Why does everyone except me have either a band t-shirt or a Wholock t-shirt?
Updated with Malik and Ingrid's reunion as promised.
Shameless self advertising: If you could check our my roleplay forum, that would be wonderful. So far, we've got Olga, Talitha and Ingrid. We need everyone else. Cheers.
Usual disclaimer.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
The first thing Vlad was aware of was the hard concrete against his back. The second thing he was aware of was Erin sobbing. That put him on his alert. She was kneeling beside him, tears dripping down her face and onto the ground. It sounded like a sad kind of rain.
"Erin?" He whispered, his voice cracking.
"I'm so sorry, Vlad..." Erin sobbed, getting to her feet, "I can't cope with this stuff anymore." She looked down at him, like he was already broken into a million pieces. It made his heart ache, like a thousand stakes had pierced it. Then, she ran away, the sound of her feet pounding against the pavement.
"Erin." Vlad gasped.
"Vlad, oh my god!" Ingrid was there suddenly, "I thought you were dead. We all did. You have to get up, the world is collapsing!" She helped him into a sitting position, so that he could see the world around him. The buildings had crumbled down to ash, dust painted against the pavement.
"What the heck?" Vlad said.
"Olga stole your crown. She put it on and declared herself the Chosen One." Ingrid explained, "I knew we couldn't trust that filthy little snake. Obviously, she got turned to ash." The sky was a dismal grey, filled with smoke and the feeling of impending doom. He ran a hand through his hair and that was when he discovered it. A small silver bracelet was clinking around his wrist, the symbols carved into it glittering.
"Loving the bling, Vlad." Ingrid snorted with laughter, "Anyway, Elisabetta never turned up. So, that's no longer a problem. She clearly either got bored and went home, or Malik destroyed her." Silently, Vlad grabbed her by the wrist. An identical bracelet was swinging from her wrist.
"Blood and garlic!" Ingrid exclaimed.
"Exactly." Vlad said, "And they're already beginning to eat away at us." He was right; the bracelets were beginning to burn into their flesh. Their wrists had turned a soft shade of purple, the edges starting to go black.
"We need to go and get these off. Burning flesh is not exactly a fashion statement." Ingrid said, pulling Vlad to his feet. Her younger brother said nothing.
"What's bothering you?" Ingrid sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Was Robin ashed?" Vlad asked quietly.
"Of course, he was." Ingrid said. His sister rolled his eyes and stormed off, her heels clicking against the pavement. Clearly, she was bitter about something.
Memories of last night were beginning to flood back rapidly. Vlad could remember Olga placing the crown on her head and cackling evilly. And screaming, as she crumbled to ashes. Robin's look of horror, as his "girlfriend" was destroyed. Everyone had been taken aback and Vlad had been holding George, who was shaking in fear. Poor little George, who never asked for any of this. A swish of a cloak, as Robin darted away. A smash as he hit a stake.
"Vladdy!" The Count had shouted, as the VHC turned on him. He had broken the rules; a vampire had been killed in his home.
"Cause a distraction." Vlad hissed to his sister. A fire that began as Ingrid flicked her wrist. He couldn't remember having the bracelet put on, that must have happened while he was unconscious.
George was collapsed against the pavement, her head lolling to one side. Her hair was singed around the edges, her face a little burnt from the fire. She seemed to be breathing.
"Georgie!" Gently, Ingrid slapped her around face in a very Count-like way. The younger girl opened her eyes.
"Good girl, George." Vlad said.
"Malik!" Ingrid cried out in disbelief, as she found the body of her fiancé slumped against the floor. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her.
What's up, Ingrid?" he managed, coughing the smoke out of his lungs. Kneeling next to him, Ingrid wrapped her arms around him and pecked him on the cheek. Then, she cringed away and Malik squirmed in disgust.
"You're alive then." Ingrid smirked. She hadn't seem him the night before, or even his crazy mother.
"Sorry to disappoint you." Malik grinned.
"You will be sorry." Ingrid was still smirking. Then, she frowned. Malik had a silver bracelet wrapped around his wrist too.
"Why do we all have these?" Ingrid held up her hand, the bracelet clinking up and down her arm. Malik frowned at his wrist, then his fiancé's.
"Vlad has one as well. I don't think George does though." Ingrid frowned, "I wonder if Emarni..." She trailed off, looking away awkwardly. Daring her to say it, Malik was staring at her intently and waiting. Then, Ingrid grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to her feet.
"Come on. I want to see what's left of my room." Ingrid said.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
"And we started working on our play for the end of the year and Miss McCauley said that I was extraordinarily talented and that I should audition for a main part." Emarni was buzzing with excitement, her hands behind her back. Her hair was clipped back out of her eyes using sparkly blue hair grips, straightened so that it fell down her back in a pale blonde waterfall.
"That's wonderful, Emarni." Grayson smiled over the top of his newspaper at her, "I didn't know you could act." Emarni shrugged and looked down in embarrassment. Normally, her hair would've flopped in her eyes but it was pinned back too carefully. She caught Chloe's gaze and Chloe's hand went to her neck. There were small dents in the side of Chloe's neck, which she was still wasn't sure how she got. She had been with Emarni... Next thing she knew, she was back in her own bed, her neck aching. She couldn't remember anything.
"Maybe it's vampires." Grayson had teased.
"Yeah right. I checked my pulse this morning. Whatever it was didn't kill me." Chloe had snorted. The human sniffed and looked down at her laptop. Her short story was still completely blank.
"How's the story going, Chloe?" Grayson asked, "Got an idea yet?" The girl shook her head. Then, looking at Emarni who was looking at the floor and wringing her hands together, rotting flesh a little visible under her long sleeved shirt, Chloe was hit by sudden inspiration and she began to type.
She was still sitting there two hours later, when Emarni came and sat beside her, sipping from a glass of water. She tried to look over Chloe's shoulder, but Chloe shuffled away from her.
"I want to read it." Emarni put down her drink and reached for Chloe's laptop. Light glinted off the bracelet attached to her wrist.
"Why'd you put that thing back on?" Chloe demanded.
"What? I did not." Emarni frowned in frustration, "You took it off the other day. I put it on the bedside table." She ripped the bracelet off and tossed it across the room. The decay had spread up to her elbow and to the knuckles of her fingers. There was a small growth on her collarbone.
"Please, can I read it?" Emarni asked.
"I thought you weren't a very good reader." Chloe said, then realising how hurtful it sounded, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. That sounded so horrible. I didn't mean- sorry." The other girl shrugged her shoulders, crossing her legs on the sofa.
"Maybe you can read to me, dragă." Emarni suggested, her hands smoothing her hair back. Her hair hung loose now, beginning to curl back around her face again. Her hair was dripping and her face was damp, from her shower. She smelt like cinnamon.
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"No reason."
"Please, Chloe, dragă."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's about you." That hit Emarni hard. She looked down, her hair falling in front of her face. Her green eyes shone like lanterns through her hair, lighting up her face. Trying to look stern, Emarni laid back and held her hands behind her head.
"Read it." she commanded. Chloe didn't hesitate.
Her head always drops forward when she laughs, her hair falling in front of her face. It's like she's embarrassed, like she's trying to hide her face. It's like she doesn't want you to see what she's feeling. That's why I can't tell what she feels when she looks at me. Because her head always falls forward, her face hidden from view. I can never tell if she's smiling or if she's laughing or if she's crying. And her eyes- god, her eyes. I don't know why she tries to hide them. There is so much happiness behind those big, green eyes that shine in the night. Or at least there is when she's looking at me. When she looks away, there's only pain in there. Shadows of her nightmares, the silvery mist of a past that I know nothing about. Sometimes, you just know, you know? You just want to go up to her and whisper to her that it's okay. You want to brush your hands through those thick blonde curls, smooth over the wrinkles in her forehead and just look at her. Because she is so beautiful and she doesn't even know it and that's what makes her beautiful.
Chloe paused, "I can write something else."
"Why would you write something else?" Emarni asked softly, her eyes glittering, "I could never write something so incredibly beautiful. Please, keep reading."
She was laughing that day, she was laughing because we were both laughing. We were rolling around on the floor, wrestling for a bracelet that clung to her wrist. The symbols carved into it were sparkling in the light, clinking against her pale skin. She was scrambling to get away from me, giggling.
"Give me the bloody bracelet." I was laughing so hard that my sides hurt, aching like I had been punched. I gasped like a dying fish, breathless from laughing.
"Why've you stopped?" Emarni asked, opening her eyes again. She had closed her eyes, her head resting against the back of the chair. Maybe she had been resting her eyes, maybe she had been sleeping. But she was awake now.
"I can't remember what happened next." Chloe said.
"I can tell you. I remember everything." Emarni leant forward, "But you will have to type it up for me."
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
Bracelets were sparkling throughout the room, on the wrist of every Dracula in the room. A small bracelet rested amongst Olga's ashes.
"I don't like this... Bracelet nonsense!" The Count cried, "It doesn't make any sense and besides... The bracelet clashes with my outfit!" Ingrid looked at him and nodded thoughtfully. The boys rolled their eyes and glanced at each other. Malik looked as beat up as Vlad felt. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Malik looked up at the starry skies and felt Ingrid link her arm with his. He glanced at her with raised eyebrows and she shrugged at him.
"What do the symbols mean?" Ingrid said, "That's what I'd like to know."
"What does this have to do with the Council of Elders?" George piped up, "I'm confused."
"We all are, Short Stuff." Malik sighed, "Where do we go now?" Everyone turned hopefully to Vlad, expecting him to have the answer.
"We need to get away from Liverpool. Every vampire and slayer in the world know that we're here. They're going to come after us." Vlad said, nervously, "Us, altogether. It's too much. It's too obvious."
"You want us to split up?" George said.
"Exactly." Vlad said.
"Malik, I want you to go with Ingrid, okay?" Vlad said, "You look after her. Promise me that." Malik saluted lazily and Ingrid rolled her eyes.
"I do not need looking after!" Ingrid protested instantly.
"Someone needs to keep you out of trouble." Malik nudged her in the ribs. Instinctively, she nudged him back and soon the battle of the elbow nudging was on.
"Dad, you, me and- where the heck is Renfield?" Vlad demanded, "Go and find him, Dad." The Count strode off calling for his slave as he did so. Looking at his remaining family members, Vlad struggled greatly with his next decision.
"George... I'm going to get Grayson on the phone. Erin's gone, Robin's gone, there's no where else you can go." Vlad said, pulling his mobile phone out of his pocket. Nobody knew that he had a mobile phone, but he did. And he had Grayson's number.
"Hello?" It was Emarni and she was laughing, blissfully unaware of what she had missed.
"Hi Emarni." Vlad said, as casually as he could manage, "How are you? No time for pleasantries, is Grayson there?"
"Yes. Vladimir. What on earth is going on?" Emarni was suddenly concerned, "And I am in perfect condition, except my hand is about to rot off and I have a horrible growth on my face. GRAYSON! Can I talk to Malik?" Her voice was growing faster and higher, until it was a kind of squeal. Nodding, even though she couldn't see him, Vlad put the phone on speaker.
"Malik, say hi." he instructed.
"Um, hey." Malik said, in confusion. He hadn't been following the last few minutes.
"Malik Hellfire Vaccaria! What are you doing, sending me a cursed bracelet?" Emarni shrieked, "My arm is rotting off and I have the most disgusting growth on my face!"
"It's not that bad." said a familiar voice.
"Chloe Branaugh?" Ingrid said, "What are you doing there?"
"She is writing a short story for her university course. I am assisting her. We live in the same house."
"Hi Vlad." Chloe said, "Hi Ingrid."
"What about me?" Malik demanded.
"Who are you?" Chloe asked.
"Malik."
"Hi Malik. I don't like you very much. Emarni said you're a bit of a pompous a-" There was a scuffling sound as the girls struggled for the phone on the other end.
"Chloe-"
"Emarni-"
"Step away from-"
"Bloody hands off the phone-"
"Look, Dragă-"
"I want to talk to Vlad-"
"Give me that-"
"Thank you girls." That was Grayson's calm voice.
"Emarni, I did not send you that bracelet." Malik said, "I don't know who did, but I have one too. So, does everyone else."
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
George was small, with dark brown curls that hung around her faintly freckled face. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt that layered underneath a checked top. The two girls looked down at her, through the blinds that were attached to Chloe's bedroom window.
"I was her age when I met Vlad. When I met your brother. Why didn't you mention that he was your brother?" Chloe asked. The other girl shrugged, tossing her blonde curls dramatically.
"It never came up and I could not slip it into conversation." The doorbell rang and both the girls looked at each other. Then, they shoved past each other to get to the door first and Emarni fell down a couple of stairs on the way; Chloe gasped. Emarni bounced back up undamaged and grinning, running to the door.
"Hello Georgina Sally Giles. I am Emarni Persephone Vaccaria." Emarni smiled a little too widely, so that it was verging on creepy.
"Hello..." George appeared unnerved. Luckily, Chloe got to the door then and held out her hand.
"Chloe Branaugh." she smiled kindly, "Don't mind Emarni. She's just excited." George was pulled through the doors before she could turn around and leave, an overexcited Emarni dragging her along.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
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