Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Breaking the Mold

The next day, when the sun had just begun to touch the distant horizon as it finished its long journey across the sky, Yuki's eyes fluttered open and let out a soft groan as she rubbed her arms and legs in an attempt to get her blood circulating. She had always had a bit of a problem waking up, although some of this was due in part to her rather irregular feeding cycle. With everything other than social interactions and runic studies, Yuki tried to put off things until later, if possible, which also happened to include drinking blood. For someone of her stature, she found the hunt somewhat of a necessary evil. She rolled down the thick covers and pushed herself up out of bed, stepping lightly as her bare feet touched the floor and brought her over toward her dresser, opening the large drawers and searching for the proper garments in which to dress herself. She could have asked the neko to help dress her, of course, but she didn't want him anywhere near her undressed body if she could help it.
 
His ears flicked as he turned under the covers, shuddering, letting out a yelp of terror before going ramrod straight, wide awake. "Just a dream..... just a dream." He shook his head, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Damnit...... damnit damnit damnit." He growled, clenching his fist and biting down hard on his knuckle. "Those technicians said the chip wouldn't break. Ugh......" The neko sighed, rolling out of his bed, standing up and rubbing the mark on his neck. His ace in the hole. His personal drug. The faint sounds of rustling clothes made his ears perk up. "Hm. Well, time to pay little Yuki a visit no?" Trystan stretched, wrapping his white-tipped tail around his arm. "Oh Yuki!" he called in a singsong voice as he opened the door into her room. "Good morning my little devil. What plans do we have for today? Maybe some kind of study of magic. Rune casters normally have nothing better to do than that." He chuckled, rubbing his neck, his knuckle bleeding slightly from his waking.

"Heh. You wouldn't happen to have a basement would you? I uh.... need to polish up a few things." He grinned, tugging lightly on his sleeves. "And if you get me something to blow energy on, maybe some equipment, I probably won't be as much of a bother as you're no doubt finding me now."
 
"Do not enter my room again without my permission," Yuki glared at the neko as she finished dressing herself, "I will call you if I need you... The basement is my personal research library where I keep my personal research materials and where I draw my runic magic circles. They allow me to store magical energy and spells inside myself since performing the necessary rituals in the middle of combat is highly impractical."

The vampire turned toward Trystan and grasped his chin firmly in her grasp, "There is something I want you to do for me before you run off again... I want you to alphabetize my research notes which are on the third shelf, second from the back in the basement library. Finish that before supper and you can do whatever you like with the rest of the day."

With that, she released him and walked out the door, heading to the spiral staircase leading toward the basement. The cold, dark interior of the lower room as only broken by the occasional torchlight which hung upon the walls as well as the candle-lit chandelier. She walked past the long lines of shelves, all works either by herself or her teachers, straight toward an open area where thick grooves cut into the stone floor formed complex magical formulas for storing runic energy. She stood in the center of one of them and opened one of the books that she snatched from a shelf on her way over.
 
Trystan only grinned as she berrated him for entering her room unbidden. "Yes General," he said, snapping up a sloppy salute. "I'll get right on sorting your notes. Maybe I'll even learn a thing or two hm?" He chuckled, following her down into the basement, passing her when she stopped and heading towards the destination she sent him. When he finally got to the library, out of sight of Yuki, he snatched up two books, wielding them like weapons. A book could be deadly if used right. A cautious glance over his shoulder confirmed no one was watching him, and he begun, assuming an offensive stance. In his mind, he was boxing with the Section Leader, Delshyk Tion, feinting with a left jab before smashing downward with his right, sweeping the shelves clean with a silent foot. Instead of alphabetizing them by looking at them, he sorted them quickly by texture. The older it was, the more time had passed since it was written, and the softer the cover was. It had a 75-80% chance of being correct. The stack of books on the floor steadily decreased as he picked them up and hurled them, deadly accurate and somehow not making a sound. He knew alittle magic, but he preffered things he could trust.
 
Yuki wasn't paying very close attention to the neko, figuring that even if he didn't sort them properly they would at least be somewhat better organized afterward. She had more important things to consider, as these rituals could take hours if she didn't focus properly. She summoned rune stones from the small pockets along the wall that normally held them and placed them at the corners of the magical matrix carved into the floor, paying careful attention to the order in which she placed them. It was sort of like wiring a live electrical system, as the flow of magic from these stones could not be turned off, even temporarily. It was a dangerous and delicate process, but one which she had learned well and practiced countless times. With the placement complete, she began to focus the energy and concentrate it. The flow of magic was soon visibly present as the carved lines in the matrix glowed a vibrant purple color. She calmed herself and let the magic circle do the rest of the work of recharging her powers...

It didn't take nearly as long as she had anticipated, as she was finished a mere two hours after she had begun. She felt energized and rejuvenated as she often did after the ritual was complete and she swiftly returned the rune stones back into their protective pockets along the wall. She took the time to glance over at the shelves that she had instructed the neko to sort, to see if he was still working on them or if he had already finished by then.
 
Trystan studied the last book closely, flipping through the pages. He didn't know why, but something had compelled him to pick the book up and start reading. It was dark, incredibly smooth, and had a symbol of dark fire on the cover. No other ndication of what it was adorned the cover. The more he read, the farther away he seemed to get from reality. His eyes crossed over a certain line of text and stopped, reading and rereading it. Up until now, everything had been understandable english. This line was in some other language. The words looked nice, and he wondered idly at the back of his head what they would sound like if read aloud. "Nochi..... truanta trachi........ pl..... plia......." He tilted his head, ears flicking in annoyance. What was that last word? "Plia....... plia....." He growled in frustration, unaware of the vampire behind him.
 
Yuki reached out and snatched the book out of his hands, a flash of anger causing her brows to furrow. Her eyes glared daggers at the neko as she carefully closed the book and placed it back onto the shelf. She grabbed his arm firmly and pulled him over to herself until she could speak directly into his ear, "Who do you think you are, neko? Do you have any idea what you were even reading, or what you were trying to perform? These books are not for idol reading or casual entertainment... They are for noble vampire eyes only, not someone who seeks to murder and destroy us without thought or care. If you so much as think about doing that again, I swear I will impale you on a pole and hang your body out in the courtyard for the ravens to pick clean... Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

She released him, pushing him back toward the staircase leading up to the ground floor, "Now, get out of here... I won't bring you down here again since I cannot trust you to not poke your nose where it doesn't belong. I'll sort my own books from now on... I'll find something else for you to do, something much less pleasant, I assure you."

The vampire followed him out of the room, turning out the lights and locking the door behind her as she did so...
 
When those words were snatched away from in front of him, his eyes dilated, pupils enlarging to fill his eyes before returning to normal. Her hand clamping down on his arm snapped him back into reality, and with temper flaring he snatched his arm away from her, growling low and threatening. His ears were flat against his head, tail swaying behind him. "You know who I am, as well as who I think I am. And you know I don't believe there's a noble vampire anywhere. Not since my Taylor died!" He took a step forward, a dim light pulsing in his right hand. Even in this enraged state, it was apparent he wasn't completely himself. "And you know what, you can go ahead and impale me. Let the ravens try to eat me. Fact is, you can't be sure I'm the real me." His head tilted, the dull glow pulsing brighter and brighter.

When he heard her say she wouldn't let him back down here again, he grinned. It wasn't his usual grin, which held malice. This held........ more than malice. It seemed more potent. "Your locks can't hold me, magic or otherwise. There's always a way through. Now, let's go, before this basement becomes your.... permanent home." He chuckled, the flames of rage leaving his subtly darker eyes. "Find the crappiest job you can find. Karma will have her way with you, and when she's done, we'll see who's the true master." He grinned, tail wrapping innocently around his leg. "Just a hint. I'd be watching where you get your food from now on. But then again, I'm just a lowly neko. Couldn't be that bad.... could I?" He laughed, making his way up the stairs, leaning on a wall while he waited for his next set of orders. His scent of roses was changed. It smelled like burning flowers now.
 
"I wasn't intending to put you on food duty if that is what you were thinking," Yuki replied calmly, "And if its karma that you wish to appeal to, I don't see why I'm any worse than yourself... I can't see how you would believe that murdering vampires is any more justified than vampires enslaving nekos. I can't claim that I'm a staunch proponent of either, but I couldn't just let you run wild on your own, now could I?"

When she reached the front door, she pulled a thick cape from the hat rack and wrapped it over her shoulders before turning toward the neko, "Make sure the house is in order when I return... I expect you to stay out of my room as well as the basement while I am away, but as I cannot necessarily trust you to do that for me, I at least want you to be subtle about it. Be here to greet me when I get back, I will have a few things I will need your assistance for."

With that, she opened the large double-doors and stepped through, letting the magical barrier seal behind her as she did so.
 
Free reign of the house for a little while Yuki was gone? Oh, the things he could do! The second the door closed behind her, he went to sit on the couch, waiting until the footsteps faded away out of his hearing radius before heading straight into the bedroom. As he swept through the door, he noticed a few things at once. The mirror, the heavy curtains, and of course, a drawer that was just barely open. There were so many sabotage possibilities here! Hm.... what to do first? There was so much to do and so little time to do it. He tilted his head as he thought, an old habbit of his that had saved his life on more than one occasion. Then he got it. The pillow. He'd need a few ingredients, some cleaners and such, and then he'd start cleaning up. He grinned to himself, his dark blue eyes scanning the room for anything that might even remotely look like a trap. He saw and took note of several items, and then proceeded into the kitchen. He wanted to show her what could happen if she turned out to be like all the other vampires. Sadistic, oppressive, tyranical. He didn't murder these things, he liberated his kind ffrom their grasp. His hands searched the kitchen cupboards, finding tomatoes and the key ingredient, pneumonia. Scentless, sightless, and of course, very flammable. He was a pyro to heart, that was for sure. With a grin, he clenched his hand, opening it to reveal a flip top lighter. In one smooth motion, the liquid inside was added to the mix, and placed promptly into a cup. He went back to Yuki's room and doused her pillow with just enough so that only the inside was wet. Otherwise it would ruin the whole trick. He put a match in his sleeve and went back downstairs to tidy his mess.

He was thorough, leaving not a trace. After everything was clean and in order, he went back into the basement to see if he couldn't figure out how to say those last few words in the book. "Plia...... ugh, that's going to bother me until I figure it out." He had no problems jimmying the lock to the door, and waltzed right up to where he put the book. "Alright, let's try this again...... Nochi truanta trachi plia......... plia.... scance.......... pliascance?" He shook his head, sighing. "Runecasters have a weird language. Nochi truanta trachi pliascance........... fuerintoa........... shadethren............ h......heph....... hephera.........." His head started pounding lightly, his hand glowing. "Wait a second.....the hell is wrong with my hand? Hm?" The light started to climb up his wrist, leaving the skin etched with a flame like design. "Well.... that's most definitelt interesting." He tilted his head, studying the black fire until it stopped at the crook of his elbow. "Hm...... going to have to wrap that up." He shook his head, clapping the book shut and tossing it in the air, catching it and hiding it in his shirt. It was almost invisible. With that done, he continued upstairs to the kitchen, gathering the ingredients to a neko's best friend. His own recipie too. "German chocolate cherry cake. It seems a waste since no one else here can eat it, but ah well." He shrugged, finding a bottle of wine in the cabinets and pouring a rather generous amount into the batter.
 
When Yuki finally returned, she was accompanied by a horsecart which was filled from front to back with small potted plants of various sorts, each with rather unique shapes and colors. She had wanted to expand her garden for a while now, but never got around to it... She figured that her neko wouldn't be too offended by being made to work outside with his hands, but she hoped he would refrain from intentionally or unintentionally destroying any of her precious ornamental plants. She opened the door and was met with the distinct scent of something baking, and she rolled her eyes as she realized that there was only one person in the house who it could possibly be. She walked down the hall toward the kitchen, pushing the door open as she passed through.

"What are you making?" Yuki asked, admittedly a bit peeved at him using some of her fine wine to bake a cake of all things but making no effort to stop him, "A fine neko delicacy? I didn't know you could cook... I'll have to keep that in mind for the future, not that I would eat anything you make but just in case... When you are done here, meet me behind the mansion in the garden."

She knew that the neko had been up to something other than simply baking, as he had doubtless made it a point to plant some sort of trap or other form of revenge. Yuki turned to leave and scout the house, heading toward the basement first to check if all her books were in order in case he decided to borrow a few for his own personal reading. The last thing she needed, after all, was a neko who could use runic magic. At best, he would kill himself. At worst, she would be tried for instructing a neko in the magical arts. Her own death fell somewhere in the middle.
 
With his cake in the oven and his newly marked arm wrapped securely in a light covering of gauze, he simply nodded at her, setting the timer and heading outside to see plants. Ornamental plants, exotic plants. Plants he might be able to use in the long run. And of course, they had to have some sort of purpose for Yuki to want them. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. "Oiyu, Vampy, where do ya want these hm?" But she was gone, her footsteps echoing down the stairs. To the basement. "Oh...... shit this isn't going to end well." He sighed, shaking his head and leaning against the counter next to the oven. He'd forgotten to put a copy image of the book as a replacement. Well, he'd just have to gauge her reaction when she noticed it missing and go on from there. Should be interesting.
 
Yuki scanned the shelves, finding an empty space as she thought she would. He had taken one of the oldest of the books, one written by her master's great-great-grandfather, dealing with all matter of essential elemental energies and related spells. It was one of the more dangerous ones that he could have gotten his hands on, but even so she contented herself that he had not burnt the house down yet so there was a possibility that he had not even opened the book yet. She took a deep breath and walked back out of the basement, heading back to the kitchen to confront him directly.

"Hand it over," Yuki said calmly, holding her hand out toward the neko, "We will discuss your punishment later... Assuming you didn't do anything stupid, perhaps I could even overlook this particular incident. For now, lets head outside to arrange the plants where I want them. "
 
Trystan tilted his head, scratching behind his ears with his bandaged hand, shrugging. "Hand what over? I don't have anything Vampy. Therefore, I can't be punished for something I did not do." The timer pinged and he jumped, turning around and opening the oven, hot air blasting him in the face. He grabbed the hot metal with his bandaged arm, pulling the cakepan out and setting it on the counter. The smell coming off of it was amazing. Atleast to him. He went to the refridgerator and searched for something. Milk. He found the gallon and emerged with a big smile on his face. His moods seemed to be erratic as of late. "So, what's with those plants? They just for the decor? There's gotta be another reason." He promptly cut himself a piece of the cake and poured himself some cream, his tail moving happily behind him. It had been so long since he'd had his 'neko delicacy'. "And hopefully you'll be willing to get your hands dirty. Or are 'nobles' not allowed to plant things in their own homes eh?" He took a bite of the cake, stabbing it with a fork and taking a sip of milk, shuddering in bliss at the taste. The wine added that subtle little bite. "The devil's in the details, those wonderful little subtleties that make everything so much better, and believable."
 
"You will refer to me as Mistress," Yuki reprimanded him mildly, "And you stole one of my runic tomes, titled, Of Elemental Resonance and Control. I know you have it on you somewhere, so do not play me for a fool. I could command you to strip down if you wish, but I'm sure you would prefer to simply hand the book over rather than go through that ordeal."

She sat down at one of the chairs around the table and glared at him,"You want me to do menial work while you eat cake? I think you misunderstand the situation, don't you? I have tried to be patient with you, but you really don't know how to live within limits, now do you? This isn't your personal playground, so I would appreciate it if you stopped treating my house in such a fashion. Now, follow me outside... I will mark the ground where I want each pot planted."
 
He simply grinned at her when she confronted him about the book. "What, you think I have it Yuki? Fine. Strip search me. Go ahead, look all you wish, I guarantee you won't find a thing on me." He chuckled, mocking her as he shrugged. "Of course, I'm not sure you'd enjoy looking on the bare body of someone who.... oh, did nothing and is completely harmless. You know, aside from the fact that I killed all your colleauges and drew your blood, and the only reason you aren't dead is because I allowed you to catch me." He shrugged, brushing his tail beneath his chin and batting his eyelashes. "Like I said, not at all dangerous." His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he realized that she said he had to cal her mistress, and when he tried to laugh, the cake choked him, forcing him to cough and regain his breath. "M-mistress? Why in the world would I call you mistress? Because I let you catch me? That can't be it. Because you earned my respect?" He shook his head, taking another bite of cake. "Nu-uh. Can't be that either. And it sure as hell can't be because I'm afraid. You parasitic beasts stopped scaring me during the Carveola Incident in Italy." He tilted his head, standing straight, just tall enough to be able to look her in the eye without looking up. "Tell ya what Fangs. You either catch me fair and square, which there's no chance you can do, earn my respect, or make me fear you. So far, only one of your kind has been able to do all three instead of only one." He chuckled, rolling his shoulders before focusing back on his cake. "So, the question now is, what are you going to do? You own me, but you can't control me. That must be frusturating for you hm?"
 
"There isn't anyone else here, so you are the only person who could have possibly taken it, so don't play stupid with me," Yuki quipped, growing impatient with his foolery. He clearly did not respect or fear her in the slightest, that much was certain, and only catered to her if it was to his own benefit or amusement. The neko reminded her of her little nephew, who would hold the entire house hostage to his whim if his parents would let him. He alone was annoying, but this neko was far worse as he not only spoke the words but clearly had the ego and abilities to back them up. He was as infuriating as hell, as he was the only person she had ever encountered so far that had made a fool out of her so many times... It was like this was her new default for as long as he was around.

"Making you fear me isn't something I could accomplish either, as you lost the ability to fear quite a while ago if my analysis is correct," Yuki replied, "I'm not exactly in the business of reaching for the impossible. Earning your respect seems like a far-fetched goal as well, since you clearly don't give a fig about me or anything else other than your twisted ideals and your fellow nekos... I have heard it said that people always fear and wish to destroy that which they cannot control or understand. I think I understand what they mean by that a bit better after meeting you, but I'm still not entirely convinced that destroying you is the correct course of action. I can't claim to understand what's going on in that head of yours, but I can tell from the look in your eye that you have something planned..."

The vampire leaned over slightly to look at his face from a different angle, "If you let me catch you and didn't kill me when you had the chance, then you must have some reason for keeping me around. The real question is how I fit into your little plot, isn't it? If you hate vampires so much, then why are you even keeping me alive? Instead, to sit here before me eating cake... You are waiting for something, aren't you? Perhaps you are simply biding your time, waiting for your furry friends to get everything ready... You're planning an insurrection or something of that sort, aren't you?"
 
The neko grinned, placing his empty plate onto the counter. "Heh, you're a regular Sherlock Holmes. Impressive. I knew there was something in you." He chuckled, rubbing his chin with the bandaged hand. "I don't see any harm in telling you. Yes, we are planning an... inssurection. And this will be the biggest bang since the last. Even the humans are helping." The neko's eyes held that special hint of madness. "Now, don't get me wrong. I have no hate towards your kind Yuki. Only the thirst for freedom, for the sight of neko's being able to do those things that animals can't do. Make their own decisions, have their own thoughts. Until we get that, I've no doubt times of war will stay dominant." He shrugged, ears flicking as he cut himself another piece of cake, studying it closely before taking a bite. "Now, you obviously have a plan of your own. I'm not going to ask what it is. I simply don't care. If you manage to kill me, it won't affect the main plans. I'm but a pawn for the bigger purpose." He paused, tapping the back of the fork against his chin thoughtfully. "That sounded a bit terroristic. I'll have to roword it. Ah well."
 
"I didn't think you were the ringleader," Yuki crossed her arms in front of her chest, "You don't exactly seem like the sort of person cut out for leading or organizing something like this... Sure, you're intelligent enough for it, but it just doesn't seem your style. That being said, I can't simply let things remain as they are, now can I? Tell me... What are you and your friends planning to do, exactly? Will you try to take down the council, or are you simply going to call upon your brothers to rise up against their masters and throw down some of the largest slave owners in an attempt to bring freedom to as many nekos as you can? Surely you understand the ramifications of your actions, as such insurrections have been put down time and time again... Unless you strike a blow so heavily upon us that we cannot fight against you any longer, its really a futile effort."

"There is something else I am curious about... What do you plan on doing with me after this little plot comes to fruition? Surely you don't think we can just shake hands and part as friends, now can we?" Yuki leaned back in her chair slightly, "I'm sure you have something much more interesting in mind, if you have even thought about it at all."

The vampire was intentionally keeping the topic of the discussion on the neko, not wishing to reveal any of her own intentions lest he use them to his own advantage. The longer she could keep him talking, the more likely it was that he would let some key clue slip out as long as she didn't make him upset in the process.
 
He shook his head. "I'm not the ring leader. I was, right up next to the human commander. The legendary soldier. That is until my falling out. Stupidly let a vampire into the Southern Guntower." He tilted his head, pausing in his reverie to study her with bright eyes. She was trying to pump him for information. Ever the curious vampire it seemed. "As far as you know... the council is already gone. Neko's have, over the years, mastered the art of stealth and camoflauge. We've had inside men ever since we formed our little Underground Corporation. What you don't know is you have been buying weapons and armor from a Neko company. Repelon incorporated. If you look through your armies record books, you'll see transactions from companies, including Repelon, Wolf, and Superior. DDT is human made." He raised an eyebrow. Seemed believable enough since all those names WERE in the purchase records, and DDT was human owned. "Our plans are simply this. You have an unwillingly held or broken nekomimi, you die. If you neglect your neko, you die. If you refuse to let your neko choose his or her master..... you're smart enough to figure it out." He shrugged, rubbing his eyes. Their plans were deadly, but not as ruthless as they seemed. They had their ways of rooting the truly bad from the rest.

"There are going to be no ramifications. We will not fail. It will happen silently." His eyes closed and he tilted his head, tapping his neck and the tattoo on it. "This symbolizes one of my group. A regiment of the most skilled snipers in the world. The effect of a sniper on an entire army of devastating." He opened his eyes, chuckling, mocking her again. "Fear. Nobody loses their sense of fear. Fear cannot be lost. You just change what you view as frightening, and somehow, being shot at by something you can't shoot back is down right scary." He turned back to his cake. "As for you.... hm. You'll have to find out when the time comes now won't you?" His tail waved, almost dismissively.
 
"It also happens to be cowardly. If one can aim and fire from complete or relative safety while the targets remain out in the open, its like shooting fish in a barrel. Its hardly a glorious way to fight, but I admit its quite effective," Yuki nodded, "Soldiers without leaders cannot do much harm, especially when their officers are shot down right in front of them... Its both demoralizing as well as panic-inducing. Plus, if one or two of your marksmen are found out, it will be unfortunate but only a slight loss when compared to the amount of damage a single sniper can deal out before he or she is discovered."

The vampire's eyes narrowed slightly, in a mildly intrigued and seductive manner as she stepped behind the neko and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him back in his chair ever so slightly. Using this momentary distraction, she reached into his shirt and took hold of the book from where he had hidden it and pulled it out, tapping it on the table a few times to further emphasize what she wished to discuss.

"What that doesn't explain, however, is why you have taken such an interest in my runic magic books... Don't think that I have forgotten about it, either," Yuki smiled, "These books contain knowledge that is highly dangerous when placed in the wrong hands... That's why their use is restricted to vampires of noble blood or lineage. I hardly expect you to be able to learn even a single spell in a day, since even the most simple require years of training and careful building of magical energy to perform. Is this why you plan on keeping me around?"
 
He raised an eyebrow as she called snipers cowardly. "Hmph. Cowardly hm? It takes guts to stay in a single spot, with the risk of either being ran over, stepped on, with the constant fear of being discovered. And on top of that, you have to have a steady hand." Trystan sighed, shaking his head, wagging his finger at her. "And you can't forget the ever important mole. It's not just nekos and humans that fight. We have vampires on our side too, but who exactly those are I'm not tel-"

His eyes went wide as he felt her arms wrap around him from behind. That was a shocker, forcing him to tense on instinct. He didn't like it when a vampire was behind him period. When he realized all she was going for was the book, he let out a tense breath and instantly relaxed. "For the love of whatever god you vampires believe in, do not try to do that again. Years of experience force me to act accordingly, and if it wasn't for the suppressor chip, shit would've gone down." He shivered, focusing on the book.

"My interest in magic is small. Or was until I saw that book. Something about it drew me to it. Don't know why, don't really care. All I know is it's inviting, and it might keep my mind off the past and into the future hm?" He leaned back into the chair, wincing as the stitches bent against the wood, causing a strange sensation across his back.
 
"Sorry about that, Fluffy, but I couldn't hold myself back... It seemed like a good opportunity," Yuki smirked, visibly amused at his reaction, "Perhaps you have an interest in becoming a rune-caster after the war as a way of keeping your mind off things? Its a very rigorous field of study, I assure you... Compared to the grand-masters of old, I am practically a novice. In my very own library is the entire collection of known tomes containing all the knowledge, both practical and otherwise, of runes... I'm quite proud of my collection, although many of them are simply old copies of the original research notes. Even I couldn't afford originals."

"I'm surprised that you claim that you have some vampires assisting in your plans," she laid her head down on his shoulder and spoke into his ear, "I can't say I'm an avid proponent of keeping nekos under our fingers, especially upon seeing how much bloodshed results whenever there is an uprising. Clearly we are loosing more than we gain in trying to keep you all down, plus you have your own lives and dreams much like we do... Even so, I dislike how you are going about it. I'm no pessimist, but I also don't like seeing my kinsmen get their spines torn out."
 
'Fluffy' stood slowly, tapping his neck twice before flicking his wrists, a pencil and a worn, torn notebook appearing in his palms. "That reminds me. Almost forgot to mark the kills." He put down the number seven on the paper, rubbing lightly on an old, dried bloodspot. With a swift motion, he snapped it shut, waved his hands, and all that remained of the items were wisps of smoke. "Technically you never saw it happen, you just saw the results. And besides, what you witnessed is a much better fate than what they'd given us. In the early days of the war, a new mech was introduced, the 'Tiger trap' mech. It was made of the strongest material, impenetrable to all but a single weapon. If it got a hold of one of ours, it would tear through the armor like butter, tear our soldiers apart feet first." He shuddered, his first sign of weakness and true, utter disgust and hate since she'd gotten him. "They got one of my closest friends. Jackie. Jack Buker." His eyes closed and he swayed lightly. "Had to watch while he fought hand to hand with it. His gun jammed, but for a few minutes, it looked like he was winning." He shook himself violently, tapping the mark once and shuddering again as the repressant coursed through his veins.

When his eyes opened again, the sadness was gone, replaced by a stony humor. He had scars, wounds that were still raw. He did put on a good act though. "So...... you have ammo now. A little bit of my personal life, knowledge of some rather deep, dark, festering wounds. I hope you attempt to use it at least." The neko shrugged, running a hand through his hair, turning his back to her and making his way out of the kitchen to the ornamental plants. After taking a few leaves from each, he sat down next to them and started chewing on one of all of them, testing them by their flavor it seemed.
 
"I really wouldn't taste them if I were you... Most of them are mildly poisonous," Yuki chuckled as she watched the neko chew the leaves, "I am using them for a special ritual that you will be helping me with later this afternoon. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt but it does require a fair amount of patience. Perhaps it will peak your interest in the runic arts, or reveal that its not meant for you. I really don't care either way..."

She walked back toward the house to head up to her bedroom, "Just plant them in the places marked in the open area in the garden... Put the plants potted in the blue pots on the blue marks, and the red in the red marked places, and so forth. Its hardly worth my time to do all that, so you see to it. If not, then I won't be preparing supper for you and you can scrounge up your own meal. I would warn you not to try my patience any further, but I know you wouldn't take me seriously, so just do it at your own leisure."

With that, she stepped up the staircase toward her room, suspecting that he had done something to her bedroom while she was away but not entirely sure what just yet.

---------------------

(I'm really sorry about how long its taken me to get back to this... I really hope we don't drop it, it was getting really interesting with the back and forth between the vampire and the neko.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom