The Push of Fate [Open]

[Joachim Armster]

Wedsday, December 4th, 1994 ; Beneath the City of Wallachia, Eastern Europe

A jutting limestone cliff jutted boldly into the inky black sky above, it's smooth white stone dirtied by the sewage cascading down it's face as a waterfall. At the height of the cliff was a water treatment plant, dumping forth the 'treated' water back into the environment from massive ridged black tubes that hung just barely over the rock. It was a great journey down, through small shrubs and trees lodged in the jagged, uneven rocks, to the great pool below that slid forth into a violent river cutting through more rocks and the outskirts of the city, before curving beyond sight into the night-clad trees of the forest.

Deep below, beneath the waterfall, there was a cavernous entrance... the gaping maw of a cave, lined and teethed with stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, and several broken columns of the same formations at the base of the cave as well. A torrent of bats flew outwards, clinging to the walls and snatching small water-borne bugs with their mouths, preying on gnats and mosquitoes as well as any small enough creature unfortunate enough to fit in their hungry stomachs. From the blackness of the cave stepped forth a woman; she was tall, with a very broad, skinny frame. Her attractive hips pushed outwards, forming the cusp of her womanly figure, and the shape of her upper legs and rear promised pleasure with their sensual fertility. Her legs were very long and slim despite the seductive boldness of her form, as she was very light, leading into somewhat large but soft, feminine feet with slender, unpainted toes. Her eyes, deep black-brown with a smoldering, reflective stare, were round and bright, and atop them were perfectly trimmed eyebrows of only moderate thickness. Long, somewhat unkempt and wild long dark brown hair of rich color flowed back and past her shoulders, hiding her modestly sized but flawlessly formed C-Cup breasts just enough to conceal the nipples. They were perky and round, and a long white arm slowly wrapped around them from behind her, clutching the left breast with a slow squeeze of it's pale hand. The woman herself was lightly tanned, and shaking, rather frightened; all across her body, she was very womanly and well defined, slender but busty. Joachim pushed forward from behind her, his body nudging against her smooth, but strong back, and thrusting dryly against her pert rear. He whispered softly into her ear, brushing the hair softly from her beautiful face. Her thick, expressive lips parted, and she seemed slightly frightened.

His nimble, lengthy fingers caressed her cheek from behind, and longingly passed over her inviting lips. Despite her healthy, alluring form, this was actually a middle aged woman of forty-two years; Joachim had a taste for aged, ripened beauty such as this. A dark-haired woman in her last few years of fertility.... except, that this woman lacked the fertility her body had promised him. "I would have kept you." He said, in such a sultry, lusty tone. The woman shook with her tingling nerves as his voice made her shudder. "Forget me, and never return; you cannot give me children." Joachim spoke broodingly, slowly drawing back, before opening his mouth to expose three pairs of sharp fangs; four of the deadly teeth were upon his upper mouth, long and slimmer like curved daggers, with the first pair longer and thinner than the next, and the fangs upon his bottom jaw were the shortest, but also the fattest. He bit her neck voraciously, as his dull grey lips spread and revealed his hungry maw. His face twisted, becoming monstrous and unsettling, but the woman herself never saw it... the blood seeped from her steadily, devoured by her unearthly lover.

He drew back before long, sparing the woman's life; rather, it had been to get a final taste of her, not to kill her. He'd missed her jugular. But she had difficulty standing as he released her, from blood loss. The side of her neck was slathered in blood. Gently, he took one side of her hips in his hand, and the other went to her shoulder. He pushed her off into the pool of water below. She fell silently, passing out in the fall, before hitting the water with a loud splash. Joachim watched her body flow steadily into the mouth of the river, before flowing down and beyond it, out of sight and out of mind. The way in which he'd simply thrown her away must've seemed merciless and cruel, but the reality was that this woman lacked the ability to bear children; Joachim saw her as useless, however fun or pleasant she might have been. Still, he had enjoyed her, he thought. Which was why he allowed her to have a chance at surviving... somewhat.

He wiped the blood from his mouth with a wicked grin. His royal blue-purple coat was open, exposing his rippling stomach and defined pectorals, the fabric now loose when no longer bound. He wore a belt of loose, fancy chains, with a stray link of the garment hanging off with a charm connected to it. His white pants clung baggily to his legs, almost like arabian slacks, tucked into a pair of black leather and sterling silver trimmed boots that reached as far as just below his knees. He brushed some of the long, wet hair from his face, licking the blood off his handsome lips with a dull-colored tongue. The flesh of it seemed unnatural, and although unsettling, there was an uncanny beauty to the man. He was tall, strong, gorgeous... those chilling, cool grey eyes stared at the remnants of the woman's blood in the pool from which the waterfall above spilled into. He was not smiling, but it looked as if he were grinning, lapping the blood off his own teeth as he did. Half-shrouded in darkness, his right hand clutched a familiar object, a longsword with a bat-like hilt and a long gleaming blade that betrayed the darkness which clung to it....

[Ravilin Asura]

The soft hush would hang in the thick air for a moment, a petite woman slipped between the trees. Her body was shapely, curves in the right places. The only thing that seemed to be alarming about her was the unnatural colour of her hair and eyes. The hair was a haze of crimson, falling around her shoulders freely, brushing against her hips. The eyes were the same striking shock of crimson. Slowly she trailing between the trees, her fingers playing across the rough bark. Amusement showed in the eyes. It was clear to the woman what this man was. Hadn't the shinigami tried their best to wipe out the bounto? Yet here one was thriving in its own pit of madness. Watching the body of the woman dip into the waters, Nisha shook her head. Did the man believe that'd hide the body? Even then placing her in cold water after feeding off of the supple form was more than enough to steal the essence of the woman. She'd die. Not that Nisha cared too much, she'd collect the corpse later to see how the bounto fed on her. Continuing on the simple weave between the tress the arrancar stopped across the river from the white haired man. The crimson orbs her focused on the rise and fall of his chest. The swell of her hips was more than enough to show she could carry a child. Slowly her fingers moved through the crimson locks, the right eye hidden from view while she paced along the damp river bank.

"Bounto, why should you throw away food like that? I don't understand why you would do such a thing." Nisha spoke with a curious glance. Today she had decided to wear a white gown that pushed her breasts out, the corset piece of it slimming her wait into beautiful skirts. Now and then she liked to go through her clothing of different time periods. At 720 some years, Nisha enjoyed at least being able to dress up so that she could draw those around her in like a snake. The cloth was a pale ivory white making her look pale as if she were marble rather than a living creature. The skirts of the dress were easy enough to tear away if it came down to such a thing. Why he was confusing the woman with throwing the other one away into the torrents of water. Throwing a glance into the water a slow mewl like noise escaped her. Nisha looked more like a goddess than a living person. Not that she saw herself as something with a gender. In her eyes she held no gender thus did not suffer from the temptations of mere mortals. "It seems like a waste. Especially considering the body temperature lowers after being fed on and the water is freezing. She'll be dead long before anyone finds her, you are aware of this, correct?" Nisha was perplexed blinking at the bounto from her side of the river bank.

[Joachim Armster]

Joachim extended a hand forth, clawing at the pale moonlight; it's gleam was the life of night, the faintest reminder to all mortals of why the dark was to be feared... for without even that soft, dim light, the blackness would surely swallow all things into the obscured blanket of ethereal blindness. He imagined if he could clutch that luminous sphere of rock in his hand, his arm rising and bending at the elbow to better reach for it, his long sharp white nails extended outwards... silver rings adorned his nimble, lengthy fingers, which were all too adept to the familiar hilt of a sword. It felt strange to him to reach for anything else, and he seemed to stare at his digits ponderously for several minutes, deep in thought. What if he could seize that moon in his ambitious grasp? The thought actually frightened him. The moon to him was more than a piece of rock. It was somehow supernatural, with a frightful and unknown significance known only to the nightmares that walked the dimmest corners of the hidden mind. But, a desirous voice rippled into the air, and broke Joachim from his chain of thought.

He gazed upon her curiously. A vampire hunter? Or a vampiress herself? She too seemed unearthly in her form, beautiful beyond what mortality could achieve, and so richly promising in every curve of her body; a generous bosom spilled boldly forth from her chest, but most of all, Joachim's attention was drawn to those scarlet lips. Neither the eyes, nor her vivid crimson locks, but just her lips. They made him smile, if only subtly so. "I believe in miracles." Joachim replied, in response to the mysterious woman's death sentence over Joachim's used up victim. A haunting purple light gleamed around him like an outline, spreading across his body with the gentle encroachment of fire, radiating with a phantom luminescence like an aura of malevolent ectoplasm. He rose as if to defy all gravity then, hovering weightlessly in the air, as he laid on his side as if there were some bench or cushion beneath him. Those chilling white eyes of his bore only the smallest, slitted pupils, which now fixated upon the strange woman. He smirked wider, yet showed no teeth, not just yet...

He floated abstractly, sometimes in one direction, other times another... the motion seemed very natural, yet very slow, like a leaf moving in the wind on slow motion. All the while, his hair rose and moved about as if to be seized by a phantom, the strands rising and trembling silently in a plethora of directions. He seemed pleased with her, yet also... "Perhaps a school of fish, some pack of wild salmon, will take pity upon her and push her onto shore... from which, a grizzly bear might mistake her for some long lost relative in it's common confusion, and bring her to it's cave to nurse her back to life, and she will live happily ever after with her furred companion." he spoke, spinning a wild tale. The purpose eluded recognition; it was unnecessary to bother with frivolous situations of theory, unless he were but mocking her. "And perhaps, just maybe, you might by some great mercy of fate leave this place alive and intact, much like her. That is, if you believe in miracles?" He cleverly threatened, his silver tongue lulling forth a voice of a great and enjoyable charisma to her, a deep and entrancing tone, yet one that frightened as much as it pleased... he seemed very much to be a man, and yet, he was monster. Something so beautiful and so horrid, living in impossible luxury, just beneath a rotten sewer. His limbs unfolded, straightening as he stood upon nothing high above the pool, steadily drifting towards her...

[Ravilin Asura]

Nisha's crimson orbs stared at him with little emotion to them. It wasn't her issue if he wanted her dead, the woman merely wanted to know why. What was the reasoning? How did his mind decide on such a thing? Miracles? "And so do Christians, that does not stop them from being hypocrites though." The slightest cock of the neck made the crimson locks spill about her head. The small remained on her slightly glossed lips, amusement tugging at the corners of them. How in the world was he levitating like that? Nisha wasn't aware of a power that allowed such a thing. There was the faint urge of taking him apart to see what allowed him such powers. The white eyes were another curious thing though the woman was more than aware not to challenge someone about the colour of his eyes. In most cases it was normal for them to be strange colours when one was super natural such as they both were. The woman wasn't a fool to let the bounto too close to her. The soft hush of the river seemed to be the only thing making a noise. Nisha didn't really need to breath but did it more out of habit than anything else. He had a handsome face, though it looked like an old noble. The thought made her a bit weary. It was the nobles that had cast her aside claiming she was a monster. Blinking slowly the arrancar took a step away from the rivers edge. The skirts swirled around her toned legs while she watched the strange floating. It looked like an interesting way of travel if she knew one at all. The crunch of the rocs under her feet made the woman aware that if it came to a show down between them then there'd be force used. After all she wasn't one to let people harm her without earning something for it. If she gained something from the situation then that'd be something else.

The white hair floated in a strange manner, attracting her attention while he spoke. Did he honestly believe that animals would take pity on the woman? How strange. "What reality do you live in, Bounto? A bear is more likely to eat her than take her in as its own. The hope for such a thing is a bit childish. Do you believe in fairy tales too?" Nisha inquired, arching one of the delicate brows. The reality that the bounto had been mocking her was rather large. Slowly she curled her fingers in against her palm wondering why she allowed him to get any closer to her. There wasn't a sign of fear to the woman, after all why would she fear such a fascinating creature? Then it decided to threaten her. Well that was a shame. "You did not veil that threat well enough, Bounto. Those who have any trace of a brain would know what you're threatening." The rich alto of her voice smoothed over the pair for a moment before once more stepping away from the bounto in a delicate manner. He could float all he liked. The smile remained dancing on the doll like face, innocence and interest showing clearly. This man might've attracted other women to his bed but he would not be doing the same to her. She wanted information on him. Thoughts of various torturing methods crossed her mind for dealing with the bounto. Though she didn't want him to die on her. How much damage could the bounto take? From her knowledge there was only a few of them still around and odds were they wouldn't take kindly to her stabbing them. Did they also bleed red?

"We should be woo'd and were not made to woo." The quote was from one of Shakespeare's work, the woman smiled brilliantly.

[Joachim Armster]

Joachim chuckled softly, hovering closer and closer to the Arrancar... his intention, despite his empty threat, seemed as unpredictable as the night around him, hidden and unseen. To her words, balled fists, and stepping back, he rose a hand in protest. His entire body turned sideways in mid-air, and he now stood upside-down. "Come now, do you really think I'd dare cut a face such as yours?" He spoke then. Shortly after he rotated back around, either playing or showing off. Or perhaps neither; in truth, Joachim was attempting to annoy her only slightly, in the same manner with which a child might poke an unknown animal with a broken stick. The voice was neither friendly nor disarming, and yet, his speech had nullified the bluff. He was especially curious, prodding at her demeanor with such bold advances. He then began to levitate around her, moving in a circular motion, making some effort to hide the gradually shrinking distance between them....

His eyes scanned her curiously. Flowing red locks, a fine white dress, she seemed every bit a noble to him. He recalled the province of Armster far back in his home of Romania. She would have fit right in there, and the thought of it entertained him. It was so odd to find someone with the particular vibe she had about her. Because, however proper or attractive she might seem, there was also an undeniable chill in her stare. He saw the innocence and the interest, and yet, that expression only reminded him of several immortal visages he'd seen in the past, all cold. A coldness which Joachim recognized clearly, for it was the same chilling essence within his own venomous soul. "Hm. Shakespeare. That's a fine reality, yes?" He spoke, recognizing the quote from the original plays centuries past. His levitation slowed as his feet settled upon the ground. He seemed far less engaging now, allowing an appropriate distance of a few feet between he and Nisha, facing her from the front. "Very well... my name is Joachim, of Armster. I'll not deny a face as good as yours, and I am sure you found me by no accident. I'll not ask who sent you, only why; what may I do for you, my lady?" He asked. That was, however, assuming she had came to him with a purpose. Joachim knew nothing of her thoughts or intentions.

[Ravilin Asura]

Nisha new that he held a silver tongue meant to weave more than charm. The crimson orbs focused straight ahead towards the depths of the river. The dark water whirling about in a hypnotic dance of its own. There was something about the woman that most people would consider strange. "It is not a matter of carrying out with the action, just the moral behind the motivation to do such a thing." The woman purred, the voice coming out a soft growl as she intended to ignore his constant moving about. If he was intending on another reaction from her then he was a bit silly in his own rights. Why would such a person try to get attention of sorts from her? Nisha merely blinked slowly. As Joachim floated about her, Nisha merely stared straight ahead with little interest to the bounto. If he wanted to close the space between them then it was in his rights. Not that it made any sense to the beautiful crimson haired woman. The posture the woman held suggested that it was proper up keeping that kept her in well shape. The lips parted slightly to show the white teeth as the bount continued to play his strange games. "You do realize despite your attempts you're drawing closer to me, bounto?" Nisha spoke, never once moving to keep her eyes on him. She held no use to do such a thing when she could easily feel the reiatsu that slipped from his form. The arrancar always pondered how the shinigami let their creations escape without trying to destroy the rest of them. It was a curious thought in the end. Nisha wouldn't let valuable people escape her if she could help it in the end. No - She wanted to cut the bount apart slowly and see if he looked normal in the inside like shinigami did. The crimson eyes held a look of amusement in the end. Perhaps this bount would allow her to kill him in the name of science? It was a tempting thought. After all if it came down to a fight Nisha would be annoyed but able to handle herself against a shinigami created creature.

Joa remined Nisha of her Spanish up bringing. How her father would slap her boldly across the face for not being a proper lady. Nisha had gotten involved with men who did not believe in the holy christ. That was a sin to her family. The feeling of being a disgrace hurt but Nisha was curious of why her mother had reacted in such a manner. In the end her mind had ended twisting its self to find out facts that were better left unknown. Blinking slowly when he ended up asking her why she was there Nisha shook her head. "No one sends me here. I am my own master, Joachim." The words her spoke softly though a look of vicious anger touched them. Did the man believe that a specimen like herself was going to be manipulated by anyone? How stupid was this man? Her head remained lifted boldly while she stepped towards him, her hips swaying, the skirts clinging to her curves with ease. Each stepped showed nothing to them, soon enough she was in front of him. "I came here of my own will when I heard rumors about a vampire. I was curious to see if the human myth held any truth to it. In the end it turned up being you. You're a bount though. So the myth isn't real." Nisha spoke flatly before turning away from the bounto the hair trailing about her before she once more returned to where she was standing. The faint scent of her perfume trailed after where she just stopped from. It smelt of flowers, the fresh scent more than enough to remind anyone of a wild flower. Stopping on the tree line once more the crimson hair doll of a woman paused. "My name is Nisha Eshe." The low voice purred.

[Joachim Armster]

A bount? She'd addressed him with an odd word, as his feet settled into the watery rocks of the rivers edge, no longer held in ascendance by the ghostly motion his phantasmal energy had provided. He looked at her curiously, squinting his eyes. "What is that?" Joachim uttered, half repulsed. He was proud of what he was. If it were a slur or some insult against him for his race, she would certainly pay in blood. "I sincerely hope that was not meant in ill will, for I am no 'Bount' as you so lightly put it. Your legend speaks true. I am Joachim, Lord of Armster, of the very same House Armster. I and all those before me in my bloodline are Vampires. And why is this of consequence to you?" He demanded, obviously displeased.

She was attractive, yes; well dressed, yes; intelligent, yes; but it was all for naught if she was here for nothing. He felt very much like a failed curiosity now. It was what insults did; they irritated him. Perhaps this as a new word for his race which had appeared over the ages? She claimed not to have been sent by anyone, yet, she knew of his kind and of his domain. Which meant others surely knew... for this reason, he did not trust her, and as he clutched his sword his fingers slowly crept nearer to the hilt.

[Nisha Eshe]

What was what? The creature before her almost seemed angry. How... Interesting. The crimson orbs played with a cool look while she tipped her head to the side. "The word bounto is the name shinigami gave their race they created. They feed from people in a parasitic manner. Like a vampire does." The voice lacked emotion, it was no better than a machine dropping information. As he spoke of his house and being a vampire the woman blinked, was he deranged? Perhaps so. "I do not come here with the intentions of upsetting you Joachim Armster. If I have come off in such a manner than my most sincere apologies." The crimson eyes were lacking emotion despite her mind in a whirl of thoughts. Her body language suggested nothing, the crimson lips parted slightly to show the white teeth. Bowing her head to the man she stepped back slightly.

The skirts could easily be ripped off if she needed to do so. There was weapons pressing against her flesh hidden away not that she needed them though. The smile on her face remained warm while he fingers pressed together almost absentmindedly before laughing almost brilliantly. Oh she had her hidden reason for being here but his anger seemed almost intoxicating. The woman was insane, she liked to have some fun with the people who'd squirm around her. When the laughter slowed she wondered if he lived through when women were being burned or drowned as witches. That was a throw back to her days. The crimson eyes flicked from Joachim, she wondered if there was a way to infect other people with the virus that he had. Was it possible or was this going to be a waste of her time?

She caught the movement of his hand towards his sword and then looked to the sky for a moment before looking serious. "Do you damn their souls, Joachim?" The woman asked finally. Her voice held a lack of amusement to it. She had been raised to believe the soul was what allowed people to move onto the next life. What happened if the soul was damned? She was suddenly very interested in the vampire. "If you answer some questions for me I shall answer for you." The smile never once moved from the beautiful face. He had interesting information even if it was just his body that held it. Looking almost tempted to reach out to touch it Nisha clutched her hands tighter before stepping closer to him. Each step closer let her see him in better detail. Pausing now, her chest rose in a gentle manner while she took in a breath. Her mind was focused on the questions she wanted to ask but it truly depended on the man before her. Would he agree to talking to her or would he just instead attack her? Choices...

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