Scarlet

Scarlet was the first person to arrive, she hoped that this would mean she could get in quickly and be alone. Sadly, this was not the case. She let out a annoyed sigh before looking at the letter in hand. She had already tried to open it, because screw the rules. Sadly it was enchanted. When the gates finally opened Scarlet was the first one in. She stood in the corner furthest away from everyone, then as the princess arrived all she could do was roll her eyes. She honestly didn't care for the princess. Just because one had power, didn't mean they would earn her respect. She listened to the princess go on and on. It was when the princess mentioned every vampire would be getting a mage as a pairing and she spat in disgust. It was bad enough that the damn peace treating stopped her from drinking from whoever she wanted, now she had to drink from one specific person? Whoever she was paired with better have damned good blood! When it was finally time, Scarlet looked to her letter and opened it up.

Scarlet May, well this would to be interesting. With someone with the same name as her, perhaps this person would have decent blood. She hoped anyway. She took a long look at the picture before giving a soft sigh. The information given didn't say what blood type she was. She would just have to find out herself it seemed. She still didn't like to be assigned to one specific person. She transformed into a bat and flew up high to get a good viewpoint, then she began to look around. After a few few minutes, she spotted Kyran, and a smile came to her face.

"So he survived after all?"

She drank a lot of his blood, and god, it was good blood! It happened to be one of the best meals she had in years! She had to wondered how different was vampire blood from mage blood? She knew it probably wouldn't fill her, but by god it would be a good meal. Of course, she would pretend it never happened. After all, if anyone found out, well fuck the rules. She didn't care. She continued to look around until she spotted Scarlet. Quickly she flew close to her and hung on a branch close to her. For now, she would watch, just to see what kind of person this Scarlet May was. Her blue orbs stared at the ruby eyed mage, watching like a predator. Scarlet saw nothing but food. That's all the mages and humans were to her. She didn't care about them a single bit, they were all food to her.

Damien

Damien was bored waiting for the gates to open, so he had been playing with some of the blood that were in his vials, making it swish, coil and turn. When the gates were finally open, he walked in slowly. He listened to the princess who he had to admit, he was very interested in. He wouldn't mind doing some experiments and tests on her if he ever got the chance. He heard her say that every vampire was going to get a mage, and he gave a sinister smile at that. Oooh, it would certainly be fun to have his own Vampire pet to experiment and run tests on with his dark magic. After a moment, he looked to his letter and opened it up. He stared at the picture for a good few minutes with a smile pastured to his face.

Lucis Dismas Typhon VII, he sounded like an interesting subject already. Damien rose his hand and used his black magic to turn his hand into a black claw. Then, he cut open his arm slightly, allowing the blood to run free. Using this, he made the blood form a large hand which would pick him up and allow him to look around. After he found his target, he hand the blood hand carry him to where his target was. Once there, he gave a sinister laugh before addressing the man.

"Lucis Dismas Typhon VII, what an interesting name, oh but there is no need to introduce myself, is there? For you already know my details. Does that letter tell you what kind of magic I have. I think you should know. You see, I could very well poison my blood, you'll never know if you're going to die by drinking on me. Does that worry you, Lucis? Does that send shivers down your spine? I must say, this will be a very interesting experience for both of us."

He gave another sinister laugh, before having the blood hand lower him down. He then had the blood return to his arm before he used his dark magic to stitch up his arm with black stitches as dark as the night sky. After he had done that, he creepily turned to Lucis and stared at him.

Lilith

Lilith, what a name, ironic too. Lilith was the name for a demon, an evil spirit, but she was nothing of the sort and in fact she was very afraid of evil spirits, considering she was a spirit mage, she was extremely vulnerable to evil spirits. She hoped to learn how to ward them off from her as quickly as possible, until then her life would always be in danger of her own magic and ability. She entered the gates and listened to the princess. She didn't mind being assigned to a vampire honestly. She was happy to offer her blood to a vampire in need. Being a woman, she already knew her blood type. It was just a common A type. She didn't know how nice that would be to her specific vampire. Hopefully whoever it was, wasn't too fussy. After the given cue, Lilith opened her letter and looked towards the picture and information. She spent a few minutes before speaking.

"What do you think of her?"

She looked behind her to the three spirits that had followed her here to protect her from danger in case she needed it. She had always been there for the spirits, and now they had come to support her in this new academy. The spirits looked to the picture before one of them finally spoke.

"She seems like a friendly enough vampire, Spirit Sage."

Then the other two spoke.

"I'm sure you two will get along greatly, Spirit Sage.

"Please Spirit Sage, allow us to guide you to your new partner."

With that the spirits began to lead her. Lilith gave a soft nod before walking towards the spirits, following them. It didn't take her long to reach the vampire. She bowed to Rowan for a moment, before looking directly behind her.

"Thank you, all three of you. You may leave now. I shall call upon you again once I am settled in. We will be able to talk then. If any demon spirits show up, please be sure to warn me. You know how vulnerable I am to them."

The spirits all nodded before fading away. After that, Lilith looked back to Rowan with a friendly smile. It was clear at this point that Lilith took very good care of herself. A beautiful white dress, unmarked and unstained. It was as if it were brand new. Her hair long, but neat and tidy, clean and shiny with a single white ribbon.

"Greetings, my name is Lilith. You must be Rowan. It is a pleasure to meet you Miss. I am honoured to be your partner during our time here. Whatever you need, I will try to be of assistance to you."

She bowed once more before gave another friendly smile. Lilith showed only the most highest amount of respect to Rowan. She wouldn't do anything less. Lilith was just a kind girl and that much was obvious.

Light

Light wasn't the best or the most cleanest person there. His clothes were dirty, old, ragged and torn. His hair was a mess, and looked as if it hadn't been watched in weeks. Light was a person who clearly did not care about his appearance. He walked in the gates and listened to the princess, who in all honestly, he really didn't care for. He heard that he was going to get a mage assigned to him. It wasn't his style, but he was too lazy to complain. Although, he looked to the letter for a moment. He kept it only because he thought he might need it, he assumed it would have details of his room, or what he was going to be doing, but if all it had was the face and name of his partner, did he really need to open it? He didn't like reading, he was far too lazy for such a thing. Sure, it might have the place where he was staying too, but surely, his partner would read the letter, and he could just follow him, or her. He shrugged and threw the letter lazily to the ground. Then he walked to a nearby wall and leaned on it. He let out a small yawn as he waited for whoever to come and find him. It was so much easier than finding the person himself. He was just too lazy for that. He closed his eyes and he couldn't help but start to drift asleep. Even if he slept constantly, he could always find more room to sleep. That was who he was, a lazy vampire who didn't care much about anything.

@Kidd@WeepingLiberty@Achronum@Renny

Kanalie wouldn't exactly admit that she was nervous if someone indeed asked, but she could definitely feel the buzz of anxiety throb almost painfully in her veins. The courtyard was abundantly populated by bodies and despite the expanse of the area, they all seemed to be rather crowded together. An idiom about sardines came to mind, though that was perhaps too exaggerated for the situation. The warm night air which had seemed perfect minutes ago was starting to cling to her, aided by the body heat being released and her discomforting emotions. As more figures pressed in, all trying to fit into the space, she reached out her hand and caught onto a familiar arm, practically digging her nails in as she did. Alexander was thankfully still by her side, but she didn't risk losing him amongst the liquid mass around them. The way it shifted and heaved with each new person proved that to be a sincere threat. With thoughts of storms and how they must all be weathered, Kanalie wrapped her thin arm around her friend's and kept herself to his side so they could endure it together. Wanly, she realized how clinging to such a hot-blooded body would do nothing to help with the heat she already felt suffocated by, but that was easy enough to handle. There was no way she was letting go.

While the mass continued to grow and together they were driven deeper into the mess of it, she surveyed the envelope they had been handed and compared it to Alexander's. They appeared to be the same all except for the organization of letters on the front, so that was a bit of a relief. They managed a few words together, beating away the nervous energy that came from first days with conversation. Their words were ended the second the regal woman flowed her way to the limelight. Kanalie dug her fingers into his arm purposely this time to hush him while all attention was turned that way.

Silence from the crowd left every word to resonate. As everything else came to a stand still from a single entrance alone, Kanalie couldn't help but feel truly dazzled by the extravagance and grace of this woman- this princess. She tried to take it all in, but there was a limit to all that her sky colored eyes could see. It was all light and promise to her. Her focus was divided between absorbing the princess through her gaze and understanding her every word. However, when the princess spoke of their grouping into pairs, she came so fast to attention that she felt dizzy. A pair, huh? She supposed she could live with that. She would have to live with that.

At the moment she was free to do so, she was sliding a midnight nail beneath the seal and breaking it open. Her eyes fell onto the picture, below it the name. A man. That wasn't so bad, she reasoned with herself faintly, it was easier for her to get along with men anyway. An attractive man at that, there was something appealing about the way his eyes pierced through the parchment itself, not at all hindered by a simple photograph.

"Well!" She spoke up finally after a long enough pause to become familiar with the new information. She sounded a bit more breathless than she intended, the excitement of it all carrying a fraction of her voice away. She peeked sideways to her companion's paper, leaning more into him as she inspected his partner as well. "I have a pretty man named Declan Sputnik, what about you?"

---

Rolf was running late. He was always running late, but this was a bit moreso than usual. Normally he wouldn't have bothered showing up after finding himself almost an hour behind schedule, but not going wasn't an option. Thankfully, the important part of the opening ceremony hadn't yet started, and he slowly - almost painfully - lurched through the gate, rolling a comically large trunk on wheels along behind him. He was rather tired, as he hadn't slept at all the previous two nights on account of all the packing. An uneven paver stone caught the tail of his greying and wrinkled white coat beneath his boot, and he stumbled some, though less than he would have had he been moving at a reasonable pace.

People were scattered about the area, illuminated by lamps and moonlight alike, and Rolf took up a position along a wall not too far from the gate. The scene was almost like an old painting, with brilliant contrasting shades between the darkness and the light, the living and the world. The name 'Monet' floated through his head, no doubt because everything was a hazy blur to him. He sat upon the trunk and drifted off almost immediately. Zaria's voice woke him, though, and he promptly stood up again, with the fresh understanding that if he sat or laid down, he wouldn't be getting back up again for at least ten hours. Fear of falling asleep in a place packed with vampires of various temperaments kept him standing for the rest of the ceremony.

Rolf only vaguely understood everything Zaria was saying. He heard the words just fine, of course, but they felt far-off, as if someone else were listening to them instead. Something about a partner...? More immediate than the words, though, was the light tingling feeling in the hand in which he was tightly gripping the letter handed to him. It was slightly crumpled, but it felt as though something about it had changed, and he gave it a thorough examination. It was finally open. The letters on the page felt scrambled and incomprehensible, but there was a picture of... Someone. He stared at it for several minutes.

"Oh."

A quick look over the crowd showed that most people had started pairing up, or trying to pair up, and the general idea of what was going on finally popped into his head. He opted to stay standing right where he was, well away from the rest of the crowd. Whoever the guy in the picture was, they probably had a picture of him as well. No sense moving about and wasting energy when he would just be found anyway. Another look at the picture showed that his partner seemed to be almost the same age, and something about Kyran's eyes put Rolf at relative ease. At least, compared to the feeling of intense hunger he felt from some of the older and more refined vampires wandering about the crowd.

Alexander's head whipped around as he took in the sights. The soft silver of the moon mingled with the warm yellow of the lanterns, the soft sigh of music, the slightest breath of wind warmed as it wound through the gathering- Alexander stifled a nervous giggle. The buzz of energy and the body heat wrapping around him was making him a little giddy. He felt completely out of place. The setting practically oozed wealth, the guests wore elegance like a second skin, and he was here thanking whatever Gods existed his best friend, currently attempting to gouge a section of his arm out, brow beat him into nicer clothes that a shirt and jeans. He poked her playfully and loosened her grip just a tad. He dragged her this way and that, excitedly pointing out fountains, odd fashion statements, and sneaking food from every platter he could. He nearly died on the spot. The food tasted like nothing he'd ever had before. The longer they stayed in the crowd, the more nervous he felt and the more he felt the overwhelming need to light a smoke. A slight pain from his friend silenced his muttering over a hot vampire across the courtyard and he turned his attention to the stage as a woman stepped up.

As she introduced herself, Alexander pulled out a cigarette and blew on the end before taking a long drag. Being around new people was one thing but listening to the Princess herself was a little overwhelming. She radiated grace as if she created the concept. Honestly, starstruck as he was her words slipped through one ear and out the other. The buzzing energy vanished as she continued speaking. Everyone seemed to hang on her every word, at least Alexander did, as they resonated through the suddenly still night air. The very world around them seem to stifle itself so she could speak. And if that kind of authority didn't unsettle you, it seemed to Alexander they had frankly lost their minds.

He glanced at his envelope as she mentioned it. As soon as he had recieved it, he had tried to pry it open before blowing on it. The dry, super heat stream was about the only elemental magic he could pull off but it was undeniably useful. Except now. If Kanalie hadn't mentioned the whole fixing fiasco, he'd probably had tried to cut it open or throw it in a fountain. The envelope was otherwise unispiring. At the mention of a pair, he grimaced. His father had been one of the rare mages left without a vampire pair and donated blood regularly. He wasn't entirely sure on how to go about this but as long as they didn't try to stifle him, they'd get along fine.

He flicked his smoke on the ground and snuffed it out before eagerly diving into his newly opened envelope. No switching blah blah blah, address blah blah blah, picture... Alexander let out an audable groan. Hair disheveled, clothing a mess, and looked like he hadn't showered in forever. He whipped his head around as Kanalie mentioned her partner and nosed over at hers. Damn it, he was pretty. He was going to have to keep his eye on this Declan vamp.

"Well I got the one that looks like a homeless waif. Friggin a, he looks like he hasn't had a shower in forever! I mean yeah I can skip a day in favor of sleep if I reaaaally need it but damn..." Alexander grumbled. An ember flickered into life around his head amd his eyes started simmering orange. If he had to pick up after this kid constantly, they were going to have some problems. A few more spiraled into life as a hundred different scenarios spiraled through his mind, each worse than the last. He huffed irritablyand scanned the crowd, looking for this brat. Plus he still needed to make sure Kanalie's partner knew exactly who he would be dealing with if he so much as glanced at her wrong.

His eyes settled on a figure leaning nonchalantly against a wall. Fuck. He looks exactly like the picture. Damn it. Wait... we're those the same clothes? Every explcitive he knew left his lips before he turn around, whipped out another cigarette, and took several quick drags.

"Let's go find your partner first. We can deal with mine when I don't want to shove him to the bottom of a river." Alexander ground out through clenched teeth.

@KiwiBaer @The One

Araceli Accai

When Araceli arrived in the gated community dominated by Stonebrooke academy only a single word entered her mind: extravagant. Perhaps she should have gone to get dinner, but the architecture and sights around the campus were simply so distracting! The brown haired girl found herself overlooking just about everything involved in the place while her headphones played hip-hop tunes into her ears. These few pleasant hours during the day were a kind distraction from what would be happening in a few hours.

Eventually though, the student body made up of her fellow mages and the undead filtered into the open square, moonlight and lanterns allowing the humans to see in the vampire's feeding ground. It was a cheerless event for the air mage as she waited to be tied down as a slave for the next several years to what she assumed would be a terrifying entitled noble bloodsucker who could kill her at any moment by drinking a bit too much ...

However, when the princess arrived like most others the air mage was captivated. The crown, the dress, the regalia. The campus was pretty, sure, but compared to the woman delivering her speech the buildings seemed run down and as if they belonged in some sort of slum. The ruby gem in her crown shined, casting a glorious light that the air mage's eyes followed instinctively. She turned her headphones off as the woman gave out her speech about peace and excitement for the school year, and the air mage's rebellious voice was quieted Zaria's words seemed to enchant her like many of the others. As soon as she left though, Araceli blinked a few times as if she was just waking up and looked into her envelope to see who she would end up with.

Even though Araceli shook at the sight of the undead, she could see how many others might see them as some sort of ... sexy. Eternally young, finely dressed, and of course masters of the world. Many mages seemed to be somehow excited to have their life drained out of them on a daily basis.

Ailsalia though seemed just terrifying though, her hunter's gaze being captivated even in a still image. The mage concluded at that moment that she would attempt to avoid this woman as long as possible, but then wondered if that would anger her. She couldn't run. She couldn't leave. It didn't matter how far she could fly - the treaty trapped her here. Her eyes drifted towards the ground, an uncontrollable feeling of growing panic washing over her as she awaited her fate. Before she fell over, the girl found a bench to sit on and put away her headphones, trying to keep herself under control with long, deep breaths.

Raphael found himself near the edge of the party trying to steer clear of the comotion. He pulled his hood up. Large gatherings like these were never Raphael's thing. *The air here is too hot,* he thought to himself looking around at all of the people.

Everyone started to settle down, that's when Raphael notices the princes starting to give here speech.She certainly knows how to draw attention. as her speech drew to an end Raphael pulled the letter out of his pocket, and opened it. The name on the inside was Michael Sharpe. "Well I guess I should find out who this is." not putting much effort into it he looks around, people were starting to pair up already, " maybe I'll just head to the address and wait there. It seems like that would be the best option instead of having to navigate although everyone." he looks the the address "well this would help if I knew where I was."

Raphael decided to stay put where he was he was. Far enough away from the crowd to be comfortable, but still close enough that Michael were looking he could see him. Raphael thought that eventually everyone will start to leave, and when the crowd dies down He would start to look too.

His father had told him what would happen the day he walked in the door. The speeches, the pieces of paper. His father also told Declan he had met his human mother over a hundred years ago and to this day he swears that she was the most beautiful creature who'd ever walked the earth. Whether she truly was, it was difficult to say. Everyone find their mother beautful in a motherly way. But it had been over a hundred and ten years since Declan had seen his mother. She was probably dead.

She had left the day the doctor told her she was too old to feed his father.

He begged her stay.

She didn't want to let him see her die.

He asked to change her.

She said no. Knowing that death was but a breath away is what made life living, and that it broke her heart that he would never understand that.

Had it not been for Declan, his father probably would have joined her in the most human way possible. But alas, they were both still young, father and son and they had many years to come.

Now he was here for his own beautiful creature,or creatures. For love was infinite and only hurt when it was severed, might as well have as many threads out in the world to soften the separation of one snapping.

The speech was exactly as he expected, he father having it memorized and reciting it every year on his 'anniversary'. But nothing could have prepared him for the smell, all the flavors and scents of hundreds of different bloods, it was enough to drive one mad. And one of them here was all for him, well, strictly speaking. The second the mage released the spell he ripped open his note, giving him the name. And, by lucky chance, he heard his own name spoke the second he read the name on his paper Kanalie

"I have a pretty man named Declan Sputnik, what about you?"

The two started to wander off to search for him. But he didn't let them get too far.

"Well, I am glad you think I am pretty," he said, from behind the girl. He stepped around the pair and stood faced to face with the white haired girl. "You're not so bad yourself," he said taking her hand and kissing it softly, before taking the girl's face, kissing her quickly on both cheeks, closer to lips than cheeks.

He gave her another, pointed look before glancing at her companion. "And your friend?" He said, taking Alexander's hand as though to shake it, before pulling the boy close. Reaching out, he pulled the lit cigarette away with his free hand. "Are you trying to make yourself more addicting?" He looked at the boy for a moment before repeating the kiss on both cheek. Again, a little closer to lips than cheeks. "I appreciate it, that you shower when you need to that is," He said, little more than a whisper, letting his hand linger on Alexander's a moment longer "Don't be a stranger...whatever your name is," before turning back to Kanalie. "Well, looks like we are partners, then, ay partner?"
_{@Achronum@KiwiBaer}


" Now, I believe I have held you all for quite long enough. I wish you all good luck and hope that you enjoy the rest of your evening. Jury, if you would please, I think our guests would like to see what our Academy has in store for them."

....Question, How does a girl from the middle of nowhere, end up in a place like this? Sera thought, fingering one of the finer stature. Answer? Magic a tiny smile crossed her face at her own lame cleverness as she fingered the piece of paper lightly. Voices all around her spoke out a name. Some thrilled, some ...a bit put out really. What were they expecting? Really. She fingered the note a moment longer, before sliding her finger along the seal. There was a picture...and a name...and an address. She glanced down at it. Male, Nicolaus Strøm, older than expect, but not always a bad thing

A waiter passed by with a tray of golden champagne flutes. Taking one lightly in her hand she spotted a bench nearby, next to a fountain. She could search the vampire out, but that was a lot of searching around. It wasn't as though he could leave without her, or rather...he wouldn't want to. Even if he did, she knew where he lived...where...they lived now.

As if by chance, she did spot him just across the way. Or..she thought anyway. She turned and settled on the cool cement and she crossed her legs, sipping at a flute of champagne. A light breeze ruffling the skirt of her dress in a pleasant way. One of the only redeeming things of wearing a dress.

When he felt the need, this Nicolaus Strøm she'd be here. It was a quiet nice garden, after all.
_@rawk

Lucis Dismas Typhon VII
Mood: Hopeful

1. Cringeworthy

---

"...look at him though, he's drop-dead gorgeous." whispered a young woman.

A sharp shush came quickly afters. "He might hear you," giggled another as they hurried deeper into the turbulent crowd. "Who was that creepy boy with him though?"

Lucis stood unearthly still as he stared at the mage who was to be his partner, both unflinching and seemingly taunt. There was a primordial aspect to his simmering orange eyes. With a certain amount of grace, he took but a step back before,exhaling then revealing a heart-warming smirk. Seems I've found a flighty fool to occupy my time with, growled the monster as he tucked a slightly trembling hand in his pocket.

The need to...gorge himself on the show-off would not ruin his hopes for change.

"Not at all," he answered shortly after the man's tirade. "There are very few things in this world that scares me. I do hope that you'd be more careful of my dinner though, splashing it around for others to lust after isn't very civil. Also, Damien," He said the name as if it was fragile. "Don't take this the wrong way but what you did was really creepy." He feign and exaggerated a spine-tingling shiver, all while handling the tightening of his gut and moistening of his mouth. Damien's lack of civilities could very well be the death of the both of them.

Because if another incident like the last were to occur, it was made clear what would happen.

He searched for a topic to distract himself with. "The Princess," he mentioned. "She was a real beaut. I never imagined in all my years that she would be that... that breath-taking. I've never see her before tonight by the way. I wonder if she would have found your dark arts as amusing as me," He said with an air of acceptance and knowledge; he wondered if Damien would reach out at the lure he had presented.

@The One

“It's truly a sight, Nico.”

The young girl, perhaps in her early twenties, sat along the edge of the large fountains stone retaining wall. “Your attention to detail is unmatched...” She continued, running her delicate hand along the contour of the closest statuette, one of many that lined the beautiful water feature. “At least from what I've seen here in this community. It has a hauntingly beautiful and morbidly erotic feel to it that is-”

The girl paused for a moment as though she were thinking of the best adjective to describe what she felt.

“As exquisite as she who is calling to me…” Nico interjected, but in almost a whisper as in thought, taking notice of the young fiery-haired woman across the crowded courtyard. His attention fully locked on her, ignoring any further distractions from the girl who sat only inches from him.

“Excuse me?” The girl responded, clearly confused by the comment, until she looked up at the tall, well-built man with the sandy brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight, standing in front of her, realizing then she was lost to him by another clearly more important.

“Um...I-I'll see you around Nicolaus…I guess.”

Not wanting to be rude, but also not wanting to break the line of sight on his intended focal point, he simply replied “Enjoy your stay young lady...”. Now, while regarding the girl as ‘young’ was quite an understatement, considering Nicolaus was well over one hundred years of age, his human appearance set him within his early thirties, frozen in time for as long as the vampiric curse of immortality flowed through his cold veins. The man slowly made his way toward his target, his prize. The woman with the crimson hair, whose reddish-brown locks danced in the northern breeze as it passed through the courtyard. She was the one. Without even putting a face with the name imprinted on the card. Without a previous engagement between the Vampire and the human mage. He felt her from all those meters away, as distance would stand little chance for a Vampire on the prowl for a willing -or sometimes, unwilling- thrall. It had been many years since Nico took on a human under his tutelage, let alone a user of magic.

Many years since he’d been back to Stonebrook Academy as a once professor of the fine arts, now perhaps simply passing through again. He only hoped that his new blooddoll would outlive his last...

“Sera…” He spoke, his voice full of confidence and boldness, yet still a polite and courteous tone followed by a gesture long forgotten. “My name is Nicolaus Strøm.”

Nico took the young woman’s hand in his own, holding it firm but gently in both as though to protect it from the chill of the evening’s air, and proceeded to kiss the top of her hand as he bowed to the mage.

“I believe we are to be as one…”

@Ellion

A small frown hung on Lia’s face throughout the Princess’ speech. While the woman was right in saying that Lia had come here “to learn,” Lia highly doubted that she had much to learn at all from this facility. Of her years, she’d spent many in — and many out of — the influence of the “Grand Coven Leader.” That the Princess thought she could teach Lia anything was laughable — had she ever even stepped foot out of the comfortable fishbowl of royal life? Had she ever stalked humans in the moonlight, so thirsty and desperate for blood that she’d contemplated tackling a nest of rats rather than having some live human delivered to her by her servants? Had she ever watched a friend get staked, swearing revenge and delivering on that promise and more? A brief glance over the Princess’ bodyguards told Lia more than she wanted to know about the grand “Princess Zaria.”

When the Princess brought up the mage-vampire pairings, Lia refrained from curling her lips in disgust. Of course she’d heard rumours of this enchanted walking bloodbag-type deal, but Lia had hoped they were just that: rumours. Now that she was hearing it in person, Lia regretted coming here entirely, but she knew she had to nonetheless. Lia despised mages and all they stood for — humans with some fancy magic, thinking that their bit of newfound power meant that they deserved respect and attention from beings that have lived much longer, been through much more than they’d ever even hope of being through. The whole thing disgusted Lia, including the idiotic system the “Grand Coven” had come up with of only assigning mages to vampires rather than normal humans as well. Their act of superiority would just cause the humans to hate vampires more, and Lia didn’t want any part of it.

Yet here I am, bowing down to them, she thought, mouth twisting with distaste. As much as she disliked the Coven, Lia knew that there was no higher power than them. Blatant disobedience would be an even more idiotic move than bowing her head, so bow she did.

Soon enough the Princess’ speech came to an end and the sound of shuffling and tearing papers permeated the area. Lia flipped the paper in her hands over, silent as she pulled open the seal. Araceli Acciai, Lia read, impassive as she looked over the girl’s hesitant and slightly terrified picture. She seemed normal enough — rather plain, but then again Lia didn’t have a taste in humans anyway. Ones that ran and screamed were good enough for her, unlike some of the picky eaters she’d known that would only settle for artists and musicians. She’d never understood why they thought drinking the blood of some specific humans would make them stronger and smarter, but she also hadn’t protested when they offered to share.

Picking out the brunette in the crowd was an easy task, and Lia watched as the girl walked over and sat down on a bench shakily, breathing in and out so heavily Lia could smell the adrenaline in the mage’s blood from where she stood. Without another thought, Lia weaved through the crowd until she stood in front of the girl, a respectable but small distance away. “Araceli Acciai,” she said flatly, waiting as the girl looked up.

---

@rabidanubis

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Aine waited quietly as more people entered into the courtyard, comforted by the warm, fragrant breeze that almost seemed to encourage her. But there was no need for encouragement right now — Aine knew why she was here, and she also knew that it didn’t matter how she felt about it. She was insignificant — a walking piece of meat to be juiced whenever some vampire felt like doing it. That was why she’d been forced to leave her family, her home — to become a living blood dispenser.

A small commotion around the fountain in the middle of the square caught Aine’s attention, and she looked up from her feet to see a woman that almost seemed to glow in the dark, so beautiful she broke the moonlight and scattered it on those surrounding her. Aine watched in awe as the woman spoke, transfixed until the moonlight-clad woman brought up the sealed piece of paper she’d been handed. Snapping out of her phase, Aine looked down and realized what she’d been enchanted by — been brought here for. And as much as she ought to hate it all, she couldn’t. Wasn’t this the natural order of things? Survival of the strong, death of the weak. That was how nature operated, and Aine couldn’t see why she’d try to argue against the natural order.

Aine spent the rest of the princess’ speech staring blankly at the vampire that she now realized was probably using some of the famous “compulsion” that vampires were so known for. Even though she now consciously realized and tried to tell herself that all of her love, admiration, and awe for Princess Zaria was but a product of the Princess’ compulsion, Aine still found herself helpless to the vampire’s compulsion. So this is what being prey feels like, she thought, the spell breaking as the Princess concluded her speech and indicated to the crowd that they should open their papers. I guess I better get used to it.

For the size of the paper, there was very little content; two lines of text were printed on the paper, stating the name of Aine’s assigned vampire — “Josie Persephone Ray” — and their dormroom address. The photo, however, fleshed out the story of a confident and well-aged female vampire that would tend with the more respectable crowd. Which also means that she’d buy into vampire superiority, Aine thought without much emotion. There was nothing she could think to feel right now, and she’d set aside the fear and despair for another day. Right now she was to find her vampire charge.

---

@ellion

Araceli Accai

The mage heard a flat voice speak her names, and after a moment her eyes drifted upward towards the figure that stood before her. Imposing. Confident. Tall. It wasn't easy to tell if that tone had been emotionless because the girl wasn't trying to reveal anything, or simply emotionless because her new owner thought she was looking at a semi-intelligent slab of meat. And they were standing a bit too close for comfort for this entire interaction, leading to the airbender leaning backwards subconsciously.

After a few more seconds, the mage realized it was probably her turn to say something in return as she looked into those amber eyes. This was certainly the woman from her picture. "... h-hi ... can I assume you are Lady Margaux?" Most vampires seemed to prefer respect as well, right? Would that make her a little less heartless? Araceli lifted herself off the seat and gave a deep bow towards the vampire who would feast on her for the rest of her days. "How ... how do you wish for me to address you? P-please sit. If you want!"

It would be rather obvious and apparent to anyone nearby that she was terrified as she was doing her absolute best not to bolt and run away from this situation.

@Dusksong

A muscle in Lia’s face twitched at the word “Lady.” While she had been addressed as such before, it had been by prissy vampires that frequented the court — sugary sweet gossip-mongers that only flashed their wares when backs were turned. Staying in their presence for too long made Lia nauseous, and she had little respect for court frivolities. But, how should the human address her?

“Marguax is fine,” Lia said curtly, figuring that her usual monicker in the streets would do fine. At least she’d respond to it — people hardly addressed her by first name, and Lia liked it that way.

The mage girl seemed only to grow more panicked now that she’d seen Lia, pupils dilated in alarm as she took in the vampire. Smelling the adrenaline in the air, Lia felt and resisted the familiar pull of the hunt, eyes sharpening on the girl. “Calm down. You’re assigned to me, and I don’t need you panicking every time you see me.”

While Lia wholeheartedly believed that vampires were superior to humans in every way — why wouldn’t they be? — Lia didn’t plan on treating her assigned human with cruelty. Having Araceli live in fear of her would pollute the mage’s blood with stress hormones, souring it while the human grew frail. The last thing Lia wanted to deal with was having to feed off a withering human, even if they could be replaced. Well, replacement is a possibility, Lia thought, mentally bookmarking the thought for later decision. As for now, Lia needed some basic information on her assigned mage.

“How old are you? What affinity of magic do you possess?” Lia asked briskly in succession, wanting to get the whole ordeal over and done with as soon as possible. She’d signed up for the academy as a student, but even students got time off — time that was available for their discretion. In Lia’s case, she’d prefer her time spent off academy property and away from all the humans and court-bred vampires.

Lia paused, frowning as she looked over the girl again. From what she could tell, the girl was young and naive, frightened by the dawning fact of being assigned to a vampire. Well, can’t fault her for being afraid of me, Lia thought, mildly amused that the human had picked up on her so quickly. Having never spent too much time around live humans, Lia found the girl just about as unimpressive as she’d envisioned — a quivering jumble of nerves and incoherent thoughts that was starting to become rather irritating. Let’s try calming her down some — maybe she’ll seem less idiotic if she’s not scared out of her skin.

“May I call you Araceli?” Lia asked, attempting a kind tone. It fell flat but was still less clipped than the vampire’s previous tones.

---

@rabidanubis

Before the vampire's startling -and frankly rather touchy- introduction, Kanalie has been quick to agree with her companion. Not because she had any real opinion against the vampire he was being tied to (except perhaps slight hygiene concerns), but because she knew how such an arrangement would affect Alexander. Already she was dreading the strain it might put on him and imagining all the ways she could offer her aid. She was definitely more than willing to skip Light over in favor of other matters. As they made their first steps in search for her designated vampire, she teased him in an attempt to keep things light. "Just don't burn out one of your lungs before you even meet the guy, okay?"

It was seconds after her lips pressed into a nervous smile that the foreign voice sounded behind her, causing her spine to instantly stiffen and her heart to leap. She flinched and knew that soon she would really have to get used to people sneaking up on her. With her feathers thoroughly ruffled, a face appeared to match the unexpected voice.

He was speaking again by the time she was able to pull herself from her fright and a different emotion overcame her: mortification. She flushed darkly once it became obvious that her comment on his beauty had not gone unheard and his compliments were registered as well. Then, as if only to worsen her tense and surprised state, he had his lips against her reddened skin. It was an affection she so rarely received, especially originating from a vampire. Her brain couldn't keep up and she watched dumbly as he turned his focus to her friend instead.

Kanalie took advantage of that moment to suck in a few quick breaths. Her heart rattled unsteadily in its cage and once she could form thoughts again they were embarrassingly superficial. Like how Declan was even more enamoring and attractive up close and in person. She began to feel a self-consciousness she hadn't felt since trying to find an outfit that would fit the dressy party. Now even her favorite grey knit dress didn't seem like enough and was definitely too hot for her now thoroughly heated skin, the embarrassment almost too much.

She barely realized he had turned back towards her until he spoke again and she nearly jumped. "Uh… uh…" She was flustered, thrown off track and desperately trying to come back to herself. She was more than sure he could both hear her thudding heart and smell the blood that rose to her face. This was ridiculous! She had been in the presence of vampires her whole life and was getting tripped up by the first one she met. Then again, most of the vampires she had met weren't nearly so shamelessly charming to someone such as herself.

"Yes, partners! You're Declan Sputnik!" She barely managed, eyes darting to the side to look to Alexander. It was a call for strength and a slight request for help. Then, her memory was returned finally, a gasp forced from her. She dropped down to her knees and extracted a folded piece of paper from her boot, rising up and clutching it tightly in her hand. "I have a few questions written down for you!" Then, slightly meeker. "I-if you're okay with answering…"

She had come to the party prepared, fully briefed on her parents's trials and experiences at the same establishment years ago. Some of her inquiries were in fact suggested by her parents, but some of them were ones of her own invention. Questions were the best way for her to prepare for this new arrangement.

What. The. Hell. Alexander stood, frozen. The cogs of his brain ground to a halt for several seconds as he processed everything. Both of them startled when his voice- silky, smooth, and downright seductive- wound itself around them. They turned simultaneously and the cigarette nearly tumbled out of his hand on its way to his lips. Alexander's tongue darted out as he practically devoured the vampire currently pressing his lips to Kanalie's cheeks... Wait a damn minute! Alexander had moved to stop him then as smoothly as he went for her, the vampire- Declane,Dilcain, Decl-something- pull him closer. Alexander's eyes met Kanalie's new partner and his own faded back to blue. His hand tingled where the cigarette left his fingers, cheeks pulsed beneath the feather touch of his lips, ears melting under the lightness of his voice...

He blinked. Blinked again. And practically hit the roof. This damn vampire! How dare he think he could pull this crap on Kanalie. Like hell Alexander was leaving her in care of this piece of absolute garbage. A flirt like this, dancing between him and Kanalie, could only spell trouble. He shook his head and frowned. Where was Kanalie? He looked left, right, left again. The vampire hadn't moved so she must be... Embers crackled to life around him as he dragged Kanalie to her feet and shoved her behind him.

"No. Nope. Absolutely not. I do not consent one bit to this!" Alexander snatched back his cigarette and took a long puff before jabbing his finger against Kanalie's supposed partner. There were some ground rules to go over here! "First of all, don't touch her like that without her permission. Secondly, if you have the audacity to try and put the moves on her, don't immediately try and flirt with her best friend. Thirdly, my cigarettes are mine and no one touches them. Fourthly, my name is Alexander and trust me, you'll see me plenty." His voice rose with each point, practically yelling at Delcan by the end. He whirled around and grabbed Kanalie by the shoulders.

"And you! Don't kneel to him! You just met him, he isn't your damn vampire house back home. Make him earn your respect, if he ever can! And he puts one hand on you, he eats too messily, or even coughs to loudly and I will bury him six feet under my damn self. You got that?" Alexander softened his voice a tad at the end before whirling back around. He crossed his arms and scowled furiously at Declan, looking literally anywhere but his eyes. Not falling into that trap again. "You understand, pretty boy? No touchy without permission or I will be on you faster than a train without breaks. And I smoke when I'm stressed not to make me more addictive than you very much." He spat. Stress, cigarettes, why was he smoking before... Another long stream of explcitives exploded past his lips. He had completely forgotten about the mangy thing called Light. Great! Fantastic! Wonderful! Already off to a phenomenal start with this school. Alexander took the last drag of his cigarette, flicked it to the ground, stomped on it, and crossed his arms, unwilling to move until he felt safe letting this flirt take Kanalie away. Probably in for a long night.

@KiwiBaer@Ellion@The One

To say that his exposure to vampires had been minimal was an understatement. Human only areas were rare and ever disappearing, Silt was one of the only few where most people living out of destitute. Farmers mostly, but there were a few other professionals around. Even rarer, his village seemed to be only human by chance, most of its inhabitants, while they held a heathy fear of mages and vampires, held no animosity towards them. It was rare for mages to be born in Silt, but they did occur.

He occurred. And it was wonderful. The opportunity to see a world so far beyond the one he was born to. True, he had to leave behind everything and everyone, but that just opened up new opportunities. A chance to meet new people. It wasn't as though the others were gone, home was only a visit away.

The world here was beautiful and he supposed that it would look even better in the day light. Emptier, even.

That was probably the hardest part about the transition. Even though he had been trying to weeks to switch from sleeping at night to sleeping during the day. Even now, he could feel his limbs going heavy as every cell of his body told him sleep was near. But that wasn't true, he wasn't supposed to sleep until the sun rose again.

But the sun was an awfully hard thing to give up.

As soon as the princess finished speaking, his attention turned the envelope he'd been trying to open since he arrived. Finally it pulled apart.

The first thing he noticed was her face. Pale, as all vampires were, but eyes...a shocking green. He felt...at ease just looking at her face. Her name.... "Elizabeth Harvey" he spoke softly. Almost as though he magicked her there himself, she appeared not five feet away, weaving in and out of crowed, he tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Hi, I'm Joey. It's nice to meet you," He wasn't sure what the proper protocol was here. His instinct was to try and hug the woman, as was his typical greeting towards the important people in his life, which this girl now was. Instead, his hands found his pockets and smiled.

_{@WeepingLiberty}


...Aine Wainwright...Well, we've certainly never met before. She doesn't have the last names of any of the mage families that I know of. That's okay. From the girl's last name, the next thing that Josie looked at was her photo. Aine was pretty enough. God forbid she got an ugly mage, it was a lot less stressful to not have to plan how to crop the girl out of pictures. There simply was no kind way explain to a person why they must always stand at the far edge for the portrait. Easier to crop out.

Tucking the piece of paper into her sleeve, Josie said a few parting words to the vampires around her. The children of family friends of course. No one of importance, or of training. Most of them seemed positively giddy to be with their mage. It was sad really, how easily they let their emotions get the best of them.

By the time Josie could be bothered to properly look for her girl, the crowed had regrouped, making it considerably easier to spot her mage. Aine was one of the few souls who still looked a bit lost. Gliding towards the girl, she gave a little cough to announce her being there before stepping around Aine. "Well..." she said, smiling without showing her fangs. "Aren't you just darling," Reaching out, Josie took the girls face in her hand, tipping her head slightly back. "There are many girls out there who would kill for that skin. And those cheekbones," She gave a little laugh. "We'll have to talk about that hair though, but it's alright love, everyone needs a little improvement" Josie then pulled her hands away. "Oh dear me, it seems as though I've forgotten my manners already. The name is Josie, everyone calls me Josie, but you already knew that...didn't you?" she said. Although the words indicated it was a question, she said it in such a way that it was clearly a statement.

She paused for a moment, giving the girl another smile. "Oh, before I forget, I brought you a gift," she said, reaching into a small bag across her shoulder and pulled out a box small enough to fit in her palm. "Open it,"

The gift had been her father's idea. It was almost identical to the one he gave his first mage. Inside of the neatly wrapped box was a neckless. A simple white circle, no bigger than a penny help on a thin platinum chain. On one side of the chain was the letter A and the other, a J.
@Dusksong

Aine's Gift [+]

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Rolf was nodding off when he heard his name, and his eyes snapped open. A strange creature stood before him - not quite like anything he'd seen before. It was rather... Jarring. The tingling in his hand told him he was holding something, and he took a quick look at whatever it was. To his surprise, it was an important looking letter, complete with a picture of the person standing before him, and to his even greater surprise, he remembered reading it at some point. He lightly slapped himself in the face a few times to try to wake up. A conversation would need a lot more attention than he was capable of at that moment. He took a moment to process what was going on before replying.

"Mm?"

The words from the letter fell out of his head and he forgot Kyran's name almost immediately. Kyran, however, almost seemed to be a mind-reader and reminded him. "I'm Kyran." Oh. Must be... Right. The letter, Rolf thought to himself, and he quickly gave it a look-over again. He nodded and started trying to formulate a response. The blank look on his face showed that he wasn't finding much success. Again, Kyran came to his rescue. "I love your hair. I'm sure we could do something more with it."

The sudden compliment was even more jarring than Kyran's appearance was. Rolf snapped awake. Unpredictable in conversation, undoubtedly a vampire, albino complexion, very friendly. Roommate/partner, I assume? Wait-- does this guy want to give me a makeover? The blank look on his face turned to serious contemplation, to satisfaction, to utter bewilderment in the space of just a few seconds. A bit of a rollercoaster to watch, really. Kyran cut his train of thought off. "A different shampoo to start might be a good start..." Rolf blinked. ...Yeeeep. He does. Still, he appreciated the compliments. It was a nice change of pace from the usual belittlement and threats, though there was probably still plenty of time for that. He found himself worrying about his presentability for some reason - particularly, whether he still smelled like the ocean or not. Probably did.

Rolf finally found his voice. It was a smooth baritone with a somewhat heavy Danish accent, and equal parts excitement, impatience, and complete exhaustion. Wild gesturing accompanied the words. "Yes, yes, I know. I've been using cheapo two-in-one shampoo plus conditioner from grocery stores. Haven't had the time to use anything better." He took several very lethargic steps in a wide circle around Kyran, giving him a thorough examination. "Vampire - young yet fully developed, so definitely turned. Right. You must be my roommate and partner. I apologize if I seem a bit out of sorts tonight - haven't slept in a while." He stopped and leaned against the wall again - and had to catch himself from falling over several times.

"Shall we go find our place, then?"

@Kidd

Aine stiffened when she saw the vampire she’d been assigned to. On one part she was drawn into the woman’s sharp blue eyes and raven hair that melded together perfectly like a spell. On another, Aine was repelled by the vampire’s tone. It’s almost like I’m a toy she’s willing to amuse herself with, Aine thought as Josie started examining her face.

Letting the vampire do as she pleased, Aine tried to come to turns with the fact that, from this moment on, she would be forced to dedicate a portion of her life to being a waiter that delivered herself rather than meals. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the vampire feeding on her, and so she didn’t, attempting a polite smile on her face as to make the whole thing less awkward — if that was possible.

“Thank you,” Aine said, receiving the box with a bit of surprise. A housewarming gift? Hopefully she doesn’t expect something in return, Aine thought nervously as she opened the box. Inside sat a thin, white platinum chain upon which a circular pendant hung, brandishing the letter “J.”

Taking the pendant in her fingers, Aine flipped it around to see that the other side was blank. Her initials? Aine thought blankly. How should she react to this? It was like being branded, and the livestock didn’t have any say in the rancher’s decisions.

“It’s…” Aine paused, not knowing what to say. “Thank you for the gift,” she said, settling for gratitude rather than any insincere comment she could come up with on the spot. Hesitating briefly, Aine removed the chain from its box, wrapping it around her neck and — with a brief struggle — clipping it on. “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head as she spoke.

---

@ellion