A Time to Train... (Beryx)

[victoriaharker]

...and a time to cry

Victoria's mind had been spinning about what had happened just a couple days before hand. She had bit Beryx in turn for something Dante did not yet understand. She had yet to tell him what she had wanted... what he meant to her. She sighed and leaned against a tree, her arms crossed and her hair straitened and pulled up, and clothed in some black pants and a deep green tank top. She almost blended into the mossy tree in the dim evening light. She was waiting for Beryx to come. She had sent a letter earlier and she wondered just when to expect him.

She looked around. She could hear almost every heart around her. There were a few that were just too faint that she just tuned them out. She knew that most of those hearts would stop beating tonight. And that was because she was going to be teaching Beryx how to hunt, fight, tackle, and consume his prey. He needed to be taught the proper way, and not the way that it seemed that half-bloods did it. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. She looked around and tuned out the animal hearts and strained to hear the breath of another one. She was listening for Beryx, although she had no idea if he was on his way or not. She would be able to sense him a mile away... but she was just that far from the front door, so he had probably not left yet.

[beryx]

As soon as the light began to fade, Beryx made he way outside. It had only been a couple days since he was called in for a 'conference' and came out a fledgling vampire. He still didn't know why she did it..she said it was for his safety, but he'd sooner would believe Dante had imperiod or seduced her to do it for his amusement. Though for whatever reason there was no way to reverse it and he would have to bitterly accept the truth.

Since the change as he called it, Ber could definitely feel a difference. His senses in all aspects were more acute as well as strength and speed. If there was anything else, the fifth year would find out today. The professor had owled him to meet her in the forest for training. It was almost if she thought he would obey her that easily..Ha! Well he would eventually, but he would take his time getting there. He stil had the underlying stubbornness to rebel against his current situation, though he was also interested as well. He would never admit the second part, so don't even ask.

Roughly 40 minutes late he walked into the forest where she said to meet. Not even a couple steps in a throbbing sound began to sound in his ears much like heartbeats, each coming and going as he passed. Somewhat distracted, he didn't notice Victoria just ahead..

[victoriaharker]

Oh... she knew that he was going to do this: be late and make her wait outside in the snow. Very well. That was another hour of running for him. She laughed lightly. She was only joking, but they were going to work hard enough as it was tonight. And there would be a lot to do as well as the hunting. She heard him coming into the forest and wondered just why he was not looking at her. She raised a brow as he walked towards her and he was about to run into her when she slipped around behind him and caught him by his shoulders. She wasn't trying to startle him, but he didn't need to run into a tree. Well... he didn't need to run into a tree, nor her breast. She let out a slow breath and watched the smoke disappear in the cool night air.

Her mind traveled back to the night where she had bit him and she knew that he was still going to be upset, but he should get over it by tonight. He would love the hunt, the anxiety and the adrenaline rush he got from getting the prey. But she shook her head, she stopped Beryx and then stepped out in front of him and smiled lightly. "Well... Glad you could make it. I was hoping you would be on time, but we can just stay out another forty minutes to make it up." she smiled lightly again and then pulled him into a hug... which she knew was not a good idea, but something about her being his almost mother made her all giddy. Which was strange in itself. And she would be over-protective of him as well. She knew that was un-changeable. She pulled away after a brief moment, her hands still on his shoulders. and then nodded. "Thanks for coming. Shall we being?"

[beryx]

His body slightly jerked at the unexpected touch. His thoughts had been more concentrated on the sounds rather than his surroundings. Why hadn't he heard these sounds at school if they were indeed heartbeats? Maybe he had tuned them out and didn't realize. His other senses returned when the professor stiod before him and then gave him a hug. That was another shocker. Out of everything he had expected her to do a hug was not part of the agenda. What did she want from him? That was the only reason any of his father's family ever showed affection. What was her reason?

She also wasn't irritated at his lateness. Also not what he really wanted. Women! They were so unpredictable. Still shocked from the hug he only nodded and looked away, "Yeah..What are we doing. His head then jerked quickly toward the bushes as a rustling sound and a quick throbbing touched his ears, "What was that?"

[victoriaharker]

He responded almost as expected. She smiled lightly at him and and then put her fists on her waist and looked at him for a moment. He asked her what they were doing and then a loud beat came from the bushes a few feet from them. She stood behind Beryx and leaned down. "Close your eyes and really try to hear what it is... I can..." she paused and listened. Oh, she knew what it was. The beat was very familiar to her. She smiled lightly and her fangs grew. She was hungry. "I can tell what it is. You listen and tell me what you think." her voice was low and quiet. She did not want to scare the creature off. She wanted to see if he could at least tell the difference between a human heart and that of animals of any size.

She was excited. She was happy that she finally had someone to do this stuff with. It was hard to explain, but she felt light... she felt like nothing could harm her. And she would never let anything harm him. Weather he was ready to admit it or not, she was more of a mother to him. And she would train him well.

She waited, almost impatiently, but she did not show that she was. It was just the hunger that was driving her at that point. And she had learned years ago how to subdue that. She listened carefully and rested her hands on his shoulders, gently so she did not startle him, and put her chin on his right shoulder. "Just listen... Human or creature...?" she whispered.

[beryx]

Beryx followed suit, not really even thinking. He continued to listen both to what it was in the bush and herwords. As soo as she was done he rolled his eyes and turned toward her to give his teacher a look that was saying 'Do you really think me THAT stupid?'. Even before she asked him, he knew it was a creature. The Gryffindor was just unsure of which it might be. So in his usual smart retort, much like his old self, Beryx retorted, "What is a creature. Only a goblin or baby could hide in that thing..or your lover if he takes his growing spell off." He was silent for a moment as he revealed a smirk, but then returned to the continuous rustling, "It's rabbit or mouse...maybe cornish pixie."

[victoriaharker]

She smiled. She knew that he was going to reply with being somewhat of an ass to her. She rolled her eyes once he turned back to the bush and then heard his three guesses. She cleared her throat and then said, "Now here's the tricky part. What about that sound and heart makes it a rabbit? What else can you hear about it that gives it away...?"

Oh the smell of the blood that he had was driving her nuts. She had almost drained him the other night, but god that blood was thick and strong. She sighed, knowing that she couldn't taste it anymore now that he was her apprentice... in a way... She looked over at the bush and wanted to pounce. But a rabbit was hardly a meal for them. So she tuned out of the rabbit and listened for something else. She could hear a bigger heart beat further away and she knew that there was some sort of human walking around in the woods. Perfect. It was going to be a long night for that human, but it made the training that much more fun.

She drew her attention back to Beryx and was listening to hear what he had to say about the rabbit and what made it sound like that. "And don't be an ass to me this time." she remarked. She was not going to put up with that again and he would learn the hard way why if he did it again.

[beryx]

His attention was now completely on the rabbit as his own instincts were taking hold. His own fangs lengthen and the rustling seemed to get nearer and more intimate to where he could practically feel through the earth and air where the creature was exactly. What was worse was how he could practically taste it in his mouth and what the death bite would feel like in his mouth as his unused fangs bit into flesh. He hadn't killed before..at least not so predator like in his life to where he felt inwardly ashamed.

It took Ber a few minutes to answer after she put forth her question as he tried to unlink himself from his target, "I don't know. It's fast and I can ear it chew..I can feel it.." He inched a bit closer to the bush, his own hunger edging him to take action, "Let's see what's behind door number one.." In mere seconds he reached in quickly, but got nothing in return except a scratched up and slightly bleeding hand as the rabbit escaped. He should have known better to reach in a bush full of briars. Angry and now once again in pain he hissed out a few romanian curses.

[victoriaharker]

Something about the way his shoulders lowered and became un-rigid, told her that he was finally sinking into his senses and she loved it. She knew that it would come fast to him, but catching the prey was another question. She smiled as he told her why it was a rabbit and she nodded. He was completely right: fast heart, and crunchy chewing. She was about to stop him when he reached for the bush, but it was too late. He jumped at the bush and got nothing but a cut on his hand. She walked over and nicked her lip with her fang and took his hand. She pressed some blood out and let it drip on the cut.

It began to smoke and heal itself. She looked around and then back at him after hearing him curse. She sighed, "You were right about how you could tell what it was... but you were very loud getting to it. Now... would you like me to show you how to hunt and then you try until you succeed?" she asked. She figured it was a fair offer. She had gotten good, simply by watching her father kill countless times when she was little. She remembered her first witnessing of a kill of a small calf. She loved animals growing up, but when she understood that it was a necessity to kill to live, she was able to stop the tears for the animals that her father killed in order to keep her alive. And now it was Beryx's turn to decide what he would like to do. And she could tell that he was hungry.

[beryx]

That was one good thing. Vampire's could quickly heal, or at least with help. Though the embarrassment he was now feeling would last a bit longer. Beryx knew he had been loud and if he hadn't shown off, the boy would have a rabbit in hand. Through the years he had seen his vampire kin kill, though most of the time it was an unfair match. Dante always seduced his to a point they didn't care and the others usually had them captured or held down by others or body guards of sorts. None of it was a chase and kill or with wilder game..or so he thought. "Alright..sounds fair, though I won't miss my second try," he said quietly, now looking around.."So what will you get?"

[victoriaharker]

Victoria thought for a moment and decided why the hell not. She would tell him and show him how to hunt humans. She looked at him and smirked at the young man. "Well... I'm going to go for some game that has an equal chance. And no. I do not mean you," she stated. "But don't count yourself a failure. Rabbits taste horrible anyways..." she waved it off. She looked around and then closed her eyes trying to find the human heart. She found it... not too far. She looked at Beryx and nodded. "Now. It's a ways away. So we will have to run. Ready to run like you never have before?" she held out a hand to him.

[dante]

He eyed her carefully when he saw her smirk. It was not a good smirk and seemed to tell him that they were going to get something different than the average animal. Though when she mentioned a prey with equal chance, his row furrowed with curiosity and suspicion, which was probably why the professor said it wasn't him, "Alright.." he said slowly, trying to see what was going through her mind as he watched her listen for the victim.

A moment passed and then he saw her nod and offer a hand as she asked whether he was ready to run or not. That was a interesting question, though at the time he was too hungry to really argue. Perhaps it was deer. They had often hunted on his family's lands so killing one wouldn't have been that bad. To bad it wasn't. Taking her hand reluctantly, he ran..

[victoriaharker]

Victoria smiled as his hand met hers and she was off. They ran through the forest, fast and silent and dodged every tree and every branch. She, in the process of running, got behind him and scooped him up in her arms and jumped into the tree. She got onto a high branch and then pulled him up. She settled down right next to him and placed a finger over her lips. "Listen... tell me what you hear now."

She knew that there was a fifty percent chance that he would get it right, but she wondered just how in-tune he was just after a couple days. She remembered the first time she hunted a human... and she was going to show him how tonight and have him do it later. Much later. Of course... there was nothing so much as satisfying as just draining a healthy human dry. The blood fed her for days on end and she could go a whole two weeks before the life in the blood slowed down. She looked at Beryx and wondered what he would say.

[beryx]

Any thoughts he might of had on what they would be doing next vanished in the oncoming chase. Between his own nagging desire for blood and the speed they were going, followed by the leap into the tree, Beryx had no time to examine the situation. He was going to say something as soon as he sat on the branch, but the professor stopped him with a finger to his lips. Giving her an odd look, the new vampire listened intently to the moving prey beneath him. What he eventually caught onto was the steady heartbeat that no other animal could match. It was that of a human.

In realization his eyes widened and the burning color of his eyes brighten with a flash. For a second he turned to look at her as he hissed back, "You can't be serious...Isn't this cannibalism?" He knew this was a stupid thing to ask, for humans was a genuine vampire's delicacy, but the boy couldn't really imagine the potions teacher to do such a thing. His family definitely, but Ms. Harker, probably not. He had thought her just an animal drainer. As the truth began to set in he only shook his head and looked back at the present victim down below..

[victoriaharker]

Victoria smiled lightly and her fangs grew out long and her eyes glazed over with red. She laughed lightly and then closed her eyes to listen. "Oh... a healthy heart... young... male." she smiled and looked down at the young man. He was probably in his late twenties. She looked at Beryx and shook her head. "You know better than that. We can't be drinking cows all the time. They get disease so easily..." she watched him as he watched the pray below them and nodded. He was doing so well so far. It seemed that he had come to a silent agreement with her that he was going to have to listen to her, reguardless of how he felt about his new life... his higher being.

"Just watch this time. It's not yet time for you to have to hunt a human. That will come with time. For tonight. I want you to watch..." she jumped from the branch and landed silently on the ground. She straitened out, pulled her tank down a little more in the front and let her hair fall down around her face. She began to walk over to the human and drew back her fangs. She smiled lightly and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and then looked at her, smirking. He swayed a little and she knew that he was drunk. 'Great... he'll get Ber drunk...' She smiled at him and winked. He laughed lightly and asked her if she was looking for a good time. She giggled and nodded to him. He rushed for her, but she ducked and then held a finger to her lips to silence him as she took him by the hand and led him to under a tree. He pressed up against her, but she refused to let him kiss her on the lips. Those were Dante's.

She kissed his neck a couple times and then he told her she was gong to be good. She smirked and her fangs grew. "No... You will be." with that she bit into his neck and began to suck. He fell to the forest floor trying to get her off and she just pinned him down. "Beryx. Come." she ordered. She kept the man down. There was enough for Beryx to finish him off.