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~Amazon pride drives An'Thaya into doing the unthinkable ... but will love let her succeed?~
Darian had been gone for quite some time, and Elyen had drifted off into a fitful sleep beside her on the divan. The Amazon had been alone to long with her thoughts, memories best buried had the chance to resurface, churning in a mad cadence just below the surface of her mind. Galain's call forever tugged at her, worrying at her sanity, and Elyen's mind silent in sleep left a hollow emptiness. Darker still was the ever present Rauldac; her body recoiled from his claim on it. Rising she prowled around the room, finding a door she slid it open, slipping into the bathroom. The opulence even here was sickening, cloying. Searching she found several sticks of incense and a pack of matches. Building a little pyre she sat down cross-legged before it, breathing in the soft sent of sandalwood as she twirled her daggers between nervous fingers. Meditation.... it had always helped before, but now her mind was a screaming mess. It seemed someone within was laughing at her, taunting her. She had lost control, given herself to the beast. Elyen had betrayed her even though his intentions were good... and Galain was lost to the darkness. What had she become? The decision was made in a split second, her tribal honor guiding her hand as the dagger slipped between her ribs. The gush of hot blood over her fingers barely registered as she toppled over, the ceramic tile cool against her skin. This was the only answer that could bring her peace, bring her Gly'vere in the light of her faults. "Gly'vere Pirtus...." The darkness consumed her, ringing with echoes of dismay from those who dwelt within her mind...
Elyen started awake, sitting up as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Where am I? Then it all came rushing back to him, and he felt a cavernous loss where a presence should be. An'Thaya? No... No! He followed the bond he had with the Amazon into the bathroom. Her crumpled body on the floor, the sticky blood beneath her, staining everything a red black. Red. There was too much red... He fell to his knees beside her and gathered her limp body into his arms. Her body was still warm, and the blood still red. A hand found the wound and tried to staunch the flow of blood, even as he frantically looked around for bandage. So much blood, so much blood... "'Thaya, no... no, I won't let you leave me. No..." Something inside was breaking. No...
He'd been waiting, sending out his call to both Elyen and 'Thaya, yet he hadn't moved toward either, eventually letting his call to Elyen subside, focusing instead on the Amazon. He knew Rauldac was pleased by her return… eager to have her. Galain stood up and stalked across the room. He felt impotent and anxious for some reason. His master hadn't revealed his plans yet, hadn't even hinted at what he wanted with 'Thaya beyond the obvious. The Gangrel elf paced back across the room, thoughts in turmoil. And then he felt a horrible wrench deep within. It came from a place so deeply buried that the shock of it sent him to his knees. Oh gods, no… he almost spoke the words aloud. Without any further thought he disappeared from his chambers, appearing abruptly before a kneeling and frantic Elyen who held the dying Amazon in his arms. The scent of blood, of mixed Elven and human blood laced with the aphrodisiac of magery sent Galain's own vampire senses reeling. That Rauldac wasn't here yet was startling. But he knew the Primogen would be here and soon. Galain knelt down beside Elyen and grasped the elf hard by the shoulders. "Let me take care of her. I can save her." He stared hard into the other's eyes, seeing revulsion, fear and anger there. And hopelessness. "Gods, Elyen. Do you want her to be saved by someone else? Rauldac, perhaps?" He bit out the words. He himself welcomed his master's touch, but he knew that Elyen and 'Thaya would find such a thing revolting… to belong to one such as Rauldac… and Galain played upon that. "Damn it, Elyen, give her to me," he said when the elf hesitated a moment too long. Galain felt the world swimming around him. He knew the other felt the same way - a yawning chasm of emptiness as 'Thaya's bond to both slipped further and further away. A slump of Elyen's shoulders was all that betrayed him and Galain acted quickly, gathering the Amazon to him. He bent forward, sinking his fangs deeply into 'Thaya's throat, claiming the lifeblood within her, willing her to respond to him. He had a momentary vision of Rauldac, of what Rauldac might do once he realized what was happening. Gods… he'd not asked for permission… the thought slipped away as priorities fell automatically into place. Consequences be damned. He wouldn't let An'Thaya go. Not like this.
The only sound she could hear was the beating of her own heart, it seemed to fill the infinite universe, a cadence that pounded slower and slower as her lifes blood washed the bathroom floor. Sorrow... Elyen's sorrow reached across the chasm of time and space, chasing her retreating soul into the darkness. Galain... desperation and something more, a dull pain at her neck and her heartbeat slowed faster, the ethereal thread that bound her soul to her mortal body weakening. Galain felt the weakening, his own self filled with a quiet panic. What if he did this wrong? What if she refused to take from him? What if... He banished those thoughts. They were unworthy of what he was now and he continued his drain of her, feeling the ebbing of her pulse, knowing that each drink of her blood brought her closer to that final moment when he would need to give her his own. He lifted his head at last, blood running from his fangs, not seeing Elyen who sat silent and still, covered in the Amazon's blood. The time had come as the Amazon's heart faltered, her lifeblood gone. The Gangrel elf touched the tenuous bond that tied 'Thaya to both men, beckoning her, calling gently to her to awaken. He cut his wrist with his teeth and dribbled it into her mouth, praying she would accept, would choose the "life" he was offering her. The taste of copper on her tongue caused her eyes to fly open, shock causing her to choke. Sea green eyes were riveted on hers, the plea deep within them unmistakable. Galain... the realization of what he was doing dawned on her and she tried to wrench away, finding herself weakened beyond the ability she stared back up at him helplessly. A choice then... unlife or death... could she refuse the wishes of the men she loved? "'Thaya, please..." Galain let more blood drip onto her lips before bending to kiss her, holding her tightly as he felt her try to move away. "What I'm giving you is the only gift I can offer. Would you deny yourself a chance at living? Would you deny yourself the chance to ever look upon him again?" He directed his gaze momentarily toward Elyen, leaving himself out. "You will be able to do all that you could before..." He felt her weakening further and faltered. Shaking, he offered his wrist again, a potent symbol of the choice before her. He gently brought her up to a sitting position, pulling part of his vest away, baring his neck in further offering, eyes glued to her face as his quiet plea became a fervent begging for her to take his gift.
Fevered thoughts filled her waning mind; tears blurring her vision as the meaning of his words sank in. She knew what he was risking, what he offered, that he did told her he was not so lost as she had thought. What was to become of her now? Elyen's despair made the choice for her, although she wept as her lips closed on Galain's wrist. She was as lost as he now... as life coursed back into her veins the Elven steel she carried on her body began to burn; the child of light gave into the darkness.
Relief coursed through Galain as she at last accepted. He hadn't realized he could feel this way still and it troubled him briefly before he gave in to the sweetness of giving life to another. He felt the change within 'Thaya and that deeply buried part of him wept for her. The rest of him sang with a dark triumph. "Drink, beautiful one. Take what you need..." he felt himself stirring in other ways and looked blankly up at Elyen. "Forgive..." it was all he could say before he vanished with the Amazon back to his own chambers, ready to fill her with everything he was, an exultant ecstasy filling him. He'd never expected something like this so soon. He'd never expected any of this. Gods... his mind hummed as An'Thaya's body filled with his blood offering.
She clung to him in fear and need, a building hunger within frightened her and the beginning of pain made her dying soul want to keen. Breathless she released his wrist, giving in to his embrace as she cried out in pain. Somehow she still felt safe; no matter how far into the darkness he had fallen this was still Galain... he would not let her fall. Her lips were stained crimson, an odd parody of a lover's lipstick as she reached up to kiss him. "Beloved..."
He knew the pain she was going through and he held her close, taking in her kiss, tasting his own blood on her lips. He was here to carry her through this... to help her live through the agony that was descending upon her. The word "beloved" rang in his ears and he shivered. "I'm right here, 'Thaya, take what you need, cry out..." he murmured, slipping her clothing off her, preferring to linger over her cooling skin rather than ravish it all at once. His own clothing was quickly disposed of as he guided her through the ensuing pain, twining his body with hers as they become one... Chylde and father, lovers again in a new sense, tied into a bond that neither would have wished for in another life. Her soul was gone... her being instead filled with the darkness that filled him and he gingerly slipped off the armband she'd worn for him... removed anything that was Elven, stopping at the emerald at her throat, startled by its winking presence. His hands moved on as they rose together upon the bed, gripped in mutual hunger.
When sleep finally claimed her, her dreams were filled with darkness, the laughing face of Rauldac haunting her through the corridors of her mind. The death of her mortal body had brought her pain beyond imagining, yet when her newly formed fangs had finally found purchase at Galain's neck she had found pleasure greater than she had previously known. She woke entwined with the Gangrelf... how great an irony that death had reunited them. Along the bond she could feel Elyen, his grief and confusion, the newborn Gangrel recoiled from it, although the Amazon ached to comfort him. Feeling sea green eyes on her she looked up at her Sy'Rish, his expression was unreadable, although there was some semblance of relief there... perhaps he felt alittle less alone... "I hunger," she whispered, realizing as she did that she was as condemned as he.... Human blood would never be enough.
He was alone now. Alone, in that bathroom, kneeling in her blood. He blinked. Once. Twice. Staring, never seeing. There had been so much red. And there had been love. Always, love. Even when he came along, it was because of love. "Forgive." There had always been that. That and forgetfulness. He'd always thought he'd healed. He should have known. He knew, through the link, what she was feeling. Knew her hunger, knew her madness. Knew the gulf that now straddled the closeness between them. I'm alone again. As I should always be. Should always have been. Oh mortal fool, to try and outwit the gods. Even here, in this dark nightmare, They watch and torment, and play. Pawn. Time passed, he knew not how long. The blood was clotting on the floor by the time he slowly got to his feet. He was covered in blood, none of it his own. He was unhurt. Unhurt. He couldn't feel his body. Couldn't feel anything. He frowned slightly. Was that the way it was supposed to be? It was all so strange now. As if there was no memory, no future. Just the present of putting one foot before the other, and going through the mechanical motions of finding his way out. He should be worried, but he wasn't. Why should he be worried? There was nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry for. Being alone, he had no one to care for, nothing to care for. Alone. As I am destined to be. No one touched him when he walked out. They thought he was already a ghoul. And somewhere in his madness, there had been a tear.
She hungered. Galain sat up to regard her, his eyes drinking in this unexpected miracle. He had to show her what she needed to do to survive. And their hunt required a special kind of prey. They might have to settle for human blood initially, but she would need what he needed. His mind swept over the presence of Elyen, then moved on. He was blood bond - something and someone they would both need and somehow it seemed appropriate that they could share him. He might not feel the same, but that was neither here nor there and the Gangrel smiled coldly. He sensed the loss of the other somehow, but dismissed it. Loss was the norm here, was it not? They would seek An'Thaya's first hunt elsewhere… someplace where he could instruct her without worrying about interruption, without preying upon familiar faces - initially. He thought momentarily of B'Rodyn. Now there was one he'd enjoy hunting down eventually. He snapped out of his thoughts. "Come with me, melda." He whispered, lowering his head to kiss her, before rolling her atop him, his own hunger rising. "It's time to hunt." In minutes they were clothed and gone, Galain taking her to another place and planet this time to seek succor upon an unsuspecting quarry. He wasn't disappointed, watching the once-Amazon's natural skills come to the fore as she combined lethal past knowledge with the newly acquired knowledge of a fledgling vampire. A vague disquiet settled at the back of his mind though. Rauldac. He tried to shake the feeling off even as he took pleasure in watching this Chylde gracefully dispatch with her first kill. They would have to leave here quickly and return… their kind was not so likely to let the death of several of their own like this simply be overlooked. He had fed as well, freed for once to indulge in a full feeding on Elven blood. He felt more re-charged than he had in a while with the exception of his time with Rauldac, and he pulled 'Thaya to him. "We must return," he said simply before they found themselves again in the mansion, in Galain's dimmed chambers, in each other's arms. He thought he caught a momentary pause in An'Thaya and he fell back to watch her. So much was afoot.
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