Hunting on Thin Ice

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

((Intended for Aurelia; others may join later.))

The Desert Fox, in the animagus form to which he owed his alias, slowly and carefully crept East through the forest. It was an area full of non-magical animals and the occasional passing Muggle, and was known for it's frequent vampire visitors. Jakob was supposed to meet Revan for a simultaneous hunt/recruitment drive. Their preordained meeting point was the end of a stream about half a click back, the time half an hour ago, but when Jakob had arrived Revan was nowhere to be seen, so now he was searching the surrounding area, gradually treading into more dangerous territory he wouldn't normally enter unaccompanied.

It was night, well more accurately it was early morning, which terrified Jakob as soon the moon would fall behind the edge of the nearby mountains and the woodlands would fall into near complete darkness. If he did not find Revan before that point, he would just leave; it was not worth the risk. He wouldn't be here at all though if it weren't for the fact that Revan couldn't apparate by himself, and would be very mad with Jakob if he had to spend the day in a cave or even a hole in the ground and have to walk home.

So Jakob moved with extreme caution. His fox form was small enough not to be seen, his movement careful enough that he should not be heard, and if a vampire smelt him then hopefully they would recognize his scent as being an Animagus and would be curious enough not to kill him right away.

Jakob heard something crunch to his left and froze mid-step.

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite popular belief, not all vampires hung out in crypts and mausoleums. They didn't even really like cemeteries. And why would they? Their food source was living creatures and all that inhabited those locations were corpses and skeletons. A forest, however, provided much more sustenance. Though not many humans went wandering out in the middle of a wood in the black of night - or even the dusk, as it were - there was an abundance of other options an undead creature such as Aurelia would find to her liking. Like deer. No, she wasn't a "vegetarian" or anything of the sort. She had no qualms dining on sentient beings. She was a vampire and she needed blood. It only made sense to get it where it could be found - no matter the packaging. What a cow was to the humans, the humans were to Aurelia.

Why then was she lurking out amongst the trees when a veritable cornucopia of luscious bodily fluids awaited her in the cities? Simple. She was not hunting. Her thirst was not at all what drew her into the bushes and bramble of the forest. She roamed with another purpose altogether. And it wasn't even a sinister one.

Back when Aurelia was first turned, she knew nothing of vampires or magic. Her family had been devout Christians and she had learned the ways of the church from birth. Upon being bitten, all those teachings that had once been there to save her soul began to damn it. Confused, hungry, and angry at her fortune, she had slaughtered those within her household and fled. Without a home, money, or anywhere to call sanctuary, Aurelia had sought peace in solitude. The trees had been her only friends and guardians. They had watched over her in the daylight hours and protected her from those who wished her harm. And after decades of being an outcast, a beast, she had learned to love nature and respect its majesty. It was her home, the only one she had consistently. And the trees would never betray her.

snap

She supposed that didn't go for the twigs as well. And if she could find protection amongst them, who's to say someone else couldn't?

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: bang bang by nancy sinatra
OUTFIT :: here
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

Jakob stood with his paw stuck halfway through it's last motion. His head turned to the left, his ears pricked up and nostrils flared in search of the origin of the noise, though he detected nothing and no-one. But the snap of a twig had not been far away... there was definitely something somewhere close.

Jakob had the feeling that whatever had caused the noise was at a standstill similar to his own, probably as fearful that it had been heard as Jakob was that he was under risk of attack. He had the feeling that they were both prey, not predators, at least not tonight, and that perhaps they could even help each other.

Still, his common sense and a respect for vampires developed over the past two decades of his life kept his inhibitions in check and he remained where he was, waiting for anything.

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing. That is what Aurelia heard. Well, nothing out of the ordinary sounds of the forest. Leaves rustling in the breeze, owls hooting, animals drawing breath after life-giving breath. The scents were all familiar ones, as well. She didn't even sense another vampire's presence. And so, after another long moment, she began believing it had been nothing. Besides, if there were something sinister in this wood, it would have attacked by now. Probably. There was, of course, always the chance that whatever was there liked to play their food, so to speak.

Deciding that caution was best in any situation, she stepped forward, lightly continuing on her way, but making sure to not make a sound. She had only gone a few paces, however, when something reached her nose that was... off. A touch of human, but not strong enough to suggest the human was there now. That was odd indeed. What would a human be doing here alone at this hour? And since the scent was so faint, it only stood to reason that it had vacated the premises - perhaps not of its own accord. Or perhaps it only gave off a faint scent of human because it was only faintly human. Werewolf? Animagus? Animagi were rare, but not unheard of. And the full moon above didn't rule out the man-wolves.

Tired of the guessing game, Aurelia settled on a solution. If it was a foe, she would know soon enough. And if it was a friend? Well, spot on.

"Friend or foe?" she called out to the trees. Oh, how stupid she would feel if none answered.

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: bang bang by nancy sinatra
OUTFIT :: here
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

Jakob was unable to speak in his animagus form, but was reluctant to change back as he could draw undue attention to himself. However, the seemingly harmless nature of his acquaintance married with his instinct and his curiosity, so he carefully took his human shape. If they were hostile then he wouldn't be able to get away without apparating anyway.

"F-friend?" Jakob replied. The word was one which bothered Jakob - the friend he had was Revan, and beyond that, the only people he had spent any time with in the past two years were his other followers, and the Death Eaters. It felt strange whenever he met new people, now, nearly as if he had forgotten how to judge them as well as he used to. "Probably. And you?"

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the answer came, Aurelia turned her head in the direction it originated and found that it had indeed been an animagus. Though she hadn't seen the man in his actual animal form, there was no doubt he had been one a few seconds ago - she would have definitely noticed a human.

His response came with a touch of uncertainty - like he was still debating on whether or not he should have answered at all. That was very surprising, though. After all, the only people who lurked in the forest at this hour were the ones who were hiding from something, or the ones who had something to hide. It made sense he would trust her, a vampire, just like it made sense that she would not trust him.

"Friendly," she responded, clearly stating that she would not attack him, but leaving room for the possibility that they might not get along.

She almost asked what he was doing here, but thought better of it. Would she answer that question if it was posed to her by a complete stranger? Certainly not. So she didn't expect he would either. And besides, it was none of her bloody business. And what this wizard did by the light of the moon was probably far from what she wanted to get mixed up in.

"So, since neither of us is planning on killing the other, shall we part ways?" she questioned, arching one dark brow.

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: bang bang by nancy sinatra
OUTFIT :: obvious
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

Jakob sat there in silence for a few moments, considering what to say. "Well, I..." He didn't want to leave her. He had nothing else to do here until he found Revan, and took comfort in the fact that he had found someone who was at least "non-hostile".

"What are you doing here? Hunting?" he asked, still unsure of himself.

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She raised an eyebrow at his question and smiled wryly. It would seem her question wouldn't have been quickly rejected after all. If this bloke was allowed to ask it, surely she would have been. And if he was so comfortable with asking it, he must not be so suspicious of answering it - for surely he knew she would return the favour. That was how these colloquial conversations always went.

"No, not hunting," she replied, her lips still curved. "Simply taking in the night air in a place I thought I would have to myself for the most part."

She gave a small, soft laugh and then continued.

"And what about you? Are you hunting?"

She found it amusing that whenever a vampire was out at night, it was assumed they were on the hunt. Feeding was far from all Aurelia did.

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: none
OUTFIT :: here
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

Jakob shook his head, before remembering that she probably couldn't actually see him. "No," he replied. "Well not yet. I'm supposed to be meeting my friend."

A cool breeze passed through and rustled the leaves on the trees and shubbery surrounding them. Jakob shivered a little. He wondered how she would react if he suddenly ran in the other direction. Would she chase him? It seemed likely at this stage that she was a vampire, which was interesting given her composure. At this hour and at this place, Jakob would expect any vampire that was here to be here just for hunting, and probably to have attacked him without question by now. She could be a candidate? Jakob decided to investigate further.

"You realize this area is dangerous, right?" he asked her. "I mean, it's not really the best of places to just peacefully 'take in the night air'."

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her lips pulled up into another smile as he voiced his concern for her safety. Yes, it was true that she wasn't infallible. She could lose a fight - especially if a wizard got the drop on her. But it wasn't likely to happen unless wizards started taking strolls through the forest with any sort of regularity. And she was fairly safe around other vampires for two reasons - one, they tended to band together because of the rejection they've experienced in society; and two, there weren't many vampires around this area that were older than she was.

"I think I'm one of the things that make it dangerous," she stated wryly. "But thank you for your concern."

A friend? The forest was odd place to meet - unless, of course, you had shady business to attend to. And she really didn't want to get mixed up in wizard business. Especially now that there was talk of a new Dark Lord. All that pure-blood poppycock meant nothing to Aurelia, but apparently it meant a lot to others. The thing she was concerned with was staying out of trouble and existing peacefully as she had done thus far - mostly, anyway.

"And this 'friend' of yours - are you expecting him anytime soon?"

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: harry potter soundtrack
OUTFIT :: here
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

I think I'm one of the things that makes it dangerous

Jakob pondered the inflection of what she said, for a moment. As a result of his discursive background and social life (or lack thereof) Jakob sometimes had to actively fish for meanings in conversation that other people would pick up instinctively. The way that each person had their own idiosyncrasies and dialects was something that annoyed him to no end. Being in Britain didn't help - the diversity of accents and gesticulation was unlike anywhere else Jakob had ever visited.

"I think"... Maybe she's unsure of herself. Identity crisis? No, no, she was definitely being sarcastic. But then... The way Aurelia's speech shifted between suggesting she was dangerous and suggesting she may have been more along the lines of a "vegetarian" vampire was confusing to him. He snapped back to attention when she returned fire with her own question.

"Well, yes." Jakob responded. "In about half an hour ago." He paused. "Sorry, um, I have to ask. You're a vampire, aren't you?"

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps his friend was otherwise engaged - or perhaps he or she had run into something on the way to their little meeting. Either way, Aurelia wasn't all that sad about it. If this other person never showed up, she wouldn't be outnumbered. As per usual. She hated standing alone against everything, but she supposed she ought to be used to it by now, having spent centuries in the same way.

When he asked her if she was a vampire, she laughed. The sound wasn't threatening at all. In fact, it sounded rather pleasant and soft. It wasn't often that someone mistook her for anything but vampire. Her pale skin and lack of a wand always gave her away. Though, of course, not having a wand wasn't always so noticeable.

"Yes, I'm a vampire," she stated clearly, still smiling in amusement. "And no, I have no intention of eating you. I already had my supper."

TAG :: jakob rosenbell
MUSIC :: harry potter soundtrack
OUTFIT :: here
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]

[Jakob Rosenbell (Desert Fox)]

Jakob nodded. "I have no intention of letting you." Though he was obviously afraid of this forest, he was not so afraid of her. He had her in his sights, and furthermore, he was already in his human form, which would allow for a quicker escape.

"Do you mind if I walk with you?" Jakob asked. "I wouldn't mind some conversation, hopefully your astute senses can help me find my friend." He considered walking through the plantlife that obstructed his view of her at this point, but decided it would be best to wait for her response. Now that he knew what she was, he wanted to know what she looked like.

The images Jakob conjured in his mind's eye was ones he could definitely get used to. Her voice complimented his fantasy, it was crisp, elegant, foreign; just like his. He imagined words escaping her lips, and then he wanted to see those, too. In his mind, there she was, her beauty more real than the Earth beneath his feet.

It took but a split second for Jakob to realize that he was getting far ahead of himself. Suddenly, the other extreme sprung to mind (something along the lines of 'greasy, horse-faced cow'). Jakob smiled, amused by the course of his own imagination.

[Revan Haine]

Revan was only a short distance away, presently unaware of his followers location. He disliked forests, having always prefered cities. His forced numerous exiles over the many centuries meant he was always in one forest or another soon or later, and fairly early on in his life he had grown sick of them. But the thick trees and crowded leaves gave him a security the city couldn't and it's shadows were perfect for hiding from all those prying eyes. This section of the forest was the vampires domain and they often stayed clear of one another while hunting. It was a fairly personal affair for most.

Revan was dressed in a light, green, medieval-looking shirt and pants, a hood drawn over his head. His well-worn boots barely made a sound as he stepped through the undergrowth. He didn't need to hunt. The Blind could do that for him. He was here to talk to the Fox and perhaps socialize with any vampires he might wander across. He felt safe and confident here, a clear contrast to the slight paranoia that had crept up on him since Flintlock's assassination attempt.

A twig snapped loudly behind him and Revan sighed. Sometimes the Blind were clumsy. Revan turned to face his follower, one of the six he had taken with him. He could feel their minds within his own. Floundering and exploring. They were beasts. He could give them the simplest command and they would obey. Animals. Stupid and dull. But loyal guards and would respond quickly if he needed their assistance. They were stupid but they were deadly.

The one facing him was a grey-haired woman in her light eighties, her face etched with wrinkles that seemed like caverns on her grey and drawn face. Her hair hung around her, reaching down to her neck and she almost always seemed to have her mouth open, heavily breathing. She kept her face leveled at the ground, only slightly tilted at Revan, as thought watching him at the corner of her eyes. A useless gesture.

Her eyes were empty, black sockets, though they seemed to observe the world around them with dangerous malevolence. A white, brittle tongue poked out from behind her sharp teeth and wavered in the air, tasting it. It returned to her mouth as the creature panted heavily. They disgusted him. And scared him.

Revan was sick of waiting. He looked upwards, where on his Blind waited on a branch. "Find Fox," Revan said. "Then call." Simple commands, he kept reminding himself, simple. "That way." He pointed in the general direction Fox should of come from and the Blind darted away through the tree tops. Revan looked over at the elderly blind next to him.

"Just you and me for now, hmm?" She seemed to make something very close to a grin.

Revan shivered.

*****

A few minutes later, a pale black vampire dressed in rags from the waist down jumped from the trees in front of Jakob. He had a fuzz of dark hair on his head that would of once seemed comical on something that wasn't nearly so sickening. He had caught a bird on the way over and was tearing at it while staring at the Fox with those empty sockets. Feathers and blood tore from the carcass, the teeth biting with a loud crunch each time. The bird's insides spilled onto the creature's chest. Finally, it dropped the half-eaten meal and made a ear-splitting scream.

It's task done, the Blind jumped away into the tree's. It was impossible to guess he had once been a stock broker in Italy, with a wife and four children. Impossible to guess he had been a vegetarian. Impossible to guess he had lead a healthy life.

Very possible to guess he had crossed Revan.

*****

A scream, highly distinctive as one of the Blind to a vampire's keen ears, broke the eerie silence that had grown between Revan and the elderly vampire in the forest. They had stared long and hard into each other, as if battling. Finally, she turned away, shuffling into the tree's ahead of Revan towards the scream.

Revan narrowed his eyes. She was getting stronger. Bolder. Maybe her mind was finally breaking free of the amnesia. He couldn't let that happen. She had known far too much about him. Was too avid a researcher into the origins of vampirism. Too aware of his plans. She was invaluable. He would have to eliminate her once they got home. A pity.

Revan loosened his knives and followed the elderly vampire towards Jakob. He was looking forward to company.

[Aurelia Bathory]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
darkness, darkness everywhere
DO YOU FEEL ALONE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He wanted to walk with her? She had to admit, the offer surprised her. Not many wizards would be so willing to stroll through the woods alone with a strange vampire they had only recently met. Then again, perhaps he was actually trusting that she had been telling the truth when she said she would not bite him. It was that, or he was very confident in his own capabilities. Actually, that was probably the case. All wizards seemed to be very sure themselves and their magic. It was a pity none of them truly knew how it was to have none at all, to be at the mercy of people who neither understood you, nor cared about you.

Of course, not even other vampires had really ever cared for Aurelia. And it wasn't that she was untrustworthy or unpleasant, either. The most likely culprit was her distrust of them. Though she hated to think of herself as the self-pitying type, she couldn't ignore the events in life that had shaped who she was. And the fact of the matter was that she had been damaged. Like all creatures who walked this earth, she had darkness in her past. And that was simply something she would have to deal with on her own time.

"Yes, I think that would be quite alright," she answered, her features gradually ridding themselves of surprise.

She stepped closer to him, using slow, deliberate movements so as not to startle him into cursing her. Eventually she stopped a couple feet away from him, waiting for him to lead the way - she had no idea which direction his companion was supposed to be in.

And then she heard it.

It was the unmistakable sound of a cursed creature - the haunting shriek of a Blind. She had never heard it with her own ears before, she had heard tale of it many times over and there was no doubting its origin. The sound seemed to travel from her ears right down to her toes, shaking her molecules and sending shivers throughout her body. If a Blind was in this wood, she wanted nothing more than to travel very fast in the opposite direction, but she had the sneaking suspicion that they had just stumbled upon his friend and would, indeed, be going anywhere. So not only was she to be out-magicked, but she was also to be outnumbered. Lovely. This evening promised much excitement.

"It would seem you have friends in high places," she stated, allowing a wry smile to adorn her features.

TAG :: jakob rosenbell, revan haine
MUSIC :: none
OUTFIT :: here
LYRICS :: you are the moon by the hush sound
NOTES :: none
[/font]