[IC] Bloody Ties

[TheWendil]

"Hmpf. You're no fun."

Staying in the current form he was in, Damien finished cleaning the wound on his master's neck before putting the supplies away. Leading Cateline out into a grand kitchen, he looked down on her to give her a knowing smirk.

"I believe this is what you humans call, "breakfast"? I shall take the liberty of making us both a meal worthy for a king" Taking in the eerie sight, his grin widened an inch. Now then, Cateline would witness the butler aspect of his eternal services.

"But first..."

His body phased through the walls of the manor, leaving the young master to her own thoughts before reappearing before her. He held in both his hands two dresses that were in decent condition, considering the rest of the mansion. A pristine white dress was shown in in his right grip while a comfortable gray one rested in his left.

"Please choose, my Lady."

[kerrymeawaydear]

"I'm sorry." She apologized, as he finished cleaning her neck. As she followed him into the kitchen, she shook her head at the sight. What dishes hadn't been taken were shattered across the floor. The kitchen cabinets were open, stripped of their contents.
"I'm afraid that breakfast might be postponed.." She sighed. She would have to gather what she could from the house and sell it in town.. Cateline pushed blonde strands away form her face, little dirt streaks looked like brown highlights.
When Damien phased through the wall, her eyes widened. His abilities were probably close to infinite, and it wasn't likely that she would see them all in a short time. She would have to keep mental notes of his plethora of skills.
Cateline let out a small sigh. She would love to be able to sit around in the lovely white dress.. "The gray one, please, Damien." She reached out for it. "It would be best not to call attention myself if we'll be leaving the manor.. And we could sell the white one, to give us money for our travels." There would be no point in ruining the white dress. Their future was unclear and they would be better off if she was in something a little more low-key.

[TheWendil]

"Very well, my Lady." Damien tucked and folded the white dress into his coat, a dark portal appearing to store it away in some infinite space. "Now then my Lady. As your butler and servant, it is my task of catering your every whim. That includes all dressing duties as well." With that said, Damien began removing the pajama dress from Cateline's slim body.

Unfortunately, no maids were present to do this task, and usually the undressing of a female would be taken care by them. But these were desperate times indeed, and Damien had to fufill all roles to his master now. As a well trained butler, he kept his face calm and stoic, saying nothing as he slipped on the dark gray dress gently. He knew this was no doubt embarrassing his master greatly and so chose to do the task as diligently as possible.

"It is done, my Lady." He took her pajamas and stored them via portal, much like the white dress from before. "Now then. Let us see to breakfast."

It didn't take long for Damien to prepare the two of them a decent meal. It was, after all, his job. The kitchen didn't have much to work with anyway, and in the end they had a simple dish of bacon and eggs. Placing a full serving on a shattered table, the butler directed Cateline to her seat before sitting down next.

He bent down towards his own serving, eyeing it for a few seconds....before completely going all out and ripping it apart as he would any human. To say the least...his manner skills were atrocious.

Looking up and grinning, he raised an eyebrow in puzzlement when he noticed the young Warwick staring at his...er, eating habits. "Yes, my Lady? Did you want some more?"

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline's face burned a bright red as her newly acquired servant undressed her. Besides her father when she was a babe, no man had laid eyes on her naked form. But, she gave no hesitations in helping him help her get dressed.
"Thank you, Damien.." She nodded, running her hands over the fabric that shielded her body now.
As she watched Damien cook, she kept shaking hands folded in front of her. She was starting to feel dizzy, but refused to show a sign. She thought of where he may have sent her clothing. If he was some kind of Hell beast, was that where he sent it?
Sitting as Damien pulled her chair. Cateline nodded again. "Thank you, Damien." She started eating, it having been some amount of time since she had a real meal. Hearing Damien, she looked up. Her eyes widened, and she gave a tiny frown. "Oh, no thank you.." She shook her head. "But it is very good." Did he eat everything like that? Maybe they would have a thing or two to teach each other..

[TheWendil]

Not taking much mind to his Lady's words, Damien continued devouring his share like an animal...only to pause once more as he witnessed Cateline's more....refined eating style. Frowning, he took upon his hand his own fork and knife, carefully cutting the eggs into squares.

Well this was no fun.

Boring...who'd want to cut into their prey like this? On that note, the butler looked at the utensils once more before trying again, this time with more vigor and enthusiasm. Yes, it certainly felt good, didn't it? It was almost like cutting thorough flesh! Dissecting his enemies until they were nothing but bloody piles of crimson stains on the floor!

Yes...yes! ....another pause as he realized his Lady was no doubt having mental scars because of his behavior. Placing the utensils down for the final time, Damien turns his crimson gaze on his young master, fully focusing on her methods and style.

"My Lady, perhaps it is best to copy your way of consumption?"

A pause.

His eyes narrowed. Damien could read his master like a book. As a butler though, wasn't that his job? "There is no need to feel concerned about me, my Lady. I simply wish to become more presentable in your gaze. As for the enemies of Warwick, do not think I won't hesitate to rip them apart in the bloodiest manner shown to men!" He declared such a statement like a king. "My species glorified in the art of such deeds."

Species? This was new. The first time he had mentioned more like him in general. Just what was he exactly anyway? A demon? Some kind of being from another world?

"Yes...my kind were labeled as the bloodiest of servants..."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline gave a small smile as she watched him try to eat like her. When she saw the small enthusiasm in his eyes, she chuckled.
She blinked when he spoke. "Oh.. Well.. As I assume I'm no longer much royalty, I don't see why you would have to change your ways. Maybe just calm it down a small bit?" Her head tilted slightly. "If that's how you're comfortable eating, then I see no reason as to why you should change.. I just ask that if it is not just you and I, and we are in the presence of others, that maybe you become a bit more civilized.." She and Damien knew so little of each other. If she wanted to know more of Damien, should she not ask him to change? Perhaps a bit more civility wouldn't hurt, but, she needed to know Damien for who he was, so they could better serve each other.
"I appreciate your servitude." Cateline nodded. "It means a great deal to me, knowing that you've saved my life, I don't know of any way to repay you for actions.." She continued to eat. "Your species? There are more like you, Damien?"
That would be an interesting fact. If there were more like Damien, than there would be more people like her, more sinister in using their own Damien's, but like her none the less. They would likely be more informed of their servants, and know a greater deal of their own family history. But she would take these things a step at a time. There was no use in overbearing herself with knowledge.

[TheWendil]

Damien paused in his feasting to nod master's wise words. "Yes, it would be best to act more refined in the presence of swine. I understand your compassion towards those below your stature, my Lady."

Er, thanks? If these were compliments, they were certainly weird ones. "However, do not forget for a second of your royal blood. For as long as you are breathing, then you are still Cateline Warwick of the royal family. And I, your faithful butler."

Also demonic. At her questioning of his species, Damien flashed her a traditional fanged grin. To anyone else, it might have mentally scarred them. For a Warwick, it was the equivalent of an dog too eager to please its master. A very violent and eager dog.

"Yes. My species. There used to be more like me. A race of creatures from a different plane of reality." Damien's crimson eyes flashed like an animal as memories surfaced from the deep. "A massive citadel. A young sister. The age of rite. 13. Once that age, we were sent to serve all sorts of beings around the cosmos. You, my Lady, would call me an alien. A race bred to serve."

Damien then snickered with a hint of insanity. "Then the rebellion occurred. An attempt to overthrow what little government we had left. And so everyone perished a terrible death. All except me of course." Damien's grin reverted to a knowing smile. "I apologize if I'm scaring you, my Lady, especially so early in the morning. But do you know why I was the only survivor?" A pause. Followed by a sneer.

"I was hungry. And so I devoured them all. Each and every living soul. Alive."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline just blinked at his explanation of himself. His last few statements disturbed her. She felt her stomach churn, and she set down her fork. "Oh.." She breathed. She had started to feel Damien was a bit more humane than she had experience so far, but this brought her back to this new reality.
"Than I should be safe to assume that no enemy that we may come across in our new journey together will have a weapon such as yourself?" Maybe that was what she should think of him as. A weapon. In her search for answers, he was just a tool. Something to keep her alive, and something to help her along the way. Damien was not a person. Cateline would have to remind herself of this.
And any information about him would be useful. "Why would you do that?" She asked him, almost hesitantly. "Devour them all..?"

[TheWendil]

Damien smirked, showing off his fangs and reminding the young master what he truly was. "Although I can claim to devour them all, one can never be certain. This world has a habit of using unfortunate circumstances against the common man's favor. With that said, don't assume that your enemies will not have a weapon greater than I. That is life." Getting up from his meal, the butler walked to the kitchen and soon returned with a pitcher of tea. It was the last pouch in the house. "Would my Lady desire more refreshments?"

As he waited for her answer, he smiled in the face of her question. "Why then, did I choose to consume my race, my species, my people? I suppose the practical answer would be because I was hungry. There were riots going on around that time, those that rebelled with the laws and sanctions placed and enacted by our kind."

Damien stood straight now and stared at the ceiling, his dark mind playing back scenes Cateline would never hope to witness. "I suppose though....in the end...I don't really know. Perhaps I just decided to be more of a monster on that bleak day? That's all."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline frowned, trying to keep her hands from trembling. This was rather disturbing. To have someone -something –sitting across from her so casually, that had devoured an entire race of people, all at her finger tips? Waiting for some kind of instruction? The thought was troubling, but the thought of that kind of power.. It was enticing.
It wasn’t much in Cateline’s nature to abuse power. Some family, she knew they would. They would take it and run, consuming every town and person until they were all under their control. Disgusting people they were, with nothing but money and power on their mind. But she could see how easily that was fallen into.
So Damien was hungry, possibly bored? Just as her family was. Hungry with greed, bored of the posh lives that they lived, and they wanted more. Cateline gave a small nod, understanding. “Please.” She took her cup in her hands and lifted it towards him. “Thank you, Damien.” Pausing , she thought for a moment. “Your power comes from those that you consume, correct? So the more that you consume, the power you would gain? If you were to consume an entire race of peoples.. Your power at that time must have been.. Overwhelming..”

[TheWendil]

Damien chuckled as he poured his young master a fresh cup of tea. "Yes, you are correct in assuming I gain strength through consumption. Your father even gave me an affectionate nickname. He called me "The Apocolapse on Legs." That was an affectionate nickname? Placing the half empty pitcher on the table, Damien set to work in cleaning his own dishes. The time for doing so didn't take long-he was a butler after all-and soon the demonic creature was once more at his master's side in a loyal manner.

"After I slaughtered my kind, I abandoned my realm and stumbled around aimlessly with no real purpose but to feed. That is, until your ancestor discovered my existence. Ezekiel Warwick." Damien grinned as he rembered that dark day. "We made a pact right then and there. I would serve his family with undyng, unwavering loyalty, becoming a tool for destruction for his doings. And me?" Damien took Cateline's hand gently within his own, embracing her warmth. How human...

"I would continue to feed to my content."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline pursed her lips. Her father had named him that? A man who seem so collected, had this in his basement? She wondered what made her father keep Damien in the basement. She had a lot to learn about her family.. "Why then did my father keep you down there? Or rather, did something change his mind and he chose later to banish you there?"
At the sound of her ancestors name, she turned back a bit, looking at the broken door that led to the hallway. His portrait hung, peering at them. A portrait of every ancestor hung somewhere in the halls of the manor. Hers as well. Cateline recalled a gathering that her family held once a year, here at the manor. Most of the men would gather in the library late in the nights. Young Cateline would sneak from her bed chambers and down the halls, hoping to catch a word or two of their meetings.
Was that what they were about? The creature they hid from the world? Or was it their plans to use him? It was no wonder servants and women about the home would catch her, scolding and carrying her back to bed.
"Why did you chose to accept his offer, Damien?" She asked him, turning her attention back to him. "Why my family? Why his plans?"

[TheWendil]

Damien grinned. "Why? Ah yes, that is the eternal question. Do not be mistaken, my Lady. Ezekiel Warwick was the first human that didn't try to shoot me down upon sight; and evidently, he was the first human I chose not to willingly consume. A stroke of human luck, or perhaps divine fate? I chose your family on a whim. Had things been much different, and I would be in some other family's manor as we speak. But I'm not." The dark man crouched down to look directly into Cateline's eyes, his crimson pupils shining with a desire to serve.

"Regardless of my original actions, my loyalty belongs now to no other. I am yours to do with and see fit, my master." Squeezing Cateline's hand just a bit tighter, Damien reached up to gently pet her hair. "As for why I was sealed in the basement....your father suspected fowl play shortly before his own demise. For your safety, he left me down there to await your eventual arrival. He knew you would escape, and he knew you would find me."

The sound of bones cracking and fleshing being torn apart filled the kitchen as Damien transformed once more into the shape of a large black-furred dog. Red eyes shining, it bent its head downward to gently lick Cateline's open palm in an affectionate manner before speaking in Damien's echoing voice.

"The last order he gave me was to dutifully serve and protect the next drop of Warwick blood to grace my lips. You, my dear Lady Cateline."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline watched Damien, absorbed by his gaze. Her head moved slightly though, as his hand squeezed her own and his other moved to run over her hair. More of a nervous flinch than a defensive one. "Oh.. I see.." If she could say anything about her father, if he ever had a gut feeling, he flew with it. And it had never been wrong.
A gasp escaped the young woman's lips. Her eyes closed as Damien's form changed. The first few times of watching him change were enough for the morning. A weak stomach full of food would not have agreed to the sight. Feeling a wetness on her hand, one eye opened, and seeing the dog, the other opened. As he spoke again, she ran her hand over the top of his head. She gave a small sigh. Little Cateline, orphaned, and alone, had the power of the Gods, sitting at her feet..
"If my father knew I would survive, then there's much more to all of this than what I think.. Especially since someone went out of their way to kill my entire family.." She scratched behind Damien's ears. "How puzzling.."

[TheWendil]

Enjoying his master's affections towards his change, Damien emitted a low and soft whine as Cateline scratched behind his ears. Rearing up, he allowed himself to indulge upon the instincts given to him by this form; that is to say, he carefully reached up with his paws on Cateline's lap and stretched to lick her face, his tail wagging. The small moment of peace did not last however, and Damien suddenly growled threateningly. Turning his head, he sniffed the air, his eyes shining darkly.

Barking loudly, two separate streaks flew out of his back to materialize into two more black hounds. Snarling, they leapt forward to search the mansion. The first Damien crouched into a protective bundle by Cateline's feet, his gaze seeing exactly what his clones were.

"My Lady...there is an intruder among us. Something different.....something tasty."

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline smiled. He kept so in character. A small chuckle escaped her lips. Her hand snapped back though as he growled. Frowning.
She watched as two more of Damien appeared. Her gaze followed them to the hall, where she tried to listen. "Something different..?" She didn't like the sound of that. Not if it was anything like Damien.. Cateline stood and gathered her dress in her hands. "Something dangerous..?" She looked down at her companion.

[TheWendil]

Damien looked at his master with hunger in his gaze. "Yes. Something extremely tasty! And...well now. It seems fate has been cruel to us on this day, my Lady. Please, stay close to me." Sniffing the air cautiously, Damien led the way out of the kitchen and down the numerous hallways, hunting for his prey. Suddenly he stopped, his head bent upright. "Well...this one is no doubt interesting! It seems they've managed to dispose of my other selves." They were able to kill Damien's familiars? Who was this person?

Not far from them, the mysterious assailant stood over the fresh hound corpses in the process of dissolving into shadows. The being was a young girl no older than Cateline herself with pale skin and even paler hair, joined only by a set of pale eyes. A blue and white vest-like outfit covered her thin frame followed by long boots. A stoic look upon her face, the girl brandished her knives and walked forward, deeper into the Warwick Manor.

[kerrymeawaydear]

Following quietly, Cateline's hands shook as they held her dress. Bare feet tried to avoid broken glass. "They killed your dogs..?" She asked him softly. If something could kill off part of Damien.. They wouldn't be safe.. "How do you know..?" She looked up, and away from her furry guardian. What was it? Who was it? What ever was strong enough to do something like that, wasn't something Cateline wanted to be near.
"Do you know where they are?" She looked down the hallway to her left, pushing blonde hair from her face. She took in a sharp breath. Her heart started pounding in her chest, and her whole body shook. Her eyes scanned over the figure. A-A woman..? Of all of the people who could be in here, it was a woman? A woman who posed a threat to her and her companion? How odd. "D-Damien.." She whispered. Cateline's hand reached over, fingers trembling as they pushed into his fur.

[TheWendil]

The girl stared at them blankly, saying nothing as she observed them quietly. Feeling Cateline's fear radiating off of her, Damien nudged her leg in assurance before transforming once more into the tall butler. His ever present smirk showed his fangs. "Hehe, you were able to destroy my body little girl. That means you yourself are not human. Tell me, what business do you have in this household?"

The girl shuffled her feet, her aura apparently not intimidated by Damien's power. In fact, it was almost like she was being...polite? "Nemo thinks that you are the Cursed One," she told Damien. Her voice was quiet, barely over even a whisper. This "Nemo" directed her pale eyes on the other now. "Nemo wants to know...are you Cateline Warwick?"

[kerrymeawaydear]

Cateline shifted to stand behind her guardian. Her hand let go of her dress and moved to hold onto the back of Damien's clothing, still shaking.
This girl wasn't human? Her looks hinted at that. Her eyebrows furrowed up, out of confusion and fear. Nemo? The cursed one? She looked up at Damien. Cursed could be a word for him.
Hearing her name, she looked back at their 'guest'. That could be a dangerous question to answer. 'No', and they could be dead. 'Yes', and they might also end up dead.
"Yes.." Cateline answered. "I'm Cateline Warwick.." Remembering her position, she tried to stand, show some sort of confidence in the title of her family. "Why are you here?"