Deception [Private]

[Darky]

(Title because I’m er… stuck and unoriginal >_<)

The little boy had chosen a comfortable corner on the back, half draped in the darkness, happy to have picked a conveniently secluded spot for observing. As Omega he his place very clearly marked, knowing full well that it was only his lack of tribe markings which spared him from worse treatment. Altair was no fool, things could always be much worse.

…and some of his tribe mates… were rather frightening. He didn’t know everyone yet, but he had seen quite a few of them, going about in their own business in the tower.

No one tended to spare a second glance at his secluded corner and that was fine. The smell of blood that surrounded some of the people walking around here was off-putting. He hated being a little kid, hated the powerlessness that came with it. Open to any abuse from whomever wished it.

Sulking a little, his hand rose to brush his knee, dusting it off slightly, feeling the old material under his hands. Another fall and the cloth would tear. His brother would have been dismayed upon his unruly appearance.

Lowering his eyes, he frowned in disapproval of his dirty fingers.

Now-that- he could not have.

Rising to his feet he abandoned his secluded spot and headed in the direction of the bathroom, with intentions of washing his hands.

Thoroughly.

(Edit: Sorry, guys, title changed now >_<)

[Masquerade]

Cain rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to avoid bumping into anyone else as he attempted to sooth the headache pounding behind his eyes. Dehydration was probably the root of his pains, and the reason he's strayed from his workshop to brave the Towers other occupants. His private stash of supplies had run dry, at least where liquids were concerned, and the youths pallid - even more so than usual - complexion and the dark circles around his eyes hinted that he'd left his supply run to the last minute.

Not quite watching where he was going, it was only by good grace that he caught movement inhis periferal vision and ground to a halt, coming face to face (well, not really, seeing as the kid was markably shorter than himself) with another Vampire. He immediately straightened, shoving the tinted glass of his goggles away from his eyes in order to identify his younger Tribesmate.

"Aqua... Aquia..?" he mumbled, trying to place a name with the face.

He recognized the boy as one of the Tribes Omegas. There weren't many of them to remember, but he still had issues with names. They tended to stay of out of his way, more out of respect (well, fear anyways) of his rank than anything else, and it meant he was slightly less familiar with them than the rest of the Tribe.

For a moment Cain forgot where he was; Gargoyle Tower, not the most ideal of places for idle chatter.

"Hey, what's your name again?"

[Darky]

The little boy didn’t sense the other vampire right away, perhaps a good thing because if he had he probably would have been off running to hide. Or not, it didn’t do much to show fear to those stronger. Although in his case attempting bravery might well be synonymous for attempting suicide.

Amber eyes fixed on the other, looking up at him. For a moment he had no idea- although his markings clearly signalled him out to be a hunter.

Big uh oh.

Swallowing, he tried to straighten up, eyes fixed on the other’s face, trying not to look afraid. Yet at the same time trying not to look defiant either. God, what a dilemma. Eyes seemed cautious, as if the boy was carefully assessing whether or not Cain would make any sudden movements. “My name is Altair, my nickname is Aquila-“ He didn’t know the other’s name so choose to settle with polite, “-Sir.”

[Masquerade]

Cain's mismatched eyes narrowed widened slightly, more out of confusion regarding the other Vampires use of the term 'sir' than surprise or shock, and he immediately stepped back, shaking his head emphatically.

"Cain- er, T-Tinker. Call me Tinker." he stuttered out, raking his fingers through his hair as he tried to keep himself under control. While he couldn't quite keep the waver of his voice, he could legitimately blame that on the fact he rarely ventured forth from his workshop, and even then tended to avoid interacting with his fellow Tribesmates.

He felt like he owed a few words to the kid he'd come so close to bowling over.

"Eh... haven't seen you around the Tower very much..."

[Darky]

Aquila kept his eyes on the hunter at all times even as he nodded his head slightly, “Tinker, sir.” For being a hunter it didn’t look as if Cain was going to hurt him. Which of course was a relief.

Relaxing his off-stand position a bit, the kid offered a little smile and a nod, “I’m… fairly new here and the time that I have been here, I…” Gods, what would Grey have diplomatically said? Eh, screw that. “—tend to be hiding, sir.” Oh, he could recall Tinker’s name… but he wasn’t sure if he felt comfortable enough to use it.

For obvious reason being an omega, a little kid, weapon less really and weak was a bad combination. He was like a little fish waiting to be eaten by the big fish. It was learn or not survive.

“But… likewise, sir” Out of the people he had seen in here, Tinker had not been one of them. Which of course meant that perhaps the hunter had a more secluded area to be in, “Although I wouldn’t pre-su-me” he knew the world, but had a little trouble pronouncing it, “-to know all the members.”

[Masquerade]

"Not sir, don't call me sir." Tinker corrected quickly, "Call me Tinker. Or Cain. Whichever." It didn't feel right to have anyone address him as sir, particularly when he'd done nothing to warrant that sort of respect. All he did was hide away behind several heavy duty locks and do what the higher ups and his fellow Hunters told him to do. Hell, he rarely even spoke more than five words to anyone in passing. Cowards didn't get called things like 'sir'.

His tongue ran over his lower lip, trying to wet the nervously dry skin but finding himself hard pressed to coax up any saliva to do the job. Oh, right. He'd left his workshop for a reason.

Dropping his hand to his side, he unclipped the ancient metal canteen from his belt and held it up, shaking it slightly so the dry rattle of the stopper could be heard.

"D'you know if there's any cleanish water around here? Thing's've moved since I've last been out and about."

[Darky]

Arguably, Altair didn’t know any of that. He saw the markings, made his assumptions from what he had seen from the other hunters. “But sir- you’re…” he motioned towards the bright red markings. Hunter. Fumbling he nodded, it would take a little getting used to, however.

An involuntary step back was taken when Cain dropped his hand to the side, the young omega seemed once again ready to bolt the other way until he saw it was a canteen and not a weapon.

“Water?”

Nod.

The black-haired kid looked at his feet, not sure if he would be scolded for stashing away a few supplies in private places for his own use. Just a few things, nothing that he thought would constitute punishment.

But he was still new and learning the rules of this place and so it may best not to share his little secret. Altair would rather not get punished for a bottle of water hidden away.

“I think they were some supplies this way.” Turning from his original direction of the bathroom he lead the way, fingers rubbing against his pants trying to get the dirty sensation off. Ew.

[Judas]

[*yawn* Eh -- Horrible post on account of lazy, and comatose muses.]

There was a limited list of things that could’ve driven Elwood to be this far away from his room.

It’s not that he didn’t come out of his room often. In fact, he was barely in there most of the time. Usually he was out gathering a corpse from the grid, or something equally disturbing. He didn’t like the feeling of being confined either, so sometimes he ventured out to find Mina, or Sven… Usually Mina… Someone that wouldn’t assume that the child would eat them in any case. There was also that amounting, reeking, stench of the dead [that seemed to be ever growing in the blonde’s room] to consider. It was a factor that couldn’t be ignored. The death fanatic may have indeed—Was indeed unnerving and strange but he did have a nose, and the odor of rotting things was sickening to anybody that took in a whiff of it and Elwood was no exception to this is rule. Which is precisely the reason why not only did he learn not to sniff while around his ‘office’, but had also once pondered cutting off his nose.

Later he decided that he couldn’t do that because if he cut off his nose then he couldn’t have his right hand cut off… Obviously… And Elwood really did want his right hand cut off.

But here once more lay the predicament that not only baffled the Vampires who spotted the boy sauntering through Gargoyle Tower, but also scared them shitless. Elwood usually wasn’t in this part of the Tower. He secluded himself to certain areas of habit, which were often fairly vacant due to Vampires discovering his fondness of such areas. It was easy to spot the reason why most were unnerved by his sudden manifestation in this part of the Vampire stronghold. Simply this: They thought they were safe here.

At least that’s what our little Elwood suspected, as he carefully regarded each ‘fool’ [who spotted and steered clear of him] with a glare.

In any case, the truth of the entire matter lay in the small, cardboard box that the Doctor was carrying with him. Although he was certain most of the omegas and commoners he passed thought that in it lay a head, surprisingly enough, they were wrong.

Though Elwood wouldn’t have minded a head.

Somewhere in the confines of the shoebox lay dozens of things Elwood had gotten off his patients. Necklaces, earrings, knifes, nail polish, beads, bracelets, photos, wallets, keys, cards et cetera. Granted, none of these things would interest Elwood and he'd regularly be very willing to get rid of them but he wasn’t happy with making the trudge over to trade them out. Yeah… Trade them out. The blonde boy had found some tools of his missing a few days ago. Tools he loved and cared for… And named. After searching around his small keep he came to a conclusion of where and who now had them.

Geist.

Yes. Elwood was quite certain that the kleptomaniac had stolen them. Thus, with some reluctance, he had gathered up everything he could find that would interest a packrat [and that he could fit in the shoebox] and left the boundries of his habit areas to find the other boy – Wherever he may be.

But in that comment lay another problem. Elwood didn’t exactly know where to find Geist. And ergo the Boogieman was clearly wandering around the halls of the tower expressionless, apathetic, disinterested and with that bloodied lab coat of his flapping behind him, and the strange eye patch covering half of his beady, black gaze.

It was by sheer bad luck or karma however that Elwood had happened upon Tinker and an omega. Interesting, and delightful. Though, naturally, neither expressions [curious or thrilled] showed upon his small, mouse-like features. He was quiet, almost silent as the grave, as he approached the two – Cain from behind. Regularly, Elwood would just stare at the mechanic. Observe him. Since, well, the blonde did find him fascinating. He was different than the rest of the Vampires. In any case, today was different. Today he had a purpose other than watching things and scaring people. He reached up and tapped the older boy’s shoulder quite politely.

Although he doubted his manners would bode too well anyway.

And that made a ghost of a grin form on those lips.

[Masquerade]

[[xD I'm sorry, but now I have the mental image of Geist catching wind of Elwoods trinket stash and following him around like a junkie-ninja-mute-German-kid.]]

Surprisingly, the omega- Altair, he reminded himself firmly, seemed to have no interest in causing trouble. He actually seemed... helpful. No doubt it was the Hunters mark that produced the compliance. Cain was certain he'd have trouble getting anything out of anyone any other way.

Ah, water was starting to sound better and better with each passing moment, his body having caught on to what he was seeking and starting up a pitiable wail of thirst in the back of his throat.

"Thanks, I'm not very good at keeping track of where things are around here." he said sheepishly, moving to follow Altair.

Then came the tap on the shoulder.

Cain flinched away, glancing back sharply like a small forest critter in an old cartoon who's just heard the snapping twig that always heralded the arrival of the big bad wolf. Although, to be fair, he wouldn't have looked back if he'd known who it was. It was a curious spectacle to behold as Cain, already so pale, blanched a deathly ashen gray, bi-colored eyes widening and throat working silently to swallow the sudden large lump that had formed.

Of course, all this only lasted a few fleeting seconds before the Hunter recomposed himself and spoke.

"E-Elwood." he said hoarsely, fidgeting as the urge to flee took over. There were a few Vampires that stood out amongst the other ranks; the ones that terrified him and kept him hidden away in his workshop for weeks at a time. Elwood was definitely near the top, if not number one, on people Cain wished to avoid at all costs.

Oh god, why him?

[Darky]

“You learn to watch others.” The omega muttered, glad that the hunter did genuinely seemed interested just in water and not in… well yeah. Being unpleasant. The boy was busy pulling out a small bottle of water to notice when Elwood tapped Cain’s shoulder. If he had he probably would have bolted without another word.

~“E-Elwood.”~

Oh crap. That name. Altair turned, rather quickly, bottle in his hands glancing up at the new arrival. The omega did not speak a word, in fact he willed himself invisible- and how he wished he could disappear now.

Between the hunter and Elwood? Altair would take his chances with the hunter and so choose to stay behind Cain, not moving, amber eyes alert. One move from Elwood would send him- with the bottle of water- fleeing to hide in some far, far corner of the tower.

[Judas]

[Didn't have time to proof-read, spell check etc. on this post. My bad. I'll do all that in the morning. *flops down on bed and falls asleep*]


Mhm… Ehm… Interesting reaction. Terror was it? He couldn’t be sure – Elwood wasn’t very well acquainted with some… Emotions, some feelings, some ideas, some rules. Especially not some rules but that was another subject that lay far away from the topic they, or rather Elwood, were currently on and so it would be simply rude for the boy to start thinking about that all of a sudden. Right? But maybe for the sake of quenching his curiosity – Perhaps he should ask them if that was terror. Elwood wondered how they would react to that… After all, they had been so rude when the doctor gave a polite tap on the shoulder. Why was that? Lack of manners maybe? Obviously their parents were nothing like the doctor’s.

Lucky.

Either way, it would be a simple question. To be polite and kind they should answer. It was only logical. But sadly enough, the Boogieman had found [quite recently. In fact the other vampires’ last reaction had aided his theory] of late that less and less people seemed to be polite and kind. Vampires, the only real civilized tribe, were getting ruder and ruder of late. The blonde suspected the others’ [Cigarettes, Wharf Rats, Wildcats] idiotic tendencies were rubbing off. Just the other day Elwood had approached a girl quite nicely and kindly asked if she’d be willing to let him borrow her left hand. He even promised to return it to her. And how were his manner repaid, but a gasp, gagging, and some sort of stupid insults that Americans used often. Then she ran away.

Disappointed. Elwood was so utterly disappointed in his fellow tribesmen, he expected better of them at least.

After all, any civilized person would’ve kindly offered him all the way up to their elbow when he had only asked for a hand.

American insults were stupid too. It was hardly an insult really. You’d think they’d be better, live up to their reputation and all. But no, sadly enough not – After such gloating and all they could come up with were flimsy, half-witted name-calling.

Oh right… Elwood had questions. Ranting about stupidity and rudeness could wait until later he supposed.

The Doctor blinked, almost obliviously due to his lack of expression. Beady black eyes stared up at the hunter, raising an eyebrow – Fascinated, even if only a little. He thought for a moment, or at least we can assume he was thinking because there was a long pause before he finally spoke. His thoughts should’ve been focused on Geist, but curiosity took the best of him – There were other things to inquire about first. “Are you…” He paused, searching for the words. “Afraid…?” There was a possibility that an amused smirk would appear upon his features at this word, but none did. There was a silence, and his attention flickered momentarily to Altair. This was the first time he had taken note of the omega, and his presence was regarded with interest and slight surprise. Apparently thinking of the younger boy as something short of a person however, the Boogieman spoke to Tinker instead.

“You’re with an omega.” The blonde stated plainly. Blink. His brows furrowed. “Omegas and Hunters don’t… Play well together… Don’t you know that?”

[Masquerade]

Cain was ever so tempted to just to turn tail and run right at that moment. Back up the ladders, back up to his floor, back up to his room with the thick door and heavy locks... Away from the threat, from the possibility of danger. Away from Elwood.

"S-sorry." He didn't want to answer the other Vampires question. It would be all to easy to admit his fear, his apprehension. But they fed off weakness. Only the strong survived. Wasn't that how the animal kingdom worked? And what were they here in New Pork but animals, scrounging a living off the mummified remains of civilization.

Oh. That was a pleasant thought. Ugh.

"We weren't playing." He tried to keep his voice level, hoping his didn't appear nearly as frightened as he was. "He was helping me."

Crap, had he messed up? He knew omegas were supposed to be the expendable rank, but were Hunters not supposed to talk to them? Had be broken a Tribal taboo? The boy felt faint now, light headed from his fear and stress. He felt like he was about to pass out.

God, that was the last thing he'd want to do, especially in front of Elwood. Who knew what that boy would do to an unconscious body...

[Mina Crow]

[Elwood is a Commoner, Sil, not a Hunter.]

[Masquerade]

[Pfft, I'm a retard. wtf, he should be a Hunter]

[Darky]

...The boogieman would have made most people turn the other way and run. However, Altair did not comprehend why... a hunter who outranked the commoner would be afraid. Surely...

The hierarchy of the vampires was tough. There was a large gap between commoners and omegas, a lesser one between hunters and commoners. Why was this hunter afraid? The small boy pressed his the water bottle against the palm of Cain's hand indicating that he should take it. Being ignored did not settle in well with the omega.

Especially since Elwood, though frightening, was still only one rank over. "I do not suppose, that hunters play well with commoners either, hm?"Though mildly diplomatic the meaning of Altair's words was quite clear.

Play somewhere else.

No, they had not been playing but was there any point in trying to explain that to the Doctor? Aquila did not think so. He was still mindful of his tongue, learning the rules here, learning how far he could push. Learning how far one could fall.

[Judas]

[*headdesk* Yucky. Museless. Post. Oh well -- It's there at least.]

When dealing with skittish patients, the clever doctor will comfort and/or reassure.

Hmn… Well, the only real problem with that would be that Elwood wasn’t as skilled at comforting and reassuring as he was at other things… Like researching… Or dissecting… Most of him patients typically didn’t need comfort and reassurance… Most of them were never afraid, and most of them never complained. In fact, most of them… Well… Most of them stayed completely still… And quiet… Elwood usually did all the talking. He often found himself in one-sided conversations, and since replies were never made he knew well enough that he really didn’t build up any social skills with them. But still, the chats he had were enjoyable nonetheless. The doctor liked interacting with his patients. His patients liked interacting [however unresponsive] with him. Right… The only real specimens that ever gave the boy trouble were the ones that talked back to him.

Like Cain.

Who was, coincidently, one of Elwood’s favorite subje— No … That’s not quite right… What was that word they used? It was on the tip of the blonde’s tongue – Oh yes! Now he remembered. ‘Live one’ was it? Yes… Cain was a ‘live one’… And one of Elwood’s most cherished of them.

Little mice that could think were hard to come by.

On more than a few occasions the machinist had proven himself quite clever. Like a good little lab mouse – He had reached the end of the maze with the piece of cheese at the end. Or rather the reward. Which was, obviously, the honor of being a dear specimen to the doctor.

The boogieman clicked his tongue, and tapped his eye patch. There was a long pause, and then all too suddenly for comfort a crooked grin tugged at the corner of the blonde’s mouth. He chuckled very lightly, his throat quite scratchy at the moment as the odd, and frankly creepy smile burst into full bloom to play on the boy’s features for a little bit. It could be speculated that he was beaming at his live patient… Though if he was it was very horribly mutated and in the worst ways at that.

“It’s okay Tinker…” He smirked, quirking his head to the side for a moment. “I won’t tell anybody…” Pause. Blink. “… Promise…”

Elwood probably would’ve continued on about something particularly macabre and sickening if not for the fact that a more important, well, scratch that… A more interesting matter arose with the voice of the omega sounding.

The omega.

The doctor looked as if he wasn’t even aware that omegas had the ability to speak. He must’ve figured Mina had their tongues sliced or something… Why not? He would do it….

But in any case the other boy [surprisingly enough younger than the boogieman himself] had spoken. Not only that but he had addressed… Elwood…? Hardly anybody ever addressed Elwood unless they absolutely had to. Few chose to do so by will [and with good reason.]. Well now… What was he to do…? Answer it…? Well… That would be the polite thing to do, after all. But what to say…? The little one certainly was fascinating… Oh… Perhaps he’d be kind enough to help the Doctor out a little with his research.

Out flicked some sharp and pointy object. “Hello…” Elwood greeted nicely, his gaze quite heavy with curiosity and all of it directed at Altair. He grinned. “Would you mind sparing your hand to my scientific research…? Don’t worry… I won’t hurt it or anything…” Pause. “I can even give it back later if you want it.” He then offered… Very nice of him, wasn’t it?

This would be a good day… Elwood had never even considered the possibility of omegas before…

How lovely…

[Masquerade]

Elwood has possibly the creepiest smile he'd ever seen, a sick sort of quirk to his lips that made Cain's stomach flip flop. He tried to, unsuccessfully, supress a shudder.

“I won’t tell anybody… Promise"

Sudden, horrible releif, even though Cain didn't think he'd really done anything wrong. It felt odd, shameful even, to fear someone both younger than himself and of a younger rank. But of New Pork had taught him anything, it was that age counted for jack sh.it when all the cards were down.

Sudden distress then, relief gone just as fast as it'd come. Elwood... The Doctor, he wanted Altairs hand? Cain was torn up for a moment, not sure whether to bite his tongue or speak up. Nothing bad would happen to him if he did the former, although Altair... but if he did the latter...

Gawd, Cain hoped his rank would be enough to protect him from Elwood.

"E-Elwood." he stuttered quietly, before swallowing sharply and starting again in a louder, more audible tone. "Elwood, if you take his hand he won't be able to work. He'd be nearly useless. The Crow wouldn't like that." he said, trying to sound firm but in reality sounding rather intimidated and hesitant. Like he was afraid Elwood was going to bite.

[Darky]

His hand. Elwood wanted his hand? But-

-why?

Ooooh. Altair flinched ever so slightly and shook his head a little something in between yes and no. Unsure if he really could decline giving up his hand to the commoner.

Omegas were little more than cannon fodder, were they not? Although one day...

Elwood was odd. His polite facade seemed almost unnerving especially hearing what came out of his lips. What outrageous requests which certainly were not okay, and certainly should not have been asked in such tones and such words.

No, Altair was rather attached to his hand and he tucked it into his pocket- both of them, as if to demonstrate this fact.

Golden eyes turned to the hunter when he spoke up, a little surprised. He certainly had not been expecting anything from the other. It did make the boy feel a little better, a little more obliged to say no and save his hand.

Precious hand, still attached to the rest of his body.

[Judas]

Hmn… Why did people always react like that when Elwood asked that question? Even when he asked it so nicely too... Even more nicely this time than the other times! The omega and Tinker seemed so much more fascinating than most of the people he wanted to be donators to his research – so the Doctor had taken special care to be as kind and cordial as he possibly could when inquiring… And still… Always the same… Would it ever change? The disappointment was quite discouraging indeed. More and more the boy was beginning to feel like most people were against him in some manner, or way, or form that he had not yet been able to comprehend. Or maybe karma was against him… That’d be logical except that Elwood hadn’t done anything wrong lately. He had been on his best behavior, actually. Nothing could explain it… It was just another one of those life mysteries, the Boogieman supposed.

All the same, it always seemed to be the most intriguing and compelling subjects that resisted the most… Of course, all the less-impressive subjects resisted too but… Well… They weren’t as important.

For a few brief moments, the commoner was considering just taking Altair’s hand along with him anyway. The boy was an omega so he figured it wouldn’t matter much. But Tinker… God bless Tinker… Tinker decided to save Elwood from getting in trouble with Mina… For this Elwood was grateful… Imagine if Mina got angry at him again, not that the lapdog didn’t think the prospect of death was fascinating but by running into these two vampires today Elwood was once again reminded on how much research he really did want to accomplish before he died. So dying had to be postponed. For now.

Blink. Beady black eyes flickered over to Tinker, studying him for a long moment in a very apathetic manner. “You think so…?” He mused, letting his gaze float over to Altair now, to study him instead. “Hmn…” Pause. Back to Tinker. “I’m terribly sorry, Tinker. I just assumed he was completely useless already. Will you forgive me, please?”

Apparently Elwood didn’t need to show too much manners to omegas.