Return of the Gangrel (closed for Mya and Steiner)

[Steiner]

The door of the Wolf's Head slammed back against the wall as the large man barelled inside, hunched over strangely from the weight he was carrying.

Reaching the back room he flung the body to the floor and observed it critically, his eyes confirming what his other senses had been telling him for an hour now - his friend was dead.

Brutus had been a hard core Brujah - loved a fight and had been loyal to his Clan and to his Prince, for over 100 years. Now he was gone into final death, irrevocably lost. Normally this would be cause for grief enough, but in the nightmarish ambush he'd lost track of his Childe and Kari was now lost to him. The last he'd seen her, she'd been the other side of a sheet of flame, carried away by the press of bodies - so many enemy!

The dead body of his friend mocked him as it dried up before him, muscle and skin delaminating in flakes from the skeleton as the years reclaimed Brutus finally - was this HER fate?

Dragging the body to the cellar, where it could rest in peace, Lars found himself pacing. It was 3am, and if Kari was going to make it back before dawn, she'd need to do so in the next couple of hours. In the meantime he took the time to prepare a note to Prince Natalia, telling her of the disastrous end to the Coventry expedition and the setback to their cause.

OOC: In this thread Mya and I will be replaying the roles we created in Star's Masquerade game. It's mostly for fun, and doesn't slavishly follow the rules or story of the game, but it will make several nods in that direction.

 

[mya]

Kari Davenport - Gangrel childe of Lars

OOC - I know this is a bit long for my usual Gangrel posts. I wanted to get a bit of history in to tie this thread back to our previous ones. The next posts will get shorter--I promise! I'd have posted links back to the original Gangrel thread and then to the Ventrue thread where our story continued, except for the fact I can't figure out how to do that with the new format of Lit! Oh well--PM Steiner if you're interested in those links. He's much smarter than I about computers and maybe he can figure it out! To Steiner-Sorry for being so late in posting! I'm ready when you are.

IC- Kari Davenport

Kari lay huddled under the earth. The truth was that it was the sun that had saved her. That and the nifty earth-meld thing Lars had shown her. She’d lost Lars in the battle and had seen two evil looking creatures advancing on her. Her new vamp senses had allowed her to feel their emotions and thoughts. Hatred and their desire to kill her radiated from them. And by picking up their thoughts, Kari learned that the beasts were vamps from different clans. Lars had warned her that danger lurked everywhere, even amongst fellow vamps. Kari had been scared. Scared she’d die, even from this new state Lars had turned her to—before she saved her daughter from her ex’s clutches and before she saw Lars again.

However, as quickly as the creatures had turned to advance on her, they’d turned tail and scattered also. But not before Kari read the thoughts of the creature closest to her—something about their boss not being happy that they’d not completely succeeded in their mission despite having the inside track because they’d been tipped off by someone on the Prince’s staff.

Total chaos had ensued as the creatures of the night all sought sanctuary from the sun as it barely tipped its cheery head over the horizon. Kari’s skin burned, her eyes ached and she could barely see. But somehow she cleared her thoughts and imagined herself sinking into the cool dark earth, just has Lars had done with her once before. And the earth enveloped her in its welcoming arms. Here at least she could rest and think for a few hours. “…must remember to tell Lars about the traitor in the Prince’s ranks,” Kari thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Hyperconscious of the darkness settling the next night, Kari carefully rose out of the ground again. Miraculously there was no sign of the struggles of the day before. It had been a war-zone—bodies strewn everywhere, blood soaking the ground, fires scorching the earth. Yet now Kari saw only the green grass and flowers waving in the gentle breeze under the light of the full moon, right where the battle had raged. Obviously the Camarilla had somehow managed to sweep the area clean so as not to draw the attention of authorities. A shiver ran down Kari’s spine as she realized the power the vampire clans wielded.

One thing she knew for sure, this was a dangerous place. Kari knew there were too many ways she could get into trouble as a childe, and by so doing create trouble for Lars. She needed to get back to Lars ASAP. For her sake, and his, and for Lizzie’s. Kari ran at Gangrel speeds through the field to the road. Her problem was that she didn’t know the country or where she was otherwise she’d simply have ran all the way back to The Wolf’s Head.

The first cab Kari hailed stopped for her. “Thank God,” Kari murmured under her breath—being new to the dark side, Kari didn’t even think about thanking God or not thanking him. She was relieved to be on her way “home” to Lars. Hunger gnawed at her though for it had been a couple of days without feeding. Kari’s nostrils flared as she smelled the blood coursing through the driver’s veins. She leaned forward in the seat, nearing his throat as her fangs began to grow.

At the last minute, Kari pulled back. She knew she could not afford to kill the driver for he was her source of salvation for the moment. He would take her to Lars. More so though, she dared not attempt her first solo kill outside of Lars territory, certain she’d most likely break one or two of the damn rules Lars had drilled into her. No, for now she’d get back to the Wolf’s Head and hope that Lars was there also. She knew he’d take care of her.

Kari’s body grew weaker as they neared the Wolf’s Head. As they turned the corner and the familiar neon lights of the bar flashed in the dark night, Kari drew a sigh of relief. Quickly she tossed some bills from the wad of money Lars had given her at the driver and stumbled out of the car. Dragging her feet weakly she shuffled into the bar, her eyes scanning behind the bar for Lars. He wasn’t there. Her heart felt like it stopped right there, although of course her heart no longer beat.

Eisna, the large Malamute that Lars either owned or ran with (Kari wasn’t exactly sure of the exact nature of their relationship), rounded the bar. Kari wasn’t sure of the reception she’d get from Eisna, and while they’d begun to make friends, it hadn’t started out that way. She held her hand out to Eisna, and the bitch sniffed it and then licked it. So far, so good. Kari’s strength was failing quickly. Darkness began to overtake her brain, and she stumbled and fell unconscious to the floor in the middle of the bar, but not before weakly commanding the dog, “Go girl, go get Lars for me. Tell him Kari needs him.” Then she slumped into oblivion.

 

[Steiner]

Lars was seldom in an emotional state but the Princes Herald was moving him close to anger and desperation and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rising in frustration.

"So you see, Primogen, I can't possibly disturb the Prince with unconfirmed reports of a possible threat"

The phone went dead and Lars realised he'd been cut off. Something stank, but he needed time to process it and chew it over - it wasn't the first time a minor Ventrue official had been a stickler about procedure rather than act sensibly...

He heard the door creak behind him, a normal man might not have heard the stealthy footfalls, and most vampires would have jumped in shock, but Lars had been with Eisna for months so he could tell the sound of her tread from that of other dogs of her breed with his eyes closed.

She whined.

"Didn't I tell you to watch the front?"

She whined again.

He levered himself off the bed and marched a little unsteadily through the door, his leg still betraying him from the Katana slash he'd endured the previous night. He marched in through the door behind the bar and surveyed the quiet emptiness, a familiar yet out of place scent pricking at his nostrils.

"Kari?"

A slight noise made him crane over the bar and spot the twisted form on the floor. She was out cold, but something about the way she was lying suggested she was still animate, some flickering spark of her still visible. He cleared the bar with the aid of a single palm planted in the centre of the oak boards and landed next to her, cradling her head up onto his lap and stroking the earth matted hair clear of her face. She was pale, far paler than she should be - even with her light complexion and her undead state. He realised she was on empty, cleaned out by the fight and whatever she'd had to do to get back here. He stroked her hair a little more tenderly - he'd been a sucker for wounded animals all his life, especially loyal ones.

He dimly realised that he should beware - she was starved of blood, her brain shutting down, her body dying again in painful ways worse than her first death. When he gave her a little of his strength she was likely to frenzy immediately, he was weak, he should let her go into Torpor and prepare....

With a grin her shallowly sliced his wrist lengthwise, letting the ruby blood colour her lips. Seeing her nostril quiver and the tiny corner of pink slip from between her lips to taste it. The flow increased, until she was fastened onto his wrist - would she quietly slip back into consciousness, or would he have a fight on his hands?

 

[mya]

Kari

Kari drifted in the dark world where nightmares lived, only they weren’t nightmares for her anymore, they were her life—past and present. Images of: Lizzie’s disappearance from the school; her first visit to The Wolf’s Head; the fight and chase with Lars; his embrace as he turned her; fire and smoke that dragging her away from the safety of Lars; and the advance of the other vamps intent on truly finishing her off at the site of the ambush. As the images flashed in her mind, she writhed in Lars’ embrace. As his arms held her and his wrist fed her, she sucked greedily from his “life-giving” force.

As Kari regained consciousness, the ghoulish visions followed her and she began to struggle wildly, kicking and hitting with all her strength. She landed a Gangrel-strength punch to Lars chin before pulling back and jamming her elbow into his groin. Still unaware she was safe in Lars arms, she struggled to stand, her only will to stand and fight to the death.

She struggled to her feet, as unsteady as a baby deer taking its first steps. She stood unsteadily, her nostrils flaring, her eyes skirting about the room, trying to figure out where she was. The stench of stale cigarettes, beer and spirits filled her nose. Her tongue snaked out and lapped at the stray trail of blood at the corner of her mouth from her feeding. Finally she focused, and there stood Lars facing her as he cupped his package to protect himself from any further damage. She read a mixture of emotions on his face—anger, concern, and...was that joy?

It was then she realized what she’d done to him, attacking him when he’d only been helping her. She launched herself at him again. This time she wrapped her arms around his neck in tight hug and hung on for dear life.

 

[Steiner]

None of the damage was severe - she fought with undead strength, but she fought as a human would fight. In truth the blows probably hurt her joints almost as bad as they hurt his body.

He dropped back from her, aware that she didn't fight truly in the here and now. Even so, her flailing attacks knocked him back further as she came off the floor at him with the speed of a scalded wildcat.

The blow to his chin rocked him back, but he was already rolling with it. He tasted blood from his bitten tongue, but he could feel the wounds healing already. The blow to his groin, on the other hand almost lifted him from his knees and struck him squarely. His eyes didn't tear, but he felt the damage done there, knowing a human would have been rendered sterile, and he was not best pleased. Some residual human maleness in his character responded to this maiming of the centre of his power, and he felt the hairs rising on the back of his neck and arms, a low growling starting in his chest.


He pushed the anger to the back of his mind as she straightened suddenly, comprehension returning to her eyes. She leapt at him again, but the angle of the jump and the squeal she made as she landed in his arms had already convinced him that she was back to her senses. Her arms closed around his neck as she flattened herself against him, and he wrapped his own arms around her ribs as he lifted her in a strong hug. The pair of them held each other for a long while, until laughter replaced the anger and fear.

 

[mya]

Kari

Lars' infectious laughter bubbled up from inside her, as she clung to him with joy. Eisna nuzzled at her master’s hand where it rested on Kari’s hip. Kari reached down and scratched the big dog’s ear. A whimper of joy slipped naturally from Kari’s voice box, a language Eisna clearly understood. “Thank you Girl,” Kari said as she continued to fondle her ears. “You found Lars for me. Good girl Eisna.”

Kari then turned her full attention back to Lars. “I missed you Lars. I needed you in so many ways. I was so afraid I’d do the wrong thing and make a mess for you to clean up. Please show me the boundaries of your turf—the places where I may safely hunt, if there are even any safe places. I can’t keep taking from you, stealing your own strength. For surely you are going to need every drop of reserve strength for yourself before this struggle is over. I feel certain we will again face those who ambushed us at the park. Have you spoken to the Prince to find out what went wrong? How come only a few of our allies were with us? One of the beasts who attacked me let his mind weaken and I was able to read his thoughts. His thoughts told of a traitor in the Prince’s closest ranks, though I know not who. How could she be so careless? Her carelessness almost cost us our lives!” Anger, mostly directed at the Prince, flowed through Kari’s veins at that moment.

Kari knew that Lars and the Prince had a history. He’d never told her, but she’d sensed that Lars had once been very close to the Prince. Even though Kari had only seen the two together twice, and only briefly, it didn’t take heightened vampire senses to pick up on the sexual tension between them when they were in the same room. Kari’s vampire nose easily scented the Prince’s heat when she’d been near Lars. It was clear that the Prince had been Lars’ lover first and still obviously desired him now. And it seemed that what the Prince wanted, she simply got. Kari could not stem the wave of jealousy that washed over her for the Prince. Jealousy spurned Kari on as pressed her lips to Lars’s in a hard kiss. A small moan escaped her lips as she traced his own lips with her tongue, begging for admission into his body.

 

[Steiner]

Although he'd lived for over a thousand years, Lars still had a long way to go before he unravelled the puzzle of the human mind. Outside of combat, he tended to brood on a single issue until it was solved - but Kari was still fresh, and her thoughts seemed to skip like water on hot metal. No sooner had he begun to articulate an answer to one question than she had changed focus and sometimes completely changed topic. He felt like a sleepy bear woken in winter and ordered to solve crossword puzzle clues.


This time though, he did the right thing, and when he opened his mouth it was only to press his own tongue against hers, the kiss deepening as she enthusiastically responded to the opening, her body squirming against his as their hold on each other grew less constrictive and more permissive. Her hips, in particular, rocked up against him demandingly, and he found his own grinding down to meet her.

Breaking the kiss for a moment he nuzzled his childe's nose affectionately before bending to her ear.
"Be mindful of your place, little one. If I heard you speaking about me that way I'd spank you - Natalia, that is the Prince, would most likely have you peeled.

He took a gentle bite at her earlobe - being playful to soften the warning, but from the way she stiffened in his arms he knew something he'd said had upset her.

 

[mya]

Kari

Kari pulled as far away from Lars as the length of his arms. Her eyes pierced his, the fury flashing there for him to see. How dare he suggest she had no right to feel or show her anger to the Prince. “Dammit Lars! Do you have to stand up for your precious Natalia all the time? Even here, alone in the bar, with just me? I suppose you’re going to tell me she has ears everywhere now?”

Kari rolled her eyes in disbelief at that statement. “Someone obviously needs to speak frankly to Natalia, that is the Prince," Kari mimicked Lars own slip earlier, "and I have the distinct impression that your feelings for her are clouding your judgement. Or perhaps it’s just the brain between your legs doing that.”

Kari growled her rage as she yanked out of Lars’ embrace completely. She stomped across the bar, overturning chairs and tables as she went. When she reached the bar, she grabbed the first bottle of rot gut she could reach and downed a good swallow before turning back to Lars to continue her tirade.

“I can damn well see your leg is injured Lars. INJURED for Christ’s sake. YOU, the one who breaks an ankle and just watches it heal instantly. For your leg to still be bothering you two days after a fight, I know that if that blow had landed in your heart, you’d not be here today. Don’t you think it should be YOU who is the one who is mad. The Prince’s carelessness almost cost you your life! You of all people, should be marching into that damn hotel of hers that she’s converted to her palace and lay it on the line with her. Your precious Natalia SCREWED UP!”

Kari turned her back to Lars dismissing him. She leaned on the bar before taking another long swallow of the dastardly brew. She muttered under her breath, “Fuckin’ men!” She took another long swallow, ignoring the roiling in her stomach.

Kari hadn’t forgotten that Lars had told her she wouldn’t be able to consume human food or drink without feeling sick, at least not until she gained more skill as a vampire and learned how to manage the feat. But she was determined to prove him wrong, so she took another long swig and fought to keep the contents in her stomach as her eyes caught his. Her expression clearly challenging him to say anything about it. The one thing she did NOT miss, was the fury in his own eyes. “Fuck him,” she said to herself and emptied the bottle.

 

[Steiner]

All the hairs on his body shot up together as his brain perceived the challenge implicit in her actions and words.

"This is a war, Kari. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. The Sabbat are not well known for telling their footsoldiers the truth, and it's equally possible that there IS no traitor and that they just saw us coming in an hour ahead of time"

He paused to reflect.

"Now you might well be right about this agent of the Sabbat. And it DOES need to be mentioned to the Prince so she can perform an investigation, but if you walk in all Brujah style and call her out she'll start cleaning house by mopping the floor with you. And I won't be able to stop it. Natalia might look like a pretty little girl, but she's older than even I am, and whilst I'm stronger she probably has some tricks that I've never seen."

He paused again, trying to make sense of the passions rolling within him.

"You're right that Natalia and I have history. If you want to hear about it, I'll tell you - I'm not scared of the truth. But the fact is that she and I haven't been together since the signing of the Magna Carta over here. So any history between us is just that, and ancient history too."

He watched her down the bottle of liquor, his mouth crooking into a grin.

"That won't get you drunk you know..." his tone became more serious, his eyes looking a little lost "...believe me, I've tried."

 

[mya]

Kari

The smirk on his face as he smugly reminded her that the drinking wasn’t going to help, just drove Kari a bit crazier with anger. The lost look on his face as his words trailed off was almost enough to make her abandon her anger. Almost.

Instead she pushed roughly away from the bar and ran to the ladies room. Quickly Kari locked the door behind her as the damn liquor fought its own battle inside her. This was a battle she couldn’t win, and she ended up hanging her head in the toilet for several minutes as the heaves raked her body.

She’d heard Lars footsteps follow her and stop outside the door. She could hear his calm breathing, even over the heaving and through the locked door. She knew he didn’t need to breathe, it must just be one more parlour trick he’d perfected over the years, like eating and drinking. Just one more parlour trick Kari couldn’t do. It only infuriated her more. For if she could hear him, he could easily hear her. It felt to Kari that he was rubbing it in—reminding her of his superiority and of her weaknesses; reminding her he was right as usual, and she was stupid and weak. Reminding her she was nothing compared to Natalia.

Finished throwing-up, Kari straightened and ran the water in the sink as she washed her face, mouth and hands. As she turned off the water, she looked closely at her drawn pale face, her short red hair framing her face in damp spikes. Still Lars stood silently outside the bathroom door. Kari drew her fingers into a fist and slammed it through the wall in anger. Her knuckles easily tore through the wall board. She pulled her hand back out and watched the scratches close over and heal. Just one more reminder of what she was now—just like her inability to consume food and drink was a reminder. And it was all HIS fault. Lars’ fault.

She grabbed the door handle and yanked it roughly open, the lock shattered and the door banged against the wall. There was Lars leaning against the wall, just waiting. “Damn you Lars,” Kari cried as she again flung herself at him. Her right fist connected with his stomach as her left fingers reached up and clawed at his face.

“God damn you Lars for making me into one of you! You should have stuck with your damn precious Natalia and left me the hell alone!” Tears streaked down Kari’s face as she fought Lars tooth and nail. And the hell of it was that even while fighting Lars, Kari felt her traitorous body reacting to his nearness—her hardening nipples rubbed maddeningly against her t-shirt as her panties dampened between her thighs. She hoped like hell he wouldn’t notice—because she really was ticked off with him. Then again if he didn’t notice, she’d probably be even more mad.

 

[Steiner]

He was slow to react - too slow. As she had pointed out, he was injured. For that reason her attacks landed, the rake doing the worst damage as her claws gouged furrows through the flesh of his face.

This time he let the brakes off - if he didn't show her the danger she was in now, she'd get herself killed some night, or lose all respect for him and become the biggest threat to his survival possible. Lars had spent far too long as a wolf to not respond to such a blatant challenge to his authority.

As she came at him again, he blurred around her, letting the ancient blood fuel his movements to his full speed. Her nails shredded his t-shirt, drawing blood from his abs, but he ignored the lesser wound, letting the movement set her up for his own strike.

If he'd used his claws he could have left her with her guts pooled around her feet - he'd even had that happen to him once before - but instead he backhanded her across the face. But he did so at full strength - with a force that would have snapped a human neck. Luckily Kari was no longer human, so the blow merely lifted her off her feet and smashed her through the bedroom door.

Kari was gutsy, and his blood had made her strong, but Lars had been doing this for well over a hundred lives of men, and there was only one possible end to this struggle. Kari sprawled on her back, Lars straddling her hips, gripping each wrist as he pinned her to the ground.

 

[mya]

Kari

Kari slammed hard down on the ground, with Lars on top of her before she could even grasp how quickly he had turned the tables on her. The truth was her strong body barely even registered any pain as her bones contacted he cold hard floor, though she struggled frantically under the grip of his strong thighs in an honest attempt to break free. Kari twisted her hips from side to side, squirming against his manhood as she tugged hard with her arms in an attempt to break his grip.

She tried to draw her knee up to inflict damage upon his family jewels, though Lars seemed prepared for that move this time around and merely gripped her tighter with his own thighs, pressing his growing erection tighter against the apex of her thighs. Kari’s nostrils flared as she registered how intimately his anatomy was connecting to hers, and the precise state she was apparently putting him in. Inside she gloated, feeling at least equal to him in that department, for it seemed he could no more easily control his lust for her than she could for him. Outwardly, she glared into his eyes.

Lars remained silent, simply holding her fast as he held her gaze. Somewhere deep inside Kari a warmth she should not have been able to feel filled her. It started somewhere in the vicinity of her heart and began radiating through her body. The aroma of Lars own sexual excitement filled her nose. Careful to keep her feelings from showing on her face, she just stared up at him, letting her nostrils continue to flare as she picked up the scent of his pheromones.
"Take that Natalia!" Kari thought to herself. Perhaps she needn’t be so jealous of Natalia afterall.

“That’s right Little One,” Lars growled softly, “as I said Natalia and I are in the past.”

Kari’s eyes closed and stayed closed as she shielded herself from him in the only way she could. She realized, of course, that Lars had read her mind. She’d given him no clues to her thoughts. Only her traitorous body had told him of her lust for him. A man didn’t have to be a vampire to read those signs.

Slowly she lifted her lids again, “I’m done fighting now Lars. Let me go.” Her body slackened under him as the fight went out of her. A slow smile formed on her lips.

“Though we could wear off some energy in a different way if you…” Kari paused to let the last word roll seductively off her tongue, “...de-sire.” She punctuated the sentence by thrusting her hips hard and fast up against him, feeling his erection poke firmly against her. She could see the hard twin peaks of her nipples as easily as he could. She wondered if he’d take her up on the offer or not. Just because his body wanted her didn’t mean he’d give up so easily on the lessons he seemed determined to impart on her.

 

[Steiner]

Lars knew that Kari was half-expecting him to batter her into utter submission, but the truth was that he wanted to prepare her, train her, not break her. Lars had no use for a tamed animal and never kept such around him.

Her lust for him was maddening in his nostrils, but she DID still need to be trained. Luckily there was more than one way to impose and reinfordce his dominant position with her - and the one he had in mind was much more fun than gladatorial combat.

His hands tightened around her wrists as his thighs stayed tight around her hips, his eyes pinning hers fast, holding her gaze as he bent his head to one of the stiff peaks jutting from her t-shirt. Still holding her gaze he sucked her nipple into his mouth, t-shirt and all, letting his tongue soak the cotton through and rasp hard against the sensitised flesh. Her body arched up from the ground at him, and he kept her pinned still, using his tongue, but not giving her all the pressure she wanted, saving his sweetest tormentation for later.

She experimentally tugged one arm, trying to free it - no doubt to pull his head hard down against her, but he kept her wrist pinned, increasing the pressure as she vainly tried to pull free. She tried to grind her hips up into him, seeking stimulation that way, but his thighs kept her just short of grinding, letting the weight of his cock stroke gently where she wanted more.

 

[mya]

Kari

He tormented her in oh-so-many ways. Since her turning, it seemed her body responded so strongly to stimulation. Kari couldn’t say absolutely for sure if her body would respond to any man this way, or just Lars. A part of her suspected it was just Lars. However, that just plain scared the hell out of her and she pushed that thought to the very recesses of the back of her mind.

Instead she concentrated on the here and now. Her gaze held his fast as Lars laved her nipple with such determination. The peak stood long and hard, glowing pink through the wetness of her saliva soaked white T-shirt. Kari’s desperate struggle for a greater fulfillment against Lars’ body was proving fruitless; he was just too strong for her. But there were other ways to do battle with a man—sure they were ways Kari wasn’t all that familiar with in life, but Lars had taught her more than how to physically fight since they’d met. And he might be a vamp, but he was still a man.

Kari forced all her muscles to relax, to stop fighting him. She wanted to lure him into a false sense of security. She held his eyes, careful to keep her mind blank so she’d hopefully not be given away by her own thoughts. Holding his gaze with hers, she softly egged him on. “Ohhhhhhh Lars, Baby…look what you do to me. See how long and hard you make my nipple? Can you smell how hot you make me? Mmmmmmm…I bet you can feel the dampness between my thighs, even through my jeans…the way that big hard length of your cock nestles intimately with me. Hell I can see how badly you want to take me, to put that thing inside me, to ride me hard, to make me cry out with submission as you make me cum, to cry out your own ecstasy as you do the same. So how about we just forget about this fighting, and you strip my jeans off me and do exactly what we both know we both want. And have no doubt Baby, I KNOW what you want!!!”

Kari lay passively under Lars, while he listened to each word, gazing at each of her body parts as she talked of him. She could fairly feel the heat of his gaze on her long hard nipple, then the delight as it ran down her body to take in the sight of his length nestled against her womanhood, even though both of them were still fully dressed. She briefly wondered just how long he’d let that abomination—that of them both being fully dressed—go on.

 

[Steiner]

Damn you woman!

This had always been his weakpoint. The fact was that he was actually fairly easy to manipulate if the right track was taken, Kari was pushing all the buttons in exactly the right order. If she'd tried to egg him on whilst pushing herself on him, he'd have been on stronger ground - but submitting to him changed everything.

Subtle hints let Kari know he was weakening - his hands slacked a little at her wrists, and he allowed his weight to come down more firmly on her body, his hips grinding down. But he didn't break yet and so he growled low in his chest as licked slowly up from her breast up the slow pulsing heat of her jugular to nip at her ear.

Pushing his hips slowly forward he whispered into her ear, two words that hissed in the stillness after her speech. The fact that he wanted her as much as she wanted him was neither here nor there - she'd challenged him, and the order had to be maintained.

"Submit... ...First..."

 

[mya]

Kari

"Submit... ...First..." echoed in her head as she lay very still beneath the crushing weight of Lars’ body. Her breathing heavy even as her mind lay on the solid weight of his cock pressed against her body. Lars simply stared into her eyes as she hesitated to submit. Whether he was reading her mind or her drudging for her "soul", she had no idea. Finally the anger left her body, leaving just a small bit of frustration left, she rolled her eyes as she acquiesced, "Ok, Ok. Fine. I submit."

Lars’ eyebrows lifted, but she remained silent. She didn’t need any mind-reading abilities to understand that he found that submission lame. With that the last of her frustration left her, and with a small smile she said, "OK. Fine Lars. I’ll do it your way. Tell me, show me, teach me. I’ll be patient and the best student you’ve ever had in a chylde. And I’ll lay off of Natalia, ensuring my survival for another day at least. So just what is it you expect of me?"

 

[Steiner]

Lars nodded. Good enough - he didn't want a servant girl, he needed her raw and tough and independent. She wouldn't survive even a single year otherwise.

She was squirming under him still and he grabbed her tshirt, yanking it up over her head and pulling it clear of her arms. Then he pulled his own shirt off by simply ripping it clear, it was already wrecked, so why take the time?

As he lowered back down towards her, he felt their skin finally touch, the warmth, the heat of her satiny belly as it slid over his. He realised that she slid TOO easily at about the same time as she realised it too, and they both looked down to see blood pooled all over her. Had he hurt her? Jerking back from her, he realised that the blood was smeared in spirals and zigzags on her, but it was dripping from him, great scarlet and darker crimson drops that didn't flow, exactly, but instead oozed from the earlier wound she'd given him.

He slumped back against the wall, sat, with a sigh. He was too extended, too tired and too hurt to heal like he normally did. He wadded the t-shirt up and held it against his stomach where it slowly absorbed the thick blood.

"I need a second - just let me rest. And then I need to feed."

 

[mya]

Kari

As Lars vacated his place on top of Kari, Shock paralyzed her as she stared at the blood on her stomach and thighs. As Lars huddled against the wall trying to staunch the flow of his blood with a t-shirt, Kari felt all too human again. Something she had been beginning to forget. For if Lars—Lars the much elder, wiser, more experienced, and whom she thought of as invincible, could be hurt, could be vulnerable, suddenly she didn’t feel so self-assured anymore. It was a reality check in a very unreal world.

Shaking off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her, Kari knelt beside Lars adding her hand to his, adding extra pressure to his wound. Christ, she thought, did regular first aid training stuff even work on vamps? Apparently so. Or was Lars just biding his time, and by doing something so human as using first aid, simply trying to reassure her with something totally useless? She could feel the stickiness of his blood on her fingers and see the pallor in is face.

"Stay with me Lars. Do not pass out. I need you with me, if I am to be of any help." Kari strained her ears, listening for footsteps anywhere in the vicinity. Could she, if need be, either go out and feed and bring blood back to Lars to suck from her, as he had done for her? Was she nearly advanced enough as a chylde to do that trick? She could lure someone back to the bar for sure, and then he could feed right from the source. The more Kari thought about it, the more she thought that she’d try that if she absolutely had to. And if that didn’t work, she’d go to plan B. But she really didn’t want to use plan B and head back out into the dark night without Lars beside her to guide her. But she would if it meant saving Lars.

She needed him she told herself—for without his tutelage she’d not last long as a vamp either. There were simply too many enemies she didn’t even have a clue about. But somewhere deep inside, there was an emotional connection she had for Lars that she wasn’t willing to even admit to, let alone explore. No, she simply had to save Lars to save herself. That’s if he didn’t manage to save himself as he’d always done before. Yes that was it—she needed Lars to stay "alive" herself. Yet Kari wore a worried frown as she watched Lars for signs that he was either fading or getting stronger.

"Lars," she whispered, "tell me what to do! Are you going to be OK for real? Should I go out and feed on something, even rats if necessary and bring the blood back to you? I could take Eisna, she’d show me where to hunt wouldn’t she? Surely she knows your territory and where it would be safe for me to hunt?"

 

[Steiner]

Lars chuckled, his face crinkling up in a smile. "Kari, Eisna is smart for a dog, but she's just a dog. She'll go where you tell her to, attack who you want her to, but she can't tell you how to hunt if you don't know yourself."

He grunted as he settled back, the tshirt sopping with blood. He could feel the gashes closing, even if not all the way. He withdrew the tshirt experimentally, the shallow slices out of his stomach were barely bleeding now, although they oozed blood and were still open. He shook his head and spat, clearing the blood that had oozed down from his facial injuries into his mouth.

"You play too damn rough, girl. What would have happened if I'd used my nails? Don't worry - I've had worse - but I'm too low on blood to heal. The fight took most of it, carrying Brutus back here took the rest and healing the worst of your tussling has just run me down to empty. I need blood, and I need it before tomorrow morning, or you're going to have a torpid sire on your hands. If you ever wanted to run for it, now's your chance. I have enough strength to make it to the cellar, but unless I eat Eisna I'll probably be out of your hair for fifty years or so."

His tone was light and bantering, but the seriousness and pain in his eyes sought to convince her of the truth. After sharing his blood so often, Kari was probably at least slightly blood bonded to him, but as the process was incomplete she was quite capable of obliterating him in a fit of jealous wrath.

"If you want to spare me that, then you'll have to go out and hunt for me. Fill yourself with blood, childe, come back and let me take care of the rest."