Forum Thread

"No worries, no rush. You're lucky, you know. There's no arrangement or political pressure in your case... you're free to find whoever you like." Monty looked up at Jackson. His tone was calm and pleasant. "Although your mother may be picky about who chooses her dear son."

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''she's already tried to find me a suitor a few times in the past... at this point i think she's given up'' he laughed.
Percy looked around a little bit and wandered off to go explore.

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Monty's eyes trailed after Percy. There was nothing too dangerous to find in the castle, and he had more or less let Jackson do his own thing when he was young, so instead, he turned to his son and snapped his fingers.
When the white haze cleared from their visions, they sat in the garden. The table in front of them held a pot of tea and a small plate of gelatinized blood. Monty sat on the arm of his chair, a cup in hand and his legs crossed. "What else have you been up to?"

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Percy watched them disappear and blinked, but soon ran off to go explore, beaming joyfully as the sound of his sneakers tapping on the stone floor echoed through the halls.
though he did slow down when he heard voices further down the hall, curiosity getting the better of him as he pulled his hood up and decided to go investigate stealthily.

soon he found a hiding spot he peeked out from behind what he was hiding behind and spotted three adults, a young girl, a hell hound and a raven in the girl's arms.
whoa she has a raven.... i wish i had one, me and my raven would be best friends Percy thought, dropping down before he pulled his hood down and walked out to go greet them.
~~~~~~~~~
once they appeared Jackson took a seat in the chair that was next to him and leaned back in his chair, eyeing the plate as his nose wrinkled slightly.
''well, not much honestly aside from taking care of vampire's who have gone rogue.... using more holy methods to do so, since it seem's to be the only thing that weakens them a fair bit'' he said casually, since he trusted his father more than he did his own mother with information about what he does.

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Silver was the first one to notice the short figure that was approaching (he wasn't very engaged in the conversation that was being held anyways) and stared at it with a heavy, piercing gaze. It was short, but he knew better than most that even a child was capable of posing a threat.
Rhythe realized when the figure was much closer and, upon seeing Silver's cynical look, slipped her hand down her thigh and retrieved a serrated blade that she held far too calmly in her hand.
Eclipse looked up from Dusk when she felt Rhythe move and was alerted by the sight of the weapon, shifting to get a better look at what was going on. She saw another child that seemed to be her age and excitedly walked forward to meet him.
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He blinked and seemed to take a moment to process the information. His face was neutral as he sipped his tea--a rare feat, as he usually wore his characterizing knowing smirk--but by the time he had set the cup down on the table he seemed to have made his stance on what his son had just told him. He nodded solemnly.
"That's very interesting, Jackson--I've never heard of such methods used by vampires in all of our history. I suppose the negative stigma and our past regarding the priests have dubbed them as more of an enemy rather than... a tool, of sorts, as you have. Your youth makes you think differently; I'm glad you're using your intelligence for a cause."

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Percy noticed the look one of the adults was giving him along with the woman next to him holding a weapon, made him falter a bit, out of fear at being harmed.
but once he seen the young girl, who he assumed was either his age or a year younger approach he started beaming happily.
''hello! are you visitor's to my grandpa's castle?'' he asked Eclipse, genuinely curious now as to who they all were.

Magnolia, who was snuggled up with Shade in the chair like a large lap dog at the time, had perked up on how Rhythe and Silver were acting and looked in the direction they were looking in, ear's perked up and eyes widening as she shot up to a sitting position, which made Shade yelp quietly in alarm as he shifted around in the seat to avoid her paws, the best he could anyway.
she shifted and swiftly made her way over to them two across from her and Shade, confiscating Rhythe's weapon and smacking them both in the head with her free hand.
''you do not intimidate and threaten a child....! and before you even say anything i know that even a child could be dangerous, but do you really think the guards would let a random child enter the castle....?!'' she hissed quietly at them, completely furious at how they acted towards a child like that, especially to one who has shown no signs of hostility whatsoever.
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''well things are changing father, there are some of our kind who have been trying to live alongside the humans, i've even met a couple other vampire's who were normal chapel priest's.... vampire's who are immune to holy matters like crosses and prayers and all that stuff'' Jackson explained.
he picked up the tea cup that was on the table meant for him and took a sip of the tea, looking back at his father after he finished.
''i'm also immune... which means i'm able to do things no vampire could ever do.... but, i know better than to use this immunity to cause trouble, i simply use it against the rogue vampire's who have been plaguing both human's and us vampire's who have not succumbed to whatever has caused the rogue's to be the way they are'' he said.

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Rhythe gritted her teeth but Silver responded before she had a chance to snap back. "Magnolia," he replied, softly as to not draw Percy's attention away from the conversation he was having with Eclipse, "our King gathered a band of children young as he is and trained them to be assassins. I was one of them--he's training Eclipse to go down the same road. You need more caution in this castle than anywhere else."

"Yeah!" Eclipse replied happily. She then paused and quickly blurt out, "Maybe. We might live here now. I'm don't really know. Who's your grandpa?" She cocked her head in interest, assuming that Monty wasn't the actual owner of the castle.
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Monty nodded. "You have a better set of morals than either of your parents. I'm glad to see that... although I'm sure your mother is bothered by your lack of interest in politics."

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''did you not see the way he reacted to you both threatening him.....?! if he was of any threat he would have made Eclipse a hostage by now and not be talking to her....!'' Magnolia spat back as quietly as she could, that way the children didn't hear her.

''my grandpa is king Monty, my dad brought me here to meet him!'' Percy said cheerfully.
when he heard her say that her and her guardians might stay his smile grew, bouncing a little now.
''if you do stay here i can come visit you!'' he said happily, excited to make a new friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
''pfft, you know i'm not a fan of politics... they never have been that interesting to me'' Jackson said simply, since he truly wasn't a fan for politics anyway since it was usually nothing but drama half the time.

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"As if you've never played the innocent card to lure in an enemy!" Rhythe hissed back, baring her fangs. Her eyes flared with rage that seemed to be building with every growing second, but Silver squeezed her shoulder and spoke before she could make the situation worse. He knew her well enough to know that she was more provoked by Magnolia's abrasive approach than the actual matter at hand. Without him, Rhythe most likely would have attempted to murder everyone around them.
"We know now," Silver said calmly, putting a hand up in submission as if it were proof that he wouldn't harm the child. "It's in our nature to be wary, but we were mistaken. It's no issue now."

"Wait, Monty's a grandpa? But... he looks like a kid!" Eclipse said, confusion warping her expression. She acknowledged Percy's friendliness but was now hesitant to accept it; a liar was no potential friend to her. "Are you sure this is true?"
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"Mm, it's a good time not to be involved anyway. If your mother and I were still at formal war, I'm sure you'd have no choice to be dragged into it--it's a miracle that war is so expensive," Monty said with a cheeky smile. "How is she faring these days?"

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''shut up.... you've never lost an unborn child, you would never understand that unless you went through that hell yourself.....'' she hissed directly at Rhythe, and Rhythe alone, the pain and sorrow she had locked up slipping through and lacing itself with every word she spoke.
Magnolia straightened and sighed, closing her eye's while looking away.
''i trust you both, you a bit more that Rhythe, but the fact that you also threatened the poor kid Silver make's me a little weary...'' she grumbled, obviously not in the greatest mood now.

the moment Percy noticed she grew confused and heard what she said, his smile faded a bit as he furrowed his eyebrows, just a little upset that she didn't believe him, though he understood why since he himself didn't believe it at first until he seen how his father and Monty acted towards each other.
''y-yeah....? i promise it's true, i can call my dad and have them both come here if need be'' Percy assured, reaching into his pocket and pulling his cellphone out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
''tsk... i'm glad for that, i wouldn't feel like picking a side.... but she's doing well, she's got herself a new little errand boy to toy with though'' Jackson said, laughing a little bit at the last part.
he straightened enough in his chair to look at his father a bit better and tilted his head.
''eldest child of the Khimera family, Lucifer Khimera, i believe his mother was one of your warriors correct?'' he asked.

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"It's okay. I believe you," Eclipse said hesitantly, mostly because did want to befriend Percy. Her eyes were drawn to the cellphone and she recognized its familiar shape despite never seeing it on the vampires around her. Her old self knew what it was, and she didn't think to question her subconscious, so she simply glazed over it without a second thought. "Where do you guys live? I haven't really explored the castle yet."
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Monty looked off to the side in thought. "I can vaguely recall. She does like to claim my soldiers as an act of dominance--I'm not surprised," he replied, the last bit a mumble. "Anyways. No use in pointing out her flaws. How is Lucifer going with her?"

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he perked up a little and smiled again.
''my dad owns a two story house with a basement living area in one of the townships, i don't know how far away it is from here but it's really nice!'' he said, back to his bubbly self now.
~~~~~~~~~~~
''honestly...? the guy look's terrible, he obviously despises her cause of his binding.... he seemed to have fought it off for a while considering how i've never really seen him working with mother until here recently'' Jackson said.

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Eclipse nodded and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes piqued with interest and she turned back to Percy. "Do you want to go exploring with me?" She asked, her lopsided grin giving off a sense of childish cheekiness. Silver's attention swiveled to the children's conversation when Eclipse said this, but in an effort to regain Magnolia's trust he refrained from intervening. He merely warned as any good parental figure would do, "Be careful. It's easy to get lost in such a large structure."

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Magnolia looked over at Eclipse and Percy, nodding in agreement to what Silver said.
''and try to stay safe, i don't want you to get hurt'' she said.
Percy looked at the two adults talking and nodded, giving them a thumbs up before looking back at Eclipse, holding his hand out towards her palm up, giving a small polite bow.
Shade was watching from where he sat, fingers laced while leaning forward and chin rested on his hands.
''if he hurts her i ain't showin' mercy..'' he grumbled quietly to himself, becoming a little protective just like any father would, even if all four of them shared the parental figure roles.

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Rhythe and Silver looked at Shade with expressions that seemed to come from a place of understanding; as harsh as their methods were, Eclipse had become a priority to them (although their morals hadn't been too strong in the first place). Silver's wary eyes followed the two children as they skipped off and out of sight, in which he finally slunk down into a chair with his arms crossed tensely. Rhythe promptly pawed at his arms, forcing him to uncross them, and slipped onto his lap.
"We can only do so much to protect her at this point," Silver said with a tragic waver, "Monty typically has a... dark approach when it comes to teaching children, and god knows she has so much potential."

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''there's no denying she has a great deal of potential, i just... don't want to see the last bit of her sweet nature ripped away from her like i've seen happen to many other children..'' Shade sighed, looking back over to Silver and Rhythe now as Magnolia walked back over and sat on the arm of the chair he sat in.
she was simply staying quiet now, leaning against shade while basically hugging his head without disrupting his line of sight.

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"I don't either, Shade, but I'm afraid that isn't something in our power." Silver's face was stoic as usual, but the way that he cast his eyes off to the side suggested that he was in deeper thought about his own childhood. He was smart enough to know that his was certainly the opposite of the norm, and his lack of emotional competency was most likely a result of such.
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Eclipse and Percy had made it into the large hallways of the castle at this point. She looked at the high ceilings and darkened glass windows with awe, cradling Dusk and holding him slightly away from her chest so that he could get a look at the architecture as well.

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''i understand that... i just... can't help but worry'' he said, sighing quietly while reaching up to place his hand over one of Magnolia's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dusk looked around and tilted his head slightly, curious as he watched the things go by.
''i wanna fly around but.... this place is kinda scary....'' Dusk muttered to Eclipse, feather's ruffling slightly.
Percy walked along next to Eclipse and had his arms crossed behind his back.
''your guardians are a little intimidating.... my dad can be like that too towards other vampire's but he means well, you should meet him, he's really nice and protects humans from feral vampire's'' he said.

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"I don't think there's anyone here," Eclipse replied, looking around and understanding how he felt unsettled. The architecture was grandiose and large, but in its emptiness, it seemed a bit ominous. She looked over at Percy and nodded. "Yeah, they can be kinda scary. Rhythe especially. But they're just worried about keeping me safe, I think. Where's your dad?"

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Dusk huffed and nestled down into Eclipses arm's, continued looking around.
he looked at her and tilted his head.
''i think he's with grandpa talking, also he isn't my birth father, he adopted me, i still call him dad though because he treats me as if i were his real son'' Percy said casually.

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