Anyone for c o f f e e ?(OPEN to rebel recruitees)

[Velnias]

C O N S T A N T I N E & B E X O R A

Bex was lucky she found me when she did. And I was lucky I picked her up, so the walk all the way to the Abode was a lot less dull and boring than I thought it would be. What were we here for anyway? Oh yes, recruits. I’d send Bex ahead of me, told her to make enough noise to be heard. Meanwhile I never let the sly mare out of my sight. Of course, no one heard me. They couldn’t see or smell me. Can you really smell a vampire coming? Er…well, I suppose you could. But I hadn’t had a good bloodbath in months now; I’d been trying to wean myself off a blood-only diet, but we all know I won’t have much success. But anyway, aside from the copper-penny taste you get in your mouth, and the tiny little whiff of blood-scent you get in your nose, I myself am completely, utterly undetectable. I like it that way. It gives them a good surprise, and I like surprises. Don’t we all?

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”Where in the hell are you, Con?” I whispered into the wind. I still smelled him, just a little; he regrettably told me that was one thing that would never leave him, no matter how he tried to get rid of him. But I felt at a loss, knowing he was there but knowing he’d elected not to speak to me. Well, that was just fine for him! He could just disappear…the way he apparated from one place to the next, he could be somewhere else entirely and back here again in a split second. I shook my head in silent frustration, but did what I was told. Make noise, but not too much noise. What in Hades was that supposed to mean? Oh, I got the plan alright, and I supposed it would work, but I still didn’t like the idea of being his rat bait. All I had going for me, really, was intelligence and a strategic mind to outthink whatever opponent or otherwise I would face out here. I mean, the idea was for me to lure in a stallion (or a couple would be nice, he’d said) because they’ll come out for a pretty mare like me. Whereas Con can’t make himself heard if he tried to, and just the way he looked…he’d scare off any mare that didn’t know him well enough to know he was harmless. Usually. Well, only sometimes.

My dark colored hooves put small indents in the dirt. There was a nice wind that picked up my mane and tossed it about against my neck. My slim body easily moved between the stalks of grass without a problem. The way I carried myself, as Con had said, attracted attention. He said I had good poise. Like Con would know anything about poise. But I was slender, and I had a nice short coat, a flashy bay color with dark black up my legs and a mid-length mane and a long-ish tail. What often drew attention was the dark purple streaks in my hair that were really easy to see against the shiny black. When someone asked where I got them from, I’d say that I dyed them. When they asked me how, I’d just smile like I was too cool to tell them, and walk right on. It was all in the behavior, right? All in the style. But I didn’t actually dye my mane and tail. I had no idea where I got the marks. But I was good at just picking it up and running with it.

Out in the rolling, vast, dead grassy hills of the Abode, there was little shelter. There was no sun, either, just gray clouds. But I didn’t mind much. Although I wondered how on earth Con stayed invisible. There were trees here and there, but was there some trick he had I didn’t know about? Probably. Vampires never tell you all their secrets. As I neared the crest of a hill, I stopping, lifting my nose to the air to sample it. I thought I smelled something, just a faint smell. It wasn’t Con. Warily I looked around, holding back anxiety. I glanced behind me. Con was nowhere to be seen. But knowing he would be there calmed me. I looked ahead of me, now on the alert. I kept walking.

F O X

I narrowed my eyes, standing on the shoulder of the cliff overlooking the valley of boring, dead, dull gray grass that was the Abode. I’d made myself invisible, but the trees hid me anyway. I thought about Isidar. But only for a second. Then I thought about Con. He must be here. I smelled his blood-scent. Long since I’d been an assassin, I’d been paired with him. I was part of the innermost circle of the Fraternity and I was the only equine alive who knew his secret. He had many mares, many rebels, but then he had me. And we were assassins together, doing what needed to be done, carrying out the necessary deeds. The gods had a slow way of going about things. They didn’t agree with us. They wanted to be the first to find the bad guys, to be the heroes of the day. They forgot to add in the wild cards, the chance. And I couldn’t be controlled; neither could Con. I felt sorry for him, putting up with that shallow brat he had to watch over. Con being Con, he knows what’s going to happen before it does. He senses it. And he sensed the war coming, as did I. So the last time we talked, he was worried about her. Very much so; he didn’t think he could keep her safe like he’d been trying to do. Not to his face, I rolled my eyes. But looking at him, I told him I hoped things worked out alright. And in secret? I missed being close to him. We were a pair. Unstoppable. But I’d made him a promise, that I’d keep myself a secret. The last thing I told him was that I loved him. Now I’ve hidden myself in the trees, looking down over this place, waiting for him to appear. He’s put one of his mares up to luring some stallion out of hiding. I knew the idea…lure them out and then recruit them to fight. In this area, at this time, whoever hadn’t sided with the gods or switched over to the Cursed was fair game, and here were a lot of those wandering about. Undecided, no particular side to fight, but kill whoever needs to be killed. In a way, we were a branch of the Assassins of Fate. We fought, fought hard, and stole away undetected. And now I was watching it unfold.

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[Deleted]

Wicca

The wind seemed to whisper as I walked through the dark, dreary and cold Abode. The brittle oaks and birtches ristled their brown, dead leaves and buzzing insects flew around every so often. The Abode was a dead, barren wasteland. It had really changed ever since all of us horse became cursed.

My ebony coat shimmered like dark water as I sighed and looked around blankly. I was bored. There was no one else around. With a snort, I picked up my pace, letting my long, yet powerful legs carry me effortlessly through the few trees. They were thinning and leading out into an open feild. The wind picked up, tossing leaves and dead grass in my direction and I suddenly froze at the strange scent in the wind. That smell....lifting my head a bit, I scented the cool air. Yep, no doubt about it. I knew that smell. It was a Vampire. The thing was, Vampires were good at concealing themselves, trees or no trees. In this case; no trees.

It was then that my nearly purple eyes spotted a lone mare cresting a hill. Her coat was dark as well, but not as dark as my pitch black coat and locks. She seemed a little agitated. I saw, however, that when she looked back, she calmed. Interesting. Was she with this Vampire? I decided to check it out.

My dark pillars pulled me forward and I galloped up and over to the top of the hill. The mare seemed to be searching for something or other. I let my pace slow as I neared, swishing by long, black tail and giving her a sardonic smile, as I always did with every horse I met. "Looking for something, are we?" I asked, mainly out of curosity, and in such a manner that I was hoping to annoy her. I loved getting a rise out of others. It was amusing.

"I do not suppose you are the one the Vampire horse is with?" I questioned as I finally reached her and stopped in front of her, but off to the side a bit. "I can smell the brute from a mile away." I scoffed, tossing my mane and smirking. Would my bantering be enough to draw him out? I didn't care really, but if the mare became angry....oh, what fun!

[Velnias]

B E X O R A

The black mare approached me. I heard her coming, though she was quiet, and I smelled her. She smelled like rot. Like death. And she didn't know it, otherwise no living thing would've sported that gods-awful smell. I wrinkled my nose as she came close and suddenly I realized why. That darkness around the eyes, that gauntness of the coat, the dull coloring, and I knew it already. A Cursed. Con no doubt was tracking her like a hawk. My eyes tracked her as well, all over her as she came near me, her black figure moving with jaunty gait a proud expression written on her face. "I don't know what you're talking about," I retorted, holding my head high, giving her the hard glare I was so good at. "Besides," I added with a snort, "I don't know how you can smell anything with that terrible smell on your coat." My eyes pierced hers, too deep before I realized what I was looking at.

My gaze shifted from her eyes to her face, and I couldn't stand looking back into them. They creeped me out. So I watched her feet and her tail as it swished in the wind. I was a little taller than her and I new it. Proudly I set my jaw and gave her the same haughty glare she gave me. "Now move," I snapped, my teeth biting the air dangerously close to her ear, "My business is not with you." I stepped around the black mare, never quite letting her eave my sight. Through the corner of my eyes I watched her though I kept moving. From the clifftop Con was watching, though I didn't know it at the time, and his ears were pinned. And neither of us knew that in the trees, a tiny red light beamed out at us, tracking the black mare's movements. All the same, I felt a shiver running up my spine at this very moment.

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[Deleted]

Wicca

The mare was irritated. I grinned and tossed my mane, loving the feeling of getting another horse angry. "The smell on my coat?" I asked innocently, then took on a more silky tone as I kept in stride with the taller mare. "My dear, all the cursed have this horrid smell." I replied, turning my head, dark violet eyes following the mare closely. "You are looking for something. New recruits perhaps?"

My smile was dark, and although this mare was taller and bigger than me, I didn't back down. I wasn't to be underestimated. Size meant nothing when it came to brute strength. I wondered what kind of recruits they -this mare and that Vampy that were obviously traveling together- where looking for? It isn't every day you see of a Vampire with a normal mare. It is down right strange, I tell you.

The red beam of light that the mare noticed caught my attention as well. I had no idea what it was. "S'been following me for a while now, but nothing's come of it. I tend to ignore the things that do not affect me." I muttered, eyes on the shimmering ray of light. I doubted she cared for that last statement, but my first words where probably something she'd want to know. She seemed wary of the red beam of light, just as I had been when I first saw it. I always wondered what the heck it was. "Hey!" I exclaimed, getting an idea. "Wonder if that Vampire friend o' yours could figure out what it 'tis? Don't suppose you have any ideas, eh?" I was teasing and mocking again. It was my usual way of interacting with others. With anyone for that matter. I couldn't break that habit. It was apart of me and everyone just had to deal with it. At least, that was my opinion.

OOC- forgot, Wicca has a British accent, btw

[Velnias]

C O N S T A N T I N E

The swirling waves of light were like heat and cold. They washed through my body and I lowered my head, my eyes seeing through the ripples as one sees through crystalline water. Bex was there; her voice came to me easily, clear as though I was standing before her. It was fringed with ice as she directed it at the second creature. This one had a stench that must have been rolling off her coat heavily; whenever I looked through the mind-gap it had this same shimmering clarity but all movement and senses I saw instead from the ripples that appeared in the waves. The reeking odor of death ebbed from the mare's form. Bex's own form rippled with anxiety and irritability. Her words were dark and sharp, cutting to my own ears as I heard them, but I thought to myself, Come now, girl, you can do better, and I sent the thought to her. I had this connection with any I saw through my looking glass of the mind.

"You are looking for something. Recruits perhaps?" There was an upwards lilt in her voice, proclaimed but not too sharp. It made my ears perk to listen to her voice, that held the undertones of a hiss. Bexora's hooves took her beyond the mare and the lifted her muzzle to scent the wind. "Oh, brilliant," Bex threw he words back behind her. "Not only are you foul, you're a bloody genius! And a little twit, too."

[/b][/i] Bex made a mockery of the lilt with her mocking words, and I raised my brows in surprise. Bex was cunning but had not allowed her malignant side to surface until now. Then again, she'd be ruining any chance of a recruit. Go slow, Bex, I warned her. I could see her straighten, her posture reform itself. She pivoted again to face the mare.

Bex looked the strang mare straight in the eye and then her ears flicked from her to the woods. Her eyes followed the other mare's until they, too, found the beam of light. She apparently hadn't noticed it yet, but I'd known it was there. It was at that time Bex's eyes widened and then narrowed again, her petite bay body turning to face the light beam. It was a strange light, and neither of them knew its meaning although it had been the stranger who had estimated me correctly. I did, indeed, know exactly what it was and was used for. And the odd thing was, you wouldn't see the light escaping from the Eye, not like you could with some kind of laser. It was an Eye, that's what it was called, and it simply watched. Sometimes you saw them but never in abundance, and whenever you didn't see one you had to know you were in greater danger still, because it was always there. And if you couldn't watch it, there was an easier chance of it watching you. Which was what it was doing even now.

At this time I determined the conversation was aptly over. Bex was at a loss for words and she muttered feebly, her gaze lost like the other mare's was for the moment. I withdrew from my enhanced vision, and my vision retrcted back into my own eyes, normal. I was no longer zooming in close to the figure that were now far away from me. I stood back on the hilltop, looking over the Abode valley. My body was there and yet it was not; a ghost. Fox was gone. I narrowed my dark eyes that the sun did not catch. And I called out to Bex, Now! My body sank into the ground. It melted, but I didn't feel it. My eyes traveled all around me; in momentary blackness they were suspended and suddenly I was rising up out of the ground, faster than either mare could react, and I was there behind the Cursed one. Beside her. "Too late." My neck crossed over her back and my fangs -sharp and pointed and gleaming, in that very literal and real sense- gripped into her throat like a vice. I just barely gripped tight enough to break but not impale the skin with my teeth.

"You are Cursed, I can and very well might slice your neck open now." The blood roiled in my veins, burned, and that old craving returned. I subdued it for now. But she was a Cursed, the sworn rebel enemies, along with whoever else proved to be swaying or hindering to us. "Or you can give your name, your allegiance, and possibly save yourself from a very slow death." I snarled my voice; though my mouth was clamed on her jugular my words were like a breath, smooth and liquid as always. Venom hid in my words, though. As always. I cast a look at the red light of the trees. "You are endangered, as am I, by more than one entity. Unless I decide I can't trust you, do as I ask and maybe you'll be saved--for now." Next to me, I saw Bex's eyes were wide with more than just anxiety.[/blockquote][/size]

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[Deleted]

Wicca

The mare before me seemed to retreat into her mind. I guessed that she must be speaking with someone nearby and that it had to be the Vamp horse. They could do things like that. My gaze shifted, looking around without being too obvious. I couldn't see him, but I could smell him...and atop that hill, I sensed an odd presence, but I couldn't be sure that it was him up there. He was well hidden, and I felt my awe and respect grow.

Suddenly, his presance vanished momentarily and I knew he was on his way over. From where he would appear, however, I knew not. Clearly, he saw me as a threat. What with me being a Cursed and all. I knew he wouldn't just appear and start talking. I jumped and then tensed, feeling his presence come into existence beside me. I stifled my surprise at how fast he was. In the next moment, his fangs were at my throat. I didn't move, waiting for him to speak. As expected, he did.

"You are Cursed, I can and very well might slice your neck open now." he threatened. Of course he
d say something like that. "Or you can give your name, your allegiance, and possibly save yourself from a very slow death." he went on, easily speaking despite his grip on my neck.

My gaze shifted to look at him from the corner of my eyes. "Why do you think I even asked about recruits?" I mumbled calmly. "Would I not have approached had I any other plans, Vampire?" I swished my black tail, waiting patiently for his reply. I had expected this from the start, but it was necessary, I supposed. Being a Cursed had grown old, and now...it was time to fight it. At least in my opinion, we mortals should not live forever as the gods do, but there were many who would disagree. I was not one of them.

"As for my name, I am called Wicca. If it's my alliegance you want, you already have it." I kept my tone nuetral. I was slightly irritated, but I dealt with it and remained calm.

[Velnias]

B E X O R A

I saw the little red light in the distance. I couldn't pinpoint exactly from where it came; with those things, you never could. At least, that was what I was told. I'd never seen one face to face until now, and that tiny prickling down my spine that Con had described to me? I wasn't imagining it. I felt it, too. My legs were ramrod straight though their tensed muscles were hidding in the long, waving stalks of grass. No longer did they tickle me lightly. In fact, they'd ceased to itch me at all. I didn't feel them anymore, really, they were not there, and I felt naked and exposed. I shot up my eyebrows and pinned them there, but instead of letting my jaw drop in surprise, I clamped it shut. I looked from Con to the mare he'd pinned with his jowls around her jugular and looked impatient, shifting from one hoof to the other. And yet, I faced off against that light, holding my ground until we had the chance to get away from it.

A snarky laugh came from Con's mouth, but when it came out it sounded hoarse and stringy, and totally inhuman, making us cringe. "You trust too easily. I guess then, you will owe me for saving you." The mare looked calm but I was good at reading lies. She looked annoyed beneath it all, and I wa nearlycertain if the vampire stallion hadn't had himself at an advantage over her she ould be lashing back at him, acting rude and potent, and we could be here all day. She didn't have a sense of urgency. Or at least, didn't know how to be alert. Con's wicked tongue lashed out words again, though this time they were more hushed. He angled his lips away from that light. "It followed you, didn't it? Coincidence, yeah?" He released his teeth from her neck, and hadn't left so much as a bite print. He really is being careful these days, I thought, nearly aloud.

The pale, iridescent-like stallion butted her side with his muzzle and motioned towards the valley aead of us. The mounds of grass were spread-eagled across the horizon and just barely giving it a wavy shape. I realized how much I hated places were the sun didn't shine. Then again, Con thrived in those places. I understood than had been one of his conflicts with Rae, why she'd been angry with him. Gods knew where she was by now. Con asked Wicca if she had any kind of talent, in the way of magic and such. He nodded to me, and I led the way. Putting one hoof in front of the other, each step disappearing into the long fingers of grass. I didn't hear Con's hooves behind me, so I assumed I was walking on alone. But what was he doing with Wicca? I could only guess. But for now, it looked as though I was walking on, alone.

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[Deleted]

O.O I ended up messing this post up. Dangit!! ><

[Velnias]

C O N S T A N T I N E

Fear. Fear powers were definitely a Cursed power, and they would be hard to work with because they could be so strong. But they were also completely Cursed-orientated, because the majority of those Cursed couldn't feel fear, or didn't have any fear, or any reason to have fear. And scaring good horses onto our side wouldn't be much of an asset. Then again, I lived through that also. Who wanted to join a vampire? Even when I didn't pull out my fangs, you could stiill tell. Bex had often told me, as she would so graciously point out, that I looked slight and tricky. Like when I looked at a person the first thing my eyes did was penetrate. Uncover their secrets. Then the second thing was they turned glassy-like, unreadable. So you were staring into dark black glassy pits. And I was very pale, so I had a near-dead look to me. Like my skin shimmered in a way that it looked sallow and luminescent in the dark of night, and slippery. I wasn't always sure which was worse: being called dead-eyed or slippery. Both were appealing to the eye, I'm sure, yes.

Bex was gone, over the hill. I now started walking. I walked a half-step behind Wicca. I felt a little bit angry for not being able to be polite like any stallion should. Anymore, a mare shouldn't have to trust a stallion's word...it's only that most would take that trust and twist it. But I couldn't give my name where the thing could hear it. It probably knew me already, but I wanted to be as far from it as possible. It had that way of creeping up on all of us... When we crossed the hill I was already calm, having taken what the mare had said all in stride. This was a bit of a route I hadn't planned to take, but there was no use, absolutely none whatsoever, to getting worked up all over the problem. I followed Bex's scent like a bloodhound to its target. I kept my mouth closed. I made sure Wicca stayed in front of me. The plains swallowed us up.

When I tracked down Bex she seemed startled we'd caught up to her. I didn't need to explain. I was vampire-blooded. Vampires had that strange way of moving, walking like they had a limp in both feet, gliding, graceful but hunched. Lurking with every step. Slippery, you know? It was now that I stopped, finally turned to the mare, and spoke in my Roman-lilted voice, "Sincerely, Wicca, an apology is due. I am Constantine. Here, is Bex. Maybe this is sudden, but I hope you'll care to join us? Unless you'd like to stay with that thing. Entirely your decision." I almost mentioned I was bipolar, of a sort. But one who could smell a vampire (mind you, it wasn't usually that difficult) should know vampires are often bipolar. It comes with the night versus day, how our bodies change with the moon cycles, things like that.

I closed my eyelids and a humming filled my head. Then there was pressure on my face and shoulders, the three of us disappeared into the bright light of daytime, and reappeared somewhere in the forest only you or I know the exact location of. That's also normal fr vampires. What isn't normal is I'm one of the few good ones.

OOC - If you want you reply, you can. It was difficult playing his part and hoping you'd be okay with how I played him, her, and so on.

[Deleted]

Wicca

At last, we caught up with the other mare, and she looked quite surprised to see us might I add. My lips automatically curled into a sardonic smile at the look in her eyes as she turned to us, startled. The beginnings of her fear. Upon realizing that it was us, however, she calmed down and her expression returned to it's uncaring look. "Aw, drats." I thought. It would have been some fun to see what kind of illusions her fears would create.

Then, the stallion turned to me and his attitude had completely changed. Oh yes. Vampires had quite the mood swings. They were bipolar, so many said. This in itself was proof.

"Sincerely, Wicca, an apology is due. I am Constantine. Here, is Bex. Maybe this is sudden, but I hope you'll care to join us? Unless you'd like to stay with that thing. Entirely your decision."

His words brought a wry grin from me as I replied, "It is nice to finally meet you officially, Constantine and same to you, Bex." I inclined my dark head in the mare's direction politely. "Join you?" I gave a small laugh. "My dear, that was my plan from the very beginning." I told him, setting my violet gaze on him without wavering. I think he'd known from the start that I was here to join up with him, but it was only polite to ask. Then again, I could be wrong about that.

Before anyone could say another word, I found that we had been transported somewhere more bright and sunny. I blinked my eyes as they adjusted a little painfully. Where were we now?


OOC- No! I loved the way you played him! It was awesome and SO like a Vampire XD Ok yeah, I think this is about it. Where to next?