Archangel
Ice Breaker
And thus did the Archangel descend from Heaven itself...
Posts: 478
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Post by Archangel on Nov 12, 2005 22:56:15 GMT -6
Atta watched the two new arrivals with a keen eye. One, he knew. The girl was Raven Anchiara, and for once his morbid eyes focused on something with some semblance of interest. She was known throughout the Underworld as the most sadistic fucking bitch in the Vegas. He knew the stories. Once she had flayed a vampire's skin from his bones, sucked the stolen blood from his heart, then proceeded to watch as rats, maggots, and other vile vermin had feasted on the still conscious flesh. The vampire had of course died, and it was only well...he had made the mistake of insulting her in public. Or so the story went. The leper felt no fear for Raven, felt no harm could come to him. Even if she did intend to crucify him with her horrible torture methods, it was just a speed up of the process already taking place. So he would die a year or two early? Not like he would feel the pain. His nerve cells were mostly dead. No, she was not intimidating to Atta Sunset.
The next vampire to enter The Pit was by far the most intriguing specimen of vampirism Atta had ever seen. It was said that a vampire's looks changed according to the prey he fed on. Strigoi feeding on mongrel dogs became canine in appearance. Strigoi feeding on the recently dead became cadaverous. Vampires feeding on humans gained human characteristics. But what in the world was this one feeding on? He seemed a true vampire, through and through. There was almost nothing human about him anymore. Did that mean he didn't feed on humans? But he didn't look Strigoi. So that must mean.... A word danced through Atta's head, but he brushed it aside. No way. Not a chance that one of them could be in town. That would just be...too bizarre. Maybe he was just mistaken. Maybe this vampire was a Pure with some... differences. But, in any case, he was intriguing.
Atta shrugged, and took another sip of his whiskey. The other vampires seemed intimidated by the appearance of these two newcomers. Atta felt no such intimidation. He was a doomed creature, running out of his borrowed time, heading for the real death sometime soon. Better to die in battle than to rot away and die as a leper. And who said he would die if he met these two anyways? Only one way to tell.
Taking his drink, Atta walked up to the bar. He sat down easily beside Raven, and, as expected, didn't get her attention at all. She sat there, busily musing into her own drink. In a laconic, nonchalant type of voice, Atta spoke, not showing bravado, but not showing fear either. Almost as if he were a trifle bored.
"Soooo... I see you're Raven Anchiara. I expected you to be a tad shorter, but hey...sometimes legends don't cut it, now do they? What are you drinking? I'll buy the next one. Oh, and I'm Atta Sunset. I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you, but one can never be sure, yes?" With that, he flashed her a fang-filled smile, catlike eyes focused intently, gloved hand grasping the whiskey glass.
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Post by Kaisar on Nov 12, 2005 23:08:50 GMT -6
Raven looked to the man as he spoke to her, examining him touraly with an extended glance and smiled faintly as he introduced himself. "Atta Sunset.... yes you name too is not unknow to me..." she replied casualy. "Your fate perhaps could have been a kinder one but... then again do we not all exist on borowed time?" Raven sipped her wine enjoying the flavour thoughraly. 'death has her handin us all vampire, human and...." she looked over her shoulder at the loming man she had watched slaughter those men. 'Tra'Noi alike...." she looked back to her glass and drained it in one mouthful. 'I would most certinatly like another wine Atta i think i shall be needing it this night... we have a rare guest amoung us one tha should be feared and respected...." she stared again at her glass as the bartender poured another drink.
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Post by Vahalior on Nov 13, 2005 15:52:06 GMT -6
Arai made his way across town to the affectionatly named 'Asid Row'. A pratically dead area of Las Vegas, the small time casinos and hotels squoze to death by the larger, more luxury competitors, was an appropriate place for the underground 'club' that had become the impromptu meeting place of all of the Strigoi, and a few more colourful characters from the Pure vampire society. He left his weapons in the tomb, safely placed back within the coffin until needed, a time he hoped would never occur.
The Vaults, as it was appropriatly known, had come into exsistance when a Strigoi known only as Uncle Smelly had taken up residence in the cellar underneath The Arms hotel. The Arms had long since closed down, as had almost all of the businesses on Asid Row, but the Vaults had flourished with the dis-enchanted youth and drugged residents of Asid Row ready to enter, dance to the music and drown their sorrows in cheap, home brewed whiskey. Uncle Smelly himself was a most rare case. Unable to live with his vampiric condition, he had hidden himself away from humanity in the sewers, drinking the diseased blood of rats. His back had hunched slightly, while his fingers had thinned and clawed from his rodent feast, yet the one thing loathed exsistance couldn't break was his golden heart. He had declared the Vaults Sanctuary. A place any vampire could go, regardless of specie or past record, and simply forget their troubles for a night, or hide from the suns deadly rays if for, whatever reason, they suddenly found themselves without a place to rest.
As he descended the stairs down into the basement level of the Arms, the familar din of people stomping, bellowing, and generally doing stuff most of society frowned upon filled his mind. Ignoring the faded carpet and glass shards across the Arms's lobby, he instead descended down the metal stairs straight into the Vaults themselves. Originally, people were expected to walk through the Arms and into the kitchen, but a few too many drunken revellers walking into walls, or even worse getting lost, had caused Uncle Smelly to smash a hole in the floor and install stairs there instead.
"Arai, to what do ah owe dis pleasure?" A soft, whispering voice entered his mind as a figure dressed in a large trench coat literally emerged from the shadows in front of Arai. "Let us go to mah office, yes?" Before Arai could protest, Uncle Smelly grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shadows, which swallowed him entirely. A second later he was standing in a dimly lit room, dead rats, their stomachs literally tore out littered the floor. Even in the low light, Arai caught a glimpse of Uncle Smellys face. There was the first signs of whiskers forming near the corners of his mouth, while his nose and mouth was beginning to extend slightly, becoming more of a snout. His front teeth had grown considerably, almost 2 inches long it appeared.
"I see your still running this place.." Arai began, sitting himself down on a simple wooden chair by the unadorned desk in the centre of the room. "What do you make to this whole 'Vampires discovered' business that everyones so riled about?" Uncle Smelly stroked his whiskers for a moment, casually adjusting his hood as he did so to try and prevent the light from revealing his more rodent features.
"Indee' lad, ah am. An' what am ah doin' 'bout it?" He chuckled slightly, before raising his arm high above his head and pulling a thin piece of string attatched to the roof. With a dull hum, a few lights activated, revealing what now lined the walls of Uncle Smellys office. Arai couldnt help but gawp as he stared at the multitude of weaponary now suspended from the walls. How he had managed to afford such hardware wasn't clear, and Arai knew better than to ask "If the push comes to the shoves, me and mah lads ain't gonna stand for no shit off some wussy humans." Uncle Smelly grinned, revealing his fangs and rodent teeth, a mischevious glint in his eye as he did so. "And ah assume that ah could rely on a corpse-suckin' gremlin such as yaself to lend a hand, if yah get me." Arai nodded in response. Strigoi stuck together, they had to. If the shit hit the fan, he knew that the Pures and Vampires would use the Strigoi as cannon fodder at best, or bait worst while they escaped into the safety of the countryside. They had to stick together, safety in numbers.
"If it ever happens, I'll be with you on the front lines." Arai added, before walking to the door behind Uncle Smelly and entering the large, low roofed area that was the Vaults dance, and bar area. The speaker system was cheap, giving a tinny unrefined edge to the loud death metal thundering around the room. A few small red lights flickered, giving just enough light to allow people to see where they were going. A single UV tube hung above the bar itself, one end had pulled itself lose from the roof, so the tube dangled and swayed with the beat, adding to the general look of crudeness that seemed to be part of the Vaults. 'Character' Uncle Smelly had called it. The DJ, apparently unaware that only three people were presant at the moment, was waving his arms around wildly trying to encourage imaginary individuals onto the dance floor. Arai sighed, mummbled, then placed himself to a bar stool which wobbled slightly under his weight. Waving to the bar man, who handed him a glass of brown, stinking liquid to him. There would be other Strigoi here soon he was sure, the announcement would surely cause them to come together and plan a course of action.
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Archangel
Ice Breaker
And thus did the Archangel descend from Heaven itself...
Posts: 478
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Post by Archangel on Nov 13, 2005 17:34:58 GMT -6
(OOC: Dual post with Nish)
"A special guest you say? How...delightful." Atta glanced the way that the female had glanced, towards the second newcomer. Had she said the magical word? Had she mouthed what he thought she'd mouthed? Tra'Noi? How...interesting. Atta waved the bartender off as he finished pouring Raven her second glass, and took a sip of his whiskey. Tra'Noi were infamous for their...deadliness, and their shocking abilities. Maybe...just maybe...he really was a Tra'Noi. That would explain the strangeness of his appearance, and the way Raven was acting. Hmmmmm.....
"So, Raven, what brings you by tonight? Looking for a little drink? Or maybe...a big drink?" There was a slyness in his voice which overlayed the dull boredom of his tone.
Raven smiled a cold and rather ruthless grin, she rarely smiled kindly and if she did it normaly boded well for the recipient. But tonight she wasn't feeling particuarly pleasent. Looking past Atta she looked once more to the Tra'noi before looking back to her wine. "I ate not long ago dear Atta... I came here to inspire a little fear and just because i can... do we need reasons to do what we do?" She sighed and sipped her wine once more gazing thoughtfuly into the red liquid.
"Of course it was an educated guess of mine that the Tra'Noi would be coming here I find his kind somethnig of a fascination."
"As do we all, my dear. As do we all. Most of the fascination, however, is subsumed by fear. Especially in the...lower classes." Atta sparked another fang-filled grin in her direction, and took a sip of his drink. He knew a bit about Raven, and suspected that her love of fear was very great. She was a sadistic vampire, and she seemed to almost feed off of the fear of her victims. But the Tra'Noi...now he was different. He created fear like a tree created life-giving oxygen, but his fear was far more potent. And...Tra'Noi did not feed off of fear. They fed off of stolen blood, stealing their life-giving substance twice. It was appalling, and yet intriguing, to think of what a Tra'Noi did, and why. Atta pondered for a moment, reflecting on all the legends he knew or had been told, and what the other vampires had taught him.
"So...this Tra'Noi...he interests you, eh? I see. One such as he would interest one such as you. I find him...interesting, yes. If that's the word. But really, my dear, he is still just a vampire. He can still be killed. He can still die the True Death. He is not some god, sent among us in Las Vegas for some unknown reasons. He has motives, ambitions, pretensions...just like the rest of us. Don't you think?"
Raven laughed, her laugh was light and musical. "I know the Tra'Noi are not gods Atta. I'm not that deranged. What draws me to this one is his... technique. I saw it for myself first hand and it is somethnig to be feared and awed. He moved with a speed so fast even I couldn't track him.' she sighed and drained her glass again then licking the tip of her finger began running around the rim of the glass so a soft steady humm rang through the glass. "Of couse... I admire the Tra'Noi for their abilities, as one Predator to another. They are our superiors, our predators." She closed her eyes and continued to create the high pitched humm in the glass until she stopped and looked over her shoulder at the Tra'Noi. "If you'll excuse me Atta I must pay my respects to the Tra'Noi." She rose from her seat and moved away.
As she rose from her seat, Atta simply nodded to her, his head tilted and his glass brought up rakishly. But as she walked away, he thought to himself,
Ha! The deer does not admire the wolf, not when the woods are full of dead deer carcasses. Not if the deer is smart. However, the analogy does not fit...because the deer does not possess claws and fangs of his own. We may be prey, my dear Raven. But this prey is not weak and helpless. I will never bow down to one such as he, the Tra'Noi...but I will never underestimate him either.
With a sigh, Atta ordered another round, this time opting for a fruitier drink, to maybe give his dulled sense of taste a little kick. And he watched the interaction between Raven and the Tra'Noi carefully, his eyes never leaving the two of them, his keen ears listening carefully...
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