Thank you and Goodnight (Open!)

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

The night had been warm, but the silence was cold. It was smothering, uncomfortable, and yet the stars, so far away in the night sky, made it a little bit more breathable. But not too breathable.

Breathing difficulty had launched itself up another ten percent because of the church floor. It was dusty. The dust lay in sheets, a carpet of fog that seemed only to shift with the wind of footsteps and imprinted them in it’s seemingly endless body. The bottoms of her black boots were pressed into the river of grey, the dull wooden floor only just visible beneath the cuttings of dust. The stencil of her boot looked perfect, but the woman who made it was not.

It was empty of course; she hadn’t expected anything less for a place that was so run down. But why was it here in the first place? A beacon of Christianity in the middle of a city of the damned? She supposed it was just old, that it had been built years ago and that there were no priests left to govern it. No believers left to worship at the grimy alter.

Kali certainly wasn’t going to. She didn’t believe in God or the Devil. She believed in ancient, magical things. Always had.

She walked right to the front of the little chapel, sitting down on the front pew. It was coated in cloth, rough to the touch, comfortable to sit on. It looked like it was braided right onto the pew itself, around the edges, and it didn’t seem effected by the dust or the storms that had ripped the rest of the church to shreds.

Most of the night had been spent hunting. She had started as soon as it got dark and stopped sometime later. Since that time she had been wandering (and that was just because she had become tired, mind you), focusing her energy and time on thoughts to ‘sober up’ as it were. Such roving had brought her to a dingier part of RavenBlack…and there it was that she found the little church. She had slunk into the area on uneasy tip toes, scuffing up dirt beneath her path as she made her way inside…

That brings us to now.

Kali was just sitting there, gazing up at the half-shattered stain glass window.

The place must have been beautiful once, but not anymore. It was a hideous reminder that hope could vanish as quickly as it arrived.

Why was she even sticking around?

[Blaise Blackwood]

Blaise laughed boisterously as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The white skin there was immediately smeared with blood, which issued from his own tongue. His attacker had landed a swift uppercut, causing Blaise’s jaw to snap shut. Well, he could handle a little pain. And his attacker didn’t like it much that Blaise found the situation amusing.

The guy was angry—furious, even. Blaise had started by insulting his looks. He continued by insulting the clothes he wore and the kind of lifestyle he led. The guy was but a lowly businessman, and Blaise could feel the loneliness and self-deprecation that the guy was prone to. Blaise had hit a sore spot. And he was enjoying pushing the man’s buttons. He’d done so until he deserved that upper cut. And Blaise was laughing because it had caught him off guard. Who would have known that such a fellow could possess such vehemence? But the fury was fuelling Blaise, sparking a fire in his veins that he fed upon. His energy had been waning, as had his will to do much at all. It was this fury that he needed, and it recharged him like a bolt of electricity to a battery.

What Blaise did not know, however, was that the guy had a secret life. He liked to hunt monsters for a living. And he had friends, too, who also frequented this establishment.

It was dingy little bar somewhere in the centre of the city. The place was known for its harbouring of criminals and drug lords. Due to its clientele, it also attracted the vampires. They liked to prey on this kind of food. But Blaise was ignorant of the fact. He was ignorant that should he start a fight with this lonely businessman, others would come to his aid.

So instead of facing only one furious human, Blaise was confronted with another two who would loyally defend their friend. This was amusing too, in its own way. He fed on their hate. And every inch of him was craving more. So he straightened his shoulders and balanced himself against the pool table that he’d staggered up against. His fingers closed around the eight ball as he glanced at each man in turn—with a flash of silver across his bright blue eyes, Blaise pelted the eight ball at the face of the second man, before thrusting a hefty, close-fisted punch at the face of the third.

Fist met jaw, but the guy was unmoving. The anger broiled from his heart, however, and Blaise laughed some more. They were all pretty furious now, and the atmosphere was electric, addictive. It had Blaise’s heart pumping in his chest. He felt so alive. That could have been the adrenaline working, too, though he knew different.

And however tempting it was to stick around and continue living, he knew that he could not face three armed men alone. For they were armed. The first had pulled a pistol from beneath his arm, the second was still clutching at his broken nose (that eight ball had been pretty lethal) and the third suddenly had a glinting knife in his hand.

It was time to get the hell out of dodge, else Blaise would be living no longer.

Out the door he fled, sprinting into the night, round several corners, through dark alleyways and even over a rickety looking bridge. For a while the men were on his tail, and though he wasn’t quite certain that he’d lost them, he was pretty confident that he had. Still, he figured it might be smart to get out of the open air.

He didn’t quite watch where he was going, but stumbled into the first building he came across. The wooden doors slammed open, the noise echoing in the vast hall in front of him. He stumbled to a halt as his hasty progress stirred the dust around him.

At first he didn’t see the woman in the front pew. He was too busy determining that the place was no longer in use, and that he was not disturbing any peace. He laughed, more to himself now than to anyone else. He laughed at his own recklessness. He turned to shut the doors behind him, peering out at the dimly lit streets through a crack, just to be certain that he’d dropped his followers.

No one emerged from the alleys or turned around any corners. He wagered that he’d succeeded.

After he was certain, he straightened his shoulders and turned back to the abandoned room in front of him. He swirled his tongue around inside of his mouth; it still tasted of blood. He lifted his hand to his lips again, idly wiping at his jaw—the red stuff had dried there, and was cracked at the corner of his lips. His tongue ached where he’d bit it.

How so very tedious.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

Kali smiled and laugh through forgotten breath, flashing light fangs and looking at the window before her. The Vampiress lifted her right arm and scratched the back of her head, first messing, and then smoothing her dark brown hair. When she had wandered into the church alone, she hadn’t expected to feel so comfortable...

And she needed it really, for she hadn’t done anything all week. Exhausting work, doing nothing. She slept, hunted, drank in bars and then slept some more. It was so deliciously lazy. But that was the life of a monster such as her.

Then again, there was nothing to do anyway. She had made friends but not seen any for a while. She had found new places but could only wander around them, bored, exhausted; a hollow sort of gesture.

What a waste of two legs!

It wasn’t until a few moments later that she realized there was something odd going on outside, some way away. She tried to pay no heed to it, but after some time spent lazily counting the old, unlit candles by the alter she got distracted. What was going on?.

And then the front doors crashed open, and Kali’s hazel eyes shot upwards at the sudden shock of the movement. There she was, frozen in place as she sensed this other figure breathe into life. Surely Kali knew better than to look behind and see what was going on, but she did it anyway.

She was caught unable to utter a single syllable as the individual before her appeared. She already knew this…this person wasn’t human, thank you powers! Although, just knowing he wasn’t human didn’t mean she was that safe at all. Biting onto her lip, Kali swiveled herself around on the pew, one arm resting on the back as she tried to distinguish amongst the settling dust just who this being was.

[Blaise Blackwood]

There was but a small movement in the corner of Blaise’s vision and he halted in his meandering footsteps. He craned his head forward only slightly, eyes squinting in the eerie darkness so that he might be able to determine what it was. A bat, perhaps? But there was no sound of beating wings, just the gentle shuffle of garments. No, there was a person in here with him, not an animal, or something equally harmless.

He sauntered further down the aisle, steps muffled on the dust-strewn floor. When he got closer, and his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he ascertained that his company was female. The first thing he detected was the curtain of her dark hair; it framed smooth, white skin and a face of subtle but attractive features.

As soon as he was sated of his curiosity, he straightened his thin frame and turned his eyes toward the dilapidated altar.

“I’m sorry. I thought this place was... no longer in use.” He said, his words slow and musing. The place certainly was not in use any longer, that much was assured by the dust that coated absolutely everything, and which danced idly in the so recently stirred air. The decay of time had had its way with the place. It made Blaise wonder why anyone should find refuge within its walls. Unless, of course, they were hiding, like he was.

“Do you worship a decaying God?” He asked, idly. There were those who might have accused that simple statement as being blasphemous. But Blaise had never placed any stock in organised religion, especially not the kind that this church was built to idolise. He wished it were a decaying faith, and he didn’t care whether he went to hell for that single desire. The thought had him smiling briefly. As if he’d go to hell when he didn’t even believe in it! Hades, maybe, to cavort with the likes of Achilles and Alexander the Great. But never the dreary depths of the hell described by this religion that he so loathed.

He halted near the steps of the altar but went no farther.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

They said that curiosity killed the cat. Kali was naturally inquisitive. So it was a very good job she wasn’t feline in species. Nine lives would only go so far for somebody like herself, and besides…why was what ‘they’ had to say so relevant to people anyway? It was all rather…troublesome. But she didn’t move away or try and hide herself from the object of her curiosity, she simply sat there waiting. He seemed almost to pop out of the darkness and the dust; the shine of his eyes attracting her attention away from his outline.

A smile just about appeared on her face. Kali was thinking of all the witty things she could say in almost an instant, but choosing which one wasn’t as easy as you’d expect for someone who was half-asleep, someone with burning bodies and regrets in their memories.

“I’m sorry. I thought this place was... no longer in use.”

”That’s okay…I mean-…it’s not in use…I’m not-,” She trailed off. Those few words alone were almost pulled out of her throat, coming out mumbled and diagonal, sketchy and upside down as if she hadn’t used them in a while. The dark, musty smell of death was still lingering around her after her kills that night, and Kali, despite being sated could have easily caught herself another few humans…the blood-swoon either making her more aware or sending her to sleep. Anything to drown some dreams.

She ran a hand across her face in an attempt to restore some activity, but her attention was still solely upon this stranger. Because, yes, she had trust issues…and-

His next words broke her chain of thought. Mostly because her warped mind thought it was ludicrous question, even though it wasn’t, and they were in a church and that sort of thing tended to be why most people came to these places willingly. She inhaled, this time intending that her words would not be a confusing jumble of mumbles.

”Err….no, my belief system is quite different….”

[Blaise Blackwood]

Her words were garbled, and though they made sense in an arbitrary way, they were not clear or concise. Blaise’s smile was small, almost non-existent, as it twitched the corner of his mouth upward for only a fraction of a second. It was the kind of reaction he was used to; it was the kind of reaction he loved. But he doubted, in this circumstance, that it was his looks or his charm that had elicited her jumbled words. She’d been sitting here in absolute silence until he’d arrived, and he hadn’t done so quietly. It took a person a few minutes to adjust to the sudden and unexpected appearance of another. No doubt that was reason.

She took a few moment, then, and seemed to regain her composure. After which she answered Blaise’s question. His brow rose as he turned his attention back to the female, swivelling on the spot so that he might approach the bench she sat upon.

“Oh yeah?” He said, curious as to which belief system she did follow.

Without waiting for an invitation, Blaise settled himself onto the same bench, pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was. Every church he’d ever visited in the past had wooden benches that were not comfortable at all. They seemed made to teach young children how to sit up straight. Religion... was no a comfortable thing. It was the only conclusion he could ever come to. He was a reasonable distance away from the stranger; he did not sit too close, but nor did he sit too far away. He sat at a distance acceptable by social norms.

“So what, if I can ask, belief system do you follow? And if it’s not this one... why sit here in this dark church?” He asked.

He was going to hunker down here for a while regardless, just to be absolutely certain that her pursuers had given up on him. And how better to pass one’s time than to ask a complete stranger questions that were forward, and probably none of his business?

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

Truthfully, Kali couldn’t stand the filthy scent of the church. Whispers echoed off of the ceiling and down to the grime-smeared floor, bouncing into one eardrum and out the other. She re-adjusted her postion on the pew, her fingers meeting unbroken cobwebs which played a silent symphony as she twitched her digits in disgust, smearing the dusty webs upon the cushion as she watched this stranger with intrigue.

She had anticipated his question before the words had passed his lips, and followed the vocalization swiftly, whilst staring at the alter where the preacher’d stand...

”This church is, in perfect phrasing, the scum on the bottom of a barnacle on the bottom of a ship at the bottom of a putrid ocean,”

She gestured to their surroundings as she talked; ”But I’m fond of it despite the volume of my complaints…I have many….and the ineptitude with which it shelters from the elements as well as whatever else such a mangled corpse of a place can fend off,”

His sitting down surprised her, but the distance between the two of them was enough so that she wasn’t bothered or even remotely perturbed. Kali’s only issue with the situation was that there was something mysterious about this man that she didn’t understand. Her senses didn’t help, nor did any amount of thinking about it. But it wasn't in her nature outright ask what somebody was; she’d just have to wait and hope there was a reveal of some kind.

"As for my own beliefs? I’m a follower of the Old Religion,”

[Blaise Blackwood]

Blaise was impressed. The woman had certainly made up for her bumbling beginning. The words that passed her lips were words of wisdom, of someone who’d had the time to sit and ponder the world. She was no silly damsel in distress, and Blaise shifted his perceptions in order to view her in a new light. There was no need for him to try to push her buttons, was there? He’d had his fun for the night. Besides, there was no way in. What buttons had she to push?

As she spoke, Blaise turned his attention back to the room being discussed; he started to see it for what it was, too. It wasn’t just an old building, crumbling to ruins. It was once a place of worship, and was built by devoted hands. Once, it had served a purpose. And like an old crone who sought no love from her contemporaries, it was now forgotten, abandoned, left to live out the end of its life in loneliness.

It was sad, really.

But Blaises perception of the building didn’t last very long. It was just a building, in the end. It was just bricks and wood. It’s time had come, and it would make way for a newer religion. It would make way for the future.

The woman beside him, however, was not of a contemporary religious affiliation. She was not making way for the future. She was not an atheist, or a scientologist. No, she followed the Old Religion. A thing of the past. A thing that less and less people chose to follow. If anything, it was a religion more decayed than Catholicism or Christianity.

But then, there were many old religions. Was there one that held precedence over the others?

“The Old Religion, hmm? And what, in your opinion, makes it any better than this one? Which Gods do you worship... and do they even answer your prayers?” He asked. The questions were brash and forward. Perhaps he had a way to push her buttons, yet. It depended upon how she reacted.

And if she answered, he may just have a better idea of the specific religion that she chose to adhere to.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

Kali was annoyed with herself.

She liked to think she was warm and compassionate; she liked to have a sense of her own concern and tenderness for the people around her. At times, she lived up to that sense. But among many things that she disliked about social contact was that she discovered she was a lot more self-absorbed than she liked to think. Her world was almost like a radio station in a very small town, with nothing much else on the dial but her own feelings, concerns and opinions. It was why she tended to drift away into her mind and away from reality. She was inspired, but restless – in her head if not out loud.

Currently, her own selfish concern was that she didn’t trust this guy, and that was for certain. It was probably just a result of her distrust of other people (and her sometimes steely heart) but there was something suspicious about the way this guy had entered the joint, and how he was examining it now.
...

Hmm. Conceding that it was Kali’s own mind playing tricks on her seemed like the sensible thing to do. She knew she was being irrational, countless times people had gone out of their way to be kind and she had been sarcastic, even bitter, towards them. But she knew, too that sometimes loving-kindness, or even simple reason was a grace she did not have. Like all grace, it was not of her own creation – only ever loaned to her from time to time. She didn’t get to own it, or command it, just take it for granted.

Whether it was a part of her on this particular night had yet to be determined;

”....I was raised into it all; the sacredness of life on this Earth. They called me the Witch Child. As for Gods? There are many, too many to even mention; and I needn’t pray to them to get what I want.....Situations being what they were, I’m not as devout a follower as I once was. Plus, my current....situation of species gets in the way. But I shall take Pagan beliefs to my grave, wherever and whenever that may be,”

[Blaise Blackwood]

The woman was fascinating. A Witch Child? Blaise shuffled in his seat; a bid to get more comfortable, perhaps, or to just get a little closer to show his interest. His tongue flicked over his lips as his eyes narrowed. What did being Witch Child entail? What kind of knowledge had she grown up with? Did he belong to that world? Would she know what he was, and how he survived, if he were to let her in on his little secret?

It wasn’t something he’d gone looking for. At least, he’d tried once but nothing had ever come of it. Nothing but cheap fads and fake fortune tellers. And that was all so long ago. Long before he had any idea what actually existed in this city, or what this city was capable of. But once he’d discovered that he fit in here, perfectly, he stopped trying to find out his own origins.

But he was deathly intrigued, nonetheless.

His hand rose to rub idly at his nose to hide the smirk that curled at the corner of his lips, and he settled backward again. He didn’t know, straight up, what she was. They could have passed this entire interview and he’d have left none-the-wiser. But her little hint—would she have given that hint away to just anyone?—had pointed him in the right direction. But she didn’t know that he knew. He could play the ignorant fool. It could be fun.

Blaise sniffled, brought a single leg up off the floor to curl up onto the bench, arm resting along its back. His brow furrowed as a frowned inquiringly.

“...your situation of species?” he said, shaking his head as if he did not understand.

The vampires of the city... he’d heard of them. He’d seen them. He’d had good old yarns with the barkeeps, and he’d heard his fair share of stories. A person couldn’t live in Ravenblack and not know about the creatures that lurked the alleys at night time. A person could of course remain ignorant by sheer force of will.

And he found it absolutely thrilling to be in the presence of one now, so close and personal. It was the thrill of it that gave him the jitters. What could he get from a vampire that he couldn’t get from a human?

Maybe he’d find out.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

Beware the witch, for she will bind you with black magick, making you forget your home, your loved ones, yes, even your own face...

It had been hard to tell him. It was hard really to think of these things at all. Always it brought back the memories, beautiful and terrible as they were.

Growing up, Kali had found that the more she studied the Craft the more she realized that witches wove symbolism into just about everything: plants, numbers, days of the week, colours, times of the year, even fabrics, food and flowers. Everything has a meaning. Her job had been to learn these symbols, to learn as much as she could about the nature surrounding her, and to weave herself into its pattern and magick.

The magick part had always frightened her most. It was something she could not see, and yet it always there - in herself and sometimes in others. The difference was, her Grandmother, a priestess, had told her how to harness it. Rituals had been both fearsome and amazing. She remembered the chanting, three voices clear in the night, banishing fear and limitations. The words would slur until it was a beautiful rhythm of pure sound, rising and falling and swirling around her.

Kali would find herself dancing in the atmosphere, surrounded by stars, seeing motes of energy whizzing past like microscopic comets. She had seen the entire universe once. Every particle, every smile, every fly, every grain of sand had been revealed to her and was infinitely beautiful.

The magick stopped breathing when her Grandmother did.

It had taken years to feel right again.

But even now it still sometimes narrowly avoided Kali's grasp.

“...your situation of species?”

His ignorance was surprising. Kali always thought she was obvious when it came to her immortality, even in the dark-ish lighting when perhaps a person wouldn't notice her skin or her small, sharp fangs. She felt as though she exuded Vampire....but maybe not. "Vampire, naturally,"

She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

[Blaise Blackwood]

Blaise hadn’t really had any plan, but regardless he felt as if it had backfired. This creature was far too calm. She obviously had no qualms about keeping her species a secret. It was definitely intriguing. And, to boot, she’d answered his questions well enough without any resistance—she was still sitting there, calmly, beside him.

“Oh, naturally.” He said, mimicking her intonation. He laughed lightly under his breath, a sound that was hardly a sound, but merely a gesture of amusement. Why he should find it amusing was unclear. But the game was up, and he failed to show the remotest inkling of surprise.

He eyed her curiously as he crossed his arms over his chest. Blaise was not used to sitting still, and continued to change his position as his restlessness dictated.

“And how are you finding your current situation?” He asked. Sooner or later, he wondered whether he’d hit a sore point, whether his questions would become too personal, or just plain annoying. But of course he was oblivious of the consequences—even looked forward to them.

“I mean, how could your being a vampire keep you from your beliefs? You’re still the same person underneath it all, right?” He did wonder how that particular situation might change a person. Of course the lifestyle would change, but would the person? Would their personality have to change to suit the things they were forced to do?

And he was curious to know what she had meant by not needing to pray to the Gods to get what she wanted. She had other ways of getting what she wanted? And what were those, exactly? A question he’d no doubt missed the opportunity to ask, but if he played things right he might be able to find out via practical experimentation.

Though, he supposed, he couldn’t do that until he knew what she might want. And the only way he could do that was to keep her talking.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

His questions were interesting. Or rather Kali just enjoyed it when people tried to work her out.... Whether they achieved or not was usually down to her own choosing. If she were so inclined she might directly explain everything to them, if they wanted to know. Other times she'd drop small hints and clues in other things that she was saying, in the hopes that they were smart enough to figure it out.

And then there were the times when she just closed down, threw up the walls, locked the door and deliberately misplaced the key so that no nosy travelers would have any idea she was even there.

If she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her...right?

As of yet she had not yet decided where her priorities lay within this meeting. Right now it was just too early; she preferred seeing the big picture and not just a part of it before deciding. The only thing to do was continue on as before. Fortunately there was no awkwardness on her part, as used to be the case in such meetings...

In years past, quiet 'tete-a-tetes' made Kali uncomfortable, and she tried to avoid them, though not always with success. Gradually her reluctance to give offense to those she liked had meant she was forced into society, and forced out of constant isolation and the mask she had put on to distance herself from others.

She had so many to thank for this blossoming change in personality, but doubted that her pride (mostly hidden away in the back of her mind) would ever allow her to.

"Let's just say I no longer feel the same connection with this world that I did before I became immortal. I'm not natural, Vampirism isn't a natural part of this world. At least not to my mind. Certainly, my views have not changed extensively, but the very nature of the Vampire does not fit in with the peaceful ways of The Craft,"

Kali took a moment to pause, more because she didn't know quite what else to say than because she was out of breath. However, after a few seconds of silence she found a smirk slowly draw itself across her face; allowing no time for her to suppress its expression. Her next words followed without a second thought:

"Not that I would ever want to be human again,"

[Blaise Blackwood]

“Oh, no no, who would want to be human?” Blaise said. A oh-so-subtle (or not too subtle) hint that he himself was not exactly human. What did it matter? She probably knew it. And if she didn’t... well, she could either ask, or she could keep herself guessing. Blaise wasn’t particularly phased either way. Though he was curious to see what she might think. Whether she might have a name for it, for what he was. A name other than the one he’d divined for himself—a name he’d plucky from history and myth, the one that seemed to fit the best. Incubus. He felt as if he should be a walking flame. Why the word conjured images of fire, he didn’t know. But that seemed to fit, too.

“But who’s to say you’re not natural?” He said, continuing on in the same philosophical vein that his meandering thoughts had got stuck on. He was obviously in no rush, and was quite content to sit here all night and talk about this kind of thing.

“I mean, sure...there are the religious fanatics who’ll say you’re not natural, but who really listens to them to begin with? Between you and me... I think they’re a little bit nuts.” The latter he said in an almost conspiratorial whisper, leaning forward ever so slightly, as if the two of them had eavesdroppers.

“But if you think about it... vamprisim could be explained scientifically, you’d think. Some kind of evolution, a strand of humanity that went awry. It’s in a human’s instinct not to die, right? Who’s to say there’s not a simple explanation like that?” Blaise queried. He had too much time on his own to think about this kind of thing.

But then he supposed she had a point. If her kind of magic was the kind of magic that pulled its energy from mother nature, it no doubt required a living vessel. And vampires, as was a widely known fact, weren’t exactly living creatures. They were the walking dead. But couldn’t they gather life from humans? Kick-start their hearts back into gear?

Having never been a vampire, or met one for that matter, Blaise had never been able to ask or find answers for these questions. Did they even have a heartbeat? Would he even be able to get any sustenance from a vampire? Surely, he could... surely they still had emotions, and were still invigorated by them.

Maybe he just had to get Kali passionate about something, and then he would find out.

[Kali Le Fai Myst]

"I know, I know. I shouldn't be phased by the small matter of being undead, yet I am. It's hard to explain I suppose, but the magick just doesn't work in the same way, and I never feel how I used to feel before I became a Vampire...." Kali responded quickly, with much thought along the way.

"Death, I suppose, has affected me a great deal. Not that there isn't still power in me. I think maybe I have to learn to harness it in another way,"

She wasn't lying for the sake of saying something or having an opinion....Death had....did affect her. She saw it on a daily basis, though it was tough thing to say, it came along with the territory, being a Vampire. Eventually, no matter how hard you tried to resist, there was always going to be that craving for blood ticking away in the back of your mind until you lose it and have to kill. The first was always the hardest. This was true even for the strongest person who outwardly shook it off as being nothing more than some cosmic happening. Even if they shook it off as being something they couldn't control....one way or another, whether it be right after the hunt or when they got to the confines of their own home, the death always came back to haunt.

After her first kill (it went against everything she believed in, both morally and spiritually) Kali had sworn it would never happen again, even though consciously she had known that making the promise was beyond idiotic. Survival instinct dictated that of course it would happen again. It was inevitable.

....Even outside the world of the Vampire, there was death everywhere.

She wondered if this man had experienced such things as well, or whether he just looked like he had. His words had certainly not gone beyond her notice. In fact even as she had been speaking they had sifted about in her mind, poking at her curious nature. Since there was no way to know by herself, Kali supposed it was easier just to ask.

"As for being human? ....I can tell that you aren't....or rather, I can sense that you aren't. One thing I have no yet begun to fathom though is...just what you are. So....care to explain what's going on with you?"

Her mind was still guessing. Not a Vampire, she recognized them from miles way, just from the scent. Certainly no Werewolf, as normal as they looked out of the Wolven-form they were still easy to spot......and of course not a Werepyre. So what was he then? Obviously Kali was aware that there were more than just a few species wandering about RavenBlack, but she'd never met any....which explained why the aura around this guy spoke volumes of something that she just didn't understand OR comprehend.