O M E N [INVITE]

[Raegan (DELETED 9663)]

[Against The Cure]

R A E G A N


She always hated technology. Even as she held the phone in her hand, wild gaze rapidly dancing across the messages that appeared on her screen, she loathed it. There was no use in it. Sure, it allowed her to talk to them without having to see them - but it also left a lot to be desired. Information was wrong, tone wasn't conveyed correctly. It just took up too much time. She could tell them what she had heard and show them what she had found far quicker than typing it out. So, after telling the boys where to meet her, she quickly dropped her phone into the pocket of her skirt and stepped out of the caverns, her teeth snapping together as the air touched her raw skin. Finding her sire was easy - he was a Beast, after all. "It's not far from here. Just wait on... /him./"


J E S S E


Jesse had already been in the caverns. As soon as Raegan had told him where she was, despite saying she needed no blood, he'd gone to find her anyway. But the caverns were a maze, and it was far easier to just meet her out the front, after all was said and done. The whole thing put him on edge, and he wasn't in the mood to joke anymore. He climbed his way to the surface and, when he found Raegan his eyes swept her body--not in the way a predator might, but the way a parent looks out of the safety of a child. Jesse often spouted that he didn't care, but he really as lying to himself. "Him," Jesse echoed, assuming she meant Ysmir. "What exactly did he do to make you all hate him so much?"


Y S M I R


"You know, that really is an excellent question. I seem to be all about making enemies just by using my words." he tapped the mouth of the pistol's barrel against his jaw as he offered a wry twist of his lips, a devil's smile that only belied his impure nature as he thumbed the safety and dropped the baretta into the holster at his hip. "It's fascinating how quickly I turned the whole pack of them on me with the flick of a few keys. Were I a psychologist, I would have a field day." he chuckled, and pulled his preferred weapon free of the clip on the opposite side of his belt from his pistol, holding the phone in his hand. "So, where is this place you're taking us?," he asked the slender woman standing alongside Jesse.


R A E G A N


Ignoring the way her skin crawled beneath the weight of his stare, she quickly raked her fingers through her bright curls and lifted a shoulder. “He insinuated I was fat—“ Whatever she had been about to say was cut short when his voice broke through the silence, earning a quick flick of her wild eyes before she stepped closer to her sire. “You act like you haven’t met yourself,” she snapped, ire rising to the surface. Out of everyone she had met since her death, /he/ was the one to get the furthest beneath her skin. He was too clean, too handsome, too… /rich/. “I was over here when I heard them. They’re going into that building there,” she muttered, tongue trailing over a single fang as she lead them across the grass – and toward the lab.


J E S S E


"Words," Jesse said, ponderously. Yes. He could roll his eyes at the women getting so worked up over a few words, but he knew what impact a few words could have. Especially when one didn't quite know what was going on in the head of the other. He made a mental note to pull Ysmir aside later, though for nothing so serious. "...sometimes I think life would be far different if I were still mute," he murmured, though he was now far too distracted by the direction in which Raegan was leading them. "... I think now's the time to tell me what you found, Ysmir. I don't like where we're going..." he said.

[Jesse Fforde]

[AGAINST THE CURE]

R A E G A N


“What in the **** is that supposed to mean? Now I’m /too/ skinny?” Her words were sharp, but beneath the barbed wire and vinegar was a softness that danced very close to hurt. Shaking her head against the familiar emotion, she curled her fingers into her palms and shot her sire a glare, the blue of her eyes bright beneath the glow of the moon. “This is where I first saw them.” With one hand, she waved towards the spot of grass – still broken and dented from her body – while the other pointed in the direction of the building. “I can’t remember this being here, but I mean, I never traveled out this far,” she admitted, fingers quickly swiping back a few loose curls as the wind drew them in front of her eyes. It didn’t take her long to lead them to the lab, the large building standing almost eerily against the water’s edge. “This is where they’re going, through that door there. What is it, Beast?”

J E S S E


There was too much to process at once. Raegan's reaction, and her glare were of course noticed and noted, but the email fragments that Ysmir showed Jesse in conjunction with the building Raegan pointed out had him running both hot and cold. It wasn't often that Jesse Fforde felt fear, and it was more often fear that harm would come to those he cared about than any fear for himself. The sight of that building and the email that he read, Jesse was instantly transported back to that lab, the one where they'd strapped him down, where they'd somehow known what power vampires were capable of and knew best how to constrain him. There'd been no way out. It was Mandy who'd saved his hide, the fae creature who'd had no qualms burning Jesse to a crisp as well as the building he was ensconced within. But it had got him out, and for that he was thankful.

To see that another building might have cropped up so ******* close to home... well, the notion that Raegan and Ysmir could both be taken prisoner kind of trumped any offense Raegan might have taken at being called too skinny. He'd still have a conversation with Ysmir later, but for now this seemed more important.

He watched as men and women with white coats came and went; people with badges, who looked somehow official. His gaze slid to the glittering water of the lake, and the bridge. He pointed now to the bridge. "Over that bridge and around the corner is where we live," he said. "If we were to go there now and look across the river, we would see that building. It's right on our doorstep," he said. He took the phone from Ysmir and held it up for Raegan to read. "Four or Five months ago, maybe a little more, I was taken. I was experimented on in a lab. That lab no longer exists. Call me paranoid but I don't like how this all seems to be connected..."

Y S M I R


Shaking his head, he pinched at the bridge of his nose as he gave an agitated sigh. “It would appear that if I want to get my words across plainly, I’ll need to have the subtlety of a rail gun. No. Raegan. I’m trying to say that you are attractive. Not fat. Not skinny. Hot.” He threw his hands up into the air, forced to come about and be so plain with his words was something that the man was clearly not accustomed to. He gave an exasperated huff and shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes flicking to the corner of his vision where he watched the man at his side as he recalled his ordeal. The jovial agitation evaporated from his face, his smile of lighthearted vexation fell into a frown of concentration.

[Ysmir]

Y S M I R

None of this sounded good, if the things were connected as Jesse believed. He was skeptical, but he would admit that coincidence was too much to hope for, after surviving an ordeal of the nature that he had described, being taken and experimented on. He was fortunate to have evaded termination, as most lab rats were after their usefulness had run its course. He tugged a hand from his pocket and scratched at the stubble on his cheek as he turned his head only slightly, catching sight of the slender woman walking with them. He regretted that their first few days had been on such rocky footing, but he only had himself to blame for that. He hoped that, after everything, that she realized that he had her back.


“So, with them being so close to home... what’s the plan? There is a plan, right?” he finally turned to look at the man at his side dead on, as they continued to walk. “Assuming something with explosives or fire, but a plan all the same.”

R A E G AN

When he spoke, the words hissed out between teeth clenched in frustration, she remained quiet. His compliment had been meant to soothe her, yet when it had been breathed into the air, it was as though she had been dropped in the Arctic. Narrowing her eyes, she studied the grass that snapped between their boots as he continued his rant, hands moving with such passion, it would have been charming had it not been so laughable. She knew his type. She knew how they expected to be worshipped, to have the very ground they walked on worshipped. In an instant, the humor she felt disappeared, and hollowness that she had come to accept as a part of her opened within her chest. He had expected to tell the truth and be released from the prison they had condemned him to, but she was weak no longer.

Swallowing past the bitterness that coated her tongue, she finally pulled her chaotic gaze from the ground, and zeroed in on his features. At her side, she could feel the workings of her sire’s mind, his own thoughts a catalyst for what was to come – but for now, her focus was on him. Frost danced its way across her eyes, giving the blue the illusion of a frozen lake as she uttered two simple words to put an effective end to the entire conversation. “**** off.” The moment she had breathed life to the childish retort, she turned her attention from her bane, and focused solely on the monster at her side. His features were strained, the look of utter concentration enough to cause the killer to stumble to a stop.

“Why would they have opened up shop near us? Are they after you?” Her question was quiet, and as she lifted her hands to curl them through the mass of curls atop her head, she grit her teeth. Already, she was beginning to think of his family as her own. The thought of something so uncertain so close to their home caused her stomach to churn, and she found herself swallowing back the blood that rose up her throat. “As much as I hate to agree with this ******, I have to. Is there a plan? We can’t just let this slide.” Dropping her hands, she turned her sharp glare to Ysmir as a wave of uneasiness swept through her. Without missing a beat, she dropped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the keys as she sent Marisol a text. Once the sent message appeared on her screen, she pocketed the device.

“I got Sol coming. Whatever the plan is, we need more than just us three, and I trust her.” She didn’t give them a chance to argue, despite the sinister laugh that brushed against her ear, warning her that the thin grasp she had on her new world was about to crumble to pieces.

[Marisol]

Rex was being a needy creature. From the moment Marisol set her purse down after coming home from work, he was rubbing against her calves as if he hadn't been given attention for months, a loud purr escaping from his throat. With the paperwork done that she was catching up on for Rhett's RetroKade, and for her own modeling company that was 'inherited' to her by Logan's death, the woman had taken to sitting down with a glass of wine and scrolling through CrowNet - a habit she'd gotten into. Sometimes, she read old things from off the main CrowNet, other times off of Fforde.

It was interesting, looking into the past. Learning about the people that she was connected with, without, at least, actually having to ask questions. It gave her a better idea of who she was surrounded by, and as she sat at her computer desk, resting her chin against her palm, it seemed to be another night of just that. Using her left hand, she lazily hacked through a system and glanced towards the device that sat beside her glass. The unfamiliar ring had her pausing and reaching for it, the screen reading off: Raegan.

I'm alone with Beast and HIM. Get your *** to 46, 13. There's some **** going down and we're going to need you.

"Now what the hell has that lot gotten themselves into." Jesse, she was sure could take care of himself. But Ysmir and Raegan? A frown played across her lips as she stood up and brought both her phone and the glass with her to the kitchen. Who else should she call? Rhett crossed her mind, but she knew he wasn't partial to trouble. However, at the thought of trouble, the brunette held her phone in one hand as the other became empty once the glass was placed into the sink. She knew who to grab, not that she was entirely thrilled with the idea. Scrolling down to the name '*****' in her phone, she sent a text to Clover with the location and an SOS. "Enjoy the cryptic message." The brunette sighed and then tucked her phone away.

Her tome was hardly ever too far away from Marisol as she collected the device and decided that the fadeportals would be the best way to travel. Her car didn't like to go towards the forest, and she didn't trust those damn creatures in the forest not to attack her again. One whack to her head was bad enough, thank you.

[Clover]

Clo didn’t want to go. She really didn’t want to go. It was that damn Marisol, and she didn’t want to save that *****’s life. But the message had come up in her smartphone, and that meant serious business. Sol wasn’t the type of woman to go text messaging someone she didn’t like for some small matter, and Clo wasn’t the type of woman to dismiss such a message. With Clo’s luck, Jesse had gotten himself mauled by fae. After all, the location (which the lovely Marisol provided her with) sounded outside of city limits; in fact, the location sounded close to the location of Circle, too close to Circle. And why the **** was Sol sending her a text message and not Jesse? Then again, her phone was a piece of **** and was always on the fritz.

Altogether, Clo wasted seven minutes going over multiple scenarios. At the end of it, Jesse was mauled by fae, a bear, a mountain lion, a fadebeast, a giant mooncalf, and a zombified wolf; he was also trapped and slaughtered by half of the city. And on the same note, Marisol had gotten herself mauled and/or captured. If that were the truth, if Marisol was in danger -- Clo didn’t want to think about the woman being slaughtered, hunted down like an animal. Marisol was all they had left of Logan, and despite Clo constantly insinuating, and openly saying, the woman was a tramp, Clo did care about her. Losing Sol was losing Logan all over again, and that wasn’t going to happen. By the time Clo had come around, she’d finished dressing and tying her boots. The location was across the water, and that meant water walking, something Clo loved doing, meaning she had to run or she’d fall and half-drown herself.

Clo took the elevator down and exited through the front doors, and that’s when she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She walked to the water’s edge. She slowly balanced atop the uneven surface. And she ran. She had her phone out, constantly checking the coordinates on the phone versus her own coordinates. And when she arrived, she found herself staring down a large building, a building which looked like a cross between a factory and a warehouse. No, the building looked like a well-oiled machine. When had that been built? When had that been in operation? She’d never used the main entrance to Circle, always choosing to use her tome, so the answers to those questions would remain unknown. In the pit of her stomach, a new thought arose. Jesse had been captured. He was being experimented on. She’d have to go back into one of those places. She’d have to try and fight off well-armed men. She’d likely have to do it in sanitized labs, in cold rooms. She took stock of her weapons and her bullets. She hadn’t brought anything else. ****, she wished she’d brought more.

At least she wasn’t alone. When she saw them gathered together, she let out a sigh of relief, a breath she’d been holding since she first stood beneath the shadow of the building. So it wasn’t another rescue mission.

[Jesse Fforde]

[against_peace][/against_peace]

Jesse should have reacted faster when he saw Raegan pull out her phone, but he was just a little distracted. Yes, he was formulating a plan and, yes, he was asking himself the exact same questions that Raegan and Ysmir were asking. Jesse’s head snapped up when Raegan mentioned Sol, and Jesse slowly shook his head.

”Yeah there’s a plan. I’m going to go in there and get answers, and you are all going to stay out here. Or at home,” he said. It was his default setting. It had been since … well, his entire family had been hunted and slaughtered because of something he had done. It was better to work alone. It was better not to drag them into something that he may or may not have caused. Even if he hadn’t caused this, even if it was a complete coincidence that this place should pop up right on their doorstep, he couldn’t let them come with him. Could he?

Jesse frowned.

”I need to find out who’s behind it. If it’s the same people who… well, they’re human. Humans shouldn’t have a ‘cure’. Because it won’t be a ‘cure’. It’ll be a weapon,” he said. He said it with such certainty, he immediately believed it himself. Imagine walking into that building and coming out…well, human? No, it couldn’t be that simple.

Of course he realised that they might be offended, that they would think that he thought they were incompetent, that they couldn’t handle themselves. The truth was, Jesse’s whole I don’t care attitude was a charade. In actual fact, he cared more than he would admit to himself; even after he’d given up—multiple times—he still cared. He cared who stayed and who went, he cared that they were prepared for their immortal existence. He cared about that existence as a whole, believing it to be a gift rather than a curse (despite some of the obvious curses). And he wanted to protect that at all costs.

”And nor do I think it’s wise to go barging in unprepared. We don’t know what to expect in there. Fire and explosives, perhaps,” he said, nodding to Ysmir. ”But even that has to be strategic…” he said. He was facing the building. He did not see anyone lurking in the shadows at a distance, and though his own phone was in his hand he did not yet unlock it.

[Ysmir]

[against_peace][/against_peace]

“Sure thing.”

His response to the violent little Killer was as simple as the situation that quickly unfolded as Jesse spoke, the sinister aura of the building in front of them likely a figment of their imaginations, superimposed over the object of what appeared to be a source of some kind of severe anxiety of the man at his side. He could hardly blame him, with the subject of a cure looming over their heads.

He had been working under contract for the government, had been a part of their networking security, and even he hadn’t heard a peep of this cure being mentioned anywhere in the local intranet. This place, as far as the government at large was concerned, didn’t exist. At least, not that he could tell from his work. The fact that he had been able to breach their cyber security suite so easily was a little strange to him. The fact that the information leaks appeared to be cropping up in several places now, on websites certainly too unsecure for the sort of information they were keeping a lid on in there, made him very suspicious of the whole thing.

He kept his mouth shut, though. Wagging his tongue was getting him into enough trouble. Instead, he gave a nod and decided to approach the different subject of Jesse’s specific plan, and his reaction to the flip comment of fire and explosions; a bit of commentary on the subtlety of their current approach to this little slice of heaven. Striding three abreast, the little knot of vampires was hardly inconspicuous. He gave a wide grin. “One might think that explosions that big would require a lot of strategic thinking. A breach is hardly something to put together with a half-baked plan, after all.” He shrugged a shoulder and gave his phone a quick flip, turning it full circle as he balanced it on the pad of his thumb. “As for your Lone Ranger bit, I think it best you go ahead and include one or two of us in this action plan of yours. Best deal with expected tragedy, than to have the crew crash in behind you unbidden. That’s liable to get a few fresh holes in the whole lot.”

He chuckled, and stopped the spinning of his phone by giving it a gentle toss, and letting it land in his open palm. He glanced back to the building in front of them and shook his head. “I can certainly find a way through some of their firewalls, maybe get us some doors open. If I’m lucky, I might be able to see what sort of defenses they have waiting for us, but I’ll bet it’s best I wait until the shitshow’s already started.” As he turned to give the man a smirk, he spotted Clover out of the corner of his eye. He barely knew the woman; having only bumped into her the once, but he was good with faces. He knew that it was more than likely that she was there to meet up with them. He lifted his hand in a subtle greeting, so as to not draw attention to them from watchful eyes that were likely to already be set upon them, with their proximity to the base. “Looks like it’s going to be a regular raiding party alright.”