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"I just want to live."(Lyra+Anjeru)

A

Anjeru

Pulsar
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
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The young looking woman had lost track of how long she'd been running. It had to have been days, at least, but when she was running for her life, it was hard to keep a decent sense of time. She was growing weak and weary, her black cloak was becoming dirty and tattered, her hair matted with flecks of her and her attacker's blood, causing the brown strands to gleam a odd sort of red under the full moon's light whenever it happened to peek through the tree's and fall upon her fleeing form. At least she didn't hear them behind her anymore, she hadn't for a few hours, but she had to make sure she was clear of those dreadful humans before she dared to stop.

About an hour later and a great deal of the way into the Rugial woods, Insignia allowed herself to stop, panting for breath as she rested herself against a large boulder that resided by a deep cavern, which she surmised she could use during the daylight hours when her kind was required to rest.

Vampire, that's what she was. Fangs proved this as her lips parted to allow her to gasp for the air her lungs were begging for. Her demon red eyes gleamed in the darkness as she peered around. She was so tired and the hunger was clawing away at her. Insignia didn't think she could last much longer without feeding. However, first, she was going to need help; she was unable to protect herself in her weakened condition.

She took a deep breathe and brought her hands to her chest, interlinking her fingers as she closed her eyes. A strange symbol began to faintly glow underneath her feet on the ground and she started to murmur an unknown seance that she knew would summon a creature, whether it be human or otherwise, to protect her.
 
Klara grit her teeth as her arms strained against their burden. While her father and brothers trained in the bare handed fighting style that had become her families legacy, she and her mother had been tasked with most of the daily chores that kept the homestead running. Not that the men folk didn't chip in, but they only tended to handle the most strenuous forms of manual labor, like fixing the fences or repairing the roof. The more tedious tasks like chopping wood, carrying water, and feeding the animals were assigned to her. She didn't mind that so much, it helped keep her in shape. It was the fact that she wasn't allowed to learn her families secrets because she had been born a girl that really got under her skin.

Using her frustration to her advantage, Klara pressed on taking care not to trip on the hem of her simple home made dress. Her long sandy brown hair was in a pony tail to keep from making her too hot with only her bangs, which she had cut short and left unbound to appear more feminine, hanging loose. She finally made it to the house and relieved herself of her burden so she could wipe her brow to keep her sweat from dripping into her deep blue eyes. "Mother! I'm done fetching the water, I'm going to go stack the wood," she announced.

Unbeknownst to her father, Klara had been learning. Every day, she watched the males in her family between chores and drank in every bit of information she could. She practised whenever she had time to herself, and in her own opinion she had gotten pretty good. Today, she didn't stay long, realising that they wee just reviewing a lesson they had been taught a few days prior, and so she disappointedly went about her tasks.

On her way to the woodpile, however, she slipped in a puddle of mud and hit her head. When she awoke a few minutes later, her surroundings had completely changed. She shook her head in confusion before finally noticing the other girl sitting against a nearby boulder. "What's going on?" she called out. She hoped the other girl would understand her. With the surroundings, she guessed she was somewhere far to the south of her snowy home and she wasn't sure they spoke the same language.
 
Insignia's symbol slowly faded and she dropped her hands as the young woman came to appear before her; her thin brown brow raised as her eyes opened. Curious. This young woman wasn't what she'd expected to summon. Must be her weakened condition that was screwing with her magic; she was normally a world class magician - that's what they referred to magic users as, whether they were human or not - but her magic seemed to be a little...off course. Yeah, off course. That sounded about right. Insignia listened to the girl's panicked speech and she tilted her head, studying her silently before deciding whether to answer or not. She decided that, whether the girl was here by mistake or not, she did deserve an explanation.

"You're in the Rugial woods," said her eerily emotionless, but weary voice. "I used a spell to summon forth protection, as the humans are hunting me." Her pearly white fangs gleamed in the darkness as she spoke. "And it appears as though I was given you. Though..." she paused. "I think my magic might have been a bit off...you don't really look like what would normally appear in response to a 'Protection Summon." Insignia trailed off.

She pushed herself up from the boulder, her weariness seeping into her very bones, making it hard for even a creature of her caliber to stay conscious. "However, I do not have time to be finicky. I need your help. The humans are hunting me and its been days since I've gotten decent rest or substance. I need you to protect me while I sleep, during today's daylight hours."
 
Klara stood in shocked silence for a few minutes, trying to process what the vampiress had told her. Soon though, the quiet gave way to disbelieving laughter. "You've got to be kidding," she said rhetorically between snickers. And how could she not be? She couldn't really think that she would with a vampire against humans. None but the vilest humans would ally themselves with those monsters. Everyone knew that vampires were evil creatures that would kill you as soon as look at you. Unfortunately, her family was not allowed to attack without provocation or she would have already done so.

"Why would I agree to that?" she asked derisively as she casually made her way over to the boulder. It would be wise to keep her back to the wall in case this turned into an ambush. Soon, her caution seemed to be justified as she heard a rustling in the woods nearby. "Whose that? More of your friends come to join in the feast?" she asked caustically as she took up a defensive stance.

It was then that two people burst into the clearing. Klara was surprised to note that they were human. So, maybe the vampire had been telling the truth about this one thing, but that didn't mean much. Trying to be as covert as she could, she manoeuvred herself into a position to trip up the vampiress in case she tried to get away. She figured that didn't really count as an attack. She would just be getting in the way, not doing any damage.
 
Insignia hissed her displeasure loudly on a sigh. Great, just what she needed; a failed spell and a reluctant protector. Though, reluctant really wasn't the word she should have used. The girl wasn't reluctant. She seemed downright in denial and was pissed off at Insignia, like she had done something against her personally. She hadn't, but her companion seemed determined to think otherwise.

The snap of twigs around her put Insignia into a very defensive demeaner. "Feast?!" Insignia snapped at the girl. "You have some odd misconception of what is going on, girl!" Her eyes burned red intensely as she bit out the words. "They are after my life, not yours. And they're not even vampire, they are human."

As her words died off angrily, 4 people stepped out to surround her and the girl. There was 3 men, all tall, bulky, and well-armed with swords and pistols. The last was a small woman, armed just as well.

"Thought you'd escaped us, did you Vampire?" taunted the woman. "Think again." And then she fired her pistol; in her weakened state Insignia couldn't evade the bullet entirely and ended up taking it through her right shoulder. Blood spurted and she moaned in pain, leaning against the boulder.

"Why can't you damned humans just bugger off!" she snapped, pulling a dagger out of her cloak and throwing it at the woman, catching her directly in between the eyes. The woman dropped, dead before her body hit the ground; Insignia dropped as well, to her knees, blood dripping from her limp arm. Her eyes burned hungrily and she labored for breath as it consumed her from the inside out.

The men became angry immediately and began advancing; so this was it, then. Insignia's day to die had arrived.
 
Klara looked on in confusion for a few second before she stepped in between the soldiers and the downed vampire. The way they held their weapons made it very clear they meant to finish the red eyed girl off. "Hold on, She's been shot. She can't put up any more of a fight. This isn't right," she told the soldiers. The only answer they gave was angry glares. The closest tried to push her aside, but instantly found himself unconscious on the ground with his sword several feet away. Unfortunately for him, physical contact was always grounds for self defence.

"What the hell are you doing?" the next asked angrily. His only remaining companion answered with cold malice in his voice, "Protecting a filthy vampire. Such vile treachery cannot go unpunished." At the first hint of movement, Klara appeared between the two. They had both drawn pistols, having learned from their friends mistake that they had a much better with ranged weapons. As the first tried to level his gun, he found that the back of his hand had smacked into the back of the girl's palm. Klara wasted no time in twisting the hand around into a joint lock and placed her other hand in his shoulder, using the leverage to pull him around between her and her other opponent. As a result, the still unhindered man finished off his companion with a bullet, which had been intended for the peasant girl. The corpse continued on in his path and crashed into him knocking him off his feet. With a small hop, the girl jumped over the pair, landing near his head. A well placed kick rendered him unconscious.

Having neutralised all the obvious threats, Klara turned towards her supposed charge. Eyeing the vampiress dubiously, she walked over to check on the wounds. "I only saved you because what they were doing wasn't right," she informed the injured woman. She wanted to make sure she didn't get the wrong idea. Unfortunately, she would now have to see that the girl survived. She was completely outmatched by the pursuing soldiers and Klara's family code didn't differentiate between humans and non-humans.
 
Insignia watched the girl curiously as she discharged off her pursuers; obviously her looks were decieving. Perhaps Insignia's summoning hadn't failed after all. When Klara came back towards her and she eyed the girl with her gleaming eyes. "I believe that's what I'd been trying to tell you," she mumured as she pushed herself up the boulder's face so she could be on her feet once more. Insignia took the fingers of her left hand and dug them into the wound on her right shoulder, plucking out the bullet and flicking it away. Even though she was starved, her body began to slowly heal the wound until, after a few moments, it was closed.

She tested her right arm, stretching it, curling and uncurling her fingers. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage. That was good.

"It is not just this that is unfair." She started. "I have never once done anything to deserve this. I have never fed on a human and I have only killed ones who have tried to kill me. They just assume because I am vampire, that I am vile and need to be disposed of." She sighed softly and moved weakly towards the small alcove hidden next to the boulder. "Even if it was a one-time occurance, I'm indebted to you. Thank-you."
 
"Yeah yeah, you never drank from a human, and I have a palace to sell you for 500 gold coins," Klara replied contemptuously. As she watched the woman enter the cave, Klara became indignant. "Hey, what are you doing? We can't just leave these guys out here. What happens when they wake up? Two of them are still alive out here. I don't go out of my way to kill everyone I can like some people," she called out. 'Snotty brat,' she thought to herself, 'Expects me to do all the work while she just goes off to sleep.

Klara pushed up her already short sleeves as she prepared to haul off the first of the men. She didn't know which way her camp was, so she picked a random direction and started dragging. The job was made worse by the fact that the man's weight forced the poor girl to stoop over a bit putting more pressure on the small of her back. It seemed like she had dragged him forever until she felt safe enough to drop him off. Now free of her burden, she took the opportunity to stretch the kinks out.

After she had recovered somewhat, she began to walk back. She was not looking forward to doing it again but she found a little solace in the fact that the other man looked lighter. Dark fantasies of revenge passed through her head, all of which would violate her honor. She would definitely find someway to pay her summoner back though. There were always loopholes in these kind of things. She just had to get creative.
 
"I'm not going anywhere," she replied coldly as Klara came back from dragging off the 1st man. Insignia went over and tossed the man's body over her shoulder, before walking off and putting it with the 1st man's. When she came back, she eyed the girl with her red eyes. "You're welcome to think what you will, my dear. I have not lied to you," she said as she went over to kneel beside the woman's body. Her fingers took the dagger from the girl's forehead and deftly, she hid it back inside her cloak.

Insignia didn't move or say anything for a few moments, looking down at the woman's body. She felt bad, guilty, for killing her, but what else could she have done, really. They were out to kill her for no other reason than her being different from them.

She sighed, "...when will the world realize we are not cold blooded monsters..."
 
Klara simply rolled her eyes at her unwanted charge as she passed. She was too tired from moving the body to argue and she wanted to conserve what little energy she still had for moving the dead into the brush. She wouldn't have to move them nearly as far because there was no danger from them waking up and causing trouble. The only reason she was bothering to hide them at all was to keep anyone who might be looking for them from investigating the area too closely. She was confident they wouldn't be easily discovered, she made her way over to mouth of the cave to rest and wait for the vampiress.

Never one to dwell on things that couldn't be helped, Klara's mind began to drift to plans of defence. While her summoner slept, she would have to learn more about this cave. She prayed there was another outlet in case they needed to escape. She wouldn't be able to explore too deep, though, or she would run the risk of getting lost. Other concerns, like whether or not she would be able to build a fire deep enough in the cave to keep it from being noticed, would need to be addressed as well.

Klara was surprised to note that the sky was developing an orange hue. That vampire had better get back or she was in trouble, she mused with a a devious smile. After all, there was nothing the peasant girl could do about that. The way she saw it, it would be the vampires own fault and she wasn't obligated to help anyone who could handle the situation themselves.
 
Insignia came back just as the first rays of sun started to shine through the trees. The rays weren't all that strong really, because here in the forest, the trees were crowded and pressed close together at their tops. "I'm going to rest now, I can't be out in the sunlight," she said, looking at Klara with red eyes that didn't seem so bright and ominous now.

She let the hood of her cloak come down and shook out her hair. "The cave here is closed off for the most part," she commented, "but there is an emergency way to leave if the humans so happen to come upon my resting place. It's back towards the southwest part of the cave, behind the water fall." She was explaining it to the girl, not really to help protect herself, but to also make sure that if it came to it, the girl had a way to escape as well.
 
'Well crap,' Klara thought to herself. If the cave was closed off then she wouldn't be able to start a fire for fear of choking herself to death on the smoke. That meant she would have to sit inside in the dark. She could already feel the creepy crawlies climbing across her skin, so she would put off going into the cave for as long as she could. She could probably find something to do to waste some time outside.

It wasn't long before the answer came to her, though. She needed to scout the area! She had already seen what lay off in the direction of the unconscious men, so she headed in the other direction. Unfortunately, the local scenery didn't provide much to keep her occupied and it wasn't long before she decided to head back to the cave. Her charge wasn't visible from the outside, probably having gone in to avoid the sun, but Klara's nervousness made her hesitate. Mentally, she berated herself for getting so worked up about it. She had just faced down 3 armed men that morning! What could a few bugs do to her? With a gulp, she warily made her way inside.
 
The young vampire was asleep back towards the end of the cave, curled up on her cloak; she'd spread it over the cold ground before she'd decided to rest. She looked completely normal, lying there, like any other normal, human girl. Her resting spot was close to the waterfall that she'd mentioned to Klara before, a subtle reminder to nudge the girl into remembering where the emergency exit was.

The day passed for the most part uninterrupted, letting Insignia get the rest she needed to let all of her wounds heal. Her skin color started to look better as the hours passed; she'd fed on some rodents(bleh, gross) before she'd sought out slumber. When the dusk came, the vampire would pretty much be herself again.
 
She managed to find the waterfall, even though she couldn't see very well in the cave. She had to feel around to find her charge, but it wasn't long before she found the cloak. She found a free bit at one corner. It was quite boring sitting there in the dark, and it wasn't long before the waterfall began to lull her to sleep. Ash she dozed, she began to slide down until she was laying next to the vampiress. Unconsciously, she snuggled up to the red-eyed woman.

(Sorry its so short. I couldn't think of much. I promise the next one will be better.)
 
(That's okay. ^^)

So there they lay for the remainder of the daylight hours, the two young women huddled close to together subconsciously seeking warmth, or maybe even comfort. No one really knew. Soon the sun came to set and Insignia's red eyes fluttered open the moment the sun vanished beneath the horizon. She pushed herself up on one elbow and stared down at Klara for a moment, before giving a soft smile and climbing to her feet.

She let the girl rest for awhile longer as she made her way back outside to scout the area for any bodies that may have found her resting place while she'd slept. The coast seemed to be clear and Insignia went about feeding herself on various animals, to help replace the blood that had been lost the previous evening.

Soon, she came back to the cave and laid a hand on her protector's shoulder, shaking her just barely to rouse the girl from her slumber. "Klara, the sun has set. We should get moving."
 
Startled both by her sudden awakening and the sight that greeted her thereupon, the human girl sprang into action. She grabbed the vampiress's hand and easily slid out from under her. The end result was that the red eyed woman was being pressed into the ground with her arm in a joint lock behind her back and Klara sitting on top of her. Luckily, the girl didn't weigh that much.

When realization finally struck, Klara quickly jumped up. She didn't know what to expect from the inhuman woman, so she didn't relax her ready stance. "S-sorry," she mumbled, not yet recovered from the shock. She really hoped she would come out of this alive. She knew it wasn't a good idea to piss off a vampire, but it was too late now. This day had definitely been too stressful.
 
Insignia allowed the girl to climb up off of her. Her protector was frightened that she would retalliate against her; she wouldn't though. After all, it had been her own folly that had allowed the opening in the first place. She should've known she'd surprise the girl into an attack, but her mind had been too preoccupied by the thought of those who were hunting her.

The vampiress pushed herself up and dusted off her cloak, before turning back to face Klara. "It's alright," she said softly, "Come. The sun has set, let's get going before hunters catch up with me again." She then made her way back out of the cave and looked up at the moonlight streaming down through the tree tops. Where could she go to that the hunter's would not follow? She knew of vampire resistance groups who'd managed to establish hideouts away from the hunter's eyes. Perhaps she should make her way to the nearest one she knew of, otherwise, she didn't see herself making it away from the humans. She glanced back to see if the girl had followed her outside.
 
Klara was, of course, not as fast as her charge int he dark of the cave. She probably wasn't as fast as the vampiress at all for that matter, but it wasn't too long before she appeared outside the cave. Once exposed to the outside air, she began to shiver. While it was true that she was now in a warmer clime, she was also not used to this much humidity. It didn't help that she was nervous as hell. "Okay, soooo... which way?" she asked, looking around.

While she was distracted by the odd surroundings, she unconsciously began to inch closer to the vampiress. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she finally bumped into the woman's back. "S-sorry," she apologized profusely.
 
The vampiress found that she was chuckling softly to herself. When the girl bumped into her, she felt the small form shivering. Insignia slid off her cloak and set it on smaller girl's shoulders, which in turn left her in her white blouse and plaid skirt, her long hair spilling down her back. She smoothed the cloak's material across the girl's shoulders as she spoke, "The only thing I can think of to do that is the most logical, would be to find one of the Vampire Hideouts. That being one of the only places I could think of where the hunters would not tread lightly." She dropped her hands from the girl's shoulders and turned slightly away. "I believe the closest is off towards the East, probably near Ryule." Ryule was the closest big town near them, a thriving market for trader's.
 
"Okay," responded the girl. She was oddly comforted by the cloak, and it seemed to give her a bit more confidence. Without another word, she began heading in the indicated direction. Eventually they would have to find a road, it was a given considering there destination was near such a large market town. They wouldn't be able to actually travel on said road of course, but they would be able to follow it at a safe distance through the woods. It would be much slower but infinitely safer.

Instinctively, Klara took the lead. She strained her eyes and ears for any threats hiding in the dark. When she finally realized that the vampiress would have a much better chance of detecting any enemies, she began to hang back until she was walking beside her charge. It wasn't long before they found the road and when they did she pulled the red eyes, thats what she had started calling the woman in her mind since she had forgotten her name, to the side until she was sure they wouldn't be easily spotted by any travellers. Luckily, the foliage wasn't dense enough to prevent their movement significantly. The occasional thorn vine proved annoying, but was easily endured.
 
Insignia had the same power that other vampire's did, which included hearing the thoughts of the mortals whenever they were around her. So, she easily picked up on Klara's thoughts and followed her accordingly. She also picked up the nickname her companion had given her, and that made her chuckle. It really wasn't a bad nickname, she mused to herself.

They followed the road at a distance, moving through the shrubbery that gave them enough cover to hide from the view of anyone that may be traveling on said road. Her senses were well on alert as she moved with Klara through the darkness.

Soon they came upon another road, but only one that Insignia could see being as she was, a vampire. "Here's the branch off," she said to Klara, pointing to the road, "it may appear straight but it is indeed a fork. Only one such as I can see it, this road. We should follow it and shortly, we'll come upon outposts that are set up to protect the hideout." She set her hand on Klara's shoulder, looking to her. "When we arrive, there will be some concern over your being with me, but I assure you that you will be safe from harm."

She smiled slightly and dropped her hand, before moving forward once she was sure the coast was clear enough to make it over to the hidden road.
 
Klara's raised eyebrow gave evidence of her skepticism. Invisible roads seemed like abit of a stretch. She also wasn't too sure about red eye's promise of protection. Well, she would just have to take her chances. She could probably turn back once they caught sight of the hideout. Then again, where would she go? She should probably bring that up.

"So, you're going to send me back home once we get to this place right?" she asked. "I mean, you shouldn't need me anymore once you've found safety, right? I mean, my folks are probably going to skin me alive for disappearing like that. They're never going to believe this when I tell them," she explained, a look of worry beginning to form on her face.
 
She caught the girl's skepticism as it traveled across her mind. "It's not that the way is invisible," Insignia said, "it's hidden by magic, magic similar to the kind that summoned you here." She nodded as they walked forward. "And yes, I do plan to send you home...I'm just not entirely sure how to accomplish that." She addmited it almost shamefully, but didn't allow the emotion to flicker even a bit across her features. "I'm sure I can find someone who will be able to help us get you home."

Insignia peered around as they walked, keeping an eye on the objects and things around them; things to let her know they were getting closer to the Vampire Hideout. From what she could see, they weren't too far from the hidden encampment.
 
Klara shrugged when red eyes mentioned hidden magic. It made sense, but it wasn't something she would understand. She wasn't quite so dismissive of the second part, though. Her glare was proof of that. That bitch couldn't get her home?! Why the hell did she summon her here in the first place then? Well, at least she wasn't lying about it like the 'typical' vampire normally would. So, while she was still mad about it, Klara's respect for the vampiress increased minutely. She was a little relieved by the news that someone else would probably be able to help, at least.

"How much farther is this place?" Klara asked, starting to get a little impatient. While red eyes might not be feeling tired, she certainly was. The little bit of sleep she had gotten in the cave had been understandably fitfull and she hadn't gotten much out of it.
 
Insignia took a moment to look around them as they walked before she answered her female companion. "Yeah, we'll make it there relatively shortly and I'll do my best to get you home as soon as I can." Her eyes then roamed up to check the sky's color; it was getting close to the breaching of dawn and so it was good that they would be there soon. Sunlight would definitely not do Insignia any good. At all. "So, Klara, where are you from exactly? I'm curious since my spell went off track the way it did."
 
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