Blood suckers and kin traitors (Angel of Chaos).

[Anonymous]

Lady Devoiah Lesinua paced about the room and scowled. The Garou boy that she kept nearby flinched and tried to protect a bloodied shoulder. The boy was a replacement, he looked much like the filthy creature her adulterous ex-husband had given her. Cursed man: cursed offspring. The offspring "Vivian" as she called him, had escaped a year ago and none of her associates had been able to find the treacherous excuse for an Aswang. No, he was no real Aswang: he was lower than a common vampire and she would treat him as such.

Devoiah stormed over to the desk and pulled open the top draw to reveal a letter opener. She was hungry and the cringing Garou was annoying her. It reminded her of her late husband's offspring and it needed to be taught a lesson in keeping quiet.

The boy whimpered as she walked over so she silenced it by tapping the letter opener on her lip. 'Why did he leave me, boy? Why did they both leave me?' she asked as she leant over him. He shook his head and gulped, backing into the corner slightly. 'Now why would you want to move away, you know I will only make it hurt more.'

She trailed the point of the knife down her lip before knelt down before the terrified Garou. She put the point to his throat and he clenched his eyes tight. 'I can smell the fear on you. You wreak worse that that kin traitor does,' she hissed into his ear. She would make this painful for him, just as she would her own estranged son.

The Garou boy moved back from the pressure of the knife but before it could nick the skin, there was a knock at the door.

'Enter!'

The door opened slightly and a 14-year-old looking girl peered in. 'Mother, you aren't slicing the poor creature again are you? I could smell his fear all the way from my room,' she said in an almost pleading voice. She slipped into the room and pulled the tail of her dress in before closing the door behind her. 'Please Mother, we're not supposed to drain anyone, even Garou like this one.'

'That smell is the smell of a lowlife, just like your heinous half-brother. Nobody will miss it except other lowlives,' Lady Devoiah said.

'They could be looking for it! Please, just kill the poor thing and drink pig's blood like the rest of us.'

'Ha! Lowlives looking for lowlives. They wouldn't have the intellect to look anywhere but around their own hovels.'

Lady Devoiah paused. All her associates looked after estates and higher things than the  level of these creatures. So far they had only managed to let her know his whereabouts when he gained the attention of the authorities. She had not thought to look in slums and other places where commoners resided. It was a shame she hadn't thought of it before, he was certainly pathetic enough to stoop to that level.

'Lana, leave now. I have business to attend to!'

Lana bit her lip, closed her eyes and she hung her head slightly. 'It's brother, isn't it,' she whispered. 'You're still looking, aren't you? Please give up on him, he's not coming back. You said yourself he's not worth it and you're only going to hurt him more.'

'I SAID LEAVE!'

Lady Devoiah pulled out the maps of the world that marked where the worthless Aswang - no, vampire - had been seen. He seemed to be travelling in a southward   direction, sticking to cities where he would not be noticed as much in the crowd. It was possible he'd made his way as far as Adela by now. Her contacts ended by there so he would be out of her reach. She needed a bounty hunter, someone who knew how to look for criminals and filth. She needed to go to a pub.

Devioah turned to the Garou and smiled, causing it to attempt to curl it's way closer into the wall. She watched it as she twirled the letter opening knife in her hand. She would have her "son" back, and she would destroy him.

[Anonymous]

"I'd leave that stake where it is if I were you," the red-haired Cyrus called back to the jailer as he and his giant little brother walked off. "You can remove it after you find a suitable dungeon to keep him in."

"My thanks to ye two!" the jailer called back.

For the past couple of weeks, Cyrus and Tobias have been staying in the village of Hyoite to focus their jobs on a newer region. Being complete strangers to this region, the two of them (Tobias, especially), thought they would be regarded as suspicious. But after catching a vampire running amok in the village, they quickly became accepted as efficient bounty hunters. During their stay, they captured two more vampires that have been bothering the village for awhile, rewarding them with praise and money.

Their encounters with vampires were extremely rare, but during those few encounters, they learned that not all vampires were particularly evil; they were simply misunderstood. Tobias, especially, could sympathize with some of them since he was also turned into a creature of darkness. The ones they caught, however, were intentional criminals that needed to be brought to justice.

Now it was almost time for them to leave this village and head for a journey elsewhere. One more night's stay at the local tavern and inn and they will depart from this village and travel south back into warmer climate.

Yes, it did tend to get very cold this far up north, which was why they they had brought some suitable clothing. Cyrus wore a layer of bear fur and wool over his usual attire. Due to Tobias's huge size, he had to get a cloak made out of skinned yeti fur, which was expensive and hard to come by. But these were necessities for settling into the cold, so the money they earned from the hunts came into great use for these and other needs for the journeys ahead of them.

They soon arrived at the Sleeping Yeti Pub and Inn, a two-story cottage with rooms big enough for a nine-foot-tall giant like Tobias to sleep in.

"Finally, back to warmth!" Cyrus exclaimed as he reached for the brass knob.

"Not too soon, either," Tobias said as his masked face peered to the late night sky, its full moon being obscured by heavy clouds. "Looks like there's a snowstorm coming this way."

"Well, let's get inside, then," Cyrus urged, opening the door to the warm, ambient lights glowing inside.

"SHUT THAT DOOR! YOU'RE LETTING THE WARMTH OUT!" came a disgruntled growl from inside.

"Quickly!" Cyrus hissed as he darted inside. Tobias did his best to fit his giant frame and giant sword through the small door as quickly as possible. As soon as he was through, the door slammed shut, leaving the two brothers exposed to the warmth coming from the fireplace and the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The place was relatively empty, save for the burly middle-aged barkeep, who was busy cleaning up.

"Oh, hey you two," he said after seeing who it was. "Anything I can get for ye before you hit the hay tonight?"

"Yes, a keg of hot cider, please," Tobias requested, wishing to get some more warmth in his body.

"A mug for me, as well," Cyrus added. "Oh, and you can take down that wanted poster there." He gestured to the sign hanging on one of the walls. "We just caught that guy."

The barkeeper went off to get their orders, but took the sign down first. After about five minutes, he returned with a keg plus a mug of piping hot cider. "Now you two don't stay up too long. I have to close up soon."

What are you, my mother? was what Cyrus wanted to say, but instead, he said, "We won't, barkeep."

Tobias effortlessly picked up the full keg with his black, clawed hand, then proceeded to walk over to the glowing fireplace. Cyrus followed, and the two sat down in front of its warm flames, the cider warming their bodies.

The door once again opened minutes later, letting in another burst of cold air, then quickly shut itself.

[Anonymous]

The winds whistled about her long, dark skirts as she entered. Lady Devoiah scowled as she looked at the hovel of an "inn". She pulled off a fur-trimmed glove and wiped a finger across the chair: it was dirty so she would stand. She pulled the other off and folded them over her arm.

The inn was dimly lit and it took a bit of straining to see her way around. A human would have had no trouble but for an Aswang, night was better navigated by sonar. Unfortunately for Lady Devioah, she had appearances to think of and turning into a "Lady of the Night" would only make the bond between her people and humans more tenuous.

Lady Devoiah moved deliberately about the room as she went to the bar. She stopped at where one of the posters she'd seen earlier in the day had been taken down. That was good, there was one less vampire on the streets. Her eyes stopped at the only other two people in the bar: a long haired man or woman and some some of darker creature. They were the ones her associate had suggested: the ones that had put much of the vampire plague in the dungeons.

'I require a glass of water, in a clean glass if you have any,' she said in a dissatisfied tone.  

She wandered over to the two creatures at a leisurely pace. As she got closer she noted their dress and stature, along with that the redhead was male. How to address them without insulting them? she wondered. They may be wearing fine clothes but their poise and posture showed them to be common thugs, swords for hire. They were perfect for what she wanted and nothing more. 'Greetings gentlemen,' she said while offering them a perfect, romantic smile, 'they are indeed fine cloaks you are wearing. If I am not mistaken, you are wearing yeti?'

Now that she was next to their table she could smell them better. She resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust. They smelt like they hadn't bathed since their last hunt, revolting.

[Anonymous]

Cyrus and Tobias turned to see who had spoken to them, and it turned out to be a woman of unknown age. She did look to be of a dark nature, although Tobias could not tell what it was about this woman that made her seem dark.

"Yes," the giant Tobias said, blood red eyes peering out of his half-sun, half-moon mask that hid his true face. "This cloak is made of real yeti fur. It was all they had that was large enough for me." True, yetis were the only things in this region that were larger than he was by about a foot or so.

Cyrus looked at the woman with icy blue eyes. "Why thank you," he said. "Is there something that we can do for you?"

[Anonymous]

Devoiah's smile did not change, as though it was as much a mask as the tall creature's. It was obvious they did not have manners, they had not offered her a seat even though she was a Lady and their better. I am not hiring them for their manners, she thought disapprovingly.

'You have an eye for a finery then, Sir. Most men of your stature would have gone for two bear coats.

'Yes, there is something you could do for me, perhaps. Are you the two braves who capture the vampire filth?' she asked.

She watched the two men. The smaller one seemed useless in a fight, he perhaps used more underhanded techniques. He would also probably be the brains behind the team, the one with whome to do business. She addressed him directly, 'if you are, kind Sir, then I have a task for you. You would be paid handsomely for your troubles, of course.'

[Anonymous]

Cyrus gave a slight, modest smile at the woman's comment. "Well, 'braves' isn't exactly the right term for us, but yes, we are the ones who tamed the vampire plague, even though vampires aren't exactly our best field of experience."

Cyrus was telling the truth. It wasn't so often that one runs into a solitary vampire, let alone a plague of them. But the brothers' basic knowledge of them was just enough to bring the plague under control. And it seemed that this fact has brought the villagers peace of mind.

His eyebrow raised when the woman raised the topic about giving the two a task. "And what is the nature of this task...um...I don't believe you said your name yet, madam?"

Tobias simply stared from behind his mask, trying to gauge the woman's intentions.

[Anonymous]

She wasn't really interested in their other experiences, only that they could do the job. For the sake of conversation she asked, 'oh? You seem to be doing well here. What other creatures do you hunt?'

Lady Devoiah held out an un-gloved hand for the little redhead to kiss, again giving him a romantic, well practised smile. She would wash her hands once she got back to the manor. 'My name is Lady Devoiah Lesinua and there is a very specific monster that needs catching. Although, I am afraid I cannot tell you more in public,' she said while indicating to the barkeep with her eyes.

'I shall go pay for your drinks while you two a private moment to discuss my offer,' she said with a tilt of her head. She went over to the barkeep to enquire about her water and stood, watching the two men.