[centre][color=9A130A]𝗟𝗢𝗞𝗜 𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗚[/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/vi41XdC.gif[/img]
[sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/KQuJeOy.png[/img][/sup][/centre][right][sup]Mentions of one particularly self-righteous human journalist. [@Undine][/sup][/right]
[indent]Morning light streamed in through a large window on the eastern wall of the dining room. It was surprisingly sunny for a London day in February, but not altogether unwelcomed. One might think that it should be unwelcomed, being that Loki was a vampire, but the Van Stenberg Estate hosted a number of windowed walls such as this. Although it made him weaker, Loki enjoyed the sunshine. He couldn’t gaze outside for too long in the daylight, but it was nice to see the natural surroundings of his home. He’d paid enough money for this plot of land, of course he was going to enjoy the gorgeous view.

Sidestepping the beams of sunlight, Loki travelled from the grand dining room to the kitchen. He had to go to the lab for work in about an hour and a half, he’d already showered, and it was about time for him to finish his morning routine of breakfast, browsing the news, and getting dressed for the day. Loki pressed a button situated above the countertop and the speaker system wired throughout his kitchen came to life with a soft, glowing light. As he went about making his breakfast, the local radio station played through the speakers. The modern music was not of his tastes, he listened mostly for Louise. She had a pleasant voice, and Loki liked to be aware of the lives of most vampires in the area, especially the younger ones. They might need his guidance or intervention some day.

The scientist had a carefully crafted way of preparing his morning mug of blood. His fridge was stocked full of bagged blood, all from very [i]willing[/i] donators, of course. He heated the red liquid on the cooker, set up double boiler-style so that the vapors from boiling water warmed it without scorching the plasma. A thermometer was clipped to the pan to measure the precise moment that the blood was heated to average human body temperature. Once heated, Loki tipped the sanguine delight into a clay mug and brought it, along with his plate of beans, toast, and a fried egg, over to the shaded side of the dining room table.

Loki enjoyed his breakfast whilst scrolling through his favourite news sites on a tablet. He might be archaic, but that didn’t mean that his understanding of technology had to be. He could manage an iPad, and all of the equivalents. Loki made it a point to stay on the forefront of technological advancement at all times, as knowledge was in fact power, and he quite liked having power. There was the sound of a key being turned and the front door opened to reveal a short, very pregnant woman, with long dark brown hair. Loki smiled up at her.

[b]“Good morning, Miss Madeline.”[/b] Loki greeted his maid and personal assistant, for lack of a better title. She smiled in return and struggled to get the things she was carrying through the door. Loki stood up and made his way over to her to help carry some of the bags. [b]“Now now, don’t strain yourself, luv.”[/b] 

[i]“Thank you, Master Van Stenberg. That’s your dry cleaning, it was done a bit early. Also, I managed to get the blood out of your linens.”[/i] She said and closed the door behind her. She spoke lightly of the blood because she was fully aware of what Loki was. He made sure to pay her handsomely for her secrecy, paired with weighty intimidation in the form of thinly-veiled threats towards her precious growing family if she were to ever betray him. It was good system they had, truly, it benefited the both of them.

[b]“The [i]Millesimo[/i] ones? Brilliant! Those were pricey.”[/b] Loki praised her as he walked back over to his breakfast.

[i]“Quite… perhaps next time you’ll think twice before eating in bed.”[/i] Madeline replied sassily, arranging the bags in neat piles according to where she would need to bring them.

Loki smirked as he chewed a bite of his beans and toast. He swallowed before speaking again. [b]“Well, where’s the fun in that, Miss Maddie?“[/b] She rolled her eyes and went about her work. Their conversation continued as usual, until something rather out of the ordinary came up. Louise’s lovely radio voice was replaced by that of an old-timey male news presenter-styled voice. Loki listened to the hijacked broadcast with piqued interest, sipping at his mug or warmed blood in quiet contemplation. It was a manifesto. A call to arms. When the man was finished, Loki laughed.

Madeline, however, was less amused. Loki could sense the change in her emotions, as fear began to roll off of her in waves. It changed the very aroma of her blood, her fear made it all the more enticing. It was only natural for her to be afraid, as she was a human and he was not, and that was a very anti-Other manifesto that Loki was choosing to laugh at. [b]“Come now, Madeline. There is nothing for you to worry about. Do you see me worried? It’s rather amusing, actually, for your lot to be so bold as to challenge the wolves on the night on which they are strongest.”[/b] Loki tilted his head to the side and smirked at her. [b]“I do wonder… shall the hunters [i]actually[/i] become the hunted?”[/b] he mused with an eerie grin.

[i]“I-I don’t know, Master Van Stenberg.”[/i] She stammered, carefully placing a fresh floral arrangement on the dining room table, which she had picked up for him at Evermore Flowers earlier that morning. Lilies, those were his favourite, Maddie knew him well. Seeing that Loki was finished with his breakfast, she took away his dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, along with those he had used to prepare his meal, to started the wash cycle. The vampire stood up and walked over to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, at least that was his intent in the gesture. Madeline jumped at the touch and spun around to face him.

[b]“Take the weekend off, I insist. Stay indoors until all of this blows over, I would hate to see you taken as collateral damage if any bloodshed is to occur.”[/b] In a shockingly warm motion, Loki brushed his thumb across her cheek. Madeline’s expression paled. [b]“I’d be lost without you, luv.”[/b]

Madeline nodded in agreement. [i]“Of course, thank you, Ma—”[/i]

[b]“No need to thank me. Head home now, give your son a kiss. Keep him safe.”[/b] Loki’s words were meant to be kind and concerned, yet they came off as intimidating. Madeline worked for a vampire, a vampire who had once vaguely threatened the life of the son he was now requesting that she keep safe. Maddie nodded once again and saw herself out of his home.

Now that he was alone, Loki had a lot to ponder. He stepped into his walk-in closet, which was stocked with his collection of suits, including the freshly dry-cleaned ones. Loki selected a charcoal grey ensemble, paired with a pale purple shirt, and a rich plum tie. The elder vampire deftly tied the silk, paisley-patterned fabric around his neck in a Balthus knot as he contemplated what he wanted to do about the broadcast he’d just heard. A man with meddlesome proclivities such as his could not simply sit around and do [i]nothing[/i]. As he pulled the tie knot tight, an idea struck him.

[i]Blake.[/i]

It was nearly time for him to head to work, but attempting to discover the cure for cancer could serve to wait a few more minutes. Loki had more important things to do… like torturing one particularly self-righteous human journalist, for example. Loki sat at his computer desk and flipped open his laptop screen. He clicked on his e-mail account, and decided it far better to send this letter anonymously, for now, at least. Loki created a disposable new e-mail address under the name “collateral_damage”, inspired by the phrase from his previous conversation. He began to tap out a message to send to the woman who so openly invited the Other and non-Other world to contact her.

[code]Good Morning, Miss Preston,

I assume that a journalist such as yourself has heard the news by now. Quite the broadcast was aired live for all of Edgetoun to hear just moments ago. It appears that your messages of Other equality have fallen on deaf ears. Or… perhaps those ears were not so deaf, after all. In these past few weeks, you have sat behind your computer screen and typed about things far beyond your scope of understanding. You are a human in far over your head, and I believe that you may not even realize it. The events of this coming weekend are the consequence of your self-proclaimed activism. You spoke too loud, and now the actions of the extremists that you have inspired will speak even louder. A war is brewing, and whether or not you physically choose to participate in it, the Other blood that is shed will still be on your hands.

Take care in writing your next article. The whole world is watching, and not everyone sees things through rose-tinted glasses.

Regards,
Your Not-So-Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire[/code]

Loki’s eyes scanned the screen as he proofread the letter for any errors. Did he truly believe that Blake’s flashy journalism was to blame for the radical behavior of the extremist broadcast hijacker? No, he did not believe that. The e-mail was meant to bait Blake into a little game of cat and mouse. To knock the annoying journalist down off of her high horse which, in his eyes, she had no right to put a saddle upon. This game might entertain him, at least for a time. Eternal life lasted far too long to spend it being bored. Loki abhorred boredom.[/indent]