September 1 2007

[music] Fake It by Seether
You know, I'm sick of this shit now. Seriously. What the fuck is the matter with this town? What the fuck is the matter with everyone in it, for that matter? Seems like most everyone I've come into contact with is fucked in some manner, with the possible exception of Lullaby--who oh yeah was gunned down the other night. That's a new kind of special right there. But everyone else...fuck.

who: eben and stacey
where: the carnival
when: evening

Who: Corwin and Delilah
Where: Delilah's house
When: An hour or so after sundown

Getting the van had been easy, surprisingly so. The guy selling it gave him a few funny looks for how covered up he was, but he also seemed to be able to tell Corwin was... upset, or whatever it was that he was. He'd also been able to tell that his prospective buyer didn't care what he was buying, or how much he paid for it, as long as it worked. What he didn't know was that if it didn't work, and he found out halfway to Detroit, Corwin would probably have come back and made him dinner; that was just the kind of mood the vampire was in. But what he didn't know, didn't hurt him anyone. Corwin had made sure the van turned on and could drive in a straight line, checked where it'd been parked to see if it was leaking at all-- though the guy could have just moved it, and he'd never have known-- paid the guy by check, and driven off.

Straight to Delilah's house.

Who: Doc and Kurt
When: evening
Where: Remillards

There was a happy balance that could be struck, Doc was finding. A steady safe zone between work and a life as normal as he was ever going to get. Granted, it could shatter at any time, but he was feeling pleased with the spot he'd gotten to; spending his time more and more at home and around town. There didn't seem to be any crises he was missing, the twins both seemed as content as they ever got, and even his tasks of War hadn't crept into the more haunting side of things lately. All in all, Doc was feeling entitled to a night off, or maybe to talk business, or perhaps a bit of both. He hadn't spoken to Kurt since before the disappearance in the mines, a fact Doc had meant to rectify much sooner, but sometimes trying to be a dad took priority. The important thing was that the bond between the pledged man and himself had been restored, and Doc knew that no matter what else had happened, his associate was alive and well.

The night was nice enough for a walk, too nice to deal with Voltaire even, and as Doc strode along the sidewalk with a cigarette pursed and glowing in his lips, he quickly punched in the phone number he'd set up for Kurt. Tucking it to his ear, he stopped at a corner to linger as it rang, wondering if maybe Kurt had other business tonight. Natalya had been at the mines too, after all, and just seeing people like Doc exist had seemed to be almost too much for her to handle. She might be on stress-leave, Doc thought with a humorless smile, flicking his cigarette away.

Though he hated the thing, Kurt kept the cell phone given to him by his supernatural employer close at hand at all times. He was sitting on the porch at Natalya's small house, one long leg stretched out on the worn boards in front of him, the other bent and knee raised. Well-practiced fingers were working on cleaning and oiling Big Iron in the way that great guns deserved. She didn't like it when he did it in the house. He looked over at the board next to his thigh as the little bit of plastic started to glow and make noise and vibrate like a demon, and wiped his fingers off on a rag and plucked it up, putting it to his ear after hitting the correct button. Which was more or less all he knew how to do with the damn thing. "Doc," he greeted. There was really only one person it could be.

Who: Geo and Sammy
Where: All Over The Place.
When: Midnight

The light was still on in Sammy's room when Geo finally trooped up the stairs to his room, a plate of oreos and a glass of milk balanced in one hand, a pile of folded clothes under the other arm. He paused for a moment in the hall, thinking.

Sammy had been...off for the last few days - quiet, withdrawn, almost dejected. And now, this thing with the girl from his school...Geo dropped the pile of clothes by his door, and padded down the short hall to Sammy's room, pushing the door open without knocking. The music was going, so it was alright. He made a beeline right for the hammock, sprawling on it and offering the plate of cookies like a peace offering in exchange for the room invasion.

"What're you doin', are you as bored as me, I think we need to get out of the house again, yeah?" It all came out in a rush.

Who: Shannon and Corwin
When: Evening - Around 5ish
Where: Corwin's Home

Shannon had gone downstairs to leave a letter with the front desk to be picked up the next time mail collection had come around. It had been something she'd done a couple times prior so she felt confident that this letter, just like the others before, would be picked up and make it to its posted destination.

Shannon hadn't noticed the gray and white pawing with soft meows at the front window. She didn't notice when it finally dodged into the hotel through an open door, nor did had she been aware of the line the cat made in her direction once it was on the premises. It wasn't until the red head felt the light brushing of a small form against her legs, a sudden contact that startled the dreamwalker and made her visibly jump slightly and do a very quick two step backward. A nervous smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when Shannon glanced downward to find the gray and white sitting with a light flicking of its tail at her feet. It was a smile that lingered until after Shannon had knelt down to scoop up the little thing in one arm while her other hand, with a bit of difficulty, worked on freeing the note she noticed had been attached to the cat's collar.

It took some doing, but Shannon found her way to the address written on the note from Corwin that had been delivered to her via cat-o-gram. And it was now that the red head stood at the front door of the residence giving a light, nervous knock. She knew she couldn't stay long as the day was well on its way into evening, so Shannon was hoping nothing was dreadfully wrong and wouldn't be kept at the house for an extensive amount of time. Being out after dark had settled on the town wouldn't be good in any sense of the term. But she had to come, Corwin wouldn't have sent the message if her coming weren't of some importance. So there she stood at the door filled with nervousness and worry etched quite visibly across her pale features.

Who: Eben and Sammy
Where: The library still
When: 3 p.m.

The sunlight outside was no longer streaming through the windows as it had earlier, and the interior of the library was now lit by the ceiling lights which had come on once the sun had moved above the roof of the library. The quiet had a different feel to it than it had earlier, as well, not that Sammy noticed. He had his headphones on and music streaming from an online radio station as he "sampled" which CDs he "wanted to take home." Or, rather, while he ripped music from CDs, placed them into a zip folder and sent them to himself via his gmail account. It was ingenious, really, and would work as long as no librarian headed his way. Sammy Williams, inventive music thief.

Who: Peyton and Geo
Where: Peyton's house.
When: 6:00pm

Returning home from Isaac's, Peyton had felt a little bit better, if still weighted down by Lullaby's death. The other stuff she could think about later, when she felt she could. But there was still that surreal haze over the entire day, like it wasn't really happening in some sense. Even being with Isaac, spending that time in comforting silence, she thought maybe she was dreaming the whole thing. It would make sense. All the stress of the past week finally got to her and culminated in some bizarre, feels so real but it's not nightmare. Sadly, Peyton knew she wasn't going to wake up from it anytime soon. She would have to face tomorrow, and Monday - at school where she wouldn't see Lullaby in the hallways the way she had since...forever.

Who: Sammy and Sasha
Where: The Marquette library.
When: In the morning, after Sasha meets Anton. Probably around 10.

Sun flooded into the library through tall, frosted windows, filtered sunlight catching on the dustmotes in the air and bathing books left on the tables in warm golden light. Sammy drew his attention from the illuminated dust with effort, turning back to the computer screen in front of him and typing in another varient of his search in an attempt to bring up any result he could. It wasn't working well, though - apperantly this library system didn't have the soundtrack for Bunty Aur Babli. Fail! Now he'd have to see if, maybe just maybe, he could convince Geo to order it next time he went on a CD ordering spree, and if he wouldn't...well, that was what Limewire was for. Behind him the door to the library opened and Sammy had to reach out fast to stop his papers from flying off the counter towards the other computers.

Who: Thom
Where: His house, the basement
When: Late

It was totally silent in the basement, the door up was shut, the electrics to the instruments various were shut off, the only light was from a single lamp over his keyboard as Thom lay on the couch. Well, that and the glow from the screen of his cell phone as he typed. You get down out of the tree alright? Sleep well. Thom.

Who: Geo and Charlie
Where: Charlie's Shop
When: 9:30, am.

One straight week of waking up at 6:30 am had taken its toll. It was now Saturday, and he was awake at an entirely uncivil hour, despite the fact that he really had nowhere to go, and nothing to do. His pay had arrived at some point yesterday, so he had figured he'd make the best of things - it'd be nice to have spending money again...so, at nine o'clock he was out of the house and pedaling his bike - for the first time since the window incident - towards the bank.

Who: Billy
Where: Phonecall
When: Night

Oz, man - shit, I just got home and saw the news. Is Dean okay? I might come in tonight, if I don't, call me tomorrow.

Who: Caleb and Mathias
Where: Their house
When: Night

Mathias let himself into the house quietly, hoping that Caleb and Dorian would be asleep. He was sure Dorian would be - he knew that the guy was going to be getting up in a few hours to leave on his business trip. Or convention, or whatever it was. Math had been told, but it'd sounded deadly dull boring and the details had passed him by - something about Colorado and being gone for a while and having sorted out cover for Nevermore, so not to worry. Right now, Mathias was more worried about the gash in his neck. Which had thankfully stopped bleeding on the drive home, but he'd taken a look at it in the rear view mirror and it was less than pretty. Pulling her off his neck, whilst necessary, hadn't been the most delicate of things and her fangs had ripped two gashes from the puncture marks. He'd slapped a dressing pad from his bag over the wound and was still holding it there with one hand as he headed into the house.

Who: Brian and Hunt
Where: The Wooden Nickel
When: 8PM

Who: Thom
Where: Phone
When: Afternoon

Hey. It's Thom. I got your note - you should have woken me up. Sorry I didn't call earlier. I slept until Isaac called me ... About Lullaby ... I don't know if you wanted to talk about things. Or, if there's anything to say. ... You didn't have to... Did you? You don't have to answer that. I just ... I'm here. But you knew that. I love you. Call me.

Who: chance and jordan
when: 10:34am
Where: via text

C - What are you doing right now? Can you come over? Did you read the paper? I need you please! - J

Who: John and Corwin
Where: At John's home, and then at Corwin's
When: about 4:00 pm

When John returned to his home, about 4:00 in the afternoon, he was annoyed to find the big black and white tom cat sitting at his doorstop. "Come on, scat." Without looking at it, he shoved at the cat with his leg, but the cat was stubborn, and stood his ground, even going so far as to rub against John's leg, making the paper that was tied to his neck crinkle. The sound caught John's attention and he bent down nearer the cat, purposefully turning the cat's face away from his own and holding it there, while he untied the note. As soon as the note was released, the cat hurried off purposefully.

If you have time today, before sundown, please come to 666 Mountain Street. I need to talk to you. --Corwin.

John studied the note with great concentration. Some of the words he was proud to know right away, like "you" and "to". The rest of the words were unfamiliar. He cursed himself for living so far out of town, not close enough to just ask a neighbor for help. He could easily claim that he couldn't see the words. It wouldn't have to be a matter of pride at all.

Who: Jocelyn and Alex
Where: Outside of Babylon, then inside of Babylon
When: 10:30pm

She'd been stood up. It took her awhile to admit it, sitting on the curb outside of Babylon, wondering if maybe she got the night wrong. Or the time. But no. As humiliating as it was, she'd been stood up. By a vampire. Good Lord, the enjoyment Val would get out of that if he ever found out...Jocelyn didn't even want to think about it. She sat there, her purse next to her on the sidewalk, her chin rested on her arms that were currently crossed upon her drawn up knees as she watched the cars pass by filled with dark, unfamiliar faces. She would have retreated back to her room, but confining herself in solitude, especially with the roses still on her dresser, was simply too depressing. Her first date in years and she gets stood up. It was if another crack in her self-esteem widened and a thousand self-deprecating excuses as to why it happened began to run through her mind.

After a relatively pleasant, and interesting, encounter with Melia again, Alejandro headed for Babylon. He had someone he wanted to talk to, for all he'd really rather not see the place again until his next shift. On Monday. Thank God. At least he'd asked around and found out what room she was in, so maybe he could corner her in there where she'd be the only one to ramble at him.

Except there she was, sitting on the curb. That was unexpected-- and unexpectedly easy. "Hey, waiting for someone?" he asked, coming up towards her rather than Babylon's door.

Who: Melia and Alejandro
Where: The lakeshore
When: Dusk

The sky was darkening as the day moved on towards evening and Melia, just back from a meal in the middle of the lake, was swimming out near the shore, just before it started to get shallow. Backlit by the setting sun, she wasn't worried that anyone would see her; it was too bright behind her and she knew she'd be just a silhouette from shore. All the same, she was careful to keep her tail beneath the surface of the water. She wasn't really sure what she was going to do now - she was fed, so she could probably go see Caleb or just wander the town. Maybe go back to one of the human bars in the town and see if she could find some unsuspecting human to become dessert. And breakfast, and if she didn't eat too much, maybe lunch. Gliding through the sparkling water, Melia stared at the sky and pondered her options.

After getting off work, swinging by home to grab a quite bite to eat and make sure Jezebelle was still alive and well, Alejandro made his now-nightly trip down to the lake shore. It wasn't quite dark yet, so he actually was paying attention to the lake in the hopes of spotting a tail too large to belong to a fish briefly flicking above the surface, or a familiar head of dark hair poking up out of the water. The fact that the sun was setting and turning the lake's ripples and waves gold wasn't helping: it completely escaped his notice, at that moment, how pretty the effect was. All that really mattered was how hard it made making out who anyone who might be in the lake was.

Including that silhouette out there, which could just as well have some stupid high school kid as Melia. It might even have been more likely.

Who: Olivia and Corwin
When: 2:30ish
Where: Corwin's Home

Olivia returned home after her shift at the diner ended, still a bit tired but feeling lighter in spirits than she had in a long time. She mentally made plans to take a shower, change, and then wander two doors down to visit Judiel when the cat outside of her apartment caught her eye. How on earth it got inside, she had no idea, but she recognized it as belonging to Corwin. Confused, she approached it slowly and then bent down to pull the note from the twine around its neck. The cat purred, pressed against her hand and she scratched it behind its ears before straightening and reading the letter.

If you have time today, before sundown, please come to 666 Mountain Street. I need to talk to you. --Corwin

Olivia looked down at the cat who simply sat there and stared up at her expectantly. She didn't know what Corwin wanted, or needed...and a tiny part of her was wary, wondering if she was going to walk into something bad if she went through with his request. Then again, he never seemed overly dangerous, or threatening, so Olivia sighed, stuck the note in her bag and turned to head out. She knew if she saw Judi beforehand, she definitely wouldn't make it before sunset. The cat trotted along beside her, almost as if preparing to lead the way. It wasn't too far a walk, given any distance in Marquette usually wasn't, but her feet began to ache by the time she reached the house, and she wondered if Corwin would even be safe answering the door, what with it being daylight. She hesitated, and then knocked on the door. Peering down at the cat, she lifted an eyebrow. "Any idea what he wants?" she asked it. The cat simply blinked slowly before reaching out to scratch at the door itself.

She died

Today Lullaby Draven died. Or, maybe, yesterday - they didn't give a time on the news. I asked mom, but she really didn't look like she wanted to talk about it. She did tell me that Lulu was shot and that there was no sign of supernatural involvement though.

Who: Peyton and Isaac
Where: Phone/St. James' Home
When: Noon

It was nearly noon by the time Peyton woke up from the nap she'd fallen into earlier, but she still felt off and disoriented. Everything still felt a bit off and she had to roll onto her back to check the time, groaning when she saw how late it was. It took her a few minutes to clear the hazy cloud in her head and search for her phone, which had apparently fallen off onto the ground. Peyton winced, reached down and picked it up to see she'd missed a few calls. Squinting to read the buttons, she checked her voicemail, listened to Isaac's message and then skipped past the ones left by both of her parents. Tired, Peyton fell back against her pillows, closed her eyes and took a breath before she managed to dial Isaac's number. If he didn't answer, she'd leave a message and maybe go back to sleep for awhile.

He did answer. By noon Isaac was sitting listlessly back in his room, picking out this and that on the bass. He'd begged off being around people again, claiming that he was going to try and get a nap in, but that wasn't happening. He'd purposefully ignored quite a few calls from people. Just other kids at school, wanting to talk about the tragedy, probably. He didn't want to talk about it. Not to them, that was for goddamn sure. But when his phone rang again and he picked it up to look at the caller ID, it was Peyton. Taking a steadying breath, Isaac answered and put the phone to his ear. "Hey," he greeted.

Hey...this is Oz, you remember me, right? Look, I was wondering if you knew anything at all about the girl that was killed. The random gunshot one. I'd appreciate any information you've got, if you don't, understood. Thanks, later.

Who: John and Delilah
When: early afternoon
Where: grocery store

There was possibly a reason she ate so many fruits and vegetables besides their vitamin content. Maybe it was because she could actually pick them up and squeeze them, smell them, have a physical relationship with them before she put them in her basket. Not so with things in cans or even boxes. She had to rely on her reader for that, and so many goddamn things had weird fonts on them or too-big text, and her reader had no idea what it was trying to read. Grocery stores were certainly not blind-people friendly, and she really hated to bother folks with pre-made lists that they had to go fetch with her. So Delilah kept her food purchases as simple as she could, though some things were unavoidable. She'd left Alexi at home this trip, making her way through the parking lot toward the store with her long white cane out. He was still in his shedding season, poor thing, and she did have respect for sanitation. She was pondering these things as she walked, click-clicking away and half-listening to the way the sandals she had on beneath the hem of her long light-materialed skirt sounded on the blacktop.

Perhaps it had been the earlier conversation John had had with Corwin, or maybe John was just feeling ready to turn his new leaf after the positive experience with Kat. Or maybe seeing the pretty blind girl reminded him of his own father, and he remembered distinctly that his relationship with the kind, loving man had not been marred by the fear of turning to stone. Whatever the reason, John found himself stopping at the exit of the grocery store for half a beat before changing his direction and walking toward the girl, still wearing his own dark glasses, but now carrying his cane quietly. "Hello, there," he called out to her.

Who: Thom and Isaac, then with Kaysen
Where: Phone, St. James house, backyard
When: Mid Morning

It was a good job that Thom had told Leija just to come on down, let her know where the key is and that she should just let herself in, because some time after that, the boy had finally fallen asleep, and into a deep, nothing's-waking-this-guy-up, semi-coma of a sleep. He'd completely missed the fact she'd been round at all, didn't stir when she'd left and, in fact, was still asleep when the phone that he'd left by the side of his head rang, startling him awake. He lifted his head, pushing a mop of brown hair out of his face with one hand as he held the handset to the side of his head with the other. "'lo?" he murmured, sleepily. It was only then that he actually realised that he'd slept, really, honestly slept. For the first time in days.

Isaac was sitting with his back to his closed bedroom door. He'd been woken up by his parents, seen ... the news. Gone immediately to Kaysen, though he couldn't have said why now for the life of him. And now he was making phonecalls. He'd called Peyton first, just by looking at the phone list and now that was done for the moment, because he had to call Thom. Couldn't not call Thom. He felt ... numb and surreal and all together not well. Not well at all. "Thom," he said, his normally lively tone deadened and quiet. "Wake up, dude. Now."

Who: Shannon and Harper
Where: Mya's Diner
When: Morning

Shannon sat at the counter inside Mya's Diner letting herself enjoy a cup of tea as pale blues scanned over the classified of the morning paper, specifically the listing of houses for rent in the area, a couple having already been noted and inked with an x beside them. Things were still being held under consideration by Aiden, but that little hold back wasn't taken exactly as a hindrance by Shannon. If she could find a couple houses that her brother might consider as suitable, maybe he'd be more agreeable to their staying, or at least her remaining, in the town of Marquette. Not that she needed his approval to become a resident of the town, it was more that she wanted it. Without it Shannon would feel like she was going against him, something she rarely did.

Shannon's gaze glanced away from the printed page to cast up to the waitress before on the other side of the counter who kindly asked if she'd like a bit more tea. With a smile and a polite nod, the cup before her was removed and within a short minute a fresh cup of tea was set down in front of her. The moment that was done Shannon resumed her perusing of the classified was continued.

Who: Anton and Sasha
Where: Maya's Diner
When: early in the morning

Head in hand, Anton pushed a lump of sugar around in his teacup, staring off into some other world, because hey, his mind was far from the normal reality. He had spent his day off yesterday generating strange questions about this magic willworking thing that even surprised himself. How nosy he was being! Well, all right, would be, if he ever got a chance to ask. Still, he was going to make more creases in the friendship than there already were if he poked around too much. But he just couldn’t help himself… how curious. He had to find out.

Who: Olivia, John, and Shannon
Where: Their respective places of residence
When: Early afternoon

Three cats left the Barton residence-- now Corwin's house-- at about a quarter till two and all bounded off in different directions.

Who: Corwin and Buttahfly
Where: The internets
When: Early afternoon and on

To: Buttahfly
From: Corwin
Time: 1:01PM, Saturday
Subject: Jace and Konnor Barton

Did you do it?