The Manor Darkly Is Not Enough - Maid RPG

Berenice nodded - she was well aware of the creepy machine. Hence why she preferred supervising.

"We should clean the Master's room next and then move to the kitchen to make his dinner - while it's cooking two of us can do patrols while the other monitors. Then we'll tackle the halls and bathtime."

Gemma peered at the older maid with a hit of distase. "Do you think we oughta head up to look at the Master's room so soon?" she asked doubtfully. "After all, he might still be... busy." Turning her head so the vampire maid couldn't see, she mouthed the words 'shiny hands.'

"Oh, that." Berenice grimaced - she had been trying to forget. "Ok then - either we clean the halls or work on the food. I vote for the halls."

"The halls sound fine for me." — Karina replied. Really she had no preference, so she just reinforced Berenice's suggestion.

"Oh, and ..." — She hesitated for a moment. — "I think I will have to talk with Mrs Fruitorange about certain problems."

She smiled nervously, inadvertently showing her fangs. It might or might not appeared uncanny or cute depending on personal preferences.

edited 29th Nov '11 12:20:27 PM by dragonfi

"You're braver than me," Gemma noted wryly. Even if you're not alive enough to be on the menu. Gemma didn't have any good memories of the inside of Ms. Fruitorange's office.

After considering Berenice's suggestion, the catgirl place a finger on her chin. "I think I should call the pizza place to find out the hell happened to our food," she decided. "I can come find you ladies once I've got them told, and maybe then we won't have to cook at all!" Berenice's ears pricked up as she turned her best dazzling, 'Aren't I just so smart!' smile on Berenice.

"Yes, you are Jail Bait." Berenice ruffled Gemma's hair again. "Okay, Gemma checks the pizza, Karina, you go to Ms Fruitorange, and I'll work on the halls. Karina as soon as you're done, come and help me, ok? Gemma, if the pizza's have disappeared, start on dinner and Karina and I will come see you after."

The albino looked between the two, "How's that sound?"

"It's a sound plan." — Karina replied, and took a few steps towards where she suspected the HR office.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on spending any more time there than absolutely necessary." — She added snarkly. Really, she wanted to get trough with it quick and fast.

insert reply here (the office is in the opposite direction)

She took a few more step, before hearing the exclamation.

"Oh, of course, thank you." — She said, then quickly turned around, and headed down the other direction, with a blush on her face.

edited 30th Nov '11 1:49:19 PM by dragonfi

"I think I can manage that," Gemma replied with a grin of satisfaction - though if the pizza place wasn't delivering then Wally might just be having peanut butter and jelly tonight. Turning toward the exit, the catgirl noticed that Karina was heading for the door that lead to the toilets and gang showers at the back of the barracks. "Not that there's anyone here to stop you, but there's no ladies' room back there," she noted wryly.

With the sun having just set completely, the halls of the manor were mostly dark when Karina exited the mook barracks. If the Master had invested in automatic lights at some point then they clearly weren't functioning correctly, as even the grounds outside the windows were dark.

The door to Ms. Fruitorange's office sat at the end of a long hallway that - quite strangely - didn't seem to have any other rooms connected to it. The hall was dark but for the sliver of dim light leaking out from under the office door, indicating that the madame of Human Resources was indeed still hard at work.

edited 30th Nov '11 5:28:09 PM by Alhazred23

Karina took a last puff of her almost finished cigarette, she lit as soon as she left her colleagues behind. She really needed it at this point. Then again, she will need them much more badly on the way out of the HR office.

She quickly fixed up her dress — as well as she could, due to the MTX's tight binders — then hastily knocked at the door, before she could have a change of mind.

edited 1st Dec '11 4:28:03 AM by dragonfi

Berenice saw the two maids off before grabbing the mop machine and moving into the hallway to start cleaning.

Skill roll?

After a few minutes, that probably felt a smaller eternity to Karina, the vampire maid left the HR office.

With a troubled expression on her face, she exited Ms. Fruitorange's airless hallway, stopping in the first window-recess she found. Karina opened the window, lit a cigarette and watched as the moon rose on the horizon.

After a few puff from her cigarette, her expression let up a bit, changing to a mild worry.

"So...", she asserted the situation, "my only valid option is Berenice...".

She sighed, not being happy about this turn of events. Karina thought Berenice to be one of the most reasonable, and maybe even caring, person in the mansion. So, She didn't wanted to burden her with this, nor could she imagine Berenice freely volunteering. Still, the young vampire knew it was much better than suffering the alternatives, probably for both of them.

Meanwhile, her cigarette burned down, and she didn't wanted to keep Berenice waiting, so she closed the window, and set off towards the direction where she supposed her more experienced colleague was cleaning.

edited 4th Dec '11 10:57:09 AM by dragonfi

After a few minutes Berenice heard footsteps coming back down the corridor and turned to see Karina. The girl didn't look very happy.

Then again, she has just come back from Ms Fruitorange.

"Hey Karina." Berenice asked as she continued mopping. Truth be told she felt a bot sorry for Karina - having to work diretly with the Doc and also probably in for more meetings with Ms F than she was... sans another violent outburst. "What's the news from Ms F? Hopefully she wasn't too nasty."

edited 5th Dec '11 6:51:09 AM by StolenByFaeries

"Oh, no she wasn't, or at least, she could do worse if she really wanted. It's just that..." — she fell silent for a moment, pondering on how to continue — "it's complicated."

"Say, are we alone here right now?" — Karina asked, while inadvertently sending mixed signals, that could easily creep someone out a little.

response here

"It's just that you are the only person that I can trust around here... And, I don't want to hurt you... But I'm running out of options, and I don't want you to think bad about me... Because, I have to do it for both of us... So you understand, don't you?"

While talking she slowly approached Berenice, ending up in front of her, and looking at her fellow maid with a mix of anticipation and worry.

Maybe I was a bit sloppy somewhere, the machine that 'approved' was supposed to be the Maid Training eXoskeleton the doc gave Karina.

edited 5th Dec '11 5:58:58 AM by dragonfi

Berenice's brow furrowed in worry at the non-descroption of what happened with Ms F... and a strange chill started creeping down her spine. Like the one she got whenever she visted Doc, except Doc was usually accompanied by chilled blood, a sense of dread, and the desire to scream like some stupid girl in a horror flick.

"Ah yeah - Gemma's in the kitchen and all the mooks are dispatched." Berenice answered uneasily.

The part where Karina walks up.

"What... exactly are you asking?" Berenice became very still, not only worried by the look on Karina's face but by her instincts screaming that she should run. But... it was her job to do what the Master ordered... and what Mrs Fruitorange said was, for all intents and purposes, what the Master said. And if what Mrs Fruitorange said was...

Ah, I had assumed that it was a maid thing - I shall edit my post accordingly.

"Oh, ehm... sorry." — Karina finally noticed that she is standing too close to Berenice, and backed away, as an attempt to keep a less threatening distance. In addition, she blushed a little, probably on her own clumsiness in social interaction.

She leaned her back against the wall. — "I didn't meant to frighten you, it's really not that bad."

"Do you know what happens when a vampire cannot get enough blood?" — Seeing Berenice pale, she decided to continue, it's better not to leave it to her imagination. — "Everyone reacts differently, but for me at least... back at the barracks I was kind of tame, compared to that."

She averted her eyes, and fiddled with her fingers in embarrassment, the topic stirred some memories she was not proud of.

"So.. unless you know a way to get some blood right now by other means, I would be happy." — She slowly moved towards Berenice, did her instincts got the better of her already? — "May I take a bit of yours? It doesn't really hurt as much, some even enjoy it, and I would only take a little to get by."

She sounded sincere, but there was an eerie light in her eyes that really unnerved Berenice. While talking, Karina slowly reached for her. The vampire herself was afraid that the other maid would run away, knowing full well the consequences that would result from that.

edited 5th Dec '11 8:16:45 AM by dragonfi

Berenice's brain reluctant to process the infortmation. She wanted to bring up the idea that Ms F had to have a food supply... but if she had been willing to share she would have offered. And Berenice didn't know who else to offer up - she'd have suggested a mook if they were around... and she suspected that Gemma would jump at the idea if not for her being "catty".

More importantly... it was her job. She always did what was required of her. No matter how much she didn't want to.

It can't be as scary as Doc. The albino tried to reassure herself, though the light in Karina's eyes were giving her the creeps... to say the least. But... she was a good kid...
Right?

Berenice reached around to the back of her neck and unfastened her spiked choker. "Uh... where, or uh, how would you like to do this?"

She hoped she looked a lot braver than she felt.

Seeing the fear in Berenice's eyes it was Karina's turn to feel pity towards her companion. Still, this was by far the best solution for the problem.

As Berenice loosened her choker, Karina replied.

"The neck will be good. And, I will grip you tightly" — Noticing the increasing fear in Berenice's eyes, she quickly added — ", if you allow. I don't want to accidentally leave a scar."

Karina might have realized that by now, Berenice was practically paralyzed with fear. The vampire didn't wait for a reply, instead she slowly moved closer to the albino maid, and clasped her in a tight embrace.

Then, she put her head on the right side of Berenice's neck. The albino maid surely must have felt the girl's breathing on her skin.

"Hey, Berenee. Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" — She whispered. Karina didn't remembered where she read that, but she somehow felt that the source would be oddly fitting for this weird neighbourhood. And she hoped it will prove to be a good distraction for Berenice.

Using the opportunity, she bit Berenice's neck, while trying to be as gentle as possible.

edited 7th Dec '11 1:03:21 PM by dragonfi

At first Berenice didn't know whether to find the closeness reassuring or frightening - Karina's voice said one thing but the entire situation begged to differ.

When she felt her breath on her neck - it was cold. She could feel her heart racing - she half expected Karina to feel it too.

At the vampire's words the albino was temporarily confused, for the moment all her tense muscles relaxing... until she felt the teeth. In an instant it moved from a prick to a slicing sort of pain - it wasn't like had anything she could compare it to.

The other sensations... weren't so easy. She could feel the draining - it was kind of like when you accidentally catch yourself with the vaccuum cleaner... but definitely not.
It was like... the blood that was rushing to the area were stimulating all the receptors in that area of her neck - pain and pleasure. The signals only got more confusing and terrifying as the sensation branched out.

That line between pleasure and pain? This was it.

Karina felt Berenice's fast heartbeat, and the warmth of her body. Both were something vampires didn't had. Feeling them always filled her with a mix of sorrow, joy and wonder.

Even then, those feelings quickly got overshadowed by the euphoria caused by the rush of Berenice's blood. It was a feeling that was likewise hard to describe. It did had a purifying quality, one that made the vampire maid quite relaxed. Yet, it was much more than that.

While time seemed to stop, in reality, the whole act didn't last long. As promised Karina really only took a little blood. She knew the albino will need her strength for the rest of the day. (While it wasn't effortless, as all good-natured vampire, she herself learned how to restrain herself.)

Finished, she relaxed her hands around Berenice, and rested her head on the albino's shoulder. Her vermilion eyes looked into the distance, the strange glow vanished from them, now they were blurry and peaceful.

"Thank you Berenee." — She said in an unusually calm tone.

After a few moments, she softly added. — "...so safe..." — Apparently, the young vampire didn't wanted the embrace to end.

edited 11th Dec '11 9:02:58 AM by dragonfi

Without an army of mooks around to make a ruckus the darkened halls of the manor were as silent as the grave as Karina settled into Berenice's arms. It was a comforting sort of silence, perhaps, if one was of the undead persuasion - but in this case it was all too brief. The stress of the day was only beginning to unwind from the vampire maid's muscles when both she and Berenice detected the soft scuffing sound of leather-soled shoes on hardwood. This time a luck or cunning roll of 6 will be enough to detect the source of the sound: the Master was apparently approaching from the far end of the hall when he noticed them and is now trying to remain unseen around a darkened corner.

For a moment Berenice stood dazed, sort of lost in the sleepy-but-not-quite-sleepy feeling that the strange euphoria had left in it's stead.

"You're... welcome." She reached up a hand to stroke Karina's hair when she heard the slight shuffling of feet, snapping her hazy mind into something close to alertness. The albino turned to face to face the sound.

Startling at Berenice's sudden scrutiny, His Supreme Darkness emerged completely from around the corner at the end of the hall. "Ah, Berenice! There you are!" he declared rather more loudly than necessary, his face red and his gait strangely stiff as he shuffled forward, his cape swept up before him 'dramatically.' "Has supper been prepared? I grow tired of waiting, and Mitchel and Webb will be on soon."

edited 18th Dec '11 3:33:55 PM by Alhazred23

Berenice set her face into a stern glare when the Master came out from behind the corner, though she was aware that the vampire leaning on her shoulder did not postively impact her usual appearance of authority. Though the fact that he was redder than a tomato didn't help his appearance at all so she felt she was winning.

"Gemma is working on your dinner, Master." She stated coolly - she knew just how... strange the situation looked but it was a lot more innocent than what she and Gemma had walked in on earlier. "Karina and I will prepare your bath."

edited 18th Dec '11 3:50:45 PM by StolenByFaeries

"So Gemma is 'preparing dinner' all by herself, is she?" Despite his embarrassed flush, the Master gave Berenice an incredulous look that seemed to ask, And how long exactly does it take to prepare jam and toast?

He then shot a sharp glance at Karina, though his eyes slid to the side when they hit the black ribbons that hugged the vampire maid's uniform to her body. The Master didn't comment, but he seemed curious as to why she was there.

"Very well; I shall go see what that girl has decided to pass off as 'dinner' tonight, while you take care of that," he decided with a grumpy huff. Really, it was a wonder that Gemma managed to keep her job at all, given how much she seemed to exasperate the Master and Ms. Fruitorange.

edited 18th Dec '11 4:30:10 PM by Alhazred23

Disturbed by the slight commotion, Karina, as if waken from a stupor, slowly looked up at Berenice's stern face. It took some time for the relaxed vampire to process all the clues before it dawned on her that the master is probably standing behind her.

She slowly, without any hint of urgency, let go of Berenice, and, now standing at her side, turned towards the Master. Her eyes blinked rapidly, glaring around with unmasked curiosity.

Without all her worries, the world was a beautiful and fascinating place.

'Who is this strange man in front of her? Yes, he is the master, but she barely knew him. What is the reason of his sudden outburst?'

'Who is this strong woman standing on her side? Yes, her name was Berenice, she was kind and strong, but where did she came from? She must have many a story to tell.'

In all she wasn't participating much in the conversation, she occasionally took a side glance at Berenice, to awe in her companion's strength and stability. On the suggestion about preparing the bath together, she just nodded in approval.

edited 19th Dec '11 4:54:22 AM by dragonfi