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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 10, 2010 12:22:08 GMT -5
The soft hiss of water on sand echoed loudly in Gilbert's ears. Each swell of the waves sent a fresh breeze that smelt strongly of seasalt that overwhelmed his senses and seemed to make the surrounding smells disappear. Behind him, he could make out the sound of leaves being pushed by the wind in the forest near the beach, but he easily blocked the softer sound out and concentrated on the waves instead. He needed to distract himself; he needed to stay calm. The Prussian had been sitting on the beach for the better part of an hour now, as it was one of the few places he could go to once he was riled up and lost a grip on his control.
Several hours previous, he'd been walking through the town at night as he always did, but he'd run into some unexpected trouble. Deep within the dark shadows of an alleyway, he'd heard the unmistakable noise of a woman's scream. Without hesitating, he'd rushed down the street only to find it was too late, the body of a shuddering woman on lying on the cobblestones as crimson blood slowly surrounded her in a deep pool.
Almost immediately, he'd gone on guard, the sweet scent of life's elixir drawing him closer as he gazed into the woman's frightened eyes. His fangs had protruded from under his lips, and thankfully it had been too dark for the young lady to see them, but the eerie red glow of his eyes had caused her to let out another gargled scream as she attempted to scramble backward, desperate to stay alive. The scream had been enough to pull him out of his hungry daze, and he doubled back, terrified with himself.
As he ran through the streets of the city fleeing, the thoughts that raced through his mind tormented him. He could have saved that woman; changed her... but he knew better. He'd have condemned no one to the eternal life he'd been given on nothing short of a desperate accident. What scared him most was that he had actually considered, almost had, feed from her, dying woman, a human.
"Humans are fragile things, Gilbert..." Frederick's voice spoke quietly in the back of Gilbert's mind as he moved his gaze from the waves to the moon. "They easily break, but even more easily, they die. They are truly interesting creatures, and I often regret that I robbed you of your chance to be one.... I do apologize. But at the same time, I and thrilled that I no longer have to look forward to an unending life alone. You are a good boy, Gilbert. You still hold enough of your humanity that you do not view yourself as something greater. Don't let go of that..." [/b] A small smile graced the albino's lips as he shut his eyes, inhaling the sharp scent of salt and listening to the waves. His hunger was finally dying down; he was calmer. "But no matter what happens, remember this, Gilbert... No matter how they treat us or how they may look upon you in fear, do not blame them. Humans are born with faults, just as vampire is. Nothing in this world is perfect, but you hold something that no human can ever hope to hold or be.
"In a sense, since we cannot die, we are their protectors. Even if they believe us to be evil, we cannot become what they expect. Shinning beautifully, even for a moment, is what humans do, instead of stand in the dull shadows of eternity. But you, Gilbert... I want you to be able to shine just as brightly as any human; I want you to have a better life than what immortality condemns you to... So please remember this... never feed from a human. For once you taste their blood you won't be able to stop and simply smelling it will drive you mad. Be better, Gilbert. Shine and show that you are different..."As the memories playing in his mind died away, a new sound entered Gilbert's senses and he straightened. Crimson eyes snapped open and scanned the sandy shores of the beach. Someone was coming; he was almost positive he could recognize their scent, but the water made it difficult to tell.[/blockquote][/size]
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 11, 2010 13:41:44 GMT -5
Natalia was puzzled. She had come across the most bizarre of occurrences that night, and the after effects had left her shaken, confused and paranoid. Not only a few hours prior, she had found a young woman - she looked to be about her mid-twenties - lying in a crumpled flop on the ground, in a pool of her own blood. The Belarusian maiden had found no sign of the perpetrator, and no evidence seemed to have been left behind. There was simply the woman, and the blood. It stank.
Although, she couldn’t help but ponder over the theory that she had killed this woman. Her actions as of lately had become… unpredictable, and she found herself waking up some mornings unable to recall any memories of the previous nights. Since she had given it up, she no longer had the luxury of blaming it on the alcohol. The notion of harming another human being was against her morals - so she kept telling herself - so she dismissed the thought, and the shivers crawling up her spine.
However, it was what came next that had dazed her the most of all. Hiding herself in the shadows, she had decided to simply observe instead of interfering, - it wasn’t her place to, after all - and watched as another person had run to the dying woman only a few feet away. It had been a man, but Natalia couldn’t get a proper look at his face, only the alabaster colour of his hair shining vibrantly under the moonlight. This had all seemed normal to her initially, after all, what normal person wouldn’t try to help another in a critical condition? It was when the man had leaned over the female that was becoming increasingly desperate to stay alive as if to kiss her, or bite her, or engage in some other form of contact involving the use of his mouth that she had become suspicious. Soon after, though, the man had run from the murder site, panicked.
Curious.
Now she was making her way across the beach, feeling the cool, silky sensation of the sand against her toes and allowing herself to smile at the feeling, all the while continually trying to make sense of what had happened earlier. The smile faded from her face quickly as she became lost in her thoughts. However, her train of thought was broken after a while as she came across the figure of another person silhouetted against the moon. Was it normal for people to be here at this hour? This could be applied to her, as well, she noted dryly in her mind.
Making her way over the this new individual, Natalia frowned and blinked a few times as his bodily features became more visible. For a second she considered it being simply a trick of the light, but after a few more steps it became apparent; his hair was marble white. Her heartbeat quickened from the sudden adrenaline rush taking over her body.
She took another step, then planted her feet as firmly as she could in the sand, her own platinum hair swaying to the side with the breeze. Clearing her throat, she attempted to speak out as clearly as she could to block out any insecurity that might surface in her voice. “E-Excuse me…” She frowned intensely, angered at herself for stuttering at a potentially important moment in time.
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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 11, 2010 15:53:37 GMT -5
A small frown graced Gilbert's lips as he stared at the form of a young female just a few feet away from where he sat. The look she was giving him was slightly concerning to say the least, but the stutter made it less threatening. Whoever she was, something about him gave her reason to feel fear. Her heartbeat had increased upon approach, that much he could tell, the way she held herself and the rise and fall of her chest told him that; such minimal details were easy for his enhanced vision to pick up.
Quirking an eyebrow, he slowly reached toward his head, plucking the flamboyant hat up and watched as the fluffy white frill danced in the wind. His head inclined forward in a polite bow of greeting, after all, whoever this person was, she was a lady and should be treated as such. However, just as quickly as it was removed, he put it back on and sat back, having grown bored with formalities already. They weren't his cup of tea, and he'd never seen much point in them if he didn't think he was going to see someone again.
"Good evening," he called in a low tone, watching the others movements carefully. He had yet to decide if this newcomer was friend or foe. She didn't seem to be preparing for an attack (though he was confident he'd be able to defend himself), yet she seemed surprised that she had come across him at all. "You shouldn't be out so late at night. A young lady like yourself... you might run into trouble."
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 11, 2010 16:34:03 GMT -5
Natalia kept a very close eye on this man from the moment she opened her mouth. His movements, his speech, his eyes - they were unnerving, being such a bright crimson - and his attitude. It would be an understatement to say that she was bothered by the way he was acting. His formalities and manners seemed to be in the right places, as they should be, but there was just something… uncanny about him.
It seemed, as soon as he gave his reply, that she found it monumentally easier to pick out any flaws she could with him. It wasn’t rudeness, or disrespect, she told herself, because didn’t everyone judge new acquaintances by their outwardly actions and appearance? Either way, now that she had taken proper notice of his every detail, she was mentally listing off the things she disliked about him. His voice; too gruff, almost aggressive. His eyes; they were blood red, for Gods’ sakes! It was hard to hold a conversation with someone that looked as if they could slaughter you at any moment. The hat; he was definitely trying to make some kind of statement. Who did he think he was, royalty? And- wait, what was she doing? She had been speaking with him for under twenty seconds, and already she was criticising his every move? Honestly. Such a terrible habit, there was no need for it; not everyone in the world was against her.
After a few more moments of silence, Natalia seemed to suddenly realise that she had yet to react to his statement. She quickly registered what had been spoken, and crossed her arms across her chest, staring down at the ruby-eyed man with an disdainful glare. “I believe I can handle things myself, thank you very much. Not that it’s any of your business.” With the way she was staring, it was as if she were trying to burn holes through his very existence with her piercing ice-blue eyes.
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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 11, 2010 19:57:49 GMT -5
Raising a slender eyebrow, Gilbert frowned at the sharp tone he received in response to his light tease. He didn't really didn't really deserve such sharp tones, did he? From the look she was giving him, it didn't appear as if she could have cared less about his 'gentlemanly' gestures from before (though he couldn't have really cared himself, he thought they were a waste of time). "You've got a sharp tongue for such a pretty face," he said, turning his attention back to the sky. "Keep up an attitude like that, and you might end up hurting someone's feelings."
And there were the teases again. It would have taken a lot more than a glare and snide retort to hurt his feelings. He'd been through far worse in his life, and words held little to no effect on him after a hundred years of verbal jabs. They simply numbed out and he'd stopped caring (another one of the many things Frederick had taught him).
"What are you doing out here, anyway...?" he asked in a bored tone. "Not many people come to the beach at night--monster overrun or whatever. Personally, I could take anything that approached me, but you don't seem the type who likes being provoked... or attacked." How would you react if you knew what I was? If you knew I was more dangerous than most of the monsters around these parts... I can take life away with a simple bite. Would you be scared? Would you run? Would you beg for eternity like I have?
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 12, 2010 11:54:56 GMT -5
Natalia’s eyes narrowed considerably at his reply. She was becoming more and more irritated at this man the more of his voice she heard, and that bothered her. Nobody should have that kind of effect on someone like her. She wasn’t being arrogant, it was just that she had spent far too long training herself to mask any sign of unnecessary emotion or response to be reduced to merely a naïve young girl by this… person.
She huffed irritably, but kept her mouth firmly shut, not wanting her temper to get the better of her and make the situation worse than it already was.
Although, his next question seemed to stymie her thought process. The rest of his speech became slurred in her mind after that one query. How should she respond to something like this? The intentions she had when she first approached this man were still clear in her mind, but she was no longer sure whether she wanted to find out what had really been going on earlier that night. Still, there was something entrancing about this person, and she wasn’t about to let a few uncertainties get the better of her now. So, she decided to ignore the voice at the back of her mind nagging her to back off, and made her statement completely out of the blue.
“I seen you earlier tonight. That woman was dying, and you...” she paused for a moment, her eyes softening ever so slightly. “I know you didn’t kill her, but I still don't...” She cast her blue-eyed gaze to the side as the rest of her sentence trailed off into nothingness, not wanting to pry any further without fully knowing what the consequences may be.
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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 12, 2010 23:39:58 GMT -5
Gilbert swallowed thickly, his entire body going tense as he gave the blond female in front of him a blank stare. She'd seen him wonder into that alleyway, and if that was the case then that meant she'd also seen him act as he did. Which wasn't good. She didn't exactly seem the stupid type, but the truth was risky. He couldn't, and wouldn't let it be known. The last thing he needed was this girl running around and telling everyone.
"I..." he trailed of, paused, then quickly slipped a guilty look on his face as he looked down. "I-I'm not good with blood. I was trying to lean down to help her, you know, to see what was wrong... but I freaked and bailed." He chuckled weakly, silently congratulating himself on a flawless performance. He was doing well. "I don't know any healing magic, so... I just wanted to get out of there before I got accused of something I didn't do." Her blood was fresh... sweet. She was so young, it was still healthy. I wonder what it... no. I promised the old man.
Offering the blond a weak smile, he turned away again, poking absently at the sand beneath him. It was too early to sigh in relief yet, but he was almost positive he'd made the mark. His answer was believable--it made sense, after all. How wouldn't run from such a scene if they truly felt they could do nothing? It was the nature of humans, or so he'd observed. They ran from what they feared and that which they could not save.
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Seraphine Grimaldi
New Member
Necromantic Magician [Human]
"We often look back at the closed door, we forget to look at the opened one..."
Posts: 40
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Post by Seraphine Grimaldi on Mar 13, 2010 1:54:53 GMT -5
Seraphine has taken the opportunity to take one of let midnight strolls. It pleased her that this time there were no people around unlike her previous stroll. She preferred the silence of the night and the sounds of her footsteps walking alone. And to this extent, her lips curved showing alas a small smile. This was rare to see her smile from pleasure. However, what didn't please her that night was finding a dead woman laying on the streets in her own pool of blood. Even though she was used to the sight of blood and death, her feelings sank noticing that something or someone had killed her. Just going on, she left the corpse there to wait for someone else to report the findings. Not far from where she was, she smelled salt in the air. It was the sign she was nearing the ocean side, one of her most favorite spots to read books and relax.
"Oh? Two people? They must be siblings..." she muttered to herself. Her green eyes scanned the scenery. Peaceful and lonely. Something she had gotten used to for a long time. she noticed that the walk had traces of sand and in a few steps, she would be walking on the shoreline.
"I don't want sand in my shoes now, won't I?" she muttered once again taking her shoes off this time and finally walking on the shoreline. she was nearing the two people who seemed to be talking of a grave matter. Though, they must know about what had happened a few corners back.
"Pardon me..." she spoke to them as she was a few steps away from them. "Might you know anything that happened to the young lady over there?". She had hoped that she had caught their attention
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 13, 2010 8:05:15 GMT -5
Natalia let out a shaky breath, somewhat relieved herself that his answer was nothing like what she had been expecting in the worse situation. Still, there was something wrong. She wanted to believe him, she really did, for both their sakes. But something just didn’t quite fit in with what she was hearing, and she had always been the stubborn, curious type. This wasn’t going to put her off.
“You don’t seem like the type to run away scared from a little blood,” she remarked, eyeing his muscular build and set jaw; his very aura seemed to give off a sense of fearlessness. A small smirk flitted across her face for a second or two, and her tone of voice hardened, as she got down on her knees to be eye-level with him. A violent shiver crawled up her spine before she spoke. “But still, there are more to some people than meets the eye, isn’t that right…?”
Suddenly, she got back on her feet and turned her back to the man, having noticed the presence of another being. She didn’t want other people getting the wrong idea. She was simply applying some forcefulness in order to understand what she had seen, that was all. This new person was walking towards them and showing no signs of stopping. Natalia grimaced slightly, knowing that she would have to give up prying for now, and the chances of running into her red-eyed ‘acquaintance‘ again after this seemed slim.
However, she hadn’t been expecting the question that reached her ears. So, they weren’t the only ones that had witnessed the young woman? Natalia wondered whether she had actually seen the murderer, or whether she was in the same situation as herself and the albino.
She allowed a soft smile to grace her lips, although her eyes remained dark. “Well, well. What a surprise. As a matter of fact, that’s just what I was discussing with my… friend.” The smile faded as she cast a glance towards the white-haired man. “You didn’t happen to see exactly how she was killed, did you?” Natalia avoided the question presented to her carefully, realising that there might be something more to this than she had originally thought. She found it vaguely interesting that not one of them had actually tried to help the young woman, per se.
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Seraphine Grimaldi
New Member
Necromantic Magician [Human]
"We often look back at the closed door, we forget to look at the opened one..."
Posts: 40
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Post by Seraphine Grimaldi on Mar 13, 2010 8:37:02 GMT -5
Seraphine was contented she was noticed by the young Belarusian woman. Her eyes met her's as she looked to her straight and tall. A question was asked though in responce to her's. They also came across the scene then. Before answering the question, Seraphine took a peek at the albino standing behind the Belarusian girl. Something felt different about him. It was something she had never felt before.
"As you can see, I have alerted no one regarding the scene. However, regarding your question, a few corners from the scene, I felt some sort of presence. And from what I have felt, it sure was not human." Seraphine responded looking at what their reactions might be. "But that is just me. Seeing as it is late, I might just be... feeling things." she added with a silent chuckle.
She faced the sea fully as she felt the breeze brush against her face. The air smelled of air. Her head turned to view her left where she awaited for the Belarusian girl to respond. She was also curious on what the young albino might say. She was so curious about the both of them. From afar, they seemed liek siblings. But as she came upclose to them, they were far from siblings. Curiousity kills the cat everytime. "Did anyone of you both alert anyone?"
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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 13, 2010 12:30:54 GMT -5
"If I knew how it happened... don't you think I would have stopped it?" Gilbert asked in bored tone, "If I knew how to save her, I would have." It was only half a lie, when he thought about it. Truly, if he had had some means of saving her besides the obvious, he would have. Yet he had promised himself he would never condemn another to the life that he had. It would have been crueler than simply letting them die. He wouldn't allow it.
"I didn't tell anyone..." he said with a shrug, glancing at the new sudden new comer to their conversation. He didn't mind the blonde woman he'd been talking to before, but this woman, whoever she was, gave off an aura he knew too well. The type of magic she used was easy for him to spot, but that also meant that there was a chance she could tell what he was (though the chances were slim, he didn't like any at all). "People around here are too quick to judge, and I didn't feel like playing a game of 'I didn't do it'."
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Seraphine Grimaldi
New Member
Necromantic Magician [Human]
"We often look back at the closed door, we forget to look at the opened one..."
Posts: 40
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Post by Seraphine Grimaldi on Mar 13, 2010 18:07:45 GMT -5
When the albino spoke, this caught Seraphine's attention greatly. She had waited to hear his voice. And when she did, ler lips curved. There was definitely something different about him. Seraphine was still new at magic. But this opportunity, she could sense some familiarity? Has she seen him before perhaps? Those crimson eyes brought back an unfamiliar presence to her. Something she is determined to know. But when she heard the last line he said, something in her mind ticked off. "The people... too quick to judge... I see. But in this world of ours, you also can't judge a person over time, oui?" Seraphine asked him back.
Truly, in that world, how can you blame someone if they quickly judged you? They had their own opinions right? Even she has forbade herself to make quick judgement of people. Sometimes, they get too tricky and too sly for her. "I like the way you both speak..Ah! I believe I didn't catch your names."
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 14, 2010 12:30:35 GMT -5
She glanced between the two, noting any peculiarities in the way they were speaking. The girl was talking philosophical nonsense - her sense of logic didn‘t match Natalia’s at all - but there seemed to be no oddities. Perhaps… perhaps she was just thinking too much into this. Perhaps the albino man really was just an innocent person that happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time. Perhaps everything would go back to normal after this night, and she would never come across these two people again in her life. But that would be far too boring an outcome; she wasn’t going to let things end up that way.
The Belarusian maiden cleared her throat lightly, pushing back a few strands of silky platinum hair from her face. She sucked on her teeth silently then made a slight pouting motion with her lips before speaking. “My name is Natalia Arlovskaya.” She bowed her head very slightly, then quickly turned to look at the ruby-eyed man, not bothering herself any further with formalities, still quite unsure of what to make of him.
“I do believe I am lacking that certain knowledge as well, sir,” she put special emphasis on the ‘sir’, her lips twitching into a small smile, her eagerness to find out his name showing clearly.
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Post by Gilbert Weillschmidt on Mar 15, 2010 7:32:15 GMT -5
Crimson eyes slowly shifted between the two woman on the beach as Gilbert stood up slowly and tugged his dark teal sea-green cloak around him. The blond woman, Natalia, didn't seem to be much of a threat, but the other girl, Seraphine... he didn't like. It didn't take long for him to figure out what about her had pushed him the wrong way, but he didn't plan to play around with it. Both were staring at him now, and he knew he needed to answer before they became suspicious; but he didn't plan to be honest.
"...Ludwig," he finally answered in an even tone. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory flickered dully as an image of a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes flashed before his eyes. "My name is Ludwig... that's all you need to know." He didn't like using his brother's name that way; it didn't seem fair, but given that, as far as he knew, his brother likely died many, many years ago, it was the only comfort he had that the memories were still there.
"Why so curious to know my name...?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in feigned innocence. Deception had always been one of his strongest traits, and he had over a hundred years of training to back it up. "I mean, I know I'm awesome--I radiate it--but it isn't often that two ladies like you actually find the need to stalk someone like me. If you wanted me to buy a drink or something for you, all you had to do was ask."
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Post by Natalia Arlovskaya on Mar 15, 2010 14:05:06 GMT -5
The pause before his answer went unnoticed by Natalia; in fact, all the suspicions she had held against him previously seemed to be dying down inside her mind. As she had seen more of his character, he really did just seem like a normal guy with an ego. Still, his attitude bothered her in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Ludwig…?” she let the name roll off her tongue slowly, as if tasting every letter carefully before finally coming to the conclusion that they were not poisoned. In fact, she even smiled a little.
And then he spoke again.
Natalia found the urge to slap him clean across the face overwhelming, but she somehow or other resisted. Biting down on her lower lip heatedly, she glared severely into his crimson eyes. Did he even realise how discourteous he was being? She took a moment to think, ultimately deciding out of spite that he was purposely trying to get on her bad side. Which was a mistake. In her mind, anyway.
“I like to know at least the basic specifics about the people I’m dealing with,” she spat venomously. “Especially cocky, egotistic, bigheaded lowlifes like yourself.” As soon as she had started, it was hard to stop with the reel of insults she was firing at him. She seemed to have forgotten completely about her initial intentions, and the fact that there was more than one person around her, instead focusing on making this Ludwig feel as degraded as she possibly could, although she had a feeling she would come to regret it later. Well, she disliked bad manners. Intensely. Even if she was overreacting ever-so-slightly.
“And for the record, I doubt any decent woman in her right mind would ever approach you with such intentions. Unlike you men, we have higher standards than that.” And that was that.
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