The bat and the cave [Seonad]

[murdock]

" Rest only at home,'If only I could rest...But after hundreds of years living can I truly call any place home? Am I part of this town or part of this world? May the stones under me serve as bed in which I shalt not lay upon, and may my enemy know resting is not required for me to face them!"

Interesting night it was; Usually Salvatore was one to go for a stroll, stretch his legs and find wonders which he had already seen countless times in the middle of those streets, but today it was different, he was staying home. He was tired even after almost a day of sleeping and the streets didn't seem that appealing to him, perhaps he could catch up on some literature study he had been planning on finishing last week. A man as important yet as busy as him almost never had the chance of ending whatever he wish he could have ended...Work was always there to remind him of the creature he was.

Slowly walking through the corridors of the main compound, the large mansion which served as home only to him and one or two of the most loyal and revered vampires he noticed the paintings on the walls. Historical figures, some had met, some he had helped kill or rise to power, after all he had seen and done one would think it was time for him to just lay low and quit the battles, but life was never that easy and he knew he was the only man capable of ruling over his brethren to keep them save. To be fair, he kinda liked the battles and hostilities, the thrill of having a constant blade near your back and surprising the enemy with your own blade, it was exciting and even somewhat fun.

A young vampire passed by him carrying a few books, by taking a glance with his eyes Salvatore noticed they were mostly science and anatomy related "May I know where you're taking that boy?". He answered, saying they were for one of the doctors "downstairs in the basements". Salvatore knew very well what happened in the basements and why they would need such books so he simply nodded with his head "Carry on son...".

Finally in front of the exit door he opened it, outside laid the garden, a beautiful garden so well treated. Fountains that were riveting to the eye, beautiful trees climbing toward the sky and around that garden were the other complexes, smaller mansions where the rest of the clan lived. He looked around trying to find anyone of interest roaming the night, like him, inside the complex. A couple of maidens, the butler that always so warmly greeted the elder and maybe a few more vampires. Most of them were always either too scared to approach him or simply didn't know what to say.

Truth was Salvatore was a great counselor and gave great advices but by the time they had the guts to ask for them it was already too late. His bloody past and all of his victories in the battlefield made him a menacing sight. Some had already learned that he wouldn't simply behead them for talking to him, and to those Salvatore paid respect, he was tired of fellow vampires being too scared to address to him and only the closer ones knowing that he wasn't that bad. True, he was vicious against the enemy, but why would he be vicious toward the allies? Unless they were hiding something, traitors, traitors were to be handled with...in extreme and severe ways.

Walking around the main fountain he saw a perfect bench to sit on. Sitting on one of the edges of the bench he retrieved a small book of a darkened cover out of the larger pocket of his robe and started reading. Laying it down from minute to minute just to look at the water once again and sigh with a certain degree of satisfaction, resting was what he truly needed.

A small vampire, a pure blood surely for a boy at such tender age wouldn't have been turned passed by running and stopped near him, with big yet empty eyes the kid stared at him before giggling and running off. Salvatore laughed in a low tone before turning his head down once again. It was good to see not all of the community were a bunch of old decaying farts and there was still some young blood around, and pure above all. They were the future and Salvatore would make sure they survived a war if one started.

[viper]

Mansions always seemed such stuffy places and she had lost count of the numerous spiderwebs hiding in conspicuous corners of the high ceilings and between other such spaces that others rarely saw to maintain. She paused as she reached the end of a stairwell, and listened as creaks that rattled through the place caught her attention. Old places had personalities of their own and she didn't like it much. Old stuffy places weren't really her scene but it was here where her kind lived and hid away from the prying eyes of the city so that was kinda a good thing when they always had to sleep during the day.

That was one part of her life that did suck but like every other Vampire she knew, it was something she had come to accept and grow accustomed to. She always knew the time. It was only natural to know the time, how else would they survive if they did not pay attention to the coming dawn? She smiled slightly and almost slammed into another of her kind though he was far younger than she was. She glared at him, daring him to make a challenge but her reputation in Vampiric circles was loud and clear.

Vipers were dangerous things to toy with and she found herself alone again as she moved silently through rueful halls that possibly had seen better times. She was quite frankly bored, people either backed down to her rebellious challenges when they ran into her or kept a wide berth. She was not interested much in killing fellow Vampires... that never did go down too well no matter how close she had been to actually committing such a crime. Oh yes... even the damned had rules to abide by in their cursed life.

She was not aware if this was true for Lycans but neither was she interested to find out. Lycans were cold and smelly disgusting brutes and nothing would make her actively seek one out. Well, almost nothing, she thought darkly, her face scouring into more darker notes. Seonad paused again, her light dress caressing around her calves before the doubled clicks of her heels jutted on the floor once again.

Still, for all the faults and wrongs that Seonad found in the place, it was now her home in this State and it was a home for many others of her clan. She was usually out most nights, one for the lights that were fake and the ants nest of the human race that settled there but here she was on a strangely self indulgent quest of her own. Seonad had a constant need to recreate herself in the characters she paraded around as and research was ever a constant in her life that provided her with background and juicy details to add to her various personas. Research in turn came from many places and she planned to see if there was remotely anything juicy to be found in the library.

Seonad continued and would have carried on if something hadn't attracted her notice and she stilled completely, content to observe what she saw. She smirked slightly as she saw the head of their clan... she always saw little of him. She was always out prowling in different areas to him and it seemed funny. She didn't know exactly why. She pondered for a moment, shifting her weight in her hesitation before she finally made up her mind.

She followed him with the usual seductive smile that was always dancing on her face to anyone. It wasn't something special for him... everyone to her was equal, no one really deserved special placement, not until she believed it thus. Still, he did sparkle a curiosity in her then made her follow him, want to see what he was about. He was older than all combined in this moth-eaten place and had seen things she only researched and read about.

She stood in the door way for a moment, simply watching him and his reaction to the boy as the youngster giggled and proceeded to run off past her. She glanced at him slightly as he ran past an returned her attention on him though she was aware he was probably already sensing her presence and she shifted her weight forward again, moving into the garden with soft movements.

She smiled slightly, "Looks like you got a way with kids, huh?". Most would not dare talk so freely, she knew most feared him too much but she supposed she was just too rebellious to follow the same unspoken regime. Perhaps she was just eager to better her parts. Many told her to keep her distance, spoke only when spoken to and respect him without question. She had always frowned at this... if one did not question, how did one find respect for those above them?

[murdock]

Salvatore felt someone approach as the kid ran away. He could feel the presence of others the same kind as his miles away. A skill he had developed hundreds of years ago. This same skill made treachery hard to follow around him, since it was almost impossible for other vampires to back stab him, like the common expression said, he slept with one eye open. This presence was most certainly female, this amplified skill allowed him to differentiate various things about people around him; Hell he could most probably feel the presence of Lycans and Humans, humans most certainly for the warm blood running in their veins.

What ran in the circulatory system of a human was delightful, it featured a food supply and the stench of fear, which in certain doses was thrilling to any vampire, it reminded them of the hunt, hunting was brilliant, just chasing the victims and watching them fall of desperation, intoxicating. Salvatore wasn't that much of a sadist nowadays but he used to be and he'd bring back the sadism if it meant control over something. He could remember impaling thousands of Turks side by side with Vlad, the blood, the guts, everything was so vivid, he had a great memory and those same historical events were what put him in the position where he is today, feared and avoided by many, respected and revered.

Yet this presence seemed to show more "guts" than the others around, or at least most of them. He didn't even move his eyes toward her and he knew exactly how far away she was and how long it'd take her to make some comment on the scene she had just seen, everyone was predictable after thousands of years living. If she thought she was special for not showing any fear toward him, she was dead wrong, many had been like her, some had perished for it, others had gained his respect, it all depended.

He expected her to show respect tho, even if she wasn't afraid, after all, he was the leader around there, he was the most experienced warlord perhaps in the entire world, so if she lacked respect, things wouldn't fall well on her side. Another feel made him think she wouldn't be that stupid, she would show a certain degree of respect. So in sintony with his thoughts he decided to show a certain grade of respect too for a fellow vampire, but nothing too exacerbated.

Her voice was somewhat seductive, which mattered nothing to him, no woman could seduce Salvatore, he was practically immune to lust as that was only a weakness, if he wanted to be pleasured he could request it openly and he was sure most would say yes, he didn't seek it by choice. So ignoring the seductive tone he also understood she seemed somewhat rebellious, which was funny to him, not that interesting but a tad more original than most "dogs" walking around that compound. Her question was somewhat stupid.

Of course he had a way with the kids, again, thousands of years living, he ought to pick up some experience on children, hell he even killed many and was not afraid to admit it. He looked up into her eyes with a serious face, but not threatening. "Kids aren't the only ones I got a way with Seonad..." His eyes lowered again toward the book. He knew her name, he didn't know how surprised she'd be about it but to him there was nothing surprising about it. Such experienced and great leader had to know everyone around him to prevent further surprises.

"What brings you here?" He said without lifting his eyes off the book. Perhaps she'd be more interesting than he thought, or perhaps she'd just be another banal acquaintance, only time would tell, either way, it wouldn't bother him much, nothing really did tho.