mayfield_rpg | 02 - Sink into your Embrace

[Action A - 2240 Stevens Road - Friday, April 6th, morning]

[What was this in the mail? Packages? Three of them? One big, one small, and one envelope, all addressed to her? But she knew better than to open any of them in the open. Not with the sun shining. So she had taken them inside, and because she was impatient, brought them down to the light-sheltered basement so she could open them now.

To make a long story short, she now had a bloody nose, an assortment of bee stings, and a makeshift paper sign on the now-locked basement reading "DO NOT ENTER - CONTAINS BEES". Also, that remaining envelope. Sitting on the living room couch, she held it between her thumb and forefinger and fought with herself to hold off on the opening. There was nowhere dark enough. Nowhere secure enough. Not in this house. And the daytime made her sluggish, anyway.

The sun really needed to hurry and set.]

[Action B - general vicinity of 2240 Stevens Road, early evening]

[When the sun had finally dipped far enough under the horizon, Natalie ripped open the envelope from the town. In it was a slip of paper with a single dot of blood upon it. She was confused for only a moment, for suddenly she remembered the knives and the bleeding and the wounds and that single drop of Father's vitae passing her lips. She was experiencing it all over again. Dying again. Rising again.

There's a hideous scream from inside the house. And then not long after that, out staggers Natalie, bloodied from the wrists down, eyes rapidly sinking and darkening and full of hunger. Pedestrians at this time of night, beware.]

[Action C - 1490 Kramden, evening]

[There's an insistent banging on the front door. Ilsa had made promises, and Natalie fully intended to collect on them.]

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[Yup. She sure is one of the hysterical ones.]

...no one told me that. Ooh, but a week of side-effects, that's still just a set-back. I've experienced worse...

[And she dissolves into more of that unpleasantly mad laughter, passing a slightly-sticky hand over her face. Her eyes roll away, her head turns, she shudders... and then she composes herself enough to look back to Ciel.]

What's your message, hunter? What's the word on the street? What's the code of behavior around here?

[Ciel's indifference doesn't falter, but this is a problem. If this woman isn't lucid enough to hear her, there are chances that what she says won't be heard and this ends up a complete waste of time and energy. The question now is, would the hysteria be caused by hunger, or fear? Maybe both, but which one more? If it's the former, she won't be able to do much about it, but if it's the latter, if she overpowers her completely through will and force her to become aware enough to regain consciousness, then maybe...

Her cyan blue eyes turn dull, yet it's as if the gaze suddenly grew much sharper than before. Natalie might or might not be able to recognize that it's a form of hypnotism that could lead to some degree of mind control, but the message, the command, this time is simple.

Get a grip.]

I'll get to that, but are you listening well?

[The first step is simple; make sure that she has the other woman's undivided attention so there can be no misunderstanding about their situation.]

((OOC: Details for Mystic Eyes are here, it doesn't work for vampires at home because the strong ones all have solid magical resistance. Depending on the sort of vampire Natalie is, she might or might not be affected, or partially so; she may also realize what Ciel's trying to do depending on her own magical knowledge - which is just to make sure she sobers up and is calm for the upcoming conversation. The choice's up to you, so please go with what you feel best! Feel free to hit me up if you have additional questions about how things work, o/))

[Natalie's eyes widen when they lock with Ciel's. She's more than familiar with powers that let a person exert their will over someone else's. And she's always been a stubborn one, fairly resistant to it. So while she struggles against the effort, this at least lets her understand what the hunter is trying to do.

Her jaw clenches, her hand passes slowly over her face again, and then drops limply to her side.]

Cut that out.

[And her eyes narrow.] My grip's slippery. My stomach isn't full. But I can listen. I fully intend to listen to you. We're trapped in this ticky-tacky box together, and I think we should be level with each other.

Level with me, hunter. What do you want?

[Her eyes quickly return to normal, and she gives a faint hum of acknowledgment. Can't complain; that at least went smoothly, all things considered.]

You are not the first vampire I've come across here, and you won't be the last. The rules are simple. Do as you wish with the drones, but you will be held accountable if the body was to, inadvertently or maliciously, turn into a ghoul after. Obtaining the consent of the willing may be overlooked, but misguiding them or preying on the unwilling will result in your immediate pursuit. [Which may as well be "repeated execution", from her tone and demeanor.]

Do you have any objections?

[Natalie listens passively, or at least tries to. There's a twitching of her lips almost into a smile at the talk of "ghouls", but then they press into a line. The rest... the rest is astonishingly reasonable, for a hunter.]

In such a small population, I'll foul my food supply if I get a reputation for assaulting real people. So I'll behave. Because it's about survival, here. Survival first. Then we escape. Right?

No objections. None. None.

Yes, especially given that there is no permanence to "dying". For your own sake as well as that of ordinary humans, killing each other would also be a waste of time and energy when we have a much more dangerous foe to commonly contend with.

Then you understand the terms. [Not a question, but she nevertheless beckons confirmation.]

I understand the terms.

[Negotiation with hunters wasn't... usual, in her experience. But this whole town was hardly the usual. She rolls her head about slowly, continuing to will herself to be calm.]

Can I go?

Then that is all.

[Good enough. She lowers her head lightly to that.]

You will be watched.

[...admittedly that's just extra intimidation now, but better to overdo the pressure than have it turn into violence for everyone because there wasn't enough. Without another word, she takes a step back, and before Natalie can blink, she has already propelled herself onto the top of the nearest power pole. That's a good 20 feet jump within an instant, which if Natalie's still watching, will give her an idea of this one hunter's physical abilities.

Ciel won't stick around anymore than Natalie plans to. A few seconds later, she would have melted back into the night, and after that, every street lamp on Stevens Road will become functional again one by one. ...It didn't go too badly for a warning, given that the results could've been much worse. And if Natalie wasn't aware before of these pesky Templar types around town, she is now.]

Smart people watch.

[It's no surprise, and it doesn't add much extra to the intimidation. Much.

Her head turns sharply as she tries to track the woman's position. That high, that suddenly? How was that even possible? What strange blessings and gifts and talents did she have, exactly?

Too bad she can't stare much longer. When Ciel vanishes from sight Natalie turns away, hisses softly, and continues on her way to Ilsa's place.]

02 - Sink into your Embrace

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I just found the e-mail notification buried under a bunch of stuff D:

Haha, all good! o/

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