#I'm merely visiting distant.. blood... relatives.. of this alternative universe lmfao

[tigorrrr]

𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝘀 || ℭ𝔬𝔩𝔡 ℌ𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔪 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱

Banners made by, and AU belongs to @another-vampire-au

[continuation] [last]

"Peace?" he scoffed, his voice a raspy growl and his permanent sneer creased even deeper when he found the embedded emblem on her uniform. Just for seeing that symbol he wanted to claw it out of her breast as if it would leave a print on her ivory skin nontheless. "Lin-Kuei, seeking peace? That's like a viper seeking friendship with a rabbit."

The air crackled with tension the moment Diya stepped into the Tarkatan's lair beneath an imposing mountain. A symphony of guttural growls and the clinking of metal echoed through the cavern, the scent of blood heavy in the air.

The stories she had heard about this group of savage half-vampires, worse than those of Taira clan, were enough to make even the bravest of souls quake in fear. The Tarkatans were known for their barbarous ways and their disfigured appearances, a side-effect of their immortality. Impure vampires that other pure-blooded vampires think of as some bastarded ghouls.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she forced a smile, her gaze fixed on the pale figure perched on a throne made from bones and pelts. The guards eyed her warily, burning holes from the back of her skull, their stake bone weapons growing from underneath forearm muscle tissue at the ready.

Baraka, the Tarkatan chieftain, was a frightening sight, his disfigured face contorted into a perpetual sneer of mouthfull of fangs, his body a grotesque tapestry of jagged bone pieces sticking individually from beneath his skin and muscle.

"I am a member of the Lin-Kuei, however," she pressed on and finally met his gaze that only held animosity. "I come to you, not as their envoy, but as an individual."

The other Tarkatans, their bodies and faces deformed by the curse of immortality, watched her with hungry red eyes. A low growl rumbled from the depths of Baraka's throat, a sound that sent shivers down her spine.

As a companion of the notorious Lin-Kuei vampire clan, Diya knew that her presence here was risky. Her clan, or any other clan for that matter, and Baraka's were never on great terms. The two clans had been at odds for longer centuries though, their differences too great to overcome but what mostly played the part were teritorries that the fuss was about. Diya had a plan to make things right, albeit behind the Grandmaster's back.

Baraka studied her for a moment, his gaze lingering on her frail-looking form. He didn't move, his crimson orbs boring into hers, a silent challenge. When she didn't even scurr away a step he knew he's dealing with an ossified human, and that's a first for him.

Baraka regarded her with skepticism, his gaze cold and unyielding. "Why should I trust you, human?" he spat. "Your clan have only shown us disdain and shunned us away to crawl underneath this mountain like worms!"

"I do not judge your people," she said softly while trying not to visibly whince under his raised tone. "I understand your pain. I have seen the prejudice you suffer, the cruelty that has been meted out to you. I am not here to convert you, to force you to bow to the Lin-Kuei. I am here to offer you an alliance."

A ripple of unease ran through the Tarkatan ranks. Baraka's hairless brows narrowed, his gaze piercing. If the clan were waiting for a punch-line then they will be disappointed that there isn't any, Diya is dead serious behind that smiling exterior.

"An alliance?" he parroted, his voice a low growl. He glowered with ire at her impudent offer than laughing in her face. "What good could possibly come of that?!"

"We can be stronger together," Diya dared a step forward for her mind was lost in a moment of passion, her voice unwavering. "We can fight against the evil that threatens us all."

"Spare me your play on empathy." his jaws snapped, rows of sharp teeth clicked together, finally unveiling the true reason for her sudden attendance. "You should rather explain your proposal. human."

Baraka stepped down from his seat — that had Diya momentarily wonder if it's comfortable to sit on at all, his heavy gait resonating through the cavern and the guards backed off from the spotlight of the moon's light that spilled through the man-made hole of the cave. He circled her, his hulking form casting a long shadow across the dirty, wet ground.

Diya held her ground, refusing to be intimidated yet it was still a little difficult to swallow. "Baraka, it's no secret that there are only a few Lin-Kuei left—"

"Good! The less the better! It was about time those murderous lapdogs have a taste of what it feels being squashed underneath someone else's boot!"

Diya took a deep breath and reassessed the situation, fists clenched by her sides. "... You have every right to be angry. I do not blame you. But I wish to save my family from extinction."

"Family? HA! You're a human! Nothing else but an emergency food."

Diya's smile was empty as she nodded to his somewhat understandable conjecture. "There has been plenty of oportuninties for my brothers to bleed me dry, yet here I am— talking to you, unharmed, not bitten even once."

The Tarkatan headman disappeared out of her sight behind her and suddenly Diya felt cold breath against her ear, gravelly, low voice muttered; "And what makes you certain you'll leave this place alive?"

With a shuddering inhale Diya composed herself and straightened her posture. She swore she felt the blunt underside of a few fangs brush against her lobe, however, the featherlight touch disappeared as soon as Baraka fled the close proximity. "Because I know you're a smart man—"

"— A monster. More like."

"— If I am slain by your hand then the Lin-Kuei will know where to look, seeing as there is no greater enemy of theirs than Tarkatans... And while there is a short amount of my clan, yours is shorter by a couple of figures. It would be a risk to put the neck of your twenty clansmen on the line because of one human."

There was a heavy moment of silence as the disfigured vampire stood in front of her, staring her down with intensity that had her hold her breath, Diya was actually ready to apologise for overstepping until he replied...

"You are brave, Diya Grau, clever too," Baraka rasped. "but you're also naive." seeing the amused curl twitch on her mouth told him it's not the first time she was called by that, and he took a note of that for whatever reason. "You have lived in your gilded cage, coddled by your... merciful owners. You have no idea what it is like to be cast out, to be hunted, to be feared. And with the likes of Lin-Kuei, they will never accept us, even if there is only one vampire left in each clan."

Diya's slim brows furrowed and pinched the impeccable skin. "I know, but we have to start somewhere or our clans will be stuck in this nonsensical cycle of hate..." she whispered, her voice soft but firm.

In a way, Baraka began to see her reason, although it has a selfish purpose, and he did wish for a day like this to come. Come to peace with any other clan so his people didn't need to silently suffer no more. But he's a realist and knows for a hundred percent the Lin-Kuei's grandmaster would never allow such a thing to happen while he still draws breath.

"You are not a monster, Baraka –" Diya spoke up before he could, her eyes softening and it slightly put the Tarkatan off guard. "you are a warrior, a protector. I have seen the way you lead your people, the sacrifices you make for their sake. And I believe that together, our clans can be stronger than ever before."

Baraka dismissed her words as false flattery because of the slightest hint of oozing fear he smelled off of her, but also because he doesn't want to get his hopes up. He's been immortal for centuries and he had been burned an embarrassing amount of times, he no longer wishes to be the fool.

Diya held his gaze, her own violet eyes, framed by snowy lashes, blazing with a quiet fire. "My brother is not the same as the late Grandmaster, there is a chance of making him see the potential of this alliance... I understand that the world has turned its back on you. But right now there's a chance to change that before the hunters will come for us all, show the world that the Tarkatans are not monsters, but survivors and equals."

Baraka inched closer, his face inches from hers. The scent of blood clung to him, a potent reminder of his savage nature, but she had gotten used to the iron stench that it didn't bother her nose. His eyes skeptically squinted as they searched over her face for a sign that would reveal her ill intentions — if she had any.

Diya did not flinch. Instead, she offered him a smile, one that held both understanding and a hint of something else – something Baraka has yet to place a tag on. But her heart picked up in speed, the beat drummed in her ears. She mused to herself that while her brothers described Tarkatans as hideous she really had thought nothing of that sort the longer she looked at Baraka's face underneath the rays of the moon.

The silence stretched between them, heavy and charged, and it unsettled the Tarkatans around them.

Baraka saw nothing but the compassion in her eyes that traveled around his face with no hint of disgust, the sincerity in her words were not laced with dishonesty either.

He saw not a Lin-Kuei, but a - human - woman who understood his pain, who saw beyond the monstrosity of his clan. Never in his life had he thought he'd live this long to meet such an accepting soul.

"There is bloodthirst in my clan," he said, his voice a low rasp, deciding to test the waters. "a curse that can barely be controlled. Just with your presence alone, our sane minds are tempted to rip you to shreds."

"I know," she calmly replied, her head tipped more forward, nearly brushing her flat nose against his permanently scrunched one as she murmured for him to hear. "while you have more appetite than the other vampires it does not mean that you can't live among them if you're well fed." she added, as a matter-of-fact.

He knew his people, himself included, were desperate, consumed by a hunger for blood that could not be ignored. Yet, a part of him, a part he had kept hidden beneath the hardened exterior, craved something more. He craved peace, he craved acceptance for his people and him.

Baraka stepped back and for a long moment there was silence as Baraka considered Diya's words, until he accepted she is on their side but that did not made him less wary, she's still a Lin-Kuei.

"I will grant you safe passage back to your clan." his voice thick with emotion and his ruby orbs traced around the room on his people, as if they were communicating telepathically they ceased their grunts and growls. "But I offer no alliance. Not yet. You must prove your worth, Lin-Kuei. You must show me that your words are not just empty promises."

Mouth breaking into a gentle smile, she folded her dainty hands over her breast. "A vow of a Grau is as unmovable as an iceberg, dear Baraka."