Conversation Over "Tea" ((Zodiac))

[Jonah]

Jonah listened as she described her experience with the blood thieves. To his knowledge, he didn't know any during that time, but he was not friendly with many humans then either so that was not surprising. That Zodiac knew someone that was a thief was...surprising to him but he did his best to hide it. When she asked of his involvement in the raid, he nodded. "I was part of the final push. I...think that I sent Momento to the realm. She pulled me there as well for a moment. The memory made him frown. "Is it sad that the only time most of us can come together is when there's a threat? And even then...there's people on the other side..."

He took a deep breath, helping him refocus on the story. "It was. I've wondered often if her...leaving, was because of what I did. There haven't been many of our faith and for one of us to make a mistake like that... The responsibility that he felt was obvious though he left much of it unspoken. "It went well at first. I grew stronger, quickly. Those close to me...some didn't agree with it but they supported me. I rarely fed on others. Paid for blood heals. When I did...I only fed on Wolffyn and had her permission.

As he continued to speak, his words came a little faster and he stopped looking at Zodiac, staring in to a patch of shadows past her. "It...changed at some point though. I started...being distant. Forgetting. I don't remember a lot of what happened. I just...I know I didn't care. About anyone." An almost painful sounding laugh shook his chest. "The whole reason I did it was to protect the ones I cared about and then I stopped caring about them..."

Blinking, his attention returned to Zodiac and he found that his nails were deep in his thigh. "Sorry..."

[Zodiac]

It was no reflection on her guest at all, but she was for some reason surprised at his insights into things. She liked hearing him talk. As the norm, some killers were more direct and volatile in their conversations (not all, but some) but Jonah was different.

"Do not apologize," she urged him. "Personally I think you hit some keys points directly on the head there." She saw her cup was empty so stood up and took it and Jonah's tankard for a refill. She continued to speak to his mind as she worked.

"As with the living, so it is with the not quite so living. Only when something threatens all equally can we put aside our petty differences long enough to try and do something about it, only to revert back to them once the issue is resolved. And yes, there will always be those who side on the opposite side of reason and order. I wonder, if she thought she was on the side of reason and order and we were the problem?"

She returned and sat back down, passing Jonah's cup back to him.

"I find it interesting that you say you 'changed' during your time as a necurat. Again, like the living, so are us. How often do people invest in themselves to be better than they are for a reason? It could be a musician, athlete, painter, police officer, solider, whatever. It begins with a reason. A real reason or a need, desire. Make a living, provide for my family, bring glory to my country. So they train to become better, stronger, faster at their chosen task, but a curious thing happens to some of them. The reason begins to change. The why of what they are doing gets replaced in the process. The task itself becomes the motivator. I need to run even faster, paint or play even better, fight harder, be more deadly, win more medals. Not for the reason they started with, but now they have a craving or need that overshadows everything they once held dear."

She reached out and covered one of his claws with her hand and squeezed softly. "If you are guilty of anything, my friend, its that part of you is still having very human reactions to things. And if anyone with fangs who say 'vampires don't do that' they are so full of it it isn't funny. What we are now is a continuation of what we were with some changes. We all end up on the wrong paths despite our best intentions sometimes. All of us. Even me. You started for one reason and forgot the reason as you went along. We are not gods and even they make mistakes as well. You remembered soon enough to stop and that is something most never manage. Not men, vampires, or even the gods. In the words from the streets- lighten up, dude."

[Jonah]

He nodded as she spoke, focusing on her eyes as he let her reassure him. It was a strange thing, to gain assurance from someone else. He had survived this existence primarily by relying on himself and yet, as scary as it was, it was nice to know that he could find support in others.

"I've always said, being like this doesn't change who we are. Everything that we are now, we were before. We're not monsters or animals. We're still in control."

When she told him to lighten up, he smiled as best he could with a moutful of fangs. "Sorry. I know that I got better. It's just hard to think about all that stuff. It wasn't a happy time. For anybody I don't think."

[Zodiac]

"You would be surprised how many of us have shrugged off our humanity without a second thought," She let go of his claw. "I am sure you have encountered a few or saw their ranting in the forums. Vampires are the superior life form, top of the food chain, and act as if they were never human to begin with. People like that scare me, actually, Jonah. Makes me wonder what they were like when they were alive. Perhaps to them, being turned was indeed a blessing. It allowed them to throw away the last few constraints to being mortal and suddenly not be responsible for their actions against others not turned." Zodiac sighed deeply. "Makes me wonder what they were like before and what things they may have done."

It was a pointless subject to debate, but she could not help it. It was kinda like a rule had been broken somewhere along the way. Some people should not have power, let alone the kinds of power being vampire allowed them. She shook her head and changed the subject.

"No it wasn't, I would imagine, a happy time. Sometimes our quests never are, but as I said you have managed to find yourself again. Picking up the pieces can be difficult, especially when you realize some of them broke because of your own actions. If there is anyway I can help you with this, all you need to do is ask." She took a sip and smiled. She had decided she like this man and would assist him in whatever ways she could. "Having someone like me on your side can have interesting results."

[Jonah]

"Guess that's kinda my point," he squeezed her hand as she pulled it away from his claw. "The one's that give up their 'humanity' at the drop of a hat, they're the type that would have done it all along. They were just waiting for an excuse."

The killer had spent many nights thinking about this topic and his opinions were set hard in stone. He knew of the Darkness within himself, he had spent a great deal of time with it and made peace with it. It did not control him though, even if he didn't really control it. Those that cast off their humanity, they were the ones that allowed the Darkness to control them. They were weak and unwilling to be responsible for their own actions, preferring to simply be animals.

He drank his own tea as she did the same and smiled when he sat the mug back down. "This helps. Having someone to talk to about things. It's...nice." His brow perked up at the "interesting" comment and his smile grew slightly larger. "Interesting how?"

[Zodiac]

"You are always welcome to come sit and chat. Who knows? One evening may come when you visit I will sit and chew your ears off. Poor thing, you will probably never come within miles of me after that." She laughed. Zodiac enjoyed it when someone acted like Jonah was doing. It was what she had done when alive and continued to do now, but now her list of souls who used her as such a confidant or councilor was smaller. Quality over quantity, she let the thought be filed away and roll off her mind as she tried to do with everything.

When he asked 'interesting how' , she grinned as she stood up from the table. "Oh my dear one, you have no idea. I am a councilor, mediator, deal maker and breaker. Can make the silly seem serious and the serious look like a bad joke." her laughter a gentle constant now as she began to dance about. Hips keeping the rhythm to an unheard music as she worked her way around the table. The bells in her skirts jingling softly. "I can tell you the past, predict the future, and help one make sense of the present.

A fingernail or a little lock of hair,
can call a stranger straight into my chair,
A phase of the moon or the hour of one's birth,
can make one fall into tears or mirth,

The lines on your hand or the ones in your face,
can tell me when you'll vanish with out a trace,..." She began to sing now. It was the little song the barkers sang back in the days when her Nana and her worked the carnies to attract the marks to what the pair of them could do for the right price.

"....I walk through worlds of moonlit mist,
and dance through dreams where lips are kissed,
I tinker in time, I toy with fate,
I change the shape of Fortune's face.

The Mistress of the Wheel,
The Keeper of Eight,
I am all and nothing,
I am simply...fate"

Zodiac stopped dancing and leaned across the table and gently took hold of Jonah's chin. "Trust me! Having a witch on retainer can help a lot, yes?"

She nodded while encouraging the man to nod yes as well before she busted in laughter.

[Jonah]

"I look forward to it. I feel bad doing all the talking." As nice as it was to open up to her, he wanted her to feel comfortable opening up to him. That's what it was supposed to be like, at least he thought so. A two way street.

His smile grew as she danced and sang in his mind. Hers was one of the few minds that did not send his head reeling as her words filled his mind and it allowed him to truly enjoy what it was that she was doing. Shaking his head, he watched and swayed along with her song and let himself drift to a more peaceful time.

Were she anyone else, he might have flinched at her fingers resting on his chin, but Zodiac had earned his trust so he let her guide his head in agreement. "I don't know about retainer, but having you as a friend is much better than the alternative."

[Zodiac]

She smiled a rare, warm smile at his answer. "You bet your boots, cowboy. I can tell you a true story about someone I knew as a child. They called him Diamond cause he was a gambler by trade. One day, my Nana had paid him to do some repairs on the RV, and she was not happy with the end results. Diamond gave some lame half answer as to why it was the way it was and was ready to leave it at that, but not my Nana. Oh no."

Zodiac leaned forward on the table, as if sharing a special secret. "You see, Diamond knew us. Knew my Nana and what she and I was actually capable of. When he tried to leave, all she did was say his name, point at him and gave him...'the look'. Do you know what I mean by the look? Everyone knows someone in there life who can give the look. Velveteen can manage one sometimes. I swear to the Goddess above, my Nana never did one single hex, spell or incantation to do any harm to Diamond, but she didn't have to. The 'look' did it for her. By the end of the week he was so panic bound, making mistakes and such, he had convinced himself that Nana had laid the ***** slap hex on him and was banging on her door begging her. He would make things right, just stop whatever it was she had started."

Zodiac sat back again in her chair. "I try to give 'the look' but I don't think I get it quite right, so I have to resort to actual hexes for effect." she laughed again. "Yeah, growing up with a witch as your parent and mentor into the higher mysteries had its moments for sure. Nana give me the look and suddenly I felt I was so deep into whatever it was it would probably be easier to dig down to get out of it rather than back up."

She did enjoy these talks. Too often someone would wish to speak to her, but usually there was a hidden motive or agenda involved in the process. The mystic needed more people like this in her quazi-existence. No double speak or whatever. Just chatter away like a couple of magpies on the fence line. It was something Temperance and her were quite good at as well. "And yes, I am quite pleased with your friendship as well, good sir."

[Jonah]

Jonah leaned forward, his brow furrowed as she began to tell her story. It was rare for any of their kind to speak about their history but in some way, it was something that he craved. None of them had been formed the moment they were turned and their lives were influenced by all that had happened before the singular event that bound them all together. That the mystic was sharing her history with him, even just this tiny bit, made hm feel trusted, like a confidante.

He smiled when she talked about "the look." His mother was the one that was able to give it in his life, although hers was accompanied by a clearing of the throat that managed to get everyone's attention and would leave whole rooms questioning exactly who was in hot water, adults and children alike.

"I have a feeling you could manage a pretty mean look yourself," he offered up as he leaned back in to his own seat. "I hope if I ever do see it, it's not directed my way." His smile was easy and broad and he finished off the mug of blood that was beginning to cool in front of him.

Setting the glass back in front of him, he attempted to learn more about the woman. "Your Nana sounds like an interesting woman. Where is she now?"

[Zodiac]

The question caught her totally off guard. The girl blinked a few times before a sad look drifted across her face that quickly vanished. She composed her and Zodiac began to 'speak'.

"My Nana has been dead for eight years now. Despite the fact my mother was alive at the time as well, Nana basically raised me. I grew up in a modern vagabond tribe of gypsies, so my apparel is not a costume at all." she managed to smile again. "My mother and I never got along very well at all, but her parents loved me. Maybe more than they did her, I cannot say or even consider such a thing as possible. There are many stereotypes associated with being a gypsy and a percentage of them are true. Why lie? There was a time I picked pockets like mad, stole what was needed to survive, help in rigged games of chance and other ways to remove money from those who had it into the pockets of those who needed it. Not all of us were like that, of course, but it was just a norm of our life. Not really so different than how things are now for some of us, yes?"

She stood up and beckoned the giant to follow her to one side of her parlor and pointed to an old poster preserved behind glass on the wall that was normally hidden when the lights were down low, but now could be seen clearly.

"That's us," She smiled in pride. "Another stereotype is that gypsies are witches, and in my Nana's case it was very true. She began to teach me when I was quite young her ways and when I was old enough we began to do the two person shows for the people in the towns we traveled to." Her words grew more soft now. "Even with all I have become since then, there are things I saw that woman do with ease that literally blow up in my face if I try them now. She was an amazing woman in my eyes. If there is anyone left from my past I still hope I am worthy of or make proud, it is her."

Zodiac turned to face her guest now. Her entire look and body language now back to normal again. "The night she died, I packed what I could and left as she had told me to do. She knew without her around, my mother and I would be at war with each other to the point of being life threatening. Three days on the road, and I found a fat, black kitten following me," she pointed to Ginny who was sleeping on the rug under the table where they had been drinking and talking. "And she has been my familiar and personal bodyguard ever since. The pair of us wandered Mexico and a good chunk of the US for well over a year before crossing into Canada. Found a sleepy little town called Harper Rock and despite my better judgment, we settled down, opened a small shop and was doing fine for two years till the night Scorpia wandered in and suddenly decided to see what kind of vampire I would turn into. Told me herself 'She thought it would be funny'. Her exact words. Not the most auspicious of reasons to be turned, but three years later here I am."

She looked up at the man mountain and shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Syzgany survive. Syzgany is an older term for Gypsy, so Nana told me. Would you care for another cup, good sir? My manners, I swear, I can be so rude sometimes."