℘ first bite [audio]

[immortalrose]

[There's an odd buzzing noise that almost sounds like static interfering with this feed but eventually it goes quiet. When it does, a soft hum is heard in it's place. The words are too faint to make out but eventually as time goes on, the humming grows louder. It sounds vaguely like English or whatever the common tongue is in this strange utopia. For any linguists out here, the humming sounds Latin in origins but certainly not one of the four popular romance languages.

Thankfully these handy dandy communicators can easily translate this seemingly ominous message. After a brief moment of confusion, everything gets translated.]

If you wander off
The beaten path
Alone
Then you are a lost

If you wander off
The beaten path
With friends
Then you're adventurers

It's too bad I'm always alone.

Comments

[Audio]

[youfool]

[First off: utopia? Pfft. Secondly: Ted has some concerns and condolences.]

So the quality of being an adventurer depends on a...plurality?

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

[The reply isn't at all prompt or quick. In fact, Augustine takes his time responding to this comment since he's not in any hurry to do so.]

In some regards, I would think so.

Re: [Audio]

[youfool]

[He understands being busy. Or absentminded. Or leisurely. Either of those doesn't throw him much.]

Certainly makes it more fun, granted. You dislike the loneliness, then? Is the path you're walking a rare one?

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

[Considering all the oddities that lurk here in Genessia, Augustine certainly is more distracted than usual. He's still trying to piece together everything he learned from that lovely hologram by the pier. The technology of this realm reminds him of Ranslyvania but it seems so different at the same time.

Is this how his world looked prior to the rise of the Nobles? This is why his thoughts wander.]

Rare enough that only a handful of my kind are left.

Re: [Audio]

[youfool]

Goodness! Sounds like a harrowing, winnowing path indeed, if it can part you from kith and kin. A high and narrow one, like the steep and thorny path of the righteous, perhaps? Or something else?

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

Such is the cost of immortality. [He whispers the next bit.] Neither man or beast were meant to live this long without Heaven's blessing.

T'was man's fault for seeking eternity rather than solace.

[A thorny path of righteous, eh? That has him thinking.]

A self-righteous cause fueled by an inkling of revenge no less. I'm no saint despite named after two.

Re: [Audio]

[youfool]

[If Ted were more conscious he'd wonder how they could go so long talking around a thing rather than about it.]

Ah, well, if misery loves company, you're bound to to be less lonely. That's a very common woe. Indeed, I think the immortals are gaining on those heaven loves better. Or loves less, if you believe in Ahasverus and his wanderings.

Huh. Don't all men seek eternity? The healthy ones at least, I'd hope. Even nature herself groans to be clothed with immortality. Just in its good time, naturally.

Ah! You were named better than you are. What are they?

[Boy can he relate to that.]

[Audio]

[scarlet_devil]

[ It looks nice at first, but the little vampire would hardly call it a 'utopia.' Now that language... that is one she recognises. Her first language is French, she can read and speak Latin. Romanian wasn't too hard for her to learn. ]

You need not be.

[ It's accented, but she's fluent. ]

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

[It's the familiar accent; not the reply itself, that honestly catches Augustine off guard. He remains silent for a moment before asking the following.]

Who would care to join me?

Re: [Audio]

[scarlet_devil]

Well, that depends how you feel about vampires who look like young girls.

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

[The chuckle that comment earns is absolutely genuine.]

Leave it to the bluebloods to be so...honest. Or is it "pride" instead? I can hardly tell the difference anymore but you're indeed welcomed.

[He turns on the GPS on his device to indicate his location. Augustine seems to be lurking within the park here in Genessia City. This, of course, is viewable to all since there's no filters obscuring his location from view.]

May I ask your name?

[Audio]

[scarlet_devil]

I am Lady Remilia Scarlet. What is your name?

[ She knows the area very well... and could get there soon. ]

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

What a lovely name. I can tell the "Mistress in Red" comes from good stock.

[It seems he already came up with an alias for her.]

While I personally hold no titles, I was named after two saints and one...devil. [She's unable to see his smirk but Augustine is indeed grinning.] I suppose my mother hoped to purge me of her sins by naming me after these saints but alas--

[He trails off for momentarily as he ponders this truth. Lady Ramica was a very odd woman. She was the only one out of her numerous sisters to still have faith in God. Maybe she wished for Augustine to be like the saints she learned about from his father.

Probably.]

Augustine Gheorghe Vlad Tepeş at your service, Lady Scarlet.

Re: [Audio]

[scarlet_devil]

Some call me Scarlet Devil.

[ She doesn't mind it. Now Remilia herself... she doesn't have faith in god either. ]

Ah, someone of that name lives here... Time has little meaning to whatever brought us here.

[Audio]

[ayla_strong]

[Ayla frowns. The communication device has been making noise and showing people's faces since she got here. She has come to understand they're other people in the city but she's still not completely sure how they keep contacting her specifically, or who they're trying to speak to.

Or really how to reply. She shakes the device and pokes at random parts of it and manages to get it to ping rather than shut down this time. She takes that as a cue to reply.]

Sound like need tribe. Wander alone or with others, do for tribe. Build and protect for them. They do same for you.

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

A tribe?

[He arches his brown a little. Out of everyone who answered him, this has to be the most bizarre answer he gotten yet. However, the woman isn't exactly wrong.]

What a curious thing to say but you might be right. Wandering about in your lonesome is quite dangerous.

Re: [Audio]

[ayla_strong]

Need be strong to hunt alone. But have partner means safer hunt. And easier bring food back to village.

Re: [Audio]

[immortalrose]

[The manner of her speech is simplistic but oddly charming in it's own way. Augustine is somewhat charmed.]

I used to think I was stronger alone but I'm not. Not anymore.

[He let's out a thoughtful hum.]

What's your name? I'm Augustine.

Re: [Audio]

[ayla_strong]

Me Ayla. Chief of Ioka Tribe. Wake up here.

[She sighs and some of the confidence in her voice falls away.]

Not sure how captured or get to this time. Friends from Guardia Kingdom. Need find them. Can help.

[It's becoming clear to her that Guardia is not a place near here or even of this world, but she's not going to give up trying.]

[notquitedracula]

[One of the small blessings that came with Dracula's memories was his knowledge of languages. Among these, of course, is Romanian - Vlad's own native tongue.]

Now that's a language I've not heard in... quite a long time.

[immortalrose]

...I can imagine since this language isn't widely taught.

[Well, well! Isn't this interesting. Someone actually knows his native tongue? This surprises him since Romanian isn't typically known outside of Ranslyvania.

A thoughtful hum escapes Augustine as he turns on the video. Maybe he'll humor this speaker some. There's no need for him to hide, is there? Hopefully his inhuman gaze isn't too distracting.]

It's a living relic of the past we both honor and grieve.

[notquitedracula]

Nor should it be. Some would say the entire legacy should remain buried in the past, where it belongs... but I'm not one of them. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

[Well, that face clinches it. No mistaking those features; this person is most definitely a vampire. Soma's own nature is a little harder to spot, under the cloak of albinism, but the clues are there to be found if one knows where to look.]

Hmm. You might give Alucard a run for his money in the appearance department. Dare I ask your name?

[immortalrose]

Good on you! You're a better man than most. Often do we run from our pasts, never once realizing acceptance is key.

[Unfortunately, Augustine took greatly after his mother in terms of his vampiric appearance. He has her eyes after all. That inky black and bright red once belonged to the Lady of Night. Much to his distaste and sometimes gloom, Augustine often has to pretend to be blind and keep his eyes shut. Using glamour spells for long periods of time usually gave him a nasty migraine.]

Ah, you're not the first to gaze at me with such recognition. Is it safe to assume you know of another just like me?

[He smiles some.]

Augustine Gheorghe Vlad Tepeş, at your service.

[notquitedracula]

I know a few; I doubt their names will mean much to you, but for one - Vlad Tepes III, heir to the throne of fallen Wallachia. My name is Soma Cruz; Vlad is... an ancestor of mine, of a sort.

[Very briefly, something animalistic is visible behind Soma's eyes. Vertical slit pupils, irises gone cat-yellow, and just the barest hint of something else lurking even deeper. He regains his composure and control very quickly, though; blink and you'd miss it.]

I hope your temperament is less... abrasive, than his.

[immortalrose]

So, Dracula lives...truly?

[Those bright red eyes narrow some once he catches a glimpse at those cat-like eyes. This man here is a vampire?! He seems more human than vampire but he claims Dracula as his ancestor. No human would ever claim Dracula as an ancestor regardless which dimension they're from.

Augustine tenses some. His gaze becomes more steely and his back straightens some. He's on guard.]

Some would joke that I'm far too docile but you be the judge, Sir Cruz.