Public Hallowe'en on Necropolis

[Marya Werdegast]

POV: Byron Devorak, top enforcer of crime boss Han Werdegast
Location: Outside front entrance of Danse Macabre
Tags: Valery Noble

Byron listened to her response in silence, his expression unmoved. It was as if a mask had closed over his face, hiding his feelings.

"That's not who I am, and you know it."

"No ma'am, I don't know you," he pointed out. "You may be a bigshot wherever you come from, but not here. You're in my world now, and I am politely asking you to return to yours."

"I can help you find Thelma and put an end to this before more people get hurt. I won't stand in your way, but I also won't walk away knowing there's more to be done. Let me help."

"I know where she is." Did this Jedi know Thelma? Something about the way she said her name gave it away. He supposed it made sense. Thelma had been a Jedi once, and hers wasn't exactly a common name. "You've done enough. Any further involvement from you would only complicate things. Please go now, before things truly get out of hand."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Black Masquerade dress

Valery's eyes narrowed at Byron's response, her tone sharpened but composed. "You do know me now," she said, her voice firm. "Or have you already forgotten how I saved your ass tonight? I could've left with the rest of the club patrons and let you handle it alone."

"You totally had it under control with those assassins in your world."

She took a step closer, her amber gaze locking onto his, unwavering. "I don't plan to claim it and I don't care about fame. But don't mistake my presence as interference. I'm here because I've seen what happens when people take on more than they can handle alone."

And she wanted to know what this was all about. What she had been risking her own life for.

When Byron mentioned knowing Thelma's location, her expression flickered, revealing a touch of concern. "If you know where she is, then we'll find her easily enough."

"You can't expect me to just walk after after all... this."

Marya Werdegast ​

 

[Marya Werdegast]

POV: Byron Devorak, top enforcer of crime boss Han Werdegast
Location: Street
Tags: Valery Noble

She wasn’t going to let it go. Damn it all, he wished his Cloak was still intact! He could’ve simply teleported away. While she ranted, Byton stood with his hands on his hips, looking around, biding his time—until she struck a raw nerve.

"You totally had it under control with those assassins in your world."

He hissed at her in warning. “Don’t.”

What makes you so certain you’ve been protecting innocents? he almost wanted to ask her. She probably meant the bystanders who could’ve been hit in the crossfire, not the vampires she had unknowingly escorted to safety.

Or did she know? The discovery of Thelma’s true nature had forced her out of the Order. If this woman knew her, she probably knew she was a vampire. She may have even had suspicions about Byron, Han, all of them. If she knew all that, and was pushing for further involvement… she could blow the top off their whole secret operation here. She had to be stopped.

Or was that just his stomach talking? He hadn’t fed since last night.

Throughout this whole thought process he appeared very distracted, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. Then his expression suddenly relaxed. “What’s your name?” he asked, as if acquiescing to her demands. “If you want me to know you, I must have that.”

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Black Masquerade dress

Valery watched Byron carefully, her sharp amber eyes catching every flicker of his expression — the way his features tensed and then relaxed, the storm of thought swirling behind his eyes. His warning hiss hadn't gone unnoticed, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she held her ground, her resolve as unyielding as ever.

When his demeanor shifted and he finally asked for her name, she considered him for a moment. His sudden shift in tone was calculated, and she knew it. But there was no reason to withhold her identity, not now.

"Valery," she replied, her voice steady but carrying the weight of her presence. No last name, no titles, just her name. Her eyes softened after that, but her stance remained firm.

Backing down was not an option.

"So, Byron, now that you know my name… What's next?"

Marya Werdegast ​

 

[Marya Werdegast]

POV: Byron Devorak, top enforcer of crime boss Han Werdegast
Location: Outside front entrance of Danse Macabre
Tags: Valery Noble

Valery. Valery?... Nah. Didn't ring any bells.

But the name itself was useful. Very, very useful.

"So, Byron, now that you know my name… What's next?"

"Valery."

Byron skillfully poured power into his voice as her name fell from his lips, turning it into a spell. His eyes locked hypnotically onto hers, gray upon orange, as he sought to gain control over her mind. Once she was under his influence, he could deal with her as he saw fit.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Black Masquerade dress

Valery's name lingered in the air like a whispered secret, but it wasn’t just the sound of it that caused her resolve to falter. The moment Byron uttered her name, a strange, insidious warmth began to creep through her mind, seeping into her thoughts like a slow, intoxicating fog. Her amber eyes, sharp and resolute just moments ago, softened, their intensity dimming as they became locked in his gaze.

Gray met orange, and the world around her seemed to blur at the edges, fading into insignificance. The distant hum of the city, the murmur of passing trick-or-treaters — it all fell away, leaving only the two of them standing in a strange, suspended stillness. Valery’s breath slowed, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm as her defenses, once so meticulously maintained, began to waver.

Her lips parted slightly, as if to speak, but no words came. Instead, her gaze grew distant, her usually fiery expression melting into something far more docile. A faint, almost dreamy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and her head tilted ever so slightly, as if in a daze.

"Byron..." she murmured softly, the weight of his influence threading through her voice. It wasn’t her usual tone — it was quieter, gentler, like the tone of someone trying to cling to a fleeting thought in the haze of a dream. Somewhere deep inside, she could feel a flicker of unease, a whisper of her own consciousness fighting to regain control.

But for now, that whisper was drowned out by the commanding presence of his voice and the hypnotic pull of his eyes.

Marya Werdegast ​

 

[Marya Werdegast]

POV: Byron Devorak, top enforcer of crime boss Han Werdegast
Location: Outside front entrance of Danse Macabre
Tags: Valery Noble

Byron resisted the urge to grin victoriously as Valery fell into a stupor, intent on sustaining the hypnosis. He walked backwards into a nearby alley, where the passerby couldn't see them. There his eyes seemed to glow in the dark, holding her gaze as he burrowed deeper into her mind.

He could rewrite her memories, make her forget everything that had happened in the past hour. Questions would still remain. She'd wonder how she ended up on the other side of the city, bruised from her fight against the Gen'dai and, most bizarre of all, missing her shoes. Such a spell was difficult to maintain. It would sap his strength, and even then its power often proved fragile. A simple reminder could bring all her memories back. But it would throw her off his trail in a way that simply commanding her to leave the planet wouldn't. He wanted her involvement in this affair to end once and for all. Besides, what were the odds anyone brought up Dahrtag or Han Werdegast or Thelma in the next few months?

"You will forget this night," he said, his voice the only clear thing she could perceive in her hazy state. "And you will avoid Dahrtag in the future..."

Byron felt drained as the spell sapped his strength, leaving hunger and emptiness in its wake. Damn it all, he wished he'd had time to feed earlier! Smelling the remnants of her blood drying along her cheek, he found himself leaning towards her exposed neck. If she didn't remember anything that happened tonight, then maybe he could just...

He needed to, if he was to have the strength to finish the spell. Her blood would power it. He allowed himself a twisted little smirk at the thought, then sank his teeth into her flesh.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Black Masquerade dress

The sharp pain of Byron's bite sent a jolt through Valery, but the haze of his control wrapped around her mind like a suffocating blanket. Her body reacted on instinct, a shaky gasp escaping her lips as her knees wavered beneath her. The warmth of her blood leaving her veins only deepened the weakness, sapping her strength as the world around her faded further into obscurity.

Her breaths came shallow and uneven, the strength in her limbs faltering as her hands hovered uselessly at her sides. A faint whimper escaped her, a sound so unlike the Sword of the Jedi, lost in the fog of submission. The hum of the city, the distant laughter of trick-or-treaters — it all faded into a distant murmur, replaced by the rhythmic, invasive pulse of his voice in her mind.

"You will forget this night."

The words echoed through her consciousness like a bell toll, reverberating with power. Her lips parted as if to protest, but only a soft exhale emerged. The flicker of resistance within her dimmed, her connection to the Force clouded by the weight of his command and the growing weakness in her body. The familiar anchor she relied on felt just out of reach.

She could feel the pull of darkness threatening to consume her, dragging her deeper into the abyss. Each second under his influence chipped away at her defenses, and her vision blurred, the world tilting as the strength drained from her.

Her head tilted slightly, exposing her neck further to his bite, a gesture more unconscious than deliberate. The fight in her, though not extinguished, was now buried beneath layers of manipulation and her growing fragility. Valery was caught in a web of darkness, her light flickering but not yet lost.

Marya Werdegast ​

 

[Marya Werdegast]

POV: Byron Devorak, top enforcer of crime boss Han Werdegast
Location: Outside front entrance of Danse Macabre
Tags: Valery Noble

Byron forced himself to relinquish his hold on her throat. He'd only be in more trouble if she bled to death. Flush with strength, he sealed the puncture wounds left by his teeth, leaving no trace of his feeding. She'd be anemic, but wouldn't know why.

The spell of forgetfulness had sunk in, though only time would tell how effective it would prove. For now, their little partnership had ended. He left her there, wiping any remaining bloodstains from his mouth as he hailed a cab and disappeared into the night.