Description
Her height and weight look to be average, threatening neither extremes of chubby nor skinny. Instead she is a happy medium with the gentle yet ample curves that personify womanhood. Her skin could not be described as 'ivory' or 'creamy' as her complexion is of a tawnier, almost swarthier hue. However, there is a certain look of one who neglects activity in the sun. She has long, thick, coarse black hair that is often braided back. Her face is stern, with rounded cheeks, a pronounced jawline, and thick, alluring eyebrows. Her eyes are also large, dark, and set deep in her face., usually enhanced with heavy dark eyeliner that scribbles down her cheeks in various patterns. Her lips are very full and quite often painted. And last but not least, when her lips part, one can see a flash of long, pointed fangs.
She looks like she could possibly have some middle eastern heritage.
She often covers herself, sometimes including her head and face. On rare occasions she will wear something more showy and flattering to her figure.
Personality
Personality? What is that?
Jesting aside, Layla has a very stoic personality. She says either nothing or too much, speaking with particular elegance if she can. She does her best to show respect and dignity to those around her, but can be ruthless and cold when such traits are necessary. She does not often speak of her own feelings or ambitions.
Equipment
Instead of equipment, powers will be discussed here.
Strengths
Enhanced speed, endurance, and awareness, superhuman level
Accelerated healing (x9 of average human healing rate)
Does not need to breathe to survive (but certain needs to breathe to speak)
Immune to natural poisons/toxins
Resistant to synthetic poisons/toxins
Resistant to sorcery, not so resistant to ritualized spells
Highly resistant to blood manipulation, sanguimancing, blood bending etc.
Difficult to read mind, aura, or alignment - comes off as 'neutral' or 'empty' in most readings.
Enhanced senses (especially smell and taste)
Weaknesses
Combustible when exposed to sunlight. Depending on how recently she fed depends on how much exposure to the sun she can take before bursting into flames. When extremely weakened, even a full moon can cause her to blister.
Repelled (but not burnt) by crosses.
Cannot enter properly annointed grounds. Calling a place a holy place isn't enough - it must have a history of having been consecrated and blessed.
Willpower severely decreases when deprived of blood.
Decapitation (or complete removal of the brain), sunlight and fire, and/or complete removal of the heart can kill her (stabbing it isn't enough).
Cannot hide her fangs
Abilities
Charisma/Magnetism - Layla, sometimes even without trying, can cause people to, even against their personality or better judgement, to adore, respect, or even love her.
Fang Sacs and Special Saliva - Laylahas fleshy sacs behind her fangs which resembles a viper's venom sac. These secrete a glycoprotein, much like Draculin, that keeps a wound from closing. This prevents clotting and coagulation in the blood of her victim as she drinks it. When she is done, she stops the secretion, and triggers another gland that mixes with his saliva. This component has supernatural healing properties. Thus the wound goes from being kept open to closing and healing at an accelerated rate. However, when weakened, it is more difficult to produce this healing agent.
Shadow melding - Layla can move in the shadows without detection. Her mind becomes impenetrable, her scent disappears, and her body heat adapts to the temperature around her. She, however, is still in a physical form and can be hurt; but it is nearly impossible to see her.
Myths
- Silver burns. Silver does not effect Layla more than an average human.
- Garlic wards off vampires No, this widely used herb does not repel Layla.
- Vampires fear running water This does not apply to Layla.
- Holy water will burn and permanently mark Vampires. Holy water does not bind Layla or visibly burn like acid, but it does sting. If she is prepared for it, she may even hide this fact to fool people.
- Undead! Vampires from Layla's universe have not died, just reached death's door and changed direction. Most vampires prefer to think themselves as evolved.
- Vampires can shapeshift. Layla cannot transform into bats, a wolf, an owl, or a pool of blood. However as previously mentioned in abilities, she can meld with shadows.
- Werewolves are the enemy! Neither Layla nor vampires from his reality have a feud with werewolves. They don't even exist in their reality, except in literature.
- Vampire bites are sensual Being bitten by Layla is NOT pleasurable. It hurts as much as being bitten by any animal, except that pain relieving endorphins seem to respond fairly quickly, so the pain is followed by numbing.
- Being bitten by Vampire turns you into a Vampire. That is not how it works with this Vampire. She has to feed someone her blood after draining theirs to make them into one.
- Layla is always cold to the touch. Actually, Layla just adapts to the ambient room temperature, given about half an hour. If the room is warm, so is she. If she's been out of the snow, then she'll be cold. That said, she is cooler than average human temperature most of the time.
- Vampires must be invited before entering a private home Layla can enter any place by her own merit.
History
Layla and her twin sister were born illegitimately between a noble's servant from England and the daughter of a horse breeder from Arabia. Her mother was killed for her shameful neglect of propriety, and the children were also to be killed, but a friend of the servant who oversaw imports from the Middle East offered to smuggle the children to safety.
Layla and her sister were shuffled around constantly until her twin sister took ill and died. This saddened Layla, but she did not waste away in despair and moved on. She grew to be a beauty, and a man purchased her for her features beauty. He was part of a travelling troupe, and wanted to add an exotic element to his shows. He traveled with her back to her homeland as well as other places, learning various dances. She spent many years doing these exotic dances, and for once in her life was treated as a human being, although still was not given much respect.
Tragedy struck again when there was a fire and a lot of property and some lives were lost. Having had a bad year financially, the troupe had to be broken up, and her master put her up for auction. Her beauty and reputation as an exotic dancer made her subject to the attention of the worst kind. However, whether to her advantage or her demise, she was purchased by a pale nobleman of vague origin named Cyrus.
She was kept as a slave at his reclusive mansion. She did not know what this would entail, but went obediently with her master. However, her duties were nothing reprehensible. Until she had the misfortune of coming across her master while he had company; company which he was drinking the blood of. However, she showed no fear in the face of discovering her master to be a vampire, and he let her life with the new task of making her blood readily available for him. This went on for a while, him taking just enough to tide him over, but not enough to make her ill. Eventually, she came to know her master very well, and he turned her into a vampire, and she's continued to serve him faithfully since.
So begins...
Layla Samara gracefully enters Gambit's bar, her gait only could be described as a glide. A navy cloak is tightly drawn about her form, the hood up as she pauses a few feet from the entrance. A pair of gloved hands reach up to the rim of the hood, hesitating before pulling it down to reveal a stern looking face set with deep, large, dark eyes. After surveying the room and its patrons, she walks very slowly towards the bar counter, a blank expression on her face.
Layla Samara rests a gloved hand lightly on the bar counter, her dark eyes continuing to scan the rom, a hint of a frown on her painted lips.
Layla Samara blinks a few times as she is approached. Her dark eyes stare passively at the inquisitive one with white hair. The only reaction this seemingly holy person got from her was a slight incline of her head.
Layla Samara continues to stare at the strangely attired girl, her eyes making very subtle but rapid shifting between Artemecia's two eyes. "Ghost?" she parrots. She then shakes her head as a nonverbal communication. She narrows her large eyes just slightly, but it doesn't present as a scowl on her face, but rather one of mild perplexion.
Layla Samara draws her eyebrows together, an even more perturbed expression scrawling across her face that would be pale compared to others of similar heritage, but faled to be the extreme pale of more vampires. She does not flinch nor intercept the girls attempt to touch her; she had no qualms with the girl discovering for herself that she was corporeal. Her eyes catch a glimpse of something dark near the girl's ear, and turns her head slightly, for she can see it only in her peripheral vision. However, she still has nothing to say to the child, but she remains patient and calm.
Layla Samara relaxes her eyebrows, her expression going back to one of neutrality as she watches the antics of the little girl, taking note of her growing nervousness. She eyes the girl's hand as it flits and fans by her ear and then her eyes zero in on her eyes. She then slowly lets her eyes shift down to the offered hand. After a long pause she reaches out and takes the child's hand with her own gloved hand. Her firm was gnetle, but there was a lurking strength behind her fingers as she shaked the girl's dainty hand.
“
((Actually, I probably should just sign off, as I'll likely get roped into doing some stuff with my Mother.. Sorry guys))
”
Layla Samara wanders into the main room of Gambit's bar from the direction of the stairs. Each step is carefully measured and taken with ethereal grace as she passes from her starting point to the bar counter. Her navy cloak billows behind her with her movement, until it hangs at her ankles while she stands perfectly still and poised. She takes down her hood and then pulls her thick braid out from beneath the cowl, throwing it over her shoulder.
Layla Samara places her hands atop the bar counter for a moment, before slowly turning around, her height just so that the edge of the counter fit into the small of her back. She reaches back, her arms spreading, fingers running along the edge of the bar counter, searching for bar for someone, or something.
Layla Samara allows her eyes to wander and settle upon the injured male, staring impassively at his bleeding injuries. However, she remains cemented to her current spot.
Layla Samara finally opts to sit upon one of the stools at the bar counter, not seeing whatever it was she was looking for. However, her stoic expression tells nothing of whether she was disheartened, annoyed, or relieved. Instead her face read nothing as she sat quietly at the bar counter, staring at nothing, or no one, in particular.
Layla Samara drops her gaze, glancing at the floor for a moment, then looks up again, her neutral stare continuing to constantly look, and look, and look. "Truly... as strange as had been described..." she mutters in a low, rich voice. Her eyes slowly gaze over at the strange macabre puppet with clawed fingers conversing with a beast.
Layla Samara is, for the first time, unsettled. She sudenly rises to her feet, and instead of a gasp a slight hiss escapes through her painted lips. The cause of this sudden movement that contrasts with her constant stillness was the puppet's cloak catching fire. She keeps a wary eye on it, stepping further away.
“
((Same with a lot of Greek hybrids... like the Minotaur))
”
Layla Samara takes a bow ))
Layla Samara gracefully descends the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. Although she had not been outside, a large cloak enshrouds, tied closed tight around her figure. The vampire walks into the bar, peering about the room with her dark eyes, her fave protected by a veil. Bringing a gloved hand up she pulls her hood so that it obscures her face even more as she glides over to the bar counter, taking the most shaded route.
Layla Samara stops at the bar counter, standing between two unoccupied stools. It would seem her purpose there was not to retrieve a drink, as would be most of the patrons, but rather to turn around and survey the room, the counter being one of the better vantage points. Her eyes warily glance in the direction of the windows before continuing her quiet search. Beneath her cloak she folds her arms protectively about her person, shifting her weight from one foot to the other ever so slightly.
Layla Samara slides a fertive glance over to Yurikin, or more particularily the bit of blood beading on her forhead, but remains rooted to her spot, covered by cloak and veil.
Layla Samara remains unperturbed by the glare she receives. However, after watching the girl splash vodka on herself, the cloakced figure decides to send her gaze elsewhere.
