Bound By Blood (Notte & Rage)

Smoke filled the room, causing him to wrinkle his nose a bit. His keen senses found it intrusive, though most didn't notice it to the extent that he did. Humans, he thought to himself. So afraid to die, yet so eager to kill themselves by shoving chemicals into their bodies constantly. His eyes scanned the room, then drifted down the the watch on his wrist. It would be dark outside by then, and his 'date' would be arriving any minute. He hadn't recognized the name he had been given, but then again, their kind often had to take on new identities every so often. It was simply the way things were when you didn't age or die, at least not naturally. Pursing his lips a bit, he raised his drink to his lips to take a sip. Bloodsuckers always have to be fashionably late, he thought. Then again, he had to admit that when someone had nothing but time, then there wasn't much need to be prompt.

Four hundred and twenty-three years. That was how long it had been since he had worried about time. Even though he never concerned himself with the passage of time itself, he was aware of every second that had passed since his life had been changed. He had been given a 'gift' and taken into a new family, and had regretted almost nothing since. His one regret was his twin sister. They were both meant for the gift, but the bloodsuckers had other plans. She was taken and turned into one of them, and at the time the war between the two species had made it so they could no longer be together. She had to go with her kind, and he had to remain with his, despite his protests and determination to keep her close and protect her. It was simply the way of things.

The prophecy of the twins that would bring harmony to them had been abandoned, after that. Perhaps it would be filled later, by others, but it was apparently not their destiny. The wolves and the bloodsuckers continued to war against each other for centuries, and he eventually found the one who had turned his sister. After a fierce and epic battle, he tore the fiend limb from limb and held his head high for all to see. He had slain their leader, who had seemed all but invincible before then, and in that moment had been recognized as one of the greatest warriors the wolves had ever known. It didn't save his sister, though. She was still one of them, and would remain so for eternity.

In the last century, the war ceased, and an uneasy truce was called. It was becoming too engrossing, and was threatening to reveal them all to what would be their greatest enemy, the humans. There simply weren't enough on either side to stop mankind if they discovered them and began to hunt them, and soon they would all be extinct. Realizing this, the wise leaders of each species met and came to terms, dividing territories and sealing a pact to maintain this peace. Of course, there were those who didn't agree on both sides, and small conflicts arose from time to time. It had come to the point that the wolves and the bloodsuckers needed to assign special positions to police their own kind, and he had been selected for one of these positions. The Justicars served as judge, jury, and executioner when called upon, delivering swift retribution to any who violated the treaty, and he was good at his job.

Over the years, little had changed about his appearance, save the addition of scars from many battles fought and tattoos to honor his accomplishments, as well as the occasional change of hairstyle as he adjusted to the times. His current style was denims and leather. His feet were protected by thick, black leather buckled boots, his legs wrapped in form fitting boot cut denim jeans, and his muscular upper body hidden beneath a black t-shirt and a thick, black leather jacket. He wore his thick, dark hair long these days, falling around his shoulders to frame his handsome face. A strong jaw showed a bit of stubble from a few days without shaving, and deep, piercing blue eyes took in the patrons of the club as he looked around.

The bloodsuckers always did like the club scene. He would have taken a peaceful forest any day, but this was where the meeting was set. He was to connect with a peacekeeper, like himself, who represented the bloodsuckers and discuss the treaty. It was a tradition that had been honored every year since the treaty had been originally sealed. They would make sure all parties were still happy with the terms, and negotiate on changes if someone wasn't. This was the first time he'd been asked to handle it, but then again, he was practically the leader of the wolves now. The Elder Alpha turned to him for everything, and he acted as her right hand, delivering her decrees and her swift justice when needed. From time to time she also turned to him for companionship, which he provided as well. It was good, but he always felt like something was missing. Still, he had no reason to complain. The relationship had never been about love or anything like that, but simply fulfilling needs, and they did that well enough.

Sipping his drink once more, he looked at his watch again and growled softly. "Be patient, Liam," he muttered to himself, using his real name, though for this meeting he had come under the guise of his most recent identity, Jason Marx. "Fucking bloodsucker is probably primping a bit, that's all." The bloodsuckers had always been so worried about appearances so they could play their seduction games. He preferred straightforward dealings, but then again, he was a completely different kind of animal.

Just as he was thinking of leaving, he looked up and saw her. His blood ran cold at the sight, as she was the last person on Earth he expected. Regaining his composure, he settled into his seat once more and sipped his drink casually, waiting for her to approach...

Aria Maxwell stood outside the ally of the club, looking down dispassionately at one of the rouges of her kind. "You've made me late for a very important meeting and you know the law of the Covenant. The penalty for breaking our law is your head." As she spoke calm and evenly the Rouge attacked her. Stepping to the side, she bypassed his lengthened claws and took hold of his head while standing behind him and as his claws sank into her arm, her grip tightened and she twisted. The body disintegrated as she dropped the head to the ground and her eyebrow ticked with annoyance at the ashes of his remains flew around her.

Turning towards the woman he had as his victim, she leaned down and ran her hand over the woman's face. "You will remember nothing of the attack and when you awaken light headed and dizzy, you will believe it is because you drank to much and passed out. Next time you will think before you act and turn your pathetic life into something better. Take a cab home, do not talk to strangers, drink some orange juice, then go to bed. Make sure to lock your doors." After she finished, she dusted off her black knee length leather pencil skirt, tugged her satin blouse into place and pulled the buttons on her black leather jacket together. She looked down to check her custom made designer leather high heels and shook off the ashes the were on them.

Walking into the back door as she checked to make sure her hair was still in place, piled atop her head with a few long raven ringlets that feel down to the middle of her back. As she moved, men and women both turned their heads to stare, but got out of her way as she neared. She knew her effect, knew that she was just as beautiful in death, or rather, undeath as she had been when she was alive. Her skin as pale as snow, petite, with high cheek bones and delicate features. Yet after over four centuries, she was as cold as winter and dispassionate about everything. Not even the Coven that she ruled over being the heir to her Sires bloodline could make her feel anything. She hadn't even taken a man in over two centuries, finding only dissatisfaction in the act.

Her emerald gaze landed on the wolf that was to be the peacemaker for his kind and her eyebrow raised as her eyes filled with recognition. Never removing her gaze from her twin brother, she kept on walking forward and then reached out a hand so that he could shake. "Jason Marx, its a pleasure to meet you, my name is Aria Maxwell." Her tone was polite and businesslike, as if she were at a business meeting and not confronted with her brother after centuries of not seeing him. Once, she had been known as Aisling, before she had been turned into a vampire, but now she was not moved by the human or animalistic emotions that had once made her heart sway. He was wolf, filled with passion and heat. She was vampire, filled with nothing but ice and cared only for the blood.

He watched as she approached, her demeanor so calm and distant, frowning slightly when she finally spoke and offered a hand to him. Looking down at her hand, he reached out to accept it after a moment, though his grip tightened and he pulled her a bit closer so only she could hear him. "We both know what your real name is, so you can drop the bullshit pleasantries and stop acting like you don't know who I am." He then released her hand and motioned for her to sit, moving to take his own seat once more. "But if you insist on the charade, I prefer Jase."

He took his drink in hand, raising it to his lips for a long pull from the glass before placing it on the table, empty save the ice cubes, then looked at his twin sister. It had been four hundred years since they'd spoken, and like him, she hadn't aged a day. She had definitely changed, though. He hardly recognized the woman in front of him, even though she looked the same, except for the obvious changes in style compared to what was popular back in the day. He could feel the anger welling up inside him as the thought of what they'd done to his sweet sister began to take over, but he was able to push it down a bit as he met her icy gaze, his own eyes showing quite a different emotion.

"Four hundred years I tried to find you, and you come in here now to insult me by playing out this stupid little mind fuck? Do you have any idea what it's like to feel lost for four centuries, like a part of you is missing? No, of course not. You've become one of them, obviously." He snorted and folded his arms, glancing out toward the crowd. "You act just like the rest of them now. No humanity at all. Just cold courtesy. I bet you don't even feel the slightest bit of emotion over the fact that I ripped your sire to pieces two hundred years ago. All you care about is increasing your station and feeding your need for blood."

Finally he turned his gaze back to her and shrugged, pushing his own emotions back and taking on a similarly cold demeanor. "Alright then, Aria." The last word was practically spat out in distaste, but he would play along and remain pleasant, for the most part. "Let's discuss this and get it over with so you can go back to your kind and I can go back to mine and don't have to sit here and stare at an empty shell that looks like my sister anymore." One thing nobody could ever accuse Liam of was dancing around the point. He was always straightforward, and was never one to double talk or sugar coat, though he picked up on it easily enough when one tried to manipulate him in such a manner. The results were usually less than favorable for the offending party.

If he expected to her raise to the bait, he was sorely mistaken, nothing got a rise out of her anymore. When he let go, she took her seat across from him and clasped her hands together on the table, it was all very professional. "It has been centuries since we have seen each other, I no longer know who you are. Especially after I was threatened with death when I came to the Den right after I was turned. Told that I should never try to see you again." Cold as frost, purely driven snow, her voice was empty, but deep inside she felt the sting and the bitterness as if it was only yesterday.

"What mind fuck am I playing at? I was the one who was turned away like trash by the Den. Obviously, I haven't been that hard to find, but you would have known that if you hadn't ripped my Sire apart. Thank you for that, by the way, he was a decidedly disgusting man who cared not for the rule of his Covenant and only for who could get his dick wet the longest." She gave a throaty laugh but it was hollow, "Do you want to know what he did to me, brother? He stole my virginity as he was taking my blood and changing me over, then even he threw me out. Told me to go back to the Wolves. Then after I was rejected from even them, I had to go crawling back on hands and knees to please him. I was the best at my job and I raised in rank above all others to become his heir. So when you ripped him to pieces, I was ecstatically happy and been ruling over the Covenant ever since."

A smile actually pulled at her lips and it was almost possible that her face would crack from the effort it took to do so. A smile had not graced her lips since the day that she had been turned into a Vampyre, his distaste and anger amused her, then again, he had always been able to make her smile. "As you wish, Jase. I propose a change to the truce. As you know, we both have those who police our own kind. However, if a Rogue is found from either kind, I believe that they should be taken out by whomever is there. I say we have one from each of our species to go out in pairs together, that way it wouldn't just be a vengeful killing and start a war. I also propose a marriage between a member of the Covenant and Den to unite both lines. This marriage would happen at night, under the full moon with both Clans there to see it be united. I don't think a little public sex would bother the Wolves so very much, since it happens often enough."