{"submission_id":"858139","keywords":[{"keyword_id":"743","keyword_name":"adventure","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2920"},{"keyword_id":"60","keyword_name":"cat","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"110719"},{"keyword_id":"44319","keyword_name":"contemporary","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"101"},{"keyword_id":"1979","keyword_name":"fae","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"307"},{"keyword_id":"11376","keyword_name":"faerie","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"284"},{"keyword_id":"2602","keyword_name":"fairy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2015"},{"keyword_id":"2193","keyword_name":"fantasy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11602"},{"keyword_id":"123","keyword_name":"female","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"519918"},{"keyword_id":"112296","keyword_name":"garuda","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"51"},{"keyword_id":"1440","keyword_name":"human","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"46907"},{"keyword_id":"191","keyword_name":"magic","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11599"},{"keyword_id":"165","keyword_name":"male","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"639918"},{"keyword_id":"3313","keyword_name":"monkey","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"4908"},{"keyword_id":"250589","keyword_name":"promethian","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1"},{"keyword_id":"10129","keyword_name":"supernatural","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"375"},{"keyword_id":"7273","keyword_name":"undead","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1022"},{"keyword_id":"1859","keyword_name":"zombie","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1489"}],"hidden":"f","scraps":"f","favorite":"f","favorites_count":"1","create_datetime":"2015-05-25 03:58:42.954739+02","create_datetime_usertime":"25 May 2015 03:58 CEST","last_file_update_datetime":"2015-05-25 03:51:52.659916+02","last_file_update_datetime_usertime":"25 May 2015 03:51 CEST","username":"Simoni","user_id":"279733","user_icon_file_name":"75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_small":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","file_name":"1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","files":[{"file_id":"1166607","file_name":"1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1166/1166607_Simoni_abel.doc","mimetype":"application/msword","submission_id":"858139","user_id":"279733","submission_file_order":"0","full_size_x":null,"full_size_y":null,"screen_size_x":null,"screen_size_y":null,"preview_size_x":null,"preview_size_y":null,"initial_file_md5":"7d17cacc4b8979be35045d64e148abe2","full_file_md5":"7d17cacc4b8979be35045d64e148abe2","large_file_md5":"","small_file_md5":"","thumbnail_md5":"","deleted":"f","create_datetime":"2015-05-25 03:51:52.659916+02","create_datetime_usertime":"25 May 2015 03:51 CEST"}],"pools":[],"description":"Thats right! TWO point ONE! Its officially the first story of what we're calling Season 2.\n\nI have to admit I was kinda worried about how the story would feel now that Franklin is dead and the girls have lost their primary antagonist, but I think this could work out rather well.\n\nDusk was kind of an impulse addition. I wanted to have Dawn's siblings involved as more than just a macguffin for her own development, so I had one of them stow away.\n\nAnd yes, all the cats are named after times of the day.\n\nDawn, because Nelen adopted her at Sunrise.\n\nDusk, because he got first dibs when names were being handed out.\n\nLunch, because he eats the most.\n\nTwilight, because she heard Spooky talking about the books and liked how the name sounded.\n\nMidnight, because she's the best at turning invisible.\n\nMorning, because she always wakes up first.\n\nand Evening, because he always sleeps in.\n\n\nThis story was one of my writing partner's ideas and it was pretty neat to see, also to include some themes from another White Wolf game, Promethian: The Created. Abel is, from what the group could gather, the child of the original monster created by Doctor Frankenstein on that ill-fated night. Whether or not the monster merely told Marie Shelly of his story, if she knew Doctor Frankenstein personally, or if she herself was once a promethian (perhaps she was the monster's bride?) is unknown, and its a good bet Abel probably won't tell.\n\nStill, feels like a good start to the next major story arc. We got to see some of the results of the destruction of the Mundane Blade, we got some insight to Lara's character, and we introduced a new character as well.","description_bbcode_parsed":"Thats right! TWO point ONE! Its officially the first story of what we're calling Season 2.
I have to admit I was kinda worried about how the story would feel now that Franklin is dead and the girls have lost their primary antagonist, but I think this could work out rather well.
Dusk was kind of an impulse addition. I wanted to have Dawn's siblings involved as more than just a macguffin for her own development, so I had one of them stow away.
And yes, all the cats are named after times of the day.
Dawn, because Nelen adopted her at Sunrise.
Dusk, because he got first dibs when names were being handed out.
Lunch, because he eats the most.
Twilight, because she heard Spooky talking about the books and liked how the name sounded.
Midnight, because she's the best at turning invisible.
Morning, because she always wakes up first.
and Evening, because he always sleeps in.
This story was one of my writing partner's ideas and it was pretty neat to see, also to include some themes from another White Wolf game, Promethian: The Created. Abel is, from what the group could gather, the child of the original monster created by Doctor Frankenstein on that ill-fated night. Whether or not the monster merely told Marie Shelly of his story, if she knew Doctor Frankenstein personally, or if she herself was once a promethian (perhaps she was the monster's bride?) is unknown, and its a good bet Abel probably won't tell.
Still, feels like a good start to the next major story arc. We got to see some of the results of the destruction of the Mundane Blade, we got some insight to Lara's character, and we introduced a new character as well.","writing":"Simoni leans into Arja as the plane nears England, watching the landscape go by out the window as she does. Its been just about a month since their victory at Castle Fullmoon (now known as 'bloody huge hole in the ground') and its still an odd feeling knowing that they don't have to worry about being attacked at random anymore. Even with all the supernatural events popping up across the globe as a result of the Mundane Blade's destruction their own lives have become oddly peaceful. \"So, are we gonna hang out in the mundane world at all or just head straight into the Nightside?\" she asks.\n\nThe idea was that, despite their victory, they hadn't really had time to actually celebrate it. While their own home was in better shape than their former adversary's, Franklin's men had managed to do a great deal of damage when they captured Iravati and the repairs were still ongoing. The Harem Quarters had been torn apart, their bedroom had been smashed up, and even their 'basement' was wrecked... It'd looked like the warriors had taken one look inside, threw in a few grenades, and slammed the door shut... so there wasn't much to party with.\n\nArja smiles at the garuda, \"Well I have to say, despite being full of the English, it would be nice to wander London without being afraid of some giant ginger abducting me.\" she laughs, snuggling into Simoni happily. The repairs were going along well, money and materials weren't obstructions, just an issue of time...\n\n\"I have a couple things to handle in the mundane side of the city too…\" Lara says with a smile, the stitched together girl had tagged along, along with Sammi, Stephy, and Trixie, the trio wanting to say hi to the Iron Spike now that the war had died out, and Lara... well she wasn't exactly clear about what she was up to...\n\nStephy was there too, sitting next to Trixie and feeling rather uncomfortable about going with them to see Trixie's fae relatives. He wasn't as angry now (still annoyed that they couldn't have at least given a heads up before abducting her)... but it's still going to be an awkward visit given that last time he'd basically threatened to go 'White Witch of Narnia' on them all. True he had no idea if Trixie had been taken off to be held hostage or just for a surprise cup of tea... but he hadn't ever used his powers like that before either. \n\nSimoni looks at Lara and nods, \"Fair enough, just... don't freak out any mundanes okay? I mean, we're going to have a hard enough time with all the stuff that's showing up now as it is.\" she says to the undead girl. There had been almost daily sightings of everything from pookas to poltergeists and beyond after the mundane blade shattered, releasing several thousand year's worth of captive supernatural beings in a magical eruption that had torn Castle Fullmoon apart, as well as released enough magical energy back into the world to give every wannabe psychic some touch of real power. Spooky even insisted one of her Wicca rituals had finally worked (during the attack she'd hid in Natasha's spare coffin. She may be gullible, but she wasn't stupid enough to take on a Fullmoon assault team) but Simoni wasn't sure she believed the ghoulified goth.\n\nLara nods, \"Don't worry.\" she replies, the undead girl dressed in a long sleeved purple top and jeans, makeup on her face covering the stitches there, to everyone else she looked like any other young woman. Sammi rests a hand on Stephy's lap as he sees his brother's nerves, smiling a bit, \"Hey, if rebel courts held grudges against EVERYONE that threatened to destroy them they'd have no friends at all.\" he winks playfully.\n\nStephy sighs and nods at his brother, though he was still a bit worried. Part of it was how good it had felt to really let go like that though. Years of having to bottle up everything that his father, Clan Fullmoon, and life in general had done to him all came out in one huge glamour infused burst. Part of him was relieved but another part worried that it could very easily happen again...\n\nFor once, Nelen wasn’t with them. Simoni’s older brother and Drusilla had stayed behind to supervise the reconstruction effort, Dawn staying with them to be with her family now that she'd gotten them back... but they did have one small stowaway.\n\nThere's a faint pop and a male cheshire appears on Simoni's head, the tiny kitten looking around and flicking it's ears. \"Where are we goin' humans?\" he asks in a childlike voice. Dawn's brothers and sisters had all insisted on names themselves, not wanting their big sister to be the only one in the family who had one after all that, so this young cheshire had been christened as 'Dusk'.\n\nWhen the kitten pops in, though, everyone jumps a bit, honestly unsure what to expect from more 'pure' Wonderlanders like them... \"Oh.\" Arja says, sighing a bit, \"Hey Dusk, didn't well tell you guys to stick with Dawn? She's teaching you guys how to blend in right?\"\n\nDusk flicking his ear at Arja's words before he shrugs, \"But its booooooooring!\" he frowns, hopping off Simoni's head and into her lap. Dawn hadn't tried to teach any of her siblings how to shapeshift yet mostly because she herself wasn't that great at it herself. The goal of her spell was to become fully human, but she could only ever manage halfway, and it didn't help that in terms of mentality all her siblings were about equal to a three or four year old human. It was easy to forget that Dawn had about a decade's worth of growing up both physically and socially on them... hell she was almost as old as their mother now (Cheshires age in human years rather than cat years though they still breed at a younger age on average). \"Big sis keeps sayin' I shouldn't let the mundies see me talk 'n other boring stuff...\" he frowns, rolling onto his belly as he tries to entice Simoni into a tummy rub.\n\nLara sighs softly, \"She's right. Especially now. There are a LOT of people scared of magical things, she's not trying to be boring, she's trying to keep you safe.\" she reaches out to pet the kitten's tummy at that, \"So, if you want to stay with us you have to be VERY quiet and stay with Simoni, ok? Dawn will literally kill us if anything happens to you, I mean ANYTHING.\" she smiles faintly at that \"She really loves having you guys back...she missed you all very much and she never wants to be that sad again, do you understand?\"\n\nDusk wiggles his paws at her and rolls his yellow eyes, \"Okaaaaaaaay...\" he sighs, though it's clear he isn't really listening. None of his siblings actually remember being trapped in the mundane blade, and apparently their memories of Franklin's attack are pretty blurry as well. Still, they did have an ace up their sleeve when it came to the Cheshires. Simoni smirks a bit, then reaches down and pinches a patch of fur right around the back of Dusk's neck, near his shoulder blades and all of a sudden the kitten goes perfectly still.\n\n\"She's serious Dusk. I know you don't really understand it yet, but up until a month ago she was convinced you guys were dead. Just... behave yourself, alright?\" she asks, as Dusk whines, but mutters out \"'kay...\" before Simoni lets him go. The spot she pinched was the same one that their mother used to carry them. When held by that patch of fur it seemed to basically be a sort of 'off' switch for both their powers and any sort of movement whatsoever. Worked good for keeping them in line and making sure that they didn't try to screw with the construction workers, many of whom were contracted from the more modernized parts of India and weren't as accepting of the supernatural as the inhabitants of Jaipur were.\n\nLara smirks, \"I'll have to make a note about that…\" she teases, Arja giggling \"Still, if you're good we'll buy you a BIG fish and chips box before we go home, kay?\" she adds playfully, poking the feline's nose. \"So, what's the game plan?\" she asks as she looks around. Sammi shrugs a bit \"We're not exactly in a rush to meet the spike, no real deadline there\" he says casually.\n\n\"Well then, you guys mind giving me a hand with my thing? It'll be fast, then we can party it up in the nightside until it's fairy time.\" grins the undead girl, \"Just a bit of sightseeing, really...\"\n\nSimoni nods at that, \"Alright, sounds like it could be neat. I mean we've never actually spent a lot of time in London proper before and Nelen did tell me about a few supernatural hangouts in town besides the Nightside.\" she replies, letting Dusk curl back up in her lap. \"So, what did you come here for anyways?\" she adds, scritching the kitten behind his ears as the plane begins it's descent into London International Airport.\n\nLara smiles, \"Well, you guys know Mary Shelley, the woman who wrote Frankenstein, right? She lived in London, and there's a theory among the... scientifically minded undead that her whole 'oh the story of doctor Frankenstein was just a ghost story I plum made up one day' thing was a lie. She actually knew a good bit more than she let on. See it makes sense, her mom was this firebrand feminist in her time and her dad was a philosophic and writer himself. She got a very good education that focused on self-study and all. So, we figure maybe she actually has a few things, books, journals, something, and they're hidden in her childhood home! Wouldn't that be so amazing?\" she was grinning wide now, clearly excited at the prospect of a whole new source of information.\n\n\"I mean, she hardly invented the concept of reanimation, but her work was really the first time it was a common topic of discussion, not just in the 'oooh scary flesh golem' way but in the sense of the toll it takes and the spiritual weight. That's something that only comes from experience when writing.\"\n\nSimoni raises her eyebrow as Dusk begins to groom his ears while he sits in her lap. \"Lara... what exactly are you planning to use this information for if you get it?\" she asks. She had noticed the naga fangs and bits of scales littering the hallway after they'd gotten back from Castle Fullmoon and it hadn't been too difficult to put two and two together, but at the time she was too exhausted to care. Channeling divine energy had left her and Arja with a high that'd kept them wired all the way back to India, but once they got home it wore off fast and they'd slept for almost two days straight.\n\nAs far as Nelen could tell the boost they'd gotten from Hanuman and Morrigan had been almost completely tapped out to destroy the Mundane Blade. Their own powers had been left intact this time, but with the exception of the tiniest spark of divinity they were basically as they were before the battle.\n\nLaura smiles michevoiusly, \"Well... I don't know really. But come on you agree if she has that kind of stuff it doesn't belong locked away in some tourist attraction, it should at least be in the library of someone who understands it. I mean, I can't judge what I'll do until I SEE the stuff, if it's crazy black magic then yeah I'll seal it up and lock it away with the other stuff, but... I dunno, maybe it's something I can use.\"\n\nSimoni nods, \"Yeah, its the 'maybe you can use it' part that worries me Miss 'I Certainly Didn't Get Any Naga Parts When The Temple Was Attacked'.\" she replies, just glad she didn't actually see the Frankensteined serpent when the house was under siege. Even Drusilla had missed that one as she was still blinded form the flashbang, but the claw marks on the walls and the bodies of the Fullmoon warriors it had gotten were unmistakable after seeing the damage it had caused to Hanuman's temple when it was alive.\n\nFinally, the plane gets clearance and lands as the group disembarks. Simoni dressed casually for the trip in a green tank top, her long black jacket, and a pair of denim capris with sandals and Dusk curled up on her shoulder like a furry parrot. Stephy was dressed up a bit more, though still in mundane clothing. A white silk blouse, long blue skirt, and matching shoes with a slight heel. He adjusts his fae-ice glasses as they leave and glances at Dusk. \"You're sure it's okay bringing the Cheshire Kitten there?\" he asks as Simoni shrugs with her other shoulder, \"Well we can't just leave him on the plane...\"\n\nLara smirks softly, \"I'd like to point out that my snake probably kept Dru from getting turned into a pin cushion…\" she teases. Arja just sighs softly, rubbing Dusk's cheek, \"Yeah, keep the cat with us, at least this way we can keep an eye on him. He just wants a little fresh air and new scenery.\" she says as she walks with Somoni. Trixie smirks softly at that, \"Yeah, and we can grab the spot if he tries anything dumb.\"\n\nDusk hisses a bit at Trixie as they head into the terminal, letting Arja and her diplomatic passport do most of the talking. They almost have an incident when they go through the food court and Dusk pipes up loudly as they pass a KFC (\"No no, that was just me! I'm practicing ventriliquism. Gottle o' geer and all that!\" said Simoni as she firmly pinched the spot on Dusk, perhaps a bit too hard), but otherwise they were able to get out without any mundanes raising an eyebrow. \n\nOnce in London proper it was easy for them to see the changes the Mundane Blade's destruction had caused. There were a lot more changelings about for one. Their eyes could see through the glamour that hid them, though they did their best to pretend they couldn't (as most were former slaves to the True Fae, they didn't like being seen), and Stephy would swear he saw a couple gargoyles watching them as they moved under the old stone buildings. Their magic sense kept going ping too as several mundanes who suddenly found themselves not so mundane practiced their new talents here and there too.\n\nLara sighs softly, looking around with a smile, \"So... I know this isn't helping my whole mad scientist rep but... would it be really that bad if we broke some more blades?\" she asks as she looks around the group, Sammi just kinda staring at her as Trixie and Arja rub their foreheads. \n\n\"I mean, not NOW, not like race off to the next blade and bust it open but... we now know they CAN be broken and I know, there's a lot of bad in there but...\" she gestures at a passing changeling, a young man walking and holding hands with another changeling woman, \"Maybe the problem in the old days wasn't 'too much magic', maybe it was too little education...\"\n\nSimoni shakes her head, \"Lara, the last one was a very specific fluke. I really doubt that we'll be able to call up TWO gods again like that... and that was also a very personal vendetta for both of them.\" she replies, \"And even then... we're still not clear on what else got out.\" she sighs as Stephy nods, \"Yeah, I looked into as much of that sword's history as I could find in Arcadia and... well, we don't have complete records of it, though apparently Sera and the other fae tried to keep tabs on them as much as they could, if only so they knew when to stay well away from a certain town or city, but there's a good chance some really awful things were trapped inside there along with Dawn's family.\" he nods, frowning.\n\nLara sighs, nodding at the two, \"I know… but isn't it kind of a 'I'd rather a thousand guilty men go free than one innocent man be put to death' kinda thing? There have to be more like us fighting these bad things.\" she sighs again, but shakes her head, \"Anyway, that's to worry about later anyway, for now we have to focus on cleaning up this first blade… or rather, right NOW we have to catch a train!\" she grins, \"Somers Town is up in north London, not too far from here.\" she nods, leading the group to the nearby station, Sammi looking at her curiously, \"Oh yeah? Huh we may run into the Spike there after all. Somers is where Dickinson wrote about a bunch too, and a lot of other films and all took place there. It's kinda an icon of the Victorian age and all, when it comes to media at least.\"\n\nStephy shrugs, \"Well, assuming they ever leave their freehold that often.\" he replies as Simoni pats the zombie's arm sympathetically, \"I'm not saying you don't have a point Lara, but we don't even know where the other mundane blades are...\" she pauses, \"Well, except for one of them, and there's nothing in that one that deserves to be loose.\" she nods firmly. Rama's Arrow was still secure aboard Bethandi's spaceship and as far as Simoni was concerned it could stay there... or preferably be jettisoned into the sun or a black hole or just left to drift in space forever.\n\nLara nods, \"No I agree there, if we ever were to do that again we'd have to do a LOT of research, find the blade's history, get a feel of exactly who the 'big players' in it are and all. I get that these things are basically big magic prisons, and like most prisons even if they have a lot of innocents in them, there's some really fucked up people locked up for super good reasons too…\" she sighs again, smiling as she walks into the train, \"Still, wouldn't it be nice? Magic being back as a major player?\" The car was sparse this time of day, not exactly a high traffic route, she could keep talking in a lower voice just fine.\n\nSimoni shrugs, \"I dunno... on the one hand it does sound lovely... on the other hand I keep thinking of someone like Pat Robertson actually being able to make meteor showers and earthquakes whenever a pride rally starts up.\" she frowns, \"Lets face it Lara, magic becoming commonplace would have some major drawbacks.\" she nods, climbing into the train as Dusk suddenly vanishes from her shoulder, then reappears in her lap chewing on some fried fish as, halfway down the car someone yells, \"Oi! A bleedin' magic cat just stole me dinner!\" and someone else yells, \"SHADDAP ya drunken loon!\"\n\nLara smirks, flicking Dusk lightly, \"Didn't we tell you to stay out of trouble?\" she asks as Arja giggles, \"You're lucky you stole from some drunk, munchkin, be careful with that stuff.\" she says, reaching to pinch that spot on the cat's neck firmly, \"Got it?\"\n\nDusk hisses and flails the minute she lets go, then immediately goes back to chowing down on the chunk of fish he swiped as the train begins to move, rattling along the tracks. Its a short and thankfully uneventful ride, though Stephy swears he actually saw a couple elves when they were passing through another station and, eventually, they disembark, Dusk taking his place on Simoni's shoulder again as they walk and the girl giving him a small rub between his ears. \"So, where exactly is this place?\" she asks Lara.\n\nLara smiles \"Not too far, it's kinda tucked away, not exactly a big tourist draw, should be able to sneak in nice and easy…\" she grins, leading the group down the streets for about ten minutes before they reach their destination, a rather nice looking medium sized home that was clearly restored Victorian. A small sign in front of the (to Sammi's chagrin, iron, as was the style then) gate simply identifying it as Mary Shelley's home and a bit about her and her works, instructing readers to go to a nearby museum of literature for more information.\n\nStephy scoots back from the gate himself as soon as he's close enough to recognize what it's made out of as Dusk looks at them, then at it, then asks, \"What? Just a stupid human gate. Don't even need to poof.\" he smirks, hopping down from Simoni's shoulder and padding right between the bars of it, then smirking up at the two fae as Simoni rolls her eyes, reaching in and scooping the kitten back up, \"I'll explain later Dusk, but lets just say that they're... allergic.\" she nods, putting him back on her shoulder.\n\nLara nods, luckily no one was around to see the undead girl yank her own arms off and toss them over to unlock the gate from the other side... Sammi seeming especially vigilant for both himself and his brother after seeing Trixie's aunt's horribly burned arm. Wounds like that on a true fae meant for them suffering similar ones would likely leave them armless... Arja just hops over the gate, grinning a bit as she lands, Trixie doing the same as she giggles, \"I gotta say… not a ton of security for a historical site.\" she smirks as Lara pulls herself back together, \"Meh, she was a writer whose main work is better known as a bunch of movie remakes. There are cameras inside that I can handle but really not exactly a high priority compared to others, ya know?\"\n\nSimoni nods as Stephy looks around, then slips off his shoes, changes forms, and very carefully flies over the gate, landing on the other side before changing back as Dusk stares at him. He hadn't seen Stephy shapeshift yet and it seems he's rather interested. \"Waaaait... he can turn into food?\" he grins as Simoni sighs and flicks his head, \"Dusk, for a bird as big as he is you'd be the one who'd be dinner.\" she smirks, the group heading inside once the security is taken care of.\n\nLara giggles, Sammi carefully opening a portal right in front of the gate and jumping through, appearing back with the group just as Lara is 'handling' the cameras... having moved the group to the side of the house, not in front of the street, she pulled what looks like a human's eye from her pocket, covered in gold ink hebrew writing...She whispers something in the same language before the eyeball withers and vanishes... \"There we are. No cameras or recording devices in the area inside this gate work. Oh that includes our phones, sorry, necromancy isn't exactly the most delicate magic. They'll be fine as soon as we leave though.” she explains, crouching down to start picking the side door's lock.\n\nSimoni wrinkles her nose at the sight of the eyeball, then frowns at Lara, \"Sometimes I really wonder about you...\" she mutters as Dusk sits up, \"Hey! I can do this part!\" he nods as Simoni lets out a sudden yelp and vanishes. There's a thump and a gasp from inside and a moment later the door handle rattles, then opens as Simoni unlocks it from the inside. She grumbles and stands to the side as the others file in, glancing at Dusk. \"We appeared five feet in the air...\" she frowns as Dusk shrugs, \"Whaaaaaat? Its not easy poofing somebody else! 'specially someone human sized...\" he grins.\n\nLara smirks as she puts her tools away, \"Nice, but yea, work on the heights, she and her brother are the only birds in the group. Drop me that high and I fall apart like a bad gunpla figure.\" she teases as she walks in, patting the cat's head. Inside was... well, a house. It was a pretty normal middle class Victorian house, the furniture and wallpapers clearly have been restored (or just replaced with matching ones), the house was a nice little shrine to the family that used to live there. \"Sooo if I was her, where would I hide something...\" she muses, walking carefully around \"Bookshelf is too easy...\" she nods despite looking through the shelves quickly.\n\nSimoni thinks for a minute, then whistles up a small breeze, letting it flow through the house as she closes her eyes, trying to feel with just the wind as it drifts through, looking for anything that doesn't really fit. Gaps in furniture, false walls, and so on until she opens her eyes. \"I think I found something.\" she nods, heading upstairs. She leads the group down into the basement, looking around. \"I can feel something down here... one of the walls only looks like a wall.\" she nods, closing her eyes and letting out a low whistle. She can't use enough of her magic for combat when she's indoors or underground, but just poking around like this is fine. Finally, she stops and taps at a spot in the brickwork that looks just like every other patch of wall. \"Here. There's nothing behind this part of the wall.\" she nods, \"Feels like a tunnel, or a hallway maybe.\"\n\nLara smiles \"Hey good work Simoni!\" she says, Arja grinning at the garuda, \"Nice, better than tearing the place up and stumbling blind.\" she nods as Lara taps around the wall. She frowns just a bit as her finger finds a small hole, \"Huh...\" she says, pushing into it, \"This is the size of a finger but too deep... unless...\" her eyes go a bit wide as she reaches to undo the stitching on her middle finger, popping it off and sliding it into the hole, a small 'click' coming before the wall slides away.\n\n\"She made the door so that it could be opened by someone who can pull themselves apart...\" she says, Sammi nodding, \"In fairness, before we take any weird leaps, you could also use a long stick.\"\n\n\"No no, I know. But switches like this, I've seen them before in the homes of other... types like me... who have things they need to hide. It's like an emergency option. There's lots of ways to trigger it but if you're in a rush and without tools you can just, ya know, improvise.\" explains Lara.\n\nSimoni tilts her head, \"So... what? Marie was a zombie too, or a promethian maybe?\" she asks as the false wall slides away, revealing a long dark hallway with no light sources whatsoever. \"Hm... pretty dark. Think we could get a bit of monkey fire or some faerie lights?\" she asks, glancing back at the others as Dusk stares down into the shadows, the cat's fur on end. Simoni glances over at him as she feels his tail bristling, \"Whats wrong?\" she asks as the kitten shrinks back against her. \"Smells... wrong in there.\" he mewls.\n\nLara shakes her head, \"No, I think THAT woulda come up, but... she was promethian friendly at least...\" she replies as Arja and Sammi nod, Sammi forming small ice balls, enchanted to withstand flame as Arja fills them up, the fae sending them to drift through the passage to provide light. \"Workin’ together to explore creepy hidden passages…\" Sammi sings lightly, \"Teamwork is best even when you're gonna get eaten by a zombie.\" he adds, getting a swat from Lara at that remark.\n\nSimoni rolls her eyes, \"Well, maybe she was a promethian at some point? I mean... I think Nelen said once that he'd heard rumors about promethians somehow becoming fully human. Maybe she's one of those?\" she suggests as the group heads down into the tunnel, Dusk still looking rather agitated as they explore. Stephy shrugs at her, \"No idea. That's like really really super rare though isn't it? Like those vampires who supposedly find that 'gloncolda' thing or something, like a one in a million even for them.\" he nods.\n\nLara actually pauses at that, whispering softly to herself, \"...could that be the case?\" before she takes off down the tunnel, moving quickly as she reaches the end of the passageway. \"Well that set her off…\" Sammi mutters as he follows behind, Arja sighing a bit, \"There's two ways I see this going, neither of them are going to be great...\"\n\nSimoni shrugs, \"Well, it was just a thought. I mean, she did write Frankenstein and all... maybe she was actually writing from experience?\" she asks as they finally reach the end of the tunnel, Simoni looking around at what they discover as Dusk hisses softly.\n\nLara had stopped on the base of the stairs, staring into the room. It was a single room, no other doors or windows or the like. It was large, though, a large laboratory... The tools were old, many rusted beyond use, but it was clear what it was. Any of the group who saw it would recognize it as an outdated version of Lara's lab. More concerning, though, was the large metal table in the middle of the room, covered by a large white sheet. Under the sheet was a very human shape, seeming to be breathing. \"You guys…\" she whispers, \"Frankenstein wasn't written from the monster's view... it was the doctor telling the story....\"\n\nSimoni eeps softly, scooting backwards as she moves as close to Arja as she can, Dusk hissing loudly now. \"Smells bad! Wrong!\" he mrowls, his fur all standing on end as his claws grip Simoni's jacket. \"Wait... Lara, are you saying that...\" she points at the sheet, \"That this thing could actually be the original monster?\" she asks. The Frankensteins were considered their own lineage of promethians, one of several actually, but they were known for their terrifying rage and incredible strength. Simoni suddenly found herself wishing that Drusilla had come with them, and Nelen, and, well, everyone.\n\n“It could be…\" she says in a hushed tone, walking closer, \"Stay back, if things go bad run, don't stop running until you're on the plane, ok?\" she says firmly, looking seriously at the group as Arja nods, \"Yeah…\" she replies as Lara walks slowly to the slab and grips the edge of the sheet...\n\nSimoni whimpers as she scoots closer to Arja, reasoning that if whatever is under it was the type to say 'fire bad' then as far as she was concerned she'd want all the fire she could get. Dusk continues to hiss, the kitten spitting and fluffing itself up to look as big as possible. It was almost cute if he didn't look so terrified. Stephy stood by Trixie and Sammi, ready to use his own fae magic if he had to. Undead bodies were actually less prepared for cold than living ones when you got right down to it and if he used all his glamour with his brother then whatever was under that sheet would wind up with a massive case of freezer burn before it could even get a punch off... hopefully anyway.\n\nLara yanks the sheet off at that, revealing a young looking man, dressed in surprisingly modern clothes, well, not MODERN, but the suit he was wearing looked only a decade or so old rather than Victorian... His skin was pale, devoid of any blood at all, and his hair was long and black, pooling around his head like a pillow. He sat up straight as soon as the sheet was off, the black suit straining just a bit with age as he moves so suddenly, eyes locked on Lara. He looks ready to slap her away before his eye moves down, seeing the missing finger on her hand and the frayed stitches left behind... \"One... of us?\" he says in a low, London accented, voice.\n\nSimoni eeps and says, \"Yes, one of you, and her friends, her very close and very dear friends who are very understanding of her condition!\" she says, looking rather nervous at the man's appearance. She's never had any experience with a promethian, only hearing just rumors or seeing one at a distance in the Nightside, and even with a 'vitally challenged' person she likes she had to admit Lara did creep her out pretty frequently.\n\nThe man turns slowly, feet hanging off the side of the table as he looks through the group. His movements are slow and sluggish, but gradually begin to normalize as his skin becomes more flesh toned. Lara goes through the same ritual in the morning, literally willing her heart to start beating and muscles to start moving again... \"Why have you come?\" he asks, hard to read any emotion in his voice at all, \"You were not invited.\"\n\nLara just nods softly, holding her hand up to show she didn't have anything. Even among their own communities, undead like this meeting each other was tricky. There were so many different kinds and camps and, frankly, they even creeped their own kind out in different ways... \"I'm Lara, of the Belladonna line, I know I wasn't invited but... Well I'm not going to lie to you, I came to look for hidden books or journals or the like that your... creator... has?\"\n\nThe man shakes his head slowly, \"Not my creator... I am not Adam... I am Abel, son of Adam, born of death, not life...\" Among their kind 'creators' were a very tense subject. Most loathed theirs, but at the same time had a sick emptiness inside, a desire to share their life with another like them. It was very common for them to make another. Some 'lines' lasted generations, some only had two, and some never even attempted to 'procreate'. Needless to say, it was a complex issue. \"You want the creator's notes... none left.\" he says, his eyes lowering, \"My father... he was not forgiving... he burned much of her work when he heard of her death...\"\n\nSimoni winces, finding she rather wished they hadn't come now as she reaches up and pinches the spot on Dusk, lifting the cat into her arms and holding him tight to her chest to try to calm him down. Even then however she found she was having some trouble herself. The promethian making her feel uneasy, uncomfortable, hell even some level of disgust. She'd heard about this sort of thing before, how some undead can cause these emotions just by proximity. The 'disquiet' it was called.\n\nShe was pretty good at containing such things though, after everything she'd been through with Clan Fullmoon, Paale, and all the other experiences of the past year she's able to keep her cool for the most part, but even still she has to force herself not to shudder when Abel speaks.\n\nThe significance of his words aren't lost on her however. She'd read Marie's books when she was younger (book report for school when her life was still 'normal') and she recognized what this must mean. 'Adam' was the name that Doctor Frankenstein had chosen for his monster, representing that he was the first of a new species, a new evolution of mankind (or at least, that was the Doctor’s intention). If he called him his father then it could only mean one thing. Frankenstein's original monster had copied his master's work and created a new promethian... \"Why... um, sorry if this is too personal, but... why did he do that? Was your father close to Marie?\" she asks him, her voice trembling a bit.\n\nThe man looks down at that, taking in a deep breath despite not needing it. \"It is... difficult to explain such things to one who is not us...\" he says softly, \"You do not know how it feels... to be empty... Be it a soul, or 'humanity', or just 'the spark of life', we are missing something. Many seek to fill that hole in many ways, but for a large amount, they fill it with creation of their own. There is a pride, almost familial, in making a life such as that, even if it is a half formed life such as us. It is... hard. We resent our creators, but often times our creators are those we love. There are many stories of our kind. Science experiments, strange tests, magic rituals, but many of them share a common core... there is love.\" Lara doesn't speak as Abel does, simply looking down as well, it was obvious he was speaking for the both of them... \"When love is mixed with resentment, strange things happen. Our minds understand why our creators did what they did, but something in our heart hates them for it.\"\n\n\"It doesn't feel right…\" Lara finally speaks, very softly, \"It never feels right. Every morning I wake up heavy, I tell my heart to pump... I have to check myself often to be sure my stitches are safe. I don't... I don't feel RIGHT.\" she repeats, Abel simply nodding softly, reaching his hand out to rest on her shoulder \"And your friends, gifted as they are, they do not understand you... Have you found others of your kind?\"\n\nLara nods to that, \"Yes but... it's not the same, it helps but... it doesn't fix the feeling.\"\n\n\"You came here looking for the creator's works... did you want to follow in her steps... in my father's?\" Lara doesn't answer that, just keeping her eyes on the ground, a feeling of shame washing over her as the other creature sees right through her...\n\nSimoni blushes as something in her head goes click. Lara's eagerness to get here, her excitement at the idea that Marie may have been a promethian turned human, her desire to find the notes of the infamous Doctor... \"Oh.\" she mutters, glancing back towards the tunnel, \"Um... should we, er, give you two some privacy? I mean... this sounds pretty personal.\" she asks awkwardly.\n\nPart of her wonders if Lara's sudden desire to come here may not have been fueled in part by Drusilla announcing her pregnancy. Nelen seemed to still be coming to grips over the idea of having an actual child (Dawn was as close to a daughter as he ever thought he'd come), but Drusilla had been going on about how amazing her baby was going to be and how her future son/daughter would beat up all the other kids and so on. It probably wasn't easy to hear things like that when you had a body that wasn't even biologically alive, much less incapable of that.\n\nLara nods to Simoni, \"If you don't mind…\" she says in a soft voice. Arja, though, does speak up, \"Before we go can I just ask... how long have you been down here?\"\n\nThe man laughs softly at that, a hollow, emotionless, laugh, more like someone trying to imitate laughter than anything... \"I was made, and my father left, consumed with shame for his actions... I went to follow him. I spent... must have been a year, following him, and then one day, back in London, I was attacked by a man with a strange blade... he stabbed me... it shouldn't have been enough to do anything, but my body suddenly felt very weak, I was unable to think straight... It must have been instinct that led me here. I laid myself down, covered myself and... I remember nothing. Until recently, when I woke again.\"\n\n\"Huh…\" Arja nods, “So that's what happens to guys like you then, the mundane blade just takes away whatever's making you tick...\" The man raises his brow at that, looking confused, but Arja just shakes her head, \"Nevermind, come on guys, she need some privacy.\" she says, leading the group back up the stairs.\n\nSimoni and the others file out, heading back down through the tunnel, \"Um... we'll see if we can't find a hotel. Call us when you're done okay?\" she says to Lara as the group exits the hidden tunnel, Dusk finally calming down once they're back out in the basement. It seems Abel's disquiet really panicked the poor cat. \"Huh... so... the Mundane Blade got whatever magical stuff keeps him animate and he came here before he wound all the way down... and then it came back when we broke it.\" she mutters, letting the cat curl back up on her shoulder, Dusk forming a tight little ball as he all but clings to her neck. It seems the tiny kitten was really rattled by the sight.\n\nArja reaches to pet the kitten, \"See why it's best to stay home little guy? Even when we're not fighting... things can get kinda messed up.\" she says softly, Sammi just nodding, \"So uh, elephant in the room, I don't know what they're talking about, and hey from the five minutes I've seen him while wanting to turn and run Abel seems like a decent guy but... are we gonna like... stop her if she tries to make a Lara Junior in the basement?\"\n\nSimoni hesitates, \"I dunno... I mean...\" she looks down, putting a hand over her middle, then looks at Sammi, \"Should we? It doesn't look like she's going to make a whole army here, but if she's just lonely... I mean we've only got two undead in the house and its not like she and Natasha have that much in common besides not being alive.\" she nods. Its something she just always took for granted, knowing that someday she could have a child of her own and feel life growing inside of her, eventually becoming a new being that was a blend of herself and Arja (yes, Arja. It could happen. Magic 'n stuff) but still their own unique person themselves... but Lara could only make things from dead bodies stitched together and animated by her own magic, not truly alive even.\n\nArja nods, \"We're kinda in some uncharted territory here… It's really easy to talk about killing monsters and junk but... I dunno if I can call being lonely and scared being a 'monster'. I guess if she crosses some kinda line, like, if she starts MAKING corpses instead of just making corpses I'll have to step in but... I dunno I'm starting to be more forgiving for grave robbery in her circumstances...\" she says with a soft sigh, \"Regardless, I think they're gonna be there a while. Lara's friends seemed nice but they were hardly a brain trust, I think this is the first 'one of her' she's met that can actually have a conversation about this stuff.\"\n\nSimoni thinks back to Lara's friends, the other undead girls she was with back in Maine and Texas, and remembers Starchaser (died 1965 by playing in traffic during an LSD trip) among the others (flapper girl who was shot by police in the 1920s when her speakeasy got raided for example). \"Yeah... I think you have a point there Arja. Lets just go find somewhere to stay for the night.\" she nods, heading back upstairs. The group takes a train back downtown and checks in at one of the ritzier hotels, getting one big room with two huge beds. She lets Arja send for their luggage from the airport and flops onto the bed, sighing as Dusk hops off her shoulder and goes to explore the room (and several others as walls don't exactly do much to hold him back). \"Tonight got really weird...\" she mutters.\n\nArja nods, sighing as she flops next to Simoni, \"Yeah... I guess I kinda take for granted that in the supernatural lottery we mostly all got off pretty well. It's easy to forget there's a whole bunch out there that are just... victims of fate. What are we gonna do about them when they cause trouble after getting loose from the blade? I mean... we can't just execute people for being scared and lonely, then we're no better than Franklin, are we?\" she asks, though it sounded like she didn't really want an answer, more asking herself that question as she snuggles with Simoni for the night...\n\nThe group wouldn't hear from Lara until nearly the next night, Arja's phone ringing and Lara's voice coming through, \"Uh yeah…\" she says in a rather subdued voice compared to usual, \"I'm... done I think. Want me to meet you guys at the hotel?\" she says, Arja flipping her over to speaker phone.\n\nSimoni sits up, having been playing on her 3DS while Dusk kept asking constant questions about the game, the kitten seeming to have rallied pretty quickly after stealing a bunch of food from the hotel kitchen. \"Yeah, we're at the Crowne Plaza. Just tell them you're with the Barjar party, we told them there was one more of us coming.\" she replies, then after a minute of hesitation she adds, \"Um, are you alright Lara?\", closing her game despite Dusk's protests at wanting to see her fight ‘the big fire turtle guy’ again.\n\nShe’s quiet for a moment, then replies, \"Yeah... I'm actually pretty ok. Just kinda... a lot to think about, but I'm gonna be fine... thanks. Seriously, thank you guys. I know I'm kinda... concerning to be around but thanks for putting up with me, I guess.\"\n\nSimoni smiles a bit at the phone, then replies, \"We're a weird family Lara, but we're still family.\" she smiles, leaning into Arja as she looks up at the ceiling, Dusk still pawing at her and telling her that he wants to watch more of her game. \"So... when she gets back, Nightside?\" she grins.\n\nArja nods at her, \"We desperately need it after that…\" she sighs, Lara showing up at the room a bit later, walking in and just sitting down, smiling softly at the group. \"It's weird…\" she says as if she's continuing some unheard conversation. \"No not weird... it's really fucked up and cruel... people like me, we literally can't help but push people away, but at the same time if we spend too much time alone, away from the living... it really messes with us. Loneliness can really fuck your brain up... Abel was a nice guy but, ya know, he was alone so long. My girls aren't the brightest bulbs but we keep each other sane, ya know? Grounded. You guys do that for me too. I guess I didn't realize that until now because I was so focused on you not being 'like me' and all...\"\n\nSimoni nods, giggling a bit, \"Well, most of us aren't like the others... but I get what you mean.\" she nods, getting up and giving the undead woman a hug, Dusk padding up to her and butting his head lightly against her ankle. She straightens up and looks over at Arja's phone, then blinks. \"Oh crap, I forgot to check in with Nelen last night.\" she winces, getting out her own phone and dialing his number. When the line connects she can hear somebody yelling in the background as Nelen's voice comes on.\n\n\"Hey Nelen, we're here... um... what? Hang on, let me put you on speaker.\" she nods, pressing the button and holding the phone out as Nelen's voice comes out. \"Guys? Hey, look... is one of the kittens with you? Dawn did a headcount last night and she's currently tearing apart every room that isn't torn apart already trying to find him.\" he asks, sounding rather tired.\n\nLara holds back a little laugh as Arja sighs, \"Dawn, can you hear me? Dusk is fine, he stowed away with us because you're boring.\" she says in a little bit of a teasing voice, \"He's been surprisingly good, aside from the occasional stolen fish he's been on good behavior. We'll bring him home just fine, kay?\"\n\nNelen sighs as Dawn's voice can be heard in the background, 'He WHAT?! He's in LONDON?! He's too little to be around that many mundanes! Dammit when he gets home-' and so on before Nelen's voice returns, \"Guys. I haven't slept all damn night and she's still going. If this is even the tiniest indication of what I'm going to be putting up with when Drus has her baby I'm going out into the jungle and hugging the first tiger I find.\" he sighs before hanging up.","writing_bbcode_parsed":"Simoni leans into Arja as the plane nears England, watching the landscape go by out the window as she does. Its been just about a month since their victory at Castle Fullmoon (now known as 'bloody huge hole in the ground') and its still an odd feeling knowing that they don't have to worry about being attacked at random anymore. Even with all the supernatural events popping up across the globe as a result of the Mundane Blade's destruction their own lives have become oddly peaceful. "So, are we gonna hang out in the mundane world at all or just head straight into the Nightside?" she asks.
The idea was that, despite their victory, they hadn't really had time to actually celebrate it. While their own home was in better shape than their former adversary's, Franklin's men had managed to do a great deal of damage when they captured Iravati and the repairs were still ongoing. The Harem Quarters had been torn apart, their bedroom had been smashed up, and even their 'basement' was wrecked... It'd looked like the warriors had taken one look inside, threw in a few grenades, and slammed the door shut... so there wasn't much to party with.
Arja smiles at the garuda, "Well I have to say, despite being full of the English, it would be nice to wander London without being afraid of some giant ginger abducting me." she laughs, snuggling into Simoni happily. The repairs were going along well, money and materials weren't obstructions, just an issue of time...
"I have a couple things to handle in the mundane side of the city too…" Lara says with a smile, the stitched together girl had tagged along, along with Sammi, Stephy, and Trixie, the trio wanting to say hi to the Iron Spike now that the war had died out, and Lara... well she wasn't exactly clear about what she was up to...
Stephy was there too, sitting next to Trixie and feeling rather uncomfortable about going with them to see Trixie's fae relatives. He wasn't as angry now (still annoyed that they couldn't have at least given a heads up before abducting her)... but it's still going to be an awkward visit given that last time he'd basically threatened to go 'White Witch of Narnia' on them all. True he had no idea if Trixie had been taken off to be held hostage or just for a surprise cup of tea... but he hadn't ever used his powers like that before either.
Simoni looks at Lara and nods, "Fair enough, just... don't freak out any mundanes okay? I mean, we're going to have a hard enough time with all the stuff that's showing up now as it is." she says to the undead girl. There had been almost daily sightings of everything from pookas to poltergeists and beyond after the mundane blade shattered, releasing several thousand year's worth of captive supernatural beings in a magical eruption that had torn Castle Fullmoon apart, as well as released enough magical energy back into the world to give every wannabe psychic some touch of real power. Spooky even insisted one of her Wicca rituals had finally worked (during the attack she'd hid in Natasha's spare coffin. She may be gullible, but she wasn't stupid enough to take on a Fullmoon assault team) but Simoni wasn't sure she believed the ghoulified goth.
Lara nods, "Don't worry." she replies, the undead girl dressed in a long sleeved purple top and jeans, makeup on her face covering the stitches there, to everyone else she looked like any other young woman. Sammi rests a hand on Stephy's lap as he sees his brother's nerves, smiling a bit, "Hey, if rebel courts held grudges against EVERYONE that threatened to destroy them they'd have no friends at all." he winks playfully.
Stephy sighs and nods at his brother, though he was still a bit worried. Part of it was how good it had felt to really let go like that though. Years of having to bottle up everything that his father, Clan Fullmoon, and life in general had done to him all came out in one huge glamour infused burst. Part of him was relieved but another part worried that it could very easily happen again...
For once, Nelen wasn’t with them. Simoni’s older brother and Drusilla had stayed behind to supervise the reconstruction effort, Dawn staying with them to be with her family now that she'd gotten them back... but they did have one small stowaway.
There's a faint pop and a male cheshire appears on Simoni's head, the tiny kitten looking around and flicking it's ears. "Where are we goin' humans?" he asks in a childlike voice. Dawn's brothers and sisters had all insisted on names themselves, not wanting their big sister to be the only one in the family who had one after all that, so this young cheshire had been christened as 'Dusk'.
When the kitten pops in, though, everyone jumps a bit, honestly unsure what to expect from more 'pure' Wonderlanders like them... "Oh." Arja says, sighing a bit, "Hey Dusk, didn't well tell you guys to stick with Dawn? She's teaching you guys how to blend in right?"
Dusk flicking his ear at Arja's words before he shrugs, "But its booooooooring!" he frowns, hopping off Simoni's head and into her lap. Dawn hadn't tried to teach any of her siblings how to shapeshift yet mostly because she herself wasn't that great at it herself. The goal of her spell was to become fully human, but she could only ever manage halfway, and it didn't help that in terms of mentality all her siblings were about equal to a three or four year old human. It was easy to forget that Dawn had about a decade's worth of growing up both physically and socially on them... hell she was almost as old as their mother now (Cheshires age in human years rather than cat years though they still breed at a younger age on average). "Big sis keeps sayin' I shouldn't let the mundies see me talk 'n other boring stuff..." he frowns, rolling onto his belly as he tries to entice Simoni into a tummy rub.
Lara sighs softly, "She's right. Especially now. There are a LOT of people scared of magical things, she's not trying to be boring, she's trying to keep you safe." she reaches out to pet the kitten's tummy at that, "So, if you want to stay with us you have to be VERY quiet and stay with Simoni, ok? Dawn will literally kill us if anything happens to you, I mean ANYTHING." she smiles faintly at that "She really loves having you guys back...she missed you all very much and she never wants to be that sad again, do you understand?"
Dusk wiggles his paws at her and rolls his yellow eyes, "Okaaaaaaaay..." he sighs, though it's clear he isn't really listening. None of his siblings actually remember being trapped in the mundane blade, and apparently their memories of Franklin's attack are pretty blurry as well. Still, they did have an ace up their sleeve when it came to the Cheshires. Simoni smirks a bit, then reaches down and pinches a patch of fur right around the back of Dusk's neck, near his shoulder blades and all of a sudden the kitten goes perfectly still.
"She's serious Dusk. I know you don't really understand it yet, but up until a month ago she was convinced you guys were dead. Just... behave yourself, alright?" she asks, as Dusk whines, but mutters out "'kay..." before Simoni lets him go. The spot she pinched was the same one that their mother used to carry them. When held by that patch of fur it seemed to basically be a sort of 'off' switch for both their powers and any sort of movement whatsoever. Worked good for keeping them in line and making sure that they didn't try to screw with the construction workers, many of whom were contracted from the more modernized parts of India and weren't as accepting of the supernatural as the inhabitants of Jaipur were.
Lara smirks, "I'll have to make a note about that…" she teases, Arja giggling "Still, if you're good we'll buy you a BIG fish and chips box before we go home, kay?" she adds playfully, poking the feline's nose. "So, what's the game plan?" she asks as she looks around. Sammi shrugs a bit "We're not exactly in a rush to meet the spike, no real deadline there" he says casually.
"Well then, you guys mind giving me a hand with my thing? It'll be fast, then we can party it up in the nightside until it's fairy time." grins the undead girl, "Just a bit of sightseeing, really..."
Simoni nods at that, "Alright, sounds like it could be neat. I mean we've never actually spent a lot of time in London proper before and Nelen did tell me about a few supernatural hangouts in town besides the Nightside." she replies, letting Dusk curl back up in her lap. "So, what did you come here for anyways?" she adds, scritching the kitten behind his ears as the plane begins it's descent into London International Airport.
Lara smiles, "Well, you guys know Mary Shelley, the woman who wrote Frankenstein, right? She lived in London, and there's a theory among the... scientifically minded undead that her whole 'oh the story of doctor Frankenstein was just a ghost story I plum made up one day' thing was a lie. She actually knew a good bit more than she let on. See it makes sense, her mom was this firebrand feminist in her time and her dad was a philosophic and writer himself. She got a very good education that focused on self-study and all. So, we figure maybe she actually has a few things, books, journals, something, and they're hidden in her childhood home! Wouldn't that be so amazing?" she was grinning wide now, clearly excited at the prospect of a whole new source of information.
"I mean, she hardly invented the concept of reanimation, but her work was really the first time it was a common topic of discussion, not just in the 'oooh scary flesh golem' way but in the sense of the toll it takes and the spiritual weight. That's something that only comes from experience when writing."
Simoni raises her eyebrow as Dusk begins to groom his ears while he sits in her lap. "Lara... what exactly are you planning to use this information for if you get it?" she asks. She had noticed the naga fangs and bits of scales littering the hallway after they'd gotten back from Castle Fullmoon and it hadn't been too difficult to put two and two together, but at the time she was too exhausted to care. Channeling divine energy had left her and Arja with a high that'd kept them wired all the way back to India, but once they got home it wore off fast and they'd slept for almost two days straight.
As far as Nelen could tell the boost they'd gotten from Hanuman and Morrigan had been almost completely tapped out to destroy the Mundane Blade. Their own powers had been left intact this time, but with the exception of the tiniest spark of divinity they were basically as they were before the battle.
Laura smiles michevoiusly, "Well... I don't know really. But come on you agree if she has that kind of stuff it doesn't belong locked away in some tourist attraction, it should at least be in the library of someone who understands it. I mean, I can't judge what I'll do until I SEE the stuff, if it's crazy black magic then yeah I'll seal it up and lock it away with the other stuff, but... I dunno, maybe it's something I can use."
Simoni nods, "Yeah, its the 'maybe you can use it' part that worries me Miss 'I Certainly Didn't Get Any Naga Parts When The Temple Was Attacked'." she replies, just glad she didn't actually see the Frankensteined serpent when the house was under siege. Even Drusilla had missed that one as she was still blinded form the flashbang, but the claw marks on the walls and the bodies of the Fullmoon warriors it had gotten were unmistakable after seeing the damage it had caused to Hanuman's temple when it was alive.
Finally, the plane gets clearance and lands as the group disembarks. Simoni dressed casually for the trip in a green tank top, her long black jacket, and a pair of denim capris with sandals and Dusk curled up on her shoulder like a furry parrot. Stephy was dressed up a bit more, though still in mundane clothing. A white silk blouse, long blue skirt, and matching shoes with a slight heel. He adjusts his fae-ice glasses as they leave and glances at Dusk. "You're sure it's okay bringing the Cheshire Kitten there?" he asks as Simoni shrugs with her other shoulder, "Well we can't just leave him on the plane..."
Lara smirks softly, "I'd like to point out that my snake probably kept Dru from getting turned into a pin cushion…" she teases. Arja just sighs softly, rubbing Dusk's cheek, "Yeah, keep the cat with us, at least this way we can keep an eye on him. He just wants a little fresh air and new scenery." she says as she walks with Somoni. Trixie smirks softly at that, "Yeah, and we can grab the spot if he tries anything dumb."
Dusk hisses a bit at Trixie as they head into the terminal, letting Arja and her diplomatic passport do most of the talking. They almost have an incident when they go through the food court and Dusk pipes up loudly as they pass a KFC ("No no, that was just me! I'm practicing ventriliquism. Gottle o' geer and all that!" said Simoni as she firmly pinched the spot on Dusk, perhaps a bit too hard), but otherwise they were able to get out without any mundanes raising an eyebrow.
Once in London proper it was easy for them to see the changes the Mundane Blade's destruction had caused. There were a lot more changelings about for one. Their eyes could see through the glamour that hid them, though they did their best to pretend they couldn't (as most were former slaves to the True Fae, they didn't like being seen), and Stephy would swear he saw a couple gargoyles watching them as they moved under the old stone buildings. Their magic sense kept going ping too as several mundanes who suddenly found themselves not so mundane practiced their new talents here and there too.
Lara sighs softly, looking around with a smile, "So... I know this isn't helping my whole mad scientist rep but... would it be really that bad if we broke some more blades?" she asks as she looks around the group, Sammi just kinda staring at her as Trixie and Arja rub their foreheads.
"I mean, not NOW, not like race off to the next blade and bust it open but... we now know they CAN be broken and I know, there's a lot of bad in there but..." she gestures at a passing changeling, a young man walking and holding hands with another changeling woman, "Maybe the problem in the old days wasn't 'too much magic', maybe it was too little education..."
Simoni shakes her head, "Lara, the last one was a very specific fluke. I really doubt that we'll be able to call up TWO gods again like that... and that was also a very personal vendetta for both of them." she replies, "And even then... we're still not clear on what else got out." she sighs as Stephy nods, "Yeah, I looked into as much of that sword's history as I could find in Arcadia and... well, we don't have complete records of it, though apparently Sera and the other fae tried to keep tabs on them as much as they could, if only so they knew when to stay well away from a certain town or city, but there's a good chance some really awful things were trapped inside there along with Dawn's family." he nods, frowning.
Lara sighs, nodding at the two, "I know… but isn't it kind of a 'I'd rather a thousand guilty men go free than one innocent man be put to death' kinda thing? There have to be more like us fighting these bad things." she sighs again, but shakes her head, "Anyway, that's to worry about later anyway, for now we have to focus on cleaning up this first blade… or rather, right NOW we have to catch a train!" she grins, "Somers Town is up in north London, not too far from here." she nods, leading the group to the nearby station, Sammi looking at her curiously, "Oh yeah? Huh we may run into the Spike there after all. Somers is where Dickinson wrote about a bunch too, and a lot of other films and all took place there. It's kinda an icon of the Victorian age and all, when it comes to media at least."
Stephy shrugs, "Well, assuming they ever leave their freehold that often." he replies as Simoni pats the zombie's arm sympathetically, "I'm not saying you don't have a point Lara, but we don't even know where the other mundane blades are..." she pauses, "Well, except for one of them, and there's nothing in that one that deserves to be loose." she nods firmly. Rama's Arrow was still secure aboard Bethandi's spaceship and as far as Simoni was concerned it could stay there... or preferably be jettisoned into the sun or a black hole or just left to drift in space forever.
Lara nods, "No I agree there, if we ever were to do that again we'd have to do a LOT of research, find the blade's history, get a feel of exactly who the 'big players' in it are and all. I get that these things are basically big magic prisons, and like most prisons even if they have a lot of innocents in them, there's some really fucked up people locked up for super good reasons too…" she sighs again, smiling as she walks into the train, "Still, wouldn't it be nice? Magic being back as a major player?" The car was sparse this time of day, not exactly a high traffic route, she could keep talking in a lower voice just fine.
Simoni shrugs, "I dunno... on the one hand it does sound lovely... on the other hand I keep thinking of someone like Pat Robertson actually being able to make meteor showers and earthquakes whenever a pride rally starts up." she frowns, "Lets face it Lara, magic becoming commonplace would have some major drawbacks." she nods, climbing into the train as Dusk suddenly vanishes from her shoulder, then reappears in her lap chewing on some fried fish as, halfway down the car someone yells, "Oi! A bleedin' magic cat just stole me dinner!" and someone else yells, "SHADDAP ya drunken loon!"
Lara smirks, flicking Dusk lightly, "Didn't we tell you to stay out of trouble?" she asks as Arja giggles, "You're lucky you stole from some drunk, munchkin, be careful with that stuff." she says, reaching to pinch that spot on the cat's neck firmly, "Got it?"
Dusk hisses and flails the minute she lets go, then immediately goes back to chowing down on the chunk of fish he swiped as the train begins to move, rattling along the tracks. Its a short and thankfully uneventful ride, though Stephy swears he actually saw a couple elves when they were passing through another station and, eventually, they disembark, Dusk taking his place on Simoni's shoulder again as they walk and the girl giving him a small rub between his ears. "So, where exactly is this place?" she asks Lara.
Lara smiles "Not too far, it's kinda tucked away, not exactly a big tourist draw, should be able to sneak in nice and easy…" she grins, leading the group down the streets for about ten minutes before they reach their destination, a rather nice looking medium sized home that was clearly restored Victorian. A small sign in front of the (to Sammi's chagrin, iron, as was the style then) gate simply identifying it as Mary Shelley's home and a bit about her and her works, instructing readers to go to a nearby museum of literature for more information.
Stephy scoots back from the gate himself as soon as he's close enough to recognize what it's made out of as Dusk looks at them, then at it, then asks, "What? Just a stupid human gate. Don't even need to poof." he smirks, hopping down from Simoni's shoulder and padding right between the bars of it, then smirking up at the two fae as Simoni rolls her eyes, reaching in and scooping the kitten back up, "I'll explain later Dusk, but lets just say that they're... allergic." she nods, putting him back on her shoulder.
Lara nods, luckily no one was around to see the undead girl yank her own arms off and toss them over to unlock the gate from the other side... Sammi seeming especially vigilant for both himself and his brother after seeing Trixie's aunt's horribly burned arm. Wounds like that on a true fae meant for them suffering similar ones would likely leave them armless... Arja just hops over the gate, grinning a bit as she lands, Trixie doing the same as she giggles, "I gotta say… not a ton of security for a historical site." she smirks as Lara pulls herself back together, "Meh, she was a writer whose main work is better known as a bunch of movie remakes. There are cameras inside that I can handle but really not exactly a high priority compared to others, ya know?"
Simoni nods as Stephy looks around, then slips off his shoes, changes forms, and very carefully flies over the gate, landing on the other side before changing back as Dusk stares at him. He hadn't seen Stephy shapeshift yet and it seems he's rather interested. "Waaaait... he can turn into food?" he grins as Simoni sighs and flicks his head, "Dusk, for a bird as big as he is you'd be the one who'd be dinner." she smirks, the group heading inside once the security is taken care of.
Lara giggles, Sammi carefully opening a portal right in front of the gate and jumping through, appearing back with the group just as Lara is 'handling' the cameras... having moved the group to the side of the house, not in front of the street, she pulled what looks like a human's eye from her pocket, covered in gold ink hebrew writing...She whispers something in the same language before the eyeball withers and vanishes... "There we are. No cameras or recording devices in the area inside this gate work. Oh that includes our phones, sorry, necromancy isn't exactly the most delicate magic. They'll be fine as soon as we leave though.” she explains, crouching down to start picking the side door's lock.
Simoni wrinkles her nose at the sight of the eyeball, then frowns at Lara, "Sometimes I really wonder about you..." she mutters as Dusk sits up, "Hey! I can do this part!" he nods as Simoni lets out a sudden yelp and vanishes. There's a thump and a gasp from inside and a moment later the door handle rattles, then opens as Simoni unlocks it from the inside. She grumbles and stands to the side as the others file in, glancing at Dusk. "We appeared five feet in the air..." she frowns as Dusk shrugs, "Whaaaaaat? Its not easy poofing somebody else! 'specially someone human sized..." he grins.
Lara smirks as she puts her tools away, "Nice, but yea, work on the heights, she and her brother are the only birds in the group. Drop me that high and I fall apart like a bad gunpla figure." she teases as she walks in, patting the cat's head. Inside was... well, a house. It was a pretty normal middle class Victorian house, the furniture and wallpapers clearly have been restored (or just replaced with matching ones), the house was a nice little shrine to the family that used to live there. "Sooo if I was her, where would I hide something..." she muses, walking carefully around "Bookshelf is too easy..." she nods despite looking through the shelves quickly.
Simoni thinks for a minute, then whistles up a small breeze, letting it flow through the house as she closes her eyes, trying to feel with just the wind as it drifts through, looking for anything that doesn't really fit. Gaps in furniture, false walls, and so on until she opens her eyes. "I think I found something." she nods, heading upstairs. She leads the group down into the basement, looking around. "I can feel something down here... one of the walls only looks like a wall." she nods, closing her eyes and letting out a low whistle. She can't use enough of her magic for combat when she's indoors or underground, but just poking around like this is fine. Finally, she stops and taps at a spot in the brickwork that looks just like every other patch of wall. "Here. There's nothing behind this part of the wall." she nods, "Feels like a tunnel, or a hallway maybe."
Lara smiles "Hey good work Simoni!" she says, Arja grinning at the garuda, "Nice, better than tearing the place up and stumbling blind." she nods as Lara taps around the wall. She frowns just a bit as her finger finds a small hole, "Huh..." she says, pushing into it, "This is the size of a finger but too deep... unless..." her eyes go a bit wide as she reaches to undo the stitching on her middle finger, popping it off and sliding it into the hole, a small 'click' coming before the wall slides away.
"She made the door so that it could be opened by someone who can pull themselves apart..." she says, Sammi nodding, "In fairness, before we take any weird leaps, you could also use a long stick."
"No no, I know. But switches like this, I've seen them before in the homes of other... types like me... who have things they need to hide. It's like an emergency option. There's lots of ways to trigger it but if you're in a rush and without tools you can just, ya know, improvise." explains Lara.
Simoni tilts her head, "So... what? Marie was a zombie too, or a promethian maybe?" she asks as the false wall slides away, revealing a long dark hallway with no light sources whatsoever. "Hm... pretty dark. Think we could get a bit of monkey fire or some faerie lights?" she asks, glancing back at the others as Dusk stares down into the shadows, the cat's fur on end. Simoni glances over at him as she feels his tail bristling, "Whats wrong?" she asks as the kitten shrinks back against her. "Smells... wrong in there." he mewls.
Lara shakes her head, "No, I think THAT woulda come up, but... she was promethian friendly at least..." she replies as Arja and Sammi nod, Sammi forming small ice balls, enchanted to withstand flame as Arja fills them up, the fae sending them to drift through the passage to provide light. "Workin’ together to explore creepy hidden passages…" Sammi sings lightly, "Teamwork is best even when you're gonna get eaten by a zombie." he adds, getting a swat from Lara at that remark.
Simoni rolls her eyes, "Well, maybe she was a promethian at some point? I mean... I think Nelen said once that he'd heard rumors about promethians somehow becoming fully human. Maybe she's one of those?" she suggests as the group heads down into the tunnel, Dusk still looking rather agitated as they explore. Stephy shrugs at her, "No idea. That's like really really super rare though isn't it? Like those vampires who supposedly find that 'gloncolda' thing or something, like a one in a million even for them." he nods.
Lara actually pauses at that, whispering softly to herself, "...could that be the case?" before she takes off down the tunnel, moving quickly as she reaches the end of the passageway. "Well that set her off…" Sammi mutters as he follows behind, Arja sighing a bit, "There's two ways I see this going, neither of them are going to be great..."
Simoni shrugs, "Well, it was just a thought. I mean, she did write Frankenstein and all... maybe she was actually writing from experience?" she asks as they finally reach the end of the tunnel, Simoni looking around at what they discover as Dusk hisses softly.
Lara had stopped on the base of the stairs, staring into the room. It was a single room, no other doors or windows or the like. It was large, though, a large laboratory... The tools were old, many rusted beyond use, but it was clear what it was. Any of the group who saw it would recognize it as an outdated version of Lara's lab. More concerning, though, was the large metal table in the middle of the room, covered by a large white sheet. Under the sheet was a very human shape, seeming to be breathing. "You guys…" she whispers, "Frankenstein wasn't written from the monster's view... it was the doctor telling the story...."
Simoni eeps softly, scooting backwards as she moves as close to Arja as she can, Dusk hissing loudly now. "Smells bad! Wrong!" he mrowls, his fur all standing on end as his claws grip Simoni's jacket. "Wait... Lara, are you saying that..." she points at the sheet, "That this thing could actually be the original monster?" she asks. The Frankensteins were considered their own lineage of promethians, one of several actually, but they were known for their terrifying rage and incredible strength. Simoni suddenly found herself wishing that Drusilla had come with them, and Nelen, and, well, everyone.
“It could be…" she says in a hushed tone, walking closer, "Stay back, if things go bad run, don't stop running until you're on the plane, ok?" she says firmly, looking seriously at the group as Arja nods, "Yeah…" she replies as Lara walks slowly to the slab and grips the edge of the sheet...
Simoni whimpers as she scoots closer to Arja, reasoning that if whatever is under it was the type to say 'fire bad' then as far as she was concerned she'd want all the fire she could get. Dusk continues to hiss, the kitten spitting and fluffing itself up to look as big as possible. It was almost cute if he didn't look so terrified. Stephy stood by Trixie and Sammi, ready to use his own fae magic if he had to. Undead bodies were actually less prepared for cold than living ones when you got right down to it and if he used all his glamour with his brother then whatever was under that sheet would wind up with a massive case of freezer burn before it could even get a punch off... hopefully anyway.
Lara yanks the sheet off at that, revealing a young looking man, dressed in surprisingly modern clothes, well, not MODERN, but the suit he was wearing looked only a decade or so old rather than Victorian... His skin was pale, devoid of any blood at all, and his hair was long and black, pooling around his head like a pillow. He sat up straight as soon as the sheet was off, the black suit straining just a bit with age as he moves so suddenly, eyes locked on Lara. He looks ready to slap her away before his eye moves down, seeing the missing finger on her hand and the frayed stitches left behind... "One... of us?" he says in a low, London accented, voice.
Simoni eeps and says, "Yes, one of you, and her friends, her very close and very dear friends who are very understanding of her condition!" she says, looking rather nervous at the man's appearance. She's never had any experience with a promethian, only hearing just rumors or seeing one at a distance in the Nightside, and even with a 'vitally challenged' person she likes she had to admit Lara did creep her out pretty frequently.
The man turns slowly, feet hanging off the side of the table as he looks through the group. His movements are slow and sluggish, but gradually begin to normalize as his skin becomes more flesh toned. Lara goes through the same ritual in the morning, literally willing her heart to start beating and muscles to start moving again... "Why have you come?" he asks, hard to read any emotion in his voice at all, "You were not invited."
Lara just nods softly, holding her hand up to show she didn't have anything. Even among their own communities, undead like this meeting each other was tricky. There were so many different kinds and camps and, frankly, they even creeped their own kind out in different ways... "I'm Lara, of the Belladonna line, I know I wasn't invited but... Well I'm not going to lie to you, I came to look for hidden books or journals or the like that your... creator... has?"
The man shakes his head slowly, "Not my creator... I am not Adam... I am Abel, son of Adam, born of death, not life..." Among their kind 'creators' were a very tense subject. Most loathed theirs, but at the same time had a sick emptiness inside, a desire to share their life with another like them. It was very common for them to make another. Some 'lines' lasted generations, some only had two, and some never even attempted to 'procreate'. Needless to say, it was a complex issue. "You want the creator's notes... none left." he says, his eyes lowering, "My father... he was not forgiving... he burned much of her work when he heard of her death..."
Simoni winces, finding she rather wished they hadn't come now as she reaches up and pinches the spot on Dusk, lifting the cat into her arms and holding him tight to her chest to try to calm him down. Even then however she found she was having some trouble herself. The promethian making her feel uneasy, uncomfortable, hell even some level of disgust. She'd heard about this sort of thing before, how some undead can cause these emotions just by proximity. The 'disquiet' it was called.
She was pretty good at containing such things though, after everything she'd been through with Clan Fullmoon, Paale, and all the other experiences of the past year she's able to keep her cool for the most part, but even still she has to force herself not to shudder when Abel speaks.
The significance of his words aren't lost on her however. She'd read Marie's books when she was younger (book report for school when her life was still 'normal') and she recognized what this must mean. 'Adam' was the name that Doctor Frankenstein had chosen for his monster, representing that he was the first of a new species, a new evolution of mankind (or at least, that was the Doctor’s intention). If he called him his father then it could only mean one thing. Frankenstein's original monster had copied his master's work and created a new promethian... "Why... um, sorry if this is too personal, but... why did he do that? Was your father close to Marie?" she asks him, her voice trembling a bit.
The man looks down at that, taking in a deep breath despite not needing it. "It is... difficult to explain such things to one who is not us..." he says softly, "You do not know how it feels... to be empty... Be it a soul, or 'humanity', or just 'the spark of life', we are missing something. Many seek to fill that hole in many ways, but for a large amount, they fill it with creation of their own. There is a pride, almost familial, in making a life such as that, even if it is a half formed life such as us. It is... hard. We resent our creators, but often times our creators are those we love. There are many stories of our kind. Science experiments, strange tests, magic rituals, but many of them share a common core... there is love." Lara doesn't speak as Abel does, simply looking down as well, it was obvious he was speaking for the both of them... "When love is mixed with resentment, strange things happen. Our minds understand why our creators did what they did, but something in our heart hates them for it."
"It doesn't feel right…" Lara finally speaks, very softly, "It never feels right. Every morning I wake up heavy, I tell my heart to pump... I have to check myself often to be sure my stitches are safe. I don't... I don't feel RIGHT." she repeats, Abel simply nodding softly, reaching his hand out to rest on her shoulder "And your friends, gifted as they are, they do not understand you... Have you found others of your kind?"
Lara nods to that, "Yes but... it's not the same, it helps but... it doesn't fix the feeling."
"You came here looking for the creator's works... did you want to follow in her steps... in my father's?" Lara doesn't answer that, just keeping her eyes on the ground, a feeling of shame washing over her as the other creature sees right through her...
Simoni blushes as something in her head goes click. Lara's eagerness to get here, her excitement at the idea that Marie may have been a promethian turned human, her desire to find the notes of the infamous Doctor... "Oh." she mutters, glancing back towards the tunnel, "Um... should we, er, give you two some privacy? I mean... this sounds pretty personal." she asks awkwardly.
Part of her wonders if Lara's sudden desire to come here may not have been fueled in part by Drusilla announcing her pregnancy. Nelen seemed to still be coming to grips over the idea of having an actual child (Dawn was as close to a daughter as he ever thought he'd come), but Drusilla had been going on about how amazing her baby was going to be and how her future son/daughter would beat up all the other kids and so on. It probably wasn't easy to hear things like that when you had a body that wasn't even biologically alive, much less incapable of that.
Lara nods to Simoni, "If you don't mind…" she says in a soft voice. Arja, though, does speak up, "Before we go can I just ask... how long have you been down here?"
The man laughs softly at that, a hollow, emotionless, laugh, more like someone trying to imitate laughter than anything... "I was made, and my father left, consumed with shame for his actions... I went to follow him. I spent... must have been a year, following him, and then one day, back in London, I was attacked by a man with a strange blade... he stabbed me... it shouldn't have been enough to do anything, but my body suddenly felt very weak, I was unable to think straight... It must have been instinct that led me here. I laid myself down, covered myself and... I remember nothing. Until recently, when I woke again."
"Huh…" Arja nods, “So that's what happens to guys like you then, the mundane blade just takes away whatever's making you tick..." The man raises his brow at that, looking confused, but Arja just shakes her head, "Nevermind, come on guys, she need some privacy." she says, leading the group back up the stairs.
Simoni and the others file out, heading back down through the tunnel, "Um... we'll see if we can't find a hotel. Call us when you're done okay?" she says to Lara as the group exits the hidden tunnel, Dusk finally calming down once they're back out in the basement. It seems Abel's disquiet really panicked the poor cat. "Huh... so... the Mundane Blade got whatever magical stuff keeps him animate and he came here before he wound all the way down... and then it came back when we broke it." she mutters, letting the cat curl back up on her shoulder, Dusk forming a tight little ball as he all but clings to her neck. It seems the tiny kitten was really rattled by the sight.
Arja reaches to pet the kitten, "See why it's best to stay home little guy? Even when we're not fighting... things can get kinda messed up." she says softly, Sammi just nodding, "So uh, elephant in the room, I don't know what they're talking about, and hey from the five minutes I've seen him while wanting to turn and run Abel seems like a decent guy but... are we gonna like... stop her if she tries to make a Lara Junior in the basement?"
Simoni hesitates, "I dunno... I mean..." she looks down, putting a hand over her middle, then looks at Sammi, "Should we? It doesn't look like she's going to make a whole army here, but if she's just lonely... I mean we've only got two undead in the house and its not like she and Natasha have that much in common besides not being alive." she nods. Its something she just always took for granted, knowing that someday she could have a child of her own and feel life growing inside of her, eventually becoming a new being that was a blend of herself and Arja (yes, Arja. It could happen. Magic 'n stuff) but still their own unique person themselves... but Lara could only make things from dead bodies stitched together and animated by her own magic, not truly alive even.
Arja nods, "We're kinda in some uncharted territory here… It's really easy to talk about killing monsters and junk but... I dunno if I can call being lonely and scared being a 'monster'. I guess if she crosses some kinda line, like, if she starts MAKING corpses instead of just making corpses I'll have to step in but... I dunno I'm starting to be more forgiving for grave robbery in her circumstances..." she says with a soft sigh, "Regardless, I think they're gonna be there a while. Lara's friends seemed nice but they were hardly a brain trust, I think this is the first 'one of her' she's met that can actually have a conversation about this stuff."
Simoni thinks back to Lara's friends, the other undead girls she was with back in Maine and Texas, and remembers Starchaser (died 1965 by playing in traffic during an LSD trip) among the others (flapper girl who was shot by police in the 1920s when her speakeasy got raided for example). "Yeah... I think you have a point there Arja. Lets just go find somewhere to stay for the night." she nods, heading back upstairs. The group takes a train back downtown and checks in at one of the ritzier hotels, getting one big room with two huge beds. She lets Arja send for their luggage from the airport and flops onto the bed, sighing as Dusk hops off her shoulder and goes to explore the room (and several others as walls don't exactly do much to hold him back). "Tonight got really weird..." she mutters.
Arja nods, sighing as she flops next to Simoni, "Yeah... I guess I kinda take for granted that in the supernatural lottery we mostly all got off pretty well. It's easy to forget there's a whole bunch out there that are just... victims of fate. What are we gonna do about them when they cause trouble after getting loose from the blade? I mean... we can't just execute people for being scared and lonely, then we're no better than Franklin, are we?" she asks, though it sounded like she didn't really want an answer, more asking herself that question as she snuggles with Simoni for the night...
The group wouldn't hear from Lara until nearly the next night, Arja's phone ringing and Lara's voice coming through, "Uh yeah…" she says in a rather subdued voice compared to usual, "I'm... done I think. Want me to meet you guys at the hotel?" she says, Arja flipping her over to speaker phone.
Simoni sits up, having been playing on her 3DS while Dusk kept asking constant questions about the game, the kitten seeming to have rallied pretty quickly after stealing a bunch of food from the hotel kitchen. "Yeah, we're at the Crowne Plaza. Just tell them you're with the Barjar party, we told them there was one more of us coming." she replies, then after a minute of hesitation she adds, "Um, are you alright Lara?", closing her game despite Dusk's protests at wanting to see her fight ‘the big fire turtle guy’ again.
She’s quiet for a moment, then replies, "Yeah... I'm actually pretty ok. Just kinda... a lot to think about, but I'm gonna be fine... thanks. Seriously, thank you guys. I know I'm kinda... concerning to be around but thanks for putting up with me, I guess."
Simoni smiles a bit at the phone, then replies, "We're a weird family Lara, but we're still family." she smiles, leaning into Arja as she looks up at the ceiling, Dusk still pawing at her and telling her that he wants to watch more of her game. "So... when she gets back, Nightside?" she grins.
Arja nods at her, "We desperately need it after that…" she sighs, Lara showing up at the room a bit later, walking in and just sitting down, smiling softly at the group. "It's weird…" she says as if she's continuing some unheard conversation. "No not weird... it's really fucked up and cruel... people like me, we literally can't help but push people away, but at the same time if we spend too much time alone, away from the living... it really messes with us. Loneliness can really fuck your brain up... Abel was a nice guy but, ya know, he was alone so long. My girls aren't the brightest bulbs but we keep each other sane, ya know? Grounded. You guys do that for me too. I guess I didn't realize that until now because I was so focused on you not being 'like me' and all..."
Simoni nods, giggling a bit, "Well, most of us aren't like the others... but I get what you mean." she nods, getting up and giving the undead woman a hug, Dusk padding up to her and butting his head lightly against her ankle. She straightens up and looks over at Arja's phone, then blinks. "Oh crap, I forgot to check in with Nelen last night." she winces, getting out her own phone and dialing his number. When the line connects she can hear somebody yelling in the background as Nelen's voice comes on.
"Hey Nelen, we're here... um... what? Hang on, let me put you on speaker." she nods, pressing the button and holding the phone out as Nelen's voice comes out. "Guys? Hey, look... is one of the kittens with you? Dawn did a headcount last night and she's currently tearing apart every room that isn't torn apart already trying to find him." he asks, sounding rather tired.
Lara holds back a little laugh as Arja sighs, "Dawn, can you hear me? Dusk is fine, he stowed away with us because you're boring." she says in a little bit of a teasing voice, "He's been surprisingly good, aside from the occasional stolen fish he's been on good behavior. We'll bring him home just fine, kay?"
Nelen sighs as Dawn's voice can be heard in the background, 'He WHAT?! He's in LONDON?! He's too little to be around that many mundanes! Dammit when he gets home-' and so on before Nelen's voice returns, "Guys. I haven't slept all damn night and she's still going. If this is even the tiniest indication of what I'm going to be putting up with when Drus has her baby I'm going out into the jungle and hugging the first tiger I find." he sighs before hanging up.","pools_count":0,"title":"Part 2.1: Abel","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"0","rating_name":"General","ratings":[],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"f","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"24","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}