I know Who I am...(invite only)

[Dulce Periculum]

"I am not sure what Chain is up to." A single lift and drop of her lean shoulders went through the motion of emphasizing she was clueless at what was so important. "I would think it is safe to assume it is likely worth our undivided attention. He never calls us together like this and asks us to keep it quiet. You know how private he is. This must be huge."

“Welcome home, Abelle. Nice to see you back.” Dulce returned the greeting with a nod of her head at Abelle as she passed by and joined Zodiac.

The young woman was really a welcome sight and a relief to see. During the time she was away she witnessed a slightly different Chaindog. There was hardly anything overt. Beyond the mans enormous physique everything else was calm as any former soldier as he was would be. However, Dulce sensed the woman was missed more with each night that passed. She nearly smiled at the thought the bond between the two had grown stronger with her time abroad. Whatever may or may not transpire was obviously their choice and as with anything that had to do with Chain, she would support his plans whatever they would be. Seeing him happy was more important than she would ever admit and if it involved a best friends creation that was a bonus. Chaindog. That is why she was there at the moment in particular that she was. To find out what was so important a meeting was called and to be asked to keep it under wraps. Seeing the expansion of Zodiac’s business was a bonus.

Dulce had found a seat by the time Chaindog made his self visible. That was not hard to do. One foot appeared and the rest of the floor to ceiling walking mass was soon in full view as well. Getting comfortable was relatively easy. The blonde crossed the right leg over the other and she shifted her minimal weight to settle back. Now that the man of the hour had arrived she set her focus on him.

“Chain. You do know how to get our attention.” Her eyes searched for any hints at what this gathering was about. “Care to share what is going on?”

[Zodiac]

She sat with Dulce and watched the man slowly emerge in the doorway. Chain never just walked in a room, Zo had decided long ago. He appeared, he emerged, he was like her-she made appearances and entrances. Walking into a room was so boring and the man was a physical natural for such a thing.

She stood up and walked right up to the giant (from her perspective anyways) a hugged him tightly. His words were interesting so she let her mind touch his for a moment. A sneak peek at what was going on and why had he asked them to be here.

She blinked. A child? Not a childer born of fangs and blood, but a real child? A daughter? She seemed to recall the man was supposed to have been a virgin. Well, the evening was about to get interesting to be sure.

She stepped back and took a seat again and looked at him closely. "Well, I hope your 'friend' can read sign language or else she isn't going to have a clue what the hell I am saying." the thoughts dropped into Chain's mind softly. "So you bring one of the living to us? That is different for you." she kept her thoughts about a daughter to herself for now. Spitting out what she had seen in his mind would probably cause more confusion. Just let him tell the story as he saw fit and then decide what to do. She passed the bit of his friend being mortal to Dulce as well.

"Ginny is checking out this Tomi person you say?" she laughed. "Oh dear, I best get out the wet vac in case I have to clean up. You know I am joking. Ginny would let me know first if she found anything about the girl to be 'wrong' before she reacted." The cat was the last line of defense the mystic trusted. Too many times in the past a reaction from the large black feline had kept her out of so much trouble and danger. In fact, if the cat did have a reaction to the girl, Zodiac would be inclined to warn Chain of it. "That girl is trouble, son."

"So I need to know. Why did you ask to see us?" she asked the man mountain. "The suspense is killing me."

[Abelle Broussard]

Was this some sort of sick joke? Who in the world was Tomi? If this was the part where he announced his new relationship or something even worse, like an engagement or something; why would she want to be there for it? Had she really fallen off that hard when she had left? She knew there would be some sort of anger or confusion, but was this really the way to show one’s grievance.

Glancing over at Zo and then Dulce, she bit the inside of her lip trying to keep her cool. Belle braced herself the best she could, but felt the killer instincts taking over. Fine. If he wanted it like that, she could accept it. Perhaps not take it very well and possibly lash out, but she would understand one day she was sure. It was moments like these she wished she could just have her grandfather by her side. He would know how to sooth her nerves and keep her calm.

She fought the words that bottled up in the back of her throat, like so many times before. People should have been appreciative that she wasn’t much of an extrovert. A good verbal would be in order if this was indeed what she expected it to be. Chain was hers and it was a good possibility she would even put up a fair fight for him. Silly as it was, she didn’t have much to claim what was hers, besides the properties she owned. Those were trivial when it came to matters of the heart; and besides she was aching to get her hands on something or someone.

‘Make my day. Just make my day’ a smirk appeared over her face without a seconds notice. She hoped to God that Zo wouldn’t snoop around in her mind, preferring that her thoughts and feelings be kept quiet. Placing her back against the wall, she cleared her throat and shook her head. Why did she even care so much? It was obvious he didn’t. But it was too late now, too late to turn around and walk back out. The suspense was killing her and so were the feelings building up inside. ‘I will punch this girl in the throat I swear I will’ the thoughts kept racing.

“I’m sorry,” she couldn’t help it. She was ready to speak. “Did you say Tomi? That’s a girl’s name right?” cocking her head to the side, she gave him the evil blue stare. “Why I am here is all I’m wondering. What does anything have to do with me?” looking over at Zo, she felt herself feeling some sort of way as well to her. Why would she bring her here, just to get her feelings hurt?

“Yes Chain the suspense is killing us,” through gritted teeth she spoke in a low whisper. Patience was not on her side today. Not at all. She figured if it was something like a new childer or something, it would barely call for such secretive measures. It had to be something big and the only thing her thoughts seem to wrap around was him punishing her in some sort of way. It just wasn’t right.

“Absolutely killing” she figured she would keep the “us” part of her last statement. Perhaps give everyone a heads up that she would probably lose her cool, if pushed too far. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned the back of her head against the cool hard wall. This was one of those times; she was sure she wouldn’t use good judgment and almost wished she could have had a sneak peek as to what was going on.

[Tomi]

Tomi watched as her Dad.. no, her maybe Dad, headed up the stairs. However as Tomi tried to set a foot on the stairs, the black cat took possession of the step. Ginny, as Thomas had called her, sat majestically on the bottom most step.

Tomi stepped back, and even moves off to the side, so the cat could freely make her way off the step. But she refused to budge. There she sat, staring at Tomi with a look that clearly said, I own this step. It is mine. Be gone puny human.

“It’s ok.. You take your time.” Tomi said to the cat, as she looked up the stairs. Time was ticking by, Thomas would think she wasn’t coming. She looked at the Cat. “I wanted a cat when I was little. But Mom said no. ‘Cats are messy and they shed’ she said.” Tomi sighed, this was ridiculous. It’s just a small feline maybe.. fifteen pounds tops? It’s not like it was a cougar or leopard. She would just step beside her. How hard would that be?

Tomi nodded to herself, her resolve strengthened, she made her move step on the bottom stair beside the cat, only to come full-stop, as the Cat lays down on the bottom step. “You have got to be kidding me!” She narrowed her eyes at the cat.. its like the cat knew she wanted to go up, and was purposely getting in the way.

Tomi gasped, “You little sneak. You go ahead and lay there. I can still get around you.” She grabbed the banister, intending to tippy toe the first step, until the cat stretched languidly taking up the whole stair, front claw to rear claw, spanning the entire stair.

“Oh. My. God. You’re doing this on purpose! Why? Because my mom wouldn't let me have a cat as a child?! I wanted a cat! I did!” She stared at the Cat, who stared impassively back, the green eyes almost daring her to try to take the step.

“I’ll just jump that stair, so nah!” she stuck her tongue out at the cat.

But then, Tomi went through the scenario in her head. She jumped the stair, landed hard on the banister, causing it to break and splinter into a million pieces, impaling the cat.. who would have to be rushed to the vet, and undergo emergency splinter removal. The vet bill would be huge, not to mention that her Maybe Dad would hate her. Yea. She sighed. She couldn’t jump that stair.

Tomi looked toward the top of the staircase, where was her Maybe Dad? She didn't want him to think she was scared, even if she was.. a tiny bit.. But She was being held at bay by a Cat! She would have to call out for help.

“D… “ the word died before she got it out.

Tomi could not call him Dad, he would think she was purposely trying to .. do something.. which she wasn't. Not at all. Why wouldn’t that cat just let her by!?

Finally exasperated, Tomi yelled up the staircase, “The cat won’t let me by!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the -Devil Cat- immediately sat up.. moved the very edge of the stair, and started licking her paw. Tomi’s mouth just fell open in abject shock. That sneaky little cat! But she didn’t waste the moment, she bolted up the stairs, only to be beaten by the cat, who then managed to put herself between Tomi and the doorway she needed.

“Not again!" Tomi sighed, "I know why my mom didn’t want me to have a cat... now…”

[Zodiac]

She glanced at Abella and frowned. She knew the girl well enough to pick up the clues that she was building herself into one of her patented rages ready to be unleashed over possibly nothing. "Why don't you just relax till you actually see if there is something to be angry about? Besides, you are the one who upped and vanished-not him, so if you do have some competition now it's entirely your fault and not his and certainly not whoever this Tomi person is." her mental voice calm, yet blunt.

She expected hell fire dagger eyes to hit now and her own eyes showed she refused to back down from her view. Having a childer like Abelle was a battle of wills on good nights, but one thing she had told the girl was she would never lie or candy coat a situation just to make her happy. She was ready to deal with the backlash when she heard Chain's 'friend' calling out from below.

“The cat won’t let me by!”

She laughed silently now. It appeared Ginny had found someone new to play with. The fact that the cat was toying with the girl showed Zodiac that the animal's perceptions of the girl was positive. When she saw Ginny drop in front of the doorway, she snapped her fingers. The pop of sound made the animal look in her direction. She pointed to her lap and the cat got up and ran to her chair and hopped up onto her lap. At once, her hands were petting and stroking the furry familiar, who in turn was nuzzling and petting her face in return.

"The silly girl has no clue you like her, does she?" she whispered to the cat the way all owners of such animals do in moments like this. "We will have to teach her how to play with you, but not right away of course. No fun in that, is there, baby girl- huh? You such a scamp! Oohhhh!"

When the girl finally entered, her crystal blue eyes appraised her at once and she could imagine the picture she herself made now when the gaze was returned. She always dressed as a gypsy for work. It fit the mental expectations of those who found her places of business of what kind of person would run a place like this. She sat on a black and violet high back chair totally relaxed with the apparent demon cat now a kitten in her lap playing with her hand. "Oh look at this one," her mindspeak found the other vampires in the room. "Cute as a button she is!" She knew the last thought would be a sharp needle to Abelle's already angry state of mind, but it was truth as she saw it and now her curiosity on how Chain knew her and why had he brought her here to this nest of undead hormones in various states of mind was burning higher within her.

[Chaindog]

He knew by Abelle's tone of voice that she was upset. Then again what woman wouldn't be. He knew Zo and Dulce were understanding so he had to explain as quickly as he could before Tomi had got in the room with them. He looked at all three in turn and spoke softly and quickly.

"She is a mortal and she claims she is my child."

Just then Tomi had come up a minute after Ginny. He looked to all of them now and then sat down. He didn't know how to put it but he knew he had to be straight forward. With a small sigh he began to speak.

"This is Tomi. She states she is my daughter. Now Zo I need a huge favor. I know you can do a few things and what I am asking you to do is a bit dangerous but I need you to put me under hypnosis. I have a few blank spots in my mind during the war in Iraq. I can give you the date from when to start and when to finish. Can you do this for me?"

There it was. Out for all of them to know. He had hoped Abelle's tone would change with this new information. He knew Dulce would be a bit shocked but that would be handled in due time. He looked at Zo and nodded, near pleading with he to make all this look good. He had to know what happened. He knew it would be a very dangerous thing to do not only for those around him but a great deal more for himself. If she couldn't snap him out of this hypnosis when the time was right he would be stuck in his current state and then think he was still in the war. He would deal with whatever came, whatever he found out, whatever was unlocked. He was among family and friends and he knew they would help if they could.

[Tomi]

Tomi sighed with relief and the cat ran further into the room. Who knew the ordeal it could be to have a cat blocking your way? She took a deep breath and released it slowly. She was about to meet her Maybe Dad’s friends. She wanted to make a good impression. She quickly straightened her blouse collar, brushed a bit of lint off of her sleeve, and she rubbed the toes of her shoes on her calf to shine them a bit more. She took another breath and stepped into the room.

The smile on her face froze in place. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene. ‘Oh My God’ her brain screamed. There was a Gypsy! An honest to god Gypsy. And she was cradling that Devil Cat. It all made sense now, that Devil Cat was the Gypsy’s eyes and ears. It was the Gypsy that was trying to keep her out. She probably had henchmen hidden in there ready to jump out and take her hostage and sell her into slavery in some Arab country.

And if that wasn’t jaw dropping enough, there was a tall blonde bombshell with porcelain skin that looked almost unreal it was so perfect, And her dress, clung to every curve, it had to have been painted on, it was so skin hugging. And those heels.. They were deadly, sharp, disturbingly high.. and gorgeous! All she needed was a whip and dark shades to complete the look of “Mistress Marva, The Dominatrix of Death”.

But that wasn’t all, there was another woman that was glaring daggers at her. Tomi could feel the animosity from across the room. Her mouth was suddenly dry, she couldn’t swallow it was so dry. This woman hated her. Why?! What had she done? She didn’t even know this woman, but that woman wanted her dead. Dead, buried and gone. She would have hidden behind her Maybe Dad, except she was rooted to the spot by sheer unadulterated fear.

"This is Tomi. She states she is my daughter...." Tomi stopped listening as she gulped painfully.

Of all the things he could have said, he said that damning phrase, ‘she states.’ as though SHE were trying to pull one over on him. Like SHE was trying to get something out of him. She could feel their eyes boring into her. She couldn’t help but imagine herself standing before a judge and jury, with them all pointing at her screaming "Guilty! Off with her Head!"

“oh boy..” was all Tomi could utter.

[Dulce Periculum]

Dulce was sitting down. Hearing what she was currently changed that quickly. Somewhere between Chain walking in the door, Abelle's scathing verbal warning and the man's revelation that the female breathing out as if she walked into far more than she expected was possibly his child, Dulce found her feet and she stood up to use them. An arch of her right brow and a **** of her head had her walking towards where he had taken a seat and the warm female now stood without the blink of her eyes. His child?

This was the last thing in the world she expected to ever hear out of Chaindog's mouth. It couldn't be possible with what she believed to be true. It would be more likely that she had triplets back in New York where she supposedly hailed from. That was because she was relatively certain she left her cherry back there somewhere between law school and taking down her step-fathers company in revenge. She was grateful for the amnesia that permanently blocked her from remembering anything before she woke up kissing alleyway asphalt. She had no use for children...especially three that looked identical.

Chaindog was one of a kind and she was certainly not going to stand for some cupcake coming in and thinking she could just pop off some story and it was all going to fly without incident with the rooms approval. Not with how her mind worked anyway. She wanted facts, evidence to support the unbelievable. If they were in court it would be ludicrous to expect any judge to entertain what she was hearing without proof. It took more than his super size genes, bald head and twinkle in his hopeful eye and the pint size warm muffin minus the caloric buttery dimpled grin that should be there if she finally found her daddy. Yes, there was some explanation missing. A whole lot to this claim was missing and so was her willingness to believe it.

Chaindog was down quick claiming a seat while the girl named 'Tomi' looked around like a deer caught in headlights in a crowd of circling hunters. Her own thick lips were not relaxed enough to part as she moved around what she claimed as her own. A creation of perfection, sculpted by the finest the country she came from had to offer. She couldn't deny she was impressed as hell he was linked to her even if she went about it by accident and half-*** at best. She was protective over him but again that was not something she expressed outwardly. He was her one and only and he knew it. She would not sire another. Anyone harmed him she would be a nightmare walking. The lethal allurist was not willing to see him toyed with by anyone. Frankly, she also wondering how long the petite little warm confection lasted in the room with Abelle a lunge worth of distance from where she herself now stood.

"Indeed she is." Dulce felt a faint twitch to the left side of her nose as the scent of the human filled the air and drifted across her now parting lips as she spoke. She was damn sweet and even more tempting with the reason she was with Chain. "So, what did you tell her about us, Chain, hmmm? I am sure we are quite a surprise to her as well." She pulled her focus from Chain, scanned across to Zodiac and Abelle then fixed eyes on Tomi. "Do you like surprises?"

The woman smiled slowly for the first time. A smile that usually was seen in the darkness at the most lethal times a mortal experienced once but never twice. No fangs showing, no hints of what she was other than what now stood towering close to her much smaller size.

[Abelle Broussard]

Belle’s eyes never left the female, even when Chain revealed who she thought she was. How in the world was that even possible? He never once mentioned any other women in his life, and especially one that might have carried his child. Blank spots? How does anyone ever forget about having a child and for that matter sleeping with someone to produce a baby? She wasn’t sure if this was worse or better than her former suspicions.

Slowly peeling herself from the wall, she only looked at Zo, at this point little would settle her down. Some strange girl was over there shaking like a leaf. Well if she wanted to be scared, Belle would oblige in making it her worst nightmare. Her ice blue eyes glared at the girl, up and down, trying to see any resemblance at all to Chain. The girl was puny and frail looking, and wasn’t much older than she herself.

She felt like a predator as she slowly walked past Chain, searching for a quick scent of any other on him. Her eyes connected with his briefly before she was unto slowly circling the female. Raising a brow she was shocked when she didn’t catch her scent on him. Licking her fangs that now seemed to be a permanent fixture, she watched them all as she lingered behind the females back. She was hungry and Tomi was human, that should about have summed it up, but if Zo asked her to give him the chance to speak then she would listen she supposed. As far as her comment went in regards to her being away for so long; well she had a course of action for that.

“Personally Dulce, I really like surprises,” shaking her head, she stood only inches from the girl, but directed her comment to her friend. “I think it makes things so much more exciting” looking back at the three of them, she cut her eyes showing the anger she had building inside of her.

“What I’m trying to figure out is how you became to be, if I was the first one to sleep with him?” lifting her hands to her face, she rubbed her temples to try and cool down. That was probably the wrong way to approach it, but it weighed heavily on her mind from the moment she heard the ludicrous idea.

The girl was cute indeed, but Abelle could feel the jealousy rip through her veins. She might be cute, but she was deadly and could snap her in half at the first demand. ‘ So much for trying to express my beauty’ she thought to herself as she backed away slowly. Placing herself back against the wall, she was actually proud of herself that she had an ounce of self control, though much of it was sustained by her maker’s presence. Shaking her head, she wiped away the lip gloss the was nearly dry by now, from all the biting and chewing of her teeth. Next was her hair that she pulled back and plaited down her back as she waited to see what the next move was.

If it was dangerous, then why would he risk everything for this one girl? Didn’t her care about what anyone else would think or how they would potentially hurt from damaging him. If this was what she came back for, then she would gladly go back to Korea and start over fresh. Come back to Harper Rock when she needed, but for the most part live her eternity in a serene, beautiful place. Well at least that was her sensible side coming out, but the killer inside was screaming to be heard. It was a battle of the mind and she felt like a little person was pulling her on each side.

As she shuffled over to an empty chair, her eyes glanced again at him, this time with a little more concern, but mostly hostility. Plopping down, she shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, making sure the girl seen.

“Go for it,” a smile appeared on her soft lips, but in a wicked manor. “But this whole thing is bull****,” she thought about it for a second and had to add. “I’m always down for learning new things, especially the ones I claim to care about,” Perhaps that was her biggest argument over the entire situation. If he lost himself in there, there was no telling how he would come out; and then he would forget about her.

Folding her legs under herself, she ripped her fingers through the waves of red tresses. If anything went wrong, that girl was as good as dead and no one would be able to stop her. Call it blood rage if you will, but that would just about close the deal. “Apparently I’ve been gone for a looong time,” she took one last look at him, before her eyes lowered and she realized Zo was probably right. “So long that I barely know you anymore,” the last was just above a whisper. Her feelings were hurt and her body ached from the weeks of training. Welcome home Abelle Brousand…welcome the f*** back home indeed.

[Zodiac]

The situation was getting a tad out of hand. Zodiac had been peeking into the girl's thoughts since she stepped into the room. Most of it was pure comedy, and she had to fight the urge to break up in hysterical laughter at some of her thoughts. However, she saw no ulterior motives or deception in her thoughts at all on the main subject. This Tomi person honestly felt Chain was her father or had a good chance of being him. Curious, considering the conversations she had had with the man in the past.

But the problem remained her fellow undead ladies. Dulce appeared to be sizing her up for a meat grinder while Abelle would kill the girl if she even blinked. Both of them had strong, protective feeling for the walking mountain (though Dulce would never admit hers out loud) and truth be told, she herself felt concern over him at times. If her personal preferences had ran to the more male/female types of situations, she may have tried her own luck with him. Considering her normal feelings for males in general-that was high praise for a man from her view. "My dear ones," her thoughts whispered to the two women. "Let us be calm and play this out for the moment. Keep your fangs and claws to yourself for now. This girl is honestly under the assumption Chain is her biological father for some reason. I see it in her mind clearly, so I say we hear her out first and then, if she is lying, you two can have your fun with her, but leave enough so I can sell her into slavery. Gods, the imagination this girl has is insane."

She stood up slowly and sat Ginny down on the chair while producing a toy mouse from her dress pockets. A wag of a finger cautioning the cat to stay put as it began to torment the toy it had been given. She walked to Chain's side and patted his shoulder gently while making a discreet gesture to the side of her head. A old hand sign from their days working in Tytonidae which meant do nothing but listen. She then walked to an area that would be the future break room in the upstairs addition where a kettle of water sat waiting.

"I am beginning to guess why you brought her to me," she spoke to Chain's thoughts while she stood studying Tomi. A purple tipped fingernail tapped softly against violet shaded lips as she felt out the girl's aura. "The night you were 're-born' I was in your mind to see how you were coping and I saw images of your past. Images we have discussed in private and things I have never told another soul of. I also told you there were parts I could not see properly, as if your mind chose to hide them away. You want me to dig deeper and see if this girl's story has a chance of being the truth. I can say this much now, she believes this to be the truth for some reason so it is not some trick on her part."

She turned her back to those assembled and opened a cabinet and began to look over the jars of tea leaves that sat waiting to be born into pleasure and calm in a cup. She took down her strawberry blend and began to prepare a cup for Tomi. "You want something, Gretta?" she asked Dulce as she set the girl's cup aside to steep for a bit.

"It pleases me you have that much faith in my powers and trust in me," she continued to 'speak' to Chain. "But I will say this much before I do anything. No one doubts you are a fearless warrior and little, if anything, gets under your nerves. But, there is horror and there is horror. You mind may have blocked some things out for a reason and once that door is opened you will have to deal with what you see. I will help you, of course, but it was fair to warn you this might not be pretty. A military man should appreciate an idea of what he may be facing before the fact."

She picked up the now ready cup of tea and turned to face Tomi. Her most disarming smile in place as she offered the cup to the girl. 'Girl probably thinks I have made a cup of potion designed to blank her mind and make it easy for me to sell her off. Henchmen? Too unreliable. Now hench-women are different story."

She couldn't help it. The idea had been so ludicrous she could not help but laugh and add to it all. "As far as selling her? She looks strong enough. Give her mind a good twist, dress her in a little French maid outfit and have her keep my places clean for me. Now that I could get behind and actually do to this girl. Great Goddess, what a riot!"

She kept her observations to herself and continued to wait for the girl to accept or reject the offered cup.