(OOC: Bare bones of the plot are as follows:

Okay, eveyone wants the "good guys" to win. So ULTIMATELY the humans will win. Tait falls first, but late in the story, to the Originals. Then there's an EPIC BATTLE between the Originals and the humans. Ultimately, humans win that.

Details will be filled in as we RP.

Sorry to ruin, but if you're in the RP, you know this already~

xoxo K & L)

~~~~~

Many years ago, the United States government began experimenting on some willing, although mostly unwilling, humans. They tried for years before finally perfecting their virus. But their celebration was short-lived, as their virus spread like wildfire among the general population, setting in motion an apocolypse in those whose bodies couldn't adapt to the virus.

The affected survivors developed strange powers, blood-lust and anthropomorphic abilities like those in ancient lore. Along with that, they developed superhuman strength and heightened senses, which they used to overthrow the original government in hopes of instating a new world order.

Soon, the bloodlust spread and was directed towards the humans and that began the war...

And at the center of the bloodlust was Tait, the haughty, self-righteous vampire who wants to rule the world unchallenged...

"Ooh, nngh," Tait let his eyes roll back in his head, gripping the dark black locks in his lap. "I like the fact that you can't talk."

The vampire let out a growl as the boy's tongue licked tantalizing circles around his shaft. Oh, how he loved to have his body worshipped by underlings. The way they sucked him eagerly, swallowed all of him. It made him feel important. And well, he was important.

The prostitute looked up at the man everyone called Master Tait, his lips curling. He sucked in a breath as if to say something, but a sharp jerk on his hair made him realize that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the man. Other than sucking his dick.

"Mmmmn," Tait let out a long, low groan, feeling the muscles in his pelvis tighten. Oh, what a lovely mouth to bring him to his climax...

Tait was ready to come, could feel within his stomach, hot, bubbling, exstacy...

Until the door opened.

"Tait!"

The man let his eyes slide lazily over to the woman who had entered his bedroom without knocking. "What. Do you want?"

Tait came emotionlessly, the only evidence being the string of satiny come sitting comfortably in the corner of his prostitute's mouth.

(OOC: For Tait's interaction in this part, I consulted with Karasu. Please don't take liberties with other people's charas. )

Annaliese stomped down the hall, her boots clicking on the cement floors. Of course it would kill her "master" to decorate a little. She scoffed. Why was she doing this again? To be aiding a vampire, of all dirty things?

Ah yes, survival.

She smirked as she threw open the heavy wooden door to Tait's chambers. Knocking be damned. This was important.

The sight that met her made her stomach churn in disgust. The waifish boy on his knees before Tait paid her no mind, but Tait's eyes slid slowly over to her.

Annaleise tried to keep her expression blank. She hadn't realized that her "master" had been otherwise... occupied. But then again, she thought, a smirk moving unbidden to her lips, when wasn't he?

"Master Tait," she began, bowing begrudgingly. "News from the East has arrived. The remaining humans have risen against the creatures. Blood has been spilled."

Tait stared at her, expressionless. Annaleise tried desperately to fathom what was going through his head. Tait wasn't known for being lenient on the bringers of bad news. But when he finally spoke, it was simply directions.

"This isn't good. Go tell Aneirun that I have a special mission for him. Tell him his tainted blood will finally come in handy. He is to make contact with the humans and pose as one of them. He is to report to me with regular reports like a good boy." The sentence was finished with a satisfied smirk.

Annaleise bowed once more before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind her. It was her small show of defiance, something that could easily be passed off as an accident, so as not to invoke her "master's" wrath.

Stalking down the hall once more, she knocked impatiently on Aneirun's door.

Aneirun startled awake. He had taken to having naps whenever he wasn't busy, so that he would have more energy when his services were required. After all, there really wasn't much else to do around here.

He climbed out of his bed and grabbed a shirt off of the bedpost, quickly putting it on. He checked himself in the mirror, taking in his unnaturally colored eyes and tasttefully messy hair, before deeming himself decent enough for guests. After all, there were only a few people in his Master's services that actually knocked on his door; he was, after all, an underling, so the only people who knocked on his door were those who were respectful...and Annaleise.

Quickly, he scampered over to the door and flung it wide, smiling brightly at the beautiful girl before him. "Anna!" he cried delightedly, trying very hard not to show how terribly pleased he was to see her.

"Hey, Aneirun. Do you have a moment? I have orders from our Lord and Master," she said, a sarcastic tone creeping into her voice.

Aneirun pursed his lips a little bit; he truly did consider Tait to be his master, in every way. Master Tait controlled both his body and his mind, and even his emotions if it came down to it. Even so, Aneirun knew that Annaleise had no such loyalties, and was solely in-it-to-win-it, as the old saying went. "Come on in, Anna," Aneirun said, motining her inside and closing the door behind her.

Once inside, she turned to face him. "The reports came in fron the East, and it's not good, Aneirun." All amounts of sarcasm were wiped out of her voice as she spoke. "The humans have decided to rise up against the Creatures, and blood has been spilled. Tait thinks that your lineage will come in handy and wants you to become a spy for him. I'm not gonna lie to you, Aneirun. This is going to be dangerous. Are you prepared?"

Aneirun sighed and sat down, rubbing his face. "Of course I'm prepared. I just don't understand why the humans would do this to themselves. They know they're going to lose in the long run, so why would they even bother?"

"What I mean is," Anna said sitting next to him, "Are you going to be okay?"

Aneirun stared at her for a minute, trying to read her emotions, then shook his head and smiled, closing his eyes. "You know I'm not as pathetic as I look. I'll be fine, Anna. I promise."

Anna smiled ever so slightly. "I know you aren't pathetic. Believe me." Annaleise stood. "Anyways, I just had to give you the orders. I'm sure the 'master' will have more specific instructions soon. See you around. Oh, and Aneirun? Don't get yourself killed."

Annaleise waved casually behind her and stepped out of the room, leaving Aneirun to collect his thoughts and get ready for his special mission. After all, this was exactly what he signed on for.

---

Aneirun stood outside of the Eastern human encampment. It hadn't been easy finding it, but he was finally here. Now, he just had to find the guy that was in charge of this place...

(This was done with a looot of help from JL on how to write Ane. Kudos to her for not killing me or getting frustrated. And if Ane's messed up, tell me soon and I'll try to fix it within the next ten minutes. xD)

----------

“Betsy!” Damon chased after his runaway dog, breathing heavily. She finally stopped, seemingly unaware of her master’s exhaustion, and he doubled over. “Dammit, Bets, what’s up with you?” When Damon straightened back up and ran a hand through his messy brown hair, he saw why Betsy had run. She wanted to inspect the intruder. Damon walked up to the dog who was staring up at a very small Asian boy.

“She’s really cute,” the boy exclaimed. “Is she yours?”

Damon smiled down at him. “Yeah, her name’s Betsy.” He ruffled her white fur playfully.

“How old is she?”

“Um, actually…” Damon scratched his neck sheepishly. “I don’t know. I kinda rescued her. I’ve had her for five years now, though.”

“Does she bite?” The smaller male reached out a cautious hand.

“Not usually.” But when the other reached out a hand to pet her, Betsy bared her teeth and growled. Damon stared down at his dog, confusion written on his face. “Huh. She hasn’t done that since…” Damon shook his head. “She probably just doesn’t like new people much. What’s your name?”

“I’m Aneirun,” he said, holding out his hand.

Damon stared blankly. “Yeeeeeeahh, I’m gonna call you Ane-- I’m Damon, by the way. So what are you doing way out here?”

“I’m looking to enlist.”

More blank staring. Aneirun was pretty sure that this human was broken; this theory was further enforced when Damon started laughing. “Someone like you,” Damon said, laughing and gasping for air, “Wants to enlist here.”

Aneirun responded with a swift kick to Damon’s shoulder, sending him toppling to the ground. Betsy growled and stood ready to aid her master, but Damon waved at her dismissively. The brunet rubbed at his quickly bruising shoulder with a frown. He’d expected a snappy retort, not a kick. When he looked up, “Ane” was offering him a hand and a smile.

“Please don’t underestimate me again.”

Damon pulled Aneirun down and rolled over, effectively pinning him. “You’re cute, kid,” he said. “Stupid, but cute.” He didn’t give the teen a chance to respond; he jumped up and forcibly pulled up his new companion up with him. “C’mon. If the general approves of you, you can join. You already have my approval,” he said with a wink.

Aneirun ignored Damon in favour of dusting himself off. He should have seen that coming, but seeing the goofball switch gears so quickly must have put him off a little.

“Who’s in charge here?” Aneirun asked, taking quick strides to match Damon’s long legs.

“General Cronder, of course. His room is just up here.” Damon took Aneirun down a long passageway. At the end was a door that apparently belonged to the general, because Damon knocked three times before swinging the door open. “General, we have another possible recruit.”

Olivia squinted and shielded her eyes as the sunflashed in her eyes, making her wince. She looked around, seeing nothing butendless orchards and vegetation and she ran a hand through her chocolate brownhair, sighing in frustration. Where the hell am I? She shouldered a small pack that she managed to steal from the research facility and decided to keep moving, knowing now that she had nothing behind her anymore.

It had been over 12 years since she had been able to see the outside world. 12 long years, trapped inside countless research facilities, constantly being pricked with needles and used as a common lab rat. Her ice-blue eyes narrowed in irritation and sadness, for she was also not able to remember anything prior to being kept prisoner there. All she had was hername, and new abilities that she would not have gained on her own. She smiled as she clapped her hands together then moved them apart, seeing the trees in front of part in front of her very eyes, forming a walkway for her. Well, I suppose I at least have this to thank them for.

She walked around, taking in the scenery and feeling her spirits lift. She could feel the earth around her, the water flowing nearby in a stream, the air moving through her and surrounding her, making her hair blow in the wind gently. It was as if she was a part of the Earth, more connected than she had ever felt. She smiled and touched every tree as she walked, savoring the sensations, the thrills she felt.

She walked until she couldn’t anymore, and set her pack down next to a small stream and knelt down to get a drink of water, too distracted to hear or feel a presence invading her space.

Walkng through a dense forest, Hiroshi noticed a weird presence that he had never felt before. He continued to move the trees before him with his abilities, creating a road for himself because he didn‘t want to go onto any of the real roads. He wanted to avoid as much trouble as possible.

As he continued to move forward, however, the presence got stronger and stronger. He crouched behind one of the trees to see if he could get a closer look on what he was sensing. He then realized that it was a female, about nineteen years of age and about 145 pounds.

Hiroshi didn‘t know why, but he suddenly got the desire to attack. He didn’t know if she was an enemy or just a regular human being, but there was one sure way of finding out.

Pulling out his Katana, he proceeded to attack the girl. When she heard the katana become unsheathed, she quickly got up from her exhausted position and shot a wave of water at the warrior, knocking him down.

“Hey, you there, where are you from?” asked Hiroshi from his position on the

ground, soaking wet.

“What‘s it to you? And just who the hell do you think you are, coming up and pretending to be all high and mighty, trying to kill unsuspecting, innocent people?” She glared at him fearlessly, but remained on her guard.

“My name is Hiroshi, I’m a wandering Samurai from Japan,” replied Hiroshi regally, “The reason why I didn’t kill you was because I felt something strange in you; I believe that we have the same powers,” he said as he eyed her, his hand still on his katana.

“First off, what makes you think that you would be able to kill me? Further, what makes you think that we have the same abilities?” she asked, her eyebrow raised in incredulity.

Well, he doesn’t seem dangerous…or at least, not too much. I can enlighten him. “By the way, name’s Olivia. No last name.” A smile tugged at her lips.

“At least, not until I can see if I can trust you.”

He bowed to her, showing respect. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Olivia.” He looked her, “Because I have the same force inside me, I feel we may be kindred. Watch.”

Hiroshi then pulled out his Katana and drew tremendous amounts of wind element into his blade. He then slashed his katana towards the all the trees. The sharp wind flew off the blade cutting down anything in its path.

When Olivia saw the damage, she then too, knew that they had the same abilities but with different type of style; while she used her hands, he seemed to be more adept at using the blade. She stored this away in her head for future use.

Their conversation was cut short, however, as they felt yet another presence within the clearing. Well, weren’t they just popular today…

From his vantage point on the tree limb, Naberu could see two other figures. A male and a female, and from the looks of it, they could control the elements. How very interesting. He had been traveling for quite a bit, and to stumble upon these two was quite a treat.

Smirking, the black-haired vampire dropped from the tree limb and landed gracefully on his feet. He walked towards the female, his strides long and his face betraying nothing. She glanced at him and immediately stiffened, her eyes narrowed. “Who are you?” she asked, sounding rather irritated.

Naberu held his hands up in a placating manner. “I assure you, I am not a threat. My name is Naberu, and I have some curious news for the two of you.” They eyed him suspiciously, and he offered them a disarming smile.

“Have you heard about the war?”

The male nodded, “That is why I have traveled here from Japan.”

Naberu, a bit surprised, turned his gaze to the female, who shook her head. “Then allow me to share my knowledge,” he said, trying to act a bit more charming. If he could persuade them that he was on their side, and he was, for the most part, then he would be almost guaranteed a chance at… “meeting” Tait.

Tait.

His smile morphed into a scowl at the mere thought of the vampire. “From what I have heard, the werewolves and vampires have formed an alliance of sorts. The vampire in charge is named Tait.” Naberu scoffed, turning up his nose arrogantly. “The humans do not want this vampire in charge, and so they have rebelled. They are building an army.”

He leveled his gaze with the two if them, golden eyes narrowed. “Personally, I agree with the humans; I do not want Tait to be the 'ruler',” he murmured, waving his hand in an almost dismissive manner. “What are your opinions on this… travesty of a ruler?”

(( OOC: It’s pretty short, please forgive me :’3 ))

“Tsk… tsk…” Rein sucked on his teeth as he stared down at the reports before him and thought about the next plan of action for his army. He rubbed his temples and sighed. He was putting all he had into this war.

His thoughts were broken by the opening of the door; there stood one of his subordinates and a smaller man he didn’t recognize. It’s said that first impressions are made in the first thirty seconds of a conversation. Rein hated to waste time. He made his opinion on the boy in ten; such a small being was no threat.

“So you want to join my army?” One eyebrow cocked, his mouth curled in an amused grin. “I only want serious soldiers on my side. Are you sure such a tiny thing like you can handle yourself?”

Aneirun twitched at the obvious insult. He had been questioned already, but he couldn’t very well kick the leader of these people to show them just how qualified he was. He opened his mouth to speak, but Damon beat him to the punch.

“Uhhh…Hi?” he said. Aneirun, confused, turned to him. Wasn’t this General Cronder? So why was Damon so surprised to find him here?

He glanced back at the leader, seeing how he would answer.

Rein took in his underling, a look of distaste on his face. “I am Rein Turner. General Cronder is away for a time, so I’m in charge of this place until then. Is there a problem?” Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Aneirun. “Well, I’m waiting. How can you prove to me that you’re worthy of my time?”

Aneirun contemplated how best to answer this challenge. He glanced at Damon. He could always kick him again, but he needed allies and Damon was his first one. Or, at least, Aneirun thought of them as allies. Damon had seemed to approve, which was important.

Damon seemed to notice his look and gave him a “Sorry, can’t help you there,” look and Aneirun sighed. So much for allies. Aneirun then turned back to Rein, his eyes burning. He would not fail his Master. No matter what.

“Sir,” he began. “If you would just give me a chance to prove my worth in real battle, I would much appreciate it. I swear to you, if I have not proven myself after the first real altercation, I will leave without a single argument.”

Rein seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then stood up from where he had been leaning against the desk. “Alright, kid. You get one chance. If you don’t prove yourself in battle, you’re out of here. Now, you are dismissed.”

Aneirun felt a wave of relief rush over him, but was careful not to let it show. “Thank you, Sir.” He bowed, being used to such formalities, before leaving, Damon and his dog following.

Damon caught up quickly. “Hey, hey!” he said. “Why didn’t you kick him like you did me? That’s so unfair!”

Aneirun felt a reluctant smile tug at his lips. “You are not in charge. Do you really think that guy would let me join if I kicked him? He’s more likely to kill me for my insubordination.”

“Still,” Damon pouted. The two of them continued into the main camp.

Aneirun looked around what was going to be like a new home to him for the months to come. He already missed Anna, and most importantly, he missed Tait.

As the two of them and the dog continued meandering through the camp, Damon pointing out various places of interest and importance, Aneirun began zoning out. So occupied was he that he didn’t even notice when he ran right into a skinny, pale man with angular features and the palest blonde hair that Aneirun had ever seen…

Saint stumbled back, cold blue eyes snapping into focus and landing on the figure in front of him. Four inches shorter, scrawny…just a kid. Confused, he glanced at the person beside the stranger, recognising one of his fellow humans. Of course. It was always him.

The blond sneered, eyes narrowing in irritation. The other man’s strange behaviour was really beginning to wear on his nerves.

“Children aren’t allowed here, Damon,” he growled, staring at the tiny stranger. He looked human…but there was something…off about him…

Damon’s hazel eyes flicked between the blond and Aneirun, a sheepish smile on his face as he carded a hand through his auburn hair.

“Uh, actually, this is Aneruin…our new recruit.”

Saint’s eyes widened a fraction in disbelief, although the rest of his pale face did not betray this emotion. His piercing gaze snapped to Damon’s, looking for any signs of joking. It wouldn’t be unusual…but his eyes lacked their usual sparkle.

“You cannot be serious,” Saint muttered, anger spreading around the edges of his mind. “There is no way Zeke or Rein would approve this.”

Damon simply shrugged, smile turning apologetic.

Well, fuck.

Lip curling, Saint turned his attention to this…Aneirun, gloved fingers twitching. The boy was watching him carefully.

“So. You’re to be our new recruit, are you?” Head tilting to the side, a harsh smirk touched his mouth. “Think you can beat me?”

He didn’t give the boy a chance to reply before a wave of sharp, scrap metal were hurtling toward him, whistling through the air. Damon’s eyes widened, a startled, “What are you doing?!” flying from his mouth as he threw himself to the side.

Aneirun, however, merely stood there, amber eyes steady and posture relaxed. Saint thought the he was going to let them slice through his thin body, but then…

He was gone.

The blond instantly stiffened, sharp metal hitting the dirt around him as he listened, watched for any sign of movement.

Any sign—

The ground knocked the breath out of him, jarring his bones as he was slammed down, teeth cutting into his lip. Blood slowly trickled down his chin as he wrenched his head over his shoulder, snarling. There was Aneirun, knee against his spine and hands wrapped tightly around the blond’s thin arms, keeping them pinned behind his back.

“Get off me, brat,” Saint hissed, cold blue eyes sparking with hatred.

Aneirun regarded him coolly. “If I do that, are you going to try to kill me again?”

The taller man glared, lip curling back. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t.”

He raised an eyebrow at Saint. “I could just dislocate your arms. Maybe break them.”

Occasionally, Saint had the wisdom to realise when he was beaten. This…was one of those times. After all, he had no skills at hand-to-hand combat…why should he, when gifted with telekinesis?

Scowling, he tore his gaze away from Aneirun, staring at the specks of dirt near his nose.

The words forced their way through his clenched teeth, poisonous on his tongue.

“Fine. Now get the hell off of me.”

After a brief moment of staring at the blond, Aneirun rose, freeing his arms. Saint winced slightly as pain shot through his shoulders, but he rose to his feet gracefully, brushing off the dirt coating his white waistcoat. Shooting one last venomous look at Aneirun, he growled, “Don’t you dare fuck up”, before stalking away, knee-high boots thumping against the ground.

There was something wrong with that kid. He just knew it.

"Well, uhh. That was weird, right?" Damon asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

Aneirun was apparently still a little pissed off, but he wasn't showing it much more than narrowing his eyes in the direction in which Saint had stalked off.

"Um. So." Damon shifted awkardly. "You want a tour?"

Aneirun considered it. It wouldn't do for him to get lost, right? It had nothing to do with the fact that Damon was the first person in a while to be so amicable. He nodded, and Damon smiled back.

"C'mon, Betsy!"

The dog stubbornly stayed put, staring at Aneirun from a safe distance. The spy fought the urge to fidget nervously. That dog was too smart. Luckily, her owner remained clueless.

"Aw, come on, Bets! It's just Ane. He won't bite!"

How ironic, Aneirun thought to himself. Was that the best encouragement Damon could think up?

"Fine," Damon said as he crossed his arms. "Just sit there, you big sourpuss. We'll go have fun without you." Damon put a hand on Aneirun's elbow to lead him in the other direction, causing the smaller boy to sort of start in shock but not protest. "C'mon, Ane," he said with a tug.

"This over here is the cafeteria. I'd show you, but it's breakfast. You don't want to go in there right now; trust me."

Curiosity got the better of Aneirun. "Why not?"

Damon smirked down at him. "I'm going to assume you don't want to fend off men who want to make you theirs just yet. They're usually good people," Damon was quick to assure, "But they tend to forget their manners around cute boys."

Aneirun blushed; Damon was so different from Tait and Annelise, and he wasn't used to receiving compliments. He noticed the hand on his elbow had started to drift a little lower, but Damon kept walking ahead. "Up here's where most of us train."

"Most?"

"I, uh, don't." Damon looked away awkwardly, and Aneirun decided to quell his curiosity for the moment. "We call over here the commons. It's just a huge lobby where everyone hangs out sometimes. You don't want to go there any time after dinner."

"For the same reason?"

"Yeah. I mean, uh, if you're into that, it's cool-- not that you look like you would be-- but I don't have a problem--" Damon frowned. He was digging himself a pretty little grave, huh? "I'm just going to shut up and show you the barracks," he finally said. "Uh, you should know we're a little short on beds, so if you don't want to share with someone, you'll have to sleep on the floor."

"...is anyone sharing with you?" Aneirun pressed.

"...not yet," Damon said cautiously. He knew where this was going. He just hoped he didn't do something stupid that would make Aneirun want to kill him in his sleep.

"Can I?" the boy asked.

"If you want," Damon replied awkardly. He tore his hand away when he realized he was still holding on to Aneirun.

--timeskiplol--

Damon collapsed on his bed. He didn't care what anyone said; he loved having bottom bunk. He didn't have to climb up a ladder after exhausting himself.

Aneirun came in soon after, still a little damp from his shower.

"Hey, Ane. You ready for bed?" Damon glanced over at the small boy.

"Yeah."

Damon moved over to allow Aneirun ample room. They may have made quick friends, but not sticking to his side of the bed would have been just plain weird. Due to his fatigue, Damon fell asleep in no time.

((OOC: This will be a little bit shorter than my previous posts, I think, but hopefully I shall be forgiven. ^^;;))

Aneirun slowly got out of the bed. He had no idea what had given him the gall to actually ask Damon to share a bed with him, but he was glad he had. It was better than sleeping on the floor, in any case. There was a time when that's all Aneirun could do, and not something he liked remembering.

Silently, he grabbed his shoes and pack from where he had left them and put them on. That done, he stood and shot a glance at Damon to make sure he was still sleeping before slipping out the door.

He had a pretty long journey ahead of him, but he was relatively certain that he could be back by morning and in bed before anyone noticed he was gone, now that he knew exactly where the encampment was located.  Slowly, Aneirun hoisted his pack once more and set out, hoping that nobody would notice him.

---

Aneirun arrived back at the vampire lair at approximately midnight. He quickly stepped inside the secret entrance and made his way down the hall. He arrived at Tait's door and raised his hand to knock, not wanting to barge in on his master if he was...otherwise occupied, as he so often was. He waited silently outside, and felt his heartbeat flutter nervously as he heard the door knob slowly turn.

Annaleise saw Aneirun arrive back at the lair from her spot in the surrounding trees. A part of her longed to run to him, happy to see him after even such a short time. But something stilled her. She wasn't ready to go back yet.

Every now and then, it became too much, working for Tait as nothing more than a dog, expected to run his errands and do his bidding, with no chance of leaving the grounds unless he himself was going somewhere and was in need of a guard. And even then, she wasn't allowed out of Tait's company.

At night, she took to the grounds while Tait entertained himself as he pleased, transforming and breathing in the fresh air, free of the scent of vampire, running as fast as she could, as far as she was permitted.

But tonight, there was a new smell in the air, and Annaleise moved to investigate. There, on the very edge of the grounds, almost teetering on the property line, was a person. For lack of a better word, anyway.

There was nothing extraordinary about this person, but in that very fact, they were extraordinary. They shone almost white in the moonlight. Annaleise was torn between approaching this person and running away. The battle was raging in her mind when the person took one careful step over the property line.

Annaleise's hair stood on end as she crouched, ready to pounce, a growl ripping through her teeth. The person turned to look at her, appearing largely unconcerned by Annaleise's warning.

A howl ripped through the air.

Sean, Annaleise recognized. On instinct, she turned and ran full-force back to the lair.

(OOC: Cued both Oka and Kanilla.)

In the dead of night everything was silent, apart from the occasional animal that lurked about, but as Sean closed in on the property line that marked the grounds of his home and work place things had gone eerily quiet. The transformation was sudden, too sudden to be normal, and it had him on guard and alert.

Christ, intruders really do have the worst timing imaginable, he thought humorlessly.

With his left hind leg injured and a broken rib he was in no conditionto take on any intruders. At least he had taken proper care of the prisoner that escaped, but that bugger had given him one hell of a fight, despite being a full-blooded human. The trip back might have been less painful had he travelled in human form, but his injuries would heal faster this way, as a werewolf.

He came to a stop as he caught a whiff of a strange scent carried by the breeze.

It smelled…not quite human, but nothing like a vampire or any other creature that he knew.

Sean bared his teeth, crawling closer still, though well aware that he couldn’t fight. Standing a couple of feet from the property line was a strange person(or was it a person at all?), and for a moment Sean was too captivated by the creature’s strange shine and presence to be alarmed. But his instincts kicked in and had him growling and crouching down, hoping to threaten the creature enough that it would leave.

The person never even looked at him orseemed to notice him, and the moment it crossed the line with one foot Sean threw his head back and howled.

Damn, he hoped Annaleise was somewhere nearby.

He ran as fast towards the lair as he could with the pain his leg was causing him.

Olivia blinked and her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Tait? Hmm…Never heard of him. Sorry, wish I could help you there.” Her mind was spinning. Vampires? Werewolves? Just what is going on here? Hmph… I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I’m not exactly normal here, and neither is Samurai man here, from the looks of it. Was I out of contact that long? God, I just wish I could remember… She sighed and looked at Naberu, her face clear with weariness.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything that’s going on. Care to fill me in?”

The black-haired man standing in front of her nodded. “A few years back, there was a virus that was released and wreaked havoc everywhere. Those who didn’t die from it were transformed into what we thought were only mythological creatures, such as vampires and werewolves.”

Olivia nodded, taking all of this in, feeling someof the confusion wash away. She glanced over at Hiroshi who was standing stiffly, face devoid of emotion. Wonder what he’s thinking. She turned her attention back to Naberu, who continued with his explanation.

“Shortly after all of this happened, Tait, a vampire, rose up and took charge, assembling an army to overthrow the government and rebuild another one. However, now, the humans are making an army of their own to retaliate since they decided that they don’t want him in power.”

Olivia noticed that Naberu’s eyes narrowed inhatred, and his voice turned cold at Tait’s name. Interesting. Whatever happened to make this man hate another so much?

Naberu shook his head slightly, trying to clear the feeling of pure loathe that he felt towards him, and looked up at Olivia, eyes twinkling in the sun. “So, I ask again, what’s your opinion of him?”

She bit her lip. Great,he bombards me with info and now he wants an opinion?

“Um…I don’t really know. I guess I’d have to see him or talk to him in person or something before I make any assumptions. Sorry.”

She sighed once more, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Her mind was reeling still, trying to process everything that she had learned in the short period of time. She suddenly felt dizzy and her knees buckled.“I’m sorry, I need to sit down,” she said as she fell on her knees, her vision fading.

(OOC: Following Kanilla's post.)

Annaleise skidded to a stop when she reached the lair, Sean hot on her heels. She grimaced as her bones reformed to her human shape. Even after all this time, it was still painful to repress the wolf inside her. Turning to Sean, she tried to catch her breath.

"What... was that thing?" she panted, her eyes wide. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Sean was grimacing, grasping his leg. He was injured. How had she not smelled the blood?

"We have to tell Master Tait," he gasped, ignoring my pointed look at his injuries.

"The master is busy with Aneirun's report. Let's get you bandaged up and then we'll go. They should be finishing up by then."

(OOC: Following Kanilla/Luci's post)

--

Veran stood very still. The only thing that reacted to her surroundings was the wind rustling at her clothes and what little hair she had. Her eyes had watched one wolf sprint off in the opposite direction after seeing her. Her ears had heard yet another wolf howling somewhere off to her side. Yet she did not move. She waited instead, listening carefully to the sounds of wolves’ feet retreating with haste.

No, she thought and corrected herself: Werewolves’ feet. These were werewolves. Surely bodyguards or in some other way affiliated with the vampire who called himself simply ‘Tait’.

She wasn’t sure just what had brought her here, for she did not side with the humans and therefore had not come to attempt--like so many had tried (and failed) in the past--to assassinate the self-appointed vampire Lord. However, she didn’t quite take to those affected with the virus either and she was not here to forge an alliance (or pledge her allegiance. She scowled at the thought). The only explanations she could muster was that after three months of following some kind of intuition (and the directions of dozens of shady folk), she had been drawn here.

She supposed it was inevitable. One day she would have to confront the roadblocks in her path. Veran realized during her journey that she could no longer avoid the war and lurk in the shadows, waiting for a ceasefire. One that was clearly never going to happen, what with the apparent stubborness of either side. In the end, Veran decided it might be a good idea to...get an idea of what she was really dealing with.

A minute passed. Two minutes, three, four until Veran allowed herself to relax--if only slightly--and move forward. Every step was taken with caution. She was in an unknown territory--for this was a million times different than some slum vampire village in the wastelands. This was the top of the cake and Veran had no idea what she was getting herself into.

She only hoped she could get herself out.

Eventually, she was enveloped by the same trees that had revealed the werewolf to her. This discomforted her more so than being out in the open, but she kept moving. She knew there was the possibility of confrontation before she even got to her destination, and she was ready.

(OOC: In reply to Sari.)

Naberu hid his discontent, keeping his face blank. He couldn’t get mad at the girl for not knowing what to think of everything; after all, it was quite a bit of information to digest. He opened his mouth, about to reply to her, only to notice that she had passed out. The black-haired vampire blinked. Well, that was… unexpected.

The vampire sighed and pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He had important things to discuss with these two. He didn’t have time to wait for this girl to wake up. Naberu stooped next to the brown-haired girl and smacked her cheek lightly.

“Wake up,” he ordered, frowning when she didn’t respond. He tried smacking her again, this time with a tiny bit more force behind it. He was careful not to hit her too hard: all he needed was to accidentally piss her off and be burnt alive. Regardless, she still did not answer.

With an agitated sigh, he stalked over to the stream. He crouched down and dipped his cupped hands into the cool water, then walked stiffly back over to where the female lay. He dropped the water onto her face, rather pleased and a bit smug when she gasped and her eyes flew open.

What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the pillar of dirt to hit him and knock him onto his back. The vampire blinked slowly and sat up, casting a glare towards the girl. Perhaps he should’ve assumed something like that would have happened.

She seemed to realize what she had done, for she began apologizing repeatedly.

Giving her a tight-lipped smile, Naberu waved his hand nonchalantly, “It’s fine, accidents happen.”

He hopped to his feet and dusted off his leather pants. He regarded the duo for a moment, and realized he didn’t even know their names. How could you propose an alliance when you didn’t even know the names of your allies?

“What are your names? The question seems to have slipped my mind, up until now.”

“I’m Olivia,” the female murmured, seemingly still a bit worried about her previous stunt.

“I am Hiroshi,” the male replied, his hand resting lightly upon the hilt of his katana.

The vampire smiled again, and dipped his head to the two. “Well, Hiroshi, Olivia. I have a proposition for you. I am willing to form an alliance with the two of you, and, seeing as I am a vampire, I can offer my services as a spy.”

Naberu glanced up at the two, a smirk curving his lips. “What do you say?”

Tait let out a feral growl as he heard the knock on his door. He bit down, hard, on the boy beneath him's neck, mumbling a "sorry."

Ugh, he was getting so fucking frustrated with all of these goddamn interruptions! He was Master Tait! As far as he was concerned, he was the one who rescued those sorry sacks of shit, so they should respect his privacy.

Maybe he should utilize the sock-on-doorknob rule?

He wasn’t sure he had many socks, since he spent most of his time around the castle barefoot, but he would sure as fuck find some if it would help keep those damn knocks down!

Tait looked back at the boy in his bed, Damien, shrugged, then opened the door. And he had to admit, he was slightly surprised to see Aneirun in front of him, all wide eyes and delicate frame.

“What’re you doing here?” Tait held up his hand as Aneirun sucked in a breath to answer him like the good pet he was. “Nevermind, I don’t give a shit. What happened while you were at the human’s base?”