Plans, Boxes and Runes

You and Rose started basic, "nothing too important," Rose insisted as She cast out a keen ear in case of eavesdroppers.

"First and foremost, We need to find a base of operations, I don't like having this many ears around while we plan." She stated bluntly. You couldn't agree more, trusting the Gerix now even with Corvus gone would be unwise.

"The sooner we get out of here the better."

Rose nodded "I'm open to ideas?"

You pondered for a moment "Well, I obviously can't go back to Campus Grounds at the moment that's for sure"

Rose' red lips fell into a frown "At the moment? people think that You are dead-"

"-Yeah, think, I am however still here." You corrected though she didn't seem all too happy.

"You wish to return to the life that You had before then?"

You nodded with certainty "It was never my intention to vanish, Rose, I still have Family, people that I need to get back to."
She jotted a couple of things down, a slightly uncomfortable look on her face.

"If You insist... and we are going to go that route, then it opens up a lot of avenues true, but I can see it complicating things down the line. As for a Base of operations, though, an idea does come to mind."

You raised an eyebrow "Do tell?"

"Your father's Manor was left in ruins after You were turned..." even just being reminded of the Incident still kicked up wisps of fury within, Rose continued "...But, I happened to notice the basement during my short admittance into Your home."

Your head perked up, "Ah, My Dad's Man Cave! That would be perfect, there is practically a whole other House down there, we could set up shop with all the space that we need!"

Rose halted You with a sudden gesture, Her eyes thinning as her head cocked slightly to the left, A dark look overcoming Her smooth features; aura twisting into insidious malice, this Hideously sharp Ire was not directed at You, however, the Lord (and everyone else with the misfortune to be disliked by Rose) knows that this ladies Fury was 10 times worse than Your own.

She was pushing Her rage towards the door and after that, You could hear the faintest sounds of people, scuttling away from the door.

"How did I not notice that, I must have been too distracted?"
You thought, Your hands balling into fists as You stood from Your seat "Are You fucking kidding me!?" You muttered, going to angrily burst after them.

Rose grunted as She got up to stand in front of You, Her hand pressed against Your chest, halting You in place. Rose's strength in holding You back lasted only momentarily before she winced in pain, falling against You, a worried frown came upon You.

You held Her, concerned as She weakly huffed.

"Are You okay?" You asked.

"I'm... I'm fine. I just got up a little too quickly." Her attempt at sounding strong came off only as exhausted.

"You're still not fully Healed, You need more time to rest." You looked into Her eyes insistently, She was close to You, Her button nose, Her avian cheeks, Icy Blue eyes, and Rose' red lips.

"I can stand up just fine on my own" She again tried to sound cold and strong like before, but it was like that fight with Valerica had put a couple of cracks in her, in more ways than one.

You let Rose stand and She sniffed at You and grimaced, "You should shower, and change those clothes, especially if we are gonna be going out in public." She noted, looking at Your nearly tattered and semi-bloodsoaked clothing.

"I would but don't exactly have a full wardrobe to choose from right now."

Rose shrugged "Well, if You go and shower, I'll go and find something for You to wear." Crossing your arms and sighing You nodded at her, pointing firmly.

"Fine, just try not to kill anyone while You're at it."

She grunted, waving You off as She quickly rushed out to hunt for a new outfit for You. It had been a little while since You had taken a shower, it was like a whole new experience, the droplets of warm water didn't only wash away the dirt and stress of a difficult couple of weeks, but with the heat, the moisture, the steam on Your skin and the hissing pitter-patter of it all, it revitalized You, breathed warmth into Your cold frame and brought You the closest to living that You had felt in a while. Although it was still nothing compared to the taste of fresh blood, something that after a week **** You could go for right now.

The shower gave You some time to think, about the satisfaction that Corvus' **** gave You, about the Gerix, about Your still burning hatred for Valerica... and about Rose.

There was a knock at the door, "Umm... come in?" You nervously called out, quickly drawing the shower curtain to hide Your naked body behind. Rose let herself in, carrying a small pile of black clothing "Here." She said setting them on a drawer next to the sink, She glanced at You, only being able to see You from the chest up, You thought that she might have paused to stare at Your pecks for a moment, but she quickly turned to grab You old clothes, Her slender hands began to go through the trouser pockets "What are You doing?"

"Making sure that You don't leave anything." She replied, her fingers gliding through Your coat pocket's next, as her hand caught on something in the pocket, You remembered exactly what it was, cringing as She pulled out the small box and froze as She studied it for a moment.

Rose didn't yell or scowl or even ask anything for a moment, she merely stared at the Box full of Dark Blood quietly as You switched off the shower.

"Don't... Don't keep me waiting." She said coldly before leaving, box in hand. her reaction was very odd, Yes it was Valerica's blood, something that You had forgotten You'd have but... You would have thought that she would be angry or annoyed, not whatever that was.

Slipping on the black jeans and white tee that hugged Your strong lean form tightly, out into the room You stepped, where Rose waited with a distracted look on her face as She stared at the Blood box that Val had given You "I would have mentioned it..." You started, unsure if she was listening or not, "I just kind of forgot amidst all of the Chaos." She pocketed the box and looked at You, Her sapphire orbs became overcast with ruby red "Come. Pick that up and follow." Rose sounded a bit more like her old self, pointing to the dark purse next to her before walking to the Door.

You sighed, moving over to pick up the Purse... "Jesus... this thing is heavy." You thought as You heaved the back over Your shoulder "Holy fuck." this thing had to weigh like 500 pounds!

"Follow." She repeated, watching You struggle to carry her boulder of a purse.

Rose led You to the room that You had been staying in, the normally average walk down the hall feeling like a herculean labour, kneeling and huffing as you both entered "What in the... blazes... is in this!?"

Rose rolled her eyes "Just watch."

Rose moved across the empty room, Moving over to Your coffin and pausing... "You haven't marked Your coffin?"

You stared at Her in confusion "What's that?" Her hands became tense for a moment, her face twisting.

"Gerix." She said shaking the anger from her face "They didn't even teach You how to mark Your coffin." Rose looked at You like she had something to say, eventually, she spoke quietly "If I had known what He was doing, I would have killed him myself." That almost sounded sincere.

You smiled "I know Rose, Thank You." Her face went back to its cold look before she turned to the Coffin again

"Pay attention."

Rose reached out with her left arm, stretching out her hand, Her Index finger shifting into a sharp claw, quickly carving a small spiralling symbol into the Coffin's face, "În Palma mea" She muttered, the foreign words sparking life into the symbol, the dark lines burning a brilliant crimson and as it began to sizzle lightly with dark smoke...

The Coffin began to shrink, smaller and smaller, You stood with dumbfounded googly eyes as once tall Dark coffin, sat in the palm of her hand "Okay then, so You're a Wizard?" You said as She presented the Tiny coffin to You.

Rose shook her head "No, I'm not a Wizard. it's called a Blood Rune." Rose held out her hand, offering the small Coffin to You. reaching down, You took the Coffin in Your fingers, needing to use a little more strength than You anticipated to take it into You hands"It's heavy!" She nodded "The Rune only makes the object more Portable, otherwise all of its Qualities remain the same"

"Including the weight?" She smirked as You peered down to her bag, the spark of revelation on Your face "And just how many things are in this Purse exactly?" She shrugged, her smirk deepening "Enough. Come, It's gonna be a long walk to The Manor."

"Walk!?" You cried "I am not strong enough to run yet, come on, We don't have all night." Rose walked off before You could get another word in, leaving You to awkwardly sling the heavy bag over Your shoulder and grumble.

None spoke to You on Your way out, Cleo was nowhere to be found, Muninn was right, she had vanished, Muninn herself was with the receptionist as You and Rose passed through, She looked like she wanted to say something, though she Remained silent as Rose glared at her.

You took one last look back at the hotel before entering the woods, the large dark building's silhouette hiding under the dark sky, You said a silent goodbye, following Rose into a new life, a life, little did You know, would be far better than any other that You had ever had before.

END OF PART ONE