Shimmering golden eyes scanned Gabriel's face for all the information they could gather, flicking back and forth between his luminescent red eyes with urgent concern. Mithias blinked in frustration, sensing something just on the edge of his consciousness, just out of reach of recognition. The obvious question arose; had his father done something to him, or was Gabriel experiencing the same disturbance? Mithias couldn't be certain, yet he looked to his maker for aid.
The elder vampire's words and sad smile stopped everything. Gabriel himself looked unsettled, which was of course, unsettling. Mithias had never seen this side of him before. It was too human... 'death' to something that was born to be immortal and invulnerable, like the desecration of a sacred alter. It wasn't meant to be. Ones such as he should live forever. It left Mithias stunned with questions and a growing fear that something terrible was going to happen.... or did happen.
For a brief instant, gone was the facade of unbreakable confidence and eternal amusement, and the demifiend spoke truly to him, man to man, soul to soul. The vulnerability and honesty caught Mithias off guard. Having focused his entire attention to Gabriel, listening intently, Mithias had inadvertently opened himself up for psychic attack. For an instant, a conduit opened between them, a crack, and like an expert sniper, Gabriel shot through.
Mithias gasped as he felt his mind invaded, a familiar force, one that did not seem violent or destructive, but an invader nonethelss, which clearly intended to subvert his will. "No!" He tried to resist, closing his eyes and tearing away, but it was too late. Gabriel had gotten to him, and he knew it. Even though he didn't know why they had fought or what Gabriel had changed, he knew he had lost. So, even after almost 800 years, he still couldn't fully protect himself. It was a disappointment, but not nearly so much as the fact that Gabriel felt he had to do something like this. Why couldn't they work together? What happened?
"... what happened?" Mithias staggered briefly, trying to put together the last several moments. Kilo Point, the smuggled weapons, the anticipated attack... Gabriel, Matt's attack, the gun going off, cards... ignorance is bliss. Mithias turned. Everyone around him was experiencing a time freeze, which he recognized. "Father?" He said quietly to himself and ran partway to the edge of the camp where said vampire was leaving. Mithias stopped, forcing his feet to stay put on the ground where he placed them, ignoring their pleas to persue. whatever Gabriel had said to Matt, Mithias couldn't recall it, yet he felt that more was being kept from his memory by his father. He had been spared something that seemed to be tormenting the oldblood. Surely that couldn't be possible.
Mithias watched with his gifted sight as the figure he had not seen in centuries once again returned to being nothing more than legend. The wind cast down the tops of the blades of grass in a wave in front of him. He sighed, and regardless of whether or not he had been deemed worthy of trust, a spark of will flared in his eyes. "Whatever burden you bear, ancient one, I'm not going to let you face it alone."
Still determined to get the the bottom of this mystery, Mithias realized that hunting down Gabriel would have to wait. He walked back to Matt and the others who seemed to return to normal perception as he returned to his former place. Gunfire sounded in the distance.
"He is right, the voices and memories keep us from moving on..."
This man, this person who had been completely driven insane, presumably by Gabriel's aura, now crawled before Mithias. The vampire's brow furrowed in a painful expression as the man pleaded for death as an escape from his suffering. Mithias' lips parted as if he were going to speak. Yes, he was a monster, and what was justice without mercy? Morality struck him like a lance from heaven, and he gritted his teeth. This human did not deserve to die, yet he wanted to more than anything, or so it seemed. It wasn't for fear of the Contract that Mithias shied from granting his request, but something about Sten tugged on his heightened empathy. He couldn't let him suffer, but he couldn't let him die.
Explosions echoed through the air.
Mithais looked in Sten's eyes and felt sadness mixed with anger. Wasn't there enough suffering in the world? He hated that there were vampires, like his father, who could do this kind of thing and feel nothing. Wasn't there enough wicked blood in the world to drink that innocents could be spared? And yet there would always be casualties. There would always be new lives that needed to learn old lessons.
Without a word, and without really fully understanding what he was doing or why it would help, Mithias pulled Sten to his feet and embraced him. There was no right or wrong answer to this dilemma. There was only hope or no hope. He held the anguished human, inexplicably comforting him. To Sten, fear and pain became less important, slowly becoming replaced with peace. Mithias closed his eyes, simply feeling like he didn't want to lose another family member. He held him, until the quaking laughter and tears receded. "The voices and memories, are why we keep moving on."
The elder vampire's words and sad smile stopped everything. Gabriel himself looked unsettled, which was of course, unsettling. Mithias had never seen this side of him before. It was too human... 'death' to something that was born to be immortal and invulnerable, like the desecration of a sacred alter. It wasn't meant to be. Ones such as he should live forever. It left Mithias stunned with questions and a growing fear that something terrible was going to happen.... or did happen.
For a brief instant, gone was the facade of unbreakable confidence and eternal amusement, and the demifiend spoke truly to him, man to man, soul to soul. The vulnerability and honesty caught Mithias off guard. Having focused his entire attention to Gabriel, listening intently, Mithias had inadvertently opened himself up for psychic attack. For an instant, a conduit opened between them, a crack, and like an expert sniper, Gabriel shot through.
Mithias gasped as he felt his mind invaded, a familiar force, one that did not seem violent or destructive, but an invader nonethelss, which clearly intended to subvert his will. "No!" He tried to resist, closing his eyes and tearing away, but it was too late. Gabriel had gotten to him, and he knew it. Even though he didn't know why they had fought or what Gabriel had changed, he knew he had lost. So, even after almost 800 years, he still couldn't fully protect himself. It was a disappointment, but not nearly so much as the fact that Gabriel felt he had to do something like this. Why couldn't they work together? What happened?
"... what happened?" Mithias staggered briefly, trying to put together the last several moments. Kilo Point, the smuggled weapons, the anticipated attack... Gabriel, Matt's attack, the gun going off, cards... ignorance is bliss. Mithias turned. Everyone around him was experiencing a time freeze, which he recognized. "Father?" He said quietly to himself and ran partway to the edge of the camp where said vampire was leaving. Mithias stopped, forcing his feet to stay put on the ground where he placed them, ignoring their pleas to persue. whatever Gabriel had said to Matt, Mithias couldn't recall it, yet he felt that more was being kept from his memory by his father. He had been spared something that seemed to be tormenting the oldblood. Surely that couldn't be possible.
Mithias watched with his gifted sight as the figure he had not seen in centuries once again returned to being nothing more than legend. The wind cast down the tops of the blades of grass in a wave in front of him. He sighed, and regardless of whether or not he had been deemed worthy of trust, a spark of will flared in his eyes. "Whatever burden you bear, ancient one, I'm not going to let you face it alone."
Still determined to get the the bottom of this mystery, Mithias realized that hunting down Gabriel would have to wait. He walked back to Matt and the others who seemed to return to normal perception as he returned to his former place. Gunfire sounded in the distance.
"He is right, the voices and memories keep us from moving on..."
This man, this person who had been completely driven insane, presumably by Gabriel's aura, now crawled before Mithias. The vampire's brow furrowed in a painful expression as the man pleaded for death as an escape from his suffering. Mithias' lips parted as if he were going to speak. Yes, he was a monster, and what was justice without mercy? Morality struck him like a lance from heaven, and he gritted his teeth. This human did not deserve to die, yet he wanted to more than anything, or so it seemed. It wasn't for fear of the Contract that Mithias shied from granting his request, but something about Sten tugged on his heightened empathy. He couldn't let him suffer, but he couldn't let him die.
Explosions echoed through the air.
Mithais looked in Sten's eyes and felt sadness mixed with anger. Wasn't there enough suffering in the world? He hated that there were vampires, like his father, who could do this kind of thing and feel nothing. Wasn't there enough wicked blood in the world to drink that innocents could be spared? And yet there would always be casualties. There would always be new lives that needed to learn old lessons.
Without a word, and without really fully understanding what he was doing or why it would help, Mithias pulled Sten to his feet and embraced him. There was no right or wrong answer to this dilemma. There was only hope or no hope. He held the anguished human, inexplicably comforting him. To Sten, fear and pain became less important, slowly becoming replaced with peace. Mithias closed his eyes, simply feeling like he didn't want to lose another family member. He held him, until the quaking laughter and tears receded. "The voices and memories, are why we keep moving on."
