Who: Tabrika and Desdemona
When: Anesus 1, shortly after midnight
Where: The gates to the compound
Half an hour more. That's all there was until Tabrika's freedom was gone for six whole years. She crouched, no longer in animal form, but in human form, since they'd be stuck in it for the rest of the night and everyone wanted to be in the form that worked best to communicate with people. That meant she'd had to get dressed, too, as some of those humans had been eying her darkly when she'd worn nothing but her skin and mane.
When: Anesus 1, shortly after midnight
Where: The gates to the compound
Half an hour more. That's all there was until Tabrika's freedom was gone for six whole years. She crouched, no longer in animal form, but in human form, since they'd be stuck in it for the rest of the night and everyone wanted to be in the form that worked best to communicate with people. That meant she'd had to get dressed, too, as some of those humans had been eying her darkly when she'd worn nothing but her skin and mane.
This was going to be horrible, she could tell already. And without Telkor and Kamarti at her back, it was even worse. Even though she'd only left them behind a couple days ago, even though they promised they'd be waiting for her when she got back, she still felt like she'd lost them forever. Like something was missing that should always have been there. Like everything was off, somehow.
Sitting there sulking wasn't helping matters, though, and she was getting cold just crouching in the grass and doing nothing but staring glumly at the still-shut compound gates. So Tabrika pushed herself up wearily and started walking. Maybe she'd find someone interesting who actually wanted to talk. She'd never met any humans before, maybe she ought to.
Sitting there sulking wasn't helping matters, though, and she was getting cold just crouching in the grass and doing nothing but staring glumly at the still-shut compound gates. So Tabrika pushed herself up wearily and started walking. Maybe she'd find someone interesting who actually wanted to talk. She'd never met any humans before, maybe she ought to.
As soon as the sun had set, Desdemona had gone out to feed, not entirely sure how she would do so once thrown into her new environment. She was used to the element of surprise, but she doubted she'd be sneaking up upon her prey now that she was locked inside the compound. It didn't seem quite right to attack a neighbor, and if there was a protocol for asking for blood she didn't know it. At least she'd have a few days to figure it out.
Still, it was immediately hard in her new surroundings, with so many hearts beating, the thumps softly echoing in her ears. So many humans in one place, and not all of them human, their scent giving them away. Desdemona openly stared at how little some of them wore, barely covering themselves. Had they no sense of modesty? No wonder they were considered animals.
Desdemona paused for a moment, setting down her trunk in the grass as she looked back at the gates. So this was it. With a deep, unnecessary breath, she picked up her trunk again and started forward, able to spot her brother a good deal ahead of her. He looked back, checking to see that she kept moving, then continued on. Desdemona looked around her, her eyes lingering on a dark haired girl with an inhuman scent. It might be impolite to stare, but in the dark she could at least be curious.
Still, it was immediately hard in her new surroundings, with so many hearts beating, the thumps softly echoing in her ears. So many humans in one place, and not all of them human, their scent giving them away. Desdemona openly stared at how little some of them wore, barely covering themselves. Had they no sense of modesty? No wonder they were considered animals.
Desdemona paused for a moment, setting down her trunk in the grass as she looked back at the gates. So this was it. With a deep, unnecessary breath, she picked up her trunk again and started forward, able to spot her brother a good deal ahead of her. He looked back, checking to see that she kept moving, then continued on. Desdemona looked around her, her eyes lingering on a dark haired girl with an inhuman scent. It might be impolite to stare, but in the dark she could at least be curious.
There were a lot of people gathering here, at the gates. Tabrika was having trouble keeping them all straight in her head, pinpointing which one was where and which one was what-- so many scents, so many breaths, so many heartbeats. In the darkness, where she ought to have seen better, she felt even more blind than usual, and that made her more edgy than normal.
So when she gravitated towards a group that had so much less noise she took notice, looking up from where her near-useless gaze had been on the grass in front of her feet rather than on any of the people around her. Why would people not have a heartbeat, or not breathe? And why was that scent so... different?
It took her until she'd been staring at one dark-haired one-- whose head was, she thought, turned in her general direction-- for a full minute, at least, to put together that she was, for the first time in her life, looking at a Vrykola. At a bunch of Vrykolas. Tabrika very nearly growled, but even she knew better than that when there were so many of them, and her without any pack to back her up. Her expression, though, did turn sour, and her stare turned into something closer to a glare.
So when she gravitated towards a group that had so much less noise she took notice, looking up from where her near-useless gaze had been on the grass in front of her feet rather than on any of the people around her. Why would people not have a heartbeat, or not breathe? And why was that scent so... different?
It took her until she'd been staring at one dark-haired one-- whose head was, she thought, turned in her general direction-- for a full minute, at least, to put together that she was, for the first time in her life, looking at a Vrykola. At a bunch of Vrykolas. Tabrika very nearly growled, but even she knew better than that when there were so many of them, and her without any pack to back her up. Her expression, though, did turn sour, and her stare turned into something closer to a glare.
It was one thing to stare and another to be stared at. Desdemona smoothed down her dress on impulse, mindlessly checking her appearance-- though why a girl wearing so little would find issue with Desdemona's choice of clothing was beyond her imagination. Tomorrow she would wear a fitted frock of red and gold, but tonight she'd gone with black. It allowed better blending to the shadows and it fit her mood. It seemed appropriate to be in mourning.
"Yes?" she asked, raising a brow as she looked back at the girl. "Can I help you?" The words slipped out before she thought about them, so used to common courtesy that she'd not considered holding herself back until it was already thrown out there. Even if the girl needed help, what could she do? She had a trunk of her own to carry, and if the girl needed something warmer to wear then she should have thought of that while packing.
"Yes?" she asked, raising a brow as she looked back at the girl. "Can I help you?" The words slipped out before she thought about them, so used to common courtesy that she'd not considered holding herself back until it was already thrown out there. Even if the girl needed help, what could she do? She had a trunk of her own to carry, and if the girl needed something warmer to wear then she should have thought of that while packing.
She was being addressed. By a Vrykola. What Vrykola would ever actually help the likes of her, anyway? They all hated her people. They stole from them, murdered them without thought or care, and thought they were little more than animals. Half-breeds. They thought they were so superior, they'd probably not even help a human.
"You're a blood-sucker, aren't you," Tabrika said more than asked, hands firmly planted on her hips. She wished she could see her better, the Vrykola. Or that she knew Vrykola smells and sounds better, so she could read her.
"You're a blood-sucker, aren't you," Tabrika said more than asked, hands firmly planted on her hips. She wished she could see her better, the Vrykola. Or that she knew Vrykola smells and sounds better, so she could read her.
Was that a question or an insult? The idea that the girl didn't know seemed absolutely absurd when Desdemona was sure she wasn't human. Weren't the Lykos supposed to have heightened senses as well? Then again, what was there to smell on her? She'd bathed before leaving, applying a touch of scented oil and a bit of rouge. It always helped not to appear so pale, and her evening feed even gave her a warmth to her skin. She could pass for human, she supposed, though they seemed so much more common.
Desdemona sighed, shifting her weight as she carried the trunk. "Why do you ask?" she said, though it could have been better phrased as 'why does it matter'. She'd asked if the girl needed something, but apparently that hinged on what she ate for dinner. "Are you to tell me that you only eat plants?" The snark slipped out and she bit her tongue. Maybe if she weren't marching towards her six year prison she'd have a better attitude, but it was hard to be polite under the circumstances.
Desdemona sighed, shifting her weight as she carried the trunk. "Why do you ask?" she said, though it could have been better phrased as 'why does it matter'. She'd asked if the girl needed something, but apparently that hinged on what she ate for dinner. "Are you to tell me that you only eat plants?" The snark slipped out and she bit her tongue. Maybe if she weren't marching towards her six year prison she'd have a better attitude, but it was hard to be polite under the circumstances.
Oh, that wasn't going to pass. Not to someone already prickly, tense, and on-edge. Bristling a little, Tabrika threw back, "Are you to tell me that your kind don't hate mine? Don't think we're just animals?" She'd never met a Vrykola, but she'd heard stories, and oh, were they bad stories. Even teaming up at the end of the war, briefly, hadn't erased centuries of mistrust and generations of tale-telling of their deeds in the past.
Desdemona couldn't believe the girl would bring up such a subject, there in the open, with so many around to hear. It was incredibly poor form and just... just rude. She didn't go around telling people she hated them, regardless of who or what they were. As for them being animals, well... wasn't she just proving how incredibly inappropriate a Lykos could be? Because that's what she was, Desdemona was sure of it now, though she'd been fairly positive in the beginning. "I believe you are what you portray yourself to be," Desdemona said, no words truer from her lips.
"Then you're the only one," Tabrika snorted. Not that she knew first-hand, but she was in a bad enough place to assume they were pretty much all the same. Weren't humans pretty much all the same, too? Not to be trusted? That was the important part to remember, no matter what else they might be like: not to be trusted. Really, she doubted this Vrykola's truthfulness, now. Unless it was somehow some kind of insult that she just wasn't picking up one.
Which it might be. Maybe she thought stating the truth was portraying one's self badly. "Have you ever even met one of my people before?"
Which it might be. Maybe she thought stating the truth was portraying one's self badly. "Have you ever even met one of my people before?"
Why does that matter? Desdemona wondered. She'd heard enough from people she trusted to know what to make of the Lykos, and what she was seeing now only solidified her opinions. They were an uncivilized people, unable to behave properly in even the most basic sense. Knowing she was better than them, Desdemona would not lower herself to losing her temper. "This would be a first," she said. Her clan had been far enough back into the mountains that she'd not crossed them in her hunting ventures. Their lands had been free of local fight outbreaks, though that was not true world-wide.
Tabrika snarled after the Vrykola, silently but with teeth bared. "That's right, run away," she hissed. "Run away before you can get in trouble." She was going nowhere, and if there was punishment to be had-- probably not, not for causing trouble with a Vrykola, but one never knew; Roldan was a weird sort, sometimes-- she would take it bravely.
Unlike some.
Then Tabrika bet she was right: if all the blood-sucker had to go on was stories, she probably did think her people were nothing but animals who happened to be able to talk. Never mind that, by that logic, Tabrika was in the same boat; this was her first Vrykola, and she was already assuming the worst. Maybe if she'd been surrounded by fewer people, if she'd had her pack, if she wasn't already feeling snappish and edgy, it could've gone better, but she just didn't have room in her head for being polite.
So, to finish off the rudeness, Tabrika spread her arms a little and asked, "So do I live up to your expectations?"
So, to finish off the rudeness, Tabrika spread her arms a little and asked, "So do I live up to your expectations?"
The outright rudeness, especially from a woman, in public for that matter, was shocking. Had this girl no sense of propriety? People were turning to look at them, some with narrowed eyes-- notably those wearing just as little as the girl-- and Desdemona fought the urge to shrink back into the shadows and disappear. Her brother was too far ahead, though it wasn't as if he could do much to help her, other than provide moral support. Rather than being angry, she just found herself aghast.
"No," she said simply, turning her eyes back towards her path as she continued towards the castle. "You don't." Embellishing on her thoughts would only make things worse, she presumed. Why she'd expected animals to behave properly, she didn't know, but this only proved that what little human traits they did have were the worst sort.
"No," she said simply, turning her eyes back towards her path as she continued towards the castle. "You don't." Embellishing on her thoughts would only make things worse, she presumed. Why she'd expected animals to behave properly, she didn't know, but this only proved that what little human traits they did have were the worst sort.
With other Lykos looking at them, Tabrika felt a little more confident. None of them would like a Vrykola, either. She tucked her hands behind her back again and grinned wolfishly, and not particularly nicely. "Learn somethin' new every day, then, huh, blood-sucker?"
So maybe she was trying to get a rise out of the Vrykola, now. So what? It'd mean she'd win, in a way. This wasn't exactly a dominance spat, like she was used to, but there were other ways to "win" than just pinning your opponent down and waiting for them to show throat. And she didn't really want to try pinning down a Vrykola. Who knew what unfair trick they'd pull?
So maybe she was trying to get a rise out of the Vrykola, now. So what? It'd mean she'd win, in a way. This wasn't exactly a dominance spat, like she was used to, but there were other ways to "win" than just pinning your opponent down and waiting for them to show throat. And she didn't really want to try pinning down a Vrykola. Who knew what unfair trick they'd pull?
Obviously the Lykos hadn't understood, had taken Desdemona's admittance as some kind of positive acknowledgment. While she knew she should let it go and take it as her own private battle won, she couldn't walk away and allow the Lykos to think the same. She stepped up to the girl and lowered her voice, her trunk still between them as she spoke. She saw no reason to speak her words loud enough for others to hear-- in fact, she preferred them not to.
"Thank you for proving you're much more a bitch than I ever expected. Now I've learned my lesson," Desdemona smirked sweetly.
"Thank you for proving you're much more a bitch than I ever expected. Now I've learned my lesson," Desdemona smirked sweetly.
Ooooh now those were strong words. Tabrika bared her teeth in the Vrykola's face in something that someone might have called a smile. If they were being very loose about their definition. "Better a bitch," she growled back, voice equally low, "than a stuck-up, blood-sucking cub-murderer who thinks she's better than anyone else."
"Didn't we already discuss that point where I'd never met one of you before?" Desdemona asked, her smile sweet if not for her tone. Now she didn't care who heard, considering it was the Lykos who was digging herself a whole. "Maybe you forgot. Makes it difficult to accuse me of murder." The Vrykolas around them turned to stare, suddenly aware of the harsh words in the conversation. She wondered if she should expand to say that she rarely killed anything human, especially due to the shortage of food in their world at the moment. It was just bad practice, but the Lykos wouldn't know poor form if it bit her on the nose.
"Maybe not yet," Tabrika admitted, though her tone wasn't backing down or conceding a point. "But I bet if you had the chance, you wouldn't care if you did, would you?" They were all the same. Superior, haughty, and oh-so-righteous. "I bet your daddy did, and your grand-daddy before him. And they didn't care, either. Just like slaughtering a deer, right?" Tabrika snorted. "At least my people use what we kill."
Desdemona's eyes narrowed and she set down her trunk, pulling back the hood on her cloak as she glared at the mutt. It was clear how very little she knew of the Vrykolas, how they valued life and only took it when it was necessary. Living off the lifeblood of other beings required that they keep a tight hold on their more savage nature. If it wasn't for the fact that they could feed off the Lykos as well as any animal, Desdemona was sure her kind would have wiped them out long ago.
"You are a source of food, darling, and killing you would do me more harm than good. Alive, I can drink from you more than once. Alive, you can pop out a couple of pups for me to feed on then they're grown. And when they have a litter of their own? I'll still be here," she said softly, grinning maliciously. "No need to get my hands dirty with the mess of a kill when I can get all I need and leave you alive."
"You are a source of food, darling, and killing you would do me more harm than good. Alive, I can drink from you more than once. Alive, you can pop out a couple of pups for me to feed on then they're grown. And when they have a litter of their own? I'll still be here," she said softly, grinning maliciously. "No need to get my hands dirty with the mess of a kill when I can get all I need and leave you alive."
"Don't you blood-suckers care about people as people?" Tabrika demanded. "Or are we all just--"
"Tabrika!"
The bark from Roldan-- the tribal guide from the Rapemi tribe, the most senior and dominant male in the group and one who had graduated from this very compound several years ago-- made Tabrika flinch and look unhappily over her shoulder. The tall Lykos was stalking toward them, a couple of the quieter girls trailing behind him with worried faces. Tabrika recognized them as girls she'd put down while on the way here, and glowered mutinously.
"Tabrika!"
The bark from Roldan-- the tribal guide from the Rapemi tribe, the most senior and dominant male in the group and one who had graduated from this very compound several years ago-- made Tabrika flinch and look unhappily over her shoulder. The tall Lykos was stalking toward them, a couple of the quieter girls trailing behind him with worried faces. Tabrika recognized them as girls she'd put down while on the way here, and glowered mutinously.
There was a time to argue and there was a time to recognize the fact that a Lykos over a head taller than her was stalking towards them. Much as Desdemona would have liked to make her next point, she also wanted to come away unscathed. Continuing on with an audience of his sort seemed an extremely poor idea.
"Want to be treated like a person, Tabrika?" Desdemona asked, picking up her trunk again. "Then act like one." She'd come into the compound knowing little about Lykos, but now that she knew how rude they could be, she'd attempt to avoid them. It was a practice she decided to put into effect immediately, picking up the pace to remove herself from Tabrika before the male Lykos reached them.
"Want to be treated like a person, Tabrika?" Desdemona asked, picking up her trunk again. "Then act like one." She'd come into the compound knowing little about Lykos, but now that she knew how rude they could be, she'd attempt to avoid them. It was a practice she decided to put into effect immediately, picking up the pace to remove herself from Tabrika before the male Lykos reached them.
Tabrika snarled after the Vrykola, silently but with teeth bared. "That's right, run away," she hissed. "Run away before you can get in trouble." She was going nowhere, and if there was punishment to be had-- probably not, not for causing trouble with a Vrykola, but one never knew; Roldan was a weird sort, sometimes-- she would take it bravely.
Unlike some.