Chapter one: Reappearance.
Once again the festival was in full swing and the vampires had turned their attentions to the fighting contest. All around Larten could see members of the clan fighting each other with various forms of weapons or engaged in heavy hand to hand combat. This was a time when most of the clan forgot their ranks and sensibilities and gave into the creature that dwelled within them. Most holding a killing intent, others just doing it to gain status within the halls of Vampire Mountain. The air itself was thick with the scent of blood, sweat and battle. For these creatures that relished in war the smell was almost delectable and many paused to take in deep lung full's of the scent.
If anyone who wasn't part of the clan was to walk in midway through this festival they'd think the normally proud and noble creatures of the night had lost their minds, tearing into each other with vicious intent, many becoming injured and even some dying during these savage tests of strength. But this was not a dishonourable way to die and all of the clan made certain to remember and praise the fallen, stopping battles to make the deaths touch sign so that the dead vampire's soul would find its way to paradise, if the gods so willed it that is.
But Larten wasn't interested in the battles currently going on around him. He'd been told by his old master Seba that his friend and vampiress Katara Eventier, better known as Kitty, would be returning to the halls of Vampire Mountain on this night.
The often fleeting General had not visited the council for over 30 years, preferring to keep away from the chaos and the male vampires that often tried to mate with her. She was nowhere near as sort after as the Lady of the Wilds, but the vampiress had her own fair share of admirers, including Vancha March, Mika Ver Leth and even Larten himself. It was even rumoured the female had caught Paris Skyle's eye though he had denied such rumours and never responded with the same answer.
She was no pushover however, the vampiress was skilled in combat and often came across as feisty to those who approached her without her consent, hence the reason she was nicknamed Kitty. She could handle herself even against the princes and her nails were exceptionally sharp even for a vampire's. On top of that, she was fairer than most of the other Vampiress's that currently stood in Vampire Mountain, most of them covered in scars and looking tougher than the males. But Kitty had a certain charm to her features, and beautiful, powerful eyes that demanded respect and authority without her even speaking a word.
Larten searched the hall for her, hoping to spot her amongst the crowd of battle folk but she was nowhere to be seen. Disappointment slowly began to sink in and he wondered off to go find his father-like mentor. He found him in the hall of Khledon Lurt sipping at a glass of wine. Larten himself preferred ale to wine so he helped himself to a pitcher of the golden liquid before moving to sit by his master. The aged vampire rose his head and greeted Larten with a small but warm smile.
"Not in the mood for fighting, Larten?" He arched an ancient eyebrow slightly and Larten gave a grim nod, reaching up to ruffle his forever stained orange hair. "I spent so long preparing for the festival I honestly don't believe I have enough energy left to fight." Seba could tell his once assistant was hiding something though he did not question Larten, knowing that in time if he was meant to know then Larten would confide his troubles to the old man. It was all a matter of patience with the young General.
They sat in silence together for a few hours, occasionally exchanging comments or holding short conversations, but for the pair that was enough. Larten had come to understand that his former mentor preferred to remain a man of few words and Seba had come to understand the General did not like answering questions, so the silence worked perfectly for them. Saying things that they did not need to speak in order to understand.
It was only when their silence was disturbed by a green haired prince that both the men truly surfaced from their private thoughts. The prince grinned at the pair and then proceeded to spit on the floor beside their table before taking a seat beside Larten, sporting a fresh purplish-black bruise on his cheek, obviously from a recovering broken cheekbone. "Charna's guts!" Larten exclaimed, staring at the Prince's slightly swollen face. "What happened to you!" Vancha beamed and snorted loudly for a moment before calling for a mug of milk and downing it quickly before ordering another. "Kitty happened." Vancha's grin threatened to split his face. Larten's eyes widened and he quickly rose from his seat. "What! She's here? Where?" He questioned the Prince quickly and Vancha raised a hand to stop his friend. "Peace Larten. She's speaking with Paris in private for now so she won't be around until later. Come; let's drink to celebrate such a fine night." The prince beamed again and winced slightly when his cheek twinged. Larten listened intently as the Prince recounted his fierce, yet embarrassing, battle with the Vampiress and didn't seem to notice that the whole time the duo spoke Seba watched his young assistant in silence, finally understanding the reasoning for Larten's moody expression previously.
It wasn't until hours later that the trio were once again disturbed by the large doors to the hall opening and a hooded figure slipped in. The figure was that of a woman, clothed in a dark brown leather trench-coat with several straps decorating the waist and arms, black pants and a large greyish (almost black) scarf around her neck that she used to form a hood over her head, cloaking her features from the rest of her fellow kindred. Seba rose from his seat calmly before Larten could notice and smiled warmly as the female approached, her freshly washed feet barely making a sound on the hard stone of the hall and a grin spread over her features that became visible as she approached, reaching up to move the hood from her face. Her hair was a dark chestnut, braided up into a large bun that sat at the back of her neck with a few strands hanging either side of her face. Her fierce, very light blue (inhumanly blue, almost white) eyes lit up as she embraced the older Vampire for a moment. Larten looked up and he felt his pulse quicken slightly as he laid eyes upon the female. From the corner of his vision he saw Vancha stir and guessed the Prince held a similar expression to his own. For a moment he felt envy for his father-figure, wishing that he too would be embraced as warmly as Seba had though he made certain not to show it in front of the female because it may have cost him his life. When Seba released the female she kissed his cheek and turned her attentions to the Prince and Larten. "Good evening your Highness, Cub." Her eyes fell on Larten as she uttered the term in which he was once referred to before he became a General and Larten grimaced slightly before giving a responding grin to match her smile. "Last time I checked I had become a General like yourself, Katara."
"Ah but you will always be the same reckless cub that squandered his fortune on ale and ladies in taverns and hung around with the likes of Tanish Eul and Wester Flack." She smirked and Larten stiffened at the name of Tanish Eul. From his expression the female arched an eyebrow softly; seeming to understand it was a delicate matter before she relaxed her features again and changed the subject. "It appears we have much to talk about, Master Crepsley. And what has become of poor Wester? Have you finally driven him to the point of insanity Larten?"
"On the contrary, he has strayed away from the path of a General and become a guard of the Princes Hall." Seba offered and the vampiress' eyes switched to him. "A guard? A very honourable position. I also heard of your promotion Seba, congratulations. I cannot imagine anyone better for the position." Seba gave a polite nod of thanks and then lightly indicated for Kitty to join them at their table. To Larten's dismay she chose to sit next to Vancha who currently sat wiping phlegm into his green hair, smoothing it back to make it slick and shiny.
The female grimaced and stared at Vancha for a moment in disgust. "What have I told you about doing that around me, Sire?"
"Admit it Kitty. You cannot resist my charm." He smiled ruefully and received a dark look for it before the girl chose to ignore him and turn her attention back to Larten. "A general? Last I heard when I spoke to Hibernius you had gone astray and turned your back on the clan. I'll admit I'm happy to find that you have returned and followed a good path."
The spoke until it was nearing dawn; exchanging stories, jokes and accounts of their lives during the vampiress' absence, though to Larten's dismay the female rarely spoke of her own life during that time. The whole night she listened intently to Wester's, Vancha's and Larten's own tales and frequently asked questions to keep the conversation flowing, thought whenever they pried a question into her personal business she would only ever give short and simple replies before directing the conversation back to them.
Seba had retired a few hours before the others and Kitty had stood to kiss the elderly vampire's cheek, bidding him a good night before she returned to her seat with only her second glass of wine (Larten, Vancha and Wester were on their ninth glass of their chosen poison.)
The prince turned his head and spat on the floor before fixing his eyes on the female of the party, his right eye almost closed from the swelling of his cheek and he smirked lightly. "You did not answer my previous question during our battle, Katara. Have you or have you not found a mate. Larten stopped mid-swig of his ale and almost choked, he hadn't even considered the possibility that the fair brunette had finally chosen someone, but now that he did he didn't like it at all. He could tell by the look in the Prince's eyes that he too felt the same, despite the grin that lit the untidy vampire's features. "And why is that any of your business Vancha March?" she fixed him with a cold stare, a hand poised on the stem of her wine glass. For a moment Larten imagined the female throwing the contents of the glass all over the scruffy prince and the thought brought a small, wicked grin to his features for a split second. "And just what are you grinning about master Crepsley?" the cold gaze turned to Larten and the grin vanished and he felt his cheeks flush. "Er... nothing." He muttered quickly, praying to the vampire gods that she would not pry any further.
Mercifully they answered and the vampires simply shrugged her shoulders and downed the rest of her wine, completely ignoring the question put forth by the prince. "That's me spent. Goodnight Gentlemen, Vancha." She rose slowly and turned, heading to the door. Larten felt a small urge to chase after her though he stayed seated, calling out a respectful goodnight. "That's sire Vancha to you! Would you like me to escort you to your cave?" Vancha beamed, then winced again and the girl glanced back a him. "Only a fool would allow you to follow them to their coffin, sire. I am quite capable of finding my own way." She rolled her eyes and then left, the welcoming sound of her laughter tinkling through the air as she disappeared from sight. The prince sat back and gave a happy sigh. "She can't resist me."