Neveah remained curled up within the confines of the cobbled cell, her much thinner and frailer anatomy shivering whenever the cold breeze decided to taunt her throughout the room. Her thoughts were running as rampant as they usually would, mocking and snarky as they reprimanded and reinforced the unwavering fact that she had truly lost all those days ago. She was supposed to never face such a colossal low ever again- the reminder of Faust causing her to dig her nails into her skin- and yet here she was. A part of her aspired that Aurelius had simply allowed Seb to sink his fangs into her neck, to end this repetitive cycle that she was now a permenant prisoner to. An elongated sigh escaped her as she opened her eyes, revealing the sentiments she was becoming unable to truly conceal within herself. Her gaze drifted across the room as she took in the grim surroundings again, huffing quietly as she noticed things she had not before; there were cobwebs hovering in certain areas whilst one or two cells held chains within them, an indication that perhaps torture had been an occurence down here. The thought made her almost smile, a reminder that she still had the right to hate these monsters with all her existence, even if it was Aurelius.. his kindness, at the end of the day, meant nothing to her.

She was on the verge of attempting to fall into a peaceful slumber when she started hearing a rather large commotion, yelling and shouting erupting not too far from where she was being held captive. Her azure eyes widened slightly as she pulled herself to her feet and walked towards the cell door, narrowing her gaze on the entrance to the room where she was imprisoned. Had hunters finally figured out what had unfolded? Were they here to perhaps rescue her and the blood banks the vampires held captive? Of course, there was always the possibility that the blood banks were already mindless husks of themselves, but it was better to kill them then allow them to live in such a manner. Before she could continue pondering the possibilities, she watched with slightly widened eyes as Seb and Aurelius burst into the room, causing her to step backwards whilst glancing between them with a confused expression.

``We need your help.``

Those words were ones she never thought she would hear from a vampire, but maybe this was precisely what had happened to her parents before they faced the repurcussions of their betrayal. She was silent as she looked Aurelius over, nearly wincing at the sheer amount of anger and loathing that was brewing in his gaze. It was almost as if she were looking at her reflection whenever she came home from a mission, her heart and mind overwhelmed with the hatred she had felt towards vampires her entire life. Neveah was not a fool, so she presumed whatever they needed help with was something that could potentially result in her losing her life, yet.. Would she rather remain here in this idiotic cell like a caged prey animal? No, absolutely not. She bit her tongue as she looked over at Seb, who had the same expression on his face but with a lesser intensity, before looking back at Aurelius. She blinked once, then twice, deciding then and there what she would do without knowing how much it would affect her life.

``How may I be of assistance to you?`` Neveah asked as she met his gaze, her own almost as intense and unwavering as his own. There was nothing she loved more than killing vampires and, based on the fact that they had come to her for help, it was definitely something they needed her killing expertise for. Besides, she found it comical to think about how they would react when they discovered all the twisted ideas and suggestions she had kept hidden for years upon years. She was already excited and, although she tried her best to hide it, she figured that the way her azure eyes seemed to brighten at the idea was an apparent giveaway to her thoughts. Neveah knew she would still be held on a tight leash, but anything was better than this stupid cell.

(Forgot to apologize for the short length; had to do something, x`d)

Neveah nearly smiled when Aurelius` confirmed her suspicions regarding him aspiring her to kill a vampire, especially when she presumed it to be the one that accompanied him when he had dropped off some food. She wondered what would have happened if she had warned the royal that she was radiating nothing more than an unwavering hunger for more than what she already had, but it was too late to contemplate over such things. She frowned a little at the thought of Aurelius watching the female kill his mother, which was a completely falsified act of sympathy; she could care less what this.. Carmilla had done. It was the mention of vampiric laws that truly gained her attention, azure eyes narrowing at the idea of vampires not being allowed to kill each other; the law sounded completely idiotic and foolish, especially since these monsters usually thrived on combat and altercations. Her gaze drifted towards Seb when he started to speak, annoyance briefly flitting in her eyes since she had not forgotten how easily he had rendered her incapable of defending herself. His words held a threat and warning, both of which she did not plan on ignoring. Fortunately for her, she had already planned on handling this alone; solo hunts were far more enjoyable since one did not have to constantly order others around and worry about them taking a wrong step.

Neveah watched with bated breath as Seb unlocked the cell door, noting how he ensured she could not walk past him just yet. She found the lecture he was giving her rather annoying, but she knew how necessary it was; any vampire would lose their composure if they saw a human wandering the halls of their home. Although she had not taken a single footstep out of the cell, her mind was already working on the best ways to deal with the situation. The only piece of information she had at the moment was her appearance and name: Carmilla. There truly was not much she could do with that, but perhaps she could get access to the hunter logs back at the sanctuary, which she could only pray was abandoned still; it would be horrible if she waltzed in to find other hunters, making these vampires think the first thing she had done was betray them. She was not an idiot and, truth be told, she figured they would kill her after she served her purpose; all three of them knew that she knew too much.. far too much.

``Understood,`` she mumbled once Seb finished his speech, feeling a sense of relief when he sidestepped to open the door and let her out. It felt weird being set free, but now she felt more like a pet of sorts; she was doing their dirty work for them since they weren`t allowed to kill Carmilla, direcrtly at least. With a glance between the two males, she finally stepped out of the cell and to the side, waiting expectantly for them to lead the way. Although she had been close to both of them before, she had not taken the time to truly take a good look at them. Seb was a monster regarding his muscular build and size while Aurelius.. he definitely looked like a prince; he was well-built but not as muscled as Seb was, his face seemingly chiseled. Neveah dragged her focus away from their appearances and back onto their words, engraving them into her memory.

Neveah was silent as she followed Seb throughout the winding halls, taking mental notes of her surroundings; it was more out of curiosity than caution and wariness. The halls were intricately designed and, truth be told, practically screamed wealth, a trait that nearly every vampire coven`s primary headquarters had. She found it amusing to see all her presumptions regarding the lifestyle and aesthetics of vampires to be true at the surface-level, which was why she smiled slightly before it vanished as soon as it had appeared. As they walked, she could feel Aurelius` intense stare at her back occasionally, making her feel a little uneasy; her life was completely under his control along with Seb`s since he was going to be the one watching her every move. She was still content with her decision, however, already enjoying stretching her legs after being confined for so long.

She took in a long exhale and inhale the moment they stepped outside, never realizing how much she had craved clean, fresh air when she had been rotting away in that idiotic cell. Her gaze flitted towards the guards and, once again, she realized how fucked they would have been if they had tried to infiltrate the manor; everything was well-structured and organized, the guards strong in numbers.. She knew all of it was because of Aurelius, so it made her wonder why he was so precise and orderly. Based on her knowledge, the majority of the long-lasting covens were more chaotic and disorderly, said chaos making it impossible to kill every single one of them.

Neveah shifted her gaze from the opening gate to Seb, nearly scoffing at the authority in his voice; it was almost as if he thought he had full control over her, which he did not. Sure, she was following what he was telling her to do, but she would always go after the best solution. The two commands were not as simple as they sounded, which she figured the two males were also aware of. Neveah could only pray that Carmilla was an easy target and that she had little to no combat experience, which was a little unlikely; the female seemed confident.. too confident.

``Will do,`` Neveah mumbled in response as she met Seb`s unwavering stare before looking over at Aurelius. She could tell he was biting back the words he wanted to say and, unfortunately, she could not refrain herself from smiling at him before turning and finally walking off. This was going to be a hard hunt, but only if Carmilla knew what she was doing; the more elusive she was, the harder this would be. A sigh left her as she continued walking, her gaze darting to and fro as she grew closer to the city. Her current goal was to figure out as much as she could regarding Carmilla and that information would assist her greatly in figuring out the best way to approach the whole situation.

It was not long before Neveah found herself in the familiar confines of the Hunter Sanctuary that she had dwelled within for the past few weeks, sauntering inside and briefly glancing around to ensure she was alone. She headed upstairs to her room where she found herself spiraling into the rabbit hole involving Carmilla. Surprisingly, there was a plethora of information regarding her that she truly expected to not be able to find. It would seem that she was already on a to-be-killed list in the Hunters Guild, an indication that she might not be the only one trying to kill her at the moment.

Neveah devoted the next few hours to writing nearly thousands of words in a compilation of the information she had been able to gather. She stared at the dozens of pieces of paper that were scattered here and there, organized by different categories of information. With this insight, she realized it would be incredibly difficult to take down Carmilla alone; she was exactly what she had feared: elusive, strategically intelligent, and experienced when it came to killing. She frowned and, almost as if the gods themselves had decided to give her mercy, remained still as her gaze traveled towards the pendant on her desk. Her gaze hardened at the possibility of asking him for assistance, the small button that would earn her his unwavering attention almost taunting her. Neveah cursed beneath her breath before she pressed it, the small click confirming that some kind of message had been delivered.

Faust had somehow smuggled it into her bag before she had escaped, almost as if he had expected her to flee successfully. Of course, he had only done it so she always remembered what he had done and all the emotions he was able to evoke in her. However, she would not dismiss the use it had, especially now of all times.

The Following Day

``This will come at a cost, Nev,`` Faust`s voice penetrated her trail of thoughts, engendering her to freeze briefly before she spun around in her chair. Her azure eyes met the onyx ones of the high ranking vampire, her breath hitching slightly at the sight of him sitting on her untouched bed. The vampire was staring at her with an incredibly smug expression on his face, his attire radiating elegance and a deadly air of narcissism. Neveah was already doubting her idea regarding involving him of all individuals, but, truth be told, Seb and Aurelius never really said she could not drag a vampire into the situation; Faust was considered a rogue of sorts anyways, having become independent. She turned back around with a frown to review the notes that were scattered across her desk. ``The name was Carmilla, correct? I heard she killed her own coven.``

Faust approached her from behind, slithering up to her like the demonic monster he was. She did not dare move when he crouched beside her to look over the papers she had placed on the desk. The sensation of his breath colliding with the skin of her neck made her shiver as she tilted her chin slightly, observing him quietly as he took in the information. Eventually, she spoke, ``She also killed the mother of Aurelius.``

The name certainly had an effect on Faust and it was apparent in the way he growled slightly and met her azure gaze. Neveah remained as still as she could, wincing at the sight of his fangs revealing themselves before they retracted back as if they had never existed. She released the breath she had not realized she had been holding, shifting out of the chair to stand beside him. It felt incredibly weird to be working alongside him, the vampire that had tormented her for nearly a year before she had seduced him and escaped, yet here they were; it would seem even Faust respected the vampiric laws enough to be willing to help.

``How do you know Aurelius? I thought I was going insane when I smelled his stench on you,`` Faust inquired in a dangerous tone of voice, an indication that he seemed to consider her a piece of his property. She met his intense stare, feeling the way he was dissecting every part of her behavior and current sentiments. ``Did he touch you?``

``Let`s just say I was a prisoner for a few days thanks to him,`` she replied as she glanced towards the papers, needing a break from the anger and envy shimmering just beneath the surface of Faust`s exterior. ``And no, he didn`t. If he did, it would still be none of your business.``

Her words were enough to cause Faust to growl again in frustration, but it seemed the importance of the task at hand kept him at bay. Neveah watched as he returned to where he had originally been on her bed, huffing and propping his chin up with a clenched fist. She found it comical how the ancient vampire acted like a jealous teenager sometimes, yet she knew they needed to focus. With a sigh, she returned to her desk and started reading a few pieces of information aloud, pausing to hear the hums of approval or comments of disagreement from the vampire behind her.

(No worries!! Have fun! :D And I lowkey went crazy with the length of this, >-<)

``Distance will not aid you this time,`` Faust`s eeriely cold voice resonated from behind her as they continued to discuss possible plans, his raven-hued hair jostled slightly due to the frigid breeze flourishing into the room from a slightly cracked window. He was observing her every movement and finding himself occasionally admiring the way she would turn to look at him, her azure eyes shimmering with the intelligence he had been a victim of. Although he clearly had despised her for what she had done, it was apparent to anyone that he still held a soft spot for her; he would never hesitate to take her under his wing again as a blood bank. There was the smallest of shifts in the wind, causing him to lift his chin and glance around the room before relaxing again; he saw nothing indicating an intruder. ``Carmilla will ensure you have no advantages. Besides, with your renown, I would not be surprised if she were already aware of them.``

Neveah was twirling a pen between her fingers as she listened to the comments Faust was making, biting her lip as she turned slightly to look over at him. He was not the most terrifying-looking vampire, but the way he carried himself had been more than enough to scare her beyond words could describe the first time she had stumbled across him. She raised a brow out of curiosity when she noticed him tensing briefly, only to relax and speak again with a caveat lacing his words. With a small nod, she rose to her feet and started to pace to and fro in front of him, occasionally flitting her gaze towards the weapons that hung idly across the rack above her desk. She was surprised that Faust had not yet questioned the specific documents that were taped to the wall below the weapons, each of them depicting numerous immoral ways to torture and kill vampires; all of them had been her creation.

``So you`re implying I have no chance,`` Neveah mumbled bluntly as she paused in her pacing, meeting his dark gaze. This earned her a deep laugh from Faust, the vampire rising to his feet and shaking his head in disagreement. He was still an enigma to her although he had spent hours by her side in the past, observing her as she struggled with blood loss; she would never forgive him and, based on his behvior, there was an incredibly high chance he was definitely trying to conjure a plan to take her and stash her away like he had done in the past. ``There`s no way that you, Faust, want me to use.. those.``

At her last words, she gestured towards the pictures and lists of ideas that had come from the depths of her twisted mind, two of them being de-fanging and poisonous gas that had the primary ingredient of nightshade. She watched as Faust simply shrugged and smiled at her, tilting his chin in an almost mocking manner. Neveah frowned at this and folded her arms across her chest, eyeing him as if he were on the verge of pouncing on her at that exact moment. Faust took a small step forward and leaned towards her, fangs flashing as he spoke again, ``I don`t want you to per say, but I`d rather have you survive this hunt.``

His words confirmed her earlier suspicions, causing her to roll her eyes and return to her desk whilst plopping down on the chair. Her gaze raked across the piles of paper, all of them containing her ideas and the information she had gathered regarding Carmilla. Even though she was not as combatively talented as Seb had been, it seemed like the female vampire loved playing dirty, just like Neveah did. This was precisely why she was clueless regarding what she was going to do, unless she genuinely used tactics that would further confirm her reputation as one of the most monstrous vampire hunters out there.