Steel Heart, Lost Love

by Sir Merrick

Motherhood and Madness

Steel awoke as she often did, two hours after sunset. She had always preferred to sleep in, a habit developed during her marriage. She roused and set the doll back upon the dresser, looking at the photos as part of her ritual, before slipping out the door and downstairs. She missed the warmth of a living spouse but knew it wasn’t the same. Dusk was a rare creature. One that truly understood her on a level that would not be seen again. She knew, as she’d tried twice to take a new lover. Both had not worked out, and both she’d had to put down.

Steel didn’t feel pity for those two stallions, after all it was her or them, and she needed to slake her thirst somehow. Thus Steel had taken to her siren nature, being an alluring temptress, with a tow of handsome criminals and desperado’s bled dry time and time again. Of course she had permission to do so by her Godmother. She provided a service, and they were a bad sort that rubbed her godmother the wrong way. It was simply the way of things.

She shook her head and sighed, as she departed from her room, descended down the stairs, round the corner, and to the doorway beneath the stairs. She knocked three times, and heard stirring before a bump, then the door opened with Wind Runner rubbing her head. “A-Ah! Miss Steel… So that wasn’t just a terrible dream… I ummm… I’m ready to start learning.”

Steel smiled faintly, before nodding and looking to the childre, Steel considered for a few moments, she hadn’t agreed ever, but in a way she had finally caved to Dusk’s wish to adopt children. She chuckled light before nodding. “Come along Wind Runner. No need to be formal. I am your Elder, but this is my home, you are my guest. There will be more time for formalities later. Surely you must be hungry. I must teach you how to slake your thirst. It is important to our way of life.”

Wind Runner looked to Steel, somewhat nervous, before replying. “Slake my thirst? So it is true? I am a vampire?” Wind seemed jittery and nervous, Steel understood some of it, she had been slightly as Wind had been when she was embraced. However at least Steel thought to herself, she had been cared for by her Sire even if only temporarily. It had taught her valuable lessons.

Either way, Steel nods as they exited her household, and went through the streets of Canterlot. “The easiest places to find prey are bars, and clubs. I tend to more upper class type of club goers but, at the very least I hold my own in nigh almost any environment. I simply like to dress more for my times when I can.”
Wind looked to Steel as they headed through the streets, Steel leading them to a nearby club that she knew of. Either way Wind would finally reply, seemingly out of politeness. “Dress for your time? When were you… ummm… embraced I believe you said?”

Steel gives a brief look of amusement. “Somewhat rude to ask a lady her age. Still you are young, it is to be forgiven. I was born in 783 EC, and was turned in 801 EC. I was 18 when my ship crashed on the shores of the dread League.”

Wind blinks for a moment. “Is the Dread League real? Truly? I had always thought it was a myth, that the unicorns used to tell scary stories at parties and what not…”

Steel for once looked back less amused, seemingly disinterested, and annoyed at the topic. The first sign of unfriendliness Steel had shown towards Wind, Steel knew though that Wind would abandon her eventually, or Steel herself would get bored of her. It was the nature of Toreador obsession. Steel replied dryly. “As real as the sun and moon.”

Wind blinked blearily, before quieting down and continuing to meekly follow Steel, who eventually arrived at the doors of a club, being a bit flirty with the bouncer, and revealing a pass of some sort, getting both of them inside. Steel would then with the grace of a predator, weave and dance about the club, chatting up people, introducing her friend, and eventually zeroing in on a rich older gentleman, of no local relations.

Steel also happened to know he was a key member of a drug operation in Canterlot, and thus didn’t pity him much. Soon the trio were within a private venue room, Steel chatting and getting the older stallion drunk, before offering him to go home. She had a fun little basement that she liked to punish older gentle stallions in afterall… The drunken older fellow was puddy in her hooves after that point, as she lured him to her home, Wind being very nervous about this whole thing. Steel knew that sign, a wall flower, and likely a college maiden.

Steel shook her head, innocence what a beautiful and short lived thing. Either way, she would arrive at her home, situating the stallion in the basement, putting him into a trance of some sort, as she looked to Wind.

“This stallion is a bad pony. He is a key pin to the drug trade in Canterlot. You are to feed from him and slake your thirst. You are likely to go primal and beastial during this initial feeding, so you will most assuredly kill him. I chose him as you will have little regret later in killing him.”

Wind blinked and looked at Steel wide eyed. “W-Wait you want me to k-k-kill him? I can’t… do that! That’s wrong!” Wind started backing away, but Steel appeared behind her the second she blinked and pushed her forwards.

“You will not have a choice if you refuse to feed for much longer. Then you will do something you regret. Take it out on the evil and let it be done. You will get used to it eventually. It feels good. And if fairness he’ll feel good to. Think of it as humanely executing someone. There are worse ways to go.” Steel kept pushing Wind forward, until she was right up next to the stupored drugged, and drunken stallion, as Steel pricked him with a quick jab, letting a few drops of blood free, to tempt Wind.

Wind would try and resist a few moments longer, but eventually her primal need, the smell of the blood, and the morsel right there before her, drew her instincts, and she fed upon the stallion. Steel watched uncaringly as Wind steadily drained him, and after around 8 minutes, Wind could get no more, and the Stallion had stopped breathing, moving, or generally being alive. He’d died around 6 minutes ago, but Steel wanted Wind to have her fill, thus let her keep going.

Either way, Steel appeared again, right behind Wind, and pulled her away, with her inhuman strength, and restrained Wind til she came back to her senses, where she was in a bathtub, covered in blood, the tub filled with soap, and red. Either way, Steel, still dressed, as she had no will or interest in being intimate with her charge, tossed her a loofa. “Clean yourself up. I’ll deal with the blood stains once you are done.”

Wind seemed about ready to go off on Steel, but Steel was gone before she knew it, and Steel merely heard the mare crying nigh almost inaudibly quiet. Steel waited in the living room, awaiting for the girl to come out.

Steel merely began reading Lord of the Rings, she was at a part she rather enjoyed, Dusk had grown to love it too, a quote from Bilbo to Frodo “Obviously Aragorn thought the whole thing rather above my head, and he said that if I had the cheek to make verses about Earendil in the house of Elrond, it was my affair. I suppose he was right.”

She had always been amused by it, due to an experience she’d had early on as a Dread League Courtier, while Dusk had always loved it as there were poems not to be uttered in the court of Griffonia. One of many small bonds they shared over similar experiences. What a life Dusk had lived.

Either way she would put the bookmark in the book, and look up to Wind Runner. “I hope you are clean and not tracking blood in my home?” Steel eyed her up and down. “Good you are clean, and dry. Do you need anything more today? I think you’re thirst will be slaked for some time, so you have time to spare, and I wish to read more or less. However if you are overly eager I suppose some lessons are in store-”

Wind looked at Steel a small fire in her eyes. “You had me kill a pony! Not only that you forced me to wash his blood from my hooves. How can you act so detached that-!”

Steel glared at Wind, and appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye again, glaring daggers straight into Wind’s eyes. The eyes of a predator. Of a killer. Of a Monster. Steel had given this look to many. Only one had been spared this look from her. Wind had no right. “If you have the cheek to preach morals to your better, you will be finding somewhere else to live, and someone else to teach you very swiftly. If you wish to die at the hands of the Camarilla or the Inquisition, the door is there. Be my Guest…”

Wind looked fearfully into Steel’s eyes, before rushing off and vanishing into the room she had slept in before, crying to herself again, as Steel had heard her before. Steel simply rolled her eyes, and soon ascended upstairs once she was sure the girl was asleep. What a wonderful task she had gotten herself into…

Steel settled into her reading, as she sighed, and considered if she had been too hard on the girl. Either way, she had settled into reading and continued reading. This had always been her favorite part of the Fellowship of the Ring, the actual forming of the fellowship. She had always compared Dusk to Frodo, much to his annoyance. He always said he was more a sword wielding fellow. Steel saw beyond his bravado though. She wasn’t won over by his bravery. She was won over by his heart, passion, soul. She sighed before stowing the book away, just about to head to sleep, when she heard screaming from downstairs.

Steel rushed downstairs, closing the gap rapidly, noting she hadn’t heard anything, nor had any of the wards been triggered… Nor her security system… She then realized, that her charge had been of a Malkavian sire… the madness… of course. Either way, Steel opened the door rapidly. There were few ways to keep a Malkavian calm when they were having a more violent episode. She realized though as the door opened that Wind was having a more crippling and weakness inducing instance of madness. Either way, Steel would keel down beside the curled up Wind and take one of her hands, which was soon embraced by both of Wind’s. Wind muttered quietly, calmed slightly. “Mother please… please the shadows… they’re hurting me… I don’t want them to keep hurting me… Mother please… Don’t leave me… Don’t leave me…”

Steel closed her eyes, and decided she would play this role for now. Either way, she would squeeze Wind’s hand. “Hush little one… Hush child… your mother is here… You are safe… just come to me… focus on me… The shadows can’t truly harm you… I promise… You just get ill from time to time no? Trust your mother… I know it to be true…”

Wind would quietly cry a little, and Steel would eventually join Wind on the bed, embracing her and cradling her as a mother would her daughter, Steel feeling a sense of pity and remorse. Still Steel stayed with Wind that night, and held her close, until consciousness failed them both…