Secrets

[AzuraGallu]

Azura's brow rose. "Is that so? I wouldn't know. The Gallu simply behead their adversaries...or kill them in other ways. Most of them are probably rather unsavory to someone who sticks to a strict moral code like you and Anshel do."
He brought up a hand and ran it through his hair after teasing his scalp with his nails, eyes closing for the briefest of moments in that small pleasure before he opened them again. His eyes were intense, seeming almost molten in their appearance.
Some said that a Vampire's eyes had the ability to glow, and Azura whole heartedly agreed. They were some kind of creature, and ones that lived on the dark side of the moon. Creepy eyes were a given.

[MeloraBelikov]

"Sounds like something I'd prefer to be doing.." Melora trailed off, correcting herself. "I mean, if they were proven to be guilty and such."

Her eyes bounced from object to object in the hall, not bothering to really take in any detail, more so to keep her from looking at him. Anything to keep things from becoming awkward. Finally they came to the end of the hall and were faced with a decision. Left or right? Melora was stuck to her spot by indecision for a moment before she brushed closely past Azura, going left. A little too close. She hadn't intended to make any sort of contact with him as she passed, but she did,far too closely to not have been noticed. She should have been paying attention to where she was walking, not the walls around her. Her hands shot up as she turned to him, face suddenly red. "Sorry! I should have been paying attention." Her words came rushed, mirroring her thoughts.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura chuckled, immediately taking in her flushed appearance. He was going to opt for a snarky comment at her touching him without being forced, but she walked right into his clutches herself.
"Melora, why are you so disgusted by vampires?" He asked, voice showing a hint of humor as well as a deeper underlying reasoning for asking.
She really did not want anything to do with his kind. She was jumpy, brash, and sometimes downright insulting, though he took it in stride.
In his spare time, he began to wonder if vampires were the cause of her current life situation, which would make absolute sense, though he wasn't about to assume.
If he were to make any comments about the aforementioned thoughts and they were deemed to be incorrect, he'd face embarrassment himself. And that was not about to happen.
To press his point, and to distract her from her dark line of thinking, he leaned close to her, putting his face at an even level with hers. Their eyes met, and he stared directly into them without any movement to suggest he was just observing her.
He was looking at her, really looking at her.

[MeloraBelikov]

Immediately her eyes darted to avoid his, then slowly they came back, meeting his once more. "Vampires..." her voice trailed off and she felt her vocal chords constrict. Oh dear God.

No one had ever asked her why. When she came to the Banglaire, everyone just knew. It had been explained to each of them in graphic detail, set on display as an example of how dangerous a vampire could be, and how an investigation could go incredibly wrong. Despite extensive investigation, no answers had ever been found. Melora had no faith in vampires, and no faith in the system. The only person she had faith in since then had been herself, which only helped to feed her sometimes cocky attitude.

"Vampires...Killed my parents. Both of them." Her eyes searched his for the faintest hint of emotion. The only reason she could think that she would grace him with an answer instead of brushing the question off was because she believed he could relate. "Unprovoked," she added. "My parents were both humans with no affiliations at the time. My mother's studies had ended long before I was born." Her voice was shaking and quiet. Her left hand idled at the tips of her long strands of hair, tugging on it gently to remind herself not to get lost in her thoughts again.

[AzuraGallu]

Seeming pleased with her answer, and his own correct assumptions, he assumed proper posture once again. Even though he'd righted himself, he was still looking at her curiously, eyes never leaving hers.
Suddenly, he looked away with a polite nod.
"Murdering is never something I tolerate. I might make a human snack every once in a while, but the meals I take from those unwilling are rare. Something about torturing a person with the pain of a bite doesn't sit well with me..."
He looked back at her with a smile.
"Coming from a Gallu, I bet that sounds like utter bull shit."

[MeloraBelikov]

Finally she relaxed. Now that he wasn't within inches of her face she wouldn't have to worry about those glorious eyes of his searching her for any further answers. A smile spread across her face at his last comment, and she continued her walk, feet finally finding the ability to free themselves from the floor.

"Actually, it has been my observation that The Gallu manage themselves with more grace and dignity than any other clan. There are the black sheep, but there always are in every group. More often than not my assignments set me against vampires of other clans for violent crimes." Her left hand found it's way back to her side while her right raised to her neck, rubbing a small troublesome pain from it. She glanced over at him the same way he had to her, parroting his last statement, as it was fitting to what she had just told him. "I bet that coming from a hunter, that sounds like bullshit."

[AzuraGallu]

He shook his head in the negative.
"Melora, you aren't a Hunter. You're a mercenary. But thank you for the complement to my Clan. We do try to rise above the petty rumors of our supposed barbaric nature. They're rather laughable."
His hands resumed their position behind his back as he walked along with her, simply enjoying her company. What with all that had happened recently, nothing could top this. He was wont for friends, and he'd found two great, though rather unlikely ones in less than a few days.
Someone was looking out for him

[MeloraBelikov]

Mercenary. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not, so she shrugged it off and continued with their walk. They'd made more progress towards a friendship than Melora had made with anyone else in her entire life, and he was a vampire. So she must not despise them. At least not entirely. a thought passed about bringing this fact up to him, but she'd decided she'd already been vulnerable enough for one day, so she pushed it aside to make way for conversation.

But the only thing that drifted into her mind was her parent's home, and the fact that, in less than a days worth of time, she would be on her way back to that horrid place. "You'll love my parent's old home," she noted, trying to take the sting out of the subject by making small talk about it, "Though, I wish I could clean it up before you and Anshel come to see it. It hasn't been kept up in years." That was an understatement if she'd ever made one. The house was still in disarray, untouched since her parent's murder. There would still be blood along the walls, broken knick knacks, doors kicked in, and everything would have collected more than it's share of dust by now. The smile on her face said it didn't matter, the fast beating of her heart in her throat told her she was a fake when it came to being happy.

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima sat back in her chair. The past hour or so she hadn’t been aloud to leave it, only change positions. Her throat throbbed for blood, wine, anything moist. Running a hand through her hair, she brought her attention to Anshel, silvery blue gaze meeting his.

She had been giving her honest explanations as accurately as she had found possible. No, she had not killed Sargon. Yes, she had only learned of the murder that day. Yes, she had an alibi. No, her involvement with her Clan wasn’t extensive. And several more things along those lines. And more was still to come.

She swallowed, trying for what felt like the thousandth time to banish the feeling of sand paper from her throat, to no avail. “Mr. Lochem, may I make a request for a bottle of water?” Rima ventured, hoping that this wouldn’t be refused in such a harsh manner as her request for information about Sargon had been. She didn’t believe Anshel would react in such a way though.

[Doctor]

Anshel had spent the last twenty minutes slumped slightly forward and to the left with his shoulder on his arm rest and his chin propped up by his palm. However, his eyes were trained ever dutifully to the accused. Posture had suffered as time ticked on. The more this lady spoke, the more difficult it seemed to stay focused out of sheer boredom. In fact, the hour was entirely anticlimactic due to her account's convincing veracity. There was nothing to be gained, damn it all.

Rima asked now for a cup of water and he voiced an affirmative after stifling the yawn that wanted to release itself on the room. Anshel then let out a shrill whistle to call for assistance and arranged for sustenance in the form of bottled blood. From what he heard, the preservatives made it taste like ass, but he didn't trust Rima enough yet to offer her a Court volunteer. She could deal.

Once the bottle was in her hand, he spoke. "You will be staying on our grounds until further notice, Ms. Donovan," he said, striking the tiredness from his voice. "We must yet address your numerous felonies." Now he tried to lay out his words with a lilt that would emphasize the logic of his offer, "Of course, it will take us some time to see your case to the floor. You see, there is an investigation in progress of a dire nature that takes precedence. But, perhaps we can work something out? I'm sure you'd like to leave our dull halls as soon as possible."

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima unscrewed the bottle of blood, and gave no outward sign of the cried of hunger in her throat. The edge of one in the pair of delicate, cat-like fangs on the top of her mouth caught the light as she parted her lips to take a drink.

Hidden by her bottom lips were a second, smaller pair of equally sharp fangs. There were only two ways a vampire could get this look: one being extreme hunger, the other being stress. Her reasons were the latter.

The blood tasted stale because of the preservatives, but it was still sustenance, and was enough to draw her focus back. Was Mr. Lochem actually offering her a bargain?

“Mr. Lochem,” She started formally, old Italian accent leaking its way into her voice. “You haven’t the slightest idea of how much I wish to leave. Not to offend your people in anyway, but dull is an accurate description.” Rima screwed the cap back on delicately, and leaned back.

“What exactly do you want?” She asked, clearly speaking of his offer to work something out.

[Doctor]

Well, that was easy, he thought. Her tone hinted at no misgivings and that only strengthened the case for her. Anshel pursed his lips. He might get something yet. He sat upright and folded his hands together in front of his chest, mulling his chosen approach over in his mind. Hell, it might work, so he might as well try?

He spoke forwardly. "Your clan is known to foster the psychic gifts of their members. We are a scholastically inclined bunch here. We're interested in learning more about those psychic capabilities." He gave her a very ingenuously friendly smile. "Would you be willing to enlighten us about those gifts? Your clan's? Or your own?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima had a poker face on, unreadable, and not giving anything away yet. 'So that’s what they want.' She thought with the faintest trace of amusement. 'What have I got to really loose other then my life?'

She took another small sip of the bottled blood, settling the bottle at her side. Bringing her hands up and resting her chin on them, but in a way which hid her mouth, she looked at him carefully.

That was when her grey-blue eyes changed. They appeared more predatory, then bled with silver. ‘Those are terms I can agree to, as long as I have your word that no trickery will come from your side of the bargain.’ She spoke, directly to his mind. Her voice sounded as though she was far closer to the Judge, right next to his ear. The thought had also had every ounce of the normal, mind-controlling ability removed from it, leaving him the options to accept or refuse.

[Doctor]

Her voice was so close it threw him and his heart rate picked up. Surely... No. Did she just...? Did he...? Well, shit.

That was new.

Anshel spent a moment being deeply confounded before his mind caught up to him, churning out questions and stringing together connections. He'd always found it fascinating how silently emotive vampires were that they could communicate everything they needed to through their eyes. Maybe it wasn't their eyes they were speaking through after all. He was bored before, but now his heart tripped with fear and excitement and the promise of something useful.

That oily, fake smile had been knocked from his face so abruptly that his mouth was confused and it took a few slow, deliberate breaths for him to regain feeling enough in his face to grin. His lips were quirked up one side now in an expression of absolute intrigue. His face loved this expression.

"Agreed," Anshel could hear the wonder in his own voice. Her eyes looked like coins and it was beautiful. "Although, I have a feeling you're far more well-versed in trickery than we, Ms. Donavon."

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima smiled, and lowered her hands to her lap. It was a soft, feminine smile, shedding some more light on her years. He doesn’t even have a clue how close he is. A pity I am being nice. This thought stayed in her own head. Truthfully, she was not a plotting, scheming person by nature, which was part of the reason she was going to be truthful. The other reason was simply because she was curious about Sargon’s murder, and what those idiotic, little, fools that could call themselves Blackraven vampires had done to him.

Peering back into his mind, she projected her next words. ’You would be correct Anshel, I am. But I see no reason to stretch out my neck on the chopping block to try to lie.’ She thought to his mind, using a phrase which also shed some light on her years. She accompanied that statement with a light, little, laugh.

Her respect for him grew. Rima hadn’t missed that little thought about her eyes, but his years alone… Actually being inside Anshel’s head was far different then speaking to the man, as was going into anybody else’s thoughts. If one would search deep enough, they could sort out somebody’s true intentions, and change them with mind control, another thing she wasn’t going to do.

She started again.’Which would you like to know about first?’ Those silvery eyes were cat-like, predator still, and somehow were filled with honesty.