The Dark Gift

[Callie]

Blaise

"Well, you don't have to worry about me killing any of you now, at any rate," the girl said quietly, tossing the stake back into the van.
"Reassuring," I murmured, walking back to the van. "Shall we go then?" I asked, hitting Hanley over the head on my way there. "You weren't supposed to let her out of the car," I hissed. She was supposed to stay safe and if Hanley couldn't do his damn job, she wouldn't be.
"I didn't let her out on purpose," he snapped back,

[alex]

Ivan

I was actually surprised that the girl was still cooperating. Vlad was dead and we had said that we weren't going to kill her. I looked around me, crossing my arms over my chest. But then again, we were in Russia. And she had no money. I guess that is what it takes for a hunter to play nice with a group of vampires. I went over to the car, kicking Vlad's remains as I did. The ashes got caught up in the air and flew off.
"Yes, let's go," I said, hopping in the backseat. I turned to the new guy. "Thank you for bringing stakes, I guess. Or else she--" I glanced at the girl. "-- would be dead. And everyone would have been a waste."
The guy shrugged. "It's no problem. Lucky strike, I guess. Name's Xavier, by the way."
I nodded my head. "Ivan."

[Callie]

Blaise

"I'm Blaise and this is Hanley," I said as I got back into the passenger's seat of the car. The girl also got into the car, but in the back.
She looked out the window at the ashes for a moment before she murmured, "Mikah."
I smiled to myself. It sounded like an American name, but I wasn't sure of the origin. At any rate, it wasn't Russian, and Queen Mikah would probably manage to make the masses think she was an imposter. Thankfully, she wouldn't be taking over the throne. Unless, of course, one of the men in here decided to go against whatever orders they had. Ivan was working with Vladimir, Hanley was working with me, and this Xavier guy was supposedly working with Hanley, but who knew anything for sure these days? The only one I remotely trusted was Hanley. Maybe I should trust him about Xavier.

[alex]

Ivan

"Mikah," I repeated, trying the name. I knew I'd heard her name before, but still I didn't call her by her name when I talked to her nor when I thought about her. She wasn't a person worthy of it anyway. But now that she seemed to be a part of our... group (whatever we were). I looked over at the girl... at Mikah.
Xavier had started putting all the stakes back in his backpack.
I quickly looked away from the girl and toward the front of the car.
"Where are we going now then?"

[Callie]

Hanley

"Safehouse," I said simply. "I've got a place where nobody should be able to find us except for people that we want to find us." I took a sharp right turn, glancing over to Blaise, who was staring out the window. "Okay over there?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.
She nodded a bit. "I'll be fine."
I couldn't really blame her; she'd loved Vladimir. Sometimes we had to give up the things we loved for the greater good, though. Vlad was up to no good, so we had to stop him. That was just the way things worked.

[alex]

Ivan

"Safehouse," I repeated, nodding my head in approval. I glanced at Blaise. "It's unfortunate." I guess. Mostly I just wanted to pat myself on my back. This was exactly the reason I gave up on love a long time ago. People got hurt. And I wasn't wasting my eternity on that.

[Callie]

Blaise

I took a deep breath and nodded a bit. "It could've been worse," I murmured as the car took off for the safehouse.

[alex]

Ivan

I could not help but grin. "That's the spirit." I turned out to look out the window, watching the building fly by.

Xavier

I observed Blaise with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes... things could have been worse. But sorry that it had to happen like that." I cleared my throat. She obviously seemed to like that Vlad guy. Why, I would never understand. But love is love, I suppose.

[Callie]

Blaise

I nodded a bit. "Thank you," I murmured quietly, forcing my mind back to the present. Thinking about Vladimir and myself would do us no good in this situation; I had to stay focused.

[alex]

OOC: Driving to the warehoooouse! Skippety, skip! >

[alex]

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Rosalind 'Rose' Watson
Age: 191
Race: Vampire
Personality: Compassionate, hot-headed, protective, serious, violent.
Bio: [rawr, later]
Picture:

Other: She's short.

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Niel Lance
Age: 189
Race: Vampire
Personality: Outgoing, selfish, sarcastic, absent-minded, cold.
Bio: [rawr, later]
Picture:
Other: N/A

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Jason Maverick
Age: 24
Race: Mortal
Personality:Kind, leader, determined, intelligent, fearless, persuasive, interesting.
Bio:[Later]
Picture:

Other: HE IS BRITISH.

Truda

The dead guy fell to my feet and I carefully wiped the blood off my mouth. I cheerfully walked back to Blade.
"All done, all full," I said as I skipped to his side. "We can go back to hiding now. And maybe Abel will have had time to melt all of this." I smiled.

Rosalind

I grabbed my bag and put it in front of my feet as I looked up. He still wasn't here yet. I felt my toes curl as I crossed my arms over my chest. He was never late. He couldn't be late. I looked the time. Fifteen minutes had gone by and he told me to leave if he didn't show up after ten. This was ridiculous. I picked up my phone and dialed his number, but naturally there was no reply. I groaned, slamming my foot against the concrete. Damn it, Niel, where are you?

Ivan

I stepped outside the warehouse, holding up a hand to shield my eyes from the sun. So, Vlad was dead. Good. Mikah was alive. Suppose that was good. In a strange way I had completed a mission but failed one as well. Oh well, I was fine with it. I saw a sign for a Internet café across the street and I quickly headed over to it as an idea popped up in my head. A few minutes later I emerged from the place and went across the street, through the alley and entered the warehouse.
When I got inside I looked over to Blaise. "We're going home," I told her, holding up tickets. "Plane tickets... and then boat tickets when we get to France."

[Callie]

Blaise

"All of us?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. I wasn't sure I was up for any more traveling today. All I wanted to do was collapse on some comfortable bed and sleep for a few days, but getting Mikah away from Russia seemed smarter, so... I was prepared to listen. "We're heading to France or the States?"

Blade

"Melt all of what?" I asked, lazily opening one eye as I stretched and stood up from the bench.

[alex]

Ivan

"To France first. But then when we get there we can catch the boat that'll go right across the ocean. It's cheaper and probably safer..." And by safer I meant, easier to get away with taking a snack on a boat.

Truda

"Well, you know, the entire 'sibling fighting' and then you made up... That takes time to--" I shrugged. "Melt." I grinned at him. "I've never been one with words."

[Callie]

Blaise

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Tomorrow," I said, putting a hand to my forehead. I wanted to sleep, but I knew that was impossible right now. I'd just be attacked with memories and wishes and I didn't want to deal with that. I pointed to my room. "Bedrooms are down that way," I told him. There were multiple ones, so he should be okay.
I didn't know where Hanley was, though. I couldn't see him, so I just figured he'd gone to bed already. Not feeling like chatting with Ivan at the moment, I left the main room and walked out to the balcony, wrapping my arms around myself. The night was cool, and the air felt good on my skin.

Blade

"I see," I said with a laugh, stretching my arms up into the air. Abel and I had been fighting for years, so I didn't really think he'd need time to cool down or... whatever. It was weird, though. He'd hated me for all that time and now he... didn't. Could you just change your mind like that? "Well, we better go make sure he didn't get attacked by the Loch Ness Monster or something while we were gone," I told her, smiling faintly as I shoved my hands into my pockets.

[alex]

Ivan

I nodded at her before walking toward the bedrooms. I stopped just outside a closed door. I knew who was behind it as I could smell her scent from far away. I opened the door, not bothering to knock, and cleared my throat.
"We are leaving for the States tomorrow," I said to Mikah.

Truda

"Ahh, yes, because those things happen," I said and rolled my eyes before heading back the same way we came. I could not feel my fangs anymore and I had the same peaceful feeling in my entire body. It was like you were numb, because the hunger never truly went away. I could still feel it underneath everything but right now it was hidden far inside me. Though it could take mere seconds for it to pop out and take over you essence.

[Callie]

Mikah

I looked to the door when Ivan came in, and Hanley shut up, nodding a bit. "I should let you get to bed anyways," he said before walking out of the door. Still plopped on my bed, I looked at Ivan with curiosity. If we went to the States, was I just going to stay there and all of them were going home? I wasn't sure if I should ask him or not.
I just nodded a bit. "Okay."

Blade

"It could," I told her seriously, running a hand through my hair as we walked. "Y'know, hiding forever is going to get boring," I remarked. At least I would have her and Abel. Just because I was used to being alone didn't mean I particularly loved it, though I'd never actually mention that to someone.

[alex]

Ivan

"And we are flying to France and then taking a boat. So it will be a long trip." I blinked, unsure of why I was telling her this. She would find out tomorrow. "Thought you may want to know."

Truda

I frowned. "Yeah, you're right." I bit my lip as we walked. "But maybe we won't drive each other crazy. But it'll probably happen after a few years..." I realized how absurd the entire situation was. I barely knew him and Abel but suddenly we were planning to live together for... who knew how long. Though thankfully time wasn't a thing we had to worry about. Surviving, on the other hand, was our top priority.

[Callie]

Mikah

"Thank you," I said, trying to think of something else to say. Then again, I wasn't exactly used to making conversations with vampires. After what all of them had been through for me, though, it wasn't like I was going to stake him. Even if he had tried to kill me at first.

Blade

I stopped walking to stare at her. "Years?" I asked with wide eyes. Funny how she mentioned being stuck with each other for years immediately made me wonder if that meant I couldn't ever leave. After all, I'd still need the occasional one-night-stand. Hm. That kind of made me sound like a pig. Oh well. Didn't matter.

[alex]

Ivan

"You're... welcome." I waited in the door entrance for a moment before walking out of the room and closing the door, heading toward a bedroom futhest down the hall. As soon as I closed the door I leaned against the door, taking a deep breathe.

Truda

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "Yeah, that sounds really long. I mean, we can always find new hiding places seperately when we... get sick of each other. I didn't mean we were stuck or something..."

[Callie]

Mikah

... Well, that solved my problem, too, I guess. I laid out on the bed, my feet dangling off the side. I was pretty sure I'd never done more traveling in my entire life than I had in the last few days. It was kind of tiring, actually. Not to mention I could barely keep everyone's names straight! Blaise, Ivan, Hanley, Xavier... I think that was it, not including the now-dead vampire.

Blade

"Well, it doesn't seem that long, but..." I shrugged. I didn't know. The idea of staying in one place for more than a year just didn't that appealing. I moved about once a year, maybe twice if I decided I didn't like the area. And I never really went to extremely small towns. They were close-knit, and they noticed things bigger towns never would.

[alex]

Ivan

I crashed down on my bed, running a hand through my hair. Every time I closed my eyes, flickers of the past days flashed by. Mikah and the gun, the party, Vlad, the car, Mikah, Russia, Blaise, the new apartment, blood, running from Vlad and finally Mikah, standing with a wooden stake in her hand. I kept my eyes open as long as I could as the images just seemed to flash by quicker and quicker each time. I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to go home. Go home and return to my normal life. But I didn't want to go home to my old town. I wanted something fresh. So that these images would stop flashing.

Truda

I looked up at him but didn't reply. I stayed silent until we reached the apartment.
"You have a key?" I asked him, pulling on the handle until I realized that it was locked. Before waiting for him to answer, I also knocked on the door.

[Callie]

OOC: Wanna skip to the next morning for Ivan and co? xD

Blade

I shook my head and waited for someone to answer the door. When a few minutes passed and we were still stuck outside, I knocked again. "Abel, I thought we were good now?" I called. Still no answer. I threw the door open and gestured for Truda to go in first.

[alex]

OOC: Yes XD

Ivan

I quickly sat up in my bed the moment I woke up. I rubbed my eyes as flickers from past events still shot by my eyes. But this time they were from a dream. I sat up straight, my eyes still getting accustomed to the light inside. I felt weird, and not in a good way. I dashed out of my room to see if anyone else was awake.

Truda

I walked in, my spider-sense tingling. Okay, I didn't have a spider-sense. But if I did, it would have been tingling. I walked into the living room and then the kitchen. It was obvious from the moment we walked in, he wasn't home. That's why no one had opened the door. I pursed my lips as I scanned the room, a knot growing in the pit of my stomach. Suddenly I reached out toward a note. It hadn't been there when we left. My shoulders slouched forward as I read it.

[Callie]

Mikah

I yawned as I pushed myself up from the oddly comfortable bed. Once again, it took a few moments to remember where the hell I was in the first place, but then I realized we were still at the safehouse. And we were leaving to head back home today. I didn't want to move. Or think about my nightmares. The ones that I died in.

Blade

"What is it?" I asked, following her inside and shutting the door beside me. Nothing seemed out of place, but Truda looked like she was concentrating on something. I peeked over her shoulder at the note and nearly felt my stomach drop to the ground. They... had Abel. But no, this was fine. I would get him out of there. I could come up with a plan. And... well, if I couldn't, it was pretty obvious what I had to do. I wasn't about to let my little brother pay for my fuck-ups.