ashes to ashes [roderic]

[Juliet]

Cassadee Haskins had been walking home through an alleyway when Juliet took over. The woman had felt as if ice had dumped on her, a man walking behind her stopped when she'd fainted. Her body crumpled to the ground in a heap, snow sticking to the soft, long dress she wore and the man shouted for help. She awoke a few moments later, but not as herself as she took in a deep breath from habit and began to cough. Her lungs slowly ceased to be of use at the same time her heartbeat faded. The man had asked her of she was alright, if she needed anything and with a burning sensation that she had never felt before in her throat, she'd croaked out that she was fine.

He'd asked if she wanted someone called, crouching low in front of her and she'd reached out into his mind automatically. She'd shoved her thoughts, overwhelming him as her canines extended. When he looked at her, there hadn't been a chance for him to scream as she sank her fangs deep into his throat. Her long fingers curled around his neck, holding him in place as she fed. One pint, two. The man dropped to the ground when she was finished. Blood trickled down past her lips, staining them red as she smirked and then stood. "',bout damn time."[/b] Without another thought, she'd wiped off her mouth and looked for another meal. And then, she'd be reunited with her family.

The next evening, Juliet didn't hesitate to contact her former employees at Refractions or Blood Diamonds. She had emailed the manager, posing as a family member to Juliet Rayne, who had died in a car accident on her way to visit her mother in Mexico. It had been three long hours before she had the woman convinced that 'Juliet' had left the shops in her will to Cassadee. With a little digging, she had learned the woman was a transit from Whitehorse. Her mother, whom she was distant to, lived there with her elderly paternal grandmother, the reason Cassadee wasn't close to her mother. When she arrived at Refractions, Juliet hadn't expected her manager to have tears from crying stained on her face. 'I'll show you to her - your office.'

By the time all was said and done, Juliet had a headache, but she had her shop back and the women had left her be for the evening to get settled. The leather swivel chair was comfortable, but she was restless. Pictures of her past self hung around the office with her biological family, Juliet remembering sadly that her father and brother still lived in Harper Rock. In the morning, she knew she would likely have to put in an obituary for herself and she sighed, thinking of the ill woman down in Mexico that had no idea what had happened to her daughter. "Technically you died when Nixy turned you." She reminded herself before standing up, heading to the far door that would lead to a lower level of the shop that she'd previously used for storage.

Surprised to find it locked, she scowled. Her keys were back at Nix's apartment. Stepping back and carefully balancing on her heels, Juliet gave the door a swift kick. Two more times, and she stumbled straight into the room with her footsteps kicking up dust? Reaching up, she groped for the light and as it brightened the room when she flipped it, Juliet was surprised with all of the dust littered about.

[Roderic]

Juliet was back.

One of the few individuals I had acknowledged as my 'sibling' in Altaire. The first, actually. She helped me pave my way into this life; almost as much as Nix had. She gave me a job without hesitation. Never asked questions about my habits, and even though she knew about my former life as a blood thief, she didn't care. She didn't make a big deal of it. Not like some of them.

We spoke. Briefly the night she got back. She hadn't made it to Mexico. Not like I thought she had. But she had surprised me. Just a few months ago Saige and I talked about Juliet and we had both come to the realization that Juliet probably wasn't returning any time soon. If she wanted to, she would have. And not long after that, Athena; now known as Jaime and I had settled our beef with one another. More or less. Still didn't mean I liked her, or trusted the woman.

I had to go see Juliet. She was different now. So she claimed. That she looked different. Never saw that first hand how that happened, or why that happened. But, with her return, I figured she should have the keys back to her business. Now that I started my own endeavor.

That's when it hit me. "Oh, ****." I muttured as I snatched my cellphone out of my coat pocket and sent her a text. Where are you? At your apartment? I hoped she hadn't made it out yet. That she was giving herself some time. So I could do a last minute clean up job. The last couple weeks had been busy, so I hadn't had the time to keep things as clean as I normally would have. I hit send, shove the phone in my pocket and wait for her reply as I wait for the train to pull in.

[Juliet]

When Athena had left her the day the two were to be bound by Phoenix, Juliet had gone into a depression. Smiles were forced, insincere for any but her childer and sire. A lot of the time, the woman his her misery by working and working hard. She didn't play, she focused on her businesses. Refractions was where she went when she had first awoke, her first one. She would handle angry customers, unwilling to let her hard working employees do it on their last shift. Next, Blood Diamonds. The jewelry store practically ran itself, which she was thankful for, and she enjoyed handcrafting some of the finer pieces where others couldn't.

Sometime after Roderic's turning, Juliet had given him a job at the clinic, letting him do what he needed to and enjoy himself without causing any trouble. And then Nix had convinced the two to go on a friend date - and it had gone off well. She still had the Polaroid camera given to her by Roderic, it was upstairs on her desk where it had sat untouched for almost a year. The rabbits foot had been on the keys she'd kept in the same case as her rifle in Nix's apartment. That same foot was in the pocket in her jacket now, which hung at the back of her chair at her desk. She even had the taxidermy cat he'd gifted to her in her apartment, which she had still yet to go to. Eventually, she knew, she would go there, but for now, Juliet didn't want to. She still had the boat, which had been purchased after the relationship ran into trouble.

When Athena had returned, expecting them to continue where they left off. Juliet's trust had been broken for a second time by someone that she'd given her heart to and it ultimately had been the end of her. That necklace that had arrived pushed her over the edge and on Valentine's day, Juliet had put a bullet through her own skull after she'd been drained of blood. Death had been instant, blissful for the tiniest amount before she arrived in the Shadow Realm. Anger had been numbed, replaced by fear as she watched hell unfold in front of her eyes. On occasion, she'd run into another individual. Some attacked, but she almost always attacked back viciously, knocking them to the ground and stealing some of their spirit.

Now that she was back, there was no anger. No numbness. She was happy to an extent, that was, until she found what looked like a mass grave to vampires in her shop. "I wonder if Nix knows..." She thought and felt her phone vibrating before They're Coming to Take Me Away began to play. Roderic. She'd set the ringtone for him specifically and pulled it out of her pocket to check the text message, lifting her eyebrow. At work, where else would I be? You know I don't go to that apartment even before I died. She didn't tell him which and then pressed send, tucking the device behind her belt as she went to collect a broom and dust pan from upside.

Ashes. She couldn't believe the amount there as she grumbled to herself about inconsiderate people and dirt. The black trash bag crinkled in her hand as she snatched a hold of it and ignored her employees staring at her as she disappeared back into the room, shutting the door. Her brown hair, much shorter than she personally preferred compared to what she used to have, fell over one shoulder as she began to carefully, but hastily, clean up.

[Roderic]

The reply and as everything I hoped, didn't pan out. She was right where she shouldn't be. I looked at the message a couple times over, and nod my head once. Yeah. I knew hoping she was at her apartment would be a long shot, but one worth taking anyways. It had been about a year, hadn't it? I guess that's the difference between people. Between me and them. I don't tend to hold on to grudges. Clouds things. Keeps you stagnant.

Juliet seemed to be stuck still. In the past. Even after all this time. Maybe I should offer to remodel her place. Toss out Athena's ****, put in some of my own designs and the place would be good as new. It seemed stupid to avoid your own place. Maybe I could even uninvited Athena from her place. I'll suggest it when we meet up.

Which one? I start typing out, as I stand, grab out a couple bucks from my pocket and put it in the terminal. My ticket spits out and I head on to the train, no set destination in mind until I know where Juliet is at. There's less than a thirty-four percent chance that she's at the place I'd been holding my dinner guests at prior to her return. Need me to bring anything? I knew women had their routines and were particular about things, so I decided to start there. Juliet had been gone a long time, the least I could do was bring her some clothes or cash if it was needed.

[Juliet]

She still had her boat and had been pleasantly relieved that it hadn’t sunk in the docks of Harper Rock when she’d arrived back in the realm of the living. That had been where she’d gone after Cassadee’s death and possession, but it hadn’t been for long after she found her cellphone. Nix had sent out invitations to a family gathering and well, it had been easier to say hello in person rather than it not. Roderic, of course, had been more of a mental hello, she supposed. In her pocket, there was more vibrating and the ring tone told her it was him again.

She swept up a pile before answering, dumping it into a trashcan and habitually ran her wrist along her forehead. Digging the device back out, Juliet debated on telling him that she was in Blood Diamonds. Maybe it was because she still wasn’t entirely sure about the fact the body that she was in, wasn’t hers. Her own sire hadn’t recognized her and that had been a little hurtful. Refractions, I’m assuming I don’t have to send you directions? She typed out and re-read it, hoping that it sounded as snarky as she’d meant it to be with a roll of her eyes as the second text rolled in. How about a broom and a dustpan? She pressed send a blew a few strands of hair out of her face before she looked down at her dress and then over her shoulder to the door.

After a moment, she sent him another text, As well as a pair of sweats and a teeshirt. I think I’m going to be here awhile. Pressing send, Juliet brought the phone with her as she walked to where her employees were. “Hey, Rosalyn, Mary? Why don’t you two go on home today. It’s a little slow and I just want to get things organized a bit, familiarize myself with these systems.” She waited, watching the two women look surprised before she asked again and then began to pack up.

[Roderic]

And her reply came. Just like that I felt uncomfortable. My stomach churned just a little bit. Maybe she wouldn't know. Sure, she wasn't dumb enough to not know it wasn't ash, but ash of what? With me, you couldn't be certain, right?

I get another reply, before I even attempt to reply to Juliet's sarcasm. It's that small hole in the wall, dive of yours, right? Yeah, I'm being a little dickish, but I felt her response was unnecessary. On a few fronts. And I'll see what I can work out with the sweats. I wasn't going to circle back home, so that meant I would have to stop in a store. Great. I hated shopping. I hated people. The Altaire women were always pushing their luck with me, that was for sure.

I take the train through a few districts, and to the more seedier side of town. I'm more comfortable there. people didn't come out at night here, like they did in other districts. I stop inside an athletic shop, go to the men's department, before I remember I'm not shopping for myself, and veer to the women's. I honestly don't even know where to begin. Why did women have to have so many kinds of sweatpants? Most of which looked strange or seemed impractical.

I grab a white pair because they looked the most practical outside of the color scheme, and follow it up with a bright blue t-shirt that said a single word. The other shirts said stupid sayings on them. At least I thought so.

After twenty grueling minutes, I was out of the shop and heading to Refractions. I walk, because this buys me time to think about what I'm going to say about all this ash. I could act surprised. No. Juliet knows I don't half *** a task. I said I would look after her things, so that meant I was there on a weekly basis checking in on things. I could tell her I knew about it and was trying to currently find the person who was responsible for all that ash. Destruction of property. I don't think she would buy that either.

I make my way there, with no solid excuse to all the ash in the store. "Jules?" I ask, holding a light tan colored plastic bag in my right hand. I look around and see a dark haired woman, and no one else. "Do you know where-" I realize we are the only two in the place. There's no sounds coming from anywhere else. "You owe me." I tell her before I place the bag down on one of the glass counters, then walk away from it.

[Juliet]

She knew she shouldn’t take her annoyance out on Roderic, as the rest of the store looked pristine even without the two girls she’d hired working, but her mood had gone sour at the amount of ash that littered the floor of her backroom. Juliet was a bit of a neat freak, especially when it came to her shops. Granted, the room had been primarily empty and used for storage, but only a few people had keys. Even her employees didn’t.

Feeling her phone vibrate, she glanced at the screen and rolled her eyes. Despite the dickishness, it brought a small curve of a smile on her lips as she knew she’d missed this sibling. He’d even gone to find her and bring her back. See you soon. The last email that he’d sent before she killed herself was still saved, primarily because she still hadn’t brought herself to delete anything.

Reading his next text, she decided it was best not to reply before setting the device down while she continued to clean. Her heels were messed up, but she knew she had a pair of sneakers stashed beneath her desk on top of her safe. Once her employees were gone, Juliet made her way to her office to get her sneakers, leaving her high heels on her desk to be cleaned later and she padded barefoot into the lobby to wait for Roderic.

When he entered the store, she heard him call out her nickname and successfully hid a smirk as he looked around and started to ask where she was. Her now green eyes, light in color, sparkled in amusement and once the bag was set down, Juliet went to retrieve it before going into her office to change. Truthfully she didn’t care for modesty and even though she ducked out of view, the door remained open to carry on conversation. “Yes, I do. Thank you.” She said as the sound of a zipper being pulled down was heard.

The brunette scowled a bit at the fact her size was no longer her size, but at least the pants fit properly. The shirt was a little snug, but it wasn’t bad. “Should I be worried about the fact you knew what to buy me before my death?” She asked as she came out of the office a few minutes later, rolling the waistband of her sweats down once before she pulled the shirt lower. At least everything was comfortable. The woman moved to sit down on the ground, putting on her sneakers as she was happy that those, too, were the right size.

[Roderic]

When she walks away, I take a good look around the room. The place was a little messier than I realize, but it had been sitting empty and untouched for a good solid two and a half weeks. I shrug off her agreement, because I know I'll never cash in on the idea of Juliet owing me anything. Not for something like clothes, even if I hated the entire experience.

A small sideways grin pulled on my lips as my attention reverted back to her. "Well, the current consensus is that I'm gay. So probably not." I leave it at that. I don't care if people think that. Their perception was theirs and even if they were wrong, it was a little amusing. Keeping people on their toes was something I didn't mind doing.

I'm an observational person; I watch people. The way they walk, the way they sit, the style of clothing they wore and even the way they talked let me into their world a little bit. If I wanted to be there, that was. Knowing if Juliet was a small, medium or large wasn't that complicated of a feat. Not to me. I could probably guess her shoe size within a size of it, one way or the other.

"So what do you think happened here?" I knew, but I wondered if she had any idea on it. I circle around the length of the room, grab some glass cleaner and start cleaning the tops of the cases from any ash that fell on it. I don't mind chaos, but I also liked order. Or at least, things in the way they were supposed to be. It's one of my quirks, one of my TICS, and its apparent when I keep wiping the same spot over and over again, even though it was free from ash a handful of wipes ago.

[Juliet]

“I’ve wondered for a while, but I eventually just figured you prefer not to date period rather than introduce yourself to needless dramatics.” It was honest as she spoke, fiddling with the clothes as she tried to get used to how they felt on her skin. Cassadee hadn’t been fond of moisturizing as Juliet did obsessively so she was still trying to fix it.

He’d seen her emotionally wrecked more than others, hadn’t he? Juliet frowned as she considered this. Even if he was a bit different, Roderic seemed to genuinely care for her. Awkward turtle most of the time, of course, but the shops weren’t as destroyed as they could have been.

“You’ve been keeping up every once in a while?” She asked, reaching up to fix her hair. It wasn’t as thin as her own body’s had been, but she had a lot of it back then. This was about half, maybe a medium amount? Either way, Juliet wasn’t used to it. Watching him clean, she frowned and then went to collect her broom and dustpan once more.

The question asked caused her to lift her shoulders and let them drop. “Hell if I know. Either vampires were killed or someone has been burning a shitload of boxes in here.” Roderic was still wiping over the same place and Juliet set her broom down, walking over to lightly grab his shoulder.

“OCD much? It’s clean.” She said this playfully, a smile on her lips before she hesitated and slipped her arms around the man to give him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Part of it was because she found it fun to make him uncomfortable, but counting on him came easily. The light haired brunette moved away after, going to straighten out a chair that’d been knocked over.

[Roderic]

A grin etched up on the side of my face at Juliet's opinion about my lack of interest in the opposite gender, or any gender. I hadn't thought about it in that aspect, but it was a fair point. I had seen too many people throw themselves into something and the entire process ended up in flames. I had ambition and stamina to do just about anything I put my mind to, but usually it was in situations that I controlled or could manipulate to my advantage. When you throw in another person in the mix, the results were unknown. I wouldn't say that I was scared of commitment or the occasional drama that was part of any form of real relationship on any level, I just didn't have the patience for bashing my head against a proverbial wall day in and day out.

I shrug, neither giving her a yes or no answer on that. Or my opinion on it. Juliet wasn't a dumb girl. Her point was valid and I'm sure she knew that by now. There was no need to agree with a statement that was more than accurate. I nod at her question. "Yeah. I guess I figured you wouldn't always be gone. Not with Saige and Nix waiting for you to come back." I didn't include myself in that, but if she asked, I would have told her that I had hoped she would return from where ever she had disappeared to. "So wanted to keep the places controllable and manageable when you returned. Less work for you to get back on your feet. Been a couple weeks since I was here though." I add in, because it's true. However, if she asked me if I knew what happened, I wouldn't know what to say. I had never lied to Juliet. In fact, I really don't do the lying thing. I might be elusive and not forthcoming about certain aspects of my life with people who didn't need to know things about me, but I wouldn't consider myself a liar. Just careful.

"Wouldn't be boxes. Logically. There are no marks on the floor coming from anything. So nothing could have been burned in here." And there we had it. Juliet would know that a few vampires had died in her business. To be honest, more than a few. Just a little over a dozen to be exact. I stop cleaning when she makes a comment about the counter being clean. I toss the rag down next to me before she gives me a hug. I stand there for a second and let her do that. I have found women either like or need physical contact for reassurance purposes. When she kisses my cheek, a hand goes up to it and rubs at the kiss. This is the second time Juliet has done that. But it's not the same as before. I remember how her lips felt on my face before, they were softer. And smaller. These lips, on the new woman was a little chapped and a little larger. After I analyze the differences, an arm comes around Juliet as I return the hug. It is brief, but I have given her my reassurance. Things can go back to normal. I move from her. Just a little.

"My night is free. Want some help?" It is the least I can do since it is my mess. I don't feel guilty for making the mess. But it does bother me that there is a mess to begin with. All of which is my fault. "That was really you. The ghost thing? A couple months ago." I hadn't forgotten the ghost that told me they were Juliet and happened to know a few key details, but the truth was, Juliet could have told someone this story for whatever reason women did the things they did.