A Strange Visit

Saya had managed to escape from the fields of darkness without much trouble, even though the entire royal guard force had an eye on both her and her siblings. She kept her body cloaked in a white hood that protected her from the sunlight once she entered the wild prairie. Though it was nearing the middle of autumn the heat from the sun was still strong and caused her minor trouble as she traveled from village to village, heading towards the main city of the werewolf territory with her own agenda. She kept her aura barely visible but knew it would not be long before one of the wolves managed to sniff out a vampire in the area. It may not have been such a big deal it if it weren't for the fact that her appearance alone gave away her royal title and it would not be long before the word spread to the royal guards and they came to drag her back to the vampiric territory.

Her journey was not much trouble until she had a run in with one of the nomad packs a few miles outside of the city wall. They surrounded her with barely any time and the alpha himself approached her with a curious smirk. Now what do we have here? A vampire even thinking of coming towards the great city. Sorry but your kind isn't welcomed there. Him and his warriors grew closer to her but she had no time to deal with such problems and without a word drew her sword, the crimson queen from her side and held it out for them all to see. They all seemed to retreat in surprise and fear as the Alpha growled. So a royal blood has come for a visit. He looked back to his pack and spoke beneath his breath. Attacking someone like that could end bad this close to the city. He then turned back to Saya and let out another low growl before backing away with his pack to leave. You got lucky this time bloodsucker but watch your back. They left without another word and Saya grinned beneath her hood as she withdrew her sword and continued her journey to the wall of the city. Some wolves just never learn. She expected such trouble and found it comical when she would show them their fault in actions. She knew she would not be able to get through the front gate of the wall without causing a fuss and decided to take a more secretive route. She traveled towards the west side of the wall where a small crevice could barely be seen, surrounded by tall grass and blocked by a fallen tree. It had been a while since she used this opening and she pushed the tree out of the way, sneaking into the city with no one the wiser.

It wasn't long before she made it to the dwelling of the supreme alpha and her family and she slipped in through one of the windows. She was on the hunt for the supreme alpha and once she found her she kept in the shadows in an attempt to sneak up on her. Well its a been a while Joanne hasn't it?

With the autumn's finest weather running through the werewolf territory, and other regions of the area. There were quite a few residents of the prairie roaming around the city, not including the Supreme Alpha, however. Joanne Riesse, the leader of the werewolves, had been relaxing in a desolate part of the city that was the home of the her and her family. But the lead alpha was alone at this time, all of her brothers and sisters were out having a good time with their own business.

As she was quietly walking through the halls of the mansion, Joanne felt an eerie presence around her. Was it just some random feeling? Or was there actually something wrong and someone was stalking her from the shadows? She pressed forward towards the throne room even so, and it almost seemed as if that feeling got stronger the closer she got to the room. "Hm, I must be a little off today. Maybe I should get out more and get rid of this...feeling," Joanne said under her breath before stopping abruptly in the middle of the large space. Besides all of the quietness that could only be heard, the sound of nearby footsteps caused the alpha's ears to perk up in an alert sense. "Well its a been a while Joanne hasn't it?" She heard a girl say from behind, and immediately Joanne turned her wolf ears towards the direction of this familiar voice. Never did she expect her to be in a place like this. Not in a million years. Being a royal, she'd have to be staying in her own territory for whatever vampires did. Speaking of vampires, why would the vampire princess be wandering out here when the sun was ever so radiant?

Joanne put on a polite smile and turned to the source of intrusion and she replied to this friendly question, "Of course it has. It's a real surprise seeing you here...in my home and on a lovely, bright day. Care to explain why you are here when you should be back with your people, Saya?" Her question was still in a polite manner, not in a rude way that she honestly despised sounding like. Turning around in a careful manner, Joanne faced the vampire princess with friendly eyes as she waited for a response.

Saya grinned as she stepped out of the shadows, lowering her hood down around her shoulders as her pure white hair fell down in place. She knew she would surprise her by coming on such a bright day and into an area vampires weren't exactly welcomed in years. Well Im not exactly going to stay in my own territory where my siblings are on a war path to beat me down for the top royal seat. She chuckled finding it much harder to escape without being seen by the royal guards after she got closer to the age of coronation. Her siblings weren't exactly trying to kill her but she didn't feel like fighting them day in and day out and found it just one giant pain. Isn't an old friend allowed to stop by and say hello or is the supreme alpha too good for that? It was true that it had been a while since the two had seen each other but Saya still trusted her more than most in the entire land of Olair but was still resistant to bringing up the subject she had really come here to talk about.

Joanne nodded approvingly as Saya responded somewhat lightheartedly. The story of her and her siblings, it was an interesting one. It would be no good interrogating an old friend on that subject, so she let it by to allow for the conversation to go on. For the vampire princess, it must have been such a hassle to deal with and that was something Joanne couldn't really stand to see. In a casual tone, the alpha spoke, "Well, of course you are allowed to. I just wasn't expecting you to sneak in like you just did. But, let's go ahead and put that aside. Let's move on to the next topic, hm?" Joanne hinted slightly before taking a seat at a nearby table. With a single motion of the hand, Joanne silently requested for Saya to join her and continue to converse. There was much to go over before anything else was to happen.

Saya took no time in sitting down, she had been walking for almost a day straight and was glad to finally have a place to sit. As observant as ever Joanne. Well then this might come as a bit of a shock. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something small that had been wrapped in a tan cloth. She unwrapped it slowly to reveal a decayed finger of the undead but the smell gave it away seconds before she did so. At first it would look like any normal decaying appendage but its skin color was purple and the remnants of a ring could be seen at the base of it. I think we may have a problem more than the returning wraiths. This was found in one of the tombs we uncovered near Asyl. Near HER old destroyed castle. She looked around to make sure no one else was watching then she turned back to Joanne and her face became serious. We didn't think anything of it until it started moving the other day. You know this wouldn't happen unless you know who might be coming back. She barely believed it herself but she could feel that something was off and she wasn't about to let anything happen.

Morana whistled a happy tone as she traversed the Wild Prairie. She looked down at the old horse she was riding on and stroked its soft and messy mane. In its youth she was sure it had been a strong, beautiful creature with it a lovely rich brown coat but now its coat looked dingy and a bit grey and its body looked like it would collapse at any moment. The poor thing trotted slowly along a dirt trail pulling a small rickety wooden cart sparsely filled with Morana’s things and other odds and ends that she found inside the cart but didn't through away. To be honest the horse and cart weren't exactly Morana's but she was sure the owner wasn't missing them.

Morana didn't mind the slow pace or creakiness of the worn out cart. This just gave her the chance to really take in the sensory and enjoy the wonders the land had to offer. She didn't visit this part of Olair often but she was a fan of mixing things up. The only reason she was here was because it was the direction the horse was facing. This wasn't the first time she’d done this either nor would it be the last. She liked doing random things like that; it allowed for her to be through into interesting or even exciting situations. This time however, she wasn't sure if it was the excitement from changing from the status quo or something else. Either way Morana couldn't help but be excited as she waited with anticipation for something to begin.

Joanne chuckled quietly at Saya's statement about her observant nature, "Well then, as long as it can be useful. I'll stay this way for as long as I live. Now...a shock?" She turned her body a little bit in the chair so that she was completely facing her friend's direction as the young vampire pulled something from a pocket. Curiosity grew inside the Werewolf leader as an undesired stench drifted into her senses, little by little until the whiff was drawing near the most breathtaking odor. And that is not a compliment form of breathtaking either. The unraveling of the tan cloth concealing this mysterious object caused for Joanne's ears to perk up a little bit and her eyes narrowed some as something unthinkable came into view. A decayed finger unlike any human's or other humanoid character. "I think we may have a problem more than the returning wraiths. This was found in one of the tombs we uncovered near Asyl. Near HER old destroyed castle," Joanne listened in all seriousness to Saya as she spoke about this finding.

Now that she knows where this decayed finger was found, Joanne could only close her eyes and cringe with disgust. "Oh...I never thought something this serious would happen. We should probably investigate that place for further indications of..." She paused, and looked away with a determined stare out the window. Speaking of it was so hard now that Saya revealed a bit more about their discovery. "I do believe that there could be no other as the cause. Even if it's hard to believe, I have to say that this has to be the most critical situation Olair is to face. We all may be in a state of emergency..."

Ooc: Here is the turn order for those in the thread. Will make a post time limit of 2 days to be fair to everyone. ^^ Me, BaaBaa, Lee-Lee, Aragorn

Yes I agree we need to go check it out but we need to keep discrete about this. Her look was serious and she wrapped the finger back up in the cloth before slipping it back into her pocket. If anyone was to find out about this, say any of the wraiths or those strange night walkers this could escalate very quickly and we wouldn't want that to happen now would we? She then stood up as she looked out the window as well, a bad feeling creeping over her from something haunting her mind. She knew that this could end with some serious consequences but it was best to keep everything discrete until there was something more to go on then just a moving finger of a long dead necromancer. Should we just send a search party or shall we go ourselves? The humans had the area closed off to everyone but I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with letting us into the castle. She grinned while saying this knowing the humans had a problem with saying no to anyone with royal blood. They were more than accommodating in this way and Saya would take advantage of this any chance she got.

With much thought and little time wasting, Joanne gave a stern nod in agreement. It was no use alarming people about the situation. That would only make things worse and there was no way they could manage easily with that much pressure, as well as the night creepers getting involved. She responded accordingly to Saya's words, "Whatever we do should be done in secret. No one, unless they are to be working with us, shouldn't find out about anything as of yet. Now then, we will lead our own investigation with our own team of handpicked individuals." Joanne watched Saya with briefly curious eyes and then smiled some. The humans, an interesting bunch of creatures in her eyes. She didn't mind them one bit, but there were still some things to wonder about those people. "Now the question is...When do we get started?"

In the distance Morana could see the main city. If she had been riding a younger horse without a cart to hold it down she was sure see could make it there in no time but as things were she would be lucky if she made it before sun down. As time passed she began to notice the horse moving slower and slower.

“Getting tired, are you?" she asked the old horse, "That’s alright. We can take a break; I don’t mind.” Gently Morana steered the steed towards the side of the road into a nice grassy field. Just before Morana had the chance to free it from the cart the horse  collapsed to the ground almost sighing exhaustively. Though she was sure it was just being dramatic she did think they were overdue for a break. The last few days were dedicated to traveling and with the main city so close they could afford to sit back and relax. As the old horse slowly regained its strength Morana sat in the grass and watched the clouds roll by.

Ooc: Skip me for the n ext while or so

Saya wasn't against the idea of getting a team together to explore this possible threat to Olair but she wasn't sure who else she could trust with this matter. Well with my family's guards attempting to hunt me down at this point guessing they found out I already left without an escort we probably do not have a lot of time to come up with a viable plan or a team we could really put our trust into. She knew that if they were following her father's orders she would be dragged back to the kingdom whether she liked it or not and put under constant supervision like the last few times she had pulled this stunt. She really just found this to be a fun little game to play with her family but it seemed that they were getting tired of such rebelious actions and were stepping up their game most recently. If our plan is stunted abruptly though it might take a few weeks for me to escape once more so it would be best we do what we can right now and do it quickly.

Saya was not the only vampire near the city in the wild prairie that day. One cloaked in black carrying a mimicing color umbrella approached the reaper with a devious grin and piercing evil eyes. Now isn't it a wonderful day out for a stroll? She walked towards the reaper casually as the umbrella kept the sun from striking her face, darkening her pure while hair and pale skin.

ooc- you can npc me this time if you want @_@ I can't think straight...

ooc-does that mean it's my turn?

Ooc: Yes, you can take your turn its fine ^^

Morana looked up at the girl for a second then back at the sky and smiled. She could tell by the protective cloak and umbrella that the mysterious girl was a vampire but the real question was what she was doing all the way out here. She didn't respond at first and continued to stare at the sky thinking about all the possibilities behind this girl’s appearance.

“Oh yes it’s just beautiful. The perfect kind of weather for stopping and smelling the roses. Days like this are always nice. Anything can happen. You don’t know what you could see,” she finally said as she sat up and stretched still not looking at her new acquaintance, “Or who you could meet.”

Saya took no time coming up with a small group of people to join them on their excavation of the castle, though she would choose even fewer depending on who Joanne had chosen. She walked towards the door with a slight grin as she had a few other reasons for going to the forbidden site but would have to keep it a secret for now even from her good friend. Well we should not waste much time here Jo. I know you are the supreme alpha but we should leave as soon as possible so to keep others from following us.

Erith laughed a little and her face blushed lightly as she curtsied to the reaper. Oh very sorry, excuse me for my rude manners. My name is Erith Weiss of the royal Weiss family. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though it could not be seen past her umbrella she had a faint smirk on her face for her true intentions were unclear as she was just making simple conversation with the reaper before her. Now do excuse me but what might your name be?

She paused for a moment. Morana knew that the Weiss family was the current ruling family of the vampires without Erith telling her. Things like politics while quite boring at times, were important in many ways and she made some effort into keeping up with such things. This just keeps getting better and better, she thought. She had questions, lots of questions, but she also wanted to see how long Erith planned on feigning innocence and maybe provide a few answers, so she settled on playing along with the whole charade. Then in one swift motion, Morana got up, turned around and curtsied.

"My apologize, My lady. I didn't know I was in such fine company. Morana Kedves at your service. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said smiling brightly but still not making eye contact.

Ooc: Will do the other part once Kaycee posts. ^^

Erith smiled and stayed standing as she adjusted her umbrella with the sun. This revealed her pale face and long white hair that covered one of her glowing red eyes. Her free eye looked over the girl until a slight smirk emerged on her face recognizing a face she had seen a few times before but in less explained circumstances. Well Morana it is quite a surprise to see a reaper in these parts in the broud daylight. This would come as a surprise to most considering the reaper's known abilities to keep their true selves hidden from those around them but in Erith's case she had spent her new life finding such beings and gained a knack for noticing them out of a crowd.

Morana kept her cool. Even if Erith had proof or had somehow seen her the worse thing to do would be to confirm her accusations by being shocked. She had to be careful to not incriminate herself in anyway while also being careful of what she doesn't anger the young vampire girl. Morana was no fool she knew if she at all challenged the royal vampire it would not end well. And so she gave Erith a look of both confusion and amusement. Chuckling a bit she looked up from her curtsy at her. "My lady I trust that you did not mean to offend but I do believe you have! I mean do I truly look like I could at all be a reaper? I am a nomad, traveling the land to see all it's wonderful sites and hear all it's interesting sounds. I tell tales, sing songs and work for hire if it so pleases me. It's a busy life with little time for things like 'reaping'. Besides that I think the most surprising person to see this time of day, reaper or not, is you. But don't mind me you're probably on some important quest and have no time to have a big long discussion with travelers such as me." Morana paused for a moment before continuing trying her best to control the mischievous and expecting smile that wanted to spread across her face. "That is unless there is something you want from me?" 

Oh please now dear Morana, you can cut the act. Erith said bringing her hand up to her mouth as she let out a slight laugh to the girls attempt to throw her accusations to the wind, guessing any reaper would do such a thing. I know that your kind do all you can to keep your true selves hidden to the rest of the world but you have no fear of me spreading such a secret to others. She reached into her satchel that was hidden at her side and slowly retrieved an old grey book clad in aged leather. It looked as if it was from the oldest Era of Olair but was in truth only written a few centuries ago. She opened it up to one of the middle pages and began to write within it then looked back up to the reaper before her. You may be able to fool most but a weak vampire like myself has to master in something and it just so happens that something is seeing the true selves of others just by looking. She winked faking her own abilities but had been hunting this reaper down for a while in an attempt to corrupt her to join her side as a valuable ally.

Joanne had listened to the Vampire royal carefully and nodded in agreement when needed. And as their conversation began to wrap up, Jo looked to Saya in all seriousness. "I know...I know. But, I'm going to have to go in secret. If anyone were to see me going off with anyone who does not have the scent of a wolf, it'll look suspicious," she began. "I don't want everyone to feel alarmed, for now. So, I will take one of my most reliable men and we will trace the source of the problem tonight once there are few strollers. Don't worry too much about time right now, because I'm certain we will have enough to even prepare an army and take enough precaution into the defenses of our homes."

Joanne turned away and walked over to the main entrance to the mansion, her back to Saya. Without looking back, she said, "There is some business that I must attend to right now. And as a friend who cares, I must say for you to stay out of trouble." A small smirk appeared on her face as she exited the room to leave for a more sacred location. There weren't too many citizens out as she traveled the streets alone, which was a good thing pretty much. Even though most already knew where she'd be going, it was important that the reason why she was going be kept secret. 'If things turn ugly like I'm thinking it will, it's vital that I get the necessary means for anything. I just hope that he will be there.'

ooc- left thread for a little something ;3

Saya had already been halfway out of the window by the time Joanne had responded. She was sitting in the opening with one leg already out and looked back to her friend. She could always trust her friend with such things but she still had to keep her own secrets about why she truely wanted to go to the castle and it was well hidden in her mind. I will probably be there before the both of your arrive. I want to go ahead and scope out the place as soon as possible in case my father sent guards to look for me already. Travelling between territories is pain enough without getting noticed, having to even take some tips from nomadic wraiths to get through the borders without catching any attention. She grew a look of slight disgust after speaking of the wraiths. Like the rest of her kind, she could not stand the undead and hated them with a passion others could not understand. She leapt out of the window once their conversation was done and disappeared off into the evening, her hood brought back up over her face to hide her identity and her vampirism from the werewolves in the area. She was off to solve this mystery and complete the task she had given herself and nothing was going to stop her until she was finished.

Ooc: Saya has left the thread but Erith is still active.