Fox Fire

Name: Wen Xiao Xi-Cheng --------------- Species: Vampire/Kitsune/Witch --------Role: Master, Council Member ---------- Country: China ----------------------------- Age: Ancient/Unknown --------------------

[bloodjadefox]

[bloodjadefox]

varcolax​:

“Yeah, then I just need to get this collar off of me,” Lovell growled. It was when he was this close that he managed to properly take in the state of the older vampire. Wen looked like he had been through a lot. And that was putting it lightly. Gone were his usual finery and jewels as he was chained up in the cage to be put on display for everyone to see. It was sickening. He wanted to say something about it but did not think Wen would appreciate it.

“I was walking along the street in Krovs Town when it happened. Kind of like the world shifted and suddenly I was in a different world? A different time? I tried to get here as quickly as I could but Winchester found me…” On hindsight, Lovell thought, he might have benefitted from taking the time to scope things out first but Lovell had never been one for patience.

“Unlikely to happen quite as easily as you wish it to.” Wen Xiao dumped a cruel reality like a bucket of icy cold water on the vracolac, being very matter-of-fact about it, even if he was in much the same predicament and the same cruel fate also applied to him. 

He listened to everything Lovell had to share of his experience of ‘being brought back from the dead’, although Wen reckoned it couldn’t be exactly that. If this were the work of a necromancer, it would’ve happened much more differently. Ancient but not at all rusty cogs turned in that old mind of his and he let a wicked grin stretch his lips, to show off rows of sharp pearly whites. “Mmm, so that’s how it was... Lovell, my boy, it feels like it’s time. Doesn’t it? I feel it in my marrow...” 

He simmered in his own self-satisfaction for a moment longer, shoulders doing a little, delighted wiggle before his gaze snapped back to Lovell again. “You should get claimed. Scoot your delicate disposition out of this wretched place. You will not fare well.”

[bloodjadefox]

beni-flores​:

Beni flinched, features filled with remorse when he accidentally hurt Wen Xiao. He pulled his hands back, whining softly at the vampire’s request. “I- I won’t touch them if you don’t want me to but Lord Wen Xiao… There are whispers.. Rumors about what’s planned.” There were some perks to his choice of mate, often overhearing conversations of those Elliot had to entertain as part of his leadership role. He stepped closer as requested, mindful not to touch the vampire any further as he asked, “How can you be so… calm about it all?”

***

“What rumors, love? What plans?” Wen blinked his ebony dark eyes at the shifter, looking genuinely puzzled. Then his expression melted into a delightfully tender one as he looked at Beni from up close. “No time to weep for the roses when the forests are burning.” He placated, cryptic and poetic as always. 

“Have you missed me? Even just a little?” He asked suddenly, already soft voice softening further, until it was like velvet brushing over ears. “Tell me, how did you fare while we were apart?” He inquired with a honest curiosity behind his question and a hint of concern. Not that he was absolutely clueless of everything Beni had been up to in his absence - but he did want to hear about his experiences from his own mouth.

[bloodjadefox]

ofembxrs​:​

`

It had started out as a bit of curiosity. Only to be egged on by the guards, the creature bound in the Undercroft was something of an enigma to him. He wanted to know why he was down there bound while others weren’t. That’s where it all started then it lead to him visiting more often. What he found was someone her perplexed him, leaving him coming back for more, to learn or someone to simply talk to. Each time he came back he found him bound, wondering what would happen if that wasn’t the case, but not having the courage to do it himself. Yet. What he’d learned over the years was that anything was a possibility with time. 

He walked into his space once more, familiar with the layout and the overall gloom of the space. The cold always made him uncomfortable, his nature being the opposite of what the place gave. No longer a slave to it he could spend his time out in the sun where he belong, and yet here he was. Bringing the sun with him into the darkness. He stood before him with arms crossed over his chest, loosely as he fiddled with the sleeve of his black shirt. Eyeing him with a mix of concern and wonder. 

“Wen.” He greeted, ignoring the desire to sit down. “As I’ve always been.” He shook his head a little. “It is still morning, hard to tell down in the dark like this, and as for the topic… I’ll start with how’re you feeling right now? Anything hurting?” The phoenix unable to stop himself from wanting to fix anything that might have caused him pain. It was what he was good at, after all. 

***

“Uuh, a rather dull topic you pick. Just like my aches – dull and distant and nothing for you to worry about.” And he sounded like it, the old creature never looking like he’d been through the apparent torture his body had been put through.

“Shall I tell you another story instead? Oooh, there is one I know! ‘Tis about your kin.” He offered, much more enthusiastic about that than complaining of his own very unfortunate fate. “Or you can tell me what kind of a morning it is today. Does the sun shine over the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, does it glisten in the frozen reflection of the Indigirka River? Or is it snowing again…” He trailed off for a moment, expression pensive. “I hate mornings. Even the newborn sun hurts my eyes, too beautiful to look at.” He gave Ember a tender smile, a stark contrast to his expression of dislike of that specific time of the day, night-dark eyes meeting the other’s.

[bloodjadefox]

dr-eoin-gallagher​:

bloodjadefox​:

Eoin’s expression softened, hand moving to grip Wen Xiao’s chin and keep the vampire’s gaze upon him. He knew Wen couldn’t speak while gagged— but found no reason the slave couldn’t at least try to fake respect. It was something they’d work on. “So that’s what it takes, hm?” He pat Wen Xiao’s cheek, adding, “You’ll look at me and make eye contact when I’m speaking to you, Doll face. That, or else I can do far more than tell the guards to cut your rations in half.” He paused a moment before pulling away.

“Do yourself a favor and nod… Or don’t.“ He smiled again, shifting into the form of a male he’d watched visiting Wen earlier in the day as he added, “I would love an excuse to suggest the council personally investigate some of the individuals who seem rather sympathetic on the footage from your holding cell. We both know those types of fools are viewed with contempt.”

The older man stared up at the younger one – not like he had much other choice, what with Eoin’s hand gripping his chin to direct his gaze upward. He had been making eye contact ever since his blindfold was partially pulled off, so he wasn’t entirely sure what this deranged little thing meant. But he knew what he wanted. Eoin wanted Wen Xiao to suffer, to fear him, to despair. Wen gave one very slow and very unimpressed blink instead of a nod in the face of the first threat.

But when Eoin shifted to yet another form, Wen Xiao slipped into perfect stillness at the sight, stunned rigor mortis of a dead man, eyes widening in apparent trepidation. Beni.

A chained hand reached out to grip onto the skinwalker’s pant leg, clutching the fabric almost desperately, long hair swaying with the pleading shake of his head. No, not Beni. Leave him out of this. The gaze directed up at Eoin was imploring with urgent anxiety, mortified at the prospect of something happening to his dear little bat. It was a rare expression on Wen Xiao’s face, one Eoin had definitely never seen before.

[bloodjadefox]

iah-yang​:​

He wasn’t really shocked by what had happened. Many slaves had been angry about their position. To have the first vampire gone and so many rebellions, it was bound to happen. Maybe he had been an absolute fool for staying in the castle. At first, it had been to get over a man he should have hated, a man who had twisted his life into something grotesque and murderous, all in exchange for the barest scrap of affection. He wanted to have something all his own and had destroyed so much just to get it. His goals changed, though, on entering, when he had found someone else, and then another. In his broken view, maybe he had thought that he wasn’t the worst for not actively taking steps to hurt the many slaves kept there.

It was all merely delusion to protect himself from being seen as an evil person. Even if he had not been cruel, he had been here. What slave wouldn’t want the chance to take a master hostage, to break and beat them the same way they had been for years, decades, possibly centuries? His capture had come after the first rebellion and then again after the second. He fought only to survive and then submitted. Perhaps it was guilt that made him want to just be left alone. He served the new masters when ordered, but his eyes had slowly lost the life they had once had. He had gotten very good before coming to the castle at casting his desires aside for another.

Walking back to his cell, he let his feet take him where they would. They knew the way and yet he found himself in the completely wrong location, listening to a soft humming sound. Wasn’t this the hallway of the monster? Guards talked about something powerful and dangerous here. If it was so bad, why did the new masters leave it alive? Stepping closer to the sound, he searched out what it could be.

He paused when he saw the other man, slowly approaching the cell. “Um…” His words choked off and he had to fight to keep talking. “Are you the monster?”

***

The melody stopped, the poetry in the sung lyrics cut short, not telling its story to the end. Now the space fell silent, a long moment uncertainly stretching until it was broken again by the singer’s speaking voice. It was only a tad bit less musical than his singing one, with a lilt of a tender baritone.

“That depends on who you ask. But since you asked the monster, the monster would say ‘no’.” The rumored ‘monster’ turned his head to take a look at Iah, dark eyes reflecting light in that same way a predator in the dark would, when caught in a flash of a night vision camera.

“Is that all you came over here for?”

[bloodjadefox]

nottheangel-raphael​:

Raphael pursed his lips as the guards showed up, mentally cursing at the interruption as the crew prepped Wen for whatever they needed. Perfect fucking timing. He hummed, eyes falling to the collar around the other’s neck that he was sure worked much like the ones they used in Krovs for their slaves. “Symbols and bondage seem a bit much when he’s already powerless as a human with the collar, don’t you think?” he asked the one guard with a raised brow. “Unless you’re afraid he might hurt your feelings just running his mouth.” It was really about all he figured the kitsune could do in his position, especially with how weak all vampires had become with the witches’ spell on the First Vampire. 

The hellhound quietly debated his choices while watched the men finish their work, Wen looking rather pretty in Raph’s view on his knees, leashed, and gagged. Course he’d always had a thing for restraining his toys whenever he could, the same applied to equal partners. The few that he considered anywhere near equal, anyway. He very well could use his persuasion on the guards to convince them that their coworker Mason could take the prisoner for whatever this thing was as a guise to get Wen to safety. A maintenance check sounded about as pleasant as a colonoscopy to Raph. Unfortunately, he’d taken Mason’s face as a disguise for stealth and therefore needed to act as Mason. He knew his slave well enough that he’d never use such a trick or power on anyone. His wolf had never been much the aggressive or manipulative type. And it felt like too much of a risk to take Wen elsewhere and have whoever’s running this show figure out a scheduled slave never showed. Oh well. 

He gave Wen one last glance over before nodding to the guards. “Let me know when he’s done,” he said. “I have to make a quick trip into town in the meantime.” With that, Raphael turned and walked towards the stairs of the Undercroft, hoping that whatever this process was wouldn’t be too time consuming. Their plan could wait a little longer…but too much time wasted wouldn’t be ideal getting things underway. In the mean time, he could pay a certain cop a special visit and come back when the guards finished with Wen.  

***

The guard talking to ‘Mason’ snorted. “Yah, tell that to the poor guy who had to feed him for a month. He’s in therapy now. Also, some special Enforcer orders on top of everything, I guess. Did you come here and got this job today?” He laughed at his own joke but then, as his colleague was turning to leave, he blinked stupidly, then narrowed his eyes, thinking his own words over. “Why… would we need to let you know?” He stepped forward after Mason, now a bit more than just curious.

The two guards behind, one on Wen’s each side, picked the vampire up and made him stand, ready to leave, but the tone of their coworker’s voice distracted them just enough and they looked at the other two men speaking, not sure what this was all about.

And that was when a clatter of chains hitting the stone floor snapped everyone’s attention back to what they should really be focusing on, Wen’s ruined hands with both thumbs dislocated and free of their bond. With no time lost, he was doing backflips away from the two guards and back towards his cell. Surprise, surprise, the former councilman of China knew Shaolin Kung Fu. And many other exquisite martial arts native to the lands he hailed from. 

“Dammit you two, he’s double-jointed!” The guard who’d been speaking to Mason shouted exasperatedly, but the other two were already rushing after Wen and would easily reach him. Even when reduced to a human, Wen Xiao was amazingly fit – an acrobat at master level and with his insanely long experience, agility, nimbleness, speed and technique were perfected. But alas, the collar did its job and created limits. Very human limits. And although humans were also capable of impressive physical feats that spanned beyond the average capabilities most of their species possessed, they could never match the two werewolves and one witch guard. 

Wen Xiao only had time to land gracefully in front of his cell and rip off his blindfold. Catching Raphael’s last glance, his head tilted towards the cell he usually occupied, very suggestively. Hopefully, the other councilman would get the hint. That was when the werewolves were upon him and the witch guard who’d almost gotten suspicious of Raphael made a quick gesture with his hand, completely forgetting about everything else. In the commotion, none were the wiser.

An electric shock jostled Wen Xiao so hard his skull could almost be seen through skin beneath the blood mark the witch had made earlier. And in the next second, he was down, writhing soundlessly on the floor before the werewolves began gathering him. 

“Motherfuuuu- haha, shit.” The witch guard laughed nervously, feeling the jitters after the little scare. “Always full of surprises…”

[bloodjadefox]

dr-eoin-gallagher​:

The moment Eoin locked eyes with Wen he shifted to mimic the vampire, lips still curled into a cheshire grin. “What? Not feeling social today, My Lord?” His voice was mocking, waiting a moment before he delivered a slap to the vampire’s face. “It’s rude to ignore someone talking to, Lord Wen Xiao.”

Wen’s head snapped aside with the force of the slap, no resistance, no sudden movement faster than the speed of light to get him out of the way. The slap landed perfectly, the sound of palm against cheek echoing in the empty space. Then the exposed dark eye rolled up again to give Eoin a sideways glance, head still tilted where it stopped in its impact-driven trajectory, silver hair curtaining over reddening slap-mark. Wen Xiao glanced downwards then, but not in shame or some quiet seething rage – there was still not a single trace of any of it in him. But the glance was to bring attention to his mouth. The ancient vampire suspected that Eoin intentionally left his mouth plugged, now finding ways to be angry about things Wen had no control over and vent. Or maybe he’d become deranged enough to forget that people tended to be incapable of speaking and being gagged at the same time.

A delicate eyebrow rose in an absolutely unamused expression when he glanced up at Eoin again, waiting for him to maybe, just maybe, employ his brain. But the skinwalker seemed to have become a simpleton when allowed to indulge into his rage. So Wen Xiao waited, expectant, staring up at a mirror image of himself which stared back at him with an ugly grin.

[bloodjadefox]

varcolax​:

Lovell’s eyes widened at Wen’s patient words. The man always had a way with calming Lovell quite quickly. What he said made sense in a strange sort of way. While he had entertained the idea of parallel worlds before, the idea of time travel was not new. The witches had done something to them about a year ago to send a bunch of them the past. Who was to say that the opposite could not happen? His nostrils flared in annoyance once more, hating the idea of witches being at the top of the food chain. It was fucking ridiculous!

“That bastard demon took my eye when he caught me,” he grumbled and sidled closer to the cage to show Wen what he had become. It was just an eye that served to mar his beautiful face, but Lovell knew that he would be able to do something about it in time. This disfigurement was just temporary for someone like him. 

“Mmm, a demon? Aah, yes. The one called Winchester. Such an unoriginal signature move, gauging of the eyes. I do hope those he’d collected don’t go to waste. There is much magic in one’s eyes.” He hummed absently, completely unconcerned for his childe’s wellbeing even as he inspected the injury when Lovell moved closer to show it off, tilting his head this way and that because he couldn’t raise his hands quite that far to take ahold of Lovell’s face. “It was taken out quite cleanly. It will heal, once you are uncollared.” He reassured, sitting back on his heels when he was done checking on Lovell, a very practical, matter-of-fact parental unit who didn’t overly fret with motherly concern.

He himself was in no better state but withstood his own injuries with a much quieter dignity than the younger vampire. As a matter of fact, he looked perfectly unbothered by things that should be causing quite a mind-numbing pain – the angry-looking blade scar between his eyebrows, the burns on his hands, the sores from his shackles and collar chaffing on his neck, wrists and ankles. There were other marks left on him, hidden under the simple cotton robe that usually went under his majestic eastern costume which most people often mistook for a kimono. Everything nice on his person was stripped away from him, including his silk, jewelry, magical items and any enchantment etched into his skin with ink. Thus so many scars at a few very unusual, obvious places.

“Lovell, my dear, tell me. How did it feel being brought back? Tell me exactly how it happened. Every detail of it.” His lips stretched slowly, the ancient vampire suddenly as excited as a child who was about to hear a bedtime story, curiosity in his tone almost palpable.

[springheeledhugo]

Confused was an understatement. Hugo had opened his eyes and suddenly he had been standing in a hallway he didn’t recognise. He made a small “huh” sound and continued wandering down it. Perhaps he’d had far more to drink than he had thought. It wouldn’t be the first time he had shifted and his feline counterpart had taken him far, far away from where he intended.

Nonetheless, he glanced at his watch and finding he was most definitely late for work, Hugo rushed towards the council chambers, but as he slipped through the doors— hoping to be unnoticed— he found a set of unfamiliar and some familiar faces staring back at him, bewildered and scolding him. Ushered out, Hugo could have sworn he knew some of those faces as slaves.

He shook his head, wandering utterly confused until he found his way through a few more doors until he found the familiar lobby where the stairs led down to the Undercroft. He was asking a guard what was going on when he caught sight of the faces behind him in the Undercroft, a good amount of them he knew to be vampires. “What is going on…” He muttered as he drew inquisitively closer.

@bloodjadefox

[bloodjadefox]

“That’s a broad question. And a fitting broad answer is that once upon a time, there was an explosion. And it’s still ongoing. That is where you are. In an explosion. Atoms arranged in a certain way and got haunted. That is what’s going on. And when an explosion explodes hard enough, the dust wakes up and thinks about itself. That is who you are.” Answered a seemingly incorporeal voice, melodic and enchanting in an eerie way, echoing from where the most secluded, darkest corner of the Undercroft was – the part with the cages. All of them except one were empty, like someone intentionally arranged this solitary confinement. “I can find countless ways to answer but none of those may be the enlightenment you seek. Spare us some time and try to be more… specific.” Said the voice, floating in the air with the infinite patience of a superior being conversing with an ant.

“Over here.” The voice directed, verbally pointing out the location of that one occupied cage, which could be easily missed with how dark it was and how still the figure kneeling in it was being. Many chains connecting the person to the wall clinked with the small movement he’d made, turning blindfolded eyes in Hugo’s exact direction. “I don’t recognize your voice. Who are you?”

[nottheangel-raphael]

Plan in Motion || Raph & Wen

Raphael didn’t know what to expect with the vampires’ plan here. What would his future look like in a world reigning supreme under witches now? He woke up in a strange, horrible place that wasn’t at all the luxurious villa or mansion he’d reside in. But he knew that he was inside Krovs’ property – or what was formerly known as Krovs. He paused, the ghoul’s head aching as his mind overwhelmed his present self’s consciousness with the last 500 years his future form had gone through. Everything came at once – what he’d done to his slaves, the war, his powers weakening, Ransom hunting him down, his faked death. And most importantly a plan between himself and Wen to reunite around this time that aligned with their present day goals – find the First Vampire hidden in the castle.

First thing first, he couldn’t be wandering around so blatantly as himself. The fugitive lifestyle had left him looking terribly rugged in a homeless sort of way. That and everyone would still recognize his face. Luckily, the demon still had a loyal companion in his former wolf slave even after all the years of torment and modifications to poor Mason. It seemed his past self to this current date had been smart enough to demonize the werewolf into a hellhound, making him the perfect vessel 500 years later to house Raph’s mind and whatever could be considered a soul. With the body swap complete and his mind shielding ring in place on Mason’s body, he had the other trapped in his weakened and far more gorgeous form sent back to the castle and tossed into the Undercroft with the rest of the captured vampires, now giving Raph free roam of the Illuminatum without issue. At least Mason was tall, fit, pretty in his own way, and someone he knew enough to mimic his mannerisms – Raph could have picked a worse face. 

The ghoul turned hellhound finally strode into the Undercroft without much a suspicious glance. Mason worked here as a guard, it wouldn’t be unusual. He recognized many familiar faces looking pitiful and powerless all collared up and caged like pets for the rich. It didn’t change any sentiment when they returned to their own time about how the vampires treated the rest of the world like this since it was their own fault for being stupid enough to get caught. Survival of the fittest, after all. Raphael quickly found Wen amongst the masses, approaching him with a devious smirk and a twinkle in his eye that somehow screamed Raph even with a different face. “Hello darling,” he hummed, sure to keep his voice low as to not be overheard by anyone unwanted. “Sorry I’m a bit late. Needed to find a decent disguise.” His smirk widened. “Have you missed me?” 

@bloodjadefox​

[bloodjadefox]

Wen turned slowly, not betraying any surprise even though he was. It only took him a split second before realization dawned on him – the two had spent too many centuries knowing each other not to achieve instant recognition even when changed or apart for a long time. A smile tugged on the older man’s lips, gentle fondness apparent in the expression. But before he could reply to his fellow councilman, because that’s what they still were and always will be, other people quickly flocked into view.

Rough hands grabbed at Wen Xiao, immediately claiming him and tugging him away from Raphael. A tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped up between them, matching the incubus’ borrowed body’s height. “Sorry, mate. Back off. This one’s going for a maintenance check. Strict no touch, no talk, no eye contact order while in transit.” The fellow guard informed, obviously recognizing Mason as a coworker but being strictly professional in this case. Seemed like Wen had been having a bit of a difficulty ever since he arrived at Krovs. Pardon, Illuminatum now.

Behind the guard, others were subduing Wen Xiao, putting on a blindfold and a leash to connect to his collar, checking on the shackles around his wrists and ankles to make sure they were secure. One of the guards drew a symbol in blood across Wen’s scarred forehead, over the spot between the eyebrows where his pale crimson lotus tattoo should be – now crossed out with a scar made by a sharp blade. An incantation was hastily spoken – some further precautionary magical security cast on a very dangerous prisoner.

Wen Xiao didn’t struggle, even when his long silver hair was pulled back to make him part his jaws so a gag could be stuck into his mouth, rendering him speechless. Throughout, he continued to smile, although there was a honed sharpness to his grin now.

[bloodjadefox]

aerisminho​:

.

Whilst being back at Krovs the Illumination with no intention of being was a riddle Minho was still trying to solve he didn’t see the harm in using the opportunity to his advantage. As much as his life had moved on since his enslavement he could not deny that he still had far too many threads connecting him to this place. People he hadn’t seen for decades and situations that had never been resolved. So he allowed himself the freedom to wander the all too familiar halls of the castle simply out of curiosity and most certainly not under the guise of approval. He didn’t need the new council of witches to think he actually agreed with any of this. 

That’s all it was going to be. A quick look around and then he would head back to the village and to Angel and they would figure out how they were getting home again despite whatever magic had brought them here. But then whispers reached the elementals ears and it was with a heavy heart he began making his way to the undercroft. All the while trying to process how he was approaching it now as a free man.

He’d known Wen was here. Of course he had but despite the affection he had for the vampire he had not been looking to see him here. Not in this place with their roles so reversed, it didn’t seem right. Minho had spent centuries avoiding Wen seeing him as a slave, he did not know how ready he was to see the other in his place. But those whispers of one of the ancients chained and blindfolded in the old cells…he knew what they were about. As much as he didn’t want to see it Minho could not deny the man the presence of someone who was on his side still in all of this. 

It wasn’t hard to locate the vampire. The chains and blindfold were all overkill and brought an almost mocking smile to Minho’s face. How brave were the new council if they felt so threatened by a vampire stripped of his powers by those damned collars that they feel the need to still cage him in like an animal? All it was going to do was piss him off even more and Minho did not want to be there when that collar finally did slip from the others neck. 

 “Yes, 폐하, it’s me.” His voice was gentle as he lowered himself to the others level. Not caring for anyone else around them as he reached out to undo the blindfold, a familiar patient smile on his face as he finally saw the other again after his awakening. “I’d ask how you’ve been but considering all of this I think I can tell.” Dark eyes taking in everything before him. A frown appearing between his brows at the frostbite biting at the skin of Wen’s wrists. Taking them in his own hands as he warmed the air around them. “Hm, it’s a good spell.”

“Mmm, you are a sight for sore eyes. But I wouldn’t say there’s anything majestic about me at the moment.” He hummed, but there was no self-deprecation to be noticed in his tone, eyes immediately blinking open as soon as the piece of dark cloth tied over them was removed. There was a nasty gash on the ancient’s forehead, right between the brows where a three-petal lotus tattoo had once been – a knife had crossed out the marking cleanly, effectively dispelling whatever magic Wen etched into his skin with it. It marred an otherwise perfect arrangement of Wen’s facial features.

He chuckled at Minho stating the obvious but didn’t seem as concerned as he probably should be. As a matter of fact, he acted like nothing had changed. He would’ve greeted his former son in law much the same way in any other circumstances. Among all the panicked, angry, miserable, depressed vampires in the Undercroft, he was a ray of sunshine. “Those who know that they will fall, sit. I am merely sitting, my love. And I will rise again when I feel like standing once more, when the time is right.” He reassured, patient confidence radiating off him with a certainty that was hard to disbelieve.

His hands looked incredibly sore, open wounds at the wrists caused by the frostbites under the shackles and old burn scars like someone had dipped them into open flame, just to melt away the intricate mandala tattoos his fingers, palms and knuckles were decorated with. Everything potentially magical about Wen was completely eliminated without mercy. “Yes, quite, but also pretty simple. They did try their best, haven’t they?” He praised his captors, looking almost proud that all this was done just for little old him. He glanced at the chains with something akin to curious admiration, but it was gone rather quickly. 

He squeezed Minho’s hands back, an action that should have made his painful-looking sores ache, but he didn’t even seem to notice. He looked a little eager and excited suddenly, like a child about to share a big secret. “You are here, but you should be far away! Tell me, how did it happen?” It was as if he knew that Minho didn’t come to Krovs in a conventional way. “Ah, stop warming this stale air in vain, love. Don’t waste your energy. Instead, tell me all about it. Who else have you seen? Have all who’d been away suddenly gathered at the castle?”

[bloodjadefox]

varcolax​:

Lovell recognised that voice anywhere. Wen was here too so perhaps he knew what the hell was going on! The varcolac watched the scene before him with an odd sense of fascination as the guard attempted to feed his sire from a bowl of blood, only to fail spectacularly. When he was being hauled over and shoved near the cage, Lovell yelped and struggled but his very human levels of strength was nothing compared to the guard’s and he was tossed onto the floor. 

“Yeah, well, fuck you too!” Lovell yelled at the guard’s retreating back as he pushed himself up to sit. The collar around his neck seriously sucked because there were aches and pains from being tossed around that Lovell had never experienced before. His head whipped towards the form of his sire strung up in the cage. “Sorry, sire…” he huffed because Lovell tended to be quite unbecoming a lot of the time. “What are you doing in there? What’s going on?”

“Well put, I suppose…” Wen drawled, obviously unamused by his childe’s lack of civility. Though he could hardly blame him – the situation was very infuriating, especially to someone who’d just gotten thrust into it suddenly. But nothing was an excuse enough to cuss. Wen Xiao never cussed, but he could damn well hex. Not now though, not with the same collar Lovell also had on. But, patience does it. The time was coming.

“Being held against my will, love.” He explained patiently, in his wise teacher and tolerant mentor voice, speaking slowly so his words would sink in properly. “What we are facing here is a derailment of the timeline, resulting in an alternative future where witches had taken over and are now sitting on our thrones.” He summed it up, keeping such a huge news as brief as possible. An almost impossible feat but he managed.

His nostrils flared then, and he sucked in a long inhale of air. “I smell blood. Are you hurt, child?” There was no concern in that sweet baritone, nothing but a merely stated fact which he sought to confirm with Lovell. “Come closer. Let me see.”

[bloodjadefox]

dr-eoin-gallagher​:

“Now love, you could at least try to act a bit more surprised to see me,” Eoin crooned, masquerading around as the former councilman of Italy as he tilted Wen’s chin to face in his direction. “Ooh how the mighty have fallen.” He tugged on one of the chains on Wen Xiao. A collar was effective enough at draining the vampires of their strength, but Eoin had quite enjoyed being excessive at times with the vampires— unnecessarily so. He knew not every chain used with Wen Xiao was necessary…. but it did make for an even more uncomfortable imprisonment. A small paranoid part of the skinwalker also remembered everything Wen had shown him over the years in regards to his abilities, and well… Being excessive couldn’t hurt.

“I check the logs regularly… Not very popular with the masters it seems,” he taunted playfully, adding, “What a shame too.” His body shifted again with ease, taking the shape of Aurelius this time as he gently lifted up the corner of Wen Xiao’s blindfold. There was a mad look in his eye, lips curled into a grin as he observed one of his favorite prisoners. How Wen Xiao had still managed to get caught was beyond Eoin, but he hardly questioned such a thing. “You know.. Most of the regulars seem quite attached to tormenting their former captors. Perhaps yours didn’t love you quite enough if they haven’t bothered with paying to free you even for a few hours here and there.”

He had let those traitorous hands lift his face up, not resisting. The tug on the chain connected to his arm jolted the relaxed limb up and off where it rested on his thigh, but fell back limply as soon as it was released. Eoin might as well be playing with a puppet, a shell in the shape of a person over whose shoulders all insults and taunts just rolled off without effect. Until a corner of his blindfold was lifted to let one dark orb peek through, the deep abyss swallowing up all light to reflect a hint of amusement and that same unwavering arrogance Wen Xiao had always carried himself with.

Otherwise, he was calm in comparison. A third party watching on the sidelines would see one lunatic and one martyr, serenely suffering through the verbal abuse with an almost angelic poise of a saint. Like everything this deranged version of Eoin did would be forgiven, like Wen understood and he will deliver him of every regret he might have later on with a simple, selfless pardon. 

Because he was superior, he was the noble one, he was the master. And Eoin was flawed, losing it, consumed by his own mania, obsessing over things that would only cause his demise. All that, with only one silent look up at the skinwalker, and a faint grin over a gag tucked neatly in Wen’s mouth - a wicked little knowing smirk that brought back memories. The fact that Eoin was now impersonating his most beloved pharaoh did nothing. The fact that he spoke in his beautiful Raphael’s voice earlier seemed to have barely registered. Wen Xiao just slowly blinked that one eye up at Eoin, the blackness of the iris penetrating. 

[benignoflores]

Beni hesitated, eyes darting around nervously as he made his way deeper into the Undercroft. He relied on the bond— faint but alive— to guide him to Wen Xiao. Getting enough time away from Elliot to go look for his former master was always stressful for the shifter, delicately balancing the relationship with Elliot and the one he had with Wen Xiao in secrecy.

He still hadn’t figured out how to explain himself to Wen Xiao. Mating a witch… Would he be happy Beni wormed his way in close with someone powerful? Upset the Beni accidentally fell for the witch and bound himself to the very species who now enslaved Wen Xiao? Elliot… He was still loyal to the vampire— but highly doubted the scent of werewitch would appeal to the vampire on top of everything else. His only relief was not outright smelling of dog, since the next full moon was on the 16th, and it had been a month almost since the last.

When Beni’s eyes landed on the vampire any hesitation he had disappeared, footsteps quickening as he quickly approached and began fiddling with the chains, wondering if any were able to be loosened or removed. “None of this is necessary. Fucking cruel,” he mumbled, giving up and reaching for the blindfold on Wen Xiao to move it. “What have then done…. Can’t believe this,” he added under his breath, concern evident in his voice.

@bloodjadefox

[bloodjadefox]

Wen had sensed Beni long before he’d approached close enough to smell him. Finally, his little bat had come to him, despite the new life he’d created for himself. He’d been wondering idly when the shifter would fold and pull on that faint but still there bond that they’ve built between them.

He shushed softly, placating the fretful little thing as if he were the one in chains and not the other way around. “Calm now. Nothing to fret about. Uh-huh! Don’t touch the chains, my love. That’s strong magic.” And just when Beni’s fingers left the said chains to take off the blindfold instead, sensing unauthorized tampering, a visible electrical current ran down the one Beni touched with a vicious crackle of static, narrowly missing Beni’s fingers to continue on to Wen’s arm, thoroughly jolting him. What a delightful irony - a creature that held fire and lightning at the palm of his hand was now tortured by it. Although, given, the sharp wince this warning shot had caused was not too painful-looking of a reaction considering how bad that bolt looked. Wen Xiao made it appear almost easy to withstand.

Exhaling slowly through pursed lips to steady himself, he regained his perfect composure, although he lost little of it to start with. “Leave it be, darling, don’t fiddle anymore.” He warned, tone calming, comforting, a softness wrapping the listener in velvet and cashmere. “Ahhh, let me look at your handsome face, let me see you. It’s been so long.” Deep black pools roamed over Beni’s facial features, a tender smile tilting Wen’s lips as he did so.

[bloodjadefox]

Boredom was not something Wen Xiao acutely felt. At least not like most mortal beings with a shorter lifespan. He had a restlessness of a different kind – it was a quiet sort of vexation caused by the pointlessness of forced inaction, the stillness that was not of his choice, restrictions put on him by others who were completely unqualified to make such a decision on his behalf. That was a bit irritating. But then again, it was debatable whether Wen was ever truly a master of his own fate. However, he had always been a master of his own time. Now, he had too much at hand and not many ways to spend it.  

He didn’t lament it too deeply though. After all, this whole derailed timeline situation resulting in an alternative future that he was bound to change sooner or later – and he was sure it would be sooner rather than later if his impeccable intuition was anything to go by – was only temporary. Sitting useless in a corner of the Undercroft, chained and bound to a cage with only an hour a day out of a blindfold and a gag wasn’t the most terrible fate he could think of. He’d delivered much worse on others before. So, Wen bid his time.

And in the meanwhile, he hummed, the melodious sound soon turning into a lovely tune echoing like an enchantment through the dark, dreary basement. Undoubtedly, it reached others locked down there with him, even if all steered clear of his little enclosed corner, warned that there be monsters of a special kind there and if they hold their worthless lives dear, they better not draw close. The guards just loved to scare other slaves with the mention of Wen Xiao’s name, like a new, all-improved boogeyman to use to inflict terror with. By far, the funniest thing he’d heard was that they will feed a poor sod to the kitsune if he disobeyed. Like he’d ever be reduced to cannibalism of his own kin.

Or maybe he should eat someone alive in front of everyone. Wouldn’t their reactions be a riot? A small smirk played on his lips at the thought as the melody flowed out of his lips, tender, soft and a beautiful contrast to his hidden thoughts. He didn’t stop even when he sensed someone lingering close by to listen in despite all the warnings.

To the West Tower I climb the stair; The Moon, like a curved sword, hangs above there. In deep courtyard, a lonesome phoenix tree, And the cool, pure autumn breeze. Cut it, it doesn’t sever, Sort it, as entangled as ever — It is a great sorrow to part, A distant feeling in my heart…

@iah-yang​

[bloodjadefox]

Wen was about to slip into deep meditation, unfolding his limbs into an impeccable lotus position, which was the most the many chains tying him to the wall of his caged enclosure in the Undercroft would allow. His breath, a voluntary action to this dead old monster, moved his ancient heart to beat in slow sync with the pulse of his thick blood moving in his veins. The infinite, disciplined mind began to transcend time, space and the body it occupied, connecting with the spirit within, the light that kept this temple that housed him moving. Oh no, this wasn’t that modern age yoga meditation bullshit, no sir. This was the real deal, a practice now lost to the ages. 

He focused on the golden core, what the ancient eastern cultivators of fine martial arts call the pool of energy in the lower part of one’s stomach, moving the energy up the meridians to the heart, then to the center of his forehead, to regenerate in the pineal gland where it will be recycled further throughout his limbs, stronger, rejuvenating, fulfilling. Wrists resting on bent knees, palms upturned, he pressed his thumb to the fourth finger to close the circle.

Divinity, infinity, unity, Ōṁ …

But then, an annoying shuffling sound made his ears twitch. And the infinity hung up, directing him to voicemail, focus broken for now. In the dark, he spied who the nuisance was, sneaking about the Undercroft like a thief, skittering about nearby. He cleared his throat delicately to bring their attention to him and his dark little cage where he was chained at.

“Do you mind?” He asked politely, tone calm. Instead of getting an hour of outside time like all other slaves, all Wen Xiao got was an hour free of a blindfold and a gag. But not the chains. The chains were there to stay, although no number of them seemed to really bother the tribrid.

@balerionxtargaryean​