"You wished to see me, Master?" a slight echoing click sounds through the throne room as Felix strides forward, stopping in front of the middle chair, looking towards the tall, thin man in the middle. The man, boney elbows perched on the ends of his chair, looking intently at the larger man standing before him almost curiously. Like a child, inspecting a stranger. His fingers pressed together, his back rounded as his lips are touching the tips of his fingers.
"Yes," the high voice, cold, but almost cheerful in a shuddering, bone chilling way. "Come closer." Aro holds out a long, frail looking arm, long pointed fingers held out to Felix. Felix mounts the steps rather quickly and moves to take his master's hand. Aro's eyes search the burly man's dark gaze as his other hand comes to rest on top of their linked hands. "I see," was all he said before releasing his guard's hand. Felix steps back, moving down the steps to the main landing, watching his master intently.
He knew exactly what this was about, there was no way out of it. No way to deny what had happened. Was he growing soft as his master so obviously now thinks of him? Was outer strength all he had? Was his inner strength dwindling? No! He told himself, lifting his gaze to watch his master ponder over what he had seen. Waiting, wondering, what might become of him once his master passes judgment.
After what seemed an eternity to Felix, his master lifts his gaze, meeting the guard's. "Why did you release the female?" Aro's gaze intense, not angry. The master hardly showed anger. His fingers lacing with one another, the boney elbows returning to their perch. Watching, waiting for the answer he already knew.
The question he had known was coming now hit Felix hard. Why had he done it? He himself did not know the answer. "The woman, Master," he adds the respectful title in there, in a desperate attempt at gaining some small form of leniency. Weakened by his hunger, he forces himself to stand tall. "...had a family. Children. She was a single mother. She begged for her life. I could not let her children be orphaned..." the guard stops short as his master's hand raises into the air between them, halting his words. The large guard waits silently for his master to speak.
Aro fixes the guard with a pointed look, almost as a child would their mother when they are not getting their way. After a bit of deafening silence the master speaks, "You could not let her children be orphaned?" The master laughs, a heartless, merry-less laugh and repeats in a mocking tone, "You could not let her children be orphaned." Long, thin fingers caress a pointed chin. "And what of the fact that the female has been inside the castle, seen how we feed, what we -are-?" The ever calm master grows quiet waiting for his guard to answer.
"She was afraid, Master, she won't speak of it for fear of our return to her." Felix almost congratulates himself, when the large oak doors are thrust open. The sound of the wood hitting marble echoing through the room as a woman, ragged, and worn looking is brought in, Demetri trailing behind her. One hand wrapped in her dirty matted hair, pushing her forward, then forces her to kneel before the master who now has a wide, child-like grin on his face.
Staring happily down at the sobbing woman, Aro nods to Demetri, "Well done. Absolutely well done." The master stands, approaching the woman, who's loud sobs are now echoing against the marble walls. Aro takes the sobbing woman's face in his hands pulling her gaze up to his. Her sobbing slows, dirty tear tracks down her soot covered face. The master's eyes close, taking in the woman's thoughts.
Felix almost jumps at the sudden crack, then watches as his master's head lowers into her neck. He looks away quickly, but that did not stop his hearing. Right then and there he wished he didn't have enhanced hearing. The tearing of skin, by sharp razor-like teeth, a sound that had never bothered him before now made him sick. His stomach turning over at the wet, slightly slurping sound of the blood being drawn from the body. The guard wanted nothing more than to be dismissed. Why did he care what happened to this woman? She was just another human.
After hearing the sound of the corpse of the now dead, and drained woman hitting the marble tile, Felix turns back to face his master. The master not looking at him, but down at the woman. Felix assumes his master, as he has been doing for a while now, is pondering, searching for a reason the guard released her.
"Demetri," the master speaks at last, "dispose of it." Demetri nods once, before leaning down and lifting the lifeless body into his arms and exits the throne room, the door closing yet again with a soft echoing click. "Now," the master clasps his hands together. "What shall we do with you? You are clearly wakened. Possibly your time with us is dwindling away? At any rate, you will be punished. You are, from now until I say otherwise, to find your own sustenance, and only when I give you leave to do so. If I hear otherwise, I will assume the punishment unsuccessful and issue a more severe one." The master returns to his throne, dropping his long, thin frame into the chair with the grace of a dancer and crosses one leg over the other.
Felix bows his head to his master with a slight nod. "Understood, Master." His gaze slowly rises to Aro's, meeting it tentatively.
"You may hunt, but return as soon as you have fed." With that said, the master dismisses his guard. Felix turns slowly on his heel and walks pointedly out of the throne room, his expression a mask, his body filled with anger. Anger at himself, anger at his master, anger at the punishment. He told himself this reaction was just from the lack of feeding, and leaves immediately to find something to sustain his need.
Bounding through the forest, Felix's large frame moving as no human can, he catches a scent. The best scent he has ever smelt. It calls to him. Felix stops and turns towards it. His eyes closing, taking in the scent. Like a bullet from a gun, he takes off towards it, leaves picking up behind him as his large boots release them with every step. Each step that brings him closer to this wonderful, perfect aroma. At this point he almost thanks his master for the punishment. Only then did he realize he had no intention of feeding, of disposing of this intoxicating smell.
Felix slows to a walk as the scent grows even stronger, stopping at the edge of the forest catching sight of the source of his intoxication. A young woman, long brown hair braided down her back. She is wearing a pair of dirty jeans and an old plaid shirt. Nothing special about her, she was beautiful, in her own way, but why was he so infatuated with this human's smell? Why did he feel so strongly about it? Why could he not bring himself to feed?
He growls lowly under his breath, too low for the woman to hear. He wants her, he wants to drain every bit of life from her body but for some reason he cannot fathom, he remains rooted to the spot, watching her. The woman mops her brow with a worn out, dirty bandanna, then continues on with her work. Felix looks around at the surroundings. It is a farm and she is planting.
Realizing he will not sustain himself here, Felix leaves, running back through the trees at top speed. At top speed for a vampire who has not fed anyway, the trees whipping past him in green and brown colored blurs. Stopping short, without bothering to slow, his eyes scan the village from the concealment of the trees. Closing his eyes he takes a large whiff of the air. Grabbing a hold of the closest scent, he follows it. Stopping so fast behind the old man, it is almost as if he appears from nowhere. The old man is lifting his garbage into an old dumpster. Unable to quite lift it high enough, Felix approaches and lays a hand on the old man's shaking arm.
The man is startled and almost drops the bag as he turns to Felix, who stares at him. Dark, black eyes, meeting the old man's light blue ones, "Lascia che ti aiuti...Let me help you." He speaks first in Italian then again in English. The man seems to relax under his gaze. Felix takes the bag from his hand and tosses it to the dumpster like it is a wad of paper.
"Grazie," the man thanks Felix for his help with a slight bow of his head. Felix's eyes lock on his neck. His enhanced vision catching the slow movement there, the blood pumping through is veins.
"Nessun problema," Felix whispers, almost hoarsely from the burn in his throat. His nature taking over, his need too great. He grabs the man by his arms and slams him roughly into the wall behind them. The sound of almost every single frail bone in the man's body cracking, and shattering. He does not care, all he wants is the burning to stop, the hunger to go away. A snarl errupts from Felix before he grabs the man's hair, jerking his head aside and lowering his head into the side of the small man's neck, his teeth cutting through the thin skin like a hot blade to butter. Hitting the right vein, the blood flow completely under his control, Felix begins to drink eagerly. The thick, crimson liquid quenching the fire in his throat as he feels his last pull from the now lifeless body come up empty. Pulling back from the wall, with a one handed toss the body lands inside the dumpster right next to the bag of trash that was taken out at the wrong time.
Returning to the trees, Felix still feels the anger boiling inside of him. More at himself than anything else. He finds himself for some reason unknown to him, returning to the spot where he saw her. Mind dazed and a bit confused, he leaps onto the first branch. The slight cracking sound from the branch does not faze him as he leaps quickly onto a thicker branch then continues up the tree, stopping only when he has the best view and seats himself, watching her.
She is still hard at work. Even covered in dirt and sweat she is beautiful. He almost smiles as he watches her. Almost, his anger now buried, is still there. Her light brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze. The bit that has come out of her braid gathered up by the wind. Waving lazily like the waves of the sea when there is a strong gust. Felix watches her, unashamed. His greatly enhanced eyesight catching every detail of her. Captivated by her, he does not move until she returns her equipment to the shed and enters the old looking farmhouse. Then he regains himself and begins to descend from the tree slowly. Then takes off into the trees, returning to the castle, hoping his absence was not noted.
Written by: Afton
Played out by: LordDivided MusclesDivided PainfulDivided and MindNumbDivided
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