Vampires and mistakes (Meara)

[Varo Ricci (DELETED 9075)]

Varo clenched his stomach as he pushed through the brush and into the forest. He could feel the blood seeping through his fingers from the multiple bullet wounds. A few other wounds accompanied his painful journey, one deep in his upper leg, two bullet wounds right next to each other in his left arm, and a rather large cut across his forearm. He grunted in pain as he finally felt safely away from the city, pushed up against a tree and letting himself sit down. There was a few too many soldiers and cops on that particular corner of Harper Rock, just a few blocks south east of the Quarantine Zone. This was hardly the first time that Varo had been in this type of situation. Time and again whenever he ventured into town he was reminded of his choice to become human. Ah yes, that turned out to be entirely wrong. Though he'd have never known that without doing it. Varo Ricci, a cursed vampire, life was a struggle for as long as he could remember. Or, rather, as long as his journal told him.

Then, perhaps by pure luck, he was given the chance to be human. He took it happily, only to regret it just a few months later. Shades. That's what they were called. Demons was perhaps a bit more accurate. At first it was negligible, weak, irregular, didn't matter much. But then it got worse, every night it was committing some crime Varo took the blame for, and the bullets. It still only rarely managed to hurt him, but the constant attention from the soldiers rifles was even worse then before, every day he found himself walking around with injuries, or starving from fear to enter the city. He had managed to become a sorcerer before things got too bad, which gave him a chance to heal himself...but only of one wound. Kept him alive, but always in pain.

Just like today, he looked at his stomach holding his hand over it and focusing on healing it with his anima. It glowed for a moment before vanishing, "Thank goodness." he said leaning his head back. His arms hurt like heck, but at least each breath wasn't sending his stomach into torrents as pain as blood slipped from him. Wasn't going to die today at the very least. Not from this.

[Meara]

WEARING

Meara had been warned that there were dangerous things in the forest. She how ever had been out walking Willow in the outskirts for over an hour now, and hadn't seen a single fey being. Maybe it was because she didn't linger anywhere for all too long, but it seemed like just an average walk in the park. Both she and Willow were enjoying the scenery change of skyscrapers and trees and grass being exchanged

She started forest bathing while living in Asheville. The process of merely immersing herself in the wilds did wonders for Meara's anxiety. It likely wouldn't surprise people that the redhead was a bit of a perfectionist. And unfortunately that usually good character trait came with at times crippling baggage. Missing some arbitrary ideal she envisioned for how something would turn out, would quickly devolve into feelings of inadequacy. She struggled to make lasting connections to others as she would constantly twist unanswered calls into assumptions of not being liked enough t be invited along. However, the beauty of nature stilled Meara's hyperactive mind.

So at first, Meara didn't notice Willow's wining and tugging on the lead to get her attention. The Corgi had spotted something over in the bushes and was wanting to go investigate. It took a series of high pitched barks to get her attention back to the present. As her senses refocused, the smell of blood hit her like a brick wall. Blue eyes went wide as she looked around trying to find the source of it before she glanced back down at her traveling companion.

"You seem to have an idea, yeah?" Meara asked of the energetic dog before she started to follow the pups lead off towards the tree line.

[Varo Ricci (DELETED 9075)]

For just a few moments there was quiet, well, aside from typical creatures of the forest. But that didn't bother him so much. He was rather familiar with the sounds they made. It wasn't the quiet itself that was soothing exactly. Simply that it wasn't the sound of some soldier around a corner who would shoot him the moment he came into sight. His injuries hurt, all of him did, but the calm made it a little better. Then he heard a noise away from him, his head shot up instantly, the noise was followed by a strange noise, and then a high pitched bark. Crap, dogs! I don't need this right now! Please just leave me alone I'd rather not get more injuries then I have already. he thought feeling for his gun and keeping it on his lap ready to pull it up.

"Hello? Who's over there?" He asked to where he heard the barking come from. He'd come to know better then to assume he hadn't been spotted. In a place like this, everyone was on guard and tended to notice you even in the most hidden of places unless you were just far enough away that they weren't really paying enough attention.

"I've had quite enough people jumping at me for the rest of my life I think so if you'd kindly at least show yourself before doing whatever it is, I'd really appreciate it." he said in a voice that was quite clearly tired and fed up with the current situation.

[Meara]

Meara stopped in her tracks when a voice called out. Her slender frame stayed perfectly still, save for stooping down to pick up Willow. She clutched the Corgi close to her frame as she listened again for the voice, trying to see where the person in question might be. A second response came, causing her to squeak a little bit out of surprise. Her eyes darted around to make sure there was no one else around but her, Willow, and the mystery person.

"I'm not doing anything to you. Promise. I was just walking my dog and we get the impression you are hurt." Meara spoke quietly as she started to inch closer to the tree line. "Can I help you get to a doctor or anything?" She offered as a sign that she truly meant whoever it was no harm. However, she needed to locate approximately where this person was. So she merely set the dog back on the ground, then unclipped her leash. "Go get it." Meara whispered before Willow took off at a run as fast as her little stubby legs could take her. Meara waited back for a few moments to give the pup a lead, then took at a leisurely stroll to follow along behind.

[Varo Ricci (DELETED 9075)]

Varo cocked his head as he listened, keeping his rapid fire carbine ready still. Impression I'm hurt? Yeah no kidding. Oh, doctor, ha! Yeah no, that would only make things worse for sure, that'd mean going into town and I just can't risk that again. Not today at least. he thought tensing as he heard the brushing and saw the small dog come up, he sighed with relief and vaguely smiled at it. "Heya." he said. It was a little bit of a relief, even though it didn't necessarily mean the owner was truly a peaceful one, it seemed a good sign to him. That and he hadn't been shot at just yet.

"Yeah I don' think so." He said in answer to the question, "I'm in an unfortunate situation where everyone is shooting at me over stuff I haven't actually done so I really don't have the intention of going anywhere inside the town again for awhile." he said pushing himself up against the tree.

[Meara]

Meara was a few meters behind Willow when the Corgi found her quarry. Willow excitedly bounced around trying to greet the new person, trying to lick at his hands or whatever else she could until Meara got there and scooped the pup up. Blue eyes glanced down at the battered and bloodied man in front of her. "Hi there. I'm Meara." The redhead knelt down next to the wounded man and joined him in hiding in the bushes.

"You have a case of mistaken identity it sounds like. Do you know why that might be?" She queried as she held Willow still as her hands started to dig through her purse for anything that might be suitable to help staunch the bleeding. Unfortunately for the man she stumbled upon, Meara was not of the skill set to magically heal or conventionally mend a human. Least he smelled human to her as his blood was all around him and the wounds weren't mending themselves like a vampire would. "There's not a lot I'm going to be able to do for you this far out from my apartment." She commented with an air of disappointment as the search of her purse came up empty.

[Varo Ricci (DELETED 9075)]

Varo leaned his head back looking at the dog but grinned, animals would have been wary when he was a vampire, not that people weren't that way either. What with his inability to go in crowds, he just didn't give off great vibes most of the time for anyone, probably why he was always getting into trouble somehow, even if he barely did anything.

He looked up as she came up, still a little hesitant, but much less so at this point. Who was really going to attack him after this? Why not just get it over with, besides, she seemed nice. Normally people had been blunt about killing him so if she did happen to be dangerous it didn't really occur to him she would deceive him this far.

"Varo Ricci." He answered, "And yeah, I know why, but it's a rather long story. Short of it, vampires should avoid the cure, something called a shade, this is the sort of thing that happens." he said gesturing to his wound. Varo bit his lip suddenly feeling worry if he should really say anything, but it didn't really matter anyway.

He furrowed his brow as she mentioned not being able to do anything here and not at her apartment, frowning as he looked back at the town concerned, "Unless you know exactly where all the soldiers are I'm not going back in there right now. I'm liable to not be coming back out."

[Meara]

Meara's features took a contemplative turn as she wracked her memory trying to remember where she heard his name from. She thought she had dismembered a Quatermaine with a name like Varo Ricci. But how was that possible - this man was a human. Though at the same time, Alex had let various humans into their family spaces before if they shared the same aim of improving relations between the races. Then he mentioned the cure and it all came flooding back to her. There had been a heated debate on the family crownet between Ripper, Kane, and Alex about one of Kane's childer having accepted the cure. And here he was saying it was bad news. The way Varo was speaking about his troubles merely confirmed her feeling that the the cure had always been bad news.

"I never heard anything bad about you, but if you say its cure related I believe you. I always had a bad feeling about that." Meara commented as she refocused on the problem. How to get Varo medical treatment. Then an idea popped into the redhead's mind. "You ever use a tome book before?" She pulled a tiny notepad out of the side pocket of her purse and placed it in Varo's hands. "If you read the incantation on the third page, it will drop you off next to the ritual bench in Quartermaine Custom Creations. If you move towards the front door and to the right there's a fade portal that will drop you off at the Clocktower. Its an apartment building. I can meet you there in a little while. And it'll be safe there."

Meara smiled at him as she gathered up Willow and her things, preparing to walk her way back. "Sound good?" She offered as a way of confirming before she would head her separate way back to the Clocktower.

[Varo Ricci (DELETED 9075)]

It was an unusual situation to be sure. Nevertheless, it was the one he was in. Varo nodded with certainty as she mentioned the cure being a bad thing. He looked up furrowing his brow as she mentioned using a tome and handed him a notepad, "No definitely haven't." he admitted listening as she explained it. He smiled at the mention of Quartermine Custom Creations, he'd go there a lot before it became almost impossible to actually get into the city. Though even now he tried to go occasionally. Just a little bit of nostalgia so to speak."Heh, like that place. QCC I mean." he commented.

Varo smiled and nodded gratefully, "Yeah, thank you so much." he said looking at the notebook and starting to work on saying it quietly furrowing his brow as he did so. He was fairly certain it wasn't a trap, seemed like a lot of trouble if it were, besides she seemed nice. And who would use a tiny dog while intent on trying to kill someone or something.

In a moment he would find himself in Qaurtermine creations again, "Whoah, nice." he said heading towards the fade portal, that was rather cool, hadn't done one of those before. Like some kind of portable fade portal or something. Crazy. Still, he didn't want to end up making her wait, especially as he felt his injuries hit him with pain again once he started walking again, Why did you do this to yourself Varo.

He'd soon be headed into the clocktower from the fade portal, looking around nearer to the entrance while trying to hide the fact that he was injured to the other people around. Not exactly the easiest thing considering some of his wounds were still bleeding and hurt like heck, but he was trying nevertheless.

[Meara]

Once Meara saw Varo disappear from sight, she put Willow down and started to walk back towards town. The slender woman took her time meandering down the streets on her way to the River Rock station so Varo would have plenty of time to relax before she was going to go about poking and prodding all the tender spaces he was bleeding from. If someone would have told Meara that she would be a pro at dressing gunshot and stab wounds, she probably would've told them they were crazy. But sh also would've said the same thing to most of the things she had seen since taking up permanent residence in Harper's Rock.

While on the train, Meara had taken a moment to text her "assistant" Rhapsody so that she could ensure that plenty of supplies were on hand, blood packs included. Once the car arrived at the platform at Wickbridge, Meara hopped off and walked the two blocks to the 8D Mall. The little bell on the door announced her arrival to Kitty, who was manning her usual spot at the desk. Meara gave her a wave as she handed Willow's leash out towards the brunette. "Hey can you watch the pup for a little? I have to go do some cleaning at the apartment and she's gonna be in the way." Kitty nodded her agreement before squatting down to give the Corgi some belly rubs.

With the dog passed off for a little bit, Meara hurried along and rushed through the Clocktower portal. She glanced around as she exited. A small smile crept onto her face as she spied Varo near the front door. Meara reached out and pushed the call button for the elevator before waving Varo over to join her. "Hey this way, yeah?" She commented cheerily as she waited for him to join her in the now open elevator. Her walk had provided the curious woman with plenty of time to think about Varo's story. She had a lot of questions, but she would wait until they were safely upstairs and not in the lobby where passers-by could hear.