Exploration [Open]

[Trinity]

With all the changes in her life hitting her in rapid succession, Trinity needed a break. She had been cooped up in her sound proofed apartment for too long, and the insanity of being alone was beginning to wear down the walls of her mind. She knew that her boyfriend had meant well and most of the time she was fine with it, but the deafening silence just wasn’t what she needed right then. She had been training her mind and hearing to adapt to the smallest of noises, such as a paper fluttering in the breeze or the tapping of a pen against the wood. Little, miniscule things that wouldn’t make or break her if she had failed. Today would be the first day in a while that she tried to adjust to sounds – and people – on a much larger scale.

Grabbing her messenger bag from the hook by the door, she swung it over her shoulders and bent down to pet Othello behind the ear before twisting her keys around her fingers and heading out. She wasn’t sure where she was headed or what she was going to do, but she knew she had to get out. She had to do something. What was the point of living for eternity if you spent all that time being a shut in? As she stepped out of the front doors of Veil Towers, her cellphone chimed a familiar sound belonging to Aksel. She had known it wouldn’t take him long to realize she’d left the apartment with the entrance as secured as he had it. Without even bothering to look at the message, she connected their minds.

I’m going shopping. If you want, you can meet up with me. I won’t stray too far.

Again, he meant well, but most of the time he was so overbearing and possessive, it made her feel suffocated. She knew he simply didn’t want anything to happen to her, but there was only so much a girl could take before they were ready to be out on their own. Especially a girl like her, one that held a rebel’s heart and a smile that could bring down an army. Shaking her head, Trinity chuckled to herself as she made her way down the street, amber gaze bouncing from one building to the next. Had she ever taken time to explore the city she had called her own? She never strayed far from the Flats when she was first turned, and now she barely took two steps past Wickbridge if she could help it.

She hadn’t always been this way. Before she had left Argentina, she’d been carefree. There wasn’t a day she didn’t have a plan to do something, to be somewhere. Most days, she had more plans than she could handle. Her life was constantly moving, party after party, club after club. By the time she had left, everyone knew her name, and she even received concerned e-mails from the club owners about her disappearance. Really, who took the time to notice one person in the midst of hundreds every night? Yet, they had, and they all wanted her to come back. After all, she was the life and light of ladies night.

Now, however, it was nothing but solitude and her clinic. Skyview was still struggling to make itself known, with a few parents coming in daily with their children, most wanting an excuse not to go to school. A few, however, had left well taken care of and had earned her a small reputation. Now that she thought about it, she could use a few items for the office. It was bear, and Nicole always complained about not having enough color. That, again, was something that wasn’t like the blonde. She believed in making everything unique. With a quiet sigh, she continued down Wickbridge, her fingers drumming against her thighs. She could go to the mall, get her shopping done and head home, but instead, she found herself passing it up as she headed for the transit.

Maybe it was time to get to know Harper Rock a little better.

[Mora]

Mora had been in her Beta apartment, nothing too stranious, she wanted to catch up on some of her papers for her businesses, she had let them stew for a few days with the recent bloom of activity from Daradasi that had taken up her time – teaching her new childer to feed, to be a vampire – her income had been put on hold, it had been sad not to be earning the money she did each day, even as she powered up her business servers she had noticed one of them in particular had, had a few viruses in their systems it had taken her an hour or two alone just to rid the system of the crap. She hated hackers at time – and she was a hacker herself, she had assumed the person she had hired was good, but clearly wasn’t doing his job correctly. She made a mental note to either fire – or demote this person. She needed the issue to be resolved one way or another.

Grunting Mora pushed herself away from her desk – she had been working hard for three hours and she needed a reprieve she needed to do something that wasn’t work based, there were no new raids to blow steam off – hacking raids for her and been too far and few between the woman had nothing to do but kill paladins, and make sure her staff members were getting their wages daily. Oh what a riveting life the telepath had. Grabbing her coat she decided to take a walk something to clean her already foggy brain.

She slipped out into the cool night’s air, unsure what the night may hold – if she got hungry along the way she would slip into a shop and buy a bag or two, or even feed from a live host. She hadn’t drunk from a human since the night she sired Lucid. She never drank to kill, simply to get what she needed before moving on and carrying on with her evening – the human would be unharmed almost, aside from a small amount of dizziness and amnesia – it was when she was walking towards the transit did she catch the scent of Judas. She turned in the general direction of the scent a smile painted on her lips – excitement to see her lover but when she turned, her eyes didn’t see Judas – they saw Trinity the blonde she had met at the rally.

“Trinity.”

Mora said, and slowly moved towards the girl pocketing her hands within her famous red coat, a friendly smile painted on her features.

[Trinity]

Curling one set of fingers into her hair, the blonde pressed against her skull with the heel of her palm. It didn’t help, but the actions had always brought her comfort. It was like when she was younger, with her migraines she swore were going to be the death of her, yet never were. She’d always curl in bed and focus the pain away. She’d imagine a blade slicing across her skull where the pain was centered and the blood flowing freely from the wound in thick, crimson ribbons. She’d imagine the blood as the pain, allowing it to leave her body – and it would work. Or, she thought it’d work. When her doctor told her it was just an illusion, she’d been unable to do it again. The pills she’d prescribed ceased to work as well, if one didn’t count her growing addiction.

That was all in the past. Now, she was dealing with a pain that made those migraines seem like a fun day in the park. The constant voices were making her crazy, the sounds worse than nails on a chalkboard. You can do this, Trinity. Come on. It was a familiar mantra, one she continued to repeat to herself to the point she was beginning to annoy herself. That is worse than just crazy, Trin, if you can’t even get along with the voices in your own head. With a choked laugh, she counted the cracks in the sidewalk as she massaged her skull lightly. She really was a masochist. …Need to get to Honeymead before the store closes… The thought entered her mind unbidden, sticking out above the rest of the white noise. Honeymead. She’d been meaning to visit there since the rally. She didn’t know where it was, but she doubted it would take too long to get there. Aksel was always coming and going at odd times and he was never gone too long.

Shaking her head, the blonde snapped her teeth together and instantly regretted it when the sound echoed in her mind. At least she’d found something else to focus on and deter her from the white-hot pain stabbing itself repeatedly in her brain. She had no idea what kind of shop Zodiac owned, but with the way the woman had looked, she’d be willing to bet it was something she’d enjoy.

Judas.

The sound of her grandsire’s name had her head snapping up, half expecting to see him in front of her and someone greeting him. It was a natural reaction, to think that it was all out loud and not in her head. However, when her gaze met Mora’s, she frowned. She was never going to get used to this. With a faint smile, she tilted her head to the side and sped up her walk just enough to reach her. “Mora, what’s up?” She hadn’t expected to run into anyone she knew, though she didn’t know why she was surprised. This was the second time she’d seen Mora on Wickbridge. “Do you live around here or something?” She asked as she crossed her arms and curled her fingers in an attempt to not claw her own face off.

[Mora]

Mora canted her head to the side blonde hair falling onto her shoulders as she looked the woman over – she hadn’t really had an in depth conversation with the woman, she didn’t even know her path. She watched the woman turn to her general direction she seemed almost pleased to see Mora as she began to make her way towards the telepath. The smile never faltered the woman’s trademark – a smile, always pearly white and welcoming towards anyone. The woman asked Mora what as up. She found her eyes looking up to the sky, there was nothing up there but stars but she got the idea that, that was not what she meant.

Curiosity got the better of her then, as she reached out to the woman mentally appraising her – looking at her path when she noticed one thing they had in common, they were both telepaths. She found her smile growing wider. She loved Telepaths. Each one she met was unique in their own way. Elizabeth was smart, Sundial was always bubbly – and Mora? She was forever scarred by the bloody murders she did due to rage in New York back when she was a fledgling – she had yet to find her unique quality as a Telepath.

”Hello Trinity.” She said into the woman’s mind, reaching out to her. ”How are you?” Her lips didn’t move as she spoke into the woman’s mind directly, her telepathic abilities flexed, it was so natural to use them as she withdrew her hands from her jacket pockets and rubbed them together pale hands rubbing against each other.

“I live with Judas, but I do own an apartment around here. I grow my various plants up there I often like to come here to trim them, tend to them, water them all that kind of stuff – I also have my office down in Honeymead. Just upstairs of the library.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I was just going to slowly make my way there, I went for a walk what about you?” She asked the woman curiously.

[Trinity]

Her hands trembled as she held them pressed to her ribcage, but she hoped it was out of the woman’s line of sight. She didn’t feel like answering more questions – it seemed like even the simpler of explanations opened up a barrage of questioning that left her head spinning worse than when it started. When the woman’s gaze turned up, irritation – thought irrational – flared in her chest like a fire. It was something her mother used to do that usually lead to a fight. However, Mora wasn’t her mother. She had to remind herself of that, just as much as she had to remind herself she put herself in this situation. She wanted to explore, she wanted to throw herself into the fire. She needed to be able to handle the tsunami of thoughts and sound without murdering everyone on sight.

Hello, Trinity.

The second the intrusion occurred, her hand jerked from her side to press to her temple. Above the roar of it all, she heard her voice the clearest. Snapping her teeth together, her gums began to ache as her fangs fought their way out, the pain so intense it made her knees nearly buckle. It wasn’t the other woman’s fault, she didn’t know. She might understand, but she didn’t know. Hoping her agony was only in her own mind, Trinity gave her a smile and wiped the back of her hand beneath her nose, quickly and subtly removing the blood she felt building up. “You live in the Crypt? That place creeps me out, if I’m being honest. Aksel wants to buy one of his own, but I don’t know if I could live in it.” She chuckled, the sound strained, but filled with genuine happiness. “I live over in Veil Towers with him, I’m just out trying to adjust, you know? I’ve been here so long, but Aksel keeps me pretty locked up to protect me.”

She didn’t realize how that might sound, and so she simply lifted a shoulder in a shrug and tightened her fingers around the strap of her messenger bag. “I was going to make my way to Honeymead, though. I got a business card from Zodiac? I wanted to check her place out. Care if I join you?”

[Mora]

Mora loved the crypt; it was in its own way. Homey, Mora got to be with Judas, his family and her own – all of which she considered to be one big family. Daradasi, Dupree. It was all the same to her. She would kill for them; die for them – even Trinity. Even though she didn’t know the woman that well, aside from the fact that she was Tate’s childe, her boyfriend was called Aksel and she was Judas’s grandchilde – it was enough for her to open herself up to the woman, Mora would be what you’d call a recluse. She rarely herself left the crypt. Unless there was a raid. So many things to kill, and to hoard in a small place. Judas came with her, they went together. She never liked to be away from the man for long.

The woman had slipped into her thoughts – but she was brought back by Trinity, the motion of the woman wiping at her nose. She canted her head to the side. She didn’t think anything of it, could have been an old human habit, Mora still had the habit of rambling, especially in situations where she was put on the spot. The telepath pushed her golden hair behind her ears, as she wiggled her fingers for a moment figuring out the best route to take to get to Honeymead. She liked shops, they were always pretty to look into, she had heard of Zodiac. The woman was Sangue. She knew Sangue well, her sire in law was the leader of Sangue. Hellequin had married Scorpia. Though she heard nothing from either of them. They were probably in Vegas. Livin’ it large.

“I like the Crypt.” Mora smiled, nodding. “Why does Aksel keep you locked up to protect you?” She didn’t understand, but she wanted to. Mora wanted to know everything about the woman, she was that sort of person. Then after a moment she nodded her head.

“Let’s go to Honeymead, you can tell me a bit about yourself, if you’d like.” She said with a smile as she began to head off at a slow pace, one leg in front of the other heading in the general direction of Honeymead.

[Trinity]

She was more than willing to let the smaller blonde lead the way. She knew if she tried, she would walk herself into a ditch, or worse, the sewers. Letting her take the lead also gave Trinity a moment to collect her thoughts. She didn’t know the woman, and yet she was asking personal questions, delving deep into her psyche. Or, of course, there was also the option that Trinity was overthinking it. Her question was just a follow up of her own remark. It wasn’t as if Mora had set out to rip every thought from her mind.

Damn, she really needed to control this.

“I’m new at everything. This life, the path I was re-born to. I can’t control it. The voices are so loud in my head. Even now, fighting with everything I have to block you out, I can still hear you. I can hear everyone. Their inner most personal thoughts, every sound they make. It drives me insane.” The words fell easily from her lips, and she lifted her hand to rub at the back of her neck. “It causes me to shut down, or sometimes I’ll go into a blind rage. He decided it was best to just put me in a soundproof apartment and keep me locked away from society until I could get a better grip on it. Sometimes its worse, you know? Not having anyone to talk to but yourself and your dog.”

She couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken so much. What was it about Mora that had her opening up and spilling out her heart? Maybe it was the hope she could help her, make her normal. Make her… sane. Or maybe she was lonely. Whatever it was, the distraction was just enough to keep her from clawing her face from her skull as the thoughts bounced around in her mind. The man on the corner wanted coffee, the woman down the street was mentally falling apart internally due to her husband’s indiscretions. Mora was… thinking about home. Judas.

Judas.

Her grandsire, though not well known to her, was a strength she relied on. She believed in him, simply because her sire believed in him. Perhaps that was why she found herself opening up to Mora. Anyone that could obtain the trust of Tate and Judas was someone that she could count on. “Well, it’s all of that and he’s cursed with extreme jealousy and possessiveness. Sometimes I believe he just locks me away so no one else can look at me,” she chuckled. It was amusing to think, yes, but it was also completely true. She knew how it had to sound to the other. Someone possessing her, someone keeping her locked away like a fairytale princess. If anyone came to her with it, she would think the same thing – they were being abused or mistreated, but she didn’t feel that way. “He’s got issues, too. I’m beginning to think no one in this town is normal,” she muttered, her fingers brushing beneath her nose again.

Keep talking, Trinity. Keep talking, and the pain will go away.
If only.

[Mora]

The woman beside Mora was not in control of herself the way she talked – her words came so quick, everything that was on Trinity’s mind was leaving the woman’s lips. Mora listened, her head nodded understanding what she meant. She had never heard the voices so violently but she had become tormented by the need for blood, for violence when she was but a fledgling – perhaps Trinity was feeling the same way she did, but just in a different form. Telepaths were crazy by stereotype. She knew, Elizabeth had told her as such. Mora was often crazy, sometimes the Vathia called to her.

Mora let Trinity finish speaking before she snaked out her arm and placed a hand against Trinity’s shoulder and let it rest there. Rubbing it in a comforting notion. “Things are so loud.” She echoed the woman’s words, blonde hair scratching against the flesh of the woman’s neck. She didn’t know the right words to say to the woman, the right words to help her see through all the crazy.

“It gets easier.” She says. “Housing you in a padded room, away from it all will only make it harder for you. The only way to learn to block it all out-.” She lifted her arms, twisting her body so she circled the spot. “-Is to be out here, in the thick of it – it will be hard at first, and in time it will be easier, you will find you will have more self-control.”

Mora moved one leg in front of the other, pushing her hair up into a pony tail. They had a long walk to Honeymead, and it was the perfect moment for them to get to know each other, it would make Judas happy if she got to know his side of the family – and so she would. Then she made a comment about no one in this place being normal, the telepath found herself laughing.

“I agree, no one is normal – even if you are normal. You are dead.”

Simple as that.

[Trinity]

When she felt the weight of her hand, her first reaction was to lash out. Some unknown beast reared its ugly head inside of her chest, a darkness that filled her to the point of breaking. With a snap of her teeth, she tilted her head to the left to stretch the tense muscles of her neck before releasing a breath. It wasn’t the touch that had set her off. It was the sound of her skin brushing along hers so close to her ear. Something so simple, yet it was something so dangerous to the buxom blonde. She could practically hear her mother’s voice, reminding her of how fucked up she really was.

Get the **** out of my head.

Lifting her hand, she pressed her nails to the tendon of her neck, her eyes on the ground as she listened to the woman speak. Who would she trust? On one hand, she had her boyfriend who would do anything to keep her safe, but did he have a true outlook into what she was suffering? Could he really handle it when she let loose the demons that were dancing in her heart? Or should she pay more attention to what Mora was saying, telling her that she needed to escape into the open and face the tremendous assault head on? “Is it really that simple?” Her voice was quiet and strained, the tremble a clear sign to the level of stress she was facing.

Her fingers curled, nails biting deep into her skin as she focused on the cracks in the sidewalk. She wanted to get to know the woman at her side, but she couldn’t focus completely. Her voice was going in and out of her mind as the thoughts of others swam through her. It was almost as if she forgot who she was and began to live the lives of the people around her. The thoughts became her own to the point she began to panic about things she never cared about. Did she leave the light on? Was the stove turned off? Had she fed Othello or told Aksel when she’d be back?

Panic filled her and she found her hand slamming out, the sound of her skin slapping against Mora’s echoing into her head and causing her to stumble. It had been the lightest of touches, but it was enough to her that her stomach twisted and her teeth clenched. “I’m sorry, they’re just so loud. How do you handle it? If it gets too bad, I shut down. This? This is almost like a day in the park for me, and yet I feel so miserable. They won’t stop talking, they won’t stop thinking. How do you get them to shut up?” Her voice sounded foreign to her own ears, like she was speaking beneath layers of water. Did she sound as crazed as she felt? Dropping her hands from her neck, she curled her fingers around the strap of her bag and kept walking. That was all she could do anymore.

Just one foot in front of the other.

[Mora]

She could see something snapping inside the woman, the way she shrunk away from Mora’s touch pushing her hand away gently, though the woman seemed to clutch at the strap of her bag. Mora felt pity for the woman, she needed help – and help was what Mora would provide, or at least try to. She let the woman walk on for a moment – one foot in front of the other, she walked fast. She followed the woman, it was when she slowed down did Mora slip in front of the woman, spin on her heel and grasp at the woman’s lower arms. The grasp was gentle, hands barely rubbing against Trinity’s skin.

“Focus on me.”

She told the woman, pushing the image of herself into Trinity’s mind, it was a quirky telepathic trait she had learnt over the way, she could push images into minds, scenes, even memories. It had taken lots of concentration, and guidance from the wraiths before she could master these abilities and perhaps getting Trinity just to focus on her, her face – it might help her to slowly push everything out. To solely focus on one thing. That was her theory at least.

“Focus on my face, my thoughts. Slowly, block everyone out – until you can hear me, and only me.”

So she began to think about Judas, the way he made her feel, the love she felt for him swelling, her love for her childe – the love for Trinity, the want to help her. She let it all pour to Trinity to pick up on. She opened herself up to the woman; she even shared her distress at her lack of memory, the holes. She shared it all. She never left a stone unturned, her whole story was for Trinity to focus on – she could have it all, if it helped her block everything else out.

“I didn’t deal.”

Mora said, licking at her lips briefly. “I went mad, driven on violence, I killed – I went to my home town and killed my family. I butchered, I won’t let that happen to you Trinity. I promise.” She told the woman.