[center][h3][i][color=#079FE0][b]ℳ[/b][/color] [color=#7D0000]a i r y e ll[/color]  [color=#079FE0][b]Ҝ[/b][/color] [color=#7D0000]a s i o[/color][/i][color=333333]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[/color][sup][center][color=333333]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[/color][color=000000][i][b]s ᴀ ɴ ɢ ᴜ ι ɴ ᴇ[/b][/i][/color][/center][/sup][/h3][sup][sup][sup][sup][img]https://drfhlmcehrc34.cloudfront.net/cache/7a/2e/7a2eca87d796d9fd03a702d75817da61.png[/img][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/center][center][sup][color=#2E6A95][b]"I'll let you off easy this time, but don't be surprised if [i]next time[/i] things don't end so cleanly."[/b][/color]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kASL3Vd5fkA]Theme I[/url] [color=#7D0000]♦[/color] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwkPPTXb7k]Theme II[/url] [color=#7D0000]♦[/color] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkmuTvkp_s]Theme III[/url][/sup][/center][hr]
He'd been waiting for the stranger's response when they were interrupted by the shop keeper, likely the alleged Resistance's leader...for the moment. Having opened the door, the man, revealing he was a licentia, beckoned them in and after the quiet stranger, he heeded the licenti's call, laying a hand on his shoulder a moment as he passed. [color=#2E6A95][b]“I hope you don't plan to screw this up,”[/b][/color] he said seriously, though the slightest of bemused smirks could be found on his lips.

Then the moment was gone, his hand lifted as he entered the shop and looked around. It was the back room, yet it was very well furnished considering that fact. Nonetheless, all kinds of trinkets, magical and otherwise, could be found strewn this way and that, some within protective glass, crystal, or cages, others hidden within cloth bags, or merely arranged on shelves. It was a bit haphazard, but the hunter figured that it was intentional on the shopkeeper's part. The man had an air about him that reminded him of someone he [i]hated[/i] to think about. A certain rotten, scheming licentia by the name of Szayeis: Public enemy number one.

Turning his mind away from that he took a whiff of the room, catching a now stronger scent of blood as well as a variety of strange vis signatures from many of the surrounding merchandise. Once he'd taken a whiff of the place and gotten the lay of the land, he glanced at the once silent stranger who had, finally, decided to address him. As he regarded [i]Miri[/i] the hunter noted more than a little bit of nervousness. He took note of it, and stored it away for later consideration as he responded, [color=#2E6A95][b]“Yes, [i]pleased[/i] to make your acquaintance. Name's Mairyell. Just call me Mai though, shortens things up,”[/b][/color] his tone was level, but his expression was largely neutral, in part because of the way 'Miri' had glanced around suggested paranoia, not to mention the nervous movements he made every so often. He'd seen it before and it reminded him of only one sort of person...thieves.

Still, there were more interesting people arriving, such as the kimono-wearing eximius he'd seen at the gathering. Eyes following the stranger before glancing at the wounded man, Mairyell started to head over, before he heard the eximius ask if the man required assistance. With that offer given by another, he turned his eyes away and instead let them fall onto Zeki.

As he listened to their host, he couldn't help but wonder who this [i]other person[/i] was. He would soon find out.[hr][center][h3][i][color=#0489C2][b]Ｓ[/b][/color] [color=#00001A]z a y e i s[/color][/i][color=333333]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[/color][sup][center][color=333333]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[/color][color=000000][i][b]ᴍ ᴀ s ᴛ ᴇ ʀ  ᴏ ғ  ᴛ ʜ ᴇ  ɢ ᴀ ᴍ ᴇ[/b][/i][/color][/center][/sup][/h3][sup][sup][sup][sup][img]https://drfhlmcehrc34.cloudfront.net/cache/7a/2e/7a2eca87d796d9fd03a702d75817da61.png[/img][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/center][center][sup][color=#00001A][b]"Which will it be, your pride...or your life?"[/b][/color]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptXZCsVyEkU]Theme I[/url] [color=#0489C2]♦[/color] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyWn5RcLA7c]Theme II[/url][/sup][/center][hr]
With Aeris being maneuvered out of the way, he had freed himself to play instigator to Mairyell, not to mention beholden himself, at least in part, to the other members of the Resistance. The question was, should he go to the meeting as himself...or someone else.

While the thought of showing up in earnest to see the [i]little vampire's[/i] reaction was an amusing one, it was perhaps not the wisest. Taking this into mind, Szayeis had split his awareness, infusing roughly 1/10th of his considerable vis into a man who'd been just about to retire for the night. The shadows around him coalesced before engulfing him, pulling at his clothes and forcing themselves into his mouth, eyes and ears with not a single scream. That was until his wife opened the door to the bathroom and saw her husband wreathed in darkness.

Nonetheless, her voice was cut short in the same fashion as her life, before she crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from the vicious gash in her throat. The man turned, skin covered in viscous black energy, eyes seeping the same substance, before the vis retracted into his body completely.

Looking down at himself, then at the mirror, Szayeis took stock of the human he'd possessed as he rearranged the dying man's vis in a thick shell around his own. After he'd properly situated himself within the man, using him as a disguise, he accessed the man's terrified mind and wrenched forth memory, accessing what sort of wardrobe he had and where he would find it.

With a snap of his fingers and a single step he relocated himself to the bedroom and dressed his little meat puppet. He decided to style the main's hair, parting it on the left side and slicking it down and to the right with hair gel, finishing in a rather slick look. He trimmed the facial hair clean off with the exception of a goatee and mustache. Once he was done he admired himself in the mirror, looking from head to toe at what he's chosen to wear. He'd chosen a a white dress shirt tucked into tan slacks, with black shoes, which was something he'd likely [i]never[/i] wear under normal circumstances, which made it perfect. To top things off he picked a long button-up coat from the dresser and slung it over his shoulder, using some extended shadows to position it perfectly.

Then he found the man's wallet, read his ID and rifled through everything else. He even found a family photo with his vessel, James Hagar as well as his late wife and two beautiful daughters. A dark smile came over his face as he silently exited the man's bedroom and stalked through the house.

He stopped at the closed doors of their children's room and smiled as he felt a rise of fear and nausea emanate from James' trapped consciousness.

[color=#00001A][b]"Beautiful,"[/b][/color] he said with the man's voice, his hand reaching the door knob, turning it, before opening the door. His vessel's anxiety rose and rose with each movement as Szayeis entered the room, looked between the two daughter's beds, Emily and Daisy were their names. After a moment of contemplation, he laid a hand on the younger girl's cheek...and then poured vis into her body, letting it settle at her breast. Afterwards he felt drained, but it didn't last long as he touched the older sister and drained her vis. She wouldn't wake up for a long time.

Pleased with himself, he exited the room, closing the door, and then made his way out of the house and down the street. He did love his tragedies, he thought, as he considered the terrible future for the two siblings. They'd be...back ups for Aeris and Mairyell, just in case he had to get rid of them, or killing one [i]destroyed[/i] the other. Besides, this time he could have an associate adopt them as foster children. Oh he would relish raising them...making them beholden to him, the man who had killed their parents—not that they would ever know.

Taking in a deep breath of the sweet night air, he shifted through a shadow to find himself relocated to the alley next to the Twilight Spirit. Further wreathing his vis with that of his vessel, he erased his true signature, though he did not replace it completely. Instead he intermingled the human vis with his own licenti essence. Then he had them engage in an intricate internal dance.

He had had Mairyell hunt him for centuries, he was hardly going to be caught now.

Entering through the open door, Szayeis, smiled at everyone, [color=#00001A][b]“Hehe, sorry, I wasn't sure if I should join you.”[/b][/color] He gave Zeki an apologetic look before he glanced around and found a seat. As he put on the act, Szayeis took stock of those who had shown up.

[i]'Charles Aeon, Mairyell Kasio, our host Zeki Glaedwine, Archene--an Eximius lord--and...Miri? Huh, didn't expect to see him anytime soon. I wonder if he knows about...no, probably not.'[/i] Internally he smiled. He loved knowing things that no one else did, after all...knowledge was power so it truly paid in spades to have a monopoly on it.