Itâs not the first time the portal has malfunctioned and he doesnât imagine itâll be the last. The ground underneath him where heâd fallen was soft at least and when he pulled himself up to look around, the sun was high in the sky and the birds sang in the trees around him. A forest, then. Now it was only a question of where⊠or sometimes when. The last time his portal malfunctioned heâd ended up in 1890s France.
Zane scented around him as any good hunter does. He could smell smoke and cooking meat. To a human he would imagine it to be quite pleasant, but to him it was overbearing. Yet cooking meant humans, or some variation thereof. Someone was camping nearby. How fortuitous. After one glance back to where the portal had left him, the ancient vampire crept low and moved towards the source, soundless as a shadow.
His mind heard the other souls thoughts before his ears did. He was too large to stay hidden for long, and so kept a distance, watching and listening instead. It was a woman. New here like him, deposited by forces beyond their control. The fire had covered it before but now he was upwind her scent came to him. It was blood. But not blood as he knew it. She had no wounds to speak of but the sheer power of the scent had him placing his hand against the nearest tree to steady himself, fingers curled into the bark hard enough to leave marks.
It begged him to feed, to attack recklessly and without thought. A powerful tool in the wrong hands, he reckoned. Perhaps honey to flies, dizzyingly sweet to tempt them into death. But he was not a young vampire and even among his own kind was renowned for self control. Certainly no fly.
@favoritefadedfantasies
"Quite a welcoming reception for a huntress."
Zane emerged from the tree line and looked around her camp. Nothing but the clothes on her back, her weapons and a rabbit cooking on the fire. If her thoughts hadn't confirmed his suspicions, these would have been dead giveaways that she found herself in the same predicament.
He seated himself across the fire from her and lit a cigarette. The sun dipped through the trees and into his eyes. No fire. No burning of any kind. He could only assume that the rules of this world differed from their own. Or perhaps some other magick was protecting him from its effects. He allowed a moment to enjoy its warm touch before meeting Tehra's eyes across the flames.
"My name is Zane Bellecote, you are Tehra LeVerryn, a huntress of some renown and we find ourselves deposited in strange lands under the hand of what I am, for now, assuming is fuckery of the gods. Does that about cover introductions?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Perhaps, but I am a skilled enough huntress to know when I cannot win. And I don't tend to pick fights I stand to lose. Besides," The brunette looked him over, taking in his lack of supplies, "You clearly don't belong here either. Vampires arent known to wander in the woods in their nice suits." She cocked her head to the side, watching him for a moment. He kept a respectful distance, and she noted how the sun seemed to not affect him. Interesting. He didnt' seem interested in threatening her either, though when it came to vampires one could never be sure. He spoke then, and her shock was clear on her face - how did he know so much about her? They'd certainly never met. "I'm not wearing a name tag, and I feel like I'd have heard of a vampire as strong as you if we were from the same place...which means that you likely got my name another way. Are you in my thoughts?" Tehra asked, rather blunt in her wording. She didn't seem upset - just curious.
