A cosmic joke (Closed)

[Lorelai]

Her instincts had her conflicted as Prudence lay her hand upon her shoulder. Part of her wished for nothing more than to be comforted. It didn't matter by who, or what. Just someone or something that she could grab a hold of and never let go. Something that would prove to her that she wouldn't always be alone in what she felt. The other half of her however wanted to recoil. She didn't mind the touch of a vampire. Not as a human, but now, her mind what it was she simply wanted to be left alone. She wanted to work through everything she felt or rather drink herself into oblivion.

The words, melodic as they were, as encouraging as they were meant to be fell flat and as Lorelai realised what it was that Pru was saying, she pulled violently away from her. This act led her to fall straight off of the table on which she'd been set, and onto the floor. The pain of it didn't bother her. It was nothing compared the weight of a crushed soul. A void so black, so deep, that in that moment she was sure that she would never experience another moment of joy, even if she lived to the end of time itself.

"Oh... Oh no. No. No. No. No. No."

She was shaking her head as she pushed herself away from that table and under another. When she reached the safety of the all too exposed shelter, she stopped, wrapped herself up in the tattered material that had once been a beautiful (but rather plain) dress and began to rock herself in the foetal position.

"No. I'm not... I cannot be..."

She mumbled the same phrases over and over. Her mind refusing to let her process the situation. The fact that she could be a vampire was a concept she just could not grasp. The rocking continued, as did the mumbling but as the mumbling began to peter out, the weeping returned. She lay her head on her knees, drew her legs as tight to her chest as possible and gave in to the array of emotions that threatened to take what little was left of her sanity; as Lorelai had not been emotionally stable since the loss of her child.

[Prudence]

Shock. Lori was in shock. Understandable. It was a lot to take in. "Uh, yuuuh ya can be." Prudence followed after her, in a delightfully good mood. She got Lori in the end and she knew eventually, Lori would come around and see how awesome vampirism was. No, how awesome it is!

"Ya see, it's kinda easy. Sorta. Ya were dying, I gave ya my blood, then snapped your neck." Prudence looked down at the woman under the table, as she crouched down in front of it. "Sorry about that, but I figured why draw out the inevitable? I mean, who the **** wants to die like that?" Prudence snorted and rolled her eyes. "So let's see. I'm your sire, but ya can just keep calling me Prudence or Pru. I don't like that whole sire thing. You're my mini-vamp, or what everyone else calls, a childe. But you're not really a child, so I kinda decided to just call you all something different. Something that wasn't so degrading, ya know?" Prudence stopped talking and sighed.

"Look, it's really not all that bad. I mean, you know a few vampires already, so what did ya think was gonna happen to ya?" Maybe that was a bit much. "I mean, ya get old and stuff and we don't. Wouldn't it look weird if ya were hanging around twenty-somethings when you're in your eighties?" Prudence shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it's a bit much. Let's start over. You're alive-ish and that's what matters, right?" Prudence looked at a distraught Lori as the woman sat in front of the table criss-crossed. "Sorcerers and **** are cool, but vampire powers are way cooler." Prudence had no idea where the **** to start, so she started with the idea of selling vampirism to Lori. "And you're now part of my family." The last bit was said slowly, and awkwardly, as Prudence had never referred to her vampires as family, even if she was protective of them. But, they were a family. She had come to realize this a few months ago. Even as irritating as some of them could be.

[Lorelai]

I can't be. I can't...
I think you can. I don't think she's lying.

Lorelai wasn't in the mood for one of her internal dialogues. She was barely able to concentrate on what the deviant, delightful Pru was saying as it was. Sire. Mini-vamps. She could pick out bits and pieces but mostly she just heard her own sobbing as she rocked herself back and forth.

You have to reply Lorelai. You're being rude.
I'm being rude? She snapped my neck.

Lorelai uncured one arm from about her and ran her fingertips up and around her neckline. Did it show? Could she feel it? She wasn't really sure. She’d seen how quickly vampires healed. She'd witnessed it first hand and that's when she remembered the mortal wound she'd sustained. The hand immediately dropped and began to probe under the tatters of her dress to see if what she remembered was true. The weeping only intensified as she came to the realisation that this nightmare was anything but. Her fate had been forever changed.

Manners Lorelai. They don't cost anything.
I hate you. Me. Just leave me alone.

There were things in this world that Lorelai was more than willing to accept. In fact she could accept almost anything given a moment to think things through and weigh her thoughts in favour of whatever it was that was being presented to her. Her thoughts however were very much against her in this and she could not rationalise it away to find the silver lining. Death had been the preferable option and there was nothing that Prudence could say that was likely going to change that fact.

"I have... a... family."

the words were forced out between the sobbing. Lorelai was crying her heart out. Mourning not only the loss of her mortal life, but of the once blissful certainty of death.

"I... don't... care for... power."

While Lorelai had not wanted for power as a sorcerer and had embraced each and every development she had made, she had never once considered herself to be powerful. Her driving force, her only goal, had been to follow the path she had set herself upon and to grow in knowledge and understanding of the world around her. Her world. That world. It made sense to her. The world that she now found herself to be a part of, was not one that she could see herself ever being happy in.

Having said all that she could, her arms wrapped themselves back around her knees, as the wailing and rocking continued.

[Prudence]

Prudence felt the urge to shake the woman in front of her rise again. Instead, she let Lori move away and allowed her some space. After a few seconds, Prudence couldn't help herself. "Ya have a family? Really? Where the **** have they been?" Prudence didn't mind Lori, when she didn't feel like she was baby sitting the woman. Her mouth snapped shut as she realized that the questions might have been a bit too blunt for someone who was like Lori.

"We all have or had family." Prudence stood and moved away from Lori to sit on a table's top a little further away from her. "We all have family now. If you're lucky enough and you want it. It's a give and take sorta relationship. It's not required that we be the best of friends or that ya even let me in your life. But, the offer is there. Uh, maybe we should move this conversation somewhere else. Here might not be the best idea. Ya look like **** and well, there's a lot to explain. Too much that can't be in a few minutes." Again with being slightly snarky to the woman.

"I mean with the blood all over ya. It's not a good idea to be hanging around. People ask questions. That opens a whole can of worms and soon **** gets out of control." She shoved off the table and stood. "And ya might not care for power, but it's yours now. You'll get more of it as time goes on." Prudence offered a hand down to Lori when she moved closer to her. "Come on. You'll feel better after ya shower and get out of those clothes." Prudence meant that for a few reasons. Not just because they were ruined, but because she couldn't believe people dressed like that.

[Lorelai]

"I... sent them... home."

I don't have to justify myself to her.
I think you do.
Why?
Because you're blood now. She's your family. Did you not listen to that bit?
I listened.
And?
And what? I have a family.
Yes Lorelai. I know. And now you have another family too.

There wasn't much Lorelai could say to this. Even to herself. Pru was right. She had a new family. She'd gain powers. Even now Lorelai could feel that she had new talents. She was just having trouble assessing what they might be. Or rather she was frightened to look within herself and acknowledge what she'd become.

Take her hand Lorelai.
No!
Take it!
Fine.

Lorelai dried her eyes with the dirty sleeves of her cardigan and then held her right hand out to Pru, allowing the woman to help her to her feet. She barely avoided hitting her head on the table as she did so, as she hadn't really freed herself enough from her open shelter before attempting to leave. Not that Lorelai would have minded a knock to the head. It might have eve helped her to come to terms with what was going on around her.

"I'd like to go home," she told Pru in a weak, trembling voice.

Her once watery eyes looked into Pru's perfect orbs and an eerie calm fell over her. As Lorelai stood there, her hand in Pru's, she noticed something new, a sensation she'd never felt felt before. There was a rightness to it, the connection they had. As pained as she was, as confused as she was, she felt nothing but positivity coming from her sire. Lorelai couldn't tell if this was real or a coping mechanism her mind had invented to get her through this ordeal. Whatever it was, she reasoned that it felt good and so kept a hold of Pru's hand.

[Prudence]

"Atta girl." Pru coaxed the blonde as she took the redhead's hand. Prudence gave Lori her biggest smile of reassurance as the woman came to her feet without any further problems. She ignored what Lori said about her human family, because it was ******** and not worth saying anything about. At least not anything good and they were making progression. No need to upset Lori again and have to start at point one. But anyone could see that Lori was in some fucked up state of mind and anyone that listened to her, even if it were demands were pretty ******* useless in Prudence's mind.

"Alright." Prudence looked down at the hand still connected to hers as a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Every siring was different. CC flipped **** at her, for probably good reasons and that night had been a ******* chore and a half. Macro was confused, but came around. Jess was pissed and more or less stopped talking to Prudence and anyone that wasn't Zodiac. Which was fine; at least she was letting someone take care of her.

It took a minute, maybe two but Prudence felt the draw to Lori as she did with all hers and all of theirs. Even Levi, as annoying as that was. Mordie always said they smelled like her, but Prudence didn't think so. Maybe a little, but everyone had their own distinct scent wrapped into hers. If they all stood in the dark and she were blind folded, Prudence would know who was who by their scent. Lori was no different.

"I'll meet ya there." Prudence gave Lori's hand an awkward squeeze. She was out of her ******* element. Prudence had never had to be the soft, supportive person in any relationship-romantically or parental oriented. The redhead swallowed down the idea of threatening Lori should the woman not tome her *** home, before she got the piece of paper out, read the words and vanished in the blink of an eye.

[Lorelai]

The moment Prudence disappeared, Lorelai looked around in panic. She'd seen what the woman had done, she knew where she went, she knew she should follow and yet there she was alone and frightened, the madness creeping back into her mind.

"Pru?" she squeaked out pathetically.

She's gone home. You need to follow.
She left me.
No. She went first. She's going to meet you there.
She left me.
No! She's at home. Where you should be. You need to follow.
How do you know?
Because she used the tome you gave her idiot. Now come on. Don't keep her waiting. Go home!

Lorelai began to feel around in the left cup of her bra where she kept the paper. She'd recently begun to be able to use the thing without the need to remove it but her mind wasn't what it was even a few hours before. She held the paper in trembling hands and began to read the words. Only she messed up half way through and had to start over. With the correct words spoken, she was whisked off home and her eyes quickly fell upon Pru, who was indeed there waiting for her.

See. I told you.

Lorelai smiled, though the smile didn't stay on her lips long. She needed to be calm. Needed to feel what she felt before and so instinctively and without thinking, she reached out her hand and grabbed a hold of Pru's right hand.

"I feel cold."

And she did too. Her temperature had dropped as she had died and her life had literally drained from until she was the temperature of every other cold thing in this world. She knew one trick to remedy this, Ana's trick, but her mind didn't let her access that information in that moment. Neither did it let think of the woman itself. It was a part of her life that she had already begun to bury, sealing it up behind a virtual wall so that she could be protected from it. A process that her mind had attempted to do or her child also, though with somewhat less success as Lorelai kept knocking down the obstacles created for her. She would not have her child hidden from her no matter what the cost to her soul, her sanity or her life.

[Prudence]

After a solid minute of being alone in Lori's apartment, Prudence was starting to get agitated. She should have been more authoritative. Maybe even swore at her. Didn't Lori realize how much she was putting at risk by hanging around the place she just died? It wasn't cleaned up yet and probably wouldn't be until tomorrow night. Not that blood was an uncommon sight in the back room, but buckets of blood? That was a little different.

"Son of a *****." Prudence realized that she was going to have to go get Lori and drag her *** back to her own home when another minute flew by. Unfortunately, Prudence was going to have to take the train because she had spent most her energies trying to keep Lori alive. And human. Talk about your epic failsauce.

The redhead started moving towards the door when something touched her hand. She whipped around, defensive, not knowing what to expect. When her eyes saw blonde hair and that that blonde hair belonged to Lori, Prudence's defensiveness melted away.

Cold? Prudence didn't notice anything different in her temperature, but then again they were both dead. Prudence couldn't remember feeling any different from human to vampire, but that had been a few years ago already. She probably had. The biggest memory she had of getting used to being a vampire was the cotton candy she vomited at the carnival a week or so after being sired.

"Uuuuuh, well." Prudence looked at the hand and gave it a squeeze. "You are dead, Lori. Ya won't even notice it after a while." The tall killer said with a vote of confidence in her voice. "Just takes some getting used to." Another squeeze was given to the woman's hand before Prudence stepped away. Touchy feely crap wasn't her forte or strong point.

"So, uhh, I'll wait here. Ya probably wanna get cleaned up. Shower or something." Prudence pointed to the woman's clothing. "I'll wait." Prudence plopped down on Lori's couch, only to realize that her arms and hands were caked with dry blood. "Kitchen?" Prudence stood and put her hands behind her back, hiding how much of Lori's blood was on her arms. Prudence wasn't exactly sure about her mental state at the moment and what might make her flip her ****.

[Lorelai]

It didn't sound right. She had to get used to being dead. It was the truth but it still didn't sound right and the disappointment Lorelai wore on her face showed as much. She didn't want to be dead. She wanted to be alive. She wanted to be a sorcerer. Whatever she'd become was the beginning of the end for her and she knew it.

Prudence suggested she go shower and while Lorelai wanted to stay and argue over the acceptance of a future she did not want, she simply wasn't able to. The suggestion was sound but it was more than that. Prudence wanted her to get clean and deep down Lorelai wanted to please her.

I don't want to.
You do.
No I don't. I want to be warm. I want sunlight. I want air.
You want to do as you're told, now go and shower.

Without another word, Lorelai moped off to the bathroom. Her dress was ruined her body, broken and the coldness was setting in. She could feel stiffness where there was none, as her mortal mind told her that her body should be shutting down. Standing in the bathroom, the water of the shower running, without her in it, she looked into the mirror. She wasn't expecting to see anything there so when she saw some vague shadow that didn't seem to have any form, she turned to look behind her, expecting to see some sort of apparition standing behind her. There was however, nothing there. Looking back into the glass, the vapour remained but no matter how long or how hard she stared at it, it didn't make sense to her. what Lorelai didn't know was that some telepath did in fact see something when they looked in the mirror , their true selves, only since she had just been turned and had no idea what her true self was, the image she saw could have no form.

You have to shower. Get clean. Remember?

Lorelai blinked. Yes. She had to shower. She remembered that now. Slowly, she stripped off and stepped into the flowing water stream. Her body ached, the water burned but she stood there frozen.

At least it's warm.

The shower however took with it more than just the dirt and grime that it was supposed to take with it, it took the last of her humanity too. At least this is how Lorelai imagined it. So blinded she was by the grief of what she'd lost that she was yet to even awaken to the beauty of this new world. She had a chance to see through new eyes, new senses and yet everything seemed duller than ever. At least for now.

When she returned to the front room, she had a bath towel wrapped about her, hiding her broken body, and a hand towel wrapped around her hair, twisted into the typical feminine turban.

"Prudence..." her voice was softened by sadness, "is there any way for me to go back to what I was?"

She knew the answer and yet she still had to ask. Her lower lip trembled slightly and she looked like she might cry but she was at least able to stand and move under her own power, which was the greatest show of strength that Lorelai was capable of in that moment.

[Prudence]

When Lori went off to do what she suggested, Prudence got out her phone and skimmed through emails and checked on the crownet for anything interesting that might have been posted. When that was a bust, she put the phone away and started to look around the apartment. At the things that were placed around the room. She never had really looked at the stuff before, thinking it was none of her business what Lori kept in her home. But now? Now, Lori was one of her mini's. She was hers.

Blue eyes sweeped around the room's length and width, taking it all in. Nothing honestly seemed out of the ordinary to Prudence. What did she expect? She wasn't sure, but the fact the woman hated dated and been with CC, Prudence expected...more? More what? Again, she didn't know. More something. More fancier of somethings. And maybe a lot weird, sex ****. Like a mini version of silks. But at home.

So when Prudence saw nothing out of the ordinary, she was a little surprised. In fact, there was a whole lot of nothing in the place. Nothing that wasn't needed to survive or live as a human would need to. Not even a tv. That might be a little weird, but then again, Prudence didn't have one either. She had one with Cliff, but left the thing there because she never watched it. Not more than maybe fifteen minutes a month, if that. So why move something you didn't need?

When Lori came back, her eyes moved to her mini who wasn't even redressed. Such a CC move. CC had rubbed off on her a little bit. Whether that was good or bad, was yet to be determined and would be seen at a later time, she guessed. "Uh, no. Sorry, Lori. It was this, or, ya know. Sorta the end of the road. I didn't think ya would want that. Ya seem kinda young still?" Prudence looked at Lori, in her face to see how she would react to what Prudence thought was best in the situation they had found themselves in.