The smirk plastered across Dareios' face was about to be short-lived. He strolled back and forth across the hill with his hands planted firmly at his hips, as he reveled in the wake of such an exhilarating run. He'd almost forgotten how fun it was to move like that. For a second, it put into perspective just how measly and mundane it was to jog at the pace humans do. For just a second, Dareios felt a bit foolish for having operated under such a dull ruse for so long. The mayor of Sacrosanct kept his eyes peeled for the form of the little vampire girl. All was quiet in this part of the city despite the relatively early hour. He could hear the distant honks and screech of tires from more populated districts several blocks away. The park was mostly vacant. The occasional homeless human scurried in the brush or snoozed on a bench. A few fitness folks were operating like machines, running briskly without fear along the sidewalks that snaked their way across the small but lush green space. Within seconds, the vampire girl arrived as a dark flash with blonde locks. Dareios smiled -- almost -- at the initial sight of her, poised with some witty, boastful remark about his win hanging on his lips. But then she did something that was entirely unexpected. Dareios stood frozen as he watched the vampire rip the human to the ground. Instinctively his fangs emerged as he watched her bite into her, horrified, yet unable to stop her. As the panic set in, Dareios' gaze turned to their surroundings, and he scanned the empty park to make sure no one else was lingering and had seen what just happened. When the girl relinquishes her hold over the human, Dareios can't hide the angry scowl that's formed over his lips. His hands ball tightly into tough fists. "Stop." He commands, but his lips aren't moving. He sends the demand to her telepathically, but isn't foolish enough to think this vampire will be moved by his confident attempt to gain some kind of control over this situation. "I am a figure of authority in this city, and I will have my guards detain you immediately if you choose not to back away." For a second he dared to let his stare jump to the human, which lay quietly on the sidewalk. Her chest was still rising and falling, so she wasn't dead. The vampire girl hadn't fed on her long enough to kill her, but she still required medial attention. Dareios swallowed hard and forced himself to look away from her. A tightness in his gut churned in his abdomen at the sight of her blood splayed on the sidewalk. While he was a master of discipline, Dareios couldn't curve his predatory instincts completely. His body still told him to eat. But his mind refused to let him take this girl up on her offer. "Get out of here. Now." He insisted, this time verbally, before raising his lips to show his fangs. Dareios raises a hand to his lips and sinks his fangs into his own wrist. Then he moves with haste toward the woman on the sidewalk, crafting some kind of story about how she passed out at random before he kneels at her side, dabbing his fingers at his open wound and rubbing them gingerly at the marks the vampire girl left on her neck. Dareios Auerbach | Vampire | Vinyl |