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Post by indeath on Mar 19, 2024 17:20:46 GMT -6
August felt very much like the mouse to this large cat. The mouse that was holding onto the cat’s favorite new treat. He wondered if he should have sent his friends a farewell text in case he didn’t make it back.
He took the case and placed it on the desk, glad that he no longer produced sweat. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling as the cronies flanked Master Luis. He patted the case like a used salesman on a car.
“Ya don’t seem like the kind of vampire ta pull the skinny over. I reckon ya’d have ta have a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock! This is a genuine as a baby’s giggle. It’s why we’re askin’ an arm and a leg for it. Rare relics like this don’t come cheap.”
He carefully unlatched the briefcase and opened it facing Luis. He remembered Tigress’ warning not to touch it himself. He had no idea what the rebels planned to do so he hoped he wasn’t mucking things up.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 21, 2024 2:41:45 GMT -6
Master Luis leaned close as the case fell open, like a dog watching a treat in someone’s hand, leaning forward more as the object within came into view. His blue eyes shined with genuine interest as he viewed the machine. It was beautiful in its own way. A true antique, made with glass tubes and shining copper wires, carefully positioned in the interior of the cube.
On one side was a collection of tubes. On the other, a selection of glass bottles, likely meant to hold the purified product.
As the elder vampire neared it, the tubes in the front end of the device snaked out towards him, waving in the air of their own accord, like worms. He withdrew his hand, and the ends flailed after him like fingers, becoming him to come closer. The inner workings of the device lit up as golden light poured out of the machine’s front end, illuminating the room.
“Fascinating. It’s alive then?”
He asked, pressing a hand back towards it. The cables reached out towards him again, and the light-bulbs burned brighter, as if powered by his nature itself.
The two guards took a step back from the machine, while behind him, August could feel his companions taking a step forward.
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Post by indeath on Mar 22, 2024 1:32:56 GMT -6
August couldn’t hide his own astonishment at the contraption as it moved towards Master Luis. He’d been warned not to touch it but hadn’t thought it might try to touch him.
He stood his ground though, he doubted the other vampire was paying much attention to anything but the relic.
“Most things that have been around a long time develop a life of their own. Now the relic won’t accept just any master, ya gotta charm it. Let it get to know ya… Tell it somethin’ about ya. A proper intro!”
He sounded a lot more confident than he felt. He wondered if it really did what they’d told him. It seemed odd to let something that could bolster this monster’s power into his hands. There had to be a trick somewhere.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 22, 2024 2:29:49 GMT -6
Master Luis chuckled, amused by August’s suggestion. Charm it? He lowered his eyelids, giving the machine his most seductive smile. The vampire was incredibly handsome, like many other vampires before him, and he seemed amused at the idea of trying his hand at this matter.
“Well, I’m Master Luis Price, and I’m a collector of the finer things in life, and something of a businessman. I think a device that makes the perfect blood is an excellent addition to my collection.”
He wigged his fingers at the machine, as if it might answer him, and tilted his head expectantly. His curls shifted, bouncing off his shoulders.
The device, as if to answer, lowered its tubules to the table, and was still, though its gears continued to whir menacingly.
Behind him, August could feel the others continue to move. Were they assuming a position? Master Luis and his two attendants seemed entirely entranced by the strange machine.
On the top-line of the machine, a singular light turned on, followed by another, and then another. The whirring sped up, and August could hear the gentle wheeze of a pump system activating, deep within the device.
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Post by indeath on Mar 24, 2024 18:15:11 GMT -6
August watched Master Luis try to charm the machine a little amused himself. He wondered how often it worked on humans and other vampires.
There was more to charm than a handsome face in August’s opinion, but those who held power like Luis didn’t need real charm. There would be very few brave or stupid enough to resist him. Yet here they were.
“I think it likes ya… Good job.”
He leaned further back in his chair, he really didn’t like what the machine was doing. There wasn’t a person or blood around so what was it reacting to…
What would you have to do to make a machine like this? How many lives had been filtered through its tubes. Did it even discriminate between the living and undead?
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 26, 2024 0:43:00 GMT -6
Master Luis smiled, and leaned back, apparently satisfied, placing his free hand against the back of his chair. His eyes remained fixed on the device.
The lights on the top of the device whirred and flickered, before turning off again. It seemed the thing was activated by proximity, and who knew what else. August hadn’t received any kind of detailed briefing about the machine or how it actually worked, which did make his job more difficult, but he could see, as a witness to its abilities, that it seemed ‘willing’ to provide him with a little sample of its abilities without any prompting.
He smiled, and looked expectantly towards a door that lead into the office, and August got a certain sinking feeling. Something was going to happen.
“So, you brought it to me, it looks legitimate, but I want to see it in action…make sure it works. You aren’t a snake-oil salesman, are you, Mr. Rosewood?”
Master Luis’ voice gained a dangerous edge, and he leaned forward towards August. His smile was toothy, predatory. While he wasn’t a frightening-looking vampire, his aura assured August that the vampire was quite lethal.
He felt the other two vampires’ focus shift upon him, before the Albino went to turn on a light. Suddenly, the den was illuminated in soft yellow tones.
After a long pause, in which all eyes seemed focused on him, the office door opened, and August saw a human man. Ordinary. Probably right off the street.
The man wrung his hands and wandered in, looking at the walls.
"..Hello?"
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Post by indeath on Mar 29, 2024 3:51:07 GMT -6
August was relieved that the machine was doing whatever Luis thought it was supposed to. He drummed a finger nervously on his chair. He gave an uneasy smile at the accusation, he was pretty sure it was legit. He really didn’t like the attention he was getting, the vibe was tense.
“Course not. I’m dinki di an’ true blue. Ya a real bad crime lord, I would be a complete wally ta mess with ya.”
August blinked, squinting as the light came on. He tensed in his chair like a worm on a hook, becoming even more so as the poor human came walking in. He bit his lip, so much for no human causalities. He didn’t want to see this guy die. This whole situation was beginning to feel terrifyingly familiar.
“Uh… ya j..just gonna take a smidge right? It’s uh not good for the machine ta take the whole lot.” He made explosion motions with his hands. “Maybe like a litre or somethin’?”
He was pretty sure humans could survive losing that much. He tried to give the human a comforting look.
“Heya, buddy. Don’t ya worry. Just gonna donate a lil’ blood.”
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 29, 2024 15:23:15 GMT -6
Master Price stepped forward towards the human, locking eyes with him. The other man hesitated, then took a small step back. The human was short and moderately overweight with brown hair swept back by product. Neither extraordinarily handsome nor particularly ugly. He was dressed in a t-shirt and pants, wearing a sports jacket which sagged over his shoulders.
“What is your name?”
Asked Master Price, his voice soft now, almost delicate, as he addressed the human.
The man rubbed his neck, sweating a little.
“Jack Johnson, sir?”
He glanced nervously back at the door, and then wrung his hands a little as he heard the two talking. August knew it was dubious that he had been told what this all was about. Maybe he had been lured in with an offer of a reward, or maybe he had been the victim of a suggestion.
Either way, Master Price smiled lazily, like a cat about to capture a bird. His eyes glowed faintly, and August felt the power of his COMMAND before it was spoken.
“COME HERE, JACK.”
The man walked over, almost robotically, any fear and tension leaving his face and shoulders. He seemed to feel better about everything, and how could he not, as someone under the influence of mind control.
“SIT IN THE CHAIR.”
Jack settled in the chair, and the vampire leaned close, touching his neck delicately, before looking back at August, smiling slightly.
“A man with perfectly ordinary blood. No quality at all. Now, when processed through the machine….”
Master Luis brought the machine close. It whirred and the lights turned on. After a brief visual assessment, August was fairly certain that no more than a liter of blood would fit into the processing portions of the blood machine anyhow.
The cables snaked down, crawling across the man’s arms and into his arm veins. The moment they found their place, the whirring stopped, replaced by the soft wheeze of the pumps. And sure enough, dark blood began flowing through the device.
The female vampire attendant leaned close, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. She stared down at his neck, as if tempted to lean down and take a bite.
On either side of him, August could feel the tension in Ridha and Tigress, like a strung bow, ready to fire.
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Post by indeath on Apr 8, 2024 21:04:24 GMT -6
August sad rigidly in the chair, his brain screaming. He smiled faintly at the elder vampire’s word not being able to find any himself. There was no way this was going to end well for Jack.
Tigress had said the machine was evil, this guy was just a regular dude. He probably had a job and definitely had family. Who knew if they’d even find his body. The machine might only take a litre but the other vampires would take the rest.
Maybe he could free the guy in the ruckus once his friends attacked though they were taking their time. Luis would be hard to beat with the pure blood in his system. He watched the machine mesmerized, his eyes flicking to the vampire with her hand on Jack’s neck.
“Don’t… hurt him.”
The words escaped almost inaudible.
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Post by jarahamee on Apr 11, 2024 1:12:17 GMT -6
Master Price watched the machine work, his eyes just about glowing with delight as the blood traveled through the tubing, pumping through the maze of its inner workings and wheezing pumps and into the final vial on the apparatus, filling it with fresh, bright red blood. August saw his hands twitch with his raw desire to reach out and just…pluck it out of the machine, even partially filled, and drink it.
His attendants placed their arms on Jack’s shoulders, leaning in towards him, though in his hypnotized state, he seemed as if he hardly noticed. The albino attendant eyed Jack’s other bare arm, and placed his fingers on it, feeling for a pulse. They were hungry, and the circumstance was tempting. Jack stared at the far wall, muttering to himself. Was Master Price’s power so great?
Master Price’s distraction continued until August spoke. The master vampire looked away from the steaming blood, making its way through his abyssal machine to end up in the final set of glass jars, to stare directly at him.
A cruel smile settled upon his lips.
“You… want me to stop then?”
He turned his head slightly, looking down at August. His expression was almost playful in a cruel way, like a cat.
“…Why do you care for this man?”
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Post by indeath on Apr 14, 2024 0:43:35 GMT -6
August was finding it increasingly hard to hide his feelings. He tried to keep his face blank and impassive. Yet the idea that this jerk was going to be killed felt less awful so there was that. He clearly had no respect for life, people weren’t walking juice boxes.
At least Jake wasn’t aware of what was going on. He tried to discern what he was mumbling, hopefully nice things. Somehow he couldn’t imagine these vampires dining on blood packs from WDSA.
“Heh… Lawdy. Well ya don’t want to overload it do ya? He’s… he’s just a guy, ya know? Why kill when ya don’t gotta. I mean he probably has a wife or husband back home. Maybe a dog? Why don’t ya care?”
He forced himself to look Luis in the eye, he’d dealt with predators before and it would make things worse to show any more ‘weakness’. He really hoped Luis had been distracted long enough.
“Do ya…have a favorite blood type? I’m partial to B positive meself…”
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Post by jarahamee on Apr 14, 2024 1:18:09 GMT -6
Master Price’s blue eyes settled on August, temporarily distracted. For all his very human appearance as a supposed mortal man, when he was here in the flesh with August, he seemed like a wild animal, not dissimilar from a tiger or a lion. The terrifying presence of a powerful vampire flowed out of him, and surrounded August. It was stifling.
His smile lingered on his lips as he stared back at the other vampire, apparently amused by his concern over the human. August had the distinct sense that Master Price was not used to caring for others. Indeed, he spent most of his life in selfish endeavors, which he pursued for his own pleasure.
August’s little outburst seemed to be enough to cause the other two vampires to slip away from Jack, instead moving to either side of their master, watching August with glowing, predator eyes. There only cruelty and hunger living in their empty eyes.
“….Me? I like A---”
As Master Price spoke, August felt the rush of air on either side of him, and time seemed to slow down. As if captured on slowed film, Master Price moved, ducking down, only to collide with something hard, slamming him directly into the desk and through it.
The dark shape of Tigress, pouncing like her namesake.
The other two vampires did not have time to react. The albino swiped at Ridha, too slow, and August saw the larger vampires’ arm avulse itself from his body, an arc of bright red blood spattering all over Jack’s face. The hypnotized human did not move, apparently caught in his mind-altered state.
The smaller one reeled, turning towards August, swiping directly at him with her long, claw-like manicured nails.
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Post by indeath on Apr 15, 2024 19:28:24 GMT -6
Every fibre of August was in panic, he felt powerless just like so many other times with his own maker. So much power coupled with so little reason and empathy. He hoped his friends were powerful enough to take him or they’d all be devoured like so many deer. Death would probably be a blessing.
He was still frozen in place like an observer to the chaos that was suddenly unleashed. The smell of blood invaded his senses all but too late as the purple haired vampire clawed hand struck his chest ripping clothing and flesh. He cried out as the pain made his chest feel aflame. She needed a manicure that was for sure. He was reminded of when Meffy got too fiesty except a thousand times worse.
He grabbed her wrist as hard as he could, then pushed back on the chair letting gravity take the both of them crashing into the ground. There were smarter ways to go but in the heat of the moment this was it. Hopefully it would hurt her more than it hurt him. It hurt him pretty badly and white filled his eyes for a moment, he flung out his arm blindly hoping to make contact with his attacker. He could taste his own blood on his lips and he licked it without thinking. It was less than satisfying and he could feel his thirst creeping up on him.
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Post by jarahamee on Apr 15, 2024 20:07:45 GMT -6
August pulled the other vampire with him, throwing her against the floor with an audible crash. She seemed taken aback and fell, her body following the momentum of the chair to the ground. Her nails scraped off his chest, bloody hand smacking against the ground as she tumbled in a heap. She growled, folding on herself like a contortionist as she righted herself.
Behind August, Tigress struggled with Master Luis. She lifted him, throwing him directly into the nearby wall, and the drywall portion crumpled inwards. Unlike a human, he seemed hardly stunned, tilting his head downward like a bull to swipe at her in both directions, muttering to himself from a half-ruined jaw.
On the other side of the room, Ridha straddled the albino vampire. The sounds of rending cloth and flesh were loud enough to be audible. The sickening snapping of bone as the other vampire tore into him.
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Post by indeath on Apr 17, 2024 4:06:18 GMT -6
August made a guttural sound back his eyes flashing as he tackled her with all his weight before she could stand up. He really hoped she was as fresh as he was. He tried to hold her down against the ground, as much as he didn’t want to die he didn’t want to kill her either. He had to try to reason with her. Blood dripped from his chest and his throat constricted making it harder to get the words out.
“Please… Ya… ya don’t have to be like this. It’s just ya master they want, ya can still change ya ways!”
He shot a worried look towards Ridha, hoping he had tricks up his sleeve or something. Jack was smelling pretty good right now. He really wanted Jack to get out of this alive.
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