The Turning

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Dusk has arrived. The last rays of sunshine has faded from these lands. Torches and fires are starting to be lit up in the village of Grace. It wasn't a little hamlet but it also wasn't a thriving kingdom capital. The five hundred pesants worked under the rule of Ruler of the land, Anton le Mark. The village housed a few different taverns, a market place, a theature and a monastary.

Several miles away from the village lay a castle that Anton himself has called home. Made of solid stone and by some rumors from the villagers expensive marble was placed inside for walls and floors. Unlike other castles in other lands, this one was not of the usual square fortress look to it; the castle had a three story tower in the middle so that Anton could look down upon his lands. On all sides of the tower, there were five wings that branched off, each wing was a hundred and fifty feet long. The northern wing was where Anton himself slept and to the next wing to the right was where his servants resided. The other portions of the castle included the dining room, armory and recreational room.

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Anton donned his noble robes and shifted his silver ring on his finger so it was in place. After looking at the grandfather clock on the wall to make sure the sun had set, he threw open the black dense curtains that revealed the sky that was turning black by each passing minute. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Anton turned around and opened his doors to the common area between all wings of his castle. 

"Wake up my brothers and sisters, the night is young and I have important news!" he called to his fellow vampires that were probably still sleeping.

Ayden woke with a start at the males voice, a headache pounding at the center front of his brain. He put a hand to his neck and winced as he began to push himself up, dragging a ragged hand through his hair. What time is it? he wondered. Strange, for Ayden. He rarely ever wondered what time it was. He glanced down at his arms quickly, noticing a few cuts from the mill decorating his olive skin. Fun night, he mused to himself, and then looked up at the noble.

Stirring from her sleep, Aylia sat up in a unfamiliar bed. Silk sheets caressed her smooth skin, her neck hurt, she lifted a hand to her neck and found two marks there. Sitting up, she glanced around the room. Where am I? Aylia pushed back the covers, found that she was just in her shift, she looked hurriedly for her clothes. A male voice sounded outside, from the hallway. Biting her lip, she stood up, almost fainted, but clenched her fists and strode for the door. Upon opening it, she saw a man throwing back the curtains. "Brothers and Sisters?"

Natalie has been awake for about an hour now. It took her a few months after she was turned to figure out how to dress by herself and do her own hair, but she'd refused to change her courtly manner just because she was undead. She is sitting in front of a vanity with a large mirror and pinning up her hair. Obviously she doesn't need the mirror, as she has no reflection, but she just feels more natural getting herself ready in front of one. When she hears the lord's voice, she quickly finishes with her hair and goes to her door. News? she thinks. Perhaps we have a new member in the family.

Carin awoke quickly and dressed herself as best she could. She tied her hair back and hoped for the best; she couldn't see how it turned out in the mirror. After pulling a robe on over her dress she went to her bedroom door to hear the news. She hadn't lived with Anton long enough to know what to expect.

Nuada's eyes slowly opened and he stretched, arching his torso into the air and turning his head. With a little sigh he sat up and soundlessly slipped onto the floor, making his way to the wardrobe to dress. He was a fussy perfectionist when it came to his clothes and he stood in front of his small collection with his finger curled on his lip for an entire 5 minutes. Finally, after much thought, he came to a decision, only to throw out the idea and wear something else. He felt obligated to be perfect for Anton, and once dressed, he excitedly stepped out to join the others.

Aylia's green eyes moved from the beautiful man that was glad that it was finally dusk to another beautiful man who had just stepped out of his room. Was she in Heaven? All too sudden she felt self-conscious. She ran her stiff fingers through her short auburn hair. Every muscle in her body hurt. Her knees shook with uncontrolable force that she leaned against the heavy door to steady herself.

Anton looked around and first greeted Natalie. "Natalie, you look as beautiful as you did when I first met you." He took her right hand and raised it up to his lips; seeing how she was a Countess back before she was turned most of the time he treats her as such. Turning from Natalie over to Carin he bowed his head a few inches. "Good evening Carin, I hope you slept soundly. From there he next focused on Aylia, mainly for the fact that she had wandered out of her room wearing only a shirt. "Not exactly how I wanted you to meet the others but it will do." Anton didn't laugh at Aylia's situation of first impressions, he just smiled and waited for everyone to meet her, until he realized not everyone was present. "Hey, where is Xander? He still sleeping?" he asked generaly to everyone.

"My lord," Natalie replies to the older gentleman, bowing her head and curtsying as he takes her hand. She looks about at the others, double-taking when she spots the new girl. She then turns back to Anton. "I'll go fetch him," she says, referring to Xander. She bows and curtsies again, excusing herself, then makes her way to Xander's room. She knocks lightly on the door and calls "Xander? Are you awake?"

Nuadu glared at everyone who Anton had specifically addressed. He folded his arms with a jealous pout on his face, his lip twitching when Natalie spoke.

"Heh." Ayden, since not called on specifically, took the opportunity to stretch his scarred arms above his head and stretch out his back. Day one of being a vampire had not gone so well, as he recalled now, hopefully day two would be better. He stood with another stretch, and quickly slinked back into his own position, not quite worrying about his clothing or hair for Anton. He blinked, watching everyone's reaction, and then screwed on what resembled a smile.

"Five more minutes," a muffled voice came from Xander's room. He knew that wouldn't work from experience, though, so he slipped from bed, still blinking sleep from his eyes, smoothing back his hair. He opened the door, flashing Natalie with a charming smile. "Give me a few minutes, I'm high maintenance," he said, taking in her appearance with an approving glance.

Natalie smiles back. "I know a thing or two about high maintenance," she says playfully. "Anton's got some kind of announcement to make. Just come out in your sleep clothes. You're more covered up than the new girl."

"Yeah well," Xander said. "She was expecting summer weather. Or something along those lines." Ignoring Natalie to the most part, he walked over to his dresser and pulled it open, pulling off his baggy white night shirt and pulling on a white silk dress shirt to replace it. "Okay, I'll work with it," Xander concluded, still in his loose white sleep pants. "Shall we?" He offered his elbow to Natalie, like a true gentleman.

Natalie blushes and turns her head away when Xander removes his shirt. The boy had changed in front of her a few times, but she was still not quite used to it. She smiles when he offers his elbow to her and takes it, reveling in the seemingly courtly atmosphere.

Anton saw Natalie and Xander walk back together and addressed Xander with a few words. "Good evening Xander, late night last night?" Anton didn't really mind Xander if he stepped out of line, after all Xandfer was his first vampire he turned in these lands. The master of the castle looked back to Aylia and gave her his full attention. "Aylia, you may be confused about what has happened. When the mob of your village miles away was chasing you, I came and rescued you. I made you more than what you were; by doing so you have become a vampire. These others in this household are of kin to us as well, do not fear them."

Xander grinned in response to Anton, his only reply before he turned to the new girl. "Mob, huh," he said, his voice anything but surprised. "Are you feeling well?"

Aylia looked at the lord of the house, confusion on her face. Then it dawned on her, she was going to die and he took her away from that. She was close to being with her family again, and he took that from her. She turned and looked at those around. She answered the one called Xander, "Not really." Her green eyes went back to the Lord, "Did those men...did they hurt me in anyway?" Her voice was soft.

Ayden made his way over to Aylia in a sort of slink, grinning like he usually did. "Don't sweat it. He turned me too, yesterday, basically." He nodded and looked at the rest. "Just think of it as one big adventure." He moved his hand out infront of him and smiled despite himself.

Aylia wanted to cringe away, she was scared. She looked at him, "Only yesterday?"

"Yesterday," He agreed, and kept his hands away from her, noticing the cringe. He smiled though, trying to make her feel comfortable. He dragged a hand through his hair and looked at the rest of them. "You'll be fine."

Aylia gave a smirk, her eyes downcast. He was just as handsome as the other men here. It made her miss her husband even more. Tears welled up. "Thank you. I'm Aylia."

Ayden smiled and refrained from sticking his hand out to her, because of her obvious flinch earlier, and began with "Of course, My name is Ayden..." Before he realized that she was beginning to cry. "Hey, uh," He tried to figure out a way to comfort her without touching her, and he awkwardly tried a few different positions before giving up and just looking at her. "It's okay, don't cry."

Aylia reached out and touced his cheek, she didn't know why, her eyes went wide. "Ayden...nice to meet you." A tear spilled down her cheek.

Xander smiled, crossing his arms in front of him and balling his fist under his chin. "Awww, this is adorable," he said. "Glad to hear you're not hysterical." He looked at Anton, then Natalie, raising an eyebrow as if to ask, 'she ready for a hunt?'

Ayden glanced at Xander and sneered a bit despite the fact that he was indeed below Xander. He twitched his lip and looked at Aylia. "We'll be new to this together. It'll be fine." He said, comforting her with a nod and a smile, before looking back at the other vampire with a flat look on his face.

Aylia dropped her hand as if it were on fire. "I pray so."

"Ah. Quit it. You've got to have an upbeat attitude to make it through life, you know." Ayden smiled, but plopped himself back down on the floor to wait for whatever was going to happen next.

Aylia gave a small laugh, under her breath, she mumbled, "You have no idea."

Xander snorted at the attitude Ayden pulled, and then once more right when Ayden mentioned making it through life, his only thought being, then what do we do to make it through death? He coughed innocently and looked off to the side. "We shall get along famously," Xander said vaguely, waving a lofty hand. It usually wasn't often that he actually ran into anybody in the halls unless they sought each other out. "However, I'm feeling a bit peakish, and really must be off." He bowed luxuriously to the two new people as a gesture of goodbye.

Ayden laughed to himself and watched him leave, feeling his fangs with his tongue. He stretched his arms above his head, and twisted his lips. "Are we still waiting? I'm.. er.. getting hungry, if you catch my point."

"Xander, wait," Carin said. She had been observing the newly awakened children of darkness, and just become aware of her own insistent hunger. "May I accompany you tonight?"

Xander paused in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at Carin. He didn't really do babysitting, but Carin had been turned for... she was starting her fifth week now, probably. She was over breaking down after every kill, so Xander nodded with a cocky smile, pausing in the doorway to let her catch up.

Nuadu bit the very inside of his lip. The lack of attention was getting to him, and he felt a tantrum coming. "I'm hungry too," he said and waited for someone to finally respond to his presence.

Natalie hears Nuadu and rolls her eyes. She'd rather not deal with him before she eats. With dismay, she sees the group she'd rather leave with - Xander and Carin - already leaving, but she doesn't want to leave the n00bs without any kind of help. She remembers how difficult the first few feedings would be. "Alright, you two," she says to Aylia and Ayden. "We only have so many hours of night, and we need to eat. Finish dressing and... oh dear, I'll have to loan you something, won't I?" she eyes Aylia, who is clearly not of noble birth. "Come with me, we'll get you a gown, and maybe we'll have you take out a duchess of about your height tonight." She curtsies, excusing herself from Lord Anton, and begins walking toward her room, expecting the new girl to follow.

At this Nuadu let his arms fall out of their fold with clenched fists, a count down clicking in the back of his mind.

Aylia nodded, her eyes downcast. This should be just great. Aylia had been around women like this all her life, and she knew how she would be treated. A thought came to her head, they were equals now, this woman had no superiority over her. She gave a smile to Ayden and followed the woman, her eyes no longer downcast.

When the two girls reach Natalie's room, she opens the door and says, "Come in," to Aylia over her shoulder. Her room is much like the one Aylia awoke in, but much more lived in as she's been here longer. She opens her wardrobe, revealing a moderate amount of gowns inside. She chooses a green one with gold embrodery, one of the finer gowns in her collection. "Here. I'm not sure if this will fit, but it will certainly do until we can get you some clothes of your own." She hands the gown to Aylia.

Aylia stepped in after Natalie's room. It had a bit of her touch, added things over however long she been be turned. A stone rested deep in Aylia's stomach, it made her miss her home. The gown that Natatlie had picked out was the most beautiful gown she had ever seen and this woman was letting her wear it. "I...Thank you very much," She said softly to Natatlie. "I think I need to clean up first before wearing such a wonderful gown."

"There's a washroom down the hall. Just clean the dirt and blood off of your face and neck and you should be fine. You can change there too, if you like." Natalie smiles and indicates the direction of the bathroom. "Hurry now, we'll want to get out before everyone is asleep."

"Of course." said Aylia. She followed Natatlie's direction, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. There was a wash basin and some towels laying next to it. She quickly shed her shift and dunked a towel into the water. It was against her skin, but she quickly washed and scrubbed her scalp until it hurt, put her undergarments back on and then tugged the gown onto her slender body. It was a bit long and the bust a tad bigger than she, but it would have to do until she required more clothes. She ran her fingers through her uneven hair and then stepped out into the hallway. "Presentable enough?" she asked Natatlie.

Natalie nods. "You will definitely pass for nobility tonight. Okay, let's go." She takes her new companion by the hand and leads her back out to where Ayden and Anton are still waiting. Natalie curtsies again to Anton when she enters. "Alright, who's ready to crash an aristocratic party?"

Anton looked at both Natalie and Aylia, his hand to his chin while admiring the beauty of the two female vampires. Turning his head towards the others in the room, Anton spoke. "Now aren't these two ladies just beautiful; we won't have any trouble finding food tonight with men rushing to court Lady Natalie and Aylia. Anyway, Ayden I suggest you put on your dress clothes for tonight; they will be in your dresser. Nua, same goes for you as well, we want to impress tonight." Looking around back to the two female vampires in the room Anton couldn't help but smile. Stretching his hands out wide, Anton returned Natalie's curtsey with a gracious bow. 

Ayden took in Aylia's smile as she left and smiled himself, before looking up at Anton. "Dress clothes?" The words were unfamiliar to him, they twisted in his mouth in an awkward spit. He pushed himself up and looked at Nuadu. "Might as well do as instructed, eh?" Ayden moved through the rooms to what was deemed as his own, and searched through his dresser to find the cloths Anton had found for him. Not his style, definitely nothing he would pick, but they fit him well enough. White silk shirt under a black coat, fitted pants to finish it off. "Might as well give me a scarf while you're at it," He mumbled to Anton as he moved back out where the other vampires were.

Nuadu's count down stopped mid tick as he looked a little hurt. He thought he was already dressed up. Apparently, he had failed. With a sulky look on his face, he merely glanced at Ayden when he spoke and drifted back into his room. He closed the door and sat on his bed, facing the open wardrobe with a pained and angry look on his face. He wasn't adjusting well to this life. He had been a complete wreck for the first week or so, the only thing keeping him afloat was his awe for Anton. The other vampires were in his way for getting Anton's attention, and he stubbornly hated all of them. A new girl, and Anton's obvious favoritism... Nuada sharply inhaled as he clenched his teeth, glaring at the dark back of the wardrobe. He debated going back out there at all. 

Ayden stretched his arms above his head and waited, patiently dragging his fingers through his hair into a short messy pony tail at the nape of his neck, framing his well shaped face and olive skin. He supressed a sigh and tongued his fangs while he waited.

Aylia blushed, only her husband and Father John David had ever called her beautiful. At the mention of other men,Aylia looked at Natalie, eyes wide. "Does he mean what I think he means?" she asked scared.

Natalie smirks. "Don't worry. Stick close to Anton - he can make sure no one bothers you if you're nervous. And if a man does overstep his boundries..." She smiles wide, flashing her fangs.

Aylia tucked her hands behind her back, hiding her wedding ring. The heavy stone in her stomach sifted, making her dizzy. She would never be able to be with a man again, in any kind of way, even if it meant that she starved. She couldn't do that to him. She nodded to Natatlie.

Ayden twisted his lips. "Common now, what is taking all of you so long." He half whined, slumping his posture.

Nuadu shot a sharp glare at the door at hearing Ayden whine. Being ridiculously stubborn, this only strengthened his resolve to stay in his room.

Anton was in the foyer, waiting for the Ayden and Nuadu to come out. "Gentlemen, we're wasting time; the humans won't be at the party all night." Exhaling at the fact that it shouldn't take this long to get dressed, Anton went outside and had the horse drawn coach prepared.

Ayden followed him. "I've been right here the whole time." He said.

Natalie follows Anton outside to the carriage. It's a fairly warm night and she breathes it in. Then, she turns to the elder vampire. "My Lord, whose party are we crashing tonight?"

Anton replied Natalie's question without turning around. "I know a noble whose son recently turned seventeen; the party has been hosted for several days already. We should have no trouble being invited in." He opened the door to let Natalie in then spoke to Ayden. "If you will Ayden direct this coach five miles down the road then turn north for another two; the noble's house will be there." Anton was moving toward the door but then looked around and noticed that Nuadu was not among them yet. "Nuadu, are you feasting tonight," Anton asked loudly back at the house."

Aylia stayed behind Natalie, she bit down on her bottom lip. Could she do this?

Anton waited a few moments then called to Nuadu another time, "We're going to the Monto's estate. I'm leaving a horse here if you care to dine tonight."

Anton, Natalie, Ayden and Aylia left for Monto's estate, their coach rumbling softly as they traveled. When they finally got to Monto's the scenery was much different from their home. There were vast fields of wheat and a small lake next to the Monto mansion. At entrance there were several servants dressed up to greet the guests. 

Anton got out of the coach and escorted both Natalie and Aylia down. Looking around he whispered loudly so that only his party could hear, "Aylia, soon you will be very hungry; everyone always is when their first turned. We'll find a lowly servant to feed you."

"Psh," Natalie's reply to Anton's suggestion is obviously unsupportive. "My Lord, the girl has no clothes. And since we tend to make these sorts of parties frequent stops for both feeding and keeping up in general with the social sphere of the world, we need to get her a young noble woman with an excess of appropriate gowns so she won't have to always be borrowing mine."

Ayden stretched as he got out of the carriage and grinned, putting a hand on Aylia's back. "It's not as bad as you would think."

Aylia placed her other hand on top of Ayden's, trying to calm herself. "Thank you." She took a deep breath and smiled at Anton, "Natalie's is right my lord. I will be able to feed on a pretty thing tonight."

Anton looked back to Natalie when she made the "Psh," noise, slightly raising his eye brows but after a second smiled. "Well, that would be a good idea. And Aylia," Anton said after he thought for a second, "We'll get you some clothes but why don't you let Natalie or I handle the noble since they will probably be more in the spot light. Just worry on getting a poor servant or similar to have your first meal, but don't forget to let one of us know so we can help." With that Anton walked over to the threshold of the mansion for he was unable to enter without being invited to do so. A servant quickly came.

"Are you on the guest list sir?" the servant asked, giving Anton all of the respect he should. 

Anton replied with eloquence, "No we aren't but I am Lord Anton de Marc, ruler of these lands and I have personally come with my court to pay the master of this mansion my respect for his son's celebration. 

"Certainly, my lord, please come in and join the party." With that the servant opened the door inside the mansion. When anyone walked in the Monto mansion, splendor could be seen when you took your first step inside. Much of the mansion was made out of white marble with swords and suits of armor along side the walls. There were at least a hundred humans present inside the ballroom; all wearing fancy robes that told everyone that the one who was wearing it had much wealth and power. In the corner where the bar was, there were jugs of wine servants kept pouring into empty glasses, in the other there was an orchestra of violas, violins, etc. Most of the party was in the ballroom but it wasn't limited to just there. The places accessible in the Monto Mansion tonight were the foyer, the ballroom, the lounge, the study and of course the hallways in between.

Aylia nodded to Anton, not trusting her voice, for it might crack.Once stepping inside, Aylia looked around, wide-eyed at the slendor around her. Coming from her station, she had never see such lavish yet so wasteful. How could they live like this day after day? Already feeling self-conscious, she kept her eyes downcast and followed Natalie's lead.

Natalie leans in close to Aylia. "Servants tend to be quartered near the kitchen. Keep being quiet and unnoticable and make your way to the back. Don't leave witnesses." With that, she puts on her most courtly smile and makes her way over to a group of chatting ladies.

Aylia nodded, she disengaged herself from Ayden and slowly made her way over to a group of people around a table. She let her eyes roam around the room, so many beautiful people.


The party went on, the ladies that Natalie was conversing with was discussing trivial things but all the while there was one lady that was taking special interest in Natalie. She then asked Natalie with slightly more interest than anyone else, "So which manor do you reside in Lady Natalie?"

The table of people that Aylia placed herself at were laughing amongst themselves. "So you let the servants clean all of that up for you? That's great! Oh hello there miss, what is your name?" One of the gentlemen asked her. 

"Oh, I'm visiting my uncle," Natalie replies to the woman. "Lord Anton de Marc. But I've been staying at the court at Paris recently. Have you ever been? It's such a lovely city." As she speaks she eyes the people in the group, sizing them up.

Aylia smiled, she looked over the man that had asked her name. She wasn't sure if she should give her real name or a fake one. She decided quickly, "Aylia sir."

---

Meanwhile, out in the forest, Xander put a friendly hand on Carin's shoulder. "Now then, what would you like to eat tonight?" Xander asked. "Feel like dining rich or slumming it?"

Carin grimaced. She was still uncomfortable talking about murder-- nay, cannibalism-- in such a cavalier manner. To Xander, she said, "We're less likely to run into someone I knew if we go to the bad parts of town, I suppose." Maybe there would be a few street urchins no one would miss.

"Mmm, lean meat," Xander said, jabbing at her obvious discomfort. "Like mother used to make." He wasn't worried about being seen. It had been three years since he was turned and he looked a sight better for it. And he almost wanted to be recognized. He allowed himself a small smile as they headed towards the village, reaching it quickly. Then they could see him as the demon they always thought him to be. Xander practically purred as he strolled through the alleyways of the poor neighborhood, eyes sharp for a decent meal.

The neighborhood that Xander and Carin were in was the poorest region of the city. Shacks made of wood that seemed to be taken from scrap littered the alley ways. There were four men dressed in ragged clothes inhabited the alley. Three were around a fire drinking what seemed to be cheap wine and another was about fifty feet from them, curled up on the dirt with his own bottle. Besides the four men on the ground, there was one of person on the roof. That person could only be seen if looked at directly and it seemed as if though he was following Carin and Xander.

Almost walking past the alleyway, Xander's head swiveled, looking at the four. "Oooh, takeout," he said, eyeing the one separated from the herd. "Wanna distract him? You could lead him away. Pretty women have a better chance at that than pretty men."

"Urgh... fine." Carin was too uncomfortable to make a joke about whether or not Xander qualified as pretty, so she just approached the drunk man slowly. She knelt down next to him in the dark, and whispered softly, "Come home with me. It's warm and safe..."

The poor man looked up at Carin with immense joy and relief when she offered to take him back home. He stumbled to his feet, swaying on the spot to try and gain his balance. Looking at Carin the poor drunk mumbled, "You mus' be an angel, you are." 

As the poor man went to Carin, the figure on the roof drew closer to the fire with the men around it. Having a stepped on the wooden roof a bit to hard, the roof creaked and dropped a few pieces down to the ground beside the group. As the group of poor men looked up, the figure dropped right down on one of the men, crushing him. Before the other two could even move the cloaked man swiped at one man's face; sending his to fly backwards a few feet. The other man, had he not been drinking might have reacted quicker, sorely missed an aimed punch. The cloaked man easily dodged the punch and lunged for the man's neck; sinking his teeth in the moment they got there.

Xander saw all of this happen in the time it took him to react. He darted to Carin and grabbed her upper arm, ignoring any protests she would or would not be making. "Okay, we're waiting to eat now," he hissed, dragging her down the alley, away from the cloaked man. Dealing with freaky-ass strangers who might also be a vampire was not in his job description, although he looked back a lot.

"Ack!" Carin was paying attention to her dinner rather than her surroundings, so she was startled when Xander nabbed her. But she very willingly followed him. "What?" she hissed, "What'd I do wrong?"

"Aw, where are you goin...ahhh!" the drunk called after Carin just as he was thrown into a wooden shack by the cloaked man. It was obvious that the now unconscious drunk would not be waking up anytime soon if ever. Looking to make sure the drunk was disposed of, the cloaked man turned back to Carin and Xander and started after them; running very fast.

Looking over his shoulder once more, Xander noticed that they were being followed. So it wasn't just their kill being stolen. "Go back to the castle as fast as you possibly can," he snapped at Carin, "find Anton. Tell him we have trouble." He didn't bother to add that he had no real idea what was going on, because that's just what she would say. Thus ordered, he shoved Carin almost violently back towards the castle, whirling around to intercept the newcomer, fangs bared in challenge as he crouched.

Carin ran. She knew she was a coward. The cold wind in her face and fear sent tears streaming down her pale cheeks, and she prayed help could be found in time. Branches tore at her arms and face as she fled through the forest toward the moonlit castle.

The cloaked man was fifteen feet away from Xander when he stopped, but still in an aggressive stance. Slowly he removed the part of the cloak that cast a shadow on his face. The man's face wasn't anything out of the ordinary, just a slightly crooked nose and fangs where his canine teeth should have been. The only other thing that was noticeable was a light scar that was half the circumference of a circle on his right side. The scarred man looked at Xander then to Carin's now distant form. "Pretty thing, she must be new, haven't seen her around here before." His eyes now trailed back to Xander and he spoke again with a laugh. "Ah, I finally have the pleasure of meeting the weak lord's lapdog."

Xander was unfazed, just glad Carin was getting away. When one grew up to insults and beatings, one acquires a thick skin. "Y'know," he started, "you were born with a nose so you could keep your mouth closed." He looked the man up and down in disdain. "Just what the hell are you supposed to be?" he scoffed.

The cloaked man merely laughed at Xander's question and then feigned curiosity. "What, your pathetic master didn't know you guys weren't the only ones in this region? It will be easier to take you guys down that way." The man sighed as though bored with the whole situation then continued. "Oh well, I'm feeling in a generous mood today, scurry back to your master while you still can and give him this message: Get out, this is the Moon's realm now."

Xander snorted. "Moon? Really?" He quickly sobered up. "Oh God, you're serious. I... I'm so sorry. I just thought that if you were going to name a pathetic gang of wannabe bloodsuckers you would give it a more intimidating name..." He stretched absently, eyeing a man he was already thinking of a nickname for. "Alright. Moony," he said, pleased at having come up with one so quickly. "I'm usually not against sharing a blood meal. Builds community, I think. We could have beeen practically family. But you? Your false arrogance is ticking me off.  So crawl on back and tell your pimp that Xander said hello, and piss off." He wasn't particularly looking for a fight, so he turned his back and began sauntering away... But he wasn't stupid. All of his attention was still behind him in case the vampire was angry enough to attack. Xander did that sometimes.

"Oh I would watch that tongue of yours; it could you into trouble one of these days," replied the cloaked man, smiling now at Xander's outburst. "What do you think brothers, should we just kill him now or let him deliver our message?" At once eight shadows came into view from the roof tops and alleyways, all surrounding Xander except where he was headed too.

"Oh I dunno, I'm feeling in the mood to fight. We can always tell another pathetic vampire to deliver the warning."

"Yes but that would be more work now wouldn't it?"

"Look at him, he's already scurrying away to his master." All around Xander there were men in cloaks; all with the long half circle scar on their faces. 

"Aw, are the bitches looking to start something?" Xander said, crouching, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. A fight it was. He didn't quite know how many it would take to kick his ass, but he knew how many they were going to use. Maybe they wouldn't outright kill him and he could someday limp away from this. And somehow he knew that if backup hadn't already come, it wasn't going to. In any case, he was definitely going to fight dirty; it was his specialty, after all.

At once nine men cloaked closed upon Xander, fangs bared. Most of the men threw off their cloaks to fight, only the first man stayed where he was. Two men in front of Xander swung at him.

Xander attempted to duck around both of them, but didn't didn't matter if one landed; two hands were already closing into fists, which were hurtling towards throats and faces. Any sort of blows landed, well, Xander would deal with the pain. In fact, this whole thing is sort of bringing back fond memories, which explained the grin on his face. The scary-ass grin.

All of the cloaked men turned out to be great fighters, many of the punches thrown connected somewhere to Xander's body. The eight closed in even further, all punching and kicking Xander wherever they could reach. Xander landed a hard hit on one of the men's throat's, sending him gasping for breath on all fours, but there were still seven more men.

Xander took the blows, because what else was he going to do? He got in his own, but it was seven versus one. Unless he was somehow more skilled than them... Stronger, had been around longer? He could only endure. Soon all he could do was grunt when a hit landed, throwing his own punches... plus dirt, rocks, whatever he could get his hands on. Of course it wasn't graceful. He didn't care if he impressed the guys beating on him, he just wanted to make sure they were bleeding at the end of it. Plus he aimed a kick as hard as he could to that one immobilized guy's face. Bastard.

---

Carin arrived at the castle exhausted and disheveled. Frantically she called, "Anton! Help! Somebody! Xander's in trouble!" Her voice echoed hollowly through the empty, stone halls.

Nuadu finally got out of his room when he heard Carin calling. Very gloomily he answered, "What happened? What's the matter with you."

"Xander! He's being attacked-- we've got to help him, or get Anton. Something!" Carin realized it would take too long to get Anton, if he wasn't in the castle. "Come on, we've gotta go now."

Nuadu sighed, apparently very bored with this whole situation. "He went with everyone else to a manor five miles away. I know where it is, let's go." With that he walked over to where the stables are and grabbed a saddle for both Carin and himself.

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