Swinging (PM to join)

[Katastrophe St. John]

((OOC: This was originally started on RBRP, so don't freak out when you see only mere minutes in between posts. We have no super-powers. Enjoy!))

The small neighborhood park was nestled in a typical suburban community and there were few milling around at this time of night. Katastrophe had been so bored that she wasn’t even sure how she’d managed to end up in a human housing development. The houses were upscale, probably going for nothing less than $300,000 and they looked it, too. Well-lit elevations with manicured lawns that were just shy of being green at this time of year. It had been unseasonably warm and trees were already starting to bud.

She turned her attentions to the playground and walked over to it, her Nike’s making crunching noises with the pebbles beneath her feet. She sat down on a swing and sat for a few moments, engrossed in her erratic thoughts.

This whole mess between her and Mal had her thinking more and more about Arias. They had seen each other just a few nights ago, even though two weeks past he had informed her he was leaving the city indefinitely. Well, now he appeared to be back. They had a long heart-to-heart and Arias informed her that they could no longer be together due to a chosen path he would be taking. Katastrophe was torn up inside, despite his promises that he would not be seeking out love and would never bind himself to another. She loved him still, but after the way he severed her on Christmas Eve, and the way he so easily left her again this time after they had just started to come back together, it was too much for her troubled heart to bear. She loved him enough to let him go, and she did.

She told Arias about her original sire and how she’d come to meet him. She didn’t go into detail and she was fairly certain that he’d forgotten about what it was this vampire had taken from her, because he showed her no sympathy of any kind, but he hadn’t shown any interest about what had transpired between them either. She was glad for that, not wanting to go into the details of how Mal’s closeness made her come physically alive against her own will.

In the middle of their goodbyes, had hastily ran to the bathroom while he waited in her living room and she quickly made a thin braid out of the hair at the nape of her neck, tied both ends, and snipped it off. She presented it to him unceremoniously and he said he would treasure it always, tucking it into an inside coat pocket, right over his heart.

And now here she was, swinging slowly from side to side on the swing, her hands extended up high, clutching the chains that extended above her, her head down, staring at the various shapes and designs the tiny stones at her feet made when she kicked them about.

Katastrophe's thoughts drifted to Mal and how strange things were between the two of them. He didn’t act like a sire at all, more like an insatiable lover who could never get enough of her blood—to the point that he would take her life in order to have it all.

She sighed heavily and pulled herself back, ready to swing forth, letting the breeze flow through her hair as she flew forward and then back again. She missed the simplicity that came with being a child and all that it meant.

Back and forth, back and forth…

[Lasc Talon]

Lascivious roamed the city thinking. It had been a long night already even though the night was young yet. She wondered where her sire had gotten to as talking things through with her had always helped in the past. After checking all of Kat's usual haunts and finding nothing, Lascivious pulled a scroll from her pocket and read it, instantly appearing in front of her sire just in time to be knocked to the ground as Kat flew forward on a swing.

"Well that was certainly unexpected Kat."

Lascivious rolls out of the way before standing up and brushing the dirt from her clothes. She looks at the empty swing next to Kat, remembering how fun it had been the last time she tried it. Feeling the wind in her hair, the sight of the sky as it rushed toward her, the way she rose to dizzying heights, but most of all, feeling like she had no cares in the world. With a sigh she turns to Kat.

"Is this swing taken? If I am bothering you, I can leave."

She looked at her sire for a moment noticing the thin line that creased her brow. A sure sign that she had something on her mind. Thinking to herself it must be one of those kinds of nights where everyone had something that was playing heavily on them, Lascivious sits down in the swing feeling her weight bring the sides up some and draws with the toe of her boot in the dirt.

[Katastrophe St. John]

Out of nowhere, Katastrophe’s childe, Lascivious, appeared in front of her. She barely had time to go bug-eyed as an expletive crossed her lips before she planted an unintended two-footed kick to her gut.

“Shit! Well, you were unexpected yourself, dear. Sheesh, try telepathy next time before you appear unannounced, what if I had been with Ari—,” she stopped cold in her speech just as she skidded herself to a halt. There would be no more “with Arias” moments. She sighed as she came to that realization. She couldn’t even go more than a few seconds without thinking about him, and all the while, thoughts of this inexplicable pull toward Mal plagued her as well.

She watched Lasc sit on the swing. Even though she had asked her permission, unspoken knowledge between the two of them made it alright. Katastrophe knew something was on her childe’s mind in much the same way that Lasc could likely tell something was on her sire’s; though after the unfinished name she’d left off with, if Lasc didn’t know before, she knew now. They had spoken not long after Katastrophe had seen her former husband that one last time, the two of them parting as friends in a way that this city often never saw. Kat swung her swing from side to side, not ready to get up to those lofty heights again yet, feeling as if she was undeserving of the angelic dimension.

“What’s on your mind, Lasc?” She’d rather not talk about herself, deciding that there was no true solution to her own problems: she loved a man who didn’t want her and she wanted a man who didn’t love her. What a ridiculous conundrum.

[Lasc Talon]

Lascivious frowned for a moment upon hearing Arias' name start to slip from Kat lips, noting how quickly she closed her lips around it to keep it from escaping. She heaved a big sigh and decided not to pursue the subject of Arias for now. Knowing that time healed all things and that Kat knew if she needed an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on that Lascivious would be there for her no questions asked.

Turning to look at her sire, Lascivious tried for a hearty smile, failing miserably as tears filled her eyes.

"I want something that may already belong to another. For a many months I have wished to sire a childe. Yes, I have found one I feel is worthy so to speak. Unfortunately, my brother wishes to sire her as well. I know that if I were to step aside, and continue to push her towards him that it would be the unselfish thing to do, but frankly, I am tired of being unselfish. I want her for my own childe. This troubles me. Do I risk hurting my brother and taking her for my own, or do I step aside and let him have her? Also, if I leave her to sire to him, I will spend my unlife wondering would she have chosen me if I had given her the choice?"

Lascivious brushed the tears from her eyes, looking over at her sire with a watery smile.

"Always with the hard decisions it seems. What I wouldn't give for one to be easy. It seems as though love is only hard, never easy. Perhaps it is just not worth it. Were I to be cold and uncaring, then I would not feel the way I do now. What I would give not to suffer from such a human emotion at times."

Having said all that, Lascivious looked off into the distance at the homes. Few lights were on in them, the humans all tucked safely into their beds, or so they thought. Somewhere off to her left a dog barked once and was silent. Crickets sang their song while mosquitoes hummed and bats swooped on the night air narrowly missing trees. With a sigh, she dragged the toes of her boots through the well worn spot under the swing bringing it to a stop.

[Katastrophe St. John]

Her brother… that meant she was speaking of Arias and the bond they shared despite their parted ways via her severing of her old sire before taking Katastrophe’s vein in the exchanged blood ritual. Good God, there would be no reprieve from her former husband; he would always be a permanent fixture in their existence because he meant so much to both of them. Katastrophe began to twist a little in her swing, idly rubbing the back of her neck as she thought things through. It troubled her to no end to see Lasc crying; it was something the piress had never done in front of Kat before.

“Love is hard and decisions are never easy. Our existence would be a dull one otherwise and we’d all go into torpor out of sheer boredom.”

She wished to comfort Lasc, but the solitary way that she sat there not seeking out Kat’s soothing embrace spoke volumes when it came to her natural disposition. She didn’t want comfort, she wanted advice. Kat also took note of the way she left the childe in question’s name out of her conversation, and rightfully so. Kat knew of who she spoke of, and one could never be too careful when it came to prying vampire ears that could hear easily from great distances.

“You know how much I care for both you and Arias, dear. So as unbiased as I may seem, I believe she’d be happier here with us. Arias’s new path is an uncertain one and even he doesn’t know what he’s getting into.” Or he wouldn’t have let her go. Katastrophe didn’t say that, but the thought loomed in the air like a thick fog. “She would find a large family here; with you, me, Maji, Lass, Liz, nitenurse, Seyda,” she paused to count. “Josie, Sade, Wyndcryer, and Delphine… and a whole host of cousins that she couldn’t even begin to imagine the amount of sympathetic ears she’d have and wisdom to listen to if she ever needed anything. With Arias, well… she’d have him.” Kat shrugged. “I love him, but he’s never sired anyone before and he simply does not have the support system in place to assist him in teaching her.”

She sighed and her hands slid along the chains as she started to swing, needing the air to blow in her face once more. “If you’d like, I can talk to her.”

[Lasc Talon]

Lascivious listened quietly while Kat spoke, letting the sound of Kat's voice wash over her like a soothing balm. As always, Kat's advice was sound, as always, Kat was right too. Lascivious looked up to her sire, she valued her advice in all things, not that she always took it however. But it was comforting knowing she could talk to Kat about anything. It was still a new concept to her to be able to do so as she'd not had that with her previous sire.

"I know how much you care for Arias Kat. I could see that from the first time I saw you together. I thought you two were perfect for each other."

"I am at a loss on this. I know that were she to sire under me, she would have a huge family and a wonderful bunch of pires to give her advice, support or enjoy time with. Although she has that with her clan as well. I want what is best for her, just not at everyone else's expense. I would appreciate it greatly if you spoke to her, I know she respects you and your thoughts about things. I just don't want her to feel pushed either way. I want her to make her own decisions. Although in the past her decisions have not always been what I believe is best for her. I suppose that is part of the learning process though. I do so hate standing back and watching her make a mistake. Were it up to me, I would protect her from all of that, rather than just helping to pick up the pieces."

Lascivious sits quietly for a moment, enjoying the comfortable feeling of finally belonging to a sire who cares for her. She hears the creak of chains and smiles as Kat begins to glide back and forth.

"Need a push?"

[Slow Death]

Her scent drifted on the night breeze like the smell of flowers on a warm spring day, it drew me like bees to the field… I knew where she was, knowing she existed now gave me insight in to her that even she didn’t know… She had been avoiding open places, I could only assume it was because she knew I would come for eventually… Her being alive was like a rip in the fabric of reality, and I need to set it right… She wasn’t alone, I could feel someone else… Second sight told me everything I needed to know about her company… I stuck to the shadows and moved at them from down wind to hide my presence…

The moon gave off enough light for me to see them both clearly… Her friend said…"I know how much you care for Arias Kat. I could see that from the first time I saw you together. I thought you two were perfect for each other." She paused for a brief moment… Arias? This Arias must have been the reason she was alone that night on the human holiday Valentines Day… The woman rambled on pointlessly about some siring crap… I never understood why Vampires felt the need to give someone a choice… "Need a push?" she asked…

I could hear the beating of Kathryn’s heart, even from this distance it called to me… I stepped out of shadows and stood there, watching them both…

[Katastrophe St. John]

The words “perfect for each other” stung like a knife to Katastrophe’s gut. She too had thought they would spend eternity together. She felt Arias was being led in a direction that was not one he would ultimately enjoy, but he was a typical male and there was no telling him otherwise.

Her eyebrows rose in curiosity that the childe they spoke of respected Katastrophe. Kat had only spoken to the girl a handful of times, but it made her happy to know that despite having a turbulent run in a time or two, that ultimately she found Kat to be worthy of respect.

“Nah, if you push me, I’ll feel even more childish than I already do.” And with that, Katastrophe pulled back and started forward, pumping her legs as the wind blew back and forth through her hair. Even so, she continued to talk to Lasc. “You can’t protect her from everything, no matter how much you want to and no matter how hard you try. It has to be her decision, regardless of which of you she chooses.” She leaned back in the swing so that her body was almost straight and when she went high, she let her head fall back, her long blond hair almost hitting the ground. She laughed; it was as if all her troubles couldn’t catch up to her so long as she kept swinging.

She watched the breeze blowing through a line of trees and listened to all the night’s little noises, looking around as she watched things seemingly fall beneath her as she rose above… and then she saw him.

Mal had appeared in front of that line of trees. Katastrophe cursed, realizing he must’ve been there a good long while, and she hated herself for letting her guard down that much. She sighed, knowing her fun was coming to an end, but unsure of what to expect. She brought herself to a stop and stood, just as a breeze caught his scent and carried it to her. That sweet drug called her name and promised to wrap her up tight if she’d just step closer. She knew better and she kept her feet planted.

“Lasc, get out of here.” The order was firm and unyielding, but she knew her childe well enough to know that her final word on the subject wasn’t likely the end of it.

[Lasc Talon]

"Nothing wrong with feeling childish once in a while Kat."

Lascivious watched as Kat began to swing while she spoke. Hearing the way the swinging altered how Kat's voice sounded as she continued speaking brought a smile to her face.

"I know there is no protecting a childe from everything, they have to learn and part of the learning process is to let them make up their own mind and to try things their own way. All any sire can do is to help guide them, be there to offer sound advice, and any myriad of other things that may or may not be needed."

"You are correct when you say it is her choice. Never have I agonized over someone else's choice this way though. Ahh well, if it is meant to be, it will come to pass then. I shall be patient while waiting on her to choose."

Lascivious begins to swing slowly back and forth, pushing against the ground with her toes, then lifting them. Enjoying the feel of the night air caressing her skin. She always felt so comfortable around Kat, like all that had happened before had led her to Kat. She shrugged to herself thinking fate had indeed been kind to her.

Suddenly Lascivious heard Kat curse. Shocked, she stopped the swing immediately. Kat was not one for cursing often unless something or someone had made her extremely upset. Lascivious glanced around seeing nothing, again making her wonder what seemed to be causing Kat such agitation. She looked over as Kat halted her swing, stood up, and looked over at the treeline. Lascivious followed Kat's line of sight and saw another pire standing there, not doing anything, just watching quietly. She could see the tension in Kat that seemed to be brought on by the mere sight of the other pire.

“Lasc, get out of here.” She heard Kat tell her. Something in her tone made Lascivious look closer at the unknown pire. He seemed to pose no immediate threat as far as she could tell. Never had she heard such a firm tone from Kat.

"Why should I leave? Who is that? Is there danger to you Kat?"

Concern for her sire put an edge into Lascivious' voice and had her stepping forward to protect her sire if need be. She called out to the one at the edge of the trees in a strong voice, "Come forward! Why do you stand there and spy upon us like some common pervert?"

[Slow Death]

“Nah, if you push me, I’ll feel even more childish than I already do.” Kathryn said… "Nothing wrong with feeling childish once in a while Kat." Her childer responded… Kathryn got the swing moving and continued speaking… Neither of them even knew I was there yet… “You can’t protect her from everything, no matter how much you want to and no matter how hard you try. It has to be her decision, regardless of which of you she chooses.” The childer watch Kathryn as she swung… "I know there is no protecting a childe from everything, they have to learn and part of the learning process is to let them make up their own mind and to try things their own way. All any sire can do is to help guide them, be there to offer sound advice, and any myriad of other things that may or may not be needed. You are correct when you say it is her choice. Never have I agonized over someone else's choice this way though. Ahh well, if it is meant to be, it will come to pass then. I shall be patient while waiting on her to choose." The childer began to swing too…

Kathryn suddenly stopped and looked right at me… I could feel her shock at my presence… “Lasc, get out of here.” Her childer looked at me and I knew she had no intentions of doing as told… I knew because she got the same look in her eyes my daughter Sayre did, just before she disobeyed me… "Why should I leave? Who is that? Is there danger to you Kat?" She called out to me… "Come forward! Why do you stand there and spy upon us like some common pervert?" I let out a wicked little laugh and it carried on the still night air… I had seen human break and run at just the sound of it… My eyes lock on to the defiant little vampire as I covered the distance between us…

[glow=red,2,300]“Little girl… You have no idea who I am but rest assured, I am not a ‘common’ anything, let alone a ‘pervert… You would do well to watch your tongue…”[/glow]

I titled my head as I spoke to her… She was a vampire, but not fully… Something else, something less than a vampire… She smelled like a dog-person yet different… It would need farther investigation, maybe even some dissection to figure it out, and I was all game for torturing something new… I looked her up and down and dismissed her as nothing more than a nuance for the time being…

Turning back to Kathryn I walked slowly around her, my body mere inches from hers… My hand clenched into fist at my side, keeping the desire, the burning need to bite her, in check… I could almost see her trembling at my closeness… When I came back to face her I took my finger and ran it down the side of her cheek as I said to her in a low voice…

[glow=blue,2,300]“Kathryn…”[/glow]

I sneered as I said her human name, refusing to acknowledge her as a vampire… Her very smell and taste held a distinctive human feel, so as far as I was concerned that’s what she was…

[glow=blue,2,300]“Nice trick in the lounge… Not one that will work again though… Tonight will end as it should have ended a year ago…”[/glow]

I jerked my head in her childers direction…

[glow=blue,2,300]“Do you really want her to watch you die my dear? To hear your screams as I feed from you and drain your blood for my own pleaser? Do you want her to watch your last moments in this city and have those images burned into her mind for eternity? Because she cant stop what is about to happen… And I don’t think you want her to, do you?”[/glow]

My eyes never left hers as my finger had traced it’s way all the way to her belt line and slipped inside to keep her from stepping back…

[Katastrophe St. John]

“He was my sire; the one who turned me, Lasc.” Her eyes didn’t leave Mal, but the wicked laugh that floated on the breeze in the darkness sent a chill that she felt all the way to her bones, but it also contradicted itself, mysteriously caressing her in all the right places. She tamped those feelings down and a small grin made an appearance on her lips as she heard her childe call her old sire a pervert. How perfectly fitting as he stood there watching them like a common male child molester. Damn Lasc for not listening to her. It was clear she had no intent of leaving. And now was not the time for Kat to pick a fight and pull rank on her. Besides, maybe this was fate for her to meet him now. At least that way Lasc would know what was going on. She had not told her of what happened the last time she encountered her former sire, but she could still recall the feel of his sac in her palm before she squeezed it tight.

Her feet stood firmly planted on the gravel as he began a slow, predatory walk around her like that of a panther stalking his prey; his scent enveloped her, invading her senses to the point of near-paralysis as she became intoxicated by it, lusting after the smell of his blood. When he stopped in front of her, her eyes watched the finger that came up and the instant it came into contact with her cheek, her eyes closed. She swallowed and was sure the sound could be heard for miles as her lips slowly parted and she breathed heavily, that needful panting being something she still did as a vampire, despite the fact that most didn’t have any use for respiratory function, aside from using it to blend in with humans. His finger traced down her cheek to the delicate hollow of her throat then drew a line between her breasts that caused the peaks to swell taut in response but it didn’t stop and continued down over her navel before it slipped into the waistband of her jeans.

“Lasc, please go.” Her voice sounded like a hopeless whisper of defeat, but her next words were anything but. She had figured out his weakness. “He won’t kill me. He craves my blood too much.” There was a strength that grew as she said those words and her eyes opened to stare right back into his. “If he kills me, he can’t continue to taste me, and he’ll drive himself mad with the constant yearning for my blood that he would never again savor.” Her eyes were cold, boring themselves into his, the revelation giving her the power to see into the cavity of where his empty soul once resided.

[Lasc Talon]

“Little girl… You have no idea who I am but rest assured, I am not a ‘common’ anything, let alone a ‘pervert… You would do well to watch your tongue…”

Lascivious laughed at his statement, tears forming at the corner of her eyes as the laughter pealed forth.

"Oh jesus, another male who thinks too highly of himself. I see nothing about you that doesn't scream common. As for the pervert part of it, I am sorry to be the one to tell you, but your actions DO say pervert. I am not about to watch my tongue because you tell me to do so. I don't know you, and you've not earned the right to order me to do anything. Perhaps you would do well to watch your tongue."

The next words Lascivious heard stopped her laughter cold. “He was my sire; the one who turned me, Lasc.”
A cold feeling filled Lascivious as she took a more appraising look at the male. She saw nothing exceptional about him. He looked no different than any other male that roamed the city. A little thinner than most, but she saw nothing that indicated he was any threat to her. She did however, sense a threat to Kat, as well as an undercurrent of sexual tension between them.

She watched as he circled her sire in a predatory way, running his finger down her cheek and body.

"This creature was your sire? Well well, why have I not met him until now? Why hide him away like some dirty little secret Katastrophe? Or are you trying to protect me from him? If so, why?"

Lascivious gestures derisively at him with a frown as she would a piece a garbage or a human.

"I see nothing to fear from that."

Deciding to take a firm stand against her sires dictate that she leave, Lascivious dug her heels in, giving Kat a stubborn look.

"I am not going anywhere Kat. You are my sire, and while I know you are very capable of defending yourself, I certainly have no intention of testing that theory."

She steps closer to the male, inhaling his scent, detecting something vaguely familiar in it, she quickly second sights him. A grin creeps over her face as she realizes she met one of his childer the other evening. She opens her eyes, looking at him as he speaks again.

“Do you really want her to watch you die my dear? To hear your screams as I feed from you and drain your blood for my own pleaser? Do you want her to watch your last moments in this city and have those images burned into her mind for eternity? Because she cant stop what is about to happen… And I don’t think you want her to, do you?”

Anger fills her body. How dare he threaten her sire? Two can play at this game she thinks and carefully chooses her next words directing them at him with as she smiles sweetly.

"I was wandering the city the other night and had the pleasure of running into one of your daughters. She seems very nice, I bet she would make a wonderful meal. You kill my sire, and I shall kill your childe. An eye for an eye so to speak. I shall do so with no remorse and a smile on my face."

Lascivious hears Kat speak again and is not reassured in the slightest by them. She too had known what it was like to crave something that badly once. She also knew that a craving would and could, eventually be sated.
“He won’t kill me. He craves my blood too much.”
“If he kills me, he can’t continue to taste me, and he’ll drive himself mad with the constant yearning for my blood that he would never again savor.”
Sighing deeply, she says to Kat, "You're only kidding yourself if you think that. You're not thinking clearly at all. I don't know what kind of spell or hold he has on you, but eventually when he tires of you, he'll kill you. I'll not stand idly by and let that happen. I care to much for you to do so."

[Slow Death]

"I was wandering the city the other night and had the pleasure of running into one of your daughters. She seems very nice, I bet she would make a wonderful meal. You kill my sire, and I shall kill your childe. An eye for an eye so to speak. I shall do so with no remorse and a smile on my face." Lasc said and Kathryn tried to reassure her childer as her eyes locked on mine, cold and calculating… “He won’t kill me. He craves my blood too much. If he kills me, he can’t continue to taste me, and he’ll drive himself mad with the constant yearning for my blood that he would never again savor.” Sighing deeply Lasc said to Kathryn… "Your only kidding yourself if you think that. You're not thinking clearly at all. I don't know what kind of spell or hold he has on you, but eventually when he tires of you, he'll kill you. I'll not stand idly by and let that happen. I care to much for you to do so."

I had watched this long enough… My eyes never left Kathryn’s as I spoke quietly, my voice barely more than a whisper…

[glow=blue,2,300]“Don’t kid yourself Kathryn… I will kill you… There is nothing to what you say…”[/glow]

My mind was racing, her words were like thunder in my head as I tried to convince myself she was wrong… I kept telling myself over and over that that was not what kept pulling me towards her… It was only the need to finish her off and move on… But some how I was starting to fear that what she said just might not be to far from the truth… I had never tasted anyone so sweet, so intoxicating… I needed to prove her wrong…

I ripped my gaze from her and looked at Lacs…

[glow=blue,2,300]“An eye for an eye? I am very sorry you feel that way, because I do not… Let me educate you on what it means to be a Death… You are never alone, you are never with out help, you are never without family… Family first above all others… So when you do work up the nerve to go after the one you met, she will not be alone so you will face not one Princess of Death but six of them… Everyone one of them trained by me… You will also face three Duchesses of Death, and last but not least you will face me… Who knows little one, you might actually manage to take us all… But I don’t think so… Not without help… So sit down and watch me prove your mother wrong…”[/glow]

Without warning I turned back to Kathryn, and in a flash my free hand came up to cup one side of her neck as my fangs sank into the other… The world went dark as I closed my eyes to savor the moment, everything was shut out except the taste and smell of her… I could feel her body pressing against mine as if giving herself to me… My mind was waging a vicious war, part of it screaming to kill her and the other screaming to stop short… I gripped her harder, pulling her closer… I needed her, wanted her…

My eyes shot open… She was right!!!

[Katastrophe St. John]

"This creature was your sire? Well well, why have I not met him until now? Why hide him away like some dirty little secret Katastrophe? Or are you trying to protect me from him? If so, why? I see nothing to fear from that."

Those words tore at Kat’s heart. The very notion that she’d keep something of this magnitude a secret from Lasc hurt her deeply. She hadn’t told her because she wasn’t sure how to go about it. What would she have said? “Oh, hey, Lasc, by the way, I met the one that turned me. You know, the guy who killed my husband and son. Oh, and of all the ridiculous things, I’m physically attracted to him too and I can’t make it stop, and if that’s not enough, he wants to kill me”? Utterly ridiculous. Besides, it seems she wasn’t the only one keeping strange secrets. Lasc had met his childe… very interesting. But she met new people all the time, she wouldn’t have tied that meeting to being something noteworthy to Kat because Lasc didn’t know the relevance until now. The threat Lasc made brought a small smile of pride to Kat’s lips.

She continued listening to Lasc; what a stubborn thing she was… it made perfect sense that they were matched as sire and childe, Kat was equally as stubborn, if not more so. But what Lasc didn’t know was that Kat was absolutely right in her theory. Once Mal realized it, he would not be able to kill her. “Don’t kid yourself Kathryn… I will kill you… There is nothing to what you say…” She just hoped he realized how right she was it before it was too late.

“An eye for an eye? I am very sorry you feel that way, because I do not… Let me educate you on what it means to be a Death… You are never alone, you are never with out help, you are never without family… Family first above all others… So when you do work up the nerve to go after the one you met, she will not be alone so you will face not one Princess of Death but six of them… Everyone one of them trained by me… You will also face three Duchesses of Death, and last but not least you will face me… Who knows little one, you might actually manage to take us all… But I don’t think so… Not without help… So sit down and watch me prove your mother wrong…”

It was interesting to her the way he spoke of family unity when she recalled an article in one of the papers pointed out by a friend. His former wife had committed herself to being permanently laid to rest, yet that hadn’t happened yet. It was causing a bit of a stir among those who bothered to care for her, and one of his childer publicly opposed Mal’s words over the matter, claiming she loved the one who was supposedly set to die. Last Kat heard, the lord of the city still hadn’t put to her to rest, and it had been at least a week since she’d supposedly made the request. It smelled of lies and deceit.

She was about to mention this when all of those thoughts became a superfluous haze as Mal pulled her close and bit into her once more, that orgasmic sensation making her body come alive with ache and need. She made no effort to fight him; her efforts geared toward not pulling him closer as her eyes shut tight, fighting off those desires that still made no sense as her mind forcibly brought Arias into clear picture. It was telling her, “Hey, remember this guy?” But he’d long since left her, making it clear there was nothing left for the two of them.

Mal’s hand felt comforting on her skin, and though he felt cold, the contact gave her warmth in stark contrast to the cool night breeze. So deep were his pulls on her flesh that after she felt him swallow once, she knew she wouldn’t last long. She might as well have been human, bleeding out on an operating table somewhere, seconds being of the essence. His hands and arms gripped her tighter before she opened her eyes to notice her vision going blurry. Her heart was slowing.

“He has… to… stop…” The thought ended just a second before everything faded to black.

[Lasc Talon]

Lascivious saw hurt flash in Kat's eyes and knew her statement about Kat's sire had struck a nerve. She put it to the back of her mind for now, promising herself that she would speak to Kat about it later. She turned back to him listening to his response, a small smile tugged at her lips and she willed it away.

“An eye for an eye? I am very sorry you feel that way, because I do not… Let me educate you on what it means to be a Death… You are never alone, you are never with out help, you are never without family… Family first above all others… So when you do work up the nerve to go after the one you met, she will not be alone so you will face not one Princess of Death but six of them… Everyone one of them trained by me… You will also face three Duchesses of Death, and last but not least you will face me… Who knows little one, you might actually manage to take us all… But I don’t think so… Not without help… So sit down and watch me prove your mother wrong…”

While he blathered on about his family and what it meant to be a member, her thoughts wandered to what she was going to say next. It took her a moment to realize he'd finally stopped talking about his family. In her most scornful tone Lascivious voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah yeah yeah, family is so important to you and they are never alone, and yet that is exactly how I found your daughter. Alone. No other family with her, no sire, nothing. I could have taken her then and there should I have chosen to do so. It has nothing to do with me working up the nerve, for I have more than enough of that for myself and ten others. Big deal if all of them show up and you too. All that says to me is that they can't fight their own battles, that they have to have family come to their aid because they don't know how to fight back."

Lascivious watched as the male cupped Kat's cheek, in an instant, he'd sunk his fangs into her neck taking a deep drink. Lascivious knew she could not allow him to kill her sire. From seemingly out of thin air, she pulled out a vial of Holy Water, uncorked it and prepared to take aim, sending a silent plea to the powers that be that she not inflict any serious wounds on her sire. She saw Kat's eyes close, saw her body beginning to go limp and knew she had no time to worry about it. She ran over and shoved him hard as she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"LET GO OF HER NOW OR I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!"