The Taming of the Shrew

[Zhou Lei]

Jenica made no clear acknowledgment that she accepted the terms of their agreement, so Zhou was left to assume she was okay with it. She smirked and looked a little incensed about it, but whether this was because he said she needed to clean up, because of the prospect of meeting with the judges, or because of something entirely different, he had no idea. He was glad, in many ways, that Ryxa was intended to be the one to deal with this vampire who was at least as difficult to read as he was.

Ryxa was no better in this instance. She didn't give him the immediate pleasure of protesting the idea of working with a smelly, unkempt, psychotic, murderous vampire. She just bolted off in that way of hers, leaving a little trail of dust and fluttering leaves in her wake. Faster than Zhou could move, but not as disturbingly fast as the vampire.

He waited atop the pillar for Jenica to follow, and then hopped down gracefully. That he could do so with little effort or noise, while wearing plated armor, was testament not only to his abilities but the quality of elven craftsmen.

His eyes were on Jenica the whole time towards the horses.

[Jenica Sabiny]

The female's speed and the male's scrutiny remained unnoticed by the vampire as she moved, moving her eyes over the surrounding landscape in a dulled sense of curiosity. She already knew this area intimately, there were no surprises sitting atop the ruins or wandering through the cobblestones. These two humans were the most interesting that that had happened to her since...

Her palm swiped gently over her stomach. The wounds were healed but scars remained. She dropped her hand to look at the horse as she moved nearer.

The vampire's own approach did not help to ease the poor beast's spirits. It could smell her far more clearly than the two humans, and under the scent of death lay the scent of a predator. She was moving relatively slowly as it was; she slowed her steps further when she realized how terrified the horse was becoming.

Rather than aim to startle the animal, she approached at her own deliberate pace, pausing any time the horse seemed about to rear to give it time to adjust to her presence. Closer and closer she came, until she could reach out and stroke its muzzle. Instead, she reached to grab its bridle along the cheekpiece, using the same slow motions until she was close enough to grip the leather and hold its head in place with her own strength. The animal stood trembling, too tame to burst away and run but too frightened to relax once the bridle itself was within someone's hold. The vampire raised her other hand and stroked the tip of her index finger lightly along the horse's brow and nose, tracing in a long, thin line. On the next stroke she used two fingers, then three, until her entire palm ran the length of its face, gently petting it into a state of calm. Its chest expanded and huffed back down in a burst of air as the beast sputtered through its lips. The vampire's lips tilted up enough that she nearly smiled.

"Shhhhhhh. It's alright. I won't hurt you."

Her voice was a whisper, with just barely enough sound for the words to be heard. For the moment, she did not know where to go and needed to wait on one of these humans to actually lead her away. And so her attention remained wholly focused on the animal as the humans stood within distance, and she paid them no heed. They were unimportant to her, in the long run.

[Zhou Lei]

Zhou did not pay much heed to the vampiress' interaction with Ryxa's horse. He followed behind Jenica, keeping her well within his sights, and what he saw of her taming the horse did not impress him. The ability for a creature like her, who could already do gods know what, to tame a frightened horse with some kind of magic was no surprise. That she might not be using magic to do it never crossed his mind. From where he stood, it looked like parlor tricks.

What he didn't understand was why she would even bother dealing with the animal. Horses were barely creatures to be respected by predators. It was almost a sign of weakness to be seeking companionship that way.

The vampire was weak in several ways.

Illuminated by the dim firelight coming from the shanty town, and watched by eyes peering from between cracks in walls and behind shadows, Zhou mounted his horse and waited for Ryxa to do the same. Once she was ready, he led them in the direction of Justice hall.

[Blood Ravenous]

The horse puffed out a breath, as if sighing in relief, or perhaps disbelief. Ryxa watched with a controlled, surprised look on her face; it was more of a sarcastic expression than anything. She wouldn't blame the horse for its disbelief, as she was incredulous, too. (More than anything, though, she was illiterate when it came to horses.) It had stopped neighing and rearing, though, so that was good. However, now a vampire was fawning over it, and it was still going to be just as hard to mount it and ride it back to Justice Hall. But that was the whole point of the stupid animal, and she didn't feel like walking the whole way.

"How sweet, the two beasts get along," she said with a sweet, mocking tone. Her voice hardened once again as she walked closer, keeping the vampire mostly on the opposite side of the horse. She tried her best to control the spell with her body, and succeeded in getting closer without going fast enough to startle the animal again. "That saved us time, but now you step away from the horse." She cocked an eyebrow, daring the vampire to defy her.

This was not going to be an easy partnership.

[Jenica Sabiny]

It was neither defiance nor anger which gazed back into the human female's face. It was plain boredom. The human's order was nonsensical and stupid. What did it matter where the vampire stood? Weren't they all going to the same place?

She remained where she was. She hadn't moved beyond turning her head enough to see the female's face and continuing to stroke the horse's long nose. It was all shows and power struggles for these mortals. Again she found herself annoyed by the idiocy of the entire game. If they wanted so badly to fight, then why not just fight? Posturing was a waste of time and effort.

And yet they insisted. She silently accepted that this was a human habit she could not possibly understand. A predator did not take hours or days to size up a threat or even prey. The decision was instant and knowing, suspended around whether the other was superior or not. There was no need for mental superiority if their death lay within her own abilities. Their mental capacity meant nothing when she was cracking the skullcap open against the cobblestones.

Her eyes took on the same red tint as before as visions of bloodshed cascaded through her mind. She wasn't truly hungry, but the vial had awakened her thirst, and the game with the female her craving for play. She shuttered her eyes and drew her hands away from the animal, fully shifting her body so that she was facing the female. If they had a destination, then it was time to leave. But the vampire would not be the one leading the way.

[Zhou Lei]

When the ladies did not follow, Zhou sat quite still on his horse, waiting and examining the houses around the Shanty town to see what the people were up to. The majority of them did a fine job of hiding from his gaze, well practiced at avoiding authority figures and appearing meek and innocent. There was nothing like the threat of a painful death to stimulate learning.

Even in the darkness of night, lit only by their torches and candles, several of the stalls had merchandise on display for sale. Mostly food and useless trinkets and knick-knacks looted from the trash of the upper classes, a few of the stalls had suspiciously valuable or illegal looking items visible. A long, cylindrical device hung from the roof of one stall and produced its own greenish light - one of the non electrical, non fire based lights that were legal but very expensive. Beside it were several charms of Marnian and elven design, glistening silver and gold. The irony was that the goods were either fake or illegal. Zhou could smell the familiar odour of marijuana in the air, though he could not tell where it was coming from. The place always smelled of either shit or burning drugs anyway.

Feeling that he'd waited long enough, Zhou shifted in his seat and glared at the two women. A muscle above his jaw pulsed in the dim light and his mouth was set in a thin, straight line. What was Moryldar thinking?

[Blood Ravenous]

Ryxa glared as the silence went on, the other having naught but a plain look. She had enough courage to stare into the other's eyes, trying to read some reaction, but it was like the creature was a blank plaster wall, which refused to move away from the horse. God.

Her glare faltered as Jenica's eyes turned slightly red. She looked away and huffed, as if tired with their staring game. Really, she had felt a pang of fear. Who knew what was going on behind that mind? She heard the shifting caused by the vampire's movement, and she found herself listening to them alertly, like a rabbit with ears turning. She shrugged it off visibly, rolling her shoulders and approaching the side of the horse. The vampire was still close, but she chose to ignore her fear of the creature. It was just her instincts being stupid again, not realizing she was just as powerful as the vampire. It was probably for that reason that Moryldar chose her to pair with the creature in the first place (even if she had no plans to go along with it). That thought helped her put her foot in the saddle and haul herself up and throw her leg over. She sat up straight on the horse and stared down her nose at the vampire below.

Still looking, she pulled the reins into her fists and started away. Once she was a trot or two away from Jenica, she broke into a full gallop, startling some of the bums and making a few shopkeepers cower. "Out of the way!" she yelled, and allowed herself to feel the speed rush through her hair and send excitment down her back. Again her anger surfaced, and she pushed the horse as fast as it could go--in the city, at least--through the streets. She didn't want to waste any time, time she could be spending yelling and fuming at the judges to change their minds.

[Frug]

(( Continued in Fit, here: http://www.tharshaddin.com/rp/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1665 ))