.:Aura:. (Cloudy)

[Cehhan]

There was a strange aura, something that Cehhan could not place. It was unfamiliar, but it drew him in. He couldn't explain it, but it drew him to travel closer and closer to the land of Tsukiyomi, although he was well aware it was indeed dangerous. At first, he tried to resist it, but it pulled him closer and closer. And with it came a sweet, very strong scent...a scent of blood. Cehhan knew the consequences of his actions if he were to travel into a land of humans waiting like sheep, but the smell was just so saccharine it was difficult to resist. He did not like giving into his commands of the blood lust, but there was this different feeling. And he did not know if it was only the blood he was attracted to. Perhaps it was something to lure in. Several times on his journey had the vampire thought about it, but the curiosity would not subside. The aura was strong and persuasive, but different; unfamiliar. If it was a trap, Cehhan was skilled enough and a smart thinker if he were to come upon it. Something in his mind told him to follow it, and here was in the tree warily eying the gates to the lands below. It was a dangerous and crazy idea, one that could possibly jeopardize his own life.

With his cloak's hood drawn far above his head and a deep breath, Cehhan slid down from the tree and approached the gates. Already the putrid scent of the guards' blood caused his nostrils to flare, desire to take one shivering down his spine. However, even far beyond the gates Cehhan could distinguish the different scents, especially the one he was to follow. All of the abrupt smells at once was overwhelming, and it was beginning to get difficult to dampen this desire and get a tight rein on his self control. A shadow over his face, Cehhan looked up with an impassive expression at the guards above the gates with weapons. The ones on the ground watched him warily before asking him, "What is your name and where are you from, Stranger?" Was there any reason to lie? He didn't necessarily come from anywhere, and what did they care of his name? Cehhan wasn't wanted anywhere, or he didn't think so, at least.

"I am Cehhan and I come from the land of Elyon." he replied huskily and drew his hood back. Looking at each other once, the guards nodded in unison and soon enough the giant gates creaked open. Hurriedly the vampire entered, trying to brace himself from the many humans residing upon the lands. A massive shiver of lust ran down his spine again. Under the cloak, Cehhan's hands balled into white fists as he attempted to avoid the citizens. The strong scent he followed was becoming stronger, and right then he knew it was closer. Off in the distance was a castle and his scarlet eyes raised to glance at it curiously. The scent blew downwind again, and he assumed that whatever it was, it had to have been up there. Pulling his hood up once more, Cehhan hurried off in attempt to find the strange aura.

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[Kei Koruno]

Kei was making the usual rounds while Good was sleeping, like the perfect bodyguard he was. Dutiful. Determined. Above and beyond the call of duty. That’s what he seemed like to everybody else on nights like this, while he was seen roaming around with a keen eye for any signs of trouble. He should be sleeping right now, of course, since Good was sleeping too, but that was too boring. Dreaming never caught his interest; if he couldn’t play in the real world, what was the point? Besides, due to the perpetual nighttime, he got some free time to walk alone for a while and act any way that he wanted, as long as there was nobody in sight. How did that old saying go? Oh, yes, it was something like this: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil. It seemed to fit his mood at the moment. He feared no evil, because good and evil were both just the creations of his wild imagination. If he deemed someone evil, then they were evil. If he deemed them good, then he obviously had not met them yet.

He felt… how did he feel? There was some specific word for it, but he could not remember what it was. Oh well, he’d recall it later. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the time he had in the darkness. So he strolled the grounds, in his usual high-status red uniform that denoted him as the princess’ personal body guard, and held an apple as he walked. He was not hungry. For now, he was enjoying himself just by tossing it in the air and catching it again, though this did not distract him. But he was getting the strange feeling that something was wrong. Like there was something that shouldn’t be here. He chuckled to himself. Had his time as a body guard already conditioned him to sensing an intrusion? No, he was being silly. If something was threatening the princess, or even the castle itself, he would know. The feeling didn’t seem to leave, though, and he became a little more alert of his surroundings. Just in case, of course. Intuition sometimes had a good point.

Wait. There. He saw something. A slight flutter, perhaps, like a cloak in the wind, but he definitely saw it. Ha! So his gut instinct was right! This was getting interesting, he’d never had an honest-to-goodness intruder before. What fun! If he caught the intruder, oh, all the fun things he could do! Even if whoever it was turned out to be innocent, or another one of those Robin Hood types, he was high enough status that his fist could come down without consequence. The drumming in his ears was approaching now; da-da-da-dum, and Kei thought back, yes. That made it certain, he was going to have fun tonight. The drums confirmed it. With a rapid movement, he turned and threw the apple at the figure, to throw it off or possibly stun it for a moment while he grabbed his bell to alert the guards.

What was this mood? Now he remembered. Delighted.[/size]

[Cehhan]

Thankfully through the streets, there were not many civilians about. So far things seemed okay. No one had stopped him and he was hurrying without distraction or obstacles to his destination. That was, so far. But through the few people, there was this sensation behind him. No, was it just his paranoia? But there it was again, the same scent that Cehhan had whiffed only moments before when he thought it had passed him. It came back, and he himself was upwind. There was that feeling, that tingling that he was being followed. The vampire wanted to steal a glance backward to see who it was or if it was merely his paranoia, but he didn't want to look suspicious. If he could find the source of the scent without any roadblocks, that was his goal. But everything came with a price. Why did Cehhan have to follow his intuition so ambitiously? There was that constant thought nagging in the back of his mind that this was a dangerous stunt and there were consequences. Why do I never follow my conscience? he thought inwardly while dodging from place to place to attempt to lose the stalker.

The large castle upon the lands was slowly becoming bigger in his vision, and the footsteps behind him were becoming louder. Cehhan broke out into a swift jog, now, and stole a glance behind. The pit of his stomach clenched. No no no, this was not good. What he saw was a man of high stature who wore a red uniform, obviously of some importance, and an apple...which was launched soon near his back, but through his peripheral vision the fruit became a blur as it grew closer to him. Before it could hit his back, Cehhan turned and caught it, but then instantly realized his mistake. People did not do that, nor did they have the heightened senses to react that quickly. He did not allow his face to change from a stolid state, however. In seconds, he released the apple from his hand that hit the dirt with a thunk before a bell sounded. With that, Cehhan turned and began to sprint. He should've known better. Damn it all!

Everything passing him became a blur as he could on concentrate on the enlarging building yards before him. Cehhan could not feel the cold wind on his face or even the beating of what should of been his heart. But a new sensation took over, one that he could recognize as adrenaline. He was endangering himself and he knew it, too. However, he would not use his species to his advantage. He would not speed his running and have himself burned if caught as a vampire. In and out through trees and bushes Cehhan weaved, determined to escape the guard's wrath and discover the source of the strange aura surrounding the castle in the lands of the Tsukiyomi.

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[Kei Koruno]

It came as a surprise, at first, that the intruder had caught his apple. How had it known that the fruit was being thrown? No, more importantly, how had it moved so quickly? It was almost inhuman. Not even almost, it was inhuman. Instead of becoming scared or hostile as most humans did in an encounter with a creature of a different kind, Kei let out the sound of rich laughter. This was like a game to him, a game he hadn’t played before. It was exciting—exhilarating! He did not stop running for even a second, and if anything, tried to go faster. This thing was going at a fairly easy speed for something that could catch something that fast. Was it trying to go easy on him? Well, that was fine. It wasn’t the chase that Kei truly reveled in, what he really loved was winning. The capture. Fortunately, his bell was loud, and if the guards near the castle had their ears open at all, they might hear the faint sound of it. Even if Kei was unable to catch up to him, the guards up ahead should be able to assist in the capture of the intruder, if they were in any way competent.

As he was chasing the mysterious being, with a grin plastered over his face, his mind went straight for what he would do to get information out of this non-human. What could he do to hurt it? Obviously, his hypnotism could not have any effect. That only worked on people. If he could get some time alone in the cell with it, then he could try some good old-fashioned torture to extract information. He was very good at that. But suppose this was one of those things that healed more quickly, or did not feel human pain? There were ways. If anybody should know how to inflict hurt on something to get what he wanted, it was Kei. But how could he capture it? If it was strong enough to fight off the guards, he would have to find some other way. Well, if it came to that, the drums would tell him. He felt confident that this would come to the proper solution with great ease. Until then, the chase could be improved.

“Halt, intruder! Stop right where you are!” Wasn’t that funny? He just made that up. Well, actually, it was in a play he had seen as a younger man, being said by a gruff policeman. It was unfortunate, then, that he could barely hear his own voice. The sound of the drums was just too loud. Fortunately for him, it felt empowering. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him after the intruder, weaving in and out of the trees like a man who had obviously been through much more difficult training in his life. The bodyguard of the princess was not chosen at random, after all.[/size]

[Cehhan]

As the chase resumed, the only thing Cehhan could hearken was that of the noisy footsteps behind him (typical humans) but the rich laughter threw him off. He was laughing? He himself could not understand the humor in this situation. Although the scent masking the guard was human, his mirth could not possibly be of their species. Something about this man did not seem right, like something was out of place. Could this chase just be another hunt to this sack of meat following after him? But as the obnoxious footsteps grew louder behind, the vampire sped up slightly to keep a steady though quick pace. Cehhan's own footfalls made nary a sound upon the forest floor as not even a mere twig crunched beneath his nimble feet. Was it worth speeding up his pace as fast as his species would allow and blow his cover, or would it matter anymore because of his previous inhuman action?

There was hardly any time to answer this musement before a good amount of men with similar uniforms appeared before him with bells also. With a slight grunt, Cehhan turned hard to his left to leave them in his wake. Their footsteps crunched noisily following the creature also. There was the sound of more urgent bells and hard breathing as he tirelessly continued his little race. Was there anywhere the vampire could hide? It seemed not with the many unexpected guards surrounding the castle in protection. Then there was always the consideration of turning and killing them all in destruction, but Cehhan would be wanted for that, as if he wasn't already wanted anyways now. There was no other option left besides to run and hope to lose them in hopes of continuing his search of the sweet-blooded scent.

Again more men continued to file in right in front of him, but Cehhan slightly backed up, turned, then fled to the right opening of men. Walls surrounded the lands, and there was only so far they could run. The guards would not open the gate for him, he knew, so what was there left to do? Run them hard in hopes they would tire out? The thought came back to mind of if this all could've been a trap. The scent, could it have been a lure? Humans surely couldn't be capable of creating such an aura intentionally. No, that did not seem plausible. And a sudden voice drew him out of his thoughts. As if Cehhan were going to cease his movement and give in to the very whims of this human. No, they would have to force him to give up physically, for he would not allow himself to bend to their wills. But what else was there to do?

Suddenly, Cehhan found himself surrounded by several guards on either side of him, causing him to stop his momentum and screech to a halt. Sure, he could out speed them, but they had weapons and shields. Their weapons would be almost nothing against his resilient defenses, and their shields would do no good. But a thought struck his mind and his nostrils flared, their many scents and blood causing a slight distraction. There were so many of them at once...All of their blood could be his...Cehhan forced himself out of desires and thought quickly. If these were guards and the mysterious scent/aura was coming from the castle, they could possibly lead him to the source...Perhaps that is what he should do. He could lead them to believe he would be submissive, but a plan formulated within his mind. With a blink of an eye, Cehhan threw himself against the guards in an attempt to escape with a magnificent act. However, he did not want to seem too easy, for he was a creature superior to their race.

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[Kei Koruno]

What was wrong with all of these sad excuses for guards? Couldn’t they just catch the light-footed bastard already so Kei could have some fun? Useless, pathetic, and soon-to-be-underpaid idiots. It didn’t even seem like a dangerous creature, all it had done was catch and apple and run like a well-built human! He would have noticed that there were no footsteps following each of the thing’s movements, but really, the sound Kei was focusing on at the moment was obvious. Da-da-da-dum. Da-da-da-dum. After running after this thing had proven to be so difficult, Kei’s breath was starting to drag a little, but only slightly. He was still an athlete, he had to be, but he was still in a human’s body. No, Kei was no longer delighted. This had gone far enough. Now he was starting to get angry. When Kei got angry, more often than not, the source of his anger had to be either badly harmed, destroyed, or taken under his complete control before he could be cheerful again.

Ha, but wait! What was this? Beyond the drums, he could hear the bells of the other guards. Good. Even if they were incompetent fools, they still had enough sense to call each other in numbers. The inhuman thing (which he now had decided to call Thing) had easily evaded them. If Kei knew guard tactics, then he was aware of what they were doing. No, it couldn’t be… but it was! They were intentionally filing forward and leaving openings to drive him into a place where he could be surrounded and captured. These magnificent bumbling morons had some sense in their heads after all. It amused him greatly as he saw their plan unfold and ensnare, and once again, he found himself laughing. Now it was more like a knowing chuckle, but it was laughter nonetheless, and there was a pleasant smile unfolding over his face. The situation had turned in his favor again. For the moment, he just had to watch.

It was purely amazing how desperate and stupid this meddlesome Thing was. Throwing itself against the guards? Really? The armored men with weapons and shields? Even if this was one of those creatures who could tear through steel with a single punch, the sheer number of them had to be overwhelming. As the Thing hurled into the group of guardsmen, they closed in around it as fast as they could, restricting its movements with their weapons and shields. But they did not kill, because for whatever strange reason, Tsukuyomi never killed lawbreakers on sight unless they were known and wanted. It was a strange and unsafe ethic to have, Kei thought, because dead things posed no threat, but the capturing at least gave him a chance to do what he liked. At any rate, before the Thing would have been able to fully push them all off, Kei ran up to the huddle and grabbed the dagger from one of the guard’s belts. He managed to squeeze into the tight huddle, and poked the dagger against the back of the thing’s hood. For the sake of the guards and his reputation, he kept a smile from reaching his face.

“You are trespassing on the property of the Queen, strange creature. What sort of unlawful business do you have here?” he said, masterfully hiding the joy and curiosity from his voice. He somewhat hoped that the Thing understood his language. Otherwise it would be a bother to intimidate it, because if you couldn’t threaten, it became much more difficult to instill a sense of fear. Even if it spoke only some kind of demonic tongue, though, a dagger held against the back of one’s head was like some sort of universal language that said explain yourself before I stab you. In order to hear the reply, Kei ever-so-quietly started tapping his fingers against the side of his leg to the sound of the drums. They quieted down to their usual whispers instantly. Good. Kei was back to delighted.[/size]

[Cehhan]

Good. Cehhan was honestly fooling the pathetic sack of meat into thinking he would get what he wanted. But that was what a skilled actor could do, right? (The performances must of paid off when he was younger.) But none the less, he held a cool demeanor with an emotionless expression upon his features. Eventually, Cehhan would discontinue his desperate attempts to break through the mass walls of guards and position himself in the center of their circle. Although his stance was defensive, it did not make him any less dangerous. The creature turned to face the antagonist with sudden defiance visible within his scarlet eyes. This man should know that Cehhan was not going to come easy, nor would it be easy to make him submissive. His state of mind was too strong for his kind of mentality. The shields and weapons against his pale body caught the vampire slightly off-guard, but his stance did not change as he disregarded their attempts. Their pathetic weapons meant nothing to him.

But apparently a dagger to his head did. Cehhan would struggle for a few moments before his chin rose in defiance, but his body became stalk still. This sad human could threaten him with death all he wanted, but it meant nothing to the vampire. There was no willpower, there was no reason to life other than blood lust. The vampire's nostrils flared with all of the close scents, and so it was becoming extremely difficult to retain himself from sadistic thoughts. But the demanding words of the guard caused his thoughts to travel elsewhere. There was indeed no wicked intention of trespassing in the lands of Tsukiyomi, though curiosity was more of a motive then anything else. There was no response to the human's question he could indeed understand. Not even would Cehhan's lips even think to move. He would not allow this arrogant guard the satisfaction he wished.

Cehhan's cold, hard glare did not leave this guard's gaze. Contempt sparkled in them before the vampire abruptly pulled his head forward, twisted his body around, and attempted to knock the knife from his hand. His body struggled fiercely against the snug space enclosing him. It wriggled and writhed, and Cehhan would give this man his own personal living hell. And quite suddenly, the vampire bared his nasty fangs at the man. A low, nearly inaudible hiss to humans escaped his lips. Not in anger or intimidation, but a sign that the body guard's karma was coming for him from none other then Cehhan himself. He had been wronged. You can't take me his scarlet eyes glimmered with the clear message within them.

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[Kei Koruno]

Tch. Wonderful. It wasn’t speaking. Maybe his thoughts on the Thing’s language had been correct? Maybe it was mute? The cause wasn’t the matter. The point was that it wasn’t answering his question, and that was very disrespectful. Why, if he didn’t have this creature right where he wanted it, then he might even have let the silence get to him. But he didn’t, because he had one small solace; the sound at the back of his head, kept his mind completely steady and centered, as it always did. Like a lullaby that gently soothed his soul, so did the drums continually refresh him and help him rein in his impulses. They were asking him to be calm, and so he was calm. Although the Thing was glaring daggers (ha, ha) at him, all he did was look back and focus. For a moment, his own eyes seemed to glaze over, but they returned a moment later. This confirmed it. Although the Thing looked human, it wasn’t. Otherwise, he would have met mental resistance in his attempt to hypnotize instead of being flatly turned away as he was just now.

A small, soft smile graced his lips. So, did this animal feel as excited as he was? The look in its eyes said volumes. The Thing did not like cages, man-made or otherwise. Well, in that case, the poor thing would be in for a world of disappointment with jail. It seemed like human means could hurt it, otherwise the thing would not be frozen stone still in the face of the dagger. Or not. The creature did another amazingly fast movement, almost too quick for his eyes to catch, but before he knew it the dagger in his hand had been knocked to the soil and the guards were frantically trying to push it back again. Kei frowned, still holding out his hand where the dagger had been and looking at the monster. Then he looked at his hand. That was very rude. Perhaps it didn’t understand exactly what it was dealing with. Instead of retrieving the same dagger and moving out of the thing’s sight, he grabbed the spare dagger from a different guardsman’s belt and thrust his other hand forward, placing it on the thing’s collarbone, pulling it forward, then thrust the dagger towards its face—and stopped.

“I saw those, vampire,” he said, referring to the fangs. It seemed that now, it was no longer The Thing. It was The Vampire, since he had gained a bit of knowledge now on what it was. He didn’t hear the low, almost inaudible hiss that had been uttered a moment ago, so he could not respond to that challenge. Kei was the kind of man who lived in his head so much that he only existed on the outside, which sometimes lead him to miss the tiny details when he wasn’t looking for him. Right now, he was more obsessed about getting this vampire under control than analyzing it right now. Once it was slammed into the jail cells, there would be plenty of time for that. For the time being, he had to pacify it in some way. Hm. He turned to one of the guards.

“Millwook. Give this thing some sedatives already, will you?” he said, and the guard named Millwook got one of those ‘Why didn’t I think of that’ expressions before reaching into a pouch and pulling out a small syringe full of a clear, but very strong-smelling liquid. The scent was all its own, but the closest thing that Kei could think of would be like the smell of rust and alcohol. Oh well. Millwook was about to hand the sedative to Kei, then saw that both hands were quite busy at the moment and moved to jab the needle into the vampire’s arm for now. Now, Kei was not as scientific as he should be, except in the realm of poisons and explosion. But he was fairly sure that this particular chemical worked on vampires, too, when it was taken in larger doses. For the normal human, it took about a quarter of the syringe to knock them out for three hours. For a vampire, half of the syringe for two. Millwook pushed it all the way down to the plunger.

“Don’t let the bed-bugs bite,” Kei said, smiling down at his soon-to-be captive vampire.[/size]

[Cehhan]

For a few moments, the intense lock on stares felt like years. Was this human trying to do something to him via eye contact? If it was intimidation, it sure as hell failed. Cehhan was not scared of this haughty waste of space. It seemed like this male ruled the rest or controlled them with fear. Who could respect such a human otherwise? With their short introduction and a bad first impression at that, Cehhan figured they'd soon enough be well-acquainted anyways, that was if they didn't try to murder him off first. Boy, was this human wrong to think he had control over this situation, especially with a knife. This performance was becoming mighty difficult to control when things did not seem to be in your favor. It did not appear so, at least. At any cost, if Cehhan was going down, he would sure as hell take the bastard down with him. He would not let them win.

Aw, the worthless waste of space was bereft as the knife fell from his hand and clattered to the dirt below. When the guard frowned, Cehhan refrained a triumphant smirk and instead narrowed his now hostile, burgandy eyes. Again the shields and weapons shoved harder into his, causing difficulty in any movement from the creature. That did not mean he gave in, however. His pale and hard body still struggled against the captors like a caged animal. This was no longer of curiosity in finding the sweet smell drifting from the castle above, no. It was the fight for his very life. The vampire proceeded to throw elbows, one hitting the metal of a shield too close for comfort, bending it in his wake of destruction. A small pain registered where his bone had contacted with the defense, but Cehhan's adrenaline was rushing so hard, he could scarcely feel it. Another elbow hit a different shield, cracking the wood with a nice split down the middle.

However, this rebellion was cut short by the thrusting of the metal knife into his collarbone. When the puny weapon halted right before his face, a low, offensive growl erupted from his chest in challenge. "I dare you." His hostile eyes read. The human appeared distracted by his baring of fangs, revealing his true species. Cehhan seized the opportunity and used it to his advantage, his canines snapping directly on the knife to snap the hard metal clear in half. No one should dare threaten his life - especially a mouse-brained human - and expect an impunitive consequence. With his chin still raised high in permanent boldness, Cehhan did something unfathomable, especially toward an alpha. As the guard turned to another for a syringe, which he then knew there was no way getting out of this concious, the vampire very non-chalantly kicked his boot with a hard force against the inside of the scum-bag's knee in attempt to allow him to trip or fall. A low growl escaped his throat in slight victory, although Cehhan mused that he would most likely be punished for his ordeal.

However, the syringe from the man beside him was abruptly pushed into his arm. The putrid smell caused his nostrils to flare with a burning sensation because of it's strong scent. Before all of the sedative could be injected into his bloodstream, Cehhan thrashed around violently in attempt to knock the needle from his hand. Something unexpected happened. The defense drew blood from his arm. His own blood. Cehhan's scarlet eyes suddenly became a dark ebony shade and the pupil contracted at the smell of blood. The body shuddered with lust for the human's crimson liquid. The vampire opened his mouth, exposing his long, ivory fangs and snapped them right in the face of the alpha guard with a vicious snarl. Before any blood could be spilled, though, Cehhan's vision was becoming dotted, blurry, and then everything went black. With one last shudder, the creature's body fell with a hard thud to the ground. But this was not defeat.

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[Kei Koruno]

These vampire types were quite violent, weren’t they? This one reminded him of a rabid dog, thrashing and swinging against its cage, busting a couple of the guards’ expensive shields in the process. Pointless, mindless, animalistic destruction. Kei had no respect for dogs like this. Chaos needed to be a controlled substance, used with cold precision instead of a flying rage. That way was much more difficult, but so much more satisfying. A calamity was so much more memorable than a rampage, after all, and if one was careful, they could come away from it completely unscathed. One would have to be an idiot to think that charging in and causing trouble with brute force was in any way preferable to subversion, and eventually total upheaval. Disaster came with strength; discord came with intelligence. This vampire seemed to be the former, but Kei was and always would be more of the latter. He was not in the least an anarchist, like this beast was. He would be willing to bet that if this vampire had its way, then everybody would just govern themselves. Kei did not want that. Instead, he wanted to be the one to govern everything else. Soon enough, as soon as he married the princess… he would.

Ha ha. A challenge? This beast honestly wanted to stand up to him? What a wretched little thing it was, to consider itself even close to a match. Kei was way beyond the league of a vampire like this. But still, his momentary distraction had been a slight mistake—no, miscalculation. He had not deduced exactly how fast this vampire moved, so he could not have prevented his knife being bitten in half. But it angered him greatly to see such a foolish action of contempt! How dare it bite his knife? Had it no sense of status? Why didn’t this thing just shut up and acknowledge when it had met its superior? There was no escaping now. If it had been his own knife, Kei would have been doubly infuriated, but luckily for this thing, it hadn’t been. The dagger was a disposable thing, but the assault on his pride was unforgivable. And also a crime, since he could technically call it an assault on his person with a deadly weapon (that is to say, the fangs) and get this thing locked up for good. If he got enough support on the fact that it was a demon of the night, then he might even be able to convince the town to execute it. Wouldn’t that be fun?

He didn’t even flinch when he saw the vampire thrash suddenly, change eye color, and snap at him. Not even a blink. Honestly, Kei was not impressed by intimidation. It was kind of sad that this vampire thought that looking scary would be so terrifying to a man who had spent years training under Akumu himself to find out exactly what strikes fear into the hearts of humans. He had been desensitized of this kind of thing a long, long time ago. He was used to it. One thing that he was not used to, though, was the feeling of the world turning in the wrong direction. He noticed, absently, something hitting the back of his knee, and before he knew it, he had hit the ground. On his back. In the dirt with his nice clothes on in front of the guards. And this… he looked up. This vampire had tripped him in front of his men, which had been enough embarrassment to make him use gratuitous italics. The other guards dropped the unconscious vampire and rushed over to help their superior, but he pushed them away and stood himself up, with his anger barely hidden. It was cracking through in a few places, especially the eyes.

Kei Koruno had never known such insolence in his life. This thing dared put him in the muck? If these men had not been here, he would be killing this worthless creature with his bare hands. No, he would kill it with bear hands. He would go into the woods, kill a bear, and kill the vampire with it. That would be fantastic. But he could not do that in their presence, so instead, he brushed himself off, schooled his facial expression to the usual soft calm, and regained what dignity he had left. He walked over to the creature, and motioned for two of them to pick it up. They did, and after a moment, the others dispersed. Kei followed them closely as they brought him to the detention chambers in a separate building from the main castle, stripped and searched his clothing, and then put him in his prison garb. Kei, of course, watched over this entire process. When the animal was put into a proper cage, meaning a jail cell, they debated with a muzzle and then decided just to keep him locked instead. That wouldn’t impede. Besides, Kei wanted to talk to this monster for a while.

For you see, he had a trick up his sleeve. In fact, it wasn’t just a trick, it was another needle. One that he had slipped into the monster’s arm once all the other guards were gone. It was fairly slow-acting, it took about six to seven hours to kill the average vampire, but it was quite poisonous nonetheless. Fortunately for Kei, it also came with a lovely bargaining chip. The antidote! He had that, too. So, what was a man to do with a beast when he wanted information from it? Why, put it in the direst circumstances possible. The threat of impending death if he didn’t get what he wanted. That was part of the reason he eventually ruled that there would be no muzzle. He could stand outside the bars, and have a nice, civilized chat with the violent monster, couldn’t he? Of course. He could have anything he wanted from this vampire. Anything at all, because he was the master, and he was in control. So while the vampire slept the tranquil slumber of the anesthetized undead, Kei waited outside the cell on a comfortable chair and waited. While he waited, he occupied himself by grabbing a stone and rapping it on the side of the chair. Da-da-da-dum. Da-da-da-dum.