If Looks Could Kill (Closed)

It was almost dusk, and Amber was crouched low with her back against a the wide trunk of a tree. She could hear the end of a conversation, a good bye and a pop that told her that the person she’d been waiting for was alone. The red head was patient, and she knew that the dingy tavern on the side of a no longer used road was not too far away, so she waited for the right moment. The man was walking past, and she grinned to herself, ready to attack, when she was distracted by another sound. It was closer, and she was sure it was another person. But she had been certain that the man had been in the company of only one other, and that other was now gone. She paused, realising that the noise she had noticed was much closer than the man she’d been waiting for was. If she had been so full of senses for longer, she would have been able to differentiate using the scents of the two people, but as she was knew to it being so strong, everything was mixed in together. Hearing another crack, she knew that her intended meal had left and her eyes narrowed in frustration. Standing from her position behind the tree, her wand in one hand and a knife now in the other, she was prepared to strike when she hesitated. “What are you doing?” she hissed, a glare forming on her pale face.

Wulfric had seen Amber from a distance and had been dead set on sneaking up on her. However. He stood on a branch and it snapped. Which annoyed him, insanely. When she spoke he signed and whipped his wand out "Expelliarmus" he muttered flicking his wrist. "that, Amber, is just rude." He declared as he stepped from the shadows, meeting her glare with a charismatic smile and a wink. "Been a while huh? You still look as beautiful as the day we met. You've been busy though, hunting Solomon didn't go well. And meeting Talos probably didn't either. He is an ass. Threw an axe at me last time we met. Didn't expect it back I'll say. How you been?l

Amber’s glare grew more intense when she had to moved her hand out of the way of the disarming spell, surprising even herself with how quickly she could move. She recognised him, of course. They’d met when she was at Hogwarts when they had held the tournament. “So is scaring away someone's dinner, but you don’t see me complaining,” she said, slipping her wand back into her jacket pocket. Her eyes narrowed when he smiled and she waited for some indication that he was messing with her. But after a few moment, she figured that if that was the case she could just get her wand out again, so she sighed and slipped the knife back into its place. “Always did know how to make me blush,” she said sarcastically, propping herself against the tree she had been positioned behind. “You know a lot for someone who hasn’t been heard of in years,” she replied, “but no, the hunt didn’t go very well, you would be right. Bastard took my head nearly off.” Raising an eyebrow, she tilted her head a little to the side and asked, “have you had someone watching me? Or do you just know everything?”

Wulfric smiled "Oh...sorry" he flicked his wrist and then yank his hand backwards causing the man to fly backwards and land unconscious at their feet "Better...?" He asked kindly, before addressing other inquiries. "Didn't know Vampires could blush. Though, despite flattering, it was not my intent. My intent was...ah...apologising" he said the word as if it was an alien concept to him. Though he was clearly sincere. "I've been busy you see. Besides, I awoke before you, left you a black rose. It's because I am nice, it's also a trademark symbol for us Shadows, it's a history thing. Anyway...No, we Shadows have a huge network if informants from people whom would surprise you. Though, I was there when you went looking for Solomon. None of us know what he looks like...wanted to find out..."

Amber couldn't help but grin as the man that she had been so patiently waiting for appeared on the ground before her. She smirked and said, "thanks," though she left him there on the ground for the moment. Tilting her head, she frowned and said, "I don't know either... Apologising for what exactly?" Amber felt like she should at least be on the defensive, but what annoyed her most was that he was right-he'd never been anything but nice to her. "How did you wake early?" she asked as she became particularly curious, "you sound like the Shadows as a family are some kind of secret society, you know? And I did not see you there that day in Brazil?" Kneeling down beside the person on the ground, she tilted his head back and drank from his for a few moments. Sitting up straight again, she looked at Wulfric and asked, "so, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry for scaring off your dinner..." he drummed his fingers on the tree he leaned on know. Clearly deciding what to tell her. He then spoke. "Your mind becomes trapped in a dream state. If you died in it. You woke. Apparently I died." He shrugged slightly. "we kinda are...half clan half family. Like most of the older Nexian families." He smiled slightly. "You weren't supposed to see me...whole point. Also. I wanted to see how you.were"

Amber eyed him curiously, having not known of people who were released from the curse when they died. Then again, she had evaded the castle as quickly as she could and had since been mostly in Czechia, so it made sense she wouldn't have heard of it. "It definitely wasn't the most pleasant of things, the curse," she said, "but I guess because of it many people are still alive who otherwise wouldn't be." Amber nodded her head in understanding, remembering that from one of the many times she has been told things about Nexus. "Well, at that point I was fine," she said, not admitting that she was flattered he wanted to know how she was, "at the end of that visit, not so much."

Wulfric nodded. "I'd be an old man...how...nice" he said bluntly. "I can't stomach the idea of growing old and dying. It would piss me off. I'm not scared of death, but I don't like the idea of growing so old I'm beyond use and dying like that. You know?" His outburst was random and he hadn't expected it. He didn't know what to say and moved on. "Why weren't you still fine" he asked, sounding concerned.

Amber leaned down and whispered something inaudible in the man's ear, before returning to drinking from him. This time she listened to Wulfric as she drained the person, as had been her intention to begin with. Once she was finished, and the man's pulse was gone she stood up again feeling much better. "I would hate growing old as well," she replied, "not that I need to worry about that anymore." Tilting her head, she figured he must not have watched the entire events of the day in Brazil, and said, "when I said Solomon took my head nearly off, I meant it. A few ligaments were all that held it on. My father did what he had to." She shrugged, thinking of how obvious her change had been to her old rival, "I suppose it was inevitable, anyway."

"Oh, no, I know. Everyone seems to be vamping up lately. Kinda odd. Oh well. Personally, nothing against Vampires...as long as the teeth stay away from my neck. There isn't going to be an issue...Solomon...him working with Reaper and Legion won't end well...at all...those two are bad enough as it is. Silver lining...won't be hard to track them"

"I think it would have happened one day, anyway," she said with a shrug, "my father is one, as I'm sure you know. Maybe when I was a little older, but mistakes happen." She smirked slightly and snapped her teeth, before sighed and saying, "I think they plan to get him under control. I obviously have little time for the man, but I tend to try and stay out of the way."

"Perhaps. Though, I think Solomon is bad news...Not much I can do about it though." Wulfric shifted against the tree and smiled at Amber."I hardly consider it as a mistake...though. The idea of wandering for eternity sounds quite daunting."

"I would have to say that I agree with you," she replied, wondering where they'd taken the man for a moment before she decided she hardly cared. So long as she didn't have to see him. "It was a mistake on my part," she explained, "I was caught off guard. But I don't think I'll be wandering so much as I could have been. Family tends to keep you grounded."

"Family will only keep you grounded if you let them. It's better to wander. Frees the mind. Gives you room to think and consider. Make choices free of judgment and suggestion. Though. I wouldn't wander too far into the Shadows, there are many of us who haven't forgotten what the Grimm have done to us and would see the daughter of Hades as an excellent challenge...and I won't always be around to stop them"

"I'm sure there will be plenty of time for wandering in what I expect to be an extremely long life," she said. Amber was fiercely protective of her family, but the topic of it stopped being a sore spot for her at some point between finishing school and the battle. "Oh?" she asked with a slightly lifted eyebrow, "so you're saying you would stop them? If you were around?"

Wulfric smiled. "Its a big world. Never become so busy trying to live, you forget to have a life. You know? Time is of the essence. Seize the day and all that." He paused, shuffling, his movements were him suppressing his nature. Something he had to do. "They probably won't bother after I wiped out the last eight that tried...but upset someone higher up in the hierarchy and I won't be able to do much."

"It's the middle of a war, you know?" she said, though she had no doubt that he did, "it's hardly the time to be going off and seeing the world." She'd never really thought she would have the chance to do so in her old life, so it wasn't like she had plans that she was putting off. Her lips parted in shock, not expecting his response at all. "I don't know what is more surprising," she said after a moment, "that people have tried and I didn't notice, or that you 'wiped them out' for me. Thank you, I suppose. But I didn't even know I was upsetting anyone."

"Yeah I do actually. I've been very busy fighting it. You know. Aside my other various activities." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't worry the ones who go after you are new blood trying to make a name for themselves. They're assholes...most shadows are. Trust me." He gritted his teeth slightly. "I would know."

Amber smirked, nodding as she said, "of course you knew. Though I'm a little surprised to hear you're actually fighting it. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do on that front." She tilted her head thoughtfully and replied, "most of them. But you're not an asshole? And why wouldn't I have even known about these people?"

Wulfric smiled, a cruelty showing. "One of the worst things you want is a Shadow Agent hunting you. We don't kill quickly or painlessly. You don't want what we do. You don't what I do." He paused, not proud of what he was capable of. "When I said I wiped them out, I meant it. They disappear, there immediate family have the memories removed. They cease to have existed." He paused again. Then continued "Like I said. Unless they have too. They won't come for you. Despite Shadows never having in house fights. Meaning unless it's a raid on an organisation another is in or a battle, or fight, or in the cause of protection Shadows don't kill each other. However. Felix, my nephew. Killed my father. So I stand against him and look forward to the day he attacks the order."

Amber didn’t know if she cared to hear too much about what this family would do to someone they caught. She wasn’t easily put on edge, but she thought that it didn’t sound like it would be too pleasant. “I’m sure I don’t,” she said, “though I suppose someone would have little choice in the matter if it got that far.” The fact that people had already gone after her, she wondered if there was something to worry about. But she returned her focus to what Wulfric was saying. “I used to think that being family meant that you could trust someone,” she said with a smirk, “if I hadn’t already found that out on my own, I was told as much not so long later. It’s surprising though, that there isn’t more internal conflict within all of these massive families.” Glancing down at the man by her feet, she made a face before stepping around him. “Would you like to walk?” she asked, not used to staying in one place for so long, especially when she’d just drained someone.

"Perhaps. Even if you survived. You'd be broken, like how Kronos is, a shell of a man. I wish I could help him, but there is no going back from what they did to him unfortunately." He sighed slightly and nodded, setting of after her. He slid his hands into his pockets before deciding he didn't like that and he put them behind his back. One hand wrapping around his wrist and forearm. "Have you met any other shadows? I don't trust them as far as I can reducto them. Well...that's not fair. They can't help themselves, we're raised in deceit and deception. It's hard not to copy it. Even so, family trumps all and we'd rather we didn't kill each other unless we have no choice."

Amber had very briefly seen Kronos at the Lupin-Gaunt wedding, but she had never actually spoken to the man. He had looked odd, though she had thought that perhaps he’d always been a little confused. Obviously something had happened to him, though, and she wondered for a moment what it may have been. But she didn’t ask, and instead she shrugged. “I don’t plan on upsetting anyone, so I'm sure I'll be fine,” she said, her tone lighter than the conversation probably called for. “I don’t believe I have,” she replied as she walked, “you don’t seem so bad? But I’ll admit that I don’t trust anyone, really. My father is the only person I have unwavering faith in. Everyone else.. not so much.”

"Most don't have the skill set to single handedly fight a Vampire...however they tend to travel in packs nowadays. Big...big packs. Usually in packs of fiftheen to twenty five. I prefer to travel alone, makes me feel better, I prefer the lone urr...wolf kinda thing." he grinned and cracks his bones. "Don't get me wrong. I love my family, but they get in my way. I enjoy hunting alone, everyone has different methods...It sometimes overlaps and makes it hard to track as you will, unless you've gotten used to them. Even so, I have been very disconnected from my brothers and sisters." he stepped over a roat and brushed a branch out his way, thinking for a few moments before he continued.
"Well, I am a nice guy...or rather. I try to be, I obviously have flaws and can be pretty dark...but I try, I mean, I was in a very hostile and cruel world designed to break and kill me. To make me into one of them, exactly like them. Sadistic, cruel, brutal...psychopathic...maybe the last one stuck...but what can you do? Some things sticks I guess...not a perfect system but what is?"
He again, paused. Then continued. "Best not to trust anyone, can't be backstabbed....better that way."