Of all the places in all the world that he had to go to, it had to be Kurayo. The one city he truly despised. In truth, he hadn’t visited its dark streets since that particular night with his then fighting companion, now wife and mother of his children. The two of them had both come quite a long way since those days, yet he still could barely stand the idea of visiting it. If he wasn’t in such need of the supplies they had that could be found nowhere else, it wouldn’t have even been an option.

Luckily it was normally traded through the black market that ran through there, and there was one man in particular he could go to for that. Rather than teleport and get there quickly, he found himself walking to Drae’s temple. More so, he was stalling, and he knew it even if he’d never admit it. Along with the fact he’d never admit aloud: that he was afraid to visit such a place on his own. Not fear of death or harm, just fear of how his mind would react upon returning.

The pair had been ambushed, his family name being more than enough reason to do so as they were renowned vampire hunters…then add in Echo and her own family history, and really the temptation was so strong to those of their kind that he shouldn’t have been surprised when the attack came. The temple came closer and closer as he walked. Likewise, his heart pulsed faster, pounding the rush of blood in his head that for just a flicker he misheard as the rip and tear of flesh of an arm being ripped off and discarded…

He suddenly had the unyielding urge to quickly return to Suisho no Kyuden, check his wife’s shoulder to ensure the scar was still nothing more than a scar; to be sure that their children were safe and playing with the young nightmare fillies in their mother’s stables. All of that worry and concern festered to anger under his skin, and this was the very reason it wasn’t good for anyone if he ventured the alleys of Kurayo on his own.

For all the progress he had made in his prejudice against vampires, that city was an exception to those strides. It showcased the deadly vermin of their race that he was still bound to destroy should the need arise. Having been forced into resignation from the slayer’s organization upon his ascension to deityhood, he knew he could never again bear their name or colors…but that duty would never truly be lifted from his shoulders for so long as he lived.

He took a few deep inhales and exhales as he walked up to the door, hand lifting to put in the answer to the puzzle that would gain him access, just as he had done the first time. But now that he was here, he found himself hesitating. Asking for help from a man who had expertise in a particular area, namely the black market in this case, was one thing. But he knew all the way to the pit of his stomach that he wanted him there by his side for so much more than aid in retrieving an item.

The two had only known each other for a short time, and he wondered if it was even appropriate or fair to him…He would not ask Echo, and could not ask Angela. Both of them had suffered that day right alongside him…Yet here he was, about to ask her husband to go with him where he would be in the same horrible place she’d had to rescue them from. Nevertheless, he unlocked the door so that he could step through.

It was so loud it was as if it was being yelled throughout Tar Eisalae with the magnification of a Draconic Bellow. It was rather distracting. It was more than obvious that it was HEAVILY on his mind. It was impossible to focus. And when it was impossible to focus, it meant that no work was going to get done. Drae rubbed his face before he stood up and grabbed his travel bag. He'd had a feeling it was going to be needed.

As Naota finally made to enter Tar Eisalae, Drae was there, cloak sweeping out behind him as he walked right past Naota before reaching out in a comical fashion to grab the Shiny one by the back of his collar.
"You are going the wrong way, kid, Kurayo's this way. Gods did you have to shout your apprehensions mentally all the way here? You are lucky I wasn't working in the lab when you crossed the threshold. Something might have exploded," the Keeper stated as though chastising one of his adopted teenaged children.

"So, what's in Kurayo that has you riled up so badly you had to come to me, huh?" Drae asked as he opened a portal to the very location that the God of Light and Strength seemed so determined to visit despite his obvious discomfort. "It has to be black market related, I am going to assume, correct me if I am wrong…"

No sooner had he entered, did Adraejen walk right past him, but not before scruffing the collar at his back to pull him with him. Even with his internal battle he was still just as ‘go with it’ as usual, and turned with him; able to keep his feet from twisting too much underneath him as he walked alongside. He was already dressed and ready, as if this had been a preplanned engagement, and before he could question it he got his answer. He didn’t realize that his worries or intentions were amplified towards him, and whether it was to do with his domain or just the state of Drae himself, he wasn’t sure. Either way, his lips slowly pulled in and his face filled with warmth, though no color showed in his cheeks.

He wasn’t sure he was comfortable enough, or even able to speak of what had him so upset, at least not in length. There was one thing for sure though, “Yes,” he nodded, “It’s very black market related.” He eyed the portal that Drae had opened, his stomach immediately dropping as his feet paused, despite his previous scruffing. Of course there would be a portal, that was the faster way to go, but knowing what was just on the other side already had his blood rushing. The hesitation lasted only a second or two before stepping through and into the constant nocturnal that was Kurayo. His jaw clenched, and the usual emerald of his eyes instantly bled into threatening crimson as they swept the immediate area.

As per usual there were weapons of all sorts hidden on his person, and while he felt urged to take one, he didn’t. The last time he had been here he’d been mortal, but that was no longer the case. His natural glow stuck out in this place of darkness, and the constant radiation of holiness was thick as it always was. He watched with slight comfort as people in the immediate area took a subconscious step further from him. His eyes closed for a moment with a long and slow exhale through his nose as he thought of Holly. He thought of the betrayal in her eyes so very very long ago when he’d snapped at her, been harsh and cruel for the origins of her race, when his relationship with The Rosenites had truly started. When his eyes opened they were emerald once more and he kept from looking at Adraejen as he began to walk through, his tone quiet,

“I,” he hesitated for a heartbeat, “Still work through my own prejudices.” Which was true, but not what he had wanted to say. They were far from the ambush point that he and Echo had been swarmed at thankfully, and he hoped that it would make this visit easier, “If for any reason you become privy to any personal information while we’re here, I only ask that you keep that knowledge to yourself…” The uglier chapters of his early life were ones that he preferred to keep close to the vest. He wasn’t one for living in the past, and preferred to keep it there lest it find a way to become corrupting. Its lessons were precious, but that’s all they were to him: lessons.

"You may want to dial back the brightness," Drae commented as they stepped out into Kurayo, and the occupants immediately shied away from them, from the light that Naota radiated. "I can disguise you if you like," he offered. "We'd attract less negative attention that way." He pulled his own cowl up over his head. "If you ask me to keep it in confidence, it will not leave me," he reassured his bright companion. "Now, who exactly are we going to be expecting problems from on this venture?" Drae asked as they began walking down the darkened foggy streets of the city run by denizens of the dark. "Lycans or Vampires?" he asked bluntly. "It helps to know who we are dealing with," he said. 

He motioned for Naota to follow him down a side alley, away from prying eyes who may have been spying. "You never mentioned what it was we are here for. I won't ask why, but I do need to know what. What will determine where we need to go from here," he insisted as he paused in the shadows of the alley way. 

He was about to start walking again when he froze for a moment and sniffed the chilly air. He straightened up and rolled his neck, popping the bones and muscles. "Stay sharp… we are being watched," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. 

His lips pressed into a tight line when he was suggested to dim himself. That was something he had control of if he were to really push it, but a greater part of him did not want to let his light go down. It was more a living part of him now that his body gave a home too, while at the same time he was woven with it as if two souls had become one. It was similar and yet nothing at all like what he had previously had with Minasé.

That being said, even if he could snuff it out, he was hesitant. Like this he did garner negative attention, that was true, but knew that he could smite anything that attacked him here. He was in a city of the undead, and he was their antidote. His jaw locked as such harsh views started to flood his mind. Despite himself, he forced the glow to dim down, though the shine from his eyes stayed the same.

The next statement was easier to answer, “Vampires.” He said with absolutely no hesitation, or guilt. He’d regret that later when he was recounting the day. Some explanation was needed, and that was where he hesitated, but eventually the words came, though he kept them low, “Before my ascension I was a vampire hunter. I come from an elite family of them, part of a greater organization.”

He paused briefly, “After my ascension I was forced to resign.” The organization was Parvpora based after all, and he had become a deity. A deity of light, of holiness, unmatched in either respect, a perfect tool and asset to such an organization, but prejudices ran deep and there was no longer a place for him there. Even if he was an Uharu; a family name often times spat in vampire covens.

It felt like poetic justice since he had led such a life of prejudice against the very things that he hunted, that now such tarnished views then affected his own life. But that was long ago, what felt like a lifetime away from him. And while The Rosenites had helped him through his prejudice, even while still mortal, he’d be lying if he claimed he was completely over it. Yes, a part of him relished in the fear in the eyes of Kurayo’s inhabitants, and his heart was sent running in a familiar race when he focused on those that just barely contained their rage at seeing him.

“To some here, it has nothing to do with my glow and all to do with my face and last name. There will most certainly be negative attention towards me no matter what I do.” There was no hint of regret in his tone, quite uncharacteristic of him, but this place put him in a fowl mood that had just as much to do with vampires as it did with the fact that they had tried to murder his wife and himself. “However,” he started, “I don’t have you here for aided protection, not physically at least.”

He knew well he could easily hold his own against anyone here, and that was before ascending, no…No he didn’t want to get lost. Didn’t want to become an unnecessary threat. Didn’t want to forget the man he had become over time; to be lost to the boy he’d once been. Hate was a hard emotion to kill, even for a deity of strength and perseverance. He moved with him through the alley, glad to no longer feel quite as many eyes on him,

“As for what we’re here for, it’s a text.” Just because he had his own internal struggles with those of Kurayo, it didn’t mean he doubted their intellect or discounted their scholars. “It’s quite old, only seven copies were ever transcribed and only two remain. Being our deity of magick, you might know of it or take interest.” He looked over at him, the shadow of a smile forming that was quickly extinguished when he felt it.

At almost the same time Drae mentioned those eyes, he felt them like a stab in the crook of his neck. His eyes flickered down to his arms, but all he was met with were the white tattoos. Before his ascension his body had been littered in half moon scars: bite marks from his enemies. They were healed when he ascended, as was any other scar he’d had, but his skin still remembered those bites, could sense when a vampire wanted to sink into him.

“Like I said, my face and last name will bring more negative attention than my glow ever could.” His heart picked up, here in the alley with its close walls and damp air, he was reminded of the pit they’d been ambushed in years ago. He swallowed down, his eyes bright crimson once more and glowing so brightly that they cast shadows on the walls surrounding them,

“My wife and I were ambushed here before I rose to deityhood. At that time we were only fighting companions, and forgive me, but the closeness of these walls and feel of threatening eyes is dangerously similar.” Without giving a command, the weapons strapped to himself slowly undid themselves, ready to surround him, but all they did was unstrap. He was too quick to a fight here, and had to make a conscious effort to keep his body’s energy from going too far. He exhaled and forced everything to buckle itself back in, however, his fingers rested around Torinasu’s hilt.

Vampires. It had to be Vampires. He didn't have a beef with the vampires the way that they might have had with Naota, but as a Lycan himself, it would have been significantly easier to pursued the Lycans of Kurayo to cooperate. 

"I should have guessed that," Drae muttered shaking his head. "You wouldn't have come to me if it was going to be Lycans, I'm sure. I could have written you a letter and you would have gotten what you were looking for. Unless it was the Vaewolves. Celeste and I are on speaking terms at the very least, I couldn't get you a peaceful audience or anything. Can't say she whether or not she holds a grudge for her loss at the Trials during Hebheka," he commented. 
"Face and name or not, the glow certainly lets them know where you are," he said in good humor. "Do what you want I suppose," Drae said with a shrug. "We're Gods. What is there to worry about?"

The mention of what they were there for made Drae's eye twitch and a level of irritation rise up in him. A book. Drae found himself chuckling lightly trying to mask the irritation, but he didn't let on. Even the rarity of the book didn't abate it though. He said nothing. 

"Well, before we turn this into a blood bath, let's see if we can just arrange an amicable meeting," Drae said as he eyed Naota's unclasped weapons ready to be summoned at a moment's call. 

"We know you are watching. Come out, and let's do this in a civilized fashion," he called out to the eyes that watched them from above and around. "Not looking for a fight." 

He waited for a moment before he continued on down the alley way and headed in the direction away from the Lycanthropic side of town, when a figured blocked their path. 
"State your business."

"That is none of your concern, but we do seek audience with your sire. Strictly a business matter," Drae said flatly.

His eyes flicked back to him at the mention of Vaewolves. All he knew about them were things in the rumor mill, and for once theirs was a subject he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to breach. He was right though, were it lycanthropes there would have been no need, but not for cordial meetings; but because he had no personal issue with their kind.

Vampires on the other hand…It wasn’t being made clear enough, but he didn’t want to bring too much attention to it: he wasn’t there for help in protection from vampires, he was there to help protect them from himself should painful memories overshadow his usual good judgment.

Since there wasn’t much he could do about his seemingly perpetual glow, he pulled his hood down further. That hardly did any good in this city of darkness, but it was the best he could manage. The most he could do was dim the light, but not get rid of it; the tattoos were the most stubborn.

The longer they walked, the more he was urged to strike out, but managed to do well at keeping calm. However, it did nothing to cease the energy buzzing through his weapons, try as he might to keep them strapped to his person.

No attack came when Drae called out to the inevitable watching eyes, and he was happy for it. Drae was right, they were deities, there was nothing to worry about, and as for now it would appear that the would-be attackers were remembering that. The last time he was here he had been mortal, this time? It would be more than foolish to pick a fight with one deity, but two? And one being the deity of magick and the other unmatched in the holy arts? Yes, an unintelligent fight if ever there was one.

All of this for a book, he knew it had to look foolish to put yourself through so much, but it wasn’t just for the book. The knowledge within was rare yes, but these people were no fools: secrets weren’t all that were hidden in these pages. The ink was made of a substance no longer available for one: instead of using iron to bind the color, it used specimens from fallen meteorites. And while there had been small star drops from the sky over the centuries, each one was different, and being able to get your hands on some from so long ago? Where the rest of its resources were now spent? That was worth more than any spell or whispered rite. In his opinion at least. And that was just the ink.

He spoke nothing of these things though, and remained stoic as Drae bartered for entry down the alley way. Torinasu all but shook at his side from being so close to one of them, and while normally he would grip its hilt to calm himself and still its energy, that would be seen as a possible attack, and that’s the last thing they wanted right now.

“You? Yes.” the stranger said, keeping his gaze on Drae, “You? Stay.” he said, eyes flicking over to Naota. Even without being able to see his face there were clear marks that he was a former hunter. It would have been foolish for him to simply let him pass through, so he couldn’t really blame him.

Still, there was always diplomacy to keep, and his voice was quiet as usual as he tried to reason with him, “My weapons can be checked. I don’t need them for-”

“I said he comes. Only him.”

Despite himself, the tattoos began to glow brighter and his jaw locked. He was interrupted. He was lucky he didn’t just-! No. No, he had to stay calm…even if he did want to just literally go through him and be done with it. His eyes moved to Drae even though they were unseen beneath his hood. Normally talking things through was his strong suit, but he couldn’t think straight with this bloodsucker so close to him.

Drae put a hand on Naota's shoulder to steady him. He could smell his anger, and that wasn't even him using his deific powers to detect it. Drae regarded the vampire for a moment before he spoke. 

"I know you and your masters have had a rather… touchy history with this man. However, he is the only one who knows exactly what we are seeking here today. Without him, I am not able to fully barter with your masters," Drae said simply. "I can relieve him of his weapons if that will suit your master," he added casting Naota a confident look before he looked back at the vampire. 

The vampire was still a moment. "No weapons then. But there will be consequences if he becomes hostile towards us." 
"Fair enough," Drae agreed. He looked at Naota, hoping that he was going to be willing to play along for the time being. He extended his hand expectantly, waiting for Naota's weapons to be delivered into his safe keeping for the time being. 

When all was ready, Drae turned and followed the vampire as they were lead down the alleys to a rather grand mansion in the center of the city. Several vampires could be seen standing in the mists around the mansion, lurking in the garden and on rooftops, watching them make their every move. Drae and Naota were taken up the front steps and into the grand open foyer of the mansion, before they were directed to a large rather opulent receiving room. Several more vampires lingered there, as they were escorted up to a single solitary man sitting upon a rather plush chair. Drae gave a respectful bow, but did not expect Naota to do the same. 

"Thank you for seeing us."

He exhaled slowly through his nose when Drae touched his shoulder, but any form of relief was gone once the actual disarming began. He trusted Drae with his weaponry, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was Torinasu. Even being quick, it took a moment to remove everything from himself: blades littered his body, that was for sure, but there were also vials, powders, crystals, all of which were designed to kill every person they were about to come in contact with.

His eyes stayed locked on his as he untied Torinasu from his hip and reluctantly handed it off to Drae along with everything else; gripping it a tad longer before finally releasing it. No one held this blade other than him, even in the temple when being used for grounding he was always present and always able to rest a hand.

He felt completely naked as they walked through the streets, keeping silence along with Drae and their escort. When they finally were upon the mansion he felt a low rumble in his own chest; the starts of a demonic growl that he hadn’t felt since before his ascension. His eyes flickered over to Drae and it helped.

When they were lead inside, he almost had to hold his breath from the scent of all of them so close; the smell of blood followed many of them like a faint perfume. A fact he tried very hard not to think about for too long. Drae bowed for the man and he knew that he should do the same but he couldn’t bring himself to. The most he was able to force was a low dip of his head that he hoped would be seen as respectful enough. Honestly everyone here knew anything that happened between him and this man was pure ceremony and formality alone.

The vampire regarded them both in silence for a heartbeat before speaking; his voice quiet, but carrying through the granite and marble walls easily,

“I’ve been informed an Uharu wants to barter.” as he spoke he kept his eyes on Drae, and despite the patronizing intent behind it towards Naota, he was actually eased to not be looked at with those eyes. There was only so long he could stave off his urges, so every little bit helped.

Still, what Drae said was true: only he knew what he was there for, so he spoke, caring not if he was looked at or otherwise. Despite it all he was able to keep his voice calm, “The Almanac.” There was no need to specify which one. He knew.

That caught his attention, and his ancient eyes finally landed on Naota, a low chuckle forming that most might have thought of as paternal but Naota only heard as condescending, “The Almanac?”

He looked back to Drae, “You really must have a silver tongue to assist barter in that between people such as myself and him.”