TShara

The Rebel Vampire

Joseph listened to the conversation with interest, but naturally, did not interfere. He turned towards the retreating slave as Uwin was dismissed, and quickly commented.

“Please send a message copied to both Master Alexi and myself when you have found a suitable replacement. I would like to leave around 12:15, to allow ample time for traffic and registration. Thank you, Uwin,” he commented quickly to the slave before turning back to Lord Alexi just in time for his short apology.

“Do not concern yourself with my feelings, Master. It is my duty to serve you. It is not a slave's job to question his orders. I am the one who should be asking forgiveness,” the head slave replied solemnly, a serene kindness within his voice. He bowed low as he spoke, and then stood up straight to await a reply.

The correct response. Always the correct response. Calm, respectful, obedient, emotionless, selfless. How I wish I could allow myself the same freedom that Master wants to promise the others. The freedom to live my own life, make my own choices. Hell, right now I'd settle for the freedom to refuse a Master's request when I know it will pain me, will keep me awake at night. Master Alexi has tried to give me such freedom, and but I will never take it. I cannot. I've given myself too much leeway with Master Alexi as it is. I should beg forgiveness for my thoughts, for my resentment, for my disagreement, even if it primarily has festered within my mind. But Master has far too much to think about now. It would be far more cruel to burden him with the depth of my inward disobedience.

The Rebel Vampire

Hello again. Just an update.

The Cons are over. It was fun and very tiring. I am flying back tomorrow morning (Aug 12) at 6 (fucking) AM. After that I have a lot of bureaucratic shit to do mostly involving getting myself enrolled at my new school, dealing with financial aid, buying a car (because it's impossible for me to get to class without one), and hopefully getting a work-study job lined up. On top of that I'm volunteering at DragonCon the last weekend of August and I have some trip planning to do, along with scheduling my shifts.

So, I'm not sure how much time I have to post overall. I might wind up trying to keep this 3-5 day pace with Rebel Vampire and ignore the other one entirely for a little longer.

Thanks for being so patient.

The Rebel Vampire

Joseph listened carefully to the brothers as they discussed the rebel vampire, rather intrigued by their analysis. As usual, he did not speak until Mois looked to him, and at that point, all he could think to say was a brief explanation.

“I do not think that was a permanent change. It was just after the dose, and I think he was overwhelmed by the influx of emotion, just like Master Alexi was right after his dosage. It's just that for him, the results were pleasant instead of painful,” Joseph commented, smiling fondly at the memory of the vampire's great hug.

It was indeed a pleasant image, but in reality, he was unsure what to think about it. On the one hand, everyone needed some kind of joy in their life. And on the other hand, the idea that it was not his own joy, that the positive emotions were from another person, someone that you were not even entirely sure you trusted, must be terrifying. Joseph wondered if that was why the rebel leader had asked for a journal, just as a way to try and organize what was going on in his mind at the moment. He had not mentioned the request to Lord Alexi, and would not do so unless it was absolutely necessary. He imagined that it must have taken a lot for the fiercely independent rebel leader to admit to needing anything to help his sanity, and he did not want to deny him that bit of privacy.

“Excuse me for a moment, let me see if Uwin has arrived to speak with you, Master Alexi,” the vampire slave requested, implicitly warning them to watch their tongues of anything they did not want the relatively young elven driver to hear.

He exited the room, finding Uwin, who looked wonderfully content where most would have been at least somewhat bored or restless by this point.

“Hello Uwin, I hope I did not keep you waiting long. Please, come in. Master Alexi wishes to speak with you,” he began calmly, ushering the younger slave inside the dining room.

The Rebel Vampire

I'm a major Trekkie, but not as big as some people. I don't know everything about every episode by title, and I've never read a Star Trek book.

That being said, Voyager used to be my favorite series, and Janeway is still my first or second favorite captain. Lately, I realized that DS9 had more consistently awesome writing, and the characters were often more fully developed. Also, I loved the story of a nation recovering from a major war, and the Nazi / PostWar Germany ideas.

So DS9 has replaced Voyager as my favorite series. I still love them both though, and of course TNG.

Anyway, I will get a reply out if I have time tomorrow / Monday, as I have a day with very little to do. No Con stuff, just catching up and preparing for the one on Tuesday. Rebel Vampire is currently second on the list.

The Rebel Vampire

So, you should know that I'm currently in Vegas for a Star Trek convention, then two hacker conventions right after. So replies are currently going to be very slow. Like, last night I had time to do them, but I was so tired just from a half day at the con that I couldn't find the words or energy.

Magical Protection

Alright, fair enough. You know I'll have more questions on how the potion is going to affect Erik's head later, but that's a problem for another day.

Ethan is easy. He's a nerdy kid who is lazy in many ways because he has been told his whole life that it doesn't matter how well he does in school or how hard he works, he'll still never be able to amount to much. So he's given up trying to work that hard and just studies whatever he is interested in. He's very normal and logical, and other than the "Gattaca" aspect of it, his experiences are not that far from my own.

Erik and Joseph are much more difficult. :-)

Magical Protection

Ethan watched the transformation carefully. It was incredible to behold, like a real life, and far more elegant version of something out of a television show. As he gazed at the youkai's new form, he had to resist the temptation to touch his skin. Even in this “human” form, the creature seemed otherworldly. The white skin could be achieved through genetic manipulation, and the silver hair could be had through a combination of genetic manipulation and expensive hair dye, but that knowledge did little to make the cat's appearance seem any more “normal.” Yet, he did not strike the young man as being deformed. In fact, he seemed... beautiful. Ethan could not think of a better word for it.

He listened carefully as the youkai answered his question, unwilling to interrupt.

“So basically, you decided to separate yourselves from humans because many of us were being complete jerks. I can understand that. Hell, I wish I could separate myself from humanity sometimes.” He removed his glasses, wiping them on his shirt. As he put them back on, he noticed the youkai clutching his shoulder. “Is something wrong, are you hurt?” he asked, both concern and curiosity creeping into his voice.

The Rebel Vampire

Joseph scurried off to find a tablet so that Master Alexi could sign the electronic permission slip that the slave needed in order to be out in public at such an important event. His collar already had a microscopic tracker within it, that the human lord could pull up if something happened, if he was somehow kidnapped, or rather “stolen,” on the way there. At the event, he would be given a secondary tracker that would alert the guards and could also paralyze him, should the need arise.

He sent a text message to Uwin, informing him that his presence was requested in the private dining hall, but told him to wait outside the door when he arrived. Then, he strode back, idly reading the form to see if it was any different from the previous time he had done this. There were minor changes, but nothing significant.

I'll be saving them. Any one that I can. Life in the Vandros manor is one of the best options for any slave, short of being freed into one of the refugee camps. And even the ones I won't be able to save will be free soon. I have to remember that. I have to look at this as an opportunity. It is a chance to act out a role, a role I have honed for five centuries. After all, I am the perfect butler. His thoughts were almost hopeful, almost fun. I can do this. I have done it before. All I must do is turn my mind off and play the role. Damn do I wish I was still hard broken.... no, no I don't. Having to expend the effort to control my thoughts is better than not having them at all. It's better than I deserve, but I'll take it.

“He trusts me now, at least a little, and to keep things running smoothly, I have agreed to partake in that part of the plan personally, letting the exchange be mutual,” Joseph heard as he strode in. Quickly, he closed the door behind him and checked the room for any other servants. They were alone. Though, naturally, that did not mean that he could speak freely. Discretion was always advised outside of the Masters' private rooms. But as Master Alexi worked on the form, Joseph could not help but drop a little hint that he hoped would calm, or at least inform, the poor elder brother.

“It is alright, Master Mois. Master Alexi has seen the war firsthand. That's bound to upset anyone,” he commented, briefly meeting the elder brother's eyes and hoping he would connect the dots.

The Rebel Vampire

Well, I'm glad to know that I'm having some effect. :-P But really, I don't mind. It's rather fun to be surprised, and if you're having fun, and I'm having fun, that's what really counts.

I have some ideas... mostly involving some degree of severe anarchy, but I'm not sure exactly how things will go down, and what steps Alexi has taken to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

I really didn't mind. Assuming that he followed Alexi's instructions is not exactly a leap for his character. ;-P

I'm not sure what I have in mind is good. It could be too obvious or too cryptic for Mois to get, but it sounds good in my head and I want to try it. If it turns out to be "wrong" in either direction then I'll edit and chalk it up to the fact that Joseph might be the perfect butler, but I'm not. :-P

~*~*~

I'm amused at Alexi's take on equivalent exchange by the way. Other than having a severe FMA flashback, I find it amusing that Alexi considers taking Joseph's suggestion to be doing the vampire a favor when it's really to help himself... He's doing something for himself at Joseph's suggestion, and in return Joseph is doing something for him. Obviously, it doesn't matter, just thought it was funny.

And on the list of funny typos "And Joseph, dead Joseph..." :-P

The Rebel Vampire

Alright, if you are okay with doing the majority of the plotting, then I'm okay with not knowing the answers. If that changes for whatever reason, you're welcome to tell me then. Right now, it almost works out, simply because my own frustration and eventual acceptance sort of is just playing into my characters. When it is revealed to them, I will know too.

I can do that, if I see a “hole” and a way to fix it, I'll find a way to let you know and/or give credit to fixing it to Alexi, alright?

If there's any problem I have with it at this point, it's simply that Erik is being manipulated to the point that his actions have zero effect on the plot. But in a sense, that's alright. He's a person who has spent years in control, and he's saved thousands of slaves in that time. So it's actually kind of fascinating that his real success is going to be in allowing himself to be a pawn.

Erik's thoughts were meant to just be that, his own personal fears. In his mind, no one can ever trust him again, but what's really happening is that he does not trust himself anymore. He thinks that he has failed so completely as a commander that he can't bring himself to trust his own judgment again. It was not meant to reflect the opinions of the actual rebels. I do think that they will need an explanation though, but I also assumed Alexi had thought of that. If you haven't, then we might need to approach that together at some point.

I'm not actively trying to make the plan fail. At the most, I was trying to throw in a little snag with Joseph attempting to help Erik escape. But that was also intended to be a character development point for Joseph, the fact that he felt strongly enough to disobey so completely. It was not ONLY to actually have some kind of contribution to the plot. :-P

I'm sure I will... I was out all afternoon, but I'm working on writing now.

Moving Joseph surprised me, but I didn't mind it. I have a response for him to say to Mois' question, so can I assume Alexi hesitated on answering? If not, it's actually a rather awkward point to end a post.