((yeah, well... no))

((*laugh* I can do both . . . something like . . . it was an uncomfortable feeling, but nothing so terrible. :lol:

Also: Thanks! The quote in my signature made me laugh . . . so I copied it. ^__^))

The feeling of something colder than death traced over his cheek. The mask that Mellony was wearing made Rai wrinkle his nose. Just as he was about to readjust his hold on the girl, she pressed the object to his face. The discomfort of the cleansing metal (for that's what silver used to be used for, I believe) made him pull away, though the reaction wasn't quite as dramatic as Mellony might have hoped. Instead of burns, the rose left behind a mark as though it had been pressed against his features for a long period of time.
In a light-hearted moment, the rose might have been humorous. As it was, the vampire's black eyes narrowed. That was a mistake, girl. Just as he hissed, shifting his hold on her to keep her from moving, something sounded through the halls. A cold chill ran down his back as he heard the howl of a beast, and he immediately dropped Mellony. She fell from him as though he'd forgotten all about her, and his features contorted in rage. He'd never felt so . . . angry in his life.

At least he had been distracted from Mellony. The marks he left behind were enough to send anyone into a panic, let alone the frightful girl. Rai tilted his head as though listening to something unheard. He was on his feet and moving silently to the other end of the hall. He wanted the wolf dead. Now.
-

((And I'm going to say that Astryd is glad to not hear the sound of the Experiment anymore. She's just wandering around. Heck, maybe someday she'll find that room she's looking for. :lol:))

((Yay for compromise))

Mellony's head spun as Rai finally dropped her to the floor, falling weakly to her knees. "R-Rai...?" She asked weakly, trying to stagger to her feet. The sound of the wolf howling seemed to set him off worse than even the bloody knights had. "Where are you... where are you going...?" She demanded, trying to ignore the warm liquid trickling down her neck. Her panic had finally managed to settle into a dull smolder in her chest- she didn't think it could get any worse, at this point, no matter how much fuel was added to the fire. At least, not from her own phobias. In the back of her fevered mind, she wondered where the other figure had run off to- the man who had told her about the illusions. But, for now, she had to focus on Rai. If she didn't have something to focus on, she'd more than likely pass out. "Rai. What's going on?"

He hadn't heard his name being called. Rai was far too succumbed in his instinct to even hear human words. Listening for the next howl from the wolf, Rai stood still. He stood more still than stone - it was an unnatural stillness that no human could ever achieve. It was only when Mellony had stumbled closer to him when the vampire reacted.
Rai hissed, tensing . . . and then something in his expression changed. A small piece of his mind forced its way through the animalistic instinct that controlled him, struggling for a hold. "M-Mellony?" That tiny bit of humanity slowly gained a footing, and his eyes lightened from their onyx hue. "Y-you're . . . bleeding." Badly. The side of her throat was practically torn open, leaving her lifeblood spilling out over her clothing.

With a darting movement, Rai moved to press his icy fingers to the wound. "What happ-" He froze, suddenly recalling pieces of what had happened. I did this. Rai's tongue moved over his lips, and he knew it was true. He could still taste her on his lips. "This wasn't what I intended."
He fell silent after that, brushing blood-darkened hair from his face as he tore the sleeve from his clothing. The nice fabric was already dirty and torn, but it would have to do. Rai moved to press the makeshift bandage to Mellony's throat, his other hand grasping her upper arm to keep her from falling over. The poor girl was too weak to support herself.

"I . . . don't know what to do," Rai breathed. It was true: he'd never learned much about healing. Her blood still called to him, but it wasn't as strong now that he was full . . . besides, the instinct in him was busy listening for the howl he'd heard earlier. The human part of Rai was desperate not to leave Mellony behind. She would surely die if he did, and the vampire was trying his hardest to keep every scrap of humanity he had left. There weren't many.

Mellony smiled up at Rai. "Hey, look who's back..." She laughed dizzily, clutching his jacket as he grabbed her- or at least she thought she was. She certainly meant to send the signal from her brain to her arms, although she wasn't certain that it got there. Mellony was barely listening as Rai muttered something about not knowing what to do. Actually, she was feeling... better. Less out-of-it. Maybe she had lost so much blood that she was just that delusional now. "Rai, I think I'm... I think I'm going to be okay." She said, her voice steadier, if only a little. She wasn't going to die here, that was for sure. Not in this hell of a house. Not without finding out why she was here in the first place. "Think you can ignore the werewolf long enough to help me find the... the hospital?" She questioned, looking up at the vampire. "Might be something there that can fix this."

((Haha, I have nooo idea what I'm doing. I can't even believe this keeps coming back from the dead. Zombie thread!))

((LOL! It's Aliiiiiive! :lol:))

Seeing Mellony try and strengthen herself, the vampire nodded. For her, he could do this. "I don't know if I can ignore it," he admitted, shrugging one shoulder. All of his wounds were already healed, thanks to . . . well, Mellony. Rai held the cloth to her throat for a while, applying a bit of pressure. "You're doing well," he whispered, carefully checking her bleeding to make sure it was slowing down. Ever so slowly it was.
After a few more minutes, it should be . . . well, decent. "The hospital?" Rai frowned, but nodded again. "There should be something there. I'll help you find it." He would do that before finding his own spot. The fountain was outside somewhere anyway . . . or so he assumed. Rai wanted Mellony alive - so they had to find the hospital first.

"Let's start moving," he suggested, glancing up. The hallway had returned to normal. Mellony had been right: the suits of armor weren't even real. They were part of his imagination. Shuddering slightly, the tall male slowly began to lead her onward. They had to keep searching. "Let me know when you need rest. I'm not . . . easily tired."

Mellony glanced up at the man- vampire, part of her brain whispered- supporting most of her weight. "Thanks. I know that you need to find whatever it is he hid for you, too... thanks." She said softly. Guilt washed over Mellony. This... madman had abducted them, and hidden 'something they needed' all over his disgustingly twisted manor. Mellony thought back to her letter. "We still have no idea what direction northeast is, do we?" She muttered. She glanced up at Rai. He was cute. Wait, what. No, bad brain. Focus on staying alive right now, k? "Unless an innate sense of direction is one of your powers... wasn't there someone else here a minute ago?" Mellony questioned suddenly, remembering the mysterious stranger that had warned her about the illusionary knights.

((So... Frankenstein thread, then? Also, KITTY IN YOUR SIGNATURE. SO CUTE. :3))

Rai smiled a bit, shaking his head. "I'm harder to kill. I can wait." His eyes were a clear pale blue again, no trace of blackness in them. He finally had control over himself once more. "Direction? Well, if there's a window we can find out fairly easily." Unless time ran at a different rate here, the moon should be visible.

The vampire frowned . . . and nodded slowly. "I . . . recall smelling someone. Another vampire." He could hardly remember it, though. The blood and battle had been all too real . . . and far more distracting. "He must have headed farther into the house." It was a shame they hadn't gotten to speak with him about the layout of the estate.
After many more minutes of holding the torn sleeve to Mellony's throat, he bid her to press it there instead. When the woman was doing as he asked, Rai led her onward, continuing to support her weight. Why did all the windows seem farther away than usual?
When they finally got to one, the vampire stayed within the shadows. It wasn't sunny out, but for some reason he still felt wary - if suits of armor could magically come to life, who was to say the sun couldn't suddenly beam out of nowhere? He was keenly aware of every shadow and shift of light as they approached. "Can you see the moon?" Keeping his hand on Mellony's arm, he kept on supporting her. She was weak, and needed food and rest. Hopefully they would find a place where she could get a bit of both. It was a shame that her delicate features were wracked by weariness already.

((:D Frankenstein thread! It's undead. OoooOOooo.
And thanks! It's cute little kitty . . . I want it. :3))

(Sun? It's night time amigo)

As Astryd wandered the halls of the manor, and Mellony and Rai wandered the dormitory halls several figures gathered together deep under the earth, speaking in hushed tones until the vampire that had spoken to Mellony joined the group, appearing from the darkness. All talking ceased as he nodded to the group, saying, "Ladies, gentlemen, glad you could all make it. First off, Nathaniel, nice work distracting Rai from killing the girl, we'll need them if we want the plan to work." A laughter-like growl came from one of the figures standing in the shadow as he said, "No problem, I love egging you leeches on like that."

((:sweat: Fixed that up! Hahaha, oops!

Ooooo . . . the darkness has a leader. :insane: Creepish.))

Mellony cautiously leaned forward to get a better look at the sky. Her head spun slightly at the move, and she tightened her grip on the cloth staunching her neck wound. The girl shuddered slightly at the damp warmth beneath her fingers, repeating the mantra, It's only blood, it can't hurt me, over again in her head. She scanned the sky, looking for the moon, smiling slightly when she finally spotted it. "Okay, yeah, I can see it." She said, doing some quick figuring in her head. "North east should be... this way." She said, pointing down the hall the opposite way they'd come from. "I think." She added warily.

((The direction choosing skills of any seasoned adventurer! Pick a random direction and point!))

((:lol: Ooooh, that's just it, too. :XD))

"Think?" Rai smiled slightly, looking a bit amused. Still, he nodded. Heading in any specific direction was better than standing around and waiting for death to overtake them. The vampire scented the air again, his instinct slowly calming down as he pushed the howl from the wolf out of mind. He'd never felt such an overwhelming, uncontrollable sense of rage come over him. Yes, eagerness to feed, but never was he that angry.
As they started off in what they supposed was the Northeast, Rai kept an eye on Mellony. She was nearly trembling, and if she moved too quickly it was obvious that she was dizzy and partially disoriented. If they were attacked or had to run, she wouldn't be getting very far.

"Where were you before you woke up here, Mellony?" The vampire kept his gaze alert as they entered a bigger room at the end of the hallway. Keeping their direction in mind, he carefully guided his human companion onward.

((Pfft, Esmme's stalking the thread now that it's come back.))

Mellony looked surprised by the question, then frowned. "Before? I was... at school. Walking back to my dorm room from the library." She recalled. "I don't remember what happened after that. I just woke up here. What about you?" She questioned, trying not to think about it. They had no idea how long they'd actually been here. It could've been days. Did anyone realize she was missing from her classes? That she'd never made it back to her dorm room? That she'd been snatched from the middle of campus?

...did anyone care?

((Mellony's getting depressed again~ poor shunned little genius girl))

((:ninja: So stalking. :lol: I like this thread!))

Hearing Mellony's story, he nodded. Rai glanced at her to see her looking . . . less happy. He offered the slightest of smiles as they walked. "I I was . . . sleeping. I took cover in the subway for the morning, and I woke up here." The silver-haired male sent another glance at Mellony. Her delicate features were traced with disappointment.
"Do you think anyone noticed you went missing?" Little did he know that was the question that Mellony had been asking herself.

The vampire carefully turned, bringing Mellony with him as they went through a more open room.

Mellony looked up at Rai as he asked her the very thing she'd been contemplating. "I... don't know. My professors might have. Maybe some of my project group members. But most people don't notice when I'm there. They probably haven't realized I'm gone." She murmured. "My parents probably haven't even realized I'm gone. We haven't spoken in so long..." She wiped at her eyes. "I guess no one noticed you disappear either." She said, laughing a little.

Rai chuckled mirthlessly. "No, no one notices when someone like me disappears." His blue eyes followed Mellony's hand as she wiped at her face, and the vampire looked sympathetic. He remembered what it was like to have someone who cared. Who knew if Mellony even had that privilege. What would it have felt like if the people you loved showed no reaction to your disappearance? Rai didn't really want to think about it.
"How's your neck?" he asked, glancing about to ensure they were still safe.

((:XD I'm not quite sure what to post right now. :lol: Sorry for the shortness!))

((this was such an interesting rp! I miss it haha))