his exact time of birth. He really only knew that he had been born in Russia, somewhere near where Moscow was today.

"Well.. I believe I am.. Close to a thousand, perhaps more? I can not exactly remember. I do not remember much of my human life and my early vampire years are a haze as well.."
 
Nicoli was staring at him with mouth open, wide-eyed amazement. He suddenly felt very small and very stupid next to the man. Very small. He closed and opened his mouth a few times before simply closing it and looking forward. Very stupid. Nicoli couldn't very well decide what to say. He'd never met a vampire before that was more than a couple hundred years old. Wincing he sighed, "Listen, man, I'm really sorry about how I handled myself back there, I really hope I didn't offend you with my suggestion and all. Blast brother's going to kill me if he finds out I insulted someone that was so old--Oh crap there I went again. What I meant was, well, you are almost an Old one. Int he good sense, meaning you don't exaclty have to hide from society cause you can go outside and--Ah man, Zane's going to want to shoot me. Mister Romanov, I am so sorry." He was groveling. He knew it, and he wasn't ashamed at all. Had he known Grigor Romanov was that old, he would have held his tongue. He would have done a lot of things differently. He could just imagine the lecture form Zane on how to treat the elders or one of the Old and how he was nothing but a disgrace to the Wei family already.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back