He'd not liked the look of these strangers at the border.

For one they didn't look like the sort that usually joined them - and eerily familiar to him.

It might've been the bright red eyes - Lord knows that colour had meant many an ill thing to their family, being a sign of a certain fiend - who lacked the common decency to stay dead it often seemed.

The closer he got to these lurkers the more he realised that indeed these were familiar.

Red staring eyes, strange disjointed limbs, like stitched together abominations fused in shard glass at the seams - the red 'ceramic' shattering and cracking as they moved on those odd 'glass' limbs.

The leader of the three watched him with a rasping breath - echoing and brittle like breathing through a broken tube.

Then it rattled a single broken word,

"Annnnzzz...areeeeeel..."

He suppressed a cold shiver - the thing spoke with an echo of that abomination and long as he existed, Anzarel could never forget that thing.

But the memories would not drag him under, he'd taken that beast with him in the end - whatever fragments these were of that once greater will - whatever cast off pawns, he would not ever cower before them or it

He snarled instead, usually gentle or impassive face twisting as black lips pulled back over frightening teeth and the God stepped out from behind the mask of simple ascendants group member - Anzarel hissed back at it, with an echo of his truth

"Fade back into the nothingness - you are not welcome here filth!"

The two cohorts to the leader stagger back seemingly compelled or cowered it was hard to know with those never blinking eyes - their strangled guttural coughing growls all they vocalised while their leader braced and stepped forward with an agitated hiss, fliputterings of void entrapments bristling.

"Shaaaaaarrrd....He-is....Pati-eeeent" dark amusement in the body language as the things head dipped low and something resembling a smirk shattered its way across glass features i]"Allll.....fallll...in the ennnnnddd...."[/i] a pause as the rattling whistling breath wheezed from the thing "you.......arrrrr....no.....diff-rent.....Ascen-daant"

It didn't live long enough after those snide words, Anzarel roared instead, rearing up on powerful legs, wings flared like daggers of the cosmos displayed above and brought those deadly claws down swiftly as he leapt and crushed the thing's head in one fell swoop - too quick and too fast for a being so large and the thing died before it could even react, deformed form falling and shattering to the ground disintegrating as if it had never been, black dust smeared upon the rock in seconds.

Bright glowing eyes and a snarl of pearlescent deadly teeth turned as a spread of purest white flame slipped past roaring jaws and engulfed the one to the left - it died with a shriek, ashes in the wind.

The third had leapt forward scoring a large gash across hi shoulder with its sharded claws before Anzarel's wing came up and battered it away - followed by his teeth at its throat and the thing bled motes of dust before it too began to disintegrate away.

Anzarel stood, form coated in places by the black sooted filth of what passes for their blood - breathing heavy as the snarl slips from his face.

He would not fold to that thing, but even as he thought that, the old wound Obscuro by his collar throbbed in mockery - he'd already folded once, the second time would be inevitable no? - Anz hissed in reply to that inward hated thought.

He made to move away from the black smears - stains under the evening light - but was brought up short when the newly acquired wound on his shoulder throbbed in protest.

Anzarel glanced at it, the wound bled sluggishly - spilling a galaxy down his side to paint the White fur and merge patterns with the black, star speckled cracks of his legs - He grimaced, head turning away before landing on the smears again.

Well no doubt it had drawn people to him - and there incessant questions, whether they witnessed it or not,

Idly he wondered if they thought he'd just mercilessly murdered some strangers doing nothing but loitering to their eyes.

He sighed, closing his eyes as he shifted his weight from his injured leg - no they wouldn't understand why perhaps

And Anzarel did not wish to explain,

Why would he? It was nothing but a past rife with tragedy, death and sacrifice it seemed in vain - he did not want to speak of all the ill done to he and his kin.

Nothing for it then,

So he sat, the weight of many millenials lived upon his drooping wings whilst he waited for who ever should arrive and whatever they might judge him for.

///aight so you can have witnessed it if you like or simply came upon a bleeding Anzarel and weird black ash stains, whichever you prefer - also tagging the vamps bc they expressed interest in Anz and his wired 'star blood' [member=449]Margaery[/member] [member=1438]Nero[/member]

Like Nero, Margaery had not witnessed the struggle either. She had been wandering about, minding her own business, when the coppery tang of blood all but overwhelmed her senses. She would hesitate for only a brief moment, those gray eyes of hers flashing deep red, before she managed to get a hold on herself. Hunger often times had the ability to drive her up a wall and she was terrified that if she went to investigate, she'd only end up wounding the injured individual more.

She couldn't help herself though, nimble paws leading the chocolate point closer and closer to the source- closer and closer to Anz. She'd regard him for a few seconds, lips twisting into a frown as she inspected the dark, almost galaxy like blood that stained his pelt. What had happened? She felt Genevieve roaring inside of her, straining desperately against her confines in some attempt to taste the stellar-appearing blood. She held her down, refusing to succumb to the monster. Besides, didn't Genevieve know that blood belonging to anyone but a domestic cat could make her ill?

[b]"Are you okay?" She inquired softly, though the question was directed easily at both Anzarel and Nero. The former's reason was obvious - he had been the one to receive the injury after all. It was the latter's, the tiny vampire's, reason that potentially needed a bit more explaining. She, of all people, knew that control was a fickle thing. Being around blood... it had the potential to make even the most in control of vampire's lose their grasp on the world. She hoped that the child was okay, really she did. Margaery glanced at Player too, a frown twisting her lips as she noticed how concerned the other was. "Yes, we definitely need to fix you up immediately," The Cosmic General finally decided aloud, "Do you need water? Anything in the meantime?"

/late but in my defence the wifi's been out all week - also yes permission granted play c:

His wings twitched at the voice before he moved his head to spy Player approaching, their somewhat half flared protective stance easing at her approach - here at least was a familiar face and one that wouldn't judge quickly.

At her question he nodded and shifted to lie for easier access - save his adoptive daughter the scramble to try and reach the gash.

Ears flickered forward as they were joined by another - Nero, vampire, ah he hoped the young lad wouldn't have a problem with the blood, strange as it was - at the question he merely smiled depreciatingly, eyes moving to the sooty stains with a grimace,

"just an old menace, nothing more"

Ah - Margaery - and he had to smile for the concern in her voice - silently marvelling that he'd been so welcomed here, he had to admit he wasn't used to the instant trust still, but then he'd come from a war torn galaxy and no one was quick to trust outside his people among the vagabonds and drifters and other aggressive syndicates "I'll be fine my dear, just shaken perhaps" an eye on the ashen scatter "I simply didn't foresee all variables" I didn't think it would follow me here the thought moments after.

Though he did hum slightly "my thanks for the offer, but it's only my shoulder that needs seeing to - seems I should be more wary of strangers at the border" he thought he could almost see that slight hunger in her eyes - but he couldn't fault that, Vampires had a difficult fight knowing their instincts, if he was uncomfortable around one he never would have had one for his generals back in the day.

He watched player bound off to get supplies and tried his best not to hide the slight wince at the youngster hiding behind Margaery's reaction - ah wounds were never a pretty thing and he'd hate to think he caused the pup some distress - or unwanted memories.