paris ♔ tried to save myself but myself keeps slipping away

[necessaryevil]

♬ Facade (reprise) - Jekyll & Hyde

WHO || Faith Lehane, Max Rast, Lissa Dragomir, Helen Magnus
WHAT || The Knights investigate a string of vampire attacks in France
WHERE ||Paris, France
WHEN || April 11th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

One vampire attack is cause for worry enough, but when bodies are found with telltale puncture wounds and heavy loss of blood become a recurring nightmare across any city, alarm bells are raised.  Such is the case recently in Paris, where Wynn suspects that either a careless clan has moved in, or some lone vamps are stirring up trouble.  With the locations of the bodies marked out in the eight block radius where the deaths have been occurring, the team arrives in the late evening, staring at the rows of apartment blocks, small businesses, and pubs that comprise this section of town.

Comments

[daredtobelieve]

Perhaps you're a poor judge of character. [She counters, her lips curving into a smile. Still, she knows she owes him some amount of an explanation.]

My colleagues and I were investigating the murders in the city, hoping to find the cause and put an end to it.

[roux]

Were you aware that they were vampires, before your arrival?

[daredtobelieve]

Yes, we had our suspicions- which were quickly confirmed upon our arrival.

[roux]

Then you are hunters as well. [ his eyebrow arches, a question ]

[daredtobelieve]

Not exactly. But we are of the mind of protecting innocent lives. [She just can't bring herself to call herself a hunter.]

Despite what my poor showing earlier might have lead you to believe, I'm quite capable of handling myself.

[It's not said with any sort of defensive edge, not acting as if he had said anything to the contrary. Honestly, she's a bit embarrassed that she needed rescuing in the first place, but she's making a joke of it to try to mask that.]

[roux]

I've little doubt of that. [ he turns back to consider her, walking slowly across the room towards the door. ] Given the unfortunate turn of events, will you have other allies joining to assist you?

[daredtobelieve]

Faith. She's still out there in the city. Last I saw, she was leaving the bar with a man- likely another one of them. I'll need to find her and reach out to our employer to let him know what's happened. Whether he sends back up or asks us to return home with those who have fallen, I'm not certain.

[Telling Wynn that she failed to keep the team alive is not something she's looking forward to. She's trying to do her best to steel herself from the onslaught of guilt she knows she'll feel for quite some time (will save nat 20)

[roux]

I see.

[ he stops in front of the door for a moment. ] Perhaps you and I can come to an arrangement, of sorts.

[daredtobelieve]

[Pushing herself to sit up straighter, she regards him quite seriously.]

What sort of arrangement?

[roux]

You'll send word that the threat has been disposed of. Which, in a great way, it has. She was nearly the last of these upstarts, and I intend to finish what I have started. A task that I believe I am much better equipped for than you.

[daredtobelieve]

[She's quiet for a moment.]

I'd prefer to be there to see it finished. I feel as though I owe them that much. [Meaning Lissa and Max.]

[roux]

You will be. I'm asking you to remain behind with me. To prevent further bloodshed, in a way.

[daredtobelieve]

Then, yes- I should say we could easily strike an arrangement. [She's willing to bend the rules a little.]

[roux]

[ taste of blood - archive

he turns to face her, his face mostly shadowed in the very dim light. ] At my age, I need feed less often than the young. And I have only very recently had my fill. But in time, I will require fresh fare.

If the victim is willing, I can often prevent myself from taking their life. You would stay, seek justice for the deaths of your compatriots, and then remain with me, providing sustenance that I require, and sparing the life of more innocents in doing so. [ his words have a measured, more-than-reasonable cadence to them, and he makes them sound particularly appealing with a 45 charm check ]

[daredtobelieve]

[There's more going on than just what's happened here, tonight. There's more about conversations she's had with dear friends who have made her wonder just if she's truly meant to remain with the Knights, if their beliefs were ones that she could stand behind, unwavering. The appearance of Ashley had banished the thoughts from her mind for a time, but now she's being coaxed into staying behind, at the side of this man-- who is apparently a vampire. She should say no. She should refuse and tell him that she couldn't possibly.

But there's a part of her that was maybe looking for this opportunity, not to be a supernatural snack, but to have the chance to walk away- at least for a time. (Will save crit fail)]

Alright. [Her voice is quiet, but very sure.] I'll do it.

[roux]

[ once she's given her word, he begins moving towards the bed again, where he perches on the edge of it, looking down at her with a pleased expression in his eyes. ] I had hoped you would. [ he brushes the hair from her bandaged neck with the back of his hand lightly. ] You won't regret your decision, Helen.

[daredtobelieve]

There are things about me you should know. [She says, face tilted up towards him as he stands at her bedside.]

I'm human, but...it isn't as simple as that. [Apparently a crit fail will save means tell the vampire all your secrets.]

I'm over 200 years old. [In case her blood is expired... jk jk she just feels like he should understand this is a thing in case it does alter her blood in some fashion for him.]

[roux]

[ his head tilts aside as he considers her, the confession clearly a surprise. ] How can this be?

[daredtobelieve]

An experiment in my youth with- funnily enough, vampiric blood from my own world. [She lets out a short, shaky breath. The reality of all of this is hitting her.]

[roux]

Vampiric blood. [ he repeats softly, clearly intrigued. ] Yet you are alive. Thoroughly vital. [ as if to cement this fact to himself, his hand brushes beneath her jaw, feeling the warmth there. ] Something I have never seen before, I must confess.

[daredtobelieve]

Quite alive and quite mortal. [As if he could have forgotten how she nearly died just moments ago.] But my aging slowed drastically. I was auditing classes at Oxford when I developed the serum. Barely more than a child.

[roux]

And you chose to test it on yourself? Quite bold.

[daredtobelieve]

A pretty word for "foolish," I think you mean. My associates at the time took issue with it, but they knew better than to try to convince me otherwise. Men ahead of their time. [She misses her friends, but she can't help but shudder slightly, thinking of John at her side on that day- the beginning of the end of them.]

I only say as much in case it changes my...use to you.

[roux]

I confess, I've no idea if this will have any effect or no upon the potency of your blood, but given as there have been vampires that have drank off their own kind without suffering ill effects, I cannot imagine it would be hazardous. Depending, of course, on the nature of these experiments you did. What was it that you intended to accomplish?

[daredtobelieve]

[Oh, well that's a heavy question, isn't it?]

Before I came through the Veil, my work surrounded the research and preservation of extraordinary creatures- genetic anomalies. Abnormals, my father called them. Creatures that seemed impossible, men and women with abilities beyond that of basic human function. My father studied them and was laughed out of academia, but he took me up as an apprentice and I carried on the mantle for him. Vampires, as I knew them, were not made from a bite as told in legend, but born of the most brilliant race our world had ever known. They were extinct long before I was born, but through a series of dangerous events, my colleagues and I obtained a sample of pure vampire blood. There were theories that all abnormal abilities could be traced to some small amount of vampiric heritage. We thought we could unlock this genetic puzzle wth this one sample of blood.

Honestly, we had no idea what would happen when we injected ourselves. But it brought forth a latent ability, unique to each of us five. I very well could have died that day, but instead, I have survived indefinitely.