Along the river floated a small wooden coffin, being whipped around by the current. The sky was bleak and cloudy, looking as if it was to rain, and a young woman stood at the river as the coffin went past. The woman wore a black dress, a bit muddy from a long walk, and watched the coffin float down the river. "I hope death does not come too quickly for me.. I have yet to live.." She whispered to herself, pulling a blanket over her shoulders and shivering slightly as the wind sped up slightly, chills running down her back as she started to follow the river the opposite direction of the coffin. She wondered, who had died? What had happened to that person? Why were they using the river as a burial ground? But, her thoughts soon passed away as a small drop of water hit her face and the rain started to pour down all around her as if the gods had poured a bucket down on the earth. She took in a deep breath, running down the river before seeing a small cave nearby. She quickly ran inside, fully drenched by the time she had got into the cave. With a sigh she stripped to her undergarments and pulled the blanket over her as she hung her clothes over some rocks. She made a small fire, but knew it would not last long, and she laid down. She slowly closed her eyes, deciding to wait out the storm by taking a much deserved nap. Sleeping beside her, she held a sword close to her bosom as if expecting to have to use it.

Why was Veronna being pulled towards Cascadia so much? She had been there more times the past couple of months then the last several years. Maybe she found it to be a very enjoyable city, who knows. But it was time for her to head home and it looked as though it would be a long trip. Right when she stepped out of the city the wind gusted and whipped her cloak all over. Veronna held Vaoulrah close to her chest as she started to walk, the wind much worse outside of the city. And to make things better it started to rain. "Xsa!" She cursed as she quickened her pace. Vaoulrah was crying and Veronna knew that the cold rain was not good for the baby. She found herself at the river and looked around until she saw a small cave a few meters up the river. She looked up into the sky, cursing the rain wishing sh ehad a way to make it stop. But maybe she did... She closed her eyes and when she opened them they were glowing a bright red, as a shield appeared around her, preventing the rain from soaking into her clothes and Vaoulrah.

She started walking again towards the cave, now kind of enjoying the rain, though she didn't want to keep the shield up for to long, mostly because it wore at her physically and didn't want all her strength gone. As she got closer to the cave she drew her right scimitar and let the shield go down as she stepped into the very entrance of the cave, sensing someone was there. Her eyes fell on a woman sleeping, most likely human by the looks of her and young. She saw that the woman was bundled up in a blanket trying to stay warm next to a pathetic looking fire. Veronna moved quietly into the cave, not wanting to bother the woman to much.

There was not a whole lot of room in the cave, but she was small and found a place to sit down near the fire with Vaoulrah, who was still awake and shivering. Veronna smiled at the child and unclasped her cloak and pulled Vaoulrah out of her wet bundles and placed her back into her arms with only one small blanket wrapped around the baby. She herself was cold, and was tempted to strip down to her under garmets like the other woman in the cave, it would most likely be warmer then in her wet clothes. She placed Vaoulrah on her cloak and pulled her tunic off, then her chainmail shirt which was under that, but left her shirt and pants on. She studied the sleeping woman a little bit and saw a sword pulled close to her, making her wonder if she was a fighter.

Kli's shallow breathing started to return to normal, her blue eyes opening as she heard a small noise within the cave. She gripped her sword, pulling her blanket to her chest as she sat up as if in surprise. Instinctively she pulled her sword up to where she had heard the noise before noticing a woman and a child inside the cave. She sighed softly, closing her eyes for a moment before sitting down the sword and wrapping the blanket around herself once again. "Sorry, I thought you were a theif or something.." She said simply, picking up the sword again and putting it on her lap. Her eyes returned towards the cave entrance, looking at the rain that was pouring heavily on the dirt and making it muddy. The river seemed to be getting wider with all the water, and the wind started to pick up.. Kli looked at the woman one more time, rubbing her eyes slightly as if tired. Figuring since there was a child with her, that she wouldn't do anything rash towards her in front of it..

"Who are you?" She said simply, looking down to see that the wind had blown the fire out and now it was just a few smokey peices of wood. She sighed softly at it, wringing out her hair slightly. "You do know that carrying a child in this kind of weather is dangerous.." She stated before sitting back against the wall of the cave, pulling her clothes back towards her and slipping her damp dress over her head since she didn't quite feel comfortable parading around in her undergarments, even if it was another woman. She was still cold, and shivered slightly from the wind, but she'd have to deal with it.. All of her belongings were damp..

(Hope it's okay if I join in. :) )

When Velien finally regained consciousness, it was to an unpleasant rocking and claustrophobia. And a throbbing pain in her chest. Swearing, she thrashed against the wooden walls holding her and only succeeded in flipping the entire box over, making her face smash unpleasantly into the wooden bottom. Her anger tripled in a moment and she began swearing a long string of curses.

Those damned bandits had first over-powered her, tried to rob her, then realizing what she was after she took a bite out of one of the brutes, dispose of her. Fortunately for her, though, they were inexperienced when it came to vampires. The only thing that they seemed to know about them were things from the old legends. The wooden stake in her chest testified to that... they had actually missed her heart. Another reason she was fortunate. Had they hit the correct mark, she would have been killed. The pain had immobilized her, and since she did not show normal signs of life such as breathing or a heartbeat, they had assumed she was dead and nailed her into a coffin and tossed her into the running water...

Velien almost laughed at their ignorance and turned over with some difficulty. Stakes through the heart would kill her, as well as anything else that could destroy her heart, the center of her life-force. A knife would work just as well. Running water didn't bother her in the least bit.

Sick of the cold of the water and being trapped so assuredly, Velien's anger grew and she gathered her strength, focusing her anger into her fists... then punched into the wood of the top of the coffin. Sharp pain shot through her knuckles as the wood splintered, traveling to her pierced chest. Doing her best to ignore the discomfort, she hit the wood a second and third time, before it gave way completely, large pieces of wood flying free, letting in a spray of river water and rain. The entire coffin splintered suddenly against a rock alongside the river's edge, slamming her body painfully against the large stone. Her back screamed in agony and she could not help but cry out, nearly falling back into the river's fierce and rain-swollen current.

Somehow she clung on, unmoving. Her back was slowly mending itself, she could feel the shifting of broken bone and sinew moving beneath her flesh. But she knew it would take a very long time and she would probably have to feed before it healed entirely.

God, this is turning out to be quite the day, she thought bitterly, clutching the rock with white knuckles and attempting to haul herself out of the water and closer to the shallows. Velien knew she was trembling rather violently and probably looked closer to dead than alive when she noticed the blood all over her ruined shirt and back.

It took several attempts, and multiple times she almost lost her grip to go rushing down the river again, but at long last she found herself on her knees in the shallow water at the edge. Though her body no longer required breathing, she realized she was gasping from exertion.

Then, bracing herself, she reached up and violently tore the wooden stake from her chest. It hurt. Velien screamed, a bloodcurdling sound while blood blossoming from where the stake left a large hole just to the right of her heart.

Considering she had no clue where she now was (she knew it must not be far from Cascadia, since that's where she had been traveling to by following the river anyways), she hoped that she wasn't so close to civilization she had managed to attract any unwanted attention...

(I figure she came to and got out close enough to the cave so that they could hear a bloodcurdling scream... lol)

Veronna watched as the fire slowly died, thinking maybe she should get some wood. But it seemed hopeless, especially since all the wood would be wet and would just extinguish the small flame. Vaoulrah was on the verge of crying, her small green eyes looking sad as they peered into her mothers red ones. Veronna started rocking the child, the only thing that seemed to put her to sleep. "Usstan tlun ditronw ghil ussta dalhar, nau ssrig'luin ulu ul'nusst." Veronna whispered softly to the child as she rocked her from side to side.

Her attention was quickly drawn away by a slight movement which was the woman in the cave with her. Veronna stopped rocking and placed her right hand on the hilt of one of her scimitars, just in case. She didn't move a muscle as she watched the woman see her and bring her sword up, but then put it back down, obviously assuming Veronna was no threat because of the child. She let a small smile cross her lips when the woman said sorry, for she did not take any offense in it at all, for she would have attacked without thinking much of it.

When asked her name she replied how anyone would have, "My name is Veronna, and this is Vaoulrah." She gestured to the child in her arms, who was still awake and seemed to refuse to go to sleep. She smiled when the woman said it was dangerous for a child to be out in this weather. "I am well aware that this is not so good of weather for my daughter, but that is why I came in here. I hope you do not mind sharing this little cave." She said, a questioning look in her eyes.

As she waited for a reply, a scream which was loud enough, echoed through the small cave. A scream that made Vaoulrah start crying. Veronna's reaction was immediate, one of her scimitars already in her right hand, and she was standing, gazing out the cave's entrance, wondering who's scream that could have been, knowing it was one of pain, a scream Veronna had heard one to many times in her life. She looked back at the woman who was in the cave with her, wondering what she was going to do.

Kli sighed softly, closing her eyes once again as she sat there in thought. "I am sorry, I have no say in what you do in reference to your child.. It was good that you too could find shelter in the cave.. I do, though, fear that the child may face a sickness that threatens his or her life if not properly treated quickly.." She said, almost in a whisper, quickly opening her eyes to stare at the child as she thought. "I don't mind that you are here, of course.. I unfortunately, do not obtain much care about if people share their space with me.." She smiled softly, before looking away once again towards the distance, seeing the muddy river flow steadily downstream. Her arms wrapped around her own waist, crossing her arms and shaking slightly as she heard a blood curdling scream. "Oh lord.." She whispered under her breath, her eyes turning red as she stared out towards the rocks by the cave. She shook off the spine tingling feeling, shaking her head a little, before slowly picking up her bag. "I'm afraid someone has hurt themself.. So much blood.." She said, using her farsight as she slowly stood.

She paused for a moment, though, not seeming to want to go out of the rain just yet as she put her hand on her neck. Weirdly enough, she did not feel any burning sensation or cold burn from her tattoo. No weird cold or hot burning came from either the womans or outside. How strange it seemed to her that no one in the radious was good or evil, but she knew her curiousity couldn't handle itself. She sighed softly, shivering against the wind as she put the strap of the bag over her shoulder. She put her sword back in its hilt before running off towards this new woman who was bleeding. She stopped by her, kneeling by her. "You look terrible.. Come, I will help you.." Kli said simply, trying to pick her up and carry her to the cave where she could heal her without being soaked in the rain.

(Hehe, she doesn't realize that she's a vampire yet..)

She shook violently, with a combination of cold and exhaustion. The stake began floating downstream, along with the rest of the shattered wood. This was not the best day ever for her. Feebly dragging herself from the water onto the also-soaking bank, she suddenly realized she was not alone and when someone began hauling her up, it took all of her willpower not to immediately attack whoever it was.

Velien did end up snarling once and instinctively pulled against the woman who she had only then noticed the woman had spoken, but Velien found herself much too scattered to come up with a response. Instead she willed her body to relax and allow the woman to haul her up. Velien's legs felt like lead beneath her while she tried to find her feet and her back protested, making her wince.

What the woman said was more true than Velien knew. She was soaked in blood streaked by the rain. With the loss of blood and from the effort of mending her back so that she could move, her skin was as pale as death and eyes had become dark, looking like a pair of black holes. Her had not ceased.

Blood... her predatory mind thought, acutely aware of the woman's nearness, still helping Velien support her dead weight. Feed...

Her fangs were already extended, her sharp canines and their neighbors taking wicked points... she knew how easily they could cut through flesh, revealing the life-giving blood beneath... Velien's self-control was quickly slipping, though the rational part of her mind screamed against attempting to feed from someone who she did not know. Most of her victims were people she stalked for an hour at least, to better avoid those who could prove to be a true threat.

Being a vampire gave her many advantages, such as surviving being bashed and broken by rocks while rushing down a freezing river or having a stake plunged into her chest. But she had her fair share of weaknesses that if someone competent enough to know them could easily dispose of her. It was dangerous enough for her that feeding from someone had hardly even glanced at could prove deadly.

But she was so hungry...

The rational part of her mind faded, and Velien bared her teeth, leaning towards the woman's exposed shoulder as she held the vampire up...

Veronna watched as the woman ran outside to see who was hurt. She knew something felt off about this, and she would rather stay inside, but something made her step outside. Right when her foot hit the mud she brought up the same shield she had been using earlier, trying to stay dry. She still had her scimitar in her right hand, and Vaoulrah in her left arm, who still had tears in her eyes, but at stopped crying out.

Veronna continued forward through the rain, realizing it was coming down harder then ever and the wind stronger. She saw two forms through the rain and quickened her pace until she was near them. She saw the woman who was in the cave carrying someone. Someone who looked slightly familiar.

But before she could remember who the other woman reminded her of she saw what she really was. She brought up her scimitar and pointed at the woman covered in blood. "Keep your teeth where I can see them." She said in a cold and deadly tone, seeing where the womans mouth was heading, knowing what she intended to do. She looked up at the woman who was helping the other, "Drop her. Now." Veronna commanded her eyes returning to the bloody woman and then it clicked.

No. Veronna said to herself. She never knew Laoura had a child, who was now darker then even herself. But it had to be her. She had Laoura's characteristics, and Laoura's feel. Except the darkness. It ruined everything. And she would not take a risk with this woman, whoever her mother might be.

Kli was carrying her towards the cave when a strange sensation ran up and down her spine, shivering slightly. She stopped walking, her eyes widening slightly as if some idea had popped into her mind. But, she did not move nor put velien down. Instead, she stood there in the rain, water trickling down her face and across the ground toward the river. Then, she heard the womans words: a small voice from amist the never ending sound of pitter patter from the downpour. "Teeth.." She whispered softly, repeating the words over and over under her breath as she tried to contemplate exactly what was going on.. "Teeth.." She said simply, her eyes quickly darting to the vampire and her eyes going completely black. "You have fangs, do you?" She whispered, though it would be hard to hear for any normal person to hear against the rain. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I cannot help you buy donating my blood.." She said simply, putting the vampire down and standing over her. Her voice was simple and child like, as if she did not fully understand the impending threat the vampire might impose on her.

She didn't know exactly what to do.. One side of her wanted to help.. But the other, the other just wanted to put the thing out of its' misery for good. Could it be saved? Or, would it only strike out on the next blood bag that it saw? Would the vampire be able to control her instincts to drink? Kli just couldn't see it.. She couldn't see the future, but only possibilities.. It seemed strange to her that sometimes she could see the future, and sometimes she had no clue on what could possibly happen in that same situation. "Poor child... How did you become this desperate? This irrational?" She asked, before glancing at the woman who had stepped from the inside of the cave. "Thank you..." She said simply. "Though, I'm sure I would've been able to handle the situation myself, a warning kept me from harm.." She stated, looking at the vampire once again. "I guess I can't help her much if she's not human.. I'm not very knowlegable of the healing of different races.."

She didn't come up a reply when the woman somehow, impossibly, sensed her attempt to feed. This filled Velien with a sudden flare of anger and she fought to stay standing, though her legs quickly gave out.

"It would help more than you would know," she replied, just as softly to the woman's statement regarding blood donations. Though Velien spoke mockingly, there was a serious edge to it.

It seemed that Velien's rational self had been right to be cautious. Not only was the woman who had tried to help her gifted with some extra sense that had managed to warn her before Velien could feed, but a second individual appeared from the rain, giving both a warning and a threat.

And there was something definitely radiating off of the newcomer. Something that Velien could not place, but it grated against her own aura unpleasantly. Velien studied both the newcomer and the would-be healer with a quick glance at them both.

The newcomer was a drow. This surprised Velien, considering most of the dark elves and their kin stayed in the near-lightlessness of the Underdark. And she was obviously a warrior, with a naked blade already drawn in one hand and a strange expression in her eyes, past the fighter's intimidating stance. This also bothered Velien.

And the woman who had originally helped her. For a moment, Velien doubted her statement to the drow about being able to take care of herself. She was incredibly thin, and with the heavy rainfall making her reddish hair limp, the girl could very well pass as one of the Kindred (vampires).

But appearances were deceiving and judging by the confidence with which she spoke, the vampire decided to speak carefully after sizing the both of them up. "That's true, you can't help me in the usual way of healing," her own voice was surprisingly weak and slightly hoarse from the scream that had made her throat raw. "With the extent of my injuries, there is only one way for me to recover from these wounds. And if I do not feed soon, then my more... bestial nature... will become more and more apparent. And that is something I would prefer to avoid while around people I would prefer not to harm."

She knew there was a chance that one or both of them would not care. They could very well doubt her vampiric powers, and even though she was not as weak as many of her kind, she certainly did not look like much of a threat at the moment.

The bestial nature she had mentioned was something that every being could understand. Instinctual survival... it was what drove Velien to survive her first weeks as the creature she was. She didn't have much of a memory, especially from her first days. The predator had taken over, driving her to feed, to rest, to avoid the sunlight. She did not want to think of how many she might have killed in that time...

(Gah, it took me forever to get enough focus to write this... I'm really spacey today, so I hope it's not awful. lol.)

Veronna watched as the woman dropped the vampire while saying something then look at her and said thank you, but then said she could have handled herself. Veronna held back a snort of sorts, then looked at the vampire again, who now was speaking. She listened and knew what the vampire meant about a bestial nature, something she knew almost too well.

Veronna would not hesitate to kill a vampire, but this one was special, she was the daughter of a good friend. Or she guessed she was. Her aura almost the same as Laoura's. She wondered if Laoura knew what had happened to her daughter. Veronna did not know what her reaction would be if Vaoulrah ever got bit by one of the creatures who inhabit the dark. She looked down at the child in her arms, who looked back, oblivious to what was really going on.

This vampire. No. Woman, needed help, and Veronna was the only who could spare some blood. She sighed, knowing the woman who had been in the cave with her could not give any blood. For mortals, that was their life source and could not live without. Veronna sheathed her scimitar, bent down and drew a dagger out of her right boot. She out stretched her left wrist which was the arm she held Vaoulrah, and slid the dagger across her skin. Blood instantly began to drip from the cut and down the dagger. She dropped the dagger and moved Vaoulrah to her right arm.

Veronna walked over to the vampire and knelt to her height and extended her bleeding wrist to her, looking at her eyes. "I can not offer anymore then this. And I only give you this because your mother would never forgive me if I left you to feed off someone else."

"I.. I.." Kli murmered as she thought, her eyes staring at the vampire woman as she spoke. Anyone could tell by her soft eyes that she did care if the woman lived or died, but what could she do? There wasn't much blood in her, and what she had would probably not substain the vampire if she gave her the blood she could give. Many years of fighting had made her body grow weak, and even though now she has been fed well, she still didn't have much strength except in magic. Magic, though, would not help her.. It could not heal a kindred no matter what kind of force you put behind it. Only blood can cure a vampires wounds. She glanced to the woman with wide eyes as she saw her cut her wrist and offer her blood to the other. "Wait a moment.." She said, looking in confusion as she replayed the words over and over again in her mind. "Do you know this woman?" She asked, looking from one woman to the other before shaking her head. "Oh well, nevermind that now.. You must drink and heal.." She said simply.

"I will, too, offer some of my blood. But, I cannot spare much or my defenses will be weak from attack.." Kli frowned slightly, pushing up the sleeve on her arm slightly as she looked at the sky. The clouds had slowly passed and the rain had settled down a bit to where it was only a light shower. She smiled softly, happy that it was no longer raining as hard as it was and prayed continuously for it to stop completely and for the sun to warm her since her features were now pale and slightly blue from being out in the cold, wet weather. The woman put her bag down on the soggy ground, knowing it would not be used as she had planned, and waited anxiously as if wishing to help but not knowing how. She really did need to know more about other types of people.

The offering of blood was not something Velien had expected... she had expected the drow, especially, judging by her harsh demeanor, to simply try and kill her. Instead, she regarded Velien with familiarity that made the young vampire even more uncomfortable than the drow's strange aura. And the mention of her mother almost made her forget her hunger...

...at least until the blood started flowing. Though Velien had learned to resist her unholy thirst for a time, and was now able to consciously feed without causing harm to her victim, the scent of blood in the damp air nearly shattered her self-control. It took all of that difficult trait to keep her from simply dragging the drow down to her and sinking her elongated fangs into the tender neck flesh...

Velien grasped the offered hand as carefully as she could, and gently placed her lips to the bleeding wound. The moment the blood touched her lips, there was nothing else to her but the steady flow of stolen life and warmth. And the supreme power held within. It was overwhelming and intoxicating. No blood she had ever tasted held this much power. Never had blood tasted so full of raw, unfocused energy.

She did not even notice when her injuries almost instantly began to heal, mending layers of muscle and bone. There was a faint cracking noise as her spine set itself back into the correct alignment, and the steady ooze of dark blood from her chest wound stopped as it regenerated itself layer by layer.

Even if the vampire had heard Kli's offer of help, which she hadn't, so absorbed with the rush of fresh vitae she was, it wouldn't have been necessary. Within two minutes and a couple of deep swallows of blood, Velien found the fog of hunger that had clouded her mind lift and pulled her lips away of her own volition, blinking in the now soft raindrops.

She did not move, first looking to the human (or human-appearing) girl, who was sitting, waiting anxiously, then up at the drow who was cradling what Velien only then realized was an infant. Her gaze then dropped to the rain soaked ground and she could only bring herself to shake her head in what might have been perceived as regret, sadness... or shame.

Before speaking again, she recited a soft prayer, though she said it so softly, only the sharpest of ears could have heard it. It was one of thanks and repentance. One spoken in the seldom-heard language of the Celestials.

"I honestly do not know any way I could thank you... you both offered something that few would have after learning what I am. Even after I attempted to attack you," she looked at Kli apologetically before raising her eyes to Veronna. "And you... I don't know who or what you are, yet you speak of a mother I have never known..."

She stood with a newfound grace, an ease that came from having fed so well, no longer crippled and disjointed. Though her skin was still very pale, one could see a faint blush from the freshly-taken meal, working its way through her system, reviving dead blood vessels and flesh.

Veronna felt the cold hands of this vampire grab her own as she placed her lips on her skin. Veronna did not flinch as her blood was slowly sucked from the cut. She felt Vaoulrah start to move a bit and the child let out a slight cry, Veronna not knowing why. She waited until the vampire had finished drinking and pulled away. The cut almost instantly healed itself, the blood flow ceasing. Veronna was suprised at how fast the vampire had healed, her blood must have been powerful to this woman, and that made her think of how much she might have given away by letting her blood go into this woman.

Veronna walked a couple paces back and picked up her dagger which she had dropped and wiped the blade off on her pants before putting back in it's sheath in her boot. She then looked down at Vaoulrah to see what the child was upset for, and found her already asleep. She smiled then looked over at the other woman, the one who had been in the cave with her. She had been surprised when the young woman had offered some of her blood to the vampire, Veronna not seeing that in her, and was proud of her, for her courage.

When the vampire started talking, Veronna's attention went to her, and listened. She did not know that the vampire had never met her mother before, making Veronna wonder if she should tell her anything, and then, there was the other woman who did not know who she was and what she was. But what was the point in not telling?

Veronna looked from one woman to the other, then let a smile spread on to her face, one that seem to tell them that she knew more then them, like a smile to little children who knew nothing. "Your mother was one of the most powerful beings in all of Imythess. She guided the land and protected it. She was a good friend of mine, but she has not been seen for some time, she has entrusted the land to others, including me. Me and my kin look like humans or other beings of the land, but our power is most likely beyond your comprehension." She looked at Kli, wondering if she had ever met one of the gods before, though there weren't many anymore. "I am Veronna Darkblade Nydalath, Goddess of Blades."