The year is 2020 and Seattle has quickly grown to become one of the vampiric society's finest cities.
The Camarilla rules the city with an iron fist, ensuring the survival of the Kindred, and with it, the
rule of the Masquerade: Their existence must remain a secret to humans, and the Prince of the City sits
at the top of the hierarchy, enforcing the laws of the undead.
The clans of the Camarilla fight for power: It's a game of chess and your next move might determine
the future of all. When push comes to shove, which side will you take - and as a character with the
potential to shift the game, what will your next move be?
SOME RULES ARE UNBREAKABLE
In the past few months, the rate of newly embraced vampires have skyrocketed - most of which has
not been sanctioned by Prince Algernon: The Camarilla have worked day and night trying to track
down the one's responsible, but where one lead ends, another begins. Unable to figure out the culprits
behind the mass-embrace, the Camarilla finds itself caught between trying to restore power and ensuring
that the laws of the Masquerade are not broken - again.
A Blood Hunt has been called, and the Scourge has been sent out - and so the Caitiff are being hunted
down: Nothing but Final Death awaits them.
Spring was starting to roll in, leaving winter to rear its ugly head in other parts of the country. There was a lot to be said about spring, but to Callie, it was the sweet, slightly crisp aroma that filled the air that really got to her. She loved spring: the way it brought life back to everything it touched. The grass had started turning green and if one looked closely enough - and knew where to look, spring flowers had started crawling their way through the ground.
While the sun was nowhere to be seen, the sky hadn't gone completely dark yet. It was that beautiful moment right before darkness settled and swallowed the city up, leaving nothing but artificial light in its wake.
The park was mostly empty. There was a couple walking their dog and a woman jogging, music blaring from her headphones. A sigh fell from the blonde’s lips: how some could turn their backs from humanity so easily, she would never understand. Everything about them, humans, was beautiful. From their fragile vulnerability to the way they rose up against all odds and just… persevered.
Year after year, decade after decade, century after century. They were so blind to the fact that they were not the apex predator. They hadn’t been since the beginning of all. And yet, they remained clueless and happy. It was beautiful. Kneeling down, Calliope ran the tips of her fingers against a flower bulb. A smile colored her features as she drew a breath she didn’t need, completely lost in the sensation and totally unaware of her surroundings.
One of those humans Calliope was sighing over approached her, taking full advantage of her enraptured mind. Granted, Sergio wasn't entirely human, but he was far more kine that the kindred whose slender form he came upon from behind. He had turned his back on the fragility and flexibility because, despite how she praised them--surely a result of her decades of distance from them--humanity hadn't been something beautiful for Sergio. It had been a bitch.
That, and vampire blood was too powerful for him to resist.
His hunter instincts were in a frenzy as he drew closer. They almost always were, considering the company he preferred to keep. In the beginning it had nearly driven him crazy, but now it created a warm, familiar buzz within him. In fact, that buzz was associated with happiness and fulfillment.
"Gorgeous." He murmured, intending to pull her from her reverie of the plant. Perhaps he was complimenting the flower, or perhaps the woman. He didn't clarify, and he wouldn't. A smile would tug his lips when she looked to him, assuming she did.
In truth, Calliope should have been more aware of her surroundings. She should have sensed the presence approaching her. She should have known he was there long before he spoke. Long before he came near.
For only a moment, Calliope's body tensed at the sudden voice. She immediately turned her head in his direction, the movement stiff and alert. Blue eyes narrowed in on a rather handsome face and her body immediately relaxed as a lazy smile splayed over her lips.
"I'd warn you not to sneak up on a kindred, but I fear I'm the one at a loss here." She mused as she rose to her feet. She didn't think she would ever get used to the hunter's presence - no matter how many years the two spent together. While Calliope would never openly admit it, there was an unease that came with it that she could never quite shake.
But ah, how could she possibly stay away? When one spoke about beauty, surely, one would picture Sergio Morales. His addiction was rooted in blood. But hers? It was rooted down to her instincts. The bloodline of her clan. "I didn't picture you as one who would enjoy a lazy stroll in the park."
Sergio's eyes stalked Calliope as she stood, and as soon as she was at her full height once more, his hands would snake out in an attempt to grab her. It wouldn't be an aggressive or firm hold; it was casual, gentle, as a man might reach for his wife, seeking to take her by the hips and pull her against him.
"I didn't come for the park." He'd say quietly. Their relationship had always, inevitably, been charged. She was, after all, his blood supplier. When he drank from her life source, it was as if their souls were dancing. Whether kissing or sex was involved or not, the experience was sensual and intimate. Sergio might get slapped for reaching for her, but he could take a hit as long as he could get a drink.
"I'm thirsty." He told her, almost like a child asking its mother for milk.
It never ceased to surprise her. She couldn't help but to marvel at it - every time. She could feel his fingers over her skin - warm against chilled.
"Oh, you didn't?" She chuckled, "That's a pity. Very disappointing." Furrowing her brows and pushing her lower lip forward into a pout with practiced ease, Calliope lifted her hands to place them upon his shoulders:
She recognized the expression. That look in his eyes. Humor quickly drained from the blonde's features as she sighed. Like clockwork. "Ah, dearie." Her tone was hushed, but gentle, "There's a time and a place for everything - and this is neither the time, nor the place." Gracefully, the vampire swirled out of the hunter's arms and once again returned her attention to the flowers around them.
"Do you miss it?" She asked quietly. She had likely asked him the same question a million times before. She would likely keep asking it a million times more. "A time before.. Knowing?"
They were so close. His senses were buzzing. The smell of her blood made his nostrils flare, and he could already taste it on his tongue. Sergio moved his face forward, hoping to bury it in her neck. Just a little nip. He could easily draw blood. Just a little trickle. He didn't need to drink much. There were times when he did, but most of the time he just wanted a taste, like taking a casual puff of a blunt.
He didn't hear what she was saying. Not until she was, quite suddenly, twirling away.
The eager anticipation that had begun to swell in him throbbed for a disappointed moment, before fading away. He didn't try to hide the expression that mirrored his feelings. Kissing her neck in a public park would not have been inappropriate, surely? She was just being greedy. Calliope seemed to enjoy dangling herself in front of him.
With a sigh of his own, the hunter plopped down onto the bench that was closest, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket and fixing the kindred with a disgruntled stare.
"Nope." She had certainly asked a million times, and this time Sergio wasn't going to humor her. She should have put out--blood, that is. Satisfied with his short response, he turned his face from her, focusing on the scene, pretending to be interested in it.
Calliope knew that she couldn't blame him for his behavior. Doing so would far surpass ignorance. She had been a ghoul herself before she was embraced. She knew exactly what the blood did to mortals.
But then, simply giving him everything he wanted, when he wanted it, wasn't an act of kindness either.
Pursing her lips, the blonde turned to look at the man. He'd found himself a seat on a nearby bench and looked all but pleased. "Don't be childish." She said without drawing closer. For a moment, she simply watched him. Then, exhaling a breath she hadn't taken, Calliope drew closer and dropped to her knees before him.
"While I understand the desire, Sergio." She began, her words slow and precise. "Let's not forget our manners, hm?"
Sergio had a lot of things he could say back to Calliope. Don't tell me what to do. Don't pretend to be my mother. Don't be a bitch. He didn't say any of them, of course. The precariousness of the ghoul-kindred relationship didn't afford him much flexibility in that regards. At the end of the day, he needed her to function. Granted, he could find another kindred to drink, and he did from time to time, but the bond he had with her after years of consuming her blood made trying to get away too hard. He depended on her in more than just the practical way. His very existence felt as if it needed her. He loved her, in a sick, ghoulish way. She was his obsession.
He kept his eyes fixed ahead--until she knelt. From that vantage point, he could easily imagine her doing something very different with her lip and open mouth. The image in hi mind alone was enough to inspire a sincere smile.
Her words robbed him of the smile once more. Calliope seemed to think that the fifty years she had on him separated their maturity, or something. Belittling him seemed second nature for her.
Sergio leaned forward, planting his forearms on his spread knees, letting his hands hang. His face was closer to hers now, dark eyes regarding her with a combination of curiosity and irritation.
"Does that work on other people?" His gaze flickered down to her mouth, then returned to her eyes.
There has been times - even now - where Calliope had wondered whether or not she'd done the right thing by inviting Sergio into her life. While she understood how powerful Kindred blood was and how easily it captured the minds of mortals, there was still something ugly about it.
He drew a little closer and blue eyes stared into his. His expression was clear and left nothing to the imagination. Still, Calliope chose to ignore it. Instead, the blonde simply grinned at the offered words and offered something of an innocent shrug.
"Well." She began, pursing her lips as she tilted her head. "Not as often as I'd like." She remained perfectly still then - it was easy to forget to breathe when one didn't need it. Most vampires had to practice doing it all over again once embraced.
"Walk with me." She offered as she rose to her feet.
Walk with me wasn't an offer, it was a command. Surely she delighted herself in thinking that she was some gentle, tender savior to the ghoul. Sergio knew the truth. Calliope only delighted in the fragility of humanity because of her ability to crush it in a second. Her place of power in the world of kindreds empowered her to peer down the bridge of her nose at those around her. Sometimes Sergio hated her (in the midst of loving her).
He didn't argue. He stood and fell into step beside her. If she wanted to walk, they would walk.
He also didn't speak. His appetite was growing, so he didn't have much to say.
It was easy to forget that Calliope had lived for over two hundred years. Even decades couldn't change one basic, very human trait: Ignorance. Swallowing the annoyance that started to simmer somewhere deep inside, Calliope started moving her feet.
It wasn't always as easy to remind herself that addiction brought out the worst in people.
But this wasn't entirely what she had signed up for either: She was realizing she didn't much care for the childishness. "You know," she spoke, her eyes looking at the sky above. "Perhaps it's time we alter our deal a little." Perhaps rather than coming to her, she could come to him. Perhaps rather than giving him the blood directly, it could be stored in vials.
Sergio didn't know what was going on in Calliope's mind, and she didn't either--she was in the wrong clan for that sort of ability. So then, this growing tension between them had little foundation. He'd come to her for food, and she'd said no. Now she spoke of altering their deal? Well, perhaps it was time. Sergio barely knew what the specifics of the deal were.
"Sure." He returned casually, open to whatever she might suggest. He was counting on her wanting more from him, since she was giving her blood. He wouldn't blame her.
Calliope didn't think she'd ever get used to having a ghoul by her side. In fact, it went against everything that she was, but at the same time, so did simply leaving him, too.
A sigh fell from the blonde's lips at his reply. He really didn't make things easy for her.
"You can't just..." She began, shaking her head as she tried finding the right words to use. "We need a system for this, because I'm really not comfortable with giving you my blood in public." Was she really that terrified of the Masquerade?
Sergio raised a brow, turning his head to get a good look at Calliope.
"You didn't really think I was going to bleed you in the middle of a park, did you?" His tone was incredulous, but one of the corners of his mouth tugged upwards, displaying his humor at that. Sure, he'd flirted with her, but Sergio knew better than that. He was a maintainer of the Masquerade, remember? He was one of the ones who killed the vampires who stepped out of line.
"I'm a drug dealer, Cal, not an idiot." He faced forward again, pursing his lips, recognizing the potential contradiction of the words that had just left his mouth. But hey--he wasn't like the average dealer...
Narrowing her eyes at him, Calliope pursed her lips. She could have laughed it off, of course, but the truth was: She didn't know how to answer that honestly. "I can't read your mind." She said instead, a bit stubbornly.
"Well," she drawled, "Those two usually go hand in hand." Still, she knew he was right. At least to some degree.
"Come on, then." She simply said in an attempt to change the subject. "Let's get your fix." The word always left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew exactly what it felt like, being addicted to Kindred blood. Would she do it differently than her sire had, had their roles been reversed? She wasn't entirely sure. And that, perhaps, left the worst taste in her mouth of them all.
