Re-evaluation and meditation. {Open to all who are brave}

[Guest]

Venis had been seemingly absent from life for a few days as of late. Not since the night she saw her son leave with that woman had anyone laid eyes upon her. Some might wonder why, some might think she was just busy, and some would not have even noticed her absence, others still would have known where she was the entire time, due to one form of link or another. For those who wondered and did not know, the vampire Goddess had been in her coffin. She had not been sleeping in the bed with her husband, she had not been feeding or even enjoying a glass of blood wine. And that is where this begins. Venis, in her coffin, having not had a drop in her system in days.

The lid to the coffin slammed open hitting the wall it rested parallel to. Rather early in the afternoon for a vampire to raise from it's coffin. Normally, if a vamp had taken to their coffin, they would not rise from it until hours from this time of the day. Good thing she was no ordinary vampire. Slowly the red-head sat up from her slumber and her eyes opened. Those eyes that opened were not the ice blue orbs of the well balanced Goddess. There was an anger in those eyes, they burned black as night without a hint of stars. Her chest rose and fell with breaths that were simply habit, not necessity. She licked her parched lips and opened them to stretch the muscles and make sure that her jaw still functioned. She had not been in her coffin in eight months. It took a lot of stress and angst to put her back in there. She was not happy about being in that coffin again so soon. But it was where she had needed to be.

Long bony fingers curled over the edge of the coffin as her opposite leg bent at the knee. Her foot placed solid and flat upon the emerald green colored feather down bottom of the coffin she lifted her body to a standing position. Her hand released the side of the coffin as she stood erect. One would think that her first instinct would be to find some sustenance. But it was not, not this time. No, as she turned and stepped from the coffin she did not go in the direction of the kitchenette. She instead went to a trunk that rested at the foot of her bed. She did not take the time to find the keys to the two pad locks that were on the trunk. Not this time. She simply closed a fist around them and snapped them off.

Once those two padlocks were gone she flung the trunk open. She was not careful with the items she removed from the trunk in her search for two specific items. Things were lifted from their place of rest and tossed over her shoulder. Anyone who had been within their rooms upon the third floor at this time would hear things crashing to the walls. Vases shattered as they hit, small wooden boxes would either shatter or come open, either way, spilling their contents out onto the floor. Even weightless cloths were catching some serious air and going some distance in their flight. There were two objects in this trunk that she was looking for. She would know them both by touch, which would explain why she ever turned her head or looked down at the trunk as she searched. She never even blinked. To say she was off balance would be an understatement.

At last, long fingernails would hit upon the wooden box she searched for. Bony fingers wrapping around the object would confirm this for her. She lifted the eight by eight by twelve inch wooden container from the trunk and placed it in her lap. It was held there as the other hand continued to search the now nearly empty trunk. It was not much longer that the long slender digits wrapped around the glass bottle contained within the velvet pouch. A gift from a Malkavian that knew her misery. He had painstakingly given her the means to deal with her pain and suffering. And now she held those means clenched in her hands. One was to be used before the other, but once both were used, it would be over. She would have no more pain, no more suffering, no more misery.

She rose back up from where she had been sitting upon her knees in front of the trunk. Kahn was absent yet again, as he almost always was these days. Which was of no help to her. As she turned around to face the main door of her room her blackened eyes did not waver from their focus, which was straight ahead. She did blink at this point though. If one was to look at her eyes it was not that they were solid black, just the portion that had once been ice blue. And as she exited her room she carried with her the two most valuable of all her material possessions. She had to get out of the Inn for what she had in mind, it was not something that could be done within the walls of the Inn. It was too dangerous. She was too dangerous. But at the moment it was the only option she could see.

Once she was out in the hall, if there was anyone there, she did not see them. Though, common sense would have told her that perhaps someone had heard the commotion from her room and come out into the hall to see what was going on. She walked calmly, slowly. She was in no hurry. There was happiness from some of those who resided on the third floor. But it wasn't quite strong enough to make her stray from her chosen path. She did, however, pause and close her eyes slowly as she inhaled deeply. The happiness had such a sweet smell to it. It was almost sickeningly sweet. Which was what caused her to continue her progress. She took the steps one at a time as she made her way down to the bottom floor. Each floor of rooms held its share of joy and happiness, pain and sorrow. And soon, she will have rid herself of it all. Let it be someone else's problem now.

When she had reached the bottom of the stairs she turned towards the door of the garden. This was where she left the Inn. She walked through the garden not noticing that she was leaving footprints in the grass. It wasn't exactly singed, or even dead, but it was definitely discolored. She slowly continued upon her path. She would not stop in the gardens as this was still too close to the Inn and the innocents who occupied it. No, she could not place those lives at risk. So she continued to walk, and once she was clear of the gardens her hair began to take on a new form, that of fire. Most of the time, she would be surrounded by her flames. They would be dancing around her body. She could make parts of her body become the flame, but this time, she had not forced it to happen. No, this was a direct result of her anger and her misery and her frustration.

She continued through the forest and found a clearing. Caves, that is what she had found. What a lovely happenstance. She chose not to look into or even feel into any of the caves that she passed. She did not care who or what could be in them. Just like she did not care that she would be easily tracked by the foot prints she was leaving in her wake. She never did worry about those things, after all, most tended to avoid her when she was in a bad mood. So if anyone did happen upon her, they would see that this was in fact the case and would most likely leave her to what she is doing. She was used to that, and this time, it would be a good thing. She did not want any innocents hurt. She just wanted to end her own pain.

She entered the last cave, the farthest from the Inn. She walked over to where there was a semi-flat stone upon the ground. She placed the box upon the stone and opened it up. The box was home to the wooden stake that she had used to kill her sire over two hundred years ago. It lay nestled within a bed of black velvet. She very slowly, very gently, ran a lone finger over the wood. It was still stained with Radu's blood. She blinked slowly, and for a split second there was a flash of the ice blue that belonged there. Perhaps there was a chance that she would not go through with this. But she placed the velvet pouch upon the stone. She pulled down the sides of the pouch to expose the round blue glass bottle. It only held about four ounces of liquid, but it was enough to serve her needs. Of course, she had never tried it before. She honestly had no idea if it would even work.

She moved away from the make-shift alter and went to sit upon the ground facing it. She closed her eyes slowly and her flames began to dance around her from the ground up. She sat there with her eyes closed and her legs crossed in front of her letting the flames consume her. As she sat there in silence her head would give the slightest hint of movement. It was almost like she was in a trance state. She began to watch flashes of visions before her closed eyes. She was watching each thing she saw for anything she had missed when she saw it before. She watched the new visions as if her life depended on it. And the more she saw, the more her flames grew. The more her flames grew, the more she became the flames. It was not just her hair anymore. It started with her legs. Then her lower body. Her arms and then her upper body. Finally, her head. She continued to watch the visions, both old and new. She was trying to make some semblance of sense of them. There had to be something she missed, something that she miss-read. Because if there wasn't, she would be reaching to that alter before nights end.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Casie was in her room, it was early afternoon. She heard crashing coming from across the hall, that was V's room. She stood and looked at the twins.

"Stay in this room, no matter what happens do not leave it till I come back."

They both nodded at her. She heard a lot of things breaking and then silence. She cracked the door and saw Venis leaving. She was carrying two items. Cas' eyes went wide, if those were the items that she thought they were.....

When Venis was gone Cas ran into V's room there were broken bits of glass and splintered wood everywhere. The lid to V's coffin was laying up against the wall and the chest the one with the double padlocks at the foot of her bed had been broken open.

Cas walked over to the chest and looked into it, her eyes went wide in fear. The bottle and the steak. This was bad, this was really bad.

Kjay like always was right there with Cas, he had been sniffing around the room. He was getting agitated because his human was worried. So when Cas left V's room and went to the room Levi and her human were in he followed her.

Cas knocked on Tasha's door and then entered she didn't wait for an answer.

"Tasha, Venis took the vile from Wally, and the and the stake she used to kill Radu."

Her voice was frantic.

"Tash, her eyes were black and she was sleeping in her coffin."

She stopped when she saw Jesse.

"Jes, I need a favor from you, can you please go stay with the twins?"

[Pepper]

A funny thing happens when someone closes a doorway. The beings on one wide of the door cannot see what is going on behind that closed door. The Vampire Council members all shared a bond that worked similar. They could hear each others thoughts, they could know each others knowledge, they could maintain knowledge of each other and each others whereabouts. But that bond had a door. Each member was granted their privacy though the same effect as a closing door. Otherwise, they would not even get to have time with their significant others without the other members being privy to it. And that was just unacceptable.

So when a door was closed to the council, at first it brought no worry. But when it was not reopened, and the being that closed it had not given warning, one council member began to question such things. He in turn asked for someone to investigate said closed door. So it was simply a question of who's turn it was to leave the safety of the Council pyramid. Once that was established, the vampire of choice as it were, was on her way to the first of a few portals. She exited the last portal in the town of New Haven. She was heavily cloaked as she walked the streets at about one in the afternoon. It had been almost an hour since the door had closed.

Forty-two inches of olive colored cloak wondered down the streets of New Haven. A starting point had been given, according to the Intel of another member. So that was the direction this Nosferatu was headed. As she approached the Tel'Ranaemyn Inn she could smell the unicorns and the Clydesdale's. This was the place. But she was not here. She had a very distinct heartbeat as it was faked. But just to be sure, one would have to go inside.

Up the steps and into the door. What a lovely place. Still no sign of that heartbeat she was seeking. She saw the stairs and moved to them. Looking up they seemed to lead to above floors. So she began her assent. She got to the first landing and paused. No, she was not there. Though, she might want to search for something other than a heartbeat that could very easily be stopped. So how about the very high heat signature, higher than probably anyone else in this Inn.

So she moved to the second floor, those rooms held no sign of her heartbeat or her heat signature either. One more floor to check. There was a grand heat signature on this floor, but the heartbeat was not hers. It was definitely interesting to find another being who's heat signature rivaled that of the one she was sent to find. But she had to stay on task. So she checked for a second heat signature of that great a magnitude. There was none. So she went back downstairs ignoring any activity that could have been going on while she was there.

She went out the back door of the Inn and saw the footprints. She decided top follow them. How unusual that it was so easy to track the one she was looking for. But hey, go with the flow. She followed the discolored prints into the woods and out into a clearing. There were some caves. Interesting place for a blazing inferno to be. She could cause a volcanic effect. The great part about caves, sometimes, they had more than one way in or out. And she wasn't ready to take the direct approach, yet. Now, she wanted to assess the situation.

So she went around to other cave openings and looked for another way into the one that housed the great inferno. Finding one that felt warmer than the others she entered. she followed that heat until she could see the light. She found a ledge and climbed up to it. She perched upon this ledge and watched. That was how Pepper Dudley came to find who she was looking for.

[Guest]

Tasha had been sleeping. She had heard the sounds, but they were playing in her dreams. She was just getting to where she could even sleep at all, so for her to be napping was no big deal. Besides, Jesse had been in there, if something happened, he would be there for her. But when Casie burst through the door, she was awake in an instant.

She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "Wha ... Huh? Who did what?" She wasn't quite awake enough to comprehend what Casie had just said to her. She slid from her bed and slipped her feet into her slippers. She yawned and stretched as she stood up. "What's going on Casie?" She scratched the back of her head as she struggled to wake up completely.

[Guest]

Jesse had been sitting on the other bed reading. He did not want to disturb Tasha. When Casie burst through the door he was startled and dropped his book. He had heard the sounds as well, but he thought it was some afternoon delight and let it slide. He knew how Venis and Kahn could get.

When Casie started talking about Wally. Wally was the co-owner of And The Beat Goes On. Venis' dance club. Jesse had no idea what was in the bottle that Casie spoke of, he would ask later, right now. "Yes ma'am." He got up and headed over to Casie's room to watch the kids.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Cas looked at Tasha and made sure she had her full attention.

"Venis just left the inn with the bottle from Wally and the steak she used to kill Radu. Her eyes were black. Tasha she was sleeping in her coffin and she trashed her room to get to the items. We need to go after her now."

She then looked at Jes and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks hun."

[Guest]

Tasha headed for the door to her room. She yawned again a she walked. "Don't panic, she's been sleeping in her coffin for days. Are you sure she took the bottle and the stake?" She walked out of her room and into Venis'. She headed to the sleeping area of the room, which was where her coffin was. She saw the wreckage that had once been the contents of the trunk.

She shook her head and went over to the chest. "She can't go to far, she hasn't fed and she used a lot of her energy reserves breaking these locks off. Why she didn't just unlock them is beyond me. And why she threw everything around the room is a mystery as well." She looked into the trunk and it confirmed what Casie had said. Not that Tasha didn't believe her, she just wanted to see if there was anything else missing. There wasn't.

She shook her head as she sighed. "Let me get dressed." She headed back to her room. She still wasn't running. She went and put on a simple black bustier and some black leather pants. She slipped her shoes into some black shoes and then looked over at Casie. "Let's go see what the fireball is up to now." Tasha began to sniff the air for Venis' bath oils with Venis' signature scent as the undertone as they headed for the stairs.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Cas was confused as to why Tasha wasen't worried about this but she followed her down. Turns out the didn't need her lycan nose.

"Look Tasha, she didn't bother to hide where she was going, her hair must have been on fire, look at the tree trunks."

She then looked down and the grass was slightly brown where she had walked.

"Tasha you didn't see the look on her face, something is terribly wrong."

Kjay was sniffing the trail he looked at Levi. ~Something else is tracking the firey one.~ He knew is was a vampire but not who or what kind.

[Guest]

Kyra was in the garden had seen Venis leave the inn and at first didn't think anything of it and wasn't about to go ask her what she was doing but she heard the others talking and for her father's sake only she worried. It was his mother after all. Praying to god she knew how to do this well enough she waited and thought for a moment before committing herself to this idea. Taking a deep breathe and letting it out she shifted into the shadow world and set off to find Venis. She learned from her father that the shadows is the quickest way for them to move to a destination which means she would arrive there before the others did but not the one that was already in the caves. She used the shadows within the cave to conceal herself waiting for the right moment to come out of hiding. It wouldn't be long before she stepped out of the shadows not realizing someone else was watching too...back in her faerie form she looked to Venis her eyes did not hold the hatred she felt but held concern. She just stood there watching not speaking to her. This was a big deal for Kyra and a step to something but time will tell what that something is.

[Guest]

Leviathan picked up the smell at the same time Kjay did. The difference was, Levi knew the scent. ~It's the Nosferatu Primogen from The Vampire Council. Pepper I think her name is. Hope she's in a good mood, otherwise she is bad news. We need to hurry. Maybe if we run ahead a little they will catch up to us.~ She moved in front of Tasha and even a few steps ahead with her quickened pace.

Tasha looked at the trees as they walked. "That's odd. It's not like her to let herself be so easily tracked." She followed along moving a little faster to keep up with Levi. She kept picking up hints of a scent. It was somewhat familiar. And the closer they got, the stronger it got. "You're right Cas, something is terribly wrong." She hurried her steps even more.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Kjay looked at Levi. ~Is this Pepper dangerous to my human?~ He would say as he sped his pace to match hers. He did not like the smell of this Pepper, he started growling

Cas sped up to keep up with Kjay as he moved ahead. Was he actually growling. She was trying to think of anything that would send V over the edge again. She barely heard Tasha's words.

"I know something it Tash, you didn't see her."

[Guest]

While all this was going on, Venis was still just sitting there silently burning. When Pepper had come in, she felt a twitch, but she let it pass as something in the memories she was searching. How else could it be explained, after all, it couldn't be that Pepper was there. The council wouldn't send Pepper to her, would they? There were so many others they could send, there was no need to send a child of darkness. Actually, there was no need to send anyone.

When Kyra arrived in the cave she came in the shadows, so Venis did not notice her. When Kyra stepped out of the shadows it was such a sudden arrival of the sense that she was there that Venis' memory shifted to a memory of Kyra, the morning they were dealing with Maddie's death. That explained feeling Kyra near her. After all, what other explanation could there be? Tasha had dressed Kyra down that night. So Venis had returned the favor.

Casie, Tasha, Levi, and Kjay were very close. But that just played on her memories even more. For the moment, she was oblivious to her surroundings. She was busy trying to find where she went wrong with each person who had helped her get to this point. If she found out where she went wrong she could find a way to fix it, couldn't she? And as long as it stayed silent in that cave, she would remain where she was. A fireball sitting in a cave.

[Guest]

Leviathan stepped into the cave first. When she saw Venis she came to a complete stop. Venis wasn't just on fire, she was the fire. The fireball sitting on the ground had a human shape. She had to either be really angry or ... Well, just really angry to get this hot. ~Kjay. Look at her. I think I might actually be a little worried about this.~

She could smell Pepper and began to look around for the little demon beast. Because she was in the back of the cave perched on a ledge, Pepper was not the first being Levi saw. No, the first being she saw after Venis was a fairy, standing just outside of a shadow within the cave. There had been no scent trail of this fair, and Levi had never met her before. So she wasn't very happy that she was here. But she would wait and see what was going to transpire before she did anything.

Tasha was right behind Leviathan as she entered the mouth of the cave. She too saw Venis. She was in shock. She had seen V this mad before, well mad enough to become the flames. But it was the bottle and the stake that were the problems here. Venis gets mad, that is just the way it is. But that bottle and that stake could be the death of her.

Tasha had smelt Pepper as well. She even smelt Kyra, and saw her too. But she didn't say a word. In fact, she turned to Casie and put a finger to her lips to shush her. She didn't want her to speak yet. It might break Venis' concentration. Tasha was already formulating a plan and if V caught her, it could hurt. But she would wait for Casie and Kjay to be inside the cave and still first. Make sure that Venis did not loose her concentration when they stepped into the cave.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Kjay saw Venis and was worried about her; but this was not the first time he had seen her like this. Kjay knew who Kyra was he was not worried about her. ~The small winged female is ok.~

He smelled the other vampire and knew she was in the cave somewhere close. The fur on the back of his neck was standing on end and a very low growl came from him. He was so close to changing.

Cas put her hand on Kjay to quiet him as she walked into the cave. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Venis. She was either compleatly pissed or so depressed she no longer knew what to do. She wanted to go to Venis but Tasha's finger to the lips stopped her.

She moved further into the cave and leaned against a wall. They had to stop this. If they didn't things were going to be really bad really fast.

[Pepper]

Pepper sat perched atop her ledge watching all this organized chaos. It was rather amusing. The first to arrive to the aid of the Goddess was a little fairy. Oh how cute she was. She could make a wonderful playmate for the child Primogen. After all, they were close in size. It would look perfectly normal for the two of them to have tea parties and play with dolls. Wouldn't the little fairy be surprised when she saw Pepper's dolls. They were nothing like the dolls of other little girls. She watched the little one as she just stood there looking at the humanoid shaped ball of fire.

It wasn't too long before some familiar scents filled the air. The kitties were coming. Oh joy, she did so love to play torture the kitties. They simply hated having their ears and whiskers pulled. And they always tried to claw her when she wanted to ride them like they were ponies. Hmmm, werepony, there's a concept. Maybe she would have to look into that one. Of course, Venis had Empyrean and Rapture, didn't she? They weren't were, but they were unholy none the less. Oh how Pepper did love those two lovely beasts. But she was getting sidetracked.

Tashypoo had someone else with her, and a something else too. Oh how lovely, more for the party. She watched as the tall red-head walked in with her ... Puppy. Oh joy, a puppy. Ooo, a big bad mean puppy too. He looked like he wanted to bite. Oh good, if something bit her, she could bite it back. So, the tally was up to one fairy, two kitties, one human, and a puppy. How grand. Pepper had to wonder if anyone else was going to join the party. But while she waited, she watched as the puppy and Levikins looked around trying to see her in the dark. Leviathan knew what would happen if she attacked her without cause, so Pepper figured she was safe. The real questions were, what was Tasha up to, and where the newly arrived cave dwellers safe from Pepper?

[Guest]

Kyra caught glimpses of others arriving but her focus stayed on Venis for a bit longer. Looking up to the others she was sure that her being in the cave now was unnecessary as they were there to help her now. She did have one hope that whatever was going on that they could help Venis get through it. Before any person or being or animal could get to her she was gone back into the shadows and was already heading back to the inn to finish what needed to be finished. She would let her father know what she saw when she found him.

[Guest]

Tasha saw Kyra standing there one moment, gone the next. Just that quick. Maybe she shouldn't have looked away. It was too bad too. They probably could have used her help. The scent of Pepper was strong in the air of the cave. Yet, the little vampire had not advanced on anyone. That could be a good thing. Maybe she was going to be a good little girl. Tasha was curious as to where Pepper had lost her servant though. The only council member who traveled unaccompanied was Venis.

So Pepper was here without her hand being held. That was ok, Levi and Kjay would never let her near Casie. That freed up Tasha to try and get her chosen task accomplished. Yea, she was going to get in trouble for this, but she would live, right? After all, Venis wasn't going to hurt her, was she?

Slowly she walked towards the make shift alter. One click of her heels upon the hard ground within the cave and she walked right out of her shoes. Softly, slowly her bare feet silently lapped along the ground gliding her towards that make shift alter. The objective was simple, retrieve the items that could possibly lead to Venis' destruction.

[Guest]

"I bite Kitty Cat." The flat tone of that slightly deeper than normal voice broke the silence within the cave. It hadn't taken Venis too long to figure out that what she was feeling was not part of her memories that she was reviewing. All it took was for a memory to end and yet, she still felt her Granddaughter. Yes, that was a dead giveaway that something was going on within the cave.

So that meant that Pepper was there, Kyra was the ... correction Kyra had just left, Tasha was there with Leviathan, and Casie was there with Kjay. Wow, her time of re-evaluation and meditation had been crashed. Not like it had been unexpected. Well, Kyra, that was unexpected. And Pepper, she was the council member sent to babysit her? Of all the vampires, Pepper? Venis sighed, and this was made apparent by the movement of the ball of flames that resembled a chest rising and falling.

Her concentration now broken, there was movement from the flames. It looked as if the legs moved, bringing the knees up to the chest. Arms moved to wrap around the legs and the head turned to the side to lay cheek upon the knees. "Come out of hiding Pepper." She sat there and waited for someone else to say something. After all, they were here, so there had to be something on their minds.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Kjay put himself infront of Cassie and backed her up againt the wall. He was standing in front of her guarding her.

~Levi I don't like the smell of the other one~

He then hears the firey one calling out to the one in hiding. His growling resumed dispite his humans hand on him.

She saw Tasha moveing it only took her seconds to know what Tasha was going to try, she was not sure it was a good idea.

She was about to reach out to her and try to stop her when Kjay was pushing her back against the wall. She moved back without fighting agaist him. Her hand reached down to rest on his neck when he started growling. Her voice soft as she began to speak.

"Venis, whats wrong, and who is Pepper?"

[Pepper]

"Pepper Dudley, at your service." The childlike voice rang forth from within the cave as the little Nosferatu crawled down from her perch. As she hit the floor her fluid movements, that had taken thousands of years to perfect. moved her from a crawl to a walk as if there were no such thing as gravity. And in Peppers world, there was not. She walked with the grace of a grown woman. Often, others mistakingly believed she was emulating Venis with her sway of her hips. But, Pepper had adapted that wiggle to her walk centuries before Venis had even been born. She thought it complimented the giggle in her talk. And after all, wasn't that what made the world go around?

She cut her eyes at Leviathan. "Stand down fluffy." She was more than prepared to bite back. She sauntered towards the Goddess and her entourage. Always with the entourage that one. Pepper liked to be left alone. Though, she always seemed to have a babysitter whenever she left the pyramid. "So, tell me child, what has you in such disarray?" Oh yes, she did just call her a child. "And I see you have found me a new Mommy. I simply must find a way to thank you." And in the blink of an eye she was upon the wall and over by the red-head. She wasn't stupid though, give her some credit for her age, she was rather high upon the wall, well over the woman's head.

She looked down the wall at the red-head who stood against it. "All these lovely red-head's in one cave. I think red-head's are caldo. Wouldn't you agree furgirl?" She closed her eyes and let the scent of the woman fill her nostrils. She opened her eyes and glared down at the puppy that she was sure would be trying to climb the walls or something in an effort to get to her. She laughed the most wicked laugh one had ever heard come from a child's throat. She was enjoying this even more than a good game of torture the kitties. She inched closer to the woman from above her head. She smelt so good, and sweet. Oh yes, this one had sweet blood, Pepper could smell it within her.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Cas looked at the small vamp. She was horrified, she had never seen one so ugly or so young. She heard her speak and it made her skin crawl. Well she was Pepper. She didn't walk like a child, she also didn't talk like one. Was she really calling Venis a child?

"What do you mean a new mommy, I...."

She was in the middle of a sentence when the vampire disappeared from sight.

"What the..."

Kjay knew from the smell where the small one had went. He was already changing increasing in size till he was amlost double the size people normaly saw him, his canine teeth growing longer, his eyes blood red. His growling increased in intesity till it echoed off the walls of the cave.

~DON'T TOUCH MY HUMAN~

Kjay was screaming at the child vampire through a mind link, who knew if it would hear him but he was not pleased.

Cas heard her words and looked up. She turned and faced the wall taking one step slowly back as soon as she did Kjay was between her and the wall. He had his front paws on the wall growling at the thing.

"Stop looking at me like a piece of meat."

She was glareing at her.

"I already have children and if you are part of the council you know them."

[Guest]

Tasha heard Venis speak and stopped her forward movement. Rather she froze in her tracks. She took a deep breath and sighed. She had no idea what to say at that point. But it was ok that she had no idea because Pepper was going to break the awkward silence. First the little wall crawling monster came down from her perch. Nothing wrong with that.

It was what Pepper did next that required Tasha's attention. Pepper was quick, not as fast as Seleen, but a quick little thing. She was sauntering towards Venis one second, the next she was crawling the wall of the cave to place herself above Casie's head. Kjay changed and was ready to attack, practically climbing the wall himself. While Leviathan moved to stand against Casie's legs.

There was a growl to Tasha's voice as she spoke. "Pepper!" Just the name, that was all she should need to hear. But of course the child was stubborn and she moved slightly so that she was closer to being able to get Casie. So Tasha spun around and ran towards the wall. She jumped and her foot hit Kjay's shoulder As she used him as a springboard to get a higher reach.

She snatched Pepper by the hair and threw her across the cave as she pushed back from the wall to land on her feet. She turned to look at Pepper. "The lady said she was not your Mommy." She stood there looking at the little beast. She Shook her head. "Venis, we came out here to find out what was wrong." She took her eyes off of Pepper and looked over at Venis.

[Guest]

Venis continued to sit there with her head on her knees as she was while Pepper spoke to her and came towards her. "Says the child. Pepper, behave." She saw Pepper there one second and gone the next. So she slowly started to get up off the floor. Pepper had to live by the same rules as all the other council members. So she wasn't in that big of a hurry to move.

Besides, Tasha sprang to action. She stood up just in time to see Tasha throw Pepper across the cave. "I told you to behave." She stood there, still very much a ball of flames. She looked at everyone, though the only way they would know that was to see her turn the flames that were her head. "So is this to be another 'attack Venis' intervention? Am I to come under attack again?"

She turned and looked around the cave. "I see none of my children have come to rearrange my face this time. Or is that why my Granddaughter was here. Was it supposed to be beat up Grandmother day?" Her voice still carried that slightly deeper tone and had an unfamiliar harshness to it. Was it just the flames, or was is her mood as well? That was something they would soon find out.

[Pepper]

[[Watch out, this little Nos has a mouth on her that could make a sailor blush.]]

*Ooph* "Damn it Tasha, that hurt." For all of about a minute as she bounced off the other side of the cave to land on her knees. With one foot in front of the other she rose to her feet. "I should bitch slap your ass for that. It's not nice to pull hair." She got up and dusted herself off. "And maybe I don't want to behave." She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it out from where Tasha pulled it. "It's not like I was going to kill the broad or anything. Just extend her life a little." She dusted herself off a little more before she felt like she was presentable again.

She looked over at the red-head and smiled. "That's right, DJ and Nattie's mom. Pleasure to meet you. Remind me when my babysitter..." Who was actually her servant and traveling companion. "...Catches up with me that I have something for the kids from the council." She looked over at Venis. "I may be a child, but I'm older than you." She arched an eyebrow at her. "You let your children rearrange your face? Now I know something is wrong with you woman." She looked back at the red-head and grinned. "Wish I had a Mommy like you V." She looked over at Tasha, Levi, and the really big and mean looking puppy.

Then she looked back at the red-head. She jumped at her like she would jump to a wall. As she landed against her she wrapped her arms around her neck and her legs around her waist. She looked like a child clinging to her mother. "I still think you would make a great Mommy for me." She laid her head on the woman's shoulder. "So what has you in such distress Fireball?" She watched the animals as she clung to the woman like she would cling to a protrusion on a wall. She leaned her head so she could take in the sweet scent of the woman and her deliciously coppery blood.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Tasha's weight barely registered as she used his shoulder to help propel her higher. He barked as Tasha threw the child across the cave by the hair. Had he been human he would have been smiling.

As soon as she landed Kjay was turned and growling at her again. The sound was echoing off the walls.

Cas looked at the flames that were Venis.

"I am not here to attack you, I am here to help you. Right now you need a friend, I can't leave you like this."

She sighed. She was glaring at the child vamp as she spoke to Venis.

"I am not a broad, I am a lady, and if I wanted my life extended it would not be you I would accept it from. If there is something for my children from the council, I will be happy to accept it on their behalf."

She sighed.

"You have no idea what was going on that night you weren't there..."

She was about to say more when she was Pepper jump and before she knew it she was wrapped around her laying her head on her shoulder. Cas' arms came up her first instinct was to try and rip her off of her. Right now though the child vamp was not hurting her and if she fought back that might change. Her arms dropped back to her side.

"I already have children, I do not want to be your mother."

Her voice was soft and spoken through gritted teeth.

Kjay was grabbing at the dress Pepper wore pulling at it with his teeth.

~GET OFF HER~

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