Dead Is A Dirty Word [Part 2, Shadow Realm]

[Micah]

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

<Every> Velveteen had lost her ****. It was a nice thought on a good day, but as Every found herself alone in the shadow realm, shot to hell, and unable to speak with an inward sigh. She hadn’t the slightest clue where Micah had gone off to - the place was too large and she could recognize ruins after a few minutes of staring and concentration. The pain pounding in her head irritated her from the gunshot causing her to lift her hand, her frustration growing as she closed her eyes and stood still.

After a few moments of collecting herself, coughing to clear her throat, she began to walk in an aimless direction. Deep down, she knew that Velveteen hadn’t been in her right mind. She couldn’t blame her, really, but at that moment, she didn’t care. She was annoyed. It had been an accident, dammit! She’d even written it in Micah’s blood considering the woman hadn’t even given her a moment to speak before allowing a bullet to rip through her throat - twice. As she walked, she didn’t notice how close she had gotten until she recognized the larger blur and stepped back, afraid.


<Micah> Once he’d figured out where he was he started moving. The desolate landscape didn’t change much if it did at all. There was absolutely nothing here. Every so often he would come across a spirit. The killer thought he remembered someone talking about being in the Shadow Realm before, and said that draining the spirits was a good thing. Hoping he was remembering correctly he drained each and every spirit he came across. He didn’t see another person as he wandered aimlessly and Micah was starting to feel a little hopeless.

How was he going to last a week down here? While he wasn’t finding it to be so bad overall, the sheer lack of others was what he felt was going to do him in. He missed Vel with every fiber of his being. How was she going to take it? Surely she was going to freak out. If he was in her position that what what he would do. Or he’d kill the person that sent her to this place. He stopped in his tracks. Oh no. He turned around, thinking to go in another direction when he noticed he was no longer alone. A ball of dread formed in his stomach. “Every.”


<Every> It had been too easy to find her sire and as Every glanced around, she expected something to fall out of the sky or to attack her. She had gotten used to the Shadow Realm, as much as she didn’t like to admit it, but she didn’t like being there. Although, as she looked around and noticed that it was less crowded that it had been the last time she was there, she didn’t think it’d be that bad. “You’d think that people would notice this before they started bitching about how Tytonidae was.” She thought, wincing when she heard Micah’s voice and she scratched at her head briefly before her gaze lifted to the man.

A frown played across her lips as she mouthed that she was sorry. The guilt was visible on her features while she folded her arms in front of her chest and rubbed her arms lightly. She remembered that he had shot her first on her side and the frown stayed in place as she realized how much of a ***** it was to not be able to speak. Lifting her hand, she spelled out Velveteen’s name with her finger in the air slowly - whether it was for his benefit or her own, as she paused momentarily as if to think on how to spell, was unclear.


<Micah> He wasn’t surprised to see her though he wished she hadn’t been sent here. And he knew that she had. Accident or no, Micah knew his wife inside and out. She would have been furious and she would have taken it out on the person responsible for his demise. Unfortunately that person was his childe. His head dropped and his shoulders slumped in resignation. If Eve was here…..he didn’t want to think about the mess he’d left behind. And he wasn’t meaning the blood. “Is she alright?”

He lifted his head and frowned. Guilt was written all over her face and he could tell just by a glance that she felt terrible. His insides twisted. “It’s not your fault you know. How were you supposed to know your gun would misfire? I know you Every Andras and you’d no sooner intentionally harm me than you would harm Nish. It was an accident.” He paused and watched her write a name in the air with her finger. “Yeah I figured that.” It was as he figured. Vel had killed her but where did that leave Vel?


<Every> Her mouth opened to say no, but she lifted her hand to grasp at her throat and crinkled her nose before beginning to write out something else until she paused. Looking at Micah, she listened to him speak and she frowned. Writing out ‘I hate guns again’, she offered a small, sheepish smile that still showed pain. She swallowed and looked down at her feet. A sigh escaped her as a huff and she looked back up at him.

‘Vel has lost her ****.’ It was mouthed first before she lifted up at the black sky and stomped her foot briefly to show her annoyance. Raising her hand, Every spelled it out again for him and lifted her eyebrow. ‘Bitc-.’ She paused, remembering that he had told her that she wasn’t as always sensitive as she should be at times, and made an erasing motion in the air before starting over. ‘Refuses 2 think U R dead.’


<Micah> “You’ve always hated guns,” he pointed out to her. She very rarely ever used one so that he was currently full of holes from said gun was a little surprising. He’d rather have wounds from her blade any day. Much cleaner. “And slow down. Only got one damn eye. Doesn’t make it too easy to follow along when you’re skywriting.” And he was seeing double but that was to be expected, with three damn holes in the head. She was a wicked shot. “You really need to learn mindspeak. Especially if people are going to run around shooting you in the throat.”

So Vel had flipped. It didn’t surprise him but it made him worry. Who would look out for her now that he wasn’t there? And if what Eve was telling him….what was he going to do? There really wasn’t anything he could do from here. He could attempt mindspeak but his head was foggy and he couldn’t think of who he could try to contact. What a ******* mess.

[Every]

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

<Every> Even through the guilt, she couldn’t help but look at the damage done and be a bit surprised how badly she’d gotten him. The brunette blinked at him owlishly before writing ‘oops’ in the air slowly for him and folded her arms in front of her chest while she listened. The look he received after that was one of her usual ones and she tried to filter out several responses that rose with her mood before setting on. ‘Working on it.’

And she was, although it was going to be a bit more delayed than she preferred. What had been what she expected to be two months would be pushed back further, but she didn’t really mind it. ‘Still sorry.’ She spelled out, the frown playing across her lips, ‘Love you. And her, though crazy as ****.’

<Micah> “Stop apologizing. It was an accident. They happen, and I ain’t mad bout it. Sucks bein dead but its my first time down here and if I was gonna be killed I’d rather it be by you than someother fuckin moron that I can’t stand. So suck it up.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’d offer you a bandaid for your throat but I ain’t got none on me. Shame too cause I’d just bought some of these awesome turtle ones. Bunny helped me pick them out.”

He offered her a small smile. “Love you too and you have to give her a break. You accidently killed her husband. You know better than almost anyone how tightly connected she is to me. We keep each other sane. Having someone who is that close to you ripped away like that….it’s a shock. She’ll be fine and so will you.” The I hope went unspoken.


<Every> She made a face showing that she wasn’t pleased with the news, but she understood before she wrote in the air, ‘How I felt the first time.’ Before looking around to try and get a sense of what part in the realm they were in. After a moment, she looked puzzled before she looked back to him. ‘Mindspeak works for non-telepaths?’ It was written out quickly and it dawned on her to slow it down as she wrote it out slowly a moment later. Every pursed her lips at his words, pressing them into a thin line.

‘I told her that she knew I would never.’ She wrote out, waiting for acknowledgement that it had been seen before continuing, ‘She shot me twice, didn’t let me talk between.’ With a frustrated expression, Every moved to kneel down and tried to see if she could write on the ground. ‘Wrote in ur blood I didn’t mean it, you were dead and bullet went in my skull.’ She wasn’t putting blame, but wanted him to understand what had happened. After a moment, she paused and added, ‘Worried for her. Mad, but worried.’


<Micah> “I dunno I ain’t ever been here before. But Im pretty sure I remember Robert Pratt singin to either me or Vel during one of his many trips.” He rubbed at his head as if he thought it would help to clear the fog that filled his mind. The killer wasn’t used to having a head wound so it was an odd experience. “I’ll try to contact...I don’t know. Someone.” It had never been this hard to think about the simple things and he was in no hurry to repeat it. Once was enough thanks.

“I don’t think she was really rational Eve. And writing in blood….I don’t imagine that she took that all too well.” He wasn’t going to be able to convince his childe that she didn’t have a right to be angry. She did, and he wasn’t mad at her for that. She was down here for an accident. Dealing with a crazy amount of guilt on top of it made for a very angsty female. “It will be fine.” He didn’t sound too convincing, but thats what he was hoping for.


<Every> ‘Pratt’s a special case?’ She usually forgot he was a shadow, too, but the head wound didn’t help as she struggled to remember before she gave a shake of her head. ‘It will be useful in the future.’ Reanna had the tendency to shoot her in the neck, as well. As she stood there, Every wondered what the hell the women in her family had against her neck, but the thought was lost before she lifted her gaze to her sire and wrote out, ‘Malachai?’ in suggestion. Even if she wasn’t a fan of the male entirely, he was the one in charge when she was out of commission and considering Vel was… not there as a leader, it was the best suggestion she had.

‘I lacked a pen and paper.’ She wrote out, a flat expression evident before she rubbed her neck lightly and then nodded with his words. ‘It will be, Old Man. Don’t worry.’ Even if Vel was off her rocker, how bad could it be? She wondered and then paused in thought. A moment later, she shook her head and gestured that they keep walking around. ‘Spirits make us stronger, should find some.’ Every wrote the words out and then began to walk east quietly, motioning for him to follow.

[Velveteen]

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

Velveteen - Velveteen fussed over Micah’s body. Talking to him like nothing was out of the ordinary. Just the way she had been doing for a couple of days now. “I don’t know what has gotten into people. Everyone is acting weird. Probably has something to do with Malachai telling them you were dead.” She laughed and shook her head. His dressings had been changed and secured and with that she stretched out on the bed beside him and curled into his side. She chuckled and nodded in response to something she thought he said. “Yeah...I don’t know what they think is happening but it’s like...everyone wants to check in on you. Like I am not ******* capable of taking care of you. ******* weirdos.”

Anger surface for the briefest of moments before being pushed back to the depths from which it came. “Jesus...could you imagine the insanity if you really did die?” Her chin tilted upwards and her head rested against his shoulder, bobbing softly as he spoke though they were words that only she could hear. “Yeah...they would. You should get some rest now though.” Her lips brushed his cold , lifeless cheek softly. “Of course I will stay with you. There is nowhere else I would rather be.”

<Micah> It had been two nights since the accident. Every had found him the second she had been sent there and her company was what was helping him stay calm. Dying wasn’t such a bad thing. He’d heard horror stories about the shadow realm from other who had been there but he wasn’t having the same issues as others. The darkness was a bit nerve wracking, as was the silence and the fact that he was just sort of floating there. But he knew that his body was back in the Eyrie with Vel and hopefully she was taking care of it. He wasn’t too sure about that though. Every had told him straight off that Vel had flipped her ****, and Micah was worried. Maybe his body being left behind was too much for her to handle. And she hadn’t been down yet which was setting off alarm bells.

He wanted to see her. The killer felt terrible leaving his wife but he hoped that she was in good hands, that someone in the family or the faction was checking on her. His head was still a bit foggy and he couldn’t recall if there was anyone he could try to contact to see if she was ok. Even after two days down in the realm he was starting to feel stronger and thanks to Every’s tip he consumed every spirit he came across. His childe was silent, but he could sense her somewhere close to him. Micah felt terrible that she had been sent here over an accident. It wasn’t Eve’s fault that her gun had fucked up.

He needed to talk to Vel. She was the one person he still felt connected to, and he wanted to know why she hadn’t been there yet. Reaching out he gently sent his thoughts into her mind. “Baby where are you? Why haven’t you been down here to see me?”

Velveteen - It wasn’t long before the physical and mentally exhausted Velveteen feel asleep besides her husband’s body though when his thoughts touched lightly upon her sleeping mind she heard them plain and clear dragging her consciousness to the waking realm. I am with you. I haven’t left your side. She knew straight away it must have been dream and she stirred a little as she responded in kind. His words and her overwhelming devotion to him tugged at the deeply buried remnants of her sanity, subtle but effective as she opened as her eyes.

Her arms wrapped about herself as she peered into the darkness, unsure at first of where she was. It felt so real but something seemed different. The area around her shimmered slightly blurred by a wind that did not exist. The stillness made it feel as if she stood in a vacuum. Icy tendrils of foreboding curled about her spin and she shivered as if cold. He must have dragged her into one of his dreams. It didn’t feel like that but that was the only explanation she could come up with it. “See. I am always with you. But...I can’t see you now. Where did you go?” Her thoughts barely a whisper that seemed to moves outwards and fade with distance, like ripples on the water.

<Micah> He didn’t understand. Not at first. She wasn’t with him as she claimed she was, but he figured she was with his body. If she was as bad off as he was dreading…..no. He refused to think of his strong, fearless wife having any sort of breakdown regardless of what Eve said. As he was trying to piece together a response the air around him changed and he knew before he even turned around that she was with him now.

She was a sight, even though she was shimmering and it wasn’t exactly her it was enough for him. Even though it had only been two nights since he had last seen her it felt like an eternity and the only thing he wanted to do was reach out and touch her. ”I’m right here baby. I’ve missed you so much that I don’t have the words to tell you just how much I have.” But he couldn’t touch her. His fingers went right through her and for the first time since being sent down here he felt hopeless.

Velveteen - Her light laughter seemed completely out of place, like a laughter at a funeral, even if it only echoed about the minds of the two but she couldn’t help but be amused by his words. “I barely leave you for a minute. How could you miss me?” She gasped softly as she felt his touch pass right through her. It was almost as if he caressed her very soul and it brought a soft smile to her featureless face. A smile that could be felt though not seen.
“Though I miss you whenever you are away from me too...no matter how short a time it might be. Instinctively she moved closer, or rather gravitated as so often happened. Their closeness a natural phenomena that just happened without any conscious thought.

The feeling of hopelessness suddenly overwhelmed her and for the first time she started to worry. Why was he feeling this way? Had she not been taking proper care of him? Her whole form moved as she looked around at the desolate darkness and tilted her head as the sounds of screams could be heard in the distance. Strange...had that been there before? Confusion addled her mind and she faced the essence that was her husband once more. “Why have you brought us here? What is wrong?”

[Micah]

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

<Micah> He was confused. She was acting like nothing had happened. Like he was still alive and she was by his side as she always was. The ball of dread that had formed after his conversation with Eve was heavier, accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of guilt. He should have never offered to spar with Every. And after this, he never would again. No matter how bored he was or how badly he wanted to spill a bit of blood he’d find something else to take his aggression out on. This wasn’t his wife. She was a stranger to him now, with her chipper, happy go lucky attitude. It stung a bit. No that was a lie. It stung a lot but he had to try and remember, she wasn’t herself.

“I haven't brought you here baby. I’m dead. There...there was an accident. Every killed me in a sparring accident.” Speaking into her mind, even his mental voice was sorrowful. He was responsible for this and he didn’t know how to fix it. “Do you remember?”

Velveteen - It felt as if her spine stiffened, vertebrae by vertebrae as the pieces all locked into each other one at a time until she felt as if she stood at her fall height, shoulder back and chin tilted indignantly. Why did everybody have to keep saying that ******* word. Maybe this was a trick. Or maybe the current crazy that was infected others had gotten to him too. In his weakened state it wouldnt surprise her and the way people were traipsing through their bedroom like grand central station it was highly likely that one of them carried it in with them. Perhaps it was a vampire virus….made by the humans. Alarm flooded her mind. Why wasn’t it affecting her? Was she immuned? If that were possible then there could be others? Information, questions and possibilities fired the like small explosions in her mind.

“Don’t you worry my Love. Whatever this is I will find a way to fix it. It will be ok. I promise.” She reached out to touch him and was saddened to once again realise that wasn’t possible. Not here. “I love you. So much. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. She frowned, her inability to drag him into her arms and protect him weighing heavy on her heart.

<Micah> His heart sank. She didn’t believe him. In fact she didn’t think he was dead at all. What the **** was he going to do now? How was he going to get through to her? The fact that she couldn’t touch him, or he her should have been a big ******* red flag to her. It should have shaken her to the point that she snapped out of whatever this was. What Micah didn’t realize was that her mind had snapped. The shock of losing him had shattered her and she was protecting herself in the only way she knew how, by carrying on as if nothing was wrong. The only thing he knew was she had to snap out of this. The sooner the better.

“Baby please. You have to snap out of it. Whatever is going on with you…...it’s not right. You can’t fix it. It has to fix itself. I’ll return to you soon. I won’t stay down here forever.” He saw her reach out to try and touch him but as before her hand went right through him. As much as he had wanted to see her, this wasn’t what he had in mind. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t come at all. This wasn’t what he thought it would be. It was ******* cruel, and his guilt tripled.

Velveteen - ”Oh I know you wont. You will wake up soon. And I will be there. Like I have been and always will be.” She didn’t understand why he was talking like this or why he brought her here to tell her these things. It was this place. You are pretty badly hurt. But I am taking care of you. You get a little better every day. She shouldn’t need to tell him this. He should already know but if he needed that reassurance then who was she to deny him that. She couldn’t have even if she wanted to.

The shadowy reflections of her true self shifted and curled about him, like a python crushing its prey , though she didn’t quite touch him. She couldn’t. But she wanted him to feel her presence. To know in his heart that she was there and always would be. You are my happy ever after. Nothing and no one can ever change that. Not even a little crazy can take that away from us. He would have easily felt the overwhelming emotion that came from her. He had to believe her. Everything was going to be just fine.

<Micah> “IM NOT GOING TO WAKE UP VEL!” He couldn’t help but yell. She wasn’t listening to him. He wasn’t getting through to her and it was killing him. Someone needed to get through to her. They had to. She couldn’t continue to go on and on like this pretending that everything was ok when it so obviously was not. And he wasn’t going to cater to her whims when she clearly had lost all sense of normality. Micah hated to yell at her. But maybe if he did he would get through to her. It was worth a shot wasn’t it? He’d beg for her forgiveness when he returned if he had to do that too.

Feeling her presence there with him should have been a comfort but it was anything but. Especially when she was like this. “I don’t know what I can do to convince you that this is real. That I’m dead, and that you’re only fadewalking right now. I...don’t know what to do here Vel.”

Velveteen - His thoughts were angry and assaulted her mind in ways she wasn’t prepared for. She immediately uncurled herself and put a little distance between them. It was the head wounds. Had to be...or the virus. She was growing more certain that had to be a thing. As soon as she got a chance she was going to have to find someone unaffected to speak to. Maybe Ari. She hadn’t seemed to have jumped on the crazy train yet. She wanted to soothe him and make it ok but he went and used that stupid ******* ‘D’ word. The one that was the most toxic to her right now. She shook her head….No. It wasn’t real. None of this was real. She was dreaming. A seed had been planted and was now growing in her subconscious.

“I love you. With all my heart but that was just hurtful. I think I want to wake up now.” Her thoughts clipped and short as if she were speaking them. What people kept telling her was real and what she knew to be real were two very different things right now. “I will speak to you when I wake up. Though I don’t know why I am telling you that. You are just a dream.” She turned away as if to walk away but vanished instead. The shadowy reflection fragmented and dispersed in a shimmery display.

[Micah]

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

<Nishaa> Tell him that she missed him. Yes. Nishaa had promised Marjani that she would pass the message along to him when she found him, Marjani was distraught that Micah has died. She was a hard woman to console, but Nishaa was trying. Climbing out the bed they shared Nishaa dressed quietly. Letting her wife sleep soundlessly. She planted a kiss to her forehead and left her a note saying 'Gone to find Gramps, back soon'. A pair of sweats and a tank top did the trick, not that that she needed them where she was going. She already had the destination she needed to go, Niklaus had taken care of that.

Closing her eyes, concentrating she immersed herself in the shadows letting herself leave Harper Rock and descend to the Shadow Realm. It had been a while since she was last here, she had been scared and couldn't find her way out. So to be back here again was unsettling for her, reliving past memories. With a sigh Nishaa set off. She was heading in the direction Niklaus had given her.

She was hoping to hit two birds with one stone, find out what Every had done to endure such a wrath from Velveteen, she was sure she had a hand in Every's death by the way she had spoken on the Crownet.

<Micah> He didn’t know how much time had passed. His wife’s visit had been unsettling, and the worry had increased tenfold when she had left. Insisting that her visit had been nothing more than a dream was like a slap to the face. Every was nearby, and she had tried to console him but he’d shrugged her off. Of course she felt guilty for Vel’s current state of mind but Micah didn’t blame her. It had been an accident, they both knew that but Micah knew all too well what guilt could do to a person.

They hadn’t been alone, Not really. Niklaus had been down, as had Blake and Reanna but his head was far too foggy to ask any of them to go and try to snap Vel out of whatever funk she had worked herself into. Some had to, because if not…..well Micah didn’t want to even think about what the consequences of that could be.

<Nishaa> She had forgotten how desolate the Shadow Realm could be, how alone you could feel. She didn't envy Micah or Every who were stuck down here for another four days or so. It was depressing, Andras had become quiet without them. Malachai had taken up the stance as 'head of Andras' in his absence, and Nishaa just laughed. The man had tried to be nice to her, offering her help. Nishaa was the independent type, she relied on no one as best as she could. She relied on Marjani, she was her wife. She relied on Micah, Every, Reanna and even Velveteen but her circle got no bigger than them. Micah needed to come back, and now.

A few more minutes had passed (she thought) time meant nothing here and she started two see two ghostly figures in the distance. One was further away than the other. She recognised Micah at once, and then her orbs looked to Every who seemed distant. She moved quicker closing the gap between them before looking him over.

"Gramps!!" There was a sense of happiness to her tone, happy to see him. She was. Suddenly things felt normal again even though he was a spirit here. It was still Micah. "It's so good to see you, how are you?" She wanted to hug him. But she couldn't.

<Micah> “Nishaa.” He’d never been so happy to see someone before. His fingers reached out to try and grab her but they went right through. Of course. He was a spirit. His body was back in the Eyrie with his wife. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.” Him admitting something like that was a rare thing. Nish probably already knew it but he felt that it was something he should tell her. “I’m dealing. At least I have company.” He glanced over his shoulder at Eve. “I’m sorry she’d been sent here with me.”

He fell silent, his now clear mind going over everything that had happened. “I’m worried about Vel. I...she doesn’t think I’m dead. She was here but she seems to think that I brought her here in a dream. Nothing I said could get through to her. Eve told me she’d flipped her lid but I didn’t believe it until I saw her.” Abruptly he quit talking after realizing he was rambling. “What’s going on up there?”

<Nishaa> She watched him reach out for her, and she did the same. There was a frown on her lips as she couldn't touch him, comfort him with an arm squeeze or even give him a quick bromance hug. She knew he meant to comfort her, and vice versa they knew each other well enough. "I'm happy to see you too dude." She said, looking him over and then her eyes looked to Every the woman was still, as if she was sleeping. She couldn't remember she if she had slept when she was here, could spirit's sleep? Could they dream? "It's alright. How is she?" She said looking to the still spirit. "Do you need any spirits?" She inquired, if she could help whilst she was here she would.

She nodded sitting on the charred grass and looking up at him. She would stay here as long as she could. "I'm worried about her too, the way she's speaking on the Crownet it's like she believes you're alive, but just sleeping. There was an announcement from Malachai saying you and Every had died. Yes, he's assumed head of Andras for now." She gave a roll of her eyes. She made it quick. This wasn't about her. "Velveteen was quick to step in and say you weren't dead, but Every had died. Accident she had said on Every's death a terrible accident." She paused. "She doesn't seem herself. That's for sure."

She remembered Marjani then. "Marjani told me to tell you that she misses you, and that you should hurry back soon. She was distraught at the news." There was another pause "Andras is quiet. I think everyone is in shock at your death, even I am. You're meant to be a tank. How did it happen?" The truth, that was what the Andras members needed a solid truth as to what happened.

[Nishaa]

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

<Micah> He glanced back at Every. “She’s holding up pretty well all things considered. It’s hard to understand her cause she can’t talk and she can’t use mindspeak. I’m assuming Vel shot her in the throat. I hope it heals soon. It’s too quiet down here.” Micah hadn’t seen another over where he and Every had taken up residence. That was fine with him. He didn’t trust anyone even when he was dead. “No I don’t need any but she might. I feel pretty good actually. Don’t know how I look up there though.”

He hovered by Nishaa’s side, listening to her her update him on the going ons in the family. “I never said who would be in charge in the event of my death. I used to have that all in place but after all that ******** where I changed the rules I never updated that. As my oldest childe, it makes sense that Mal would take up the responsibility of acting in my place with me gone and Vel indisposed.” A slight smile appeared. “I know you don't like listenin to anyone but Eve, Vel and I but if somethin happens just do your best. I’ll put somethin in place when I get back.” The smile turned to a frown. “I dont know what to do Mini. She refused to listen to me.”

Now that his mind was so foggy he was able to tell her what happened. “Eve came up to the top floor. Got to chatting and she said she had nothing to do, so I offered to spar with her. I took the first shot but something happened when she fired back. The gun misfired and too many bullets came at me. I couldn’t dodge them all. Next thing I know here I am. I wandered until I got too tired and that was when Eve found me.” He shrugged, the air around him shimmering a bit with the motion. “It was an accident, one that Eve feels terrible about. I keep telling her Im not mad but I worry that shes going to let the guilt consume her.”

“No one is indestructible, not even me regardless of what everyone thinks. Please tell Mari that I miss her, and I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

<Nishaa> She listened to him update her on Every. The necromancer cast worry some glances to her sire, she was too quiet. Turned from them both. She worried. She worried a lot actually. She knew how much guilt could consume the woman, how much she let it eat at her. She had admitted as such to her in the past, but she listened regardless to what Micah had to say. Nodding where she could to let him know she was listening and taking everything onboard. Nishaa was a sponge, soaking up every last tidbit of information from him.

"I will leave her some before I leave, if she hasn't noticed I'm here by then. She seems out of it" she didn't want to disturb her either. Healing was a hard thing to do, perhaps she was thinking about healing. She found herself laughing. Her shrill laugh like wind chimes in this dark, and depressing place. "Yeaaaaah, I hate listening to other people. I got a real problem with authority as you know, but don't worry I haven't been naughty. I'm being a good girl. I promise" there was an added smile, she left out her comment made at Spade. She didn't want to piss off Micah. Nishaa got defensive when it came to family.

"Do you want me to try and talk some sense into her?" The offer was there, she wasn't sure if she could possibly get through to her, but it was something she could try. Grief was a hard thing to overcome and Velveteen was perhaps riddled with it. He spoke of Every, telling her how guilty she would feel. "Shoot her when we get out." She said with a shrug. "Worked for me, made her forget the stupid people in her life" there was a firm nod. Perhaps it could happen again.

"Oh I will. She misses you terribly. I will pass the message along to her, promise." She made a motion of crossing her chest, where her heart would be. "I understand, mistakes happen. How did Every get here? Did the gun misfire on her too, or did Velveteen do something - by the way she worded the terrible accident?"

<Micah> “Thank you Mini.” He tried to put as much gratitude into those words as he possibly could. “I appreciate you being on your best behavior. I know its hard for you to do, but please continue. For me. For us.” He gestured to Eve. Knowing that the family seemed to be ok put a lot of his fears to rest. He had enough on his mind worrying about Vel that he didn’t need the family to be at odds over this.

“You could try? The way she was acting….she’s insisting that I’m just sleeping and when I yelled at her she got all weird and said she was going to wake up. I was so taken off guard that I couldn’t even tell her that I loved her.” He shook his head. “Im not shootin anyone. She’ll either believe me or she won’t. I can’t make her believe me no matter how much I want to.” He felt guilty too, because it had been his idea to spar. If he hadn’t of offered to do that then no one would be here right now.

How was he supposed to answer her? Would she even understand? Taking a chance that she would, the killer started to explain. “When I died….something in Vel snapped. She flipped out on Eve. I don’t know many details because its hard to communicate with her right now but Vel sent her here. It was no accident. Just the wrath of a grief stricken woman.”

<Nishaa> She gave a slight flick of her wrist. "For you, and Every I will continue to be a good girl, I'll be nice and help other people if they need it." That went against the grain for the woman, she was usually the brutish type that didn't help anyone besides immediate family, or those that she was close to, or people in Tytonidae. This wasn't a Tytonidae issue no, this was a familial one, and she was going to try her hardest for them to be as active, and involved with the family as she possibly could. Yay Nishaa, the social butterfly she was.

"I could tell her you love her." That was a start. "But I'll try. You're very much dead-" she waved at his whole spiritual form. "-Sorry, it's a fact. See it for myself. She needs to understand that. I'll let her know gently. She's probably a ticking time bomb if she lashed out at Evee in grief." Poor Every. She didn't even want to begin to think what she was feeling, or what was going on inside her head.

"I know she's grieving, I understand that she's grieving but you'll come back. Every will come back too. It's not a huge deal." She shook her head, though some people were lost to the darkness of the realms for months at a time, but Micah was strong, he was her role model. Her idol. He would never get lost to the realms, he had too much to live for.

<Micah> He nodded his head. “Thank you.” Despair grabbed onto him and refused to let go. “Go spend some time with Eve Mini. I think I need to be alone for a little while.” He started moving away from her but stopped. “I love you Nishaa. I know I don’t tell you that, but you should know.” He nodded his head and moved away from them, giving them a little bit of privacy. All he could do now was hope that Nishaa was able to get through to Vel. His wife needed to understand he was dead, she needed to grieve or else he didn’t even want to try and think about the consequences that would stem from her refusal to accept the situation.

[Jesse Fforde]

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

<Jesse Fforde> The Necromancer hadn’t spoken to anyone for days. For an entire week. Kaelyn had texted him about Kenlie, but he hadn’t replied. He hadn’t texted or called anyone. His voice was locked away, but his skin crawled. The apartment was wrecked, but Jesse continued to return to it. He didn’t go to Larch Court, or to the Circle. To do so would be to risk running into someone and ripping off their heads for reasons they wouldn’t understand, and that were not their fault. Grey was gone. She had walked out without discussing it with Jesse, but he wasn’t angry at her. He was angry at himself.

The conversation he’d had with Clover continued to return to him, like a bad and grating echo. He was selfish. It was always about him. It was his fault that she had gone without him. He hadn’t been happy to let her come to her own conclusions. He hadn’t let her discover her path in her own good time. Instead, he’d pushed. So often he would come home and she would be laying on the bed, or crying, or moping. Never would he come home to a smile and a happy welcome. And he hadn’t liked it. He continued to tell himself that he pushed Grey for her own good; that she couldn’t have been happy, that she herself had to want to be happy, right? But in the end, he wanted what he wanted and she wasn’t who she used to be. She had changed.

What he felt, now, was not some shallow echo of depression, a woe-is-me tale of rejection. It was honest-to-god self-loathing for a thing that he had legitimately done. Grey was gone. She was out of the city. And it was true - Jesse worried. He was concerned, because he didn’t believe she could do it on her own. That she could survive on her own.

But he couldn’t find her. The summoning didn’t work, so the tracking didn’t work, either. He couldn’t find her, so he ripped apart what parts of the city he could find to rip apart. The slums became his playground. The gangsters and slumlords his prey. They were torn limb from limb and burned on a bonfire of Jesse’s own making. But his skin continued to crawl. Until Jesse realised there was one way out. One way to relax, to escape from bodily discomfort; to shuck the thirst and the frenzy.

Back in the apartment, he focused, and he slipped. His body collapsed; his spirit entered the Shadow Realm. The darkness throbbed around him, shadows shifting and welcoming him. And finally, he felt like he could breathe.

<Micah> Nishaa’s visit had been a welcome distraction but the news she brought with her wasn’t what he had been wanting to hear. Micah hadn’t really wanted to believe that Vel had lost her mind when he died even though he had seen it with his own eyes. It had never been his intention to leave her alone. He had never expected that a simple sparring session would go so terribly wrong, and he hadn’t exactly expected his wife to kill the one that had been responsible for the accident. But if he really thought about it, could he say that he would have done anything different than what his wife had done? Simply put, no. He would have set the city on fire and torn it apart brick by brick to get his retribution. So in part he could understand.

The killer decided to give Every and Nishaa some privacy, not that it had been requested. And he didn’t want to leave Every’s side for too long. There wasn’t much that he could do to protect her down there but just being near her helped to keep the anxiety at bay. He’d never had an issue with that but the quietness and the stillness that surrounded them was unnerving and he couldn’t wait to get out of there. Time didn’t have much meaning to him since he was dead, but he figured he’d somehow know when his time was up. That was the hope at least.

He could still see their hazy forms from his current resting spot. He wasn’t exactly sure where they were but could remember hitting some kind of barrier that wouldn’t let him go any further when he’d first gotten down there. The killer kept his back in that direction hoping that he’d be able to sense if someone was approaching. In the meantime, he would try to figure out how he was going to help his wife, even if he was dead.

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse wandered. He drifted through the realm, this city of shadow and whispers. He never understood how people could hate it down here. He supposed, the time thing could be an issue. The boredom. People could get restless down here. It was ironic, really, that the Shadow Realm was a place where others got restless, but where Jesse felt calm. The restlessness shed from his shoulders with each wandering step that he took.

Grey hated it when he came down here; when he visited the family, who had died, to help them with spirits. It was as if he had actually died, she told him. That bond they shared stretched and frizzed painfully, as if he were actually dead. Well, she wasn’t in the city, was she? She was the one who’d stretched that bond this time. As if SHE were dead, and Jesse didn’t know whether he would know if she did die. Would he feel it? The emotion boiled, but subdued.

So he wandered. He wandered until he came across that barrier; he drifted a small distance away from it, and continued along it. There were shadows, up ahead. Shadows that did not belong to the spirits that wandered this realm, weak and insubstantial. The shadows up ahead were more solid. Jesse approached the one on its own, because that’s the direction he was heading in. He intended to walk straight past, but there was something about the shimmering shape that called to him. Something familiar. Something… something he couldn’t put his finger on. He lingered, trying to figure it out. But he said nothing.

<Micah> He didn’t know how long he’d been hovering there mulling over all the different ways he could try to help Vel. There were people he could contact, like Mal or Dulce or any other number of family or faction members. But for some reason he hesitated. They had to be aware of what had happened by now right? He’d like to think so. Part of him was afraid to do such a thing. Exposing others to Vel’s wrath wasn’t something he wanted to do. No one else needed to be sent down there, not because he’d asked them to get involved. Before the killer attempted that, he would try to reach her himself, after Nishaa was done with her visit to Eve.

How could she not realize he was dead? Did she not sense it through the bond that they shared? Maybe he was underestimating the power of it. No. He refused to go there. It was the grief. His head nodded as he came to that conclusion. That had to be it.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw another shimmering form drawing closer. A quick glance over in the direction the killer had drifted from showed that Nishaa and Every were still right where he had left them. So it wasn’t them. He drifted closer just to satisfy his curiosity. Could it be another Andras had decided to come down. But no, it wasn’t. “Jesse? What are you doing down here?”

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse recoiled when he heard the voice. A voice that immediately recognised, and the pieces fell into place. Micah. Familiar to Jesse through the real blood that they shared; and for many other reasons aside. Jesse was out of the loop. What was Micah doing down here? A glance was spared in the direction of the other two shadows; the urge to drift closer to them, to find out who else had been killed. Was this a hunt gone wrong? Had there been duels, like that time that Jesse had ended up down here with Reanna and Zoey?

It took a minute for Jesse to reply; to summon that voice that he had kept locked away ever since Grey had left. Except, when he spoke, the voice wasn’t rough due to disuse. There were no physical bodies down here. Their voices were not hindered by physical voice boxes. He didn’t have to clear his throat. His voice was clear and concise. Clearer than it ever was above ground.

“Going for a stroll. What are you doing down here?” he asked. Sure, there were underlying reasons why exactly Jesse had decided to go for a stroll through the Realm, but he wasn’t about to tell those to Micah. Micah wouldn’t want to hear it. And it didn’t matter; Jesse was distracted, for the moment. Why the **** was Micah down here?

<Micah> He hadn’t seen Jesse in months but he had seen Grey. Grey, who had done her best to persuade him to go and check on the cousin that he claimed to have washed his hands of. But dying put things into perspective for him. If there was one thing that Micah had now it was time and in that time he’d done a lot of thinking. Jesse had been one of those situations that he had given plenty of thought to. The killer had decided that once he had left the realm, he’d find his cousin and try to work **** out. Because he was family.

“There….was a slight accident in a friendly sparring match.” He waved a translucent hand in the direction of the other two shimmering forms. “Every joined me not long after.” He left out the rest of the details for the time being. If the necromancer wanted them then Micah would provide them. “Nishaa is with her. She decided to stop down and see how we were doing. S’not so bad I suppose. Could be a lot worse.”

<Jesse Fforde> It sounded… feasible, Jesse thought. A friendly sparring match where someone ended up dead? He laughed, like nothing had ever happened. He fell into habit. It felt strange to laugh, but he laughed anyway. “Someone killed you in a sparring match? You, Micah?” he asked. And then he remembered that the two of them weren’t speaking to each other. That the laughter wouldn’t be appreciated. The sound cut off, suddenly. No more laughter.

“Sorry. It’s just… who did it? Why… did it happen twice? Why is Every here?” he asked, gesturing to the other shadows. From here, he couldn’t differentiate which was which. If his facial expression could be seen, he would be frowning. He recalled his last conversation with Every, too. Yet another thing that had not gone right. This felt strange. Like he’d stumbled in on some party where he didn’t belong. But his questions remained, and he didn’t move.

<Micah> A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “Contrary to what people might think I am not indestructible.” That was the second time he’d heard that. Nishaa had been the first. He didn’t quite know how that made him feel. Strong? Absolutely, but he was definitely able to be killed. He wouldn’t be standing there in the Shadow Realm if that was the case. “But yes. A simple sparring match. Every’s gun misfired and fired off too many rounds for me to dodge, and here I am.” His hands spread out in front of him in a what can you do sort of gesture.

The next set of questions made him sigh. “Every is here because Vel killed her for killing me,” he said quietly but the turmoil he was feeling was evident in his voice. “Vel isn’t herself apparently. She seems to think that I’m sleeping and that I will wake up. I’m not going to wake up. I’m dead. I….she was here. And she got angry because I tried to tell her but she won’t listen to me.” Maybe Jesse had some suggestions. Micah would take anything he could get.

[Micah]

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

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse listened. Of course Micah wasn’t indestructible, but that was the way he held himself. It was the vibe that he gave off. And if he wasn’t indestructible, then he was pretty close to it. The guy wasn’t infallible, and somehow, that was a comfort to Jesse.

There was a voice that rebelled within. That small voice that screamed about Jesse’s own pain. But he didn’t mention it. He didn’t touch upon it. A new concern coiled around his heart. He had walked away from Andras. He’d been tripped and shoved on his way out, and he had told himself that he didn’t care. The he couldn’t. That he wouldn’t. But he realised, now, that they were lies that he was telling himself. He might have told himself that he didn’t care but what he felt, now, entirely contradicted it. So he shoved aside his concern for Grey and instead focused on the man in front of him.

“You will wake up, eventually,” Jesse said. “Do you want me to… she probably won’t listen to me, but I can try,” he said with a shrug. He doubted that it would go well if Velveteen had actually been in the realm. Had talked to Micah. And still didn’t understand. She had the evidence right in front of her but had ignored it. Denial. Jesse didn’t know what he was suggesting. Why was he? Maybe it was a good distraction. But deep down, he gave a ****.


<Micah> He nodded. “In a few days I will yes. It’s not my intention to stay down here forever.” Micah thought over Jesse’s words. Did he want to risk it? How would Vel react to seeing Jesse? “You...could try if you really wanted to but I don’t want anyone else to end up down here because of me. And since her mind is all kinds of fucked up I don’t know how you’ll be met.” If Jesse was offering to go see Vel then the least Micah could do was warn him. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”

He was silent for a few minutes before finding the words he needed to use. “I saw Grey Jesse. She told me she was leaving town.” Micah watched his cousin’s face carefully. “I don’t know what’s going on there, or what happened to push her to act as she did but whatever it is, I’m sorry. How are you holding up?” It wasn’t his business but he needed something to distract him from the thoughts that were currently plaguing him about his wife.

<Jesse Fforde> The Shadow Realm was a good place for a stroll. Jesse wasn’t yet at the point where he wanted to be down there permanently. If he were in a worse state of mind he might have scoffed and told Micah that it didn’t matter. But he knew he couldn’t stay the way he was for too much longer. His heart might feel like it had been torn from his chest. In a way, it had been. His heart was wherever Grey was. But that didn’t mean he could ignore his responsibilities. No, he didn’t want to be stuck down here. He liked that he had the freedom to leave as soon as he wanted to.

Jesse was nodding. He would go and see Velveteen and he would take the warning to heart; he would remain defensive. But he froze as soon as Micah mentioned Grey. Micah knew? Grey had… what? “She… why did she talk to you? What did she say? Do you know where she went, Micah?” he asked. Whatever decorum that he had been holding on to slipped, just for a second. If Micah knew where Grey went… it could solve everything. Couldn’t it? He didn’t answer the question. How was he holding up? Pretty ******* poorly. But he didn’t want to tell Micah that.

<Micah> “She wanted me to look in on you in a few days. Said that she had business in the states and that she needed to go. That she’d changed too much for you and she needed to do this. She said that you wanted to go with her.” It didn’t seem like that had been the truth or else Jesse wouldn’t be standing there asking him what he knew. “I admit I was angry with her. With you. She said things that struck a cord but I didn’t want to admit it.” He tried to rub the back of his head as he was prone to done when he was uncomfortable but his hand went through his head.

“Thing is Jesse...you’re my blood. You’re my only connection to Savannah whether you knew her or not. And being down here has had me thinking long and hard on a lot of things but mostly that. I don’t want to throw that away over a stupid ******* forum. On words that were written and left to sit and fester and explode into what we have now. It’s not worth it to me. Not now, and it shouldn’t have ever been something that got as far as it did.”


<Jesse Fforde> Far too many thoughts and emotions passed through Jesse’s flimsy body, here in the Shadow Realm. That Grey had asked Micah, of all people, to check in on hm. That she knew Jesse himself well enough to know that he might lose it. That he might need checking in on. That she had asked Micah, but he had not seen Micah. It had been a week since she had left, and he had not seen Micah.

Words collided at the base of Jesse’s throat. “I was selfish,” he said. “She didn’t … she was different when I met her. Directly after… she changed, but I’ve changed, too. She was depressed. And it was making me unhappy. And I was selfish. I forced her into this and now she’s… out there somewhere, and I’m worried. I don’t know whether she’d dead or alive and I don’t know how to find her,” he said. He didn’t mean to say so much, but he said it. Voice deadpan. Those were the facts.

“And I’m a hypocrite. I got depressed. I get depressed. You and Velveteen you… called me out on it. I was pathetic. And I hated that. I hated that you wanted me to change when I didn’t know how and now I’ve just done the same thing to Grey. I’m a worthless piece of …” he stopped, hard. No, he couldn’t devolve into that kind of attitude. He shook his head, a mere shimmer of shadow. “I didn’t want to throw it away. I haven’t come to you yet because I’ve given up, I just… haven’t been ready. I’m trying to be who I was. Just like I want Grey to be who she was. Maybe that’s where we’re going wrong,” he said with a shrug. Maybe they shouldn’t be trying to step backward. But learn, and go forward instead.

<Micah> Micah listened. For once, he listened. He let his cousin speak without interrupting. No smartass remarks, no sarcasm or disrespect. He listened, and he heard what Jesse was trying to say. “She didn’t seem to hold any resentment towards you for giving her this life Jesse. I think she realizes that shes not the same person and that she wants to be that person for you again. But something is holding her back, or keeping her from letting go so she’s trying to fix that. I’m sorry that I have no more information than that, but she did say the states. I’m sorry I can’t be more help.”

He felt bad about giving Jesse so much **** not realizing that there was, in fact, something seriously wrong. Depression could be serious but it could also be treated. How, he didn’t know. “Had I know you were suffering from that I would have used more tact in my words. I don’t do emotion and I couldn’t understand why you thought that we were trying to tear you down. We give a **** about you Jesse. Always have. Were we too hard on you? Yeah probably but we knew you could do better. The Jesse we saw in those last few months wasn’t the Jesse that came to Tytonidae, that found his voice and found the courage to give his ***** of a sire a big **** you. He’s still in there Jesse you just gotta find him again.”

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse lifted his gaze skyward. Except there was no sky. Just solid ink, a blackness that was so heavy that it was indescribable. It could have been smothering. But to Jesse, it was a blanket. The states? There were how many states in the USA? Even though Jesse knew Grey would be sticking to the coast, the coast was still long, and large, and there were millions of people. He didn’t know enough. He had to have hope, and trust that she would come back alive. That she would come back. If she died… he didn’t want to think about that.

Yes, he had thought they were tearing him down. Whether they meant to or not, it didn’t matter. To bring any of it up now would only rehash old wounds and Jesse didn’t want to. Here Micah was. Although he had not said the words, it felt like an apology. And none of it mattered now anyway, did it? Jesse had gone off and done his own thing regardless, and now whatever was said or done, it didn’t matter. He had paved his path. “I’m doin’ that, man. I’m shedding the ******** and I’m… trying. I’ll get there,” he said. Though he knew there were plenty of hurdles to jump, first. Least of which, kicking the habit. Cold turkey. No more siring. It terrified him. “I should have come to you sooner. Grey… told me what you said. I just didn’t want it to turn into another argument,” he said. Which was what he was expecting. “Which would have been my fault. See? I knew I was prone to just… snap. And it wouldn’t have been worth it. It would have made things worse,” he said. And then he laughed. It was a laughter lacking in mirth.

“It’s kind of funny. That we can stand here and… talk civilly. Is it because we’re both too concerned about our other halves to be angry?” he asked. It’s what it felt like, kind of. That worry was a soothing balm that everything else seem trivial. Small fish.

<Micah> “Maybe its a good thing you didn’t come to me and try to talk about it. It probably would have been an even bigger clusterfuck with one of us ending up dead.” He spoke matter of factly. He’d been furious for weeks after the fact, even after speaking with Grey that first time where she offered herself up like a sacrifice. that he’d been tempted by just to spite his cousin. Because that was how he was. He didn’t give a **** about someone once he cut them out of his life but Jesse was proving to be an exception to the rules. “Nah wouldn’t have all been on you. Thing is we’re just too much alike and entirely too volatile when we’re pissed off. Nothing would have been worked out. Ever.”

Micah was glad that Jesse hadn’t come to him before. Being down there in the Shadow Realm, where he had no access to weapons and having had the time to think about things he knew for a fact it would have exploded. So far, this was going well. And then the topic he’d been trying to avoid reared its ugly head. “Yeah…..” Suddenly Micah just wanted to be alone. He didn’t want anyone to see just how unsettled he was over Vel, how worried he was but he knew that was something he’d never be able to hide from anyone. “I’m...tired now. Please, come back and let me know how it goes with Vel?” He hovered there, his form shimmering as he waited for Jesse’s response.

<Jesse Fforde> It was true. Micah and Jesse were too much alike. They bounced off each other like opposing magnets, or fire to a flammable hazard. They were both stubborn. It took outside forces to bring them back together, to force them to talk. And now that he was here, Jesse realised that it wasn’t all that hard to let go. He, who held grudges like they were his best friends. But he couldn’t hold this one anymore. It was too hard.

He nodded. “I will,” he said. There was nothing he could do about Grey. He could scream and he could tear the whole city apart. He could leave and he could wander every single street in every single state in the USA but where would that get him? It was a needle in a hay stack. So he would check on Velveteen. Maybe she would try to kill him; he’d do his best to avoid that fate. But if that was the worst that could happen, then so be it.

“I’ll be as soon as I can,” he said, before he drifted away. The stroll was over. He had someone to find above ground who he could find. His was the last face she probably wanted to see. But maybe that’s what she needed. A jolt. Someone to make her angry about something else. Distract her. Try to pull her out of whatever funk she’d descended down into.

[Jesse Fforde]

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

<Jesse Fforde> [Text] I need to talk to you. Can you come and meet me?

<Velveteen> [text] No, I can't leave. Why what do you need Jesse?

<Jesse Fforde> [Text] I talked to Micah. I want to talk to you on his behalf. I can't come to you.

<Velveteen> [text] Hahahaha. Really Jesse? I think if Micah spoke to you I would know about it but he hasn't mentioned it at all. Are you high or something?

<Jesse Fforde> [Text] You two don't share everything. I know this first hand. But - let's run with that. Why hasn't he mentioned it?

<Velveteen> [text] Because it isnt true? That is definitely something he would have told me. But I will bite. He is resting at the moment so I have a little bit. I can summon you if you wish.

<Jesse Fforde> [Text] Summon me.

<Velveteen> It took her a little longer than it had once, to visualise the male as she reached out and summoned him to her. She stood out on the balcony, taking in some of the night sky and smoking to pass the time. Once he had materialised she sat back down and pushed her hair back with her hand. The tangled and matted mess refused to stay in place but she had tried. Her silver orbs seemed unusually bright amid the cracked and dried blood that still smeared her features. She was blissfully unaware how she looked though. Her grin was curious yet genuine as she watched him.

<Jesse Fforde> Jesse had been pacing the apartment that he and Grey usually shared. The place was a wreck, and he'd done nothing about cleaning up the mess that he'd made. Not yet. He wore jeans and a plain t-shirt, boots on his feet and a hot, slimy salamander clinging to his shoulder. The creature could always sense when Jesse was out of sorts. It always sought to take advantage. As soon as he landed in the treehouse, he paused. His bright blues took in Velveteen's appearance, assessing her with a hard stare. This took about ten seconds, before he circled away, putting distance between himself and the small Australian. Micah had warned him. It felt odd, to be back here. That familiar feeling one got when visiting a place that had once been their home. It took him a further ten to twenty seconds to find his voice; he hadn't used it here, in the solid realm, for a whole week. Not once had he spoken out loud, since Grey had left. He had to clear his throat twice before he could force the word past that clogged lump in his throat. His voice was a whisper. It sounded like it belonged to someone who was ill with a cough. "How long has Micah been resting?" he asked, still watching Velveteen like a hawk.


<Velveteen> She tilted her head and watched him watching her. Smoke from the cigarette nestled between her fingers spiralled upwards until it was disturbed by the movement of her hand. The red cherry end brightened as she drew in the flavoursome smoke, inhaling it deeply. She held it for a moment or two within her lungs before expelling slowly. "A couple of hours now I guess. I expect him to wake any time now. He is in and out I guess." Another but much shorter draw and her hand fell away to rest on her thigh once more. "Why Jesse? What do you care?" The tone with which the question was asked was light and curious, in no way as harsh as the question itself.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse narrowed his eyes at the answer, the small tilt of his lips upward into that trademark grin responding to her lie. He shrugged his shoulders. "We cleared things up," he said. There were still things that he and Micah could talk about, sure. There were still things that they could address, to clear the air entirely. But he would do this for Micah, first. "See, he and I are alike. We don't say it, when we care. We don't dare say it out loud," he said. He did care. That was the point. He didn't think that he did, but as soon as he found Micah in the Shadow Realm, it hit him like a sledgehammer. "How long is it since you've left the treehouse, Velveteen?" he asked. Maybe if he could trip her up, somehow. He needed to just ask the perfect question...


<Velveteen> She narrowed her gaze a little, if she was surprised she didn’t show it but her suspicion could be spotted a mile off. Vel knew Micah had spoken with Grey. She had asked him to check on Jesse but he had ...declined. She shrugged and leaned forward to stub out the almost spent cigarette before crossing her arms over her thighs. Hair hung down the side of her face, still sticking to it in places and she appeared to be thinking as she tried to calculate the last time she left. She shrugged. "I dunno. A couple of nights. Since the....the...." She frowned and tilted her head as she tried to find the right words. "Since he got wounded. Why? If something has happened regarding the faction then you need to speak with Ari, she is taking care of things at the moment.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse nodded. His circling had brought him to the railing of the balcony, which he leaned against almost nonchalantly - giving the air of carelessness and ease but he was ready, should Velveteen catch on and do something to try to hurt him. He had his tome in his pocket, and he could disappear as quickly as he had arrived. Mandy moved from one shoulder to the other, crawling around the back of Jesse's neck. The heat of the Fae creature was a comfort. "Nothing has happened regarding the faction. I wonder - does Micah prefer you to look like a sewer rat these days? I would have thought he'd have pulled you into the shower by now," he said. Velveteen looked like she'd been building grime for days, or so Jesse assumed. "You told me you couldn't leave. Why?"


<Velveteen> Her brow rose as she looked at him in shock. "Excuse the **** outta me?" Her spine stiffened and her shoulders straightened as she pulled herself up from the relaxed slouching position. "If you are just here to be insulting you can kindly **** off." She reached out for the half empty pack of smokes and promptly withdrew and shoved one between her pursed lips. "You're a smart guy. You work it out." She responded curtly before the lighter sparked and birthed a strong, golden flame that licked the ends of the tobacco filled cylinder. Almost instantly the flame was gone as quick it had arrived She turned her chin upward and studied the dark sky. Maybe he would leave on his own.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse watched the brief flame ignite, eyes gleaming in the dim light. As soon as the flame was gone, he yearned for it to come back. A silent, small yearning that he shoved aside. He remained where he was, seemingly relaxed against the railing. "Now now, that's not like you," he said, canting his head to the side. The Velveteen he knew laughed at anything that may have been construed as an insult. She didn't strike him as being particularly vain. "You're talking to me like Micah is absolutely fine, and he'll be awake soon. Like he's just taking an afternoon siesta. You're telling me he's so wounded that you don't want to leave his side? How has it not healed by now? Enough for him to be up and walking around? Just a few bullet wounds, right?" he asked. Proof enough, he supposed, that he had indeed talked to Micah. If Velveteen wanted to disbelieve him.


<Velveteen> It didn't really matter how he knew what he knew. Plenty enough people knew now...anyone could have told him. It proved nothing but what did puzzle her is why he was here at all. To gloat perhaps? About what? She stood up so abruptly she knocked the small table over onto its side. 'Because he is fine, Jesse. Yes...a few ******* bullet holes. Perhaps he hasn’t healed yet because of....because....guilt! Yes. He feels guilty about Every being in the fade and he won’t heal and he won’t drink. OK. You happy? Not that it is any of your business. Now what the hell do you really want?" The irritation in her voice was more than obvious. His questions were starting to bug her and she wished he would just spit it out and she could teleport him or shoot him or whatever came first.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse was silent as he considered how to respond. Velveteen definitely wasn't herself. But why would she be herself around him, anyway? When was the last time the two of them had spoken as friends? His was probably the last face she wanted to see right now. Honesty, he decided, was what was required. His tongue grazed over his teeth as the sentence formed in his mind. "That doesn't sound like Micah. Why is he guilty, when you were the one who killed Every?" he asked. Angry, yes. That sounded like Micah. But not guilty. Not so guilty that he would be bed-ridden. "You appraised me a while ago. Do you remember? You never said it, but it was implied. You give a ****. Micah gives a ****. He told me himself. I found out that you and Micah were in trouble, and I realised I gave a ****, too," he said, slowly.


<Velveteen> She turned to face him. Her eyes brighter than usual appeared to give off some unnatural glow, or perhaps it was just a trick of the dim lighting. "Don’t you tell me what does and doesn’t sound like my husband. You are as bad as the ******* rest of them and I aint got the time or the inclination to deal with this **** right now, Jesse. You said you needed to talk so let’s fuckin do that yeah?" She turned to face the city lights and flicked the growing ash over the side before dragging angrily on the acrid smoke. She nodded in answer to his question. Of course she remembered. "And what makes you think we are in trouble?" She was still angry with Jesse and having to rehash all that didn't help. She also remembered their last conversation too.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse shrugged his shoulders. There should be anger in his chest, too. There was, but it was all turned internally. Numbness had replaced the passionate outburst of the week prior, and it made it easier to focus on other things. "If I didn't think you were in trouble before, I do now. You look like you haven't showered in a week. All that blood crusted on your face, I assume is Every's. Or you've slaughtered some poor sap to try get Micah to eat. Micah isn't eating. According to you, he's just resting but I kinda don't believe that. You won't leave the treehouse. If you're not in trouble, what would you call it?" he asked. "Step into my shoes and look at it from my perspective. You don't think other people have a cause to worry?"


<Velveteen> Velveteen bristled visibly and shoulders came up as she processed his words. Mentally rejecting those which made her uncomfortable and rearranging the rest into something more suitable. She hugged her arms about herself and shook her head, rejecting anything that might upset her delicate balance as tenuous as it was right now. Confusion washed over her features momentarily but was quickly replaced with a reassuring smile. "We are fine Jesse. You really needn't worry yourself. No one needs to be worried. We are fine. Really."


<Jesse Fforde> Remained silent, again, for a few long seconds. Velveteen was in denial. It was clear as the light of day. And he wondered, then - what harm could it do? Really? How much longer would Micah be down there? If Velveteen continued to think he was alive when he wasn't, the week would soon pass. Micah would be back. And he could talk sense into her himself. If everyone pretended with Velveteen that everything was perfectly fine, then she wouldn't harm them or herself. Even though he just wanted to slap her and tell her to get over it. It was a ******* week, for Christ's sake. Jesse nodded, as if he believed Velveteen. "Was fadewalking something Micah could do before, or has he learned to do that recently? I can't remember," he said, his tone light and fluffy, as if they were just two familiar acquaintances having a chat.


<Velveteen> She nodded. "He can fadewalk." At least she thought so. In fact she was almost sure of it. She turned her slightly and cast a furtive yet somewhat nervous glance towards the male who lounged against the railing. She was waiting for it. The other shoe to drop. They seemed to insist on pushing her to breaking point and she had no clue as to why. Her first thoughts that perhaps it was a virus had been discarded as a glimmer of clarity seeped through widening cracks. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness that the humans might create a virus that made everyone think Micah was.....She shook her head to dispel the thought before it was finished.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse honestly couldn't remember. When he'd died, with Zoey and with Reanna, Micah hadn't come to visit. It was his daughter and his cousin. If he could fadewalk then, he would have done so. But these things always come with time. It wasn't impossible that Micah could have learned the trick in the months since Jesse had talked to him last. Finally, for the first time since he'd arrived, he pulled his gaze away from Velveteen and glanced over the railing, at the darkness and the swaying leaves below. It didn't matter. Micah hadn't asked him to get Velveteen to understand, had he? He'd asked him to check on Velveteen. To report back. When he turned back to the woman, his gaze was softer. The smirk had been replaced by a hint of a frown. "If I were Micah, you know what I'd like to wake up to? A clean wife. No one really likes cuddling up to crusted blood..." he said. "I'm not being insulting, Velveteen. You don't look like you're taking care of yourself. And that makes no man happy," he said.


<Velveteen> The silence was a welcome distraction and as Jesse peered over the edge of the balcony she couldn't help but follow his gaze. The towels she had flung over the edge when Bunny had confronted her hung in the branches below somewhere but she couldn’t see them so it was likely that neither could he. The body and bucket that had gone over the same edge were likely on the ground somewhere. Well...the bucket yes. The body had probably ended up wolf food or something. Her brow knit together as he spoke again and she looked genuinely confused. She didn't see the blood on her hands or the mess of her hair. She didn't see the mess inside. Her mind had granted her the ability to be able to completely block those things thing from her vision. "I am fine Jesse. I am just...tired. Really really tired."


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse could see no danger, here. Not if he stepped on the right stones and avoided all the cracks. He pushed away from the railing and slowly approached Velveteen. Not too close. But closer than before. He righted the overturned table before he took a seat on the edge of one of the chairs. He still couldn't shake that feeling - being somewhere so familiar, but knowing it wasn't his anymore. Just waiting for someone else to join them and ask him what the **** he was doing there. "Please go and shower," he said. "Before you sleep, just a quick dip. You'll feel refreshed."


<Velveteen> His request confused her and she looked over her shoulder uncertainly towards the door that led inside to the bedroom. The bedroom door itself was barricaded off from the rest of the hut. She had no idea if an irate Bunny was sitting on the other side of it or not but it was really not something that she wanted to deal with. She could go invisibly she supposed. She was surprised to realise that she was actually entertaining the idea. She nodded her head and looked back at him. "Ok I will." She wasn't sure if he expected her to go right away though she wasn't comfortable with leaving him alone with Micah just on the other side if the wall either.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse stretched out, then. He settled back in the chair and put his feet up on the table, one ankle crossed over the other. "I'd like to talk to Micah too, if you don't mind," he said. "I told him I'd get back to him about something. If you think he'll wake up soon, I'll just wait," he said. He didn't miss that furtive glance toward the closed door. But nor did he look like he was going to move anywhere. "And it's been a while. We should catch up on things. But go shower first," he said with a small smile.

[Velveteen]

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

<Velveteen> She narrowed her gaze as an alarm bell started ringing somewhere way way back in the darker recesses of her mind but she ignored it. "Oooo....kaaaay." She turned and then stopped and waved a hand towards the cigarettes that lay on the lounge. "Help yourself. I...won’t be long." She turned to go inside and stopped and looked back at him. It was obvious she was really unsure about this. Unsure about him. "You can talk to him when he wakes." She gave a quick nod of her head and disappeared inside. It didn’t take long to shift the refrigerator that was blocking the door and she peeked out to find the place empty. Gratefully she slipped through the small opening and disappeared into the bathroom. She would be quick. Very ******* quick.


<Jesse Fforde> True to his word, Jesse didn't move. His head fell back, neck exposed to the night air and his eyes closed as his arms crossed over his chest. Sitting there, still as the dead, he looked like someone stuck in the middle of a nightmare. It wasn't a restful repose. The crossed arms didn't speak of rebellion or nonchalance. Not anymore. The hugged his chest as if they were fighting to keep something trapped inside. The breeze fingered at his hair, and Mandy swapped shoulders again. Later, he told the Salamander. A whisper that hardly reached the air, a whisper that was not English. Jesse was a patient man. He waited. And while he waited he did what he'd been doing for the past week, whenever he was doing nothing at all - he tried to reach out to Grey. To pull her back to him. As per usual, it didn't work. All he found was dead space and anguish.


<Velveteen> True to her word she wasn’t gone terribly long but emerged looking like a whole other person. The warm water felt good against her cool skin and her damp hair felt smooth and clean though she still had no idea of the state she had been in. A faded black pair if jeans and one of Micah's T-shirts that almost swamped her small frame was the outfit of choice and before she stepped outside she checked on Micah and brushed a kiss to his forehead, whispering words of love. When she step out into the night air she half expected to find that Jesse had left and was surprised to find he had not. "There." She held her arms out as if to present herself. "Happy?"


<Jesse Fforde> At the sound of the door, Jesse's eyes opened. His head slowly lifted from its reclined position. He half worried that Velveteen would have done a half-assed job. That she would come out and still not be clean at all. But she was clean. And she looked far better than she had ten minutes ago. Jesse blinked away the dark fuzz that had entered his mind; the half-smile that graced his lips, that wanted to say hardly, but instead said: "Ecstatic. Do you feel better?" he asked. She had continued to tell him that she was fine, but he asked the question anyway. Oh, how he wanted to peer through that door and into the room beyond; he wanted to see how bad it had got. But he didn't ask. He didn't pry. He kept his eyes on Velveteen, his arms still across his chest.


<Velveteen> Se shrugged and dropped down onto the lounge reaching for the pack of smokes. "I felt fine before. Still tired if that’s what you mean?" Why she was so tired she couldn’t be sure. She seemed to be sleeping reasonably well....except for trying to avoid it for fear of her husband dreaming them into the fade again. Perhaps it was mental exhaustion from the effort it required to keep the fabric of her imagined reality from tearing. Who really knew. Not Her and she didn’t really care to ponder it either. She remained silent until the smoke was lit and she had inhaled several lungs full. She had noticed she was smoking a lot more than usual but it wasn't gonna kill her now was it? "I can ring you when he wakes you know."


<Jesse Fforde> It had only been an excuse. A reason to stick around while Velveteen showered. Jesse had no intention of waiting around until Micah woke up. He'd be out here for days. And his skin was sensitive to the sunlight. He shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to answer the question. He had no idea what state of mind Velveteen was in, but at least she was clean. "It's fine. I won't bother you more than I have to," he said, half a smirk gracing his lips again. He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second or two, only his head moving to follow Velveteen. He was obviously quite comfortable. "I'd ask if you've had enough water," he said. Dehydration could cause fatigue, couldn't it? "But that's not a thing. Had enough blood?" he asked, off-handed. More questions. He tried to be light. He didn't want her flying off the handle again.


<Velveteen> "I have one of those armlets things. Micah gave it to me for my birthday." She smiled at the mention of his name and lifted the oversized sleeve to show the silver circlet that had been on her arm since the day he gave it to her. "I only need to feed if I summon or get wounded and I haven't done either." She rolled the small white slender between her fingers and watched the orange ember at the end slowly burn the tobacco. "Look I don't know what you have heard or who you have heard it from but you can stop worrying. We are fine. Though this sudden concern is....interesting." She arched a brow and looked at him sideways. "Perhaps I should be the one doing the questioning. Is that what this is. You causing some sort of distraction or throwing the attention off of yourself?"


<Jesse Fforde> One of those armlet things. Jesse looked at the silver band that Velveteen gestured to, and gave a low whistle. Though, if he was going to be honest, he wasn't at all envious. He quite liked feeding. And regardless, it wouldn't make him feel any better. He reckoned he'd still be thirsty as ****. He arched a brow at Velveteen's next comment. She knew something was up. But, Jesse knew that too. Others were trying to get through to her. They had got nowhere, obviously. He didn't comment. Instead he focused on her question. "Distraction from what?" He rolled his shoulders again, and shook his head. "I'm just checking in. You can do that by appraisal. I don't have that nifty skill."


<Velveteen> She smiled crookedly and slumped back against the soft cushion of the sun lounge. Her eyes clear and offering a brief glimpse of the woman Velveteen usually was. "Mhmm....awfully convenient considering the craziness lately....and the last time we spoke. Just.....I dunno. A little hard to digest that everything is suddenly....ok. And I bet if you tried you would find you know someone with that nifty skill....though as you can see you wouldnt've found anything out of the ordinary. So...that is what you neeeeeeded to talk to me about?" It seemed she had completely forgotten the first half of their conversation and for all intents and purposes she had. It didn't fit into what she perceived to be real so it was discarded. Just like that.


<Jesse Fforde> The last time they had spoken? The frown creases Jesse's brow again, gaze shifting back out to the formless, shifting shadows out over the wilderness. He couldn't remember exactly what had been said, the last time they spoke. The last time blended neatly with the time before, and the time before that. A blur of negativity. Choice words clearer than others. There were things he regretted saying. Others, not so much. "Appraisals only do so much though, don't they? They give glimpses of a surface but they don't show what's underneath. They give the facts but they don't give the reasons," he said. When he turned back to Velveteen, the gaze was inquisitive. Softer than his usual hard glare. "I thought I didn't care but I do. It doesn't make everything better, but it helps."


<Velveteen> "It does.' Her head rolled back to rest against the cushioned back as she made several smoke rings in succession, each a little less solid than the last as they grew and dissipated on the still night air. "When you actually do give a **** you can achieve so much more." Her head rolled to the side and she set her gaze on him, curiosity about....everything burning within her though she was still unsure as to how much of it to believe. How much she should ask or just leave unsaid. Usually she would lay it all out on the table and sort through it piece by piece by lately she had much more important things to deal with. Everything else at the moment was made insignificant, or more aptly put, something that could be dealt with later. "How's the family?"


<Jesse Fforde> "Sometimes the give-a-**** just has to take a holiday. Get some fresh air and perspective," he said. There was that vague hint of a smirk again. No real smiles from Jesse tonight. Nothing genuine. Because happy was not something that he could feel. A real smile was far beyond reach. He nodded. "The family is fine," he said. But did he really know? He hadn't spoken to any of them in over a week. He just barely caught that grimace before it twisted his features. He kept it locked up, with the rest of it. "No drama. Well. Clover kissed me. Grey wanted to kill her. They took a few swipes at each other, but remained relatively unharmed," he said. It shouldn't have amused him, that whole situation. Looking back on it, though, he found it amusing. "They're quiet. But they're around. How's Andras?" he asked. And he really was curious.


<Velveteen> One brow rose curiously and she grinned a little. "A few swipes?" She chuckled and shook her head. "Grey should have killed her. I would have. Andras is....fine. Growing." She frowned a little and turned her attention to her fingers that twisted the half burnt cigarette that she no longer felt like finishing. "Always meeting a new one. I....did I ever tell you about my....sister?" Her mental time line was skewed and she had no real concept of what happened when.


<Jesse Fforde> The expression on Jesse's face remained impassive. Within Fforde, his give-a-**** hadn't ever taken a holiday. He loved Grey. It wasn't all sunshine and roses with them at the moment. She wasn't even in the ******* city, and he had no way to contact her. But he cared about Clover, too. He saw a lot of himself in Clover. She was the wilder part who encouraged him to give up his control. He didn't tell Velveteen that they neither of them had killed the other because he hadn't let it happen. He'd come between them. A spark cramped his heart at the thought of Andras growing; about how much he loved watching Fforde grow, too. And how it wasn't growing at all, lately. He shook his head. "Sister? No..." he said. An invitation to continue.


<Velveteen> "Mmm. I think you were still around when she first showed up. I had her hidden in the Eyrie for a bit. She escaped. Lots happened. But to cut a long story short ...I have a twin sister. Identical twin sister who is now my husband's childe." She rolled forward to dumb the expired smoke butt in the ashtray. "Lots of fun and games to be had there. "So...that whole kiss thing have something to do with Grey leaving?" She asked curiously, exchanging answers for questions.


<Jesse Fforde> There was a knife in his chest, lodged there ever since he'd discovered that letter. But, that wasn't right either, was it? There was nothing there, in chest. Grey had taken it with her. There was discomfort, anyway. Of course Velveteen would know. Micah had told Jesse that Grey had talked to him. Micah talked to Velveteen. No one in Fforde knew, but Velveteen knew. Jesse shook his head. "No," he said. He didn't elaborate. Time had taken its toll, and opening up was not something he did anymore. Micah would come back. He could tell Velveteen what Jesse had told him. "It must be nice having your sister around. Do you get along?" he asked. Two could play at that game.


<Velveteen> For the first time in what seemed like ages she laughed. Actually laughed as her head rolled back to rest on the cushion once more as she watched the sky. "Nice? It is...interesting. I was angry. No I was extremely pissed off that he turned her. We have a ...volatile relationship I guess. Still getting to know each other. I never of her so except for that fact that she looks like me which is...disconcerting still, I don’t really know her. But now we have for-how-ever long to do that." She shrugged and rolled her head to the side to look at him once more. "So why didn't she kill her? I don't imagine some other woman kissing you would be something that Grey would put up with."


<Jesse Fforde> "Don't take her for granted," Jesse said. Velveteen knew his story. He had a twin, once. Now he was dead. Dead dead. Gone forever. No trick of fate was going to bring him back. What he wouldn't give to be in Velveteen's position right now. What he wouldn't give to have that brother back, who wouldn't judge him. And Jesse could trust him with his life. Jesse didn't laugh, though it was good to see Velveteen laugh. He could report that to Micah. "I'm not sure Grey would have managed to kill Clover. It could have ended up the other way around," he said. And then he'd want to kill Clover. And he didn't want to do that. He figured that was answer enough. Velveteen wasn't stupid. She'd understand the implication.


<Velveteen> "Maybe. Maybe not. You should have let them work it out." She felt it pretty safe to assume at that point that Jesse had intervened and she knew what is like to be in those situations. Micah had played middle man and learned the hard way. "Is she in love with you? Clover? I am guessing you have talked about it." As for Grey, Vel knew she didn't have all the details, only what she had told Micah which hadn't been a great deal but was enough to know that things were pretty rough there.


<Jesse Fforde> "We talked about it. She's a mystery, that one," Jesse said. Never had Clover ever admitted to love. Maybe it was just a passing infatuation. But Jesse didn't know Clover well enough to know whether that was something she was prone to. Passing infatuations. It hadn't felt like it. It didn't seem like it. But Jesse didn't want to push the matter. Clover was family. He didn't want her to run away. He wanted them all in one place and he wanted them always there. But that was ridiculous, and a little bit insane. He shifted in his seat. "There'll be time enough for them to work it out. I'm not always going to be around to stop them," he said with a shrug. There was that hope, of course. He clung to it, desperately. Grey was coming back. She said so herself.


<Velveteen> Velveteen nodded. They were indeed very messy situations. "True that." She stated simply. It was obvious he didn't really want to talk about it and she could understand that. She sat forward and looked over her shoulder as if hearing something. Her arms stretched between her knees as she twisted her hands together. "I should probably get back inside. I don't want him to wake and me not be there. Ya know?" She shrugged and gave a small yet somewhat sheepish smile.


<Jesse Fforde> There were plenty of things he wanted to say to Velveteen. Don't hold your breath being one of them. But he had made his decision. Leave her be. He would make his argument to Micah. He'd prefer that Grey be insanely oblivious but happy rather than know he was dead and neglect herself in the mean time, locking herself up in a closet in complete and utter misery. A semblance of happiness was better than none. If it were permanent, then yes. Someone had to break Velveteen out of her spell. But it wasn't. Micah would be back. Jesse nodded. He wouldn't go home. No, that was a lie. He would go home. But would promptly slip into the calming cooling shadows of the Realm. "Right," he stood, pulling the tome from his pocket. "You tell him he has me to thank that you are nice and soapy smelling," he said with a smirk. Though he'd probably tell Micah that himself. He didn't say goodbye. He didn't say see you soon or catch you around. He just whispered those words and vanished. A little bit of the old Jesse, there - the one that didn't adhere to social protocol.