ROLEPLAY HQ - feeding-frenzy

How long has it been since the collapse? The day humanity turned to staying out of sight, avoiding the eyes of the world. The tables had turned, supernatural entities suddenly and drastically swelled in number, outnumbering and overpowering human civilization. From creatures like vampires and werewolves to crytids like wights and wendigos, they all came out to claim the world as their own. Humanity stood no chance, preppers and rural living civilians were the first to go into hiding, underground communities were made out of subway stations within cities, created by those with the will to survive the collapse. I was only four years old when it all went down, I never imagined in my youth that I'd be a scavver living down in the San Francisco Central Subway or just Central SFS as the locals called it now. Simon reminisced on how he got to this point, a twenty-four year man that could have grown up to do great things, now forced to live in the second dark age of the world. He turned his mind outward to the situation at hand, climbing out of the metro tunnels onto the surface above. It was a ninety foot climb from all the way down here, and that wasn't even considering how hard it was just to find a way up there, pathways collapse or get taken over and blocked by supernaturals. But as always this new blood scavver was determined to see another day through to dusk. Simon climbed through several miles of subways and sewers, gas mask on to avoid the noxious fumes of the rotting guts of the city's underground. With one final climb and a strong push, a manhole cover was lifted up, letting this human see the sun with his own eyes for the first time since he was a child. Pacific Heights, once one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in San Francisco attracting old money, politicians, and leaders of industry. Now it was abandoned, no doubt trashed or taken over by supernaturals that had a taste for fine living. A fancy neighborhood wasnt what Simon was here for though,

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he was here to collect supplies and memorabilia of the old world. Tearing off his gas mask, he pulled his shotgun off his shoulder and held it tightly as he began to cautiously stalk the streets. For an apocalypse, it surprisingly peaceful out here. My mother told me that the city was never quiet before the collapse, the rumble of engines filling the streets day in and day out. It's a wonder no one went deaf. Occupied with his thoughts again, Simon didn't even realize where he was stepping until his boot crunched down on the skull of a long dead human. He stood stiff there for several minutes, looking down the street seeing scattered bones everywhere, there were whole skeletons inside of cars that filled the roads, many having rear ended each other, held together only by their seatbelts and the clothes they died in. "Fuck..." He let out in a hushed tone, fear enveloping his being. "I need to get off the street." A good idea, whatever killed these people in the street so quickly could still be arounf to this day. So the young scavver got off the road and ran into one of the open residential homes, heart racing the whole time. He closed the door behind him and locked both the top and bottom locks, it wouldn't do much to deter an actual threat but a supernatural may be less inclined to break into a locked house. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The Eldritch had lived since the first primordial ooze had crawled onto land. A creature that had sprung from the lifeblood of the cosmos and has done so just as she was today. And oh how very bored she was. The city was a hub for all the best and brightest supernaturals there were. All decked out in their own stylings from various time periods where they had either been born or had just taken to over the times. Mira, for her part, preferred the white, slightly sheer, silk dress that clung to her waifish form. She sat on the counter of a bar while million-dollar vampires and decrepit creepers made their dealsing and how very dull she found every one of them to be. A few would chirp up about the human manace and how it was to be dealt with eventually. Which only made her roll her nearly white irised eyes in annoyance. Finally, she spoke up, her voice a monotone of millennia of not caring. "Oh shut up. The humans gave life to the world. The gave us something to do other than their foolish little games," She said in her slow way and waved her hand in the air at the disgruntedly looks she received. "Don't you miss the hunt? The thrill? Catching a couple of these poor bastards and throwing them in the streets to hunt for sport is hardly hunting." She continued and sighed. The air around her was chilly and most in the bar knew better than to test her. "You all bore me, this whole world bores me to no end. I feel nothing but greed and gluttony and I tire of both their tastes," She wafted down slowly toward the floor and her dress seemed to carry her without showing her feet, through the room in a hover. Almost as lazy looking as she felt them all to be. The truth was that when humanity fell and after her kind had taken over, they had just taken up the habits of the mortals on a more extreme and elitist scale. The emotions they gave off repulsed her anymore and she craved variety in her diet to the point that she was nearly starved. She hovered out of the bar

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, pale skin with pale hair wafting around her as she moved and then she heard it... A crunch. She canted her head to the side and expressionless turned toward the sound. She heard something, felt something. And it was new. Fear, the sounds of a heart rushing in beat in a way that so few ever did on the surface anymore. The sound of a door closing somewhere nearby. Slowly she wafted through to the place where the poor little mortal hid. Leaning on the door lightly, she folded her arms and her voice was like a monotone song as she rang it out to him, almost siren like "My dear, you do yourself very little favors by coming up here. And even fewer by hiding." She laughed a hollow laugh. "They'll find you," She looked at her nails as she leaned on the doorway "Your scent is already ripe in the air, and they're all begging for a frenzy. Me? I'm just very, very, very, bored. I won't kill you, they will. So let me in and we can... Talk." She smirked ever so slightly but only just before her red lips turned back into a line and she patiently waited for the human to respond, open the door, or worse case, leave her trying to muse or force him out. Neither of which she wanted to do, but entirely would. @Doc

Simon clutched his chest with his left hand, trying everything he could to try and calm himself down. Breath in, count to ten... breath out, count to ten... Unfortunately none of this mattered as something had already locked onto him, tracking him down and calling out to him through the locked door. That voice, it sounded like a woman, but Simon knew some supernaturals disguised themselves as people or just had a generally humanoid shape. Who or whatever was outside was out to get him, why should he believe anything she says? And though words could not express it, it was easy to sense how intensely fearful this human felt. I need to get out... but no one's ever escaped a supernatural, oh god. His body felt as if it moved on it's own, taking him towards the stairs heading up to the second floor of the residence. Outside, the only response Mira would receive was the sound of gear shuffling around inside, then becoming quiet. But the poor man had no idea he was already locked onto with a mind so panicked and afraid, there was almost certainly no escape. Simon frantically searched for someplace to hide upstairs, finding himself looking around the master bedroom for a spot large enough for him to fit himself and his gear inside. He didn't know how much time he had left, so he ditched his pack on the floor and hid away inside the wardrobe, holding a hand over his mouth to try and muffle the sounds of his breathing. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The waifish femme sighed and rolled her pale eyes, looking at her red and long nails with boredom as he breathed in and out and suddenly she smirked ever so slightly at the feel of terror and panic nearly jolting through the door for her to absorb. It didn't help his case in the slightest. She'd been feeding off of dull supernaturals and the occasional scavenger beyond any help anyway. She was hungry, and he was kicking up her gluttony with the buffet he afforded on the other side of the door. Her eyes followed him through the walls. Poor thing thought he could easily scramble and hide. That she wouldn't somehow know he was there just from the breathing, the emotions that eeked off him in utter shock and fear. Candy to her. But she suspected he might have more then a fuzzywigs in that regard. Smoothly she floated up to the second story. Gravity meant very little to her and she was fully in form at the window now. Gusting up to lightly rap her fingers, one at a time on it, before she spoke "My dear, you are going to lose this game. I'm amused now, but if you fail to continue to do so, I'll have to leave you here, and then you'll die by a Werewolf or Vampire or some other creature with far less manners than I." She laughed that hollow laugh. "I do hope you realize this little shanty is only keeping you safe because I've decided not to come bursting in. I won't hurt you, but I want you. I can be polite about it or I can be rough, which do you prefer?" She asked him clearly. Her image fully swam into view as she was right against the window now and looking around, seeing the discarded bag and places he'd scrambled. She was a white vision. Long hair that tendrilled out around her like she was under water, pale skin that seemed to completely match the silk dress she wore that hid feet that need't touch the ground and never did. Her eyes were a shocking pale grey and seemed to glow ever so slightly. Lips and nails painted the color of blood. She wore no e

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xpression beyond staring and giving her rather monotone and passive comments to him. Finally, she added "Come out little fly, I won't hurt you." She insisted. Monotoned still but slightly more gentle then before. @Doc

Though the doors of the wardrobe were closed, the small crack allowed Simon a view of the window in the bedroom, that hauntingly ghost like visage, what were they? It can fly? How did it know I came up here? Their words did little to calm him, but she made good point, it was either her or some more violent being that came in here. Would it really be that bad to die to a being like this one? They look... gentle. He had to force himself out of the closet, timidly stepping across the room and towards the window, the only thing keeping her from him was the latch holding it down. "Uhh... how do I..." He was unfamiliar with it as there were hardly amy windows down in the metro let alone house windows like this, but after a minute of fumbling around he got it unlocked. He lifted the window up and took a step back, his heart beating the fastest it ever has. His fear may have weakened a little, but the fear of death was still present. Simon's fully form came into view with nothing blocking him and Mira's sight of eachother, his outfit was unlike that of the old world's and more like a soldier's. Heavy padded arms and legs, damaged patched up by duct tape or rough machine stitches, black fingerless gloves that allowed for hand protection and flexibility, a heavy brown plate carrier protected his torso, a thin sheet of metal grafted over the chest for added protection of the heart and lungs. He had a fringe scarf around his neck, olive drab and white colored in a checker pattern. Small scars had their place on his face, mainly two diagonal cuts on his left cheek and one vertical slice over his right eyebrow. His eyes were a pale blue, almost colorless, back in the day this would be seen as an oddity, but little genetic hiccups like his mattered little when survival took place over all. Simon stood still and waited for the ghostly woman to come in, his fingers shaking so bad he had to ball up his fists to make it stop. "Okay, come in..." There was little he could think o

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f to say, what were they going to do when they got inside? It was too late to ask these sorts of questions now though, he already opened himself up. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The waif watched him carefully, tracking him with an intense stare as he moved to the window and finally out of his hiding spot. Smart man, she couldn't help but think. If he kicked up her temper, there was every chance she'd burst through the window like a banshee. He was choosing the easier path and she decided to go mildly easier on him for it. As poor Simon fumbled with the lock she rolled her eyes dully and carefully pointed out the latch on the other side of the glass with a tap, tap, tap till he found it and fumbled with it's opening. Lifting the window open for her, she waited, like a lady waiting to have a door opened for her. A cold and eerie Lady, but one all the same. She came slowly floating through the entrance the moment he unlocked it and seeing him for the first time she slowly revolved around him as soft touches hit him that didn't seem to be visable. Little pokes here and there at his form as she considered his garb and attire. The longer her tendrils prodded, the more apparent they would be. Long spindles came out from her back in a smooth and ghostly fashion, long and tapered at the end like spears ready to strike, though at the moment they were inspecting him as she gave herself all the time she wanted to consider him with no care in the world if he wanted to be poked at by barely seen vectures of eldritch nature. "Thank you, dear," She informed him finally "I really didn't have the energy to burst through. You made this so much easier." Her pale form was suddenly against his and her hand in his soft hair as she gripped tightly and pulled "Hmmm... Yes you smell nice. You'd be a fine treat for the predators that bore me," She said in her quiet voice as she let the flat of her nose slide up his neck slightly. "Are you scared, human? You needn't be. If I wanted you dead you'd be sucked dry and left in the streets for scavengers to finish off. As it stands, you taste delicious and I only had a bite," She smirked ever so slightly. "Wha

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t happens next is up to you of course. I won't let you go, little fly." She informed "You're trapped now. But you can decide if I kill you, let others kill you, or you appeal to some sense of my sympathy and I find a use for you. Which?" She asked very directly and in the same monotoned way. As though he could pick any of them and she'd be fine. However, there was an uplift and almost hopeful twang when she proposed the latter. If he tried to scramble or pull away she'd just use her considerable strength to hold him in place with her hand wrapped in his hair firmly, but not painfully. Yet. The claws on her hands indicated that it could get much, much worse for him. @Doc

Seeing the ghostly woman come through the window and into the room was, Simon braced himself to be attacked immediately. But these touches he felt, they weren't violent at all, she was... inspecting him? What is she, a ghost? What's even touching me? The realization finally hit him that this being had more appendages than he was originally able to see, some kind of tentacles came from behind her though he didn't dare to try and find out exactly where lest he provoke her. It was only when she brought herself against him and grabbed at his hair that he finally moved, the shotgun in his hands slipped and fell to the floor as she pulled him closer. Her words, the touch of her skin against his neck, it sent a shocking chill down his spine that caused his whole body to shiver. Simon was no fan of dying so the first two options presented to him were a no go, but to be used, whatever that meant, was concerning. He made no attempt to free himself from her grasp as he came ever closer to accepting what was probably about to happen to him, becoming some kind of human toy to this eldritch entity. By the time he finally made his decision, his heart was finally slowing down to a calmer state. Of course, Mira could literally feel the anxiety and fear still radiating from the human, oh what a feast of emotions he was. "I never really knew what life was like up here for humans, I was only four years old when the Collapse struck. I just... I wanted to see the sun, feel the wind on my face. I don't want to die so soon after feeling those things." His voice choked up as he spoke, though he forced himself to keep going even if it hurt. Afraid of dying, yet brave, or stupid, enough to come to the surface, what could one make of such a human? "Please, do what you want... just don't kill me, please." He begged of her, keeping his hands flat against his sides to hide that his fingers were shaking like crazy. "Please, I'll do anything you want, I promise.. swear it." <@54548168482973

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@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

Her lips slowly uplifted into a small smile and she slid her hand around from his hair, raking lightly with her claws against his scalp before cupping his chin and turning him up to look at her. She was at least a head higher then him but that probably had to do with the way she floated around, rather than stand. She shivered when he did, letting her form shake openly and without any restraint. Though every other part of her was frosty by nature, cold to the touch in both speech and caress. She held him still. The shotgun meant nothing to her and as it slid away she gave a soft chuff at it's simple and silly design. It wouldn't kill her. It probably wouldn't even wound her beyond pissing her off. "Was that you're only means when you came up here? That simple little boom stick?" She laughed, though no smile truly crossed her lips or her pale eyes that shot into his soul as she seemed to suck every bit of energy from the emotions rolling off him. He was a feast for her. Scared, worried, pleading, anxious... And she thought she sensed excitement from him. The kind that made her tendrils shiver and give off a chiming noise like a song played slightly off-tune at the feel of him. "You are a tasty little morsel, I will say," she tapped her claws against his lips as both hands came up to encase his head and holding him up. She breathed in, though she didn't need air. No she was breathing him in. Breathing in the senses that riled her and fueled her on. As he eeked them from his spirit to hers without willing it, she seemed to grow more persistent in her grip of him. "You are mine." She decided in her monotoned voice "I will bring you back to my lair and you will serve me there. Do you understand? You will feed me, do as you are told, and when I believe you are ready, I'll bring you into my world. Understand, little fly?" She seemed to be crooning at him at this point, drunk on his senses as she drank him in. The delicious flavors he offered. "The collapse, as

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you call it, was my kind's reinvention. We'll have to work on your vocabulary." She smirked ever so slightly again with lips as red as the blood she would surely invite from him at a moment's notice. "But I like you, fearless thing with all the fear in the world. So lost in a world no longer your own. But you're mine now," she repeated and gripped him. Her feminine form pressed against his in a suggestive way and she gave a slight pout with another monotone sound of sympathy. "Say it, human. Tell me your name and say you are mine," She demanded with a tighter grip that threatened to break his skin. No doubt she would lap up his crimson ichor as quick as his emotions if he wasn't so careful. But Mira had taken a shine to him, a liking, a taste if you would. And she decided he was hers, now begging, in her way, for him to say the words out loud as though in pact with her. Little did he know, he would be. But she didn't need to tell him all the details of her 'arrangement' for keeping a human above ground. Bureaucracy could wait till she'd had her fun with her new snack. @Doc

S; Simon couldn't make heads or tails of what this being wanted from him, the way her form floated about reminded him of ghost stories his elders would tell him when he was younger. But never before had he heard of a ghost with such strange tendril coming from their back. Before he could think on it further, his attention was pulled up to her face, what he saw he could only describe as hauntingly beautiful. Her shivering form was odd compared to the rest of her cold demeanor, how odd. Does she feel something when I look at her? His shotgun laid on the floor, a makeshift piece of weaponry fashioned from both old world tech and material scavenged in the metro tunnels, Mira was right to laugh at such a pitifully little thing, it looked like it might explode if Simon pulled the trigger. And though she scared him to death, there was a tiny hint of excitement in the back of his mind that not even he realized he was feeling, the tune her tendrils gave off was a giveaway that his presence was already having some kind of effect on her. Yet again he had no time to think further on this as she grasped his head and seemed to breath in but a few inches from his mouth. He squinted, afraid that she may kill him then and there, but then she spoke of claiming him. Most humans that ventured to the surface never returned to the Metro, little did the subway dwellers know that not all of them died, at least not quickly when faced with a supernatural. Still fearing for his life, Simon nodded in response to being referred to as "little fly", it was degrading yes, but what could he do? While he was hesitate to accept her claim on him, her closing the distance of their bodies and the tightening grasp she had on his head squeezed out the last of his resistance as he shut his eyes tight and spoke. "Simon! My name is Simon... and I belong to you." And like that a pact was made, not on paper quite yet as the gears of bureaucracy would surely grind slow as it did years ago in the human worl

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d, but spiritually it was set in stone. What is she goin? to do with me? Why is she so close? So cold... Simon had no clue he had just signed away his life as cattle, a toy, or pet perhaps. The future was uncertain for this brave yet fearful human now. Perhaps Simon would get to see the sun after all once the overcast over San Francisco cleared away, the air was much better up here than down below and it was so much brighter. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The wraith shivered as he continued to leek emotions in waves over her in waves like the ocean. A delicious snack indeed. He was so new to this world, her world, and with that came the fear, the curiosity, the thrill, and with all those little emotions came a burst of feeding from Mira. She wasn't like most of her kind, which was good for him. She was as curious as he might be to his kind. Adorning herself when others wore little, living in a 'lair' that he'd soon find was odder then he'd imagine. And now, adopting a human into her home. A taboo topic that many would say something in regards to, but she cared very little in this moment as her tendrils sung and squirmed in delight and her lips perked in a very faint smirk as he spoke his words of ownership. "Good," she nearly purred in her monotoned way as she slid her hands down his face and slowly lowered him to the ground. Her hands smoothing out along his shoulders as the tendrils touched lightly along the rest of his form. She seemed pleased. "Now, if you try to run, I'll have to chase you. If I have to chase you, you have no use to me. And if you have no use, then I have no reason to protect you," she warned casually as she turned from him. Showing the pale back revealed by the paler silk gown she wore. No fear of him. Even his shotgun was left to the side and forgotten about. He could use it. But she'd warned him already twice. A third time might be his end. Maybe. "You may call me Mira in private. My Lady when we're among my kind." She extended to him. "Follow close to me, hold my gown, do not let go. Keep your eyes down and if anyone speaks to you, let me speak first. Your presence here will upset many, but I don't care very much for other's opinions." Stated firmly and with a roll of her icy eyes. "Do you understand, Simon?" She sounded a little gentler now that he'd submitted but her firmness in her actions and speech stuck. Her head turned away from the stairs and looking over her shoulder at

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him. "My home is a few streets away and we don't use your machines to move throughout the world. They're part of what killed it," She reminded in a disdainful way. Watching him hard for a moment before turning away, she let him gather himself and gave him time to do so before she'd head out. She wasn't so heartless as to not understand he had just caused a major lifestyle and world view change, and she'd give him the time he needed to process that. But only just enough. @Doc

How light her touch was, Simon hadn't even noticed he was lifted off the ground until being set back down. He knew already that if he were to run it would surely be his end, he didn't wish to consider the details of how Mira might kill him either. Even with his thick armor covering most of his body, he could still feel even the lightest of touches from her hands and tendrils. But something felt off around his shoulders, the padding there seemed.. sickening in it's aura. The reality was that deep beneath the metal plating protecting his shoulders was made from lead plates, if the armor tore apart and any of those plates touched his blood then he'd be in danger. But lead also acted as a slight deterrent to supernaturals who existed on a different wavelength, beings that produced radiation or electromagnetic waves simply through existing. Simon reached out and held onto Mira's gown, the fabric felt nice on the tips of his fingers, but he couldn't feel much else since his hands were covered in thick, reinforced fingerless gloves. "Mira... good name." He simply muttered as he stuck close to her, he may be holding onto her but he still felt as though he was leashed. "I-I understand, I promise." He quickly said as he heard his name spoken, his eyes widening a bit in elevated attention. "I don't understand those things, so many running all at once must've been deafening." He said, only having very, very faint memories of the old world. Regardless of whether or not his curiosity was met with an answer, Simon stuck close to Mira as they moved to leave this old human dwelling. The old world was brought to the brink of destruction when the supernaturals finally took over, if they hadn't done anything then all life on Earth would simply cease to exist. Humanity's downfall was also the world's salvation, but Simon couldn't know the full extent of his kind's destructive lifestyle, after all he had grown up underground, and the current leaders of humanity were tight lipped

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of their sins against mother nature. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

As though sensing his thoughts, or perhaps just realizing how unknown this world was to him, she entertained his curiosities. "Thank you, and yes. Many machines acted all at once until mother nature was at the brink of death," She explained as she floated down the stairs and led him into the street. The sun was fully out now and dawn had come. The bright light of the sun brought a new light to the world around them. Buildings covered in various new and old types of vines and plants, made into different dwellings that bore evidence of their owner's claim. Mira moved through the streets with Simon and though he may have felt leashed, it was his only salvation right now as many of her kind, different in their ways, peeked out at him hungrily. Each time, Mira would turn her icy hues their way and bare her fangs ever so slightly in claim. Never once explaining that to him but continuing to explain the world as it was now all the same. "When nature came for the humans, so did we. We came from the shadows and retook the world. As it was ours far longer and far before it was your kinds. Now we enjoy the buildings and have built a new world. One you are now part of." She looked to him and gave him the smallest of smiles "I'll need you to discard that metal you're wearing. Should you burn or harm me or others with it, I can't and won't protect you," she stated, betraying the smile with a warning before it returned "But you've been rather docile and understanding of your situation. So I don't see that being a problem?" Her brow raised slightly in question to him with a very mild and wicked smirk that last but a moment. They came upon her 'lair' finally. Which was actually just a repurposed brownstone that was covered with vines that bore thorns and roses as red as blood all over the brickwork. She led him up the stairs and the door opened, recognizing it's mistress. Inside had been hallowed out to one room and two floors. The upper loft bore a desk and small coo

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king area, the downstairs was a compilation of old world items on shelves she seemed to have preserved. A sleeping area was in the very back and was a rounded mound of pillows and dark whisps. Looking to him again she motioned with her head to him "Go on, look around. It's your new home now. You may sleep where you like. I tend to sleep rarely but when I do I use that bed." She informed in a nonchalant manner. "Make yourself comfortable and then tell me exactly what you can do. I'd like to know your talents to better utilize our little... arrangement." She broke from him. Gliding away she eased down into the large and rounded bed to relax and let her long hair blossom around her on the many pillows while her artic eyes traced him and waited for him to take his time acclimating and answer. She was in no hurry. @Doc

Simon remembered to keep his head down when amongst other supernaturals, he could feel their hungered gazes upon him. He wanted to believe Mira would protect him, but fear still gripped his heart as he stayed close to her. Were the buildings always covered in greenery? What are those snake like plants? The past twenty years had essentially sent the remaining humans into the dark age, only the old and powerful were knowledgeable of the world above, Simon's generation was unschooled and inexperienced, but they were made into good workers as they matured. When she told him to ditch his armor, he felt a pang in his heart. "I... alright." He worked to loosen some of the straps on his armor as he moved along with her. This armor was one of his greatest achievements as a craftsman, his presentation of it to the powers of Central SFS was what finally allowed him to become a scavver in the first place, but he didn't want to disobey the only one that could protect him, so he had to prepare to part ways with it. Finally arriving in Mira's lair, Simon was surprised by how.. nice everything looked. Those flowers... my god they're pretty. He thought as the sight of them was an extreme contrast to the dark and colorless metro tunnels. Surprise filled his face as Mira moved away from him, she wanted to know what he could offer her. As he removed his chest and shoulder armor, it fell to the floor with a heavy thud, he thought that perhaps his skills as a craftsman may be useful, or maybe his handiness with cooking, did Mira even need to eat food though? He sighed and stripped off his gloves, popping his knuckles before finally giving his new mistress the answer she was waiting for. "When I came of age I became a craftsman in the metro, I made soap, fixed pieces of equipment for scavvers, and made parts needed to keep the station running." Simon said as he fidgeted in place, he knew he was allowed to move around but he seemed timid. Regardless, his skills as a craftsm

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an varied greatly. "I can uh... cook too." He said unwittingly, still oblivious to how Mira was already feeding off of him. What do... what do you even eat? You're not a vampire, you're no ghost...

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@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

Her lips curled into a wider smile as he came into her home and started to remove the armor. She pointed to the far corner where a barrel stood as though directing him to put it all in there. And as if reading his mind, she spoke in her monotoned way. Though it carried a hint of sympathy. "You may keep it and use it when necessary. But in here it's not and I'd rather not be burned because you get feisty," She bared her fanged teeth in a smile at him and chomped but didn't move from the way she lounged on the large bed. Perking up as he spoke, she leaned up with a hand in her flowing hair and elbow back to support her as she lay on her side and in the tangle of snow-white locks. Passive, expressionless again, she nodded and seemed to enjoy what he said "Hmm. I eat a variety of things," She mused, not entirely lying. "I would like to try human meals. I find your kind rather fascinating, you see. It's why I chose not to kill you or send you to the slave auction." She sighed, the air growing a little chilly around them "In truth, I could get into some trouble for keeping you. But I care not for the gears of the shakey government around me," She waved her hand in the air nonchalantly. "Look around, little fly," She urged him "See for yourself how much I have watched the rats under us and admired all you've managed to live through," and indeed, under all the plants and vines and such, was human trinkets, books of the old world, even a burnt out TV that had roses growing out of it. Under all the phantasm of her world, was a visage of the old human world. "What do you like to do?" she questioned him next, looking at her nails and then urging him softly "Get yourself comfortable. If you're going to stay here you might as well be useful and comfortable. I have no need for a sniveling servant." She warned. "Your fear is delicious though," smirking ever so slightly as she wound a finger through long locks and twisted it as her pale eyes again found him and

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seemed to be eating in just the sight of him. @Doc

Relieved that he wasn't going to have to trash his first successful project, Simon smiled slightly amd picked up the armor and brought it over to the barrel Mira had pointed out to him. He popped the top off of the container and slowly lowered his equipment inside. "Thank you for protecting me." He said, seeming to refer to the same armor. As he slid the lid back over the top of the barrel and secured it in place, he moved back toward Mira, keeping a few feet between them of course. It was good to hear she was actually interested in trying human food, though her fascination with his kind led to him questioning what he really was. For now Little Fly was all he could really think of. When faced with all the relics before him though, Simon's face lit up in excitement. His heart raced not with fear but joy. "O-Oh!" He bent down to push a vine out of the way so he could read the title of a book, well, read was a strong word, the unfortunate truth was that he couldn't read at all. But this did nothing to kill his elation with this trove of goodies. It took a moment for Mira to get his attention again, but he caught the first part that was her question at least. He straightened back up and seemed to be in a much better mood now, a little bit giddy even. "I like to collect things, like you. I got some uh.. things." He grabbed at the satchel on his hip frantically and began to dig through it, taking out a messy little stack of postcards and photos. Excitedly, he stepped closer to Mira, sorting through his collection and picking out a pristine looking postcard for San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge in all it's glory on the little picture. "I wanted to collect memories- or things of the Old World anyway."

1:02 PM

@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

Pale hues tracked him in a lazy way as he said goodbye and thank you to his armor and cased it away. She considered him for a moment before her monotone, feminine voice rang out again. Oddly quiet but easy to hear somehow. "If you venture out without me, you'll need that. It is perhaps your best defense up here. Against creatures that touch you anyway. I did not need to. I could have sucked you dry and been done with you in that house without ever laying a finger on you. So remember that. Not that I can kill you," she fluttered her hand in the air "You know that. Remember that when I touch you, I do so because I want to," she informed. Mira wouldn't admit it just yet, but she liked him already. He was a brave soul and she did like all things of the old world, for the most part. Everything was so different and arrayed. And Mira herself seemed different from others of the supernatural kind. Even her home was decored like a human's might be, if they had the ability and want to sprout vines and roses. She was very close to breaking into a smile though, close to scooping him up, when he showed a sudden interest in her array of things. She sat up more on her side and her eyes widened as he looked over the book in hand and seemed to speculate over it more then read it. She canted her head and without really realizing what she was saying, she spoke, "I could teach you how to read if you like. It's not hard and the pages have such wonderful myths and stories in them." She relented a little softer side of herself. And seemed to melt as he pulled out his collection to share with her. She patted the bed beside her and inched her form closer to where she wanted him to sit so she could look over the items he'd procured. "The old world was... complicated," She shared with him "I lived a very lonely life and after The Fall, I perhaps thought that would change. It didn't." She traced her eyes over the postcards and reached out to glide a long nailed finger over t

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he Golden Bridge. "I went there once. It's green now. The ocean waves ate away at it." She shook her head and sighed "Nature was the cure and curse. But I won't lament to you." She scoffed a bit at the idea of being so hypocritical. "Memories remind us not to repeat." She offered. "You can look through my home if you like, see what I have," she spread her hand out to offer that to him with a vague and small smile on her red lips. @Doc

Simon listened carefully as Mira told him of venturing out alone, if there were others that could touch him without getting physical then he'd do well to heed any advice or warnings she gave. At least she seemed to actually care for his safety which helped to ease his mind into showing her his collection. She even offered to teach him to read, he had a book with him that he wished to read if he ever learned and now that day didn't seem so far off. He eagerly sat down next to her, her chilling aura not bothering him nearly as much. Someone was showing interest in his hobby, or job now as it seemed he may be helping Mira find more memorabilia of the past. "So the bridge is gone... well, it was man-made." He shrugged, letting her look at it as much as she wished. "I was told memories tell us what we've lost, I never thought about it like that. I was only four years old when everything fell apart, have I really lost anything if I never even experienced it?" He pondered, staring at a photograph of a family standing in front of a giant redwood. They look happy, and I feel happy looking at them... now even more. He thought to himself, glancing into Mira's eyes. He'd completely forgotten that she gave him permission to wander her home and look at her things, lost in thoughts of the past, still as rock with his eyes locked on hers. When he finally broke out of it he had a burst of emotion, surprise mostly. "Sorry, sorry, sometimes I think so much I forget to do other things." He said, looking back at his cards and photos and packing them into a neat stack before putting them away.

9:43 AM

@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The lithe form of Mira curled around him as he sat, her head in her hand as she rested it up and looked over the items he had. When he spoke of what ifs and what he didn't have or experience, she chimed in with her monotone soft voice, icy eyes catching his as she did. "No." Was the simple answer "You lost nothing if you never had it but it's the loss of what you could have had that wounds." But still her hues moved to the picture and she too looked it over with a sense of joy in her. "They look happy. I've been told happiness can be found anywhere though." Her cold aura didn't fade but the nature did. Sharing these things and musing with him in her little home full of the old world and new. "Don't apologize. You're ramblings are refreshing." A very faint smile touched her crimson lips and she turned her gaze back up to his, with her fingers twining in her hair as she considered him. "I find you more refreshing than my own peers. They all drone on and on about what they'll do now that this is "Our world" and yet do nothing. Immortal toddlers. All of them." She rolled her eyes. "But you," She reached out a hand to run a finger down his shoulder softly "You remind me of when the world was bright and things like hope existed. Before the lament of immortals and their plights came to be and all the pretty humans were driven away. I make no apologies for feeding off your kind for millenia, mind you, but I never saw a reason to overtake your kind." As she shared these things with him, the wraith like woman would soften more and a cold sigh echoed from the endlessly red lips. "Do you like your own kind, Simon?" She asked in her bored way, and yet in that way that said she was more interested then her cool features and voice would allow her to show. Or perhaps she was simply so old at this point, it was hard to convey emotion anymore. @Doc

S; Mira appeared wiser than any human he'd met before, what she said about loss of what could have been made sense. This new revelation did well to put his mind at ease on the matter. And again, that family did seem happy... Simon had never seen anyone so happy in the Central SFS, it was almost uncanny. Indeed, there wasn't much room for joy anywhere along the San Francisco Subway tunnels, it was essentially a new dark age for humanity down there. Leaders of humanity kept a tight grip on their control on the surviving population, often making them more fearful of each other than the horrors aboveground. Citizens of the SFS were to report any suspicious activities to the "government" in exchange for promises of better living conditions like sleeping quarters or more ration stamps. Simon had to rough it on his own from a young age when his mother was taken by something that was once easily curable, influenza. The government quickly decided that this lone child could be put to work, and so Simon was put to work as a basic craftsman and artisan. By the age of nineteen, he began to grow tired of life in the SFS after finding an abandoned family photo album in a broken down subway car. He learned of the dangerous profession of Scavver, something hardly any human came back from. Though hesitant of the decision he would ultimately make, Simon couldn't pass on an opportunity to see the world above. To think that the supernatural had done so little in their time after reclaiming the world, Simon found himself agreeing with his new master, something he thought he might have a hard time doing. But then again, Mira appeared an avid collector like himself, could she and other supernaturals really be as bad as the fearful masses of the SFS were taught to believe? Simon tensed up just a little feeling Mira's touch, even just the smallest touch was chilly like the winter winds that reached even the underbelly of the city through the vents and the long, winding, maze-like tunnels

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of the subway. The young man was still attentive as ever though despite his reminiscence, so Mira one question came as a bit of a surprise to him. Did he like... humans? It wouldn't exactly make sense to him if he hated humans as he'd essentially hate himself by extension, but it couldn't be denied that Mira brought up another interesting question that dwelled in Simon's mind. "I... I don't know. Humans are confusing, on one hand they create, invent, love. On the other, they destroy, take, and hate and kill... I guess some humans are okay." He shrugged, giving a hopeful look. He really tried his best to answer her question, but he'd never been stumped like this before, he couldn't say he liked or disliked humanity as they were such a mixed bag. Hopefully it was enough to satisfy Mira's curiosity. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The wraith figure considered him for a while. Her eyes tracing over him as he seemed lost in thought and though she could sense an idea of the memories he was processing, she felt the need to not intrude for a change. Letting the ideas and vague flashes wash over her mind in their ambient way as icy hues trailed him. Likewise, the long, cold finger that was trapezing over his shoulder didn't stop either, curiously touching him with the ever faintest touch of a whisper really. Almost like she wasn't there. But looking at her, it had to be wondered how she'd kept hidden for as long as she said. All the same, his words about the humans and thoughts about immortals didn't phase or miss her. A pale brow quirking with her head cocking to the side fluidly. "I think... All creatures are confusing." She finally said. Her voice was gentle and soft in thought. "Immortals are truly no different. The world didn't change very much when the downfall came to humanity. The only thing we gained, was the ability to reign. And you can see all the grand things we've done with that." She raised her free hand from cupping her head to gesture around the manor they were currently in. While it was wide and spacious, filled with all manner of items and artefact of the old world, it was still an old building of mortals that Mira had "converted" so to speak with her various shelves and vines that littered the place. It was almost homey in it's own way. Though the hollowed out area clearly had once had dividing walls that she or something else had cleared out. Now the entire place was a wide area with her canopy, round bed they now sat on in the far corner. A spiral staircase led upstairs to an open loft area that looked like it had been carved out the same as the ground floor had. Twisting vines with red flowers peeking out all over the walls and forming shelves and cases in other spaces just the same. The gesture to all of this was followed by her peering at him inquisitively for a r

3:02 AM

esponse as she continued slowly "It's all just repurposed items from a time we stole from your kind," she sounded a little sad. "But you'll find soon enough that most immortals are just mortals with power behind it all." Her icy eyes widened at him and the faintest smile came over her crimson lips. Fingers lightly danced up his shoulder to his collar where she pressed her digits into his shirt and played with his bare chest ever so faintly under the guise of adjusting his garments. "You're going to come with me to a party. A dull and boring event that I've been called to. And I do not wish to go alone, nor with any of my own kind. So you'll come with me." It was said plainly, and he didn't seem to have a choice. But the way she watched him indicated she was curious how he felt about it. Not that it would change anything. @Doc

Indeed, it seemed that Simon tolerated Mira's icy touch well, at least while his mind occupied by other thoughts and conversation. When he'd finally stopped thinking so much and started to listen to her, that chill ran through him once more. It was a cold he only knew during the harshest winters, when the tunnels of the metro froze from top to bottom wherever heat could not reach. But unlike winter, this cold, ghastly touch was almost... pleasing in a way he could not quite place. Simon slowly looked around, it was a new world yes, but it was still built on the bones of the old. It seems that even the immortals and supernaturals still held something of the old world dear. But it was more like a burning memory now, there was no reversing what had been done, not even for the mightiest among the new order. Mira's smile was reassuring in some fashion, life goes on and there were still things to smile about even now. The feeling of her fingers touching his skin directly, unsurprisingly it felt even colder. Simon would look down at Mira's fingers, seeing only that she was adjusting his clothes. He couldn't really complain about it as he was given a warning already to not defy or upset her again, but he couldn't help the little chatter of his teeth. He would snap out of the chill once he heard mention of a party, he didn't doubt that supernaturals had their own gatherings but he certainly did not think he'd be going to one. The metro had it's own gatherings too, but these were usually exclusive to well off families and the remaining leaders of humanity. Among them the most revered were the Engineers, master craftsmen that were responsible for keeping the human controlled tunnels in working condition. "A party, I... I've never gotten to go to one... what should I even wear? Do I have anything...?" He thought aloud, the contents of his backpack were purely for scavenging and survival, he'd stick out like a sore thumb if he went as he was... aside from the fact he was only

4:52 PM

human. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄