Someone came back noisier than ever and now wants attention.

[belovedbythenight]

'Twas foolish to think I would stray far.

You may be no more than a tasteless creature, but even this place you call a "headspace" provides me with some entertainment. Imagine: the treacherous Mathias becoming Dracula, locked in an eternal battle with the Belmont line, and bearing an equally treacherous son.

[His lips split, forming a savage grin that shows off his fangs.]

We shall see if that still comes to pass when I squeeze the life from both Mathias and Leon.

Come, worthless thing. We have work to do.

Comments

*imported journal JUST for this*

[what_is_a_man]

I believe you will find that a task beyond your capabilities, Walter. Your destiny is to serve as the vessel of my vengeance against God himself.

Console yourself with the knowledge that Death now serves a worthy master.

[Have an equally fanged grin.]

/throws completely off-period muse at you because WALTER, MUST HAVE

[sixthanimorph]

That's some crazy armor you're wearing. Are you some kind of prince?

akhsjk I am honored! Also, massive approval for the username.

[belovedbythenight]

Once again, your arrogance knows no bounds. How many times have you failed to achieve your ends? I can assure you, I need only attempt this task once.

<3!

[belovedbythenight]

A king, really. [Arrogance, he definitely has it.] I rule over the Eternal Night.

D_M had a shortage of badass vampire lords, clearly. xD

[sixthanimorph]

Yeah? [He sounds skeptical, but guarded.] If you're a king, where's your crown?

[young_nobleman]

You're as charming as ever.

[Why yes, that is dripping with sarcasm! Even if he is secretly beside himself to see you.]

On LJ it's 'ill_needed_save' :3

[what_is_a_man]

I have not failed in my objective. My objective - or rather Mathias' - was to transcend death and defying one of God's universal rule. He ended when I began just as you did. What happened afterward was nothing more than the proverbial icing on the cake.

/screams

[vampire_killer]

Have you forgotten yourself, Monster? It is I who will extinguish your undead existence yet again.

Careful, Walter's ego is inflated enough! But I happen to agree. :D

[belovedbythenight]

A true king needs no crown, fool.

[belovedbythenight]

Ah, I had wondered when you might appear, Joachim. [It would be a pleasant surprise if you weren't a traitor! Somewhere deep, deep, deep underneath all that madness, Walter is too.] Have you come to try and plunge another knife into my back?

Well, hi! I did not expect to see a Leon around these parts.

[belovedbythenight]

You will try. [He lets loose a booming laugh.] And you will fail! I shall enjoy watching you writhe in excruciating pain and pray to your fool of a God with your last breath.

I thought that was you!

[belovedbythenight]

Hn. I sincerely doubt your quest to end mankind was little more than "proverbial icing". It sounded more akin to throwing a temper tantrum-- over and over again.

[young_nobleman]

[The fact that he was expected is both thrilling and vexing at the same time. The latter takes over, as it always does, the very moment Walter speaks his name. That used to be a sound that he adored, and it sickens him that somewhere, even though it's twisted with that infuriating mocking lilt, it still is.

Of course, as much as he tries to steel himself, it never fails to get a rise out of him any time Walter accuses him of treason. It's a perfect, masterful hit to countless weak spots all at once, rendering him helpless to stop his reactions.

Everything after that is reflex. His swords change position from defensive to offensive and he speaks before he can stop himself.]

Not only are you still completely delusional, but you've apparently forgotten who it is you're talking to. In that case, let me remind you, sire -- if I wanted to run you through, there would be no trying involved.

Yeah I made a DM post not too long ago and was going to app to a game but it closed down temporarily

[vampire_killer]

I conquered your castle, I vanquished you, and I fought back against Death himself. My faith in God merely serves as a foundation, it's my convictions that will see me through. That and my beloved Sarah.

[Don't make him crack his whip at you, Walter. Seriously. He'll do it.]

[belovedbythenight]

[It garners precisely the reaction Walter wants-- the one he anticipates. Part of this has become just another game to him: a twisted way to find amusement. Behind the ever-present smirk, however, is a man whose obsession has convinced him that what he says is true. That Joachim has betrayed him and would inevitably continue to do so if he were to let his guard down.

This is a game he knows how to play all too well. He knows Joachim's buttons and has become savage enough to press them in cruel combinations. Even when the swords shift to a more threatening appearance, Walter's fanged grin only grows wider.]

Perhaps you've not spent long enough in that prison of yours. You are still insubordinate as ever. [He extends his arms out on either side, palms up.] You are welcome to take a shot if that's what you wish, but it will end no better for you than it did the last you had the gall to attack me.

[young_nobleman]

[He knows Walter is toying with him. During their courtship, it was just a playful tease; friendly banter that was laced on all sides with a very genuine affection. It's the juxtaposition between that memory and the reality he's currently faced with that has driven him past mere irritation and right into a ceaseless rage that burns at its core with an unspeakable sorrow. It's moments like these where he can almost replay the progression of events in his mind. He remembers how he watched the light fade from his partner's eyes day by day. He marvels at how easy it was for the man he loved -- the person he gave up his humanity for -- to choose researching the Crimson Stone over enjoying the respite they'd waited so long to find. Most of all, he recalls how he felt the chill of distance settle between them, long before his supposed "betrayal".

In the end, the distance won, forcing him to a place that was colder and more isolated than anything he'd ever known. He thought he was safe there, but every time Walter looks at him -- every time he hears that voice, the frozen barrier he puts up for everyone else melts away.

Still, his eyes narrow, just faintly glowing.]

I was imprisoned long before I ever made it to the Palace.

[As much as he hates to admit it, Walter is right. As he is now, Joachim doesn't stand a chance. Of course, that doesn't mean he has to let his guard down.]

This is neither the time nor the place for me to destroy you, but rest assured, your end is near. I'll take care of the Belmont myself if I have to.

Your life belongs to me. That is a claim that I won't relinquish for anyone.

[belovedbythenight]

A pity. [Walter draws in a breath and sighs it out in a bored fashion, his arms fluidly falling back to his sides. He even turns his back to him for a moment, a gesture that might have originally indicated trust, but was now only a mockery-- a silent taunt that said Joachim was no threat to him.] I had hoped you might entertain me for a bit.

[And he stays that way for a moment, staring fixedly at the empty space before him. He is far too gone, far too comfortable to see anything but power and his own superiority on the surface. Somewhere, buried where even the brightest of things cannot breach the shadow, he knows those claims are not unfounded. He watched Joachim grow as a vampire and he can sense it now: his strengthening power. This man is a force to be a reckoned with. Once, he would have been proud.

Now, he is only drawn to the mere idea of Joachim's power.

He faces the other vampire at last, whatever reverie Walter had been engrossed in long gone. One step towards Joachim, then another, daring to test the rage he can practically smell, roiling in his chest. A hand raises, brushing back stray strands of silver hair, his fingertips deliberately grazing the side of his face with the motion. Even now, the younger vampire is a beautiful sight to behold. In the end, however, Walter's actions are but a cruel, empty imitation of affection he once gladly gave.]

Powerful words, indeed-- but words are not enough. Save them for when you may pose something of a challenge to me. It will make things far more dramatic.

Any lord with a drawl like Walter's deserves to have the most inflated of egos. ;)

[sixthanimorph]

If you say so. But you're not the first guy I've met who said he was a king. What makes you different from them?

... Besides those wicked boots, I mean.

[young_nobleman]

[The fact that Walter turns his back on him unlocks a wave of overlapping emotions so strong that it's hard to discern which one is which before another takes over. It momentarily blinds him, the idea that Walter would think so little of his power that he felt he could no longer regard him at all.

He knows it's petty. He knows it's childish and impulsive and beneath him to give into such urges, but he can't help it. As the anger builds inside him, one of his swords begins to glow, pulsing with a bright purple energy -- a sign that his power has vastly increased since they last met. Of course, why wouldn't it? All he's done in that prison is think. All it's done is consume him more and more with every waking moment, fueling his drive and focus. In many ways, his fixation is no different from Walter's own.

The moment his sire turns, Joachim is all too ready to strike, but before he can, Walter moves closer. That motion -- bold and precise as Walter had always been -- shocks Joachim so much that he freezes. The closing distance between them triggers so many reactions that his body can't decide which order to follow.

If he still possessed a heartbeat, surely it would have skipped at that moment. The adrenaline that follows is just enough to keep his reaction in check as he feels the chill of Walter's gauntlet against his cheek. It's rage, pure and simple -- a marked, knee-jerk discomfort that makes him want to shudder and recoil -- but it's rage that hides something more. Deep below the flames of anger, there's a faint spark in the darkness that belongs to something much more insatiable: desire. In their brighter days, they were frequently found touching in some capacity. Even the smallest gestures -- much like the one Walter had chosen to employ just now -- were incredibly comforting. He'd never been much for being close to other people, but it didn't take long for him to become addicted to the security of his partner's touch.

The mockery of the affection that he still longs for in spite of himself is enough to make his blood boil.

As a result, he moves to jerk his head away from the touch, only to find his gaze seized by Walter's.

Those eyes...

Admittedly, he falters. There's a distinct sound in the distance as the sword he was charging is plunged into a spot on the wall straight ahead. He hasn't been this close to those eyes in what must have been years, and all this time he's remembered every detail about them. He recalls clearly every time he watched them light up when Walter laughed, the way they smouldered after a kiss, and even the look of worry when they had almost been discovered. He's even grown sickeningly familiar with the darkness that's settled in; the shadows that have extinguished the light he so dearly cherished.

In that thought, something in his expression subtly shifts, and for a split second, something incredibly broken reflects in his own eyes.

Instead of getting riled up, he does something he rarely allows himself to do in front of Walter anymore.

He laughs.

It's not loud and triumphant, or low and mocking. Instead, it's quiet and bittersweet.]

Words never were enough for you, were they?

[He asks, remembering the day he'd been labeled a traitor. A disagreement had escalated into a physical confrontation, but there was a moment in the middle when he tried to get through to Walter. Their gazes locked then, just as they did now, and he told him how much he loved him, pleading with him to listen to reason. Naturally, it mattered then as much as it would now. It was the first time that Walter didn't reciprocate those words.

Joachim hadn't spoken them since.

The glimpse of what lies beneath the frostbite fades almost as quickly as it had come; melting seamlessly into a flippant look of what could almost be described as disinterest as he moves away from that touch, though it almost physically pains him to do so.]

Either way, it doesn't matter. That arrogance of yours is going to work to my advantage, so by all means, keep turning your back to me.

[When he finally reaches a reasonable distance, the sword in the wall returns, joining the others to rotate around him.]

You should be an expert at that by now.

[belovedbythenight]

[Time seems to crawl to a stop in that moment when their eyes lock. Walter expected quite a reaction-- one of intense rage. He expected Joachim's temper to unfurl and climb to a violent retaliation. What he got was not what he expected. There was ice and darkness where Walter's heart should have been to be sure, but something pulled in his chest when he caught that fleeting look of utter brokenness.

It was a foreign feeling. One that he had not felt in... a very long time.

But it did not reach his eyes and something else denied him the memory of when he last felt a pang like that. It was swiftly buried under his conviction and the reminder that Joachim was the traitor. He deserved whatever demons haunted him in his prison.

He is reasonably unaffected when Joachim finally jerks away, but there is a subtle change in his own expression. It's a little less vicious somehow, yet he more than makes up for it in certainty and pride. He tips his chin upward, looking down his nose at the other.]

One would think all that time in your prison would have sorted out the truth. [The remark is punctuated by a scoff.] But you always have been a stubborn one. Need I remind you that you were the one to turn your back on me? I gained enough power to ward off those who would get in our way, yet you threw it in my face.

[As Joachim moves away, Walter begins on a path of his own, almost walking parallel to the other.]

Of anyone, I expected you would show me the most loyalty.

[And yet, the irony of those words was that Joachim had been the only one to show him true loyalty: to try and stop him from going down a fool's path before it was too late.]