Seeing the vampire before her clear his intentions with no signs of attacking she suddenly felt deflated, slumping on the ground as her flames died down, while no fight had taken place her mentality took a beating with that certain death mindset

"There there, your gonna live, for now, so why not take us to your tribe little snakelet?"

He said while patting her head, his words not as comforting as his touch, she nodded nonetheless and weakly got up, leading them to the tribe, but not before she took a second to sound the warning by lightning a red bead and sending it spiralling toward the sky with her tail, a warning sign of intruders that held no immediate malic

The group got closer and closer to the now bustling tribe, everyone and their mother's was out to see who dared intrude the tribe, the two odd figures and caged hound caused some to show curiosity and some suspension, only when they saw those deadly fangs inside the male's mouth as he smiled at them, coupled with that unique figure, did they become certain of the two figures horrifying identity

"Siss, what are they doing here?"

"I have no idea, it is weird seeing vampires in this region, when was the last time we even heard of a vampire showing up in the entirety of the Fallen Fae Forests?"

"Not in any of the last centuries I'll tell you that, but I'm more intrigued as to why they are at ou doorstep"

Some sucked a cold breath in shock, or were they hissing?, while some wondered what these two nightwalkers were doing in this godforsaken land

They didn't need to assume on their own though as soon the snake that brought them here went straight toward the vice leader of the tribe who was keeping the land safe while the leader and the tribe's main attack force was on the way to the new lands

Everyone waited for him to come back and address these two visitors who were calmly standing at the border of their home, and that didn't take long as a twelve-meter long snake, double the size of the one that was scouting, swayed his way to the new arrivals with some swagger

Coiling around his red skin was a rolling red mist, much like that of the Gardelos, making Ellis wonder if it was a trait of strong beings to have mist floating around them or was it just their poisonous nature that allowed this

Just as Ellis was synchronising him the snake was doing the same to her, looking her dangerous yet odd figure up and down, spotting much more than what his small kin had

Other than the obvious dignified aura around her he felt a slight sting coming from those purple eyes, as if they had a ting of flame to them, he assumed they must be really strong flames for him who had fire as his essence to be affected by it, then there was her strong nauseating stench

That's right, there was a stench that came from this vampire, a stench of putrid poison, it was being withheld by her aura but he could barely smell that deadly toxin from her, telling him that she was having a hard time keeping it at bay

As for the other vampire, he didn't feel like he was worth his time and merely threw him a glance, with such a faint presence he must be...

'Hold up!'

His eyes suddenly related just as his kin's did once she met them, only he got himself under control pretty quickly but couldn't help but leave a trace of fear in his heart

'No presence, no smell, no energy signals, he's practically one with the wind, if not for me sensing his body temperature he might as well be invisible'

He instantly switched his priorities, this man was the dangerous one, that lady over there must be his follower instead

Both sides took their time to feel each other out, at least that's what it looked like, then once the snake's vice leader felt he'd got a good grip of what they were dealing with he spoke to them

"Welcome, visitors from afar, I am Saznar, the vice leader of the Zarselos tribe"

He introduced

"I am YuJu, Master of House Myths"

YuJu nodded and introduced back, turning the venue quite, but who can blame them? A master of a vampire house was nothing short of monstrosity, and they knew what he said was real for no vampire dared claim a title above theirs lest they wanted to suffer

"Welcome mister YuJu, I have been told you wanted to have a talk?"

"That is so"

"Very well then, follow me"

With that he slithered around, leading the two further into the dune where meeting where held, not meeting's of their tribe but meetings with outsiders as the hotel stuffy dunes were not to the liking of many

Following the group were several guards and rather strong tribe members, the only one that stuck out was the 'small' snake they first met, who was somehow dragged along

After having everyone settle down on a rock each Saznar cut right into the chase, knowing that anything they had to present would only insult the two weird guests rather than please them, after all what could snakes have to cater to anthropoid of rather high taste

"What brings you to this barren scorched land mister"

"Quite direct, well I don't mind that for it saves me time"

YuJu didn't answer but commented on Saznar's behaviour instead, seeming like he had no intention of answering that question as he then asked one of his own

"I have asked around and heard that you are great at detoxing poisons, my visit is to verify whether or not that is true and...perhaps strike a deal if it is so"

'So he's here for the poison after all'

Saznar guessed, otherwise what would these two come here for? as for him 'asking around', well, he took a moment of peace to mourn those who he had questioned

"You have heard right, we are indeed well versed in the knowledge of detoxifying poisons, even the poison your little helper has we probably could detox, only I'm not sure whether or not her body could handle out methods"

Showing his hand by alerting him of his knowledge about Ellis's poisoned state Saznar paid close attention to YuJu's movement, much to his disappointment he saw no reaction whatsoever, as if he already knew, the only thing he heard was the surprised hisses of his tribe members and their heads slithering around to look at Ellis, giving her another one over

"Go on"

YuJu motioned, waiting for more explanation about their detox method

"You see, we are actually adept at using our own poison to burn out others, it is our fire energy that is mixed in with the poison that gives it a cleansing effect, turning it from toxin to tonic, depending on how it is used"

"So what your saying is you can use your poison in precise amounts to burn out the toxicity and only the toxicity?"

The rather simple explanation was easy to conjure, but hurt everyone's pride non the less when it sounded so easy even though a ton of practice was put into it, what could they say though? Agreeing was the only thing they could come up with as an answer

"Basically so"

"Then would you mind helping my servant over here with her problem?"

"Mister, with all do respect, I don't see whats in it for us"

Finally came the time to negotiate, what they get for their services its time would depend on how far they can squeeze this vampire without sparking conflict, and oh how they loved to squeeze their prey

"Simple, you get a rather important piece of information"

"Ho? And what would that be I wonder"

"It pertains to the group you sent to the new lands, more accurately speaking, it is about their survival"

He said with a dark smile, plunging the dune into a pin drop silence

"...I would need you to clarify what you mean by that mister"

Saznar said while raising his body, maw wide open with rows of sharp teeth ready to bite into him if he revealed any malic

"Calm down now, I never said I was the one who would hurt them now did I? I merely ran into a, well, troublesome fellow on the way back from those lands"

Though he cleared his intentions the dune was still as silent as a grave, everyone was clearly waiting for him to spill the beans

Much to their displeasure though he did not, instead he revealed a sneaky smile, clearly knowing all the cards were in his hands now as he started his demands

"In exchange for this crucial piece of information I want you to try and heal her, as well as a feeding for me, I am sure you have one or two good catty around here no?"

"Ssss, fine by me, now explain"

Impatient to negotiate with the tribe's main force at the line Saznar promised readily, as for whether or not he would do as he said, that depended on the information

"Sure, simply put, there is a Gardelos among the group that holds an aura of destruction"

He dropped the bomb and looked at the stone table only to realize there were no hot drinks for him to sip slowly and look nonchalant...

He didn't seem to need it though as the news was enough to make everyone turn rigid and for the next few seconds the room was filled with hot breathing, enough to turn the room into a small furnace causing the two to sweat under the heavy cloths

Soon though Saznar tried to look calm and collected, pretending that it had nothing to do with him

"The business of the Gardelos concerns us not, whether they have an aura holder or not it doesn't matter, we will not get in their way anyway"

"Oh no, I never said you will get in their way, on the contrary, weren't you planning on riding their coattails into the new lands?"

Though they suspected he knew they still didn't answer, waiting for him to show what he knew

"As descendants of the Gardelos you could easily mix in with those beasts and take whatever leftover there is, only, if one of them were to hold an aura then wouldn't you go berserk under its operation?"

"How did you know of his?"

"Your nature is too similar for me not to know, the aggressive nature, the poisonous mist that envelops you the stronger you grow, and the fact that you are in the land s species of devolved Gardelos were said to have settled in"

Then he gave Saznar a weird look that looked as if he was questioning his brain

"Plus the name of the tribe is kind of...."

".....My kin will escort you to your accommodation, we will send someone proficient in detoxing as well as the promised catty there before morning comes"

He answered awkwardly, is tail twitching as he did, oh how he hated their stupidly obvious tribe name

YuJu shrugged and stood up with Ellis, the two then followed the small snake outside, escaping the scorchingly hot room much to their relief