Homecoming [Abigail]

[Jesse Fforde]

Life has been busy. A good kind of busy. A content, settled kind of busy. Where once my life consisted of nothing and no one but my work, and a few random gatherings and clubs where I kept slight acquaintances rather than true and lasting friends, these days I have what one would solidly call a ‘family’. Two of them, really. Or, maybe, one, though it is split, and dispersed across different groups. Fforde, yes. My small group of merry people, though it seems only to have grown smaller lately.

Felicity had come back. I hadn’t told her about Grey. Grey, at the time, had been human, and I couldn’t tell Felicity about her. All I could say was that I had rented the Veil Tower apartment out. Felicity had been gone for months and I hadn’t heard a thing. What was I supposed to think, except that she had left, that she had no interest in me or mine? At the time, yes, I’d been in a lower state of mind. I had hated myself. I had thought that I had let them all down, that they all had perfectly good reasons to abandon me.

In Felicity’s case, maybe now, yes, she has a reason. We were an item, she and I. But I had moved on. And she wasn’t exactly happy about the situation. Ishaq I have not heard from, either, or Abigail. Leah has disappeared, and Aria is off doing god knows what. The only two childer that I have now who are around, who I speak to often, are Grey and Axel. And those under Axel. My little Fforde brood is only five strong, and thus have brought them with me, into Andras. Andras, invited by Velveteen and Micah. Micah, who I have discovered to be an actual honest-to-god cousin.

I feel, for once in my life, appreciated. And welcome. As if I mean something to someone, or to many people. As if I might fail more than just myself, if I am to make a horrendous mistake. This isn’t a bad thing, however. This is a good thing. To feel welcome, and to welcome others in return.

Larch Court has been a little more busy, lately. Used, more often than it used to. The wounds from the last Tytonidae hunt had almost all healed; I have ‘fed’, as it were, by boosting myself up in the Eyrie. The night isn’t far gone, and I need to make my way to Grey. I should find Grey, and held her to ‘feed’, too. Maybe other things. My first port of call is Larch Court. I had recently created a tome for her, to take her back to Larch Court. I could call her, I know, but I prefer to surprise her, wherever she might be. We’d seen each other earlier, as we awoke – a nice thing to wake up to. But we’d parted, to go do our separate things for the night.

The roar of the bike quietens as I park it out the front. From my pocket, I retrieve a set of keys; they dangle in my grip as I whistle, wandering up the path to the door; sliding the key in the lock, I turn it, and push the door open…

[Wearing]

[Abigail (DELETED 4656)]

If someone had asked Abigail six months ago if she enjoyed the life that Jesse had gifted her with then the dark haired woman would have said that it was difficult but bearable. It was a new life of trial and tribulation that took a bit of getting used to but all in all it wasn't bad. Yes there were obstacles to overcome and crosses that needed bearing but it was a good life. She was surrounded by beautiful people, she was surrounded by people that loved and cared for her and she had everything a girl could ever want. If you asked her now? Abigail wouldn't have a damn thing to say. From her own failures to her death at pretty much her own hands and then having to deal with...that place. Yet all she could think of was Jesse and Axel and every other Fforde and how she had failed her new family in every course of action she had taken as of late. From her greed to her vanity to her ego, all of it had just been another nail in her coffin.

Unfortunately for her, Abigail had never actually planned for death. Honestly, who did? She hadn't expected to be crawling through that alley after having been a play toy for the paladins in the sewers and then the humans on the surface. She hadn't expected so many of the humans to be actually carrying weapons and in her weakened state it bad been next to nothing for them to fight her off and wound her before fleeing. She had been a walking breach of the masquerade and instead of admitting her defeat and limping home she felt compelled to power through the ordeal, to heal herself and regain her lost power. Why? Had it been because she needed to prove something to the world? Was she proving something to herself? Why? Why had she been so foolish and childish? Even as she sat in the darkness of the Larch Court family home she couldn't comprehend it.

Turning her head at the familiar sound of a key in the lock of the door there was a slight smile on her face. She couldn't wait to see people and yet at the same time she wondered just exactly she would say or do now. There had been such hatred in her heart for Jesse, she had been ready to shoot him a few times but now there was simply nothing. There was no hate, no fear, no jealousy, she felt the exact opposite as she had before her little 'vacation'. She felt empty. Where once she would have looked at the drawing on the wall and remembered a wonderful night with her sire, a night of crawling through sewers and killing and feeding, now there was simply nothing, as if all emotions had simply been left behind when she had crawled from one world to the next to be 'reborn' on the streets of Harper Rock. She rose to her feet and took a deep unneeded breath in an attempt to relax and steady herself for the impending...whatever was about to happen.

Wearing

[Jesse Fforde]

The lights aren’t on. That’s one sure sign no one is home. Normally, if the lights are blazing, I expect to either see no one in the living area; to instead wander through to the bunks and find Grey there, reading or whatever it is she does in her spare time. Or, I expect to perhaps see Paige, lounging in front of the TV. These are the two people who use Larch Court more often that the rest. It’s hardly a hub of bubbling activity but at least it’s getting some use, and I hope in future it’ll become something a little more. I’ve already been thinking about renovations; about how I could have a basement put in, and install a secret door, perhaps. Could I do that here? Make it a little more secure. More of a bunker, than just a halfway house.

The door clicks shut behind me and I can tell that I am not alone. I can smell… blood. Not so much fresh, but lingering. Not human, but vampire. There’s a figure in the living area, standing in the dark that is familiar to me, but it’s not until I flick the light on that all thoughts of bunkers and secret doors flee from my mind. The face that I am greeted with is one that I haven’t seen in months. One that I had given up for lost. In my months of spiralling depression I had pondered the ways in which I might have disappointed Abigail, and the very real reasons why she might have left. The understandable reasons. There were ways in which I had failed her, used her even, for which I was – and still am – ashamed.

But here she is, in Larch Court, looking a little worse for wear but still there, still healthy and robust. I have no idea why she was sitting in the dark. Perhaps to do just this – to surprise whoever it is who first walks in on her.

I don’t know what she expects from me. I hardly know what I expect from myself. I can’t find words as I stand there and blink at her, rooted to the spot by shock and… what is that? Lingering there, beneath the shock, slowly coming to life – a burgeoning happiness. Absolute glee to see her here, returned, smiling, even. I swallow whatever words that had got caught in my throat. I’m not normally sentimental of over-emotional but I’ve realised that all normalcy in regards to overt affection are disregarded, now, when it comes to my progeny. I’ve been through far too much, have discovered far too much about myself to deny it. They mean a lot to me. So much, in fact, that they have me straddling the divide between life and death. I never understood the connection before, but now that I do, I cannot in words express the profound relief at finding Abigail here, waiting.

In a few long strides I close the distance between us. Regardless of whatever wounds she might possess, I wrap my arms around her.

“Where the **** have you been?” I growl, voice a broken husk but still there. I do not pull away as I ask the question.

[Abigail (DELETED 4656)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

* Abigail stood there for a moment not knowing what to say or do with the arms of her sire wrapped around her. The tone of his voice made her tense slightly, she really wasn't looking for him to be angry but Abi knew she had to tell him the truth about the matter. "Jesse...I was in the Shadow Realm...I...had some trouble with a couple of humans. Some of them in the sewers then one of them found me and he was just...so much stronger."


<Jesse Fforde> There are plenty of reasons to be angry; Abigail tells Jesse exactly what happened to her, and he can only pull back, hands still resting on her shoulders as he searches her face. As if he's hoping it's not the truth. Anger is brittle as it broils in his chest. He's not angry at Abigail. Why should he be? But more at himself. "Can you describe him to me?" Jesse asks, finally. Yes, he's angry at himself but he's also angry at the asshole who killed her. And maybe he'd be a good target, someone to find and slaughter, in order to vent.


* Abigail paused and looked up at him, the fear and pain in her eyes was clear and evident. A step back was taken before she began describing him down to the last detail. She remembered the face that had stared back at her as a sword had been plunged in to her heart and sent her in to that dark and empty place. "I'm sorry I failed you Jesse, I should have been stronger. I shouldn't have let myself be seen feeding. I should have known the sewers were dangerous. You taught me that my first night." She looked to the ground obviously disappointed in herself. "I let you down and failed the family, I broke the Masquerade and so many other small things I just can't seem to get right."


<Jesse Fforde> "**** that, Abigail," Jesse says, spitting the words as if they are venom. He drops his arms from her shoulders, giving her the space that she seems to require. "I did not once see you on that list, so whatever you think you did, it can't have been that bad. You should have come to me. You should have admitted to your mistakes, and worked to rectify them. I would not have been angry, I would have been proud that you could own up to it," he says. He won't tell her that it doesn't matter, because it does. If she broke the masquerade that is not something she should think she would be immediately forgiven for. "You are back now. And you have done your penance," he says. He swallows air. "How long were you down there?"


* Abigail shrugged. "I lost track of time, there was no time and no way to keep track of it. It was just one long evil day." She thought for a moment and shook her head. "A month, maybe two? I was kind of scared to come back. I didn't want to see how disappointed you and everyone else would be in me." A soft sigh escaped as her arms wrapped around that tiny body of hers. "I...was scared Jesse. I didn't want you to feel like you'd made a mistake in siring me."


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse laughs and shakes his head. His gaze rolls to the ceiling as he tries to remember - when was the last time he spoke to Abigail? Had she gone silent before her death, then, or was her silence due only to death? Rather than wade his way toward an answer, he mentally slaps himself. Does it matter? He no longer wants to be the man so depressed and self-loathing as to think that they had all abandoned him. "A lot has happened, in two months," he says, finally. His eyes are sharp as the memories lash at his soul. The remembered despair, and that dark pit that he never wants to return to. He could make her feel bad for not being there, but he doesn't. He's not seeking pity, and nor would he ever. "I've learned enough about myself to realise that I won't ever consider any progeny of mine a mistake. There are worse things you could have done, Abigail - it's not as if you broke the masquerade on purpose," he says.


* Abigail she shook her head, he was right. Then something dawned on her. Her eyes raised to look at him for a moment. With a tilt of her head she reached out and touched his cheek. "Jesse....your right. A lot has happened and I've missed so much. You’re speaking..." Her eyes with shining with moisture as she looked up at him. "I'm so sorry I did all of this. I am SO sorry I missed you."


<Jesse Fforde> He just smiles. He doesn't lean in to the touch on his cheek. It's been that long, then. So long, that he hasn't actually spoken to her. Not with his own voice. "That's the very least of it," he says. His voice is rough, still, and won't ever really be whole. "It's probably a good thing you weren't here. You didn't want to see me, the way I was," he says with a scowl. "None of it was your fault," he says with a wince. It's the truth. Perhaps the presence of his progeny might have soothed him for a time, but he doesn't think it would have ultimately cured him, or kept him from his fate. He can't blame her for anything. "You have nothing to apologise for. Just... promise me that if you get into trouble again, that you will tell me? Stick around. Don't die again. Please?"


* Abigail she nodded and then threw herself at him, her arms wrapping tightly around his body. She let only the thoughts of being back and being with Jesse fill her mind, she didn't want to think of anything else because here and now was all that mattered. He was all that mattered. Looking up a single tear streaked down her cheek as a little half smile spread across her lips. "I promise, just...let me be there for you. If things get rough for you then you better let your family help you if you’re going to offer to help them."


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse returns the hug, because it is just a hug. And it is needed, required, in this situation. He likes the feel of his progeny, solidly there in that room with him. Even now, even when not spiralling into despair, it is a soothing balm. It brings him a certain amount of calm, and clarity of mind. He nods his head. "Touché," he says, feet spread slightly to balance the weight. "Speaking of," he says, glancing away from the wall opposite them and down to Abigail, frowning at the tears lining her eyes. "Another thing that happened while you were gone - Velveteen and Micah have adopted me. Into their bloodline. Into Andras. Everyone in Fforde is welcome to join, too. Do you want to join me?" he asks.


* Abigail gave a slight giggle as he admitted that she was right in at least some manner or another. That much she was thankful for, that she could still be some sort of voice of reason again. As long as she never had to return to that horrid place she would do whatever it took to keep herself safe. "Of course I'll join you Jesse, I told you once already that i'd never leave you unless I had no choice and I plan to hold to that promise until the day the final death takes me."

[Jesse Fforde]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse nods, glad to have that promise, though a muscle does twitch in his jaw as it tenses, momentarily. He unwraps his arms and gestures to the couch, and takes a seat himself. He'd come looking for Grey but had found Abigail instead. Best, now, to stay and catch up, rather than to abandon her. He wouldn't have her feeling abandoned. He had garnered thoughts that he, as a sire, was the failure, and now would do all that was in his power to make sure that he doesn't fail them. Ever. "Good, okay. I'll let them know," he says. He then catches Abigail's eye. "I would have come to find you, you know. If I'd known," he says.


* Abigail followed his lead to the couch and took a seat, her legs folded beneath her. Meeting his eye after he finished speaking there was nothing more than a nod that she could muster for the time being. Those words sunk in deep, he'd have come for her. Something had to be said, or done...or something. "I would have liked that but maybe it was a good thing. It gave me time to think, to realize my mistakes." Yeah that was it. Wasn't it? She'd figured a few things out surely..


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse nods. There's not much else to be said, except that he needed to know. She needed to know that he would have come for her. And would do so, if she happens to die again. That's the kind of thing that he would do. He leans back and crosses one ankle over his knee. He smiles. "You are not a mistake and you are not a disappointment. You are still welcome here, and everywhere," he says, canting his head to the side. "What was going on, the last time you were around? What do I need to catch you up on?"


* Abigail leaned forward on her legs and thought for a moment. "I won't mess up again. I refuse to be THAT childe, you don't have to worry about me messing up like I did like, ever again." She smiled at him and put a hand on his leg. "I promise." Taking her hand back and sighed. "The last thing I remember...was the **** between you and Nix and the way all of that went down. It...really was quite unpleasant."


<Jesse Fforde> "Well. Since then... we kind of made up. She let me back into Altaire. Until I made a mistake. I thought that she had not taught me rituals properly. Micah was there, he rectified what I was doing wrong. He confronted Phoenix. She confronted me. She stabbed my eyes out - she removed from Altaire, for a second time. Since then, we've talked again. I seem to be considered Altaire, again, but I don't trust it," Jesse ponders. That's the basics, concerning his relationship with his sire. "Legion left. He's dead. Phoenix got engaged to Axel - but they've broken up again," he says. "I sired a couple more... and I suppose that's the long and short of it," he says. He doesn't mention his own spiral. He offers a shrug.


* Abigail blinked. That was a lot of information to digest all at once and it left her head reeling. In of Altaire, out of Altaire, back in again...good lord the poor man! Shaking her head she took it one tid bit at a time, muttering it all under her breath as she absorbed all of it. "Okay so you’re addicted to siring, Nix is bat **** crazy and so is Axel? Is that the basic jist of it all?" She laughed softly. "I'm not trying to belittle or make fun of anyone but it all seems a bit..silly to me."


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse smirks. "It is silly. The lot of it. It's why I accepted the invitation to join Andras. Thus far, there, there has been no drama of that kind. Not really," he says with a shrug. "I don't pay much attention to Altaire. I met Pyper and Strix, though - others sired by Phoenix. They seem cool," he says. "I think Nix has always been a bit crazy, but she seems to want to make amends. Axel is... well, he's forgiven, I suppose," Jesse adds. He then grins. "You hit the nail on the head. I am... actually legitimately addicted to siring," he admits.


* Abigail caught the smirk and smiled softly. "Well the first step to breaking the addiction is admitting...or some **** like that and if Nix really wants to make amends then she needs to prove it in both word and action. I'm not gonna let her hurt you or our family any more." She bit her lip hoping it wasn't over stepping her bounds in saying so. "And Axel, well, he's always been a bit...touched I think is the word? He's a special boy. Yeah. We'll put it that way."


<Jesse Fforde> "Oh, how I wish it were that easy," Jesse laughs. He has a feeling this specific curse is one that he's going to be stuck with - and besides which, he's not too sure if he considers it a curse. He enjoys it too much, in the end. He then levels Abigail with a hard gaze. "No one gets hurt by Phoenix unless they allow themselves to. Don't get into a tussle with her, Abigail, because you won't win. Though I do appreciate the sentiment," he says. "As for Axel, don't be too harsh on him. He's admitted to his mistakes, too. It's fine."


* Abigail shook her head and averted her gaze as he leveled his eyes at her. "I...won't go fighting her Jesse but I won't just let her **** with our family and hurt us all when ever she feels like throwing a temper tantrum which is exactly what it felt like she did the first time."


<Jesse Fforde> "Then do as I do, and pay no attention," he says. "And anyway, she's been fine lately. Besides which, I'm sick of her always being a topic of conversation with other people. Can we talk about something - someone, anything else?" he asks with an arch of a brow and a ghost of a smile. Phoenix seems to be able to insert herself into every aspect of his life regardless of whether he wants here there or not. The last conversation he had with her was amiable. He's sick of complaining, of bitching and moaning. He's sick of the drama, and just wants to move on.


* Abigail nodded like the good little childe she was. "I can do that, as long as there is no hostility coming towards the family I'll behave and not tear any one's head off and have their brains as an omelette." She grinned wickedly and simply tilted her head to the side. She wasn't actually sure if that were something she would do or not but hey, a vivid imagination was always a good thing.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse laughs but keeps silent on the subject. He doesn't think that anyone under him, not even himself, would be able to do such a thing to Phoenix. Maybe if they all banded together, but separately? Not a chance in hell. Rather than scold Abigail's confidence and vivid imagination, however, he instead indulges it. In this city, with its politics and ********, it's good to have that kind of enthusiasm. He clears his throat. "So, what do you plan now?" he asks.


* Abigail shrugged at the question and took a moment to think about. "I don't really know, I think I’m going to keep on honing my skills. Leave business behind and maybe pick up a more useful skill of some kind. Not sure exactly what yet but I'll think of something. I have a whole box full of gun parts in the other room though..."


<Jesse Fforde> "That could be useful," Jesse says. "Businesses are helpful, too, if you want to help the family. Provide jobs - bring in the money. I'm hardly anyone's sugar daddy," he says with a snort. "Ultimately, it's whatever you enjoy doing, really. You do have eternity to figure it out," he says with another of his trademark shrugs.