Theme 08: Erjin - Week 2

Seems like I lose track of a lot of things lately... Blog included. Though I do use the weekend to spend time with bf since he's at home then, and yesterday was partial-cleaning time XD and tomorrow I've got a job interview, and no idea what to expect of it. Just wish I didn't have to take the train, since it's gonna make me lose some time waiting for it... but I'll have Pokémon Go to keep me company. Yay mobile data. << XD

This week, going to share one of those random writings that set an entire part of the story in motion. As I mentioned in week 1, Erjin was created so I'd have a book-person in the world itself from whom to learn, and that eventually evolved into actual stor-setting events I never saw coming. There are five older writings based on a single once-journal entry, and I pick the one I aptly dubbed 'Because it demanded to be written out'. The scene is set with Erjin being asked out by a Honorary, which is basically the equivalent of military in Malmernian terms, and after a rather tumultuous evening at the tavern, the young Honorary walks Erjin home...

As they rounded a corner on the way to Erjin's apartment in the middle city, they were intercepted by a large bald human who'd stepped out of the shadows. He tossed a sharp dagger from hand to hand, staring at Oliver with a wide smile lacking several teeth.

"How ya doin', lil' Honor'ry ?" he barked dangerously, "Ev'rything fine ? How's our vamper, wha'd yer lil' friends do to 'im ?"

Oliver turned livid. His eyes opened wide as he approached the bandit, ignoring Erjin's quiet concerns.

"Are you insane ?!", he growled in hushed tones, gesturing towards the darkness before them, "We're just a few streets away from the Quarters! You—"

"Ain't they all celebratin' ?", he interjected, his smile widening, "Ain't none'll hear ya, boy. Now, how's about that vamper ? They ain't cheap to replace, y'know. We lost the kid, the girl, and the old guy. Now, that one, that'd made a great sell. Comin' out ya pay, it is."

"Oh so now it's my fault they got loose !", Oliver snarled louder, "You realize they killed one of us? That they could've killed more? I didn't sign up for this, Kal. It was supposed to be easy money."

The man named Kal burst out into raucous laughter and spit.

"Ahaha ya stupid lil' runt ya, clearly not used to the life. It ain't ever easy, boy. Vampers' a risk, but they're worth it. Dead guard? Ahahaha, better. Nice move, too, savin' that stick next to ya. Too bad she heard us, ain't it."

Oliver stiffened, cold sweat running down his spine. Only now did he realize that Erjin still stood at his side, as wide-eyed as he, and that she had indeed heard their entire conversation.

"You don't mean that," he retorted, fear distorting his voice, "She's got nothing to do with this. She… she won't talk, she's just a book rat."

"Well, I like me some rat on a spit," he sneered, "come 'ere, lil' rat."

Kal was upon Erjin in a heartbeat, throwing her up against a nearby wall and choking her with all of his might. Oliver tried to pry Kal away, but was swatted away like an insect. Erjin could not scream, and had nowhere near any strength to try and fight the bandit's grip. Kal laughed in her face and tightened his fingers further round her neck, with every intention of snapping it in half.

"Erjin!!!", Oliver howled as he tried again to budge Kal, to no avail, "Kal, don't!!!"

Kal's laughter suddenly turned to breathless gasps. When his grip on Erjin had loosened, he was propelled into the opposite wall with such force that his skull shattered on impact. A shrill, drawn-out screech filled the air upon the stench of filth and blood. Oliver cowered away between two trashcans, hysterical. Erjin lost consciousness at the sight of the source of the screeching: a ragged, haggard human man in his mid-thirties, baring two sets of sharp fangs instead of canines and lateral incisors. The man cracked his knuckles and approached Oliver, who knew full well no escape remained.

"Don't kill me, please!!!", he screamed like a madman, trying to crawl up the wall behind him, "I-I didn't know!!! I really didn't!!! I just—"

"—planned to make easy money, yes, so I just heard."

"It wasn't supposed to go this way, I swear!!!", Oliver interjected, his voice heightening in pitch as the Vampire closed in, reaching its peak when he knelt right in front of him, "Please please please I don't want to die!!!"

"And I am not a murderer," the man replied in an even, albeit unpleasant tone, "your… 'associate', however, deserved his fate. I'm sure you'll agree. Now, tell me, Oliver: were you to walk free this night, what would you do ?"

There was a long moment's pause during which only Oliver's rapid panting was heard. He'd never expected such a catastrophic turn of events, even less so to be given a second chance by one of the beasts he'd helped put into chains and cages. Indeed, what would he do – what could he still do, if by some miracle he not only walked away from death, but also wasn't found out? How could he not be found out, he realized as he glanced over at Erjin, if she were to live?

He gasped sharply when, out of the blue, the vampire grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off his feet, pressing him against the wall.

"A little slow, are we?", the vampire hissed, fangs bared, "Let me refresh your memory, boy: a man's blood is on your hands, two men if you consider the smear on the wall. And the woman behind me thanks her life not to you, but to the alleged bloodsucking fiend whose sole crime was to protect a newborn. She," he shrieked like mad, hammering Oliver against the fracturing wall, "has been deemed a threat by your superiors and executed as well. Now tell me, boy, how you still deserve the life you have used to destroy others'. Tell me, or—!!!"

"You filthy, bloodthirsty monster, let him go this instant."

The vampire complied within seconds with the demand, his keen hearing perceiving the sound of metal on metal, and the genuine threat in that tone. Released, Oliver slid to the floor, tears flowing down his cheeks like wild waterfalls. He stared out blankly, the vampire's incisive remarks drifting through his mind like a ship lost at sea, and never recognized the two Honorary from earlier, standing mere meters away.

"I knew we shouldn't have let them leave," the elvin Honorary spoke harshly, his sword readied for a kill, "Disgusting beast, what have you done!"

Annoyed, the vampire sighed. The time for pleasantries was over.

"As a matter of fact," he stated with an arrogant hiss, dusting off his hands on his coat, "your job. The woman is merely unconscious. And I was about to teach your companion here not to stick his greedy little nose into the business of trappers, especially those who deal in vampires. Is that clear?"

The human Honorary called Dobber stepped forward, fury clouding his better judgment.

"How dare you speak to us like this, you monstrous abomination! We—"

"Yes, how indeed," he sighed sarcastically, "I believe the authority has been granted to me by Lady Nadieja whom, as you are certainly aware, ranks high above the likes of you. I suggest any complaints be taken directly to her."

The two Honorary stopped dead in their tracks, quietly gawking at each other. Neither one of them understood what could have come over the Lady, that she released a criminal back onto the streets without restraints, and even gave him the right to exert justice; but if what he said was true, then they risked a charge of treason were they to even try and stop the vampire. The Lady Nadieja, a cold-hearted but just Council member in charge of all diplomatic affairs, was well-known for being an excellent judge of character, so that she had eventually been appointed supervisor to the prison, the last stand between release and execution. Neither Honorary grasped the complex implications of her potential decision. As they silently debated their next move, the Elvin Honorary noticed ouf of the corner of his eye that their comrade Oliver had straightened up to his feet, and he realized immediately what he was about to do.

"Tarken, don't!!!"

Oliver managed to grab the vampire in a headlock, but never had a chance to use his dagger: the vampire turned the tables on him in one swift twist and pinned Oliver against the wall, his arm bent dangerously far behind his back. The vampire leaned his face in close to Oliver's, breathing warmth and menace down his neck.

"That was a foolish choice," he murmured, a fang grazing Oliver's ear, "And even though I can forgive you for this, I cannot abide your lack of respect for the lives surrounding you. You, and you alone, endangered the kind-hearted woman you call Erjin, an innocent bystander caught in your web of greed and deceit. Listen well to me, and remember: change your ways. Next time, it will be your neck."

Oliver's scream echoed into the darkness as his arm broke under the vampire's pressure. He collapsed, screaming hysterically, holding his lifeless limb while the vampire walked away, towards the unconscious woman. The Honorary hesitated, but decided it be in everyone's best interest to let the vampire pass unhindered, for now at least. Kal's remains had not gone unnoticed. Neither had the fact Oliver was still alive, as well as the librarian girl. As far as they were concerned, no vampire had been seen this night. Kal's death and Oliver's broken arm were the result of a drunk argument that had escalated, and nothing more. While they tended to their wounded, the vampire picked up Erjin.

"One last thing," he added with eerie composure, turning slightly towards them, "where does she live ?"