Fable - Ask Rebirth

[Nazara]

"Ah that will come back." Orin said with a smile. He pulled himself up from the chair and then quickly turned to seat himself on the bed with her. There was a charm to him, though it was that of a rogue in the night.

He looked at the Gorgon for a moment.

"It takes time." His voice was a bit more sympathetic now. "You're not used to what you can do now."

Orin mused. "Your muscles are stronger, your eyes are better, your ears are more acute. Everything about you is...enhanced."

For a second there was a pause, then he continued.

"Your mind needs to catch up, but in time you'll find wonder in your abilities." He motioned to Navaia. "Let me show you one example."

"Put out the light, Nav." The Gorgon hesitated for a moment, then quickly slithered to put out the lanterns in the room. Putting them into pitch black.

 

[Harlowe]

The first rule a parent taught a child was not to go out alone in the dark because of the monsters that lurked there. Now, Harlowe watched with horror as the Gorgon began to dowse the flames.

"No, ple-"

The final candle guttered and the room was plunged into darkness. Her breathing quickened with fear and she squirmed back on the bed even further, clutching at her blankets as though they might protect her. Was this their true purpose? To turn her and use her as a plaything? Was she going to keep dying for their amusement? Was she--

In the mounting panic Harlowe realised despite the dark she could still see. Humiliation filled her. Of course she didn't have to be afraid of monsters now she was one.

 

[Nazara]

Orin peered through the dark, his red eyes giving off a soft glow as he turned towards Harlowe. "See?"

He said with a shrug.

The dark was nothing to fear, especially for the two of them. The Gorgon's own violet eyes could be seen within the dark cabin, though they were less pronounced than Orin or Harlowe's. She seemed to move through the dark, returning to her corner.

"Our abilities are all different, child." The Viper said. "Each one of us capable of great things."

Orin nodded. "It takes getting used to though, especially for us..."

He trailed off.

"We're close enough to human that the reminder of...well, it doesn't matter." His head shook. "You'll adjust, get used to it. Find that a lot of things are...better now."

There was no other way of putting it.

For a monster, Orin seemed oddly human.

 

[Harlowe]

Are my eyes like his? Harlowe wondered quietly as he assured her things would be better now she was changed. Red monster eyes. Or were they Violet like the Gordon's? She was too afraid to ask and know of how much further she had changed so she simply lowered them to her lap so they didn't have to look at them. No doubt they didn't care but Harlowe couldn't bare the thought of anyone seeing such an obvious sign she was no longer herself.

"So what happens now? I just... go?" Nazara had called them her family but she couldn't see them ever being that to her. So what was the alternative? Wander the earth until she found some purpose? What could vampires even do? She couldn't see them getting a job or buying a house.

 

[Nazara]

The two monsters looked at one another. "Yes...you could."

Orin said slowly, though it was clear that he was holding something back. He took a breath, though or course his lungs required none of the air that he drew in.

"But, You'll find it's not that simple anymore." The Vampire glanced towards Navaia for a second, wondering if she would do a better job explaining all this. Then slowly he turned back towards Harlowe. "I spent my first two weeks of this new life trying to live my old one."

A frown touched his lips.

He did not yet mention the pull she would feel. That odd tugging of the soul that all those who signed the contract felt. "It was like I'd been living with my eyes half closed my whole life. The people seemed less real, less genuine. My work more bleak. All of it was painfully...human."

Which he had not been anymore.

 

[Harlowe]

With her eyes downcast she didn't see the look the pair shared and she took the hesitation of his words to be the pause it took for him to find the right way of explaining his own experience. She imagined it was hard, it was hard for her to put into words how she felt because in a sense she already felt that way. For example, she had already forgotten she was sitting in the dark.

"Then..." she slowly raised her eyes with a frown. "What did you do?" genuine curiosity crept into her voice as she asked.

"Didn't you miss your family? Your friends?" it was a bewildering idea that he simply got up and left after two weeks.

 

[Nazara]

"I came back here." He said with a shrug.

"Who better to understand me than other monsters?" Orin said, as if lost in some trance of memory. The longing had helped with that of course, the call that spoke to those who had signed the contract. "My family shunned me, my friends...well, most of them were dead."

He had died in battle, like she had.

Orin looked towards Navaia for a moment. "It is wrong to think of these people as some sort of Harbingers of Death."

He chuckled.

"They...we were all human once. Even Nazara." His head shook. "I came back here and I've lived."

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe took her time mulling over his words. Out of old habit she pulled her hair over her shoulder and began to run her fingers through the silver waves. It was clear from her expression she was still trying to wrap her head around so many things at once; what she was, what her next move was, whether she wanted this life at all.

She tugged sharply on her hair with a sigh.

"The... other... Nazara said I was a recruit. What does that mean then if I can do what I want?" Having been a soldier she had seen many different kinds of recruits. Some were expected to do service for a certain number of years, others were reserves who came when called.

"What... do you all do? Fight and die again?"

 

[Nazara]

Orin shrugged. It was hard to explain the calling. "Even if you'll leave, you serve the Regiment in a way."

There was always something.

"It can't be avoided." There was always a choice, but those choices always helped the others. The Contract was specific, focused, and it revolved around keeping them all on a single track.

The Gorgon broke in again, her violet eyes flickering ad she looked at Harlowe.

"Magic has a price, and the price that was paid to bring you back has to be returned. Whether you realize it or not, you'll be repaying the debt by whatever you choose to do." She explained. "Some who leave sow seeds. Others send back information, but most just return."

She gestured to the other Vampire. "Like Orin."

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe wasn't sure she liked the idea of her fate being twisted by some unknowing force to serve the regiment. Whatever she did? Her lips pressed into a thin line and she tugged her twisted braid again with a sigh.

She could always die if she didn't like it. What was the harm in at least... trying?

"So... how do I decide? And learn how to..." her eyes flickered to the broken door which has been moved from its crumpled spot on the floor. Perhaps it was now on the fire she could smell.

"And I'm still not entirely sure what "the regiment" is."

 

[Nazara]

Navaia leaned over and lit one of the lanterns, shielding the light so it did not blind any of them at first. "We are the Regiment."

She said with a shrug.

"An army of monsters, at least that is what most would dub us." The reality was far different of course, though a bit more difficult to explain. She frowned for a moment, then began to try and paint a clearer picture. "Nazara once likened it to a force of nature to me."

The Gorgon mused. "We are an army, neither good nor evil, siding with those who pay us or offer us the great opportunity."

Of course those opportunities always different. "Orin will teach you."

She gestured to the Vampire who offered a nod and a fanged smile.

 

[Harlowe]

Enough. Enough talking.

She quietly reprimanded herself. The important thing was was that she wasn't trapped or indebted to anyone. Any more information would be too much for her to process well. She had to look at the situation practically; at the moment she was weak, alone, and she needed time to make a decision.

"You're right," she took a deep breath in and let it out nice and slow. "I need to learn," in order to survive. Rule number one, her captain had always said. Perhaps if she could just think about it as having weird super powers then... then it would be ok.

"I'm not drinking human blood though," she pointed a finger almost accusatory at Orin. "No vampire bonding over a torn human throat."

 

[Nazara]

Orin looked at Harlow for a moment, then slowly panned his gaze over towards Navaia. There was a certain...disbelief in his eyes.

Shoulders shrugged. "Sure."

He said, clearly not believing her. He was utterly certain that she would not hold true to that, at least not for long. There was always temptation, always a push for something else and something more. That was what he had learned early on.

"Animal Blood will do." He lectured. "Though you'll still feel hungry."

Orin shrugged. "In Alliria I used to eat rats."

 

[Harlowe]

"I've been in a fort under siege, eating rats is not new," she replied calmly and held his gaze with her own for a long drawn out pause before lowering them.

"I'm not ready to become a monster yet."

Everyone had a line, their own moral code that they abided by throughout their life. Harlowe was simply drawing up her own in this new one she found herself in. It was enough processing the fact she didn't recognise her own body - Gods only knew what her face looked like with fangs and blood red eyes - and that she would never have the same future she had once had. Eating humans was a step too far for her mind to process this early on.

 

[Nazara]

Orin nodded. "Alright."

There was no sense of judgement from him, though it was clear that he did not believe she would hold to that rule for too long. His shoulders rolled in another shrug, and then another lantern light popped into being once more.

The Vampire took in another useless breath.

"You'll find that many of us here..." Orin began to offer her. "Aren't all that judgmental."

Navaia smiled warmly. "We were all human once, just like you."

No one in the Regiment had been born a monster, not even Nazara.

 

[Harlowe]

It was hard not to give an answering smile to Navaia's one, even if it was small and a little shaky. She could understand why Nazara had said that it was she who often did the first big talk to new recruits. Once you got past the... appearance she was almost motherly. At least, to Harlowe. Though she supposed she was nowt but a baby to both of them.

"Thank you," she said earnestly then skittishly glanced back down to her hands. "This is just a lot to take in. It is... not what I thought I was saying yes to," she didn't really know what she thought would happen when she had said yes but it hadn't been this. Gods only knew how she would have reacted if she had woken up as something even less human.

 

[Nazara]

"That is...normal." As strange as that seemed in the moment. Both the Vampire and the Gorgon gave her a smile, both as genuine as could be.

They had been with the Regiment for as long as many others. Had served the call and experienced every little thing that Harlowe was afraid of. To them, helping was the least that they could do, was what they had been told to do.

Orin especially took an interest, making sure that his Vampire Kin understood her new powers and what she was truly capable of.

It took weeks for her to show her the basics, to make her understand what she could do and the powers that she would gradually understand. Even after several weeks he could not tell it all to her, though small bits of knowledge became clearer and clearer.

Near a month later Nazara approached her at a small gathering around a fire, his face as impassive as it had always been. "I'll need you tomorrow."

The Shade told Harlowe as he crouched down besides her.

"We'll be going into Lissenn." He told her as his hands extended towards the fire, as though he could feel the heat.

 

[Harlowe]

The sleepless nights were one of the hardest bits about her new ailment.

Most monsters needed sleep and she often found herself alone at these times surrounded by soft snores and snorts. It wasn't that she minded being alone, she was still skittish around most of the group which had affectionately earned her the nickname mouse, it was that in these moment she was more aware of how different she was now. She preferred to keep herself moving and occupied.

Which was why she was almost relieved when Nazara approached her with an invite.

She had smelt him coming so hadn't bothered to move from her position where she lay with her head resting on her bedroom gazing up at the star studded sky.

"Why?" Her red eyes flickered towards him, taking in his profile against the flames.

 

[Nazara]

"To have a conversation." Nazara said with a smile.

The expression was a common one on his face, though it never touched his eyes. Perhaps it was impossible for it to do so. The vast emptiness of his gaze seemed to hold no matter what expression he wore. The black orbs flickered to Harlowe.

"The Baron of Lissenn is interested in our services." He explained. "But his people are weary of monsters."

Hence why they had to go into the city at night. "So we'll be going now."

Nazara said as he stood, motioning for her to follow.

 

[Harlowe]

Nazara's smiles always reminded her of someone who had read how to smile but never quite understood why anyone would do such a thing. She watched him silently for a moment as he spoke before fluidly rolling into the balls of her feet.

She reached down and grabbed her backpack, hoisting it over her shoulder.

"Why do you want me to go with you?" Her head titled to the side curiously. She had no doubt he could handle such a thing on his own and if he couldn't there were more experienced monsters to ask.

 

[Nazara]

"Why not?" He answered with a shrug.

Often, there wasn't a rhyme or reason to much of what the Regiment did, at least not that most understood. Nazara had thought many times he figured it out, though the truth was it was as much a mystery to him as it was to many others.

The calling was there, and he answered it. "I need a bodyguard."

He told her as he half turned around, clearly expecting her to follow along.

"There's monsters out there." Nazara chuckled to himself, though the sound was as empty as his smile. Harlowe's read of him was right. The Regiment had all been human once, at least that was what the Gorgon had told her.

Yet Nazara seemed off somehow, strange. A mockery of a man.

 

[Harlowe]

Aside from her own Vampirism, the second most difficult thing to wrap her head around in this new life was the lack of hierarchy. Dominant personalities simply seemed to win out on decisions but at times she had been stuck with a group who seemed afraid to make a decision and wasted time with polite decision making. She wasn't sure how this was useful in anyway for an army.

She pulled a face at his terrible joke.

"Well," she said slowly, matching his stride with ease with her long legs and inhumane gait. "Looking at it from a practical manner. I'm new, inexperienced, with limited control over my... abilities. Blood is also a big problem," she checked each point off on her fingers.

"So... either you need my skills specifically no matter how young I am or you just like my company, which is a terrible way to do missions."

 

[Nazara]

"Who said anything about a mission?" Nazara countered quickly.

It was obvious that Harlowe still sat in the mindset of her previous life. It was a shocking surprise given how little time had passed. It took time to adjust. Some more than others, and Harlowe seemed to be one of those who would take the longest.

"We're having a conversation." He said with a shrug. "Not conducting an assassination."

Though for all he knew that very well could be what the Noble who sought them out wanted.

It didn't always happen, but more that once he'd arrived at a negotiation only to immediately be thrust out into one task or another. He doubted it was the case here, but he'd been wrong before. "Would it make you more comfortable if I just ordered you around?"

He asked.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe hesitated.

"No..." she said in such a manner that suggested she wasn't entirely sure herself with her answer. Being ordered around was what she was used to but... it... didn't feel right with this Regiment. She had only been here a month and whilst she still hadn't let go of her old life she was slowly - ever so slowly - getting used to how things worked in this odd group she had found herself in. She pushed a strand of spun silver behind her ear awkwardly.

"But isn't this... the start of an assignment? Being set it?" she frowned and went to bite down on her bottom lip only to slice her lips open with her fang. With a frustrated noise she pressed the back of her hand to the blood that welled there.

 

[Nazara]

"Assignment is the wrong word." He told her as they approached the city.

He glanced up at the walls for a brief moment, judging them quietly as they headed towards the gate. Two guards stood there, though they bothered none of the visitors who passed through. Lissenn was not at a state of war, and thus didn't care for who roamed it.

At least for now. "I'm not sure there is a right word for it."

He frowned.

"Concentrate for a moment." Nazara told her. "Don't pay attention to the people, the crowd, the city, me. Just focus on your own thoughts."

The Shade explained. "At the back of your head. Beyond your conscious knowledge, behind that wall of urges that make you're feeling. There you'll feel it."

A subtle, almost impossible to discern pull.

It was the tug of a string on a three mast ship, the slightest draw, but it was there, and it lead to the Palace directly head of them.