To say that he had been in a good temperament would have been an absolute lie. Nemesis had in recent days been keeping busy and while his mood had been seemingly better, there was still some unresolved feelings kept within him over the whole ordeal with Serafina. But for the most part, he tried to keep his focus towards his wife and unborn child or business affairs. Whatever his former mate and her new companion was up to didn’t concern him unless they were foolish enough to interject themselves into matters that did not require them. Or if his plans would become disposal because of that. His mind kept away from such thoughts as best as possible until there was a time where he didn’t have to pretend to not care. When he truly couldn’t give a damn.

The wolven side, on the other hand, was growing in anger with each day and night passing by. The internal struggle would start to creep in stronger as time went and many of his coping techniques were losing their sway. Even his paintings had started to lose their flair as they became nothing more than blotches of crimson; ironically the red paints being made with his victims’ blood. Only Celeste and little Sergei seemed to calm the beast, but outside of that, he was losing his grip.

It was on this night that he decided to try and quell this once and for all. After tending to his mate and made sure her needs were sated, Nemesis ventured into the city. As typically, he kept a regal appearance but inwardly and mentally, he was a mess. His canines grew in hunger for not only blood, but destruction. The poor unfortunate humans that would cross his path…it was a delight that beast would seek out and hunt ruthlessly. The western part of the city housed a good number of the ports, as well as providing a small sanctuary for outsiders. Many of the islands’ werewolves kept from hunting there due to the arrangements made so long ago. They might have been seen as prey, but the humans did provide services that vampires couldn’t deny and let be torn asunder by the lycans.

Fortunately, he was provided access to this portion and that loophole would be someone’s folly tonight. With each step, he felt his fangs’ anticipation into plunging into flesh and ripping it apart. Perhaps it hadn’t helped that he hadn’t feed in a bit so it only served to agitate the vaewolf. Crimson eyes shifted into a blue hue as they watched the ships come into harbor as he made it over towards a tavern inn that was famous for taking up their kind. A dark smile crept across his lips before he ventured inside and purchased a room for the evening under the name Nathanael Augustus, his former human name. At the bar, he requested a bottle of red wine and drinks for anyone that were there at the time. Fortunately there weren’t many still up- most had just made the trek and were already up in their rooms, fast asleep.

All he required now was a suitable victim.

There was a place of darkness that always loomed just over the horizon. The sun could never penetrate it, and long had Mirannda been wondering what was over there. Anyone she asked claimed the place was cursed, once you go in, you never come back. A place of gore and death and bloodthirsty monsters. They said that on the nights of the full moon, the howls of wolves carried over the waves of the ocean, reaching their sharp claws into their dreams.

For every version of the story, there was some who spun a different tale. Koschei Isle, while not a favorite, did offer some decent trades. Plus some other fluff that Mirannda was not interested in. The whole thing made her curious as to what the danger was on the isle. So she booked passage on a ship and traveled across the sea. Yet, the moment she set foot in the docks of a place called Kurayo, her hair stood on end, her instincts told her to be on guard. "Sure you want to be goin' in there alone, miss?"

"Ya, I'll be fine Thank you." Mirannda turned her back on the ship and made her way into the city. Upon first glance, the place was just like any other city. It had the grand points, and it had the low points. Nothing truly stood out, except the predatory glares she got from many inhabitants. Hostility was palpable. Dusk would soon fall, and Mirannda had found a tavern, ordered herself a meal and her usual mulled wine. Thus, she sat in the corner, watching people come and go. A minor skirmish broke out and was quickly broken up.

For hours, she sat there, always observing. Once or twice someone came up to her, but she paid them no heed and they quickly left. Mirannda didn't know what the wanted, but was fortunate not to have to be more forceful. Then he came in; the embodiment of danger itself. Pale blue orbs followed him as he ordered his wine and drinks for all still up. Knowing she should have just called it a night and left it at that, Mirannda took her fresh mulled wine and sauntered over, always having been one to flirt with the dangers of the night. "Thank you for your generosity. Could a girl share the drink with the purchaser?" She was testing the waters, probing to get a feel him, and how she should react if she wanted to try and have him in the palm of her hand. Little did she know, she was in his palm.

It was a game that he hadn’t played in so long, yet it felt like it had been since yesterday that he partook into. The lure was cast out and he was looking for someone to take the bait. Of course, should his plan not work, Nemesis had a much more sinister backup scheme- of course that would leave for a far more bloody scene to clean up. The wine would do nothing for me, neither hinder nor aid in any regard. But its presence was more to secure his status as a lone human that looked as though he could seek out company for the evening. A few sips here and there, he allowed his darkest thoughts to consume him beneath that heavenly face of his. Would anyone suspect a thing? Would it be too obvious that he was plotting something? Perhaps, but he simply didn’t care to recognize any follies.

The sheep collectively weren’t very wise and it merely took a few generous donations towards tavern patrons to gain their curiosity, trust, and greed. Mentally he counted the seconds before a voice from behind reached his ears. Casually, he turned his head enough to take a quick gaze at the woman. The wolf was pleased by the stranger but for her, all that would be seen was a ghost of a smile. “You are certainly most welcomed, my dear. I’d be a fool to turn down the company of a lady like yourself. Please.” He gestured over to the stool right beside him. A friendly face was painted over the monster’s hungering gaze, stalking his sacrifice keenly. When it came to his victims, it had been such a long time since he fed off of pretty little things like her. How he looked forward to sate his real thirst away from the prying eyes of the other patrons, but first things first.

“I’m Nathanael. Figured that if we were to speak anything further, it’d be best to share names.” Drinking some more from his wine as elegant as any blue-blood, he poured some more into his glass. “I’m rather shocked to see as many people as I have on the island. Some are here because on business like myself and others are here for the trading and markets. May I be so bold to ask why you are here, miss?” He signaled for another glass and filled it before offering it to the lady. This time when he eyed her, Nemesis didn’t bother to mask his interest in her though it might have translated into something akin to carnal hunger than an actual one.

It would be time to reel in his catch, but first he felt like toying with and stringing her along some more.

Generous and charming was typically a dangerous combination. Mirannda was not ignoring her instincts completely, as she gave a slight nod of the head before taking her seat next to him as suggested. "Much appreciated, good sir." While she enjoyed the smooth voice gliding as silk over her ears, the handsome features gracing her eyes, and a smile to make many women swoon, Mirannda weighed the possibility that he was a hunter as she was.

"A pleasure. Mirannda, but you may call me Mira if you so desire." In normal business deals, she'd have offer a handshake. In this situation, she took a sip of her spiced wine, her eyes dancing over the rim at him. Mischievous and playful, the hid the calculating mind, working his angle. He was trying to get her to open up, get her to reveal something. Find a weakness and exploit it, perhaps? She couldn't figure out if the joke was on him or her yet. Nathaneal was friendly enough in his approach, but it was a similar technique that she used herself.

Still, she downcast her gaze to her wine glass as she fingered the rim. Same song, same dance, new victim and new face. "I am just passing through. You see, my friend truly hates traveling alone. However, she must head to her betrothed. The crew of the ship insisted on laying over here for the night." Peering up at him from under her lashes, she gave him a smile to match her mischievous demeanor. "Until now, things were dull. I was afraid I'd turn in quite disappointed." Mirannda decided he was a hunter, and she volunteered to be his prey. The thought merely added to her excitement as it added a new element. Who would fall victim first; dashing and rather courteous gentleman, or flirtatious daredevil?

She had not reached for the wine glass he offered. Without having full eyesight of the bottle before approaching him, she could not guarantee the lack of additives. For all she knew, he could have slipped poison of any sort in there, and was immune to it. Far safer to stick with the mulled wine given to her originally, which was steaming as if it was freshly boiled. Her hand went to squeeze his knee experimentally, ready to pull back should he make any negative actions against her move. "What brings you to Kurayo, Nathaneal?"

It was a pleasant feeling to know that despite his rust, the vaewolf was still as enchanting enough to lure in his prey the way he did with Mirannda. Of course that would soon melt away once he had her where he wanted the woman. For now, the facade would remain and he would charm his way in. “No, the pleasure's all mine.” He turned his form halfway to face her completely as he got a much better view. Young looking and pretty, he gazed into her eyes as if he was seeking her innermost thoughts.

He hardly blinked at the notion of her reason for visiting Kuryao. Perhaps her friend was to marry one of the other vampire lords here or even one of the pack leaders that ruled the wolves. It was an odd reason but he paid it little mind. Her reasons, whether they be true or not wouldn’t matter all the same. Nemesis shot out a smirk as he brought his glass to his lips before settling it down rather quickly. “I suppose congratulations are in order. The man must be a lucky fellow to have your friend’s hand.” Unfortunately, Mira would not have any luck of seeing that ceremony if she had intentions of that. But she did intrigued him to a degree; the cues she was giving off suggested that she wanted to play games with him as well. Her body language spoke in louder volumes than the words from her lips. The inner wolf was giddy to play before he sank his teeth into her tender skin and feast on her blood. “Well, I hope that I can add some excitement to your night then, Mira”, he replied as he leaned his arm onto the bar counter. This was a game he didn’t want to lose, couldn’t afford to lose.

Blue eyes fell upon her resting hand and he didn’t protest in the least. In fact, his smile grew more as he felt her warm touch and turned to the barkeep. “Keep whatever the lady has coming, on me.” His gaze returned to her, wondering what was she seeking out of this as well. He was hardly worried in case she had some nefarious goals of her own. Nothing would deter her from getting what he sought- violence and death. Why, if she put up a fight, that would only excite him in this hunt, but he was surely getting ahead of himself. “I’m here because despite the city’s known reputation of disliking humans, I’ve in the middle of trade agreements with one of the vampire lords, Rickon Klaus. I’m from Abed and both islands have exotic items that the two of us could benefit from one another. ” He took to his glass once more before he felt like he had enough. That charade was done and he could give her his complete focus.

“Right now, the negotiations may not be going in my favor, but I have a few ways of convincing him.” Once more did he gaze at her hand on his knee and he chuckled slightly. “Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself due to the wine, but I do enjoy your company and would like to continue to in a more private setting. Of course I would understand if it’s not your intentions…”

"She could do better, but it was an arrangement her parents made so long ago." The lie slipped so easily as Mirannda polished off the wine. Nathaneal made offer of spicing up the night, which pulled an excited, hungry smile from her. "Well I hope so." Another mulled wine was passed over to her, the scent of cinnamon and clove wafting from the hot glass. For a moment, it was distracting just to appreciatively smell the beverage's steam.

As he spoke, she tried to draw conclusions from his reason. Likely, it was just as false as her own story. In this setting, she would not put it past him. Mirannda had to hand it to him, if it was all a fabrication, it spilled from his mouth just as easily, he could sell a pile of manure as gold. She frowned for a moment as he dropped a familiar name. "Abed… Isn't that nearly straight across Parvpora to the west of here?" The phoenix was not as new to the lands anymore, and she has spent some time figuring out the geography, or at least studied a map extensively.

Yet, finally, he made the request of a change of scenery. She beamed at him as a prostitute finally picking up a customer would. Sliding off her stool, her hips were naturally between his knees, as she placed her other hand on his second thigh. Mirannda leaned in, lips parted sensually and hovered a mere inch from his lips for a moment, letting the suspense build. His wine scent mingled with hers, and once again instincts screamed at her to run. There was something new, old and dangerous to his scent. Cold yet warm, with an underlying animal scent. Two distinct smells, mixing to the point of almost being undetectable. It was strange to have them both be there on the same person.

Playfully, with a dip and rising motion of her neck, the tip of her nose brushed against his as she pulled back with a teasing laugh. "I assume we'll use the room you purchased for the night? My room has my friend in it, and I'd hate to interrupt her slumber. Lead the way, Nathaneal." Looking over her shoulder as she glided over to the stairs leading to the rooms, she gave him a 'come and get me smile'. In truth, a night of fun with someone interesting was truly what she was after, so she was considering herself the huntress having successfully snared her prey. It was a shame she had a full glass of wine she was leaving behind, but she had the feeling she did not want to become too intoxicated right now with her instincts begging her to escape.

Waiting at the top of the stairs, she allowed Nathaneal to take point, leading them to his room. Upon the door's open invitation, Mirannda draped herself against the wall and bit her tongue. Her voice dropped to a husky purr. "Tell me, Nathaneal, what would you have of me?"

If only she knew what kind of danger she had allowed herself to walk into… Maybe she would not have phrased the question as such.

Had he picked a lively one or what?

His amusement presence to her was nothing in comparison to what he was feeling inwardly. It had been a very long time since he could enjoy a battle like this and it was nearly a shame that the night would end in bloodshed if she followed him down the trail. Gods, he was almost sorry that it would come to that.

Almost.

“Why, yes. It’s about a few day’s travel by airship.” He wondered if she had truly found a flaw in his lies. If so, then he was quite out of touch from his days on DaeLuin, back when he had served a deity of deceit from long ago. Back when he was a mere vampire, but now he was something much grander and as such, his craft should had been much better. Nemesis would just have to work on that at a later time. For now, there was no turning back from his game.

Mirannda seemed to have taken exceptionally well to his proposal and he watched with a much more devious look than before as she descended upon him. To get so close to a predator, he would have taken her there and then but he allowed for her to do as she wished. He watched in anticipation as she strung him into her play and nodded against her as he drew closer towards her. “ Yes, I wouldn’t want to intrude on her sleeping.” He took hold of his glass and bottle before coming her way and leading to his room.

The question as to how to delve into his darker motives played around in his mind with each step he took up to the second floor. How eager she was and how excited the beast felt as well. He allowed her access to the room first before he locked it behind him. After setting down the items in hand, Nemesis drew closer to Mira, removing the coat he had on and letting it drop onto the floor as he met with her while she was up against the wall. Eyes narrowed as the gentleman she had been familiar with disappeared and was replaced with a more assertive demeanor. He stood ever so close to her and leaned over towards her ear, with his own hands moving onto her hips. Fingers wrapped around her as he smiled. “I would want to take all of you for myself, as selfish as it sounds”, he replied, his voice laced in a much deeper tone. One hand dropped its grip only to settle further down to her upper thigh. “To make you scream for me, begging me to go on and on.” Smirking among himself, he took to her ear, gently nipping at the lobe. The other hand slowly moved around to the small of her back and fell further to cup her rump firmly.

“Tell me what you want from me, Mira”, he whispered gently as he turned to face her in a similar manner that she had used downstairs.

The way he stalked toward her as a predator was exciting and arousing. This early on, and she was already having difficulties controlling her heart rate, already feeling flushed from the wine. More important than her racing heart was the fact that he was decisively aggressive now that he was out of prying eyes. For some reason, the battle-hardened phoenix who won't take no for an answer took extreme pleasure of being dominated by the opposite gender. Her neck tilted as he leaned in, suppressing a shiver as his deep voice expressed his desires.

Oh, she would scream and beg, of that she had no doubt. A small sigh escaped as he nibbled on her earlobe. Reaching around, Mirannda gripped his back, pulling herself closer to him. She stared into his eyes, long and hard before answering that question. "Make me yours, tonight. Use me as you wish." It was a plea, yet still in the confident manner of speech she had before. It was a struggle, but she would not be able to keep the facade much longer. Mirannda was quickly loosing herself to wine and lust.

Finally, she tasted his lips, soft and still sweet from the drink. This alone nearly made her knees weak as she dug her fingers into him. Yet, she did not allow the kiss to be tender. As she has so many times with so many different partners, Mirannda showed her hunger. Each kiss, while not desperate, demanded more. A single hand pushed against his tight muscles, feeling every curve along the way to his ass, the first thing she had noticed about him. The phoenix gave it a nice squeeze as she pulled on his lip to gaze up in his eyes. She released his lip and flashed a smile, her eyes daring him.

Perhaps a little fun was in order first, and though he may have faced repercussions later on from Celeste, Nemesis priority behind all of this was to let loose his frustrations. This was just all a part of the game for him. He drew closer to Mira with her assistance, closing what little space there might have been between them as he felt her body reacting against his own. The man wore nothing but a sleeveless black shirt and pants with boots, his coat long forgotten by this time now.

Her words pleased the wolf greatly- he planned on doing just that and then some. Some of it she would be thrilled with, and other parts of it, she may be less than ecstatic with. “Very well.” His hands weren’t shy as they stayed on their spots on her as their lips met. Nemesis followed her motion which was surprising forceful enough to show her intentions. He would not yet reveal his; instead he would play along with their game as it did help with some of the stress he felt from losing Serafina. To be fair, Mira was beautiful in her own right, he would admit. The fiery red locks and mesmerizing blue eyes of her, her supple body yearning and craving to be fucked excited him enough to savor the moments to come.

He smirked within the kiss as he felt her hand travel about him, feeling at her leisure. The hand that found itself on her thigh slid up her skirt in a teasing manner. Nemesis stared her down as he inched ever so closely to her nether region. He lean in, pressing his lips against the side of her neck as fingers became to work a massage below her. After a bit, the tips of his fingers started to enter inside her, yet he would refrain from moving them any deeper, just to watch her reaction in delight.

His hand retreated so that he could use both to strip his shirt off and took hold of her with a primal roughness as he pressed hard against her while the woman was pinned up to the wall. He kissed her with lustful craving behind every movement of his lips.

By the gods, this man was perfect! There had to be some flaw. No way was there such a sexy man who was cordial in public, and a primal beast in the room. Nathaneal had a piercing stare that seemed to change the way she felt. Instead of a woman who knew what she wanted and demanded it, she was melting into a girl begging to be used. And he aimed to please, with his hand ducking under the fabric of her skirt to massage her tender, responsive bits.

Mirannda inhaled at the first touch, the fingers of excitement running down her spine. Lifting a leg and wrapping it around his thigh to give him ease of access, she gripped his back tighter. She squirmed against him as he kissed at her neck. Upon the minor breach of his fingers, Mirannda rotated her hips into him, trying to earn a deeper penetration to no reward. Yet there was no success. Nathaneal was toying with her.Her leg slid off as he retreated, biting her lip as she watched him remove his shirt.

The only problem with an aggressive style was one could not stop to admire the beauty or perfection of their partner before sampling it. That brief moment, she saw an angel, perfectly chisled and sculpted from living clay. His muscles rippled under the skin as the clothing was discarded. Instantly the brief moment was over, however, as she was forced against the wall with such prowess, the breath was almost knocked out of her lungs. Under her fingers, the skin was smooth as marble, and warm. A solitary hand slid down between them to stroke and grope at the thickening anatomy beneath the fabric.

Somehow, she managed to break free of his lips almost regretfully, lunging for his neck. Mirannda scraped her teeth against his artorie a tad harder than she intended, planted a kiss where she bit before sliding down, leaving a trail of hot breath against his skin along the way. Kneeling before him, Mirannda pulled his pants down to his knees. Her gaze turned up from beneath lashes as she took him in her mouth slowly in a teasing manner.