DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
|
Post by DKender on Feb 5, 2014 21:51:14 GMT -8
"Yeah. That ear thing hurt like the dickens." "And what do you mean by safer? Hrgh. Nevermind. I'll gladly share your BED, if it protects me from ..." She pointed adamantly down the stairwell, afraid that Auberon could somehow hear them speak."... nightmares. How do you manage? Seriously. Will ..." more pointing commenced! "... lose interest soon?" How long would she have to share a bedroom? One week? One year? Until Aubrey's second death? Or, more likely, HER second death?
|
|
|
Post by Trinity on Feb 6, 2014 6:35:26 GMT -8
Leo offered a meek 'goodnight' and a tiny wave to the staircase, and went to stand next to Babette. She felt bad for her. The girl's ears sure did look like they hurt. The blood, however, seemed much more appetizing.."Sharing a room is cool, as long as we got separate beds. And something to drink would be killer. ..I have to stop doing that.." "..He wasn't serious about the body painting thing right?"
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 6, 2014 6:52:47 GMT -8
Ellen- "Just a little quieter for the moment guys. Come along..." She led them out of the abbey to another building they had not seen coming in. This one was probably more like thirty to fifty years old, an attempt at having a modern facility on the grounds before the cathedral went out of business. They hustled through the rain easily, and stood under an awning until she had the door open. Ellen- "You are both welcome in this building. It's the 'new abbey', or it was a few decades ago." They went into a dusty, creepy building - old but not antique - all flickering fluorescents and hideous drop ceilings,
like the part of Ellen's illusion where Eli had been trying to smash the bars with his drumstick.
She spoke as she led them through, now in a quiet tone, but still louder than her whisper at the stairs in the older building. Babette and Leo could hear crickets and frogs outside beneath the hum of the building's utilities. Ellen- "*siiigh* OK. The body painting? He was serious. Losing interest? Maybe never... The situation you've been drawn into parallels that of my sister and myself, so maybe I should tell you about that tonight. On the other hand, maybe you deserve a break from nightmare fodder. What do you think? Ready for a dreadful grandma story?"
|
|
DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
|
Post by DKender on Feb 6, 2014 16:27:37 GMT -8
"Ready. Please. Don't worry about nightmare fodder. Leo's brave. Aren't you? And, well, I do lack her punch. However, this is only the fourth most horrifying night of my life. So. It's not that bad, all things considered. Babette will cope." She didn't ask for flashlights. Parlor tricks would cheapen the inevitably tragic backstory. Honestly, anything that ended with 'and that's how I became Lord Auberon's caretaker' had to be horrifying and sad beyond words."Also, I'm intrigued. By you. And your history." "So out with it. Tell us about the dreadful past, or I will be bedeviled by the tender tenterhooks. Mmm."
|
|
|
Post by Trinity on Feb 6, 2014 18:11:22 GMT -8
"There isn't much you could say that hasn't freaked me out already, Ellen. I'm all ears." Leo stood surprisingly close to Babette, though she did it unconsciously, and lazily scanned the room in hopes of finding the source of the noise of the insects and animals. That was kind of annoying. ".." She slipped her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and patiently waited for Ellen's story. This ought to be interesting.
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 7, 2014 2:42:12 GMT -8
Ellen- "Alright..." She led them upstairs, and opened a room that clearly hadn't been used in months or years. She waded through the dust and grabbed a bed by the frame, then easily hauled it behind her with only a light scraping on the ground. As she dragged it out of the room, she began the story. Ellen- "We're going to my room. It directly overlooks the old abbey, so I can get to Aubrey quickly if there's trouble. That also means he'll be able to hear us more easily if he comes to one of the rooms closest to this building, but for now we should be safe. He went downstairs... The terminology is always changing now, but he is what was classically known as a psychotic, or homicidal maniac. There seems to be a common thread among all progenitors of mental aberration, and a death that involved persecution. In his case, both were rather extreme. He was a prolific murderer in his time, and put to death when finally discovered. We are fortunate in that death has a calming effect on the emotions. I believe it is because mortal minds are made of biological components, the shedding of those at death reduces the severity of problems. Nonetheless, he is still very much a danger to those around him. Helen and I were born into a prosperous middle class family, and to our parents he seemed like an eccentric noble whose house had fallen on hard times. They saw an opportunity to acquire some culture for us and payed him to instruct us in music." At the room, she gestured for Leo to place the bed frame where she preferred, and while still in the hall, began beating some of the dust off the mattress. "This reminds me, I had the most terrible allergies at his place. Sneezing, that is something I do not miss. Well. Aubrey seems to have a 'type' - young, slim, soft, and short - at least much shorter than he. It is not often that he is moved by lust, but it happens, and it is not good. He 'fell in love with' my sister. I don't see much difference between his 'love' and that of most other men. It's lust paired with a desire for possession of a willing altar for their use. Whatever. At least most men aren't driven to bestial acts of violence on their intended. For my sister's part, she wouldn't see anything bad about anyone - perhaps least of all lovable eccentrics. So she was kind to him, which only fueled his passion. When the time came to tell him she was going to get married to some handsome youth, he snapped. She says she doesn't remember much of what followed, but I have my doubts. As she lay dead some time later, he was overcome by 'compassion' and turned her into a vampire. This was the first time for him, and he wasn't thinking clearly. But when does he ever? I came looking for her and she was starved for blood. You felt this once, but for a very short time, and were fortunate to not have your loved ones present for the experience. She killed me, and sated on my blood, regained her senses. He tried to blame it on her sinful ways - of course it was all her fault, right? And in another act of 'compassion' he turned me into a vampire, while sending her out to find my first meal. So he took us and went to ground for a while, pretended not to exist. He probably could not have pulled it off without help from his friends - the recently formed Circle. Our turning was an unplanned event - The Circle had previously decided not to allow any of its members to create new vampires. We were a point of contention for a while, when Dragomir assented to having more vampires turned. The first didn't happen until some years later - that was Florence. A few years after that, Vitus. When Marchese joined The Circle some time during the years of The White Death, he only had Santi with him, and was granted permission to turn another - whom he chose from the Grauischer film industry. But back to us. In the wake of our turning, Aubrey had to stay in hiding, you see, so he had nothing to do with his time except... what he would. And he loved his dear friends from The Circle so well, he let them do what they wanted as well. But the worst of it was dealing with Aubrey. That's what we had to come home to at the end of the night. It's strange how quickly you can come to make sense of an insane situation. I realized with his fits and disorders he could be manipulated, and also found that I was safe from his attention because he didn't feel any lust for me. I feel like, in this way, Babette, you've become like Helen, and Leo, you've become a bit like me. Of course, you don't have a bond of sisterhood compelling you to help Babette, but I hope you will help me - help us - keep her out of his reach..."
The mattress was on the bed, she was sitting on it while she spoke, and the other two were able to find chairs if they wanted to. There was more to the story and she'd go on, but maybe someone would want to say something at this point?
|
|
DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
|
Post by DKender on Feb 7, 2014 10:41:29 GMT -8
Homicidal psychopath? That explained a lot, actually!"And now it's the third." She looked at Leo with wide, sad eyes and clasped her hands piteously. "Help me, Darling. I don't want to be murdered again. Once ... that's quite enough. Oh, please. Pleeease. It's terrifying ... in a bad way. *sob sob*" Secretly, Babette was overjoyed that Leo would be her ally during this clusterfuck scenario. After all, Leo was the only person who offered to save Ru (at the ... perhaps smarter ... expense of escaping) in Wilhelm's funhouse. That took bravery and compassion.
She fell to her knees. "Help meeee? " It didn't get more pathetic than that.
|
|
|
Post by Trinity on Feb 7, 2014 11:54:51 GMT -8
Leo was in the process of shoving the bed frame across the room when Babette pleaded for her assistance. At first, she wasn't sure how to react. Nobody had begged for her the way Babette had. "Babs.." It pained her right to the core to see her friend like this. It vaguely reminded her of her dad, and his condition. She got down on one knee in front of her, a little over eye level. Then, she took her face ever-so-gently in her hands, almost like she was in fear of breaking a priceless doll. This was a first, even for Leo. "Hey.. Remember what I said? I got you. Always. I ain't gonna let a thing happen to you. What kinda friend would I be if I can't even protect ya, right?" Her sad expression turned into a slightly less somber smile, "You should smile more often, Babette. It goes with your outfit."
|
|
DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
|
Post by DKender on Feb 7, 2014 12:48:56 GMT -8
"Oh, DARLING. I ... I could kiss you!" For a moment, Babette seemed poised to attack. Then, she toned down the passion tsunami from level 11 to level 6. "But I won't, because I respect your personal space. You make me very happy, though. See?" The corners of her lips sorta quirked upward. It was a Babette smile in its natural habitat! Amazing!
"You have my eternal gratitude. It's true! Even when my dead porcelain body crumbles, its ghost will continue loving you. Isn't that marvelous? Yes! Forever! I'll love you forever! Don't doubt the depth of my feelings."
|
|
|
Post by Trinity on Feb 7, 2014 13:21:01 GMT -8
If she could, Leo would have blushed at the kissing comment. She was glad to see she had made her friend happy again. "Doubt the depth of your feelings? Babette m'dear, I couldn't do such a thing even if I tried. " She craned her head up to look at Ellen, "I'm more than sure I can keep Aubrey's claws - And I mean that literally - Off of Babsy, you better believe."
|
|
DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
|
Post by DKender on Feb 7, 2014 18:53:04 GMT -8
"Well. I know that I believe it." She gave Leo a totally meaningful look. Then, Babette moved across the room and collapsed in a chair. She let her shoes drop onto the floor."Helen does not live here anymore. Ellen. Why do you stay, without the motivation of sisterly love? Does he compel this service? Does the circle?"
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 7, 2014 21:43:25 GMT -8
Ellen nodded and smiled wanly as the two sorted out their feelings. Ellen- "Actually, Babette, my staying here keeps Aubrey occupied. I try to keep him from doing evil as much as possible, and our detente keeps mind off of things... Getting her moved out was a real coup. I hope to do that with you as well, as quickly as possible. A few others provided a lot of help over the years. Whenever Helen and I were in broader Circle company, Demetri did his best to minimize our trauma. He was powerless to stop the worst of it early on, but he managed to distract them somehow, get them to tire of abusing us a bit more quickly. After that, he'd always keep us out of harm's reach. The other person who was unbelievably helpful was Vitus. He started seeing a human therapist a little less than fifty years ago, I think... no, thirty. Well, she taught him some interesting things, and he passed them along. See, bored vampires are very bad for humans. So he had this crazy idea of getting the progenitors interested in human hobbies. Since then, Aubrey has been doing his crafts. I tried something similar before, but it was totally unsuccessful. This, well... It's practically a miracle. Other things that give you guys a bit of hope: Now we have two people to distract Aubrey, Leo and myself. And since acquiring so many modern people - from Helen and myself on - the progenitors have had to tone down their horrible ways to keep us from being a problem. It's not like we could ever have mounted an insurrection, but we can just make ourselves no fun in a waythat terrorized medieval serfs didn't quite manage. Or some other factor, I don't know... Maybe they're actually evolving with the times somewhat? Anyhow, they haven't strapped a bunch of humans to the ceiling and 'made it rain' for more than a hundred years, as far as I know. Progress."
There was a lingering pause. A chance to speak again?
|
|
|
Post by Trinity on Feb 7, 2014 21:58:29 GMT -8
Leo remained on the floor, legs crossed. "So.. You stay to keep him company? Understandable. Homie seems like he'd go mad without someone here. Er, more than he already is.."
"I can do distractions. I saw you do it earlier back there. Looks easy enough." She clapped her hands together and rubbed them excitedly. "Alright, let's get into the awesome stuff. Do we have any like, kickass powers? If so, what?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 7, 2014 22:25:14 GMT -8
Ellen- "I like the way you two think. Well, demons are no, unless you feel like owing Thierry your soul."
That had to be a joke. Ellen- "But our special power is very nice - the envy of many other vampire lineages. You can learn to make illusions. How did you like my machinegun tonight? That was priceless. Maybe we can practice something..."
|
|