Unwilling Conspirator (Jasper)

[Admin]

They kept her in some room with no windows and only one door, and she hated it. She couldn't count how many times she had tried to escape, but each attempt was foiled; there was always some vampire much stronger than her standing guard outside that door. So she spent her days drifting in and out of restless sleep, and her nights crying, when her situation seemed so helpless that she couldn't stand it. She was always starving, both because she was rarely fed and because she refused to eat. Some days ago one of her captors brought her a young boy to feed from. A living, breathing young boy, wide-eyed and begging her for mercy. But these people that held her didn't believe in mercy, and they forced her. She had nightmares about that boy, and she didn't know how to make them stop. Could she make them stop?

When the door creaked open, she curled away from it, somehow finding the strength to hiss "Go away!" at whomever had come to torment her.

It was that bastard Antonio again; that deep laugh of his was so distinct she didn't confuse him with another for a minute. He must have been high-ranking to visit her so often, that or they placed less value in her than she thought. "Still fiesty, are you?" He mocked, moving nearer to her as she tried to curl away from him; he loved to see her uncomfortable. "We need you to find someone, Lina."

"My name is Angelina." The battered blonde snapped, raising her head to glare at her harasser. "Why should I help you? What did you do with the last girl I found for you?" She didn't trust him. She didn't trust any of them. That girl looked so young, and so happy. What right did they have to drag vampires like her to be 'judged?'

"She was executed, of course." Came the uncaring reply. "She was unstable. A danger to all vampire life."

Angelina couldn't say she was surprised, but she hated to hear him confirm it. Did she kill that girl by telling them where to find her? She never wanted to be a killer. Before they took her, she wanted to save lives. Now she was being made to end them.

"I won't help you find anyone else." She told him, defiant. Her expression was one of determination; despite her predicament, she would stand up to these people...or would she?

"Oh, I think you will." Antonio challenged coldly. "You will do as we say, or we will kill you. We will kill everyone that is important to you, Lina, just like that boy, right before your eyes. You don't want that, do you?"

She whimpered. She was being backed into a corner again, and she knew it. But could she really risk the safety of her family and her friends? She tried to force herself not to think of them, just in case they had a telepath in their ranks. In frustration, she began crying again. What was she supposed to do?

"Where is Jael Naire?" Antonio pressed, as if he somehow heard her question.

"I-I'm not gonna help you anymore. You're just gonna k-kill more p-people." Angelina choked, praying to every diety she knew that they couldn't look into her mind.

"FIND HIM!" Antonio snarled, slapping her across the face, hard. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Find him, or we will have your family killed."

"H-he's in a building..." Angelina gasped, clutching her cheek. She didn't know what scared her more: that he was willing to abuse her, or that she couldn't feel the pain.

"WHERE?! Don't play with me, little girl! I'll have the leader in here herself!"

"In New York City." She caved, taking solace in the fact that whoever this Jael Naire was, he was surrounded by many more of his kind.

[jasper]

Jasper stood outside the door of the captive, Angelina Pendergast. The poor girl, forced here against her will, turned so she couldn't leave, made to serve those who she despised. He felt a serious, sad connection with this poor girl. He hated to stand out there while Antonia, pretty much the hothead, ego maniac of the Breseis Coven went in there and interogated her. But he was grateful he was here now, he had been waiting to be in this very spot since he discovered who she was and what she could do. The sounds of her sobbing and the pain he had to mask over with a placid expression were pains he was willing to take on.
He had plans for her, plans that would help the both of them.

Jasper almost flinched at the sound of a loud slap. No doubt Antonia asserting his dominance and whatever he wanted to call it on to the poor girl.
'Worthless bastard'
Though Jasper remained completely calm and emotionless ( a tecnique he had completely mastered)the tips of his fingers tingled ever so slightly, the claws wanting to come out and rip his throat from his body. Antonio finally emerged in all his smugness, wiping the corner of his mouth like an MMA fighter would after an easy victory. Jasper simply bowed his head to him.
"Keep a watch on that little bitch."
He ordered Jasper.
"Yes sir."
'Go fuck yourself, you swine.'

Jasper was able to think these thoughts freely because he had a highly immune mind to telepaths, even his surface thoughts were difficult to read. He also was able to scramble his thoughts should he feel they were somehow being invaded, so he didn't really worry about them that much. For now, Jasper waited. He had to get his timing right. Too early and someone would see that he left his post, too late and another vampire woud come in for interogation and catch him with the girl. The way he figured it, he had about a four minute window to get in, speak with her, and resume his statue-like post.

He waited for about forty minutes before checking his watch, looking about and then slippin silently in the door. He laid eyes on the poor girl and her trembling frame made him recall saddening human emotions. He kept his thoughts in check from wandering any further to prevent him from recalling his Anathema and experiencing severe pain. He stayed on the opposite side of the room for a moment until she looked up to him.
"Angelina..."
He spoke her name sofly, in a human voice that most vampires had long since forgotten.
"I'm going to help you, but I have little time and I need your cooperation and your help in return."

Jasper waited for a moment, forty seconds of his time already passed.
"Will you help me?"

[Admin]

Angelina flinched when she heard someone call her name. At first, she thought Antonio had come back to threaten more information out of her, but she came to realize that the voice she heard was unfamiliar. It was much more gentler than that of Antonio, whose voice was like that of a volcano erupting. Who was this stranger? Should she trust him? Could she?

"W-who are you? What do you want?" She croaked, automatically bringing one arm to shield her face, just in case he was another hitter. She considered him with a braveness one might call admirable or impressive following her recent encounter with the Coven thug, peeking at him from under her arm.

He looked friendly. That is to say, he didn't look like he was about to hurt her, which automatically made her feel a smidgen more comfortable. He could be tricking her, but she preferred to think positively, if the opportunity to do so presented itself. Aside from his appearance, he spoke her name, correctly, and mentioned that he could help her. How could he help her? Why?

"Do you want me to find someone?" She asked, jumping to the obvious conclusion. She was clairvoyant, finding people, places, and objects was her Gift. How could she possibly be useful to anyone if not for that? "How are you going to help me? Why?" She glanced at the door, just in case things went awry. Could she escape? Was this stranger her guard, foolishly entering her room, giving her the opportunity to chance fleeing?

[jasper]

Jasper watched the girl carefully, still trembling in the corner in fear. His chest, though dead as it was, almost felt the familiar stinging of guilt when he saw her. However it loosened slightly when she seemed to look towards him, even just the tinyest bit of fear gone from her eyes.
"Do you want me to find someone?"
She questioned automatically. Of course she would think that, it was the only reason they even kept her alive was because of her gift.
"No, not yet anyway."
That probably didn't sound so reasurring, but it was the truth, and the truth was probably what this girl needed. A good truth anyways.

"How are you going to help me? Why?"
Her voice came again. Jasper looked backwards at the door, thinking he heard a noise his body froze and became statue like, all his muscles tensed. When he heard nothing more he looked back to her. He didn't have much time left, and as much as he'd like to console her, explain everything, he couldn't. He'd have to make this short, but be able to get her to trust him, if only a little bit. Jasper was swiftly at her side, crouched by her bed so he was looking up at her tear stained cheeks and red, puffy eyes.
"I assume you've heard of dragons? Well I used to be one of them; don't be afraid."

When he said this Jasper raised his hand slowly and the claws, famous for being able to grind stone to dust and bones to oblivion grew from his fingers.
"I used to be a War Dragon, and I am stronger than any vampire in here. They took everything from me, they--guh!"
A sudden, sharp pain came to his chest and he clutched at it, the Anathema glimmering in his mind before he forced it away and looked back to the poor young girl in front of him as the claws retracted and he took her hands between his.
"You don't deserve to be here, doing things you don't want to, being forced to live this life. When the time comes I will be able to free you from her permanently. I just need you to tell me who they're looking for and where they are. Will you do that for me?'

Jasper knew he was asking a lot of this girl, for her to trust him in seconds even after all she had been through and to have her give the names of those that could be dead because of the Breseis Coven forcing her to do so. But he could only hope she would see the honestly and pleading in his long mourning steely eyes.

[Admin]

She wasn't very comforted by the fact that the stranger spoke of being stronger than the others, nor that he claimed to be a former dragon. That only made him more dangerous, more threatening to her. What was to say that he wouldn't use his power to threaten her? When he showed her his claws, she flinched and backed so far into the corner that she looked like she was trying to merge with the stone wall behind her.

But when he told her that he, too, had lost something, something important to him, she began to calm. Her suspicion was replaced with curiosity. Was he there against his will, too? How was he their prisoner when he claimed to have such great strength? Then, he stopped, clutching his chest as if in pain.

She winced and clamped her hands over her ears, expecting a scream, but one never came; the stranger recovered from whatever he had just felt gracefully. Was that his Anathema? She began to ask if he was feeling alright - she never liked to see good people hurt, and he hadn't yet done her wrong - but he suddenly took her hands. The gesture caught her off-guard and her eyes widened in surprise; she didn't expect such an approach from any of the Breseis people. She thought they were all too...cold to display empathy and concern for another.

And then, he asked her to find someone, right after he said he didn't need anyone located yet. She sighed; what a confusing man this was, saying one thing and doing another, promising to help her but asking her to blindly trust him. But the other Breseis people would just demand she find people, too, and she had no proof that this stranger wanted to find them for the same reason they did. Perhaps he was going to interfere somehow and prevent more people from being killed? If there was any chance she could help people, she'd take it.

"I don't know who you want, or how many." Angelina explained, closing her eyes in concentration as she tried to remember the names the other Breseis people had given her last. "But these are the ones they asked for most recently. Sonja Turret, Austen, Texas. 454 Main Street. Johannes Westerly, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 918 Richmond Road. Katira Lane, Brooklyn, New York. She's at The Academy. Jael Naire, Brooklyn, New York. 83 West Hampshire Street. They're looking for him right now. That's all I remember."

She gave him more information than she had ever given the other Breseis people, in hopes that he'd be able to find their targets before they would. If it turned out that he was just tricking her, and he was working on their side all along...she couldn't have known. She was trying her hardest to help.

[jasper]

Jasper waited patiently for the girl to respond. He had no will to try and rush her, or pressure her even more.
"I don't know who you want, or how many."
He looked down for an instant, but before he could really reply she started up again.
"But these are the ones they asked for most recently. Sonja Turret, Austen, Texas. 454 Main Street. Johannes Westerly, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 918 Richmond Road. Katira Lane, Brooklyn, New York. She's at The Academy. Jael Naire, Brooklyn, New York. 83 West Hampshire Street. They're looking for him right now. That's all I remember."
Jasper paused, the names running through his mind. He had an excelent memory, but there was no way he'd be able to get to all of them, not in time at least. But his mind finally registered the name Jael Naire. It was so familiar- ah, he was another Coven leader, Jasper was certain he read about him somewhere. A Dragon never forgets an important name, though he may not recall where he got the name.
"Jael Naire...I'll be able to reach him first."
He spoke mostly to himself. As the ticking of his watch came into his ears he glanced at it again. One minute thirty seconds left.

Jasper looked back to Angelina again.
"I only need to know one more thing, okay?"
Jasper paused again, making sure it was okay with her.
"Is he surrounded by his own, his coven?"
It would be an important thing to know. After all Jasper was a fledgling of the Breseis and had been working for them for nearly seven decades, so their stench was also all over him and running through his veins. If the Breseis was looking for him, and needed a clairvoyant to find him, then he probably knew how to hide and who to hide from.

If he was surrounded by his own Coven Jasper was sure he wouldn't be able to waltz up there with out being ripped apart on sight.

[Admin]

Angelina closed her eyes and focused once more on locating her target. He was with his Coven a moment ago, but double-checking gave her just a little more piece of mind; if this sweet-talking stranger was out to feed the Breseis their enemies, she would rest easier knowing one was among others that could protect him.

"Yes." She confirmed, nodding. "He is with others of his kind, and there are many of them. He stays as far from them as he can manage, while still being near enough to be protected if danger were to come; I don't think he likes their company much."

She wondered if the Breseis people would try to take Jael Naire in when he had so many other vampires around him. Would they send a large group of vampires to confront him? She hoped not; she didn't want there to be any bloodshed. The thought of innocent people dying made her feel unpleasant; what if they were people like her, good people, who never even wanted to be turned? What gave the Breseis people the right to decide who was or wasn't good enough to live?

"He leaves sometimes, alone, but never for a long time. He always goes back there. These...people have been asking me about him for a long time."

She looked at the stranger, eyes pleading. "Don't act like the others here. Please." It's not right.

[jasper]

It wasn't a response Jasper wanted to hear, but one he kind of knew he'd get. She reported he was surrounded by many of his kind. It would be difficult to talk to him in any way, none-the-less get any trust from him whatsoever. He'd have to try and get to him somehow, if not to gaine an alliance at least to save his life.
When she said he left sometimes it gave Jasper the tiniest glimmer of hope. Maybe he'd speak to him then. But he was still a coven leader, so he would be very smart no doubt, and not trusting either. The more Jasper thought about it the more complicated it proved to be.

Jasper was ready to leave, only having about forty-seconds left, but her next words caught him off guard. He paused, and looked at her with wonder. His eyes trailed to the ground as he blinked. He could recall how he used to be, his first twenty or so years in the Breseis, he was an emotionless shell, one of them. It made him sick, and he never wanted to go back. Looking back up Jasper forced a weak smile.
"I will never be one of them, not for as long as I walk this earth."
That was one of the most honest things Jasper had ever said.

As he stood, though, he felt his stomach sink. Once he left, she was alone again, and he wouldn't be able to stop Antonio from going in again and interogating her. Jasper felt powerless because he couldn't break his cover. If he tried to defend her, then they'd have him killed for sure, and then there would be no one to protect this poor girl. He turned away and wiped at the corner of his eyes at the thought. How could he tell her that he couldn't protect her for God knows the amount of time it would take to get her out alive?