Oh, Lord, don't let me be misunderstood (Open)

[Anonymous]

Her arrival had not been what one would call a "warm" welcome, in fact, despite how open the inhabitants of Serendipity were they simply feared her. Hope's reputation had preceded her and, unfortunately, it wasn't about how she seemed to wield with amazing skill for her young age. She was a Dhampir, a half human-half vampire woman, and that made her dangerous for the sheer fact that she occasionally had to drain the blood of mankind to stay alive. It didn't matter how much she hated having to do so, it didn't matter how rare it was. No, all that mattered was that she'd done it before, multiple times in fact.

Instead of staying in the palace walls, though, as one might after receiving shouts telling her to "go home," and that one will "burn in the eternal fires of damnation." No, her foolish pride and stubbornness forced her to be out in the open amongst the general population of the kingdom. Black hair shined in the daylight while light blue-silver eyes gazed around with disinterest at the common folks that she'd been recruited to help protect. It was simply as if she didn't see the stares of hatred, of fear and hear the whispers about as she roamed the street. Those who didn't stare or whisper turned away from her, ignoring the dark Knight. Surprisingly it didn't seem to bother Hope.

Her arms hung loosely at her sides as she allowed them to freely sway as she walked. Dark boots moved over the roads as she walked, familiarizing herself with the city that she'd recently assumed a low position of power in, if one could call defending those who didn't defend themselves a position of power. Her face was expressionless as she listened with enhanced hearing to the whispers.

'We'd best not anger that one in any way, she may drink from us.'

'Does this mean more of her kind will be coming to our city? Lord, have mercy on us all!'

After listening to some of the whispers she shook her head. She sighed, her breath pushing gently past her lips. When would people ever learn not to fear her? Then again, if she were human, she'd probably fear herself, too. She needed a drink...

[Anonymous]

Patrons of the fair city Arca sauntered around without a care—for a majority of this fine capital had little to worry about with the fine knighthood that guarded them every day-and-night.  It was in fact sad that some of their very protectors were of minor races; beings who were not welcomed with open arms made up those minorities that the common wealth of Serendipity sneered at.  However, it was these very persons that probably guaranteed that their gates would never fall, for how could the weak humans defend themselves against a horde?  Well, they would not be able to.  It was as such that minor entities—such as Hope—were recruited to fortify the city's walls.  Cobblestone snapped with the harsh steps of mankind as they strolled passed the Dhampir, some sneering at her openly.  It was with good graces that the glorified human did not snap and remove a scalp-or-two from the malevolent men.

A light breath left the full lips of the woman as thoughts unheard flowed through her mind.  At that breeze of contemplation there was a small wisp sound from behind Hope—soon footsteps would fall in place with hers.  Hoary mane held steady with the confident stride of the man that placed himself next to the knight.  The Draconian's orifice was pursed into an o as he folded lithe arms over his chest, keeping instep with the short—yet awkwardly tall—woman.  Thin brows rose on a placid façade, a tongue escaping the confines of silver-tainted lips—today Roptune had decided to try a different shade of lip gloss.  That thin—yet lovely—neck would bend toward the direction of the woman, a broad smile forming on his face.  A finger poked up from the crevice of his forearm-and-bicep, an elongated fingernail pointing at a man who stared at the duo with obvious resentment.

"You know he called you a bloodsucking diva?" almond eyes squinted, causing the amber within them to disappear for a moment.  That neck would rear back up to a straight position, vertical pupils widening as eyes moved from left-to-right.  If Hope had been anymore human than what she was, Roptune would not have phased himself from the confines of his stateroom to her side—but she was different, as he was.  Those ebony, vertical slits shifted to look at the figure of Hope from his heightened position.  "So, how is my favorite bloodsucking knight doing today?  Obviously you are doing well if you are walking amongst your food so easily."  An angelic laugh fell from his lips, causing women from their stands to look up at the Lord Knight Commander.

Unlike our dear Hope, Roptune was widely accepted amongst the masses.  His gorgeous appearance and voice caused them to double-take, both male and female alike.  It was a few of those who harbored hatred against all that looked at the Draconian with unveiled irritation.  At the moment that was not a problem, for Roptune had found Hope with mankind.

[Anonymous]

As she walked, Hope had been keenly aware of the man walking behind her. Her commander, no less. "I am aware of what he called me," she said lowly towards him, her voice void of emotion and her eyes matching the same tone. After a few more steps she paused, then turned to gaze at her commander. Arms crossing over her black corset clad chest.

Dark locks hung around the sides of her face, a slender eyebrow raised. She stared silently at Roptune for a few moments. The tip of her pink tongue darted out from her mouth to moisten her lips before disappearing once more. "However, I do not care what they think. If they hated me so, they would tell me so to my face instead of whispering in the shadows amongst each other. They are nothing more than people gossiping over the latest person who is different from they."

She leaned back against the stone archway she'd stopped at and let her weight rest solely upon the cold masonry. Hope was well aware of what the people thought of her, of what they said when they thought she couldn't hear them. She really didn't care, it didn't bother her. However, as Roptune mentioned them as her foot, her eyes flickered briefly to their deep red color with annoyance before turning back to their icy blue-silver hues.

"Food, huh?" she said, "Funny. I wouldn't choose any of them for food even if my very own life depended on it." One arm uncrossed itself as she lifted her hand to push her locks away from her face. Her eyes moved to one of the pairs of people who were whispering amongst each other.

'Why is our Lord Roptune associating with that bloodsucker?'

A faint smirk touched her lips and she shook her head. "Just as mortals do, they seem to have flitted to the topic of curiosity as to why you are standing and speaking with me," she said, a the faint tone of amusement ringing briefly in her voice. However, her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked back to Roptune. "Why are you speaking to me in broad daylight? Aren't you worried like so many mortals are about ruining their perfect reputation amongst these common morons?"

[Anonymous]

Those dark vortexes that had been vanquished of any emotion stared at Roptune as their owner spoke, telling him that she in fact knew what the man had said.  This was no surprise to the narcissist, but there had been an odd need to tell her what the man had spoken.  As Hope said "I do not care what they think." a broad smile encompassed the expanse of the porcelain façade.  It was just like Hope to use such a line.  The woman continued to speak and Roptune nodded when appropriate, taking in tidbits of what she preached.  It was soon that she responded to the Draconian's shrewd comment, those orbs of icy blue turning a dark crimson.  Brows rose high on the visage of the Commanding Knight—had he just found a weak spot?  A Cheshire cat grin spread across the expanse of his face.

Hard bricks pressed against Roptune's back as he leaned against the archway beside Hope, large ears twitching at the words that were spoken around him.  Scales shimmered from the sunlight from above as the man adjusted himself against the wall, those reptilian eyes staring at the woman as she spoke.  Those vertical slits would widen and narrow as he watched her demeanor go from irritated to amused in a matter of moments.   A few women and men spoke to each other, making gestures at the duo—the gossiping group.  Almond eyes turned upward as he beamed at the troupe and waved with his digits.

"Why are you speaking to me in broad daylight?"

Roptune's attention was drawn from the people to Hope at that question, which was proceeded by another.  The woman wore a smirk—and the man could do nothing more than match it with a confident grin himself.  Those sharpened teeth gleamed in the sunlight as he leaned his body toward Hope's, arms crossing over his chest.  "I'm untouchable, Hope.  You of all people should know this, why else would I be the Lord Knight Commander?"  a boastful laugh escaped his orifice, and again women looked up from their stands—only to shake their heads at the company that Roptune had found.  "And that castle gets boring," he said, voice low.  He bended down to the ear of Hope, his heated breathe stirring her dark locks of hair.

"Would you prefer I speak to you in the dark?"

[Anonymous]

As Roptune bent down towards her ear, she took a few steps away. Granted they weren't as fast as she wished they would have been, but swift enough. Her arms dropped back to her sides as her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "You may be my commander and as "untouchable" as you are," she started, her voice low, "Don't ever get that close to me again. I don't like it when people do because I loath the smell of them and their blood."

The familiar burning in the back of her throat cut her off for a moment and she swallowed, her eyes closing before the dark red hues could be noticed. The scent of Roptune's blood filled her nostrils and for a brief moment she could have sworn she saw the hundreds of veins and arteries beneath his skin's surface. "Your blood, however, is more alluring because of your mixed lineage. You would be wise not to get in a distance where I could possibly bite you."

There was a distinct smell to his blood that she couldn't place and, for a brief moment, she wondered what his blood could do for her should she feed from him. After a couple minutes she opened her eyes, letting the red orbs be seen. How long had it been since she fed? While normal food sustained her body it never gave her the strength she could gain from the actual life force that flowed through the veins of living creatures.

"Speak to me where you wish, just don't get close to me like that again."