You're lost in darkness

[Tak Gunji]

The forests were wild at night, the sound of unearthly beings slithering and wolves howling echoed off the hills and mountains that surrounded it. Gunji had come looking for something in particular.

A breeze picked up, sifting his hair from his eyes as he scanned the wilderness. Amongst those he had under his thrall, Gunji had a witch and there were certain ingredients she needed to create a potion for him. Having heard the rumors of how dangerous it was to linger in this particular part of the forest after dark, Gunji decided to venture out into the darkness on his own.

Normally, he would have employed the use of his righthand man but he was currently on a different job for Gunji. Since time was of the essence, this had become a necessity. The boy they captured over the weekend was proving quite... annoying and the errand boy that Gunji tried to contact ended up leading Gunji to a wrong number.

Either the errand boy succumbed to one of the other vampires in the Blood Ring or he was trying to hide from him.

Gunji wasn't happy about either outcome.

The mushrooms he was searching for were supposed to be close to the trunks of hemlock trees. Gunji approached one and he knelt down. Mushrooms.

He was just reaching out to pluck one from the ground when he heard the barest rustle in the underbrush nearby. Gunji froze in place. His gaze slid aside while his head remained in place. He felt the presence near him.

"Hello," he said softly, pleasantly, as if he were taking a stroll and casually managed to run into an old friend. However, he didn't know this person. All he knew was that he had the smell of wolf on him.

[Ryang Jaesung]

Vampire.

Jae lifted his head from his grisly feast, almost delicately licking the blood and gore that festooned his lips and chin. He carelessly dropped the carcass with a light thud and stood to full height on his long, powerful back legs, sniffing the air.

Vampire.

He would have smiled, had wolves the ability to. Instead he loped away from the body of the first vampire who had unwittingly wandered into his territory, knowing that he would be able to retrieve it later by scent. No one else would dare cheat him of his meal; he was lord and king here.

It was his lucky day. Two vampires, in quick succession, and both his. Now that he wasn't quite so ravenous--the first having appeased his bottomless hunger somewhat--his thoughts turned to other avenues of pleasure. Perhaps he would capture this second one and keep it fresh for a while longer. Stale meat made for a passable meal but live prey was a feast indeed.

Shortly before he broke through the trees, Jae shifted back into human form. The trousers that he once wore hung in tatters about his hips; he carelessly let them remain where they were, heedless of the disheveled appearance that he presented. Once, he would have cared greatly about the state of his clothes or the cut and style of his hair. Now his only priority was food.

"Hi." His voice was husky from long disuse. Not many people visited him. Occasionally his parents dropped off supplies but they knew better than to stray too close. Jae smiled and there was something not entirely civilized in it. "Nice night, isn't it?" His dark eyes slid up and down, taking in the vampire and the mushrooms that he had in hand.

How nice--the main course came with its own appetizer.

[Tak Gunji]

Slowly, he rose, slipping the mushrooms he'd picked into his satchel. No wonder none of his errand boys came back. There were stories about going this deep in the woods but Gunji never took them all that seriously. Whatever was out here, he felt he could handle. He might not be the oldest vampire on the block but he still had a few centuries worth of experience in the world.

The werewolf that stood before him looked disheveled. Gunji smelled the scent of blood on him. Flicking his gaze upward through the canopy of trees, he found he wasn't that worried. It was not a full moon so whomever this was, he wasn't completely lacking control of his human side.

Since Gunji got what he came for, he found no reason to stay. The werewolf seemed to be standing there, waiting for his next move. Gunji kept his eyes on him while he stepped away.

"Goodbye."

[Ryang Jaesung]

"But you just got here."

The rasping voice softened as he stole forward a few steps, seeing the vampire retreating warily. He was right to beat a hasty retreat but it was a little too late, wasn't it? He had already stumbled across the bogeyman, looked him in the eye, spoken with him. Retreat wasn't easily achieved now that Jae had laid eyes on him.

"What's your hurry?"

All the while, he was creeping towards the vampire, bare feet cushioned by thick moss and fallen pine needles. There didn't seem to be others of his kind nearby; Jae didn't scent or sense them. It was just the lone, foolish vampire.

[Tak Gunji]

Yes, yes. He just got here but he was not about to spend any more time here. There was something dangerous about the werewolf's tone of voice, something that Gunji really didn't like.

Or maybe it was his stare. Gunji stared back but his ability to subdue and enchant didn't seem to have much--if any--effect on the werewolf at all. That was... somewhat alarming.

"I have work to do."

[Ryang Jaesung]

Work. Right. Jae believed that about as much as he believed that the moon was made of cheese.

He didn't halt his advance, though his steps grew smaller. His eyes bored into the vampire, whose gaze was locked with his, but these small tricks wouldn't work. If anything Jae's stare was a mark of defiance, letting him know that the usual enthralling gaze of a vampire would not work here.

That was one of the nicer things about the virus--it rendered most hypnotic attacks practically useless. Perhaps a stronger vampire might have had more success but this one, he was fairly young it seemed.

Suddenly, like a whiplash, Jae sprang at him, shifting mid-air into the fearsome black wolf that others had come to know and fear.

[Tak Gunji]

Gunji was really starting to understand what happened to some of his errand boys at this point. They must have met a bloody end at the hands of this werewolf. What made him impervious to the stare? Gunji found himself silently unnerved by the fact that he stared him right in the eyes and made it very clear that he knew what Gunji was trying to do.

He didn't bother to waste words on him anymore. In fact, he was about to turn around and leave when the werewolf transformed. It was so fast that there was barely any time to react whatsoever. Gunji lifted his arm up to catch the werewolf's teeth and he staggered back as the full weight of the large, black wolf collided with him.

While Gunji normally had the grace of any other vampire, this time it was not useful. He couldn't stay on his feet, not with an attack launched so quickly and so suddenly. He dropped down and he attempted to kick the werewolf off.

[Ryang Jaesung]

Using his body to smother the vampire, Jae clamped down harder on the arm that he had caught between his teeth. He felt the vampire's kicks in his ribs but worked through the pain, letting it feed into his rage and lust for violence.

Jae got to his feet and began dragging the vampire, back, back and deeper into the woods where his cabin was. Being much larger, heavier and stronger than the average wild wolf worked to his advantage. Not to mention, having just eaten, he was filled with renewed vigor.

He let out a low, menacing growl. If the vampire wasn't careful he would lose an arm. Arms were so easy to tear out of their sockets; too easy to dislocate or snap at the bone no matter what the creature. With a fierce shake of his large head, he attempted to do just that, to incapacitate his new prey.

[Tak Gunji]

Some vampires that Gunji knew would have fought tooth and nail. They would have been cursing and kicking up a storm. Gunji was a quiet man, however. He was not much for cursing and although he occupied his time with the Blood Ring, he truthfully got very little out of it. It was just a way to keep moving forward when all he really wanted to do was die.

And so, he let the werewolf drag him for the time being. He went limp and relaxed. Some part of him hoped that going limp would make him a far less entertaining catch. A bigger part of him hoped that it would end here, with the werewolf tearing him apart.

If he had to die after so long, perhaps it need not be so peaceful.

[Ryang Jaesung]

The docile behavior of the vampire unsettled Jae but he thought that it was another trick. Perhaps he was waiting for Jae to let down his guard, so that he could escape. Not likely--Jae's bite was firm and there wasn't much that could outrun him in these woods.

Soon they came upon a cabin in the woods, a lonely little affair of logs and mud chinking, with a thatched roof. He let out another warning growl and then, slowly, dragged the vampire up the two steps and towards the open door.

Inside, he let up pressure before finally releasing his prey. He tossed his head in the direction of a pallet in one corner, indicating that the vampire should move towards it. Meanwhile, Jae guarded the door--it was the only way in or out. There were no windows.

[Tak Gunji]

The moment he was released, Gunji sprang back up and he intended to head straight back out of that strange hovel in the woods--but he was met with the werewolf guarding it. He obviously wanted Gunji to slide into the corner. It looked disgusting. Gunji didn't want to be there. All he wanted to do was take his ingredients and leave.

For a long, long moment, he remained where he was, a foot or so away from the werewolf. He weighed his options--should he fight the werewolf or should he comply with him?

...of course he wasn't going to comply. Playing dead was one thing. Getting himself locked up in some whacko's cabin in the woods wasn't happening.

So he stepped forward and he stared intently into the werewolf's eyes. Why wasn't it working?

"...what do you want with me?"

[Ryang Jaesung]

Rather than shifting back, Jae remained in his wolf form and slowly sank down, eyes beadily watching the vampire. He growled as he spied what he thought was movement towards the door but the vampire only stepped towards him.

Even so, he sprang up immediately, letting out an aggressive bark, the fur standing on end along his back. He wanted the vampire to back up--away from the door. So, snapping his teeth and making short lunges forward, he tried to force the creature onto the pallet. He had to keep him there until the sun rose; then the vampire would be naturally trapped in the cabin, without much need to be guarded.

Ever since contracting the disease, Jae felt more at ease in this form than any other. He shifted to become a human out of necessity but as an animal, he felt completely in his element. He felt that he belonged in this form. When he zipped between the trees on a hunt or clashed against other creatures to assert his dominance, it felt right.

[Tak Gunji]

Why was he asking a wolf questions? What kind of idiot was he? He narrowed his eyes. In wolf form, if anything, it seemed like his charming stare did little to dissuade the wolf from parking him right here in this strange shack in the forest. Quickly, Gunji took a step back to avoid being bitten. Even at three hundred years old, the sound of a sharp bark and the baring of teeth were somewhat intimidating.

Or perhaps unsettling was the word for it. Gunji was not accustomed to this kind of behavior even from the most annoying of werewolves. For the most part, Gunji left them alone and they left him alone. They weren't at war like some teen movie. The wolves seemed to keep to themselves and the vampires only came out at night. The werewolves had more territory, more time.

It was obvious that the wolf wanted him to stay in the corner like a good little boy but Gunji didn't intend to stay here. He had work to do and his time was limited. He didn't want to be stuck here in this windowless hovel, especially not with a wild animal. This werewolf was essentially that, after all. He didn't seem to have much control over his animal senses.

Slowly, he stepped back again, inwardly annoyed that he was being literally pushed into a corner by a werewolf. He inspected his arm with disdain.

"If you're going to kill me, do it already."

[Ryang Jaesung]

Almost in amusement, Jae tossed his head from side-to-side. No. He wasn't going to kill him. If he wanted that, he would have finished him off in the woods instead of dragging him back here. This wasn't food--this was... entertainment.

As the vampire backed up and away from the door, Jae sank down to guard it, bodily blocking the way. The sun would rise soon. Then, he could shift back and speak with his new captive. For the moment, the only sound he let out was a soft growl, as his tail swished against the dusty floor.

The injury, the bloody arm with his teeth marks in it, momentarily attracted his attention but he wasn't concerned. Vampires had such good healing capabilities that it would be fine in a few hours. It was the other injuries--the ones yet to come--that he should have been worried about.

[Tak Gunji]

No. No? No, he wasn't going to kill him--period? Or he wasn't going to get it over with?

Internally, Gunji was tired. He was mentally exhausted but he kept himself going by setting up new and enterprising ways to keep life interesting. Being kept in a shack in the woods by a deranged werewolf was not his idea of keeping life interesting. Or he supposed life wasn't the correct term for what he had.

Since his gaze wasn't working and he wasn't a mythical vampire that could shift into another creature, there were few options left to him. It was difficult to tell from within the windowless shack but Gunji knew that he didn't have much time and he knew that if he didn't try something soon, he would actually be stuck here overnight.

So, for a long moment, he remained still, innocently enough. But then, when he thought perhaps the wolf could be taken off guard, he moved forward with enhanced speed, hoping his speed could match or best a werewolf's.