New Introductions - A Warriors Greeting

[Virrana'h Tei]

The surroundings were completely new to her.

The faces unfamiliar.

In fact, the whole world was a new experience as the fledgling Vampyre walked into the Inn.

A few heads turned, low murmers of explanations one to another exchanged between companions as they sat at table. Most had heard of the newest member of the Shrine of the Damned - the Dathomir Sorceress of the Death Knight Soth. A witch who was a warrior who was now an apprentice of the Dark Lord and a child of the immortals.

And now, they had a face to the name.

Virrana'h walked forward,. She carried herself with a strange noble bearing that came from her years as leader of the Wailing Swamp Clan. But there was another facet to her stride. A investigative attitude in everyone her eyes rested on. It wasnt bold, just curious and a little unsure.

Were they friends? foes? Did she care which? Did this new world have the same caste system, natural selection as did the wilds of Dathomir. The strong survive - the weak serve.

The Vampyres were new ground for her. She was new ground for her.

Master Soth had encouraged her to look around and suggested a good place to start would be the Inn. And so here she was.

Standing alone, she was for the first time in all her life, a "newcomer." A stranger to the tribe where she now belonged. She suddenly felt naked and exposed, and wished she hadn't come.

[Lord Soth]

Oh time,…Where is thy sting? You are nothing more then a dull instrument that has grown impotent onto me. Yes,…Like a dagger that has relinquished its sharpness and her potency as I watch with curtain curiosity...As the crimson stain of rust fall's from your body, I have named myself the master of that which was thought to be unconquerable...For I am Immortal!



The Death Knight's livid hand hovered over the small of Virrana'h back as he leaned into her perfumed lockets. His eyes closed as the sweet fragrance of her countenance filled his senses. For the briefest of moments, Soth's presence was not known to Tei as she took in the day to day hustle and bustle of the Roon Stone Inn's activities.

"At first I found myself amused by their inadequacies...Their inability to see that witch laid beyond the day they lived...How they cling to hope and love like a child would his favorite blanket...Yet in the end, they are forsaken by the frailties of their mortal dream's..." Soth words were soft upon Tei's ear as she watched the patron’s move and mill about the large lavish tavern without knowing that their was two predator’s amongst them...

[Virrana'h Tei]

The reassuring hand on her back was welcome.

Virrana'h listened keenly to her Master's soft words spoken in her ear, and a imperceptible shift in the angle of her head revealed she was looking on those around her in a new light.

She turned her head just slightly, so her soft voice could be heard by Soth, but not so that her gaze shifted at all.

"What is it in here that I smell....?"

[Laroque]

"Blood," the sotto voice came from behind the two vampire. It was low enough so no one else heard them.

"You smell the ever giving life of mere mortals. I wouldn't be surprised if you smelled a bit of fear on them as well. I'm surprised your fighting your urges as much as you are...after all...fledglings are always the most hungry.

"Aren't they Soth?"

[Lord Soth]

Soth's hand slow crept past Virrana'h Tei's peripheral sight until it came into plain view in front of her. The Death Knight's long Vampyre index finger gracefully turned out ward’s then moved in a simple gesture, pointing then passing those whom Tei studied with deep interest.

"It is the smell of generation's ripe for the taking my dear Virrana'h...They are the nectar that fill's our chalice,...The satisfying delicacy’s that suit's the pallet and quenches the driving thirst that calls to you now." Soth whispered softly to her as his arm continued to move like a dark foreboding shadow across the landscape of Roon at the days end.

Soth's pointing index finger stopped in its methodical movement until the Dathomir Witches sight fell down the line of his arm to a young man that sat across the pub from them.

"Yes,...It is he who call's to you this night Tei...Take from him what is rightfully yours to take...Lure him,...Woo him to you...Entice and mesmerize him and make him yours." The Death Knight's suductive tone echoed in her mind like soft caressing finger tip's that stirred her being and enlightened her Vampyre senses.

"Indeed brother Laroque." Soth replied as he turned and slightly bowed to the "Old One" with due respect.

[Laroque]

Laroque crossed his arms and returned the greeting, biting the comment he was going to give Soth about an echo in the building. But then...it had been a long time since he'd dealt with fledglings.

"You definately know how to pick them Soth," his yellowish eyes didn't blink as he watched the young man, "A fine catch for our newest member."

He gave her a smile, "I didn't catch your name...I am Laroque."

He took Virrana'h's hand in his and kissed it.

"A pleasure to meet you."

[Virrana'h Tei]

Laroque, to his frame of mind was being very polite, displaying manners from a gracious age.

Virrana;h however knew no such politenesses and frowned as he kissed her hand.

Like a flash, her dagger was in hand - a warriors weapon for a warriors respons.

Soth placed a restraining hand on her arm, understanding better than Laroque the Dathomir's background. But he too, was guilty of assumptions.

He told her to lure..entice the young male.

This idea was foreign to Tei and she wasnt quite certain what he meant.

The Witches of Dathomir were a matriacal system. Men were objects that did what they were told. There was no cajoling, no seducing....Their place was to obey.

But..willing to prove herself obedient to her Master in this simple task, Virrana'h approached the young man and stood before him.

Looking down at him, as he lifted his face to inquire what she wanted, Tei grabbed his arm.

"Come with me."

[Lord Soth]

Soth slowly interlaced his long Vampyre finger's behind him, watching Virrana'h intently as a satisfying mask of enjoyment etched its way across his immortal face. As the Dathomir Witch neared the mortal target of interest and pulled the man from his chair by one arm, Soth glanced over to Laroque.

"You see,....She's a natural. I suppose a hereditary trait that I myself could never really teach her." The Death Knight exclaimed as he brought his arm's around then folded them in front of his armored chest. Soth was fully aware of Tei's deep seated belief's concerning the male host and how they were in her sight created for the soul purpose of service and if lucky enough...Procreation.

"Well done my apprentice...Well done." Were the silky word's that fell over Virrana'h's mind as she lead the young man out into the cool Roon night air. The Death Knight then turned his attention back to Laroque's who stood only feet from him.

"Come Laroque, fetch us both a fine bottle of red wine...I wish to watch. After all, it is her first real kill." Soth said as a he gave the Old One a leering grin.

[Laroque]

Laroque nodded, keeping his eyes on Virrana'h as he called a waitress to the duo.

"A bottle of red wine please," he inhaled the waitress' scent as she took their order. A treat for later perhaps.

"Your best vintage," the 'Old One' smiled, turning back to Soth, who was watching Virrana'h work.

"She's not from this area is she? How did you find her?"

[Lord Soth]

Soth pulled his black robe about him, slipping his hands into the soft folds of its sleeve's as he awaited the waitress return.

"No,...She's not my friend." Soth eye's trailed over to the young beauty that now stood behind the bar counter fulfilling Laroque's request.

"Virrana'h is quite special...You might say she's a Roon diamond in the rough." Soth then nodded to Le'Anna as she rounded the bar counter.

"And as for this one,...Perhaps I can make some arrangement's to place her in your care.” Soth paused as the bar maid Le'Anna approached them with bottles in hand.

“Indeed a rare find that came to our household through an unlikely twist of fate." Soth replied coolly as he casually glanced over to the Old One, proceeding to walk outside, studying the Vampyre as he went on.

"Why,…Do you fancy her my brother?” The Death Knight questioned with a note of amusement in his voice.

[Laroque]

"I was actually talking about the newest member of 'our kind'," Laroque responded, looking at Soth.

"She reacted quite differently to when I kissed her hand. She's much to direct for any sort of planet around here."

He looked back to Le'Anna, accepting the two glasses of wine.

"Isn't she?"

[Virrana'h Tei]

He was a redhead. That was about the only thing that struck Virrana'h about the young man - or rather, that registered in her mind other than the overwhelming scent of humanity that assailed her senses. It eclipsed all else. Except the red hair.

She could hear the throb of blood through his veins with each rythmic beat of his heart. The sound of it was like a homeing beacon to the new flegling and she found her eyes dropping to the young mans wrists, drawn by the promise of lifes flow separated from her by only a thin soft layer of skin.

"Where are we going, beautiful?"

The words were to be the young mans last.

Tei slid one hand through the red locks, twisting it in her fingers and then pulled back hard to expose the mans throat to her.

He panicked...she could hear the quickened pace of the bloodflow as he flailed his arms against her when she bowed her head down to his throat. Her fangs extended, she plunged them brutally into his flesh to drink by the same example Soth had done to her...though a good deal less gracefully, but none less effectively.

A cry burbled in his throat, she could hear it clearly as she drank, and couldnt help but quip a laugh at its futility.

A few moments passed and the squiriming and twisting death throws waned and then stopped altogether. The young man sank in her arms.

Tei's exhilaration was clear as she stepped back into the tavern, the redhead slung limply in her arms. Wiping her mouth with the back of one hand, her eyes sought Soth amongst the crowd. Pleased with herself, she brought - much like a hound with the hunted rabbit between its jaws - her kill for Soth to inspect.

[Lord Soth]

The two male Vampyre's had not quite reached the door exit to the tavern when Virrana'h entered with her fresh kill still in hand. Both men stopped in there track's momentarily as Tei eye's found Soth's.

"Precisely my friend...Your inquiry is just that." Soth said reassuringly, making his way rapidly over to Tei before the other patron's realized what was truly going on.

"Bravo Virrana'h,...Bravo!" Soth clapped in a stately manner as her quickly placed an arm around Tei's shoulder and then calmly escorted her outside the pub.

"My dear Tei...We must be just a little more discrete when we do thing's of this nature." Soth offered Virrana'h a loving smile as he took the red head from her, effortlessly tossing his limp body to an open dumpster down a darkened ally some distance away.

"Come now,..." The Death Knight held out an arm for Tei to take as he turned to her.

"...Tell me how it made you feel when you took his life m'lady."

[Virrana'h Tei]

"I have killed before" she replied shortly.

She hadnt meant to be so abrupt, but she felt she had disappointed Soth due to his reproval regarding her method. Laroques unfamiliar presence didnt help matters either. Especially being male and so far advanced than she herself was in this new dark life.

Finesse was not a word one would use when describing the former Nightsister of the Wailing Swamp Clan. Seems Virrana'h would need to unlearn some of her ways. One immediate thing that would have to change was the ability to take direction and instruction - it had been a long long time since the Dathomir Witch had not been the one leading the way.

She forced herself to be less defensive, and attempted to reply honestly.

"It felt good. It always felt good. But this time was different, Master Soth. Before, slaying was to win a battle or an objective, it was for the greater good of the Clan. But this was something more primal. Needful. And it felt.....gratifying."

[Laroque]

"Ah yes," Laroque said, before Soth could say anything, "It will become more gratifying when you learn to savor your kill."

He gave a small smile, "The thrill of the hunt...is always something pleasureable."

The 'Old One' licked his lips.

"And much more...fun."

[Lord Soth]

The Death Knight paused as the Old One joined them some distance away from the front entrance of the Roon Stone Inn, walking from the doorway as he approached the two with a stately stride. Soth turned towards Laroque with a sparkling glimmer that played in his eternal eyes.

"Indeed it is brother Laroque, one that fill's the senses like no other thing known to us,..." Soth paused again, his attention returning back to his apprentice.

"...But there are real dangers as well." Soth finished his sentence firmly as he offered the Dathomir Witch his arm once more.

"I speak not out of fear mind you,...On the contrary. For what is it that can truly contest our magnificence if we are the well springs and incarnations of darkness its self?" The Death Knight questioned as he bid them both to walk with him down the seemingly deserted streets of Rone’din.

"We are what they fear the most, the beast that is always lurking about ready to devour whom we please...That fear alone my friend's nurture's the flame's of hysteria and unbridled chaos." Soth glanced over to Virrana'h as he slipped his pale hands in the cuffs of his ebony robes.

"Imagine this my dearest Tei...A raging inferno racing through the sacred forests of Dathomir, threatening the very existence of a family you love and hold dear. Yet theses flame's I speak of are the very fire's of hate, mass hysteria and loathing against your kind…What you were and what you've become now in this new world is something they could never understand or grasp…Ever!" Tei noted the seriousness in her Maser's word's, however his noble face was deceptive as he continued to wear a pleasant smile in her presence.

"We are the shadow's of their life's...We come and go as we see fit...Take without asking, for it is our right to do so...What they do not know of us is always to our benefit and our blessed serenity Virrana’h…For we are the predator and they are our prey.” Soth finished smoothly, his warm smile revealing the lethal fang’s of his trade.

[Virrana'h Tei]

Virrana'h was unsure of what Soth was telling her and this was reflected in the look she gave first him, and then Laroque.

Was he suggesting an attack against her old clan?

Her loyalty was to Soth, yes. And thereby to the Shrine also. But this was a lot to ask of her. She was not ready to make such a bold stand against what she still considered to be her people. She had crossed into another world, another existance, but who she had been was still very much a part of her.

Her Master's stare was hard, and she wondered if he could see her thoughts.

She turned away from the ancient stranger who walked with her, and lowered her eyes from Soth. She wouldnt lie to him and say this was fine with her. She didnt know what to say, so she said nothing.

Walking silently beside the two men, Tei did her best to hide her conflicted thoughts.

[Lord Soth]

A brief moment of silence stood between the Death Knight and Virrana'h, Soth noting immediately the confusion on her livid face that his cryptic words had caused. A gentle hand touched the small of Tei's back as he turned to her and the three continued to walk the shadowy street.

"Forgive me Virrana'h,...For my ill words and poor example of their use." The Death Knight said with a tone of sincerity in his voice.

"You see,...What you are now, ...As a creature of the night as myself,...Hold curtain stigma and contempt with others." Soth gestured smoothly with his other hand as he explained the difference's between the mortal view verse’s the Vampyre disposition.

"This alone is something that other's,...Mortal's if you will,...Can never fathom or ever fully understand due to their limited intellect and narrow mindedness..." A long sigh escaped Soth as he turned his eyes towards the Roon heaven, taking in the thought that played on his lips before he spoke.

"Ahh,... It is as the saying has always been...~In there vain life's, out of blind desperation,...Seek to destroy those thing's in which they do not fully understand...What they can never truly have...Immortality.~" Soth let his attention trail back over to Tei as he concluded, the three melding perfectly into the darkness that reached out to them.

"Nevertheless,...We are task master's my apprentice...Never forget this…For what they fear and despise in us, the power we hold over their wretchedness, will be used against them...Decisively so.” Just as the Death Knight finished his sentence, a young couple rounded a corner in front of them. A startled look of surprise pressed on their faces as Soth greeted them both with a salivating smile that nearly frozen them where they stood.

[Virrana'h Tei]

Virrana'h stood beside Soth, looking directly at the two infront of them, and waited - watching - and the young couple suddenly became nervous, skittish. A sullen stare was the only response from the Dathomiri.