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"Groundwork" (Outside North Window) It was, as most would say, a beautiful morning. This was the sort of morning that was rarely seen in reality but which dominated the legends of the stage. Under a vast azure dome dotted with clouds of pure white cotton, the legendary hero would rise and welcome a new day. Fearless, handsome, and good-natured, the hero was supposed to awaken and ride gracefully off into the beckoning arms of adventure. This, however, was not a play. Within a tiny sun dappled clearing, a certain terrified blond young man was nervously backing away from what appeared to be his campsite. The melody of bluebirds was soon to be disturbed by a cry of a different sort. "Aaaaack!" This, Emmett thought, was an utter catastrophe. Sure, tracking that woman had started out okay - being a vampire hunter was really cool in theory - but this was horrible! Those monsters were just so gross! What was he going to do? Help, that was it, he would call for help and some kind stranger also just outside North Window would come to his aid. Oh, wait, nobody ever went to North Window. Well, it was at least worth a shot since he certainly couldn't kill them himself. They were so scary and disgusting and... "Help! Somebody help!" a note of panic crept into his cry as the horrible creatures seemed to multiply. Surprisingly, Emmett actually heard the crackling of leaves being broken in someone's dash through the forest. Soon, an older man dressed quite stylishly in a black leather trench coat emerged from the brush. "Get out of the way, kid! I'll take out these... undead monsters... that... aren't here?" The man was giving Emmett a rather odd look. The would-be hunter supposed that he should explain the situation. "Oh, thank goodness that you're here! I just came back from cooking my breakfast to find my sleeping bag full of hollys! They're just so icky with those little legs and those beady eyes that just stare at you... you have to kill them for me!" the young man babbled with a pleading look. His gloved hand covering his mouth, the older man was bent slightly and seemed to be having some sort of a problem. Oh no, what if the man had hollyaphobia too? " You called me over here for hollys!?!" Okay, maybe not. The unbridled laughter seemed to indicate otherwise. "Hey! I don't see you killing the hollys! Besides, I have more important things to do than take care of rabid plantlife. I'm hunting a vampire!" The laughing was getting worse, and that stupid rude guy was pointing at him now. "You think that you can take on Neclord when you can't even kill a holly?" the man managed to say despite incapacitating mirth. "Neclord? Who's Neclord? I'm after an albino woman." As he sat on the verdant grass, the apparent hilarity of the situation seemed to be finally fading for the older man. Perhaps the loser would at least be polite now. "Listen kid, I've been hunting vampires for a long time now and.." "You're a vampire hunter too? Great! Can I came with you?" Emmett happily exclaimed. The guy might act like a jerk, but Emmett was the first to admit that he could use a few vampire hunting tips. "Sorry, but you wouldn't last a second against a vampire, kid. Now why don't you go home..." "I will not! I'm going to hunt down that vampire even if I have to do it without a sleeping bag!" "I said go home kid... the vampires have taken too many victims already. Do you even have any weapons or runes?" "Ummmm.... no, I guess not. Except for this one really sharp pair of scissors..." The white-haired man rolled his eyes. Stupid jerk. " Here, I'll give you this gun and some ammo incase you run into any monsters on the way to Kuskus. That's it though, kid. Oh, and if you ever actually find a vampire, just run away and track me down. The name's Khan Marley." "Fine," the dejected looking young man said as he grabbed the weapon from Khan. It was too bad that those puppy dog eyes never worked on men... well, most men. Oh well, at least the jerk had good taste in guns. Emmett hadn't been able to afford any weapons himself after paying off his student loans. As the black-clad man walked back into the wilderness, Emmett fingered the shining gunmetal revolver and became even more determined to find the albino. He turned, loading the firearm in preparation to rid his bedroll of the awful infestation. He conceded that a vampire hunter shouldn't be afraid of hollys. Besides, at least this way he didn't actually have to touch them. That would have been so icky: what if he got some of those gross yellow holly guts on himself! To avoid this, he stood as far away from his hunter green bedroll as possible, edging towards the outer reaches of the clearing. Releasing the safety and thankful that all of those incredibly boring days his father had made him spend at the firing range would finally pay off, Emmett took aim at the five wriggling green mutant leaves. He was a little out of practice but... *BANG* One bullet pierced two of the five tiny yet monstrous plants. *BANG* Another quickly followed, piercing two more of the creatures and spattering some of the aforementioned holly innards onto the cloth. Stupid flannel, it would take at least a couple of hours at the stream to get that out. *BANG* The final emerald pest died, a bullet passing right between its eyes. The sleeping bag, although somewhat sullied by the monster's oozing amber waste, remained unscathed after the barrage of bullets. Walking over to survey his handiwork, Emmett couldn't help but smile. If anything, he'd actually gotten better with the weapon. Dad would have a heart attack while dancing in the streets if he knew what four years of "threading needles like some girly-man" had done for his son's aim. The years hadn't, however, helped to alleviate Emmett's fear of the dead hollys which were still giving him that creepy stare. He was so not going to pick those up. Annoyed, Emmett went off in search of a really big stick to knock them away from his laundry. Even if he managed to get moving before his quarry, it was going to be a very long day. The vampire had the feeling that this was going to be a very long day. Having someone else's memories dancing through her brain hadn't been something she was used to in the first place, and the fact that it wasn't intentional had made the whole thing a huge headache. It was, of course, her own fault. She had let herself get too weak to do the relatively simply screening she usually did. Yet at least some sort of luck was with her; the person she had inadvertently bonded with wasn't too insufferable. You never knew what you would end up with when dealing with mortals. That was what had gotten her into a different yet still somewhat exasperating situation; the fact that she was now arguing with that same woman. Some mortals could be so stubborn when confronted with the obviously superior views of their betters. Poor things, maybe they felt inadequate. This one, however, certainly did not. "I said that we have to cross over to Coronet and find Viktor, dammit!" the woman who sat across from her practically growled. The auburn-haired bodyguard was used to getting her way, and leant over the embers of their campfire with an unmistakably practiced air of aggression. If the vampire hadn't been so intent on forcing her point she would have been having the best time since her week with that cute Matildan knight a couple of decades ago. Mortals who were good for a nice tension lifting argument were so rare. "Listen, mortal, if we go all they way to wherever this Viktor person is we probably won't find the sword. The man must be an incompetent moron if he failed with it the first time in any case. Besides, I sense that it's nearer than that. Me being the one who has a couple of millennia of prior experience, I say that we head east to Two River," the vampire shot back, eyes fixed on those of the woman across from her despite the tendrils of smoke which rose from the ashes. "I don't care if you're TEN thousand years old. I'm the one who actually knows what the hell's going on in the world, and I'm the one who doesn't have to even be helping with this! I told you that Lady Cleo said that Neclord was killed with the sword! Viktor is one of the greatest mercenaries.. " "Yeah, Viktor killed Neclord. Sure. If the idiot mortal had actually bothered to even slightly research the Lunar Rune then he would have known about the doppleganger effect. I didn't think that you would rely on sources as pathetic as some woman who has nothing better to do than guard an empty house surrounded by the owner's entire army!" Sierra snapped, growing both louder and more annoyed. Long midnight hours spent on watch duty hadn't helped to sooth the temper of either woman. "Lady Cleo was a HERO in the Liberation Army! A far more reliable source than any carcasses you could dig up!" "Hmph, hero indeed. You mean she was in the Gate Rune war, mortal? The forces there were nothing but sad little pawns for Leknaat and Windy. Besides, I've seen tea parties that lasted longer than that war!" The tension was rising, with the vampire and her companion gave each other full doses of mannerisms they had cultivated to intimidate others. Yet the usual scare tactics wouldn't work on seasoned opponents, forcing the pair to sink back down onto their makeshift log seats. With the bond recently in place, both knew that between Oulan's protective instincts and Sierra's fixation on revenge neither of them were leaving. Nor would either back down. "So what do we do now?" the bodyguard sighed. "I'm not su.." Both halted any sort of movement as the crack of breaking tree limbs disturbed their conversation. Someone had to be approaching the camp. "Ladies," a voice emerged from the trees. It was a smooth baritone which allowed the women to sag back into relaxation, secure in the knowlege that this was not Neclord or one of his minions. "My name is Kahn, Khan Marley. I just though I'd warn you two about the vampire which seems to be abducting young women in the area," he said pleasantly, deftly avoiding the ruins of Oulan's breakfast as he approached, "My family has been hunting vampires for generations, you see, and it's my duty to..." Once the man's words registered in her weary mind, Sierra immediately took action. Swiftly ducking behing the ebony garbed hunter, she pulled back his arms and relieved him of his weapon. "Vampire hunter!?! Time to die, mortal..." the vampire barked, invigorated once more by anger. Caught off-guard, Khan gave little resistance. The vampire opened her mouth to reveal a wickedly sharp set of fangs, and prepared to end the miserable maggot's life. "Sier, stop!" the bodyguard was giving her an admonishing look as she rose. How dare that mortal interrupt her in mid-bite! "Why? The mortal wants me dead, Oulan. And unlike the Star Dragon Sword, I doubt that he wants me dead in a useful way," the vampire retorted while twisting Khan's arm back to a very uncomfortable looking angle. "Hey, you must be the albino that that boy was talking about..." "Shut up," the vampire ordered, bending back Khan's elbow so that the hunter emitted a little squack of pain. She then turned her gaze back to the bodyguard."Well?" "Maybe he knows where the sword is, Sierra. Now why don't you just put him down and we can discuss this," Oulan replied on an uncharacteristically peacful peaceful not. "Fine," the vampire growled, dropping Khan unceremoniously onto his knees. "Discuss, mortal." "You think that I would give up the location to vampires?" he defiantly exclaimed, convinced that the albino was one of Neclord's minions. It was a good thing that he had sent that kid back to Kuskus; it was about to get ugly between him and the albino. Preparing for the worst, he began to search his mind for a way to activate his ressurection rune without the pale monster noticing. Oddly, however, it was the woman wearing what he considered highly indecent tight leather armor who soon began to threaten him. Her fist sheathed in crimson flame, Oulan brought her hand up under the hunter's jaw. "You want to tell us where the sword is, or feel the fire of an Angry Dragon?" "I you live now, you'll have the chance to kill me later you know," the vampire quipped from the sidelines. As much as he hated to admit it, what the undead abomination said was true. "The locals say that they hear a voice coming from the Cave of Wind... ERK!" Upon completing his statement, the hunter was knocked soundly unconscious by Oulan's fists. "Let's go, Sierra." The vampire gave the bodyguard a pleading look. "Come on Sier, you don't have to kill him..." "Fine," Sierra mumbled. The most annoying thing about bonding with mortals was that you might actually like them, and when you liked them you had to listen to them. Not that she would ever be friends with a mortal, of course. She just wasn't hungry.
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