St. Claire Memorial Hospital, 6:45 AM (OPEN)

[Aida]

Aida stayed in her crouched position, chest rising and falling as the adrenaline pumped through her veins. All she had wanted was a peaceful rest but that was life, you never get what you want so she did what she did best. Green eyes widened at the sound of the gun shot. Watching as he only grazed the vampire she cursed under her breath. Standing up she watched him fall into the stagnant water. Movement caught the corner of her eye. Hissing she hoped the doctor brought his game he was going to need it. Licking her lips she moved after the vampire chuckling inwardly as it thought it had the upper hand.

She would wait for it to make its move before she did anything. The sound of the Doctors growl sent a shiver down her spine. Aida damn well knew what he was and what all dragons were capable of doing to her kind. Feeling a bit cocky she turned to look at him as he began to shift. Taking a step back just stared at him wide eyed. Having seen a dragon in its true form and human form but never had she seen one shift. In her awe and natural fear of the dragon Aida completely forgot about the vampire she had been stalking.

That was the biggest mistake she had made in years. It moved quickly behind her wrapping an arm around her waist as its other one gripped her hair. Growling she struggled against its grip as it leaned forward. Moving backwards she hoped to get it off her back by slamming it against the wall. It didn’t work instead it clamped its jaws over her neck. Aida let out a strangled scream mixed with a hiss. Her hand reaching for the blade in her boot but the vampire’s grip was relentless.

[hrothgar]

Hrotghar clenched his teeth together. His mind conjured flashes of feral roars into the cold night air, of great beasts rising up the earth. the last bits of flesh on his body began to shift into more rocky craggy textured scales. Bit by bit he could see more and more of the vampire on top of him as his eyes turned draconic, growing more suited to the shadows.

There was savagery to him now... strength unbridled by the limits of the human form now burst forward as he shoved back against his attacker. A foot and a half taller and built with tightly packed muscles on his only vaguely humanoid frame. His clawed hand gripped the attacking vampire by it's neck holding it up over the water and letting out a terrifying roar that shook the corridor as grabbed the assailant with both hands, hurling him into the concrete wall with a sickening crunch of bones. He turned now with a whip of his tail, claws extended as his eyes narrowed in on the vampire attacking his companion.

His steps could be heard in the water. splashing as he strode over to the attacker, grabbing the vampire by the face and digging his claws into the flesh, pulling the attacker off of Aida.

[Aida]

Aida struggled against her attacker as she watched wide eyed at the dragon. Wiggling her one arm free she elbowed the vampire hard in the gut but still it was to blood hungry to care about anything. It didn't even seem to care when the other smashed against the wall. Shuddering she continued to struggle feeling herself slowly begin to get weaker from the loss of blood. Aida had been attacked by many vampires but only a few had been able to catch her off guard and she carried the scars on her arms and one on her side. Never had one got her neck until this day.

Freezing when the Hrothgar turned towards her she closed her eyes and prayed to any greater good there was that this would turn out good in the end. Biting her lip as he approached pale green eyes looked at him as she saw a dragon arm beside her face. Smelling the vampires blood when the doctors fingers curled into its flesh she slumped against the wall when the vampire was pulled away. Her hand moved to her neck putting pressure on the bleeding wound.

Remaining leaning against the wall she hissed as the pain in her neck increased. Removing her hand she opened her bag pulling out some the bandages applying them to her neck. Holding them there she pressed hard. A vampire bite was going to take longer to heal and the beast tore into her neck deeply.

[hrothgar]

Another howling roar escaped Hrothgar's throat as he shifted his body bringing the feral vampire close and closing his reptilian jaws down on his throat. Blood an ichor gushed down his chin as the vampire let out with a terrible screech of pain. The dragon's nostrils flared at the scent of blood and the feel of a fresh kill, a feeling he hadn't felt in over a millennia. He breathed harder, lungs expanding and contracting as if they couldn't get enough of the air and enough of that scent of blood. His eyes rolled back and with a sadistic rapture the sound of ripping flesh could be heard as Hrothar's powerful jaws tore the vampire's throat straight out of his neck, leaving the mortally wounded foe to gasp and sputter in the stagnant water like a dying rat.

He stood to his full height, the crest of his brow nearly brushing the ceiling as he spat out the blood soaked chunk of skin, muscle and trachea in his mouth. Every nerve in his mind as keenly focused now on putting a damper on the bloodlust that threatened to overtake him. He slowed his breathing... turning very slowly to he vampire who still laycrumpled in the corner. With a heavy heart he took a knee and looked over the fallen blood-drinker. His hand reached out almost mercifully, feeling pain and fear all locked away behind the pale flesh beneath his fingertips. He breathed in slowly, and on the outward breath he dug his fingers in and ripped the trachea out swiftly once more, letting the creature ex-sanguinate.

There was a long moment of pause as he made well sure the vampire died before turning back to Aida. He stood over her and extended a single blood-caked claw... "Here... show me the wound." He rumbled in a voice reminiscent of a yawning cavern.

[Aida]

Aida stared wide eyed at Hrothgar, shivering at his growl she put pressure on her neck feeling the blood continue to seep through the bandage. She felt the heat of her blood slid down her collarbone as she watched the dragon bite into the vampires neck. Shuddering she pressed herself against the wall. He had saved her but he was still a dragon and she had vampire blood running through her system. She froze in spot and watched him finish off the vampire. Looking at its destroyed body did nothing to Aida she wasn’t repulsed by it, actually relieved.

Pale green eyes looked up at the Dragon when he asked to see her wound. Looking at his claw she held back the urge to lick her lips. Looking up at him she pushed herself up off the wall and took a step closer to him. Pulling the blood soaked bandage from her neck hissing and wincing in pain. Tossing the soiled material next to the dead vampire she tilted her head for him to see her torn neck. “It will heal…” she said attempting to hide the pain in her voice.

Her blood was still trailing down her neck and collarbone but the wound was starting to finally clot. Glancing up at him she shrugged her shoulder. “I have had worse doctor”

[hrothgar]

The fire had left Hrothgar's eyes. A new instinct took over, it was the same one that hid behind his thoughts and rationalities every day, driving him forward through task after task with one singular sense of purpose. This form, those eyes... they all spoke to the singular truth of what Hrothgar was. Here in this form stood the true Hrothgar, no human persona to hide behind, this was the dragon who felt more man than beast, partway between his draconic form and human form. His hand stretched out grabbing hold of the bandage.

"While a great deal can be said for self sufficiency, its Cooperation and trust that has been proven as the greatest salvation of man and vampire alike." He said evenly peeling the bloody gauze away and pressing his bare hand to the wound. He breathed in deep, concentrating on channeling his power. A soft tingling sensation began to spread from this point of contact, which was all that could be said for the complex biochemical reactions taking place on the outer edge of her dermis. The whole process only took a few moments but when he pulled his hand away a nice healthy scab had formed where she was bleeding and she could already see the pink tender edges where new skin cells were starting to form.

He seemed a bit drained however, leaning back against the wall and breathing hard, his body desperate to replace oxygen in his blood. He blinked a few times to set his eyes straight before slowly beginning his shift back into his human form, his skin beginning to reform and seal up over the rocky scales.

When the ordeal was finally over he looked a few pounds lighter than he had earlier that morning. He sank down to a crouching position, backed against the wall... resting for a moment as he tried to get the room to stop spinning around his head. "I... I'm going to need a moment." He mumbled.

[Aida]

Aida watched him carefully as he removed the bottom pieces of gauze. Biting her lip she smirked at his comment. “I believe we have both trusted each other a great deal already.” she paused looking up into his eyes. “I do trust you doctor… its just I am not used to having someone around that cares…” she said truthfully as he looked at the wound before placing his large hand over the wound. Placing her one hand on his arm for support she went very still as she was not sure what he was doing. She began to feel a tingling over her neck and looked up at him confused. He didn’t seem to react as he was concentrating on whatever he was doing.

When he removed his hand she let her fingers slid off his arm as they moved to touch her neck. Feeling a large scab she looked at him and smiled. “You are something else” she replied now looking at him concerned. Watching him shift back and then slump against the wall she moved towards him and crouched down beside him. Pale green eyes studied him closely, his appearance was different, shaking her head she placed a hand on his shoulder letting him know he could take all the time he needed. If anything else would be brave enough to walk through that hole she would be there, very undistracted this time.

“Why did you risk your strength for me? I am grateful more than I can say but it wasn’t as if I was going to get sick or die from the wound. It would have just hurt like a mother-- for awhile” Slowly she removed her hand from his shoulder and just looked at him. He wasn’t what she pictured a dragon being. Especially how he didn’t judge what she was. Crouching there she thought…’maybe there is still some good left in this world’ it was a comforting thought.

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar let out a cough, reaching under his coat and pulling out an old stainless steel canteen and unscrewing the top. He took long sip before pulling his lips away with a rough gasp, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve. There was time to think now, his mind rushing back to more coherent thoughts as the savagery of his inner form returned to a dormant state. No longer were his thoughts plagued with strange primordial instincts and urges and the world began to take on a more rational shape in his consciousness. He looked up at her as she reached down for his shoulder, the contact seemed to help a bit, helping him stabilize himself and regain his balance.

"A long time ago I made a commitment to serve humanity..." He said after a few moments, "As I have gone along in this world I have found more and more that Humanity is more than just the simple act of existing as a human being. Humanity at some point invariably becomes an ideal and a set of virtues. Compassion for all living things is one of these virtues, and admittedly it is not one I adhere to all of the time. Not even dragons are perfect..."

He stood up now, a little shakily but looking better. His hand drifted over his stomach as he tried to move, feeling a pang of emptiness now accompanied by a low rumbling gurgle from his abdomen. His powers had to draw their material and energy from somewhere, and the most ready supply of biochemical energy his body could provide was from the food it ate. With the calorie content of his early morning breakfast completely expended his body began to tell him that he needed to replace the nutrients as soon as possible. "Oof... if its all the same to you, after we find a good crowbar, I'd like to go check out the hospital cafeteria..."

The hunger would have to wait for now, the crowbar was of the utmost importance. He stooped to pick up his revolver and his flashlight. Aiming both at the darkness beyond the hole and proceeding to step through.

[Aida]

Hearing him cough she looked down at him concerned. Watching him carefully she crouched down on the ground watching him take a drink from the canteen before looking at her. Aida placed a hand on his shoulder to offer support if he needed it. She also wanted to let him know how much she appreciated the gesture he did, especially because he weakened himself in healing her. Listening to him when he answered her question after a few silent moments between them. Nodding her head she understood his reasoning. “You dragons are something else” she said with a smile. He knew what she was and what she could have done to others and helped her. There was still some good in the world, even if it started with the dragons maybe it could seep into other groups.

“There is very few left that are compassionate so please forgive my reaction to your sacrifice for me.” Her hand slid from his shoulder when he moved. Watching him stand she slowly rose back up as well. Pale eyes studied him his hand falling to his stomach. Moving beside him she nodded her head. “That is fine.” she would have had him eat first but she doubted he would have done it. Especially since they killed off three vampires if they left how many others could come through that hole.

Moving with him she parted only to pick up her staff and followed him into the hole. Stepping over crumbling bricks she looked into the dark ahead of them. “Do you know where this leads us Doctor?” Aida would have liked to take the lead to keep him safe since he was weak. Moving to stand beside him with the tunnel opened a small bit wider. He was the one with the plans she was just following.

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar took a moment to assess the surroundings. In all fairness he wasn't liking what he was seeing as he stepped forward into the darkness, sweeping the flashlight back and forth to check the area out. It was dark in here that was for sure, dank and smelling a little like a water treatment plant. At the end of the room he could see a pair of doors and behind it an eerie light. His heart skipped a beat as he began to push closer to the door. If there was light that meant that there was power, and if there was power it meant that the emergency generators were still operating.

"Not entirely, all we have to go on is the visitor's map and that isn't going to show us where their supply closets are much less where their state of the art security vault is. But it is going to show where there are large blanks on the map labeled 'maintenance'. This is just where one of those blanks was located. Now... if If I'm correct it would seem as though the Ferals down here must have broken through this wall, looking for the blood bank no doubt.... that or someone knocked it down." He paused as his flashlight light up the words "MORTUARY" on a sign above the double doors at the end of the room. He lowered the beam of the flashlight until it lit up the door and illuminating the windows. It was hard to see but he could make out shapes moving in the darkness behind the doors. He immediately clicked the flashlight off and raised his weapon aiming for the doors.

"Well if nothing else we have a good idea where their nest is.." He hissed. Taking a knee he narrowed his eyes down the iron-sights of his weapon. It was hard to see in the darkness but the faint glow coming from behind the doors was enough of a beacon to set his aim by. He wasn't in any mood to fight any more... the gun was a precaution at this point as he didn't know how many there were behind the door or if their presence had been betrayed yet. Regardless the gun stayed aimed at the door ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice should the doors begin to shift or move.

[Aida]

Aida wasn’t sure how well the doctor was doing, he seemed better but still weak. She had learned from the last encounter that his night vision as a human was bad, just like that of a regular human. Shaking her head she felt the disgusting water drip down her back as they walked silently in the pitch black tunnel. His flashlight moved back and forth along the tunnel shedding just enough light that she could see further than the light easily. This just seemed like a bad idea. Finding a crowbar and using their strength seemed the better answer especially with him being so weak. Moving up beside him when he spoke of the map and area’s they needed to find her eyes lifted to the double doors they were approaching. “It would seem so good doctor…” she replied very softly as he lifted his light to the doors. Seeing shadows moving behind it she hissed in annoyance. Hearing the soft click of his flashlight Aida but her hand on his shoulder.

Looking at the doors she wanted to punch the wall beside them. Vampires should have been sleeping right now, resting, saving up the little strength they had. Could it be that a few remained awake waiting for their two companions. “They must know something is up” she whispered to him as he lowered himself to his knee weapon ready. Pulling her bag off her shoulder she set it down against the wall of the tunnel then undid the ties on her soaking wet cape she always wore. Setting it beside the other she pulled out two throwing knives spinning the one in her hand. so much for sleeping she thought to herself.

Moving to stand beside the doctor she waited and listened to the few hushed and muffled words coming from behind the door. Lowering herself down beside him she looked at him through her painted mask. “I don’t think they know of us… It would be safer if I take them out but if you want we can continue on” she didn’t know what the doctor would want to do. Aida had no problem killing, especially those feral vampires who killed without thinking at just the smell of fresh blood. Her worry was if they were not taken out now then they would be a problem later especially if night fell and they were still down in these tunnels.

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar kept his aim steady for a good long while. The pause that followed after she posed her question remained hanging in the air above their heads. His mind churned out all the possibilities but all signs pointed to wards the fact that he was in no way ready to deal with another with the feral vampires down here. Slowly Hrotghar holstered his gun and gave a nod to Aida. "You're right." he whispered as he began to make his way back out through the hole in the wall.

The Ferals would have to remain as they were for now. Too dangerous to deal with and certainly not posing any obstacle to them. There were plenty of dead bodies in the morgue for them to have at, they'd be content for a good long while. Still, the promise of all that blood remaining refrigerated and preserved was a tempting thing. He would have to return with better guns and perhaps a few capable fighters if they were to benefit from the Emergency Vault's supplies.

Once back out into the corridor he pressed on through the water, scanning with his flashlight until he found the Maintenance supply closet, sure enough the door had been left unlocked, and the lack of food or bodies inside of it had left it untouched by the Ferals. Heaving open the door he found what he was looking for and then some... Crowbars hung from the wall next to saws, power drills, screwdrivers and screws of every size and shape. Electrical wiring, pliers, everything to ensure that the hospital had all the things it needed should any of the equipment upstairs break. Hrothgar immediately reached in, pulling out two crowbars and handing one to Aida. "These should be all we need, after all we're not concerned with fixing anything, just breaking it open."

[Aida]

Aida was relieved when he whispered back to her that she was right. He wouldn’t be able to see that relief but as he stood up she moved quietly to her back and ruined hood. Tossing the bag over her shoulder she carried the hood not leaving a trace that they had been where they were. They didn’t need to fight anymore battles, not this day. The doctor was recovering slowly and she well was better than she could have been thanks to Hrothgar. Stepping back into the main area where they had been she watched him following behind as it appeared he knew where he was going.

She moved quietly through the water, splashing little of it around as she could. Smiling when they found the maintenance closet, he opened up the doors. It was still fully stocked for anything that could go wrong in this building. Aida watched as he pulled down two crowbars and handed her one. Taking it from him with a smirk she tossed the ruined hood away. Adjusting her hold on it she looked up at him. “Lets get cracking” she said already moving out of the supply closet. Looking around she really wanted to get out of the disgusting water they were walking in.

“Again doctor you lead the way, but first food for you then we will work on getting the bins opened for you.”

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar nodded, it did his heart good to see her more amicable now in the comfortable quiet that followed as he closed the supply closet door and made his way back to the stairs. Another friend was always good to have, and he had learned that his skills had made it easy for him to befriend people. He did not attribute this to a sense of charm or wit or humor, no, he liked to think that being a doctor and a humanitarian brought out the best in those around him. If they didn't appreciate him for who he was then maybe they'd appreciate him for being someone who could drag them back from the brink of death or yank bullets out of them after a firefight. Either way he enjoyed the feeling of companionship however fleeting it may have been.

With a weary smile on his lips he led Aida back upstairs and down the corridors. It was brighter now, almost 8 in the morning now and the sun was starting to poke its head above the ruined skyline of Pittsburgh. He stood for a moment as they passed one of the eastern facing windows. He seemed stunned by the sunlight, reaching out to the window pane and touching the glass, feeling it hitting that strange threshold between the early morning chill and the warmth of morning sunlight. He closed his eyes, breathing it in almost, drawing energy from it, strength, not physically but mentally and emotionally. It was all to comforting to know that the sunlight was there, and even though the world fell apart it hadn't forgotten how to do its job, not once in the millions of years the earth had been in existence. He smiled, almost trying to wrap himself up in the glorious light for a little while longer, shaking the cold and damp off of the legs of his blue jeans and washing the terror and anxiety of their encounter away.

He stood unmoving for a good five minutes before moving on, pressing down the corridor towards the "EMPLOYEES ONLY" sign that marked the entrance to the cafeteria kitchen. He pushed the door open and made his way inside the cool institutionally styled room. The kitchen had a bit of a funk to it these days, the cooling units had shut down when the people left and all the perishable goods stored inside were either eaten in a hurry or left to decay. Hrothgar wasn't interested in the refrigerators though, his mind was on more realistic options.

He tossed his duffel bags onto the big stainless steel counter in the center of the kitchen and began rooting through the cabinets and pantries, digging through the untouched supplies of dried and canned goods. He wasted no time, carrying the useable food to the counter and tossing the ruined and moldy food on the floor haphazardly. There was no need to be clean and neat about it, he was hungry and nobody cared. Before long he had amassed a small collection of Hormel Chili, Spaghetti-Os, stale crackers, canned beans, a small stack of wax paper wrapped Klaxton Fruitcakes, a few cans of assorted and most likely flavorless fruits and vegetables and a few individual serving sized breakfast cereals. He stood for a moment with a proud look on his face as he produced a small metal military style can-opener from his lanyard keychain and began tearing into the canned meat and ravioli like a crazed beast, not even bothering to cook it as he began emptying the cans into his mouth.

[Aida]

Aida watched as he closed the door to the supply closet and then began to lead her back out of the basement. Upon coming to the stairs she let the door shut softly behind them. Having grabbed a broken pipe on the other side of the door she slid it between the handles of the door. If anything tried to come out of the basement it would have to break the pipe or knock it loose. She was hoping that it would give her and the good doctor a warning if something like that would happen. Glancing back at him as they started up the stairs she saw the tired smile on his face, it made her curious about him but she didn't ask. Aida was beginning to like the good doctor, found it nice to be around someone living and not trying to rip out her throat or eat her. Sighing softly she was supposed to be hard. In this world it was hard to have friends or someone you were close to many didn't live long but then, the doctor wasn't human he was a dragon and most that remained around here were old, ancient in her eyes. They walked the stairs together in silence the only sound echoing through the stairwell was the sound of their boots before moving into one of the corridors that he wanted.

She was trusting him alot as the walked down the empty hallway. It was starting to become bright and she could feel the lack of sleep drawing on her more. It wasn't the longest that she had gone without sleeping but it was starting to become close. Watching as Hrothgar moved to the one window she crossed her arms and watched him as he placed his hand on the window seal looking at the sun rising higher in the sky. Pale green eyes stayed focused on him just watching and admiring what he was doing. He was standing in the sun and she was half covered from the growing light from the window while the other half of her body was covered in the shadows. Looking down she smirked at the irony there. She stood there in silence until he moved from the window. Following behind she glanced out the window before continuing on after him toward what had been a cafeteria.

Looking around she crossed her arms over her chest and watched as he set his duffel bags down and moved straight for the cabinets. Smirking she walked past him and hopped up on the stainless steal counter top. Crossing her legs she set her wooden staff beside her resting the crowbar beside it. Raising an eyebrow when he tossed everything down on the counter top and began to open it. Her hand lifted to her neck as she lightly touched the scab that was there, shaking her head she still couldn't believe it. Pulling some of her braids to cover the healing would she couldn't help but to laugh at how he was eating. It seemed that him healing the way he did caused a lust for food, its energy, reminded her of vampires when they got their blood lust. The need for nourishment. "Doctor you could slow your pace. I doubt anyone or anything is going to bother us we would hear them coming. Enjoy your food." she said with a smile slipping off the counter leaving her staff and crowbar near the doctor as she moved to look out the one window. Her eyes scanning the area as she leaned there waiting for the doctor to regain his energy as he filled his stomach.