Uhh...What Now? PV Finished

"And you really believe that?" Vladimir replied as he shook his head side to side. No, Howard did not believe that unless he was paying attention. Believe that they just wanted Howard to steal for them. His thoughts would manifest as words. "To steal what? What possible skill or access could you provide for them that they could not obtain themselves?" There was a sharpness to his words, how he said it. It almost sounded cruel, this notion that he was not useful. That he was feckless. "Creatures able to manifest whatever it is that you covet, crave enough to risk life and limb. To ally yourself with a cancerous, dark influence." He had to realize it, they don't go to great lengths to hide it. If anything, they flaunt their terrible nature. "Yet they cannot perform a remedial task such as theft?" No, it was part of the trick. Part of their game. The thought that there was an exchange, that they were working for something that they earned. That they actually wanted their gains when in truth it was a spurious deal, more akin to making a wish with a cursed monkey's paw. He was really spelling it out for the dhampir, his words slow and spaced evenly with the cadence one might use to explain physics to an elementary student.

The question of course was why?

"They sent you to see what would happen," Vladimir announced sharing the dark truth. He knew that depending on the boy's passions, those which drove him, if he valued the opinion of others which he might not. If he only wanted to be seen as important, great, loved in the eyes of others, that what he would say would enrage him. A calculated risk really, he was looking to learn something very specific about the famed dhampir Howard White. "You are nothing but a plaything, not a valued asset not a treasured proteje." He took a step back that was matched by Howard's own. Closing the distance, keeping within melee. Vladimir was taking the alternative option, the option that did not involve further bloodshed potentially. "Keep a few paces back," so he could see if Howard was about to break this cold war or if they were about to enter a melee with a hand around his neck. "And I will happily engage in a tête-à-tête," while confident in his own skill, risking a melee with a dhampir was less than advantageous. TO this point he has not made a act of aggression, but for some words would prove plenty.

Stopping here since I need to know the range you chose for your character.

Howard gave Vladimir a hard look as he questioned his belief in the Hag’s intentions. The Dhampir knew there was truth to his words. For long now he knew that whenever a task was given by the vile creatures that it came at a price. That it would cost him mind, body or soul to gain what he sought. That to play a part in their wicked games had a costly admission. “Don’t matter what I believe. They want the darkness and that’s what I gotta do. Sure, they could do it themselves, but then what would I get. Nothin’!” Vladimir may have been trying to spell it out for him, to warn him that their was no prize to be had, but Howard couldn’t see it that way. When he first went to the crones he had asked for power. Soon after he would be turned and in his mind he was convinced it was his payment for service rendered. Now he only needed one more thing to be free and it would take much more than Vladimir’s harsh words to convince him otherwise.

The blondes words may do nothing to change Howard’s mind, but they would begin to frustrate him. “You think I care!” His voice on the rise. The last thing he cared about was being valued by the Hags. He started down this dark path hell bent on making his own way in life. To rid himself of the expectations and desires of others. To be free of the restraints that society would impose. He surely wasn’t out to impress or gain fame. “If they sent me to see what happens then let’s get on with it!” Howard took a step back at Vladimir’s request, arms stretched to the side to gesture what now? “C’mon then!” Speak or strike. Howard’s patience and temper were wearing thin.

Interacts: @Howard White

"No, I don't," think he cared, Vladimir admitted "about the consequences" he clarified. "I think you want to be valued, everyone does," he announced simply as he saw the bubbling rage just underneath the surface. "Value is power. It is what makes you worth while. But the problem is, the more time you spend with the hags, the deeper your peccancy," a word that the dhampir probably did not know so he replaced it with another used "...sin." Vladimir was not a religious young man, he did not subscribe to religious mythology. He did not believe that some divine, supernatural being that would bother itself with the trivialities of his personal life. That some all-powerful being would care that a portion of their earnings was forfeited or that he lived his life a very specific way. That he, or for that matter any person could possibly be -that- interesting.

"Rage is yours, they have been feeding your addiction," Vladimir announced. The question of course would be -- what was Vladimir's? There were some things the Ravenclaw would keep close to his chest.

Howard would step back, extending his arms in a prideful what now motion. Something that antagonizes, gnaws at his pride yet that was not Vladimir's flaw despite the fact that he had a surplus of dignity and an ego to match. "Nothing is going to happen," Vladimir replied. "I don't have a quarrel with you and as long as what is mine is safe, there is nothing to fear from me." He looked Howard over, "but we are different creatures. You and I," he mused. "Are you able to leave it at this? The knowledge that a second coven not only exists but that this coven has also employed students for clandestine vile acts."

Vladimir was no less on edge with the distance between them. He was watching Howard's stance, his glowering expression and his coal-red eyes would betray his intentions or so the Ravenclaw hoped. "But let us back up a moment," he kept his hands visible to the dhampir. He was reviewing every word that Howard had said. The 'darkness' was what they wanted. "The darkness belongs to your coven," he announced. "Mine to a lesser extent," Howard had to know this, he saw how lively the shadows were when he visited the crones. "But it explains why you," ominous. He let out a sigh. They were a bunch of cruel bitches.

"Watch what you eat," he warned. "I have no idea what it would do to you," he took a step back. "The darkness that is not theirs is the darkness in my blood and the strange curse I endure. Haven't you ever wondered where the darkness came from? Why it attacks? How it propagates?"

"It's the blood," he admits.

He would catch the heel of his shoe with the toe of his other. Bending was too great a risk. The same with his sock with unexpected difficulty that would become apparent as he peeled the sock. His foot was black, it looked dead. The blood vessels were engorged, like firehoses beneath his grey skin. "The human body is a reservoir and from what I know, the reason why it persists is because it is not just a curse but it is also alive." That is why it still spreads despite the thick golden potion that only seems to slow. Why there is no targets, why it simply attacks -- so that it might spread.



He would roll up his trouser leg, bending some to do so but his eyes on the unstable dhampir. "I do not know what will happen if it is metabolized," he claimed. Of course, this was a lie. "If you want a phial to deliver, a hollow needle and an opaque bottle with a cork is all you require. But I must warn you of three things -- my blood is unique, second that my blood is dangerous so never open the bottle, and third most important - never drink."

Vladimir's words would strike a cord. The angsty teenager that was Howard could try as much as he liked to deny that having value to others didn't mean a thing to him. A lie of course as he tried to maintain his tough exterior. The truth was that the rage that always bubbled below and its source was closely linked to what the Ravenclaw spoke of. Howard was not yet emotionally intelligent enough to be able to put it into words. How the sense of abandonment and the longing for a purpose fueled his anger. In a way it was because he did feel devalued. The magic that flowed through his blood had ostracized him from his family. What was once a circle of love and comfort had been broken by the fact that he wasn't normal. Now, as a creature of two natures the magical world he was forced into would call him half breed. Although there were plenty that would accept him, the title still forced its way into that dark part of his mind. The part that would be obsessed with gaining power and influence. It was not to rule or dominant, but to carve out a place of his own making. To be free of the social restraints forced onto him by others. To create a world that was for him, by him! No longer a victim of the needs and wants of others, but a champion of his own desires. To live freely through his own choices! It would feel like a righteous path, but like all those that seek power, what would he do to obtain it? What would he sacrifice?

"Yeah...so?" It was all he could manage in response. So what if he wanted to be valued for who and what he was. So what if they fueled his rage. It gave him power. It allowed him to free his mind and let it be consumed by a single purpose. It drove him forward. Howard would drop his arms to his side as Vladimir said there would be no fight, at least not for now. "Whatever you're tryin' to protect is safe from me. I dunno what your even talking' 'bout." He truly did not know of what they other boy spoke of and had no intentions of trying to find out. Howard would shoo away Vlad's next remark with a wave of his hand. Was he trying to goad him by the fact that there was another coven? Or that they had made deals with his peers? "Like I said. I don't care. They stay outta my way, I stay outta theirs. If we clash, we clash." An oversimplification indeed, but it worked for Howard's one track mind. Fortunately Vladimir would change the subject.

The dhampir would raise a brow as he spoke of the darkness. How it belonged to the crones Howard knew and in a way less to those that Vlad was associated with. He had long assumed that they were separate creations. As the Hags had tasked him with collecting the darkness from the other coven, it surely made it feel that way. "Aren't they two different..." He began, but the other would continue and misjudged Howard's depth of thought. It had never occurred to him to think of where the darkness came from or what would drive it beyond the wants of the Hags. Howard had assumed that it was strictly under their control, a creation that they alone controlled. However, as Vladimir took off his shoe to reveal blackened flesh he would admit that it was blood that drove it. It was not just a tool meant to harm, but alive. Like a terrible virus it only existed to spread. To infect, duplicate and repeat. "Do the Hags not control it?"
Howard asked, slightly dumbfounded. He swore they could. They had kept it from killing him, but was it coexistence or control?

Vlad would continue to expose more flash, his veins engorged from the spread. Howard's eyes would pop as he spoke of metabolism. "Why the fuck would I ever drink that?" He asked in disbelief. "Ya crazy?" Unfortunately that would be much to simple an explanation for Vladimir Athanatos. However, a free feeding was not his intention as he would offer the very thing Howard was tasked with retrieving. The darkness and the blood of someone sweet. The Ravenclaw meant nothing to the dhampir, but surely the blood of an enemy would be enough to appease the Hag's dark desires. It would also put him one step closer to setting her free. "Gimme a minute." Howard would slip away back to the Hospital Wing. A hollow needle and an opaque bottle was all he needed. Thanks the gods for those little elves, always so willing to help any student in need. Upon is return to Vlad, he would hold out the items, one in each hand. "What do ya want in return?" Surely this was just another deal, another wicked barter in the swirl of all this madness. It couldn't be that easy....could it?

"Different what? Creatures?" He shook his head side to side as if to say no. "Covens," most assuredly. "Think of it like enjoying a good cup of tea, one brewed in the mountains of Japan and the other in England. Different leaves, similar process, incredibly different results. Take one to the other, it is at the very least a novelty. At best, a learning opportunity."

"In my case," he swallowed and nodded downward. "I can only speculate," he shrugged "for now." He was more clever than he was credited but his mind would not prove to be enough in the end.

"Do the Hags not control it?"

"No," Vladimir answered. "Not really," he clarified. "Not anymore than you can control a friend or a partner, but you can influence them of course," he conceded. "The real tragedy will be when that changes," a terrible thought he verbalized. Perhaps he was trying to warn or deter Howard. Perhaps he was just letting Howard knew that he knew. Perhaps the boy was full of crap. "The only thing that prohibits hags from being more terrifying than they presently are is their penchant to work in groups no greater than three. A dark trinity." The rule of three, almost a compulsion for some, evidenced in hags. The Maiden, mother and crone. The mind, body and soul. It is not a duality, there is always a third side. That was the basis of revolutions, the ability of humans to consolidate and disseminate knowledge, information, thoughts and learning. It was their segregation from one another that kept them weak and was Vladimir's greatest weapon.

Vladimir was anything but sweet. Perhaps now the dhampir was catching on to what he was tasked to perform. Perhaps not.

He revealed his leg, the throbbing mass of darkened, twisted, almost writing tissue. They were not like any legs Howard had seen before. Vladimir was certainly not a shorts man. Not that the Ravenclaw had the vanity to care. Howard had seen it. That it had spread past his waist, to his lower torso.

Howard acted as if he as appalled at the concept of drinking, but it was human nature to be curious. It was teenage nature to lean towards deviance. It was Vladimir's turn to think Howard might be full of crap. "I am not one to attempt to fathom your... appetites," Vladimir responded, choosing the final word with care.

Howard would bite, just not in the literal sense.

"Gimme a minute."

Howard announced as he departed. This is when Vladimir could have ran but he chose to stay. He did not trust Howard but he trusted that he would return. While reviewing the possible variables, the best outcome required that the Ravenclaw remained.

As Howard left the room, he would feel as if a weight had been lifted from him. As if there was something that was keeping him up tight. Something invasive and intrusive. Something that was wrong.

Finding what he sought would not take very long, a hollow needle and an opaque bottle with a stopper. No curiosity posed. When Howard returned with the items Vladimir would accept only to take the bottle and the needle to the window. A rip in he sleeve of his shift. Not one but both placed on the stone sill of the now opened window, Vladimir would turn his back to Howard but his other senses were focused on the dhampir. "Incendio," he announced in a quiet, calm voice.

The target --

The scraps of cloth, into which he would insert the tip of the needle and allow it to rest for several seconds. A crude form of sterilization it would appear. It was true, there was no alcohol swabs or other disinfectants. Who knew where Howard had gotten the needle. Wizarding could fix most ailments, but Vladimir was not one to spit into the face of fate.

"Thank you," he announced as he rolled up his left leg and planted the sole of his foot on the seat of the chair. He aimed the needle tip at one of the larger, dark veins. It resembled a twisted garden hose beneath this skin. Lateral almost with his skin, he inserted the needle and passively a sluggish dark fluid would flow. The needle held in place with his right and the bottle the needle's end.

"What do ya want in return?"

"Nothing," he replied as he allowed the bottle to continue to fill. "An end to our need for one another I feel is payment enough," he announced almost factually. It was not as if either trusted the other. There were too many dangerous possibilities. Yet it was strange that he was just so willing to share. That he even offered along with answers.

There were always answers, the problem was posing the right question.

Once filled, he would quickly cork the bottle. There was an urgency to his movements only then.Not when the needle was heated or inserted. Not when the blood was drawn. Only when it was about to end. His fingertips would press deeply on the venipuncture site. Symie the flow. Seal the wound.

"Here," he announced as he placed the opaque, blood-filled bottle on the sill. "The ladies' request." A conclusion to their business dealing. Not the conclusion the crones expected most certainly.

Howard's brow would scrunch as he thought on Vladimir's words. The covens and the darkness were different, but at their roots they were possibly of the same origin. That's what he would take from it anyways. The real brow raiser would come when he learned that the Hags did not have control of the darkness. That they could only influence it to do their biddings. Something that he was grateful for as they had surely kept it from tearing him to pieces, but it did make it the darkness that much more terrifying...and fascinating. Howard couldn't help the part of his mind that was drawn towards things of power, even if they were innately evil. As Vladimir had just told him it would certainly spell doom for all if the understanding between the crones and the darkness came to an end. According to the Ravenclaw the Hags would always be limited by their own nature as they always worked in threes, but the darkness seemed limitless in power. Howard had always assumed that it was a creation of the crones. That they used their wicked magic to give it life and like a guard dog it was bound by their leash, but no. Where did it come from? How did it come to be? Most important of all, how did you get it to do your bidding? "I see.." Was all that would escape the Dhampir's lips.

Vladimir's exposed flesh would prove a worthy distraction from Howard's dark thoughts. The infection, or whatever it could be called, had certainly taken hold of the young man. As he spoke of the dangers of his blood, Howard would feign disgust at the thought of drinking it. Yes, part of his mind knew that doing so would be suicide and self preservation would at first reject the thought. Vladimir had told him the darkness that flowed through his blood was a death sentence, still intriguing all the same. He didn't know it now, but later that year Howard would experience the power of a different kind of blood. That whatever magical properties flowed through it could do more than just satiate his thirst. For now Vladimir's blood would be a means to an end. Later, who was to say. The instruction were clear. A hallow needle and an opaque bottle.

As Howard left the room another odd sensation would sweep over him. It was as if something had been pressing down on him, pushing against his mind and heavy against his chest, but as the door closed behind him it would lift. He should have thought more into it. Taken the time to realize what proximity to Vladimir felt like. However, Howard would just chalk it up to another peculiarity of the Hogwarts castle. With the requested items in hand, he would return. His eyes would scrunch in guarded curiosity as the other boy thanked him. Again, the dhampir should have put more thought into the other boy's intentions. Why would he offer up both knowledge and blood so easily? Howard would ask and the other would reply that it was simply a means to an end. Finish the task and the pair could be done with each other, hopefully forever. Howard had no desire to know this Ravenclaw or to further discuss this dark subject. He was most certainly falling into a terrible trap, but he was a simple being. He was getting what he wanted and he took it at that. "Fair enough." Was all he would say.

Howard was a bit startled when Vladimir took out his wand and lit a small fire, but it seems to be for clinical purposes. Looking at the state of his legs he wondered if that really mattered, but at least the flames weren't directed at him. Their eye contact would break as the needle plunged into the vein. Howard's nostril would flare as the blackened liquid began to drip into the bottle, a quick lip of the lips before he tore his gaze away. The deed was over quickly as the bottle was corked and delivered. After placing it securely in his pocket, Howard would stand there awkwardly. Unsure of what to do next he figured it best to make his exit. Just before he left, he would turn back towards Vladimir as a thought crossed his mind. "What was your deal? With the Hags? Seems to have cost ya quite a bit." It was mostly a curiosity as he gestured to his blackened veins. If Vlad chose to answer he would listen and then take his leave. If not, he would shrug and walk away...unless he was stopped of course.

Vladimir would not be stopping Howard's exit. Their exchange was complete. Vlad was merely a middleman in this transaction. Not the progenitor. It was an obvious trap, a dangerous game. Yet, despite Vladimir's apparent illness and the fact that led Howard to an isolated corner of the castle; placing the Ravenclaw alone with an ill-tempered dhampir that exuded a terrible aura, Vladimir hardly flinched. The teen was capable of fear, but he was full of not only pride but also courage or perhaps that was mistaken for dangerous confidence.

"What was your deal? With the Hags? Seems to have cost ya quite a bit."

"Love," Vladmir provided a sad smile and gave Howard a dismissive wave. "Life," he added with a sigh. "In exchange for my liberty," he turned to look out the window. In the reflection of the frosted glass Vladimir would appear tired, a momentary breech of his facade. "For now," his voice seemed small. Howard might even miss that last part. It was just hollow words without action and all Howard saw was compliance. A passiveness that betrayed a fighter's spirit. Perhaps Vladimir was more snake than bird; or perhaps the Ravenclaw was whatever he needed to be at the given time.

There was always a plan. Three steps ahead.

There was always more to the story. Something to be earned. Something to be gained. Fearful losses and regrettable choices. "Best of luck," his voice stronger as he turned around. His previous, strong, flawless visage would be the one that faced Howard. Not the weak or the tired, the crippled or the lost. "No mercy in the end and all of that I suppose, but there is no reason for incivility or needless bloodshed when we are granted the delusion," not illusion because he knew better "of choice."

Howard granted his leave.

Topic Complete.