the Luminary

I… I don't know! way to put me on the spot!

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Re: the Luminary

Post by carbonstealer »

all you learn about vampires is that we don't know what they are at all and Bella should never have gotten pregnant. NOT REVEALING ENOUGH KIMRA
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

Suddenly feel the need to point out this a rewrite of a story I started writing... about ten years ago. Before sparkles ever got associated with Vampires. *dies a little every time she's reminded of Twilight*

Oh and you now know more about the vampires than you do about the guardians or the kindred so I wouldn't complain too much. And what's that? A title to a novel? But it has nothing to do with anything!
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Re: the Luminary

Post by carbonstealer »

You make it sound like titles have something to with anything (mine is applying a new zealand ad loosely to the fact that legends are drawing blood). What are you doing writing comments when you should be writing the story so that I can find out everything. I'm curious darn it
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

Well actually the title is relevant. It was that or 'The Star That Fell' but that titles a bit overused on Amazon so I stuck with the Luminary. : P I'm just being mean and trying to tease you now, but you wont get it damn it!
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Re: the Luminary

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A Guardian stopped her before she’d made more than two steps into the corridor.

“Kindred Recruit Gwen?” He was looking at a file an manilla enveloped, eyes flicking between something, a picture perhaps, and her before he nodded and closed it.

“Yes.” She replied as calmly as she could. He motioned to a door to her left, it was a room she hadn’t been in in the building but she walked ahead of him and down the corridor on the otherside. It was a large building so she wasn’t surprised to find that there were parts she hadn’t seen. The recruites saw only a few of them, the guardians that monitored them seemed to take up the rest of the space.

She noticed, walking past some rooms that many of them were still empty, her curiosity was tapped down though, because asking questions often led to more trouble than it was worth with the Guardians. It certainly drew attanetion.

The room she was finally directed to was a large room with little ornimentation and she was immediately reminded of a parole hearing. That made her inner voice grumble with dissatisfaction but she took the seat she was directed to, and the five men sitting on the other side of the one table in the room looked her over.

“You’ve been absent.” Was the man in the middles beginning reprimand.

“I was in an accident.” She began, meak and proper, and explained the lie she’d prepared as clearly as she could. She was uninterested in retelling it, but she knew they’d hash over the details trying to decide what had actually happened.

She told them everything, and when they asked about all the tiny details she hadn’t bothered to relay she told them those too. Drawing from a real experience made it easier to lie, and she forced her eyes to stay on the same spot, fixed directly in the centre of the room so her eyes didn’t give her away.

“Was it a vampire?” The woman on the far left finally asked, stern and comanding with her red hair tied back in a long ponytail.

Gwen frowned at the woman, “How would I know?” because she had not been taught by the guardians, only Adam had told her, and after that it had all be instinct. She’d learnt to recognise them on her own, learnt to assosiate her response to their presense and she could not, on her life, explain what her responses were. They just happened and she had trigged onto it eventually.

“Did it try to bite you?” The woman drawled, clearly unimpressed with being questioned. Gwen shook her head.

“Just stabbed me.” She explained and motioned to her stomach again.

“Where is the blade?” The central guardian asked now, looking at a page of notes he had made. Gwen was struck with the fact that she wasn’t quite sure herself, but she had prepared that excuse too.

“He didn’t exactly hand it over.” She couldn’t stop the sneer from happening but none of them reacted to her annoyance. Instead the were looking at each others notes and discussing in soft whispers what they thought of her ‘story’. She waited in her plastic seat while they debated it trying not to twitch of squirm everytime eyes flicked back to her and away.

When her bordem started to overwhelm she tried her luck, “Can I go to classes?” because that had to be better than this tedium. One of the men checked his watch then looked at her.

“You’ve already missed them. There is only training now.” He twitched his mouth. “Lets see your wound so we can inform the instructors of your participation levels.”

Gwen stood from the chair cautiously and pulled the shirt up to reveal her wound. It was inspected by all those on the other side of the desk, carefully deciding the pros and cons of making her workout.

Eventually the cental man made a gesture to lower the shirt, which she did enthusiastically. “You will attend training but not be expected to preform the major attacks and defenses. Warm up is still a requirement. At all other times you may study your fellow recruits and their physical advantages and disadvantages.”

She didn’t tell them exactly how exciting she imagined that was going to be, because they dismissed her and she was too happy about that to bother with a reply. It was better that way anyway.



The recruites were still putting their fighting robes on when she entered the changing rooms and she was immediately inundated with questions. The group was smal, it wasn’t a surprise they had noticed her week long absense.

“I thought you’d quit!” Telly was strapping weights to his ankles and wrists to encourage muscle growth but he was pleased to see her.

Tara seemed surprised, “You can do that?”

“No.” Gwen replied before any hopes could raise. She wasn’t sure if any of them wanted to leave, but Adam had made it clear it wasn’t an option. Maybe that was what had happened to the others.

“Where you sick?” Shane inquired, wrapping his sleeve down with a wrist guard.

“I got attacked in the street.” She showed them her wound, and didn’t even mind them staring at it in awe. Unlike the guardians they did not make her feel naked, exposed and disected.

“By a knife?” Tara was spacing the wound mentally looking suitably impressed. “A good knife too, clean cut. And well treated.”

“I was lucky.” Gwen pulled her shirt down and opened her exercise bag, seeking the robes she ahd to wear.

“You were lucky they didn’t grill you alive.” Shane informed casually.

“With how crazy they’ve been this week.” Tara seemed to not like the though and shook it off.

“They’ve been crazy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Telly chirped in and practiced a few quick strikes to be sure the weights were fixed properly.

“Any idea why?”

Hannah was looked at by the room, and she flushed under the attention. “I didn’t mean to.” She flushed harder when some of the recruits rolled their eyes at this.

“But.” Shane prompted sadonicly.

“But,” Hannah continued, “I heard two guardians talking in the corridors.” She looked down. “They didn’t know I was there.”

Gwen didn’t care about that, she only cared about what had been heard.

Telly gave up waiting for the story to end, jumping in ahead of Hannah’s shy selfconciousness. “They said someone killed a guardian.”

“What?” Gwen blinked in surprise.

“Not just killed, but cut them up like a vampire kill. The guardians are freaked.”

“Which is why we got that speech last week. Apparently they think we have the knowledge of ability to do it already.” Shane rolled his eyes and jostled her shoulder. “If we did, we’d not make that kind of stupid mistake.”

Everyone kept talking about it, some of them putting forward conjectures for the reason of the attack and who could have done it. Some of them were trying not to talk about it, focused on their class ahead and challenging each other to competitions of strength and agility.

Gwen only heard the glimmer of those conversations, her mind taken somewhere else as it all slowy sank in.



Pounding on the door woke Gwen from her daze, her eyes opened slowly and turned to the door, staring at it in incompreshions. Someone was shouting, but she wasn’t sure why, all she knew was that the water was cold, and she’d wanted it hot.

She reached for the hot water knob and tried to twist it on further but the water pressure didn’t change nor did the temperature. It chilled her to the bone as she stood there, shivering and not aware of it at all.

He hadn’t been a vampire, she knew that now. There had been signs, signs she’d blithly ignored because thre was no need to worry about them. Adam had told her what to do, and she’d done it. He’d told her it was a vampire and she’d believed. There’d been hints famliar with vampires, hints that now she was thinking seemed to be familiar with the guardians as well. Something ageless and different to the people walking the streets. Something alien to what her senses considered normal.

But she’d sliced him open like it was nothing, human, guardian, maybe even vampire, it didn’t seem to mater. Adam had pushed her over a line she had never expected to be at. And she could not process it.

Another sound came, muffled but persistant. Gwen looked to the bathroom door and wondered who was on the other side. She didn’t want there to be anyone, not today. She wanted to be left alone so she could think her way out of this. As if she could think her way out of it. She was damned, she’d done it and it was on her hands now.

She turned the water off, pulled her towel around herself and left the room. Stuart was on the other side of the door looking a little frantic. She tried to walk past him, he intersected her movements. “What happened?”

“I just need to lie down.” She tried to push him aside but he resisted.

“There’s a couch, lie down there.”

“In my bed.” She refused to look at him, eyes fixed towards her door and a little to the left because he kept trying to put himself in her line of sight.

“Can I come in too?” He hedged.

She looked at him now, considering his plainative expression and then back at her door. She didn’t want to lie down in the loungeroom where their other flatmates could hassel her, but she could see determination in Stuarts expression, and she didn’t want to fight him either.

“Okay.” She surrendered and he stepped out of the way, letting her proceed but never straying further than a step behidn her. Hovering like an over protective sibling that made her feel safer despite how annoying it felt.

She tried to get him to wait outside while she changed, he merely told her how completely uninterested he was in her naked body and turned his back to her. She dealt with it only because she felt too tired to fight him. She changed quickly, pulling on an overlarge tshirt and crawling in under her covers despite the heat. She wanted to burry herself in them so she didn’t have to think anymore. When she was settled Stuart sat next to her on the bed.

“You want a drink?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll get you some tea, don’t close the door.” He pushed her hair back off her forehead cautiously, they did not normally touch, and left the room, the door slightly ajar. When he returned he set the tea on her bedside table and sat by her feet his legs stretched out beside her own and sipped at his own cup of tea. He didn’t say anything else, just kept her company, and she was glad for it, allowing herself to relax and shut down in his company.

[WC 26,726]

I can't remember if I hated last years story as much as I do this one. Probably. Again, nothing is happening. At least Ed hasn't made any fool promises to read everyones stories this year!
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Re: the Luminary

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Kimra wrote: Telly gave up waiting for the story to end, jumping in ahead of Hannah’s shy selfconciousness. “They said someone killed a guardian.”

“What?” Gwen blinked in surprise.

“Not just killed, but cut them up like a vampire kill. The guardians are freaked.”


OO
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Re: the Luminary

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smiley_cow wrote:OO
Look I made something happen!
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Re: the Luminary

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Adam surprised her by being on the other side of the door waiting for her entance and he latched the door when she’d only just stepped through the threshold. It made her jump but he smiled disarmingly and motioned to the lounge for her to sit as he went to get drinks. Cautiously she took it and sipped on the amber liquid cautiously. She normally didn’t drink so she set it aside after the first two sips and hoped she had been polite enough.

“You’ve given them something else to think about, apparenlty.” Adam sipped his own alcohol and sat back into the chair he’d pulled up to the lounge. He seemed relaxed and comfortable, and she tried to mirror that, not sure if she had ever been comfortable in his company anyway. Especially not after their last encounter though, and not after what she had learnt.

Gwen chose no to lay on the lounge but to sit up on the edge of the soft leather cushions. “Did they believe me?” She tasted the alcohol in her mouth, it was a burning flavour that lingered long after the drink had been set aside. She really didn’t understand the appeal, but it distracted her nicely. She picked the drink up again and took another sip, anything to keep her hands busy.

“Oh yes, but they haven’t decided if you were attacked by a vampire or if it was just a random attack. The different situations require different reactions.” He rolled his eyes. “As if your life has no value unless there’s a vampire involved.”

“So… if it was a vampire?”

“They’ll lock the house down, probably close it, and you will all be locked down with it. They have have surveylance on your home and travels now, to see if you are approached.”

“What does locking down the kindred mean? Killed?” That was troubling, and Adam had shown her history accounts enough to convince her they would do it if they felt they had to. The guardians had a strong history of controling the kindred, and Gwen wasn’t entierly sure why that was.

“No. But taken. Once anythings compromised everything is.”

Gwen realised this was the time to tell him about Daniel, the time to admit to anything that might have compromised the guardians or the kindred, or Adam himself, but she no longer cared about that. He had used her to kill a guardian. He had used her instead of asking her to do it. She had wondered why he didn’t want her to hide the body and realised now he had been declairing war in his own way. A subtle knife in the back of all the guardians and their laws.

“You are not a person to the guardians, you are kindred, and kindred are a means to an end.”

“To kill vampires.”

“To kill them all. And they wont let you go now they’ve invested in you.”

“What are the kindred?” That was an important question. There had to be a reason she had been chosen. It wasn’t grades, it wasn’t fitness, it wasn’t even age. “I mean- how did they choose us, that’s never been clear.”

“Hmm? Oh-“ For a moment he floundered, “the actual semantics of it are kept rather secret. But there is a calling, and the guardians can recognise people who have it. Like I can see you are kindred, and vampires can see you are kindred, if they deign to notice you.”

“So- so at any point in my life a vampire could had spoted me and killed me?” There weren’t many vampires in the world, not compared to humans, but surely she had walked past one before being recruited. Surely one of them had seen her. It was impossible to believe otherwise.

“If you were walking around in dark alleys by yourself? Probably yes. But again, I don’t know the specifics of it. And most people don’t walk around where vampires tread.”

She scratched her wrist absently. She wasn’t sure where to take this meeting, where to take him with this conversation. He had lied to her, but he had only lied to her once now. And he would have been right in assuming she couldn’t have done it if he hadn’t lied to her.

She sipped her drink again, watching the ground by their feet as she tried to conjour the words needed for this moment. She had never been good with words.

“You hate the guardians, don’t you?” It was a quiet question, cautious but clear none the less.

He laughed, “Hate doesn’t begin to describe what I feel for them Gwen.” He lent forward on his chair, eyes level with hers. “They collect the Kindred like little toys. You are heartless souless things they will send into battle while sitting in their comfy chairs and reading books. And they use you, letting you die in fruitless battles and never giving you anything for your efforts.” He lent back again, his drink hanging from his fingertips. “They train you to do what they want and then they ignore all the greatest problems in our world. They don’t even deal with the vampires properly. You’ve seen it, they never attack a home or a clan. They fight only to keep the numbers down, not to erradicate.”

“You want to erradicate the vampires?”

“How else will we ever be safe from them? They drink blood for their own selfish reasons. They steal and kill for their own satisfaction. You know this, you’ve seen it.”

“Yes.” And she had, she’d seen it on her first kill. Adam had taken her to it, and she had seen what devistatio a vampire could cause. The guardians did their part in this, but seeing the pure reality of something killing had driven home that she would help Adam in whatever his endevours. Reminded of this she surrendered her resentment, maybe she would have killed the man for him anyway.

“You should have told me he was a guardian.” In an accusaion she would wish she hadn’t made later. Her mouth always moved faster than her thoughts. Deception was not her skill.

Adam did not respond immediately, leaning back in his chair and watching her, his scotch glass hanging in careless fingers. She could not meet his eyes after the accusation was out, finding her own trailed on the ground. Submissive and apologetic.

“I did not tell you,” he began slowly, his voice pitched low and cautious, “because it was too important.” She winced, he saw it. “I could not do it. You have inate skills which are beyond anyone who is not kindred. It’s why I approached you Gwen. And I am sorry it had to be done. But Mathews knew about us, and he was going to stop it.” Adam touched her unexpectedly and resentfully she looked at him. There was contrition in his expression, pure and absolute. She wanted to be angry. “I know this is hard on you, I know you don’t even want to be here, but we need you. If you don’t help us- if you don’t help me- the old Guardians are going to rot this place to the core, and there will be nothing and no-one left to fight the vampires.”

She thought about Daniel, what he had told her and what Masa had told her as well. They were two amongst many though. But the fact still remained that they were vampires. Until meeting Daniel she’d believed everything Adam had told her; vampires had to die, vampires were evil, vampires would rip her throat out without a second thought. But neither of them had done that, or even hinted towards it. There’d been no violence in their actions towards her. Nothing to indicate that harm was even in their thoughts.

“You are, don’t you my dear?” His tone had changed, skipping away from fevour into slick caution, still low and thoughtful. She wondered if her doubt had shown.

“Of course.”

“Vampires need to die?” He double checked. She nodded. “All of them.”

She echoed, “All of them.”

“You’d tell me if anything was wrong, wouldn’t you?” His head was titled just a little, his focus fixed and steady.

Someone knocked on the door before she could answer, and when his attention shifted to that problem she finished her drink. It made her feel quessy but she put the glass down and stood up when he did.

“You stay there.” Adam ordered, and strode to the door. He opened it only a crack and met the visitor with the door open but his body in the way. “Ah, Ian I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” And Adam left the room pulling the door closed behind him and leading the man, presumably, away.

Gwen listened against the door until there was no noise beyond and snuck out herself. The recruites would still be winding down after their exercises if she was lucky. Adam usually didn’t keep her longer than her disapearance would be noticed, but he’d seemed particularily fixated today. She snuck out easily, apparently the guardians still hadn’t decided if she’d compromised them or not.



Daniel was in her lounge room when she arrived hom. So were Matt and Stuart, and a couple extra people she vaguely recognised as Matt’s friends. Stuart was dressed for another date, more sparkled than a disco ball and looking pleased with himself.

She nodded her acknolwedgement to them all and went to her room. Daniel followed as if it were expected. She was disheartened to realise she had hoped he would. He closed the door after himself. She was looking for something clean to change into when he surprised her with a hug from behind. His arms closed around her tighting, locking her arms to her body as his head came to rest on her shoulder.

“You okay?” He tested.

It was strange in the folds of his arms she felt barriers crumble that shouldn’t have even been in place, and the sudden feeling of thankfulness that overcame her made her eyes prickle. She turned in his hold and returned the embrace, burring her face against his chest.

“No.” Her voice cracked on the word, and she realised she was crying before she felt the damn break. Her grip tightened on him and she used him as an anchor to keep her steady while all the walls broke down. He didn’t soothe of pet, he just remained there, solid and supportive and it was all she could want at that moment.

When she had calmed down, red faced and blotchy she found him smiling at her. She wanted to be insulted but it was infectious and instead of being angry she found herself smiling back, feeling stupid and amused by the stupidity of it all.

“Good.” He rubbed a renegade tear off her check. “Get dressed, I’m taking you out.”

“I have to-“

“Kill one of my kind? You can do that after.” He teased.

“-have a shower.” She glared at him. “You can wait in here.” With mock meekness he took a seat on her bed, leaning back against the wall.

“Do you have a diary or something for me to read while you dress? Women seem to take forever in the shower.”

She threw the nearest book she had at him, pleased to note it was the sage wisdom of cats joke book she’d been given a few years ago for her birthday. He picked it up with caution and looked at the books cover with a mixture of mock and real horror.

“I’ll surprise you.” And she found something decent and clean for the night and left him to his own devices.



Gwen did something she had always considered an atrocity of human emotional display, she clung to Adams hand. He was dragging her through the clubs crowd with a fixed destination and although she’d been to this club herself not long ago she found the guidence infinatly more stablising than it should have been. She found she didn’t want to be lost in this crowd, not when she wasn’t hunting as she had been those times. Something in her mindset made her more able to handle these sort of situations when she knew her place in it all.

Daniel led her to an employies entrance, the one beside the bar she’d seen him disapear down when she’d seen him that first time. He tugged her into the room and shut the door behind them, the led her furthr in. Through a small dark corridor and into a much larger room, than expected, though smaller than the dance floor they had just trudged through.

The large room had it’s own unmanned bar, a pool table and a few lounges aranged around each other. Gwen didn’t pay any of that much mind though, because walking into the room, Daniel a step behind her and guiding her in the right direction she was confronted with ten comfortably lounging vampires. Daniels hand on her hip gripped a little harder when she froze, and even as she made a progressive step into the room all of them turned to look at her.

They skimmed her momentarily and then moved to Daniel, all tension in their expressions vanished when their familiarity was touched on.

“Daniel, I thought there were rules about food in the back room.” That was a tall blonde woman who was flicking through a book lazily.

Gwen felt Daniel stiffen behind her.

“You’re being rude Jess, he can bring whoever he wants. When you contribute anything to the clan, then maybe you can get away with things as well.”

“I am not food.” Gwen snipped out. I was apparently not what she was supposed to do, because she had everyones attention again, and this time they were looking properly, not just casually dismissing her.

Daniel let go of her hip with a sigh, “I’ll get you a drink shall I?” and left her under the intense scrutiny of ten strange vampires. A clan of vampires.

“Looks like he disagrees.” The woman was staring openly at Gwen’s neck, and Gwen self conciously touched at it. She couldn’t feel any mark there, and she couldn’t remember him biting her since… well since she’d last tumbled into his bed with him. “Nieve.” The woman dropped her book on the floor and pulled her body up so she could stare some more.

Gwen checked Daniels position by the bar and considered her actions. He’d brought her here for a reasons and she found it hard to believe it was to have her killed, so that meant she should be safe. She forced herself to accept that knowledge and stepped further into the room, walking past one rather short looking vampire with messy hair and finding spare lounge she could sit on.

At the bar Daniel had two drinks already, but he was talking with a large pot bellied middle aged man standing next to him. He was also a vampire, Gwen could tell, though she’d never seen one so ungainly. Very few of the vampires fit into her typical image of them, but she could admit her interactions were limited and she usually didn’t spend time considering their features so much as killing them.

“What’s you name?” There was a man in the chair opposite her. He, like the room in general, was staring at her.

“Gwen.”

“That’s it?” He was incredulous.

“Why? What’s yours?”

Her reply was a toothy grin, one that showed far sharper teeth than she had gotten used to seeing around Daniel. “Sean, Preston.” He lent forward on his chair and reached out for her hand. She went to shake it on impulse, civility trained in too deep and Daniel caught her hand in a quick grip.

“Lets not get too friendly.” He warned, and she felt irritated at the assumption of control, tugged her wrist out of his hold and reached out again. Sean though had taken his hand back and seemed uninterested now. She made a note to repay Daniel for that later. She wasn’t a fragile doll.

“It’s not even Gwenivere?” Daniel took the seat at her side, and offered her the glass of soda. She took it a jabbed an elbow into his side at the same time. He spilt his drink a little but otherwise didn’t react. One of the vampires snickered, and Gwen glared, only to find they where laughing a Daniel and not herself. It made her feel cheerier.

“Does it have to be?” She bit.

“This is what I was talking about Cameron.” One of them said to another conversatinally. “They just keep naming their kids nicknames. It’s complete stupidity.”

“I like my name.” She told interupted, and again silence decended on the room. She knew if she shut up it wouldn’t keep happening but she had things to say, and she would say them. If she was going to be killed at least she’d have said her piece.

Daniel lent back into the chair, his arms going across its back and his legs crossed. His drink rested on the floor by his feet, forgotten already. He was watching the rooms occupants carefully.

“Daniel.” The girl who spoke was dressed in a loose white shirt and blue jeans, and she looked incredibly young. “She smells… strange.” The girl was hesitant and with the attention on her flushed, but she stayed sitting up staright on the arm of a lounge her drink down to it’s ice and her attention sharp.

If she hadn’t showered before leaving the house Gwen would begin to feel paranoid, but she knew she was as clean as she could be, so she could only assume she was being insulted. Across from her Seans nose flared noticably, then before she’d blinked he was in her face a white faced look of strain in his features. Daniel had pushed him half way across the room before he made any contact, and Gwen was left in shock that the situation had changed so quickly. No-one moved except for Daniel who sat back down beside her as if nohing had happened. The room was frozen.

“Daniel.” The blonde woman hadn’t spoken since the first interaction, but she looked now, studying and piercing. “Tell me that she is not the Luminary.” She grit through clenched teeth, sounding slightly breathless.

“What?” The young girl asked perked and insterested, “Really? That is so cool.”

Gwen stilled herself and bit her tongue. Daniels fingers touched at the back of her neck, just the lightest swipe of assurance and she accepted it, but she wasn’t leaving this room until she understood what the hell they were talking about.

“What is she doing here?”

Daniel shrugged absently. “I thought you’d all like to meet her. I thought she’d like to meet you.”

“Wait.” The beer bellied vampire interupted from across the room. “This is the girl Masa was talking about?” His expression became dangerous. “You let this-this, ‘thing’ near one of the children?”

Gwen was willing to take that. If they could tell she was Kindred… she wouldn’t have wanted a killer of her kind near anyone of her kind either.

“Did you just call Gwen, a thing?” Daniel took his hands down, leaning forward on his knees to stare at the man. Gwen could see the warning clearly and although the man could see it too he did not back down. Gwen didn’t want the room to break into a fight, ten vampires against her and maybe Daniel was not a set of odds she wanted to face. She caught Daniels elbow and tugged him back into the chair.

“Daniel, this is… unwise.” The blonde woman adviced.

“Maybe.” He admited lightly. “But I don’t think so.”

“She’s sporting weapons-“ The man across from her confirmed.

“So are you.” Gwen hissed back, displeased with the way he seemed to be able to see her blade through the skirt. It made her feel entierly too uncomfortable.

“Weapons?” The blonde’s back straightened and her expression darkened. “Daniel, she’s already Kindred isn’t she? The guardians have their hooks in-”

“So?” he interupted a flash of teeth in the womans direction.

“Daniel I wont support this.” She insisted, looking angry and not at all intimidatd. “I will not. There is nothing sane about it. You know the laws-”

“Oh shut up.” Gwen grumbled, pulling her fet up onto the chair beside her and leaning against Daniel for stability. “Do they shut up?” She asked him annoyed by their tones and the circular argument they seemed to be having. It was quite clear who had the power in this room, and it was Daniel.

“They will if they know what’s good for them.”

“Brazen.” She congratulated him absently. She didn’t feel threatened sitting here, because she knew Daniel would warn her if anyone aproached and for all the arguments being thrown at him Daniels calm attitude seemed to suggest he expected no troubles. It was all words, nothing solid. Not yet.

Daniel lent his head back against the chairs back, looking at the roof, his fingers twisting in her hair absently, she found it distracting. “Anything else? This is your only chance to say it.” Daniel warned the room.

“If she kills us?” One of them, Gwen wasn’t even looking, asked.

“I don’t care.” He breathed.

Gwen’s heart halted at the admission, shuddering with a wonderful sense of horror and elation that twisted together leaving her breathless. It was a powerful emotion, something strong and dominating in a way she wasn’t used to positive emotions working. She hadn’t felt so complimented and admired in her entire life and it was intoxicating. There was nothing even Adam could do that would make her harm this man. And he was a man, not a vampire, or a monster. He was warm and he was solid and he wanted her and she didn’t care about the rules anymore, probably hadn’t for some time.

One of the vampires moved, and she tensed, checking her weapons. With acceptance of him came another realisation; she would protect him. If anything threatened him she would take it down unhesitatingly. She would slice it up and let it rot, because none of them were worth a speck compared to him.

“Daniel-“

“I made this choice, and the responsibility of it was mine to make.”

“If she comes near me, I’ll kill her.” The blonde humphed, leaning back into her seat and watching cautiously.

“Sounds fair.” Gwen leveled the woman with a look of her own. Trying to make it clear that she wasn’t threatened by the warning and she would fight back with all her worth. The blonde surprised Gwen when she broke eye contact first, and Gwen was left alone.

Gwen was suspecting they’d fall into awkward silence when the young vampire bounced over and ignoring Daniels earlier rebuff of contact held her hand out to shake.

“I’m Emma.” Gwen eyed the girls genunine expression and untucked one of her warm hands to shake Emma’s. She offered her left, because her right would be too hard to manuver. Emma adapted quickly and swapped her hands to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Emma-“ One of them tried to warn, a younger looking boy.

“Oh hush, Daniel’s no fool.” The girl admonised and then proceeded to be the nicest person Gwen had spoken to in some time. The conversation between them seemed to relax the room until the vampires moved about doing their own thing. Gwen untucked herself from Daniels side, and he moved away. She watched through the corner of her eye as he argued with one or two of the other vampires, even the blonde woman went in for another go, but Emma was kind and considerate and even though she occassionally checked the progress of any argument she never wavered in her dedication to entertaining Gwen.


[WC 30,713]

There seems to be an endless supply of young friendly vampire girls. Who knew?

Also the title makes it's first appearance, Huzzah, everyone has to take a drink.
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Re: the Luminary

Post by GUTCHUCKER »

I drank coke
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Re: the Luminary

Post by carbonstealer »

I was a bit confused when Adam was leading her through the club but it turned out to be a typo so we are a ok. I am interested in Gwen's lack of interest as to what "the luminary" is.
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

Oh she's interested, she's just not dumb enough to pick a fight in a room full of vampires.

*passiaonatly hates that her computer has died and she is left bereft of a proper keyboard* I can now tell you the pros and cons of the iPad keyboard. For example: writing a story with speech, or apostrophes, or any of those punctuation marks you are used to having easy access to? It is insanity producing hell. I am noW hand writing story until I can get to a shop and buy an external keyboard. This is also why I haven't updated. The next scene is written and waiting, illegible but otherwise, I hope, good.

Man I just wanted to complain some (more). Mission accomplished.
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Re: the Luminary

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By the end of the night Gwen was surprised to realise she'd drawn a crowd around her. Emma had styed for most of the evening, chatting inconsequentially about absolutly any and everything. The conversation had rolled around that and although Gwen didn't participate much nobody who approached the small seating area seemed to move away. Occassionally she would feel eyes staring into her, but none of the starers ever met her when she turned to them.

Towards the pre-dawn hours some of them had snuck away, the youngest, like Emma, had disapeared back into the club. Some of the older looking ones had left out a door at the back of the room.

Daniel extracted her before sunrise and Gwen was glad to be out of the strange situation but still confused by it. Clearly there were things that needed to be explained to her still.

"Okay?" He checked, his hand touching her elbow in a deliberate move she did not understand but appreciated none the less. His car was at the door when they got there and Gwen was glad of it, the empty club illuminated less than it had been when full was eerie and disconcerting, like an empty school it had felt unnatural and ominous.

In the car, his hands around the wheel and attention fixed on the task of driving she attacked with the most important question; "What's the Luminary?"

He flashed her a quick grin and checked the mirrors, as he pulled out onto the road she heard the automatic lock of the doors. She tensed in preperation. "That'd be telling, my dear."

"Is it another word for kindred?" Which she was already certain it wasn't.

His voice was laughing, "What do you think?"

Her ire began to rise, "I think this is just another stupid secret your hanging in front of my nose." She tried to bite down on the anger, it wouldn't help anything, but now that she had a chance to vent it was all too clear it had been building since the first mention of yet another secret. His easy going amusement was not making things better.

"Did you like them?" He hedged. She glared, he wither didn't take her glare seriously or didn't notice the intensity of it. "Emma particularly is quite nice, she also has a lot of sway amongst the youngers. But Janice, well she grows on you in time."

Gwen didn't even care who Janice was. there had been vampires there she wouldn't have thought twice about killing, even now, she hoped Janice was one of them.

"You wont tell me, will you?" She checked, determined to have this conversation now before it slipped into a moment she let slip past. Her voice was strained with tension.

"I don't think you want to know." He sounded too pleasent, and absolutly too patronising.

"Don't you think I should be the judge of that?"

He sighed as they came into traffic, the early starters already creating slight congestion in the city roads. She checked the time compulsively, dawn was still some time off. "They were going to see it, eventually- shame we didn't have longer to ease them into it."

Gwen grit her teeth. He wasn't even paying attention to her, she realised. He was lost in his own little word where he knew all the stupid answers but wasn't sharing them. Typical overbaring controling-

Gwen blanked in the face of her own emotinal intensity. Shedding dangerous emotions as she would when hunting. Only the purest strongest emotion remained, a wire of burning anger to guide all her actions in this encounter. "Stop the car." Her voice was iron and steal. He looked at her, at last, but it was too late she was done. He didn't stop or slow down, in fact he seemed to tap the accelerator just a little. "Stop the stupid car Daniel." Again nothing. "You can't even drop me off, I'm being watched remember." As if it was his fault, and she was willing ot blame him right now.

"I'll take you near."

Gwen yanked the door handle, it rattled ineffectively against her anger. "Let me out of this car. I'm done."

Any amusement he had left dissappeared - completely. "That's it, is it? No last hurrah, no final words? No goodbye shag?"

"We did that twice, it's been weeks- I'm surprised you remember." She hissed back.

"Admittedly you weren't very memorable-"

The anger that had banked, pure and intense errupted.

She shoulded as she lunged; he swerned the car in surprise. She went for his face with ferocity; he fended her off with an elbow as he swerved and hit the breaks. There was blood under her nails, marks on the side of his face from where her surprise attack had landed. The car stopped, another behind it swerving to avoid it, and then he was free to fight back.

He was stronger than her, she had better manuverability. When he caught her wrists to stop the attack on his face she twisted below the seat belt and kicked out at his gut. Her skirt tangled on the gear stick and the kick barely damaged. He tried to block the attack, yanking her wrists and upper body closer, she slammed her head into his nose when it was in reach, blood gushed out. He let her go to clasp the appendage, she tried to reach past him and the doors lock, her belt caught her before she was cloe enough. She back peddled, fumbling for the release button. Daniel seeing her target growled and took the offensive. Blood slidind down his face ignored.

The frenzy shifted, his seatbelt was gone, he was pushing her into the passanger side door. Her leg got trapped under his weight one wrist caught and pinned. She fumbled haplesly to get an angle for attack. He pinned her completely, pupils blow, a growl rumbling through his chest. It was sex and threat thrown together in an indistinguishable meld, but she was still angry. He went for her neck and stopped. Gwen pressed the blade in, tight against the pulsing vein in his throat. It was one of the small ones she kept at her wrist.

"Reconsidering?" She sneered, pressed into the corner of the ceichle, half folded and his weight holding her down. "I'll do it," her voice shook only a little, "I've done it before- and eventually I'll forget you, just like I'll forget all of them."

They were frozen for a time, each collecting their awareness of the situation they'd fallen into so very quickly. Cars skidding past with horns blaring, too early for pedestrians but a hundred witneses to a very public fight.

Daniel lent his head down, away from her neck, his eyes hidden in shadows before he looked back at her. There wasn't amusement there so much as an expression that struck her as fondness. The kind of expression people used on puppies and kittens, it did not belong, and she was not comfortable being the focus of such an expression. She wasn't sure it wasn't an insult in itself, but the soft edges of his focus, and the fact that that focus was on her again softened the burning edge of her anger just a little.

"And that," he said calmly pulling away from her and the small blade, "is why you're the Luminary."

She let him retreat, she didn't really want to kill him and he must have known it as well. Another car speed past their stationary one, it shook theirs in it's little slip stream.

"This is important, isn't it?" Her voice was soft despite, tempered now her anger had been let out, "This Luminary?"

"Very." He motioned for her to sit up and put her seatbelt back on.

Apparently the drive was no over, and despite her earlier demands to be released she found herself doing it. Calmed and a little lost in the face of what had just happened. She looked at the dashboard clock once more.

"It's not cutting it too cloes is it?" If they didn't kill each other she saw no reason to allow anything else to. The clock was superfilious ayway, she had an uncanny ability to know when dusk and dawn where, no matter the time of year.

He cracked her a cheeky smile and despite the drying blood on his features it calmed some of the unexected worry she refused to acknolwedge. "We'll be fine." Like he was some sort of dare devil he put the car in gear and hit the gas.

She was as terrified as she was exhilirated by the controled focus and intensity of such reckless driving. Despite his attitude he remembered to stop a block away from her home and parked, turning the car off and plunging them into silence. The tension was quivering and tempting.

"You wont tell me, will you?" She felt a little down now, the violent emotion was not ruling her actions, her tone was almost pitious as hse looked to him. But anger seemed displaced now.

He scrunched his face, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead, the other hand pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't." He decied at last. "I like you Gwen." he made sure he was looking at her, and the sincerity was clear, "but it's too much." He took a calming breath, "I can't trust you."

"Because of hte Guardians. And Adam." It was not a question, they both knew and understood why. She didn't even flinch away from saying Adams name. If he hadn't lied to her, but he had and things were no longer the same.

Daniel gave no answer, but it was answer enough. She was surprised to realise it actually hurt, like hot iron seering her insides, that he couldn't trust her and she didn't want him too. She was till holding a knife she'd threatened to kill him with less than ten minutes ago. Hysteria tried to climb up her throat and escape, she swollowed it down. This was crazy, and it was going to blow pu in their faces all too soon.

She struggled to say something, break the tension but no words came and when silence had stretched for too long she couldn't sit there anymore. She opened the car door and unbuckled herself. As she went to stand he stopped her with three simple words.

"Don't go back."

She didn't want to go back. She wanted to curl up next to him and hide from everything. She wanted to feel alive and he was the only thing that did that to her anymore. "Why?" She asked despite all her desires.

His laugh was short, broken, lost. "I've made things... difficult for you."

"And I had no control over any of it?" She smiled and left, despite the worried look that followed her home.

[WC 33,333]

Look at that nice round number. I doubt I see that again. I gave up and bought a keyboard for my iPad. I was going crazy, crazy I tell you! Now I must spend the night catching up. That second nano seems further and further away every time another bump shows up in this November road.
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

“What is the Luminary?” Gwen stood firm, feet spaced apart and ready to fight, from the look Adam gave her, she might need to.

Adam lent back into his desk chair and folded his hands against his stomach thoughtfully. There was a glint in his eyes as he stared back at her. "Where did you hear that word?"

She stepped furher into the room. The desk between them a protective shield if he attacked, and for the first time she realised she believed he might do just that. She'd never though of Adam as agressive before, something in him was always hidden but she had never thought it was dangerous. Not to her at least.

And what did it matter anyway? He had already shown he was willin got lie to her, even if it was for a cause she had professed belief in. Even if it was to help the other kindred she wasn't sos sure if she should believe in him anymore. Who let someone kill without giving them a choice in the matter anyay?

"I read it." She lied, and it was so obvious a lie she didn't even bother to putting effort into concealing it.

"In a book, no doubt." He scratched an eyebrow with his index finger, watching her intently.

"I could ask a guardian."

"I am a guardian." He replied fiercely, and she aborted the mock motion to go for the door. They both knew, perhaps for different reasons, that she would not ask the guardians. "I wondered why you came early. They will too."

"I had a question."

"And what will you tell them."

"Doesn't it depend on what you tell me?" She clentched her fist and forced it to relax again. "It does, by the way."

He lent forward, elbows on the desk and hands in front of his face. "The Luminary is something you should not worry about."

"You've lied to me once Adam, don't do it again."

"Or what?" He challenged, and then reconsidered just as quickly. "I lied to you because something had to be done, and it was a task I knew you would be challenged by."

She moved closer to his desk, and it felt very much like appraoching a snake and tempting it to strike. But she needed to put this much of a show on. She couldn't control herself well, was not much of a liar, but there where some things she would do.

"You want to fight the guardians. You want me to help with that. I have one question, give me the answer."

"You always have questions Gwen, it's tedious." Adam waved his hand at the door dismissively. "Take your questions where you will, I don't have the time."

"I'll tell them what your planning."

"And I'll tell them you're screwing a vampire clan leader in your spare time. We'll see who's put to death first, shall we."
His knowledge shocked her, and she struggled to think of a response amidst the pounding of her heart. So there it was, the challenge laid out between them, and she hadn't expected it. She'd expected him to tell her, because he had always told her before. She'd expected him to want her on his side.

The reminder that she was nothing more than another piece in his plans stung. She didn't want him as a lover, she didn't find his company fun or interesting, but she had been attention starved when she was recruited, and she could not deny that his attention to her, his focus on her and his preferences towards her had been flattering. To have that removed stung, but it didn't burn.

"Fine." Her voice dropped as her resolve set in. She would not play games. "I'll ask them." She stood from the chair she had taken. Gaged his reaction and the doubt and sneering amusement he had directed her then turned her back, heading for the door.

"A drink first, perhaps?" Adam checked her escape with politeness, she turned her head only to see he had moved to the drinks cabinet and was watching her carefully. He looked solicitous. "Then I'll tell you."

She looked at that expression of his, innocent and promising and she could only feel annoyed. "Too late." She replied, and turned back to the door. It was time to lay her cards on the table.



The class was smaller again, one less recruit had shown up. She wondered if they were sick but they had been told time and again to drag their dieses ridden bodies to class if it was the last thing they ever did. She identified the missing girl as Miah but could do no more than that before their tecaher for the day swept in.

He was rather young looking, dark raven hair and crisp robes. His glasses were even bordering on trendy, it left her wondering what happened to guardians when they were teaching, but that question would have to wait until the first, most important one had been asked.

He introduced himself by name, she forgot it half a second later. He looked over the class and made a note that was handed off to another guardian and taken out of the room like a message from a king. Then he switched on a projector and put up an image of an frail looking old vampire.

"Today we will be looking at case studies from senior Kindred." He handed a large stack of papers to the recruits at the front, and like all her school years the notes were handed back to the rest of them.

Gwen tapped her fingers impatiently on the table, watching through the corner of her eye waiting to see if Adam would show himself in the class or ignore her threat. He was clearly an idiot if he didn't know her that well already, she wouldn't back down on this, even if her heart felt like it was fluttering in that back of her throat with nerves and she could hardly hear over the rush of thoughts telling her why this was a bad idea.

"Getchik is one of the oldest vampires encountered-"

"What's a Luminary?" Gwen demanded over him. Beside her Shane only seemed to be bothered that the class had been interupted already, apparently he had places to be tonight. Just looking she could tell none of the recruits knew what she was talking about, and every single one of the guardians did.

They looked at each other cautiously and their instructor was looking for guidence from the other guardians. Eventually the eldest man made a motion which prompted him to go on, not before writing another note and sending it out.

"He was over two thousand years old." He sounded uncertain now, cautious as well. Everyone who couldn't be stuble was looking at her.

"I read it in a book." She told them the same way she had told Adam, with no conviction and little care.

"Where'd you get the book?" Shane was all interested now.

"I stole it." Gwen made a motion to the guardians at the front, dismissive and wholely rude. "From one of them."

One of the other recruits gasped, and she glared at that reaction. The recurit seemed to sink down in embarassement.

"You stole a guardians property?" The teacher asked carefully.

"I wanted to know more about vampires. You don't seem to tell us anything useful." The challenge was met by the ruffled feathers of a lot of guardians trying to deal with her insebordination. She wondered if their robes usually intimidated the students enough.

"That's true." Telly pipped in from the front, "every time I ask anything about them no-one tells me."

She hadn't expected him to be one of her advocates, but perhaps he had the less to lose.

"You are told," one of the middle aged guardians at the front grumbled in a stern voice, "what you need to know. No more than that."

Shane was turned towards her. "So what is a Luminary?" He questioned, curious now that the topic was going. Apparently wherever he needed to be wasn't that important after all.

"I just saw the word." She brushed aside her complete ignorance, and when she saw the looks of the guardians begin to settle decided to push it a little further. "Said it was a person-"

"What kind of book was this?" The teacher demanded in a hard voice.

"Maybe a journal." She met him glare for glare. He wasn't older than her, maybe even younger, but he wore his indignation as well as any of the old guardians.

"The luminary is completely irrleivent to your teachings."

"You said that." She fought back, bitting and seething that her third and last source for imformation was closed before she'd even had a chance. A piece of paper arrived for him in the hands of a guardian so young she couldn't believe he had finished school. It was like seeing a young vampire, she simply hadn't realised they existed. The teacher read the note then looked up, certain and determined.

"Get out." He ordered.

She was confused for a second until two of the instructor guardians went to move.

"You're kicking me out?" She demanded.

"Until you learn respect for your teachers and this establishment you will leave this room." He wasn't waivering so she stood up, her bag over her shoulder before anyone could kick her out of hte room forceably. It really did feel just like high school.

"Then I'm going home, because I can't do the training anyway." And she did leave, storming out of the room like a disgruntled teenager and into the safety of her car before anyone could try and stop her. It occured to her as she slammed her foot on the accelerator, that she really needed to know what it was now, now she had implicated herself with it in front of everyone one.



She tried Daniels house but nobody answered. She rang the doorbell ten times, with long pauses between each ring to give anyone inside time to anwer the door but knew she'd given it more than enough time when the chill of the evenings air made her start to shiver.

The club was mostly empty, apparently it didn't do well on Tuesday nights and she was fine with that. She was actually surrpised it had been as inhabited as it had every other time, but hadn' tbeen paying attention to what days they had been. One of the barstaff tried to stop her when she went for the door to the back, looking confused and clearly quite aware of who was allowed in or out.

"What?" She demanded when he stood between her target and her.

"Employies only." He insisted. She was going to ask to speak to Daniel, presumably the employee would know the name of the boss if he was able to recognise those allowed and not allowed through the big secret door, but an arm over her shoulders distracted her.

She ehecked the hand at a glance, saw well manicures nails and pale skin, then found who they belonged to. The blonde from the night before was drapped over her shoulders, and surprisingly taller than Gwen.

Gwen didn't much like feeling short, but she bore it well and merely smiled at the employee.

"Let her in." The woman instructed. "She's Daniels partner." Which was really quite a polite way to say waht the woman seemed to be thinking, but then again there was an arm over her shoulders and a bored look in those blue eyes.

"Of course, sorry." And the employee went back to his job, looking like he wasn't watching the door which was clearly a lie.

The womans arm remained around her shoulders as seh opened the door and led Gwen in.

"Watch his face." The taller woman whispered into her ear as they emerged into the large room behind the club. A few looked up, most of them did a double take. When Gwen found Daniel amongst the larger gathering he was already frowning a little and heading towards them. She supposed she hadn't actually come here on her own before, she supposed that maybe it wasn't hte safest thing to do. It was quite possible she had been lulled into a false sense of security last time.

Daniel stopped in front of her and turned his eyes to the tall woman. "You can let her go any time now."

"I like seeing you angry, you never get angry anymore."

"Janice." He seemed to be warning and that was enough, the tall woman (Janice?) unhanded her with a laugh and walked away. Much calmer than she had been the previous meeting.

"That was, surprising." Gwen admited, and was surprised agian when Daniel draw her in against him, eyes about the room fixed on them, and kissed her senseless. She was tempted to fight him off, because things weren't quite clear still, but it was pleasent and invogorating and she wanted everyone in the room to know that she wasn't nothing to him. Even if that something was just sex, she was pleased enough with it to let them all see.

"I wasn't expecting you." He told her pleasently, still very close, and hse could breath in the very scent of him, feeling air stir across her face. It was intimate and sensual and she appreciated every second of it. She twined her arms around his waist, amazed by the mere existanace of him. Sometimes she forgot other people were real, when she couldn't touch she forgot it was solid.

She smiled as casually as she could, unconvincing. "I think I upset the instructors, asking questions..."

Colour drained from his face, funny because she'd thought he was pale before. She supposed he had blood, she'd drawn it herself in her anger, but these little human things kept surprising her. That thought tasted a little strange, the vampire as human. She should ask how different they were, later.

"You didn't." His horror was all to real, then he remembered their crowd, and even though many of them had gone back to their tasks a lot still watched them. Gwen noticed there were more of them here tonight then there had been the night before.

"How large is your clan."

Daniel drew a breath in through his teeth. "My clan?" He double checked.

"Adam knows about you." She remembered a bit embarrassed that hadn't evne occured to her to share. She really was trained not to help this man, trained to do eveyrthing that hurt him.

"Well he was hardly going to let you roam around free." Daniel clearly thought that was obvious. She wasn't as convinced but decided to let it go.

"I'll ask them next." She motioned to his clan, all of them present anyway. He didn't look old enough to be a clan leader, he wasn't old enough. He'd even told her his age, it was less than eighty and that means there had to be vampires in this room at least twice his age. Actually she wasn't sure of that.

"Please." He begged, very softly, just for her, and whoever had sharp ears and stood near by. "You should have trusted me. You need to trust me." He insisted. "Don't ask them, I'll explain it. It's just... not an easy thing to explain. But I will." He pecked a kiss onto her lips and let her go. Those closest to them pretended not to have heard a thing, but when Gwen seemed at a loss for the direction to take one of them motioned to a spare chair amongst the lounges.

She wasn't sure she was up for that sort of attention again, espcially since she didn't recognise them, so she followed Daniel across to the bar and accepted the drink he sat before her.

"Do you even drink?" He checked, as she sipped at the soda. She didn't care how young it made her look, she had no love for alchol at all.

"Only when it can't be avoided." She grimaced at the memory of the other times she'd drunk alcohol. Recently her alcohol drinking had been limited to time in Adams company. At least that wouldn't be happening again.

Looking to see Daniels expression as he fixed his own drink, some sort of green concotion of alcohol she didn't recognise, she wondered if she should go into greater detail about her conversation with Adam. Perhaps seh should go and explain about Adam in general. She hadn't given much away on that topic before now. But she wouldn't do it in a room full of vampires, however peacefully they were treating her.

"Do they all know?" She asked as a distraction, taking  a large gulp of the soda.

Daniel snorted at that. "Try and stop them from knowing." He mocked. "Like aunts with nothing else to talk about."

Masa appeared at Daniels elbow, looking  young and a little tired but otherwise completely at home in the mix of vampires. "You couldn't have thrown a bigger bomb at them if you'd tried Daniel." She was grinning at Gwen with the purest happiest expression Gwen had seen in a long time, it kind of creeped her out. "And why didn't you tell me?" Masa punched Daniels arm lightly, looking indignate.

"Becaue you are the worst of them." He reprimanded then frowned down at her. "And you are not meant to be at the club." His words were hard, but Masa did not take them seriously.

"This is the biggest news of the century, and you think I'm going to stay at home like a good little girl? There's no way I'd miss out."

Gwen titled her head a little at the thought htat had struck her. "Is she yours?" She tested, Daniel spat his drink in surprise, Masa looked positively horrified.

"No no!" Masa shook her head empathetically. "I think he's my mothers third cousin once removed?" She seemed unsure, he smacked her in the back of the head.

"Enough. She doesn't care." He seemed embarrased.

"But I do." She insisted, leaning towards Masa eagerly. At least she knew the girl, and their ages weren't that different, esepcially when she compared it with eighty year old bed fellows and a room full of vampires who could be any age.

"Besides he's only allowed one kid."

"Masa." This time it was an order, and Masa recognised the tone immediatly, she seemed to realise she'd said too much and found something else to do in the room. Gwen hoped she'd come back, though she had pleanty of fodder for annoying Daniel from just those few minutes.

[WC 36,452]

I make no excuses for the excess of typos. I frankly don't care. Bwa ha ha ha. I keep freaking out that I'm getting to the end scenes too quickly, usually I develop things more, like the romance between Daniel and Gwen... but whatever. I can probably go back and make it more romantic, later, in those last few days of Nano when I realise I haven't hit my word count and dear god but the story is finished. Also I'm almost caught up again. *phew*
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

Gwen was tired when she pulled up out the front of her house. Daniel had tried to forbid her from going back when she'd decided to do just that. He had tried to point out all the things that could currently be working against her, but she'd brushed it all aside under the very real knowledge that she needed clean clothes.

He had even tried to come with her, but she'd dismissed that when it became apparent it was more than too late to risk going here and there. Dawn was no normally the time of day she was awake, but it was nice and she felt refreshed and flushed having spent the night before doing nothing but talking to Daniel and whichever of his clan felt brave enough to insert themselves into the conversation. Masa had done a good job of it more than four times throughout the evening, but she'd spent just as much time talking with all the others in the room. It was quite clear she was a spoilt child that belonged to all of them in some capacity. Very much a child of a clan.

Gwen shut the car off and threw herself back into the chair, keys clutched in her hand and everything still. She didn't know what she was doing, she should go back into her room, curl up on her bed and go to sleep. What she should do, and what she wanted were two entierly different things, and the thought of going back to Daniels home and curling into his bed, with him in it, was absolutly tantalising. How long she could stay there now she'd drawn the guardians attention towards her was a different matter entierly. For now though she wanted to pretend it could last forever. That resolve in mind Gwen got out of the car, locked it and headed for the door.

The door was unlocked again and she bit down her annoyance. Maybe, if her flatmates were going to be ignorant of the crime rate in the area she should take her more prized possessions to Daniels.

"Oh god." She cursed herself, that thought had sounded a little too permanent. She really was digging herself far too deep into a realtionship which had- well he hadn't implied he wanted it to stop. She riffled through her draws trying not to think but unable to really help it. She had a small collection of things to take with her on the bed, while the rolled around her concern that maybe she was implying something a bit more than existed between them.

Then again, she was some sort of Luminary-thing, which he would explain before she crawled into bed with him. Maybe that in itself was enough to keep her in his house-

A thought struck her, fierce and a little too obvious and she hated it the moment it occured to her. She'd seen it in their eyes, she'd seen it in the way some of the vampires had been unable to look at her, and others had been unable to look away. The luminary-thing was important, valued, wanted. I might be worth a clan leaders efforts to win one over.

Just the idea that he was using her for something made her feel sick. She tried to rationalise that half his clan hadn't wanted her there, had been horrified he'd bought her into their midst. She tried to rationalise that he had been nothing but accomidating to her, but that didn't help the matter. She tried to remember that he'd said he didn't care if she killed them, and maybe even that first time they'd met he'd allowed himself to be vunerable and at her mercy.

"That doesn't help." She spat at her clothes, and glared at them as if they could solve her problems.

The phone rang, she answered it just to distract yourself.

"Ah, you are there." Adams voice was unexpected on the other end of the line, and Gwen checked her weapons out of habit. The one on her thigh was still secured, her wrist blades too.

"I asked them." She was pleased to boast.

He hummed appreciatively. "I saw. You're hardly the first person to ask questions they don't want to answer though. I doubt they'll even remember you when alls said and done."

"That's fine with me." She sort out a bag in her cupboard, sure she'd had one when she moved in, but it didn't seem to be in the obvious places. She checked under her bed, and any other place that sprung to mind, but her room seemed bag free and that left her with a pile of things and no way to transport them.

"Where are you?"

"What?" She snapped back distracted by her task.

"I'm just wondering. You weren't home before."

She pulled the phone away from her eat to stare at it in preplexed disgust, then brought it back to her ear. "I'm hanging up on you." She informed in forced politeness. "Now." She clarified and then did just that, putting the phone back in it's cradle by her bed.

She wondered if Stuart had a bag, or if she'd left her own somewhere less obvious. She took to the house like a mouse, moving from lounge room to kitchen to laundry and into the bathroom. The moment she stepped into the bathroom she realised nobody would keep a bag in there and was ready to dismiss the room entirely. Something on the floor caught her eye. she glanced at it, dismissed it and turned to leave.

She'd made it to the door before her clamouring warning bells made she realise she'd dismissed something that might be import. She looked back at the small red patch on the beige tiles. It didn't even seem strange, just a thing that was there, until she realised she was in her home and there shouldn't have been a small puddle of clotting blood in the middle of the room.

She checked the entire room with a quick scan, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She checked the roof and found the discoloured boards where the blood had seeped through. Considering what she knew about blood, to have gotten through the space between floors there had to be a lot of it.

The warning bells blared just as she realised what she was staring at and what it meant. Adrenaline flooded her system and she was moving.

"Stuart!" She shouted and broke out of the bathroom forgetting about her bags. "Stuart you better be in your room!" She followed her instincts when she was up the narrow stair well and they took her to the room directly above the bathrooms. Matts door. It was unlocked and as she swung the door open her nose was asulted with proof that things had happened, bad things, bloody things that didn't belong in a shared house in teh middle of the city. She scanned the room anyway. There was blood soaked into the carpet, relatively fresh, but likely several hours old, that's where the blood in the bathroom had come from. Matt's body was half dangled out of his bed, still in his pajamas. He'd apparently tried to get away. She was a little proud of his efforts, then realised she was feeling pride for someone who she hadn't liked and who was now dead before her.

She left his room to check the others, moving fast in a desperate sort of hope that she wasn't right but knowing, logically that everyone in the house was dead. She found another person in the hallway, a man she didn't recognise, she wasn't even sure if it was that flatmate she never saw or a friend or Matts or one of Stuarts conquests.

The last thought made her move over it without another thought.

Stuarts door was wide hope, and he was inside. She stopped the moment she saw him, rigid and frozen in his door way, staring at the body of a man she had considered a friend. He was contorted strangely, an arm twisted up behind his back, he'd been pushed there, against the wall and slipped down. She could read the marks of blood on the wall. His leg had been cut in the struggle, there was dry blood clotted to it, and he was naked. Stuart always slept naked. She'd learnt that when he'd also shown he had no body issues at all. He'd taken to dressing before doing things in the morning because she'd been so mortified by his nakedness.

So he was dead. The gaping wound stretched across his throat like a demented smile was proof enough, the blood covered floor, the patchs of the dried gunk on his body. She pinched her lips together and looked up to keep her reaciton at bay. Tears threatened to burn, but she swollowed them away into nothing. It would do no good, she could cry later.

"I'll come back." She promised him, and turned back to the rest of the house. She felt the weight of his body on her mind as she checked the other rooms. No-one else had been home. She supposed she should be glad that Matt hadn't had one of his rowdy parties, but she wished he had. She didn't know them. She'd known Stuart. A sting of sadness tried to take over again and she shook it back.

Matt she dealt with quickly, tucking him back in under the blankets and aranging him into a more comfortable position. It felt like the least she could do. His wounds were minimal, a slit throat, complete from one side to the other, and slight bruising on his shoulders. Apparently he'd tried to fight back, who ever had done it hadn't had much trouble though, but a sharp knife did wonders to tilt the scales of any battle.

The body in the hall she shifted onto its back with her foot and considered him. He'd been awake, and he'd run. He'd been knocked over and killed, still a quick clean cut. Nothing telling except that it had been an execution.

She moved back into Stuarts room and assessed the damage to his things. There was something broken, she didn't think it was anything important but she picked up the little pieces of glass and put them in a pile on his bedside table. He must have heard the guy in the hallway fall over, he'd been out of bed, the blankets were messy but not the result of a struggle. She impulsively pulled his blankets back into order and shook them down to appear neater.

Another glance at Stuart, still locked in place and she cracked open his window a little. He had been forever leaving it open. She fussed at his table, put a used glass away from the corner of his desk and brushed some dust that had accumulated at the back of his desk away. Her actions were fidgity and hyper aware her heart thrumming just as fast, but eventually all the stalling would do nothing.

"Okay." She stilled her hands catching sight of herself in one of his mirrors and noticing that she could see his face from that angle too. "Vain bugger." She tried to joke but the words came out a little choked. "Stupid boy." She hissed, caught her own eyes in the mirror. "Stupid." She reprimanded herself. Chastised her eyes slid to his body, forcing her to face the reality of it again. She'd never seen someone she knew dead before, and all she could think was how little he looked like himself.

She retrieved his clothes kneeling down next to him in the tacky remains of his blood and began to dress him.



Eventually Gwen moved. She moved from Stuarts side, where she had sat, her head on his shoulder and mind trapped in memories of what little time they had spent together, but she moved with reluctence. Only the very persistant reminder in her head that said she couldn't stay there forever made her move across his room and find one of his bags. She picked the largest, she hadn't been going to, but she wouldn't come back here again, even if Daniel didn't let her stay.

She gave him a parting kiss on the forehead, something she'd never done before but felt right and left him there. She stepped over the body in the hall, and didn't open Max's door again, heading down to her room and her things.

There was blood on her hands as she packed her things, just smudges of the blackening flakes left to wash away. She didn't even acknowledge it, merely sorted through her draws in a methodical haze, disreguarding and choosing with little attention to what was happening. If she took anything of value it would be purely chance.

When she left the house she locked it behind her dropped the key in the mailbox and got in the car.

The drive to Daniels didn't seem to take any time at all. She couldn't remember even starting the car when she was turning it off. She blinked at the little terrance Daniel lived in, and back to the steering wheel. She didn't even care, so she went in.

Masa opened the door for her, looking worried and drawn. She said something, maybe a few things. Gwen walked past, dropping her bag in the hall and heading down to the bathroom in Daniels room. She stepped in below the water without any preparation, turning it on hard and hot and let the waves of water spit against her punishingly.

Someone stormed into the room, a swirl of anger and the anger vanished into confusion. Gwen felt hands moving her, turning her around, and she met Daniels searching expression. Whatever he saw made his own expression shutter into silence. She liked that, she also liked when he pushed her head back and her hair into the stream of water, fingers combing carefully into the tangled mess and shaking out the knots.

"Lets at least take the shoes off, Gwen." He murmured when he'd finished. She let him do it, let him guide her feet out of the pink stained water that swirled around their feet, and let him take away the heavy leather boots and throw them into another part of the room. She was just glad she didn't have to think, so very glad to let Daniel do that for her this once.



Gwen woke folded completely in the arms of Daniel. She was wearing pajamas and burried under blankets. She wasn't even sure how she wasn't overheating, but the soft hum she could hear suggested air conditioning and she was only to happy to accept that. She tucked herself a little further into Daniels hold, trying to burrow away from reality for a few more minutes.

"You're awake?" He tried to pull away and check, so she wrapped her arms around him and held him in place. She was not willing to give this up yet.

"Was I- Did I take long to come back?" She hadn't slept well the night before, but the times she'd falling in and out of conciousness had supplied her with thinking time, and she'd come several very important conclussions.

"You took over four hours." His fingers carded through her hair absently, she felt soothed despite herself.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember..."

"Shock is a cleaver beast." He comforted. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I wish I'd been there."

"I don't." His sounded quite certain.

"I would have killed them."

That scored a laugh, though it wasn't supposed to. "That's kind of what you do, Gwen."

She frowned now, "He called me."

"He?"

"Adam- he knew."

Daniels hands tightened around her, "Tell me your not going back to him." She hesitated and his grip tightened further, biting into her skin a little too hard. She didn't complain or care.

"No, not to him.”

But that wasn’t the important thing, not right now at least. She struggled to get her head around her muddied thoughts. “But he knew.” She frowned thoughtfully and carefully extracted herself from Daniels hold to sit up.

“Presumably,” Daniel offered, still sprawled comfortably in the pillows, “he ordered it.”

She checked his expression, but he was being quite serious and she supposed she should take the idea just as seriously. A little part of her warred with the idea, the part that had put her trust in Adam, the part that had invested in his plans. She tried to squash it down mercilessly, it was foolish to linger on thoughts like that, no matter how much they wanted to continue coming.

“But why?” It was strange asking a question when the answer was already flashing through her mind so quickly, it was strange trying so hard to deny an answer to was so obvious.

Daniel sat up, she was looking away from him, he got out of the bed and walked around the room until he was in her line of sight. He lent in against the bed, close to her, keeping eye contact.

“Because he wanted to hurt you.”

“Who did he get to do it?” That was a preplexing thought. She’d never seen him talking to anyone else, not anyone who wasn’t a guardian. But if he had been half as careful with others as he was with her… she was hardly surprised she had never seen it.

“Probably a Kindred, one of the older ones. One of the trained ones.” He clarified. That made her feel a little better to, not one of the recruites. She liked them, she felt an afinity for them, and if it had been one of them she wasn’t sure how she would have responded. Not that she could hold it against them, she would have done it if Adam had told her to, before he lied. Logically knowing she would have done it, though, wouldn’t have made it easy to forgive others for the same actions. Besides, Stuart had been nice.

“Do you think I was supposed to be there?”

Daniel considered her question, eventually shrugging out of his serious contemplation to reply. “Maybe, but he must have sent more than one of them if he wanted to kill you.”

The idea that any properly trained kindred couldn’t take her out amused her. “You think one wouldn’t be enough?”

He shrugged lightly, offered her his hand and pulled her out of the bed and onto her feet. “Thankfully we don’t have to worry about that today.” He let her go, moving across to a set of draws. She noticed her bag was on the coffee table by the lounge and went over to rifle through her own things. There was no blood on any of it, she guessed Daniel or Masa had cleaned it for her. She would have to thank Masa latter.

She’s thought to pack clothes, she discovered pleased. Though there didn’t seem to have been any method to what clothes she threw into the bag. Still she found one of her favoured skirts and pulled out the closest matching top to go with it. It was a light white shirt with hanging sleeves. It wasn’t ideal for hunting, but there was no Adam to tell her to do that and she was going to spend another night in the company of vampires. Who would have thought her life would turn around so quickly?

She dressed in the room, after last night any pretense of physical embarrasement around Daniel would have been silly. She felt a flutter of gratitude for him and realised she should express it rather than tuck it down securely where she kept anything that could hurt her. She was strapping her wrist blades into place when she turned to locate him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, lacing up his left boot. It was as good a time as any.

“About last night-” She stopped, feeling awkard when he looked up at her. She fumbled momentarily, then blurted out a simple, ‘thank you’ hoping it convayed how very much she had needed him last night, but nowing it really didn’t.

He smiled pleasently, resting his chin on his raised knee. “I can’t believe you got in the shower wearing all your clothes.” The tone was teasing, and she knew he was doing it on purpose. Again she was thankful for the effort.

“They were dirty.” She defended, which was actually true but she was trying for light hearted. Honestly she wasn’t very good at it.

“Uh ha. And it had nothing to do with wanting me to undress you in the shower.”

She did pull an expression at that, but he only seemed pleased by her embarrasement. She was just planning her revenge when she realised she had no shoes. She hunted around her bag to check and then remembered that they too had gone into the shower with her.

“Ahh,” she began, a little hesitant to ask more from him, “my shoes?”

His shoes were on, and he was stretching his back, clicking his spine into a more comfortable position. “Do you want new ones?” Apparently he liked that idea the most.

“No.”

“Then they’re out the back, Masa put them outside to dry all day, incase you wanted to wear them again.”

She found a pair of socks and pulled them on before pausing. “Wait, what’s that make the time?”



The time, it had turned out, was close to 10pm. She wasn’t even sure how Daniel had slept that long, but wasn’t surprised she had. Instead of asking her about what had happened though he took her back to the club. It was quite obviously his clans base, why he lived somewhere else was something she didn’t understand, but she set it aside as a question to ask at another time when there weren’t already so many questions waiting to be answered.

He got her a soda; she stole his drink and downed it in one go. For a second he seemed surprised by the action, then went back to the bar and returned to her side with two glasses and a bottle of whisky He poured them both a drink and settled on the couch beside her. She drank the second as fast as she drank the first. When she poured the third though she rested it on her knee and lent back into the chair to get comfortable.

“Better?” He checked his eyes roaming around the room until they came to rest of one of the vampires who’d been there the night before. Gwen noted the squirillish apperance of the man, but paid him little more attention. She had things to do, sitting around staring at vampires who just stared back at her didn’t seem all that appealing. She tapped her fingers on the glass, and when Daniel apologised and went to talk to whoever the squiral vampire was she finished that glass too.



Gwen was fairly drunk by midnight, and only a few more people had come in. She eyed them all through half lidded eyes, watching them give her cusory glances as they passed her by and mingled amonst their own. Luminary, whatever it was, was not one of them. Not that she’d thought she was a vampire, though it would have made her choices easier to make. She spent too much time in the daylight and none of it drinking blood.

Daniel was confering more with some of his clan. She kept an eye on his movements about the room in an overly possessive manner. She didn’t care though, the alcohol burnt away any concern she had for what these vampires thought of her. Even burnt a little of her concerns about Daniels opinion away. It was nice not to worry about things that normally bothered her.

It was nice to have those few seconds between hazzy thoughts when she didn’t think about the fate she’d handed to her flatmates. It was good to forget the world.

Daniel came over and checked on her, tilting her head back to make eye contact and wih a twist of a smile left again, with her bottle. She felt a loss for the bottle but supposed he was right. If she intended to do anything, like figure out what she would do with the rest of her life now she had trampled all over a murder scene, put her finger prints on anything and then disapeared, she would need to be a little sober for it.

Suddenly she didn’t want to be there anymore. It was foreign and she was tired and what was the point in hanging around in a room full of vampires anyway? What were they doing? Some of them, she noted were playing pool, some of them were talking amongst themselves and two of them were getting just about as drunk as she already was. It was nice to see other people treating life with the respect it deserved.

Resolved she stood up, took several steps and found the next nearest lounge to sit on. The world really shouldn’t spin like that, and neither should her stomach. The feeling of being ill rose in her, and she decided lying down might be the best option. After all sleep solved everything, and she really was quite tired.

In the little lounge she had landed in she curled herself into a small shape and tried to tuck herself away from prying eyes. She felt cold, but there was no blanket and she was too far gone to give it more than a passing thought as she fell into unconciousness.


[WC 39,939]
Okay, it might not look like it, but I finally got the flow back. It died a little in there. Apparently along with Stuart. Man, that just became downer moment in my writing. So I also apologise for not having her clench her fist and go 'TIME FOR REVENGE' or anything like that. I actually sort of meant to... but it didn't happen. And would have been strange (to me).

Anyway. It's all downhill from here. I'm actually in the 40k region, and I reckon it'll be done soon. I also reckon it'll go over the count, but not by much. : ) And ehh... it's late. Good night.
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Kimra
He-Man in a Miniskirt
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Re: the Luminary

Post by Kimra »

When Gwen woke it was not to the pleasant feeling of a soft bed, and the press of warm comforable limbs wrapped around her. That had been the last time she had woken, this time she woke to shouting. At first she thought she was dreaming, then she wondered who left the damn tv on, then realised her flatmates wouldn’t have done that because they were dead. Eventually she came round to remembering she was somewhere with Daniel, and that’s when she woke up.

Gwen opened her eyes to the room, her head felt a little heavy, but there were more pressing concerns. From her position, under a jacket she didn’t remember procuring, she could see movement flying past. Fast movement. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and listened carefully. She didn’t want to move, not until she could figure out what was happening. Unfortunatly she remembered that Daniel was in the middle of the fight she could hear and all her plans for subtlty fell out the window.

Waking to a room of fighting was not something she’d had to do before. She made quick work of it though. There were two groups, the vampires she’d already become slightly familiar with, and a second group. The second group were all human, though they had a feel of Guardian about them that she couldn’t shake from her awareness. They were dressed in blacks, hands wrapped in gloves and hair also concealed. A bit like ninjas. That thought would have amused her any other day, if there wasn’t a group, maybe fifteen, of the attackers weilding blades of various lengths and striking at any vampire that crossed their path.

The vampires were not being cut down though, they had the larger number, but a scant few, and they were holding their own. Some of them had even found weapons of their own to fend off the attackers with.

Gwen was just realising that these were Kindred when she found Daniel amongst the melee. He wasn’t far away, four meters at best, but he had cuts on him already. She moved on instinct, using the blades at her wrists because it would take too long to get at the one on her thigh. She pulled them both out simultaniously and sliced a line across the back of the nearest kindreds neck. He swung at her with a sword in recoil. She ducked and lunged in below his swing. Her tiny blade cutting along his torso and through thick black material.

He went to attack again, fazed by his injury but not defeated when hands closed around his own and pulled the weapon away from Gwen. She took the opening, lunged in again, and this time her little blade went into the black clad mans neck, she wrenched it through the artery, and pulled it back. Daniel dropped the man, catching up the weapon when the falling mans grip became slack.

There was a moment of eye contact between them, understanding that this was happening because she was there and that he neither cared nor was willing to tollerate it., and the second of Daniels attackers moved in.

This one was short, and didn’t realy know who to attack, Daniel made the decission for him and slashed out with the stolen sword. Gwen checked for other near by assailents, but the nearest kindred was a few meters away and fighting off Janice. Janice looked positively wild and Gwen didn’t think the little kindred girl would do well in the battle. That sorted Gwen turned her focus back to Daniel and his oponent.

The shorter kindred was struggling against Daneil even though it was clear that Daniel had little skill with a sword. They were evenly matched and Gwen wasn’t going to stand for that. She stalked in, ready to slice open any part of the kindred she could reach when he pushed Daniel away and swung on her. She lunged before realising it was a silly move, the blade barely missed her side, sliding into the gap between her hip and elbow with something of blind luck supporting her. She drove her little blade into his throat, the other ramming into his chest in counterpart. He stumbled under her weight and they both went sprawling.

Daniel called over the sounds of fighting, she couldn’t understand what, and had an enemy to focus on. Her attention was narrowed to her own safety, her own fight and beyond that she could not spare her focus. The kindred caught her with a fist in the face, she was flung to the side in surprise, losing her left hand knife, stuck deep in his chest. She wanted to pull it out, retrieve it for herself and open up the hole in his lungs she’d just made. Instead she rolled away from him fumbling to get a hold of the blade strapped to her thigh. It was only the length of her forearm but it was more than enough to defend herself with. Anyone who got close enough would be sliced faster than they could dismiss it as useless.

Her opponent rolled to his feet, getting the short sword she’d knocked out of his hands at one point. She wished she’d realised he was unarmed sooner, it would have made it much easier to pummul him to death. She had to give up on her proper blade, holding just her small wrist blade, she tucked it securely between her fingers, the blade poking out like a misshappen claw, the handle secure and unmoving. She couldn’t afford to lose this one.

He lunged in at her, a downwards swing, she rolled to the side, half crouched and hit one of the stupid lounges she’d been sleeping on. He took another swing, wide attacks but they were strong and if one hit her she’d be down for the count, maybe even lose a limb.

She twisted out of the way of the third swing, and struck in at him fast, he didn’t have a spare hand, two wasted on the weapon, but he dodged her attack all the same. Without pause she moved past him and turned, ready to try for an attack at the back, but he had turned as fast as she ahd moved. Sweat trickled down her arms through sensative hairs and her heart pounded with adrenline. She wet her lips and breathed heavy, ready for the next attack.

His eyes flicked over her shoulder at something, surprise in them. She spun and caught the arms behind her before the sword they weilded could fall. She cursed, and her new oponent pressed their height advantage down on her. Her knee began to feel weak, and the short attacker came at her.

She ducked in under the new commers arms, skimming her blade along their ribs as she did. Absently she noticed this was a woman, but didn’t have any time to know or care about anything else.

Something his the back of her head, hard and fast and she fell with the impact, face first into the ground. A cry escaped her and she had to blink the white spots out of her eyes. It was then a snarl launched itself over her head. She thought it must be Daniel, but when she rolled over she was surprised to see Janice with a mouthful of kindred and the other at the end of a katana. The woman was a stunning sight in red and whites, teeth glinting and fury etched into every pore of her body.

Gwen shook her head. It didn’t help her dizziness, she did it again, ordering her body to do what it had to, and trying to force the adrenline to deal with that problem. Not that it would go away, she just needed to forget about it for a minute.

The kindred with Janices teeth clenched around her juggular, not yet dead, reached for something. Gwen remembered how to move herself and she propelled herself off the floor and into the tall girls chest. The skin of her neck must have ripped because Janice did not follow them into a pile at the short kindreds feet. Gwen trusted the vampire to have her back because she needed to deal with the first threat before she could focus on the other. She rammed the blade between her knucled down into the girls chest. Aiming for the heart and probably a little off, but she struck again and again putting her full strength behind each blow to do the most damage she could. The jugular was already torn, it was just a matter of getting the target dead as fast as she could.

Janice pulled her off before she was absolutly certain the girl was dead, but even she could see, once standing, that she’d more than done her job.

Gwen checked Janice. The vampire’s blonde hair had pink streaks in it, and her katana was as marred as the rest of her. Her eyes feril and alive in the face of battle and a grim smile was sported on her red lips.

“Where’s Daniel?” Gwen demanded her eyes jumping in the breath of pause she had. She’d never been in such a large battle, she didn’t even know how to handle it, but her main concern was for Daniel and she wouldn’t lie about that.

“This is crazy.” Janice didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Daniel!” Gwen ordered, like the had the right of it, but Janice obayed, scanning the crowd herself.

“Lets go.” The woman declared and haulled Gwen back into the fray. Gwen checked their trejectory and say that Daniel was across the room near the pool tables. He’d lost his stolen sword at some point, but now had a pair of knives that looked quite sharp between him and two kindred. Gwen remembered to pull her blade out while she had the chance. Slotting her own wrist knife back into it’s sheath incase she needed it again.

A body slammed into her as she moved through the melee and she stumbled with the momentum. Losing sight of Janice as she went down. No time to figure out if it was friend or foe she pushed them off. They turned to attack, and she came face to face with someone she knew. It was jarring to realise she was facing someone she knew amongst the rest of these Kindred, but even with his body covered and his eyes the only thing she could see she recognised the shape of his body and the fluidity of his movement. He did a double take, his weapons went down.

“Shane.” She acknowledged, her own weapons still raised and ready. She was not going to forget that the kindred where there with orders. She would not forget she was probably included in those orders.

“Gwen? What are you-?” His voice was cut off by a shout to their left, both of them shifted to defend against the potential attack, a vampire lunged at him. It was a vampire Gwen recognised, they’d been polite to her and asked her about places she had traveled to. It had been a rather short conversation because Gwen hadn’t been many places at all, but it had been nice. Gwen didn’t think about that, didn’t consider that this was one of Daniels clan, she shifted her stance, stepping between it and Shane with intent. She saw the vampires recognition, saw it pull back from it’s attack lunge and she deflected the aborted attack easily.

“Gwen.” Shane moved just as quickly with his weapon, a blade not unlike Gwens which he shoved through the vampires chest with unearing precision. Gwen froze on the warning she was about to voice, saw the vampire slump and switched the warning off, it was too late now anyway. Shane checked her over quickly. “What are you doing here?” He demanded, eyes on the battle now he was sure she was fine.

Gwen struggled with her answer, staring at the falled vampire. He really had been nice to her. Janice hadn’t, but Janice had helped her anyway. She wondered if she’d do it again, protect Shane against a vampire, it was hard to think she wouldn’t because Shane had sat next to her in classes for months. He had a child and a partner. He had a life that she knew about.

She twisted the handle of her blade once for meassure and decided it wasn’t time to think about things like that. And although he was trying to figure out what was happening she returned to her goal and bridging the gap between her and Daniel. Half a rooms distance was too far in the middle of a melee, she might not have been in one before, but she could tell that much already. She left Shane to deal with his own fate, noticed Daniel only had one oponent now but was struggling and she pushed on.

She dodged most of the little battles going on, ignoring who was winning and who needed help. It was too hard to keep track of all the little bits and and pieces happening and she didn’t have the capacity to think it through. Her target was making sure Daniel was safe, and she didn’t care about anything else that happened that wasn’t directly related to that.

When she got to his side he had already stuck down the kindred who had cornered him. She checked to make sure they were down and then checked him. He was bleeding from the side, and he had more wounds than she had expected. As she reached his side he cringed and dropped one of the weapons he had procured. She was shocked when he caught her shoulder and lent, hard, against her.

“What’s wrong?” She tried to find his wounds, but he was hunched against her side and she couldn’t get a good look in. She hadn’t noticed anything major approaching, but he’d been fighting. She checked their surroundings and he caught his breath.

“Just,” he panted, “just bleeding.” He straightened a moment later, and ignored the worried look she was giving him, instead he assessed the room. For a moment she allowed herself the luxury of looking at the whole of the battle.

It wasn’t a pretty sight. The number of kindred were dwinding, but there were clearly vampires that had fallen as well. Gwen couldn’t even remember who many of each there had been at the beginning of the fight, she just knew nothing seemed to be calming down.

“Right.” Daniel grabbed her arm and pulled her into motion. She followed, expecting to be dragged back into the fight and surprised when the exited the room through the small back door she’d seen. He let her go at the top of the stairs and took them two at a time, she followed. After the second turn in the stairs she realsied they weren’t heading for ground, she didn’t question it, surely he knew his own building better than she did.

When the stairs came to an end Daniel sprinted across the tunnel they came into and ducked into a room. She followed just as quickly, unwilling to lose him in this foreign environment. What she didn’t expect was the security room they entered, but the medieval feel of underground tunnels rarely lent themselves to ideas of high tech cameras and computer panels.

Daniel was typing something into the system and, although curious, she took point at the door, incase they had been followed. She wondered what would happen to all those vampire and kindred they’d left behind in her reprieve. She also wondered if her heart was allowed to slow down now they were out of immediate danger.

She knew Daniel was done when she heard the muffled sound of a siren blaring from back up the stair well. It echoed down high pitch and grating, she was going to ask what its purpose was when she was pulled into motion again. Out into the tunnel again and down the slop of cobbled flooring.

“Where are we going?” She demanded, fairly certain that anyone who had been going to follow them would have already by now.

“Away.” He replied tightly. She wondered how far away was, she wondered exactly what it meant in the face of that attack. Without anyone to fight or defend against Gwens brain started to ananlyse.

Daniel led her down into another tunnel, taking a path that he clearly knew and moving past openings and other tunnels with the skill of familiarity. If she lived over tunnels she would probably have memorised them too.

“Away where?” She tested, trying to catch up with things still. He’d said the kindred didn’t attack in groups, he’d said that the kindred never attacked places where vampires were known to congregate. She supposed that was to do with numbers, if Kindred worked on their own, they fought one on one. It didn’t make sense, therefore, attacking large groups just didn’t happen. It wasn’t safe or viable.

She’d heard that kindred didn’t usually do their best against individua vampires as it was. They were, at best, matched for strength and speed.

But all that ddn’t add up. Because she’d just seem them attack, she’d been in the middle of it, and now Daniel was running away from it. She pulled herself out of his grip and stopped. He turned almost as quickly to meet her stoney expression. They were standing on a dry weir, something there for when the flooding rains came through the tunnels. Right now it was all dusty and unused. It was possible the water didn’t even make it down there anymore.

“That was him again, wasn’t it?” Demanding an answer you already had didn’t make wanting to hear it any less valid.

Daniel was nodding before he spoke, agitated and drawn. “Yes, yes it was him.” She realised he was still bleeding, she looked at their feet and even there she could see the splatter of red that had fallen from his wound in just those few seconds.

“You’re hurt.” She went to help, he waved her off.

“It’s fine.”

She didn’t reply, stubbornly decideing to let him kep his pride because the bigger issue was pressing in.

“Why would he do that? You said it doesn’t happen.” Because maybe he had been wrong when he’d said that, from his expression he hadn’t been.

“Because he knows you’re the Luminary, and he knows I have you.”

“It was for me?” She waved back in the direction she thought they’d come. “He sent them all off to die just to get me?”

Daniel looked pained, physically but also something else. “No.” He shook his head empatheticly. “That was for me.” He laughed spitefully and cringed at the effort it took. His hand came up and craddled his wounded side. Gwen wanted to check the wound, but didn’t dare. Instead she watched as he moved off the weir and took a seat agains the nearest wall. She followed him, but stayed standing.

“For you?” She checked, because she wasn’t sure if that made sense.

“Oh yeah.” He confrmed, his head nodding again and she suspected that was a sign of how tired and weak he really was at that moment. “He’d already tried to get you when he took out your flatmates-“ which she hadn’t actually told him about yet, so clearly he’d done he’s own investigations, “a quick stealt mission to get you in your sleep. That-“ He waved down the path they had come from. “That was to kill vampires.”

“Why you?” The clan she could understand, unless he was keeping something from her. She crouched down in earnest. “What did you do to him?”

The second laugh was real and he looked quite pleased with imself. “I took you from him. He didn’t even think I could and I did.” There was gloating pride that put her on edge, like he’d won a tug of war and she’d been the rope. The idea irked her.

“The Luminary?” Her voice was icy.

“Yeah. Our Luminary.” There was awe in his voice, and his eyes had that amazed look she’d spied once or twice before. It made her feel ill to see something so close to worship in his expression. He really must have been hurt to give this much away. She lent forwards, her hands resting on his knees and met his eyes squarely.

“What is it?” She demanded. “What is it that I am, that he wants to hurt so badly?”

Noise interuptted them, the sound of feet aproaching. Daniel went to stand and Gwen pushed him back down onto the ground, turning to face the way they had come, her weapon at the ready still.

It was unnessisary, she could tell immediately on sight that it was a vampire, and she had a vague nothing of having seen her in the room before she’d fallen asleep. Vaguely she also recalled being completely and utterly drunk. She wished that had lasted longer.

“I’m not threat.” The woman raised her hands, free of weapons, and Gwen wondered how a set of bloodied hands was meant to be unthreatening. But she lowered her weapon.

“Anna.” Daniel greated. “How was it when you left?” He went to stand again and this time Gwen glared enough for him to roll his eyes and remain seated.

“Ah, Janice was right behind me, and so were Neil, and Andrew.” The woman trotted across the weir, looking over taxed and over stimulated. “They should be here any minute now, but-“ she shrugged, “who knows.”

Daniel made a motion for her to continue, but she frowned at him herself.

“Do you need help?”

Gwen was a little annoyed she didn’t seem to fall into the category of help, but knew that was just her jealousy playing it’s part. It was kind of nice to be jealous of something, but she’d rather skip that emotion if she had a choice.

“We’re in the middle of something.” Gwen snapped when Daniel took a little too long to catch his breath and order the woman on. She met the womans surprised look with a scowl and was annoyed when the woman looked t Daniel to double check her dismissal. He motioned, again, for her to go on and she did, reluctantly shooting glances at Gwen suspciously.


[WC 43,680]
I've cut this scene in half, because really it shouldn't be this long anyway, stupid scene that wont stop. Hey look a major fight scene. Go me.
King Prawn

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