Where It All Began

Arthur Rowan asks, "Well? What is it?"


 "I was warned about it earlier, however, I didn't think that it would be true. Next time, I suppose that I'll be listening to Yue's words when he tells me." Some could say that she is prideful. Others, might possibly believe that she was just naïve and actually didn't think of precautions, but in any case, the woman would have found herself beginning to frown deeply. "The vampires have claimed the caves along with the frozen caves as well-..." She pauses for the moment, both hands reaching out carefully to grasp onto the sleeves of the Rowan.

 "I was on an excursion of some sort to assist a little crafter. He needed ore and as we were entering the caverns...I was stopped. Not just by Lucien Voss, but by his assistant, Rurik." She goes silent, if only briefly. "They took the ore that I had gathered for him and told us that we should stay out-...And that the mines belonged to them." She knows what comes of this. And she knows that some things, cannot simply be helped.

 "I allowed them to search me and take the ore that I had in order to leave...They were hospitable, outside of not liking you." She goes silent, preferring to keep the extra bit to herself. "That is all for now, I'm afraid...But please, please be levelheaded about this. If we're to move, we should make preparations and not be so rash."
(Bei Bei)

Oh, there's always something to push just the buttons to unleash something that was longing to be released for so long.

The desire of violence. The desire to kill, to purge Vampires and to destroy everything that they own and everything that they have. It boiled inside him all the time, and when she speaks those words, something turns up in his head; that something dictates his next actions, that something dictates what he should be doing next. And essentially... it dictates the path of violence, but not the hotheaded one.

'No. Don't act just now.'
'They won't see it coming.'
'You can retake the caves with undead. You can begin slaughtering their people.'
'Yes. Do that after expedition.'

For a moment, Arthur's eyes avert. That something whispers, almost in commanding tone- he was coming to terms with it, and at last, there's something in common that they have. On one hand, it would result in the bloodshed previously unseen... and yet, perhaps it would help him solidify this foundation of symbiosis.

Rather than that of a parasite.

"...I see."

"I'll take that in account. After expedition, there are few things I have to do, it seems. Thanks for letting me know."

'And don't forget... you need us.'

It's almost unsettling. Surely, Bei imagined that she would see Arthur furious, threatening to war them right any moment, but... to hear him react like this? Something's not right.

Something's on his mind.
(Arthur Rowan)


 If it weren't for their promises. If it weren't for everything that had happened between the two, she would have refused to tell him. She would have acted as if none of it ever mattered and swore that this entire thing was just a mere, idle dream. However, the truth of the matter is rather simple...It wasn't. And she couldn't. Because if she endangered him, then she could possibly lose everything that she had ever fought for. And his life, his entirety, belonged to her- not with some vampires who hate him for little to no reason. But to digress, the young girl would move carefully, slowly. Her form would drift forward in idle thought...The hands that were once on his sleeve now cradling his features.

"Look at me."

 She was searching for confirmation within his gaze. But all she could see is the tumultuous conflict with the commanding voices and the rage within his veins. "It's okay-...I'm here. I know that they took ore and I know them claiming it infuriates you, but.." She pauses silently. "We'll handle all of it in the future. We can get support still- we can fight." She adds..

 "Promise me that you won't go at it alone. Promise me that you won't search for them-...Especially since they tend to appear in groups." She goes silent. "I don't-...I refuse to lose you the way that so many others have lost their own. I can't." She says.

"We can't." Bei knew that if it were not for her and his child, he'd do so with reckless abandon. But since risk is involved...She also knows that it is her own love that holds him back. But still,

"I don't want to be alone." She can't imagine it.
(Bei Bei)

While the fury was present, it was oddly tampered with wisdom and calculated act. Oh, he'd do anything just to rip them apart and feed their bodies to the dogs, don't get it wrong... but unlike the younger Arthur, this one acts with precision. Just when did he pick it up, though?

Yet, there's silence for a while when she cradles his features and spoke to him. In those scarlet eyes, there was naught but thoughtful expression, one that could tell he's actively thinking of something- though, with what she's told him about just now, it's not hard to figure out what exactly he's thinking about, not at all.

'Yes... good.'
'We will have it. We will have the blood.'
'Rip them apart, one by one. Leave no survivors.'
'Slowly. Torturous. Painful.'
'You will be their best nightmare.'

But the distraction soon ends, and... he returns nothing but a smile to her, his hand reaching up to stroke against her face. It would be re-assuring and pleasant, if it wasn't for the circumstances under which he decides to smile- it's easy to tell that something's wicked on his mind, but it might be hard to tell what exactly.

Though, with how well she knows him? It might not be hard for her.

"Don't worry about it."

"I won't put myself under danger needlessly. I won't threaten our future or our family. I've got this, really."

"And you won't be alone."
(Arthur Rowan)


When are you going to stop relying on him? He is the foundation within her realm. He and their child are the things that keep her steady when all hell breaks loose. And just as she is a restraint for him, he stops her from acting viciously. He stops her from outright attacking those - because she cannot afford to lose what they have. But if there was nothing, if there was nothing within this world to turn to, she knows that she would be as equally enraged. She knows that she would force herself to push on. To fight each and every member of the vampires until they were just as barren as the ship that they came here upon.

 The vision. It aligns if only briefly, the promise of chaos and occultism rising within her hands, fingertips lightly drifting to his own, intertwining. "When you look like that, I can't help but to worry. It's not your actions that tell me, Arthur." She says silently. "It's your eyes." She leans forward, raising upon the tips of her toes to press her lips against his.

 "Tell me the truth."

 She states. "It doesn't matter what I say now-...You'll still go out and look for them, won't you? You'll still go out and kill them until you're satisfied, right?" She knows. "And you know you can keep that promise by ensuring your own victory." She pauses, her frown deepening.

 "I know-...Because as angry as you are, I am too." But she wanted to hear it once again. "After the mission, Arthur." Another kiss. "After the mission, please." She implores.
(Bei Bei)

At times, his eyes could tell more than his words or actions.

It's in the moments like these it can become hard to tell what he's up to, but not for her. She knows him far too well to miss out on such details, and any attempt to actually hide things from her would be vague. Besides, what's the harm in telling the truth to her about it? If they were to draw the attention of Vampires now, it would disrupt their mission and their project.

Not to mention, the youth in Valmasia isn't fully ready just yet.

"I do not intend to look out for them in caves, no. I plan to position my undead in there after our expedition is done. They will immediately intercept any Vampire, they will immediately intercept any slave or servant of their, and that way they'll be cut off from the rest of Agartha."

"Then, I plan to begin actively raiding. I want them off the face of Agartha, once and for all."

It's almost a relief. Arthur hasn't changed much- he's just as cruel, and she could see the Vampire etched on the edge of his soul that he would mercilessly slay. He's just as devoted to Arcane as he is ever, but he's doing his best to keep it in check and controlled.

And at last, the symbiosis is emerging.

A simple kiss, once, twice. It's easy to be distracted by her, but despite the plausible attempts from Bei to do so, the ideas of bloodshed still linger his mind. He still wishes to eradicate Vampires wholly, and will not let go of the idea. At least, he's more... patient about it.

"You know me too much."
(Arthur Rowan)