[VS] Storming a Castle

[Sam]

The night was dark and starless, nor the stars or the moon shined brightly for thick clouds covered the heavens. Only the silent and distant hoots of an inquisitive owl could be heard in the distance. But save for that the misty woodland was silent. A castle looming over it the nightmare-ish landscape was all the protection that was offered.

Klaus sat on top of the throne of the dark castle, lounging about. A nice vacation away from everything was just what he needed from his typical duties. As much as he would love to take Mina with him... he couldn't afford it at the moment. That wasn't the recommendation he had been given which was leisurely alone time away from all responsibility.

Although, the nobleman had to admit... his enjoyment was being cut short without the presence of his beloved daughter. Still, this location proved perfect. It was isolated and quiet, away from anything and everything. A good place not to be disturbed. I mean, after all, what kind of mad person would go into a wolf-infested forest willingly and then enter a rather grim castle? It was unfathomable.

Or so Klaus thought, slouching on the comfortable throne he oped up a book and began to read under the dim candlelight. 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Above the Clouds’, by Newton Borne. A rather whimsical book is pearlescent in color. A tale to entertain the mind and nothing more. Klaus had heard of such sky islands in his travels, especially among the Grand Line folk. But he had never visited them before and in fact, their existance seemed far-fetched. Sure, the Grand Line was a treacherous place but... ah well. Best not overthink these things.

---

Klaus | Grape #6F2DA8 | (Post Count: 1)

[Smiley]

Yeah, unfathomable. Which was mostly why Gretel had been ordered to go there instead of the typical small squad usually assigned to these sorts of missions. Ordered to raid the castle and arrest the noble that supposedly lived there. Suspected criminal, dealing with a problem before it got big, etc, etc. Whatever it was, Gretel had understood that this was a dangerous man and he had to either be brought alive or in a bodybag. 

Simple enough...
She hoped.

The trip there was mostly uneventful, luckily. Aside from few wolves that she unceremoniously shot with her rifle, leaving a most grisly trail of wolf bodies in her wake as she went. And it were several, as she had to reload her rifle more than a few times. Once she had loaded it up again, she'd sling it over her back again before reaching the entrance of the castle.

Guarded. Right, of course, because a Noble ain't gonna live in a big castle alone.

So, after she tapped one of the side windows at the bottom floor to attract a servan't attention, she'd be quick to run them through with her sword before dragging them down to finish them off as quickly as she could. With the entrance opened, she'd jump right in, now making quite a bit of noise once she was in.

Because she got spotted. And she fought back instead of running away, her sword doing quick work of the servants who weren't prepared for a tiny woman with those 'demonic' red eyes that seemed to have no qualms with killing. Soon enough, these news would certainly reach Klaus. By now, the girl had gone up a floor or two, looking for the noble to arrest.

[Sam]

It was winter, so naturally, snow was falling and in the time that Gretel came into the castle, a blizzard had been brewing around the frigid forest. Meaning one thing; Gretel, Klaus, and the servants were all stuck inside of the castle for a while. They were in effect, arena trapped.

Klaus had been lounging on his throne casually when a timid servant came in, a dark-haired man with a ruddy complex and blue eyes. He shuffled into the room of the nobleman, white gloves on his cuffs and a mousey posture. With all the might he could muster he spoke up to Klaus who had picked up on the man's footsteps since before he had even walked through the door thanks to his keen sense of hearing. He could even hear the man's heart beating within his chest... he was nervous.

"M-master, there is a killer on the loose. Four of us have been slain, maybe we should escape through the tunnels?"

Klaus put down his book, he flipped his raven black hair, and raised an indignant brow at the man. A killer? At this time of day in the middle of nowhere? Could he not get some rest? Why attack his servants too? Klaus shook his head in annoyance and let out a sigh. The servant shuffled a bit and hunched over thinking the boiling annoyance was because of him, but it was not.

"You all go through the tunnels, I'll remain and deal with this... killer. It shouldn't be hard."

The servant nodded, he couldn't disagree... well maybe he should, but he didn't want to. Klaus stood up and began to pace through the darkest areas of the castle trying to search for this figure. With luck, his sense of hearing could pick up on their heartbeat. Someone killing and hunting usually had their own... beat... one that was different from those of fearful servants.

Down a corridor and into a hallway he heard it, amidst the silence... of the castle walls, the billowing of chilling winds, and the occasional scuttle of mice. Even the delicate steps of a spider on her cobweb. Among it, all was the distinct sound of a human heart that wasn't his own. One that was speedy and hasty. Burning with fury and yet small. It sounded like bloodlust. The heart of a killer if ever there was one and it came from right behind the kitchen door.

"The kitchen... that's where rats like to hide... is it not?"

He said under a sigh, transforming into his hybrid state Klaus grew to three meters in size. His skin became a sickly pale and his features were gaunter as two fangs formed in his mouth. The visage of a true vampire, in this form his senses were increased as was his vitality, power, speed, and strength. A chilling mist as cold as the blizzard outside formed over his fingertips as icicle-like claws formed over them. With one swift kick, he crashed through the kitchen doors looking for the individual.

"We finally meet! Is it me you're looking for...?"

---

Klaus | Grape #6F2DA8 | (Post Count: 3)

[Smiley]

Killing can get quite mentally tiring, actually. The servants weren't exactly difficult to kill, their swings were slow and predictable, but they were annoying, loud and kept coming from different spots. So, midway through her rampage while looking for Klaus, she had decided to hop by the kitchen: not because she thought he'd be there, nah, not at all. Just that when she was passing by it, she had a bit of an idea. 

An idea that had her get caught red handed, snacking on whatever tasty stuff she could find in Klaus' fridge, a lot of which was weirdly red, but snacking all the same. Actually, going by the garbage she had already left behind, she was snacking WAY too much, eating a great deal more than someone of her size usually would. In fact, she was midway through eating through a slab of cheese when Klaus bust right in, taking her by surprise.
"MFFFH--!" She gulped that cheese down, quickly reaching out to a knife, throwing it with respectable accuracy towads Klaus, just to buy time for her to dash right out of the kitchen. 

"I thought the vampire thing wasn't literal, FUCK!" Oh, so many regrets, like the fact that she should have come here with reinforcements and taken the vampire part of the report very seriously. Now, she was dashing away, quickly enough, thinking of what to do. What she knew was that she needed a bit more space than a cramped kitchen or a hallway to fight in, so she began looking for something like a ballroom, a living room. Anything she could move in.