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((Eri and Lyra played by CinamonSpider, the rest of the characters by me.))

Through the night�s silence, a soft humming could be heard. It came from a girl wandering down one of the twilit streets bordering a park, carefully walking on the curb instead of the actual sidewalk, her steps slightly strange in a way that suggested she was imagining dancing to the tune she was humming. She might even have been singing softly, except that her mouth was a bit occupied with a lollipop she�d picked up somewhere.

She looked to be about sixteen, or perhaps a small seventeen-year-old, with light smokey-brown hair that fell to her hips, and that was currently gaining static electricity against her coat. Her pretty, slightly asian face was downturned, its large, tilted eyes fixed on the curb she was walking. However, her face was asian only in structure, as she had pale skin and her eyes were the green color of sunlight through leaves.

Eri sat calmly on the park bench, ignoring the odd looks she was getting from the passersby. I suppose I look out of place here.. She smiled slightly, glancing down at her kimono. It must be unusual to see a kimono in a big American city.

She put her hands on her lap and closed her eyes, meditating. She really did look out of place. Her kimono was decorated exquisitely. It would have been out of place even in Japan- it was something you might expect to see in a museum. The young woman opened her eyes slowly and fixed her gaze on an attractive looking young man who had stopped to stare at her.

She smiled alluringly, her deep brown eyes sparkling with excitement. She got to her feet and walked towards him, gracefully, slowly. He would put up no resistance to her, she knew. In the light of the full moon, she looked like an unearthly spirit- beautiful, in an otherworldly sort of way.

Suddenly something broke her concentration. She looked away from the man, her eyes darting over to a small street bordering the park, where a young girl walked casually on the curb, humming, a lollipop in her mouth, her bright green eyes fixed on the ground. Can it be? One of us.. here? she hesitated, then walked toward the girl cautiously, a strange, shy expression in her face.

Poor Aria, being a mere mortal, noticed nothing other than the strange way the geisha-girl was staring at her.

Well...you get a lot of homeless weirdos in parks at night... she told herself, continuing down the sidewalk, but watching Eri out of the corner of her eyes. She'd stopped humming as soon as she had noticed that she was being watched, and was now trying her best to pretend she hadn't just embarassed herself.

In the shadows of the other side of the street, where the streetlamps had been smashed by some gang or other, eyes followed Aria as she meandered her way homewards.

Hungry eyes...

Eri looked down and sighed, disappointed. Had it really been so long since she'd seen another immortal that she had mistaken a foolish mortal girl for one?

She looked around. She was getting even more strange looks. And now I'm hungry. What a wonderful night this turned out to be.

Eri shrugged, sighed, and walked after the young mortal. She'll do, I suppose. I need some fresh blood.

The vampire walked carefully, stepping lightly, using every trick she'd learned over her long lifetime to hide her form in the shadows, to be sure that no mortal could possibly hear the soft sound of her light footfalls. The girl dies tonight, she thought, smirking.

Aria simply walked on, unaware of all the attention focused on her. However, she wasn't unaware very long, because a minute later a dark shape hurtled out of the shadows across the street. Crashing into Aria, it pinned her against the wrought-iron fence, muffling her scream with a hand.

Aria immediately began struggling. She had one hand free, as the creature who had attacked her was, luckily, human-shaped, and therefore had only two hands. Biting hard on the hand across her mouth, she used the other to scratch at it's face, searching for it's- no, his, it was definitely a he...his eyes.

His silver eyes.

That startled Aria. But only for a moment. Faultering at his mirror-like irises, having just fought herself free from his initial grip, her surprise gave him the time to clamp a hand down on her wrist, and poke her forehead, where she felt a tingling...but tinglings weren't high on her priority list right now, and she ignored it. Whipping out her pepper spray, she sprayed it right into what were obviously contacts. He screamed, letting her go, and she turned and ran, screaming as well, though for help rather than because of any pain.

Or she tried to. When no sound came out, Aria's first thought was that something was wrong with her ears, but when she tried to scream again, and again made no noise, she remembered the tingling touch on her forehead, and very nearly fell down from the shivers of fear that wracked her body. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on anymore, but she knew she didn't have the time to stop and figure it out, either.

Behind her, her attacker made a strange noise, somewhere between a snarl and a hiss, revealing pearly fangs. Crouching on the sidewalk, unnatural eyes fixed on Aria's back, there was a tearing sound as bat wings sprouted from his back, ripping his shirt to shreds. Leaping into the sky, he quickly overtook Aria, and hovered silently above her, waiting for something...

Eri watched the strange demon in silent respect and awe. She had no idea what he was, but he fascinated her, despite the fear he also inspired in her. The young girl was terrified. And she should be, Eri thought to herself. She cocked her head to the side, thinking. That girl was my prey, she said to herself. My prey that he took from me. The vampire didn't really mind about the girl; on any other night she might have shrugged it off and left the strange demon to his fun. But things had been unusually quiet, too quiet for Eri's taste, and she was in desperate need of 'entertainment' as she called it.

I do love a good chase, she thought, smirking, as she took off after the demon and the young girl at full speed.

When Aria heard no footsteps behind her, she glanced behind...and slowed down in surprise that he'd disappeared. Nervous again, she searched the street behind her, but it was empty...and then she remembered the way he'd abruptly appeared from the shadows. Another shiver ran down her body, and she immediately turned to continue sprinting away.

But there was a whooshing sound above and behind her, and she suddenly felt hands on her arms, and her feet left the ground, and she was screaming silently again...

"God damn it!" The demon yelled as Aria got him with her spray again, dropping her. Apparently he'd forgotten about that, or something. Landing heavily on the ground, pain flashed up her legs and she lost her hold on her mace. Shaking on the ground for a moment, half-stunned by all that had transpired, she finally twisted to see where the demon was.

He was gone again. And Aria didn't really find that reassuring. In truth, he was just up over the edge of the nearest building's roof, where she couldn't see him, but she was, of course, unaware of that fact. Hastily pushing herself to her feet, she took a wobbly two steps forward and gasped, then hopped around on one foot, trying to restore her balance.

Gods and angels, her ankle hurt. Whimpering a little, though she wasn't sure if it was from pain or fear, Aria limped her way down the street as fast and as best as she could.

Eri stopped to glance up at the edge of the building's roof, squinting to make sure she wasn't seeing wrong. She smirked. Hah, a big demon like you, hiding up there?

"Excuse me, sir," she called up, mockingly respective. "It seems that your meal has gotten the better of you." She glanced at the fallen bottle of mace, sneered, and picked it up. "This little can hurt a big boy like you?"

Eri was pretty certain that her tone would drive the demon insane. In fact, she hoped it would.

Aria heard what Eri said, and glanced behind her. Noticing where Eri was talking to, she looked up as well...and felt the world spin. The guy was there. But...it looked like he had wings.

Aria felt like she was losing her grip on her sanity. Firmly resolving not to think too hard about anything but surviving until she was safe, she turned back around, steadying herself on the buildings she was passing, and hobbled onwards, trying to find an unlocked door. With wings that size, the...guy, she was pretending for right now that 'guy' was the right term...wouldn't be able to fly after her.

The demon hissed softly in annoyance, eyes narrowing. He could see again. Soaring downwards, he landed in front of Eri. He actually looked pretty human, except for his wings, fangs, and eyes...his spikey blue hair could very well have been the result of a dye job. Swiftly snatching the can out of her hands, he sprayed her in the face out of spite, then leaped into the air again after Aria.

A crushed mace can clattered to the sidewalk in his wake.

Eri rubbed her eyes. "You'll pay for that," she muttered, trying to hide how excited she actually was. Finally... Something that might actually put up a fight. She tried to open her eyes, then cursed. "Ah.... bad idea."

This demon wouldn't go down easily, she thought angrily. Damned mace. "Just means it will be more fun killing him," she said confidently, ignoring the feeling of apprehension in her gut.

She glanced at the girl, who was running from building to building, searching desperately for an unlocked door. Some dinner first would be nice. She ran until she caught up with Aria, then grabbed her arm and pulled her urgently to a door, breaking the lock easily. "Come with me," she said. "He won't find us here."

Aria was torn. One the one hand, Eri had just broken a lock, so she obviously wasn't exactly human, either. Wait, I'm not thinking about that...On the other, if she stayed outside, she'd get picked off by the...guy. Deciding that she had a slightly better chance with Eri, she let herself be dragged inside the building, still limping. She did, however, slip her hand into her pocket, closing her fingers around the switchblade that rested there; she'd keep it hidden until she needed it.

She really, really hoped she wouldn't need it, but she doubted that that would happen. Oh, skegging damn.

The demon hissed again, executing a sharp turn in midair to land in front of the door a few seconds later. He had to resume his human form to fit through the door, but, as if to make up for the loss of his wings, quickly grew sharp, black claws.

Eri noticed the girl's fingers tightening on an item in her pocket. She must either be very brave or very stupid if she thinks a mortal like her could even touch me.

She listened closely, hearing the demon enter at the doorway. She turned to Aria, who was limping and obviously terrified. The vampire smiled reassuringly. It's better if she thinks I'm on her side for now. Eri hated it, but she felt a faint sympathy for her. Even I know it's cruel to make them suffer like this before you feed.... I.. who have killed entire families. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She's food. Nothing more. I should just take her now and end her suffering.

Eri dragged the girl further into the building, then spun to face her and hissed, baring her glistening fangs, her formerly beautiful brown eyes tinted red.

Aria had been rather expecting this. With only a courtesy jump, she whipped her knife towards Eri's chest, flicking it open as she went.

The demon didn't seem to be in a great hurry; though he didn't exactly meander, neither was he sprinting. It was as if he knew what was going on, and half-hoping that Aria would finish the pesky vamp off.

He inexolerably came closer.

Eri just barely managed to dodge Aria's blade. She was amazed- the girl was fast. For a mortal, she added to herself.

"That would not be wise," she said softly. She gripped Aria's arm and twisted it cruelly. "Are you a screamer, girl?" She smirked and tightened her grip. "If you are, feel free."

Aria was not a screamer, though she was considering becoming one. With a reflexive "Ah!", more like a loud exclamation of pain than an actual scream, she let go of the knife, letting it clatter to the floor. Simultaneously, she brought up her other hand and poked Eri as hard as she could in the eye, then leaned forward and bit the hand clasped around her wrist.

The demon could hear the two's struggles, and sauntered up to the door of the room they were in, though he did not actually enter. Instead, he simply watched them from the doorway, face unreadable except for perhaps a small smirk.

Eri cried out in pain and clamped her hand over her eye, cursing Aria. How the hell did a mortal get that good?

"You're good," she said. "For a mortal," she added in a slightly dismissive tone. No time to think about that, she realized. The demon was standing directly at the door.

She shoved Aria roughly to the side and whipped out the pistol hidden in the folds of her kimono, still clutching her eye with one hand. She pointed the pistol at the demon, a threatening expression on her face.

The pistol has no ammunition... I know that, but hopefully he doesn't, she thought, knowing that this demon was not to be taken lightly.

Aria cried out in pain as she was flung sideways, her ankle twinging, landing on her bad arm. However, despite the discomfort, she was glad to be momentarily forgotten. Still breathing fast and hard in the way of those frightened for their lives, she barely glanced at the demon before scrambling a bit on the floor to pick up her dropped knife. Then she glanced at Eri and the demon again, and used a wall to help her to her feet, and limped towards the door behind Eri; maybe she could escape now?

And what did that woman mean, You're good.? Aria pushed away the second part of what Eri had said, to where she had also pushed the guy's wings and Eri's unnatural strength and quickness.

The demon went very still. He was silent and absolutely motionless for a moment, eyes fixed on the gun, then made a small movement with one hand, like a circle, muttering something. A faint glow, as of moonlight, appeared around him, and he smirked and stepped forwards.

"Excuse me, but my dinner is escaping," he said, speaking for the first time in his deep, rich voice.

Eri faltered slightly. The hand holding the gun trembled, but she tried her best to hide her discomfort. "I'll shoot," she said, her voice steady. She glanced at Aria. "What are you still doing here? Run, you baka!" she shouted, returning to Japanese like she always did when she was nervous.

She turned back to the demon. "I saw her first. Find your own meal."

You idiot, it feels like I've broken my ankle, Aria thought acidly, though she did try to hurry up, wondering the whole time why the girl was helping her escape, and resenting that they both referred to her as 'a meal'.

Well, it was the truth. Anyways.

The door behind Eri was unlocked, luckily, and opened onto a stairwell. Aria decided to take the quick way down and slid down the banister, biting her lip as she landed. She was having serious doubts about making it home alive.

The demon stopped, though not because of Eri's gun. The faint shimmer of moonlight was in actuality a protection spell; should Eri fire, he wouldn't get hurt. But he was not a magically inclined creature, and it was costing him to keep the spell going. On the other hand if he could stall the vampiress long enough, the mortal would get out of the building and back onto the streets where it would be easy enough to catch her again.

Considering, of course, that he still wanted her. The demon eyed the vampiress in front of him; she was pretty, and her blood would be a much better meal than the mortal's. However...about the only edge he had on her were his wings (which were unusable at the moment) and his scant magic. Did magic even work on vamps?

Well. He'd find out. Darting forwards, he knocked the gun out of her hands, or at least away from his body. Letting go of the protection spell, he laid a gentle finger on her forehead and summoned a sleep spell, tensed to leap away if this didn't work.

Eri glared back at him. "I don't like the way you're looking at me." She was cut off suddenly when she felt his finger on her forehead.

Of course. A magic user. She could feel herself starting to get weaker. "Wha.... What the hell kind of youkai....." She struggled with the words. Her tongue was getting thick in her mouth.

The magic's working. Not as fast as it may have on a human, but... it's working.... guess I'm not invincible.. "Mother?" She murmured. The world's getting hazy now... but he's still standing there... Move away Eri.... Move away.... "Move away!" she cried out suddenly, startling even herself. She pulled back from the demon, hissing loudly.

"Touch me again and I'll kill you!" She shouted, not too confident that she could back this up, but Eri knew the value of a good bluff. She could still smell the girl in the building. If she doesn't get out soon, she's beyond all hope... She found herself thinking. Wait a minute... why do I care?? I've killed hundreds like her. What is wrong with me today?!

"Hm." said the demon, apparently ignoring Eri now, concentrating on his hands, where he held them together, palms lightly touching as if he was praying. The moon-glow was brighter there, between his fingers, and steadily growing stronger.

She'd be out cold this time.

Aria stumbled out onto the street with relief. The cool night air had never felt so welcome, though she felt dangerously conspicuous, what with not knowing where the demon was and all. Still hugging the wall, she limped her way as fast as she could towards her home again, privately hoping to come across a bar, or store, or somewhere open late into the night...she just didn't think she could make it home.

But she'd try. Fingers tightened around the switchblade, and it gleamed darkly in the night.

Eri glanced nervously at the demon, backing away slowly until she reached the door, then closing her cold fingers around the doorknob and pushing it open, running down the stairs and out into the night. Damned demon. I never should have gotten involved in this.

She saw Aria running nearby. She's the cause of all this. I don't even want her anymore. Looking at that girl makes me sick. I hate to think of what eating her might do. She hid in the shadows and carefully slunk off in the opposite direction. That demon can have her.

"Boo." The demon dropped on silent wings in front of Eri, landing quietly, and immediately darting his hands towards her face. The moon-glow of magic shimmered between them, currents in it twisting sick-makingly into patterns rather like those fake spiderwebs people put up for halloween. The patterns stretched like those spiderwebs, too, as he reached for Eri's face, the spell set to smother her in sleep.

Eri felt the demon's magic overpowering her, taking her away from the waking world. There was no escaping it now, and she knew it. It didn't hurt so much- it was more like giving into something that you knew was bad for you, but that you couldn't resist. She sighed and surrendered, dropping onto her knees and then collapsing into a dreamless sleep. So this is how it ends...

Lyra landed catlike, silently, on the cold concrete, watching the scene in front of her. Interesting... She clutched her crossbow closer. I assume that would be the vampiress.. Not like it mattered all that much. She'd been sent to put the vampiress Umera Eri to death, but it looked like this demon might just do the job for her.

Nothing wrong with just hurrying things up a bit. She loaded the crossbow and aimed for where Eri's lifeless heart should be.

The demon knelt on the concrete, gently turning Eri over so that she wasn't a lifeless, twisted, huddle on the pavement. Now she was just a lifeless, but not twisted, huddle. Holding on hand above her face, which currently shimmered a bit with magic, he checked the spell; it was a good one, better than most of his, but he still wasn't sure how long it would last; maybe an hour? Whatever...he'd better weaken her now, then, so that when she woke up she wouldn't be an angry vampire at full strength. She's just be an angry vampire at half strength, which was still bad enough.

Still kneeling on the sidewalk, the demon pulled Eri's inert body towards himself, tilting her head back. He'd better just take her blood tonight...it would be just as good as actual meat, and with blood she'd still survive, AND not have any chunks missing.

It must have annoyed Lyra to no end that as the demon pulled Eri upwards and bent over her, the huntress's nice target was suddenly a lot harder to hit.

Lyra frowned and narrowed her eyes slightly. What kind of demon IS that, anyway? Lyra was no stranger to monsters. Her childhood memories were filled with images so gruesome that they could have caused a grown man to vomit.

But this was one she hadn't seen. She searched her mind for the names of various obscure demons, but came up with nothing. Let's see... Uses magic... Not expertly, but good enough to take down a vamp at full strength, even one that's been around as long as Eri. From the looks of it, he feeds off of his victims as well. Appearance... not too unusual, for a demon.

She shook her head. Nothing. I hate demons. She wasn't quite sure what to do now, but she wasn't going to just leave her target and the new demon out in the open. "Alright," she whispered, drawing a long kataana from its sheath at her waist. "Going in." She crept forward quietly, stalking both demons. Her chances did not look good- a human bounty hunter against a full grown demon. It was a suicide mission. Another one, she reminded herself. She'd been in this kind of situation more times than she could count.

The demon lifted his head, eyes annoyed. A human was approaching...and if the mortal saw this scene, there could be a fuss. How...inconvenient. He'd have to finish his meal later.

Standing up swiftly, Eri cradled in his arms, he quickly padded into a nearby alley; his wings had materialized again, though he hesitated before launching into the air. He wanted to see this human who had interrupted him...

Lyra winced and froze in her place. She'd been spotted. Good move, Lyra. She gripped her kataana closer. Okay, then.

The huntress strode forward boldly, carefully keeping the apprehension she felt in her gut from showing on her face. "That's my target."

A pause. It took a moment for the demon to realize what the slayer was talking about, about the same amount of time for him to realize the katana in her hand.

"This is my meal." Still hidden in shadows, the demon crouched, wings ready for take-off, but he didn't actually leave the ground. Not yet.

"...if you're worried about her escaping, don't be. She'll be dead soon enough."

Not tonight, or maybe even tomorrow night, but the night after that, definitely. Vampires were too dangerous to keep around for longer than that...usually.

She frowned. On the one hand, she could just leave Eri with this demon and have her job done for her. On the other, it didn't feel right just leaving this monster out in the open, and, as much as Lyra hated to admit it, she enjoyed this. She'd been looking forward to killing Eri, being able to say that a vampiress from ancient Japan had died at her hands.

The huntress stepped forward. "As much as I'd like to see Umera dead, I can't just leave you out here, a danger to the rest of the mortal population like you, can I?" She shook her head, widening her eyes in mock innocence. "I'll send you to the Underworld yet."

The demon, though wanting to take to the air at Lyra's words, paused one moment more, wanting to know something...

"Umera? Is that her name?" he asked, a hint of curiousity in his voice. He thought of placing a tracking spell on Lyra, so that he could hunt her at his leisure, but wasn't sure she wouldn't notice it, and didn't want to waste what little magic he had left; this slayer may turn out to be quite a fighter. Besides, he was slightly handicapped, what with carrying Eri and all.

"That's right." Lyra edged closer to the demon, careful to move a little at a time, so that her movement was barely noticeable. "She's ancient. There are few true immortals in this world, but I think Umera might be one of them." Lyra winced slightly. Ugh. Anne Rice quote. She silently prayed that the demon had never read "Queen of the Damned".

Just keep talking. "She's gonna be pissed when she comes around," She added. If she comes around.

Lyra didn't say that last part aloud.

"I know," the demon replied nonchalantly, as if a furious ancient vampire wasn't...well, something you should run away from as fast as possible. "Which is why I should probably get her back sooner rather than later."

With a powerful downbeat of his scaly wings, the demon was suddenly in midair, and ascending. In only a second or two he was above the dim light cast by the nearby streetlamps, skimming over the darkened buildings' rooftops.

A small, white businesscard fluttered downwards like a large snowflake in his wake, spiraling crazily to the ground. On the front it gave random information on Zarovan Electronics, like their office address and telephone, but flip it over and one would find scrawled on the back:

2 Praeli Road
Come during daylight.

Lyra cursed. Both demons had gotten away this time. She shook her head. They're definately not going to like this, she thought, thinking grimly about the Hunters, the ones who had sent her on this mission.

She leaned over and plucked the business card up from the ground, holding it firmly in the tight grip of her darkly tanned hand.

2 Praeli Road
Come during daylight.

She repeated the words in her mind. 2 Praeli Road. Come during daylight. What could this be about? It's probably some kind of trap. Of course. Why else would the demon want her to find him? Why else would he give her an address?

"Alright then," she said aloud. "2 Praeli Road. Daylight." She turned and swiftly walked back towards the Hunter's guildhall. She'd stock up on weapons, train, and when she went to 2 Praeli Road, she'd kill them both.

----------

Eri stirred in her sleep. She wasn't sure where she was or what was happening. She just had the faint sensation of being carried, of flying.

She moaned softly and drifted back into her dreamless slumber. A voice in her head was screaming at her, telling her that she'd better wake up or else. She mumbled something at it that would have shocked the geisha from ancient Japan if they'd been around to hear it.

Kvalia stirred slightly; footsteps? It was hard to hear them, coming through stone walls and all, but they were definitely there.

Good, then. It wasn't Raud. But...who was it?

Her head tilted upwards slightly, though the rest of her remained motionless; crossed legs, hands draped in lap, and everything sheathed in black. She felt her silky hair shift slightly as she looked up, expectantly, at the door; the black curtain parted enough to show two gleaming eyes, as black as everything else about her. Except her skin, of course. Naturally pale, Kvalia was definitely the stereotypical vampire beauty.

Well, sort of.

The demon carried Eri down the short hallway, even his soft steps echoing. Reaching the forbidding-looking door, he had to shift Eri slightly so that he could open it; despite it's none-shall-pass looks, it opened on silent hinges, and the demon stepped into the room.

Of meduim size, it was definitely not very hospitable. The floor, ceiling, and walls were made of sizeable chunks of tannish stone, and there were no windows; thick metal bars made square cages in each corner of the room, leaving a wide aisle between each; it was in one of these cages that Kvalia sat, in the corner farthest from the center of the room. Coming to a stop before one of the cages, the demon reached out with a key to open the door...

"Who's that, Kythe?" Kvalia pronounced the name with a soft 'th', as in 'the'; her voice, like her face, was unreadable.

"Umera," Kythe replied, stepping in and letting Eri slide to the ground. Stepping out again, he re-locked the door as Kvalia said, a bit of exasperation in her voice, "Well, that's nice, but why is she here?"

Kythe turned to Kvalia, his voice and face blandly pleasant.

"Because I asked Raud." There was a pause, and you could tell that whatever he said next was going to have a meaning other than it's ordinary one. "Nicely."

Kvalia's face went as blank as stone, and she was silent as Kythe left. Inspecting the limp bundle that was Eri, she sighed, then stretched out her legs and slumped against the stone wall, and waited for the vampiress to awaken.

Eri shivered, then shrieked and sat up in a flash. What? What just happened?

She turned to see Kvalia staring calmly at her. "Who....." Her voice trailed off. Anger was rising in her, fast. Where was that demon? Who did he think he was, anyway? And who was this?!

"Where's that demon?" She snapped. "I'll kill him." She struggled to a sitting position and glared defiantly at Kvalia, still feeling a bit faint from blood loss.

Kvalia raised on eyebrow at Eri's outburst, still motionless in all other parts of her body.

"Calm down," she said, the faintest trace of amusement in her alto voice. "He's not going anywhere. And if you mean to kill him, you'd better figure out how to get out of that cage, first. The bars have been spelled against breaking." Hence the runes carved into the top and bottom of the metal poles.

She'll still stand a better chance than me at escaping, Kvalia thought to herself, combing her dark, layered hair behind her ears, still watching Eri with her bright eyes. At least her cage has a door.

Which was true. There was no break in the metal bars surrounding Kvalia; it made one wonder how she'd gotten there.

"Is your name really Umera?" Kvalia asked after a moment. Hey, people rarely came down here; she'd better enjoy the company while she had it.

"I prefer Eri," she replied. The resentment was mostly gone from her voice now. Her eyes lingered on the runes carved into her cage. Well, I have to give him credit for one thing. He really thought this out.

She looked away from Kvalia. All because of a mortal. Always ruining things for everyone, these mortals. Eri amused herself by thinking up new tortures for Aria once she caught her. Which she would, she thought desperately. I'll definately get out... won't I?

She shook her head, ashamed. Here she was, an ancient vampiress whose name had once struck fear in the hearts of men, caged and helpless as a pathetic fledgling.

Eri looked back at Kvalia. "How long have you been here?"

Kvalia's eyes went thoughtful and she stared through the wall as she considered, head tilted slightly to one side.

"...well, it's so hard to tell. Maybe...a week now?" Kvalia's eyes regained their sharpness and she looked back to Eri. "Why do you ask? How did you get here, anyways?"

"Really? A week?" Eri groaned inwardly. "Just curious. I'm here because I was foolish enough to pick a fight with that blooy demon. Over a mortal, no less." She looked over at Kvalia. "Why are we here, anyway? What would they want with us?"

Her voice had lost all its edge. Eri had never been a calm or a patient vampiress, and she was known for her temper. But Kvalia's calm attitude seemed to have a soothing effect on her, and she found herself rather liking this new vamp.

"Oh yes... I should properly introduce myself. My full name is Umera Eri, and I am from the Takeda clan. Or was, anyway. I think it's safe to say that they're all dead by now." She fixed her dark brown eyes on Kvalia and asked casually, "Who are you?"

Kvalia pondered what to say in reply to Eri's simple query for a moment.

"Kvalia," she finally replied, adding nothing after that, mostly because she didn't have anything to add. Glancing down at her hands, still limp in her lap, she looked back up at Eri and continued, "I'm not sure what they want with us. I think Kythe wants you because he's proud he captured a powerful vampiress, and doesn't want to kill you just yet." A slender eyebrow arched here, the faintest trace of a smile hovered around her lips. "He's not finished enjoying his little victory yet. As for me..."

The amused expression left Kvalia's face, leaving it blank again, except perhaps for a hint of brooding. Staring at the floor next to her legs, she fell silent for a few long minutes. Eventually, though, she stirred, looking up at Eri again. Getting to her feet, she paced a restless circle in her cell, then stopped, and said, "Perhaps if you get on Raud's good side, he'll keep Kythe from killing you. Are you any good at acting?"

Her pale face was entirely serious as she said these rather confusing words. Still as stone, she waited with crossed arms for Eri's answer...and the questions her unusual request would prompt.

Eri stared back at her emotionlessly. "I can be. But for that-" Her voice broke off and obvious disgust filled her eyes.

"So his name is Kythe, is it?" Eri's quick mind was working, the gears in her head spinning. "Well..." She trailed off, and was soon lost in thought. "I wonder what type of demon he is," she said softly, more to herself than to Kvalia. "Every demon must have a weakness..." She fixed her dark brown eyes on the bars of her cage and narrowed them. "And every cage must also have one..." She hissed in anger.

Kvalia noted the disgust in Eri's eyes and said quickly, "Don't get so worked up about it. It's not what you think. Raud simply wants lackeys and whatnot, and the more powerful the better...unless, of course, they're powerful, ambitious, lackeys...anyways. I was merely asking because it's really better if you can conceal your dislike and other such emotions..." Kvalia shrugged. "It's easier to escape the more he trusts you." If 'trust' is the right word... Sauntering forward until she stood at the edge of her cage, she continued on, "And don't worry too much about Kythe. He's really not that great; just make sure your too useful to Raud to be killed, and you'll have all the time you want to get back at Kythe. As for the cage..." Kvalia tilted her head a bit again, a habit when thinking. "Are you any good at magic? Because the bars, as I said, are spelled against breaking, and the lock is spelled against being picked. But if you could undo a spell..."

Kvalia trailed off into silence, waiting to see what Eri made of her words.

Eri looked back at the runes and cocked her head to the side. "I can do some magic, but just simple tricks. I don't know if I could undo something this complex."

She laughed bitterly. "Although, if I knew I would be spending the day in a cage spelled against breaking I would have studied more." The vampiress looked over at Kvalia. "So... what time do they feed us? I assume that they must, otherwise you would not be here after a week."

Kvalia looked at the floor boredly, then sat down and leaned against the bars. She shrugged.

"I can't give you a time; it's impossible to tell down here. But...not for awhile yet. Several hours, maybe? Why?"

She shrugged. "No reason. So who's this 'Raud'?" She smirked. "Is he as handsome as the other one?" She asked, with more than a little sarcasm in her voice.

Eri slumped against the bars of the cage, watching a spider weaving its web with mild interest. She stretched out her hand, snatched it, and closed her fist around it, watching its black blood drip out from between her fingers. She then proceeded to lick some of it off. "Nothing wrong with a before-dinner snack. That mortal wench gave me quite a run, and who knows when they might feed us?" She wiped the spider on the floor and lapped up the rest of the blood, more hungry than she was letting on. I knew I should have taken that kid at the gas station...

Kvalia's face was nearly as blank as usual, but not quite...some of the blankness seemed to be along the lines of 'I-don't-believe-you-just-did-that'. Then she smiled weakly and surreptitously looked around her for other spiders; she thought she'd gotten them all around her cage, but one can never really be sure...

Her head snapped back up as a man materialized in the center of the room. Kvalia stayed very, very still, watching him with wary, stony eyes as he sent an uninterested glance in her direction, then slowly drifted over to Eri's cage. He was tall, and pale like most vampires, and his black hair had been slicked back from his face. Though his nose was slightly too big for classic good looks, and was reminiscent of a beak, he could still be called handsome...and ominously dangerous. He didn't make a sound on the stone floors, and the pleasantly bland look in his black eyes was obviously only a gloss over the cold void of ambition that lurked beneath.

He was silent a long moment, just looking at Eri, that pleasant look never leaving his face.

"Your name is Umera?" he finally asked. His voice was quiet and fairly deep yet commanding, with a hint of roughness to it; it was a voice you couldn't ever imagine shouting...

Kvalia seemed to have stopped breathing, or moving at all, exept for her eyes, which she left fixed on Raud. There seemed to be a little bit of...fear...in them...

"It is," She replied, meeting his gaze boldly. "And you, assume, would be Raud, correct?"

A hard look entered her eyes. "Are you the one who can tell me what the hell I'm doing here?"

Eri had apparently forgotten Kvalia's advice about getting on Raud's good side. It wasn't so much that she'd forgotten, really. She just stopped caring. The vampiress narrowed her eyes. If I'm going to die, I won't die sucking up to this bastard. I'll die fighting.

Amusement flickered into being in the vampire's eyes, and he smiled just the tiniest bit...it wasn't reassuring; the exact opposite, in fact.

"I am," he replied mildly, "But I'm afraid you'll have to ask Kythe what you're doing here." There was a short pause. "I believe he'll be coming to see you tonight."

A part of Kvalia's mind that wasn't shut down in order to make her fear and loathing manageable and help her face maintain her deadpan expression registered this fact; so it was day...but what part of the day?

Raud fell silent again, merely returning Eri's hard stare with his bland, vaguely curious one.

"Won't you relax, Umera?" he finally suggested. "No one's going to hurt you..."

...yet. Kvalia thought viciously to herself. Her face remained blank.

No one's going to hurt me? Bullshit. But she just glared savagely at him. For once in all her long years, Eri didn't give voice to her opinion. She was impatient, and had a short temper and a tendency to be reckless, but Eri was not a fool. She knew that this vampire would be more than she could handle herself, even if she could get out of the damned cage.

If Kythe so much as looks at me the wrong way... I'll kill him.

--------

Lyra strode into the building without knocking, shutting the door behind her carefully. So this was the place. The huntress wandered around the building aimlessly, not bothering to quiet her footsteps- with any luck, her targets would come to her.

Suddenly, Raud stopped smiling, he tilted his head slightly, eyes darting up to the ceiling as if he could see through the floors to something that was going on up above...He frowned slightly, eyes narrowed, and disappeared.

Kvalia's eyes stopped tracing Lyra's path as well, instead coming to rest on Eri. She was silent a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"You need to learn to control your temper," she said quietly, tonelessly. "Or you may very well never get out of here."

----------------------

Raud reappeared noiselessly a step behind Lyra, unnaturally strong arms reaching to wrap around her waist, pinning her arms, one hand closing over her throat.

"Don't you know it's polite to ring the doorbell, first?" Raud whispered silkily into her ear. She didn't have time to make a reply as Kythe stepped into the hall. His bat wings were gone, though the claws were still out.

"I invited her, sir," Kythe said warily, though whether he was worried about what Raud might do to Lyra or was simply afraid of Raud himself was impossible to tell.

Raud considered this a moment.

Eri ignored Kvalia and went back to staring emotionlessly at the runes carved into her cage. She traced one of them lightly with her index finger. "I never had much hope of getting out of here, anyway. One of them will kill me. How could it be otherwise? When they do, however..." Her eyes glinted malevolently. "When they do, it won't be with me crying and begging for mercy. You can be sure of that."

--------

Lyra didn't move. She'd been raised knowing that the path she had chosen for herself would be a path that would most likely result in an early death, so she feared nothing from these monsters. The part of her mind that wanted to panic was ignored, and the practical part, the one that knew it could find a way out of this, took over.

She was careful to keep her body perfectly motionless, knowing that movement would most likely involve pain. Her bright green eyes darted about her surroundings quickly, taking in anything and everything around her. She looked over Kythe again, searching his eyes for an explanation, but finding none.

What is this place? She found herself wondering. She glanced at the vampire holding her, as well as she could, anyway, being forced to face forward. And why would a vampire and a demon be working together? To her, it had seemed that Kythe could have brought down a vampire with ease, like he'd done to Eri. But he seemed almost afraid of this one. In that case, the vampire would have to be stronger than Eri... Which means... That he'd have to have been around even longer than her. In that case, he was the oldest "living" vampire she'd ever heard of- Eri's origins went all the way back to Feudal Japan. Who in all hells IS he?!

Kvalia frowned, leaning forwards a bit.

"But you don't have to die at all!" she argued, not really seeing how Eri could be so blind. "Raud is not going to kill you if he lets you out; he has no use for a dead body! It is Kythe who will kill you! If you don't make yourself useful to Raud, he'll simply let Kythe drain you and-"

------------

Raud released Lyra, saying in his soft voice as she stepped back, "Next time use the doorbell." He slipped past Lyra to whisper something to Kythe, who recieved the message with a blank face. Raud then disappeared.

Kythe stepped away from the doorway he'd been standing in, making an elegant, if somewhat mocking, gesture for Lyra to proceed into the room he'd just left.

"Would you like to sit down," he asked, a small smirk on his face, "or do you prefer doing business in the hall?"

------------

Kvalia abruptly shut up as Raud rematerialized, snapping back to a straight position, legs crossed, hands in lap, staring stonily ahead. Raud sent her a glance, then fixed his eyes on Eri, drifting closer to her cage again.

"Why so angry, Umera?" he asked blandly after a moment. Kvalia braced herself for what she was sure would be a flood of words from Eri...and she wouldn't be surprised if half of them were profanities.

Eri spat at Raud's feet, before saying two words similar to "Forget you", only slightly more intense. "Just try and kill me, Raud," She snapped, eyes burning with a hidden flame. "I'll rip your goddamned eyes out."

A little nagging voice in her mind was reminding her that her only ticket out of here was to get on Raud's good side, but the vampiress had long stopped listening to it. She hated to be the one at a disadvantage. She hated to be in captivity like this. "Why did you bring me here?!"

--------

Lyra narrowed her eyes at the demon, closing her fingers over the kataana at her waist. This time, she was prepared. She wouldn't be caught off guard again. The huntress pushed past him and into the room. "Thank you, I think I'll sit." She turned once she was inside, facing Kythe with a steely expression in her eyes.

"Why did you leave that card?" She asked curiously. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted me to come here. Unusual, since most demons don't care to have the Hunters after them."

Kythe grinned a bit, rather reminiscent of Raud with his calm, confident air as he gently closed the door behind him. Sauntering to a nearby chair, he slouched into it.

"I did want you to come here. You'd've found where I lived anyways, given time," Kythe shrugged, glancing away from Umera for a second before bringing his silver eyes back. "Other than that...it was convenient. Now, why don't you tell me exactly why you took up on my invitation?"

----------

Raud's expression didn't change much as Eri vented her anger at him, nor did he move much. He merely put his hands in his pants' pockets and calmly replied, "I'm not trying to kill you. As to why you're here, you'll have to ask Kythe that, though I'm afraid he can't come right now. He's...busy."

Kvalia had not moved, or changed her expression, either.

----------

"What can I say?" Lyra raised an eyebrow. "I love a good challenge." She sank down into an overstuffed chair and draped her legs over one of its arms. "More importantly, you were powerful enough to take down a vamp at full strength with one spell. Normally, I'd let you just take her and have your fun, but it's my job to look into this kind of thing."

She fixed her cold eyes on Kythe's. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared of that vampire back there. Enough to risk your dignity and call him 'sir' even. I haven't heard of demons teaming up with the undead before." Lyra turned away from him and casually flicked a speck of dirt off of the heel of her boot. "So who was he?"

Kythe was silent for a long moment, pondering on exactly how much to say. Eventually, though, he raised his head from his thoughtful study of the oriental rug and polished wooden floor.

"Powerful? No...my magic is fairly weak, actually. But what made you think that vampires are immune, or resistant, to magic? True, it's a bit harder to make a spell work on them, but their not invincible or anything...and that was Raud. He is...my boss, I suppose you could say."

Leaning forward, elbows on knees, Kythe changed the subject.

"So you came here for the challenge, and to look into the matter of a powerful demon. What kind of challenge were you expecting...oh dear." A hint of amusement enterted the demon's face. "It appears I've forgotten to ask your name..."

She regarded Kythe with suspicion. "You may call me Lyra. I have no last name."

Lyra leaned back, resting her head on her arms. "Your boss?" She sounded almost amused. "So... a big demon like you, working for a vamp..."

"And when I asked you who he was, I didn't want his name. I mean, who is he. If he's got Umera caged up like a rat, he must be stronger than her, correct? She's been around for a long time, as I'm sure you know by now. Makes you wonder..." Lyra fixed an inquisitive eye on Kythe. "How long would he have been around?" She smiled.

"I'm afraid I have another question to trouble you with. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to. I'm just curious... exactly what kind of demon are you?" She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. "Alright, now you get to ask me one," Lyra said cheerfully.

Kythe raised one eyebrow at Lyra.

"Just one?" he asked, a faint smile on his face. "After that barrage of questions you asked me?" He shook his head, his smile more pronounced as he sat back again in his chair. "Well, then, it'll have to be a good one, won't it?"

A gleam came into his eyes as he set about answering Lyra's myriad questions...or, in some cases, not answering them.

"Yes, a big demon like me, working for a vamp," his tone was amused, and faintly conciliatory, like he was talking to a ruffled child instead of a full-grown huntress. "As for my- ...boss, why don't you ask him? Some people can be touchy about their age, you know; maybe he doesn't want me telling everyone who asks..."

"As for me..." Kythe lost his amused, slightly superior air, his eyes showing only curiousity. "I suppose you could call me an imp demon. I'm sort of like a much more powerful imp...if you were looking for an element, then I suppose that would be shadow. Why all the questions?"

She shrugged. "Just curious. I'm just the kind to ask questions, I guess." She played absently with a lock of blonde hair. "That's a dumb question." Lyra did look kind of like a bored little girl, sitting there and playing with her hair. "Aren't you going to ask something else?"

--------

Eri just glared at him, her brown eyes blazing, saying nothing. She reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and shifted her eyes to Kvalia and back. What do I do?!

Raud, following Eri's glance, also flicked his eyes to Kvalia, though he did and said nothing for a moment. When it became clear that Eri was not going to say anything else, he said mildly to her silent, angry face, "I believe you'll have your chance to fume at Kythe soon; he's supposed to bring you someone to eat in a few minutes..."

So saying, Raud turned away from Eri and silently glided the few steps to Kvalia's cage. Unwillingly, she dragged her blank eyes away from the wall to meet Raud's faintly amused stare.

"Well, Kva?" he asked, always in that soft voice. "Are you ready to behave? It's quite annoying that I have to waste my time chasing after you...and pointless."

A hint of weariness entered Kvalia's gaze as she replied tonelessly, "...of course."

And though the words apparently slipped easily, and sincerely, out of her mouth, Kvalia felt them stick in her throat.

------------

Kythe's gaze had gone from curious to piercing as he stared into Lyra's face, his eyes hard. He was silent a moment, then said softly, "Let me recap. You, a huntress and therefore probably not a dumb person, came here because you 'love a challenge' and you wanted to 'look into' the matter of me." Kythe fell silent, still with that cold, calculating look as he thought; he'd leaned forwards again to rest his elbows on knees, and his chin on his hands.

"...you never did say exactly what kind of challenge you were expecting to find here," he pointed out after a moment.

"Simple," Lyra replied. The innocent tone was still in her voice, but the childlike look in her eyes had been replaced by the icy stare of a predator. "You have my target. I was looking forward to killing her. You're also a potential threat to the mortal world. The challenge is easy enough to understand..." She casually inspected her nails. "...I came here to kill you."

"Oh?" Kythe replied, just as casually, eyebrows raised. "Then perhaps we should move to the practice room; Raud would hate to get blood all over the place. But, before we start trying to kill each other, how about I take you to see Umera? Raud may even let you try to kill her..."

Kythe waited, an evil gleam in his eye, for Lyra's answer.

------------------

Raud merely examined Kvalia's blank face for another moment or so, then smiled slightly and shook his head.

"You have been, and still are, the best liar I've ever seen, Kva," he replied, amusement in his voice as he turned away. "But, like always, lying won't get you out of that cage..." Reaching the center of the room, he disappeared.

And reappeared in the hallway outside of the room Kythe and Lyra were in. Crossing his arms, he bowed his head slightly, and waited.

----------

Lyra just gave the demon a dry look. A trap. Definately a trap... So what now, then? She turned over the options in her head, carefully keeping her face blank, then nodding slightly. I'm more experienced with demons than he knows. And this could give me a chance to find out more about my enemy. Anyway, if it gets really bad I could always just...

"Let's go then."

"This way, then," Kythe replied carelessly, leaving his chair to open the door and step out into the hallway again. Raud was not there. Leading Lyra down the hallway and a short flight of stairs, after a few more twists and turns they soon stood before a stone archway, and beyond it, a flight of tightly turning stone stairways. Summoning a magical light, Kythe led the way down...

--------------

Kvalia lifted her eyes from the floor, where she'd been staring since Raud left, to the door on the far side of the room. She paused.

"Kythe comes; you'll have your chance to rant at him," she replied, with the faintest trace of a bitter smile. She paused, her head tilting the tiniest fraction of a degree. "...and he brings a young mortal with him." Her smile widened a bit. "It looks like your dinner has arrived, Eri." Kvalia added, sliding her eyes sideways to look at the other vampire.

Eri didn't answer. Her eyes remained focused on the door. She stayed silent for a moment longer before murmuring "Dinner, hm?" She leaned against the bars and closed her eyes, straining to catch the exact sound of the footfalls on the cold stone floor, and the exact scent that the demon and his mortal gave off... Wait a minute... Her eyes flashed open. Oh shit.

Kvalia was slightly confused as to Eri's reaction, and had just opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when Kythe opened the door and stepped through. Kvalia shut her mouth, watching Kythe with a narrowed, wary gaze as he held the door for the woman behind him...

---------

Up in a different room, Raud's eyes were closed as he traced the movements of those below him. Almost time...

Lyra stepped into the room casually, glancing briefly at Kvalia before quickly redirecting her eyes to Eri, who was currently staring at her as though she was a bug that Eri would very much like to step on.

Lyra just met her gaze calmly, stepping close to the vampiress's cage and grinning maliciously before saying in a mocking voice, "Hello Eri-chan."

Kythe quietly closed the thick, stone door as Raud materialized in the center of the room, behind Lyra. Kvalia's eyes widened slightly as she realized exactly how they were going to get Lyra in with Eri.

"Eri, grab Raud when he mat-ergh!" Kvalia half-shouted at Eri, being abruptly cut off as Raud materialized in Kvalia's cage, grabbed her by her silky hair, and yanked her head back. With a sickening snap! her neck broke, and she was left paralyzed for the next few minutes, able only to glare her hatred at Raud as he whispered a few venemous words to her.

Eri winced at the sound of Kvalia's neck snapping, her eyes quickly darting over to the injured vampiress. She looked sickened. "Kvalia-san..." She murmured, her eyes showing a rare, brief flicker of an emotion other than anger... concern, perhaps?

Lyra watched this strange display with surprise, backing carefully away from the two cages and narrowing her eyes. Her left hand inched slowly to a small bulge in her pocket, closing around whatever was inside and pulling it out. It was a tiny, plastic bottle with a dark, red-brown, vile smelling liquid inside. The huntress gazed at it and gulped uneasily, clutching it tightly in her fist. If worst comes to worst, I always have this. Better to die by my own hands than to be taken and fed to one of them.

Standing up, Raud disappeared...to reappeared behind Lyra. For the second time since she'd come here, Raud seized her, gripping her wrists to twist her arms behind her back. Teleporting them both into Eri's cage, he finally noticed the little jar in her hand, and tightened his fingers, trying to make her let go in pain.

"What's this, little huntress?" he murmured blandly into her ear.

Kythe did nothing, except to drift forwards a bit, a small smirk on his face.

Kvalia did nothing as well, though not out of choice. Glaring at the ceiling, she pushed away the pain and hoped like hell that Eri made sense of her abruptly ended message.

Lyra cried out in surprise and dropped the bottle, which fell to the ground with a soft clinking noise and shattered. She cursed and drew her arm forward to elbow Raud as hard as she could in his chest, trying desperately to reach her sword.

Eri sprang forward suddenly and grabbed Raud's arm in her hands, clutching it tightly. "You aren't outside the cage anymore," She whispered. "This is my world." She dug her nails tight into his skin, and, on the spur of the moment, jabbed him hard in the eyes with her free hand. I'll have to remember to thank the mortal wench for that idea, She thought grimly. That is, if I ever get out of here alive... Eri was working from pure desperation now, and she knew it. She had little hope of actually managing to defeat this vampire, let alone making it to next sundown alive.

Raud, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden attack of both the huntress and the vampiress, obliged Lyra by shoving her abruptly away from him, into one wall of bars that made up Eri's cage. He was just about to try and yank his arm from Eri's grip when the vampiress poked him in the eyes; he made a sound somewhere between a hiss and a scream, recoiling so quickly that he nearly pulled free of Eri anyways. Having rather expected her to let him go, and wanting to separate the hunter and the vampire if he hadn't pulled free so that they couldn't both attack him at once, Raud then disappeared, and Eri with him.

Kythe was backed against the door, not quite sure what to do about the sudden turn of events yet, when Raud and Eri reappeared a split second later in the middle of the room.

Kvalia still couldn't move yet, though she could turn her eyes to where Raud and Eri had reappeared, and the corners of her mouth curled upwards ever so slightly at the chaos and trouble she'd helped to cause; well, Raud deserved it. She could guess where Lyra was now...

Lyra got to her feet quickly and attacked the bars of the cage viciously, but it was pretty pointless- they refused to give in. Damn... Spelled against breaking, huh? She thought, glaring fiercely at the runes in the bars as if all this was due to them. The huntress cursed under her breath and leaned against the wall, watching the struggle between Raud and Eri intently.

Eri almost let go of Raud's arm in surprise, but caught herself and kept her grasp. She sneered maliciously at him. "Seems as though you're in a bit of a mess, Raud," She said softly, before kicking him as hard as she could while wearing a kimono- Damned kimono. She drew back her free hand and slashed desperately at his face and chest with her strangely claw-like nails.

Raud snarled at the pain from Eri's kick, and recoiled slightly again, but didn't actually retreat. Catching her wrists again, blood dripping down his face and seeping through the expensive material of his shirt, he teleported them both into one of the empty cages and flung Eri away from him against the wall.

Teleporting back out a split second later, he stood outside her cage, glaring, as he gingerly fingered the healing cuts on his face.

"That was...foolish," he spat icily at her, before turning away abruptly to fix his cold, angry glare on Lyra; he licked the blood from his fingers as he silently stalked over towards her...

There was a dark blur as Kvalia sat up with a vampire's unnatural speed and snaked one hand out to grab Raud's ankle as he passed a bit too close to her cage. With a small hiss of surprise, Raud jumped back, but succeeded only in dragging Kvalia up against the bars of her cage. She hissed slightly as well, in pain as her face smacked against metal, but didn't let go, instead yanking Raud's foot towards her. Raud went down, his head cracking against the stone floor as Kvalia tried to drag him nearer to the cage, eyes narrowed and a slight smile on her face as she drew close to the sweet moment of revenge...

And Raud disappeared. Kvalia, of course, teleported with him, and they both reappeared a few feet closer to Kythe; Raud was up on his elbows now, a silent snarl of rage on his face, Kvalia still prone on the floor, one hand gripping Raud's ankle, a small, slightly mocking smile answering his anger. Then there was a dark blur again as she abandoned Raud to slam a surprised Kythe into the door, rip the keys out of one pocket of his, toss them at Eri's new cage, and turn back to leap at Raud.

Of course, in keeping with Kvalia's life of bad luck, the keys clanged against one of the bars and fell with a rattle to the floor. Raud teleported towards Kvalia just as she lept for him, and they missed each other...but Raud noticed the keys. With a soft hiss, Kvalia whirled around.

Eri grabbed the keys in a hurry and struggled to cram them into the lock on her cage. Come on... Be the right key... Dammit! She didn't have much time before Raud reached her and somehow tore away her only chance of escape. Finally, the key fit and the lock, after a desperate moment of turning the key every which way, opened.

Raud had taken only one step towards Eri when Kvalia leapt for him again, and this time she didn't miss. Raud just barely dodged her blow to his head, but her grabbing his shoulder and sinking her fangs into his neck was...unexpected, to say the least. Raud yelled in both surprise and pain, then flung Kvalia off of him, into the bars of Eri's cell, and advanced on Eri. Though Kvalia tackled him again, trying to give Eri enough time to use the keys, the next short skirmish ended with another sickening crack! and Kvalia on the floor with a broken neck again.

Through the constant cursing in her mind, Kvalia was really, really hoping that Eri would give the keys to Lyra, too. The more fighters they had against Raud, the better...

Kythe was still against the door. He would've darted over to Eri to get the keys back, but...well, the aisles between the cages really weren't that big, and he would have wanted lots of room to get around Raud and Kvalia; it was never a good idea to be caught in the middle of a vamp fight...

Eri winced at the sound of Kvalia's neck breaking yet again. Poor thing... She glanced over at Lyra, the two showing a silent exchange of feelings, an unspoken understanding. Eri nodded briefly, then tossed the keys to the huntress, who caught them easily in one outstretched hand.

She then turned to Raud and Kythe, her eyes rapidly shifting from one to the other. She darted around Raud so that Kythe was between the both of them. "I've been waiting for this moment," She said softly, hissing through her teeth. In one sudden movement, she lunged at Kythe and fastened her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist and sinking her fangs into his flesh.

Kythe yelled very like Raud had a moment before, then made a sort of 'grrr' sound and slammed his back, and Eri, into the wall, wriggling slightly in his attempts to get his arms free. His claws lengthened slightly, and he twisted his hands to dig them into Eri's legs, opening his mouth and tilting his head, trying to do some damage with his own pointed teeth to Eri's head and arms.

Raud, of course, ignored Kythe and Eri. For the moment, anyways. Teleporting into Lyra's cage, he yanked the keys out of her hands with an icy glare, then disappeared again to go help Kythe.

Lyra grabbed Raud's arm, reappearing again outside of the cage, somewhat to her surprise. She quickly let go of him, and aimed a punch at his face, trying to distract him so that Eri could have a fair chance at what she was trying to do.

Eri grimaced in pain, desperately trying to keep her hold on Kythe's neck while avoiding his fangs. He was a fierce fighter, but she had tasted his blood now, and would have had trouble letting go herself if she'd been foolish enough to try. Besides, she was so very hungry...

Lyra's punch connected, if only because Raud wasn't really expecting the huntress to materialize with him, and the girl had been trained to be fast. The vampire hissed, taking a step back, before grabbing both her wrists and twisting her arms behind her back wit his inhuman speed; he was getting really annoyed.

He may well have dislocated both of her shoulders had it not been for Kythe making a high-pictched sound, somewhere between a whimper and a muffled scream as he continued trying to dislodge Eri. His breath coming shorter now because of fear, pain, and the gradual draining, he started to mumble a spell under his breath.

Kvalia was still out of the action, though not for long.

"Eri, he's trying to-- Ah!" Lyra cried out in pain as her arms twisted behind her back, cutting her off. "You--"

Eri heard Lyra's calls, but only faintly, as if in a dream. The taste of warm blood had blocked out all other sensations, leaving the vampiress delirious, completely lost in the joy of taking another life, hearing the heart of the victim beat frantically as it struggled then slowly, but surely start to slow. She closed her eyes, not realizing how vulnerable she had made herself to any outside attacks.

With a muttered curse, Raud teleported Lyra back into Eri's original cage, tossed her across the small cell, and disappeared to reappear in front of Kythe and Eri. With the air of an arrogant superior grudgingly helping out a weak underling, he tore Eri off of Kythe, pinning her wrists to the stone wall next to the door.

"Kythe, your little pet is proving more troublesome than previously forseen," he growled to the demon, though glaring at Eri. "I may have to put her down."

Kythe was swaying a bit, glaring at Eri as well, one hand on his neck, and so neither of them noticed as Kvalia silently sat up, stood, then gave Kythe a resounding whack on the back of his head with her hand. He crumpled to the floor, out cold, and lucky to not be dead; Kvalia would've killed him, except that she figured Eri might not like that. At least this way he was out of her and Eri's hair for a while...

Raud twisted his head to look over his shoulder in time to see the dark blur of Kvalia at vamp-speed smash into him, half-throwing him off of Eri. Grabbing Raud's hand that held the keys, she yanked it off of Eri's hand and to her mouth, and bit it.

Raud yelled, and Kvalia wrenched the keys out of his hand, tossing them to Lyra as she twisted to avoid his other hand and yet another neck snapping. The keys clattered against the bars and fell to the floor, and Raud seemed to have temporarily forgotten Eri as he and Kvalia struggled; she gripped one of his wrists, tyring to keep his hand away from her neck, and he had her other hand. Raud's face was twisted into a silent snarl as he crushed the bones of Kvalia's hand, and she clenched her jaw against making any sound of pain as she abruptly pulled away from Raud, trying to escape.

Eri started, holding her head. Was I really that out of it? She looked around, barely having any memory of what had happened after having the demon cruelly torn away, and just when she almost had him...

She pinched herself hard, snapping out of it and rushing to Kvalia's aid. Eri grabbed the arm that was holding onto Kvalia and twisted it, grasping it in both hands, with enough force to break a mortal's arm.. Unfortunately, this was a vampire.

Raud whipped around, and with speed due to practice and not his inhuman abilities, snaked his hand forward to snap Eri's neck. Kvalia recovered from her stumble, and straightened, glaring at Raud.

Eri gasped, unable to cry out as her neck snapped back and she fell to the ground, paralyzed for the time being. Oh crap...

Lyra burst out of her cage, clutching the keys tightly in one hand. There was no way that ... thing masquerading as a vampire was going to get them. She had already decided that she disliked Raud even more than Eri, if that was possible. But Eri, unfortunately, was a necessary evil, for now at least. She dashed to her side and pulled her away from Raud quickly, taking her to the far wall and leaning her against it. "Sorry, Eri-chan," She said, smirking. "Looks like you're out of the action for a while.

Eri was unable to do anything but glare as Lyra stood and stepped towards Raud wearily. Shut up...

However, Raud was now on the floor, glaring up at Kvalia in a mixture of disbelief and blinding fury. When Raud got distracted taking Eri out, Kvalia used that split-second to give him a taste of his own medicine.

It was amazing the change having revenge within reach made to her face. Her normally blank, wary, or guarded eyes burned with an intensity, a heartfelt wish in sight; she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from curling upwards, though her small smile had a definite dark edge to it.

"Have you a knife?" she asked Lyra, crouching down by Raud and starting to reach out a hand, eyes fixed on his motionless body, then pulling back as if aware she didn't actually have a blade yet to kill him with. She tore her eyes off of Raud to fix Lyra with her suddenly vibrant, eager gaze.

"Certainly," Lyra said, a little startled, but soon shaking it off. She drew a long dagger from its sheath at her waist and handed it over to Kvalia, grinning with anticipation- she would very much like to see Raud dead.

"Just give it back when you're done, it was a birthday present, you know."

Lyra stepped back to let Kvalia have her fun- she'd probably suffered more from Raud than anyone present. "Have fun."

Kvalia accepted the knife eagerly, smiling a bit wider at Lyra as she did so. Flicking a glance at Raud, whose rage and disbelief had turned entirely to terror, her smile widened even further; the tips of her fangs were visible as she plunged the blade down.

Kvalia felt no particular joy, no rush of triumph, as Raud�s body convulsed and blood speckled her hands. She felt instead a sort of grim serenity; a long battle was over, and she could start rebuilding her life now. Carefully wiping the blade on Raud�s silk shirt, she stood up and handed it back to Lyra.

�Thank you,� she said, flicking a glance at Eri to see if the vampiress had healed yet; Kythe was still out cold, though that couldn�t last very long.

Not that it really matters if he does revive, she mused to herself. There's three of us here to take care of him, two vampires and a trained huntress.

Lyra sheathed the dagger carefully, looking at it almost fondly. If anyone knew, they'd probably think it was ridiculous, but she had developed an attachment to the dagger, and treated it almost like you might treat a friend.

Eri watched Raud's death with satisfaction, then quickly looked over at Kythe, who was still unconscious. She slowly got to her feet, rubbing the back of her neck and wincing. How did Kvalia manage to look so calm after having that done...?

"Kythe is mine," She said quickly, as if claiming a prize.

"By all means," Lyra said coolly, her eyes never leaving Eri. "Kill the demon, and then what, Eri-chan? Do you expect me to just leave and pretend I never saw you? This changes nothing. Our... Arrangement... Remains as planned."

"Of course," Eri replied in the same formal, icy tone. "We'll fight, and I'll kill you."

"I don't think so."

The two glared daggers at eachother, their eyes flaring.

Kvalia watched this exchange, her usual blank face back in place. Internally, she sighed in apathetic sadness and resignation; didn't people have better things to do than kill? Apparently not...

But it's none of my business. The vampiress told herself as she silently glided over to the dungeon door and pulled it open. Each to her own way of life...

Pausing, she half-turned back to the two and said, "May I suggest that you finish your business here quickly? Although Zay will not hinder any actions you do here, she will remember your faces...and Kythe's awake, by the way."

At this, the supposedly unconcious demon shot to his feet and for the door, only to be calmly backhanded by Kvalia and sent stumbling backwards into the bars of a cage. Regaining his balance against the metal poles, he shot all three woman a look of anger and fear, and started muttering something rapidly under his breath, his hands occasionally making small movements; a haze of sparks reminiscent of intensified moonlight gathered around him.

Kvalia turned away disinterestedly.

Eri hissed softly and lunged at Kythe, clamping her pale, white hands over his in a steel-like grip and twisting his arms cruelly, trying to prevent him from using a spell to gain the advantage... Again.

"Not this time," She hissed, her face inches from his. "This time I'll drain you to the last drop." With that, Eri leaned over and, in one swift movement, sank her fangs into Kythe's neck.

Kythe stifled a scream and struggled wildly, to no avail. He opened his mouth and tried to croak out a spell, but do you know how hard it is to talk and concentrate with fangs in your neck? Eventually, though, he desperately leaned his head forward, shutting off the view of the wavering world, and bit Eri right back.

Kvalia disappeared silently up the stone stairs, not once looking back.

Eri's eyes widened at the feeling of fangs sinking into her own neck. For a moment, she held on desperately, draining blood as well as she could, but she knew this couldn't last long. The vampiress gasped, stepping back and clutching the open wound on her neck.

Lyra watched in silence, never once moving from her place. If Kythe didn't finish Eri off, she would. She had a score to settle with the vampire...

"Are you done yet?" Kvalia snapped from the doorway, where she'd reappeared sometime while Eri was distracted with Kythe and Lyra was distracted with Eri. "He's lost enough blood so that he'll die on his own, but if you really want to make sure, why not just take him with you? Anyways, Zay's back, and I want to show you a different way out so that she might not notice you two."

Eri hissed softly, but a firm hand clamped down on her shoulder, forcing her to turn and face Lyra.

"She's right," The huntress said. "Just leave him, Eri. Just let it go."

Eri glared at her, but nodded briskly, turning to follow Kvalia through the doorway. Lyra paused, giving Kythe a look of pure contempt, then walked after her quickly. "Who's Zay?" She asked curiously.

"Another vampiress," Kvalia replied vaguely, leading them up the stone staircase and out into the carpeted hall, though turning to lead them deeper into the house rather than back the way they'd come. Opening a door near the end of the hallway, she led the duo into what appeared to be a large, neat, and well-maintained kitchen, saying to the surprised human who glanced up at them as they entered, "You didn't see us."

The human blinked, made a sort of confused half-bow, and went back to loading a dishwasher, her eyes a bit wider than before.

Lyra watched this exchange with interest, wondering what the human must think of this. Of course, she was human, too, but she had long ago seperated the hunters and huntresses of the world from the 'normal' humans. If there was such a thing.

Eri walked behind her silently, sneering at the human woman in contempt. Her eyes flicked over her surroundings, inspecting the kitchen curiously. She almost tripped over the skirt of her kimono as she was walking, and she quickly grabbed it to hold it up as she walked, a faint tinge of pink entering her otherwise pale cheeks. Note to self, she thought. No more kimono while hunting.

If Kvalia noticed Eri's stumble, she gave no sign of it, merely leading the two swiftly and silently down a hall; the hall was obviously in the servant's quaters, as it lacked the deep red rug and dark golded walls of the front entrance and parlor Kythe had shown Lyra into. Shoving open a service door, the dark vampiress glanced behind them, over their heads and through walls, where she could feel Zay coming closer...she had obviously caught on to the fact that something was up.

"Go quickly. I'll talk to Zay." Kvalia held the door for Eri and Lyra.

Lyra nodded politely, smiled and said "Thanks," before heading quickly through the service door without a second glance. Eri started after her, pausing before Kvalia, then bowing slightly and murmuring "Arigatou," And hurrying after Lyra.

The huntress glanced behind her and met Eri's eyes, a blank look on her face. After she'd practically teamed up with her, could she actually kill her...? Eri met her gaze completely, raising one eyebrow, as if asking her what the hell she was looking at. To her surprise, Lyra stopped in her tracks and waited patiently for her to catch up.

"What?" She asked, eyeing Lyra warily.

Lyra took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, holding one hand out for Eri, which she stared at in confusion.

"Look," Lyra said bluntly. "We'll probably never be friends, or anything resembling that..." This was answered with a short laugh at the very idea. "But," She continued, as if she hadn't noticed. "Can we at least call a truce? This whole stalking thing is getting old fast."

Eri paused, then shook Lyra's hand briefly. "Truce," She said, with more than a little surprise.

Kvalia blinked, a slightly puzzled look on her face as she tried to figure out what 'Arigatou' meant, but Eri was gone before she could ask. Hesitating only a moment more, she let the door fall closed and strode up the hallway, on her way to intercept, confuse, and hopefully delay a certain vampiress. Zay would probably try to re-imprison or kill her once she finally found out what had happened here today, but...it didn't matter. Getting away from Zay was much easier than escaping from Raud...and Raud was dead.

Kvalia couldn't help it. She smiled.