And The Hunt Begins

[Shinigami]

Click. Snap. Click. Snap. Click. Snap.

The sound of Asher opening and closing his pocket watch was obviously annoying the well dressed woman standing nearby trying to wave down a cab. He was too excited about his current job to give a damn. Asher was leaning against the outside of a fancy apartment building trying to be inconspicuous. Well, at least not to look as if he were staking out the building's entrance to find a gap in the doorman's routine and line of sight. There was a cold wind whipping through the city, so his high-necked trench coat hid the strangeness of his clothing, as well as his face mask, so most people ignored him or quickly went about their business.

This new job was a big one, and he was getting paid a lot of money. His employer, whose name he didn't know, wanted him to eradicate a rather nasty branch of a vampire family know as the Neri Family. He had dug through every old file he had access to, but he just didn't have enough information. What he did know, was that the family split some time ago and the two branches were not friendly towards one another. Asher also found that the "good" side of the family had a great deal more information about where he could find the other side.

Asher knew that the head of the "good" side of the family wouldn't give him the time of day if he tried, so he was aiming for the daughter, Gwendolyn. It was doubtful that she would just buzz him up, and that didn't seem like it would be very much fun anyway, so he was sneaking into her penthouse apartment.

The doorman stepped out towards the street to help the elderly lady that just exited the building flag down a cab. Asher tucked his pocket watch away and quickly made for the door, being careful to keep his hat (a weathered fedora) tilted low to obscure his face from any camera lurking around the lobby. He took the stairs, not willing to wait for an elevator and he knew it would be the least likely place to be spotted. People really were lazy these days.

The door to the penthouse level was locked from the other side, but Asher easily forced the lock with a pocket knife. He expected the door to the suite itself to be locked as well, so he brought his lock-picking set for this door, taking a few moments longer than necessary to make sure he was quiet.

Just as Asher started pushing the door open he heard shouting coming from deeper in the apartment. Curious, he slid through the house towards the area he assumed to be reserved for sleeping quarters. Maybe it was a lover's quarrel? Whether it was or not, by the sheer volume it sounded interesting, and luckily it looked like the door to the room was open. Once he got a peek inside, he was definitely glad he had taken this job.

'Well, now isn't this one feisty.' Asher was smirking behind his mask as he took in the sight before him. 'I wonder what she'll do when I approach her.' He knew better than to underestimate a potential opponent, but he had forgone most of his weaponry as a show of good faith to this Gwendolyn woman. Asher's only defense was his pocket knife and himself.

[Demeter]

"Pig!" There went the Faberge style egg her father had given her for her birthday. "Bastard!" The egg was followed by the Waterford crystal vase she'd splurged on for her birthday. "Scumbag!" Gwendolyn picked up the heavy bronze statuette on her bedside table and heaved at her lover of two weeks. He'd just commented on how he'd enjoyed their little fling but really, a man like him couldn't be seen with a woman her age. The man knew she was in her 90's and he'd dumped her on her ass in a split second because he couldn't be seen with an older woman now that he'd gotten his fill.

"Dirt sucking, pig fucking, lying, greasy, worthless bastard!" she screeched and launched a second vase at the man, who was huddled against the wall in the hopes of avoiding the shrapnel. The vase shattered when it hit the wall above his head and a shower of crystal splinters showered down on him. 'One more,' Gwen thought as she wrapped her hands around a flower pot, 'one more and he'd be down for the count and she could have Bobby the Doorman haul his naked ass out of the building.

Ready to fling the pot, Gwen shifted her gaze from the cowering man to the cracked bedroom doors. There was someone out there. She narrowed her eyes. She'd deal with her intruder after she'd finished with her former lover. She flung the terracotta pot at the man, pleased when the clay pot hit him full in the chest. "Bastard," she muttered one last time.

And now to deal with her intruder. Not bothering to tighten the belt of her robe, Gwen opened the bedroom's double doors and just lounged in the doorway. She knew what she looked like. Her white blonde curls were loose and tumbled. Her robe gaped open above the sash, displaying a good portion of her upper chest. The bottom hem fluttered about the top of her thighs. And, given the fact that she preferred to sleep in the nude, a whole lot of flesh was on display.

Gwendolyn, not even remotely skilled with weapons, hoped that the picture she presented would distract whoever decided to intrude into her apartment long enough that she could go squealing down the to the lobby where Bobby the Doorman held court. Bobby the Doorman would then call her father who would come and trounce her visitor. Still lounging in the doorway, Gwendolyn took a good look at her visitor. She couldn't see much of his face but the fact that he was standing still in her entryway and wasn't rooting through her belongings gave her hope that she wouldn't have to break anything else today. "Can I help you?" she asked and tossed a curl over her shoulder.

[Shinigami]

Asher could tell the exact moment when Gwendolyn noticed his presence. He had caught the shift in her body language and sensed the change in her thought process. She had still considered the poor naked man she was hurling things at to be first priority, however, so he waited until she delivered her final blow. The man would have to be dragged out, and he found himself wondering how the woman would do it. Would she call on her father, or would the doorman he had alluded come help?

He was standing off to the side, leaning back against some sort of small table as Gwendolyn pulled open her door, lounging in the doorway. Asher looked relaxed on the outside, but he was ready if she or her companion chose to evict him from the apartment by force. He raised a brow as she spoke, flicking his eyes over her body - partly to check for weaponry (which she couldn't possibly hide in her state of undress) and also to admire her form. She was beautiful, even if she was a vampire.

"As a matter of fact, you can help me. I was hired to... locate members of the Neri family. I was hoping you could help me with that." Asher didn't think his way of communication would startle a vampire. They had a whole bloodline that had the ability to speak telepathically, and his ability was largely one-sided.

Asher glanced over Gwendolyn's shoulder to make sure her thwarted lover was still down for the count. It seemed he would be staying out of their business for a while yet. He pulled off his hat and folded the high-neck collar of his coat down. "Would you be willing to speak now? Or should I give you a moment or two to deal with your friend?" He was using blunt and to the point, not one to dilly dally on the job. This time, though, he was willing to make an exception simply for the entertainment value it involved.

[Demeter]

Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow at the man's method of communication. Nothing new, she thought, with that method of communication but the subject is interesting. She was a Neri Vampire, the mark on her thigh, a gift from a pissed off magic user in the 15th century that was passed on to each born into the line, said that much. Gwendolyn peered over her shoulder at the man slumped against the wall.

"Alright, I'm interested. Give me a moment." She crossed the front door where she stopped and stared at the handle. "I suppose some better security might be in order." She pressed a button on the intercom. "Bobby, could you come up here when you have a chance? I've got some trash that needs to be taken out. It's in the master bedroom."

After speaking with the doorman, Gwendolyn turned to her guest. "All right, you want to find Neri family members. Which ones? I need coffee." Gwen turned and headed towards the kitchen, she motioned for the man to follow her down the hall. As she walked, Gwen adjusted her robe. Once in the kitchen, Gwen pounced on the pot of coffee that automatically brewed every morning. "Want some?" she asked while pulling out a mug.

After she had everything set, Gwendolyn sat on the counter and stared at him. "Okay, talk. Or....do whatever it is that you do. Which Neri's did you want to kill? 'Cause, honestly, why would you want to just find a Neri?"

[Shinigami]

Asher sat back and watched Gwendolyn walk about her apartment without adjusting her robe to lay in a more decent manner. He had never had a chance to just sit back and watch a Dark One like this. Most of his job involved quick kills and the only observation he had gotten to do were all in the heat of a fight.

'Ah... so the door man's name was Bobby.' He wondered momentarily if he should make himself scarce when the door man came up. He had snuck in, and then proceeded to break into one of the apartments. And from the sound of things, this particular resident called on her door man quite a lot. Asher shifted his weight to stand up fully, ready to answer her question before she sauntered off again, fixing her robe this time.

Asher let out a heavy breath, a sigh if you will. He followed Gwendolyn, not really amused with being beckoned around the house, but at least she was mildly amusing. And he needed that information. Asher decline a cup of coffee, motioning to his mask. He didn't really need it, but he always wore it when working - it helped to partially conceal his identity. He leaned against the counter across from where this interesting woman made her perch.

He let out a huff of air, smirking behind his mask as Gwendolyn confronted him head on about his intentions. Asher could respect her to-the-point attitude, and it certainly made things easier for him. "I was hired to find the branch of the Neri family that you and your father split off from. All of them that are still alive. I'm afraid I wasn't able to find all of their names, nor where I might have a better chance at finding him."

[Demeter]

Gwen sipped at her coffee. "My dear, neck-sucking cousins who like to imprison poor mortals. How I do long to see them dead. I assume you want to talk to me and my father about where the rest of them can be found. Have you checked the old Neri fortress in the south of Italy? No doubt that the townspeople will fill you with all sorts of tales about the Custoss who lived there."

Gwen glanced around her kitchen. "My father knows more then I do. He was once the heir to the family before he left. As such, he knew all the hiding places that they had then. No doubt that the survivours have been breeding like rats. They'll have more now, surely some in America. I think he might have hired someone to keep tracks of them"

Gwen glanced at the clock on the microwave. "He won't be awake yet. He doesn't have class till after noon. I can tell you what I can and then I can talk him into spilling more information. What am I supposed to call you anyway?"

[Shinigami]

Asher raised a brow at the hearing about a fortress in Italy. He knew the family had originated in Italy, but his own family very rarely left the continent. All the information he had was from his own family's histories. He would have to keep that in mind for when his employer contacted him again. Asher might be able to extend this job, and his pay, with a nice little trip to Italy... and he had always wanted to see Europe.

His head cocked to the side as Gwendolyn started speaking about her father, not having previously known the extent of his place within the family before they split. Something in her last statement caught his attention. "Survivors? What was it that they had to survive?" He hadn't heard of any other hunters being sent after the Neri family, so he was very curious.

The mask hid it, but he smirked once more at the mention of Gwendolyn's father having class later that day. What he had learned of these two were where they lived and what they did for a living. The fact that a rather old vampire (compared to him, at least) was a college student amused him. "Ah, forgive me. I guess I should have offered my name sooner, seeing as I broke into your home. You can call me Asher."

[Demeter]

"Asher. I like it. As for the survivours. Well, a couple of years after we'd left, the towns people rose up against the family. They managed to kill the bulk of the vampires living in the fortress during that time but they were most likely the turned vampires and the lower members of the family. The oldest ones most likely scurried away at the first scene of trouble. To this day, the townspeople still call that night "The Great Burning" because they set fire to the fortress and any vampire, living or dead, within its walls."

Gwen sipped at her coffee. "A couple of years back, my father heard that someone had started to rebuild the fortress. It hadn't been sold to an outsider that he knew of so Dad sent someone over to Italy to check it out. The Private Investigator saw the Neri Mark," Gwen parted to robe and pointed to the bloody red "N" on her inner thigh, "on some of the people living in the fortress."

Gwen reached into the fruit bowl on the kitchen island and pulled out a handful of grapes. "I guess you already know to call me Gwen. So, what shall we do until my Father wakes up? Once Bobby drags whats-his-face out, I'll change. I'd probably be tempted to break something else if I went near him at the moment."

[Shinigami]

Asher could really care less whether or not this woman liked his name, but she didn't dwindle on it. She was very to the point and he couldn't help but respect that. Her tale of the villagers rising up against a fortress full of Vampires was quite fascinating to him. Little flashbacks of when he had seen the black and white 'Frankenstein' movies flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help smirking at the idea of the angry villagers having torches and pitchforks. At least the people had known what kind of monsters had lived close by and had the gall to do something about it.

He almost thought his potential trip to Italy would be squashed, seeing as the fortress had been burnt down, but as Gwen continued Asher grew more hopeful. If they were rebuilding he could convince his employer that the trip might be worth it... Asher's attention was drawn as Gwen started to shift as she spoke about the Neri mark and he found himself looking down at the "N" marked in her inner thigh. He raised an eyebrow as he looked back up at the woman's face.

Well, that little fact could make things a little easier on him... or not. The fact that they were marked like that could help in his search for Neri family members, but it would also be a bit strange trying to see if they were marked at all. Especially if they were all marked in the same place. He couldn't just outright ask. Asher imagined that.. 'Oh, hey, I was sent here to kill you. But first, can I see your inner thigh? Just to make sure?' He snorted. Awkward.

Asher had almost forgotten about the poor sap that was unconscious in Gwen's nearby bedroom. That wasn't so good for someone trained to be on their guard at all times. He sighed, not quite sure he wanted to still be there when the doorman came in. He had snuck past him after-all. "I could drag the man out to the hall for you, if you'd like. That way you could get to your room and you're doorman wouldn't have to know I was here. I have a feeling he won't like it if he knew I snuck in and forced your door open."

[Demeter]

Gwen considered what Asher offered. "Bobby wouldn't be happy about that. He tends to take his job very seriously." Gwen pushed away from the counter and showed Asher into her bedroom. While he dragged the man out and into the hallway, Gwen bundled up his clothing and tossed it into the hallway. She dusted off her hands and locked the doors behind her. "I'll be right back. Just, make yourself comfortable. After I change, I'll tell you as much as I know."

Gwen quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She'd nornally have gone for a skirt, as she perfered them over pants, but she did have plans to strip layers off paint off of furnature today. She joined the hunter in the living room and sat, still barefoot, down on the floor. "Now, what can I tell you? What do you already know?"

She leaned back against her couch, not the one she needed to strip paint from, and waited for the hunter still what he knew about the people she thought deserved death.

[Shinigami]

Asher followed Gwen back to the room he had caught that first glimpse of her in. The poor man she had been throwing things at was still slouched against the wall, out cold. He was also still naked, which made dragging him out of the house look fairly awkward. He hauled him up like a drunkard and dragged him out into the hall, placing him in a seated position with a perfect view of the elevator. That way Bobby would be able to find him easily.

He followed Gwen back into the house and paused as she started to walk off back towards her room. Asher nodded absently as he was told to make himself comfortable and he did just that. He took off his trench coat and hat and laid them carefully over the arm of a nearby chair, then he proceeded to roll up the sleeves to his button down shirt until they were just above his elbows. It was warm in the apartment, at least much warmer than it had been outside. That left him in his shirt, vest, and slacks that he had tucked into his almost knee high boots.

And he still had his mask on, of course. That was only ever removed when he was home, or a personal space he could temporarily call his own. Only his family and one old childhood friend had ever seen the lower half of his face.

The apartment was quite nice, so he began to wander around and look at the decor. Asher didn't get far before Gwen was back out, now dressed. This woman was quite interesting to him, and even more so when she chose to sit on her floor, instead of one of the many chairs. He stayed standing, leaning back against a table. "Unfortnately, I know frighteningly little. That's what caused me to seek out you and your father. As you can imagine, I don't normally work with Dark Ones in this manner. I know more about the members of your family that are already dead. All I really know is that the family split, your side being much more civil, and therefore more tolerated."

[Demeter]

"Well," Gwen leaned foward and balanced her elbows on her knees, cupping her chin in her hands, "I suppose that starting at the beginning would be the best. The first Neri Vampire happened in 1352. He was the eldest son of the family at the time and he was seduced by a female vampire. She turned him, obviously, and then left him. He was left to figure out vampirism on his own. Given the mentality of noblity at the time, he thought that peasents in the village were there to serve him.

"He turned his family first, back when he was still trying to control his new personality traits and they, in turn, started hauling in the peasents in order to feed. They turned the villagers and bred like rabbits. Soon, they outnumbered the people who lived around them and they started to snatch people.

"Everyone in the surrounding countryside knew that if a person went missing, they were most likely taken by the Neri. By the 1500s, the original family, and their succesors, had been killed off. Each generation of Nero rulers were worst then the last. My grandfather had a penchent for stealing young girls from the bedrooms, raping them, biting them, and then marking them in his own unique way. Allesandro Neri is most likely still alive and raping young woman. He's always distained the New World so I doubt you'd find him here."

Gwen sighed, wondering what other Neri Vampires she could name. "Thanos Neri is like my father and myself. He left later then we did and abstains from neck biting. Beppe, my uncle, is a mirror image of my Grandfather. He enjoys the California sun. You'd have to troll the beachs or the night clubs to find him, I believe. Alba, my grandmother, favors the south of Texas while my Aunt Adele haunts New York City."

She looked over at Asher, only slightly curious about the mask. "Those are the only ones I know of. My Father only taught me the names and faces of those could become his harshest enemies. Grandfather is probably the one building in Italy. I know that their are others; members of the family who've stayed true to the Neri way but struck out on their own and built up their own nests."

[Shinigami]

Asher was making a mental note of the history and any names Gwen gave out. He had a great capacity for memory and could recall anything he had heard when he needed it. Ash would need that gift for later, as he updated his own family's files on the Neri and started tracking down who he needed. He also made note of some of the more violent members, like Allesandro, even if they weren't residing in the US. Special note was made of Thanos, not wanting to bother that one by mistake if he was like Gwen and her father.

Perfect. Now he had three rough locations and the names of the vampires that go with them. That could most definitely get the ball rolling on his hunt. Asher was already plotting logistics, knowing that Beppe would be the closest thus far. He would have a more complete picture of his near-future traveling plans once he got to speak with Gwen's father.

He glanced up as Gwen finished up what she knew. It would give him a great start, and hopefully he could get even more from her father. Ash was sure that would please his employer to hear when he called to confirm the start of the physical hunt. It seemed to him that there weren't really 'sides' to the family, just a few members that broke off and decided to be more civil than the others.

"Well, at least with only a few of being tolerable it will be easy to keep track of the ones I -don't- want to hunt down. His ears perked up when he heard shuffling in the hallway, and his eyes briefly cut to the door, but his attention was back on his host in full once again. "Does your family actually all have one bloodline that you draw from, or are there some that are different?"

[Demeter]

Gwen blinked at Asher. Though she heard the shuffling at the door, Gwen ignored it. Bobby was probably moaning about having to deal with yet another naked man. "Well, we are all of the Anila vampire line, if that is what you are asking about. One of the others lines wandered in occasionally but I think that my Dad told me that they aren't allowed to turn any humans and there is defiantly no breeding. Usually breaking those rules result in death."

"Actual, familar type bloodlines, well, most of us are Neri to the bone. Those of us who are born generally have one Neri born parent. And the rest of the family, at least the males, breed like rats. My Dad once told me that it wasn't unsusal for four or five of the captive women to be carrying the child of a single man at one time. Obviously, linage is traced through the paternal line rather then the maternal. My mother was English, snatched up by Grandfather while on a tour of the region. Turned in a short amount of time."

Gwen shrugged. "Most of the outsiders, those of other vampire lines, are generally weak vampires, who've been drawn in by the power and supposed glory of the family. They would have been easy to control. Maybe some grew stronger and left the group, taking some of the captives with them but they wouldn't have been Neri and I don't know any way to track those ones."

"I don't know a lot of the details about the family, just the basics. I suppose my father wanted to educate me but not worry me." Gwen wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head against her knees. "Sorry I couldn't help more."