Cypress wandered around after dropping the horse off at the stables. He wanted to give himself time to dry off before he went anywhere else.

He'd removed his hood and coat, leaving them with the stable hand along with some coins and specific directions to the barracks. Now he walked around, shirt sleeves rolled up. There wasn't much he could do about his boots, he'd squeezed most of the water out of the fur, but they were still damp. Same went for his hair.

He stopped in a forum, thinking about what he should do before he headed to the blacksmiths. It was getting kind of late... dinner? Yeah, dinner sounded good, he hadn't eaten for the past week (busy.) and he'd have to ingest something soon or he'd start to feel the consequences. The vampire headed towards a familiar pub.

.
.
.

It was quite full when he arrived, a flushed couple giggling and snorting as they left , tripping over themselves after drinking too much beer. Boisterous laughter rang through the establishment as he made his way to the barcounter. The bar maiden gave him a once over before setting down the glass she'd been cleaning. Dammit it was a newbie. He was hoping the usual brunette would be working today. "What can I getcha' sir?" "A raw steak--" "Hoo-- are ya' feedin yer dog?" "--and the blood, if you've got it." Cypress finished with a sharp look.

The bar maiden raised her eyebrow, a mean glimmer in her eye. "Whatta' ya' want the cow blood fer'?"

"Ta' feed mah' dog." The man mocked, the little bit of patience he'd had having burned up as fast as those corpse's from earlier.

The girl didn't take this very well (who would?) "Now you listen ere' you---" The vampire hissed at her, eyes sharpening, fangs bared, and pupils becoming a murky burgundy. The way the color drained from her pretty face was almost satisfying. "No, you listen here-- and get my order!" Cypress snapped, dropping a pouch of coins on the counter. (He might have not felt like paying this stupid blonde, but a meal was a meal.)
The bar maiden shut up almost immediately, swiping the pouch off the counter and hurrying to the back.

The vampire sighed and took a seat, crossing his arms and resting his head on them. The last month had really been testing his patience. Patience he had a very, very, small amount of.

(I love him already)

Freshly bathed, Soterra changed into her spare set of purple and silver trimmed robes, careful to slip them over the bony wings on her back.
After putting her hair up in a braid and clicking on her now cleaned sapphire amulet and earrings.

She made her way out to the local pub and took a seat in a corner table after leaving some coins at the counter for her food.
She looked around the place for a bit before her eyes rested on Cypress.
She'd be more surprised.. But considering her current location, she didn't consider encountering him again too unusual.
He seemed to have an annoyed, agitated look over his face, best to leave alone if she knew anything about keeping her head down.

(lol he's like-- my singular most used bad boy. Everyone else ive either never used or they're too smart to fit the role .)

The dumb blonde came back, carrying a white bucket that was obviously too heavy for her. She heaved it onto the table and Cypress watched the red liquid inside slosh dangerously close to the lip. Oh god-dammit, he wanted to facepalm.

"Do you really think I need all that?" He asked monotonously. If possible, her face paled more. "S-sorry sir, ah' brought it all-- because ya know cows- there big animals--alotta' blood" she stuttered, face going back to flush. She yanked the bucket back off the table, arms straining with the weight as the blonde waddled back behind the counter. Cypress almost felt bad for her.

When she came back she carried a wooden bowl and a metal cup. Finally, she'd started using her brain. He could always tell people it was wine, but he knew that they never really believed him (especially when they saw the raw meat.)

The woman set his 'meal' down hastily, leaving as soon as he waved her off.

The scent of all the blood got Soterra's attention as the bucket came through, but nothing amused her as much as seeing the bowl of blood 'soup' brought before him.
She gave him a bit of a smile as she looked down at the plate of food set in front of her. Somehow it just turned her stomach and she just continued to watch the man with curiosity.

Someone was watching him.

He could tell, but shrugged it off. It wasn't anything new or surprising, just a nosey person.

He stabbed one of the meat cubes with his fork before popping it in his mouth. Verasil, there was nothing he hated more than the taste of raw meat, which he didn't actually have to consume (unless there wasn't a way to get pure blood). He could probably eat it cooked, but it would lower the blood content, and any kind of seasoning made his stomach give him hell. In this case he sacrificed taste for texture, blood was thick, viscous, and always coated your mouth. The meat reduced that slimy feeling somewhat.

Despite the utter nastiness of it all, he did immediately feel better, the dull gnawing in his stomach having stopped as soon as he swallowed the first bite. He stabbed another piece, swirling it around in the blood this time before eating it.

Now that his insides weren't literally trying to consume themselves anymore, he looked around at the patrons.

He locked eyes with the purple haired girl across the room.

She immediately tensed and dropped her stare, making a half-hearted attempt to focus on her meal.
She took a bite, only to spit the bite of meat out in a napkin reflexively at the taste, shuddering. Soterra almost went for one of the vegetables instead as her thoughts muted out for a moment as Umbris spoke to her through her mind.

'Ah.. One more thing, I had forgotten to mention. As one with their soul now absent and reborn under my blessing, I believe it would be far more sustaining for you to find a mortal soul or two to consume. Preferably of the young variety.
You won't find much desire to consume mortal food after a while as you.. er adjust. But I am certain you will figure these things out in time, no?'
She would be appalled if she didn't feel herself just hungrier at the mere mention of it.
A celestial's games or not, he had a point..

'How do I find one?'
She thought, hoping silently she wouldn't have to murder anyone.

'Well, murder would be the easy route, yes. But intuitively, you should be well equipped to sense impending deaths. Think of yourself like.. hm.. a collector of wayward souls in a way. The afterlife is full enough of dead spirits. You can deal with cleaning up the excess of this war.
And if I were you, I would be most prudent about it too, your form will crumble to bone and dust otherwise. Best of luck, my dear disciple.'

Soterra sighed at that and rubbed the sides of her temples. Wonderful.. She had always been warned not to make deals with demons, but.. this was something else entirely.

Cypress stared at the purple haired elf for a few more seconds before shrugging it off.

He finished his 'meal', drinking the last of the blood from the bowl before leaving. He tipped the dumb blonde on the way out, the look on her face a mixture of shock and greed.

It was dark out now, the streets lined with long rows of ever-present fire balls. They emitted virtually no heat and couldn't light anything, but provided a yellow light that never went out, even when it rained. They reminded him of the fireflies he'd seen once while patrolling the Rostar border.

The vampire continued walking for a few more minutes before reaching a familiar sloping path, stones worn smooth from years of being walked on-- only interrupted by the occasional deep gouge and drag marks. The Forges.


(sorry its short, also why he didn't bother with Soterra....as previously mentioned he's not the smartest person xD I'd use the "sharpest tool in the shed" saying, but his personality totally rules that out.)

(nah it's fine, I don't expect him to because she's a random stranger but now she's curious about him and it's the perfect opportunity nonetheless for him to bring it up after he finally catches her tailing him.
Lux I don't get to cheat nearly as much with. XD)

Soterra watched him for a moment before leaving her food and following him from a distance. She wasn't sure if she was just now imagining it or the man had just gotten her attention with his blood drinking, but she had the feeling that something terrible was about to happen to him.
She felt bad, but at least she wouldn't have to murder him.. Right?

Well, at least she hoped so. Fleeing the capital now would be a pain.
She briefly wondered what he was about to get himself into as she followed him to the Forges, keeping herself hidden in the dark of night.
In some ways now, the night put her strangely at ease.. Like a warm embrace.

Entering the forges, Cypress took a few weird twists and turns-- well, weird to anyone who'd never been here. To the man, they were familiar.

The Forges was almost setup like a mini labyrinth in a way, it was built into the mountains and had every possible way to get lost. He'd just went up a stairwell when he heard a scuffle behind him. The vampire looked around slowly, only hearing the usual clanging and banging from downstairs. Nevertheless he proceeded with caution as he emerged onto the second floor.

Aha, there was the man he was looking for. Cypress marched confidently towards the robed official, dodging stray sparks as blacksmiths hurried back and forth, hammering this and quenching that. Ah, the pride of the Strongholds, their weaponry. The natural ore in the mountains was their saving grace.

Cypress unhooked the pouch of sigils from his belt and handed it to the robed man. He was the overseer here, an older blacksmith who couldn't use his hands like he used to, but had a sharp eye. His named was Xleyth. "Ah, Cypress! Good to see you back in one piece young man." Xleyth greeted warmly while accepting the bag of trinkets. "Sir, all due respect, but if I had died there wouldn't be anything left of me to bring back." The vampire remarked. "Nonsense!" "Your right, there maybe a pile of soot left." "Bah! Don't get smart with me. And cut out that 'sir' stuff, honestly it ought to be me addressing you so, Commander!"

The vampire said nothing to this, instead producing a list of new numbers, new ID's. The overseer took these with a little more hesitance. "You know...everyime you come here the lists seem to get longer and longer..." Xleyth waved the piece of parchment around happily. "This is the shortest one I've seen this year!"

Cypress almost smiled at the grotesque joke. Almost. The sudden morph in Xleyth's expression made him turn around to see what the Overseer had been looking at. Just in time to catch a splatter of molten steel to the chest. The last things he saw was the surprised look on some poor blacksmiths face, and the horror on the overseers before the heat on his chest suddenly exploded around him.


(Cypress in limbo: I worked in those forges for *two years*. TWO YEARS. And I never caught fire then!!!) (oops he didn't catch her, instead he died. I guess you could say-- caught fire x'D)

(I meant, you know, after he pulls a phoenix
Reborn from fire and everything. ;>
Jokes aside..)

Soterra had finally caught up to him, just to cup her hands over her mouth at the sight of the man engulfed into flame like some sort of human tinder.
Try as she might, there was no way she would be able to take his soul like this.. No, no.. She couldn't even think of something like that now.
She didn't know what to do, just keeping her back against the cavern wall as she watched, aghast.