Live by the Sword (open)

[Brandt]

The tavern was the place of choice for Brandt, the warrior who also happened to be a slayer as well. It had been a family trade, at one point they did so in the open and were proud of the fact. Although now they had to become much more secretive. Sitting at the bar, with his back placed against the wall and hands resting on the damp bar table. There wasn't much else for him to do. Tapping his fingernails against the damp wood, before glancing around at the others who inhabited this place. Most were sleepy old mortal men, drowning away the sorrow they felt with the alcoholic beverages they consumed. Was he going to end up like these men? Heaven he hoped not. The barman passed him a mug filled with ale, giving the man a friendly smile before smelling the liquid and finding nothing foreign. He began to drink, mmmm it was good. The appreciation for the liquid was demonstrated on his face, with a smile and half-closed eyes. At his side he carried a sword, always.. always the sword came with him everywhere he went. Other than that, he had several concealed daggers and the quality of his sheath suggested that he was a man of rank. Not necessarily a noble, but someone with personal wealth.

Sea-green eyes moved here and there, searching for any signs that someone there could be a vampire. At the moment, he could find no-one and vampires tended to feed on the younger folk. Lovely, that meant that he should be an ideal target for any vampire who decided to come in. Luckily for him, this was something that he wanted. Silently whispering a small prayer, to an unknown pagan god who Brandt's family still tended to pray to. No-one knew why now, Brandt certainly didn't and yet he found reassurance in the knowledge that a prayer could give him confidence. Licking his lips, tasting the ale and taking yet another sip of it. And so the wait began...

[Ariah]

Ariah stared at the pub doors, knowing there was at least one slayer inside… but she was so hungry. A month had past since she’d last drank human blood. Most vampires didn’t even wait that long, even in the Ventana. However, she never killed her victim, though they did wake up several hours later without knowing what happened. Such were the innocence of mortals.

Tonight she wore a long black coat that flowed down around her feet and barely stopped an inch above the ground. She wore it to conceal her weapons and make her less suspicious looking if that were possible. One problem though. The color of her eyes weren’t exactly human…. Her eyes dimmed because she wanted them too then she brushed her hair down with her fingers around her face so that no one would notice. Then there was the fact that she was actually a girl. That might not go over to well but she could always plead desperate for a drink. Alright, anything else she was forgetting? She didn’t think so. Normally Ariah wouldn’t go to such measures, but she could smell the slayer sitting in there, and she really didn’t want to die just yet, not when her career with the Ventana had just started.

Taking a breath, Ariah stepped inside and moved to the bar. She ordered an average drink for now and forced herself to stare down at the mug, or counter, and not to look around. Instead, she listened to the people inside. Some where way too old to even consider being in a place where young seductive women might be, and a few were probably too young. There was one man about the right age, but that was a bit suspicious to her, so she didn’t move towards him. Instead, she thought. The oldest ones were too fragile and the youngest ones were too new. There were some there that were getting aged, but they had a few more years. One of them would probably be best, and not the one that was the perfect age. She took another drink and tried to figure out how she would accomplish this.

[Brandt]

Slayers were always depicted as having these wonderful lives. Pfft! Half the time was waiting around for them to show up and the other, was simply fighting for your life. Sea-green eyes continued their sweep of the taven crowd, seeking out anyone who happened to he a vampire and any potential victims of vampires. All but one caught his attention; a female and she certainly looked too healthy to be from these parts and certainly, those eyes were not those of a mortal. Suprising Brandt was she didn't seem to be on the hunt, one could say she looked a little embarassed or worried to be in the company of what would be the equalivant of cattle.

Although in this circumstance she would be the one being the prey and he would be the predator. Admittedly he woudn't be draining her blood, eating her although it ended with the same result. Death. At this time he wasn't sure of how he should approach her. Sometimes vampires could be incredibly crafty about hunting their prey. Sighing to himself, taking another sip of the liquid that bored him and wondered whether to approach the vampiress. A few of the old drunken lards, had decided the vampiress was quite the catch and began to push their lard forms against her. Occasionally hands would flick out to try and touch her.. caress her and grope whatever they could. Sitting far away, Brandt could tell that these men desired her.

Brandt was now at a mortal dilemma. Should he go and harass these men for being rude to a lady? Or should he allow the vampiress to have her own revenge for the outrage? Brandt was torn, although the morale side won over the practical one. Brandt stood up and began to walk over to the group, one of the filthy men had decided to lick Ariah's cheek and needless to say, they were making progress. With his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, if they gave him any trouble they would die. Although.. wasn't the vampire the one that was supposed to die?

[Ariah]

Ariah felt the slayer watching her carefully, obviously assessing the situation. It seemed as though he were trying to decide on how to approach the situation with so many ‘innocents’ here. Of course, several others did approach her and she growled quietly her eyes slowly filtering from red to black as her anger grew. She took as much as she could until one licked her cheek and she elbowed him hard a little lower than the belt, sending him to the floor. Her black eyes met the gaze of the other human’s and before he could scream or move away her instincts took over and she drank of the man’s life force. So hungry…. She almost lost herself in it when she caught a flash of black material and she swiftly remembered who was there and where she was. She dropped the man and backed away from the slayer her eyes lightening back to red again. She wiped the blood away from her mouth, muttered, “d**n it,” and then ran out the door.

So many alleys went by and she slowed near the edge of town, leaning back against a wall, trembling. Her body had had a taste of human blood and now the hunger was starting to come at her full force. She almost felt like she couldn’t move, but she had to of course. The slayer couldn’t be too far behind. Ariah groaned and swallowed the remainder of the blood that was in her mouth before pushing herself away from the wall and pulled out her sword, waiting. He wasn’t going to just let her go.

[Brandt]

Brandt didn't quite think she would publically take the life of a mortal in front of others. Although he certainly hadn't seen the tavern erupt so quickly in his life. There were tables being knocked over, screaming and people running out of the tavern. Yelling out to no-one in particular. "nuts!" As he swiftly drew the sword and ran outside with the swarm of people. How could people be so stupid as to get in the way of a slayer? Serious! Where was the respect people! He saw her silhouette disappear down the street, before trying to make a decision to bring his horse or not. He decided against it, although he would bring Rosie, his trusty guard dog to assist him in his quest to kill this vampire. Whistling the dog seemed to appear out of nowhere, and ran a completely different direction.

While he ran to follow her, a few people laughed at the dog seemingly running away from the chase. Although in fact, Rosie was running to cut the vampiress off. In front of Ariah the dog stood, growled viciously and arched her back. Before barking loudly to warning Brandt where she was. Puffing a little, although certainly far from being winded Brandt appeared behind her. Around five metres away from here, sword shaft resting on his shoulders as he appraoched. He wasn't going to say anything to her, glaring at her form with the eyes of a predator. A warrior and a slayer.

[Ariah]

Ariah glanced between the dog and the human, trying to keep another shiver from running through her body, but she could not completely suppress it. She found herself leaning against the wall again. d**n it, no! She sent out a sharp whistle and it was answered with a responding howl that was really close by. A silver wolf suddenly appeared, coming between the dog and Ariah. Ariah gave a soft sigh of relief as the two canines squared off and she turned her full attention to the slayer. Another shiver ran down her spine and this time she didn’t try to hide it.

However, as hungry as she was she did manage to start storing electric energy in the sky, ready to bring it down if he came too close… which he was. It struck the midpoint between the two of them in warning. She wasn’t up to fighting; she didn’t want to… she just wanted to eat. Ariah started to slide down the wall to a sitting position but she forced herself to stand back up, she would not be like her sire, to die because of a vampire’s main weakness, the need to drink blood. Ariah refused to die weak and defenseless, if she were to die at all, it would be fighting. Sparks passed through the air before her, making her eyes flash. The vampiress then lifted her sword and pointed it at the slayer as an invitation.

[Brandt]

Vampires were dangerous enough without their powes, although this one seemed to be able to control the weather. It was frightening althoug, this did not show on Brandt's features. If anything it meant that he had a bigger reason to end her life. As for Rosie, the she-dog was a skilled fighter and could take care of herself. That he was assured about that. His mouth was a taunt line, eyes focused and didn't see the woman this vampiress once was. Just the broken lives that followed in her wake. With her sword outstretched to him, an invitation that Brandt would most certainly accept.

Brandt with suprising speed and accuracy for a mortal, swung his blade and strike sharply at her own. This was a test to see her skill. d**ned vampires remembering the stills from the past.. it made them much harder to kill. The time of day was on his favour, this comforted Brandt considerably although much could happen during this time. The way Brandt carried himself showed he was a skilled swordsman, a match for both immortal and mortal alike. Knees slightly bent, ready to flex or strengthen at a moments will. Like a coiled snake, he flicked forward and made a slash at her shoulder. (The one holding the sword) Again this was just a test of her abilities.

[Ariah]

Ariah watched as he stood there for several moments before attacking. He was testing her and it was a test she meant to pass. She took the blow and almost lost ground. Surprise showed in her eyes for a moment at her own lack of strength but it was gone instantly. She was worse off than she had thought. He moved forward then like a serpent, aiming for her shoulder. She moved to the side and rammed into him, trying to get him against the wall before she backed off several feet.

She was only there for a second before she began to take her coat off, there was no need for it now she had been found out and it was only getting in her way. Grabbing the dagger at her back she threw it and it landed within a few inches of his face. She had missed on purpose, but he didn’t need to know that.

Ariah was completely aware that the night was wearing thin and if this kept up for an hour or more it wouldn’t matter if she had the strength to fight or not. She tightened her grip on her sword and brought her sword horizontally before tilting it slightly so it went up at a diagonal instead of a simple horizontal line. Before he could deliver another attack of his own she jumped back and her red eyes narrowed slightly.

The canines were growling and barking loudly, each trying to kill the other. They were fighting full out even if their masters were only testing each other for now. Aranel knew her master wouldn’t last long, which was why she had come to the village in the first place. Ariah was beginning to tire, but she did not let it show.

[Brandt]

When the vampiress retaliated and nearly drove him against the wall, he dropped and rolled along the paved road to a safer location and stood. Waiting and ready for her attack. It was fortunate for Brandt he had excellent abilties, otherwise he would be in a fair bit of trouble right now. He watched her remove the coat that was hindering her ability to fight well, she was a beautiful woman and would have been especially so if she was mortal. Darting his head to the side and was pleased to know the blade hadn't hit him and clung against the ground.

Strangely enough the fighting didn't damage the mortal man's composure, in fact, the more violence he receieved from a vampire the more he seemed to gain. Brandt didn't waste energy by following her around needlessly, he knew he was in a better position to let the sun have its chance and for her powers to drain. Seemingly out of nowhere, he leapt forward resting his hands on the ground and kicking her legs out from under her. Murmuring to himself as well as her. "It'll be quick.." As the sword was raised to decapitate her and end her life as a vampire.

In the background the canines were still ripping into each other.. each determined as the other to defeat and then go protect their owner.

[Ariah]

The human came at her then, except from the ground making her lose her stance and land on her back. I should have seen that coming. She whimpered softly from the pain, trying not to make too much noise to give herself away.

Ariah watched as his sword was raised and suddenly she realized she was afraid. She did not think she would be afraid when the time for her to die came, but she was. She licked her lips and said, “And what, great executioner, have I been charged with?” Yes, she was stalling, though it was pointless anyway since she probably couldn’t get far even if she tried, with how weak she was. Her red eyes were dim now as her strength diminished further. Of course, it wouldn’t kill her; it would just make her defenseless and unable to move much.

Also, she had the feeling that she was afraid because she was going to die the way her sire had: hungry, defenseless, alone…. The alone part didn’t bother her as much as the others. She had always seen herself dying for a better cause than simply preserving her strength, like protecting the coven. She propped herself up slightly, not willing to die completely on her back. Her eyes met his then and she waited for his answer.

[Lestat]

I had noticed the sudden change in the weather - it had changed from a silent, warm night into a raging lightning storm in a matter of seconds...and this bothered me. I had spoken to the warrior Ariah before of her powers and I was familiar with the fact that she had control over the weather. I queried to another warrior of her location and learnt that she had taken off to the village, and instantly I knew something had gone wrong on her journey. I quickly informed Audrina of my sudden reason for departure from the castle - No human was to endanger one of our warriors, especially one who had skills such as Ariah. I ran at an unnaturally fast pace down to the stables, where I simply attached a lead rope to Obsidians halter and mounted the stallion bare-backed. There was no time for the saddle or bridle - the sun was due in a short amount of time, and my loyal steed needed no tack to be ridden.

In no time we were approaching the village, where my developed senses allowed me to hear the shrill cries of canines fighting. I steered Obsidian in the direction of the dispute, and just on the outskirts of the village, in the distance, I saw Ariah with a sword being held to her throat. I leapt off of my raven stallion and almost silently raced toward the threatening scene. I rushed up to the human with the incredible speed that comes with being a vampire, and did not hesitate to kick out my left leg - hard, while still in rapid momentum, causing the human to fall flat on his back.

I walked to where he lay, and stood over him. I saw the shock evident in his green eyes, my own ebony orbs radiating the hate that dwelled within me. I drew my heavy sword from it's sheath and held it's sharp point to his throat, in the exact same manner that he had held Ariah down. I did not intend to kill him, it was not my way to simply murder. An expression of disgust was on my facade, as I spoke in an icy tone, my voice deep...full of rage...

"You dare to threaten one of my best warriors, human? You now have two choices, either leave right now - and never show your hideous face to me again...or remain ignorant and force me to take your pitiful life right this moment...what shall it be?"

(I'm sorry if you didn't want me to post in this thread, if this is the case I'll delete this post...but I am bored and full of muse at the moment...and you looked like you needed some help Ariah )

[Brandt]

Brandt was going to bring down the blade, in fact, he would have ended the vampiress' life if it hadnt have been for her question. A brow narrowed in thought, seemingly speechless that she didn't understand why he was hunting her. Vampire = kill humans, Slayer = Kill Vampires. It was always clear within his mind what the reasons and the cycle was.. although this one didn't quite seem to understand why. He was about to explain when he was sharply knocked from her, flung backwards and fortunately for Brandt. Many long years of training with swords and training, which predominately involved getting the shi*e kicked out of you.

Winded for a moment and knowing that another vampire must have definately come to her aid. Blasted vampires. Choking for a moment, before sea-green eyes refocused and looked up to see Lestat. The slayers had access and knowledge to alot of information and with the way he spoke, made it definately sure that he was the lord within the Ventana ranks. He was given an option; a choice. Live a life of dishonour or die with honour. Brandt would always choose honour, his clan demanded it and so did many long years of training and tradition. With suprising speed for a mortal, Brandt swung the blade while he flipped and stood ready. Now he had to kill both vampires.. he would be hunted by them now anyway.. Keeping his sword, ready for combat and keeping his senses focused.

Rosie was still savagely ripping into the wolf, not to mention taking a few injuries herself and once finished dealing with the wolf would try to come to Brandt's defense.

[Ariah]

Ariah stared at Lestat as he stood between her and the human. She scowled for a second before blanking her face. It was as though she had heard Brandt’s thoughts because she answered his unvoiced explanation, “I don’t kill humans unless driven to it, and I don’t mean by hunger. I mean by self-preservation.”

Her eyes flickered over to the two canines, which were bloodied and almost no color shone. She frowned and shook her head before saying softly, “Aranel, defense.” She couldn’t speak any louder than that, but the wolf heard and instead of concentrating on both defense and offense, she switched directly to defense, limiting damage taken. Most of the time she managed to dance out of the way, using less energy than she had been.

Ariah felt herself grow somewhat angry at Lestat, though mostly it was directed at herself. She herself had caught herself in this situation; she knew the risks and probably should have waited like the wiser side of her had suggested. Still, it was rather humiliating to be rescued from what some called death and others called salvation. It didn’t matter, it was the same thing. It was a ceasing of existence, and it was something that she did not want.

She spread out the built up energy in the skies above and everything slowly disintegrated. It offered a bit of relief of a pressure she hadn’t realized had been there, somewhere at the back of her head. Her eyes closed for a few moments, and then opened to watch the two men about to fight. It would be a deadly one, and she really wasn’t in the mood for anyone to die. A rat scurried by and she grabbed it, drinking its blood without thinking about it. It wasn’t human blood, but it would sustain her long enough until she gained a decent meal. The rat was dead before it realized it had been grabbed, which was a mercy to the poor beast. Her eyes shined again with an energy that would last for about two hours, depending on how she used it.

[Lestat]

I kept my dark, brooding eyes on the human who attempted to threaten and frighten me. Fear was one emotion I chose not to feel after the great incident, and to have a sword pointed at you by a mere mortal almost caused me to laugh in his face. I knew too well of slayers and their theories of our kind, and though I am not proud of the fact, I had seen many perish from my very own sword. They were determined, unreasonable humans who seemed to believe that we were the devil himself...evil overruled us according to slayers. Personally, I did not like their interpretations of our kind. They described the vampires from the Guerra coven, not ours...and blamed us for their evil deeds. No more, I thought...the misunderstanding ends now...

With a steady hand I held my sword before me, in a defensive position. My eyes potrayed the hatred I felt brewing within my heart. I held a serious expression, my face kept in a hard, cold display of anger. The human seemed as determined as all the other young fools who had dared to interrupt my existance. I felt no pity for the man, as he stood just a few feet away from me, mirroring my exact pose...A smirk came to play upon my lips, as I spoke in a mocking tone, purposely enraging him more.

"You call yourself a slayer? Does it make you proud to be one? Are you HAPPY with the idea of killing innocent beings so much like yourself? Well, I hope you are enjoying it...for nothing good will ever come to you for murdering members of my coven! In fact, truthfully young man, you do not know who are aiding in doing so, forces of evil so pure that they make Satan out to be a push-over...and if you continue to hunt vampires of the Ventana you will surely know what true pain and suffering is!"

My shadowed eyes glared into his, I knew that there was no time for a battle, even a short one. My mind panicked from the thought of the sun...which was due less than an hour from this moment. It was quite a contrast, my nervous, racing mind contrasted to the relaxed, poised appearence of my physical self. It was a talent, to be able to show poise in the most hectic of situations...and it was the facade I chose to keep while I awaited for a reply from the human.