You're brought into Toronto, Canada, either ordered by the Council to join the Pack or Clan that resides there for the impending war, to strengthen their numbers, and provide a hand within the war, or you've moved here simply to find a fresher start to life. Will you stand on the sidelines in the Neutral Territories? Or will you decide to take part and choose a side? Your destiny awaits you, make sure to head over to our homesite (link found in the Navigation Section) to begin your journey!
Astrid remained quietly seated at the bar, her attention wavering from the lycanthrope, whose very presence was setting her on edge, to where Xalia flitted about from one person to another, engaging in conversation with each of them. At the moment, the leader was engaged in a conversation with a young redheaded woman nearby. Astrid let her thoughts drift for the moment, leaving the crowded bar and making their way through her past, present, and clouded, uncertain future. She had been betrayed by her family and nearly killed by a lycanthrope, one of the foul beasts which she now felt burning hatred for. Now, she sat amongst an ever-growing group of vampires intent on joining Xalia’s clan. What would her future hold? Would she be allowed to remain with the clan? Would she find her place among them? Or, Astrid thought to herself with a tinge of fear, Will this endeavor be the death of me?
"We should get all of you home, and fitted into the house as soon as possible," came Xalia’s voice, dragging Astrid away from her worries and thoughts. Though the leader was directly facing the redheaded girl and that girl alone, she seemed to be addressing the entire group. Noticing this, Astrid looked alertly to the Clan leader, waiting for some sort of signal that she was to leave. She got it when Xalia turned toward the door and made her exit. Astrid slipped from her seat and quietly followed the other woman, leaving the bar and headed for the house.
~Exit to House~
(OOC: I’m so sorry for not posting in such a long time. There were certain times that I just did not have time, but there were others that I did and I should have posted then and I apologize for not doing so. I have been under a lot of stress lately, and for whatever reason could not bring myself to commit to writing a post for Astrid. I will strive to do better in the future.)
Astrid Layton
I do not trust easily. So if I tell you "I trust you", please, don't make me regret it.
Astrid shifted nervously as Xalia looked towards the piece of paper clutched in her hand. An expression of surprise crossed her face as the dark-haired leader waved away the letter as though it was meaningless. "Darling, there's no need for that," the other vampire said with a smile. "I find it fit that you aren't lying to me, and if you were, well, the Council should have told you how much I hated liars." Astrid looked to the ground, clearly embarrassed. She had simply been following the orders contained within her letters, but now she felt foolish for doing so, as the female before her had made it clear that such was unnecessary. "Oh..." the girl murmured, her tan face becoming dusted by a light, flustered blush. "My apologies, Xalia. As for introductions, however, my name is Astrid. And trust me when I say that I am most certainly not lying to you. What purpose would I have to do so?" The rhetorical question which she spoke was brought forth with a joking tone, one which hid the truth behind it. A small part of her still struggled to understand why it was the Council suddenly thought she was needing to join a clan, why they seemed to think that she was in need of someone to watch over her. She had spent nearly a century as a rogue and she had done just fine on her own. Why suddenly, after a single battle, had they wanted her to be a part of this clan? Had they finally recognized the power in her battle skills, as had been stated in the letter, or were they simply covering up a belief that she was fragile, needed protection? I'm not fragile, a voice in her mind hissed with menace. I'll prove to them that I'm not.
Having been so lost in her thoughts, Astrid looked up and, surprisedly, found Xalia walking over to take a seat near yet another man, this one also carrying the familiar scent of a vampire. The young vampire's sharp blue eyes drifted to them for but a moment, but she quickly looked away, so as not to be rude. As a child, she had been taught that looking too closely with others whom you were not engaged in a conversation with was highly disrespectful, and she had often been reprimanded for doing such without thinking about it. The girl sighed quietly as she looked down to see that the still piece of paper that was her letter was still clutched between her fingers. She slipped the letter back into her pocket and gazed around quietly, not allowing her piercing gaze the hold onto any one person or object too long. Along with the humans that carried out their business in other parts of the bar, there seemed to be four other vampires in the bar, two males and two females. One was Xalia, and the other female, who had entered with the leader, was characterized by long, dark, wavy hair and many tattoos. One of the males was still locked in conversation with Xalia, one with green eyes and sandy blond hair. The other was tattooed and possessed dark hair and stormy gray eyes. Having taken in her surrounding a bit better, Astrid took a seat at one of the bar stools. Soon after, a blue haired young woman wearing an apron approached them. "Hello! I'll be your waitress for the evening, my names Taliyah, how can I help you?" the human said. The young female vampire nearby made a request for fries, which made Astrid smile slightly. How on Earth was it that this female could be so comfortable speaking to this girl, human or otherwise. Astrid merely shook her head. "I'm fine, thank you," she said hesitantly.
It was quite soon after that that a sharp, pungent scent reached her nose. A hiss-like sound escaped as as she whipped her head around, eyes searching for the werewolf whom had brought the disgusting but oh-so-familiar scent. Before she had even found the creature in question, her right hand had disappeared into the open front of her blazer, reaching deftly, smoothly into the hidden pocket within. Her fingers closed around the hilt of her dagger, drawing it out as her ice-like blue eyes landed upon the black-haired man from which the scent came. The glimmering opal set within the leather-bound hilt of her knife was just barely visible from beneath the fabric of her blazer when she thought better of bringing it out; the sight of a woman carrying such a dangerous and lethal weapon would surely cause a panic amongst the human patrons and employees within the bar. The female vampire slowly returned the dagger to its original place, concealed within her jacket. All the while, her eyes remained trained on the male werewolf, all thoughts of how "rude" staring was vanishing from her mind as feelings of hatred flooded into her mind. A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that this was not the werewolf who had attacked her, for he was long gone, fallen into the clutches of death by her own hand, but she could not shake the memory of her battle. The maniacal, bloodthirsty expression of Nicolas Heinmann replaced the man's own, the wide, violent eyes tinged by madness just as always in her mind. Astrid's eyes squeezed shut, anger coursing like fire through her veins as she recalled the battle that had brought her to this very situation, the one that had ended with a werewolf's blood on her hands. She felt white-hot pain ripping through her side as she imagined the feeling of the werewolf's claws slicing through her flesh.
The sound of one of the bar's chairs scraping against the wooden floor brought Astrid back to the real world, her eyes flying open. A new figure had joined them, quite obviously yet another vampire by scent. It was a female, one with long hair of flaming red and a face covered by freckles. Astrid's eyes wandered to the newcomer, laced with curiosity. However, she refrained from speaking. She would allow one of the others to speak before she did so herself.
Astrid walked purposefully down the street, the heels of her shoes clicking rhythmically against the pavement. Though the sun was bright, shining down on the vampire, she was safe; she would need to be exposed to its bright rays for far longer before even the slightest of burns would appear on her lightly tanned skin. Her dark-brown hair appeared to shine in the bright light, the red-brown streaks at the front seeming to lighten in color because of the sun. Her blue eyes glittered in the radiance, reflecting the daylight like shards of colored glass, sharp, hard, and beautiful. As she strode down the street, she heard whistles, calling her attention to the gawking faces of several young men. She rolled her eyes unnoticeably, but shot them shy smile, allowing a light blush to dust her cheeks. She didn't trust others, no, and she wasn't usually this manipulative. However, she had learned that, in this modern era, it was quite easy for her to use her beauty to lure in her prey.
As she continued along the street, Astrid could hear footsteps not far behind her. Looking back, she could see that one of the boys had followed her. She quickly turned a corner into an alleyway near the Toronto Bar and Grill, looking over to see a boy with brown hair and dazed green eyes stumbling after her. Her advanced sense of smell allowed her to smell the alcohol on his breath even when her was still quite a ways away from her. The man was getting closer and closer. "So," he said, his words thick and slurred, "you been in Toronto long?" Astrid bit her lip, looking up at the human with a sly glint in her eyes. Meeting his, she could see the wild look in them, tainted by potent alcohol. She suppressed a shudder, remembering the same look in her own father's eyes after he had been drinking, right before the screaming, arguing, and beating would begin. She hated having someone so close to her, especially someone who was so obviously out of their own control. "No," she said sweetly. "I only just got here." It was almost as if her reply had been ignored when the man spoke next, his face leaning closer to hers. "You're pretty," he muttered, his voice running together in a drunken slur, almost unintelligible. "Thank you," she said, rolling her eyes, once again unnoticeably, with disgust. She mimicked his movements, leaning in closer. Her eyes flashed dangerously. With blinding speed, Astrid shifted into her full vampire form, her skin becoming as pale as moonlight and half-inch-long fangs sliding from their sheaths and into the man's neck. The human cried out in pain, gasping for air. Astrid's eyes glowed blood red as the man's blood gushed into her mouth, trickling down her throat. His skin grew ever paler, more and more blood being drained from him every second. He was quite close to death when Astrid released him, guiding his body to rest against the brick wall of the alleyway. He would be unconscious for several hours, his bone marrow working desperately to replenish his blood, but he would soon be fine. His friends would find him sooner or later and most likely assume that he had passed out due to too much alcohol consumption. Feeling satisfied, she exited the alley, absentmindedly wiping a small drop of crimson blood from the corner of her mouth with her thumb.
Astrid walked into the Toronto Bar and Grill, a few heads turning to stare in her direction. She took a seat at the bar, though she had no intentions of drinking. A voice on the opposite side of the wood-topped bar caught her attention. "Can I offer you something to drink ma'am? Whiskey? Beer?" the bartender asked. Astrid shook her head. "No," she said flatly. "I don't drink alcohol. I'll have some water." The bartender shrugged and shuffled off. Astrid had promised herself that she would never consume alcohol for the entirety of her mortal life. She had seen first-hand the monsters it could turn people into, and she would not allow it to happen to her. She looked up and thanked the bartender as her placed a glass of water in front of her before walking to attend to another customer.
Astrid reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, unfolding it carefully. She read it over for what must have been the hundredth time since she had received it.
Astrid Layton,
Due to your recent battle with the lycanthrope known as Nicolas Heinmann, a decision has been made by the Council that it is time for you to join a clan. There is one near Toronto that we are expecting you to approach, lead by a vampire known as Xalia Revitsa. Do not ignore these instructions, and do make haste in arriving to the clan. We will be keeping tabs on your actions between now and then. If you do choose to take these orders lightly, you will not be offered a second chance. Should your skills in battle be useless to Xalia and her clan at this time, it will be her decision what is to become your fate. Please find the address attached to this letter and arrive as soon as possible. You are to give this letter to Xalia as explanation to your appearance.
The Council
Astrid sighed. She had arrived in Toronto as instructed a few days before, but avoided the clan ever since. She had been given her orders, but it was not her wish to follow them. She struggled to trust others. How was she expected to fare in a place where she would be forced to trust other vampires? She'd never been able to trust her own parents, never had siblings, never had a friend. The only other people in the world she felt she could even remotely trust were the vampires from the Council who had raised her since the young age of 47 years, the ones who had rescued her from her own parents. Another thing that made her so uncomfortable with her orders were that the previous 100 years of her life had been spent as a rogue. Why had her fight with that lycanthrope suddenly caused them to want her to join a clan? The mere thought of her battle caused her hand to slip to her right side, where the scar the battle had left her with still resided, a pale strip of skin to remind her that no victory comes without pain.
As the doors to the bar opened, the fresh scent of vampires was brought inside the building. Astrid looked up to see two women, both vampires by scent, enter and sit down at the bar not far from her. Focusing her attention on them out of pure curiosity, Astrid noticed that the man next to them was also a vampire. She hadn't noticed him before; the scent of booth vampires and Lycans had hung in the air, telling her that many rogues of each species frequented the joint, and she hadn't payed much attention to the smells after that. She must have overlooked which scents were far more fresh than the others. However, it was not the mere realization that these three were vampires that caught her attention, but the mentioning of one of their names. The bartender's voice had rang through the air when the women had entered the bar, directed at the one with blue eyes and black hair. "Hello Xalia, fancy seeing you here on this fine afternoon," he had said.
Xalia.
Astrid's ice-blue eyes widened with shock. She had been sent to find the clan and its leader, but now, even though she had been evading her, Xalia had come to her. Though the leader's appearance at the same time as the young female's was coincidental, it made her wonder if it was a sign that she was truly meant to approach, not hide away until she was sure. The dark haired vampire took a deep breath and stood, walking over to the woman, nervousness evident in her actions. "E-excuse me, Xalia?" she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I didn't mean to interrupt, but I was sent here to find you. This should explain..." the young vampire trailed off as she handed Xalia her letter. She stood, nervously rubbing one of her arms, her body tense with fear, like a spring coiled to its tightest.
Get better Zoe 
