Match of the Millennium

Description: On one of the last days of warmth in the Fall, Velvet Blue finally encounters Kiyomi in Southtown park and trade words.

[VELVET BLUE]
Nights like this, some years ago, Velvet Blue would have been home studying, far from here, in another state, another country--likely going over scripts for plays, or watching movies, taking notes--another life. As much as the full moon's eerie glow is the omen of danger and carnage for those such as Sabrewulf, Velvet Blue cannot resist the night and it's lunar light. Was it the feline that they had instilled into him? It would probably explain the nightvision...

Right now Velvet is doing a bit of prowling of his own, but anyone familiar with Darkstalkers might find the casual and exhuberant way this shape stalks the paved cement pathways and park areas a little... amusing. Usually drunks turned up here, needing someplace to sleep off a stupor or gangs of teenagers and friends--usually not muggers. Though it was not unheard of in Japan, it was rarer than it might be elsewhere. If there /was/ anyone that needed help, Velvet would see to their aid.

It was one of the last fairly warm nights of what would probably be the season--October gave way to November, Winter would soon be at the door, to usher Fall out the door like an old whore that wouldn't leave. It was for this reason the darkstalker was dressed in loose-fitting shorts, comfy large tye-dye shirt as well as a pair of sandals.

[KIYOMI]
It was the same for all Darkstalkers : the lure of the moon and darkness was soothing, much like a siren's song drawing them out. They could fight it, try to resist it, but it was in their nature. They were all Children of the Night, whether they liked it or not.

The park was one of the few safe haven for monstrous creature. Always on the prowl to save those lost souls in a city filled with threats, Kiyomi was on the lookout. Lune had taught her how to let her instinct and senses guide her toward other Darkstalker and whenever they came across big cities, the charismatic vixen was always finding ways to bring new recruits into their pack.

Most didn't require much to be convinced into the pack, but others needed more than a few nudges. And tonight, it seems her hunt had brought her to a Darkstalker she hadn't thought she'd meet again... A fated encounter...

"It's a wonderful night, is it not? As if the moon was calling out for us," The woman speaks out loud, enough for him to hear her. The woman was off the paved cement, leaning against a tree. Clad in the same kimono she always wore, it almost felt like the woman came out of nowhere, letting a part of the veil of illusions over her fade away to reveal her presence. She had a gentle, caring smile as her eyes were setup on the moon, staring at it.

[VELVET BLUE]
Right now, Velvet Blue was getting drunk not just off the moon, but also from a can of cider that sat next to them on the park bench they sat on. They didn't even normally drink, their time spent in Makai had kind of beat that out of them, for the most part. Something about tonight though. Was too lonely, not even any drunks to shepherd off or to play around with. Velvet had been laying against the bench, their sandaled feet hanging just over the edge. Normal humans wouldn't be able to spot the performer's large, ribbed bat-like ears, or the queer yellow glow from their catlike eyes--nor the way their toenails were pointed like that, Velvet usually kept all his nails painted a dark color, keeping them clean was important to him.

"Ah? Oh, it's you--you witch, been looking all over for you," Velvet pulled themselves up, blinking at them as his blue spaded tail flicked next to him, peering in the direction of her voice.

"You and your wolves caused a mess back there, why do you want to hurt people so bad?"

[KIYOMI]
The woman closes her eyes, basking in the moon light and enjoying the moment. It wasn't the first time someone called her 'witch', nor was it the most hideous thing she had heard about herself, though rarely did it come out of a Darkstalker's mouth. "Have you ~?" The woman asks, "I should feel flattered ~ drawn to me like a moth to a flame," The woman says, turning her eyes over to the Darkstalker.

Kiyomi turns on her heels and she strides toward the bench. As she walks forward, she decides to bless him with the full sight of the woman, the illusion slowly dissipating and revealing her vulpine features. The myriad of tails that sway back and forth in a mesmerizing way, those fox ears atop of her head.

"They had what they deserved," Kiyomi replies with a no-nonsense intonation, "Many of my brethren hunger for justice, after all the misdeed that have been done to them. What happened hardly comes close to the torments some of us have suffered at the hands of humans," The woman says with a stern and cold tone, "Some have it easier than others, but I have witnessed the hardship that most have had to go through, enough to know that humans are rotten to the core,"

She can't help but let her eyes wander off toward the can of cider and Kiyomi tilts her head to one side, "... I have seen many try to drown their pain and sadness in such ways, but the soothing sensation you will get from this will only be temporary,"

[VELVET BLUE]
"You look native to this region, you just happened to recruit a pack of werewolves from elsewhere? Those didn't look like they were related to Sabrewulf," Velvet brushed his long black hair back, pulling himself up moreso as the woman's true form was revealed. Not that he hadn't noticed the vulpine features before, but that was in the middle of a lot of excitement--and there hadn't been time to take in the full image.

"Right, humans hunt us, kill us, fear us, oppress us, I know, It's an old story," Velvet Blue sighed, looking up at the fox woman's large, voluminous tails. He was momentarily reminded of the writhing snakes that made up Medusa's hair, in that old movie Clash of the Titans.

"Humans can form a mob and try to burn us or stake us, but by themselves they aren't a threat, at all," he yawns a little, leaning back, apparently it's too late at night for this.

"What, that? I can drown my sorrows however way I want, bit more practical anyway, considering a lot of the transients here have gone to ground for the Winter, no one to play with even I wanted to," he kept his eyes glued to the fox, for the moment.

[KIYOMI]
Kiyomi chuckles softly and she waves her hand in the air dismissingly, "It's a little more complicated than that," She admits, "But you are quite perspicacious, I am indeed native to this region..." The woman lets her words trail off and she strides closer to the bench, picking up a spot to sit down, yet keeping a relative distance from Velvet Blue so he doesn't feel like she's invading his personal space with all those tails. The way she sits, legs close, slightly bent and hands on her lap reminds of those traditional japenese ladies.

Kiyomi heaves a soft sigh and says, "Alone they are not a threat because they are weak, but their hate and fear for us will always exist in their heart. I have heard and witnessed many stories, attempt to reach out for humans, that all ended in tragedies." Kiyomi admits, shaking her head slowly, lowering her gaze, "Lost too many I had vowed to defend and protect because I had hoped for a better futur for them where humans could coexist... But I refuse to have the blood of more of our kin on my hands because of lofty ideals or because I did not have the strength to take action,"

Kiyomi glances at Velvet Blue and she smiles. A caring, motherly smile that knew better, "Sooner or later, you will realize it too. I can only pray and hope that when this day will happen, you won't have suffered too much at he hands of humans to the point of losing your mind,"

[VELVET BLUE]
Velvet pulls his legs up and sets his sandaled feet down against the paved walk. "People hate eachother because they have differences, so do we--I don't think we can really change it, and I don't believe we have the right to just kill them--not just because it's not fair since they're so weak," Velvet trails off as the fox woman begins to speak however, and listens to them.

"Anything is possible, I can't sit here and think things will never get better, but at the same time you need to see it like this--everybody is afraid of things they don't understand--that's why you have to amaze them with it, mystify, entrance them in it, you know," Velvet grins a little and gestures to her, then to his eye.

"I like to show people some of the strange, it's how I live, and it's how I feed, I'm still a darkstalker, after all, even if I'm not a big bad werewolf or vampire or whatnot," he winks at her.

"Just don't bring your werewolves back to Kabuki-cho, that's where I work and play, do we have an understanding on that?" he means the redlight/club area in Southtown.

[KIYOMI]
The way the bat-like Darkstalker gestures when he explains what he does to fight the antipathy of humans make the vixen laugh. A pristine laughter as the woman leans back on the bench, her tails swaying back and forth and offering her a comfortable place to lean against. "Not all Darkstalkers possess a talent to mesmerize, to enthrall ~" The woman responds, "And when they're no longer spellbound, what will happen, hum?" She asks rhetorically.

Kiyomi tilts her head to one side and seems to ponder Velvet Blue's offer for a moment, "I will ~ but there is one condition..." Kiyomi speaks up, before she leans in a bit closer to him, "Make sure no Darkstalkers are mistreated there ~ see it that you offer them a safe haven from anyone who would harm or oppress them..."

[VELVET BLUE]
"Well, if you want to change your appearance you learn to use a makeup pencil, that's what I keep telling all these people that are uncomfortable with their gender--but people tend to be lazy, more often than not," Velvet shrugs a little as he looks over to Kiyomi, a little sarcastically.

"Clearly I can't hide stuff like this--" he holds up his tail and flicks one of his ears with a finger, the large ribbed bat-like bit twitching afterwards, like a cat's might. "But--if humans don't think we're enough of a problem I don't expect to find them running around after us, either--god forbid they get any exercise, you know," he grins a little. His argument is a little facetious, aka joking or jesting. But somehow it still backs up his point. A little.

"Maybe instead of just murdering humans we make them like us more than fear us? That's what I've been going with, after what happened in Metro City thanks to that Jedah asshole they might try to rise up and kill us, it's not like humans haven't tried to purge eachother off the planet already," his grin fades into a disgusted grimace.

[KIYOMI]
"It's in their nature ~ you can't change that," Kiyomi retorts, shaking her head slowly. "No matter how hard you try, there will always have humans out to murder us and slaughter us to the last," Kiyomi states calmly, as if this was a simple undeniable fact.

Kiyomi closes her eyes, as if in meditation or deep thought, merely enjoy the warm autumn breeze. She lifts her gaze up and a smile curls on her lips, "It's a simple matter of survival : you will either fight against a threat or run from it. You can choose to cower and attempt not to look like a threat, but not everyone has this luxury. And not everyone is able to fight the humans,"

When he mentions Jedah, Kiyomi chuckles and heaves a soft sigh, "Oh, I'm afraid a lot of us do not share your opinion ~ I believe he is our Savior, quite the contrary," Kiyomi states with a nod, "I firmly believe," She adds, "That the path to our salvation comes with the ruins of humans," Her intonation was soft and serene, as if this affirmation could be given in a day to day conversation.

[VELVET BLUE]
"Murder us, and eachother, maybe we shouldn't stop them," Velvet narrows his eyes a bit at Kiyomi, a hint of nihilism creeping into his attitude. The Autumn weather was soon going to give away to much colder, chillier winds--as it was doing now. Velvet could feel the cold, chiefly in his tail--but also his bare legs. That's what he gets for not wearing tights.

"So is that how it's gonna be? The Vampire Savior? Napoleon had more charisma than that guy," Velvet sneers a little. Though come to think of it, Chicken Fricassee didn't sound half bad right about now, especially in this chill--supposedly that was Bonaparte's favorite dish. Or one of them. One couldn't really doubt the wisdom of hot soupy chicken in this kind of weather.

"I could try to play your game, but it's not for us to decide who lives and who dies, if you try to kill humans again, or anyone--I will stop you," the pupils of Velvet's yellow, cat-like eyes narrow into slits as he widens them in the nearby street light. Or was it from the moon?

[KIYOMI]
"I have given humanity its chances, and time after time they have betrayed us," Kiyomi states, a hint of anger in her intonation as she turns her eyes to Velvet Blue. Her soft and caring expression becomes more sinister : cold and stern as she stares fiercely at the Darkstalker.

"He has the power and resolve to change things for the better for our kin," Kiyomi retorts with a no-nonsense intonation. The woman slowly straightens herself up and stares down at Velvet Blue as he clearly picks a side. Kiyomi closes her eyes and smiles, at peace with the Darkstalker's decision, "In that case, the next time we meet, it will be as enemies," She simply concludes, before she turns on her heels, hidden from his sight by her swarm of tails that sway constantly, "Farewell ~ may our path never cross again... For your own good ~"

[VELVET BLUE]
"Humanity has had millions of chances, right--but that doesn't mean life isn't still precious," Velvet feels a little halpless against Kiyomi's seemingly iron-clad resolve against this issue. No matter how hard he tries he can only feel despair at the thought of where Darkstalkers and Humans will eventually wind up going--them or Gears, for that matter. How the hell did one sort /that/ out?

"Maybe we can, but then... maybe we shouldn't," Velvet bristles up almost like a cat--some feline was inside him, he was sure, at least from his eyes--only a black cat could have eyes like that. He's bristling due to the danger and anger he feel from Kiyomi, plus the way she coldly begins to turn and head off. For a second he might have been afraid there would be a fight--but as she leaves, there is more a sense of relief. Christ, she's gone.

Once Kiyomi has fully disappeared, his shoulders slump a bit, in relief, or defeat? It's hard to tell. He scoots off too, however--the coldness of the conversation and the cold air has gotten to him. Maybe Napoleon had the right idea with that boiled chicken, after all.

Log created on 20:15:17 11/04/2018 by Velvet Blue, and last modified on 16:51:45 11/10/2018.