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Denying Fate (Anjeru and Raziel)

Raziel99

Raziel99

Pulsar
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Lightning roared and smacked the ground, and Zalera appeared outside the great city of Orleans. He slowly stood, already seeing several guards coming his way, an array of weaponry pointed at him. He simply raised both of his hands, showing that they were empty. “Chill. I’m expected. I’ve been sent for a meeting with Annika.”

It was a few minutes as he walked past the guards, who escorted him, and continually tried to throw him off to a man name Regin. But he dismissed them on that notion. He was here to speak to their leader, not some reagent to power. As it was, his mood wasn’t the best: He had to dress properly. Properly! Him! He made sure his clothes were fresh and –properly- worn, as well as a cloak that signified his clan. As it was, he was getting dirty looks from those he passed by… but it was doubtful that it was from his clothing.

Dutiful marching through the streets, flanked by Valkyrie guards, he was the pinnacle of calmness. His face looked serene as he looked ahead of him, every so often offering a wave and a smile to a person that caught his eye. But, it wasn’t long before he was in front of a very large building, the only building that would be good for actual meetings, it seems. He took a deep breath, heading inside…

…And an hour later, he emerged, a smirk on his face as he went down the steps, escorted by the guards. That went… really, really well. His steps were definitely heightened by joy. Sadly, the sun would be up soon, and he didn’t feel like conjuring a storm to get home. So he made preparations to have a room made for him to rest the day away. And that he did, beelining to that building and plopping onto the bed, without care and without remembering details.
 
Alirei the Envied stood on a darkened balcony of the main meeting hall of the Valkyrie's compound Annika had set up for them in New Orleans when The Horde has been dead set on eliminating her and her sisters. She scowled as she saw the emissary make his way into the building to speak with Annika; no doubt more peace sessions, ones that Alirei didn't approve up. Just because The Fates had a twisted sense of humor, by mating her sisters with they're once sworn enemies, didn't mean she had to approve of it. The Fey had never been meant to co-exist with the vampires. She wasn't about to let that change, just because a few had charmed their way into the coven.

The vampire came out, approximately an hour later. Her tongue touched across her tiny fangs, fingers tucking loose strands of hair behind her pointed ear. She was aptly named the Envied for a number of reasons, but her skills had been at the forefront once she'd fully grown into life as a Valkyrie. It was a wonder she'd never entered the Hie, like her sister Kaderin had; Kaderin had taught her a lot of what she'd known, but Alirei didn't exactly like being the center of attention - the epithet given to her was almost ironic, considering.

The sun would be up soon and, just like she'd suspected, the vampire took up a room in one of the home buildings; ones used for guests only, and...her room. Annika had said it would be to help her against her lingering prejudice of the vampires they were becoming allies with. Hah, like that was possible. To think she had to sleep in the same building...it made her skin crawl. Should one of those allies decide peace wasn't in their best interest, she would be the first on their lunch menu thanks to Regin's advice. Her and Nix The Ever-Knowing, AKA Nucking Futs Nix. The stupid self proclaimed future-seer had told Regin that Alirei's fate would be sealed if she couldn't get past her mistrust of vampires.

Riiigggght. She hopped easily from the three story balcony and made her way to the building where their 'guest' was housed, going in through the door across from his. With a sigh, she fell on the bed on her back and stared at the ceiling, determined not to shut her eyes until the sun would keep him in his room.
 
Zalera sat resting now, his eyes closed as he laid there. His clothes had simply disappeared, and he hadn’t bothered to go under the covers – the cold never bothered him. His mind went out around him, feeling the air, and the movements in the household. He might be here for diplomatic reasons… but he valued his hide far more than any treaty between the Vampires and the Valkyries. His death would have a severe retaliation… but he liked to live, damn it! As it was, tensions were already high, and he got up for half a moment to make sure the window’s were closed in the room. No need to try to burn him alive. Even if it wouldn’t work.

As he stared at the ceiling, he felt the presence, a malevolent emotion that was a whirl through the house. It was a wait until the force was still that he got up, rapping his knuckles on the wall. “Hey, ease up. How is one suppose to get some sleep in here if there’s so much anger?” His chuckle was soft, his voice teasing as he moved to his bed, once more laying down, letting his eyes close.
 
His voice nearly startled her, but she only smirked and shook her head. Leave it to a cocky vampire to find some way to blame his inability to sleep on the Valkyrie. She scoffed and stood, making her way to the wall, turning her back so as to lean against it, her arms folded across her chest. Her head dropped back against the wall, her hair pushing to fall forward over her shoulders. What would he know of her anger? He didn't despise the Valkyries, as she despised the vampires; they'd been trying to wipe her race out for years, while they had merely been fighting back, at least until a few years ago, when suddenly vampires started having the Valkyries as mates.

"What would you know of my anger, Vampire? I'm not exactly housed here by choice," she finally said, dropping an arm down to rap her knuckles against the wall, much like he had.
 
“And I can say the same myself. I have little to expend for another expedition home, especially at this hour.” He was on the bed, not even bothering to get up and speaking quieter through the wall. “But –your- anger is palpable. Why, the only time I have felt such an aura was when my brother’s soon-to-be-mate was killed. It… was a long century.” He rolled onto his side, looking at the wall the rapping came from.

“Surely you have not had a mate die, so I see little reason for your anger. You are no prisoner of these people – as far as I know. And you hide behind solid wall. I see little reason to try to say anything otherwise. Come and speak, or stay secluded and seethe. I care little either way.”
 
She preferred to stay and seethe, in all honesty. Again, what did he know of her anger. Frowning, she contemplated her options; she wasn't abut to let a vampire get away with insulting her, saying she had no reason to be angry. "I don't care for your kind and, given the treaties, that is apparently going to be my downfall," she said with an almost bitter laugh, pushing off the wall to leave her room quietly, finding herself standing before his door. "I am housed here to get over that dislike, whether or not I like it. Which I don't. I don't like your kind, Vampire; just because I haven't lost a mate, does not mean I have not lost a sister. It's just as worthy of my anger. I would sooner keep fighting than make peace with our murderers." She said through the door, Nix's premonition making her words all the more potent. "I don't have to like it. You'll just have to tune out my anger, it isn't going anywhere." Then she turned, intent on returning to her room.
 
“Your downfall will be created by you and you alone. Not fate. Not treaties.” He heard the footsteps, felt the mass of anger shifting from the room to the hallway, stopping at his door. His hands shifted, moving to rest behind his head as his eyes closed. “I am housed here because I have nowhere else to go before I could return to my home. And yet, I am getting angry words instead of hospitality. It seems that your culture is a little less refined than you wish it to be.” Pointed words, trying to get her to come into the room. “We do not kill your kind. We make peace. And yet you still anger. How strange.” He was already tuning her anger out, for it was making her shadow harder to follow. “But please do come in, speak with me with a face instead of rage.”
 
She stopped, scowling at her hand as it rested on the handle of her door. His words were harsh and yes, they made her slightly ashamed. You make peace now, after the harm has been done, she thought silently. With a frustrated growl, she turned and moved back to the Vampire's door, turning the knob enough to loose the latch. The door came ajar, yet she remained standing there for a long moment, as if she were weighing her options. Finally, she stepped in with a sigh and shut the door behind her with a booted foot. "There is nothing for us to discuss, Vampire. My culture has been nothing if not hospitable. Just because one fey refuses to get on board, doesn't mean the culture is disrespectful. That's like saying because one white hates the blacks, all whites are racists."
 
“As I have spoken at length to only two of your kind, to be disrespectful puts it as fifty percent of your people that I have spoken to to be disrespectful. And as you are the only one in this house, that makes you my host, which is definitely rude of a host to be thus to a guest. Whether one is angered or not.” He shifted slightly, but his body naturally rolled back to how it was. “And I am sure there is plenty for us to discuss, as you are angry at me, and you do not know why. You generalize everything about Vampires, and yet you accuse me of being the unreasonable one by calling your race inhospitable. Turn and speak to me like a proper person. Take a seat. And start talking.”
 
She hissed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of her nose, before she sighed and, avoiding looking at him, took a seat in the plush arm chair beside his bed. "I'm not your host; I'm here because I was ordered to be, that's all." She waved her hand dismissively, as if it meant that it would be dropped from there, no further breaching of the subject. She looked down at her slim hands, picking at her nice nails almost absently, long strands of auburn hair falling from behind her pointed ear where they had been tucked. "I don't trust vampires, all vampires. I don't see the reasoning behind a treaty just because my sisters have been mated to vampires. A couple of supposedly good men doesn't change the fact that the vampires have been trying to wipe out the fey for centuries," she muttered, leaning back in the chair and dropping her head back with a sigh, closing her eyes. "Sorry if that bothers you."
 
“You act as though the leader then is the leader now. Or that all the groups are working together. There are such things as different factions of Vampires, you know.” He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle in his voice. “You alienate us, and you’ll alienate your sisters that had taken us as their mates. Your words will stain them as if they never were your sisters. And once this treaty is finished, that will be another faction of us in peace with your race. And only those heathen Vampires will be of any worry.” There was a bitter sound as he spoke of the other clan, but he turned his head to face her… and was assailed in all his senses, closing his eyes and turning his head away as he tried to blink out the sudden sense of vertigo.
 
"I know, I know that okay!" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath, some of anger sliding away at his words. "I just...century old feelings just don't go away over night. Especially when I am being forced to confront my feelings as opposed to being allowed my own time to come to terms with all this. And all because of Nix's stupid visions." She dropped her hand and lifted her hand, eyes opening so that she could turn to look at him though, once she realized he was naked, she blushed and turned her face away. "Odin's wrath," she bit out, "you could have warned me you weren't wearing any clothes." A soft cough followed her words, her arms folding over her breasts as she stubbornly kept herself from turning back to look at him again.
 
“You should tell that to my brother. He is still furious about what the Whisperer has done. He won’t let that defeat go down in his mind, even 500 years later, after we have sealed him for centuries. But he will come to terms, in time-“ He was cut off by her biting words, and a grin crossed his face. He wasn’t looking at her at the moment, still fighting off a sense of vertigo. “Why would such a warning be necessary? It’s not like we are both not grown immortals.” He kept his body how it was, simply turning his head to face her… then being thrown into the sense of vertigo once more, his insides turning and his hand shifting to press against his forehead. It passed in time, but he had no idea what happened. “It matters not. We are civilized people, no? It is something that can be ignored. But if you have such a problem with it, I can dive under the blanket.”
 
"Just because we are grown immortals doesn't mean I like to recline in my nudity while conversing with a complete stranger," she sighed with a slight laugh, slightly amused that he could be perfectly content being naked in front of a strange woman. What did that say about him, she wondered. When she turned to look back at him, just from the corner of her eyes, she saw that he had his hand pressed against his forehead, as if it were aching. Did Vampires get headaches? Or was he not feeling well? Keeping her eyes strictly above his waist, she turned and leaned toward him, touching her fingers to his hand. "Are you okay?"
 
His hand moved violently away from her touch, leaving his forehead as it slid back behind his head. “I am fine.” He said, with a tone that oozed finality. “Anyway, nudity is a natural state. If you cannot be sure of yourself in it, then why bother?” He shifted, sitting up, his arms crossing over his chest lightly. Even as he continued to make conversation, he seemed slightly preoccupied now. What was going on? “The question is, are you going to join me in this comfort, or am I going to have to cover up?” His voice was teasing, as he already knew that answer, and he was already grabbing the blanket, pulling it over himself. “Talking will help you get over your anger with the Vampires.”
 
His violent removal from her touch had her recoiling from brief connection of their flesh as quickly as he had. His tone told her that there would be no more on the subject, so she sat back in the chair, though her body was still angled toward him. "I prefer to keep my clothes on in the presence of strangers," she said, a slight up tilt to her lips because she knew he'd been joking - or at least she hoped he had been. It was strange though, she wasn't angry anymore. She felt strangely at ease, given her close proximity to the race she claimed to hate. "There really isn't anything to talk about," she sighed and tucked her hair behind her pointed ear, before her green eyes just looked down at her hands as she picked at the manicured nails in a nervous, somewhat distracted habit. "I'm not angry now, so you can go to sleep."
 
He could tell that her anger was quickly faded away as they sat, talking idly. He leaned against the wall, the blanket firmly over his hips, hiding the sudden hard-on he had. “Well then, let’s fix the ‘stranger’ part, yes? My name is Zalera De la Crux, brother to Alexander.” He half bowed, his arms moving with him. “And there is always something to talk about.” His arms crossed over his chest lightly as he studied her, holding back the urge to lick his lips. She was a beauty. “Talk about anything. But, there’s no way that I could sleep, not now. Not with such a beautiful woman in my room.”
 
His words caused her to smirk, a slight laugh following as she raised her eyes to look at him. "There is a way to fix that - I could just go back to my room," she said softly, though she made no move to do so. If anything, she seemed to recline some, getting comfortable in the plush, high backed chair. She'd heard of his brother, she realized. "Zalera; interesting name, almost exotic. My name is Alirei. I'm sure you've noticed how most of my sisters have titles? I am Alirei the Envied," she introduced herself, with a slight shake of her head. "I prefer just my name, though." He wasn't bad looking himself, she realized, now that she was actually looking at him. No, don't go there... she harshly reprimanded herself, he was a vampire after all; her sisters were mated to vampires, she wouldn't be. Fate wouldn't be so cruel.
 
“That would fix that. But, that would be boring and hamper your aim for trust of the species, no?” He shifted once more to lie against the wall, the bed pillows against his back, absorbing the chill from the wall. “Ah, the Envied? I can see how you have gained such a title. But I will respect not using it… Alirei. It is a beautiful name.” He bowed his head to the woman once more. But he lifted it quickly, looking toward her. “I am sure you have questions, and I am free to answer whatever you wish. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind coming closer? Sitting opposite of one another is so… informal. It is better to just relax and enjoy yourself rather than be sprung up as if there was war afoot.”
 
Alirei clucked her tongue and regarded his thoughtfully, wondering if she should take him up on his offer to move closer and speak more...formally? Or did he mean intimately? She wasn't certain. Just because she wasn't angry any longer didn't mean she was ready to be all personally friendly with a vampire, or even this seemingly friendly one at that. "I don't have any questions," she said slowly as she stood. She kicked off her boots before she sat on his bed, moving to sit up against the headboard next to him. It was strange...she didn't feel any hostile urges sitting almost shoulder to shoulder now with this vampire. "I'm not entirely certain there is anything to speak of now," she said, pulling her hair over her shoulder and idly playing with the strands.
 
It was surprisingly easy to get her to be a little more personal, watching as she kicked her boots off and sat next to him on the bed, laying against the headboard. He shifted slightly so she had some cushion instead of cold wood behind her, not that she would probably notice it in her clothes. His body shifted sideways slightly, his hand moving and resting on her shoulder. “Oh, there are always things to speak of.” He said softly, his voice having taking a slightly deeper tone. “You just have to think. Or not. Sometimes words are not the best way to show your mind to someone, no?” His head tilted, eyes flashing slightly as he looked into hers, his smile infectious.
 
Her green eyes met his and her one of her thin auburn brows cocked curiously; Odin's wrath...was he flirting with her? Fighting vampires she could do; she had been for centuries. She'd never had to deal with one flirting with her. The slightly deeper tone mixed with his charming smile, made her wonder. "Are you insinuating something here, vampire? I don't like your kind much, this you know; getting personal with you isn't high on my list of things to do," she chuckled, but had little faith in her words when being so close to him, his hand now resting on her shoulder, made her feel slightly uneasy...but only because her skin tingled, from where he touched her. She drew her shoulder out from under his touch, swallowing thickly. "I think I should go back to my room."
 
“Insinuating something? Me? Oh, no, of course not. Is it my tone that’s saying there is meaning that goes against my words? Or perhaps my eyes. I don’t know. It’s not like I’m actually thinking about what I’m saying.” A soft chuckle left his lips, hiding the small frown as she slid her shoulder out away from his hand. Even so he pressed a little more, a finger gently running up her neck, resting at her chin. “You are a beautiful person, you know. I would hate to have your ire. Let it out now, if you have to. But I would hate to see it again, later on. After all, I have a feeling, a deep feeling, that this will not be the last time we see each other.” It was then that he let the frown cross his face, his hand pulling away. “Leave if you wish. I cannot keep you contained in this room.”
 
She'd nearly jolted when he ran his finger up her neck, a slight shiver barely suppressed as it ran up her spine in response, his digit coming to a stop at the end of her rounded chin. All too soon, it felt, he pulled his hand away. He'd called her beautiful. Normally, she wouldn't care. A lot of people called her beautiful. Intelligent. Skilled. His voice, saying one of those words she'd come to hate so, made her feel oddly content. Complimented. Or that it was actually true, and not just what everyone said. Alirei the Envied; well, for once, her title didn't seem all that condescending to her. She sat there, for a long moment, perched to flee. Finally, she sighed and relaxed, pinching the bridge of her nose, almost with shame. "I find myself reluctant to leave," she mumbled, feeling almost a fool for not taking the golden opportunity he'd given to her to leave. He wouldn't have stopped her, yet she had stayed. Fool.
 
“Reluctant to leave? Hmm…” He slowly shifted, his hand reaching to her shoulder, slowly turning her body as he moved himself, pulling her back until she was leaning on his chest, propped up against the headboard. “After such a fuss. It seems you may not know what you want. And I dare not say a word saying that I would know what you would want. After all, how could I? I’m a Vampire, one of the dark creatures you so loathe…” There was a hidden chuckle in his voice, his hands slowly roaming up and down her arms, changing direction whenever they rested on the back of her hands or her shoulders. “Or has your mind changed? Perhaps you give me a little more credit than the beasts you honestly fought. I assure you, my clan had nothing to do with it.” His fingers slowly traced on the back of her hand whenever they met. “Perhaps you have a longing of yours? Vocal… physical… perhaps soreness in your body that aches to be treated? I can help.,,”
 
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