Quarantine Conundrum

[Madison]

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

Madison: It was a rarity that Madison found herself wandering the quarantine zone. She had long advanced from the zombies and ferals that lived there and moved on to the ancients and mooncalves of the catacombs when she felt like training. Even that was somewhat uncommon now too. Most of her time had become spent away from the supernatural creatures that resided in Harper Rock. She had gone back to breaking and entering after giving up a good portion of her stock of traps to Pi for the family building but the telepath had long run out of black feral blood which required trips to the quarantine zone to find it. It was still easiest in her mind to stick to the deserted asylum. The supermarket and old firehouse were too small for her liking and she never had gone into the multiplex willingly after being killed there so long ago.

The asylum seemed a lot quieter than it had been back when she was newly turned. There weren’t nearly so many other vampires running about. It made her feel better about having Brick with her. The fewer vampires there were meant the less likely one of them would attack him and feed on him. He took one end of the facility while she took the other and they used a set of walkie-talkies to communicate. Currently she was standing near the entrance after having found a feral vampire as soon as they walked in. Brick had gone up ahead to search for the next one. Madison looked down at the feral at her feet, its blood (that wasn’t black) was still dribbling out of the bullet wounds she had put in it. She pulled a pair of pliers from her bag and knelt down beside the corpse, lifting up its lip so that she could pull out its fangs.

Ivy: Ivy had taken the Quarantine area from Naarc as her own private zone. Her little corner in an ever expanding city but rarely was it enjoyed. If she wasn't training her childer or managing her business, it was surviving mass assaults and mild feral insanity. Today was different, still sporting a bullet hole the size of china, the Soviet wandered round aimlessly until she almost fell through the Asylum doors. Stumbling on the step and straight into Madison, a body that at first she didn't recognise.. "are sor-... Privet Madison! What bring you to here? Why are torture poor feral?"

Madison: Someone stumbled into Madison, causing the telepath to fall forward in her position over the feral's dead body but she managed to catch herself before falling completely on top of it. Quickly the telepath got to her feet and spun around to face the person who had bumped into her. She wasn’t angry at all, it wasn’t their fault really, and she had been crouched down on the floor right inside the entrance. When she turned to see Ivy and Ivy addressed her as ‘Privet’ Madison, it caused her to arch a brow that only arched further into her forehead as Ivy start asking questions. “I’m not torturing it. It’s dead and you know as well as I do that the fangs are useful.”

Ivy: She noted the raised brow before she started the barrage of questions, it was the same look she'd been given by others when she spoke Russian. "it mean hello." the woman sighed, so far from home and not a soul around that spoke her own language. Ivy got to her feet and dusted herself off, normally having something to give her would be sibling but this time she was empty handed "da are useful. Blood more though. Are sorry... Not have gift today, will give two next time da?"

Madison: "Oh, well hi, I guess," Madison responded to Ivy's explanation. She watched as the other woman righted herself. Normally she would have brushed Ivy off at this point. The two had never gotten along and the last and only time they had spent a decent amount of time together, they had been aiming to bring one another to the brink of death. But since then, Ivy had taken to handing Madison random items any time she saw her, often leaving before Madison could ask why and now she could. “You don’t need to give me gifts Ivy and I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish by doing so.”

Ivy: She didn't know herself. A headwound too many perhaps? Or just finally gaining clarity? Either way it made little sense to the otherwise empty Soviet. The memory of hacking at the woman still in the back of her mind, along with the pain of being shot so many times "I not try anything. Just being nice da? Pratt not able give orders for while. I want make friend with family he not let me before..."

Madison: “Oh ******** Ivy.” The words were out of her mouth before she could fully process the thought of what she was saying. Madison shook her head in disbelief, “You have never wanted to make friends with me and while it probably had everything to do with Robert, I doubt it was because he wouldn’t let you.”

Ivy: Ivy frowned and crossed her arms over her ample chest. For once she wasn't manipulating or lying "if is ********, why would share raid keys? Would keep for self nyet? Pratt always say 'not turn out like Madison' then he say I lot like you and he get mad. He mad I engage to childe, he mad I not follow order, he mad I tell Lizzie walk into sun.." she counted them off on her fingers and gave each one a half assed shrug. "I want try now but if not want to, is ok."

Madison: There were a million and one self-serving reasons Ivy could have for sharing the items that she did. But there was only one that stood out to Madison as she stood and listened to Ivy rattle off the things that Robert had been mad about. What better way to piss off her sire or get back into his good graces by making friends with his first estranged childe or finding a way to **** Madison over? The words ‘go **** yourself’ were at the tip of Madison’s tongue but there was something Ivy had said that her mind had zeroed in on and instead she asked, “What do you mean he told you not to turn out like me?”

Ivy: The busty brunette had expected a '**** you' or even a punch, so had braced for it by moving her foot slightly. Hence the brief flash of confusion at the question "he... I not know, he get mad much when do thing he not like, he think if turn into you.. He fail with me. But he not care anymore."

Madison: Her mouth opened up to say something to Ivy about how the two of them would never be anything alike but closed it before any words came out. In her opinion, Ivy did a lot of stupid **** that was deserving of the many times she had died, just like Robert. That Ivy was turning out like her because of the things she did was an insult. It occurred to her though that there was something they would always have in common. It was Robert that had brought them into this life and it was Robert who had abandoned them in it when they wouldn’t bend to his will but Madison had been lucky enough and smart enough not to get roped into the negative spotlight. Her pale pink lips parted once more, “You’re probably better off that way.”

Ivy: "what way?" again Ivy was confused, the usually intelligent, vindictive woman had been brought down quite severely. As she moved her glasses it became clear just how badly she'd been thrown aside, reduced to little more than a bimbo. Her face, throat and chest littered in scars, her left eye damaged beyond repair but she was mending. Albeit slowly, relearning English, covering most of her scars in makeup, scavenging a pair of glasses. "he think I a failure..."

Madison: She had managed to ignore Ivy’s state of appearance up until this point. It wasn’t unusual for vampires to be missing eyes and limbs. Madison had seen herself like that a few times with the help of her smartphone. It was becoming apparent though that Ivy was more than just physically broken. Unable to resist, she focused in on the other woman’s mind, reading her memories. She was quiet as she read the numerous attacks that had been made on the other at the hands of their sire and those that helped him. With a shake of her blonde head, she pushed the memories aside and said, “I meant you are better off with him not caring.”

Ivy: Ivy didn't know her memories were being invaded, she never could tell even when she was at her best. Telepaths would forever be the bane of her life, she just assumed, rather mistakenly that it was nothing more than awkward silence. "he not care since tell him nyet, he demand I tell Tiamat he teach her. Is my childe, my fiance. I teach, not him. He get mad and attack us.. Then thing just get worse and he cheat, call friends and call me coward!"

Madison: It was an odd place that Madison was in. She could see several sides and the one she was least sure about was her own. There was no want or need to get herself involved. No good would come of it. Robert had finally given up trying to make amends with her. She still didn’t think he was honest in his attempts. She wasn’t quite sure Ivy was all that honest either. The walkie-talkie at her hip sounded with a crackle of static before Brick’s whispered voice filtered through, saving her from having to think of something to say, “Madison, I’m in the west wing, to the north. Kind of have a problem here.”

Ivy: The awkward silence came again, and once more Ivy was left wondering why, was Madison preparing to hit her? Should she run? Maybe she was just being paranoid, not everything that moved was an enemy. Even if it felt that way recently. She opened her mouth to speak when the radio crackled and she tilted her head to inspect it "want help?"

Madison: All Ivy got in response was a thoughtless but affirmative nod as Madison automatically reloaded her weapon before she took off in Brick’s direction. No longer was she thinking about Ivy, her mind completely focused on getting to Brick. She made her way quickly through the building, avoiding any zombies in her path and didn’t slow until she was nearing the entrance to the room where she knew Brick was. Peering through the doorway, she couldn’t see her red-headed thrall but what she saw told her exactly where he was. A mooncalf, feral vampire and several zombies were all crowded around a closet door, clawing at it to get inside.

[Ivy]

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

Ivy: Ivy followed along quietly. Since she claimed the fenced zone, she felt responsible of all inside it. The lack of intelligence made her not stop at the door, or maybe it was just her complete lack of care and Soviet fearlessness as she poked her sword into the back of the mooncalf and cleared her throat with her typical quad fanged feral grin.

Madison: Madison had almost forgotten about Ivy’s presence until the younger vampire pushed past her into the room and brazenly engaged the mooncalf. She knew without a doubt that the mooncalf wouldn’t take too kindly to that and the other creatures in the room would follow suit and as easy as it might have been to let them have at Ivy so that Madison could get Brick out, the woman had offered to help. Stepping into the room, the telepath pushed a thought into Brick’s head, telling him to get as far back into the closet as possible. Raising her weapon, she took the time to aim carefully at one of the zombies. She pulled the trigger and less than a second later the zombie was falling to the floor, the back of his head blown out.

Ivy: The Russian paid no heed to the other beasties in the room, she stopped caring about zombies a long time ago, the ferals were clearly what Madison wanted since she stumbled across the woman playing dentist. It didn't take long to put the Mooncalf down but the sound of the gun put Ivy down, less than a week ago she'd been on the end of a dozen rifles and now she was momentarily skittish of firearms.

Madison: The second zombie in the room shuffled towards her. The only creature that was still at the door was the feral. It seemed oblivious for the moment that the two women in the room were taking out its friends. Quickly Madison adjusted her aim and pulled off another shot. Just like his friend, the zombie crumpled to the floor with the front left portion of its face blown to smithereens. Glancing at Ivy, she saw that the Russian had taken out the mooncalf but was now down on the floor, cowering. Madison yelled at her, “What the hell are you doing!? Get up!”

Ivy: The second shot had Ivy grabbing the fallen mooncalf, it was dead, what did it care if she used it as a shield in her moment of paranoid fear. That was until she saw the feral lunge for her sister and without thinking, the 'shield' became the weapon, watching as mooncalf and feral fell in a heap of flailing limbs. Driving her sword through the pair she looked away as the feral spat black blood at her, peppering her cheek and glasses in it "spasibo for sharing... Is what always wanted" her tone was laced with sarcasm as the blade twisted sharply and her attention turned to Madison "I sorry... Gun.. Make loud bang.. I not want get shot again, head stay down"

Madison: Brick hadn’t realized that there was someone with Madison, so when he heard her yelling, he assumed it was at him though he was confused as to why. The five foot nine, two-hundred pound male, opened the door to the closet and began to step out, thinking it was safe. He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing a mooncalf go sailing through the air and into the feral before a woman he had never seen before stabbed them both like a skewer going through hunks of meat. He blinked and looked over at Madison. Madison just shook her head at him and pulled out an empty glass vial from her bag and handed it to Ivy, “If I was going to shoot you, I would have done it already.”

Ivy: The vial was met with the same confusion most of Madison's questions had been. Only after a few minutes of staring did it actually click and she set about collecting the feral's blood. Careful to not waste a drop, at least until the vial was full, then she left the creature to bleed. "here go, is what want da? Are glad not shoot. It hurt much"

Madison: Madison shook her head when Ivy tried to hand back the vial now filled with the black blood she had come here looking for, “No, you killed it, it’s yours.” Her attention turned to her thrall and she crossed the few paces between them and gave him a once over before punching him in the arm, just hard enough to leave a bruise. “I don’t know how you ended up in there, but it’s probably your fault.” Brick rubbed his arm where Madison had hit him and shrugged his shoulders, “Meh. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here at all.” Madison’s ice blue eyes narrowed at him because he had a point. “Yeah, well,” her face broke out into a smile, “You just came out of the closet.”

Ivy: Her one good eye, an infected yellow in colour, stared at the vial still in her hand, she didn't need a reminder of the kill, she had enough trophy's and rewards. Plus it was Maddie who needed the blood more so Ivy very carefully slid it into her sibling's pocket and picked up her sword "da he come out of closet, is where he hide." the joke clearly wasted on the bimbo, despite not even being meant for her.

Madison: Both Brick and Madison were aware of what Ivy had just done but Madison gave him a look that clearly told him not to say anything. Brick shrugged his shoulders again. He didn’t care about this woman, not as long as she meant no harm to Madison and wasn’t going to make him a meal. The telepath turned back to Ivy, “Thank you for helping.”

Ivy: The Russian grinned sheepishly, as far as she knew, she'd gone un noticed in sharing the blood. She felt happy now, to have helped and in her mind, possibly improved her standings with the sibling "are much welcome da! Family help family.. They not kill family."

Madison: “Something like that,” she replied and a small smile was forced upon her lips at Ivy’s comments. She didn’t view the Russian as family just because they shared a sire. She didn’t even really view the Grigori as family. The d’Artois were sort of family. There was no doubt that Ivy was lacking a bit cognitively at the moment. This wasn’t the headstrong, stubborn, asshole of a woman that Madison had briefly known and automatically despised as her known replacement in Robert’s eyes.

Ivy: Ivy knew nothing of Grigori and d'Artois shunned her, both groups she'd been ordered to stay away from by Pratt, but now she was rid of the problem and was looking to fix the damage. She had two replacements to hate but frankly she didn't care, Pratt would only push those away too "I sorry did make you mad.. Can make old new da? Is start again? Think is right words..."

Madison: Madison stared at Ivy, trying to see any signs of lies and deception in the woman’s body language, words and tone of voice. Sometimes she really wished she was able to hear or read people’s thoughts as they were thinking them instead of only being able to read their memories. There were no outward signs that Ivy was trying to deceive her but it didn’t mean she wasn’t. The whole scenario felt sort of unreal. Never would she have guessed that Ivy would be looking to start anew. She didn’t know what else to say other than, “I guess…”

Ivy: The Russian may be down on brain cells but she knew she'd been abandoned, she knew thanks to Pratt, her name was reason in itself to shoot on sight, she knew she'd been replaced and would end up dead soon if she didn't start clean up on the mess she'd made. Starting with the first mess. Madison. No lies or deceit in her words or actions, Ivy genuinely wanted to repair it. "spasibo. Have apartment next door if want take friend there? Is much safe than cupboard. Are welcome stay too if want"

Madison: Turning her head to look at Brick, Madison asked him, “What do you want to do?” Brick, with his abnormal blue eyes, looked at Ivy and then back to Madison again, “I don’t care as long as you’re staying with me but if you’re going back to the Den then I’m going home.” Madison nodded and looked at Ivy again, “I think we’ll pass tonight Ivy. I do need to get back to the Den sometime tonight. We can get together soon if you’d like, maybe meet the childe you were talking about?”

Ivy: Ivy nods a few times, it gave her chance to clean up at least, between Corvidae and Veil, she'd have to lure her childe out and away from a computer "da! If want meet Tia, I make her be outside with people"

Madison: "Just let me know when the two of you have time then," Madison responded with a soft smile. She wasn't trying to show it, but she was eager to get out of the quarantine zone and away from Ivy so she could talk to Brick about what had happened and maybe even Elliot if he was around after she dropped Brick off at home.

Ivy: Ivy merely offers yet another nod and wanders off for the asylum exit "always have time, no one else talk to me... Pratt make sure of that." she sighed then shrugged it off and smiled at Maddie "will see soon da?"

Madison: Madison gave the other woman a nod and waved, "See you soon."