waiting for the end (Dracula)

[Deleted]

There were not many things on this earth that Egeria would admit to having any sort of a distaste for and likewise, there weren't many things she would like to consider something she liked exceptionally. The Dryads of her place in Narnia where known for their ability to remain completely objective and peaceful, Egeria was the first to challenge this. Even then, however, only slightly does she lean to the side that most would call good. There were others in Narnia, other nymphs, who were strictly good and fought for it. This was a bit too much for Egeria, a bit too far outside her nature. Even here at Tintagel she generally remained unattached emotionally when studying the inhabitants here. Though she does genuinely want to spread her knowledge and unknot troubled souls, she occasionally overlooks certain things that may be harmful to her subjects. Strange as she finds it, she'd been dwelling on such things recently. So many things seemed less important once you've lived long enough.

She had placed herself in the corner of the empty classroom for not reason other than the fact that she liked to see the whole room in front of her. She had decided it was time to seek out the one called Count Vlad Dracula. she knew most everything about him, or at least what books and whispers could tell her, and she had been curious for a while now to meet an old soul like hers. The amount of knowledge he carried could quite compare to her own, perhaps she might even learn something from the man, if she dare call him that. Egeria had put off meeting him before only that she found herself strange conflicted over the Count. He was a Vampire, and a ruthless one at that. If she was listening only to the teachings of her past home she would not pay his murderous ways any heed. He was a Vampire, after all, and like most animals, they have to eat to survive, or rather, drink in this case. Why should she look down upon him for satisfying his needs? Perhaps it was the stories beyond that that really left her with a certain distaste to his lifestyle. Maybe it was because he didn't just do such things to satisfy basic needs, but to gluttony and waste. Whereas Egeria had decided to spread her knowledge for the betterment of all kind, Dracula hoarded it and used it for his own pleasure.

She was dressed in her normal attire, a plain dress and simple flats. Her natural aura seeming highly out of place in this dark classroom. She knew such a place would be just where the Count would be, however, and so she waited.

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[Vlad Dracula]

Dracula, unlike Egeria, disliked many things. He disliked do-gooders, he disliked the sun...he disliked orange juice, garlic, holy water, being unable to check his reflection in a mirror, and more people than he could probably find time to list.

But on a good day, a day when he'd fed and was as close to satiated as he really ever got, he could be...amicable. Not friendly, but he could tolerate the presence of other people without feeling the same intense urge to either kill them or manipulate them for his own purposes.

He avoided that mood as much as he possibly could. In his opinion, that feeling of satisfaction left him just a touch off his top game, lacking that edge of hunger that gave him his sharpest sense of instinct. When he wasn't hungry, he lost some of the instinctive need to be alert, to watch everything and everyone with the trained eye of a predator.

For that reason, he preferred to spend those times immediately after feeding, those times when he was most satisfied, alone. In a dark corner, in a dark coffin, in the solitude of a dark classroom...any of those would suffice, but it was the latter that he had selected on this particular day. He was seated on top of one of the desks, his feet propped up in the chair behind it, his elbows resting on his knees, hands folded between his legs, eyes closed as he inhaled the air of the classroom. Dust, old books, chalk...the lingering scent of sweat and a lot of other unpleasant residue from the adolescents who frequented this room.

And then...something new. Fresh. Flowers, and a hint of earth, and...completely out of place.

"The room is occupied," he announced, his tone remarkably polite.

[Deleted]

The room was silent except for the quiet sound of air filling her lungs and then, in turn, being released back into her surroundings. Breathing wasn't really necessary, nor was any part of her being really. She is just an image when it all comes down to it, just a soul, a tree being her true form and home. She preferred to be as nearly human as she might, however, being that she was so taken by the creatures. So she let her lungs fill and her heart beat, though she never would allow herself to forget for a second that it was a preference and only that.

It was then then that her ears caught the sound of another being taking in a healthy amount of oxygen and her vision instantly locked on the very individual she'd been waiting for. He had his back to her, though she greatly doubted he needed his eyes to know of her presence. She was therefore not remotely surprised when he spoke, in fact, no expression reached her face at all for she had not yet decided her feelings for the creature. She did take the opportunity to close the space between them, taking soundless steps until she was not but a foot away from the blood thirsty beast. Of this, she began musically I am well aware dear Vlad, and as I intended.

Her eyes caught whatever light that had managed itself into the room as she took a moment to assess him. She moved a small arc until she could see his face, eyes so old. He was rigid, so sure of himself, though she could sense his weaknesses. Such a powerful killing machine, oh, but such woe. Her and him both felt the curse, she could see it, the curse it was to live forever. Such lovely eyes, for such a man. she said slowly before continuing. Her tone lightened, though it seemed strange for the dark hymn she began to recite. ooh, but a man you are not, oh the countless corpses you have left to rot. Your name the last words of those, whose sweet blood you chose. You are death on wings, satan's song you sing, Count Vlad Dracula. She finished, remembering the verse from a book long ago and reciting it, as strange as it was for her, simply because of its relevance. She had a feeling he could see right past any of her riddles.

[Vlad Dracula]

Intriguing. She knew him, it seemed, or knew of him, and that ruled her out as a potential victim. That didn't bother him terribly, considering his current condition; he wasn't in the mood to hunt again so soon anyway. He looked her over with mild fascination, trying to determine exactly what she was. With most people, the strongest thing he sensed when they were close to him was the scent of their blood, the potency of it...with her, he smelled an almost unpleasant level of nature. She didn't even smell like a person.

"What are you?" he asked, curiously, choosing to move beyond her odd little poem. He had to admit, spontaneous poetry wasn't most people's reaction to meeting him for the first time. Most of them had one of two reactions - they were either drawn to him, or they had a higher level of instinct and were repelled by him, knowing on some subconscious level that he was danger incarnate. They didn't come stand in front of him and matter-of-factly recite poetry about his life and sins.

"Tell me," he said, standing up, sliding off of the desk and crossing his arms, "these things you...know about me, the ones you've spoken of...do they distress you?" He was wary of her - he didn't know who or what she was, and...nature could be harsh on someone as unnatural as a vampire. His existence defied the laws of nature, and if she was bound by them, it was possible that she had some sort of vendetta against him and those like him. "Are you here to reprimand me, then?"

Not that it would do any good...Dracula felt little remorse for the lives he had taken, even when presented with grieving family members of those he had killed, it wasn't likely that Sister Nature or whomever she might be was going to be able to elicit much of a sympathetic response from him either.

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She felt something wane between them, a certain line of electricity that had dimmed and simply been replaced by another. She remember that he might have been considering her for prey, that was not surprising, what was intriguing was the fact this seemed to be the case no more. It was tiny, probably only someone or something such as herself would be keen enough to catch, but it was definitely there. The predator not gone, but less threatening, had she been threatened in the first place. Instead, she would have guessed, he was curious, otherwise he would have no other reason to continue in conversation with her. She was pleased to here her assumptions vindicated with his words.

The nymph smiled, mildly amused by the simple fact that a being such as himself could not sort it out on his own. There was a chance, though, that he had never met one of her kind. Still, she wondered if he could come up with some kind of conclusion on his own and so refrained from answering. She only watched him as he stood, not bothering to put any space between them. She wondered how it would be if he bit her and found no blood in her veins. Furthermore, she had never been bitten by a Vampire, she was curious if such a thing would inflict pain on a wood nymph. Not in the way you would prefer, I am afraid she responded at first.

She listened to him speak, retaining her whimsical smirk, until he'd finished. She pondered this for a moment, stepping a small circle around him and looking him over again. It was true, perhaps, that he did not belong in nature at all and, therefore, she should detest him in some way or another. In this world, maybe, but in here home there were many that this universe would call unnatural. She began to weight his vices, but her old teachings brought her conflict again. Upon returning to face him, she tipped her head slightly again I have not yet decided. she stated simply, before continuing with her plain, yet musical tone. I do not particularly care for the harm you cause, but it is not in my nature to reprimand. I prefer only to mend.

[Vlad Dracula]

Interesting. She was more of a reactive do-gooder than a proactive one, it seemed. She'd rather...fix the things other people broke, then, would she? Dracula wondered if she knew exactly how broken he left people and things when he was done with them. He'd never met anyone who could repair that kind of damage, although in this world of magic, anything was possible.

"The harm I cause..." he mused, "I cause because...I believe I have as much a right to survive as any other creature on this earth. To say that I am the only person whose existence is furthered only at the detriment of others is vastly inaccurate and unfair. Every breath of air any human being takes is a breath that some other person cannot take..."

He paused, and a smile spread across his lips.

"But I suppose those are only the arguments one might offer on my behalf if they did not truly know me...Anyone who knows me..." He reached out to brush an icy fingertip across the line of her jaw. "Anyone who really knows me, and I assure you, there are not many who do, knows that I kill not only because I need to...but because I like it."

He shrugged slightly and turned to face the chalkboard at the front of the room.

"Of course, if you've got your heart set on mending the damage I do, I invite you to try. Perhaps it won't be quite as satisfying if the lives I take are returned to them, but if it amuses you...I would be intrigued to see your attempt."

[Deleted]

She listened to his word emotionless, though she registered on some level that his voice was rather pleasing to the ear, in fact, 'pleasing' seemed to describe a lot of his physical traits. His eyes held an intoxicating glow, his face beautiful beyond possibility and while Egeria could see past this and into his soulless, black heart, she knew so many could not. So many would easily fall victim to his wiles and so their lives would end, the fact that they had just made a wrong decision being the last realization they would make before they're consumed by death. Should he be condemned for that? Isn't he just higher up on the food chain, isn't it his natural instinct to hunt? Yet, that would imply that he has a mind no different than a grizzly bear, an animal, whose pure and only instinct is to survive. Being that he had the wise mind of a impossibly old human, things then started to get mixed and muddled. When does killing become murder? Is it something based on intelligence or morals? As much as she would rather not, Egeria had a feeling she was going to have to do some personal judging to make decisions at one point or another.

I know she said matter-of-fact like just before he smiled, and the already dark conversation turned darker. Her eyes only left his for a moment to rest on his moving hand before returning to his face. She stood perfectly still as he dragged his fingers along her jaw, they were cold as ice, but somehow left a lingering warmth. He was very good at what he did, but the touch did nothing for her. but intrigue her further. She supposed his words should answer her moral dilemma, wouldn't it be plain murder if you enjoyed it such as he? Yet knowing how time affects a being she felt herself constructing another conceivable defense. When you live as long as either of them have, Egeria believes, there comes a point when it hard to find something to live for anymore. Egeria found purpose in mending, Vlad found entertainment in destroying. Just seeking entertainment, but if it were as simply as light and dark, those being the only two options, you could easily say they chose opposing paths. Opposing, but easy to understand. If she was light and he was dark, then, no mater the justification, she will never be able to accept his lust for murder and blood.

He turned away and continued to speak. She smiled slightly, please to realize that she did have her heart set on mending the damage he did. When he continued however, a few musical notes of laughter rang in the rang. You misplace my intentions dear sir. Though she had thought it quite impossible, she too would be intrigued see her to attempt to mend the damage he does, whether success or failure await when this road ends. Fixing those he has hurt is one thing, but to fix the problem from its source is a much more sufficient plan. She could not very well stop him from feeding, but feeding unnecessary she surely could. Perhaps she'd even have the good will to help this being, after all, as a source of light wasn't that her calling?

It would be far more sensible to stop the unwarranted harm you cause before another mortal dies for your amusement She said as she circled around to face him again, hovering close inside most peoples comfort zone as she often did. She brought her hand upwards to gently touch his chin, like a child might, curious about the the texture, about how he might react. Egeria was more concerned with the latter. She was very close to him, and very quiet It may be fortunate that we hold certain things in common, dear Count.

[Vlad Dracula]

He wasn't even bothering with trying to use any sort of hypnosis on her. He wasn't interested in her blood...though from the smell of it, she either didn't have any, or it simply wasn't the sort of blood that his senses found at all appealing, so it didn't even register. He wasn't hungry. She wasn't prey.

Honestly, he was a little bored. But he didn't feel like abandoning his quiet, empty classroom because of a pesky newcomer. He liked his empty classroom, and he wasn't giving it up that easily, just because some oddly antique girl decided she wanted to bother him. He leaned back on the desk again, still standing just beside her but resting part of his weight on the top of the desk, his arms crossed over his chest.

Her hand was neither warm nor cold on his skin...it was like...the touch of the breeze, which he only felt in the vague sense of a passing shadow, like something had moved by him and left only a fleeting memory in its wake. He reached up, though, and closed his hand around her wrist, lowering her hand from his face. People didn't touch Dracula without invitation. They didn't just walk up and start wiping their fingers all over him, because he was dangerous. She clearly had no concept of that, or she didn't care...which meant she was either stupid or dangerous herself. Either way, Dracula found himself developing a certain distaste towards her.

"So you would mend me, would you?" he mused. "I've been human before. I must tell you, I don't fancy it. At all." He emphasized those last words meticulously, like he wasn't sure she'd understand them if he didn't say them clearly enough. "I have no desire to return to that state, and if that is the reason you have come here, I suggest you leave now before I become irate. I don't believe you'd like me when I'm irate."

He was bluffing...but he was also a very good liar. He had no idea if she had some kind of bizarre power of nature that could do him any damage, but until she showed evidence of that kind of gift, he wasn't going to let the slightest bit of nervousness creep through his calm façade.

[Deleted]

She didn't flinch, gasp, tense, or show any such things that would imply that his hand wrapping around her her wrist brought her any sort of distress. Instead, her eyebrows raised slightly, calculating this movement like she did most. How brass of him. How subtly threatening, relatively sexual, and rash of him to pull her hand away. How interesting. Perhaps she had given him more credit than he is really worth. It seems time has not only made him wise, but arrogant too. So arrogant, in fact, that any wisdom his may hold could easily be over shadowed. First order of business then, perhaps it would be sensible to introduce him to a bit of humility. Yes Egeria thought calmly as she willed her hand into petals as to free herself from his grasp, that would be quite logical.

She stood stoic as he began to speak, but a slowly growing grin appeared on her lips as she continued. She found that his threats were rather amusing, given how very difficult it would be for him to harm her, irate or otherwise. She watched him for a moment after he finished, weighing his words against his will until a small giggle bubbled from her lips. How positively childish of you she commented, the image of him stomping about bringing about her small twittering indulgence. It took a whole of three seconds for her to regain her mask of mild interest and she was back to considering his words more carefully, looking him up and down.

After another long moment of pondering, the whimsical nymph seemed to come to some sort of conclusion and took a few steps to the side, turn herself slightly away from him and looking far beyond. I cannot turn you mortal, Count Dracula, nor do I have the will to. she began, allowing her eyes to drift back to meet his. But I would advise that you do not make the mistake of forgetting that you are not, in fact, indestructible. and with the sudden gentle twist of her wrist, a window to her far right shattered to make way for something headed straight for that dead place in the center of Dracula's chest where his heart should beat. Just before it could so much as wrinkle his shirt, however, the flowery girl brought the projectile to a halt, revealing it as a bit of a branch, broken so that one end was as sharp as any knife if enough pressure should be supplied. In other, more threatening words, she supposed, to a Vampire: a deadly wooden stake.

I have decided to mend you, Count Vlad Dracula. she spoke calmly You may lose your temper, you may pout or complain, you may try to kill me if you would like, but I stand by decisions once decided as I plan to for all of eternity. I do not expect your cooperation, but I, it would seem, have adopted a fair amount of that undesirable trait known as "stubbornness" after so many years at my trade. I do not wish to fail, Dear Count, but should I, I will stab you in the heart and you will die.

[Vlad Dracula]

Of course he was arrogant. Given a long enough time of near-invincibility, most people would be. He was arrogant, but he was also far from stupid. He knew he wasn't entirely invulnerable, knew that there were things out there in the world that could touch him, could harm him if they were in the hands of someone who knew how to use them. Stakes...holy water...things people could easily acquire but usually didn't bother because they either didn't believe in vampires or just weren't willing to confront one themselves. The first sort usually didn't find out that they'd been mistaken until it was much too late. And the second sort were the kind a vampire like Dracula enjoyed toying with. In all his life, he had only met a mere handful of individuals who both believed in the reality of vampires and were also willing to face that terror head on.

He had mistakenly not judged her to be among those select few. He had believed her to be a similar spirit at best, an annoyance at worst. She asked too many questions, perhaps, knew too many silly facts and poems, from the sound of it. He was surprised - and for a moment uncertain whether it was in a positive or negative way - that she would turn to threatening him with such ease.

He looked down at the sharpened branch, and there was some small place deep inside him that still felt enough desire to continue his own existence to make him want to cower. Made him want to pull away, take flight and use all the speed he was capable of to get away from this dangerous, unpredictable girl. But it was daylight outside - he had no desire to be consumed in flames, and he doubted whether he could get to another form of shelter before he was incapacitated by the sunlight.

"I have no desire to kill you," he told her, although that wasn't entirely accurate. Now that she'd pulled that card, there was some small desire to do away with her. "Put that away, why don't you?" He lifted a hand, used two fingers to press the branch to the side, and placed the other hand to the side of her face, cool fingers tracing her cheekbone, her jaw, down to her neck until he finally rested it on her shoulder.

Then, he leaned in, closed the distance between them, and pressed his lips against hers.

[Deleted]

"I have no desire to kill you" well she would simply be naive take that for the truth. She had threatened his life and she believed it was rather safe to assume he had enough will to live to experience some sort of negative emotion towards her and the stake she had purposely placed over his heart. She saw it, flicker through his eyes, a moment of fear and she knew her actions had registered. Surely he would want to kill her, but he would have to work very hard to do so given that she could end his existence at any given moment should she choose to. She watched him carefully, free from emotion and instead calculating his. She could see him working through his options as she had done the moment she had decided to meet him. Should he run, the sunlight would have him and so he was caught like the animal he was. A lion in cage. She should have known better than to end her plan there.

Desperation once combined with that of a beast held captive was not something to be overlooked. It is not often Egeria Echo makes a mistake, but here she stood realizing her fault too late as she saw something light up his eyes that was definitely not fear or resignation. Something else, something...warmer, something that she remembered having been searching for, but not here. She tried to hold her expression steady as that strange feeling of drifting confusion washed over her. She could not pull things together fast enough in her head to keep us with what he was doing. She suddenly felt a urge to move away, which she couldn't ever remember feeling as an instinct.

She cocked her head to the side ever so lightly in the slightest display of her perplexity as he moved her branch to the side, but she made no move to bring it back, there were far more pressing matters to be dealt with. Like, why he was touching her now, and not just touching her, but touching her like that. A unnamable tingling sensation followed the path his icy fingers found on her skin. Her heart adopted an irregular beat and she wondered for a moment if she had read anything about Vampires control over the heart. And then she thought of it.

Interest overwhelmed her uncertainty in this moment, placing his actions as sexually orientated. He was trying to seduce her and for the briefest of moments, it was working. With this realization came rather unusually strong sensation of happiness, given that these were the very thing she had been vying to sort out in human nature. She would have never guessed she could glean such things from a Vampire, but then, it was known that one of their great gifts as a predator was the ability to seduce human beings. Even with her mind sorted again she only watched him, the shadow of a smile appearing on her otherwise calm face as he leaned toward her, sure this would only offer her further insight. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared her the kiss of a Vampire.

Her eyes instantly closed though she did not prompt them to and, though his lips were cold, she felt her body warm. She was utterly disoriented for probably the longest in her history which totaled to about thirty seconds before her eyes fluttered open and she slipped a hand between their lips. She took a moment to gather herself. She realized she was floating a few inches off the ground. Her eyes flickered to to branch that lay on the floor near the Count's feet, she may have heard it clatter the moment his lips met hers. She brought her eyes back up to his after her contemplation. Interesting she said finally, quietly, moving her lips away from her hand so only her fingers remained pressed to his. Interesting indeed she repeated. It would seem she said slowly That we have a lot of work to do With a kiss like that, helpless mortals don't have a chance. Second order of business: prevent Count Vlad Dracula from kissing anyone.

[Vlad Dracula]

Intriguing. It seemed he might have caught her off guard there, and he was immediately glad that he'd taken the higher road and refrained from begging for his life. Cowering might have been in his best interests at this time and at a few other times in his life, but he could not remember the last time he'd done it...and he had a remarkable memory. Yes, he was lying to her. Yes, he had some desire to end her life right there for having the audacity to come into his place of solitude and threaten him with words and violence. But as far as his intentions...no, he had no intention of killing her where she stood, even if he had been able to (which, to the best of his knowledge, he still could have done had he moved quickly enough).

There was something off about the way she smelled, though, something foreign about the way she carried herself, and it left him reluctant to try anything too rash against her.

That did not, of course, include his vampiric gift of persuasion. Unlike his more directly dangerous talents, such as unnatural speed or strength, his talent for seduction was much more subtle. Either it would work on her, or chances were she wouldn't even notice it was happening. The result, though, wound up somewhere in between the two.

At first, she seemed to succumb to the unexpected onslaught of sensory overload. Kissing a vampire, according to some, wasn't at all like kissing a human being. The physical action was the same, but when you were that near to danger, when you shared the same breath as death itself...there was something far more intoxicating and much more dangerous about it. To her credit, very few people would have been able to break away after that.

He didn't like the way she said her next words, not even slightly. Who did she think she was, waltzing in on the breeze this way, demanding that he change the way he lived? He'd been existing in the same basic pattern for centuries, and she thought she ought to just step in and intervene? Surely someone who was as one with the earth as she seemed to be should understand that some things were forces of nature and shouldn't be interfered with, namely vampires.

"I will not be your pet project, your plaything, or your source of entertainment," he informed her coolly. "I have lived a life I quite enjoy for some time now, and I do not wish to interrupt it simply to cater to your idealised world view."

Even if she could kill him with a wave of her hand. Even if she did seem bizarrely immune to the strongest of his gifts. Would it be worth it? His life in exchange for allowing her to dictate even the smallest portion of how that life ought to be lived? No, he decided, he would just as soon take his chances. He would not be so unguarded next time, he would be waiting, should she decide to fling another branch at him. He wasn't without a set of extremely keen reflexes, and it was decidedly difficult to catch him unaware more than once. Next time, he would be waiting.

[Deleted]

She smiled slightly and realized that she was, perhaps, enjoy the Count’s company more than she would care to admit. He was quite an interesting contradiction that only proved more and more true as time passed and their conversation elongated. He was so very old; she could feel it, sense his age as compared to her own, but it almost seemed as if he had grown so long and learned so much that he had surpassed maturity and settled back into a more child like mind set. He was a pouting adolescent to Egeria’s eyes, and what most would call violent threatening, she saw as a grumpy remark. She had never spent much time with children, she never really was a child herself, but she knew enough about them to know that Dracula had several key tendencies to make him under that category. For one, it would seem, Count Vlad Dracula always got his way. When this was not the case, he acted out and threw harsh words to the wind. Perhaps it was time for a time out.

She would not be the first to put space between them and so held her position. She had to remain a few inches in the air to match his line of vision given their height difference, but this was hardly a bother. She listened to his words, taken them in though her face only displayed that same funny smirk that gave the impression that she was not entirely normal. Her head tilted to one side, causing her long brunette locks to sift despite her obvious lack of regard for gravity. She had though they were past this, or had he thought that his kiss would cause her to vanish or some such nonsense. She realized that her mouth tasted vaguely of metal, but nothing on her tongue warned her of anything that may cause her harm. She’d never been poisoned before; she imagined that it would not be pleasant. Could one like herself be poisoned? She would have to assume so, though she was quite certain that a makeshift image could not be killed in such a way.

There was a pause before the air resonated a voice again. You are mistaken to think I have given you a choice, dear Vlad she remarked calmly. She watched for a reaction. His eyes seemed so cold and angry, waiting, waiting for her to make a wrong move so he might tear her apart. Perhaps she should present such an opportunity; best get it out of his system she supposed. Isn’t that what one might do for an anxious child? So, breaking her previous resolve to stay put, she backed away a few feet. She glanced down at her branch and without warning it hurled for his head, carefully placed so that the blunt side of the wood flew at his skull, not that she thought it would do any good anyhow unless aimed at his heart. This was meant to annoy, not harm.

[Vlad Dracula]

He was very, very quickly growing weary of this whole situation. What had begun as mild annoyance had become slight amusement, and had now come full circle to become utter distaste. Did she really think she was going to be able to change him? Did she know how many people had tried to do that, and how few had ever actually succeeded? As far as he could remember, the only major change in his life that he had cared to maintain was the transition between human and vampire. He was certainly not intending to let some upstart forest nymph waltz in and tell him how to live his life.

Maybe she thought he didn't have a choice. He would show her how mistaken she really was. Dracula had a remarkable talent for keeping himself alive...he had been doing it for centuries, even through times when people had been more inclined to believe in and pursue his kind. He had developed skills and instincts that had helped him avoid death for quite along time. Yes, he knew how to survive. But he would never do it at the cost of living.

He heard the branch in the air before any human could have turned to see it, and reached up a hand to slap it aside. Fangs extended, he let out an unearthly hiss of displeasure, his eyes darkening in reflex at what instinct insisted was an attack - one worth bothering over or not, it was still an attack.

"Leave. Now," he commanded. "I do not want your interference. I do not want to speak to you, I do not want you near me. Perhaps you think that because you surprised me once, you could kill me without effort, but I assure you, you will find me much more difficult than all that."

For the first time, he considered playing Glinda as his trump card. Glinda's magic, surely, could protect anyone she wanted from something so pesky as a wood nymph - unlike Dracula, she wasn't vulnerable to things like tree branches.

"Do not threaten me again."

[Deleted]

She observed him emotionless as he turned on her, rage lining his dark features. The thought occurred to her that, perhaps, he was just stubborn enough that he would sooner die than have her float about in her attempts to mend him, yet her confidence was not shaken. Though her hold over his life may prove useful, it was not completely necessary so long as he remained ignorant to the fact that there was one way in which he could kill her as well. She was not asking for his corporation, she was not asking anything of him really, just informing him as to what she had in mind. She could not possibly expect him to be pleased with her endeavors. He was a centuries old vampire and a hard headed one at that, to put it lightly. Naturally he would not want to be changed, a lot of those she sought out didn't. Well, truthfully most did, they didn't didn't want to go through the work to get there. Dracula very clear wanted absolutely nothing to do with mending his ways, not matter, she had made it clear that he didn't have a choice in the matter. She would watch him, riddle him, always be around, always there though he may not see see her. This will truly challenge her abilities, perhaps this this would prove good for her too.

He pushed the branch away like it was nothing and began to threaten her. This was completely to be expected. When beings, human or Vampire alike, don't get what they want for a situation they try to change that somehow. In Dracula's case, he first attempted to seduce her. Seeing as that didn't work it would be time to change tactics, she had a solid idea that he would choose violence this time around. Her normal little grin appeared on her lips as his tantrum inspired monologue came to a close. She nodded sightly, but approached him rather than leaving like he suggested. She would only have to kill him should she fail terribly and perhaps cause him to take more lives than he had already been planning upon. Should she choose to though, she was convinced she could kill him. It may take more than on try, but she could do it, and she had a feeling he had an idea of that.

Perhaps she commented softly, taking carful steps closer to him before he gave her one last demand to ignore. Just how far could she go? How far until he tried to claw her heart out only to discover that she was hardly flesh and bone? She continued her steady steps, here clear blue eyes looking deep into his blackened own. So angry... she remarked gently, almost as if she were mildly concerned. She climbed the air like it were solid, not stoping until she was right up near his face again. Sticks and stones, Count Dracula she whispered, trusting that he could finish the common phrase. Do not fret, dear Count she said a bit lighter. You may be surprised how often it will seem like I am not even here and with that last word she was gone save for her trademark pale pink petals. She swirled about him for a moment then reassembled just behind him. She was toying with him. Pressing buttons, figuring him out further. How might she unravel the legendary Count Vlad Dracula.