The Belikov Manor

[MeloraBelikov]

Running her good hand through her hair, the left hand, she stared at the ceiling while combing tangles from her hair. She wasn't going to answer for that kiss. She could justify it, but she'd only talk herself into a hole she wouldn't be able to explain her way out of. She would wait to address the issue until she was alone with Azura, if she even addressed it at all.

As for Rima being alive, Melora found herself honestly not being able to care less about it. It wouldn't be likely that she'd be following them anymore unless it was for revenge purposes, which would give Azura an excuse to kill her, possibly making him less moody.

The next sixty six days were going to be hell. Melora was entirely ignoring her pain right now, even though she was hurting quite a bit, and this was while she was on pain killers. As soon as she got out of here her pain would only multiply. Still, for Melora the meaning of the words "take it easy" might as well have been lost somewhere in translation.

"Anshel, you ought to inform them that we'll be leaving then. They should have at least one translator on site. You'll be able to do it, seeing as you're my husband." She said this last word with everything but hand made air quotes.

[Doctor]

"You should feel lucky to be married to me. Who else would make you his wife? You're a killing hand with an alcohol dependency who is opposed to birthing heirs. And you're possessed by a demon." He glibly taunted back.

Anshel then frowned at hearing Rima's demands, but there was no reason for him not to comply. Her requests were understandable.

"While I'm down there checking you out, I'll be meeting in the lobby with Ms. Donavon, who has tracked us down. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, or if something explodes, please come find me." He requested, very unsure as to how the confrontation would go. Melora was right, there were plenty of English speaking people at the hospital. Perhaps he could pawn the Blackraven off on one of them after retrieving her things from his luggage.

Stepping off the elevator, he saw Rima immediately and walked over to meet her, alone as requested.

[AzuraGallu]

"And silence is finally your companion, little Hunter. Good. Now maybe I can finally think in peace." He flashed a smile and it broadened with Anshel's lively retort to Melora's behavior. Then again, he didn't blame her, and he could see they were both put off by Rima's presence.
If Anshel weren't to come back within ten minutes he'd be downstairs causing a ruckus. He cared far too much for the demon to let some insipid, vampiric, wanna be drain his blood. No, if either of the two with him managed to get themselves into a situation where they wouldn't be coming back, he'd do them the favor of at least making their passing blissful.
"Am I wrong to just wanna pummel her face into a wall?" He asked to the room, not knowing if Melora had an answer for him or not.

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima scrutinized Anshel, then jerked her head in the direction of a more quiet corner of the office. Humans didn’t need to hear this, it’d be a shame if she had to waste time and precious energy to wipe a mind clear.

“My belongings?” What was it about these people which was starting to bring out her clipped, dark side? “And we need to discuss some things. Inside, or outside, you choose.” She had her arms folded over her chest, defiance in her whole demeanor. Her now short hair was resting cleanly on her shoulders, and was just long enough to partially hide the tattoo.

[Doctor]

Pushed for time, Anshel hastily led the vampire outside to the town car. He had slipped the valet 1000 ruble as a tip to keep it parked by the entrance. Fishing out his keys from the vice that was pants pocket, he opened the trunk and retrieved her things from his luggage. He tossed her the bag and shut the car once more.

The entrance was clear for now. The valet sat slumped over in his box, engrossed in his phone, the door shut to keep the cold air out.

"We are attempting to make a quick retreat, so what is it you wished to discuss, Ms Donavon?" Anshel asked.

[MeloraBelikov]

Silence consumed the room until Azura spoke. But Melora was too far gone in thought again to pay any attention to the words he said to her. What had she honestly just signed herself up for? Pain seeped down her shoulders and into her back, reminding her that the only thing keeping her from death was an annoying little creature. What was the price of her life, honestly? Her father was alive and wanting to turn her into a bloodsucking villain, and the only remaining things she had from her mother were soon to be confiscated by the Banglaire, likely to be put to use towards their agenda, which was exactly what her mother was hoping to avoid.

Your life sucks, the demon reminded her, it would seem that she was an artist of the obvious.

Still, Melora ignored her in favor of continuing to think things through, until Azura's question brought her back to the hospital room.

"No. I want to as well." She responded, voice lingering in the air as her thoughts pulled her back to being distracted. "Christ, what did I sign...?" The reality was that she was backed into a corner. Given the choice between life and death anyone would have signed the same deal. But a hint of guilt snuck it's way into her, guilt for deciding to sacrifice her father in return. Even though he was no longer the man she'd loved when she was growing up, Melora couldn't help but feel like she'd chosen herself over family.

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima cleared her throat, looking over Anshel to pinpoint any moves he might be planning on making. She paused, cracking open the bag at a quick pace, looking over her belongings and snatching up her cell phone to place in her pocket. “Repercussions…” Rima said simply, zipping the bag up.

“The Blackravens aren’t happy that I assisted you, nor the fact that another Elder died because of it. Elders few in numbers to begin with, and I don’t care what Clan, Elders are also valuable. Vampires take years to grow and mature, massive amounts of time. And time isn’t something that works for immortals.” She balled her hands into fists in her jacket’s pockets. “The only way they could’ve been notified was because a young vampire managed to squeeze out of that god-forsaken mansion.” Her last words in that sentence were hissed, resentment at the mere mention evident.

“Any ideas on some that might’ve only been half-killed? Any touched with my blade found their bodies useless, and the one by my mind was turned to a vegetable, as humans say. We’re both going to have trouble from it. The Blackravens value certain members, Elders being at the top of the list. They won’t let anybody who was in that place off scot free. The Leader will especially aim to have your blood on his hands, though Azura and Melora didn’t earn popularity points either.” Her lips curled into a smile, momentarily giving a view of fang. “And don’t think I’m letting you off easy either.”

Her grey-blue eyes clouded with memory, and her face fell, turning to a haunted look. “You haven’t the slightest idea why I was hesitant to help you in the first place. He-” She seemed to choke, a rare sign of emotional vulnerability.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura's gaze softened as the reality of it sank in. The drugs must have also worn off a bit, because she seemed a bit more pained than previously.
He struggled with himself for a moment, trying to decide between his vampire nature and his strangely human accompaniment. As always, and much to his dislike more often than not, his kind nature won out and he found himself moving over to her bed.
He placed her satchel down on the way, hanging it over the back of an old worm-eaten chair near the door.
"Look..." he began, running a hand over the thin sheets of her bed. He realized his voice may have been too business-like, and he dropped it an octave, hoping it would help ease her mood. "Look, you did what you had to do. You've been fighting and surviving all this time. And your father...he never once wrote or contacted you. If he really cared like he did before the accident, would he let you go all these years without knowing him?"
He tugged at his lower lip with a fang, eyes moving to his extended hand.
"It seems to me that you were simply a matter of convenience. I don't think it mattered to him that it was his daughter he was seeing after all these years, but merely someone he could extort to get his way and gain another follower."
Knowing this might be a long conversation, he sighed, turning and hefting himself up back-first onto the old mattress, avoiding her legs. He placed partial weight on his balled hands, looking at her with a mild expression of comfort on his face.
"I think you made the right decision."

[Doctor]

"We are going to have trouble from it," Rima had said.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, Anshel thought. The more time and resources the Blackravens allocated to the fashioning of his team's demise, the more difficult it would be for them to orchestrate their usurpation of power. And with the manor and its assets burned to cinder, leaving them no tips with which to light their way, he was desperate for that borrowed time.

When she hesitated in her words, he waited patiently for her to continue, arms crossed from the cold and ears open with curiosity. What plans did Ms. Donavon have for herself? He wondered. What plans did she have for him?

[MeloraBelikov]

Oh God, when he treated her with respect and caring, she just about lost it. She wouldn't cry, she had decided, but it was getting harder and harder to fight back tears when he wasn't poking fun at her. Her throat tightened and pools of tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, and she fought gravity from pulling them down her cheeks.

"He was supposed to be dead," she muttered to him, quietly to keep her voice from cracking. "Konstantin Belikov, 38, died Sunday June the 24th..." Melora quoted, a line ripped from one of the many news articles covering the story. "His wife Olessia, 35, was found dead in their home in Russia, Konstantin's body has yet to be recovered." Emphasis fell hard on the last part of that statement. "Their daughter Melora, 12, who was visiting Germany at the time, is unharmed and in the care of family. Sounds like he should be dead if you ask me."

Hair fell in front of her eyes as she tipped her head forward. Pain shot through her shoulders from the stretch, but she winced in response before continuing. "He should have killed me. But no, he wants to make me a vampire. One like him. He insists." She thought briefly of letting her tears fall now that she could hide behind her dark hair, but decided against it once more. "But now here I am. Feeling bad because I told a demon I would kill the man that I loved so much. And now I have to go from loving him to hating him instantly."

A pause lingered in the air. "Azura, how does one become a vampire? Can someone be forced into it?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima let out a gasping breath, pupils expanding as she seemed to space out in a memory. The frigid Russian winter was gone, dissolved from her mind and body, and had been replaced with a warmer environment somewhere in Italy. Flashes of running at mind-dizzying speeds, and then an extreme pain in her leg with the harsh impact of ground that knocked the wind from her lungs, as the Hunters pinned her.

“No…” That single word, as it passed through her lips, held all the anguish and suffering she had kept bottled within, and had sounded no louder then a whisper. “God no…” Rima’s knees buckled, and she staggered a moment before she managed to fully catch herself.

At a painfully slow pace, her head tilted up, and fixed on Anshel, studying him with a vacant expression. “You won’t take him again.” Completely oblivious to the faint whisper that was Thomas begging her to stop, she threw a clawed hand at Anshe’s gut, one that would shred and mangle the flesh if it were to make contact.

And with blurring speed, and pin-point accuracy, that's exactly what it did, casting blood all over to floor and the front of Rima's clothing.

[AzuraGallu]

He could smell the salt from her tears, not missing the shake of her voice as she spoke. She was trying so desperately to remain in control, he oddly admired her for it, but he also wished she'd just let it go. Often times, when he was troubled, he found it easiest to vent his anger. Though since his brother had died, he'd had to do it all alone.
Even so, and in those circumstances, it eased him out of many mentally distressing situations.
He listened carefully, not commenting for fear he might make it worse. He didn't know exactly what to say, well of kind words having dried up in the wake of her sudden emotional turmoil. It was like comforting a wailing child, and he was no good at either.
His eyes narrowed at her question, trying to discern from her tone what exactly she might be thinking. Finally, he pegged it as mere curiosity, worry for her future.
"Many are forced, which is why the Banglaire hunt my kind. There are those who cannot accept what they've become. Rima," he paused, listening for the vampiress and hearing nothing, "is one of those. But she seems to be getting on just fine."
He shifted, lounging back on his elbows weight sagging the thin mattress. "First, one is drained of all of their blood. Dead. Second, the vampire offers their victim a small amount of their blood. From there, the change takes place, but it's not finished. As a new vampire, he or she is still starving, dying, from the lack of blood, so he or she needs to feed. More often than not, they end up killing their creator, or some hapless human in their struggle for life. That's why most young vampires don't create others. They may not be strong enough to fight back."
He looked straight ahead, eyes boring into the wall. He held a great amount of distaste for those who created vampires, preferring they be born into it. It led to far less problems, and better relations in the eyes of Hunters.

[MeloraBelikov]

"So what you're saying is that my father could force me." There was a fear in that statement, one that she didn't bother to cover up. Still, Melora wasn't having it to just stay put when she was stressed, so she scooted up next where Azura was sitting, nearly slipping down next to him in the space where the bed had given under his weight. But she slip past him and stood, knees shaking. It was inevitable that she was going to fall over at this rate, but she continued anyway, wrapping the sheets around her until her small frame was swimming in them, covering herself up. She intended to get dressed and get a move on, but still wished to continue their conversation. Azura would get over it. She shifted out of her hospital bed clothes, still covering herself. When the fabric pulled against her shoulders, Melora paused, eyes blurring from pain. She held her breath as she continued on, hoping that wouldn't happen again if she were extra careful. No such luck.

"Fuck." Melora paused, attempting to shift again. Then she remembered, she needed to be engaging in a conversation as well. "He won't know about the contract. If he gets close enough to me I may be able to have another crack at killing him. But.." She paused, shifting again with some difficulty. Her clothes were off, now she needed to put new ones on. "...but if he gets close to me, he may be able to over power me. Azura...could you hand me that?" She pointed at her bag.

"No offense. Please understand. I'm scared of becoming a vampire. I....think I would prefer not to."

[AzuraGallu]

Azura's eyes positively glittered with amusement at watching her try to manage her own limbs. It would be absolutely hysterical if the circumstances weren't so dire.
She flailed a bit more, and he simply watched her from his place on the bed, waiting for her to drop so he might tease her when he had to go pick her up and scold her for being a complete idiot. Then she tried to continue with conversation, and her movements only became more exaggerated and jerky.
He got up from his spot without a sound, holding her elbow to steady her as he reached over and plucked the bag up from the chair.
"You know...I wouldn't mind dressing you. It would be a lot easier." He waggled his eyebrows at her, pervish smile accompanying his pervish statement.

[MeloraBelikov]

Defeated and feeling like a child, she dropped the bed dressings to the side, letting them plop to the floor. Without making eye contact with him, she responded. "Please do." And with that, all of her pride jumped out the window, fell 12 stories, and hit the ground, creating a bloody mess on the sidewalk of her mind. The demon just laughed. Apparently she found it hi-fucking-larious. Still more defeated with every passing second, and now blushing intensely, Melora dropped the sheet as well, leaving herself entirely exposed. Fuck that, she thought, struggling to cover any part of her body that she could. Her shoulders were thickly bandaged, covering up more stitches than she'd probably be able to properly count in English. Oh yes, scars would form there. Other than that she didn't see any other major changes to her person, which would have been a relief had she been alone at the time. All of her energy was now devoted to keeping her bits and pieces covered, and she was failing.