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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 15, 2014 0:11:28 GMT -5
Tulio tensed slightly when he saw Jane's dilated pupils. That, put together with her body language, translated as one thing: thirst for blood. Living with a vampire had taught him plenty enough about the signs. When Jane suddenly left, a worried look came over Esmeralda's face.
"Jane, wait!" She moved to go after her, but Tulio grabbed her hand.
"Esme, don't. Just...give her a moment."
Esmeralda was about to protest, but she saw the look in Tulio's eyes, and saw that he was being serious. She sighed, reluctantly sitting back down. Tulio could understand why she felt that way.
"Look, Esme, I know you want to help Jane out. But when she gets thirsty like that, you've got to let her be alone. The last thing she wants is for you to stick around and put yourself in the line of fire."
"I know, but-"
"I know, okay? I feel the same whenever Saya gets thirsty. But people like her, and people like Jane, know how to deal with this a lot better than we do. So just let her do what she needs to do to feel better. Okay?"
Esmeralda sighed again, but she nodded. Jane soon came back though, and she seemed fine, which put her at ease.
"It's fine. Do whatever you need to do to keep yourself um...hydrated." Okay, maybe that wasn't the best word, but it was all that Tulio could think of at the moment. Besides, he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of a creature who loved to drink blood. Saya had only sucked his blood once, but it has been pretty scary. And Saya had beaten herself up about it for a long time.
"Well, will there be much of a difference between healing you or healing Cody?" he asked. "I mean, whatever situation, one of you will be...kind of, dying." God, that sounded morbid. But it was true. Either way, someone's life was going to be put on the line, and Tulio knew he was going to have to get as many healers as possible to make sure that nobody died.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 1:11:14 GMT -5
Jane's eyes-- blue once again after her fresh feeding-- locked onto Tulio. A morbid but insightful observation on his part. The slightest of wry smiles tugged at her lips and she closed her eyes. "Here's the difference. Plan A, we all focus on healing Cody and keeping him from dying at all. Plan B, about half of you, maybe a little more, focus on keeping me well enough to bring him back, while the rest begin healing him after I initially revive him," she stated, hoping this explanation would provide the answer Tulio was looking for. "One positive thing about Plan B is the fact that... he would be freshly deceased. At least with a fresh body, there's no decomposition. That's easier to bring back than something that's been dead a while." She paused, making a slight face. "I suppose we have another option, though not sure how effective it would be, but I could always... bite him. Theoretically, given I'm only half-zombie, Cody wouldn't turn into a full zombie. He'd just be... er. Half-dead? Like me."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 15, 2014 15:04:46 GMT -5
Tulio was quiet for a moment, listening to Jane break down the two options she had. Although there was a third one, but it sounded a little too crazy for this taste. Even Esmeralda kind of made a face.
"Not sure how much Cody would like that," Tulio replied. Changing somebody to a different species against their will was sure to create animosity. "But...we'll keep it on the back-burner. If there's nothing else we can do, we'll have to go with that one. As long as everyone gets out alive, I'm happy." Cody was his priority, of course, but he knew he couldn't just worry about him and shove Jane to the wayside. She was his son's girlfriend, practically his life partner. And he considered her family, just like he did with Aidan and Aisling.
"Well, as of right now, Plan A seems the most desirable to me," said Esmeralda. "Better to have all the healers focused on one thing, rather than dividing up their power." The way Esmeralda saw it, if they had, say, ten healers, they would be able to generate more power if they were all focused on Cody, rather than dividing them up, and having five healers work on Jane while the other five work on Cody. But, if Plan B was the only way they could go, then Esmeralda was ready to do it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 16:07:20 GMT -5
Her guests' reactions to her third option was just as expected. "I doubt he would like it at all. I don't like it either," Jane stated with a sigh. "I would only resort to it if it was literally the only option I could think of in the world. Doing something like that to someone, especially when they're not able to make such a decision on their own, is unforgivable." Her thoughts turned to Leida, the little girl who was like her sister. She still hadn't been able to find the vampire that had turned her, and it angered her to no end to know such a criminal was still on the loose. Realizing she had been glaring somewhat blankly at a wall for several moments, she looked down. "Though I suppose it would make me a bit of a hypocrite, since I'm somewhat willing to do it to Cody to keep him alive..." she sighed, shaking her head. Esmeralda's words rang true, and she nodded. "That's exactly why we try Plan A, first. It's not really easier, just... simpler." A smile made its way to her pale lips. A genuine, though tired smile. A few tears stung at her eyes and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "Thank you, Auntie." This time, she knew exactly what she was saying. The fact that her godmother was so willing to save Cody, the one who had been there for her the most, spoke so much about her. Most of all, it spoke about how foolish Jane was, and would be, to continue to hold a grudge against her when all she ever wanted to to help. "I'm sorry I was so awful to you. So angry. You didn't deserve it."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 16, 2014 19:53:42 GMT -5
Tulio gave a little laugh. "It'll surprise you, what people are willing to do to keep their loved ones alive." Love could push people to extremes if the situation was dire enough. Tulio knew that Cody would probably hate him again if he let Jane turn him into half-zombie. Heck, maybe he would hate him forever. But if his life was saved...well, Tulio felt like he would have to take some comfort in that. Cody may be fine with dying and all that, but Tulio wasn't.
Simpler was a good way to put Plan A. Esmeralda still hoped it would work out. Plan B put Jane in the firing line a little too much for her liking. Although she was surprised when Jane looked up and suddenly apologized. She hadn't really expected to hear that today, considering how Jane had held a grudge against her for months. But then again, Esmeralda had come here to try and make peace with her, along with helping Tulio about the whole Cody issue. "No, it's...it's fine, really. You were under a lot of stress and...me yelling probably wasn't making things any better. As long as can just...move on from it, and be together now, than that's enough for me." She gave Jane a little smile.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 14:30:37 GMT -5
Jane wasn't sure what to say in response to Tulio's comment. Really, there wasn't much to say. She just gave the slightest of nods and left it at that, lest they venture into a darker conversation. What they'd already discussed was dark enough. There was no need to darken anything further. The young woman looked to Esmeralda, giving her a wistful smile. "Together," she whispered, looking down. "I'd like that." She still felt like an idiot, but at least she knew her relationship with her godmother was at least on the way to being mended. Her lips parted to speak, but then she closed them again. What could she say? She was already on the verge of tears again. Letting out a breath, she stood. She went to her godmother's side and hugged her, her eyes closed tightly. "I love you, Auntie. I love you so much."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 23, 2014 19:27:52 GMT -5
Esmeralda could feel like the conversation was shifting. Jane seemed to be a more focused on her than Tulio at the moment. Really, Esmeralda was glad about that. Jane had forgiven her, and Esmeralda had forgiven her. And that was a good first step towards getting their relationship back to what it used to be. Well, maybe things wouldn't be quite the way they were, but Esmeralda felt like they could get close. "I love you too, darling," she said, hugging Jane back.
Tulio had to smile. Who wouldn't at a tender scene like this? Although, if he was honest, he felt a little envious too. Esmeralda and Jane seemed to get their relationship back just like that. Why couldn't he do that with his own son? Sure, it had taken a long time, but at least Esmeralda and Jane had gotten to this stage. Tulio felt like he never had. The only reason Cody had come to talk to him was because he was going to die, not because he wanted to apologize. At least, that was how Tulio saw it. If Cody wasn't going to die, Tulio wondered if he would have gone to talk to him at all.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2014 3:34:46 GMT -5
Something was different. Jane felt strangely... light. Like there was an immense weight lifted from her shoulders. Like she could breathe without it hurting as much. Jane's eyes opened and lifted to her godmother, the irises swirling shades of blue and grey. Esmeralda had called her "darling." Only one person had ever called her that. And just like that, the tears that had been welling in her eyes spilled down her cheeks. Her pale lips pursed together to hold in a sob, and silently she cried, her head bowed and her hands clutching to her aunt. "It hurts still," she whispered beneath her breath, trying so hard to keep the last shred of her composure in the form of a level voice. "Even though I can finally breathe again, even with the weight off of my chest, it hurts, Auntie. I... I miss her so much." And this time her voice broke. Her mother was gone. Likely she would never come back. Likely her father wouldn't, either. "I try to be strong for Cody and the twins, for myself, but I'm not. I'm so afraid to be alone... I was alone for so long. Cody made that go away when no one else could... I can't lose him, or the girls. I'll... I'll die if I lose them." She was babbling, probably not making any sense, but her emotions were overwhelming her. After so long of holding them in, hiding them from even herself, she couldn't contain them any longer. And they were escaping in her tears and her nonsensical words. Not even Tulio's presence could stop it, she was too lost in this sea to notice or care. All she could do was cling to the one person that was like a mother to her when she had none, and let it all out.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 30, 2014 14:30:51 GMT -5
Jane was crying even harder now. Esmeralda wondered if she had said the wrong thing. But Jane started talking again, and Esmeralda realized. Her parents. Who knew where Emily and Dimitri were. They might not even still be alive. And it seemed like their absence was still hurting Jane. No wonder she wanted to save Cody so badly. Not only did she love him, she didn't want to lose him like she had lost her parents. Who knew what another loss like that would do to her. "I know," she said softly, holding Jane a little closer, stroking her hair. "I know it hurts, to lose someone like that." Esmeralda herself had watched her foster parents die, when she was only ten. It was only thanks to Facilier and the circus that she had managed to move on, put it behind her. "I don't know if I can make the pain go away, but I'm going to try. And I'm going to make sure nobody hurts you again. I'll blow them into oblivion before they try."
This conversation was getting heavy, even for Tulio. Esmeralda and Jane were bonding again, and he was an outsider looking in. It was probably best to give them some time to catch up on things, let out their feelings. "I think I'll head on out, get started on finding healers and stuff," he said as he stood up. "You two have a lot to catch up on. I'll let you guys know if I find anyone."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2014 18:04:34 GMT -5
(( Think we should end it here? ))
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 1, 2014 14:33:29 GMT -5
((That's fine.))
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