Tibet - Calling on a Pact

[Alena Wulf]

The sun was setting, crawling sickly under the Himalayan Mountains as the plane descended into Gonggar airport a day after Alena got Szandor's call with the news of Pablo and Lucia's disappearance. The Mother of Lycanthropy had spent the entire flight to Tibet brooding in the aisle seat, her arms folded sternly across her chest, boring a hole into the seat in front of her with her eyes. Any interactions by the air attendants were met with hateful glares, or were ignored; Szandor knew to do most of the talking for her when it came to Humans.
Leaving the airport, a pungent aroma arose, assaulting Alena; a smell of stagnant water and many bodies movies about. The last food were being sold and stands packing up as the sea of tourists began to dwindle out in the city. Alena scowled at the inhabitants, leading the way to a pedicab service that would take them to the local Buddhist monastery.
The choice to come here first, had not been an easy one to make at the beginning. Pablo was missing, one of Alena's most trusted Lieutenants, and of the most feared by Vampyres; and with him, her youngest daughter, Lucia, had also disappeared. The Lycan Queen could not remember the last time she had been this genuinely pissed off. It had to have been Dane, or whoever that other Vampyre he was with when they lit up Sweden. And they would pay. Every low-life, blood-sucking addict she came across would pay for their transgressions.
First, though, another ally had to be gathered. Years ago, Alena had met with a Hunter, a Vampyre Hunter, by the name of Xhel. The Hunter had come to her by his own will, seeking a partnership with the Lycan race. He would provide information about the Vampyre's movements and his service, aiding in the war against the blood-suckers, and in return all he wanted was to go unharmed and for Madrid, Spain to be emptied of Werewolf occupation. One little city in Spain was all this man wanted in return for laying down his life and knowledge at Alena's feet. It was an offer she couldn't refuse; she never cared much for Spaniards to begin with, and if she ever had the urge to hunt there, all she'd have to do is wait for Xhel to kick the bucket, whether naturally or not. Geoff knew she was not beyond killing Humans.
Since making the deal with this Human, Alena had kept an eye on him, making sure she could always find him if she needed, and that he was holding up his end of the deal. The number for Xhel that Alena had in her phone had not worked, but it only took two phone calls to the Werewolves she'd had watching the Hunter from a distance to let her know where the man had gone. It seemed Xhel had hung up his belt and retired from the strenuous life of a Hunter, residing now in some monastery in the ass-end of the world. The sentiment was amusing; thinking he could just get away from the Big Bads in hopes of forgetting, moving on and living a normal life. Alena had learned that Xhel had not been fighting the good fight for a while. Yet, the reason this Human was so important now, was because Xhel was her Wolf Lord, Pablo's, cousin. Surely hearing that his beloved cousin had been kidnapped by the very race he'd fought so long to extinguish would be enough to bring this Hunter out of retirement. And Alena wanted to see it. That the man had resigned his Hunting days was all the more exciting: how much harder would he fall back into his old ways for the sake of his cousin? Gods, it would be glorious. The sheer amount of impending Vampyre deaths made her mouth water and was almost enough to lift her exceptionally dark spirits. A sadistic smile curled up one side of her mouth, "Heh."
The pedicab took the duo just outside the city before dropping them off, spouting some excuse in a language Alena considered too primitive to bother learning. The Werewolf Queen stepped easily out of the pedicab, her long coat brushing against her boots and the ground and look out in the direction the monastery was said to be. Out in the distance, she could make out the darkening silhouette of what she presumed to be the building, and lead the way, trekking for over a kilometer before passing through the gates of the monastery property.
Bald men in orange uniforms flitted around the quiet property, preparing for the end of their day and for sleep as Alena made her way to the base of the stairs to the main establishment, shadowed by her ever faithful Szandor. It was too late in the night for any tours to be going on, and the majority of the people around seemed to belong to the monastery. Alena and Szandor were clearly outsiders here, but that was just fine. The light hairs on the back of Alena's neck subtly stood on end, and she reclined her neck, looking to the sky, emitting a long, foreboding howl. The Wolf Mother did not need to shift to communicate with her wolves or to mimic their cry. Xhel would know this way.

[Xhel]

This had been his home now for about a couple years now; an ancient monastery full of empty bald men, many of them old. It was strange really, how after a lifetime dominated by violence and death he found himself in a place ruled by spirituality and peace. Not a day went by where he didn't think about it and the events that lead him here. He was once the greatest hunter on Earth, a mere human feared by both lycans and vampires. It wasn't very humbling, especially for a man who already had a very ego to begin with, in time he believed himself untouchable. It wasn't the best trait for a man who had many enemies among both of the ancient races and marked the beginning of what should have been the end. His life was unfortunately riddled with misfortune; he had lost quite nearly his entire family, his once bustling orphanage of future would be hunters had an alumni death rate of 90%, and to top it off his sole living family member was turned into one of them; a lycan, what he once incorrectly believed to be the lesser of two evils.

He found two ways to cope with the pain; God, vengeance and like his cousin never opening up romantically to anyone. The former had come to him one night, in a dream when he was only 14. Shortly after the death of his family. There was no perfect way to describe a God-sent message, but it could be summed up. In return for his undying loyalty, Xhel was promised the guidance needed to vanquish the Earth of its dark creatures. Something that the two of them wanted to see done. Xhel at first never questioned his God. Not when Pablo was turned into a lycan, not when every single one of his apprentices were turned or killed and not even when he found himself in the chains of his enemies. With an unquestionable devotion he lived his life, always truly expecting it to end with his death. It never happened and life went on, every day was spent killing the creatures of the night. Lycans and vampires alike weren't safe from him. Even when he made his pact with Alena the occasionally lycan would meet death at his hands; all it took was being a little more sneaky than usual. There reached a point where he began to enjoy killing vampires and lycans. A point where with God at his side he believed himself capable of anything. He was capable of keeping himself alive, six years of creature hunting at this point was more than enough proof, so why did he have to do it alone? And while there was the constant reminder that he was endangering anybody who got close to him. Yet, despite the constant nagging his faith in both himself and God reached a point where he believed he could protect a loved one.

It was not two week later that he met her; a woman who was far too like himself, her family had befallen the same fate as his and now she fought the good fight. He remembered the night they'd met very clearly; it was in a club in Paris. After locking eyes from across the room and a few minutes on the dance floor she lead him outside. Xhel of course the whole time was looking for the kill. This was a prime example of vampires looking for easy prey. As he stepped outside she wrapped an around his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Knowing that the move for the throat came shortly after he slipped a stake from his pocket into his hands and drove it into her side. The last thing he expected was having one simultaneously shoved into his side. Neither of them turned into dust, instead they fell onto their behinds in laughter, while spending the rest of their night bandaging the wounds and picking out splinters. Shortly after marked the very first time the hunter had fallen in love. She was perfect for him, somebody who understood what he felt, was capable of protecting herself, and last of all she was drop dead gorgeous. The fight continued, but now he wasn't alone. Alone Xhel was hell for the dark creatures, but now with a partner he was unstoppable.

Two years had gone by and he found himself getting married. The wedding wasn't very grandeur, it was quite the opposite and only had one guest; Pablo. None the less it made the hunter very happy. Things get worse before they get better... and for him they were finally getting better. However, if one did the math they could see that his marriage began only a year before moving into the monastery. Needless to say life was about to become difficult for him... and it did.


On the day that should have been their first anniversary Xhel found himself at the end of his trek across Asia. The man stood at the base of the stairs leading into the monastery. He needed to find peace within himself; he only felt pain and failure. Everything had gone terribly wrong, she was dead, though his belief in God was not dead, his will to follow was as well as the strength he drew from his deity. To make it worse he blamed himself... Xhel had tried forcing her name out of his mind, if he didn't think of her name he wouldn't think of her, right? Her death had sent him on a rampage, a week consisting of no sleep and the deaths of at least a hundred vampires and lycans. It ended with him collapsing in exhaustion, the day after was marked by him leaving Europe. He wanted to escape the mess he'd gotten himself into.


One year later and the hunter had made great strides. He'd arrived at the monastery weak, thin and sickly. Yet over the year he had recovered his strength. He had stopped blaming himself... and now started blaming the God who had abandoned him. All he needed to push through life was her and yet he couldn't even have that. The anger was still there... though through years of training it managed to never surface. It was buried deep, but not nearly as deep as his other emotions. Through the teaching of the monks he'd learn much throughout the year. His greatest discovery was the amount of strength a man could draw from within. Where once he drew strength from God he now drew from his own spirit.


The present day-currently bare-chested Xhel sat upright with his legs crossed as he reflected on his life. Though he was not necessarily happy now... at least he was at peace. It was peace that would not last long though, there was a storm coming. He could not feel it now, but he had only a few weeks ago. It came in the form a vision during meditation; a refreshing change to the God-sent dreams. However, these were far less complicated but as a result more vague. The vision was simple; he'd seen a full moon before it was quickly enveloped by a large flock of bats. He knew what it meant or at least what each thing stood for. That part was obvious. Yet even then he sought insight into the vision through the help of the eldest monk. Much to his surprise the monk had said something more or less along the lines of "Prepare yourself; this marks the return of the two most vile creatures into your life, the vampire and the werewolf. Fear not though, as we will stand by your side honored guest." That was more or less a rough translation; he had still yet to master the language.

It had confirmed his suspicion, but that wasn't the remarkable part. The fact that the monk knew about these creatures and that they were once an important part of his life was rather interesting. Something that prompted future investigation, he wanted to know everything the monks could teach him. He had of course shrugged off the whole bit about them standing by his side. There was no way he would let that happen, to say they would be slaughtered was an understatement. Sure there were some young monks; a few were even on his level of physical fitness but-

And there it was... a howl marking their return, breaking his train of thought. Now and like this? It was far too soon. He'd assumed the return would follow Pablo's annual visit next week. Jumping onto his feet Xhel snatched up his neatly folded orange robes and slipped them on. Calmly he made his way to the source of the noise, down the stairs. He didn't want to be concerned... but the howl was full of anger and hate. This was not his cousin arriving a week early. He saw them at the bottom of the stair case. Alena AND Szandor? He showed no concern though, his heart didn't skip a beat, instead he calmly walked right by them. He continued walking... leading them away from the town and monastery and into forested mountains. What could prompt two of the strongest lycans in existence to visit him? Where they finally going to try to kill him? Surprisingly a smirk crept up on his face. If that was the case he was going to give them a hell of a time. "Why are you here?" His voice was calm... though his insides weren't. He could feel the adrenaline and rush coming back... the worse of it all was that nothing had even happened yet. Hiding the smirk on his face he turned around to face his visitors.

[Alena Wulf]

(Co-conspired by Szandor and Alena Wulf)

Alena gazed coldly at the Human as he passed by them and turned knowingly to follow, walking boldly behind the man, studying this Hunter she hadn't seen in person for years. There was definitely a quietness about him that hadn't been there before, he seemed more calm than their first encounter; it suited him well and complimented the confidence this man had always displayed. That didn't mean Alena respected him, however.
Following close behind, Szandor kept a respectful distance from his Mistress, but watched Xhel's movements intently. He's bluffing, my Queen. Our presence disquiets him. It's faint, but I sense it. He kept his actions and facial expression subtle so as not to betray his mental conversation to the Human.
Szandor's comment went unresponded to; Alena already knew Xhel was not entirely as calm as he was coming off as. She was the Queen of an entire race of savage, flesh-hungry beasts; her sudden appearance should be enough to make anyone soil themselves. The air around her was electric, brimming with fire and energy.
Xhel barely got his question out before Alena was on him. With one hand around the man's throat, Alena squeezed slightly and dug her nails into his flesh, lifting him off the ground, You think you can fool me, Hunter? Her thoughts entered his mind like icy venom. Your life is mine, and by rights I should end it. Did you think I would leave a Hunter to his own devices without having any insurance? You can't kill a messenger without having someone find out. You will pay for the Lycan blood on your hands. Alena glared coolly up at Xhel, but just like that, dropped him back to his feet. "You can start paying it back right now." Crossing her arm, the Wolf Mother stared at the Hunter. "Your beloved cousin has been captured by the Vampyres. He was without any of his direct peers and as such, his packmates will be punished for their negligence, but first, we must get him back."

[Xhel]

It was strange that no matter the countless times he didn't break; the most powerful lycans and vampires believed they could intimidate him. Sure maybe the strongest living being on Earth had a hand around his throat, but what was this the fifth time? If it didn't work the first four times, hopefully one would believe it wouldn't work the fifth. His heart though was beating very quickly, but he wasn't nervous or concerned over his own safety. He felt excitement, simply from being around these all mighty creatures. Even as she tightened her grasp and lifted him off the grab he didn't show an ounce of fear. Instead he managed to keep the same expressionless face as he stared into the lycan's eyes. Receiving her mental message was uncomfortable to say the least, it almost sent chills down his spine... almost. It wasn't a means of communications meant for humans, but there was comfort in the thought he could shut her out at any moment. He'd been taught a technique, but was given fair warning that it may draw aggression.

Ignore the wincing pain, slow your breathing, and distract yourself. His heat slowly returned to a more regular pace as his mind wandered elsewhere. Maybe he wasn't scared but they or at least Alena would get satisfaction knowing that her presence was at least off putting. There was no way he could allow that. Upon being let go he gracefully landed on both feet. Calmly he brushed his shoulders and ran a hand down his neck length brown hair. "I'm sorry that you feel that way." He replied vaguely and quite sarcastically once realizing he ignored half of what the wolf Queen had to say. His lack of focus though quickly changed; there was no way he could ignore that. It was the one thing that could get to him now... his cousin's safety and it seemed to hit him in a soft spot. His blank expression was now a stern scowl as he stared down the wolf. There was obviously more to this, but his mind was too blurred by anger to realize at the moment. "Pray that I find my brother in one piece. If not there's going to be hell for everybody." With that he sharply turned around and made way to a nearby bush. Leaning over he reached both hands into and pulled out two shovels. Xhel tossed the spare one to Szandor while aligning himself with the bush. He took 10 steps forward and five to the right before shoving his shovel into the dirt. "Help me dig." The hunter glanced at the male wolf and then back to Alena. He began his digging. "I hope that you have a plan or that you'll give me the information I need to make one."

[Szandor Colden]

"Heh," Alena scoffed slightly as the Hunter's expression abruptly changed, staring hatefully back at Xhel. His threat meant nothing to her. She was going to get Pablo and Lucia back no matter what; Xhel's involvement in this, for her, was purely for the added carnage against the Vampyres. The Mother of Werewolves watched in amusement as Xhel threw a shovel to Szandor and asked for help. Go ahead, help the poor creature. There was derisive feeling in her words, and she smirked subtly to Szandor.

Out of instinctive reflex, Szandor caught the shovel in air as it was tossed his way. Clenching slightly, Szandor set his jaw, looking callously at Xhel. He watched as the hunter located the area he was looking for and drive his shovel into the ground. As Alena's message entered his mind, he growled softly, throwing the shovel to the ground. Though he wondered what the hunter could be digging up, his curiosity was not enough to lower himself to helping the human dig, or to go against his Mistress' desires.
You tell him.
Szandor glanced over to his Queen, nodding slightly as he received her command, and turned his attention back toward Xhel, "We have strong reason to believe the Vampire Dane was behind your cousin's disappearance. Pablo was injured during his capture, but since he's been taken, we don't believe he was or will be harmed mortally. Yet." Szandor paused for a moment, meeting Alena's eyes once more, and upon getting consent, returned to watching the hunter dig. "It is most likely that he is being held in the Vampire mansion in London. This is a place you should know well; you gave my Queen information and blueprints of the building years ago. Seeing as Dane has claimed the title of the Vampire's King, he is likely staying on either the 4th or 5th floor with the largest rooms. There are also cells in each of those rooms. My Queen believes he will be in either of those rooms, as opposed to the dungeons the Vampires seem to have in their basement. A daytime raid would be the most beneficial, but if we're barging into the Vampire King.... Dane's room, conflict will be expected. My Queen wonders if you will be able to handle fighting the self-proclaimed Vampire King."

(written by Szandor and Alena)

[Xhel]

Rude... Xhel eyed the shovel lazily as it bounced off the dirt. Somebody seemed to be in a bad mood... in fact he would go as far as saying they're both in fairly bad moods; at least more than usual. They must have been fairly annoyed at Pablo's capture or really disliked Xhel. It was probably a combination of the two. All though it did seem like they weren't telling him everything. When hunting vampires or lycan you have to develop the ability to sense when somebody is lying. In the Alena's case, if she wasn't lying to Xhel the she wasn't talking to him. Clearly that was not the case. He continued his shoveling; dumping all of the dirt in the direction of the two lycans, yet never flinging it hard enough to hit either one. "You know I was hoping for a little help so I wouldn't hold us up." He stopped his shoveling to look at the two lycans. "This seems more or less like an emergency." Xhel went back to work. It was at least in a way soothing; he was no longer angry over his cousin's capture. Worried? Hell yes, but getting angry wasn't going to help. Besides it was important to remember who exactly they were holding prisoner. How many times had his cousin been snatched up by some group of people? At least 3, how many times had he broken out? At least 3. For heaven sakes what type of cell could hold a twelve foot tall lycan?

He listened intently as the boy toy spoke. This changed matters by a bit. First of all it would have been nice if knew about the vampire. "Dane..." He said the name as if it was unfamiliar. "I do not recognize the name." Now that was cause for concern. Normally it would mean the vampire isn't powerful. But, if he managed to become vampire king then it meant at least one thing, he had strength and plenty of it. "Oh I remember." It was difficult not to, the agreement came during his first meeting with Alena. She was naked at the time, making it very difficult to forget. "I've been kept in one of those cells." Thunk, as he went to dig up more dirt the shovel made contact with an object. "I'll need to know more information about this vampire." He quickly removed the top lair of dirt, only a strap revealed itself. For him that was more than enough. "And do you honestly think a vampire king worries me? I've fought two, each at least once. Want to know how many times they've killed me? Want to know how many times I've killed them? Both zero, but at the end that means we have the same score." He reached into the hole with one hand to grab the strap. Drawing into his inner strength the ex-hunter pulled with all his might, gloriously yanked out of the dirt and sending said dirt in every direction was a fairly large gym bag. "I'm not scared." A dirt covered Xhel threw the bag's strap around his neck. "Are we ready to go? I am." He patted the bag fondly, "Everything I need to kill an army of vampires"... and lycans, packed and buried for him nearly a year ago by his loving cousin Pablo. He made sure to keep that thought secret, these two certainly wouldn't be happy knowing their beloved lycan provided lycan killing equipment. He started heading in the direction of the nearest town, making sure he walked in-between the two dirty lycans.

[Alena Wulf]

Alena did not even bother to pretend to be interested in how many times Xhel had fought Vampyre kings and survived.
The sound of his shovel hitting the earth, digging in, pulling out and slinging dirt was a bit comforting. It felt good to hear metal driving into something firm, something resistant; and of course listening to the digging as itself, brought back images of old. The Wolf Mother watched the dark sky as Szandor told the Hunter what she wanted him to, and the Hunter dug open whatever he'd buried in that small grave of his.
She let Xhel fall in between her and Szandor as he hoisted the large bag over his shoulder and they made for the city.
"He's a Vampyre," as if that was explanation enough, yet she continued, "Power hungry with a particular mean streak." She paused her steps ever so slightly to emphasize her next sentence, "Do not take my words lightly, Hunter," resuming her pace as her point was made.
"It is said he cowed Victor Van Albericht; and while that would normally be counted on my good side for what Victor did to poor Raven, Dane then proceeded to make me a fur coat out of the hide of one of my previous Lieutenants. And that, clearly, was not his latest trespass against me. Pablo may be very capable, but I do not want his hide as my next present from the gracious new king." Nonchalantly, Alena added, "My youngest daughter was also taken by Dane. She is none of your concern; do not bother yourself with rescuing her, as I'm sure you won't. Do not harm her either. I will take care of her myself."