The smell of blood snapped Lee Seng out of his angry daze. He glanced up and noticed he was in a completely dark room. He could make out the shape of a large bed and furniture. Lee Seng's eyes stopped at a slumped over body.
'Is that… someone?' Lee Seng wondered. He took three steps before the lights came on. Blood surround the slumped over body as it soaked into the red carpets. The red curtains were strung up on the walls, blocking the sun. A familiar voice called to him from behind.
"Little Fox…" The female voice called out. "I see you dared return to the place you've lashed out on!" Lee Seng turned, only to feel a hand grab his throat and lift him off the ground. Esme, the Vampire Lady, smiled with her red lips. She was as pale as a typical vampire - almost sickly looking. Her crimson eyes were delighted to see Lee Seng.
Lee Seng gasped as Esme squeezed him.
"You dare show back up and hope nothing would happen to you?"Esme smirked. "Lord Cain goes too easy on you. What does he see in you? All I see is a weak human trying to be something they're not."
"Lady… Esme…" Lee Seng croaked. He mustered his strength and kicked at the vampire, releasing himself from her grasp, landing on the ground. He sucked in a breath of horrible air as his mask loosened. Lee Seng grabbed his mask and readjusted it. He couldn't allow anyone confirm who he was. A name and a face would certainly bring bad luck in this Realm.
Lady Esme snarled as she brushed the footprint off her stomach. The faux Fox Spirit had done something no one would have imagined and she had certainly answered one of her questions - she couldn't charm the Fox mask boy.
"You're strong-willed to fight against my natural charms. I wonder if you're strong enough to not end up dead like that poor sap next to you." Esme motioned before sprinting forward. She moved faster than Lee Seng's eyes could register. Esme sharpened her hand, going for a piercing blow straight for the Fox boy as he rolled to the side.
A large hole grew in Esme's attack as Lee Seng jumped onto his feet. Esme pulled her hand out of the ground and went for the next attack. Lee Seng's tails moved in front of him, turning gray. Esme's hand flew straight through the tendril tails, stopping mere inches away from Lee Seng's chest as he flicked a tendril off to the right.
Lee Seng's body erupted into tendrils and reappeared where the tendril was. The tendrils whipped at Esme, grabbing her and holding the Vampire Lady down. Lee Seng sprinted for the door, grabbing onto it and pulling it wide open. Lee Seng sprinted out of the room as the wall exploded to his right.
"You sly fox! I shall hang you across the mantle after I'm done with you!" Esme screamed. She sprinted after Lee Seng as he rounded the corner, pushing himself faster. Lee Seng watched as tendrils appeared down the hall. He quickly Spawned Stepped away as more tendrils whipped out at Esme. Esme's furious screams echoed down the hall, drawing attention as Lee Seng appeared in the middle of a large intersection.
'I'm somewhere in the castle.' Lee Seng thought. 'No idea where, though.'
"What's going on here?" A masked person asked. They noticed Lee Seng as he threw his hand out and disappeared. Lee Seng ran down the similar looking hallways. He weaved through it as Esme's screams grew louder. She was gaining on Lee Seng.
Lee Seng slid down the hall, pushing his limits as he continuously used Spawn Step. He blinked straight into the odd stairwell area he remembered training at. Lee Seng threw his tails forward, pushing the door open.
"Oh! Oh my!" Crow gasped as she stumbled backwards. Lee Seng leapt straight through the door, flicking his finger behind him. The door slammed shut as the Fox Spirit looked straight at the bird mask. Crow's eyes squinted as she studied the Fox. "It couldn't be…"
Lee Seng sprinted down the hall, leaving Crow with not enough time to process as Vampire Lady Esme burst through the doors. Crow could feel Esme's distinct deathly energy as she blurred by.
'I'm sure that boy was him…' Crow thought. 'Why is he here in the Estate of all places?' She turned and bit her lip as she started down the way she came. 'Lord Cain said to come to the Estate today, but didn't even need me… Is this why he told me to come this way? Did he know…?'
"You little Fox! You cannot keep running away from me!" Esme shouted. Lee Seng turned the corner, realizing there were more people around. They all ignored him as Lee Seng made his way down the hallway.
'I need to get rid of her fast!' Lee Seng thought. He noticed a thick conglomeration of people and moved into the crowd. Lee Seng quickly shifted to be smaller, his fox tails disappearing as his mask changed into a black wolf. Some of the people gave him odd looks as the screaming of Esme bounced down the halls.
"WHERE IS HE?!? WHERE ARE YOU FOX?!?" Esme screamed. Most of the people in the hall turned and realized it was Esme flying down the hallway. Esme slowed down a she looked left and right. "Where is the brat?"
"Lady Esme!" Crow's voice called out. The Vampire Lady turned and noticed Lord Cain's favorite lackey running towards her. Lady Esme turned and cocked her head.
"Another annoyance…" Lady Esme sighed. Crow hobbled down the hallway and stopped, giving a polite bow. "What is it, Crow?"
"Are you looking for the Fox?" Crow asked. Lady Esme raised her eyebrows. Crow put a hand up. "I saw them run past me earlier, my lady… T-they went the opposite direction after going through the doors." Lady Esme narrowed her eyes at Crow. Crow had seldom helped Esme and now that she was, Esme wasn't sure how to feel about it.
She took her sweet time in deliberating if she should take the small bird woman's advice or not. Esme wasn't the best tracker, but she was sure she could feel the Fox's energy around here, somewhere.
"Where did you see them go?" Esme asked.
"That way, my lady." Crow pointed down to the previous hall. "I saw them turn the opposite way." Lady Esme floated over and looked down onto Crow.
"Is he?" Lady Esme asked. Crow nodded. She turned and looked straight into the crowd. "But I feel him over here. Surely my senses cannot be failing me, no? Are you sure, Crow, Trusted Hand?" Crow's eyes didn't budge. Esme waited for a while. She wanted to see if Crow would falter. Crow didn't budge and the silence of the people around her started to grow awkward. Esme nodded and flew past Crow. When Esme was out of sight, Crow turned and looked at everyone else. They knew who she was and knew what her presence meant.
Crow wandered down the hall, straight towards the group of people. They all began to split, leaving the black wolf masked person. Lee Seng turned and noticed Crow was staring at him. The two had a stare down until Crow simply turned and continued down the hall, not saying a word.
Lee Seng gave Crow some time to move before following after. The whispers of the group grew loud as they questioned what the Trusted Hand wanted with the stranger they all didn't recognize. The two wandered down the hall for awhile, snaking through the halls until they ended up at a familiar door - Lee Seng's old room.
Crow opened the door with ease and shut it. Lee Seng checked his surroundings before going in after. The door creaked open, letting in the red sunrise. The sun was higher in the sky now and Lee Seng began to wonder if his friends were alright.
'I did leave in a… not so favorable situation.' Lee Seng thought as he closed the door behind him.
"Lock it." Crow ordered. Lee Seng turned the lock and then looked over to the small bird woman standing near the bed. She had her back to him. "What're you doing here? Don't you understand your situation?" She turned to look at him. Lee Seng nodded and stepped further into the room. He looked around and noticed his room had been exactly the way he had left it.
"I stepped through a portal on accident." Lee Seng answered. His form shifted back into his usual self without the tails. He allowed his Fox ears to stay as they could easily be overlooked by the design of the mask. "A mercury portal after I learned some more about the past." Crow narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean by that? You have people here?" Crow asked.