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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2013 22:37:26 GMT -5
As three figures headed to the forest, Jane watched from the front door of her and Cody's new house. The young mother waved with a soft smile as her daughters shouted one "I love you" in unison, sending her loving thoughts their way. She paused to send an especially loving thought to Cody as he and the girls disappeared amid the trees and shrubbery for another day of training. She spent a few minutes just staring after them completely oblivious to the world around her. She would have been a fool not to notice the change in Cody's stag form. He'd lost a few points on his antlers, and his coat, while still beautiful, had lost just the slightest bit of luster and silky texture. Who knew how long it would be before he...
Jane held back a few tears that stung at her eyes, pushing such thoughts away. She didn't need to think about this. Cody was still here, still alive, and she couldn't just mope about his death and waste what precious time she still had with him. With a stoic expression, she went back inside to tidy up. The girls knew how to clean up after themselves, she made point to teach them that, but there was always the risk of a mess when with children. And Jane was really fine with that. It gave her something to busy herself with, at least. About half an hour later, she was finished cleaning. Dinner preparation could wait until she relaxed. It was easy enough when she had powers, so she didn't need to rush to do that anyway.
Of course, with her luck, she sensed two human presences approaching her house. One was familiar, while another wasn't. Great. It appeared she would be having unscheduled visitors. So much for relaxing. Jane rushed to the kitchen and downed a pouch of blood she'd just warmed up. Whoever these people were, they were human, and her thirst for blood had to prejudice for a source of nourishment. Better safe than sorry.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 16, 2013 19:07:29 GMT -5
Esmeralda wondered if Tulio's face had ever relaxed from his anxious expression since he had told her what was going on. The news was shocking, to say the least. He didn't know when, but soon, Cody was going to die. And Tulio needed some help if he was going to stop it. And while he didn't know Jane personally, he did know that she cared about Cody. Even if she didn't know how to help, he could at least get her on his side. While Esmeralda knew that Jane still hadn't forgiven her yet, she thought it would be good if she came along too. She did know Jane well, even if the young girl was still mad at her.
"Maybe you should let me do the talking, just at first," Tulio said as he and Esmeralda walked up to the small house. "I know you want to make up with her, but she's not going to be too happy about you being here, and negotiating with a mad person is kind of a losing battle."
Esmeralda just nodded. She understood. Besides, finding a way to save Cody was the important thing here. Tulio sighed before knocking on the door three times.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2013 3:00:13 GMT -5
Briefly, Jane wondered who these visitors were. But having sensed a familiar life force from one of them, she decided to telepathically reach out to them. Not enough to invade their minds completely or read their thoughts but enough to know who they were. Esmeralda was the familiar one, while the unfamiliar one was Tulio. She had seen him around the circus many times; enough to know him at least that much but still be unfamiliar because she'd never spoken to him before. I wonder why they're here, Jane thought, somewhat bitterly in regards to Esmeralda's presence. She still remembered clearly their last conversation. How Esmeralda and Clopin had scolded her, made valid points, but she... she just left them there without a response, making some poor excuse of having somewhere else to be. Jane hadn't been able to admit to her mistakes, hadn't been ready to release her grudge. With her awful reaction still plaguing her mind, the young woman grabbed another warm pouch of blood-- courtesy of the blood bank nearest the circus-- and opened the front door with a simple thought. Silently she made her way to the living room. While she waited for them to enter, a few different bottles beverages floated themselves to the coffee table. She managed to keep her expression blank despite the conflicting feelings of anger, guilt and anticipation within her. She was still upset with Esmeralda, but on some level glad to finally be meeting Cody's father. "Welcome," she eventually said, holding the pouch in her hands to keep it warm. She had a feeling she would be needing to drink it soon if the conversation turned to topics that upset her. The thirst spiked during times of emotional turmoil regardless of her most recent feeding.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 23, 2013 12:42:18 GMT -5
Esmeralda could sense Jane's hate towards her. It would be pretty hard not to. Tulio glanced at her, silently reminding her to let him do the talking for a few minutes. She nodded before the two set foot inside. Jane made her way rather quickly to the living room, but Tulio and Esmeralda moved a little slower. The house inside looked pretty nice. Each one was suited for each family's needs, and there was obviously stuff for the kids as well as the teenage parents. Tulio reminded himself not to gawk though, and he and Esmeralda made their way to the living room. Jane had a pouch of blood in her hand, probably her equivalent to a cappuccino or something. At least, that was Tulio's thought. Esmeralda had explained that Jane had pretty much said that she had killed people thanks to her bloodlust, and she wasn't sure if the girl had it completely under control yet. So, keeping her calm was the main priority while getting through this talk.
"Thanks," Tulio replied as he stepped inside the living room, Esmeralda behind him. "Um...you know Esme, of course," he said, gesturing to her. "Cody may have mentioned me, but...who knows. Maybe he didn't. We were on tense terms for a bit..." He paused, realizing he was rambling. He cleared his throat before starting again. "I'm Tulio. I'm Cody's dad. I...wanted to talk with you, about him."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2013 20:30:32 GMT -5
It was obvious that the two of them were prepared when they came over to her house. Esmeralda had remained silent and Tulio had begun all of the talking. A large cup of warm water floated to the coffee table, in which she placed her pouch of blood for safekeeping for the time being. While he spoke, Jane took the opportunity to pick up a few stray items belonging to the girls, keeping a distant but not entirely cold demeanor. The moment Tulio mentioned needing to talk with her about Cody, however, she turned around and looked at him. Her mask cracked a bit at her obvious concern about this topic. This was something she didn't care to think about. But if Tulio knew something... Her telepathy was practically instinctive, now, so she didn't even consciously think about it when she reached out to sense his current thoughts. So Tulio did know. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips slightly, looking down for a moment. "It's nice to meet you, Tulio. I heard a little about you from Cody," she said quietly. This time, she looked to the both of them, including Esmeralda. "Please, sit. I have teas and sodas if you're thirsty, but there's currently not much to choose from for snacks." The young mother tossed the items in her hands into a basket in the corner. "Sorry about the mess."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 30, 2013 22:43:41 GMT -5
Jane seemed content to busy herself with cleaning up the place while she listened to Tulio talk. But the moment he mentioned Cody's name, both he and Esmeralda noticed the way she tensed up, if only for a moment. She was concerned about this issue, almost as much as Tulio was. He figured that was a good start. If Jane wanted to stop this as badly as he did, then maybe they could find a way to save Cody.
"Thanks," he said, sitting down as Esmeralda did the same. He clasped his hands together, not sure where to start. Did Cody tell Jane as much as he had told him? "Oh, no, it's...fine," he said in response to her apology. "Kids can be...a little messy, sometimes. I know I was."
Esmeralda gave a little smile at that, but she also gave Tulio a slight nudge with her elbow, gesturing for him to go on. If they wanted to get this problem solved, they were going to have to be direct about it, hit it with full force. At least, that was her way of thinking. Tulio preferred to go slowly into it, try to keep tensions low at all costs. "Okay, so...I'm gonna spit out the whole shebang. Cody and I had a rough period, with hardly any communication between us. When I saw him next, he was in a relationship with you and had two kids. And he started talking to me again. I was happy beyond belief, believe me. But then he...mentioned something rather troubling." He paused for a moment before continuing. "He said he had to give back the life that was given to him. Aka, he said that, in essence, he was going to die. And I'm telling you right now Jane, I'm not about to let that happen. I'm not about to lose my son again, not when I've finally made up with him and he has a family to look after." His voice got a little fierce before he felt Esmeralda's hand on his shoulder. She was silently telling him to take it down a notch, to not get too worked up. That wouldn't make Jane feel any better. Tulio took a deep breath before saying "I need your help on this, Jane. I need you to help me stop this. I tried to convince Cody to try and look for a way out, but he seems convinced that his death is...inevitable. And if he won't listen to me, maybe he'll listen to you."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 15:24:41 GMT -5
Jane gave a nod to Tulio. It was nice that he was so understanding of the less than tidy condition of her living room. She knew there were some people who were so obsessed with keeping things clean and organized that they would punish their children for even the slightest mess. She was most definitely not like that. "I'm glad you feel that way," she said. "Kids need to be kids, and parents just need to accept the fact that messes come with the territory of raising them. That's my view." Having picked up what she could in the living room, she took a seat in the chair across from her guests. Esmeralda was really being cautious. She hadn't even said a word. Her eyes flickered to her godmother for a moment and then back to Tulio as he decided to get everything said and out in the open. Her lips pursed slightly and she looked away from them both. She hated thinking about that but it apparently needed to be discussed. So be it. "I know he's going to die," she replied. "The day we pledged ourselves to each other, before we even made those pledges, he told me. He wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into before I made the decision to be a forest guardian's lifemate... that I knew he wouldn't be here much longer." She paused and shook her head, looking back to them with saddened eyes. "There's nothing I can say to him, Tulio. Like you said, he's convinced that is his fate. Maybe it is." Her eyes, which had been blue previously, now were gray. She wouldn't cry. Not in front of them. Not when she'd just met the man who was practically her father in law. The pouch of blood tempted her, but she didn't need it yet. "There's nothing I can say to him that you haven't said, yourself."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 6, 2014 12:15:20 GMT -5
Esmeralda bit her lip, wondering if that whole "messy kids" comment was supposed to be directed towards her. But Tulio just shook his head. He hated to put off his friend trying to get on good terms with Jane again, but they needed to figure out how to save Cody first. That was his main priority, selfish as it may have seemed. However, Jane didn't seem to think there was a way out. Or, at least, she had tried whatever she could think of. Cody hadn't listened to her anymore than he had listened to Tulio. All he could do was shake his head for a moment before speaking.
"No. It's not his fate. I refuse to believe it is." His hands curled into fists. God, how he wished he could just fight this with his bare hands, defeat it so Cody could stay. But, it seemed like things were never that simple anymore. It felt like every time things started to go right for Tulio, another curve ball came his way.
"There's gotta be some kind of loophole," Esmeralda insisted, finally speaking. "I mean, Facilier made that deal with Thrax for immortality, and he managed to find a way out when he took me away. Granted, we ended up killing Thrax, but still. There's gotta be something we can do. We just need to figure out how to find it."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2014 15:34:59 GMT -5
Tulio was adamant. As Cody's adoptive father, he just couldn't accept that as Cody's fate. Deep down a part of her didn't want to accept it, either, but she had always focused on the present, on having him right then. That had been her priority. Maybe she had been wrong to only focus on that. When Esmeralda finally spoke up, Jane looked to her. She didn't allow her expression to change; mostly void of emotion with a deep sadness at the practical inevitability of losing Cody. She didn't give her a spiteful look, didn't roll her eyes, didn't show resentment. All of that was practically gone, now, she realized. "Cody said that when he no longer has anything to teach the girls, that's the day he gives them their full power and returns what the forest gave him. It's hard to say for sure when that will be," she stated, looking down. She fell slent to think about the possibilities. What could be done, with the little time they had left to figure things out. "I'm an idiot," she whispered, laying her face in her hands with her elbows rested on her knees. "I should've gone to you a long time ago about this. We would have had more time to think of a way to... save him." She paused when her voice cracked slightly. Damn it, she didn't want to cry in front of them! "Tulio, I'm... I'm sorry. If we lose Cody, it's practically my fault," she continued, refusing to allow her tears to escape. "I could've been thinking of something, asking for help... but instead I wasted months of precious time ignoring the reality of the situation just so I could look like I was okay." By then she was trembling. If there was any way to fix this, she had to think fast and come up with something now. Not moving from her position, memories flowed to her. Of her early days. The days with Cody. She considered what she knew about Cody's powers, his very nature. She may not know everything but she must know something. Suddenly, a memory hit her and she looked up at them. Her tearful eyes showed a glimmer of hope. "I healed him when I was younger. When Cody got shot, I... I guess I reversed the wound? I don't know how to describe it. Tulio, you're a healer, aren't you? What about the man who runs the Infirmary tent? Is he a healer? How many healers do you know? Esmeralda, do you know any magic like that? What about Facilier?" She was speaking fast, now, her thoughts beginning to race. "If we can get enough healers, it might work. I just need to practice that power again..."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 7, 2014 20:20:58 GMT -5
Tulio sighed. At least when Thrax was coming to "collect" Esmeralda, there was a set due date. It looked like Cody's death could happen anytime. A day, a week, a month, who knew? That would just make things all the more stressful. Nothing was worse than working with no deadline. But it looked like they were going to have to do it if they wanted a shot at saving Cody. It looked like Jane wasn't so optimistic, though. She was soon sobbing and apologizing and blaming herself all at the same time. Tulio was about to say something, but Esmeralda moved first. Even though Tulio gave her a warning look, she ignored it and moved to sit beside Jane, putting a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't stand watching her get so upset. And if Jane blamed her for not being there when she needed her most, then she was going to prove her wrong. Starting now.
"Jane, no, you can't blame yourself," she said, her voice taking on a motherly tone that, frankly, Tulio hadn't heard her use before. Even though Jane wasn't a child anymore, Esmeralda still felt like it was her duty to look after her. And help her if she needed it. "You're not the only person to think this way. My father did the same for a while, when he found out Thrax was coming after me. But you know what? He eventually bucked up and went looking for a solution. And that's what we're gonna do here. Right?" She looked up at Tulio.
"Uh, yeah, that's right," Tulio chimed in. "Even if your decision wasn't the right thing, you still did it out of love for him. And I think that's a pretty big factor." There was a short moment of silence, broken only by the quiet crying of Jane. But she sobs soon stopped, as an idea started to come to her. Tulio had no idea what she was thinking though, as he nodded in answer to her question.
"Yup, Aidan, my dad, and I can all do stuff like that," Esmeralda replied. "I think Raven might too, actually. She said Aidan tutored her for a bit..."
"Hold on, hold on, back up a second," Tulio said. "What exactly is your idea, Jane?" He wanted to hear what it was before things went any further.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2014 19:53:07 GMT -5
Jane was surprised when Esmeralda not only consoled her, but actually went over and sat down next to her. The feeling of her godmother's hand to her shoulder was a bit comforting but didn't completely ease the guilt and sadness she felt. The motherly tone was something she heard so rarely these days, it almost pained her more than it helped her. She didn't dare picture the face of the woman she'd been missing for more than a year. She didn't dare think of her parents. Not now. She would cry and never stop, she feared. Slowly, the words of both her visitors gave her a sense of comfort, if ever so slight. Still. It was more than she'd had in a very long time. Esmeralda's confirmation only made Jane's mind work faster. She mentally counted all of the healers in her head, the tears that had been threatening to fall slowly drying up as hope grew within her.
"Four healers," she muttered, thinking about the probabilities. "Four is good, but the more power, the better..."
Jane trailed off at Tulio's question. For a moment she looked at him blankly before she remembered she hadn't actually said her idea aloud. "Oh. Right." She paused for a moment to think through how she wanted to say it. "It's kind of two ideas. The first, obviously, is to try to use healing to prevent Cody from dying. The second is more of a failsafe that I'm hoping we won't have to resort to," she explained. She paused for a moment, letting out a sigh. "I'm thinking... hoping that if we can't keep Cody from dying... we could bring him back to life, instead."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 9, 2014 15:33:16 GMT -5
Esmeralda and Tulio looked at each other. Magic that prevented death? Could they pull off something like that? They weren't sure, and they knew Facilier wouldn't try anything unless things got desperate.
"I wonder if magic can even do something like that," she said. "There are all sorts of stories about wizards who try to use magic to prevent death, and none of them end up pretty."
"No, no, no, hold on. We've done something like this before," said Tulio, glancing up at Esmeralda. "Remember when we went to rescue you from Thrax, and he ended up hurting me? I was considered dead for a few moments, but your magic drew on the love of everyone in the room and brought me back."
"But Tulio, a demon wound is different from...this," Esmeralda argued, not sure what exactly to call Cody's situation. "Demon wounds hate positive emotions like love and stuff. With Cody...it might not be as simple."
"But it's still better than nothing," Tulio replied. "If there's any shot we have at saving Cody, I'm willing to take it."
Esmeralda sighed. Tulio was so desperate to save his son, she wasn't sure how cautious he would be when it came to this sort of thing. "Well, if it's the only thing we have to go on...I'll talk to Raven and my father, see if they can help. And who knows, my dad may be able to do some research into this and find something. He has books on all sorts of stuff."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2014 22:11:25 GMT -5
Jane fell silent while Esmeralda and Tulio bickered slightly about the possibility of bringing Cody back to life and the consequences of attempting such magic. She blinked. Were they seriously having this conversation? And in front of her, of all people? They were. They certainly were. Jane glanced between them for several moments, before suddenly giggling. Sure, she might have felt the slightest bit annoyed at the fact that Esmeralda apparently forgot what her heritage was and the abilities it implied, but it was more amusing than annoying. "Auntie, have you forgotten that I'm half-zombie and a quarter demon?" she asked, not realizing what she'd just called Esmeralda. The amusement in her eyes and the laughter in her voice couldn't hide the sadness she still felt, however, now that her thoughts had turned to her parents. "We don't need any dark magic like necromancy or whatever else there is, just healing spells. My theory is that with enough of you aiding me, I could bring him back. Hold on, I'll show you what I mean."
Just to avoid confusion, she decided to give them a visual explanation as well, so an apple made its way to her from the kitchen and floated before them. "Because I'm descended from a demon, I have the ability to drain the life out of things, or give life back." She outstretched her hand until it was cupped about two inches below the floating apple. A look of concentration fell upon her face and slowly, a green mist identical to her father's emitted from her fingertips, engulfing the apple completely. When the mist retreated, the innocent fruit was shriveled up, now nothing more than a rotten piece of fruit splotched with mold. Given she had grown up around her zombie mother, the smell of death and decay wasn't really unusual for her, so she could easily ignore it and continue her demonstration. The mist revealed itself once more, though this time from the apple. Jane's expression of concentration intensified as the fruit was purged of the death-mist and brought back to its previous state. When it was done, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and the fruit dropped into her hand, looking as if she'd never harmed it.
"Killing is easy," she said after a moment. Her pupils had dilated and completely covered her irises from her strain. "All is takes is the snap of the neck, a slice to a vein, old age... it's easy. But bringing something back? That's hard. Very hard, even for... Dimitri. And me? I'm only a quarter demon, to bring back an entire person by myself..." she trailed off. A bit of her own blood trickled from her nose. The young woman looked down to find the inky black substance dripping onto her pants. Her head was throbbing, now. "Well... you see what it's done to me to just bring back a fruit," she said, her breath somewhat ragged. She didn't want to have to say it, but for her to attempt to bring Cody back by herself would mostly likely result in her own death. "I'd do anything, sacrifice anything for Cody. I'd just rather actually be with him after he's saved is all."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 10, 2014 12:35:24 GMT -5
Esmeralda glanced at Jane. Of course, she had no idea what Jane was referring to. She hadn't seen how Jane's powers had developed in the time they had been apart. The last she had seen, the girl could fly, and had killed people in the past. At least, that was what she assumed. Jane hadn't gone into details, but she had pretty much implied it. Besides her confusion though, she was surprised that Jane had even called her "Auntie." The term was so affectionate, and Jane hadn't really been feeling much affection towards her. Tulio could see that she was about to ask another question and gave her a look. She could ask after Jane had given a demonstration of what she meant. And what she could do with the apple was, well, pretty impressive. Tulio glanced at Esmeralda, and it was clear that she hadn't known that Jane could do something like that. But even something like that was enough to make Jane exhausted, and Esmeralda got worried when a trickle of black blood showed up.
"Easy there, honey. Just breathe. Relax," Esmeralda said, putting an arm around her. She could see what Jane meant. She didn't have enough power in her to do this alone. And if Esmeralda didn't want her to die during this task, then she was going to have to get a lot of help. "Don't worry. We'll find all the healers we can," she assured her. She looked at Tulio. "Do you know any other healers around here?"
"Not that I can think of," Tulio replied. "But we can always search around, ask people, see what we can find. We just have to make sure we do it quick. The sooner, the better."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2014 19:22:04 GMT -5
Jane grabbed a handkerchief and cleaned herself of her blood, her gaze downcast. Her head was swimming as Esmeralda held her, her godmother's body warm in comparison to her own... her dilated pupils lifted to look to her godmother. Her eyes could practically see the blood pumping beneath her skin. Then, there it was. The awful dryness in her throat from thirst. It hurt immensely to be so near her all of the sudden, for good reason. With great struggle she turned her face away from her godmother. "Excuse me one moment," she rasped, standing and hurrying out of the room. The pouch of blood followed after her and she tore into it once in the kitchen. The blood was drained within moments and she felt an immediate relief. She took a bit to compose herself and reentered the room, taking a seat at a bit of a distance from her guests. "I'm sorry for being rude. Bringing that apple back took more out of me than I thought and I didn't want to risk a... a frenzy," she explained, licking the last of the blood from her lips. "I agree with you, Tulio," she stated, wanting to get back on the previous topic. "Though I hope you both understand that, if we have to resort to Plan B, most of you will be healing me rather than Cody. If you all keep me conscious, I can then do what I have to do."
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