forum “Hinder me no more. Or so it says, at least” (OxO, Mature, Closed)

Started May 26 by @Serpentess health_and_safety language

tune

Marcus nearly yelped as the invisible force let him go, just barely managing to land on his feet. This vampire was… perplexing. Nothing like what he knew other vampires to be like. Then again he had never known a vampire to use the word “millennia” in reference to their age! Centuries, sure. And he never had any trouble with them. Maybe he really was in over his head… but Marc’s pride wasn't going to let him admit that, especially in front of the same vampire who had warned him of that fact.

He looked back at the v- Nok as he spoke and found himself staying quiet as he walked away. He was still alive. The vamp- Nok, he had to remind himself, had multiple opportunities to either kill him or just make him his next meal, yet he let him go? Marc was still trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened as he habitually picked up his weapons and tucked them back into his coat. Tonight had been nothing like he had expected and he wanted nothing more than to just go home and sleep.

The silence that followed Nok as he walked away spoke volumes of Marc’s reaction. As he made his way out of the alley and into the tavern, Nok pondered if he would have to worry about the hunter for the rest of the night. He wasn’t sure, but he’d find out eventually.

He wandered about the tavern for a bit, then eventually cozied up to one of the barmaids. They vanished into the cellar for a while, then Nok quietly re-emerged and left. The barmaid slept soundly against a wine barrel, an empty bottle Nok had found resting in her hand.

Nok came out of the tavern searching for Marcus. If he was going to be followed, then he might as well make the most of it and talk with Marcus on the way. However, if Marcus wasn’t going to follow through the night, then he was going to have a leisurely stroll back home.

Marcus hung around the alleyway, leaning against the wall, his mind still reeling. Firstly, his target was over 4 millennia, something he hadn't ever heard of before. Second, he had actually enjoyed their banter back in the tavern. Then there was the fact that he had gotten his butt kicked with very little effort on Nok’s part and when the information that Nok hadn't eaten before that fight was added into the equation… it didn't bode well for Marc.

But a part of him was curious about the potential challenge and wanted to see if he could actually stand his ground or survive without Nok simply letting him go. Another thing that he still couldn't understand.

He finally managed to step out of the alley and started walking, easily able to pass for a drunkard with how he was stumbling. He paused for a moment to steady himself when he saw Nok exiting the tavern… and for the first time in a long time, since the start of his career as a hunter, he didn't know what to do.

Nok quickly found Marcus off to the side, seemingly having just exited the alley. He locked eyes with the hunter, walking straight to him. He stopped only a couple feet away, looking Marcus up and down just because he could.

“Share a walk with me? Or would you rather return to your home? No harm will come to you either way. Unless you give me reason to, of course,”he asked.

He waited a moment for Marcus to decide, then simply walked away. Whether Marcus joined him or not, Nok was heading home to his library, and he planned to enjoy the journey. The moon was always pretty to look at on his way home, no matter which part of the city he was walking from.

Marcus took a reflexive step back as Nok approached but didn't let himself go any farther than that. The way the vampire's grey eyes locked onto him wasn't hostile… but may have felt a little intense. However, that didn't mean it was unwarranted considering their fight moments ago.

"I think I'd like to join you." he admitted, not quite back up to wanting to fight yet. But the opportunity to talk was a good one. There was a lot of information he could from this. Plus their last conversation had been much more enjoyable than their fight, maybe this one would be too. He quickly caught up to Nok and matched his stride.

Marc’s step back wasn’t surprising to Nok. He had always been rather intense, especially with his gaze. Even way back when he was still alive, Nok had been able to stop both men and women in their tracks with just his eyes. Though, back then, he was almost always flirting with said men and women. Now, not so much, unless he was hunting.

Nok nodded at the man’s answer as he headed away, then waited for him to catch up. For a few minutes, he was silent, admiring the moon as he walked. Then, he finally turned to Marcus.

“Tell me, how did you manage to get hired by the local clan? Those pretentious bastards never go for the simple hunters. You had to have impressed them somehow,”Nok asked.

Marc was a little relieved that Nok had waited for him but wasn't sure how to show it as they walked. The silence was awkward and he didn't know how to break it. He had so many things he wanted to ask… he just didn't know how to bring them up in a way that would actually get him answers.

“It wasn't my choice. I mean I didn't seek them out. They found me.” he explained, finding no reason to keep this information secret. Though he smirked in agreement as Nok called the clan pretentious bastards. “I’m from a long line of hunters. My father taught me and my grandfather taught him and so on. I think they found me by that reputation.” he shrugged.

Nok hummed as Marcus began, curious why the clan would seek him out. He got his answer almost as soon as he thought of it. Interesting…

“A bloodline of hunters. Curious… What is your family name? I may actually have records of your line somewhere, depending on its age,”Nok asked, snickering.

He liked keeping track of bloodlines, mostly of the people important to him. It helped him focus on the better times of his life, as well as allowed him to watch over the descendants of the allies he’d been fondest of. He even had a record of his own family line, though they were all from his brother. When Nok was alive, he had never been with any woman long enough to have a family. He quickly came to regret that soon after becoming a vampire.

"Malone." he answered simply. He had always thought his last name sounded kinda silly or something, but after hearing Nok's full name he thought it sounded simple and plain, like there should be more to it. Of course, he never had an interest in tracking down his ancestors' history, all he had ever needed was what his father passed down to him. Be it stories or skills or lessons, he never doubted his father's honesty. Especially since he had learned young how to tell when his father was lying about something.

"Would it be possible for me to see those records? Once you find them." Marc queried, letting only curiosity color his words. Though he wouldn't be surprised if Nok guessed that he had other motivations as well. He did want to know more about his line now, but he also wanted to know more about Nok.

“Marcus Malone. Malone. Malone…”Nok mumbled to himself, trying to remember the name.

It had been a century or two since he’d last paid attention to the names of the hunters that had chased him. Somehow though the name seemed familiar. Maybe he did have a record of it somewhere, whether he had met a Malone or not.

Marc’s question somewhat caught Nok off guard. He hadn’t yet considered if he wanted to show Marcus his library or not. Now, he had to decide. It was a definite risk, since it would not only reveal his location and home, but also more about Nok himself. His library was a shining example of both world history and Nok’s history. But, Nok couldn’t deny that Marcus intrigued him, and if the hunter decided to take him on in his own home, then Marcus would quickly die a very painful death. So, why not?

“I suppose so. It would be rude otherwise,”Nok answered with a nonchalant shrug.

“Yeah, but I just go by “Marc” most of the time.” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Some people might have thought it was interesting or humorous that he had the same initial for his first and last name. But he just thought it was a little awkward.

Marc knew it would be a risk going to a vampire’s lair, for lack of a better term. There had been a strong chance that his request would be turned down but the opportunity to find out more about Nok was too interesting to turn down. “Thank you. That's very kind of you.” he smiled in genuine surprise that Nok agreed.

Nok glanced at Marcus when he commented, then shrugged.

“Don’t be surprised if I more frequently call you ‘Marcus’. Formal speech has never left me, no matter how many accents I have adopted over time,”Nok said.

Nok was surprised himself that he had agreed to let Marcus into his ‘lair’, but it honestly wasn’t the first time he’d done it. Hell, he opened his library nightly to visitors, even though he almost never had any. He had long questioned why he did that, and still did.

“Of course. Though, I will make this one warning, be careful what you touch. Almost everything I own is, at least, ten times your age. And, if you fuck anything up, I will take your limbs as repayment. Understood?”Nok asked.

Marc chuckled a little and nodded. "I'll try to get used to it, old man. But I did notice that earlier. It was… unusual to hear that accent so formal." he grinned, half teasing.

Honestly, he had been to more than one vampire's lair, but those times had only been for business. This time who knew what he would discover. Though he raised his hands in surrender at the warning. "Fair enough. I'll try my best not to damage anything." he assured truthfully before smirking. "You know you're kind of a contradiction, right? You talk so formally out of habit but you use language like that? I'm not judging, it's just… When I think of someone talking like you, I have a hard time imagining that they swear… at all really." he admitted calmly.

Nok frowned at the continued nickname, then snorted at the comment.

“The drunks don’t seem to care either way. Though, that just goes to show how useless drunks can be at times. They are not my kind of company, honestly,”Nok said, half joking.

Nok nodded at the man’s words, glad that Marcus understood boundaries, even if his job often made him cross those boundaries.

“Though it may seem like I curse frequently, I don’t. About the only time I curse is when I’m aggravated, or being particularly stern. And, occasionally when I’m startled, but that’s dependent on the situation. I don’t get startled much anymore,”Nok mentioned.

He then sighed and shook his head, suddenly remembering someone he used to know.

“I suppose I could also blame a particular jester I used to know. He never learned how to shut up, and formality was a myth around him. Little fucker had an eye for business though. What twisted deity decided to make jesters so excruciatingly intelligent? Anyway… He is probably another reason I curse occasionally,”Nok added, rolling his eyes at the memories.

“Nor mine.” Marc smirked. “But sometimes their drunken rambling can be a source of information. And you don't seem to mind them that much either.” he pointed out, already having figured that Nok used them for blood. But it almost made sense. How many times were they found passed out and just assumed they had too much to drink? Hardly anyone ever got close enough to notice a vampire bite on them or would even think to look.

The blond nodded as the vampire explained what caused him to curse and couldn't help the grin that came to his face. “Except when a hunter shoots you through the heart. That seemed to startle you very much.” he quipped. Though he barely managed to hold back more laughter as Nok told him about a Jester of all things for his foul language. “Sounds like a very… colorful fellow. I bet you’re relieved that he’s dead, but I'm almost thinking that I would have liked to meet him.”

“True, they can be useful, in many ways. Though, they are still not my preferred company,”Nok replied.

Sure, Nok didn’t mind feeding on drunks, but he only did it when necessary. His tastes were… more refined. Merchants, students, wizards, itinerants… He liked the possibility of having an intellectual discussion before a meal. It brightened his mood, and he often had something to later record in one of his many journals.

Nok frowned, not bothering to reply to the man’s remark about being startled. He rolled his eyes though at the laughter written all over Marc’s face.

“He was, in more ways than one. He was a fucking reptile. But… if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I am relieved or not. Some days I am. Others…”Nok shook his head.

“He had a way of growing on you, even if you hated him with a passion.”

Nok sighed and quickly stifled a bout of sadness. He would never willingly admit it, but he missed the jester. Though, the mere thought of Marcus getting along with him made him grateful that they were from different times. Nok could only handle one annoyance at a time.

He turned down a particularly dim street and continued on. It was an older portion of the city, most of the buildings scarred or nearly collapsed. There was a group of buildings on the right side of the street though that were still intact, and one of them was Nok’s current residence.

"That's fair enough." Marc assented with a nod as he typically didn't interact with drunks more than necessary either. But he was still surprised by how much he had enjoyed the conversation with Nok back at the tavern… and was enjoying their current conversation now. It was strange… different. He had never really spoken with a vampire once he was identified as a hunter. Usually around that point, it was just fighting, snarling, biting, and him trying not to die.

He raised a brow when Nok called the jester a reptile, not quite understanding the context, but chose to stay quiet for now as the old man reflected on his past. However, hearing that the jester was that dislikable as well made him wonder, if they had met how likely would it be for Marc to simply pull his gun on the jester instead? Or would it become a frequent gesture to get some peace and quiet?

Marcus hesitated for a moment when he saw the street Nok had taken. "You live down here?" he asked without thinking, looking at the dilapidated buildings and ruins before catching up with the vampire.

Nok didn’t stop brooding until he heard Marc’s outburst. He paused, turning to watch the hunter catch up to him. He then snorted and continued walking.

“This area of the city is quiet, discreet, and home to many lost historical treasures. My few neighbors don’t mind either. We’ve got a sort of truce. They don’t mention me to anyone, and I don’t bother them. The one boy though… Smart kid. Great potential. If he wasn’t so afraid of me, I’d consider teaching him a few things,”Nok said, his explanation turning into rambling.

As they neared his home, Nok again considered the risks of showing Marcus his lair, and of letting him live. Sure, he was shockingly pleasant to talk to, but he was still a hunter. There was no guarantee that Marcus wouldn’t eventually decide to just kill him, take the money, and be done with it. And, even if he didn’t do that, there was still the clan to consider. They wouldn’t take too kindly to Marc’s ‘betrayal’ once they found out. Or, they’d just grow tired of waiting for Nok’s death and send their own hunters.

He stopped in front of what appeared to be a former shop or tavern, with double doors and two shuttered windows on the front. One side seemed a bit charred, but relatively undamaged. Nok reached a long fingernail into the keyhole of one of the doors and turned. A small click and Nok pushed opened the door. He waved a hand, lighting every candle and lantern in the building with a gentle nudge of his will.

The inside of the building was a sharp contrast from the outside. The floor and ceiling was polished wood instead of charred, and the walls were completely covered with ceiling-high bookshelves. Ancient, elaborate rugs decorated the five long aisles of the library, with the central and biggest aisle having the most ornate of the rugs. Off to the left, near the doors, was a clerk’s desk, notes and books neatly stacked on it. A few display cases were scattered about the library, holding ancient artifacts and other objects, many of which had sentimental value to Nok. There were also countless runes, symbols, and descriptions carved into the bookshelves, desk, and even the floor. Nok had carved them all himself, some while transcribing something, others while in fits of mental instability.

“My home, my library. You can wander if you’d like, while I go look for a particular book. Just remember my earlier warning. Everything in here is centuries older than you, and some things are older than me,”Nok commented.

He then calmly headed toward the back of the library. The door shut and locked itself once Marcus was inside.

“Neighbors? How many live here?” Marc asked in shock, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that anyone would live here. This was a ruin. It wasn't safe. Even if Nok was an ancient vampire and therefore stronger than he had initially assumed.

Marcus didn't view this as a breach of contract. He had already made an attempt to deal with “the clanless rouge” and found out just how ill-informed he had been. Sure, Nok was interesting to talk to and a lot could be learned from him, but the hunter hadn't given up. This was just an opportunity to understand his target better. If the clan who hired him had a problem with that… well, he knew exactly what he would tell them about it.

“Holy…” his jaw dropped when he followed Nok inside the half-burned tavern. The grand interior was nothing like what he had expected. “Your home is a fucking Palace!” he exclaimed, still stunned. “I know you said you were older than the Clans but not even where I met them was half as extravagant as this! This is… I don't think I am going to touch anything.”

“A little family of three next door to me. They scavenge the ruins for supplies, and they sell what they can’t use to the markets downtown so they can get proper food. It’s actually a rather brilliant strategy,”Nok explained.

Nok paused at Marc’s outburst, looking around his library for a second. He then shrugged at the man’s last comment. Whether Marcus read a book or avoided touching anything, Nok didn’t much care.

“When compared to the buildings outside, this place is indeed a palace. It’s just a library though. I maintain it as best as I can. And, what the local Clan lacks in taste, they make up for with sheer arrogance,”Nok said, rolling his eyes at the last bit.

He then turned away and continued on to the back of the library. Tucked near the corner was a locked door with stairs to the basement of the library, which was also his living quarters. He unlocked it and went down and searched through a shelf of all of his journals. Finding the one he wanted, he returned upstairs after only a few minutes and moved to the desk to read.

Marc let out a light scoff as Nok downplayed his home as a simple library. There was nothing simple about this place! He could already come up with a list of reasons why this place was so… impossible. But that would be both rude and simple-minded. Not to mention pointless to state things that would, no doubt, be painfully obvious to the one who owned this place and everything in it.

“No argument there.” he smirked at their shared opinion of the Clan’s arrogance. The whole meeting he’d had to endure while they made their proposal was little more than a thinly veiled insult. He was human, and a hunter, and therefore expendable to them. Not that he cared for them either. If it hadn't been for the promise of a real challenge and the reward they offered, Marc would have been more likely to stake every vampire in that building than work for them. The only “compliment” they gave him was admitting his ancestry held interest and potential, and the fact that they let him walk out of that place of his own will.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind for now, and carefully wandered around Nok’s home and library. His hands slid easily into the pockets of his coat to keep it from accidentally catching on anything and to ensure that he wouldn't touch anything.

Nok noted Marc’s scoff, but said nothing. He knew full well that his library was more than simple, but it honestly was just a library. Or, at least, a historical repository. His living space was in the basement, but it was also his workshop, where he actively translated, transcribed, and repaired the ancient texts that occupied the shelves of the library. He also collected artifacts and relics, caring for them just as much as his books. Everything else was just structure and embellishment.

Even as Nok read through his journal, he was fully aware of Marc’s whereabouts as he wandered. He kept a close ear out for the man, both for practical reasons and just out of curiosity. Fortunately, Marcus seemed to be keeping to his comment about not touching things, which Nok appreciated.

“Malone. Malone… Hm… I know you’re around here somewhere,”Nok mumbled to himself, quickly flipping through the pages of the journal. He was close, he could feel it.

Marc was still stunned by… everything Nok had in his home. All the well-preserved artifacts, books, and even scrolls were things that, he'd be willing to bet, not even scholars had dreamed of. And all of it felt like a testament to how old this vampire really was. Or at least showed his deep interest in history, because Nok had said that some of this stuff was older than him. "How did you get all these things?" he muttered to himself as he read over a few titles of books, curious about what they held.

His hands clenched in his pockets as he refused to risk Nok's true wrath for damaging anything. He still planned on trying the "hunt" again, hopefully better prepared, but he wouldn't bring the fight within these walls. Even though they had only just met, it seemed rude to attack Nok in his home. Especially since Nok had been generous enough to let him live as well as show him all this.

He sighed softly as he realized that his knowledge of vampiric hierarchy, social standings, and things of that nature was very limited as they hadn't been covered in his training. Most likely because the only detail he had been told he needed to know was that a vampire's age determined their strength. Of course, that wasn't all he learned about hunting. It was more a revelation that he knew next to nothing about vampiric politics. And therefore his knowledge of clans was also incomplete. He understood the concept, or at least the same concept that people in general knew about clans with the added knowledge of how active they were and his own skepticism on how they really acted. But it still didn't answer the question of why they wanted Nok killed. Just because he was a "rouge" seemed too small a reason, so what was the truth?

Nok overheard Marc’s mumbled question. He couldn’t help glancing in the direction of the hunter, snorting in amusement. He didn’t mind explaining how if Marcus asked. Mostly because of how simple the explanation was. He’d gathered all the texts and artifacts himself, through a variety of means.

Turning back to his old journal, he flipped a page and found what he was looking for. A passage describing a hunter named Malone and his annoying persistence in chasing him. Little notes were scribbled in the margins, mentioning the man’s eerie accuracy and Nok’s growing interest in him.

A laugh escaped Nok as he read the notes again. He then checked the date of the passage before reaching into one of the shelves of the desk. Pulling out a much smaller book, he flipped through until he found the same date and a short list of names.

“I found the records, Marcus. Your ancestor from about five centuries ago tried to kill me as well,”Nok called, looking up in Marc’s direction, an amused grin on his face.

Nok had somewhat forgotten about the Malone family, but now he was remembering the details leading to his interest in the family and their bloodline. He’d definitely have to keep a closer eye on Marcus, but that was inconsequential to just how much more fascinating the hunter had become.

Marc looked over his shoulder at the soft sound but didn't say anything. It wasn't any of his business and he didn't bother to remember how sharp a vampire’s hearing was.

Though hearing the laugh made him look back with a raised brow. “What's so funny?” he asked in a normal voice.

“Really? That's a… unusual coincidence.” he mused. “What happened? I mean, obviously, he didn't kill you and… it doesn't sound like you killed him.” he wondered, trying to remember if he had learned anything about his ancestor from that long ago. But he doubted it. He had so many questions about that encounter.