Pain is a Demon Magnet

[rhiannon_lee]

Tragedies left fingerprints on people and places. Death, pain, and sorrow all built up a psychic energy that outlasted any attempts at therapeutic intervention, any renovations made to physical structures. You could paint over smoke damage, tear up bloodied carpet, knock down an entire building and the atmosphere wouldn’t change. The ground itself pulsated with what came before. Such was definitely the case with the MGM Grand. No matter how many millions developers channeled into the hotel or what its new owners called it, the building remained the home of the worst disaster in Nevada history. Fire, smoke, and heights had pooled their resources to kill 85 people. The psychic juice was enough to bait the dead into spending quality time on the premises.

As Rhiannon sipped a drink in the lounge on the ground floor, she contemplated what she felt: A buzz in the top of her spine, a knowledge of otherness in the room, maybe a remnant of hell flexing its muscles, five years later.

And if the fuzzy police reports were to be believed, it was vampire central.

Just like them, she thought, to clamor over the echoes of tortured screams.

The outfit was a new purchase. Nothing in her duffel bag was up to the task. If you were going to hang out in a prime piece of Las Vegas real estate, you needed the right gear. She compromised on a tight pair of black trousers with a wide belt, a black top with lace overlay, a flared jacket, and heeled boots. An assortment of silver necklaces jangled when she stretched her neck.

Whistler thought he had whiplash?

You’re damn right, you’re paying the bill, she had grumbled upon finding the hospital costs covered.

Her elbow still felt like murder. Rhiannon hissed when she forgot and rested her weight on the bar.

[Thread: Open to Valerie]

Comments

[valerie_vause]

“Huh?” Valerie turned her head to look at Rhiannon as they walked, a light shrug rolled her shoulders. “No. I haven’t heard from them in about a year.” She tipped her head up to look at the dark sky, a few small clouds dotted above them. “I’d always planned to come here, at least for a while.” She said, a faint smile caught the edges of her lips. “I worked as a waitress for two years to help save up enough to attend UNLV. When I had enough to enroll I made my way across the country.”

The blonde had no reason to hide that information, so she shared it freely as she watched their shadows shrink and elongate with the streetlamps.

[rhiannon_lee]

“Twelve months, that’s the magic number,” she said. “Your phone’s about to ring.” At least Valerie wasn’t riding along in one of their breast pockets. Rhiannon knew her loathing was irrational, that it wasn’t fair. Good people did good work in the Council; unfortunately they weren’t the people in charge. It was the aging set she worried about. When they lived that long and saw so many slayers come and go, they began to feel like old world gods, comparatively. She puffed on her cigarette and ashed onto the asphalt.

“How long ago were you called?” It felt invasive to ask it, and yet ‘time in’ was a fundamental statistic she needed in order to understand her new acquaintance. It might be better if she anteed up the personal information first. “1978 for me. I was sixteen.”

Trash was strewn about the alley. She sidestepped a black plastic bag with a tear in the side. It smelled like old leftovers.

[valerie_vause]

“Urgh.” Valerie’s face fell and she slumped slightly as she walked. The idea of being checked on made her nauseous. Tests would probably follow, they usually did, with a series of personal questions she’d rather not have to answer. Demons she could handle, the fear had been gradually conditioned out of her. When it came to the Council and their tests fear was always present within the blonde. One slip up, one bad day, and they might just decided she’d past her prime. It had been so long since the last time they’d shown up that the blonde had tried to put it out of her mind. She’d have to be careful, she didn’t want them snooping into her personal life. “I hope not but you’re probably right, they’re routine like clockwork.”

In the distance a stray cat ran off when it heard their footsteps and Valerie puffed out her cheeks with a sigh. Sixteen. She’d wondered what it would have been like if she had gotten to that birthday without being called. Party, proms, the potential date or two before being shipped off like property. The blonde wasn’t envious, just curious, since she’d never known the ages others had been chosen.

“I was the tail end of fourteen.” Valerie said lightly and stuffed one hand into her pants pocket to retrieve a pack of gum. She pulled out a piece and stuck it in her mouth to chew. “I’m twenty-one now.”

[rhiannon_lee]

“So around the same time as me,” Rhiannon said. “Makes you wonder if something hectic went down seven years ago. All those girls dying at once.” She hated speculating. Why wasn’t it on the record when a girl died? Why couldn’t a slayer know who she was called to replace? There had been a pat answer when she asked, something about it being better to start fresh and not get mired in guilt or fear over taking someone’s place.

The scent of Valerie’s chewing gum permeated the air and it was a welcome substitute for the garbage. “Anyway, when they contact you, I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell them you met me,” she said carefully and softened her voice so it didn’t sound sarcastic. “We’re on the outs and I need some time to figure things out before I deal with them again. There’s actually a watcher in town. She’s like a fucking bloodhound.”

[valerie_vause]

“I think about that sometimes.” The words were hushed, remorseful as she reflected on the deaths of so many girls, like a terrible decaying family tree. When one branch rotted away to nothing another began to grow in it’s place. “Who she was, what she was like, how she died…” The blonde shook herself, literally, because it didn’t matter how much she thought about it. The reality was the Council would never tell her, and to be honest it bothered her. There were so many secrets locked up within the place. Secrets she’d never know but wanted too, all the same. “You’d think they’d tell us these things. We’re destined to die young anyway, why not with some answers?”

Valerie paused mid chew to glance at Rhiannon as she spoke. Whatever had happened must have been… Well, anything, the blonde just didn’t want to pry quite so soon as to the why of it, so instead nodded with an easy, “Sure, I can keep my mouth shut.” She didn’t want to cause trouble for the brunette, she was still out there risking her life, so as far as Valerie was concerned she wasn’t rogue. Though at the mention of a Watcher, the blonde almost swallowed her gum. “Wait, there’s one here?” Now? Why? Paranoia crawled up the blonde’s spine and her thoughts went to Brian. “She sounds nice already, what did she look like? Not that I plan to avoid her but I’d like to be prepared for when we meet.” There wasn’t an if about it. She’d learned that over the years.

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon rubbed the pad of her thumb against the cigarette filter. “Julianna. She’s white, I’m guessing in her sixties. She told me she’s a linguistics professor at UNLV. She looked as surprised to see me as I was to see her, but then she made it her life mission to try and personally administer my Come to Jesus appointment. I hope she’s breaking a sweat over it. I hope they’re eating her alive.” One final puff on the Marlboro and she tossed it.

“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure you can take her.” Rhiannon winked. They reached a corner pub. She stopped outside of the doors, willing to go inside if Valerie wanted to get that drink or to keep walking.

[valerie_vause]

Either the Council was slipping and didn’t keep track of the whereabouts of the chosen girls, or they didn’t bother to pass on their information to the Watcher nearest to them. Valerie wasn’t sure how that made her feel. On one hand, she liked the way she could attend UNLV without being bothered. On the other, she’d been there for weeks, and apparently so had a Watcher. Maybe they just collected information from the sidelines. Though, she hadn’t bumped into anyone of that description yet. Either that was good or very bad.

“Yeah.” Valerie agreed, though she had no ambition to take on anyone. The rift between the two women was theirs. She shrugged lightly and pushed open the doors. One drink wouldn’t hurt.

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon followed Valerie into the pub. There was a lot to catch up on if they were going to cohabitate in the city: biographies to swap, war stories to tell. It was nerve-wracking and an entirely new experience, but as the brunette took a seat beside the other slayer, she found herself in a surprising position.

She was hopeful.