[Kallile]

It was cold, so cold.

Jury’s eyes slid open, blinking wearily as she looked around her. She was tucked away in a cave, though she had been moved dangerously close to the entrance. Cattails outside swung heavily on their frail stalks just meters away, and there was a distinct smell of decaying vegetation. As her eyes focused more the shallow waters that marked the outskirts of the swamps could be seen glimmering in the moonlight.

It did not take her long to become aware of wriggling forms at her stomach, and Jury sprang to her feet in bewilderment to find five little pups, now seeking her warmth. She blinked down at them, her mind swimming.

She couldn’t remember much from the last few weeks. She had been so heavily fed on precious drops of Caine’s blood that she had remained a zombie for him. Lately she had been refusing his taste and began drinking from others. Though his hold was not gone it was weakened enough for Jury to be thinking and acting of her own accord.

Now, faced with these new lives, everything that had happened hit her like a hurricane-force wave.

“…That monster…” She hissed, looking down at the new lives before her with hatred and a conflicted motherly instinct. No, no. These were not hers. These were his—she had no choice in the matter.

“Monster!” She roared out into the darkness—having a feeling that somewhere nearby, Caine was lurking in wait to collect his prizes.

[27]

[Citanul]

Prizes, indeed....



Bright blue eyes watched as Jury stirred once more. He knew his hold had wekaned, now that she began to feed from others. At least her motherly instincts told her not to feed upon his pups... There were some that would, should he not intervene.

Bringing a warm, fresh rattegan to Jury, he laid it at her feet before nearing his pups, nosing one of them gently towards his siblings. He was very tender, with Jury and the Pups... Well, at least as far as Jury would remember. Who would be terrible to a zombie and their own flesh and blood?

"I am no monster. You are the one to interupt their sleeping." He replied, shifting to watch her for a few moments, the gold of his ankh shining in the low light.

[Kallile]

Jury glared at the male as he approached and nuzzled the pups. She watched him rather coldly, before her nostrils caught the scent of the fresh blood. Almost unwillingly she bent to sink her slightly elongated fangs into it and drink hungrily.

She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help it. Something unsettlingly primal was awakened at the scent of blood now and it disturbed her to no end. This new creature she was frightened her even more than the curse she had carried. She cast a rather hateful glance towards the wriggling pups, raising her lips at them. They were innocent no matter their father—but oh how she longed to hurt Caine where she knew it would hurt him most. His bloodlines.

“You are the monster,” she growled between bites “for bringing this whole plan of yours into play.”

[28]

[Citanul]

Smirking quietly to himself, Caine laid next to the young pups and let them curl against his warmth. He had no sustinance to give them, but the warmth seemed fine. His tails wagged gingerly as they squeaked and made soft sounds of their own while moving. Cute little ones... They certainly seemed to tame this 'monster'.

"The pups were not part of my plan, Jury... I merely wished to show you the Truth of what your bloodline is about. How you gained your powers and the demons you call Gods."

Chuckling deeply, he looked down to their soft bodies curled against his own. "Though I cannot say I am dissapointed."

[Kallile]

Jury didn’t care to watch much of what was going on behind her—but the mere face that Caine was back there made her pelt bristle slightly. What more harm could he do? She was already undead—her life should have been over. In a morbid way she supposed she should thank him but found that she just couldn’t do that. She couldn’t thank him for turning her into a zombie—and at some point asking her to aid him in carrying on his lineage. Which, for the looks of the five squirming bodies around him, she had done tenfold. She frowned, draining the last of the rattegan before turning towards the makeshift ‘family’ she found herself with.

“Then your job is done and then some. What now, Caine? What now that you have no more use for me?”

[29]

[Citanul]

Turning his gaze from the pups and back to Jury, Caine gave a small grin. Of course his job was done... But he had much more to show for it than he had expected. These five pups were his future... He hoped they turned out more satisfactory than the other pups females had bore him. Aside from his Lysandroth, of course... She always bore him pups to be proud of.

Tails waving for a moment, he seemed to ponder before answering. "That depends, Jury. On what you would do now. I will take these pups, and you can be on to your dwelling in the shadows."

[Kallile]

Jury bristled, nesrly leaping at the larger male. She held herself back though: he had already bested her once, or else she wouldn’t be in this mess. To challenge him again, so soon after giving birth and nursing pups, would be the end of her. For the second time in only a few short weeks.

“I will not dwell in the shadows…” She growled lowly, stalking closer to him with murderous eyes. But they were not focused on him…they were focused on the young lives still crawling on the ground. “And you…you will only take what pups you can grab before I destroy what I created!”

[30]

[Citanul]

Teeth bared immediately as Caine took a protective stance over the helpless pups. He would -not- let her best him! These young ones were -his-. Growling he bristled, trying to keep them under him.

There was no way that he could grab all five pups... Not in this form, he wouldn't be able to carry them. It would take too long to change the forms, she would have too much of a chance to destroy them.

"You will not do anything to harm them!" He snarled, snapping his jaws together.

[Kallile]

Jury eyed the male who had forced these little lives on her, knowing that he could overpower her easily if he truly wished it. The only thing that might stop him would be the five pups now scattered around the floor of the already small den. A full-scuffle would end in her favor of destroying the pups. “I will die trying, then.”

~*~



The night sky seemed to suddenly ripple with something strange and mirage-like. It expanded, seeming to glow an ominous black in an already dark sky. It kept growing and then, without warning, enveloped back into itself with an eerie wind suddenly sweeping across the land.

From the dust and pollen left in it’s wake, a strange creature took shape as it crawled from the mud. At first it was a blob, contorting and changing until it resembled a Lucain with a few…key differences. Half of the wingblades were replaced with a large wing, and chains from his neck to his forepaws. The mud instantly caked a fell away—the pristine, abyss black, and blood red creature stood for a moment and inhaled the air.

“Something is not right.” The large beast said in dark, gravel tones. From the mud that had fallen away from him, another beast came forth. It was a two-headed monstrosity of a serpent—a pale head and a rust-red. Angelic and devilish, to be blunt. The darker one grinned

“Perfect, I could use some fun.” Came a dark male voice.

“This doesn’t bode well, Judgment, something has changed in a bad way.” The pale one said in a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine.

Judgment, the Lucain form deity, only grunted stiffly at the creature now clinging to his wingblades. “We’ll see.”

~*~

The pair neared the den, looking ominous and dark, and Judgment looked at the scene before him. The pups were easily visible, but they were not of his concern. The female—she should be cold and unmoving. There was indeed something wrong.

Jury leapt for one of the pups, and found a little two-headed serpent in her way. “We can’t allow this.” They said in unison. In the opening of the den, Judgment stood, looking over the strange pair with cold, unfeeling eyes.

[31][1][1]

[Citanul]

The vampire's fur remained ruffled as his jaws bared comletely. These were HIS pups... He was not giving them up without a fight. Jury was not supposed to care for them, let him take them now so she did not have to deal with them.

"What do you care now? They do not have your powers of Fire. You have said yourself, that died when you tried to destroy me." A twisted smirk came upon his muzzle as one of the little ones climbed over his paw and he easily pushed her tiny body under him, protecting her for now from the wrath of her dam.

The cold scent that suddenly reached his nose made Caine shudder - with fear or pleasure? - well, that was to be seen. His fur did not unruffle as his dark blue gaze immediately went to that in the entrance to his den. "Fallen! You have no job here. Go back to your Purgatorio." It was easy to see where he had come from, half wings and chains upon him.

[Kallile]

“I will not allow your spawn to run the…” Jury stopped mid-sentence, springing backward from her attack on a pup as a two-headed serpent appeared there. She blinked down at it, bewildered, then looked behind her to the eerily colored male.

Judgment rose his eyes to meet the dark blue gaze with a cold golden one. He snorted, flaring his nostril not unlike a horse. The large brute, it seemed, was not backing down. The little serpents moved towards Caine fearlessly—the heads bobbing opposite each other to slowly drag the middle section of their body along sideways. Each looked up at him, then to their joined counterpart.

“Oh, but we do have a job here, Vampyre.” The devilish one said with a snicker. The pale on only scoffed, glaring at it’s brother-head.

“Oh Pun, stop being so dramatic.” It chided in it’s genderless tone before casting large orb eyes back up to Caine. “I could have guessed the Prince of Darkness would have been involved to make a routine duty more difficult.”
Judgment stepped forward, and Jury moved out of his way. She didn’t really want to, she just felt she had to. Cold golden eyes watched Caine, then looked down to the pups.

“I care not about your lineage. You do, regardless, possess something that now is under my care until we reach she has her judgment passed.” He looked over his shoulder at Jury. He still had an unearthly glow about him—one that told of some greater celestial power held within the large canine. Jury took a slow step back away from the males and the squeaking pups on the floor. Her? What did this stranger want with her?

[32][2][2]

[Citanul]

A low growl came from the vampire as he shifted to pull one of the wandering pups back to him, away from the two-headed serpent and the Fallen that he certainly could not trust to not harm them. "Your job is not with me nor what is mine. I make no more of your jobs difficult than any other."

Snorting quietly he sat carefully, keeping the pups near, as best he could. They at least tried to curl against his warmth, leaving him to protect them from this new intrusion. It seemed to calm Jury at least, and it should be the Fallen's wish to not let these innocent lives be harmed.

"I know you care not for any of my lineage. Take the female, it was not any of my intention to keep her longer here, Fallen." He growled a bit, his gaze remaining steady upon the new ones here, not wishing to give up anything of his.

[Kallile]

The devilish head grinned, seeming amused by the show of protectiveness from a creature who had lived long enough to be the rightful sire of a fourth of the population in some way or another. Verdict, the pale head, however, seemed to soften it's gaze at the display. Neither, however, were the reactions the Purgatory God seemed to have.

He regarded the Vampyre impassively, listening but uninterested in picking up anything reminiscent of a conversational tone. The chains around his throat and forepaws seemed to come alive upon the verbal release of Jury--one shackle unclasped from his paw and darter out to grow and grasp the female by the throat.

Jury let out a yelp as a strange silver energy began coursing over the chains. The glow about Judgment slowly faded until it was gone altogether. He watched in mute astonishment as the chain leapt back to his paw--leaving a pattern of scorched fur on the female Lucain's neck.

The serpents seemed, quite literally, besides themselves with worry. "She's..."

"Turned." Judgment finished, bringing his gaze up to Caine with as the chains suddenly unclasped from his paws again, this time hanging in the air like serpents ready to strike. "Tell me, Vampyre, do you plan on releasing her?"

A new anger seemed to have billowed into a raging inferno in his eyes. He was well aware what had just happened to him, and he was not in the least pleased. Punishment grinned, looking up at Caine expectantly. "Don't you need to die to accomplish that? Because if that's the true case, I will be highly interested in witnessing the fall of the Vampyre lord."

[33, 3, 3]

[Citanul]

Caine watched the sepents carefully, blue eyes intent, not even looking away as he pulled another wandering pup close to him, the biggest of the litter infact, a little female with bright orange markings. His protectiveness wasn't going to wane, not while the Judge still stood infront of him.

Baring out his teeth he glared at the double-headed snakes. "Do not even tempt me to take you into my jaws, weighers of the heart. Turning her was never my intention. She is already breaking my blood bond over her... Take her. I have no need for the female anymore."

This wasn't his mate. Caine had no intentions of turning Jury, nor even making her have his pups. But it had happened... And he was now the proud father of more of his lineage.

[Kallile]

Judgment did not waver, despite the disappearance of his celestial aura. While it was troubling that the glow had dissipated, it did not make him any less dangerous. He watched the Vampyre closely, snorting into the humid, heavy air in frustration. This trip had taken a very unwanted turn indeed.

"Then, we have no more need for you. I give you this chance alone to leave with as many of your young as you can carry. Consider the rest forfeit."

The dark red head of the serpent giggled giddily at this, while the cream head seemed to cast Caine a somewhat sympathetic gaze. How hard it must be to pick which children you would take with you...

Jury suddenly seemed to snap back to life, the white-hot burns having lost their initial bite. Her eyes darted over to Caine and she growled deeply, though Judgment seemed to already know what her plan was. "Your offspring are not written in the Book of the Dead for many years to come--leave with knowing that they will not perish. Not yet."

[44, 4, 4]