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Date Posted: 10:52:08 01/21/02 Mon
Author: Baeraad
Subject: Sira
In reply to: Baeraad 's message, "The bottom of the well" on 10:46:32 01/21/02 Mon

Sira looked up as the lid of the well was flung aside by a great force. In a way, she envied the vampire kind. All that strength and speed, even greater than her own � and in human terms, she was remarkable. Oh, and then there was that whole "looking gorgeous and living forever" part, too.

On the other hand: vampires couldn't eat. All their digestive systems had shut down. They were as immune to all kinds of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, as they were to poisons. And while they could have sex, if needed to uphold the illusion of normality, they didn't get any kick out of it at all. No eating, no drinking, no smoking, no screwing� Living forever under those terms seemed more than a bit boring to Sira.

Lord Ceridan's face appeared in the white light of Ritros' power. He was ruggedly handsome, with long brown hair falling on the sides of his face as he bent down to inspect his catch. He didn't seem to have washed recently, though. He didn't smell of sweat, because vampires never did, but he DID smell of blood and dirt and rot. Sira, while as cleanly as it was possible for her to be, knew fully well that it was hard to stay baded and perfumed when living in the wilderness, but� urk�

�- What the fuck�s that smell?� he said without any ado. He had a growling voice, like a dog that had learned to talk.

�- Something broke in my pack when I fall,� Sira said haughtily. In fact, she had poured the contents of the most foul-smelling potion she had all over the floor. Some vampires had enhanced senses, but Ceridan would not be smelling the position of any humans over this stench.

Her explanation seemed to appease him somewhat.

'- Where's the Queen?' he snarled. 'I see the Priest and the Warrior, but where's the fucking Queen?'

'- She went for help,' Sira said.

'- Don't you fucking lie to me!' he snarled. His fangs were showing � long, thick things, that seemed to be made for ripping and tearing as much as for making the small wounds necessary for drawing blood. Sira could not help getting a vision of them sinking into her flesh. 'I saw her fall! Where is she?'

'- Get your rat pals new glasses, buddy. She didn't fall. She went to the village for help.'

A look of uncertainty crossed the dirty, handsome face. While vampires � as a kind of substitute for the dreams they could never have, maybe � could use the bodies and senses of the Lesser Beings while they slept, their memories of what they had seen and done was always a bit foggy once they woke up. Ceridan couldn't be sure that he didn't misremember, and Tianna quite obviously wasn't around.

'- Doesn't matter,' he decided. 'I don't have to kill all three of you. Just one. Then you're no Triangle no more, and I can hunt down the other two simple as that.' He snapped his thick, dirty fingers.

'- True. But Ritros here is pretty tough. You won't have an easy time taking him out, let me tell you that.'

His eyes narrowed. They glowed faintly, she noticed with a sort of morbid interest. Hunter? Predator, more like it. Vampires had some control over their bodies, and this one had used it to become something that was less than human. On the other hand, if he was really exchanging his humanity for something else, she would rather not know how strong he was. Or how fast.

'- What about you then, bitch?'

Sira smiled in a way that was meant to tell him that he had absolutely no idea just how bitchy she could get.

'- Oh, me you don't have a chance in hell with. I'd focus on Ritros, if I were you. Not that he's a wimp, but let's be honest, he's no me, either.' She smiled smugly.

'- We'll see about that!' Ceridan growled and leaped. He landed on the floor with perfect balance, as if falling ten meters or so and landing on a stone floor meant nothing to him. His back was a bit bent, though, like an ape's. The sight was disturbing, a mix of man's and animal's worse traits.

Sira punched him in the face. It felt a little like punching a stone wall. Aoch. Vampires and their damned invincibility�

Ceridan gave of an animal snarl and made a grab for her neck. He was as fast as she had feared, but he underestimated the speed of a Triangle member. Sira ducked and punched him in the belly. That was rock-hard, too. Sira felt a bit jealous for a moment, but then Ceridan managed to hit her with a kick and sent her sliding over the floor. She hit the wall headfirst and saw stars.

Ceridan dove for her, and she rolled to the side. She wondered faintly if something in her stomach had been broken � it felt a little like that. She didn't seem to be able to draw breath, either, but that didn't worry her as much; it had happened before and the ability to breathe always came back within a few seconds or so, as being demonstrated by her continued presence here�

As she got to her feet � in exactly the right time to parry another kick from Ceridan � she saw that Ritros had levitated himself five meters into the air, his arms reached out as if holding something invisible. She grinned.

'- Sira!' Tianna's voice shouted. 'Catch!'

Sira caught. To be more exact, she caught the Hand of Glory Tianna threw to her from her position in the air. The Queen of the Triangle became visible as she let go of it, and, in the same manner, Sira became invisible when she caught it.

Not that she couldn't still see herself. But from the stupid look on the vampire's face, he sure couldn't. She made use of the time when he was dumbstruck and skittered to a position where he didn't expect her to be. She had to force herself not to breathe too loudly, though her whole body was aching for air. He might have better hearing than a mortal, along with everything else.

Tianna put her hands together and started chanting the prayer sequence that activated the shielding power.

'- We have trapped you, Lord Ceridan!' Ritros said. His position made his voice echo and boom in a very satisfying way. Ritros did have a sense of style, though he would never admit it. 'You are locked in here, with a holy field blocking your way out, and an invisible Warrior in there with you. You have met your end.'

'- Oh yeah?' Ceridan looked up at the levitating priests. 'Let me tell you something, shithead! I'm gonna break your Warrior bitch's fucking neck, and then I'm gonna wait until you drop down from there with exhaustion, and then I'll break your fucking neck!'

Sira knew how upset Ritros got when he heard someone swear like that, so she broke Ceridan's neck with a hand-side punch. Hey, what were friends for?

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to stop a vampire. With a crackling of bones, Ceridan regenerated in a few seconds. He spun around to the place where he figured she had to be in order to hit him from that angle. Of course, she had moved again. She was no idiot, though the same could not necessarily be said about her present company.

Unfortunately, idiot or not, Ceridan had a point. Ritros could not hang there indefinitely, and as soon as he moved, the holy field would break apart and Ceridan would break every bone in his and Tianna's bodies. All he had to do was wait, and the only thing he had to occupy himself with while waiting was to try and get his hands on her. Wonderful.

'- Drop that fucking hand and let me see you,' he growled. Sira could feel the mental strength behind the command, but only in a distant sort of way. She wore a talisman to protect her from vampire mind-control. All three of them did. Standard Vampire Slayer precaution. Ceridan ought to have known that, but then, he considered himself a hunter, and would have a hard time thinking like prey.

She kicked him in the butt. She had made a promise, after all. He staggered a few steps forward and then turned with a growl. Then he started running around, punching and kicking at random.

A crude tactic, Sira thought, but not without hope. He was a vampire, and fast even for his kind. Sira had to duck and dodge to the fullest of her ability, and even then, he came close a few times. Sweat started trickling down her forehead. Now, if she could just get an opening before he got lucky and hit her�

There! He turned his back at her for a moment, and she flung herself on him, locking her legs around his waist and putting one arm around his chest. With the other, she dropped the Hand of Glory and took something else out of her belt-pouch.

'- You know,' she whispered in the ear of the roaring, fighting vampire. 'I don't mind swearing. I don't. It gives the language color. But there is such a thing as overusing the F-word. Just thought I'd tell you that.'

And since he so thoughtfully had opened his mouth to scream and shout incomprehensible things at her, she put the garlic from her belt into it.

Ceridan went quiet for a short moment. Then he screamed again, but with pain and fear instead of fury this time. Sira was thrown away from his back and landed gracelessly on the floor for the third time in far too short a while. Ceridan turned against her, screamed one last time, and exploded. Ashes showered her where she lay. The leather hunter's garb fell to the floor, empty.

Ritros and Tianna dropped to the floor at her side.

'- Are you all right?' Ritros asked. She smiled at him and got to her feet. She was covered with the remnants of a vampire. Blah. She hated it when that happened�

She bent down by Ceridan's clothes and picked up the scorched, blackened remnants of the garlic. In retrospect, maybe Ceridan and his Lesser Beings should have put a little more effort into dealing with those straps and strings. There were other weapons to deal with a vampire than the big and obvious ones.

'- Sure,' she said. 'Get Tianna up there, and then come back for me.'

He nodded, and lifted the slender Queen up towards ground level.

Now, Sira reflected, she just had to find a graceful way of telling the others that while she had had no trouble tracking Ceridan to this place, she was not at all certain that she remembered the way back to the village. Why was it that just when you were feeling proud and victorious after defeating the Forces of Darkness, mundane reality always made sure your ego got right down to the ground again�?

THE END

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Replies:

Re: The bottom of the well -- Zora, 02:33:02 01/22/02 Tue

Re: The bottom of the well -- novae, 03:43:54 01/22/02 Tue

Re: The bottom of the well -- Baeraad, 07:38:31 01/22/02 Tue

Re: The bottom of the well -- Zora, 13:18:46 01/26/02 Sat