[Jessari]

((I'm stretching this into 5 posts so I can RP elsewhere while I'm waiting on you. Hope you don't mind!   ))

It was late evening when Hestia stumbled into the Basantha Shrine. Outside, the sun's rays were being extinguished as it plunged into the dark earth. For a moment, she stood just inside the door, shaking the snow off her paws and collecting her wits.

Although it was dark inside too, the numerous candles placed sporadically throughout the Shrine made it surprisingly warm. After the heat seeped into her bones, banishing the chill from outside, Hestia stepped into shadow and allowed herself to slip into her human form.

Hestia 4/4

[Jessari]

If Tagg's people looked for her here, they probably wouldn't recognize her; she had never shown him this side of herself. They would be looking for a pink feyline lucain with heart markings, not a redhead with violet eyes. It should have made her feel safer. It didn't.With small, hesitant steps, she left the shadows to move towards the room of Amnesty and Rememberance. She, like most others in Evelon, had heard of this room, the place where trainers came to light candles and mourn for the pets they had lost. As she slipped by the silent monk at the doorway, she hoped they didn't mind if pets came to mourn their lost as well.

Hestia 5/4 Level up!

[Jessari]

At such a late hour, many of the visitors had already gone home, and she found herself alone in the room. Stepping up to one of the unlit candles, she lit it with trembling fingers, closing her eyes as the flame clung to the wick. "Dear Axis," she whispered, emotion filling her voice as she called the name of her brother, "I wish you were here with me. I miss you so much."

Opening her eyes, she focused upon the candle flame. She stared at it, wishing as hard as she could, until Axis' smiling face appeared there, like a reflection captured in a red-tinted mirror. Though she knew he couldn't speak to her, simply seeing him eased the aching of her heart.

Hestia 1/5

[Jessari]

As she watched the flame, she remembered the dark nights spent in Tagg's cellar, with nothing more than a single lantern to light their four-walled world. Axis had never left her side, unless injury prevented him. In those instances, she never strayed far from him. They had been inseperable, until that fateful day when Tagg went too far.

It was as if he had known the two siblings would be stolen from his clutches, and had wanted to get a final beating in before it happened. Axis had received the worst of it, as usual. Hestia supposed that Tagg thought her brother could take it better, being larger than her and a male to boot. He was wrong. Not long after Jericho had whisked them away, Axis had thumped his tails a few times, then died with a soft smile gracing his muzzle.

Hestia 2/5

[Jessari]

She began to cry then, hot, silent tears that dampened the pink fur of her muzzle. Now more than ever she missed his warm presence at her side, the strength of his shoulder supporting hers. Yet all she had was his face, flickering in a fragile flame.

After the mysterious Lady Erebos had visited Jericho, she had discovered that Tagg still sought her, and was apparently more dangerous than she had even suspected. Why? Why did he pursue her so? And how could she defend against him?

Hestia 3/5

[Citanul]

While this shrine was not the ideal place for a half-vampire brute, Brujah felt the need to come here. It was a place that his father had never dared venture... It just seemed like some place that someone of his bloodline should go. What could be so terrible anyway?

Shaking his coat as he moved inside Brujah shifted to his human form. At 7'5 he dwarfed everything around him... But there was a very soft look to his face, a smile gracing his features as he stroked back his crimson-colored hair and went into another room off to the side, hearing whispers that candles could be lit for those who were lost.

Who could be more lost than his brother? He had no idea where he was, nor if he was even alive... But lighting a candle for Osi might make him feel a little closer for his lost litter-mate. Carefully shuffling in he tried to avoid touching the tiny girl within, not wanting to scare her away from where she was meditating for her own lost.

[Jessari]

She was so lost within her own thoughts that Hestia didn't notice the large man enter the room until he struck a match to light his candle. The noise, though quiet, was abrupt and seemed to echo in the otherwise silent room. It startled her, and she twirled around, backing away from the noise. In the process, she knocked over an unlit candelabra, sending the white wax tapers skittering across the hard floor, but of this she took no notice.

Her emotions triggered the fox-fire that lay within her, and the ghostly flames licked up around her body, caressing her skin as she trembled. She raised a hand to prevent him from coming close to her, arm shimmering with the fox-fire. The flames carried no heat, no danger, but she fervently hoped he wouldn't know that.

"Stay away from me. I won't go back!"

The words tumbled from quivering lips. The fear that clung to her made the tall stranger seem even larger, turned the expression on his face into one with sinister intent. Hestia was certain that he had been sent by Tagg to bring her back. She wished desperately that she had not left Jericho's cabin. At least there she would have had someone to fight alongside her. But it was too late, and she hadn't wanted the kind-hearted Kasuga to come to any harm because of her. If this came to a fight, she would have to fight alone.

Hestia 1/8

[Citanul]

Sighing quietly Brujah closed his eyes for a moment, quietly murmering a prayer for his lost brother before he turned to watch the tiny female as she had lost the candles. But as she used her fox-fire, he moved back a little, not exactly comfortable even if he ddin't feel the heat from the fire.

"I... I uhm... Don't know what you're talking about, ma'am..." Brujah stuttered a little, trying to quiet his deep voice so it didn't echo in the small room. "...I am only here... To light a candle... For my brother..."

It was hard for Brujah to -not- look intimidating. He was 7'4, very tall... His fangs prominant as he spoke, though when silent they were not obvious. The bright hair on his head nearly gave the look of a flame - bright red against his pale skin.

"Promise, I'm not here to hurt you." He spoke again, hands still having his candle grasped tightly.

[Jessari]

Even if she were to stretch onto the tips of her toes, which she wasn't inclined to do at the moment, the stranger would have towered over her. That unusual height, combined with the fangs she glimpsed as he spoke, did little to reassure her. The hair, surprisingly enough, was the only thing about him that didn't cause an inner tremor. Flames couldn't harm Hestia, and so many of the dangers people associated with fire or the color red were lost upon her.

Keeping her arm outstretched, her guard fully raised, Hestia's eyes flickered to the candle grasped in his hand. It was...for his brother? How she wanted to believe that it was true. Sympathy raised its head, hovering on the edge of her mind in the event that she chose to accept his story, but although his words were right, and his actions thus far had been right, his appearance still had her more than a little concerned. Nature normally equipped a person with tools that he would use throughout his life. How did this man put his fangs to use? Even if he wasn't associated with Tagg, that didn't make him a good person. It didn't mean that he wouldn't try to hurt her.

"Wh-what are you?" she asked. A normal person would ask the question "'Who' are you", but she had learned long ago that a person's name held next to no importance, making the question of 'what' the more pressing one.

[Citanul]

It was easy to see that Brujah was trying not to be so intimidating, but there was little room here for him to crouch down. He tried not to hover over Hestia, instead moving back a step or two and carefully settling the candle down before he spilled hot wax all over the floor, or the girl infront of him.

Kind eyes watched her as he let her speak, head tilting just slightly. "Uhm... Well... My dad is a vampire, mom's just a human... So I guess that makes me a vampire? I don't have any powers like my dad though. Just big. I... I uhm, don't have to drink blood though." He nodded a little, extending his hand carefuly. "My name's Brujah."

It was easy to see her looking to his fangs, and while his weren't as prominant as his brother's, they were still there.

[Jessari]

"A vampire?" she squeaked, eyes widening. So it was worse than she had thought. But his next words puzzled her. He didn't have to drink blood... Was it the truth? As tormented by fear and memory as Hestia was, it was pretty much habit to believe the worst of him.

But there was something about Brujah, his eyes, perhaps, or his non-agressive posture, that seemed to lull her into a sense of security. Would a minion of Tagg be so skilled? In truth, Hestia wanted someone to confide in, someone she could feel safe with. Being seperated from Axis, and then willingly seperating herself from Jericho and his friends had hurt, and although she had done it for the right reasons, the loneliness was nearly as overwhelming as the fear of trusting the wrong person.

Hestia was still for another long moment, her inner desires warring against each other until one finally got the upper hand. Slowly, timidly, she lowered her upraised arm, and placed her small, delicate hand in Brujah's large one. Just as slowly, the ghostly flames upon her skin withered away until there was only a slight glistening about her as a reminder of their presence.

Violet eyes flickered away from his face, another sign that she held some measure of trust in him. "I'm sorry, Brujah, for my actions." Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but had lost much of the quavering that had been much in evidence before. "I am being hunted, and I mistook you for one of the hunters. My name is Hestia. Please forgive me."

[Citanul]

The fear of vampires was overwhelming for some people... Brujah never understood it though. He had seen the worst in his father - but the look in his eyes when he saw little ones... Who could mistake a father's love? Even in all of his insanity, Caine had been a good father.

Taking her delicate hand he just barely grasped it in his own before leaning down to press a soft kiss against the back of her hand before pulling back, still as non-threatening as he could possibly be. "It is good to meet you, Hestia. I am sorry for you being hunted... But I promise you I am no hunter. Merely here to honor my brother's memory."

Letting go of her hand he gave another soft smile, picking up his candle to light a few that had gone out from a small draft. "I certainly forgive you. Being hunted would make you cautious, I understand that." He paused, for a moment. "...Do you need protection, from these hunters? That is something I could offer you, Hestia."

[Jessari]

(OOC)Heya, take a peek at this post.

The offer, along with the gentle feeling of his lips upon her hand, startled her. "I-I couldn't ask you to do that." She shook her head at the thought of putting yet another person in danger. The recollection of how Axis had looked in his final moments, covered in blood and bruises, made her wince, and Hestia wondered if Brujah realized what he would be getting himself into if she let him. Would he be willing to risk his life for a stranger? Would he be willing to suffer pain, both physical and mental, if Tagg decided to capture him instead of killing him?

She turned her back to him momentarily, bending down to pick up the candles she had knocked over just a few minutes before. It reminded her of why she had come here. The wax tapers were carefully placed back in their holders, save for one, which had been broken when it hit the ground. This one she set upon a shelf, wishing she had the money to pay for a replacement.

With a small sigh, she returned to the candle she had lit for Axis, relieved that it hadn't gone out during her awkward introduction to Brujah. No face showed itself in the flame, unsurprisingly. Things of that nature rarely happened with others present. Still looking into the flame, she spoke. "I can't let you put yourself in danger, but I wouldn't mind a bit of company." A cautious smile softened the nervous lines of her face. "You said you were here to light a candle for your brother. So am I. Would you mind if I asked what happened to him?"

[Citanul]

((It's okay that you're going to be slow, I understand. <3 No worries about the posts. ))

The protection of others had always been something Brujah had tried to do. Like with Ares... They were going to take care of the little orphans in the Slums, so they had someone to care for them. It was the perfect job for the two, many would agree.

Nodding a little Brujah gently settled his own candle next to Hestia's, since he hadn't put it down yet. "Yeah, my brother, Osi. I... Well, I don't know where he's gone or if he's even alive... As soon as we were weaned my papa took me. I was the biggest... So he wanted to train me, I suppose. Didn't realise I don't have any powers like he does, or like my older brothers do."

Giving a gentle shrug Brujah just smiled. "I could travel with you for a while... I'm waiting for Ares to build the orphanage... I'm going to help him take care of all of them."

[Jessari]

(OOC)Thanks for being so quick to understand! *hugs*

"I'm sorry about Osi. I hope you find him someday."

A small pang of jealousy touched her heart. His brother was most likely alive, while hers was most surely dead. It hardly seemed fair. But while fear had found fertile ground in her heart, the darker emotions of anger and jealousy were out of place. Axis would want her to be happy that Brujah's brother might still be alive, and she was. She was happy that he would have the chance that had been taken from her.

Talking seemed to take her mind off of her pursuers, though the thought of them never permanently disappeared. The worry lurked like heavy shadows on the edges of her thoughts, ready to dive back in at the smallest opportunity. "I would like that very much, Brujah. I'm afraid, however, that I have no idea where I'm headed from here. Do you have a preference of where you'd like to go?"

Hestia 5/8 - Level Up