Two Dead Gentleman

[Roderic]

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

Roderic: I had to see Micah. Something wasn’t sitting right. Velveteen’s casual attitude about Every dying by an accident, and the fact that Micah was rejecting blood seemed ‘off.’ I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to see when I went to the top floor of the Eyrie, other than Velveteen and Micah, the man whose side she wasn’t going to leave. When I saw Micah, I knew he was dead. Not vampire dead. Dead, dead. I stared at him while I made small talk with Velveteen last night, and the guy didn’t move an inch. I know we don’t breathe, but if I put him on a slab next to another guy in the morgue, they’d look one of the same.

I eventually had to leave and even said bye to Micah, because Velveteen claims he was talking to her, but I didn’t hear a single thing. This is the second time in about three months Velveteen wasn’t quite right upstairs. I wondered if Satine was behind this (again), but kept that to myself. I have no proof that she was part of this, I only suspect that she’s one of the few people that can make Velveteen like this. I told Velveteen I would be back tomorrow to see if any assistance would be needed and left for the night. I didn’t go far. I stayed in the Eyrie, close to Velveteen in case she finally realized the truth and needed someone to talk to. I’m a good listener. Talking? Not so much.

When I woke up and left my hut tonight, I knew right where to go. The morgue. I shadowed in, moved to where all the dead guys were at and grabbed one off a slab after pulling it out of the wall. I teleported the both of us to the Eyrie and headed inside. Up the elevator and to the top floor. To Velveteen. “Velveteen.” I nod to her as I come in with the dead guy over my shoulder and throw him down on his back, not far from where Micah was “sleeping.” I sigh. This was going to be a long night. “What does this guy have in common with Micah?” I boldly ask her, as I step aside and turn to face my faction leader.

Velveteen - Micah was sleeping and Velveteen had taken the chance to do a little catch up online. Of all the things she could have done, showering being at the top of that list, she chose to get online. Malachai had set off a chain reaction and she had tried to set people’s fears to rest but still...people were acting strange. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why or how but something was definitely going on. As long as Micah got the needed rest she figured they would work out what the **** was up later.

Ric’s sudden appearance at the elevator drew her attention away from the soft glow of the screen before her and for a moment she wondered why he looked so strange until the extra person on his shoulder registered. She hadn’t even stood from her seat when he strode past her and towards the bedroom. This was exactly the sort of weirdness she was talking about. “Bloodthief! What are you doing. You will wake him if you keep that up and not only will he be pissed but he will be PISSED.” She spoke in hushed tones and gave him an angry look though her sight was drawn to the body that he dumped heavily on the floor. “What the actual **** , Roderic?” It would be the first time she used his name in a long time. “Have you lost your ******* mind?”

Roderic: “Maybe.” I reply with a shrug, “Maybe we all have.” Ari’s message back to me had been a little ‘off,’ too. Maybe something was in the blood these nights. I seemed to be the only one not impacted by whatever was going on. “Micah’s still sleeping?” I look at him, as if I hadn’t seen him when I first waltzed in with the dead guy on my shoulder. “Man, he sleeps like the dead.” I comment, my eyes going to the very dead guy on the floor next to the bed. I don’t understand how she doesn’t recognize Micah is dead. “Isn’t Micah a Killer?” I kick at the dead guy’s foot, making a little extra noise intentionally, hoping Velveteen would recognize that Micah wasn’t able to hear anything I was doing. I pull out my pack of cigarettes and pop one in my mouth and then offer one to Velveteen because I want a smoke and I need to think. “Try and give him blood tonight? I can try if you want.” I suggest, pretty confident it would be a wasted attempt, but it is what it is. I’m here to help out two friends tonight-even if one of them is dead and the other has lost her damn mind again. “So, dead guy 101, what happens when someone dies?” I ask her after she accepts or declines the cigarette and it’s put away in my coat pocket.

Velveteen - The dark haired woman who looks now like she hadn’t bathed in days, because she hadn’t, is curious yet extremely confused, the later made evident by the strange expression she wore. Her head bobbed as she responded to to his question. Of course he was still sleeping. That was pretty obvious though the ‘D’ word stirred something in her. Darkness flashed in her usually silver orbs as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“Given him blood?” She shook her head and took a protective step toward her husband’s body. “No I haven’t and that won’t be necessary, thank you. I am quite capable of tending to his needs.” The muscles around her jaw tensed slightly and she bristled, not liking where this was going. “No one is touching him but me. His request of course. Now keep your ******* voice down.” She hissed thrugh now clenched teeth. Her eyes fell to the offered pack of cigarettes and while she was still wary she couldn’t deny that a smoke right now might be exactly what she needed. Perhaps it was a peace offering. She reached out to take one but her hand was immediately snatched back empty.

“Seriously, Roderic...do we have to do this now? I have no idea what ******* crazy train you are riding right now but this is neither the time nor place. I think you should go. And take your friend with you.” She turned her back to the male and placed a hand on Micah’s shoulder soothingly.

Roderic: “I’m sure you are, but if you ever need the help, it’s offered and not revoked should the time come when you need it.” I say as I light the cigarette and let her say her piece. Yeah, I’m the crazy one. I kick at the guy again, this time towards the door. He flops forward and makes a heavy thud on the wood floor. “What’s that, Micah?” I turn to look at the very dead Micah and then at Velveteen. “You know, I think if he wants me to shut up, not touch him or get out, he could tell me himself.” I cross my arms at my chest and stare back at Velveteen, who could easily be seen as starting to get pissed. She was in a very deep state of denial. I wonder if this is how I would be if Skylar died. Probably not. I mean, her body wouldn’t be hanging around and I’d be sweeping up dust for a couple nights after. “Hypothetically, what do you think would happen if I kicked Micah, like I did Joe Blow, over there?” I point to the guy who was half on his side and half on his stomach now. I wasn’t actually thinking about kicking Micah, but I wondered what she would say.

Velveteen - She nodded. A curt and concise dip of the head to acknowledge his offer of help though she would not need it. She really had no understanding of what the guy was up to right now but she was fairly certain he had lost his freakin mind...especially when he addressed her obviously sleeping husband. She reached for the gun on the nightstand, the action shielded by her body and spun to face him, keeping the piece hidden at her back. The tone of her voice had softened a little as she tried to talk Ric down. Obviously the guy was having some sort of mental **** up. Poison perhaps? She knew all too well though you had to be very careful when dealing with crazy people. They were unpredictable and could tend to get very violent if the wrong things was said.

“Bloodthief?” She offered him a reassuring smile and took a tentative step closer. “Micah is sleeping. He did not say anything to you. He can’t tell you those things because he’s asleep.” Her head bobbed slowly as she kept her eyes pinned on his. “Now..I don’t know what is going on with you but I am sure we can work it out. “Hypothetically? If you kicked Micah like you did your dead friend here….I’d have to shoot you. Neither of us really want that.” When did the guy start carting round a dead body anyways. How did she miss something like this. Maybe he needed to have a visit with Doc.


Roderic: Well, at least she hadn’t completely lost her mind. I guess I should have said, ‘what do you think Micah would do, if I kicked him like Joe Blow?’ My smile mirrors hers as I watch her and then I nod, still with the smile on my face. Then I think about what I have to say and let the smile vanish. Telling someone that their other half is dead shouldn’t be smile worthy. “Velveteen.” I say after exhaling a long plum of smoke from my chest. “I know he didn’t hear me. His hearing is about the same as that guy that was probably meant to be buried in the next couple of days or so.” I’m trying to be really gentle about this piece of news I’m going to break to her, but I’m not really known for that. And I think she usually appreciates my frank nature. “I care,” the word care is said strangely, as if it doesn’t typically exist in my vocabulary. It’s said elongated and awkwardly. “About you and consider you a friend.” That is said quicker and more easily. “I don’t feel friends should lie to the other. Not when you-” I don’t want to say that word again. That ‘c’ word. “Have the respect for them that I do for you.” I take another drag in and look at her candidly. “There’s something really off about this, don’t you think?” I look over my shoulder at Micah. “I mean, it wasn’t like I was quiet. And the dead **** over there is pretty stiff. Rigormortis, you know. And Micah hasn’t moved an inch this entire time…” I thought she would have noticed the similarities right off the bat. “He hasn’t moved because he’s dead, Vel.” There. I said it. The elephant was out in plain sight now. If people wanted to lie to her or indulge her in the crazy express, that was their business, but I wasn’t that sort of person. I had things to do. Like deal with this and then go try and find Micah to tell him his wife has lost her ****.

[Velveteen]

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

Velveteen - She was trying so hard to keep her cool and be sympathetic but he was making so damned hard. “Stop it. That’s enough. Just STOP!” Her hand came up as if he would cease talking from that simple command alone. But he didn’t. He did however invoke her anger and the gun she had been hiding came into view and was pointed directly at him. “This is your last warning Bloodthief. I don’t know what the **** you are trying to do but Micah is not going anywhere. He stays here with me until he is feeling better and I ******* tell you what you better watch your ***. He is not going to be happy when he hears about this.”

As much as she focussed on that one word and the nagging feeling it brought about, as if something familiar was knocking at the windows of her mind looking for recognition, she had heard the rest. “I care about you as well but if you keep this up I will be forced to do to you what I did Every. For your own good.” Already though her finger was tightening about the trigger , releasing the cartridge within. “He hasn’t moved because he is a sleep. He needs his ******* rest. How many times do I have to keep repeating myself?” She was still talking. Issuing a warning as if giving him a chance to desist but the sound of gunfire dispelled that notion immediately.

Roderic: So thats what happened to Every. Made sense. I’m used to women being pissed and emotional at me, so Velveteen’s outburst doesn’t do much to sway me from telling her the truth. I live with and am married to an Allurist after all. Every night is a different night. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of nice. I never know what I’m going to get when I get home, but I usually end up with things ending up in my favor. It was like I was married to a few women. I think my wife is bipolar now that I’m actually thinking about it. I shake my head and sigh. I raise my boot and put out the cigarette before standing up straight again and looking Velveteen dead in the eyes. “I don’t plan on moving Micah or taking him anywhere. It would draw too much attention and break the masquerade.” Maybe if I talked logical this would go down better. It couldn’t go down any worse. “Because he’s dead. Dead as that guy right there on the floor, Velveteen. Think about it. Long and hard. How long has he been sleeping for? Three nights now? And he’s not talked to anyone but you, while sleeping?” I rub at the back of my head before going on. “He’s rejecting blood. He hasn’t moved while I’ve tossed a dead guy in your bedroom, kicked him around, and raised our voices. Putting me in the shadow realm isn’t going to make it any less untrue. But sure, go ahead and do it. I have plans to go see him there anyways, when I’m through here.” I grab at Velveteen, and attempt to pull her over to look at Micah. “Look at him.” I let go of her because I don’t like touching people and actually don’t like touching her in the way I did. She’s my faction leader and friend, but she needed to snap the **** out of this. Now.

Velveteen - The bullet lodged in the door frame after whizzing dangerously close to Roderic’s head though the male seemed to have not even noticed. It was a warning and one he refused he heed. Her anger was bubbling dangerously beneath the surface ready to overflow like hot lava at any given moment. “STOP IT! STOP SAYING THAT!” She shook her head violently. No. Why would he keep saying that? It was not possible. “NO!” She screamed. Every bit as ******* sounding as she appeared. “You aren’t here. You don’t ******* know. You don’t ******* know, Bloodthief!”

The Necromancer struggled against his grip but when forced to look at Micah her expression softened and a slight smile touched her lips. She stayed there a moment longer after he released her and reached out to caress his cheek. A tender moment that was all too soon ferociously ripped from her grasp as she turned once more. ‘You ******* look at him. He is your ******* faction leader and you want to kill him off? What the actual **** is wrong with you? No Roderic. You wont see him there. BECAUSE HE ISN’T THERE!” What was it going to take to get through to him. Why didn’t he just take his ******* buddy and leave them alone. Bullet after bullet left the clip in resounding echo only to be buried in the vampire that had pushed his luck. The smile on her face was no longer sweet or welcoming. It was vicious and twisted. “And please do say hello to Every.”

Roderic: Logic seemed to do jack and ****. She screams at me and I let her. I’ve learned to tune that sort of thing out because women liked to scream. It made them feel better or something. Made them feel in control or think something was the way they thought it was, even if it wasn’t. I’m about to ask her if she’s done, calmly, when she starts accusing me of wanting to kill Micah. Yeah, she’s lost every ounce of sanity in her. I’m well aware of the gun she possesses and had recently discharged, but I’m not letting my friend live in la-la land for however long it takes Micah to get back. Sometimes it takes me a while, and sometimes I’m out in about a week. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the length of time spent there. I stand there, confident I was going to get another warning shot, but I get much more than I bargained for. Vel releases an assault on me, and I remember now how good of a shot she actually is. I don’t think any of them miss because we’re so damn close to the other.

When the first one slices through my body, the shadows around us start to come to life. They’re violent and lash out at everything in the room. I’m not sure which has me on my knees; the shadows or her bullets, but I’m there. Her, furniture and even me. I’ve seen this before, when I was sure she ‘attacked,’ Simone at the Altaire and Andras thing, prior to my nights in Tytonidae. I’ve seen it again when alone with Aliyah and another time with Skylar. I have come to recognize that I’m the key factor in each of these scenarios and there’s not a thing I can do about it. These are shadows I can’t control and they find anyone to be fair game. So not only does Velveteen shoot me to high hell, but now shadows are attacking me as well.

The words she says makes my eyes narrow and there’s something deep inside of me that wants to call her bluff. I don’t believe she will actually kill me. It’s illogical. We’re in the same faction and we’re friends. Every was an accident, something that wasn’t controlled. That’s what accidents are. Mistakes. Things that happen that are out of our control. Shadows seep from every entry wound made from her. I look up at her from my knees and just stare at Velveteen. It’s the type of stare that says two things, ‘I don’t believe you,’ and ‘I dare you to,’ before I finally talk. “Do it. But the next person’s going to tell you the same thing. Soon you’ll be surrounded by ash and dead people. Like Micah over there.” I lift an arm, slowly and weakly to point to her husband, eyes still on her.

Velveteen - Sterling orbs darted about the room, following the destruction that the shadows caused and created without any reason or rhyme. She knew for a fact that it wasn’t her. The usual trembling of the floor beneath their feet and the exploding bulbs and shattered windows were absent. This was something different. The shadows weren’t just engulfing the area they were attacking it.

Her gun remained pointed at Roderic’s head though shooting him had become an after thought as she looked down at him slightly confused by what was happening. Her eyes met his and for the briefest of moments clarity shone in her eyes. Yes. She cared about him too. No. She didn’t want to kill him. One dead was more than should be. She shook her head and the hand holding the gun fell to her side. For a single second the woman looked completely exhausted and drained. That was remedied when he spoke his next words.

“No! You do not get to say that to me.” Her voice louder than it needed to be as some new strength filled her, fed by the denial that pervaded her addled mind. She raised a hand in a manner that made it appear that might strike him but instead her fingers pressed lightly against his forehead sending the shadow to place across the city. The fairground is the place she had thought of but where didn’t matter. As long he was no longer here. She had no idea if he would return or not but she would take precautions none the less.

She scowled and turned her attention to the body on the floor. “**** it. You wont feel anyway.” She muttered to the corpse as her hands curled under its arms to drag it across the floor before hoisting it over the edge of the balcony. She didn’t care whether it made it to the ground or not, as long as she no longer had to look at it she was good.

”I like Ric, he’s a good guy. You shouldn’t have shot him.

Velveteen stopped and scowled at her husband then. “Now you talk. I thought you were asleep. He thinks I am crazy. And you are not helping that right now. Just….go back to sleep.” Her irritation was evident and she would apologise to her husband later for being so snappy but right now she had things to sort out. Something was terribly wrong and she needed to find out what and fix it before it got too out of hand.