Blood Dolls

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Zip

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Simion looked toward the floor, the chains binding his wrists and ankles together clanking loudly as the vampire scout who had captured him led him into his new dwelling, a cell of iron bars and cold stone floors. Blood dripped down from his neck, though most of it had dried. The scout had fed on him before he captured him, Simion assumed to make sure he tasted good because he hadn't turned or killed him. Opening the iron door, the scout cast him by one arm into the center of the unwelcoming cell, Simion's bloody lean form crumpling exhaustedly there and laying motionless.

"We'll feed you, if you're a good little human..." The scout cackled almost maniacally and slammed the door shut, walking off and leaving Simion in the cell all alone. "Well...what do we have here?" A fair voice, this must be one of the higher-ups in this castle, he thought. Looking up from his resting place on the icy floor, he caught sight of a royal-looking woman, though she was definitely not human. Sitting up, Simion locked his eyes on hers as she spoke again, "I hear you put up quite a fuss with Lucci, human." The extremely pale woman smiled slightly, batting her eyes a couple times before resuming, "You're pretty cute... though you could use a bath. I'll have one of my servants come and clean you up in a while." She elegantly placed her hands on her hips, baring her teeth in what almost looked like a smile before saying, "I'll be sure you get something to eat, don't worry." Though she seemed to be trying to be accommodating, her tone was sardonic at best. She grinned, her fangs brutally apparent in that moment as Simion studied her highly ornate dress. She must be some kind of royalty. Though inhuman and seemingly unkind, she was strikingly beautiful he thought. "Au revoir...", she spoke her farewell and raised a single hand, turning about and leaving him alone again. He could hear footsteps trailing down the dark hall even though he couldn't see her anymore.

Reaching his right hand up to his neck, the left side of which was covered in dried blood, he pulled it away after touching there and observed the bleeding had stopped. Sighing heavily, he pushed himself up from the cold floor, walking to the back stone wall of the cell and leaning his tired back against it. Bending his knees, Simion's back slid down the wall, curling into a ball then outstretching his legs and resting his head against the wall as well. He closed his eyes, cracking his knuckles to relieve the tension he felt, at least a little bit. He shook his head, ashamed that he'd let that annoying scout capture him at all, thinking he'd rather have died from him feeding. His breathing slowed as he attempted to calm the beating of his heart, his hands falling to his sides as he focused on his breathing and tried to ignore his new surroundings completely. He'd lost his shoes a day or two ago, his bare feet covered in dirt, not that he cared.
 
Violet eyes shifted behind closed lids as the echoes of approaching feet encroached on the deafening silence he had become accustomed to. Dylan frowned as one eye cracked open, looking towards the pale light that filtered in from between the bars of his cell. His nose had already become acclimated to the musty smell of the underground dungeon. Or the doll's quarters, as he had heard his handler call it when he first arrived some days ago. Though his heartbeat quickened in his chest, beating so hard he could swear the atrocious beings would be able to hear it even without their heightened senses, he kept his body still. Like he was willing himself into a statue to avoid being noticed as he lay on the hard straw mattress that served as his bed.

If only his wrists didn't have the silver manacles around them, he could've gotten out of this place. He had been surprised to find anything silver so close to the vampires and had given up quickly on his exit plan. Tilting his neck ever so slightly he watched through the open bars as a scout arrived with another male and deposited him into the confines of the cell beside his own. How lovely, it seemed he would have a neighbor now. Thick iron bars served as the walls between each cell. When the familiar female's voice floated on the air, he had to supress a scoff at her words. She had given him the same promise when he had been there, and it was clear their definition of an adequate meal was different from other beings. Or, he thought, they knew that and just enjoyed starving people to break them down. Maybe it was a way to break their captives into obedience. Dylan hadn't bothered to ask. In fact this was the first time in a couple days that he had seen anyone other than the guards. He was refusing to eat and therefore was not fit to feed from.

Dylan strained to listen to the exchange, hearing only the woman speak. Whoever had been put next door was quiet. He had half expected for there to be begging or pleading. A few more words and then two sets of feet were retreating, clacking against the stone of the long, dark hallway. Once the scent of decay that seemed to linger around vampires had fully dissipated the young man let out the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding and moved off of his mattress to carefully approach the bars separating himself from the stranger. The iron was cool beneath his touch as his fingers curled around the bars, crouching down low and looked towards the figure.

"Ya know, you might want to get on the mattress," he started with a tilt of his head, keeping his voice low, "freezing your ass off on the floor is just going to make you more miserable if your upcoming cold 'bath' doesn't do the trick," he stated, being as blunt as ever despite his circumstances. "Piss off the wrong vampire, or did that goon just get lucky for once?"
 
His slow and steady breathing continued as the unknown man approached the cell wall, talking to him quietly through the darkness. "Wrong time, wrong place, wrong vampire..." Simion's voice raised a little so the man could hear him, nodding once toward the darkness of the neighboring cell, only able to see the silhouette of whoever it is in there from where he sits. "How long have you been in this place?" Thinking back as his eyes adjust to the dark, he still wasn't sure how the scout had appeared at all, let alone captured him. "And besides, I love the cold." His voice boomed a bit at the last word, going extremely deep and grinding against the vocal chords violently. His eyes darkened, turning black in the shadows as he said it.

He hadn't even realized there was a bed in this place, so he looked around again, his eyes much more adjusted to the dark now. He stood up very quickly, the motion almost invisible in the darkness, though his chains jingled a bit as he moved. Simion found the bed, apparently made of hay of some kind by the texture of it. There was however, no pillow or anything else to rest his head on, so he just laid back on the hay, sighing quietly and examining the rest of the cell. Just then a door opened in the distance, sounding like the door that royal-looking vampire maiden had used to exit this dusty and cold place. Felt more like a cemetery than a holding cell, he thought as looked back over at the unknown man. Whoever was coming down the hall, Simion could see them, but he couldn't hear their footsteps at all. It was definitely a vampire again.

"Greetings!", his voice rang out clearly, though something about it was unpleasant. "I'm here to take you to the cleansing..." This vampire's eyes glowed golden through the dark, allowing Simion to tell where he was a little better. The iron door clanked as the guard captain opened it inward, walking into the darkness and to the bed, snatching up his arm from the hay quickly. "Come on...", the vampire sounded miserable as he pulled on Simion's arm still, guiding him out of the cell.

He didn't want to lose control right now. There could be an army of vampires outside that door the guard captain came through. He walked away silently next to the vampire, following him out the door and looking back toward the cell as he exited. Could he trust this man in the cell next to his? The captain led him down a series of steps, down a short hall then up an even bigger stairway, this one made of some kind of dark timber. Leaving him in a fully lit room, a small pool that looked like a baptism pond right next to the chair the guard had set him in. His eyes had returned their naturally hazel tone, though the whites of his eyes were severely bloodshot. He started to investigate his now visible silver imprisonment, wondering if he could break through and let the demon inside of him play a little. He grins a little, figuring it's worth a shot. His eyes turned black again yet he remained silently for a few moments, pulling apart his wrists in front of him and snapping the chain with a vicious growling yell.
 
A low chuckle rumbled from Dylan's throat at the man's first words. Wrong time, wrong place indeed, certainly a thought that he could relate to. He inhaled deeply through his nose to try and catch a whiff of the man's scent through the damp air in an effort to see what kind of being he was dealing with. Having overheard the vampiress say he gave the scout a good spot of trouble when captured he highly doubted the man was human. If he was, he would've had to have been some kind of super human. Whoever this stranger was, he was talking, so that could possibly be a good sign in regards to what kind of neighbor he could be. Hopefully not an annoying one. Or one that snored..for a brief second he prayed to whatever deities there were that the man didn't snore loudly. "Well lucky for you it gets cold as hell down here. You'll just love it," he said, leaning his forehead against the thick bars separating the two.

The question earned a shrug, the silhouette of his shoulders raising together before falling. "Not terribly long. I'd guess about a week. You and that scout are the first I've seen in a couple days besides the guard that brings food," he said simply, his voice lowering a touch as he continued to himself. "Couple days? Yeah. Had to be just a couple days..two meals a day..have had four meals. Yeah, couple days.." his voice trailed off and then he promptly shook his head to jar himself back into the present moment. Through the dark he made out the man's figure moving around the cell, which looked like a large formed shadow moving against other shadows. Would it really kill them to put a few more lights down here? "I can't imagine we'll be kept here indefinitely, never heard of dolls staying underground permanently. Unless its to die," Dylan continued, a small part of him thankful to hear another voice that wasn't grunts and growls. He had been on his own plenty of times but he was learning there was a big difference in choosing to be away from others and having it forced on one.

Before he could continue farther the creaking of hinges and a door echoed down the passage and almost at once his nose crinkled in disgust as the smell of vampire washed over him. He watched and listened in silence as the captain hauled the stranger away, turning his eyes with the sounds of their motions to watch him be taken away. He tilt his head curiously, a brow raising. Well that was different..his bath had just been a bucket of ice cold water thrown on him and the muck and dirt scrubbed away. Dylan didn't have time to ponder it long before a second guard came and opened his own cell door, gripping onto one of his manacled wrists and yanked him out of the cell. "Lets go," the guard grunted, giving him a shove forward before he felt the needlesharp point of a claw pressed to the side of his throat. "Time for you two to start looking the part," the vampire said and Dylan snorted. They had taken a few steps forward down the hall towards the door when the echoes of a inhuman yell bounced off the walls and to his ears. Dylan paused and pushed back even as the guard pushed him forward up the stairs. "Up you go. You need to pick up your new clothes. One for you, one for him." The shifter shook his head vehemently. "Nu uh. Did you not just hear that? I'm not going up there. Bad things happen to idiots that go towards sounds like that. That's all you buddy," he argued, only to be responded with another hard shove that sent him up the stairs and turning at the small door to the right as directed. "Okay, okay. This way is nice too. Little detour.." he mumbled, being led to a supply room, his curiousity mounting.

Dylan hadn't been the only one to hear the yelling. Outside the door to the cleansing room, another vampire stood. Taller than the guard with a gangly frame. One clawed finger tapped against his chin bemused by what his ears were picking up. "Pity. I prefer when they try to run," he said in a slow drawling voice. The robed vampire opened the door to find one of his newest dolls breaking the chains that bound him. Narrowing his eyes he lifted his fingers and made a sweeping motion towards his own shadow that detached itself from the floor and moved forward, inky black chains forming as they sped towards Simion in an attempt to latch onto him. "Now, now, we can't have any of that. At least...not yet," he continued, letting the door close behind him but not locking it so that the other doll could be brought to him.
 
Simion rose to his feet as the guard approached him, chains made of shadows flying toward him and wrapping about his wrists, causing him to grit his teeth as he sneered at the guard. His eyes had turned full black again and Simion seemed to be in control of the dark energy within himself, laughing low and gripping at the shadowy chains to see if he could break through these as well. He could touch them, but they had formed into some kind of hard black substance that was shiny and apparently unbreakable. His eyes returning to normal, he sat back in the wooden chair, sighing heavily and shaking his head as he mumbled to himself, "Guess I'm not getting out of here anytime soon..." The tall guard vampire smiled down at him, patting him once on the shoulder and saying, "That's a good idea. I wouldn't want to have to explain to the countess why I had to kill one of her new toys." Simion nodded as the guard finished speaking, looking up to the door as it opened and another guard walked through holding some kind of cloth garment that looked like a thin robe.

The guard pointed to the small pool of water, pulling on Simion's arm and forcing him to stand then walking him to the pool. "Your host will be with you shortly, so let's get you dressed." The guard unlocked and removed the silver manacles, the other guard waving his hand and causing the shadowy black chains to disappear. The shorter guard who held the robe gestured for him to remove his clothes, "Take them off..." The guard stared at him coldly as he undressed, dropping his clothes to the floor and taking the robe that was thrust against his chest, clutching it in both hands and holding it over himself. Best wait to make a move until he had a little more freedom. Whatever powers that taller guard possessed, Simion was pretty sure he couldn't avoid them or do anything to break through them, at least not quite yet.

The guard who'd brought him the robe walked out and returned with another man in tow, shoving another robe against this man's chest and telling him to undress. Simion looked up as the door opened again, the royal-looking vampire lady from before walking through and toward him with a smile. "It's time for you to get clean, darling..." She gestured toward the small pool, saying, "Wash yourself." He stepped down into the water, shivering a little as it was ice cold, then scrubbing at the dirt on his skin with his bare hands.

Once he'd finished scrubbing away what dirt he could, the woman made a come here gesture with one finger, pointing at the robe he'd left lying on the floor once he'd got out of the water and saying, "You two will have your taste test with the royal family tonight." She walked over to the other man, tugging on his arm and having him bathe in the same pool as Simion just had, then once he'd finished and put on his robe as well one of the guards removed the shackles from his wrists and ankles.

Taking one arm of each man in his clawed hands, the shorter vampire guard followed behind the woman as she exited the room, trailing behind her as she took a turn in the middle of the short hall through a heavy stone door and up another staircase. Torches lit the way now through what appeared to be a barracks of some kind, then out into the starlit night they stepped, the stone walls of the castle looming high above them as they walked past a fountain that seemed to be filled with blood by the stench and color of it. The guard guided them behind the regal vampire maiden, stepping into another door and a different part of the castle, this grand hall with high ceilings well-lit and filled with other well-dressed vampires that stared as they entered. A long-haired male vampire approached the guard and two men, speaking with some sort of Slavic accent as he said, "My, my...what fun we're going to have with you." The vampire's eyes followed them as the guard took them to the two stone chairs at the center of the room, apparently stained with old blood. Sitting the two men down, the guard walked off and left them there, Simion looking toward the other man sitting next to him and speaking softly, "This doesn't look good..." The vampires sitting at the long table in front of them began to stand, one of them licking his lips as he walked toward them and rubbed his hands together. The vampiress from before approached Simion at a leisurely pace, waving away the hungry-looking one and saying, "Brother, this one is mine first..." Stepping up to where he sat, she slid down his exposed neck with one of her razor sharp nails, blood dripping down it as she leaned in and bit down with her fangs and began to suck the life from him slowly.
 
He had been apprehensive about getting anywhere near the lit silver room at the top of the dark wooden staircase where he could smell the stranger and yet another vampire. Though this other vampire made him shudder, just going off scent alone he could tell the one in the room was leaps and bounds stronger than the guard escorting him. The flimsy robes and trousers he held in his hands were scratchy against his skin but he couldn't bring himself to be competely against the robes- they were clean at least, unlike the clothes he had been wearing since the day he had been captured. Dylan stepped into the room just in time to see what he presumed to be his cell neighbor coming out of a pool of water and dressing in similar robes. Another bath? He sighed and shook his head heavily noticing there was no steam coming from the water or beads of condensation clinging to the silver in the room, which could only mean more cold water. "Seriously, it wouldn't perma-kill you lot to try this nifty thing called warm water. Might make you less prickish," he said with a grumble and dropped his clothing without shame, stepping into the pool with a shiver. The countess' touch had been as cold as the water. Once he had finished scrubbing himself as clean as possible he got out and dressed as instructed.

Then the most miraculous thing happened- the silver manacles were removed and Dylan had to fight to keep himself from smirking like a fiend. There was a small voice of caution that it could be a trap, and he listened to that small voice for once. He would simply play it calm for the time being, the words of the woman partially falling on his ears. All he managed to understand was that there was going to be a dinner, and they would not be the type of dinner guests he would have rathered. Once the two were dressed and led out of the room, he looked towards the stranger from behind his wettened bangs, that still lay plastered against his face. Dylan paid attention to the way they were doing, noting what prominent features and items there were in the courtyards and castle to gain an understanding of the layout to his new 'home'.

Finding himself pushed down into the old stone seat that reeked of despair, he winced, violet eyes glaring to the vampire that had tossed him down. He took a moment to look around and if he had not been so pissed over the predicatment, he would've found the grand dining hall impressive. The vampires had good taste in architecture and decor, he'd give them that. Hearing whispered words he looked over, keeping his tone quiet so only the stranger could hear. "Hang in there, we haven't been fed so they shouldn't take too much," he tried to assure the other.

Once again, their conversation was cut short by the approach of others. Two vampires, the vampiress and a male, looking at the pair of them the way he could've looked at a bottom of the barrel pub meal right then. So this was how his meals always felt when he was ravenous. His nose crinkled as the scent of fresh blood began to pour off the man in waves. The silver that had sealed his abilities was gone, and Dylan had had to fight the urge to do something and escape. But, he had little energy to begin with and had known he would not be in any shape to make a valiant last stand. A bit of trouble though...he had enough energy for that.

An almost serene, yielding expression crossed over Dylan's face as the brother approached him, and he sat back against the stone back of the seat. To anyone observing it probably looked as if the man was resigning himself to his fate. As the male vampire approached, the scent washed over Dylan in powerful waves, making him have to struggle not to gag but he turned his gaze to take in every last detail about the vampire's figure, face, mannerisms, etc, to commit to his memory. He tensed as the tip of a claw pressed against the soft flesh of his neck and punctured the side of his neck, feeling the warm crimson liquid trickle idly down his skin.

He would only have one shot at this, and he gathered his thoughts and concentrated hard on that one spot of his neck. Soon enough the burning sensation of fangs sinking into his skin flamed through his neck and Dylan made his move. The spot the vampire chose to feed from rippled and contorted, the shape changing as a large, pointed spike formed at once at the side of the shapeshifter's neck, and punctured the vampire's mouth. Blood spurted from his mouth as the tip of the spike smashed against the roof of the vampire's mouth. "Gaaah!" the vampire howled in pain and backed away cupping his hands over his mouth as Dylan's body returned to its normal state, a sardonic grin on his face. It took a second, but that one action sent a flurry of action through the remaining seated vampires and guards. "Hold him!" came shouts from the guards, and Dylan looked to the angry, hissing faces that were coming towards the two of them. Even the countess appeared to be momentarily startled as silver manacles were put around his wrists at once to render his abilities sealed once again.
 
Simion looked up quickly as he heard the brother of the vampiress howl in pain, noting the sly grin on the other man's face as the other vampires shackled both of them again hurriedly. He wouldn't attempt to break the chains again as he couldn't access the darkness right now for some reason. He imagined the vampiress might possess some kind of power that controlled others when she fed on them or perhaps he was just too weak and tired at present. Just then he looked back toward the vampiress who had stepped away a little, sultrily stepping back up to him and licking her lips she said, "Yours is a taste I could get used to..." Simion moaned a little under his breath as she bit down on his neck again, slowly breathing out as she sucked at the wound, his breathing shallowing and he eyes snapping shut.

As the other vampires looked on, one of the males walked up to Simion, pushing his head back a little and smiling, then leaning down and puncturing where his neck and shoulder meet on the opposite side from where the vampiress fed on him. Starting to feel weaker, it felt like he was going to die from the loss of blood. He grew very lightheaded as the two continued to feed on him, but something stirred in him and at that moment he opened his now black eyes, grinning wide as he pushed the male off of him easily. The vampire flew back and rolled on the floor for about fifteen feet. He stood suddenly, grasping the throat of the vampiress and holding her up into the air before casting her off onto the floor. His voice returned the inhumanly deep growl that it did when the demon was present, "Are you going to kill me?" He looked toward the vampiress, gnashing his teeth and snarling. Before he could even think to continue speaking, the vampiress was back on her feet, stretching her hand in front of her and somehow controlling Simion with ease as he fell to his knees.

Looking back toward the stone chairs, he caught a glimpse of violets eyes for just a moment before grunting loudly as the vampiress shoved him face down onto the floor of the hall. Were they trying to kill him? He wasn't sure how much blood he even had left to be taken. He punched the floor with his left hand balled into a fist, the floor cracking into a spiderweb pattern as he used the energy from the impact to stand. Grinning and laughing somewhat maniacally as the countess looked at him with an annoyed expression across her face now. "Put BACK in his cell, and this one too." She walked off hastily, the guards from before approaching the two men then guiding them back outside the castle through the barracks and down the long hall into their iron-barred homes.
 
Dylan's victory was short lived. No sooner had the vampire biting him had fallen away and released his neck had he found himself bound by silver again and a flury of punches assailing his face and sides. Somewhere in there had been a few swipes of claws as well. Over the commotion he could hear the countess and guard captain calling the vampires off of him and he dipped his head panting hard for breath. He hadn't had much time to rest before the burning sensation of fangs digging into his skin exploded once again, fangs piercing his neck and wrist as he bit down on his tongue. The pressure from the suction of their mouths caused him to feel lightheaded and dizzy after a few seconds, feeling his blood draining out of him. It would take him more than a moon cycle to recover from this. If this kept up they wouldn't need silver to keep him contained. "Weird taste. Not a terrible taste but unique.." one of the vampires quipped as they wiped their mouth clean with a cloth.

After several excruciatingly long seconds the vampires finally fell away and his head rolled side to side. Then..bodies flying backwards. He snapped his head up to see that the other man had a few surprises of his own up his sleeve. Good. There may yet be hope for the two of them if it turned out they could trust each other. Like his own outburst, the fallout was short lived as again those odd shadowed chains erupted to bind them both as the countess collected herself and left. Dylan struggled against the guard escorting him but with how much blood that had been taken it wasn't much of one. "You'll both be paying for that. Oh this will be fun," the guard cackled as he pushed them both back into their cells and slammed the doors shut.

Once he was away, Dylan moved to the wall of bars between their cells and studied the form of the other for a moment before he extended his hand and arm through the bars. "Dylan," he said as a short introduction. "I take you're not exactly human either. How're you holding up over there?"
 
Simion shook his head as the guard spoke vehemently and laughed, grunting and crumpling weakly onto the floor as the guard threw him there. Wincing at the slamming sound of the door, his head was throbbing viciously, and he probably wouldn't be getting out of here anytime soon he thought to himself. Laughing weakly and quietly as the man in the cell next to his extended his arm, he said, "Sorry, Dylan. I'm not exactly in very good shape right now." Indicating that he couldn't shake the man's hand, let alone even get up as he stayed on the cold floor, unable to move much at all. "I think if they'd have taken much more, I'd be dead..." Sighing heavily, he continued, "I'm am human, though the demon that lives within my soul would say different." Rolling over onto his back, he stretched out his legs and tried to relax his body, rolling his head to the side and looking up at Dylan through the darkness. "I can control him, but I can't get rid of him..."

A guard came walking down the hallway lightly, carrying two small trays of bread and meat, though there wasn't very much there at all. Sliding one tray into each cell, he walked away after saying abruptly, "Eat." Simion didn't even care that there was food there, as he couldn't really move right now and felt like he might fall asleep if he kept laying there long enough. Sleep sounded good and he felt exhausted, quite literally drained. Still looking up at Dylan, his curiosity got the better of him, "So what kind of power is that?" When he'd heard the guard scream, he didn't get a chance to see what had actually happened, though he knew for this man to have hurt one of these fairly powerful creatures it had to be something dangerous. "I looked up and all I saw was the vampire covering his face."

Simion began to shove himself backwards along the floor, leaning to the side so he could use his weakened arms to do so. Edging toward the hay-covered pallet and leaning against it for a few moments, his breathing heavy and labored. After attempting to catch his breath, he planted his hands on the bed, lifting himself up onto it slowly then collapsing down onto his side. "This is more comfortable than the floor at least." He mumbled, not even sure if Dylan had heard what he said. "But alas, my eyes are so tired..." His vision went out of focus completely and he lost consciousness in the middle of his sentence.
 
Dylan watched on as the man stayed sprawled out on the floor with the gears in his mind turning. He shook his head even though he wagered that the other couldn't see it and he sat down cross legged by the bars. "No, they won't kill us. Not now anyway. If anything, they'll go out of their way to keep us alive. Better to keep us alive and in here to feed off of than risk either one of us being able to regenerate. Until just now, I think they assumed we were regular humans," he explained once Simion had given his own explanation and he tapped his finger against his chin in thought. "Demon hm? Have you tried an exorcism? I mean, I wouldn't say no to having that kind of ace up my sleeve but guess having a demon could be problematic."

Once the guard had delivered their trays Dylan's stomach grumbled loudly, betraying his resolve to not eat at all. He had been hellbent on simply starving himself into a comatose state but with Simion's arrival, perhaps there was another way. Besides, after using up his remaining energy for that small cosmetic shift, he was ravenous and needed fuel for his body. Begrudgingly he moved forward and grabbed the tray before scooting back towards the bars and ripped a hunk of bread off, chewing slowly. He swallowed and wiped his mouth before he spoke again. "I'm a shapeshifter," he said shortly with a wicked smile crossing his lips. "He wanted to take a bite out of me, I just took a bite back courtesy of a spike to the mouth. I can change my form entirely or just change parts of my body," he went on to explain before eating the dried out meat.

While he ate he heard that Simion had drifted off to sleep, not sure if the other had heard his explanation before passing out. If only he could sleep but as it was, sleep was not a necessity for him. Nonetheless, since he had nothing better to do with his time he finished the tawdry meal and closed his eyes, back against the wall. He hadn't stayed that way for long before he was up and pacing his cell. What felt like hours had passed before the guard returned, smacking against the bars to fill the cells with racket.

"Get up! On your feet! Bout time you two start putting in work for the countess' generosity," he barked at them, opening the two doors and pulled both men, ushering them quite roughly down the opposite hallway. A very long hallway with turns and a few short stairs before at long last they were led to a large courtyard. Or a garden? Stepping out into the bright sunlight after being underground for so long, Dylan recoiled and lifted his arm to shield his eyes. It was a short reprieve as the guards chained his arm to Simion's, and then shoved gardening tools into t heir hands. "Garden duty. Get yourselves a bit of sun so you taste better," the guard explained before stepping back into the safety of the shadows, his posture poised to go into motion should either of them try anything.
 
Simion lifted the arm that was now chained to Dylan's, sighing heavily and dropping his arm as the guard shoved tools into his other hand. His bemused tone spoke to the energy he didn't have for this, "Great, more chains..." Stepping up toward the fertile bed in front of them, he dropped to his knees with a huff, dropping most of the tools to the ground and opting to use the clippers to prune the deal foliage that he could see on the ornamental plants. "So you're a shapeshifter, huh?" He continued pruning the plants slowly, not sure if he had enough energy to move any faster than this. "I've never met one before. I've heard some pretty crazy stories though." His stomach grumbled up at him. Great, he thought, he'd forgotten to eat that food in the cell and who knows when they were going to get fed again.

"My name's Simion, by the way. I was going to introduce myself, but I passed out." He nodded toward Dylan as he spoke his own name, then turned back to the plant he was trimming, realizing there were no more dead parts to trim. Shuffling sideways on his knees, he began to trim the plant next to it, a little closer now to Dylan though he didn't think of it. As he clipped away the dead foliage, he caught sight of the guard walking up to them out of the corner of his eye. "Make sure you do a good job, or I'll have to punish you later." The guard sneered at them and turned around, walking back to his previous spot.

After the guard had walked away, Simion stopped, collapsing his legs further and resting his hands upon his knees as he closed his eyes and breathed slowly. "I sure hope that food is still there." He mumbled quietly, forcing himself to sit back up a bit and open his eyes to continue working before the guard decided to punish him for some reason. He was exhausted but he didn't want to make this any harder than it needed to be.

After about an hour of working in the garden, the guard approached again, this time getting much closer and pulling on the chain that connected the two men. "That's enough sun for today, back to your cells you go." The guard began to walk them back toward the castle, the sun starting to set on the horizon as the vampiress from before entered the garden from another door. Stopping the guard with a wave of her hand, she spoke loftily, "This one is coming with me." She pointed to Simion, at which point the guard unlocked the shackles that bound the men together, shoving Simion's back toward the countess and saying, "Back to your cell." He was speaking to Dylan, and Simion turned and watched as the guard guided the other man into the other door of the castle, a grim expression on his face as he turned back toward the countess. She grabbed him by the arm, her hand cold as ice, though he kind of enjoyed that cold as he was sweating in this heat. He followed obeisantly, down the long hall and up a series of stairs that coiled around through the stone recesses of the castle and up to he presumed was the top floor. The furnishings and decorations in place her seemed much more like a home and less like a prison. She guided him to a small chamber with an actual bed in it, stopping at the door and shoving him toward the bed. "I will be keeping you here from now on, and if the other one tastes as good as you do, maybe I'll take him for myself as well." Great, now he was pet meal to this hollow creature. "Can I eat something? I haven't had anything to eat..." He asked meekly, sitting at the edge of the cushy bed and sighing as she left the chamber without another word.
 
Dylan had never really been one for garden work but after being down in that dank, damp cell for so long, he was grateful for the busy work. Even if it was dirty and sweaty, at least there was sunshine and the ability to move around. Or at least moving around a bit, it was hard to really spread out with the two men being chained together by the arms. "Oh yeah? Not all good I hope," he jested with a smirk as he and Simion talked, and when the guard had shouted the veiled threat, the shapeshifter had been quick to retort he was being threatened with a good time. That seemed to keep the guard silent for awhile. At least until it was time to go back inside, and Dylan was apprehensive about going back underground. He had been keeping a watchful eye for any little something he could've used to pick the lock of the manacles.

He was prepared to offer Simion part of his rations for that evening but then the countess appeared, and watching with a frown, she had whisked Simion away. A heavy knot formed in the pit of his stomach and Dylan feared the worst for the man. Hopefully she didn't kill him but he couldn't really imagine a vampire taking a meal away to kill. From what he knew of vampires and had observed, they weren't shy about their kills or sucking a being dry on the spot. All he could do was hope to the fates that Simion was not going on his death march with the countess.

Back in his own cell, he was surprised to find a bucket of lightly steaming water and a cloth had been placed inside. He was so transfixed on the sight he didn't even hear the door close behind him. Violet eyes scanned around the small cell for a hidden trap. An ambush. Something. He crept up to the bucket and prod at it lightly with his toes. Nothing. Just a bucket of water. Stripping off the spoiled robe he picked up the clothe and wet it, starting to scrub himself clean of the garden dirt. He had just about finished when a distant door opened and not one but two sets of feet set down the hall. More importantly the aroma of cooked food wafted down the passageway to his nostrils. Food. Real, cooked, food that had his mouth salivating when the pair of vampires stopped in front of his cell, small smug grins on their lips as they stared in at him. His appetite almost soured immediately. Almost. "Should I do a little dance or something?" he quipped with a sniff at the leering pair.

It was the two male vampires from the feeding the previous day, the two that had fed from him and one of them handed the food laden tray to the guard to have it put into his cell while the taller one spoke, picking at some invisible dirt beneath his nails. "Do you know what happened when I arose this evening?" he asked quietly. Dylan shrugged. "The world collectively said 'ah fuck that bastard is still alive?' " he said with a note of hope to the verbal jab. The vampire royal dismissed the statement. "The sun was still shining. Those accursed rays bathed me in their light and yet..." he paused, holding up his hands to show them burn free. "Nothing. No burn. Not for quite sometime. Your blood...I believe it may have a uniqueness to it that makes up for its taste," the vampire spoke, grinning in a way that bared his fangs. "You should eat," he said quietly, motioning to the tray with his hand. "You'll need your strength for the days to come. Or more, we need you to have your strength," he commented, his grin widening to a predatory one. They were so transfixed on the shapeshifter in the cell that they didn't notice the guard slinking off to tell the countess about what he had just overheard.
 
Simion had crawled up into the bed, his stomach aching still from hunger, trying to push the feeling and thought of it away as he closed his eyes and sought to sleep again. Just as he had finally started to drift off, a guard came into the bedchamber and left some things on the table on the small table on the opposite wall. He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, finding a bucket of water and towels and what looked to be a full meal on a plate. His mouth watered as he could smell the steaming food and he immediately sat up, scooting off of the bed and walking over, unceremoniously devouring the food as he stood there. Having finished the meal in only a few minutes, he looked over at the bucket which was apparently filled with hot water, noticing there was also a cloth to wash himself with this time. He stepped over and moved the bucket to the floor, stripping off his blood-soaked and sweat-drenched clothing and dropping it to the floor, not paying mind to who might see him as there was no door to the chamber anyway.

He soaked the cloth in the hot water, turning his back to the open doorway as he began to scrub himself, pressing lightly as he washed over the wounds on his neck though they still burned as the cloth brushed over them. Wincing slightly, he returned the cloth to the bucket, wringing out the blood and dirt and continuing to wash the rest of his body. As he continued to scrub he heard footsteps approaching, turning only his head to see the countess standing there, smiling lewdly. "Well, once you've finished with that you'll come with me." She batted her eyes as he turned fully around, not caring that he was completely naked as this woman treated him like a toy anyway. "And where are you taking me this time, another mass feeding?" She laughed at his question as he dropped the dirty cloth into the bucket, not having any clothes to replace what he was wearing, he looked around to see if he had missed something then back to the vampiress whose cold stare stayed locked on his naked body. "And will I be naked the whole time?" She smiled more broadly this time, baring her fangs and saying, "No. I'll have someone bring you some clothes." She still smiled as she turned and walked away, another guard bringing a pair of pants and a shirt into the chamber shortly thereafter and telling him to get dressed. "The countess requires your presence in her chambers." Nodding quietly, he dressed and walked beside the guard who held onto his arm.

Entering another much larger bedchamber with a knock to the door from the guard, Simion looked around to find her in the corner, pouring something into a glass and bringing the glass to him. "Here." She smiled and offered him the glass, which he took with little hesitation. He hadn't had anything to drink in what seemed like days, though he knew not what she had just poured him, so he asked before drinking the clear liquid. "It's just water, I'm not going to poison my brand new pet." She smiled then waved away the guard with her hand, who walked off and out of sight, leaving the chamber door open and heading toward the cells in the dungeon of the castle. Simion sipped the water cautiously, trying to make sure this wasn't a trick and it wasn't poisoned or wasn't alcohol. Finding it to be water just like she'd said, he drained the glass down, gasping for air as he finished. She took the glass and set it behind her on the table, not taking her eyes from him as she approached and took hold of his throat in her icy grasp. "So it turns out our other guest does have a promising future here." She smiled slightly before squeezing down on his throat a little, causing him to cough as she had choked him slightly. "What do you want from me?" The guard from earlier returned with someone else in tow, but Simion was slightly busy getting choked up by this vampiress so he couldn't see who was standing there. He grabbed onto her wrist, looking into her eyes as she slowly loosened her grip, "Ah, my other guest." She took hold of Simion's shirt, shoving him toward the enormous bed and telling him to sit as she walked toward the door.
 
Dylan had barely listened to the two bloodsuckers as he gorged himself on the fresh food. If he could've shifted forms, he probably would've turned himself into a larger beast like a wolf or tiger in order to devour it faster. At least in those forms, eating quickly didn't make him choke or give him a stomache. Or the hiccups, as he was likely to experience now with how fast he was eating. So his blood had given the vampires some immunity to the sunlight, as he feared would happen. There were three ways Dylan learned forms to shift into- first, he had to have a thorough understanding of the creature or person in order to fully mimic it. Second, he just had to observe something or someone long enough, though that method meant the shift was purely cosmetic and he could not use any of its innate abilities. The third option was taking their genetic material into his own body, making it fuse with his very being. And unfortunately, that was his preferred method which meant he had given the vampires a sort of temporary immunity to the sun. It would wear off eventually so long as they didn't continuously feed from him, but he didn't see that happening. The two vampires appeared deadset on claiming him as their personal meal ticket.

The guard returned and opened the cell, grabbing Dylan by the elbow even with his cheeks still puffed out as he chewed. "Lets go. The countess wants to see you," the guard growled and the other two vampires frowned. "The countess can wait," started the first vampire but the guard cut him off. "Do you want to pass that message along yourselves?" the guards asked but then shrugged. "She wants to see the two of you as well anyway." With that, the foursome left the cells, going down the hall and through the winding stairs to the countess' chambers. The guard shoved Dylan inside and he stumbled, but once he caught his footing he looked up. To the countess and then...Simion? His brows lifted in surprise and without waiting for instruction, or not caring for any, he moved in to sit beside Simion on the bed.

"What is the meaning of this?" the vampire male said. "Oh nothing, dearie," the countess said with a sweet smile before she took ahold of his hand and led him further into the room. She stopped by the window and stepped back, pulling the curtains open as she did. The last rays of daylight filtered in, settling on the male vampire and to her surprise...what the guard said was true. There was no burning to be seen. Her brother was fine! "This is interesting," she purred, but her brother cut her off. "No, sister, you have already claimed one. You're not taking him too!" he half shouted, pointing to the two men on the bed, leading to a heated argument between the two. "I'll see how long this effect lasts..and then..maybe I'll share the gift with the two of you," the vampiress said at last.
 
Looking up from the floor as someone approached, he saw Dylan looking down at him and smiled a little as he sat beside him on the bed. "Apparently she wants us all for herself..." Gesturing toward the countess with his eyes, he followed her and her brother to the window with his gaze, his lips parting slightly in shock as she opened the curtains. Closing his mouth abruptly as they stood there unharmed, he listened to them speak, his eyes widening as he looked back over at Dylan. "You gave them the ability to go in the sun unharmed?"

The vampiress sent the guard away, taking the other two into the hall and admonishing them heatedly before sending them away as well. Returning to the room, she set her sights on the two men sitting on the bed, closing the door behind her and walking up to Simion as she said, "Now, where were we my pet?" Reaching her clawed hand down she grasped his throat again, apparently wanting to see the life fade from his eyes or something close to it as she tightened her grip. His voice faint as he could barely breath, he coughed a little and grasped her wrist with one hand, "I thought you wanted blood, not to choke me to death..." She smiled at his comment, letting him breath again as she released his throat and turned her attention to Dylan. "So you have some special blood, I see."
 
Dylan frowned as he watched the display. Ah, if only he had run across some creature who was harmful to vampires..that would've been a handy form to have in his repetoire right then. Hearing Simion he turned his head with a frown as he looked to him. "Not on purpose. It's...complicated to explain," he said simply as he watched the brothers arguing with the countess. "You can't keep them all to yourself!" the eldest hissed at her. "Think of what this could do for our coven! We all need this, family need is greater than your fancies!" he had bellowed before she had taken them both outside. When she returned, she had been alone though the two vampire males had stayed outside the door to listen.

Dylan had made a movement to try and put himself between Simion and the vampiress but, seeing as he was little more than a human like this, he was easily moved aside and he grit his teeth, smacking at her hand as it gripped onto the other man's throat. Not that it did much good, she only laughed cruelly at him once she let Simion go. He muttered out the side of his mouth to his fellow captive. "Choke..feed..same thing to these creatures," he said bitterly. As she addressed him, he stiffened and sat upright. "For now. Who knows...maybe I'll have an accident and bleed out. What a pity that would be," he said daringly and she smirked wider showing her fangs. "I don't think so. There are always..precautions..we could take to make sure that doesn't happen," she said as she grabbed his arm and slit a cut over his wrist before she brought it to her lips to drink from. Wincing with a growl of displeasure, Dylan tried to move his arm away as he could feel her feeding. After a few gulps she pulled away and cleaned her lips. "It's...different. Not nearly as delicious as the other, but it will do."
 
Having had some of the 'special' blood now, the countess returned her attention to Simion, taking his hand not so lightly as she had Dylan's and biting down with her fangs. She groaned her pleasure at the taste as she began sucking, both hands gripping his forearm and holding it to her mouth. Pulling away slowly, she wiped her mouth clean and dropped his wrist, Simion grunting his discomfort and pain and saying, "Can I at least get some sleep now?!" He held his wrist in his other hand, holding the pressure there to stop the bleeding. Staring at the floor, he turned back to Dylan and looked into his eyes, disgust for the situation painted across his features as he turned his gaze back to the floor.

"Yes, yes...you can use my bed. Get some sleep, darling, you're going to need it." Sighing heavily as she spoke, he pushed himself up toward the head of the bed, blood still squirting lightly from his wrist as he did so. He sat up once he was further up the bed, removing his shirt and tearing a bit of cloth from it which he wrapped around his wrist and held with his other hand as he laid his head down and closed his eyes. "Dylan...you should get some sleep, friend. Who knows what they'll try on us next." Turning toward the outer window and laying at the outer edge of the bed, Simion slowly started to drift off to sleep.
 
"Mm. Yes, pet two, you should listen to the sweet boy," the countess said as she moved out of the room, giving the two one last glance and cruel smile as she shut the door. "Good nighht," she said in a sing songing voice as she disappeared. Dylan shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had when he felt stressed and/or backed into a corner. "We're right fucked if we don't find a way out of here," he said to Simion who was already up the bed. "Here, let me," he said as he moved up as the other man laid down. Tearing a new strip of cloth he pulled away the bloodied strip and tossed it to the floor, carefully wrapping the new piece around the bite mark so that enough pressure would staunch the blood but not cause too much discomfort to the rest of his arm.

With that he sat cross legged on the bed with his eyes closed, meditating as the other slept. Eventually, a guard came through to let him know he too would be staying in a proper room from then on, a room righth next to Simion's. One prison for another, he couldn't really find it in him to find joy in that. Unsure of how much time had passed, eventually the countess returned, and cut both of their arms to drain blood into two cups. After that, she shook Simion awake harshly. "Wake up. Food is served in your rooms, you'll find the two rooms joined by a door. This.." she motioned to the filled cups, "Will hold me for a day or so. I can't have the two of you just fainting right away..so, you will have a day and a half to enjoy bite free. Work only," she said before she shooed the two out of her chambers. "Now off with you. A guard will assign you your stations in the afternoon," she said. Dylan was able to steal a glance out the window. It was pitch black out, so, well into the night, but if the countess was resuming her chambers than perhaps dawn wasn't too far off. "Well isn't that gracious," he said quietly with a roll of his eyes, heading ot the plush small room that would be his new cell before he flopped down face first onto the bed.
 
Simion was barely awake as the vampiress slit open his wrist and drained him once again, barely hearing what she was droning on about, but the part about his own room did catch his ear. After she bade them leave the room, he looked over to find Dylan walking briskly out of the room, following at a much lazier pace and moments later finding the room he was in before. Standing beside the bed, he tore the bandage away that Dylan had affixed to him, tearing another strip of cloth from his shirt and dropping the shirt to the floor as he wrapped it about his wrist that had begun bleeding again thanks to the countess.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he found himself lost in thought, remembering just then what Dylan had said about them needing to find a way out of this horrible place. "Yeah...", he mumbled to himself, "...I don't know how that's going to work out for us." Shaking his head, he didn't bother getting up into the bed properly, simply collapsing onto his back from where he sat and closing his eyes once again. Sleep seemed to be the only enjoyable thing about this place. As he lay there, he began to dream as he'd fallen to sleep quite quickly, hearing that oh-so-familiar voice speaking to him from the darkest reaches of his soul. "You and I will get out of here, but you need to let me take full control of your body. Is this acceptable?" This isn't a dream, he thought to himself, or at least not a normal dream if he was having a conversation with the demon. "I can't let you do that. You'll never give me control back if I let you have it." A raspy evil laugh echoed through his mind, the demon attempting to reassure him that that wasn't the case, "Listen, Simion. I will let you have control of your body back, but I will NOT be twice imprisoned!!! GIVE me control and I vow to get us out of here, and once we're out you can have control as promised." He sighed aloud, though he was still asleep, replying to the demon within his mind, "Fine. My body is yours to control, for now..."

Taking full control, the demon snapped his full black eyes open, raising off of the bed unnaturally with from the back as if the bed were pushing him off of itself. He took one of his manacles in his hand and crushed it, then crushed the other and left the pieces at the edge of the bed. Grinning broadly, he stomped off toward Dylan's room, glancing about the hallway to make sure no one was watching then walking in and growling loudly at him, "Come now, shapeshifter, we must get out of here at once." As he finished speaking, he grabbed hold of the silver manacles binding the man and shattered them in his bare hands, letting the pieces fall to the floor.
 
A noise and a voice made Dylan pry his eyes open and he hoisted himself up off the bed to look. It was Simion, only...it wasn't Simion? Immediately from the eyes he saw that the demon was in control. The man could sniff out other supernatural beings from a mile away. The sight of the man being controlled by the demon put him on edge, not knowing what to expect or if he could trust this side of his fellow captive. He had seen what the demon could do when let out a bit but he wasn't very optimistic they'd be able to get out of there with just one of them in play.

"That'd be great but you can't take on all of th-" he started, the words dying in his throat as the man broke the manacles on his wrists as easily as one could shatter glass. A wide grin spread over his lips as he flexed his hands open and closed, feeling his energy soaring again to fill his body. It was a good thing he had eaten twice and meditated, it had given him just enough to recover with so that he could be some use. "What's the plan?" he started to ask until an idea hit him. The rooms had windows. Windows. Windows meant outside and he grabbed ahold of Simion's arm. "Just trust me on this, and be prepared to jump," he said shortly going to the window. Already his form was starting to change as skin gave way to scales and the sounds of cracking bones and joints rearranging themselves sounded loudly in the small room. Dylan threw the window open and yanked the demon Simion to him, positioning it so that the man's chest was against his back.

"Hold on," he ordered and he jumped out the window even as he continued to change his shape. He had already grown bigger and his limbs reformed to be the front and hind legs of a dragon the size of a draft horse. The pair plummeted down towards the ground and only when they were several feet above the ground was the transformation complete. Two leathery bat like wings unfurled and tilt to carve the air around him, Dylan pulling up from the free fall just in time to miss the ground. His belly glanced across the stone but the scales protected him. What he wanted to do was blast the castle in a fiery show of flame but...he could only use a breath attack once, and he thought it best to hold off in case they really needed it. At the sound of the breaking window and shout from the servants outside, the guards had rushed inside the room only to find it empty and the sight of the dragon flying away from the castle with Simion on its back.
 
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