Night Walker War

[psychotic__Gal]

Daphne pushed her fair hair away from her face as she spoke with Black. Her shoulders sagged slightly, tired; her eyes remained vigilant. The fox demon was right. She needed to not be afraid. She couldn't help but wonder why they found her taste of fear so appetizing...Or was she even that appealing to them? Was it just that they were starved for fear? "Well, she's not...She's not unkind." Daphne finally stated, "However, she put a kind of pressure or fear on us during the meeting." Daphne continued, "I also healed her. She had burns on her arms. Sephiroth's doing from their first meeting." She added. She fidgeted slightly. Sephiroth should have been resting during that second meeting...He should definitely not have been with them. Nevertheless, she had been grateful for his presence when they'd walked out of the room. Then, Black offered Daphne a hug. A smile tugged upon Daphne's lips and she hugged the girl tightly. "Thank you."

Daphne still was not sure what to make of the situation. She was in fact drained but she wanted to hear the story. She was not sure if she exactly trusted Veni's maker but so far the woman had not tried anything. That was good, was it not? Nefretiri had even been somewhat kind to her...Her mind was made up in that instant. She would try to give the older vampire the benefit of the doubt. Someone had to. She doubted Cian would trust her for an instant. She knew that she herself even had to get over these feelings of anticipation and fear. But, she would do it. "I might touch them in a bit" She responded.

"She did not feed off him at all, actually. She broke a few ribs though and he was knocked unconscious." Daphne thought about it for a moment, "It might have been the weight of her age and her power. I'm not exactly sure what others call it and I have not met many older vampires but there's something about a very old vampire's gaze. It can be very...heavy, I think, if it is directed right at you and in full force. Heavy, draining and powerful. It's almost never a good idea to look a vampire in the eye in the midst of a battle." She was not quite sure she was even making sense. She could not name the power even though she could describe it. She simply did not have the vampiric vocabulary.  

[psychotic__Gal]

Cian's eyebrows raised. An interesting type to have a conversation with? Should he take that as a complement? His mind raced through his memories, trying to locate a period similar to the kind she would be speaking of. After a complete minute, he did not find one. It happened before his birth. It was likely the same period Sophia kept to herself. Inwardly, Cian sighed. She would not answer more questions now, in spite of the ones mounting inside of him.

[Later]

Out of the corner of his eye, Cian saw Rosemary kiss daphne's cheek. Veni was suddenly in front of him with an outstretched hand. Cian clasped it and met the other vampire's eyes. They were bright, intense. He wanted something. There was something else that was different about his friend...Had he just fed? "Of course. I would be delighted to come with you." Cian responded before following Veni out of the room.

In the kitchen, Veni went about getting them drinks. It was one of the special ones--a vintage. Cian inhaled the scent in the glass and sighed happily. He tasted it. Perfect. He could have purred. Veni began speaking soon after. He nodded, "Indeed. I thank you. I have a feeling the time will come when we're forced to reveal the world to her in all of its gory evil but I would still like to protect her from it as much as I can for the time being. It was one of the original aspects that brought me to her even as a human...That bright light. There was a period after I made her that I feared it was gone. Imagine my surprise when I came here and found her as light as she ever was. Thank you for becoming a steward of that." It was probably not the time to bring up these points--No, definitely not.--but the words were already out of his mouth.

The two did not dwell on the subject long as Veni began speaking once more. "Mm." Cian agreed. That much could be seen from the tactical side of things. For Sephiroth to have still been able to stand with them during that meeting even after a vampire's direct look was amazing enough. Cian had heard of far lesser beings put out instantaneously. Veni's eyes became distant, transported out of the current time. Cian touched the male's wrist to bring him back.

"He was in the room with us before...I should hope she will allow him that. Although it was some dark period in vampire lore, she should let him hear it." Cian shrugged. If Veni's maker refused, Cian could always make a Listening rune on the wall for Sephiroth. It was not a matter of great concern. "Thank you. There's no need for you to apologize, however. It was not your doing." Cian held a little bit of his anger out toward the Egyptian vampire for that. His jaw set at the memory. He quickly shook that off. "I am well. I lived many years with my maker...The pressure of an elder vampire's presence is still surprised me, however. It was strong." he sighed. There was no escaping that, though. "Mostly, I am curious for what we are about to hear. Sophia never told me the full tale of this time period." He nodded to the other question, "If we have time, I would like to understand." He stated.

[later]
"It has not been used for some time..." Cian sighed, thinking of the popular cultures of the time as he spoke to Sephiroth, "It faded out of use and was replaced by different words by the time fiction and television became popular. Then, it depends on where you are in the world. It was slang for a very specific region." Cian itched to ask what books Black had recommended--he even began considering the ones he would recommend. Now was not the time however. "Let me know if you are ever searching for another book to read. I may have a few suggestions." Cian was something of a reader. His home in Europe had a whole library of classics and a section dedicated to ancient texts he had collected over the years. He was a collector of sorts. Each of his houses carried some form of his love.

Cian's expression withdrew slightly. It was not something he liked to remember--or even liked to talk about. One did not make another vampire on a whim--at least that is what his maker had taught him. Not now. It was something other vampires did not like to discuss. It was rarely a topic of interest. He did not want to withdraw himself from the conversation by any means. Sephiroth was his friend. He trusted the other male. He could not help the instantaneous reaction, however. A small frown appeared on his lips.
"It's not something we generally discuss." He stated first, then added, "It's...about sharing blood. The maker drains the human of her blood. Or, rather, most of her blood. As the heart begins to beat its last few beats, as the human begins to die, the maker will have the human drink from him." He paused, "The human will generally want to drink at that point. The thirst is unimaginable."

Cian thought back to Daphne's death day. He had had to force it down her throat. She had been dying from the smoke in her lungs to begin with...He remembered the strange taste of her blood. Its sluggish quality. The lack of oxygen. He had had to work swiftly to make sure she lived. His fists clinched at the memory. It had not been his most favorite memory...Coupled with finding his newly made vampire gone a few days later...no. It was not a good memory at all. "Why do you want to know?" He asked.  

[psychotic__Gal]

Eastern Europe
106-275 AD
Late Summer/Early Autumn
Evening

Eydís leaned against her tree and watched the camp scene in the near distance. Muninn hadn't returned. The vampire heard a few words every so often but they sounded unfamiliar and foreign. She looked toward Mother, a question in her red eyes, "What are they speaking?" It was a simple question but it was layered. Eydís watched as the panther took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her ears and tail twitching. "Varied dialects." came the soft answer, "Egyptian-based."

"So they traveled with Rome but they do not speak the Emperor's language?" She questioned again, somewhat confused. Where was Egypt, anyway? Could it be near Rome? Eydís had her own share of experiences with soldiers of Rome. Naturally, she did not like them. They smell too unfamiliar. They were changing her territory without any regard to the life and cultures living there. Of course civilizations tended to change. That was their nature. To remain stagnant was to die.

Eydís sighed softly. She should not have expected to understand the strangers' language immediately when she rarely understood a foreigner's tongue anyway. It always had to be complicated...but no matter. Mother seemed to understand them and that was enough. As long as she had a connection to a spirit who understood the spoken language (any spoken language), she could use the comprehension rune.

This situation was relatively easy compared to ones she had been in in the past. If her spirit companions did not know the language, she had to seek one out who did. And that process was not easy. It took time and grace--not all spirits liked to be summoned and used in such a way. There were others who were angry and violent and dark. It was all the luck of the draw.

Eydís carefully, quietly untied the satchel on her waist. The supple leather was soft and familiar against the palm of her hand. She loosened the cord that held the bag closed and dipped two fingers into the powdery substance. The fine powder clung to her fingers easily. It was fragrant--smelling of parsley and sage for knowledge and understanding. While Eydís could, of course, draw her runes in the air, for runes like comprehension, she preferred to actually draw it out using her powder. It could too easily be drawn incorrectly and she wouldn't know where to fix it. The powder helped in this case.

She drew a total of four symbols across her body. The first was drawn carefully on her forehead. The next two went below each of her ears. The final one was drawn on her throat. She formed the rune of "action" in the air before closing her satchel. The runes on her body glimmered faintly for a brief moment before they sunk in. Now all she would have to do is wait...

Eydís didn't have to wait long.The words were almost too faint to hear but they traveled across the silence. "You didn’t hide yourself from her? What did you sense from her?” a voice asked. The response to the question caused a shudder up Eydís' spine. She knew they were talking about her. Her eyes narrowed as she listened. What does she mean? Scan me? The talking all but stopped at that point.

Eydís gave a silent sigh and considered approaching the group...But she was outnumbered. Her eyes trailed up the trees to the sky, calculating the time. Her children would be up by now. Finally. If she needed them, she could call. The moon would be full in a few days as well. A pert frown formed on her lips. The mutts would have the forest come the full moon. Should she warn the travelers or watch them struggle against the mighty pack? What a decision... Even Eydís herself did not completely get along with the werewolves. She only met with them when she had to--and even then, under the protection of her runes.

The vampire turned toward Mother. Mother's tail was twitching, her cat eyes met Eydís' red ones. "Don't ask me...This is your decision." She paused, "If it were me...I would want to know." Eydís stood silently from her crouched position. Her arms were raised and her hands formed quick, invisible runes and symbols in the air above her--protection, defense, walls, speed, heightened senses...There was a rush as the power fell on her. A soft sigh left her lips, her nose twitched. Then a smile rose to her lips. So the other vampire brought cinnamon. She took it as a sign.

Eydís didn't attempt to quiet her footsteps as she approached the group on ground level. She wouldn't reveal the rune's power on her just yet. Finally, she reached the edge of the group, her eyes focused on the one holding the cinnamon. It was the same vampire she had seen earlier in the village. "Who are you? She asked softly. Mother paced behind her, invisible to all but Eydís and the animals who could sense her presence. Her eyes missed nothing in the campfire scene, her senses enhanced by the rune.  

[Rosemary Mori]

Veni smiled appreciatively from the simple touch. He was also glad for what Cian said about Daphne. Veni loved the light she brought to darkness. She was one of the people Rosemary was motherly…no big sisterly towards. He could tell that she brought her some joy as well and that made him happy. “I don’t want that light to go away either… One thing that drew me to Rosemary was her independent nature and her out of the box way of thinking for the time period.”

Cian sounded like he’s asked his master about her past to Veni. They were different in that. In Veni’s early years his curiosity about Nefretiri’s life before he met her never trumped his desire to spend as little time in her direct presence as possible. Plus…he didn’t talk much back then. Then, later it never really occurred to him to ask.

He stared at his cup a moment before taking a sip as he gathered his thoughts. “While part of it is the release of hormones into the blood when one is afraid…Then there are all the little twitches that an afraid person does…which you can detect too, but there’s something else to it that I can sense that my body reacts to compared to other emotions. From my observations it seems more than a standard thrill of the hunt as I want to play with the scared creature for a long time like a cat I suppose, but I’ve seen others (in his family) do the same without feline familiars.” The corner of his mouth went up into a smirk as he spoke. “Part of it is like…well you know how a snake can taste the scent in the air? It’s like I can taste the type before I bite into them even without looking into their minds. For example the fear of the unknown tastes different to me than someone who is afraid of what they’re seeing, but their body physically reacts similarly. Once I get that taste from my target, I want to coax more of it out of them.”

He tapped the bottom of his lip with the joint of his index finger in thought. “Ma Sifu said one of the many factors that can affect qi flow can be by ones emotions.” How formally Veni addressed his own son depended on what he was talking about. Since this was something that Ma Jianshen taught him during a fighting lesson, Veni addressed him as teacher. “Maybe what I taste is a change of energy flow within a person or their nerve signals, but I am tuned more towards the negative emotions…like I think there are some chemicals some humans can taste but others cannot. Or can you taste the difference between afraid of the dark, unknown, pain, or monster in the closet?”  

[Rosemary Mori]

(Merry bloody holidays! I wouldn't want Rosemary looking at me like this avatar does.)

Veni listened to what Cian was saying to Sephiroth...what he said was basic enough, but his choice of words made him wonder if Daphne was the man's only child. Not to mention his body language made it seem he was describing how Daphne was made without saying it or giving personal details. Which is what Sephiroth asked of course. Veni rested one of his hands on his cheek and glanced at Cian. "Is Daphne your only child Cian?"  

[psychotic__Gal]

Daphne shrugged even as she was hugging Black, then nodded, "My mistake. In my early years I avoided contact with other vampires because of that. While the vampire's gaze is not as strong to another vampire as it would be to another creature, it can still be frightening. Especially to a new vampire." She shuddered, "Poor Sephiroth had to contend with the look of a very old one with another power included." The blonde met Black's eyes easily and smiled. The little fox demon had nothing to fear. The gaze was one of Daphne's least favorite aspects of her range of abilities. "I wonder if you are right...In that case, it would sometimes be an inconvenience wouldn't it?" She would hate to inspire fear in everyone she met. Still...Nefretiri had to have some control over the power. Daphne tried to remember Nefretiri's expression when Daphne first felt the fear pressure but she could not differentiate it from the general sense of discomfort she had had during the meeting.

Daphne confirmed Sephiroth's injuries, "I wonder if he used some of his powers...The burns on her arms were pretty serious." She shook her head to Black's question regarding the couch,"He only had a little bit of a rest...Otherwise, I don't know. He's strong. And stubborn."

His mind! Why didn't I think to check that? Daphne's lips pursed slightly. She was still new to her abilities so that could explain her lack of forethought to check his mental status. "He met her first before any of us were awake. Veni found him unconscious. He brought Sephiroth to me shortly after and I healed his immediate injuries. I told him to rest but he refused. He seemed mentally well enough once he woke but that was not a pressing concern at the time. His physical injuries were more worrisome for me." She glanced toward the angel, "I should probably check it though. If i's even possible." She looked a little sheepish as she added, "I have never thought to check someone's mental status. I do not know if I can heal mental problems..." She approached the unconscious male silently. She usually asked permission for this sort of thing but she didn't want to wake him. He desperately needed the rest. Daphne hovered a hand over his eyes and closed her own.

At first, all the vampire saw was his general skeletal system and all seemed well...when that faded she saw arteries and capillaries...forcing herself into another level of consciousness was different. It was difficult. Her forehead crinkled in concentration. Finally, it was accomplished. Her mind lightened, her outside awareness faded. On the outside, her body became still and rigid. All pretenses of breathing ceased. Daphne was transported into a memory--or was it a dream?

It was a dream.

Daphne felt like she was deposited right in the midst of it. "Lock the doors," She felt herself yell. The voice was Sephiroth's. Right. That must made sense. She was viewing this through his perspective because she was in his mind. Nobody reacted to his yell. She felt her/Sephiroth's body move to the door to lock it. His fear was real and intense. Daphne had to fight herself to separate herself from what Sephiroth was feeling. Her mind disconnected with his ever so slightly. She felt herself subtly shift from outside of him. Her consciousness hovered somewhere above his. The emotions were dulled. Finally, the blonde vampire could begin her work. It was just in time as she saw glowing green eyes staring at Sephiroth. Daphne sent some sort of her healing abilities, making the dream softer. It was a slow process. She missed some of what was happening due to her concentration.

Then there was darkness.

BlackMN stood in front of them next. They were cooking in the kitchen. Time passed swiftly as the cooking project came out of the oven at the direction of a three year old--Mindy. She was a sweet looking child. Then her face turned and her legs became visible. She left the room. Still, Daphne tried to instill a sense of calm and healing into his unconscious mind. She tried to heal the nightmares--the fear.

The next scene was a party. It was the Soul Fortress. Daisy sat next to him, appearing older...So this was what she would have looked like if she aged. The others were there as well. GL, Ma Jianshen, Eztli, Adira, Rosemary, Veni, Jacob, Banquo, Ophelia and P-Chan. Daphne would have to remember to write the ones not present a note or something. An e-mail perhaps. Did they use e-mail? The scene was pleasanter.

A male Daphne did not recognize was also part of the scene. Long hair graced his head and a scar lanced his cheek. He was smiling but all Daphne could feel from Sephiroth was guilt. In spite of this, his dreams had turned....They were more positive...

Daphne was pulled from Sephiroth's body but by the time she realized she was staring at his back with her hand on his shoulder as a tether, he turned around with a smile. He was calm. Daphne smiled back, and touched his hand. With that motion, she disappeared from the dream. Awareness flooded into her system and once more she was aware of her body and where she stood in from of Sephiroth. The vampire blinked, and she stepped away.

She felt heavy and exhausted...How many heals had she done today alone? Three? Three extensive heals? Daphne sighed. "I need..." She backed up a few more paces and her knees connected gently with a chair. She sank down on to it. "Yeah." She closed her eyes and tried to reorder her thoughts. She would definitely need some form of rest (although not sleep, obviously) before they met with the older vampire. She couldn't go like this. Finally she opened her eyes, She met Black's eyes with her own. "That was one of the strangest things I have experienced. " It answered her doubts about her abilities however. She could heal the mind. She wasn't sure if it extended to mental illness but...possibly? They were just illnesses after all. It would be something to explore.  

[psychotic__Gal]

Cian did not have to be ashamed of his lack of decorum as Veni smiled and agreed. He echoed his friend’s smile, ever grateful for the other vampire’s friendship. Even when apart from one another, Rosemary and Veni seemed to be connected on a deeper level that went beyond maker and child. Cian hoped he and Daphne could become as such—if they were not at that point already. ”It’s astounding what can bring us to our children is it not?” He asked, ”I was drawn by light, you by unconventional charms…what was it regarding your other children that appealed to you?”

Veni was silent regarding his own knowledge of Nefretiri’s past. Cian could understand. There seemed to be no love lost between the two. In fact, the older vampire seemed to be physically closer to Rosemary than her own child. Cian’s ceaseless thirst for knowledge could not help but wonder why; his sense of propriety kept him from asking.

Cian’s curiosity regarding his maker’s past had not been always tolerated with his maker. What he had heard of her past was in bits and pieces—never asked about directly. What had made all the difference was the time he spent with his maker. He had tried to rebel, as most newborn vampires must eventually do, but she had let him. He always returned; the prodigal son.

Cian’s eyes narrowed and his body became still as he listened to Veni’s explanation, interest evident from every facet of his being. He could relate to the idea of the hunt, the chase. As a predator, he had felt it. What Veni explained seemed different. It reached further than the general pleasure of the chase and reached viciously into a lust for that sense of fear prey felt. Veni spoke of exploiting that fear.

Cian nodded appropriately, his attention rapt. To taste different things… It must be similar to blood types. The brunette thought. He watched as Veni thought, picked out every motion. The words were foreign ones, but Cian recognized them. His interests were not always centered in the West. In fact, qi had been an area of study—the ebb and flow of energy and healing held a sense of mysticism to the Greek. It was not exactly foreign, however. Cian shook his head to Veni’s question, ”I cannot taste the difference between the fears. I believe what I can taste is the cortisol from stress and the adrenaline from fear. At least those are the names we know of now…There might be more.”

Later…

When Sephiroth’s interest in books became pronounced, Cian began to create a mental list he could recommend to his friend. If he was so interested in learning, Cian would love to gather them for him. Sephiroth’s only barrier would be language…And English was a new one at that. Cian started his mental list over again, omitting the older languages. ”I may still have a few that I can recommend” he stated.

While Cian was uncomfortable with this turn in conversation, he could appreciate Sephiroth’s curiosity. He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge after all. ”Ah.” The brunette responded, his body becoming still as he thought. ”I suppose there are multiple ways to be turned.” Sephiroth’s statement was a good one. Eydís was small—a child. ”If the method I previously stated was indeed used, a maker does not need to shed a lot of blood. It is not their duty to replenish the circulatory system. The body will eventually do that itself, rapidly. Fast, but not fast enough that it spares the human her life. Vampires are the undead. The process kills the human and creates the vampire.” He paused, then added ”That is one theory. Others believe we are demons.”

Again, Cian’s mind fell to his own creation. He did not remember it as well as he should. His eyes closed briefly, his mind a thousand years in the past… Eydís’ amber eyes. He could remember seeing them for the first time. He had no doubt through the course of Veni’s maker’s story, he would remember more of it. Still, Cian wished he could retreat alone to some grand study or library. ”If the process is how I described,” He explained, ”The human would want it. How could they not?” Again, the vampire paused in thought, ”The alternate method is through multiple feedings. The human provides blood, sustenance. Then the vampire gives. It is not as much as the first method and it takes much, much longer. This is the method where the human chokes the blood down.”


Veni’s question came next. A simple one, a loaded one. Several faces flashed into Cian’s mind from different ages. "Oh no." He answered shortly, "But she is the only one that mattered." That sounded harsh, even to his own ears, "There were others...However, they were made during war times or out of early rebellion. " A ghost of a bitter smile came to his lips ”In the beginning I admit, I was not as discerning.” He could not only see their faces now—the sadist from Sweden, the swordsman from Russia, the marksman from India, to name but a few—but also how he made them and how they were destroyed. He knew of only a handful who may have escaped the true death. However, even that hope only stood on one leg.
 

[psychotic__Gal]

Eastern Europe
106-275 AD
Late Summer/Early Autumn
Evening

Even from her distance, the runes allowed Eydís to see the female vampire's eyes. Were they always like a cat's? They were back on Eydís within another moment and they were back to "normal"--as normal as a creature of the night's eyes could be anyway. The air smelled of the great cats that prowled the campsite. Eydís could feel their eyes on her but it didn't make her feel uncomfortable.

Eydís glanced at the remainder of the individuals seated around the fire. At this distance it was much easier to understand their position. In this pack the female before her was their alpha—their queen. Strange that they acted like the wolves. They travelled together. Are they related? This would make it more understandable. Otherwise...why share territory?

The female vampire smiled.

“Little goddess, I am pleased you revealed yourself again and relieved I don’t have to try to communicate in the local tongue.”

Her voice had something ill to it. Something that put Eydís on edge. It caused a sense of tension to enter her limbs, a bit of unease. The female also had given her a title that was close to the meaning of her name. "I trust that would have made things more difficult for each of us." She answered, benevolently. She wondered off-hand why they had not tracked her when her scent was all over the village. She kept her additional thoughts to herself though. Mother paced behind her, judging, her ears twitching and her eyes taking in the other animals—her attention was especially caught by the young black jaguar.

Eydís’ question was rude but necessary. She had wanted to get to the issue at hand, rather than around it. Ah! She thought, "That is where Egypt is. Nowhere near where I have heard mention of Rome. Like a child, Eydís’ curiosity was insatiable. She wanted to question the other vampire about her travels with Rome. However, Eydís was not a child. She may have looked as if she were one but her mentality was mature and refined. Thus, she restrained herself.

"I am called Eydís." She answered, she did not attempt to form her name into Egyptian. Rather, she spoke it with her original accent before shifting back into the others' native tongue. "I am this land's protector." She considered this land not to be owned by her, per se. It was under her guidance and protection. She was connected to it--body, mind, and soul. Like the land, the people were also under her protection.

The small brunette was aware of how she might be appear—how could she not be?—yet the point of this was not to make these people her comrades or friends. If a friendship developed later, she might embrace it and the group might laugh upon this moment, but now there was no time for pleasantries. Right now was a time to determine their purpose and intent. In spite of her words, Eydís’ posture did not indicate aggression. She did not appear angry or standoffish. She was intense, yet that was offset by her curiosity.  

[Rosemary Mori]

"Yes, just as I thought; the physical aspect of it only." Veni leaned back in his chair far enough he should have fallen backwards and stretched his arms above his head. "It would probably be more difficult to follow a no or fewer kill practice if you had tastes like mine."

He frowned a little towards the ceiling as the next thought which he said out loud came to him. "Being stuck in perpetual puberty might not help either. At least I don’t have acne." He laughed in a way that carried amusement, frustration, and bitterness all in one. "Though I wonder if our familiars help play a part in it."

He popped back up as if he had been pushed from his position. A dark arm-like form slid back to become flat against the surface behind Veni. He smiled slightly showing off sharp teeth. I wonder which one you are closest to. “What regarding my other children appealed to me… My, my, that is a bit personal,” Veni teased with a sideways glance, his grin growing wider. "But I am feeling generous tonight."

His teeth appeared normal as he continued speaking. "And I can’t give a short answer either because it is often many things. Rosemary was many things, but the wife choice was the unconventional charm. Well usually they do something that catches my attention. For you see none of them are some random victim except for the first one, but I am still fond of all my children in some way. I would observe them for a time and I mean months, but more often years." He placed his hand on his cheek. "I don’t really want to talk about the ones that didn't survive thanks to Heegh…" he finished with a sigh. "Often a child will turn their head my way when I am walking past them really too fast for them to see me or sometimes it can be so normal yet I perceive it as something of interest that raises my curiosity of them. So first I become enthralled, then I observe. Sometimes they know but most times they don’t. Then if I remain fascinated or drawn to the person still, I usually interact with them, and then decide. Depending on the age of the person it may take me years to execute such a decision.

“Well allow me to give an example to help explain what I mean. Let us speak on Ma Jianshen. Jianshen as a human was and still is spirited, determined, observant, and dedicated despite his obstacles. He was a sickly creature and over exertion would cause him great pain. Still he was determined to fulfill his role in some way as the eldest son even if he couldn’t be the one to continue the family art. He was about 12 when I met him. He had been separated from his family and I took care of his separators right in front of him. Then when I assessed he wouldn’t be able to find his way back easily let alone get very far because the stress on his body from being taken away had left him weak, I decided to help him find it. Though he was suspicious of me, he wasn’t entirely afraid since I myself was being cautious to not be more frightening than I had already been. To make it quicker I carried him. While I looked for the place I saw in his mind he said something to me. I didn’t respond because I couldn’t understand Cantonese yet due to having just arrived very recently. When I did not respond he grabbed a strand of hair and twisted it between his fingers and as I didn’t protest he ran his fingers through it. (People from this region like to feel hair types that they find unusual.) Without intention I purred and apparently deciding he liked my reaction after a brief pause he continued to mess with my hair.

“At that moment I decided not to wipe his memory of me, to see what happens, and to keep checking on him. Once we found the place I drew out temporarily what ailed him. The next day Jianshen’s family left the port city to return home with a stowaway. When next he saw me he was startled but asked me if I was checking up on him and stated he felt better and thanked me all with a suspicious look on his face…at least that was the gist. I had to keep that mind connection with him without hypnotizing or bespelling him to understand the meaning. He always knew I wasn’t human, but I was not just a strange demon to him (the Orient don’t always perceive what they consider to be demons as evil) I was a foreign barbarian at that. Still he didn’t entirely want me to leave either and was curious about me as I was of him. We both observed each other that night. He did most of the talking as he realized I could understand him somewhat even if I didn’t talk back.

“Within a couple days he practically nailed it when he asked me if I was a goeng-si (Cantonese for jiangshi which is the Chinese hopping zombie/vampire).” Veni smiled as he remembered Ma explaining a goeng-si to him and how he hopped a little to explain how they moved according to legends. And when Ma had finished Veni startled him when he spoke to tell him he agreed he was probably that with differences and asked him why he thought he was a goeng-si. “Jianshen was the easiest and one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in choosing a child. We taught each other things we shouldn’t have (a foreigner knowing the language was forbidden back then even amongst the merchant traders) and he never told anyone about me. During the day he would read and study for he was a scholar. He would also observe his family as they practiced and would wish he could join them in more than the basics and less stressful of the motions on him. Though I would observe others in that country and be gone for months at a time, he’s the one I kept coming back to and he enjoyed my company.

“By the time his body suffered a nasty spell at the age he appears now and I started to change him because I knew he would die soon, I didn’t have to bespell or trick him or really force it on him. He figured I would someday and accepted it as a fact. If he could be a goeng-si with his mind intact and some self-control with my help he didn’t think it would be so bad to be like me. I don’t even know when I had fully decided to do it, but I didn’t want him to go away either.” As Veni spoke his mind went back to that night. Ma had struggled to look strong in front of his family. He excused himself early to go to bed. He managed to control his composure until his room before he started to breathe heavily, his body desperate for air. Ma had collapsed in so much pain from the lactic acid building on much of his muscles and the damage it caused over time. When Veni appeared in his room Ma tried to greet him properly but was unable, wincing, and falling back down after propping himself up. Veni went to him and scooped him into his arms. A look of alarm was on the vampire’s face and he called him by a different name than Jianshen. Ma remained silent save for his breathing as it was all he could do to prevent himself from crying out looking at Veni with slight embarrassment and apologetically before he grimaced. ‘Your body is going to fail soon,’ Veni had told him. ‘I won’t let you die.’ He had set his friend back down and skillfully loosed his clothes to expose the skin he sank his teeth into. Ma had only objected with a gasp. As Veni was slowly draining him Ma put his hand in Veni’s hair and stroked it whispering that he knew Veni would do this eventually and regretted not being a better son to his current parents (basically failing at filial piety). This caused Veni to stop sooner than he would normally. He then decided to do this slowly over the next several days and stop before he killed him. Once Ma took a good swallow of his blood, Veni knew he’d live that long at least.

"I worked on Jianshen for several nights. His body began to change, his teeth became sharper, but I stopped before I completely killed him. He appeared to recover soon after; any changes his body underwent vanished. Though I couldn’t cure what ailed him, I fixed the accumulated damage it caused and doubled his lifespan. When he was about to die again his teeth grew sharp and I appeared before him after being absent a number of years. These signs he took as evidence he was about to die and become goeng-si. He was nervous about it, but not truly afraid.

“When he died, he was ready to be my child and to basically fulfill his duty as such. When he came back one of the first things he did was perform a complex martial art move he observed his family doing multiple times during his life and then he ran and enjoyed it without worrying of the consequences. After a few nights he looked as he does now, as he did the first time he should have died.

“He started off as one of my weakest children and worked to develop what he had to be used to the highest potential." Much like he had in life only it is physically now Veni mused to himself. "None of us thought he would gain any special ability to mark him as a master of our kind like the rest of my children save one other. However while he was in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), he saw something that made him snap and the target of his anger felt every physical torment he ever felt in a matter of moments."

Before Veni could further explain the exact trigger of Ma's wrath, Sephiroth had joined them having gotten up from his slumber and asked what the word poppet meant. Cian could probably guess as the Revolution destroyed many historical relics, artifacts, and many cultural and religious sites were ransacked. Along with the torture, murder, and public humiliation (usually executed by the youth) of anyone deemed a capitalist bourgeois which often included past land owners, doctors, teachers, merchants, or anyone with a skilled profession. Thus the youth would beat their elders and sometimes it was that elders own grandchild. The Red Guards of the revolution, mostly consisting of the youth, called for the destruction of the 4 olds: namely, old customs, culture, habits, and ideas.

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Later....

Veni was thinking on what Cian had said on turning and was going to add to it after his current answer was answered. He also thought the demon comment was odd, though it existed as a theory, given that Veni has had several demons along with Jacob tell him that Vampires are not really demons. He planned to point that out as well, but Cian's answer caught him off guard. His eyes went a little a little big at the harshness of his words towards his other children though it didn't entirely surprise him. What surprised him was that he actually admitted Daphne was the only important child of his to him. He straightened himself to look at Cian straight on. "Daphne is the only one you picked outside of some strategic tactic, necessity, or because you could and you didn't naturally develop any form of connection with any of them? I don't understand...does your line truly lack any connection to each other without a spell or am I the anomaly? (remembering some of the details of the curse he put on Daphne) I could feel Jianshen's anger all the way here when he was in China! I even feel something between that shrew and I that allows her to know where I am and I detest it. Then they are truly alone in this world and better off dead. If you really feel that way, I hope they aren't alive anymore."