August 4 2007

What am I doing?

who: Tensiel, Caleb, Eli, Dorian, and Fidelity
where: scene of the crime, then the Lockwood house
when: really late

Eli had been attempting to sleep for several hours now, but so far, all he'd managed had been the tossing, turning and five minute dozing variety. He didn't know if it was the shit still running through his head (which was a lot more prevalent now that he was alone) or... Other.

He just had a feeling... And you didn't spend most of your life dealing with sporadic clairvoyant visions without learning to trust those odd, occasional hunches. He'd already tried to calm himself down long enough to try to get a real, true vision; something tangible he could actually go on. Fuck his luck; it wasn't happening.

It wasn't until after eleven o'clock that he felt it. He was dozing again, but the sudden anger--from Tensiel, of all people!?--had him stirring. He sat up sleepily, rubbing at his eyes and groaning. Fuck, he'd been right. He just hadn't expected it to concern Tensiel. Now what did he d--

Rage, white hot, holy, righteous wrath like nothing he'd ever felt before ever and then it was gone in an instant. But it was enough to have him awake, and moving. And swearing violently. That? Could not be good. On any sort of level. An angel feeling like that was bad, bad news.

who: journey and lullaby
where: her house
when: late

Journey had arrived at Lulu's early that morning, only to be told she'd gone to the hospital. Something about Josh, and his cousin, and blah blah blah... Witness him not care. Which, really, made him feel like a selfish bastard, but he'd had a shitty morning, and his head was just too full of his own angst. He was worried, but he didn't really feel up to being social right now and dashing off to the hospital and trying to play cheery for an audience. So, hiding. In Lulu's room. With her (awesome) mom bringing him (awesome) snacks. Again, he felt guilty for only picking at the offered food, but his appetite was shot. She seemed understanding, though. Thank God.

He'd already cried (three times), napped (twice), and gone ninja through her stuff (once, resulting in leaving a little message for her in her diary... hopefully she'd hide it better from now on!), and now he was just bored. The teen lay glumly on Thia's bed, hands resting on his stomach as he gazed broodily up at the ceiling. Mom...

Who: Syn and Seph
When: laaaaate late
Where: Martens' house, Seph's room
Warning: rated R

Seph had gone through the hours following the events in the cemetery in something of a daze. Syn had forced him into the shower while she more or less settled Eli downstairs. After scrubbing his skin almost raw, Seph hadn't gone to seek her out. She was busy. Instead he'd gone to lay down and -- surprisingly -- sank immediately into a dark, dreamless sleep. He hadn't woken when she came in at some point an untold time later, just automatically made room as he always did. It was sometime in the dead of night when he stopped sleeping peacefully. Seph's eyebrows drew together as his blue eyes twitched back and forth under their lids. He was dreaming that he was carrying a body again, over his shoulders. But instead of neat brown hair, it was long and blond and soaked in blood. And the legs that hung down over his other shoulder had vines and thorns carved into them ... over her tattoos .... He rolled over roughly, making a noise in the back of his throat.

His moving made Syn stir, and she'd been only sleeping in the loosest sense of the word. She came more awake, arm around him tightening. She got a little bit of what he was seeing, broken fragments that she couldn't quite connect together in the right way. Distant images that she just knew she didn't like. At the sound he made, she rested her forehead against his. Seph. She called, soft as it echoed between their minds.

Who: Doc and Eva
Where: Upfront
When: Evening

The world was a fascinating place, and Doc was seeing more and more of it with every day. But there was some constant advantage to familiarity, to knowing the city surrounding him. That was why he'd settled on the Upfront & Company club; a cleaner, classier drink than his usual spot at The Wooden Nickel. Doc had even made some effort, clad in a clean tee under his old fatigue jacket. Tucked away at the bar, he leaned an elbow on the wood as he grinned over the edge ofhis glass. The bar was buzzing with activity, though it wasn't a wild night, but people always got a smirk out of him when they gathered. So many ways to distract themselves from it all.

Who: Buttah and Socko
Where: Their place
When: Evening

Relatively speaking, it was a quiet night. The music was down to a low buzz even inside the walls, an unspoken concession Socko had made for Bu's sake. He'd been finding that, by and large, living with another person hadn't been too much of a shift at all. Sure, she spent more time getting ready that Socko would spend in three days, but he knew that looking that good couldn't all be natural. Shit, mos' of it still is, he thought from where he sat in the living room, glancing over at Bu as Socko went through the motions of preparing his hunting tools.

Who: Olivia & Mathias
When: Evening
Where: The Happy Medium

Maybe it was morbid to be curious about the scene of a murder. But Olivia had morbid tendencies at times, and given that she didn't have much to do on a Saturday night in a new town, she could always chalk up her curiosity to exploring the rest of Marquette. The Happy Medium wasn't too far from the park she had visited before, and despite the rumors addressed in the paper that morning, the bar didn't appear to be closed. There were people inside, many of whom were drinking, seemingly unfazed by the headlines.

Olivia walked inside and glanced around, studying the supernatural depictions carved into the bar. It was a strange feeling place, and Olivia now understood what the article had meant when it claimed the bar attracted less than savory business. But then again, people were generally afraid and against things they didn't quite understand. The leather stools were vacant but for a few, so Olivia slipped onto the one closest to the edge, and lit a cigarette, debating whether or not it would be worth it to waste her remaining money on a drink.

who: Jamie (w/ Caleb later-phone call)
where: streets (specifically between her house and Nevermore), Laundromat, her house
when: late afternoon~early evening

With the heavy bag of books in hand, it was surprisingly easy for Jamie to stay in a good mood on the walk home. They reminded her of Caleb. Being reminded of him reminded her that they were no longer fighting, and things seemed to be settled back to normal between them, despite this morning's panic attack. She had been well behaved and hadn't thrown herself at him. Victory! She wasn't a whore. Problem solved there.

Well, not really. It wasn't just her having hormone issues. But, no, she was thinking positive here. She had been around her boyfriend for a few hours, and her clothes had stayed on. They'd argued, they'd had a strangely philosophical discussion about the supernatural, they'd flirted... And they had a date for tomorrow. Hurray!

Who: Thom and Leija
When: Late afternoon
Where: Phone, then Thom's house

Having got back from Isaac's Thom had headed for his room, lying out on his bed and contemplating the ceiling for a long while. Not that there was much particularly interesting about his ceiling. Nothing, in fact, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He couldn't believe that - that Jamie would do that. He understood the 'no dating' rule. Hell, he got that. But to lead Isaac on like that, to make him think... Damn, but he'd been there - he'd seen them, he'd seen his friend. He'd been anticipating being happy for Isaac, he'd anticipated being jealous for fuck's sake! It was all there and worked out and never had he foreseen it would turn out like this.

Hence - ceiling staring. Until he started to feel vaguely guilty. And then a little more guilty. The maybe a lot guilty. Because the normal scheme of things didn't work like this. The normal, usual, accepted scheme of things had Isaac with the girl and Thom sitting on the sidelines. Which was fine, because Thom did the sidelines very well. He was almost born to it. He was happy on the sidelines. And now? Now Isaac was sitting at home, brooding. And Thom? Wasn't. Throughout it all, he was thinking of Leija - even if that made him a bad friend. It definitely made him feel guilty. He should have done better back there. He should have been able to get through that without his mind wandering. He definitely should have been able to get through it without mentioning her name. Which he noted he'd been unable to do.

But he hadn't been able to. Which made him feel like shit. And meant only one thing. There was only one possible reaction - he picked up the phone on his bedside and called her.

who: Jamie and Caleb
where: Nevermore
when: mid to late afternoon

Caleb had been busily scribbling in his journal for a while, but had stopped that and had put some things away...then had gone back to sitting behind the counter again. He'd brought with him the sketch book that Ten had given him, and he was lightly sketching. Today it was windows. The view of Jamie's window from both the inside and the outside, and his own, with Ten's shadow hopping down from it like he saw her in the mornings when she left for work. He was just working on putting Jamie's shadow into the inside shot of her window, like she was standing just far enough back and gazing out of it that not much light was hitting her.

Jamie had had enough time after the catastrophe that had been band practice to settle down. Well, to puke up breakfast and make Caleb lunch, at any rate. She was far from feeling normal. Guilt was churning along with misery and... well, she just wasn't going to think about it right now. She had things to do. Caleb needed feeding (hm, maybe she did treat him a little too much like a puppy), books needed to be bought, dinner made, the bathroom cleaned... She'd cry at bed time. Repressing was what she did, and she did it very well.

She headed into Nevermore, glad that this had been the same store Chrissy had dragged her to a few months before. There were a few bookstores in town, after all. It wouldn't do if she went to the wrong one. She spotted Caleb immediately behind the counter, and managed to call up a tiny smile as she approached. "Working hard?" she asked softly, her voice teasing.

Who: Joshua and September (and later Lullaby)
When: Mid-afternoon
Where: Tourville Apartments/Marquette General Hospital

Joshua had received September's message a few hours ago and the tone in her voice had been enough to convince him to head back to the apartment. He had called her back straight away but hadn't got a response and had settled for leaving a message. Having called her a total of five times now and still not getting through, Joshua wasn't sure whether he was more worried or pissed off at not knowing what the hell was going on. Perched on the edge of the couch, he was so tense that when the phone rang he fell off the seat. "September, whats going on?" he cried into the handset before a polite voice informed him that his cousin was currently in A&E at Marquette General.

After what seemed to be the longest 10 minute cab drive of his life, Joshua bound into reception and was quickly directed to where September was.

Stepping around the curtain, he saw September asleep on the bed with a bandaged arm and looking even paler than usual. This was definitely bad. September had made things incredibly clear about what to do if he ended up in hospital but she had never told him what to do if something happened to her. He had never seen her sick and seeing her like this after her weird message was freaking him out to no end. Pulling out his phone, he texted Lulu to tell her what had happened. He knew that there wasn't anything she would be able to do but he really didn't want to handle this on his own.

Who: Olivia & Mya
When: 3:00pm
Where: Mya's Diner

The diner wasn't as crowded when Olivia returned at three. She wasn't overly anxious or nervous, as she'd had several interviews in the past few years. If this one didn't pan out, there was always another possibility elsewhere, though Olivia did hope this one would work out.

She gripped her shoulder bag, less full now of her stuff, as much of it was still dumped on her motel bed. She spotted Mya at the counter and walked over, mentally preparing herself for the questions that would soon be following.

who: Dee and Melia
where: the lake
when: afternoon

It was a day most people would refer to as pleasant. Mid 70s, partly cloudy skies... well, those people weren't Dierdra. She'd started feeling dizzy and generally unwell by lunch time, and the pull of the lake had been too great to ignore. She'd stripped down carelessly to the one piece navy blue suit she always wore, concealing her clothes and shoes among some rocks, and then she'd taken her first step out into the lake of the day.

The water churned up to greet her, seemingly joyful she'd returned, and then she was pulled out with the wave, towards the deep waters. Dee drifted, letting the unnatural tide do as it wished. She was safe in water, no matter how far out it brought her.

who: kaysen and isaac
where: isaac's room
when: afternoon

After sending Thom on his way and venting a little bit on paper, Isaac ... didn't feel any better at all. Pretty much worse, in fact. Now, on a normal evening, there was music coming out of his room. Either his own or from his computer, or sometimes both. It was a constant, and something he often left on even when he wasn't there. But tonight? He didn't even really feel like listening to anything sappy. He was just laid out across his bed, eyes open, being more still than he almost ever was naturally. He felt like shit, didn't want to talk to anyone, and was pretty sure this was going to be his life from there on out forever.

Kaysen had kinda noticed that her brother was home, and there was a whole lot of nothing going on with him. Usually there was something. Music, watching tv, being on the phone, bothering her, you name it, but tonight he was all quiet. So, eventually, she went and ventured to his room to knock on the door. "Isaac?" she asked. She had her kitten with her, and tried the door, even if she expected it to be locked.

Who: Anne and Doc
When: Afternoon
Where: Near the lake

It was the sort of day that Anne had always enjoyed, which meant that she just couldn't force herself to stay inside for it. After taking care of a few of her chores, she decided to head down to the lake for a bit of a walk, perhaps some reading. Tucking a book into her bag, she meandered down to the shore, trying to avoid any cars she might encounter on the way - she'd never figured out what made the horns go off as she passed, but it wasn't something she or the poor drivers particularly enjoyed.

She finally made it down, choosing a nice grassy spot, not too near the water but close enough to enjoy the quiet sounds of the lake lapping against the shore. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back against the rock behind her and just soaked up the atmosphere. Sometimes when the wind was right, she could imagine herself back in Ireland - not quite, but it was close. She contemplated taking a vacation out there.

who: kaysen and taylor
where: Harlow Park
when: afternoon

Kaysen wasn't at her usual haunt today, opting not to be doing any tricks (sort of) today on the steps of the middle school. Instead she was out for a walk, and she had a kitten in her backpack. Edison The Second seemed to like it in there, which she found weird, but good. Maybe if he got used to being in there she could really taking him out all over the place and it'd be cool.

She'd stopped by the fountain, and sat down in front of it on her board. Taking off her backpack, she tugged her kitten out and smiled at him. "Hey, Edison..." she said to him, giving him scritches under the neck and generally cuddling the crap out of him.

Who: Jamie, Thom, & Isaac, then just Thom & Isaac
When: afternoon
Where: Thom's basement

"Dude, look. Tyler. If you don't remember that tempo change right when it happens, I lose my beat, and then Thom gets all jacked up, so just ... watch it, okay?" Isaac said to Promise Theory's drummer, trying not to sound irritated. This was what practice was for, after all. He turned back to his instrument, giving Thom a sidelong glance. Then his eyes ticked up -- without his permission -- to the clock on the wall. They'd already been at this for almost and hour, and still no Jamie. Which really wasn't what he should've been thinking about at all. They had a show the next day, he needed to focus. Fuck. Isaac shook his head at himself and waited until Tyler gave them the beat again.

Thom caught Isaac's eye and then caught the look up to the clock. He stifled a yawn as they started back up again. The practice wasn't going great. It hadn't started off great - Thom was currently wondering how the hell one managed to be running late for a band rehearsal which was held in one's own basement - but then again, he'd been up until the early hours emailing back and forth with Leija and it had thrown his entire day out. Not to mention that he was dead on his feet - something evidenced by the dark circles beneath his eyes today. And since rehearsal had actually gotten underway, Isaac had becoming more and more testy as the minutes ticked by and no Jamie. No, today wasn't being good at all.

Who: Ten and Leija
When: Early Afternoonish
Where: Mya's Diner

Leija had debated on this all morning. Which had been a late one, more or less, since Thom had kept her up late emailing back and forth. Not that she minded much. But through lunch and a shower, she'd decided that she wanted to know more about Tensiel. The girl had done something to the necklace Lullaby had given her -- which she was indeed wearing -- and it was something that felt familiar enough. They weren't powers that she herself had, but it wasn't the first time she'd come across someone who could do things that felt like that. Angels could. And if Ten was an angel? Leija wanted to know her. She'd grown up rather sheltered, but her mother wrote and her father always said that it never hurt to have powerful allies, if you could get them. And she'd seemed sweet. And Leija was intensely curious. So, really, there were too many questions not to go. She walked down to Mya's Diner (where she'd overheard that Ten worked) and stepped inside, glancing around.

Who: Manhattan & Fidelity (& Blink)
Where: Winchester Kennels
When: Lunchtime

Manhattan, eyes closed, was outstretched on the couch of the ranch house owned by Winchesters for a couple generations now on a tract of land off of Big Bay Road. The hunter was resting. Well, as best one could be in her condition even with the pain killers the doctor at the hospital had prescribed for her. The bruises she wore on her face and upper body from the beatings inflicted on her by the demon were still very much visible. At least those on her face and arms. The rest were covered by an oversized over-sized tee and pair of charcoal gray jogging pants. Her arm had been casted, her ribs wrapped tightly beneath the plain white tee, which always worked well to conceal her bandaged left shoulder where the demon had taken a bit out of her.

Her father and cousin were out back where the kennels were located working with some of the dogs they raised and bred. Her sole company at the moment was Gunthar, a husky that laid on the floor beside the couch.

Who: Dorian and Eury
Where: Eury's House, The Forest!
When: Late Morning to Afternoon

Dorian took the opportunity to sleep in on his day off, rising from bed around nine, the time he'd usually be opening the shop. It felt good to have the day off, to know that he should be at work but he wasn't, and he didn't mind paying Caleb for his services if he could feel this free. On the way to Eury's, he stopped to pick up donuts, finding those easier attained than drive through cinnamon rolls, then quietly let himself in through her front door. He still couldn't believe she'd left it open for him, but then she didn't have his luck, so hopefully it was safer than it seemed. Donuts in tow, he headed for her room, knocking softly before peering in. "Morning, sweetheart," he said, coming in to wake her. This was something he'd never done before, he realized, and he wondered if there was a protocol he should be following that he'd already messed up.

Eury had been asleep, and she made an inarticulate little sound as she roused. "Cm'n." she said, not at all fully awake, though she flopped one hand over to her night stand to get her sunglasses, which she put on before she even attempted to open her eyes. The clock told her it was a little after nine. Mm. Sleep was good. If only there'd been more of it. But she smiled sleepily. There were worse ways to wake up.

who: Synnove and Eli
where: Martens' House
when: morning

It had been a very long night for Eli. He wasn't sure how many hours had passed, or even if it had only been a few minutes, but it felt like eternity. He hadn't moved once since they'd actually arrived last night; he'd made a beeline for his usual room, curled up on top of the covers and laid there staring at the wall ever since. Sleep hadn't come, and he'd teetered just barely on the brink of awareness all night, mind running over and over and over the 'gifts' his mother had left in his head.

He hadn't even moved to take his morphine. Early withdrawal symptoms had kicked in not long ago; the full body tremors and chills wracked him. The fingers of his left hand twitched; there was morphine in his backpack, which lay nearby. He still had enough control over himself to get it. The problem with that? He didn't want to.

Who: Joshua and September.
When: Early morning.
Where: Their apartment.

Strolling into the kitchen with a tired yawn, Joshua was suprised and relieved to find September wasn't up and about yet. Following his conversation with Lulu the night before, he knew that he had to come clean with his guardian as soon as possible but that didn't mean his stomach wasn't tying itself in a knot at the very prospect of talking to her. Grabbing two mugs from the cabinet, he placed a regular tea-bag in one and a herbal one in the other before filling the kettle and switching it on. As the kettle boiled his thoughts went back to Lulu and a smile came onto his face. My girlfriend rocks he thought to himself with a goofy grin before his attention was brought back to the boiling kettle. Filling the mugs, and in the process spilling boiling water all over the worktop which he narrowly managed to avoid, he quickly mopped up the water and finished making the tea. Taking the mugs in hand, he went into the hall and gently tapped on September's door. "September, are you up?"

September was, in fact, up. She didn't want Joshua to know what she was researching yet; if nothing else, she didn't want to get his hopes up. So she'd taken to reading whatever she'd found on the subject of luck and fortune curses after Joshua was asleep, and before he woke up. Problems, of course, arose when articles were in languages September hadn't spoken - let alone read - in years. Concentrating on translating, the guardian had lost track of time - a rare event, indeed. She was lightly startled by the question, and quickly put all of her research back in her desk drawer. "Yes, sorry. Come in! Is everything alright?" She hadn't sensed anything out of the normal, but, well... asking was habit.

who: Caleb and Jamie
where: her house
when: morning (6:30 to around 8 AM)

When Jamie fell asleep with music still on, she usually judged how her day would be by what was playing when she woke up.

"I'm falling to pieces, and I never thought my time would run out. And I loathe all these reasons that I never fit this mold in your life..."

Well, shit, that was a bad omen. Waking up to a song about suicide was never a good thing in her world. Now fully awake, she lay in bed a few minutes longer, her eyes suddenly wide open. Somehow during the night, she'd curled up on top of Caleb, her head resting on his chest. He was warm, and comfy (apparently he made a good pillow; she'd keep that in mind), and his heart beat in her ear was soothing.

Not soothing enough, of course, to keep her mind off of her behavior last night. Ugh. Whore.

Caleb stirred when she did. He wasn't the soundest sleeper in the world, and he wasn't in his own bed. Ten? His first thought was that he was home and that Ten must have slept in his room again, but his night came back to him really fast. Partly due to the music, but mostly due to the scent of Jamie. He opened his eyes a little, reaching up to rub the sleep out of one as he came more completely to. Making an inarticulate sort of sound announced his consciousness.

Who: Kurt/Doc
Where: Streets of Marquette
When: Early morning

It was early the next morning when Kurt left the house. He slept nearly the entire evening and night, waking up again only briefly to let Natalya feed him. He felt very much rejuvinated. It was rest -- and escape -- he truly needed, and he found himself oddly unplagued by nightmares. The sun was just starting to dissipate the mist over the lake as he walked a good deal away from the house. He'd placed a fresh bandage on his neck, and added one to the wound on his chest that Natalya hadn't seen. Now that he was physically recovered, he was ready for answers. And he knew who could give them. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was out of sight, Kurt took his hands out of his pockets and looked at the one the man called Doc had marked. He wasn't quite sure how this was done. Knowing he probably looked ridiculous, Kurt pointed his palm at the sky. "I need you," he said plainly.

No one had ever summoned him before, which explained the bewilderment Doc felt as a surge so close to his normal tasks filled him. But it was charged, tinged with an urgency that told him this wouldn't wait like so many other jobs could. He moved from the kitchen of his home to his bedroom, yanking on the demonic pistol that was his mark of rank, and reeled suddenly. Kurt. He knew... he knew what it was drawing him; the mark he'd given the other man, the same as had been done for him. Quickly rounding up the forged documents he'd prepared for Kurt, Doc shut his bedroom door tight and locked it, then focused.

Who: Olivia and Mya
When: Very early Morning
Where: Mya's Diner

Sleeping in a real bed had done wonders. Okay, so it was a motel bed, with a semi-stiff mattress and questionable sheets, but it was a bed nonetheless. She felt better, and while Olivia wasn't vain, she knew she looked better. And so she hoped that her cleaned up appearance would help her while she searched for a job. She wasn't picky by any means. Olivia learned early on after leaving home that you took what you could get when you could get it.

But first Olivia decided to walk to Mya's Diner for breakfast. If that girl yesterday was right, the last thing Olivia wanted was to be asking for applications with her stomach growling like a wild animal. As Olivia stepped inside, her mouth practically watered for the coffee she could smell brewing.

She slipped onto a stool at the diner and grabbed an abandoned newspaper resting beside an empty plate and half drunken glass of orange juice to keep her busy while she waited for service.