What's Gained

[Amelia Amery]

It was early in the day, probably around eight or nine. Whisker couldn't be sure. Time ran together now-a-day's. She was standing by the door of her apartment, wondering if she had everything she needed. Cellphone, yes, keys, yes, parasol, yes. Means of entertainment, no. She glanced around, looking for the small white square that was Bernard's iPod. He had a pretty good music selection and had compiled a playlist or two specifically for her. Though it was the games she was more interested in.

Whisker shoved the mp3 into her pocket, propping a bud in each ear. She had turned it to shuffle, wanting to find out what wasn't on her playlist. The song 'Float On' by Modest Mouse began playing in her ears. 'Good taste,' she thought, ignoring the fact that no matter how loud she cranked the volume it still couldn't drown out all the background noise. Ah, the curse of the vampyre.

She had scraped together a few odd bills that had been lying around the apartment. A 50, a 20, and a 10. Whisker had no idea where Bernard came up with all this money, but she imagined drugs where involved. She couldn't really care less as long as it paid for the taxi tab and whatever else she needed.

The cab ride to the park proved interesting. A couple of teenagers had gotten in as she did and sucked-face without pause until Whisker had reached her destination.

Whisker opened the parasol in front of her, feeling uncomfortable even in the dim sunlight. It was cloudy and was snowing softly, but she would undoubtedly burn if she stayed out as long as she was planning to. Her skin had always singed easy, even as a human. Yet being out during the day had it's perks. Whisker was unlikely to run into another vampyre at this hour, and Bernard had warned against that. Truthfully, she was terrified of meeting one. Her sire was not so bad, but she had been raised on stories of vampire monsters, and the image was not easily shaken from her mind.

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[Loki Andvari]

Loki usually avoided going out in the snow, well for him it was pretty much like going out in the rain seeing as the snow had a tendency to melt before it actually hit his skin. However he just needed to get out of the house for a bit today, Roxi and Ethan seemed to have taken over the sofa with their snuggly ways. Half the time he swore they would stop breathing if they got more than 3 feet away from each other. Ethan looked like a lost puppy every-time she went to get them drinks. Or would that be a lost kitty?

Never the less, JD wasn't around today and the man had an uncanny knack of blocking out the couple, and putting the emotions Roxi was usually firing at him to good use. So outside it was, even if it was snowing. He'd thrown one of his leather jackets just over his bare chest and done it up and a pair of low slung black jeans he didn't mind getting wet. Sticking his head phones up to the loudest they could of and throwing on Black Stone Cherry he effectively managed to block out all of the outside noise around him.

Something a part of his mind screamed as unwise but he was getting good at ignoring that part of his mind at the moment. Seeing as due to Ethan and Roxi's relationship there was a nice rift beginning to form between the cats and the wolves and he would probably be a prime captive. The wolves liked to say they didn't take people captive, but that didn't halt the stories that came from the depth of their courts. Men and women captures, drained of life and forced to servitude. He had no idea if these where true or if they were just stories used to scare people away from the courts, but he didn't put anything against the cats and the wolves. Same as he didn't put anything past the vampyres. The free court had laws on how to treat people, due to how they had been treated for more years than records held. As much as he would like to treat the other side a lesson, he couldn't abide the idea of denying someone freedom. He could however kill them, but then he was trained for that.

Loki wandered into the park with his fingers hooked around his belt loops, just as “The Key” started playing in his ears. Apt song seeing the shift in his life situation lately. He chuckled as the song, and not really lightly at that. Loki was a big guy, and very loud, also with the tendency to not care if her drew attention. Heck it was what he strove for.

[Amelia Amery]

[ooc; wow, it's been a while. haha. i'm not even sure if you're still interested in this thread. i'll post anyway, but feel free to ignore me if you want xDD]

Whisker strolled leisurely through the park, pausing every now and again to observe the going-ons around her. Presently the stopped. Her eyes darted left and right as if checking for oncoming traffic. Satisfied by her findings she slowly parted her lips and stretched her tongue out to meet a fluffy snowflake as it drifted down from the heavens. Whisker's nose wrinkled with childlike delight despite the fact that the snowflake had had the unpleasant chemical tang of the city's pollution frozen into it's particles. She began to move the muscles of her mouth again to catch another rogue flake, but stopped and twirled on her heel at the sound of snow crunching behind her, accompanied by a strange scent and the faint sound of music.

There before the gray and whie backdrop of the park stood a man. He couldn't have been much older nor younger than Whisker herself, though she both knew that it could be and felt that it probably was some sort of deceitful facade. She blinked at him, tongue poking out very slightly from between her lips. The very first thought she had when looking at him was a partially instinctive desire to descend upon him and suck every ounce of blood in his body. The second was that he was not like her, but also not like the other common humans wandering around in the park. The third was the only notion she acted upon, and that was to withdraw her tongue before she made a total idiot of herself.

While thoughts raced through Whisker's mind time was passing quickly, and soon the man would probably become unnerved by her staring. Without much support from her twirling mind she blurted "What are you?" It was only three words but it surmised all the questions she had conjured, and also let her faint hope of not looking like an idiot go up in flames and die a slow and painful death before her very eyes.

"I.. I mean.. What-What are you doing out in the snow?" Generally Whisker was not one to stutter or scramble for words, but her blatant stupidity had really shaken her sense of social skills, among other things. It was near impossible to scrape a sensible sentence from the wreckage of her inquiry. 'What are you? Whisker scolded herself inwardly 'What are you, Amelia, huh? What kind of question is that? But still... But still, what was he? Whisker had very quickly become very confused by the presence of the man.

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[Loki Andvari]

[Pah, I don't ignore, especially when I have buckets of Muse for Loki right now xD]

The movement of some one twirling around pulled Loki's attention from his music and the snow. His skin, which should of been damp from the melted snowdrops was perfectly dry from the heat emanating from him. His clothes stayed relatively dry from the same thing; it was quite helpful when talking strolls in the snow. Not good if you bumped into people though, he wasn't wrapped up warm, in fact he was dressed for a summers day. He was about to make an excuse about loosing his jacket before his training kicked in and pointed out the blaringly obvious facts. The girl was a vampyre. He likely would of made the assumption sooner if his guard had not been down, but to be fare, it wasn't exactly prime time for vamps to the strolling through that park.

He raised an eyebrow as the bloodsucker just stared at him. That was also new, usually if Loki ran into a vamp with his guard so down they would have been on him in a matter of seconds. He wasn't exactly renowned but he was a protector in the area, which was 1 rank of being a captain in the Fuocian forces. He called his powers to his fingertips, feeling the air around him begin to rise in temperature. He was keeping it low, as he really wasn't in the mood to fight a leech. Although on some days it could be considered a hobby for him, he preferred messing with them. Vampyres were not exactly great fans of fire and Loki loved the look in their eyes when he conjured it. Could say it was sadistic, if he was doing it to any one who wasn't a blood-sucking leech of course.

"What are you?" Now, that caught him of guard. Seriously... What!? What is he? Was there seriously a vampyre alive, or rather dead, who didn't know an Elemental on sight? The incredulous look on his face nearly turned into a full smile and he had to hold back the urge to just fall over laughing at the absurdity. Yes it had been a long, long time since they had been slaves for the leeches but the Fallen never forgot. They where mending terms with the cats but even that was fracturing the moonlit court, nothing came easy when these people had been torturing his people for centuries. "I.. I mean.. What-What are you doing out in the snow?"

He chuckled and rubbed his hands together, smiling as if speaking to a younger child. Which considering her ignorance of his race was what he was expecting. Although she didn't act like some runt fledgling. Loki however was highly... highly prejudiced against vampyres. But then point out an elemental that isn't a Scuro that wasn't.

"Well, your not a fledgling other wise I'd be shaking you of my arm right now instead of having a little chit-chat¡K Oh nice save by the way, What am I doing in the snow? Ha!" He smirked as his hands sparked erratically before he abruptly pulled them a part a few inches, the sparks slamming into the space between his hands which was just a solid column of fire in-between his finger. "That's actually quite funny. However I do find it insulting that you leeches have seen fit to forget the people you imprisoned and such for more years than I could imagine." Given the seriousness of what he was speaking about the easy smirk on his face seemed entirely out of place, in utter contrast to his words was his tone even. Quite light hearted with a spike of sarcasm that he didn't even try to hide. Trivial politeness did not apply to leeches. "Now, really it should be me, asking the leech what it is doing lurking in a children's playground. However that's another pointless question."

[/color] Loki clapped his hands together, sending the column of fire licking its way back into his skin as he openly grinned at her. He was pretty good at throwing people of balance if he did say so himself.[/blockquote][/size]

[Amelia Amery]

The man looked amazed by her question, as if it were the most ridiculous and incomprehensible thing he had ever heard. Whisker twirled her parasol nervously as he began to speak.
"Well, your not a fledgling other wise I'd be shaking you of my arm right now instead of having a little chit-chat¡K Oh nice save by the way, What am I doing in the snow¡K"
"Thank you," she replied hoarsely, though aware of the sarcasm in his voice. She watched his hands uneasily as they sparked and flared, having no idea how to rationally feel aside from a deep inborn fear. Fire had never bothered Whisker. She lit candles all the time (only to be put out by Bernard while she wasn't watching). But this was quite different. It may have been simply the amount of fire. Or the fact that this strange inhuman man had conjured it from thin air.

"That's actually quite funny. However I do find it insulting that you leeches have seen fit to forget the people you imprisoned and such for more years than I could imagine."
What was that supposed to mean? She'd never imprisoned anyone in her life. Quite the opposite in fact, she was shackled to this country by Bernard. Held captive in her own personal hell. And now, to be accused of... Of being some kind of slave-driver. Well, it didn't make her feel any more welcome.
"I think you've made a mistake, sir," Whisker said, voice rising slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never 'imprisoned' anyone. I mean, there was slavery back in the States, but my family immigrated from Poland way after that was abolished." Her voice cracked as she watched the fire that played at his hands continue to burn. Clearly he was not referring to the fact she was an American. Leech, of course, was an offensive term for vampyre. Still it made no sense. She didn't know of anyone vampyres had imprisoned, although, there were a lot of things she didn't know about vampyres. 'Damn you, Bernard,' she thought bitterly.

"Now, really it should be me, asking the leech what it is doing lurking in a children's playground. However that¡¦s another pointless question."
"Are you accusing me of being a pedophile?" Whisker countered pathetically. Having no real grasp on what he was trying to accuse her of (besides wanting to kill children, she did get that one) she just wanted to pull a little more information from him. She studied his face. A smirk, probably enjoying the obvious fear etched in her features. He clapped his hands, making the flames flare up his arms. Whisker stepped back, tripping over her own feet and landing butt-in-the-snow, clutching her parasol for dear life.
"Ha--Ahhh! D-don't do that. You could catch some..." She looked around desperately "...Thing on fire." 'Namely me' she added silently, attempting to right herself while keeping the parasol in a favorable position over her head.

[Loki Andvari]

Loki had never been one to enjoy other peoples fear but with vampyres it was an entirely different game. He'd never met a decent vampyre in his life and he'd been around for quite a while. "I think you've made a mistake, sir, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never 'imprisoned' anyone. I mean, there was slavery back in the States, but my family immigrated from Poland way after that was abolished." Loki had to bite back the laugh again, what was it with this one? Seriously did she come from a coven of vampyres that ignored the past? That was just odd. They enjoyed lording it over the supernatural community, holding the top position over the moon lit courts. They still underestimated the fallen however, but then after so long oh thinking of them as slaves it was hardly surprising.

“I'd like to think you are making some kind of joke but you actually look confused... what did your sire tell you about your past? That you are all fluffy little bunny vampyres that help the other courts?” Loki raised an eye brow a little confused over the fact, it was weird and Loki didn't do weird. He was a fighter when it came down to it. Although if he had been any other Fuocian she would likely be dead by now.

"Are you accusing me of being a paedophile?" Ha--Ahhh! D-don't do that. You could catch some.......Thing on fire."

“And no.. I wasn't accusing you of being a paedophile... I was accusing you of lurking around to eat children and what ever it is you leeches do for funsies.” Loki waved his hands, his sarcasm slipping between deadpan and just plain confusion. The fact she wasn't rising to his jibes was starting to put a bit of a dent in his fun here.. it was pretty difficult when she was sort of just sitting in the snow all terrified and what not about a little bit of fire conjuring. “You're a very strange leech... And nothing will catch on fire unless I intend it too.” Loki sighed before focusing his energy into his companion ability, dropping almost black red fire from his hand onto the floor. Killing the leach didn't seem like a feasible option right now, he was intrigued by her utter lack of knowledge so he wanted to make sure that something was watching his back.

The black wolf formed out of little more than the dropped fire from his fingers. He grew and sat calmly next to Loki's side, leaving his eyes closed as Loki dusted his hands off. “He'll stay where he is unless you or a hidden buddy of yours tries something stupid like biting me or something.”

[/color] The wolfs ears twitched lightly and seemingly scanned the area for any noise of threats, making Loki's point. “Now, are you se-heroiusly telling my here, that I've found a leech that doesn't know what an Elemental is let alone your races sordid past?”


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[Amelia Amery]

Whisker stared silently at the 'Elemental' as he spoke. She dug through her memory, looking for any tidbit of information her sire may have dropped about his kind. A way to talk her way out of this, or if necessary a way to fight. There was only one tiny thread she had to cling to.
'If you see someone that smells like fire, or dirt, or clean air, steer clear. Trust your senses, babe.' But that was it. She had thought it was some kind of joke at the expense of hippies or something at the time. So vampyres weren't the only beasties out there she had to worry about. Why had Bernard been so vague? Was he trying to save her from the discomfort of knowing about her races' "sordid past"? Or had he just been too lazy to explain? She growled.

The man had continued talking while Whisker retreaded into her mind. When her eyes came back into focus there was a dog of some kind sitting beside him, calmly observing it's surroundings. She squeaked softly.
"There's no one. Only Bernard. He's not around though, no," she laughed bitterly. And now I'm going to die. Great job looking out for your girl, Bernie. Good job. "Honestly I have no idea what you're talking about. My sire, as you call him, is named Bernard Godfrey. Don't know if you're familiar with the name. I'm pretty sure he's just a low-scale criminal. Well anyway, he didn't spare me with the knowledge of all the unknown enemies I might encounter. And for. Your. Information. I don't eat children. I don't eat people at all."

Whisker turned up her nose and grimaced at the man. If he was going to kill her she wouldn't go out without a fight. Maybe she could... Bludgeon him with her parasol or something. Or maybe Bernard would prove himself not a douchebag and appear from nowhere to save the day. 'Yeah, right.' Maybe the man would take pity on her for her innocence. That seemed her best bet. She lowered her eyes, no longer wanting to appear defiant.
"Could you... At least tell me about this 'sordid past' you speak of? All I know is Count Dracula, and I don't think that story holds much truth."

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[Loki Andvari]

Loki nodded as she said there was no one else around. Not that he believed her in the slightest. Vampyres in the courts where taught to lie as quickly as they where taught to hunt. She didn't seem to be lying but this other vampyre she was talking of might know more that the one in front of him. The vampires name didn't ring a bell in his mind but that's not really surprising again. He knew the Alexanders and the MacAray's but that was because they where the first and second houses. The best to attack if you wanted to send the royalty a message. He didn't even know there names beyond the titles.

"Honestly I have no idea what you're talking about. My sire, as you call him, is named Bernard Godfrey. Don't know if you're familiar with the name. I'm pretty sure he's just a low-scale criminal. Well anyway, he didn't spare me with the knowledge of all the unknown enemies I might encounter. And for. Your. Information. I don't eat children. I don't eat people at all." Don't eat people ey? Yeah right. Loki couldn't see that happening, heck his people had been used as blood dolls for centuries until they had fought for their freedom. It was now one of the worst things most elemental could imagine happening to them. Being bitten by a dog or cat was one thing. Bitten by a vampyre – seriously Ew.

“You've missed a lot about your peoples past, and no I don't recognise the name but that's hardly surprising. The Fucocian army is a weapon and I don't query what vampyres they tell me to kill unless its an Alexander. And It's good to know your not planning on snacking on any children.” He left the part of that sentence that could been seen as a threat open. Loki rarely needed to do the whole 'do this or you die' part. The threat was blatant without the words which just made it more obvious.

"Could you... At least tell me about this 'sordid past' you speak of? All I know is Count Dracula, and I don't think that story holds much truth." Count Dracula? Well OK... Loki didn't really fancy an in depth history lesson as it generally made him angry. Stories passed down from family to family showed how much his ancestors had had to put up with.

“ I think you can excuse me from a full on history lesson. Generally? Vampyres have lorded it up over the rest of the supernatural community, keeping the dogs and cats insane and the 'Mentals chained until the Courts rose up and gained a footing. Now they have a tendency to tear families apart and so on and carry on trying to be the amazing lords of the supernatural.” Loki realised that was likely the worst sum up.. in the entire history of sentient beings but if she was looking for a teacher then a Fuocian was a bad choice.

[Amelia Amery]

"Ah," Whisker muttered. It wasn't a lot of information, but she still felt a bit overwhelmed. Dogs and cats, what could that mean? She glanced down at the wolf creature beside the man. Perhaps it had been good of Bernard not to tell her much about the courts, but he still could have warned her about the Elementals that might possibly want to rend her limb from limb. The man didn't seem to want to inflict violence upon her here and now, but she knew from what he said that his agenda was fueled by vendetta. Against her.

Whisker cleared her throat, preparing her thoughts to become words to become excuses that might save her skin. "I'm very sorry for the oppression of your people, but you can't really blame me for what happened. I'm just a foreign exchange student who ran into a bit of bad luck in an alley. I'm not a member of any vampyric royalty, I've scarcely even met another of my kind. In fact, I'm fairly certain the only reason I was changed at all was as a companion for my sire." She paused and looked up at the man's face, studying him closer now that she was not entirely consumed by fear. He was a pretty attractive man. In any other situation she would have noticed that quickly. She almost smiled.

"I can't even fight. I'm not threat to you or your people. I didn't even know you existed until about sixty seconds ago." She hoped what she said would trigger some kind of merciful part of the man. She surmised from "The Fucocian army is a weapon and I don't query what vampyres they tell me to kill" that he may just be some kind of desensitized assassination machine, making her a toy to bat around until it got boring. The kind that you just want to rip apart and see what's inside after it's initial purpose no longer interests you. She chewed her lip nervously.

[Short, sorry.]

[Loki Andvari]

"I'm very sorry for the oppression of your people, but you can't really blame me for what happened. I'm just a foreign exchange student who ran into a bit of bad luck in an alley. I'm not a member of any vampyric royalty, I've scarcely even met another of my kind. In fact, I'm fairly certain the only reason I was changed at all was as a companion for my sire. “

Loki had to bite back the laugh... Oppression of his people! Ha! That was a laugh and a half. Bit of bad luck in an alley. Well that was pretty much how the Leeches worked. It also meant that although he really should just kill her he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was a front line fights, he wasn't one of the ones trained to just run around and kill everything with no emotion and what ever. That wasn't his job, that was reserved for Dragon. Loki's attitude was too care free for it. Both of the men where friends true enough but they rarely discussed work for that very reason.

"I can't even fight. I'm not threat to you or your people. I didn't even know you existed until about sixty seconds ago."

“Yikes girl, calm yourself. I'm not about to go an attack a defenceless girl even if you are a bloody leech. I'm a front line protector, you aren't my jurisdiction unless you go around killing some humans or trying to take a bite out of me or any other elementals.

He dropped his hand on to the fire wolves head and ruffled it slightest, his ears perking up and he briefly opened his eyes to see the girl. The dogs eyes where the colour of pure molten fire. Loki was pretty much just making the point he was not letting his defences down.

“Pretty odd sire that you have though... not telling you about Elementals... He at least tell you about the dogs and cats, cause if you are all sweet and defenceless and what not he'd pretty much thrown you straight into the fires of hell. Do you have any idea how many people would just kill you on principle!”

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