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Veni’s had an expression of revelation. Something that hadn’t quite made sense to him, yet did at the same time now made full sense to him.

Nefretiri smiled at Cian’s admittance to Eydis being his sire. She didn’t know of anyone who would have been of proper age in Eydis’s line to have made Cian at the time. The poor lad was trying to regain more of his mask of caution while she tried and put much effort to appear friendly rather than cruel, sensual, yet something of one’s deepest fears like her aura could make her seem. She was tempted to have her aura influence his fears and make him more afraid to close up than to seem open. Of course she was a little surprised to realize from Daphne’s more open book in comparison expressions that she had never met Eydis. Nefretiri didn’t allow this to show on her face. “All old people know each other don't you know that?” She chuckled a little when she said this.

“My name is Nefretiri. It is good to meet you witch son of Eydis. I am surprised she never told you her real name as that is what she went by still when I knew her…when our paths were similar for a time. I am willing to tell you how I know her after you take care of your…no her needs. The sun hasn’t even fully set and she needs a nap already or food. In seriousness your needs should be met. Go, go and take care of that before we get deep into the personal questions. Your question is not unwelcome as I asked about her first. You are my guests and your needs must be met first. All of you may go and do such. And if you come back, witch son of Eydis, you will not find yourself wanting in a full answer to your question. I will call on Veni when the time comes when I am fully ready to speak for I want Ma to not miss out on something I have never talked about nor will be likely to ever tell as much about it again.

“I will say this before you go you need not worry for I do not consider your sire my enemy. (Translation: You don’t have to worry about me striking you down for merely being her child.) Though I wouldn’t be surprised if she has never mentioned me, but Eydis and I were once friends of sorts. She hasn’t changed her choice of fragrance I see, but that isn’t what struck me initially to think of her. Although many vampires have some magical talents, Eydis’s children have the potential to be great magic users amongst vampires even if they lacked a talent as humans, but I imagine the results are better if the human already had some talent. What other line would produce a white witch able to tend to vampires and nonvampires alike?” Her expression showed that it wasn’t a question meant to be answered over one that stated fact she thought to be true.

Cian’s mask of caution was still in place. He shrugged impassively at her joke. Although her face and her voice tried to appear friendly, Cian was not one to start immediately trusting someone because of them. ”I suppose that could be true.” He responded.

Cian knew her name but it was good to be introduced as such. It was proper. It was formal. ”She didn’t feel the need to tell it to me. It didn’t translate well into Greek and by the time I was more acquainted with her language, she must have abandoned using it. When I knew her she was Sophia.” He pronounced the name as it was originally meant to be pronounced—adding the Greek accents to it. It was a fitting name for her really. It meant “wisdom”. He couldn’t help but wonder how similar their paths had been.

Cian remembered there was only one or two parts of his maker’s life that she didn’t discuss. Perhaps this was one of them. He wondered why that could be. He knew she had been a relentless, merciless force in her past…was this one of those times? He shook off the questions as Nefretiri continued. She would give them some time to meet their needs. He glanced at his wife, who met his eyes. She looked tired. Cian was grateful. He nodded his thanks.

Cian listened carefully to her next few sentences. So she did not consider Sophia (or Eydís) her enemy. That was one worry negated. He wondered how much weight that would hold…if she wouldn’t kill Daphne or himself out of worry of what his maker would do. ”She was always drawn to those with abilities that she could tend and alter. I showed no magical aptitude as a human.” He glanced at Daphne. The same couldn’t be said for her. Her eyes were wide, haunted. He knew she was remembering the Witch Hunt that almost killed her. She had almost died because of what she could do. Cian reached for her hand, squeezing it gently, drawing her out of her reverie.

Time passed quickly after they left the room. Cian and Daphne ate. Cian from a live human, Daphne chose an O negative bag of blood instead. She didn’t trust herself enough today to enjoy the feel of flesh on her lips. She thought perhaps she would enjoy it too much. Instead, She put the blood in a cup and drank it. It seemed to satisfy her. She leaned back in an arm chair, resting. Meanwhile, Cian spoke with Sephiroth and Veni. Their topics of conversation ranged. Nothing was too serious or long. Everything seemed to be waiting for Nefretiri’s story.

Finally, it was time. They went to the dining/living room where chairs were gathered. Daphne smiled at the children, compassion still deep in her eyes for their situation…never to grow old. To be forever stagnant. Nefretiri’s story started at the beginning as most stories did…

Nefretiri remained silent for a while after what Daphne said. The room felt heavier on them and the sinking feeling in their stomachs sank lower with the silence as Nefretiri let go some of the hold she had on her aura. It was unclear if she did it on purpose or if it happened because her mood went down which was evident by the hardness of her face and blaze in her eyes which showed that if she spoke nothing but harshness on the subject would come out of her mouth. She slowly sat in her seat sensing their increased unease of her. Although she partially loved it, currently it was not her goal to increase their timidity and resisted the great temptation of releasing more of it. After a moment she began to smile. “Many of us have horrific experiences based on who or what we are to some degree within our lifetime, but if you allow such experiences to cause you to feel shame for what you are, it will only hold you back. You are unfortunately from the time of great ignorance it seems to have missed the compliment. Often unexplained science was mistaken for witchcraft and everything, including that which was beneficial to health, was the work of the devil. I am a witch, Veni is a witch, and he is a witch (referring to Sephiroth…) Everyone in this room is a witch by the definition of the word; anyone who possesses magical powers or who practices magic and it does not matter how little that person has. Being a witch only became a bad thing thanks to those hypocrites. In my lifetime witches were only shunned and hunted as badly as during that time. Before that they were respected. Your line makes the best witches of almost any type it seems,” she wasn’t sure if Eydis’s children would be more powerful if any of these witches specialized in areas her family seemed to specialize in though, “and yes you could very well be the only ones like that thanks to an event that happened over a thousand years ago… unless some youngling sprang up to start such a line after that.”

Her face softened and the extra anxiety her aura caused lessened as she thought of the move Wizard of Oz and she said, “have you seen the great classic movie The Wizard of Oz? Glinda asks Dorothy ‘are you a good witch, or a bad witch?’ After Dorothy says ‘witches are old and ugly,’ Glinda says ‘they're laughing because I am a witch. I'm Glinda, the Witch of the North.’ You are a good witch like Glinda and there is nothing shameful about that.”

Nefretiri then looked to the side. Veni knew that this indicated she was done with them for now and didn’t want to hear another word from them. He nudged Cian and indicated for him to start walking away now. As they passed Sephiroth, he put a hand on Cian’s and Daphne’s backs which negated some of the anxiety Nefretiri’s aura had flared up…that is if they allowed the holy aura in.

Rosemary got up from her position to follow the others out but soon after walking past Nefretiri, the elder vampire floated out of her chair to Rosemary who was starting to turn around to see what she wanted when arms gently wrapped themselves around her neck in a backside hug. “Hold a moment Rosemary.” Rosemary had a hesitant look on her face, but ceased her movements. Nefretiri said, “senebty” (a farewell term that means health upon you) and motioned for the others to go on with a wave of her hand which moved to caress the side of the rosy cheek when done. Veni turned back when they were waved away and kept walking with a grim expression and stopped outside the building to wait for his wife.

Nefretiri used that hand to tilt Rosemary’s head slightly, caressing the cheek and neck, and started to whisper in Rosemary’s ear like a lover in a sultry phantasmal voice that made the rosy cheeked vampire eyes enlarge and then close slightly in a half swoon as she shuddered both in ecstasy and dread at her words. “I’ve had a wonderful idea I want you to do. Your spiders… spiders use webs to extend their sensory perception and catch their pray. Do it. If you picture your aura like a web, you could greatly extend its reach. Go on…” Her hand slid down Rosemary’s cheek, down her arm, and to the top of her hand gently moving up and down the arm while the other one still hugged her gently massaging. “Release that thread into the wind and see how far it goes. Let it go. Farther, you can do better. Yes like that. Build the web. Not a pretty orb web this time. Make it one of those messy webs that occupy all spaces and can trap many. You can sense movement on one of those still can’t you?” Rosemary could only manage a nod in response. “Good. You’ve kept it trapped haven’t you? Poor dear.”

Rosemary slowly leaned more of her weight into Nefretiri as she feel into that hypnotic voice and light caresses as she stoked it out both by comforting and raising Rosemary’s anxieties of being touched by her. She pictured herself casting out the first thread, but was told to throw it farther, and raised her arm this time and it caught miles away. She pictured building it from there, a complex web miles large, in equal strength at any distance, but with a pocket where Veni, Cian, and Daphne waited. She sensed timid people already getting caught in it. “Clever girl,” she heard whispered in her ear. “Now watch what I can do.”

Nefretiri’s palm stopped caressing her and rested on top of her hand intertwining her fingers into Rosemary’s hand. When she exhaled her aura came with her breath and flowed over Rosemary like a cool breeze down the web of her own aura and clung and hung around it like dust. Rosemary gasped from the sensation of it washing over her though not from fright. The sinister web was ignored by those with a complete secure feeling and total confidence, but caught on those with any bit of timidness, nervousness, or anxiety. Somewhere…someone became more and more terrified of their own shadow. The two womens’ countenance possessed the same cruel smile with their crimson eyes appearing more ablaze than before. Nefretiri kissed the paler vampire’s cheek and whispered the following before releasing her, “now tell that son of mine that I told him to enjoy playing with his food.”

Note: Ancient Egyptians believed that everyone possessed even a little magic in some form.

Upon Daphne’s rejection of the live human, BlackMN knitted her brow a little and puffed her cheeks a bit annoyed. She of course was unaware of what happened or why Daphne didn’t want a person, but was a little annoyed because it was difficult for her to find two at once. This was something she simply couldn’t ask random people for but had to listen to people for it…and the couple was weird and had actually asked if she could set them up with such an experience together when they arrived… she had one uncomfortable conversation with them earlier… So this left it to Cian since Veni or Rosemary wasn’t back yet….

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Meanwhile once Rosemary got out and told him what Nefretiri said, he knew he wasn’t going to where the others had gone for dinner since she told him to enjoy playing with his food. It seemed worded like a command and he didn’t really want to go against such a simple order. He knew that she was playing with her aura so he kissed her which still sent chills down his spine.

His eyes slit like a cat’s as he looked through the eyes of several strays until he saw a choice target. The two left. In some part of town cats encircled a male shady character assaulting another person. The cats meowed which got the attention of the attacker. Veni, in cat form, leapt and scratched the advantage taker. The victim ran off into thick darkness which came in around them and the overhead lights were blackened. Ignoring the cats still, he went to run after them but were scratched by another cat. The human pulled out a knife and started to threaten the cats with the knife. His heart rate rose as he became more and more agitated. He swiped at the cats only to have his own blade slash himself. He ran and a shadow followed him. He grew more knotted in a web of panic the more he continued. Everything frightened him and he seemed like a raving lunatic. Fearsome shadows appeared in the corner of his eye and batted at him like a cat at a mouse and he turned away. When he could run no more he stopped and huffed. His eyes grew large as he felt something grab at his ankles yet nothing could be seen holding them as he was drug into the shadows that light wasn’t penetrating… Once the light could pierce the blackness red eyes could be seen and then it revealed a youthful fiend standing over a pile of dust licking at his claws. Veni smiled at the dust then at a spider and vanished.

“Maybe I should back up and give a brief explanation as to why I was in or at least near perhaps what would be known today as Romania. As human history tells it, Egypt had been under various rule for the last several centuries before what is known as common era. Cleopatra VII was the last of the Ptolemies or Greeks to rule Egypt. Rome would rule after her. Some years after her death by snakebite, I would hear disturbing rumors of many strange vampires killing other vampires from the north. You see I was living south away from the capital and the majority of the foreigners. While such news wasn’t surprising this was in an area where humans and nonhumans of all areas came and went or settled. I had heard other whispers of such genocide elsewhere. When they came…when they came… they were well trained… younger vampires knew how to use their abilities so finely they could take out older vampires who were less practiced… they were a well-trained Roman vampire army. Vēnērunt, vīdērunt, vīcērunt (they came, they saw, they conquered). However they were able to neither stay up as late as I nor get up as early….”

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Nefretiri’s eyes moved around momentarily and her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. That was no child she just saw: a creature who just tried to size her up. Nefretiri had not quite done the same to the fullest extent of her ability. To do so with her aura would have probably alarmed the girl more so than those attractive eyes alarmed her. She was a stranger and a potential invader and she knew it. She did not want to seem like an invading predator, but one who may be passing through or potentially one trying to form a pride of sorts with another predator for mutual protection if Sheut Thoth desired.

She looked down at her basket of local foods she bought for the evening. She was still in the process of picking at the brains of the locals to learn the language of this strange country. It would only be a matter of days with interactions before she could use it well enough. Glancing back to where the other vampire once stood, she backed up into the shadows. When she turned around she saw a pair of pale green eyes staring up at her. The vampire crouched to be at eye level with those pale eyes. In her native tongue she said, “Sheut Thoth (1), I thought you were helping with the protection of the others. Did you see anything interesting just now?”

She held out her hand which the black leopard (black panthers are apparently black varieties of jaguars, leopards, possibly cougars but not sure if that exists) named Sheut-Thoth licked and then rubbed its face against. Nefretiri took that as an invitation and stroked the large cat’s face. Sticking to the shadows the two of them walked unnoticed by humans into the trees, but still looked for the unseen. Once in the trees and out of range to the human ear she said lightly to her companion as if to an equal. “I am concerned about our location and the time of year it will be soon. I hear that the cold here is far greater than anything we are used to. If we don’t obtain proper lodgings for it, I think we will need to head back soon for now. If it were only the two of us, Sheut, I would not fret over such things.”

They came upon some pitched tents in the trees which were occupied by a couple vampires like her and several humans. A man great of magic (weret hekau or magician) approached and greeted her. Nefretiri handed him the basket which was divided amongst the humans there. They praised and thanked her for providing.

The magician sat next to Nefretiri as he ate and he said, “This place is not suitable for Azizi (2) to hunt.” Azizi was a great somewhat older male lion lying as if bored, but his age didn’t slow them down. He had come to Nefretiri after losing his pride to a set of younger males right as they were starting their travels north. She nuzzled her forehead, face, and neck against the lion who responded in kind.

“Ta-Mieuw (3) can share when she returns.” Ta-Mieuw was a female leopard familiar of Nefretiri and mother of the black leopard both of which decided to stick around despite being solitary creatures. The peculiarities of the connection type she had with darker creature perplexed Nefretiri sometimes. Though she could communicate with the creature well enough while they were together, she lacked a deep connection with the creature that allowed her to sense how he was, what he was doing, and an innate sense of knowing where he was at beyond her natural senses when they were apart. This puzzled her because her connection with the mother was just fine. Nefretiri would later learn that this was the same case with black jaguars. Sheut Thoth was still very young from an unusual littler size of 1 cat and at an age leopards were still with their mothers, but would soon leave.

Soon after reaching 12 months the cat told her they needed to journey north. Nefretiri had journeyed back and forth from the north to the south already in sort of hit and runs on the vampire Roman army. She assumed the cat meant it was a good time to do that again, but it led her farther north than she had been before. She looked at the darker leopard whose spots could barely be seen through the fur. It was unusual for him to follow her into town like that when they stopped somewhere on their journey. She’d have to keep an eye on him as well as for anyone approaching.

1. Sheut Thoth: Sheut is one of the five parts of a human’s soul. It is a person's shadow or silhouette, Sheut (šwt in Egyptian), is always present. Because of this, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows. Thoth, the Great and Mysterious god of secret wisdom, intellect, geometry and other forms of higher mathematics. He was also the god of books and learning, of writing and numbers. And above all, he was the god of magic. Indeed, he was the first and greatest of all magicians, said to create miracles from nothing by the mere vibrations of his voice alone. Thus the cat is called the shadow of the god of wisdom and magic. (http://origamifabrege.blogspot.com/2008/03/ancient-egyptian-cat-names.html)

2. Azizi =one that is respected/strong/powerful
3. Ta-Mieuw= the meower

Cian didn't particularly enjoy the silence. Although he was not one to shy away from it; he often prefered it given the choice. This one was different, however. It provoked a sense of dread that hung about them all. Cian remembered what Veni had told them before meeting with his mother. She had the same abilities as Rosemary. The fear aura. It made sense. When Nefretiri sat he did not expect, as his wife had, that the feeling would dissipate. His body tensed as a smile spread on Nefretiri's lips.

Cian agreed with each of their next points, squeezing his wife's hand once more. He thought it went even further than what Nefretiri was explaining. Although all of them in this room would have been (or were, technically speaking) considered witches, most unique individuals were cast out of society or viewed as witches. Nefretiri could have emphasized that more but he understood his line of thinking was purely semantic.

Cian remembered having to make an attempt to integrate with society at that point. If you didn't make an attempt, you'd soon find yourself on the outside if not dead. The people were a highly suspicious lot. He could also remember when Ireland had been more open to the mystical and nature. There were legends of helpful fairies and sprites...although there were equally dark tales of impish elves and haggs. "On the one hand," He began, "I agree completely. Witches weren't always feared, they were respected. On the other, I want to add that at that point that not every society respected it at some point. It was often feared even when connected to religious spiritualism." At least according to what he had studied.

With Nefretiri's next point, two things came to Cian's mind. The first was that although Nefretiri claimed Sophia's (or Eydis) line produced witches of any kind, Cian had to consider his theory. He wondered if they were all connected through spirit magic. Sophia's abilities were obviously drawn to the spirit world, that much was obvious. She was a shaman. Cian's rune magic was both a learned action and sometimes he thought he could feel his soul or spirit attaching itself to the runes. Finally, Daphne. Her spirit was light, innocent. It reflected in her healing abilities. She genuinely wanted to help other people. Of course it could have been and emphasized piece from her human abilities. This was a theory through and through. It had been something that had only recently started to develop...he wasn't sure if it was true. And he wasn't willing to share it. Like most scientists, he wanted to keep his hypothesis to himself while he researched it. The only known thing was that Eydis produced vampire-witches.

The second train of thought that was started by Nefretiri came with her next point. His eyes became inquistive. What event had happened? Could this be what Eydis avoided talking of? "I'm sorry but...What event would this be?" He asked.

After this topic of conversation, Cian watched the Egyptian's face soften and the feelings of tension eased. He felt lighter than a moment previously, confirming his theory that she had been controlling the emotional atmosphere of the room. The topic of conversation confused him again. Although it soon made sense. He had only seen the movie once, although he had read the book.

Not much longer, Nefretiri seemed to dismiss the group. Cian wouldn't have recognized it but for the nudge he received from Veni. He followed his friend outside of the room, feeling a light pressure on his back. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Sephiroth's hand on his back and on Daphne's. He could feel his discomfort lightening even more.

As soon as they were outside of the room, Sephiroth teleported them to Thor. The relief was almost instantaneous, although his possessions were still in the other house. He nodded his thanks as his wife voiced them.

[Later on...]

Black had their meal set up for them. An odd couple, it seemed, who wanted to experience a vampire bite. He readily recognized that one was meant for him and for Daphne, however, his mate didn't seem to be in the mood. As a result, Cian tried to give the couple their experience. He didn't take much from either human and was full in no time at all.

[Even Later on...]

As Sephiroth and Cian spoke before the meeting, the angelic being asked his a question. "A poppet is an older word for a puppet." Cian began, "It's an old-English term of endearment as well. Nefretiri was using it to mean a child, a girl. Sophia--my maker--has the appearance of a young child. She was seven or eight when she was made into a vampire. In fact, she would be similar to Dan or Daisy but for her magic. Her magic tends to...settle in her eyes. There's something otherworldly about them." After the conclusion of the conversation, the two of them headed into the congregating room. Cian took a seat next to his wife, placing an arm across the back of her chair.

To answer Cian’s question about the event, Nefretiri said, “I see you’d be the interesting type to have conversations with. I’m referring to a period that led to the extermination of many vampires and potentially lines that once existed. It shall be mentioned one way or another when I talk about how I met your mother. Feel free to ask more questions then.”

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Oh I see, she’s rattled and afraid of overdoing it, thought BlackMN. “She is draining to be around, but I thought she was trying to be nicer. She sounded like she was on the phone…even if she sounded scary.” Daphne got a hug from the fox girl. “Beware. You don’t want two vampires who like the taste of your fear in particular…especially that one... You know Sephiroth has his wings out, why don’t you touch them? I’m sure he won’t mind. They give off something opposite to a fear aura and makes me feel better when I touch them. Speaking of which, what happened to him? Did she feed off him much?” It was unusual for Sephiroth to collapse like that or to even seem so tired normally, so she was slightly concerned.

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Upon returning with Rosemary (before Sephiroth was up and after Cian and Daphne ate) Veni looked down at the sleeping man on the couch his eyes partially closed with his lips pressed together and curving up on the ends one a little higher than the other (probably a more evil sort of look than what is usually on Veni’s face). He was very pleased. Sephiroth was doing exactly as he had hoped he would; recover as quickly as he could once given the chance. While Rosemary approached Daphne to kiss her cheek, Veni clasped one of Cian’s hands with his and invited him to have a small glass of one of his special drinks though his eyes had an intensity that indicated what he really wanted was a chance to speak with him alone.

Once in the kitchen area Veni got something out of the fridge for he and Cian (if he accepted of course) and said quietly enough his voice wouldn't carry far, “I am glad that you and Sephiroth seem to be on the same page with my thought. I would have been surprised if one of you was not, but I would have said something to either of you earlier if I didn’t think you were. All while trying to not alarm the beloved Daphne for your sake.”

Veni knew that Cian tried to hide more evil things from Daphne including his own nature at times. Ironically he and Rosemary had done similarly around Daphne before Cian came, though maybe not as much as him. They even protected her from him to some degree when they weren’t sure what he would do to their guest. As far as Veni could tell Cian had been grateful even for that since it showed they cared. “However I wouldn’t have been surprised if Sephiroth’s normally prudent mind didn’t think this, but he proved otherwise when he said he’d be just a few minutes. I think what Sephiroth is really recovering from is not those injuries, but a vampire’s gaze…wouldn’t you agree? Based on what I’ve observed sometime into their scuffle Nefretiri got in close enough to jab him in the ribs which probably hurt enough that she caught his gaze while his body naturally reacted to that. He was backed into a wall either right before or after this. I would guess after. Then when she went for it he defended himself the best he could, she pulled away enough that only her arms got hurt, and she took some object to knock him out. ”

He took a sip from his drink. The winged person was part demon Jiluzix that used its cells to dominate its followers into totally controlling them and was thus reasonably concerned that something might happen if his blood was consumed. (Cian should know this.) Even if that man wasn’t like the demon… until he knew for certain nothing would happen, Veni agreed as he saw the affects it had on his wife when she was force fed some from one of the creatures more devote followers. That event still haunted him. He didn’t try to hide the distant look these thoughts gave him. “Now we just hope she’ll allow him to hear whatever tale she promised us, otherwise his position won’t be so handy. Though I do apologize for the discomfort to your wife, it really went better than most the scenarios in my head. Did you want to continue with the taste of fear for me and maybe first describe what it is like for you to help me think of how I could describe it if it is different? How are you handling this by the way?”