the system only dreams in total darkness {Morgana}

[Vlad Dracula]

The urge to rush back through the portal had been a strong one. Wasting another moment in his dark castle was the last thing Vlad Dracula wanted to do, but he had not stayed alive for centuries by rushing into things without thinking them through. If the portal was open again, there would be others returning, he was all but certain. They would all come running back through, they would all be flailing around re-acquainting themselves with their surroundings. It had been what, ten years? That sounded right. Ten years wasn't that long for him, but it was for all the little mortals who exchanged tearful goodbyes when they were going on holidays that wouldn't even last a fortnight.

That and...well, it was during the day when he first realized the portal was open, when he first felt the surge of magic that had been absent for the past decade. He probably could have found some way to access it, tunnels underground, there were plenty of those around his castle. But he had waited for nightfall, and by the time he made it through, it was good and dark on the other side.

He touched down in the courtyard in near-silence, a rush of air and a slight flutter of his coat the only sounds that heralded his arrival as he landed and dropped into a cautious crouch, the fingertips of one hand just touching the earth beneath him. He inhaled deeply, taking in his surroundings, and immediately realized something was wrong. This was not a place that had only been vacant for ten years. It was older than that. He stood up straight, turning in a slow circle, trying to put the pieces together. Had anyone come back here? Yes...another breath told him that. People had been here, hours earlier. He didn't bother sorting out their different scents; it was enough to know that he was not alone here.

A tendril of intuition crawled down his spine. He was alone, but he was about to have company. The particular tug of magic that he felt around the portal, he felt it again, but not centered on himself. Someone else was coming through, although he couldn't pinpoint the exact spot in the courtyard that they would emerge. Deciding in that instant that he'd rather not show his hand any earlier than he planned to, he moved into the shadows, out of the moonlight and into a darkened area behind some hanging vines that had overgrown one of the structures surrounding the courtyard. He stopped breathing, and held perfectly still, waiting to see who might appear...

[Morgana Le Fey]

She had been on the Holy Isle of Avalon for nearly 9 years, but she had known for a while that the time to leave was coming. Her son's growth had been managed by the magic of the druids, they had fixed her terrible mistake and her special boy had spent the time in blissful ignorance of the spells she had cast, of the passing of time outside of the Isle of Avalon, and his memories of those they had lived with in Camelot were fading. She had spent the time plotting and scheming, working hard to ensure that Mordred's memories of his uncle were warped and dark, shaping his beliefs and his feelings until there was barely any good feeling left in him.

He would be her weapon.

But then there had been a shift. She sensed it; something had changed, something had shifted in the atmosphere. It was something familiar, something she recognised as if from a long forgotten dream. She had spent hours scrying, using her Sight, using all the power available to her to see what was changing. She had watched those in Camelot, scorning their lives, their happiness, their contentment. How she resented them all. But this feeling, it wasn't coming from there. It was something else.

And then the portal had appeared, and things had become clear. It wasn't Merlin, it wasn't Camelot, it was Tintagel. She hadn't spared a thought for the place since arriving in the Holy Isles, it was a time passed, unnecessary to her and to her plans. She had never thought to return, so why waste the time and the effort dwelling on it.

And there was pain. She didn't think she would ever see him again - they had all been torn apart and sent to their own worlds, and she knew she did not have the power to find him. She had to forget, to focus on her son and his destiny.

But the portal had reopened. And she knew she would not be able to resist it's lure. So she made arrangements for Mordred, giving over his care to the druids, with promises and assurances that they would continue her work, training him and preparing him until she returned. In the meantime, she would return. She knew her brother was already there, his twisted family close behind, and she sensed opportunity. After saying her goodbyes, she stepped through the portal, without a glance backwards, and in a moment found herself in the courtyard of the old school.

She looked around, eyes narrowed, taking in the environment. A lot of time had passed, it was clear; the place was overgrown and in a state of disrepair. But not devoid of life.

"Show yourself." She spoke confidently, her words ringing out in the silence.

[Vlad Dracula]

He looked away instinctively at the flash of light signaled an arrival. It wasn't sunlight, and it didn't actually harm him, but it was a reflex, avoiding bright lights. When he looked back, she was standing there.

He recognized her immediately; even if he hadn't been able to see her, she had an aura about her that was unmistakeable. He had felt it before, had been drawn to the power of it, had even begun to formulate some plans for her and her gifts, before he'd been snatched away so rudely by...whatever had happened ten years ago. It didn't surprise him as much as perhaps it should have that she knew he was there; he wouldn't have been interested in her before if she weren't extraordinary. Pleased, he stepped out of his hiding spot and into the moonlight, casting a predatory smile in her direction.

"Well, well," he said, just loud enough to be heard. "It has been some time, hasn't it?" He took his time - no sudden movements, nothing particularly aggressive about the way he walked towards her, other than the look in his eyes. He stopped a few feet in front of her, looking her over, reaching out to touch her hair with one fingertip.

"I would be remiss," he licked his lips and dropped both hands to his sides, tucking them into his coat pockets, "if I didn't tell you I'd been hoping you'd turn back up here." There was really no such thing as too forward in Dracula's book; if he saw something he wanted, he went after it, and he wanted access to this girl's powers. He still hadn't pinned down exactly what they might be, but...well, all in good time.

[Morgana Le Fey]

That voice... it brought a memory to light from deep in her subconscious, a memory of a dark alley, of anger and pain and a thirst for revenge. A small smile found its way to her face, and she couldn't help but think how appropriate it was that he would be the first person she saw, the person to greet her on her arrival back.

She stood still, an eyebrow raised as he appeared from the shadows and made his way towards her. She could sense his power, his darkness, and she couldn't help but find herself draw to it, just as she had all those years ago. There was a darkness in him that she felt compelled towards, a raw magnetism that made her drawn to him, unable to pull away. She didn't want to fight this feeling though, she wanted to embrace it.

She felt a shudder go through her as he touched her hair, and her breath quickened slightly. Not that it was in any way unpleasant; it was completely the opposite. She smiled at his words, sensing his draw to her as well.

"How could I stay away?" She remarked with a coy smile. "And of all the people who could be here to greet me, imagine my satisfaction at discovering it was you."

He could be useful to her, she knew. She was here for one reason, and forming alliances was key. Someone with his draw, his power - she would be foolish to push him aside. And she certainly didn't want to.

[Vlad Dracula]

She had changed. She was more sure of herself, carried herself with something new, a certainty he hadn't seen in her before. She had been beautifully defiant, and he had felt a wild bravery there, all those years before, but there was something there now that surpassed that. She didn't shy away from his touch, didn't protest his approach at all, and he was delighted by that.

"You've grown stronger," he said, stating it as fact instead of asking it as a question. He remembered their last meeting like it had been only ten days instead of ten years; he remembered her uncertainty over her own magic, and he hoped she had moved beyond that.

He circled around her, observing her, gauging her reactions, both the outward ones and the more subtle indicators - a hasty breath, the pulse of blood in her veins. So often, humans were like frightened prey under his gaze, but...there was something different here. She wasn't stupid, she wasn't one of those silly girls or boys who struck a heroic pose and spit in his face and told him they weren't scared of him.

"Last I saw you," he said, stopping behind her, resting one hand on her opposite shoulder and trailing his fingertips up the side of her neck to tilt her head to one side, admiring the curve of her jawline and the paleness of her skin in the moonlight, "you were afraid of yourself. Have you embraced the darkness inside of you now?" He lowered his hands to his sides and moved back in front of her again. "There is so much we could accomplish together, you and I, if you're...interested." He said the word interested much the way one would say the word delicious when describing a decadent dessert.

[Morgana Le Fey]

She smiled at his statement, oddly pleased that he had noticed the growth in her power and strength. "I have." She said, a hint of pride in her voice as he circled her.

She stood still, tall and proud, and watched him as he moved around her. There was something so exciting about him, something so sensual, and she savoured the excitement she felt as he circled her like prey. She could understand that many people may be scared of him, but he did not scare her. He excited her, he exhilarated her, and she felt her breath quicken slightly at the anticipation of what he might do or say.

She felt goosebumps spread across her skin as he touched her neck, and allowed her head to move with his guidance, eyes fluttering slightly at the sensuality of his touch. She felt disappointed as he lowered his hands from her, a part of her wanting more than he had given her in that moment.

"I am no longer afraid." She said with confidence, looking him in the eye and straightening as he stood in front of her again. "I know now what I am, who I am, and I am ready to embrace my destiny." She took a small step closer to him. "What would I gain from a... partnership?" She asked, her voice almost a whisper and her face only inches from his.

[Vlad Dracula]

It had been a long time since Dracula had decided to share his ambitions with another person. There had been a few women, near the beginning, and somewhere around the three hundred year mark, he had stopped limiting himself by gender. But no one had stuck around that long; he grew tired of people easily, and no one was interesting enough to hold his attention for long. Yet, he had the sense that there was something very different about this one, and one didn't live nearly six centuries without developing some keen instincts around people, without even considering the extra edge given by his supernatural senses.

"You would do well to maintain a healthy fear of some things," he cautioned, "but not yourself. The power within you is not something to fear, it is something to revel in." He tilted his head back and looked up at the moon, the cold light of it catching the pale blue of his eyes.

What could she gain from aligning herself with him? Oh, he could go on about that. He shifted forward, bringing them toe to toe, where he could feel her breath on his skin, hot and quick and alive.

"You have more to gain here than I think you have even begun to imagine," he told her, inclining his head to one side, almost as if he were basking in the moonlight and his own confidence. "What is it you desire? Do you want freedom? Power? I can give you the night sky, I can give you dominion over the grasp of death itself." He lifted his hand again, brushing the back of his fingers along her cheekbone.

"Or something darker...revenge? Darkness has reached inside of you and taken hold of your whole heart, hasn't it?" He leaned in close, speaking next to her ear in a tone meant only for the two of them. "I can give you the blood of every person who has ever wronged you, who has been foolish enough to overlook your significance and the reach of your purpose."

[Morgana Le Fey]

She watched him as he spoke, finding herself utterly mesmerised by his words, his voice, his eyes. She knew to be careful, she knew very few men were to be trusted - she could trust in herself and the Goddess, the only two who could never betray her - but she couldn’t help herself as he offered her things she had dreamt of for so many years.

Revenge - was she that’s easy to read? She had worked so hard, for so many years, at masking her deepest wants and desires, but he was able to identify them immediately. She frowned slightly, trying to read him. There was something so dark and sensual about him, something she could not identify, but that she found utterly alluring and mesmerising. She wanted everything he was offering her and more. She knew that she would not succeed in her mission alone, and she sensed that he was not exaggerating in his offers.

There were three names she could give him, here and now, three names of those whose blood she would gladly take from him. It would be so easy; she knew they were all here, ripped from their safe Camelot walls and thrust into this world once more, separated and so easy to destroy. But she knew she wouldn’t be satisfied. She wanted to play with them first, to cause them more pain than they thought possible. There was one simple way to do this; kill the boy. She toyed with the idea of naming that desire aloud for a moment, before she stopped herself. Not yet... a voice inside her whispered, and she knew it was right. It wasn’t time yet.

She tilted her head and smirked at her companion. She wasn’t so easily led, and she had returned to her sense once more, from the depths of her desires and daydreams. “And what would you ask in return?” She whispered, so close now they were almost touching,

[Vlad Dracula]

Dracula could not read minds; as much as he would have loved to possess that skill, he did not. What he was very good at, though, was guessing. The first time he had seen this girl, she had said her father had told her that the magic inside of her was evil. She had not known what her powers entailed, she had been scared to speak of them. Dracula had speculated that her father wasn't the only person to have told her that, to have frightened her, even unknowingly, into wanting to deny her own power. A person didn't get from that point to carrying themselves with the confidence she did now without building up a little resentment along the way. Whatever had happened to her during the time they'd both been away, whatever progress she had made, he was all but certain she had done it in defiance of someone.

Again she seemed to lose herself in his aura, and once again, she managed to bring herself out of it. He was thrilled. He hadn't tried to actually lay on the supernatural suggestion yet, but he didn't want to, not if he didn't have to. It was infinitely more useful to have someone who followed him willingly, who wanted the same things he wanted. He just had to convince her that that was indeed the case.

"All I ask," he said, brushing his lips along the line of her cheekbone in the ghost of a kiss as he leaned back, "is your loyalty. Perhaps your companionship, on occasion. Immortality can be a lonely business." He caught her eyes with his, blue and clear, free of anything overtly vampiric.

"These leaderless children," he said, gesturing towards the school around them, "they wander back into this place, uncertain...unworthy. They have no idea what they're doing, they are lost. It will take them an age to return this place to what it has been, and even then, they will be weak. They need someone to lead them to fulfill their true potential. You know I'm not wrong." He reached out then and took one of her hands in his. "Come with me," he said, and though it sounded like a command, there was an element of persuasion to it that hinted at his unwillingness to have her with him if it wasn't by her own volition. "We will find somewhere in this town to plan, wherever we desire, and we will work in secret until the time is right."

[Morgana Le Fey]

Her breath caught in her throat as his lips brushed her cheekbone and he stated his conditions. She barely had to contemplate - it was so little that he asked. She could give her loyalty easily, and she could withdraw it to, if need be. If he would help her, if he would provide the things she could not provide herself, then what price was her loyalty? She would not be subservient to anyone - she had learnt her lesson in that a long time ago - but loyalty was different. Two people could be equals and still show loyalty. And that was what she wanted.

As for companionship - Morgana knew what it was to be lonely. As a priestess of the Goddess she was not restricted on taking men to her bed, but since being torn from this place all those years ago she had not considered anyone worthy. She had been lonely, her bed cold and empty, for more than ten years, and she could not deny that she longed for a companion as well. She had refused to use her Sight to look for him; it was too painful, to raw, and she did not know if she would be able to handle what she saw. The last time she had seen him he had not known who she was, he was younger than her Caz and she did not know where he had ended up or who he had become. She did not know if he would come back here. And so she had pushed all thoughts of him away for the last ten years, trying to forget him, allowing all her passion, anger and longing to fuel her work instead.

She looked Dracula in the eyes and felt a stirring within her. Yes, she could give him her companionship, if he required it.

As he took her hand in his she felt that stirring again, and she was captivated by his words. He was right, she knew it, those who had come here and were working to restore the place were fools. They were weak and they were pathetic, and they needed to be shown the way. And who better to lead them that her and Dracula? Their power combined, they could be unstoppable. She could take what she needed, what she wanted, and with Dracula at her side who would dare to stand in their way?

"Yes." She said quietly, her eyes shining with desire and longing, not just for him but for everything he promised. "I'll come with you. Show me the way."

[Vlad Dracula]

There were a few...minor details that needed to be worked out before Dracula could make good on all his glorious promises. To start, he hadn't even properly introduced himself. But again, things like that were just details. He also wasn't certain where he'd be setting up his promised lair of darkness, but he had an idea, and he was eager to share it with her, to get an opinion on how ominous it could be made to appear to mortals.

"I have a place in mind," he said, running one cold fingertip along the warm skin of her hand. Humans, he thought, were so fragile, but it was their fragility that made the few standouts that much more impressive. As far as he knew, she was as breakable as any other human, but she had a resilience about her that made him suspect that a person might not be able to do her in as easily as they thought. He lifted her hand and spun her, as if they were dancing, then slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "I'm Vlad," he said, his lips next to her ear again. "I'd love to hear your name as well, but for now, you're going to want to hold tight."

He pushed off of the ground and took flight, the night air whipping around them, heading for the entertainment district, where he'd been scouting out the abandoned casino. He had the thought that it could be delightfully ominous, and hopefully it also wouldn't be a priority when it came to renovations. The returning crowd had the whole school to deal with, and even after that, there were more important bits of town to deal with than the casino. He could do a little redecorating of his own, maybe hire some people to run the place, and in the meantime, it was a fairly self-contained little world. And, as most casinos, there would be limited daylight indoors, which meant he could operate when he needed to without worrying about being mortally wounded by some idiot opening the wrong curtain.

"Have you ever flown?" he asked, still holding her securely. He knew there were other means of flight people had at their disposal these days, but not all of them involved the open air the way this did, and he did want to be sure she wasn't going to panic and flail out of his arms or anything. He was all but certain she wasn't, but still...good to be sure. He could sense her pulse beneath the skin of her neck beside his face, and he inhaled deeply. Dracula usually kept food and political strategy separate, but that wasn't to say that the right person couldn't volunteer for both jobs...

[Morgana Le Fey]

She shivered at his touch, goosebumps appearing on his skin in the wake of his trailing finger. Her breath quickened as he turned her and pulled her close to him, savouring the feeling of his arm around her waist and his closeness. It had been so long since she had been touched like this, and she couldn't help but enjoy it, wanting more. She felt his breath in her ear as he spoke to her, and felt a stirring and a desire she wanted him to satisfy.

She turned her head slightly, questioningly, as he told her to hold tight, her lips beginning to part in a question as she suddenly felt her feet leave the floor. She gasped in awe and excitement, momentarily struggling to catch her breath as it was stolen by the speed and the wind whipping around them. She closed her eyes and savoured the moment, the feeling of invinciblity she felt as she soared through the air, held by a man who exuded a sense of power and sexuality.

She opened her eyes when he spoke, and they were alight with excitement and desire. "No. The first of many new experiences you can introduce me to." She replied, smirking slightly and leaning back into him, subconsciously tilting her head so her neck was stretched and exposed. "This is wonderful."

[Vlad Dracula]

The urge to stay up here with her for another while was strong. She was beautiful and strong, and from the looks of it, certainly willing, but the sky was no place for a tryst, and Dracula had an agenda. But the pale arch of her neck stretched out there in the moonlight...oh, it was tempting. There would be time for that later, though, and he wasn't hungry yet. He was far more interested in escorting her back to the casino and seeing if they could come up with a rough plan for taking over this little corner of the world. That seemed like a fairly good itinerary for the night, at least.

"I had a feeling you'd enjoy it," he said, lingering there for a few more moments, letting the world settle around them. "You know...immortality, though it is a gift, make no mistake...there are only so many first times you experience after the first few hundred years. After a while, the only first times you experience are those of others." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, felt the pulse of her blood so close beneath the thin cover of her skin, then pulled back, shaking off the bloodlust that rose up in him at the action. There was something tantalizing, something that felt very alive about letting himself venture so close to the edge before pulling back.

"Come," he said, turning downward toward their destination. "I have many things to to tell you, and perhaps a few to show you as well." He was making no effort to hide his nature from her; if she knew anything of vampires she was surely aware by now of what she was getting into. But that didn't mean she'd experienced all of it.

[Morgana Le Fey]

There was a part of her that would have been happy never to come down, to stay in the air like this forever, feeling weightless, free, and forgetting everything that waited for her down on the ground. But it was only a small part - her desire for revenge, her desire to give those that had wronged her what they deserved was too strong. She knew moments like this were fleeting, and to be savoured, and so she closed her eyes and let the experience surround her, giving herself fully to this moment.

She smiled at his words, keeping her eyes shut, and at the feel of his lips on her neck her breath caught in her throat. She knew what he was, knew what he wanted, and there was a part of her that was wishing that he would just take it, take what he wanted from her - she wouldn't fight.

She felt them begin to descend, and she allowed herself to cling a little tighter to him, regretting that the moment had to end. But there was an excitement too, an anticipation for what was still to come. She was eager to see what he had to show her, to hear what he had to tell her. "Where are we going?" She asked, opening her eyes and looking around. "What plans do you have, Vlad?" She said his name slowly, enjoying the feel of it on her tongue.

[Vlad Dracula]

He found that he quite liked the way she said his name, like she was tasting it, and moreover, that she enjoyed the way it tasted. There were many things Dracula found attractive in the people he chose to spend his time with. Sometimes, it was fear, the way a person was fascinated by him despite being terrified of him. Sometimes it was their connections, the things they could give him. In this case, though, it was the way she seemed to embrace everything he had shown her so far. She was the kind of person who could stare pure evil in the eye without so much as flinching, and that was as intoxicating to him as anything else he could think of.

"There's a casino," he explained, turning toward said building and descending slowly. "Everything is empty, for now, as far as I've been able to tell. But we can change that." He passed over the top of the building, cresting over the parapet and finally touching down just in front. He held onto her for a few seconds longer, one arm still around her waist holding her against him, gesturing towards the building with his other hand.

"A good spot for a lair, no?" he asked. "I think you and I ought to be able to provide just the personal touch it needs. My thought is that we should get a bit of space cleared out for ourselves, particularly somewhere I can spend the days."