[Canada Day 2014] [Zodiac and Alexandrea]

[Alexandrea]

"Yes, the universe does balance it's self out. I agree. He'll be so busy for the next few hours he won't even remember us." Alexandrea picked up her sandals with one hand and hugged her pillow in the other arm as she wandered beside Zodiac through the fairgrounds. The smell of cotton candy and pop corn was everywhere but after having snacked on the spring rolls before, it had no power over Alex or her nose. She smiled inwardly, pleased at her new found will power.

Carefully she stepped around some broken glass, it wouldn't hurt but Alex didn't want to risk the attention. Just one more way she had changed. She gave a soft sigh when Zodiac asked her why she wanted a reading and thought about it for a few minutes. *Okay... Mistress.* Alex sent back to her friend with a giggle. Madame or Mistress, both sounded like they could be kinky to her.

She continued to address the Gypsy mind to mind, using her image telepathy to help explain how many things had changed around Alex and inside her the last few years. Alexandrea even shared a few memories with her friend. *so, maybe you can see how it is that I am confused? And not just about him but about myself. I am not sorry I have changed, I think my growth has been good. But where is it taking me? Was he the one? And I changed too much or pushed too much?*

They had arrived at the fishing game and Ginny was doing figure eights around both of the women's legs when Zodiac decided to wait on getting her cat a snack. The next thing Alexandrea knew, Zo had whisked them both off the the line for the roller coaster and Ginny made an exit, stage left. The wait wasn't long, most of the families had started staking out spots for watching the fireworks show so the que moved quickly.

Arriving at the front, Alex handed the attendant her ticket and was waved to a height chart. Laughing, she went along with it. Somehow having almost been 30 before being turned and being a vampire now made the whole 'safety precaution' ludicrous in her mind. She was so used to being short, she found it other people's reactions to it amusing.

"That's pretty close miss... but so long as she put your shoes back on you can go on in." The young man told the blonde and Alexandrea gave him a bright smile. The human swallowed hard, slightly blinded but waved at Zodiac to step up next.

[Zodiac]

She listened with grace and calm. It was part of the job, basically. Alexandrea might be surprised how her own thoughts and concerns were mirrored within a large percentage of the 'night clients' Zodiac dealt with as a norm. In a way, the gypsy could say 'It was the same old song and dance' but it wasn't. It might be the same song, but everyone 'sang' it with their own unique pitch and tones, thus making it unique as well. Personal growth was never a bad thing. Even negative growth was something in itself.

"Everyone changes, dear," she finally offered. "Is possible he was changing as well in ways. It is possible for two people to care about each other, yet still grow apart because of their personal growth. You? I can make a few guesses about, but as far as him? I have seen him in passing. Heard a few things about him. Nothing bad that I can recall. Seems like a decent enough guy, but beyond that I know nothing about him so I can't say what is going on with him. Was he 'The One'? Who knows. He might still be or never was. We need to get you into my parlor and sit down with the cards, babe."

As they approached the roller coaster, Ginny paused in her pacing of the pair. "I will be fine, love. Find yourself a spot to watch from. I won't be long" she crooned softly to her familiar. The cat darted under the platform where the people were getting into the cars and vanished into the darkness and shadows. Zodiac scrunched her nose as she saw the height chart waiting ahead of her. It had always been a personal bane of hers to deal with in the past. She was always short. Even as a child, she was shorter than most and been on the receiving end off 'Sorry, you aren't tall enough' too often.

She watched Alex barely get in. The mystic had to look a bit upwards to look the woman in the eye as it was. When she was alive, this would be another page of anger on her part, but she calmly stepped forward and waited. She smirked as the attendant was dazzled by the woman's smile. Perfect.

When the man turned to face Zodiac, she caught him with her eyes. A little trick she had learned that worked on most humans (and a few weak willed vampires) if she timed it right. Her target was a bored ticket taker who was tossed off his game by a simple smile and probably upset by the fact he was working a holiday, so not exactly rocket science type mentality level in action to play a war of wills with.

"I am tall enough." her eyes and mindspeak implanted the command into his thoughts while he looked into her eyes. She repeated the order softly and watched the man shake his head and then take her ticket.

"Okay, doll. Move along. You holding up the line. Next." he said. Zodiac smiled and nodded her thanks as she slipped past the ticket taker and joined Alex. She bounced in delight. Finally a victory over one of her supposed limitations.

"Next." The man assisting in loading the coaster motioned for them to approach. Zodiac climbed in and put her purple prize between her feet to hold it safe as she waited for Alexandrea to join her.

[Alexandrea]

Alex chewed on her bottom lip nervously after sharing her memories with the Mystic. Alexandrea's hope was that she had moved on and was now finally okay with just being friends with Odin, but Alex still just didn't understand why. He had never told her why. And a part of her needed to come to terms with that before she could even think about moving on and meeting someone else. If there ever would be, anyone else...

It hadn't dawned on Alexandrea until after the gypsy had passed through the check point, that her friend was actually shorter than she was. Alex had just never noticed. Not that she cared, so long as both of the vampires were clear for takeoff. The two headed for the car they had been assigned.

They were almost all settled in when what appeared to be a drunk Madame Bova showed up and pushed her way through, shouting insults at both women. "Wow, she works quick. We didn't leave her that long ago. How did she get so drunk so fast?" Alex couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the angry drunk slapping away the attendant that tried to bar the human woman's way.

Lucky for Madame Bova, the car started to move before the fortune telling con artist could reach them. And soon Zodiac and Alexandrea were rounding the first of several upcoming tight curves, the blonde laughing and shouting with excitement. She couldn't remember the last time she had been on a Roller Coaster but it had to have been over a decade or more.

[Zodiac]

Zodiac grinned bigger (if such a thing was possible) as the safety bars locked into place to keep them all from making a unwanted exit from the ride. Her experiences with coasters was limited to when she was actually working at a fair or carnival with her grandmother. Early arrivals got to be 'test dummies' while the operators made sure all was well for the public, then after hours fun after the public went home for the night.
"I can't believe I am riding one of these like everyone else does," she admitted and shared a few images of her times with Alex.

Then she spotted Bova.

Alex's words made her laugh even harder as the coaster began to move. "She had to be already half way there when she found you." Zodiac turned in her seat as best she could and waved at the raging woman before giving her what she would call the 'double one finger salute'.

"You know if security doesn't get her out of there, she will be waiting when we get baaaaccccck!" she squealed as the coaster rounded a turn and began to be pulled upwards by the gearworks. She gripped the safety rail tightly in anticipation as the first of the cars crested the rise. "So how serious were you guyssssssssssss?" she asked as their car brought up the rear as the line of them shot downwards. Ahead she could see the first loop they would take rushing to them.

"I mean. Were you working together types? Casual dating? Causing the neighbors to be dialing 9-11 nasty smexy animal stufffffffffffffffffff?" Zodiac gave up trying to ask questions as they raced into the loop de loop. She was too busy screaming herself mentally, so decided to try and lock her thoughts down lest she be projecting herself to the others along for the ride. Several switchbacks and they raced into another climb that would take them into a even bigger loop. As they approached it, she recalled a experiment her and her friends had tried when they were doing one of the after hours runs. Someone had the idea if you dumped a drink at the top of a loop it was possible to be splashed by it when you left it. She had filled a cup with water and capped it and tried when they hit the loop. Zodiac's timing was off because the experimental aqua bomb missed them, but nailed the people in the car behind theirs.

"I forgot to bring a soda!" she exclaimed as they shot upwards into the loop.

[Alexandrea]

It wasn't exactly the same as Alexandrea remembered it, although the past experiences she had enjoyed as a kid were bit dull compared to the memories Zoey had shared. But it was still very exciting; even though her heart wasn't pounding as the car raced up and down the hoops and soared at breakneck speeds around tight bends.

A heart that wasn't beating didn't mean that Alex wasn't effected by the ride, however. Her stomach still felt like it was tumbling head over heels and she was sorry she had eaten those spring rolls.

Zodiac's questioning about Odin only made the blonde more anxious as the ride went on and she screamed out loud a couple times, from the excitement of the ride and from how uncomfortable she felt about the questions. She started to laugh almost uncontrollably as the ride came closer to the end but reigned herself in and tried to answer her friend, mind to mind.

*It's hard to put into words. It was always complicated in so many ways besides the obvious connotations with that word. It's rather a long explanation, so maybe it would just be best if I shared more of my memories with you. But maybe after the ride?*

Normally Alex was pleased to have a healthy complexion but as she felt the colour rise in her cheeks, she cursed it for giving away just how embarrassed she was feeling. Her face and neck actually felt hot. Was that all in her head or would it feel warm to the touch? Alexandrea didn't let go of the safety rail just out of curiosity, and her knees squeezed her pillow tightly as the went up into and under another triple loop of the track.

*Soda Pop???* Alex asked the Mystic, curious.

As the car rolled back into standing upright and slowed slightly as it went upwards again, Madame Bova caught Alexandrea's eye waiting over at the exit with a couple of ugly looking goons flanking her on either side. *You were right. And it looks like your friend brought some new playmates to meet us.* Alex sent to Zo and nodded in the right direction.

[Zodiac]

"Yes, soda. I am sure my aim has gotten better." she shrugged.

'Well who would have thought it,' Zodiac thought to herself as she watched Alexandrea's reactions. Words meant precious little, but body language almost never lied. Whoever this guy really was, Alex was crazy on him, or at least she was and apparently a but of a prude on the subject as well. When words like 'complicated' and terms like 'long explanation' appear in the convo along with an almost red face there wasn't much more to know. She stopped asking questions and let the woman go on for now. Sometimes the mystic could be blunt to the point of being brutal when it came to getting to the point of a matter, but as she had been taught, sometimes that's what it took to get to the core of a matter instead of playing the two hundred questions game.

Her thoughts stopped when Alex pointed out the reception committee waiting for them.

"Oh my, oh my. All three of them have that 'I want to kick the little gypsy's girl's ***' look on their faces. You ever been in a street fight? Not vampire style, but before you was turned? Gotta keep it chilled in front of the norms."

As the ride finally returned to the loading platform, Zodiac cracked her knuckles and prepared for the worst. 'Blending in' meant taking some lumps as well as giving them. As the people began to climb out, Zodiac grabbed her purple prize and walked right up to Bova and her friends and looked up.

"Perhaps you would like to continue our earlier conversation in private, my child." Bova was back to her accent now with a smile that barely hid her intentions. The mystic pulled her dry erase board out of her purse and wrote quickly.

Oh give it up, Leslie. And who are these goons? Your 2 in-bred cousins who still think shagging you is a good time?

"It's about time someone shut that non existent mouth of yours properly." 'Bova' lost her accent again. The board was erased and a new message appeared.

By who? YOU? Maybe your sister if I can find what street corner she is working and if I have the spare change to pay her.

Two things were happening now. The mystic was pressing every button she could think of to enrage the would be fortune teller while keeping a angelic look of concern on her face. To the crowd who was now watching the confrontation, it was playing out that Zodiac and Alex were being threatened for no real reason. Voices of concern began to rise from the crowd as the pitch of Bova's voice rose higher. Dimly she heard someone calling for security and smiled.

"Let's see how proud you strut about with a couple broken legs." Bova nodded to her friends. They were hired muscle and nothing else. No real ties to Bova save for the money she had paid them she deduced after glancing at their memories quickly.

Let's see how much your attitude changes when these guys pull that telephone pole out of your *** instead. She showed her message and quickly erased it as Bova reacted exactly like she had hoped she would. A surprisingly strong right hand caught the girl square on the jaw. Zodiac went limp and flopped dramatically in front of the crowd with a look of total confusion on her face. The crowd got loud suddenly and Bova realized she had been played.

"You little *****!" she shouted and lunged at the fallen gypsy, but was stopped short by security.

[Alexandrea]

"Oh yeah. I was in a few street fights in my youth. More than a few, actually." Alex chuckled, some had been with Madison, both against each other and as a team fighting together. Even back then, the two had worked well together.

It had been a long time since high school however. Fighting now was so different, Alex wondered if she could fight and appear 'normal'. And she always used weapons now. Except for when she and Odin had sparred bare handed, but they hadn't needed to hold back. And they didn't have to worry about being spotted. Maybe avoiding violence altogether might be a safer bet, she decided. The words; 'discretion is the key' muttering in the back of her head.

*I could just pacify her, Zoey...* Alexandrea said into her friend's mind as the two vampires made the short trip over to their welcoming committee. Alex stood slightly behind the faux gypsy, so she could keep an eye on everyone's hands. So Alex saw clearly, everything that Zodiac wrote while also blocking the view of the dry erase board from the humans sitting in the front cars of the roller coaster. It crossed the blonde's mind that if things got ugly, the teenage boys there would be an easy target for creating a mob.

Alex didn't think of herself as at all sheltered or uptight but she found herself pretty shocked by what Zodiac had said to Madame Bova... Leslie.

And Alexandrea wasn't the only one besides Madame Bova that was interested in what Zo had to say. The security attendants were becoming curious about what the Mystic had been writing as well. As two of them angled to pass in front of Alex, she did her dance of 'oh dear did I just trip into you and accidentally plant my boob in your arm?', getting each of the young men with thing one and thing two. She was all smiles for the young gentlemen as they helped Alexandrea back up, until Leslie the fortune teller began talking talking about breaking bones and drew everyone's attention.

The dry erase board had been wiped clean, so all the two human males saw as the turned back around was the much taller Madame Bova punching out the small and helpless looking Zodiac. It was all Alex could do to keep from grinning as Zo milked the show for all it was worth and then some. Madame Bova struggled to break free of the hold security had on her and was being led away from the ride.

Her two 'companions' looked back between Zodiac and then to Madame Bova being led away, clearly unsure as what to do. So before either of the apes thought up any bright ideas and could cause trouble, a sudden cloud of swarming and biting insects attacked them both. The humans all backed away as Alexandrea went over to her friend and hit her with the pillow while no one was looking.

*We could have just snuck passed her, you know Zo.* She said into Zodiac's mind. But even as she thought the words, Alex was unable to stop laughing. *Let's get out of here and go scare some spooks.*

[Zodiac]

She bit her tongue as she watched Bova being hauled away by security. The guards were giving her two simple choices. Either leave the park now, or be escorted to the gate where the Harper Rock Police would be waiting for her. Leslie chose to leave under her own power, but pointed at the prone mystic in warning.

"This isn't over with, Zodiac!" She shouted as she began to walk away with security following slightly behind her.

'Oh bite me you stupid cow,' She thought to herself as her eyes focused on her hired muscle. 'This is the part where you take the money and run away!' she wanted to whisper in their minds. Instead she blinked as a swarm of bugs suddenly decided to appear and begin to force everyone to leave the area. "Flipping allurists!' Zodiac laughed as she realized what had just happened.

The pillow attack surprised her. "Hey now, that was an Oscar winning performance there." she slowly sat it to make it look good. "The police and security do have their uses sometimes, if you make them come to the conclusions you want them to come to." Ginny emerged from her hiding spot and approached her owner. A few sniffs and a nuzzle at her face and then she meowed as if saying 'Okay, quit milking it. Get up!' The mystic made sure the contents of her purse were all accounted for, then grabbed the large purple cat and stood up.

"Ah, ghost train! Lead on, Dr. Veckmann!" she started humming the Ghostbusters theme into Alex's head as they walked along, making up words to it as she followed. "An invisible girl, is giving you head, who ya gonna call? NOBODY!"

It was a fairly decent sized building. The outside done over in early 1940's house refusing to die. Smoke effects trailed along the makeshift graveyard in the front lawn and the music was pumping out along with 'ghost' sounds, screams, and warning to turn back 'before you share the fate of those trapped within'.

"Okay. I'm moving in. Sign off on the title, guys." she laughed. Zodiac loved a good presentation and this place had gone beyond the norm in that respect. They handed their tickets to a bored ghoul and stepped up to the front door. Zodiac leaned against Alex and pointed her stuffed toy at the door.

"Show no fear! I am a trained professional in the paranormal and I am armed with a cat!" she shook the purple cat at the door.

"Meow"

She glanced down and saw Ginny at her feet. Apparently the animal found ghost houses more to its liking than roller coaster.

"Correction- Two Cats! We might just get out of here alive. No wait, we already dead. Well snap!" She tried not to laugh as the door creaked open while a speaker echoed WELCOME!

[Alexandrea]

Ginny's arrival and examination of her person, made Alexandrea think about her cats. Penny Valentine in particular. Garfield hated to leave the house but Penny could have come and seen Ginny and Zodiac. Next time... Alex promised herself and decided to bring her kitten over to see her mother cat soon. The trio headed away from the rides and over to the park's other attractions. The sounds of the Haunted House greeting them long before the building it's self actually came into view.

The Mystic's singing in her head made Alexandrea groan. Flashbacks to a raid quite awhile ago that seemed cursed to go on forever. It was there that Alex had learned of the evil sadistic side to her friend, Mistress Zodiac. "And it went on and on and on..." The blonde whispered to her self as Zoey serenaded Alex's brain. Luckily for what was left of Alexandrea's sanity, the Gypsy took mercy on the blonde and stopped her singing to admire the house.

"I wouldn't mind living in a place like that either. I was always more of an Addams Family wannabe than Brandy Bunch." As she passed by the attendants; Alexandrea couldn't resist giving them a full toothy grin with her fangs on full display. "Will there be... refreshments served inside or is it B.Y.O. Blood?" She asked the 'vampire' that ripped her ticket. All Alex got in reply was a groan and a head shake.

Zodiac took the house by storm, a full assault heading for the door. It was really a shame only Alex and Ginny got to hear the colourful warnings. The monsters inside would never their doom coming. The three ladies made their way though the creaky front door with the canned sound effects to the first 'scare'. It was set up to look like a mad scientist's laboratory. But it was a kiddie ride compared with some of what Alex had seen in Serenity's basement. The body parts looked pretty good for rubber and latex but the smell was a dead (pun intended) give away. It was pretty unimpressive. A few details like buckets of animal blood or flickering candle light would have helped a lot.

The flow of the room led them to a dark hallway with cobwebs and flashing lights. It showed a lot more promise. Alexandrea nosed her way in and jumped back with a laugh when a Freddy Kruger stepped out of the shadows with his clawed gloves raised. Alex's own razor claws were out in a second and flashed in front of the actor's eyes before vanishing as if they had never been there.

"Boo." She said sweetly and blew the Freddy a kiss with her once again normal looking hand. Alex kept going down the hall, to where there was a sharp turn and then another. The blonde poked her head around each corner cautiously before going ahead. Spiders dropped into her hair and fake hands grabbed at her all got no reaction, she wanted to get as far ahead of her friend as she could so she could jump out at her in Monstrous form.

But as Alexandrea rounded the last corner, she caught two Elviras making a switch. One was far too short to be a good Elvira but she was the one getting off shift... and she was about Alex's size. The blonde hurried up to the actor and using her most persuasive tone on the young woman made her an offer. The two bartered back and forth before coming to a deal, Alex could have used her Allurist powers on the girl but had been having fun haggling. Until she caught the scent of Lilacs and Jasmine and ended the bargaining quickly.

In the end, The actor was happy to just trade clothes with Alexandrea. The Allurist was over the moon as she quickly swapped outfits behind a drape with the younger woman. The girl even asked for a business card. Of course the costume provided by the park probably didn't cost as much as the Alex could have sold the clothing for in her shop but who doesn't love free shipping? Grabbing up her pillow, Alexandrea hurried to the next room before Zodiac and Ginny could catch up.

[Zodiac]

Haunted houses were a mixed bag for Zodiac. Usually the creators tended not to hit a proper balance of things. Too much money in one aspect and not enough in another. The floorboards creaked as they walked. A perfect touch. The lighting set a proper tone, but the inside sounds were slightly lacking as opposed to the outdoor ones.

And the props?

"Always hands and feet," she began to complain. "Rubber heart, head. Why not miles of intestines strewn about? A bloody chainsaw? Body parts bobbing around in jars? Maybe a penis or two. Something unique!"

What was worse, to her, the opening act was unmanned as well. The first scare should be a major one-two punch, not a snore fest. Zodiac glanced around and her hand snaked over the rope and snagged a rubber eyeball and dropped it into her pocket.

"Meow." The mystic's eyes looked to the top of the (supposed) piece of 'mad scientist' equipment and saw Ginny perched on top.

"Get down here," she whistled. She looked around and saw Alex had moved on without them. Her eyes rolled. Somewhere ahead Alex was up to something. It was what she would do if roles were reversed so she assumed the worst. "Let's go see what she has in mind."

She squinted in the strobes as she got the pattern down and made her way through the webbings slowly. A gag was coming for certain.

When Mr Kruger made his appearance, the gypsy let out a squeak and fell to the floor in a heap. 'Freddie' panicked when the girl did not move and knelt beside her to see if she was okay. Zodiac sat up suddenly. Eyes bulging and her mouth wide open in a silent scream, causing the would-be Dream Master to fall backwards onto his ***. The pair sat there for a second and both broke out in laughter. A quick thumbs up to both from both and she was on her way.

"Spiders," her mindspeak as flat as a pancake. The fake hands almost ludicrous as she walked along, till she spun around and grabbed one. For a fake hand, it had a lot of life to it as the owner tried to pull itself back through the hole in the wall. "Picking pockets or free *** grabs?" Neither way was she amused. A twist of her wrist and the hand's thumb broke and a sharp cry of pain came from behind the wall. She finally let the hand go and moved on while cursing in Romany in her mind.

The pair stepped out of the hall and into the set for Movie Macabre complete with an Elvira. She grinned as the woman trying to be the Mistress of the Dark spoke up.

"Hello darlings. Well, let me tell ya, if I was you I would not go out that door there." the woman pointed to the door on the right. "But then again, the other door kinda sucks too." she gestured to the left. "Oh man! This sucks as bad as one of the movies I show on TV."

Despite it all, Zodiac was laughing. She considered and approached the door to the right.

"You sure about that?" 'Elvira' asked. Zodiac opened the door slowly. "Well, ya can't say I didn't warn ya, short stuff. Good luck with that. Thanks for stopping by and, unpleasant dreams." the woman waved as the mystic stepped inside. Zodiac looked up the flight of stairs in the badly lit hall and began to climb.