Punishment Gone Wrong.

[Pandora LeAmour]

Tathar Seregon
Pandora LeAmour
Location: The Tower
Time: 3 hours after sunset.

Pandora had technically been up for two hours now, but the lack of a dignifed DayDeath had her dragging. Slowly she forced herself to sit up, the foul mood weighing heavily against an otherwise weightless task. Her mind was much more focused now then it was five hours ago when the Lycan had forced her awake against her natural instint.
Ah yes... That thought alone had Pandora more awake then possible. The Lycan. He had not only entered the Master of the City's private quarters uninvited, but he had forced her to awaken from her DayDeath. He would need to be punished.
Pandora herself didn't relish the idea, but the Master of the City could not let such a disrespectful act go unclaimed, no matter how genuine the intention was to be.
As she began changing for the evening ahead, possible punishments flickered through her mind. Perhaps she could get one of her servants to actually do the deed, for as much an enemy as a Lycan was, she didn't relish harming another unaccepted being. With a shake of her head, Pandora turned to focus on the task at hand. Dressing. One thing at a time...
She selected a red and white light shirt, and fastened a smooth black boddace over it. A pair of men's trousers and work boots, instead of a gown this evening. Afterall, she wasn't trying to lure meals or impress anyone. Her hair, she left down tonight, instead of fastening it up and about with pins. With a final glance downward at her own outfit, Pandora turned her back on her private quarters and took the two story drop to the ground floor of the Tower.
Her limbs straightened and Pandora stood at her full height, hands brushing away the hair that managed to fall over her line of sight during the decend. Then, boots echoing against the stone floor, Pandora crossed the Drop and into the Meeting Room.

His eyes fluttered open, those bright and steely emeralds feeling dry, his lids heavy...He hated that feeling, right after a short power nap. He always felt more tired afterwards than he'd started out to be. Why had he been napping? He'd had nothing better to do. He was still lacking his assistant, and what's more he was too low on materials to do much of anything else. Sad, really, as it was a wasted day in his opinion. Well, all except for the afternoon trist to the Tower...That had been entertaining, to say the least, and he had a feeling that, since the sun was now well below the horizon, that he was in for a rough night

The Smithy was right about that, at least. He was in for a rough night, among other things. The Master of the City's first order of business was to summon him, and thus as she settled down at the table in the Meeting Room, Pandora picked up the blank parchment infront of her and began scribing. It took three different parchment papers before she was finally able to make it seem more professional and less personal. Tossing the two unprofessional ones aside, Pandora called out to one of the NightWorld servants.
"Urgant message for the residential Smithy."
She sealed the message and handed it over, making the servant repeat whom it was for before sending them on their way. The final copy of the letter simply said that his presence was required at the Tower at 9pm on the fifth day of the week. Simple. To the point.
Now all she could do was wait. Pandora toyed with the idea of asking the Queen to come attend this particular meeting, but it was a matter of NightWorld business, and thus really her presence wasn't required. Shame, that. Pandora wasn't looking forward to this particular quality time with the Lycan.

A rapping on his door just as he'd started to make a kettle of tea caught his attention, and he set the beat up kettle to the side, moving to the door to answer. To tell the truth, he had been expecting this, and he sent the messenger away as he opened the missive, scanning it for a moment before going to grab his cloak for the second time this day, donning it and moving off toward the tower. He would be a little late, and no doubt that would look bad on his part, but it couldn't be helped. He wasn't about to go at a fast pace and risk exposing himself within the village itself. He had a very good idea about what this was going to be about. Eventually he reached the back door of the tower, rapping on it for a moment to get William's attention

William was not there to answer the rap at the Tower door, instead an unfamiliar face peered through the small slit and spotted the heavy green cloaked figure. Without saying a word, the Tower door opened, and the man stood aside to allow the Lycan to enter.
"She is waiting for you."
He then waited until the Smithy stepped in, to shut and return the wooden bolt back to the door, effectly locking the outside world out.
Pandora heard all this from her spot in the Meeting Room. She did not, however, rise to greet him. Instead, she remained sitting, her face expressionless hands hidden beneath the table in her lap, until he came into the room.

He nodded to the man, an unfamiliar face and scent indeed....It seemed William did get a chance to sleep after all. Stepping in, his interactions with the new guard over for the moment. He didn't seem to be as friendly as the usual, anyway. He removed the cloak and headed for the meeting room, moving to the table and setting the cloak there until it would be needed againm, standing to his full height and folding his arms across his chest. She was her normal, MotC self, this evening...So completely a business call, then...and from the look of it not a pleasant one
"Evening." [/u]

Pandora followed him with her eyes as he entered the room and placed down his cloak. She continued to watch him as he chose, once again, to stand, his arms coming to fold over his chest. When he spoke, her eyebrows shot up.
"Oh, so he can tell the hour..."
Her voice crisp and sarcastically weighted as if she was completely surprised by this realization.
"I had my doubts."
The Master of the City leaned back in her chair, icy blue eye's staring into the Lycan as if looks could kill. She said not another word, simply sat and watched.

He smirked...Probably not the best option at the time, given the current situation and her mood, but he couldn't help it. She was baiting him again, but for what purpose this time he couldn't fathom. As she stared at him with her dagger-like gaze, he once again chose to look between her eyes rather than at them. Tonight, he had the feeling that she wasn't going to be very playful
"Oh aye, I can tell the hour very well. And unlike many you have dealt with, I will not attempt to make any excuses for my actions, so if there was a particular reason for summoning me here tonight, I would like to know." [/u]

She chose to ignore his entire speech, and instead continued on with the one she had previously rehearsed while awaiting his arrival.
"I'm sorry William could not greet you. I'm afraid he's currently... detained."
Shifting once more, Pandora leaned her elbows on the table infront of her, her fingers interlacing with opposites.
"Exactly as you too shall be momentarily."
Her eye's remained cold, as a Vampire ought to look at a Lycan, or another other betrayed individual.
"However, I am not unreasonable. I understand that you chose your actions in hopes of sparing Williams life, and thus his life has been spared, for the time being."
Tilting her head ever so slightly, Pandora shifted so that she appeared more relaxed when infact, relaxation was far from her agenda.
"And what sort of punishment do you expect for your part in this betrayal?"
The question posed was monotoned, simply a repeat of any other conversation she has had countless times before.
"I have thought of a number of them, but of course, being the fair and honest Master that I am, will take your thoughts into consideration." [/i][/u]

Just as he'd thought....It was punishment time...But at least William was alright....For the most part, but with the way she said it, he was likely suffering as they spoke, but hopefully not too terribly. He pondered over her words for a moment, tapping his foot idly as he thought, as well as scratching his chin. Well, since the situation and mood in here at the moment was rather grim, he chose to opt for a bit of humor...Yes, humor would be good. At least it would be a bright spot for the night
"I've always been quite partial to the rack, now that you mention it. Or the bit with the horses going opposite ways."

She simply gave a brisk nod of her head, her top row of teeth raking slowly over her lower lip as she thought. A moment passed, before she would speak again, but when she did her voice was slightly gentler, yet still quite businesslike.
"I am sure the Royals will allow the use of their horses. The rack, however, is currently in use I'm afraid."
She was completely serious, even though she was fully aware that he had been joking. A Lycan on the rack would have been quite entertaining, though the idea of the horses pleased her ever so slightly. Then again, he was built to heal quickly, even his joints had their fair share of tugs naturally. It simply didn't seem punishable enough. He could heal too quickly to learn the lesson she wished him to.
"However, after careful consideration, both options simply do not seem plausable. Afterall, you shall heal just fine from each. Have you any other suggestions, Lycan?"
It was difficult, to say the least, to sit there discussing his punishment as she does with every individual whom came across her path for this particular reason. She always used to enjoy these conversations moreso then the punishment itself, but with the Lycan, it simply didn't hold it's entertaining aspect quite as well.

Well, at the statement about the rack being in use he began to think he kew what poor William was going through...Though, if that were the case at least he would live. He may be a bit taller, but he would live. As for the horses...well, he was sure that he could out pull them, and if he couldn't, then he'd be none the worse for wear after a few hours, maybe half a day depending on how strong they were....but on her mention that neither were suitable because they would both heal a much more serious expression fell over his features, getting an idea about what she was hinting at
"And would it matter if I did? It seems to me you already have something in mind..." [/b][/color]

Pandora's hands released their grip on each other and she thumped the surface of the table with bare palms.
"A lesson only lasts as long as it's scar, Lycan. Each time you see it, you remember how you came about it, and the punishment, the pain and the lesson itself, flash before you eyes no matter how much time has passed."
She then rose from her chair, and walked slowly around the table towards him, her voice growing quieter as she approached until it was just barely above a whisper.
"It isn't personal, mîn fea wulf. Tis business."
Her steps led her behind where he stood, and past. Slow. Deliberate. Alright, so a little hesent. Until she reached the Meeting Room door, and thus where she paused, waiting for him to come of his own accord.
"The sooner it is finished, the sooner you can leave me and return to the world in which you so hold dear. The sooner business is finished, the sooner you can escape my presence."
If before she thought that the two of them had something more of a platonic relationship between worlds, after today it would no longer exist. It was impossible to inflect pain upon someone intentionally and all be forgiven. Pandora herself hated this notion, but spoke of it to no one. She was Master of the City. It was her duty to enforce the laws on everyone, even those with whom she longed to bypass.

He sneered....Yeah, he had a very good idea about what she was getting at. But he followed nonetheless...Rules had to be observed, and when they were broken, punishments were due. He understood that completely....But he couldn't guarantee that his body would cooperate, especially if this was going the way he feared

She led him into the same quarters in which he used the last time he had spent the night, and slipped the silver chain from the cell door. Stepping aside, Pandora simply waited. If she needed to, she would use the Enchantments that came ready to her. Be it with trickery, mind games, or glamour. Honestly, though, Pandora didn't feel she would need to. He may very well just be a Lycan, but he was respectable. He had showed here without force of hand, knowing what to expect.
"Welcome home."
The first time she ever used his name. It could simply be a sign of trust, or quite the opposite where it was a sign that anything besides business was simply unexceptable. Her face remained expressionless, though her eye's spoke volumes. They told the hidden story of how much she truely hated being Master of the City at a time like this. They whispered how she longed to be able to turn her back on what was to come. Unfortunately, since he would refuse to look in her eyes, all he would see is the cold heartless Master of the City. Pandora wasn't certain which was better.

He entered the cage, for that was exactly what it was to him, and moved to stand in the center, turning to face her once more. He noted not her expression, nor her posture, and nor the tone of her voice, for everything that happened past this point was strictly by the book....and when the time came, he would act accordingly so. Though, it was likely to be undiscernable from acting and truth at that point. He simply nodded, arms folding across his chest once more, and he waited for a few moments, wondering exactly when his punishment was to begin, for if it were simple as confinement such as this then he had it easy....unless she planned on starving him instead

The moment the convicted entered the cage, the executioner as he liked to be called, stepped into the NightWorld quarters, a freshly sharpened silver blade reflecting at his side. The expression on his face was insane, as he grinned like a child on christmas morning. The blade sparkled in the dim candlelight within the small room that held this particular cage, as he twisted the handle back and forth with each one of his steps.
The executioner wasn't exactly as his name intailed. He did not 'kill' but rather tortured, or inflected the punishment in which the Master of the City herself passed down. Pandora knew he was waiting in the shadows, thus when he finally stepped in, she held up her hand as to halt him in his steps.
"Your services will not be needed this time, Ex. I shall handle this one on my own, thank you."
She didn't bother looking over her shoulder to where Ex was undoubtedly frowing at this latest piece of news. Lord knew he loved his job way too much. In Pandora's mind, by inflecting the punishment herself, she was easing the sentence then by simply letting Ex conduct what he did best. He was ruthless, and Pandora simply couldn't stand the thought of anyone else causing the Lycan pain but herself. After all, was that not what they had been doing the past two evenings?
Slowly, she stepped into the cell with Tathar, her eye's watching to see if he would return her gaze. She held nothing in her hands, as her palms turned upward, revealing that they infact were empty.


When the man with the silver sword stepped into view, his eyes fell immediately not to the insane expression on his face, but to that beautiful, but oh so deadly, blade, eyes narrowing as his jaws opened, a threatening growl escaping his lips...It was instinct...Purely driven by the beast within and utterly unavoidable, at least for the moment. When she waved him away, however, he seemed to soften slightly, but his expression would remain mostly the same, even as she entered the cage. Was it an act...? Or was his feral side actually the one she was seeing at the moment? At this point it would be very hard to tell....He was, after all, experienced enough to have a good measure of control over himself and his...talents. He was slightly confused, though....He saw that she carried nothing in her hands, their palms clearly exposed...but she could easily have a dagger of like materials hidden away somewhere, and he began to scent the air to see....To see whether or not he could scent that sharp and tangy smell of silver

(Thus forth, 1 6sided dice establishes contact, strength, and speed)

Sure enough, Pandora had a doublesided dagger attached to a small strap at her hip. She wasn't that insane to enter a cage which occupied a Lycan so close to the Moon Phase. She stood there, completely still, for but a fraction of a second until her hand rose to her hip, not quite hyperspeed, but quick enough so that her movements seemed just a tad too quick for a mortals pace.

He should have known...So trickery was her game tonight, then? Her hand raised to it, to grasp the dagger by the hilt and to no doubt stab him with it, but his body was being fueled by adrenaline, as well as the urge to not be injured by that pained and damned substance, and it almost seemed as if time slowed to a standstill before he couldn't hold it in any longer, his form erupting into an instantaneous shift, every cell within his body burning as calory after calora was used up exceedingly fast to fuel the change at such quick speeds...His form towered, now, bristling with the trademark rough furs of lycans more used to mountainous terrains, hinting at his lineage. Teeth erupted into much larger, and sharper, versions of themselves, and claws erupted from underneath fingernails. Bones snapped and creaked and grew, and muscles stretched and twisted until he was much more a lumbering and feral beast than he had been before, though this time it was his hybrid he had chosen....or had his beast chosen for him? In either case, when the shift was finished, time seemed to melt back into it's normal flow, and his right hand snapped foreward, slicing at the wrist and hip where the knife was located, though not overly hard, the action followed by a deep and rumbling growl((Fast shift to animal))

The change that took place within the cell might as well have only lasted a split second, for Pandora even gifted with the speed of a Master Vampire, hadn't the time to move before the sharp flash of pain errupted from her wrist as the Lycan's claw connected, breaking the skin with some difficulty. It provided a nice long gash across the back of her palm, not deep but obviously forceful enough to actually tear the skin.
The small trickle of blood turned pale skin to an unbecoming read, and Pandora's mouth fell open, the high frequency hiss emitting showing her for what she truely was. Not a girl, not a woman, but a monster. A beast all in itself. Her fingers meant to grip the blade lighter, but instint took over and suddenly the blade itself didn't seem useful. It clattered to the floor of the cell, the sound of it hitting stone lost in the noises that were all to deafening.
Teeth decended the moment the pain hit, and Pandora's eye's flashed from icy blue to the haunting red of a hunter. It was no longer Pandora handing out a punishment, and Tathar taking it. Rather, it had quickly changed to two animals ready to fight to the death.
Pandora did not launch herself at the Lycan, for honestly, who in their right mind would do that willingly? Instead, she stood there, one hand gripping the shallow wound which burned in and of itself as so rarely anything penitrayed the skin, her eye's set deadly on the monster infront of her.
Her movements were painfully slow as she bent to retrieve the silver blade once more.

He....It...watched with a smug look of satisfaction in those now predatory emerald hues, the scent of spilled blood, no matter how cold, filling his senses, and he almost shuddered with the pleasure of it, and then the shrieking hiss hit his ears, an odd sort of mix between a growl and a whine escaping clenched teeth as he tried to force the sound out by flattening his ears to his head, succeeding only minimally. Indeed, here and now they were no longer aquaintances or master and servant...They were creatures who were enemies to the core, always had been and always would be, no matter how they acted when in their human skins. He watched as she moved to reach for the dagger once more, though this time he was not nearly as fast, lashing out with his other hand toward her ribs only after she had already grabbed the weapon and no doubt launched an attack of her own

She did indeed retrieve the blade and form a counter attack, even while he lashed out at her once more. The silver blade struck towards the chest of the Lycan, getting mixed up between the lashing arm, and the fur which clearly didn't make it an easy target. Barely a scratch was made, though with silver, it didn't matter if it was a scratch or a gutting, it would cause discomfort at the very least. It wouldn't leave a perminate scar, but it was the here and now that mattered most.
The cage suddenly seemed all too small, and the punishment in which she invisioned clearly wasn't going the way she had planned. Perhaps she would have been better off leaving it to Ex to handle, but Pandora was a woman of pride. She would not admit defeat until her own strength failed her. With her fingers closing tightly on the handle of the small dagger, prepaired for another strike.

The beast grew angry at the fact that his strike had missed, cursing himself for being so slow and clumsy, and a deafening roar issued forth from his toothy maw as the blade of silver cleaved his skin, hot blood spurting momentarily from the wound. It burned, almost unbearably so, and it worked him into a rage. The close quarters did not bother him in the least...no, it gave him an advantage. It meant the prey couldn't run, it couldn't hide...It would have to match him toe to toe and move for move, and in this case the prey was her. He dropped to all fours, claws digging in against the stone floor before launching himself at her, attempting to give a good swipe to her stomach this time, and with momentum. But the small area deterred that, and he had to recalculate at the last second to keep from sending himself hurtling straight foreward to the silver chain on the door, thus taking away from the speed and power of his strike greatly

His reign on the previous launch strike gave Pandora the slightest of openings, and instead of using the sharp edge of the dagger to swipe at him once more, clear to this point that she wasn't willing to use her full strength nor speed against him, Pandora instead flipped the dagger around so that her fingers gripped the blades edge, her arm darting out to force the silver 'P' that composed the handle of the dagger into his chest, perscisly where his heart was located. The close quarters, the fur, and the speed in which he moved all played a considerable part of the movement, and thus even as she honestly tried, the force in which the silver P made contact wasn't nearly enough to even send him budging from his spot. Given the position she was now in, Pandora had but one defense maganism to depend on. She rigged her bodymuscles in hopes of being prepaired for what was clearly to come.

His miscalculation almost cost him dearly...That cursed silver menace making contact, but thankfully didn't make it through his fur...Though, admittedly that spot would no doubt have mange-like symptoms until after the moon phase was complete. He wanted to see her break, now...He wanted to see her fall, and since he was still on all fours as he had landed he took the opportunity to swing his forearm up and to the side, trying to slam her in the ribs. His strike was decently fast, but given the cramped quarters he wasn't alloted enough space for a full swing, so it was slower than he would have liked. The power behind it, though, given the fact that it was so close to his center of mass, was quite satisfactory, and he gave a cruelly taunting bark

The surprised grunt escaped her lips before Pandora even had the chance to move. The force cut off the hiss she otherwise would have made, as the Lycan's monsterious forearm caught her squarely in the ribs, and lifted her up off her feet, only to crash down on the cramped quarters of the cage, landing on her side. That, thankfully, would heal, but she needed to feed in order for any of that to actually work. For now, unfortunately, she was stuck with the pain and the possibility of a few shattered ribs.
Her recovery was snappy, not quite full speed, but pretty damn good for being knocked outta her stockings. The blade was busted, uselessly lying on the floor in two seperate peices, and thus the Vampires instincts took over and she lauched for him, fangs barred. She hadn't wanted to hurt him anymore then necessicary, but at this moment, she was acting merely out of the safety for her own arse.
Her nails did their job at fastening her around his neck, as her teeth sank in past fur, into the flesh.

He took satisfaction in the fact that he had caused her pain..that he had damaged her...One of the many differences between their kinds was this simple fact....Lycans didn't mind pulverizing their prey...The more of a mess made, the better...That made the meal easier to swallow, after all, and the uselessness of the dagger was just an aded bonus...for now he didn't have to worry about that incessant burning pain it would otherwise have caused...But he hadn't expected her recovery from his blow to be this fast....A mistake on his part, from lack of experience, having never battled a master vampire before, Her claws sunk in, as well as her fangs, and he roared out in both surprise and pain both, and as a last ditch effort, since she was sapping of his blood, meaning she was sapping his strength, he hurdled himself at the wall, hoping to smash her form between his and the stone. But his step faltered, and he only got it half way, doing damage to himself as well. His vision was blurring by this point, reddened froth appearing at the corners of his mouth as the blow apparently damaged something within him causing him to bleed

His miscalculation which resulted in each of them being wounded, worked to her advantage. Taking the briefest of moments in which his vision blurred, Pandora quickly untangled herself and retreated from the cage. She, of course, closed the cage behind her, gripping hold of the bars to keep herself on her feet. The punishment had delt each of them enough damage, just as she had suspected it would. Of course, she moreso pictured herself winning and the only damage inflected on her was that of her emotional support, but just then, gripping the outside of the bars on the cage, while her fingers roughened to drape the silver chain across, Pandora knew that the punishment had gone a little more physical in her direction.
She didn't bother locking the gate, as the silver itself would prevent him from coming after her while he was still in Lycan form, however would permit him the ability to get out when he received this disposible thumbs again. She backed up, her eye's watching Tathar for what he really was, until she bumped against the wall. Sliding down, Pandora landed on her butt with a quit thump, her legs sprawling out infront of her.
Eventually, if she was lucky, someone would wander in to see what was taking so long, and would realize that she was wounded. The only way for a Vampire to truely heal, was with two steps. The first, would be to feed. The blood built up the body's ability to heal, allowing a vampire to mend cuts, gashes and even bones considerably quicker then that a mere mortal could do.
The second, was to sleep. To sleep and allow the heals to form without moving and thus running the risk of tearing them open again. She couldn't feed, and thus the pain was too great to even make the trip to one of the Feeding rooms, or even her own quarters. For now, the Master of the City was just as trapped as Tathar was, only it wasn't a cage that held her captive. Instead, it was the mere weakness of a Vampire whom had been injured in battle.
If she were lucky, IF she hadn't damanged the friendship with the Lycan beyond repair, when he recovered and had transformed back into his human form, he would notice the shape in which she was currently in and on his way out, maybe, just maybe, he'd bring it to someones attention so that they would come and feed her, move her to her private quarters and let her sleep until her wounds were healed.

He barely noticed as she slipped off of his form and out of the cage, though the tinkling of the silver chain did indeed draw his attention, and he sluggishly turned his head to watch as she leaned against the bars, eyes narrowing as he'd once more locked onto the form of his enemy and prey, only to be seperated by thick iron bars and such a simple thing as a chain of sparkling silver. His form turned to her, watching as, in her moment of weakness, she slumped to the floor, and he made to step foreward. Was he thinking of trying to get at her still...to finish the deed? Or was he actually in control of his actions and trying to come to her aid? That would have to go unknown, at least for now, as his step once again faltered. He bellowed once more, lips pulled back in a snarl, a slight gurgling to it as blood seeped out of his maw, and he slumped to the floor himself, drawing rasping breaths as his form slowly began to shift back into his normal, human seeming self