The Family

They gather...

Lysander sits atop a chair crafted of the finest exotic leather with his left leg lazily settled on his right, and an expression laced with contempt at his Family situated around him in this massive castle's dimly lit, dome-shaped meeting room. His intense red eyes stare daggers through every single one of them; they're lucky he knows restraint and even luckier they're his kin. His eyes suddenly bear down upon their oldest sister: Lahavera, Shiva's Child...

He speaks...

"Mere dogs beat you back," Lysander says as if he's so disappointed in Lahavera that he's fighting back tears; his mocking tone comes next. "Is Shiva a fool for blessing you?" he falls silent, his glare demanding an immediate answer; he better like what he hears, too. Lahavera surprisingly maintains a certain class to her features when she turns her red-eyed gaze his way, the look in them icy as her tone as she responds.

"Didn't you fail to kill a Lycan that I defeated in an instant?" her words are sharp while her tone stays cold. She faces him head-on now, her eyes meeting his, and her threat reaching everyone's ears. It's spoken in an almost dead tone but carries the weight of a promise of retaliation if not heeded.

"Watch. Your. Tone."

Lysander leans forward in his chair, his words like a match, waiting for that spark to set it off.

"Or. What?"

"Shut up before I kill you both."

When She speaks, All listen.

Everyone's eyes turn toward Aleria sitting in the corner halfway bathed under moonlight, her arms and legs crossed and cloaked in form-fitting black. She's a slimly endowed young woman with an air of domination to her; it emanates as an unseen aura whenever she talks. Her messy white hair drapes as voluminous bangs over a flawless featured face, all the way down to the bone structure, but those eyes show a betrayal to this divine image she portrays. She looks at her sister first, then toward her older brother. She states her demands in that same order.

"You failed to kill those Lycans."

"And You took me from my kill."

"Oh?" Lysander lofts his brow, a look of amusement crossing his young and disturbingly suave features. He resists the domination effect of the woman, while Lahavera outright ignores it. Lahavera, however, remains quiet. But, Lysander doesn't. The way those eyes of his gloss over Aleria like she's some ant matches the sneer creasing his features. "As if you ever could kill Fenrir by yourself. You can't even control the Cursed Blood we share," he says as he walks toward Aleria with a casual pace, his leanly muscled arms behind his head and a taunting look; he's looking at a puppy trying to bark.

"You threaten me again and I'll show you what control I--" he never gets the words out when Aleria opens those eyes again and stares into his soul when she speaks.

"I. Said. Be. Silent..."

Lysander and Lahavera succumb to Aleria's Power...

Lysander's grin fades into a very subtle look of fear, and Lahavera feels sweat run down her cheek, her typical frozen look of emptiness cracks into a brief show of distress. Unlike Lysander, though, Lahavera avoids eye contact with Aleria now. Lysander, however, still manages a chuckle that eventually falls into a daring sneer.

"You aren't strong enough to kill me yet. Don't test your luck, little sister," he flashes a grin, ignoring Aleria's controlled, and still imperfect power now before getting back to business. He looks Lahavera's way; she's already recovered from Aleria's influencing strength, chuckling out loud. "The rush of power a True Blood gets from their pride is beyond intoxicating..." he deeply inhales the sweet-smelling and ever-fresh air of the room. "This is how we rally, is it not? It's such a personally indulging enhancement compared to that disgusting need of allies those dogs possess..." he pauses, very briefly thinking of someone, but keeps talking. His tone's now casual and calm like he's talking to good friends.

"We don't need blood like those parasites that Vanessa makes with her gross Sinister Blood," Lysander pauses and slips his hands into his black, baggy jeans, his militia-styled boots tapping the stone floor with a pep to his step. "Truthfully, I'm sad we're reduced to such low numbers. Lycian's Divine Sacrifice using the last of His fading power was something that filthy damned bitch didn't account for," Lysander huffs, that goofy grin of disbelief creasing his features when he faces his sisters and says with confidence.

"Historia should've killed Eve first. Women, right?" Lysander nearly cackles...

... ... ...

Lysander realizes he's talking to women...

"Damn..." Lysander curses, covering his mouth as if sorry for what he said. "My bad. I can't help but tell the truth, you know?" he snorts, and Aleria exhales while keeping her eyes closed; Lysander's not even worth using her power on. Lahavera's icy expression shatters into pity. A silent awkwardness in the room affects everyone but Lysander as he instead indulges in another revelry rally. He quickly gets back on track, though. Again and for real this time.

"Our talk of very violent and exciting acts of animal cruelty is fun and all, but we need to get past this and focus on the most immediate issue at hand..." he pauses, and a flash of rage comes as he effortlessly flings his expensive chair at the wall with so much force that it shatters against the stonework. There's rage in every word he says.

"WHY WAS A MOTHERFUCKING HUMAN THERE!?" HE SCREAMS!!!

"A FUCKING HUMAN CAPABLE OF USING SPIRIT MAGIC!" HE ROARS! HIS RAGE IS RISING...

"THAT GODDAMNED WOMAN BURNED SERAH!" HE'S IN ANGUISH OVER THEIR YOUNGEST SISTER, almost to the point of tears. Aleria pops her left eye open the moment she senses Lysander's blood blackening from his distress. She contemplates using her Domination on him but stays her strength as Lahavera speaks. The woman's icy tone is soft, nearly comforting, and soothing to her kin.

"Our beloved sister will live," Lahavera reassures, maintaining a rather royal-looking posture upon her dark wood chair near the wall. Her slender pale fingers brush away unruly bangs of stray hairs from her perfected features. Her eyes are as cold as ever as she speaks, but her words warm as the blood currently running through her veins. "Serah managed to absorb enough blood from those impaled things due to them being empowered by..." She pauses, and her features twist into the briefest thought. What was that Lycan's name again?

"The mutt you failed to kill?" Lysander turns and side-eyes Lahavera, silently irritated; Lahavera calmly stares him down in exchange, her words a little colder now.

"I thought that we were done pointing fingers," the Icy Vampire scolds her brother. "Are you a child?" she asks, and Lysander opens his mouth and answers with a tone drenched in criticism.

Stolen story; please report.

"I defeated my opponent in less than three minutes. And I played with her," he steps closer, keeping his posture disarming, but his words stay as sharp as his eyes. "You failed to confirm your enemy's death. That will be the death of you, little sister," he gives his brotherly advice. Lahavera ignores him and keeps talking about their injured sister. Lysander doesn't push their disagreement further when she speaks.

"Serah will recover, however," Lahavera pauses, exhaling before elaborating with a slight sense of pain in her words. "She will be forever scarred by Spirit Burns. None of us anticipated that a Human capable of using magic alone would appear, and we most certainly did not anticipate one capable of bearing Adam's Crest. The fact that she is female yet bears that Crest is most curious. I suspect that Adam kept secrets from Eve after all. Thus, he deserved to be killed first. Every second he lived threatened our goals. He was more flawed than her. Humans are trash, but the men are clearly worse," she pauses to meet Lysander's eyes, and Aleria keeps an eye on her brother also. They're waiting for Lysander to realize the jab Lahavera took at him.

"... And?" Lysander responds after a few seconds of awkward silence. "What the fuck does that mean in simple terms? You know I don't care about backstory," he sighs and shakes his head, and Lahavera's eye rolls, obliging her annoyingly stupid younger brother.

"It means that Serah will bear physical scars that will forever smolder with the embers of Adam's Magic fueled by his ambitious stupidity," she scoffs, but Lysander still looks at her like she's wasting his time. Lahavera nearly snaps from her regal aesthetic when she speaks again, her tone reminiscent of a disappointed parent. Aleria can't take it anymore; she answers in a way that even the dumbest observer could understand.

"Serah's beauty is ruined and her power is damaged by the permanently burning qualities of Spirit Magic, you idiot," she snaps with a blatant flashing disgust in her eyes. Although this time around it's in a more relaxed manner. "She's going to need to stay out of combat for a while. Which sets us back," Aleria finally breaks her silence and takes control of the conversation. Every word she speaks carries a flair of confidence in her reasoning and pride in her conclusions. The epitome of arrogance.

"Fenrir's Chosen should've died tonight," Aleria's red eyes turn to Lysander, and she again reminds him of his sin. "I was going to kill him before you intervened. Because of this, not only have we lost Serah to our surprise, but we've also inadvertently set up the perfect opportunity for those Lycans and that Human to ally again. If they do, and we do not have another Human with a Brand of Eve, we will be dealing with more annoyances than we already have. We need to go back and kill them all while they're weak. We will bring the horde of Parasites that Vanessa has stockpiled over the years in the dungeons to deal with those irrelevant fodder. And I will kill Fenrir's Chosen and that Human," she says, still bathing under the beautiful moonlight through the nearby window. Lysander eye rolls, but doesn't bother taking a jab at Aleria's arrogance this time. He's letting her hype herself up. However...

"What if I want to be the one to kill Fenrir's Chosen?" Lysander lightly quips at his little sister, a halfway serious question; he's competitive. It boosts his pride. Aleria flicks her unflinching gaze Lysander's way, missing no beats when she responds with confidence.

"Wouldn't you be more interested in flaying the Human that burned our Sister?" Aleria counter questions, locking eyes with the man while keeping a nonchalant, yet knowing gaze. Lysander quickly picks up on Aleria's expression, and he chuckles before clapping his hands. He's impressed.

"I guess Historia's Blessed isn't only reliant on her power to get what she wants after all," Lysander commends, crossing his arms with a proud smile. "Your words are as sharp as both your mind and that twisted weapon you wield. What's it called again? Some painfully edgy shit like Scythe of Batma-"

"Shut up!" Aleria and Lahavera say in unison. They're tired of this. Lysander snorts and carries on.

"Fine," the young and handsome man eye rolls again, running a hand through his unkempt, yet soft and thick hair bangs covering his brow. "I'll dispatch the Human. However, if you don't kill Fenrir's Chosen before I see him, I'm taking the kill," he assures, and Aleria responds with the same assurance.

"And I'll replace his head with yours, big brother!" she smiles.

"You'll die trying," Lysander quips back, moving on. Aleria follows along as well when her brother addresses something that's been on his mind for a while. "There is another potential way that we can solve this problem, though. And, we don't need to do much for it to work," he suddenly is smiling again, as if he's the smartest monster on the planet. Aleria and Lahavera stay silent, awaiting an explanation that Lysander happily gives.

"Lahavera and your failures birthed a new pathway to our end goal," he looks at Lahavera first, his tone more relaxed than usual when criticizing her. "Because that Lycan that you thought was dead, harbors Garmr's Soul like Fenrir's Chosen houses Fenrir's Soul. I assume that punk's Ressurection ability was awakened through that damned dog's howl. And it's what revived the remnants of Garmr's Soul..." he pauses, recalling his rather vicious fight with that Lycan with a smile of nostalgia.

"The fact that I survived Garmr is an even greater feat than you surviving Fenrir; wouldn't you all agree?" he chuckles, giving his little sister a side-eye wink, which Aleria ignores. Lahavera isn't impressed; she keeps the same bored look in her eyes as if she's too good to be talking about animals. Her following words match her displeased tone.

"They're all dogs," Lahavera dismisses, running a perfect hand through her straight, silken, and lustrous, long black hair. "I don't care what their names are; Remembering victims is a waste of my time," she confidently decrees, and Lysander chuckles; he's amused as usual.

"Regardless, if we play our cards right, we can nurture Garmr's Soul into fully awakening. Then, we'll let that Hellhound kill his God Eating Brother and watch the slaughter of Fenrir's Children happen, upon which I will finally kill Garmr. How does that sound? Perfect?" Lysander shares his plans with the two, and both sisters stay quiet for a time. The general vibe of the room shifts from casual planning to a more subtle concern. Lysander notices this and glances between them. "... am I missing something?" he asks, and Aleria speaks.

"Why would I need a pathetic kin slayer to do the job I want for myself?" Aleria asks, upturning her gaze at Lysander despite sitting down. It's as if she's looking down on the man despite his currently greater height from standing. Those eyes of hers glint with power. She's offended at this plan of her brother's. "And why are you considering using dogs?" she scoffs, and Lahavera chimes in.

"I agree," the young woman says, resting her hands on her thighs and straightening her posture, her hair draped over a well-endowed chest and slender shoulders. "Killer Frost does not need trickery to handle weaklings. We will kill the Lycans as they deserve to be killed: stomped beneath the Diamond Heels of Shiva. Her judgment for Fenrir will be met," she promises with a calm and collected tone. Lysander rears back in mild cringe; Lahavera's a fanatic.

".... Right," is all Lysander says, and then he glances Aleria's way with a shrug. "I'm not above manipulation to get what I want. I guess that's why I'm the strongest of us all, aren't I?" he grins, earning more annoyed glances; he's used to them. He actually enjoys annoying them. "But, fine," he concedes. "We'll kill them all together. But, that means that we have to wait until our youngest sister recovers. Because we will not deny her a chance at revenge. Serah most deserves to flay that Human..." he growls, keeping control of his temper this time. Lahavera speaks.

"By the time Serah is recovered, the Lycans could vanish again. And, who knows what they'll do with that Human," she reminds Lysander while standing from her chair, her tall form as elegantly curvy as her looks were pristine. "We should gather those parasites and Vanessa will take our little sister's place in our ranks. The Lycans only have Fenrir's Chosen and Garmr's Vessel as potential threats, which we can personally deal with. This is our best chance to finish this f-"

"No, let them live in fear for a little bit," Aleria interjects, eyes closed once more while she lazily leans back on the couch, her arms draped behind the couch with her half-opened cloak showing off the contours of her chest beneath the dark, tight shirt over it. The moonlight makes her pale skin look like it's glowing with radiance as she talks. "It'll make our next and final Hunt for them all the more satisfying when I devour Fenrir's Chosen in front of his terrified allies. I want to saaaaaavor the look on their faces when they're at their most hopeless. Don't you?" she raises her head again and looks between her siblings, and both seemed pleased with her reasoning.

"That Lycan caught your eye, huh?" Lysander can't help but chuckle in amusement as Aleria's gaze falls back to the ceiling, the back of her head dangling over the couch's spine. She's smiling in subtle delight.

"Yeah..." Aleria cracks a sly smile, almost like she's attracted to the thought of meeting him again. The more she thinks about how she'll kill him, the more she feels...

Aleria feels something wet spill from her mouth; she's drooling...

She's hungry for him...

Then, she remembers something that briefly destroys her alluring, almost aroused fantasizing of his murder...

She remembers how He ignored Her...

... ... ...

"I don't mind waiting; I want to make sure that he focuses on me when we meet again," Aleria says as she gently swipes away her drool from her lips with a huff of indifference, a betrayal of what's internally bothering her. "To do that, he needs time to come up with countermeasures and backup plans. I'll crush him no matter what he does. We should worry about the Human, though..." she says moments before the room doors fling open. All eyes turn toward a blonde-haired, petite, and average-height woman stepping into the room with overjoyed red eyes. Her messy hair is tied into pigtails, her pale skin is a little more flushed with color than the rest, almost human in tone, and her facial features are soft, round, and innocent-looking. She's the most adorable Vampire in the room and the oldest of them all. She certainly doesn't look like it, though.

She is Vanessa, the Sinister Witch...

"Guess what I diiiiiiiid!" Vanessa exclaims!

Next Chapter: The Conversation…