Audrey, Darling

Tamsin was painfully aware of the route they were taking the entire time. While she was hoping for a turn, a pressure building in her chest was telling her that her assumption that they weren’t was going to end up being correct. “As much as taking our time with them would be worthwhile, you’re right.” But the anger at whoever did this was something she could hold onto, keep her from falling totally apart. It was so necessary to cling to, she almost didn’t notice how different it was from Audrey’s normal demeanor. But she didn’t say anything for fear of the change disappearing. They needed this version of the vampire right now.

Her free hand lifted, doing her best to choke back a sob as she covered her mouth, following along as Audrey lead the way with whatever scent she had picked up on. Her head swung on a pivot, not looking to be interrupted by an attack or even someone looking for help. Anything that wasn’t directly related to finding Gabriel and eviscerating whoever did it wasn’t worth her time. And she’d be dead set on getting it out of their way. “Do we know… why he was taken? What they want?” She’d give it, even if it meant sacrificing herself. All her years of self-preservation but she’d ignore all those instincts to make this right.

Tamsin crossed her arms tightly, practically wrapping her arms around herself in a desperate bid to keep things together. Violet had mentioned the blood, but not what it had said. It felt like those syllables were pounding in her head over and over, ready to send her to her knees. She roughly wiped under her eyes before reaching over, taking Audrey’s hand. “I will do worse than any of these attacks have done to the city if it means finding him. I want you to do absolutely everything you can, and I will do anything you need me to if we just get him back.”

@darlingaudreyvamp

Tamsin searched as long as she could manage in the city, thinking she would be able to come across Gabriel in all the mess and the chaos. That she could slip in and around it to get what she wanted, like she always did. But now she was worried she should have just gone straight for his place, like last time and now she’s wasted time. The thought made her stomach sink. She did her best to move through the streets, the eerie dark finally getting to her for once in her long life. Her teeth ground together in a desperate bid to keep more emotion down when his house finally came into view, but at least she spotted a familiar blonde near it. “Audrey? What’s happening?”

Nodding Violet looked around to make sure no one was around. “He needs to come home. Please bring him back. You and Tamsin need to find him. I can’t loose him too.” Violet looked tot he front door and then down to the wrist where her tattoo was. Gabriel had to be alive. He couldn’t just die. He would fight. And this woman and Tamsin would find him. “I’ll search for Acacia, you get Tamsin. Tell her I’m okay. That I’m here. Please, both of you be safe.”

Audrey nodded a little, “We’ll find him. It’s going to be okay. And I’ll tell her – but if you see her first, if you see her without me... Tell her Audrey is looking for her. To help find Gabriel. Okay?” The vampire prompted. “You be safe too, darling. You and Acacia, when you find her.”

With the harsh words Violet paused looking up at the woman. She knew logically it wasn’t his. But she felt something deep in her bleeding bad thoughts in her head. But she pushed it back and nodded. Shaking legs bringing her to stand. “Acacia…..I need to find her. She was his claim. I need to make sure she’s okay.” Violet just wanted this to all go away. An attack was bad enough, but this was just terrible. “If Tamsin had any sign of this or he’s gone missing she’ll have already left to find him. I should be out looking too. What if they need me? What if they can’t fight whoever did this…”

Acacia. She softened for a moment, thinking about the familiar. Maybe she should leave Violet there for Acacia’s sake. “Then perhaps you should wait for Acacia. They must have caught Gabriel off guard. Tamsin is an elder, I’m even older than Gabriel. And we know what’s coming. It will be fine. I’d rather think that you were here to protect Acacia. Make sure that what Gabriel is coming back to isn’t as topsy turvy as the rest of the city.” Audrey sighed needlessly. “I’ll follow the scents. We’ll get him back.” He’d lost a lot of blood. But she had plenty to take care of him with, so long as they got to him in time, it wouldn’t be a problem. Audrey would take some with her too, it could be useful in saving him.

“Okay. Master Gabriel’s would be good. Acacia is there too.” She followed sticking to the woman like glue. the stop was sudden as Violet had been looking to the ground. She tensed and went cold smelling the blood looking up her mind was dizzy. Her head feeling light and numb. Her eyes welled staring at the blood. She was seeing spots now as her vision blurred. Grabbing the woman’s arm and accidentally scratching with claws as she tried to keep a grip Violet fell to the floor staring at the door. “No….no not again….not again…He’s gone. He’s gone just like before. They have him. They’re going to kill him no no no!” Violet scream now throwing rocks at the door, as if that would help. Screaming till her throat was raw she cried.

 “I failed again…..he’s gone.” Slowly images appeared but blacked out. It was as if her mind was fighting for something to come through. “Tamsin….Tamsin….We need to find him. She needs to find him. What have they done to you Gabriel…” Cradling herself Violet was beginning to think she had done something. “Oh god….” Looking at the blood on her she looked at the woman. “Did I? No….no I couldn’t have. His blood wasn’t there. When I woke up it wasn’t there…but why?” Violet clawed viciously at her arms trying to remove the blood. “Get it off! Get it off! Make it stop make it go away!”

Audrey barely even noticed the scratches on her arm, mind busy going over all of the capabilities, trying to scent all the possible trails – all while Violet panicked. Perhaps she was going to have to welcome back a part of her that she had locked away - at least for a time.

“Stop it!” She demanded, far more harsh than she had been with the slave so far. “It’s not his blood on your arms.” She told her firmly, honestly, “I would have smelled it earlier. You have to keep it together now if you want to help him. I’ll get you home, and then I’ll find your Mistress. And together, we will find Gabriel.” And follow the scent, both of Gabriel’s blood and the one laying underneath it.

And when she found the owner of that scent, she was going to do something she hadn’t in a very long time. She was going to rip their throat out.

At the mention of getting back to her mistress Violet wasted no time in taking the other’s hand. Almost clinging to her as she tried to get herself together. “If she’s not it’s okay. I can just be safe.” Hopefully. She wanted nothing more than the shower and curl up with her mistress. She worried the woman had been hurt. “Thank you. I don’t remember much so I’m worried something terrible happened.” 

“We’ll stop at Gabriel’s on the way, just in case they’re together there...” Audrey mused, “If not, I’ll take you to Tamsin’s home. Even if she isn’t there, you can wait for her.” The vampire squeezed Violet’s hand lightly, walking along instinctively in the direction of Gabriel’s home. It was when they arrived that she stopped in her tracks. The message saw her go pale, and the scent on the air... “Gabriel.” She murmured, pulling out her phone and cursing when she realised it still had no service. “We need to find your Mistress. Now.”

Violet recoiled at first not knowing what this woman would do or if she had something to do with the loss of memory. “I…y-yes. Yes I am. Tamsin. She’s…she’s my mistress.” Violet stated looking up at the woman. “I don’t know where she is. I don’t know what happened, how I got like this. I need Tamsin.” The hound was a wreck. She was lost with thoughts and scared to death. Had she killed someone that belonged tot he city? Had she attacked anyone she wasn’t supposed to? Violet just needed to find her mistress. 

Tamsin owned her. And so Gabriel probably had something to do with her as well. Audrey could work with that. The vampire nodded a little, “I don’t know how you got like this either, darling. But I can take you to Tamsin. Or at least, home. She may not be there.” They could try Gabriel as well. Eventually the hellhound would be somewhere she belonged and safer. She offered Violet a hand and a small smile, “Come on, darling. It will all work itself out eventually. You’re safe with me.”

Violet woke up to a black city. The smell of smoke from fires put out filed the air. Iron scent filled her nose. Blood. Lots of it. She thought slowly sitting up as she felt a cold breeze on her skin. Shivering she blink a few times, her body movement slow as she tried to remember what happened. However she could only remember bits and pieces. Kora. An attack. Fights and fire. But beyond the snippets of memory Violet had no idea how she got there or where in the city she was. 

Raising her hand to her head, which was just pounding, she felt something wet. Something slightly warm. Looking at her hand her eyes went wide. Looking down at her naked form there were cuts and bruises. And lots of blood covering her. Her breathing became erratic and she scrambled until her back hit rubble. her eyes began to water as she tried to remember how this happened. But her mind had nothing. She screamed not sure what to do. Tucking her body into herself she looked around before seeing  shadow. “Who are you!? What do you want!?”

Audrey was still slightly flustered herself, point proved when she hadn’t noticed her company until she heard the yelling. Audrey recognised the slave, even though she admittedly hadn’t had all that much to do with her so far. “Relax, Darling. I’m not here to hurt you.” She soothed, “Are you claimed, Darling? Or not? Either way, I can grant you safety until you’re back where you belong.” Some slaves tried to run, others didn’t want to leave – some would go with the flow, whatever was best for them at the time. Audrey didn’t mind too much, her focus was safety right now, although she certainly wasn’t foolish enough to escort any slave to their escape.

Their sudden bubble was perfection in the middle of all of this chaos, Shane knew. She smelled… the same. Time had changed around her, but she stayed the same. He could still smell that same person whom he’d taken so long ago. Become entranced with her beauty - and unfortunately for Shane, she hadn’t lost an iota of that. She looked perfect, the blonde hair framing her face and distinctive jawline. Waves of emotions rolled through her, the connection of sire and childe still as strong as a millennia ago. He felt fear, excitement, worry, lust, love, everything and read it through her eyes as well. As her hand closed around his own he let out a needless breath. His other hand found her rump - still perfect and plump, something he’d spent years devouring - and brought her flush against him. He couldn’t stop himself. 

“Audrey…” he repeated again, this time softer, smaller. Shane’s thumb moved up from her neck, along her jaw until it brushed sensually over her lips. It was a huge world, even for immortals who could move about however they wished. One soul in the middle of seven billion could, and had, gotten lost. But now she was found. The contact was too much, something he’d thought about for centuries in remembering her. Fingers slid around and into her hair and he pressed his mouth to hers. Hungrily.

He knew he was hurt. Her leaving, breaking all they had been, had hurt and it would be something they’d have to explore and iron out if they were both to live in this city at the same time. But for now, all he could do is give in to his own baser instincts. To take what was his, to hold it close. For just one moment… fall back to that quiet European town where they were first together, all the passion and want and desire and need expressed through the long overdue kiss.

A needless breath of her own echoed his, when his hand dropped down – a caress it seemed like she hadn’t felt in a millennia – and then pulled her to him. Audrey melted against him, body still fitting perfectly against him despite the passage of time that had passed since the last time she had been at his side. Although she was trembling slightly, the fear had evacuated her mind for the moment and something about this felt right.

Her name passed through her lips again but there was nothing more she could say in this moment, just allowing her hand to slide along his arm as his touch rose higher. A racing trail of tingles followed his touch along her jawline and she kissed the thumb that brushed along her lips with all the longing in the world.

If the crowd hadn’t mattered before their lips met, it was non-existent now they had. They were floating through time and space, a law unto themselves and nothing else existed as her eyes shut and she found some way to press herself even more against his body. Audrey allowed the moment to consume her, arms moving of their own accord, hands sliding up and over his chest to curl around his shoulders and anchor them together.

Leaving had hurt her too but it had been necessary hurt. Audrey didn’t regret who she was now, no matter how much she had missed him. Despite feeling as though a piece of her was missing, constantly searching for how to fill that part of herself again. But when it was your sire that was missing, it was not an easy emptiness to quell. She knew she could never be the woman she had once been again... but that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least allow herself this moment.

When she parted her lips from his, she barely moved, not wanting to let distance set in again. Instead she met his eyes and whispered, “I need you.” Still needed him. “There hasn’t been another since you. Not truly.” She confessed, knowing it might sound unbelievable – especially given where they were. It was the truth though. Audrey had played, engaged in some encounters that were sexual in nature but there had never been what they had and she had never been so physically intimate with anyone in the way she had been with him.

His hand tightened around the man’s throat, feeling the blood running under his skin attempting to get to the brain. Woe be to the humans who show up and try to mess with the residents of this town. Seemed like old times again, Shane admitted to himself as he pressed his free hand’s index finger to the other’s lips. “Dignity… shh…” The man started to wail, and with one ‘crack’ it was over. 

Shane’s brows furrowed, pausing in his work. There was a presence here. One he hadn’t felt in a very long time. 

The shadows that had wrapped around him parted somewhat at his will, and he gave a half-hearted chuck of the person deeper into the alley. He’d be one of the many who would need to be accounted for later, he decided. His head, however, turned in the direction - her presence radiated like a beacon compared to the others in the streets that were running, panicking or looting. They made eye contact almost immediately. His lips moved, but only she got to hear what he said.

“Blood of my blood…” The bustle around them seemed to stop, or at least drag in very slow motion as Shane moved, striding like he was coming through water - in this case, real time - with distinct purpose towards the blonde. Fingertips found Audrey’s quite distinct jaw. She was immune to the ravages that might have turned all to dust over the past thousand years, still beautiful and sweet and innocent and desirable. He had a flurry of emotions rolling through him, but in a flash he was transported back to the middle ages and reacted as much. His hand closed around her jaw and slid down to her throat, body touching hers and lips an inch from hers. 

“Audrey.” His voice was in front of her, behind her, in her head, in her veins. 

A small part of her did feel flighty, almost turned on her heel and ran despite knowing it would be all too easy for him to catch her. Seeing him again was confronting, to say the least and it had been a long time since every part of her felt quite so awake and alert. She felt everything.

She didn’t run. Instead when his fingers brushed her jaw, she tipped her head instinctively and bared more of her throat without even thinking about the action. Long lashes fluttered slightly and a slightly embarrassing sound that held a note of longing left her.

His grip tightened, and a little shiver raced through her when it slid down to the throat she had just bared for him, as though she had been transported back in time to the human he had first met. In a sense, she was like that human again – even if their time together had changed her. Any part of her body that touched his felt like it was on fire and his lips were so close she had to fight not to give into the urge to press her lips against them. She had walked away but those instincts had never truly left. Especially when they had had no closure.

Shane was all encompassing, and the way his voice filled her was entirely representative of that. Audrey almost melted against him to hear him say her name again, even though uncertainty reflected in her eyes as she looked back at him.

“Shane...” His name came out much more delicately, as though despite the fact their bodies touched, speech might cause him to disintegrate and blow away with the wind. For the moment, the rest of the world was gone and as it had so often seemed, it felt like the only thing in existence was the two of them. “You’re here...” One hand lifted slowly to caress the hand that still curled around her throat, though not trying to free herself from it.

Initiating the touch made it seem all the more real, and she found herself leaning in. He was as seductive now as he had been all those years ago, even when her bloodlust had left. She found herself wishing he would understand and it was stunning how real she felt with him standing right in front of her.

The dragon gave a nod, giving a grunt of a noise at her, more low breaths and growls bellowing through her huge form. The spines on her back rose as she began to ready herself for flight “Well…I hope that this all calms itself” she grunted, then stretching out her huge wings and giving a blast of fire from her mouth, as if to assert herself before the other. “You shall see the glory of the city again in no time, I can assure you” She said giving a flap of her wings, blowing gusts of winds.

Audrey had yet to make it back to her home, where she was hoping that Heather was safely tucked away – potentially with her brother, or any other slaves who might have tried to seek safety there. Instinctively, despite her hope, she was scanning everyone nearby anxiously in case Heather had been out of the house when the attack started, or maybe even for Jake. There was still chaos all around, a moving crowd that was running for various reasons – for help, for looting purposes (she was glad her home was out of the way), to fight or just in general panic.

It was then she spotted a familiar face through the crowd and if her heart did beat, it would have stopped. As it was, she paused and it felt like the world stopped around her as well, staring with her lips slightly parted at a man she hadn’t seen in over a thousand years. A shiver raced from her scalp, down her spine as she took him in and what seemed like a million emotions crashed through her. Audrey missed him. She loved him. But she was a little afraid, after leaving him, and a little apprehensive about what his presence meant. She wasn’t the same vampire anymore after all.

Frozen, all she could do was stare.

Fee stared at the blonde, not being the most able at being social, simply from her lack of knowledge in relating to the two legged, even if she did use the form of one often “Well, if you are able to take care of yourself then I shall be taking flight and going to the aid of the other Elders” she said proudly, almost puffing herself up for her rather arrogant words. It was then that the red head turned herself into her huge dragon form and let out a bellowing roar to the sky, her orange eyes finding the vampire “I wish you luck in finding your way, even if I am not one to always believe in luck as a force” she hissed to the other, projecting her thoughts in a raspy hiss.

Feldrurth had taken one of her more eventful evening strolls, taking in the beauty of the woodland surrounding Crownpoint, being a dragon she felt like her kin she needed to indulge in the rare connection to nature that many species weren’t fortunate to have. Though she of course had picked one of the worst nights to do such a thing. BOOM. The sound echoed through the woods, the trees shaking with the very force of what had happened, the very force nearly throwing the Elder dragon off her feet in her rather small human form. The dragon stood to attention, her eyes turning bright orange and the woman readying to change into her natural form to escape, that was until she noticed she was not alone. “You there” she announced “I trust you are not an enemy or things shall not end well for you” she warned loudly, her ears ringing with the explosion rattling.  The dragon cocked her head at the other, taking in her sent- Vampire. She had to be and she was far too well dressed to be a slave. “I am sure that you can handle yourself?” she offered.

@darlingaudreyvamp​

Audrey had always enjoyed nature but the particular reason for this jaunt in the woods was because of Heather. Not that she really knew enough about the plants to know what would be pleasing for her and work well in their home but this gave her ideas – and a plan to bring Heather with her next time.

The explosion nearly knocked her off her feet as well, though she was fortunately sure footed enough to catch herself. She turned, with wide eyes. It was happening again. The voice nearby caught her attention and she thought she recognised the woman as one of the elders. “Not an enemy,” She responded confidently.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t mean I have to like my brother calling you that,” she grumbled though a soft smile did press on her features at the brush of the other’s lips. “He is.” Heather had always considered herself the easier sibling, though they could both have their own stubborn streaks. She just wasn’t as sure as Audrey on how things would work out for him. “I don’t even think I have it worked out. I can’t go back to being any old version of myself, but there’s still parts I want to hold onto. I just haven’t totally worked out which parts, you know?”