Post by Liessel on Dec 31, 2019 15:08:45 GMT -5
Char:
Eddie and the Flynns weren't gone long. Avery hadn't said much else before he'd left. Felix hadn't either, and before they'd gone their positions had seemed slightly reversed from the norm. It was Avery who threw himself into the work--the errands--and Felix who watched his brother's face and seemed distracted.
Avery made their list. It was not long; Eddie had retrieved what Aurelia had requested the night before.
But on it was cash. As Avery's top priority.
"Socks," Felix had added, his bare feet laced up tight in his tall boots.
Nodding, Avery had added it, but under the umbrella topic of Clothing articles. Because both Liessel and Aurelia were not equipped for February, and now Felix's toes were freezing.
When they returned, then, it was with laden arms, all three of them, bringing in boxes that promised warmth for their outsides--and insides. The smell of hot bread came in with them.
Breakfast.
Late, but better than nothing.
Bobbi:
With hours passing, the day seemed to fall into its own kind of place. The whole of it seemed to be carried in a weird sort of daze. In some ways she felt disconnected from it, and in others she felt squashed beneath the weight of it. After having sat a while with Aurelia, Liessel withdrew to her own room, her own space for a bit more rest. But what rest did she get? The time passed with Liessel sitting quietly in her own dimly lit corner of the Dead Regiment in quiet reprieve. The smell of bread filling the place brought her out, having missed the sound of movement out in the larger rooms as deep into her own thoughts as she had become. On exiting her room, though, she balanced the blanket across her shoulders, shifting it up higher and pulling it forward as she crossed the room as quickly as she could. She still wore Tomlin's boots, but with their size it was like trying to walk while wearing buckets on her feet. The first person she spotted as the first person she approached, "Here, let me help."
Char:
Eddie arranged boxes on the card table and the seats of the chairs, and turned to cast a glance her way. His smile of greeting came fast, and tiny flakes of ice crackled in his mustache. "Miss Wickham! Still wearing that old blanket, are you? Look what we found...."
He straightened. Peered across the boxes, spotted the one he wanted, and restacked one to get to it. The lid popped right off. A thick and smooth black lady's coat unfurled as he pulled it out, the skirt of it wide to accommodate a dress, the tailoring neat and impersonal, but certainly better than the blanket. Stylish brown fur hugged collar and cuffs. Wide cloth-covered buttons sealed the front.
Bobbi
'Look what we found...' She was distracted by a box that was slipping from where it had been set to rest, a small nudge pushing it back into place where it came to rest properly. She made sure of that before looking toward Eddie again, the unfurling motion of the coat catching her from the corner of her vision until she was looking at it fully. It, as with the things that Catrona had helped her get on her first arrival was a wonderful thing. She had felt spoiled then, in over her head with fashion having come from a place where things were not so fine, and unable of thinking of something to say in return for it. "Mister Eddie," Thin hands reached for the thick fabric, "This is beautiful." Her gratitude was deeper than her words could have ever captured.
Char:
Her approval widened his smile so that the weathered skin around his eyes crinkled, and he nodded to her. "And hopefully warm! --Now--there are two other boxes here for you--and I'm sorry if the things that come out of them smell a mite like axle grease... Low profile, all that." He waved a hand, and pulled out--with some puzzle-stacking--two other boxes. Of those, the crates themselves were heavier than the contents. "The boots are in this one," he said of the second crate. "Shall I put them in your room for you?"
Avery and Felix came in, with one final slat-board box each, and Felix went back to close the doors to their "suite."
Dead Regiment was nearly empty, but what privacy could be had was seized.
Bobbi:
She helped with the restacking, giving Eddie a hand in getting to the boxes he needed, using one hand to help steady some of the crates while holding the coat draped over her other arm, "Yes, please," she answered his request, "Thank you, Mister Eddie." The promise of warmth from real garments, as opposed to the shift she'd been wearing made the sentiment that much more deep. It had nearly erased the burden on her mind until she caught sight of the twins coming into the room. She could change in a few minutes, she decided. Though, she did slip out of the blanket and into the coat before approaching the Flynn brothers, "I don't mean to be a burden," she started, "After everything you've both done, but when you have the time -- if we could talk?"
Char:
"Just 'Eddie' is fine, Miss Wickham," he told her, gathering up the crates for her and carrying them back up the short stub of a hall.
Avery had Felix's notepad in one hand, and Felix's short pencil in the other, and though his face was lined with weariness his smile was real. "The fit's nearly perfect! Is it warm?"
He sounded normal. A knee jerk reflex. Their situation was not normal, and he did not genuinely feel normal. "And you're never a burden. Never say that."
Of all the guests with them... Liessel was absolutely not a draw on patience or resources.
Felix stood slightly behind him, closer to the door, the lid of one of the boxes in his hand. The chill and rain had left him with a cold, and he was feeling it in his face right then. He said, "We have the time."
Bobbi:
She looked relieved to hear that, and cast a glance back toward where the larger room broke off into smaller ones. She wasn't looking for Eddie, but still hadn't figured out how to begin, "I appreciate that," Liessel found herself saying as she looked back toward the Flynns, "And I hope you don't feel otherwise in the near future. It's about Miss Dimitru."
Char:
Avery's mouth tightened ever so slightly for a brief fraction of a second, but he drew nearer and so did Felix. Softly, Avery asked, "Did something happen?"
Bobbi:
"Nothing terribly serious. She seems in better spirits than she was earlier," that she got out as quickly as she could with both Avery and Felix drawing closer. She had quieted her own voice in response, speaking in a low tone, "But she asked about me while I was sitting with her, and I couldn't tell her much more than the name we decided on. She doesn't believe it. I told her she should speak with both of you. I'm sorry, I couldn't speak well enough earlier, with her, to be more deterring than that."
Char:
"She's hardly one to take a stand against secrets," Felix pointed out with a tilt of his head.
Avery said, "There's no need to deter her. Tell her the truth about lying to her: you are avoiding being found. She'll have to respect that. With all these mouths around, the last thing we want is a slip that costs someone. Would you like for me to speak with her about it?"
Bobbi:
What Felix said was true enough she supposed, and she nodded toward him in acceptance of that. All the same, Liessel said to Avery, "If you wouldn't mind. I worry that I will say something wrong."
Char:
"No, no--Don't. Don't worry about that." He might have reached out to her on another day. For now, he hid behind having his hands full and stayed put. "The alias--the Isabell Wickham--is the dust we're keeping blown across your trail, that's all. It's only to keep innocent talk from becoming a trail to you."
"Moot," Felix mused aloud. "She was already found."
Avery seemed to remember the obvious right then and breathed in deep, only to sigh it out. "I should have asked you about that sooner," came out on that breath, with that deflation. "Do you have any idea how Septimius might have tracked you?"
Bobbi:
"No, that was the first day I'd seen him since that first night." her answer came with a shake of her head, and a lifting of her shoulders so the fur trim of her coat sat higher as if to ward off some sudden chill. "There was no sign of anyone else from there, either. At least not that I could have picked up on." And what was that saying? She was a priestess, and careful about a great many things. She wasn't perfect, though, or skilled in situations like this. She could have missed something, or someone, and that was worrisome.
Char:
Avery chewed that over in silence for a moment. "Eddie knows some people," he told her, "who work in that area." Which was, in fact, part of why they'd housed her where they had. As time had passed, the eyes they'd had on her house had wandered a bit, the diligence slackening as tended to happen with human ventures. "I can have someone take a look around. See what can be seen."
He'd have offered to go himself, or to send Felix or Eddie, but they were needed here.
Bobbi:
"Thank you, Mister Flynn --" She looked from Avery toward Felix, just behind his brother, "And you, Mister Flynn." And Eddie. And everyone else that was giving them a hand with all of their ventures. Who knew where Liessel would have wound up if she'd ran into anyone else that first night instead of a diva who had connections?
Char:
Felix nodded.
Avery nodded--and looked like that would have been it, for once, until he raised his head to stand straighter and his eyebrows rose. "I have not forgotten our promise to you," he whispered suddenly. "It's only that it seems unwise to carry all this smoke we're trailing to check on the object right now."
Bobbi:
"I understand," she answered honestly, "There is a lot going on right now. It can wait until its possible to look after it safely." She didn't want to give the word that there was no rush because there was. But there were also other considerations to keep in mind, such as talk of monsters and impossibly strong beings.
Char:
"I have not forgotten," he repeated, firmly, nodding on it, holding her gaze. "You have noticed the odd nature of our company... Stay close to Felix and Eddie and me. We won't let anything happen to you."
Felix nodded there, relieved that he'd been listed too (he had been puzzled thinking Avery was angry with him for some reason).
Bobbi:
Liessel gave him a soft nod. It was utterly understandable that the danger of going to look on it now was far too much to risk. She had noticed the odd-ness of their current company, after all. She'd have to have been blind to miss it! "I will," her promise was solid, "And if it wouldn't be a bother, I would like to learn -- how to -- uhm -- protect myself -- should the need arise."
Char:
Avery blinked in surprise--but it was not at all surprise at the request. It was surprise that he hadn't thought of it himself. Not at all.
"From those of our acquaintance?" Felix asked.
"Should the need arise," Avery tacked on, to not let it be forgotten for a second.
Felix nodded. "For them, you might need to learn some techniques of the pen. The pen being mightier than the sword, and all that. Though, frankly, a good length of steel is an excellent conductor of--"
"Felix," Avery muttered.
"--Right. As for Septimius... Some marksmanship, perhaps."
Bobbi:
She understood all of that, all up until Felix mentioned a pen. After that, she was looking between the brothers and trying to catch up to what they were saying. "...Techniques of the pen? Marksmanship?...I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean." She was beginning to feel that somehow a notebook full of phrases these Londonites spoke would be of some help in the future.
Char:
"He's very sorry," Avery started to say.
"We should amplify her English," Felix said, cutting him off. "While we have a little time to do it. Open a pathway for both intuitive and absorptive understanding."
Bobbi:
A nod had begun Avery's way, but Liessel wound up responding to Felix instead, "That will make it easier to talk with others?"
Char:
"And understand," Felix assured her. "If it works. But we have an excellent track record."
Bobbi:
"Then, what do I need to do?" The prospect made her eager, more eager than she likely ever should have been. After weeks of feeling like she was stumbling through, though, it would be a nice change.
Char:
"Ah--Do you remember the first time we did this for you, that first evening?" Avery asked her. If was eager for the boost, he was grateful for another task that he understood and could reasonably guarantee. He was working hard to not tie himself in knots over Aurelia, and the only thing that had helped thusfar had been ticking items of his to-do list.
Bobbi:
Did she? The smell of their parlor, sitting there watching the clock, and seeing the English language become clear even before her eyes as the incantation was completed, and even how the spoken words became more clear, "I remember almost every detail," she told them.
Char:
"We'll do it here--right here in front of the fire. Felix--"
"Twine," Felix said, nodding, going to find a coil of it from among his things.
Bobbi:
Liessel watched Felix move away, saying "I know I've said this a lot, but I appreciate everything you and your brother are doing for me," she was looking back toward Avery after a moment, "I wish I had some way to repay you for all of it."
Char:
With a tired nod, Avery accepted the sentiment. Then an idea occurred to him, and he said: "Sharing your impressions would be worth quite a lot to me. This is all... very personal-feeling. A more neutral perspective would be welcome."
Bobbi:
"Impressions? Of our current company, or the situation?"
Char:
"Both--though I did mean our current company in general, and--" He glanced toward the hall, lowering his voice. "--Miss Dumitru's situation in particular."
Bobbi:
Her mouth drew into a lopsided thin line. Understanding now what he was asking, she ran her hands against the fur that ran around the collar of the coat they'd bought her as she looked about before motioning toward the couch, "Let's sit. Not all of my observations are kind, I am sad to say."
Char:
His laugh was reflexive--and a little sad. "I understand. I'll appreciate your candor."
Bobbi:
Moving for the couch, and sitting, the coat she wore bushed out as if it were trying to swallow her whole. She smoothed what she could away from her face, pushing the fur down to ease the task of talking around it. She waited for Avery to join her before starting, "I don't think Mister Jefferson is worth a lot of trust placed in him." She'd start there because it was the less sensitive of subjects in her eyes.
Char:
Avery sat with her; Felix half-listened from where he organized their supplies--though how well he could hear was in full question, given the softness of Liessel's voice.
Another little laugh from Avery, and he was left with a lopsided little smile. "I don't blame you for that opinion," he assured her. "Go on."
Bobbi:
"There is something about his manner, the way he presents himself. It's difficult for me to get at, exactly," she continued at Avery's urging, "but it's there. He needs to have a close eye kept on him, I think."
Char:
"He lost his wife." Felix. Without any gravity. Reporting as if announcing that they had enough bread left for dinner. Avery glanced at him, but nodded slow when he looked back to Liessel. More softly, he said: "He did. He lost his wife. To a monster." That last part he added because it was a term Tomlin had used himself. Aurelia had used it, too.
Bobbi:
The news got her to turn toward Felix. She didn't know if she found that surprising or not. There were a lot of things about Tomlin she wasn't sure of, she had to admit that to herself. "A monster?" She had looked back toward Avery, but was now making an attempt to take them both in as she spoke, "Rachelle? Was that his wife?"
Char:
"No," Avery told her. "Rachelle was the monster. A sorceress of some kind, who used the life force and souls of others to gain strength. Tom's wife was a witch and healer, though I don't know the details. She was a target because of her affinity with and for magic."
Bobbi:
"And that is why he was so hard on Aurelia, perhaps not entirely but in part." Liessel surmised, "There are similarities between the two, I can understand why."
Char:
Avery nodded, and right then did not say more, letting Liessel think about it. She would reveal what that meant to her--if it meant anything at all--in her own time.
Bobbi:
That would certainly affect how she saw Tomlin Jefferson, but it didn't change her opinion of him just yet. It was more than that, she was sure. "I will keep that in mind going forward." It certainly did mean he needed a little leeway, some giving room to accommodate, but how much really depended on the circumstances. "It still does not excuse his treatment of Miss Dimitru earlier, or his expectations of you and your brother. Aurelia has a good core to her, she genuinely wants to be something other than what she is. Wrestling with how others treat her is going to make it harder for her to achieve the betterment she strives for, I think."
Char:
"I agree." Avery had not intended to whisper it, but the words came out on his breath and his voice did not try to help. He met her gaze. "But there is a 'meantime.' A real meantime. In the meantime... what happens to those upon whom she would feed? How does she know for certain what she takes, or how much? Do they not matter? Does no one fight for them?" It just spilled out of him in a rush. "I didn't realize. At first. I didn't think. I should have. I don't understand how I thought it was all right."
His head dipped. Suddenly, his face was in his hands.
Bobbi:
"There is," she agreed with a quick nod of her head at the mention of a meantime. Everything else was set to the side for the following moments because Liessel was leaning toward him, placing a hand on Avery's back. It was a light touch, easily shrugged off if he wanted it gone. Ultimately, she had meant it in comfort, "Hey, we don't have answers for that yet -- but that doesn't mean they won't come. Would it be possible to use some sort of...spell on her, or something that would help lessen the need for her to feed? Or something that would better help you be aware of what is going on with her? Or those she might feed on?"
Char:
Avery did not shrug it off. He leaned a little toward Liessel, elbows on his knees, and didn't look up. "She has one. There could always be a way...." He sighed. Felix came around, standing nearby, silent. Avery did finally register his brother's boots in his downcast field of view, and nodded to him, before sighing, "But there's still the 'meantime,' Miss Wickham. The meantime."
Bobbi:
When Felix came over, she looked up at him but kept her hand on Avery's back. How to help this? She honestly did not know. There was nothing immediate that she could think of to do beyond what the Flynns had offered earlier. "In the meantime, we give Aurelia every opportunity she needs to make the choice for herself. Both of you offered yourselves for her needs, and while that is good -- and it means something -- you are both too important -- too needed, just as is anyone else she may come across in her travels. Families, and all that entails. It just won't do. What she needs, what would be ideal, is a source that is inexhaustible and non-damaging to the populace."
Char:
"I agree," Avery breathed. "Do you know of such a source?"
Bobbi:
"No," she said with a sigh, "Not one that doesn't involve sacrifice -- which I am fully willing to step in for, but it's only a temporary fix. I don't know how being here will affect me in the long run, if at all, health wise. I have no idea if there are any differences between where I came from, and here, that I need to be wary of at all. I do know, though, that it would be a far better circumstance than having her feed on anyone native to this place. That is the only thing I've come up with so far."
Char:
Avery nodded.
It was Felix who said, "If we spend too long speculating, her need to feed will come around again. And again, and again."
Bobbi:
"That seems inevitable," She said to Felix, "The repeat need to feed." Liessel gave Avery's back a small pat before slumping back against the couch, "I feel like, if how it works was better understood, maybe the way to move forward without her needing to take from anyone else might be easier to fix."
Char:
"You haven't addressed the meantime," Avery sighed. "I don't know what to do, either, except what I have already proposed."
Bobbi:
"That's just it," She gave a flip of her left hand and a shake of her head, "I don't think there is a way to get around the 'meantime'. Someone will need to be her meal, and continue to be her meal until "beyond the meantime" is figured out. I can pray for her, but I doubt that will be of any help. It just doesn't work the same as your magic does. The guardians are not quite as quick working, or obvious."
Char:
"So we trade off," Felix said--adding on, after a second, "If we have to."
Bobbi:
"I wish I could disagree with that, but it makes sense. If she's taking from just one person, the chances are higher that that person will wear down rather quickly," She was looking up at Felix from where she sat, "You said earlier that she can take years, too. No one needs to meet their end any faster than the guardians have planned, but I don't think she'd do anything like that consciously. She said she's never killed by use of her ...erh...ability, so I wonder if that means no one has died prematurely as a result of years taken, or if she means she just didn't drain anyone to the point of expiring."
Char:
Felix was left squinting at her at the end of that. "What you said makes no sense. There is no empirical evidence that she knows all of what she takes, or even what she takes at all. She thinks she takes passion, years, and I suppose life. Clearly, she did not design her situation. A lot of ignorance may come with that. Do you have the concept of demons in your homeland?"
Bobbi:
A hitch in everything there. Liessel was forced to answer very honestly with, "No, from how they've been talked about we don't have anything like that where I come from."
Char:
Avery straightened enough to watch Felix as he spoke. Now he rubbed his face and sat back with a sigh. "This is going to hurt."
Bobbi:
"What's going to hurt?" That went Avery's way.
Char:
Avery opened his mouth, but Felix was faster. "We saw the faces of some people she'd fed on."
Bobbi:
She turned back as Felix answered, and then looked Avery's way again, understanding dawning on her, "And it was not the most comfortable of experiences," that understanding made its way into her voice, "Perhaps now would be a good time to ask about your past with her. I gather that she was helping Ethan, and through that and the attack from Mister Seth, she came into your company -- but what of your experiences with her since then? These people she's fed on, what happened with them?"
Char:
"She didn't hurt them," Avery was quick to say.
"As far as we know," Felix added, ever the affixer of asterixis.
"--Right. I believe her. But they looked...." His face drew tight, and he looked sad and ill right then.
Guilty.
Avery Flynn looked guilty.
"Empty," he breathed. "Like... they were just moving. Because their bodies could move. And that was all."
He did not immediately address their history.
Bobbi:
Out of everything that had been said so far, that got her to move her fingers up to the mark on her forehead. It was a movement of disbelief, a movement also made to ask for strength for Avery who did not look so well just then. She couldn't help but feel bad for the Flynns, and for Aurelia, and sad for the people she'd affected, "So, when she said she needs to consume their lives, it wasn't just energy. But their essence as a whole?"
Char:
"She says they recover," Avery said.
Felix was silent now. He suspected his 'Stoker' reference at the time would not make sense to her yet.
Avery passed one hand through the air. "But how they looked… I can't believe I didn't think anything of it at the time."
An actual tear tracked down his cheek, and he clenched his jaw. "All I saw was how bad she felt. I was blind. How is that possible?"
Bobbi:
Avery had her attention. She reached out to place a hand on his back again, just as lightly as before while leaning over to place her other hand on his shoulder, "It's possible because you are human. And being human means missing things. It means being able to look back and see the mistakes that were made. It means sometimes only seeing opportunities after they've past." She didn't know how much this was going to help him, if at all, but what else could she say?
Char:
Felix finally sat down on Avery's other side, his own face pinched up now. Sometimes, he was slow on the uptake, and sometimes he was cold. Sometimes he was distracted, and sometimes he was disinterested. But Avery rarely looked this broken to him, and the last time he remembered seeing his brother cry, they'd been children.
Bobbi:
From across Avery's back, Liessel looked at Felix before leaning closer toward his twin. The hand on Avery's shoulder slid down to rest at the bend of his elbow while she laid her forehead against the round of Avery's shoulder, the mark on her forehead at the center of that connection. She didn't say anything for a moment or two, giving room to what she had said earlier about sometimes words got in the way. Fumbling for the thing that would help him wasn't going to do anyone any good, so she stayed quiet and shared in that moment of pain that she was with him.
Char:
On Avery's far side, Felix pressed his shoulder to his brother's, sealing the gap between them, even shoulder to even shoulder, even arm to even arm. He said nothing.
Avery squeezed his eyes closed, shook his head, and looked like he wanted to say something. Nothing but a few more tears came, though. Lost, but also angry.
He did finally sigh and seem to reach equilibrium again, the only sounds in the Smoking room Liessel's breathing, his, and Felix's, and the smart crackle of the fire. The young man nodded slightly--to what? Unknown--and sighed again, steadier than he had been before. "I want this to work out," he said.
Bobbi:
She hadn't moved through all the time that had passed. She was as silent as anyone could be, with the roar of the fire cracking and popping in the background. Liessel let the silence have its way, giving more inward prayers up to the guardians for strength to be lent for Avery and Felix, both. When Avery spoke, Liessel nodded her head just slightly, not yet lifting it away from his shoulder, "You will, Mister Flynn. And Felix and I will help as best we can." She knew she could speak for Felix in this. Avery was his brother, and after seeing them both together so many times, she didn't have a doubt in her mind about what she said.
Char:
"We're better than anyone she'd find in Gloucester," Felix said in agreement, nodding once, as if the truth of it were so self-evident it only needed one nod for punctuation. He'd said that same thing before.
Avery turned his head, regarding Liessel. The tears were gone, wiped away, as if the moment were erased and the feelings with it. But he still looked like the world felt heavier than usual, because to him it did. No false smiles for her right now, no stiff upper lip. Just him, sitting there. And the him sitting there was not so different from his usual self. If anything, it was a more awake version. He licked his lips and considered Felix's insistence. "We are professionals," he mused.
Felix nodded. "We also currently have in our acquaintance one priestess, one priest, one spirit-talker, and the half of England that owes you favors."
Bobbi:
Avery's shifting to look at her brought her head up and some space between them. While he didn't smile, she did. It was an expression of encouragement, one meant to comfort more than anything else. This Avery looked somehow more human than the polished version she was used to seeing, the one that knew just what was needed at a moment's notice. She could see the resemblance between Felix and Avery a bit more clearly around the edges of his face, and the way his expression settled on him just in that moment. To his words she nodded, and then to Felix's she laughed, just a bit and just quietly, "Your brother is right, I think. We'll get it figured out somehow, and in some way." She put her trust in it, her faith in the guardians to help them find the way they needed to go.
Char:
Nodding, voice still quiet, Avery said, "Maybe when Father Camejo gets here, we'll make some headway."
There was Liessel's English to work on until then.
When Avery inhaled, he brought that idea inside his lungs. That was something specific that needed doing, that he and Felix could do, that would be directly helpful, and that would enable Liessel to bring her full presence to any gathering.
One corner of his mouth quirked back with a sudden idea. "You know," he told her, "when we perform the spell for your language... you don't, strictly speaking, have to let everyone know right away how much more you understand...."
Bobbi:
In regards to Father Camejo, Liessel gave a soft nod. For whatever that meant, whatever kind of headway Father Camejo could help with, she hoped it would happen and that the priest could help. That soft smile she'd given just a moment before was growing, solidifying into a more real thing when Avery's mouth quirked and he made his suggestion. "I think, given our current companions, leaving them to believe I do not understand too much may be a good thing. They do not have to know just yet, but eventually they will. I cannot be seen as dishonest with the guardians watching over me. I do not wish their blessings to fade."
Char:
"Ah--" The grin appeared. Like a flash of lightning out of the thickness of a storm. "I understand. I shouldn't have suggested it. I only wondered what might be overheard in a room of people who don't think anyone's listening."
Bobbi:
"I think," She answered, touching the mark on her forehead, "That given all this talk of darkness, and of monsters and demons -- that the guardians will permit me some deception. With not knowing what to expect, the only way to learn is to listen. --For a time."
Char:
"This might actually be interesting," Felix mused. "I'll get the newspaper; you set up the twine."
Eddie and the Flynns weren't gone long. Avery hadn't said much else before he'd left. Felix hadn't either, and before they'd gone their positions had seemed slightly reversed from the norm. It was Avery who threw himself into the work--the errands--and Felix who watched his brother's face and seemed distracted.
Avery made their list. It was not long; Eddie had retrieved what Aurelia had requested the night before.
But on it was cash. As Avery's top priority.
"Socks," Felix had added, his bare feet laced up tight in his tall boots.
Nodding, Avery had added it, but under the umbrella topic of Clothing articles. Because both Liessel and Aurelia were not equipped for February, and now Felix's toes were freezing.
When they returned, then, it was with laden arms, all three of them, bringing in boxes that promised warmth for their outsides--and insides. The smell of hot bread came in with them.
Breakfast.
Late, but better than nothing.
Bobbi:
With hours passing, the day seemed to fall into its own kind of place. The whole of it seemed to be carried in a weird sort of daze. In some ways she felt disconnected from it, and in others she felt squashed beneath the weight of it. After having sat a while with Aurelia, Liessel withdrew to her own room, her own space for a bit more rest. But what rest did she get? The time passed with Liessel sitting quietly in her own dimly lit corner of the Dead Regiment in quiet reprieve. The smell of bread filling the place brought her out, having missed the sound of movement out in the larger rooms as deep into her own thoughts as she had become. On exiting her room, though, she balanced the blanket across her shoulders, shifting it up higher and pulling it forward as she crossed the room as quickly as she could. She still wore Tomlin's boots, but with their size it was like trying to walk while wearing buckets on her feet. The first person she spotted as the first person she approached, "Here, let me help."
Char:
Eddie arranged boxes on the card table and the seats of the chairs, and turned to cast a glance her way. His smile of greeting came fast, and tiny flakes of ice crackled in his mustache. "Miss Wickham! Still wearing that old blanket, are you? Look what we found...."
He straightened. Peered across the boxes, spotted the one he wanted, and restacked one to get to it. The lid popped right off. A thick and smooth black lady's coat unfurled as he pulled it out, the skirt of it wide to accommodate a dress, the tailoring neat and impersonal, but certainly better than the blanket. Stylish brown fur hugged collar and cuffs. Wide cloth-covered buttons sealed the front.
Bobbi
'Look what we found...' She was distracted by a box that was slipping from where it had been set to rest, a small nudge pushing it back into place where it came to rest properly. She made sure of that before looking toward Eddie again, the unfurling motion of the coat catching her from the corner of her vision until she was looking at it fully. It, as with the things that Catrona had helped her get on her first arrival was a wonderful thing. She had felt spoiled then, in over her head with fashion having come from a place where things were not so fine, and unable of thinking of something to say in return for it. "Mister Eddie," Thin hands reached for the thick fabric, "This is beautiful." Her gratitude was deeper than her words could have ever captured.
Char:
Her approval widened his smile so that the weathered skin around his eyes crinkled, and he nodded to her. "And hopefully warm! --Now--there are two other boxes here for you--and I'm sorry if the things that come out of them smell a mite like axle grease... Low profile, all that." He waved a hand, and pulled out--with some puzzle-stacking--two other boxes. Of those, the crates themselves were heavier than the contents. "The boots are in this one," he said of the second crate. "Shall I put them in your room for you?"
Avery and Felix came in, with one final slat-board box each, and Felix went back to close the doors to their "suite."
Dead Regiment was nearly empty, but what privacy could be had was seized.
Bobbi:
She helped with the restacking, giving Eddie a hand in getting to the boxes he needed, using one hand to help steady some of the crates while holding the coat draped over her other arm, "Yes, please," she answered his request, "Thank you, Mister Eddie." The promise of warmth from real garments, as opposed to the shift she'd been wearing made the sentiment that much more deep. It had nearly erased the burden on her mind until she caught sight of the twins coming into the room. She could change in a few minutes, she decided. Though, she did slip out of the blanket and into the coat before approaching the Flynn brothers, "I don't mean to be a burden," she started, "After everything you've both done, but when you have the time -- if we could talk?"
Char:
"Just 'Eddie' is fine, Miss Wickham," he told her, gathering up the crates for her and carrying them back up the short stub of a hall.
Avery had Felix's notepad in one hand, and Felix's short pencil in the other, and though his face was lined with weariness his smile was real. "The fit's nearly perfect! Is it warm?"
He sounded normal. A knee jerk reflex. Their situation was not normal, and he did not genuinely feel normal. "And you're never a burden. Never say that."
Of all the guests with them... Liessel was absolutely not a draw on patience or resources.
Felix stood slightly behind him, closer to the door, the lid of one of the boxes in his hand. The chill and rain had left him with a cold, and he was feeling it in his face right then. He said, "We have the time."
Bobbi:
She looked relieved to hear that, and cast a glance back toward where the larger room broke off into smaller ones. She wasn't looking for Eddie, but still hadn't figured out how to begin, "I appreciate that," Liessel found herself saying as she looked back toward the Flynns, "And I hope you don't feel otherwise in the near future. It's about Miss Dimitru."
Char:
Avery's mouth tightened ever so slightly for a brief fraction of a second, but he drew nearer and so did Felix. Softly, Avery asked, "Did something happen?"
Bobbi:
"Nothing terribly serious. She seems in better spirits than she was earlier," that she got out as quickly as she could with both Avery and Felix drawing closer. She had quieted her own voice in response, speaking in a low tone, "But she asked about me while I was sitting with her, and I couldn't tell her much more than the name we decided on. She doesn't believe it. I told her she should speak with both of you. I'm sorry, I couldn't speak well enough earlier, with her, to be more deterring than that."
Char:
"She's hardly one to take a stand against secrets," Felix pointed out with a tilt of his head.
Avery said, "There's no need to deter her. Tell her the truth about lying to her: you are avoiding being found. She'll have to respect that. With all these mouths around, the last thing we want is a slip that costs someone. Would you like for me to speak with her about it?"
Bobbi:
What Felix said was true enough she supposed, and she nodded toward him in acceptance of that. All the same, Liessel said to Avery, "If you wouldn't mind. I worry that I will say something wrong."
Char:
"No, no--Don't. Don't worry about that." He might have reached out to her on another day. For now, he hid behind having his hands full and stayed put. "The alias--the Isabell Wickham--is the dust we're keeping blown across your trail, that's all. It's only to keep innocent talk from becoming a trail to you."
"Moot," Felix mused aloud. "She was already found."
Avery seemed to remember the obvious right then and breathed in deep, only to sigh it out. "I should have asked you about that sooner," came out on that breath, with that deflation. "Do you have any idea how Septimius might have tracked you?"
Bobbi:
"No, that was the first day I'd seen him since that first night." her answer came with a shake of her head, and a lifting of her shoulders so the fur trim of her coat sat higher as if to ward off some sudden chill. "There was no sign of anyone else from there, either. At least not that I could have picked up on." And what was that saying? She was a priestess, and careful about a great many things. She wasn't perfect, though, or skilled in situations like this. She could have missed something, or someone, and that was worrisome.
Char:
Avery chewed that over in silence for a moment. "Eddie knows some people," he told her, "who work in that area." Which was, in fact, part of why they'd housed her where they had. As time had passed, the eyes they'd had on her house had wandered a bit, the diligence slackening as tended to happen with human ventures. "I can have someone take a look around. See what can be seen."
He'd have offered to go himself, or to send Felix or Eddie, but they were needed here.
Bobbi:
"Thank you, Mister Flynn --" She looked from Avery toward Felix, just behind his brother, "And you, Mister Flynn." And Eddie. And everyone else that was giving them a hand with all of their ventures. Who knew where Liessel would have wound up if she'd ran into anyone else that first night instead of a diva who had connections?
Char:
Felix nodded.
Avery nodded--and looked like that would have been it, for once, until he raised his head to stand straighter and his eyebrows rose. "I have not forgotten our promise to you," he whispered suddenly. "It's only that it seems unwise to carry all this smoke we're trailing to check on the object right now."
Bobbi:
"I understand," she answered honestly, "There is a lot going on right now. It can wait until its possible to look after it safely." She didn't want to give the word that there was no rush because there was. But there were also other considerations to keep in mind, such as talk of monsters and impossibly strong beings.
Char:
"I have not forgotten," he repeated, firmly, nodding on it, holding her gaze. "You have noticed the odd nature of our company... Stay close to Felix and Eddie and me. We won't let anything happen to you."
Felix nodded there, relieved that he'd been listed too (he had been puzzled thinking Avery was angry with him for some reason).
Bobbi:
Liessel gave him a soft nod. It was utterly understandable that the danger of going to look on it now was far too much to risk. She had noticed the odd-ness of their current company, after all. She'd have to have been blind to miss it! "I will," her promise was solid, "And if it wouldn't be a bother, I would like to learn -- how to -- uhm -- protect myself -- should the need arise."
Char:
Avery blinked in surprise--but it was not at all surprise at the request. It was surprise that he hadn't thought of it himself. Not at all.
"From those of our acquaintance?" Felix asked.
"Should the need arise," Avery tacked on, to not let it be forgotten for a second.
Felix nodded. "For them, you might need to learn some techniques of the pen. The pen being mightier than the sword, and all that. Though, frankly, a good length of steel is an excellent conductor of--"
"Felix," Avery muttered.
"--Right. As for Septimius... Some marksmanship, perhaps."
Bobbi:
She understood all of that, all up until Felix mentioned a pen. After that, she was looking between the brothers and trying to catch up to what they were saying. "...Techniques of the pen? Marksmanship?...I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean." She was beginning to feel that somehow a notebook full of phrases these Londonites spoke would be of some help in the future.
Char:
"He's very sorry," Avery started to say.
"We should amplify her English," Felix said, cutting him off. "While we have a little time to do it. Open a pathway for both intuitive and absorptive understanding."
Bobbi:
A nod had begun Avery's way, but Liessel wound up responding to Felix instead, "That will make it easier to talk with others?"
Char:
"And understand," Felix assured her. "If it works. But we have an excellent track record."
Bobbi:
"Then, what do I need to do?" The prospect made her eager, more eager than she likely ever should have been. After weeks of feeling like she was stumbling through, though, it would be a nice change.
Char:
"Ah--Do you remember the first time we did this for you, that first evening?" Avery asked her. If was eager for the boost, he was grateful for another task that he understood and could reasonably guarantee. He was working hard to not tie himself in knots over Aurelia, and the only thing that had helped thusfar had been ticking items of his to-do list.
Bobbi:
Did she? The smell of their parlor, sitting there watching the clock, and seeing the English language become clear even before her eyes as the incantation was completed, and even how the spoken words became more clear, "I remember almost every detail," she told them.
Char:
"We'll do it here--right here in front of the fire. Felix--"
"Twine," Felix said, nodding, going to find a coil of it from among his things.
Bobbi:
Liessel watched Felix move away, saying "I know I've said this a lot, but I appreciate everything you and your brother are doing for me," she was looking back toward Avery after a moment, "I wish I had some way to repay you for all of it."
Char:
With a tired nod, Avery accepted the sentiment. Then an idea occurred to him, and he said: "Sharing your impressions would be worth quite a lot to me. This is all... very personal-feeling. A more neutral perspective would be welcome."
Bobbi:
"Impressions? Of our current company, or the situation?"
Char:
"Both--though I did mean our current company in general, and--" He glanced toward the hall, lowering his voice. "--Miss Dumitru's situation in particular."
Bobbi:
Her mouth drew into a lopsided thin line. Understanding now what he was asking, she ran her hands against the fur that ran around the collar of the coat they'd bought her as she looked about before motioning toward the couch, "Let's sit. Not all of my observations are kind, I am sad to say."
Char:
His laugh was reflexive--and a little sad. "I understand. I'll appreciate your candor."
Bobbi:
Moving for the couch, and sitting, the coat she wore bushed out as if it were trying to swallow her whole. She smoothed what she could away from her face, pushing the fur down to ease the task of talking around it. She waited for Avery to join her before starting, "I don't think Mister Jefferson is worth a lot of trust placed in him." She'd start there because it was the less sensitive of subjects in her eyes.
Char:
Avery sat with her; Felix half-listened from where he organized their supplies--though how well he could hear was in full question, given the softness of Liessel's voice.
Another little laugh from Avery, and he was left with a lopsided little smile. "I don't blame you for that opinion," he assured her. "Go on."
Bobbi:
"There is something about his manner, the way he presents himself. It's difficult for me to get at, exactly," she continued at Avery's urging, "but it's there. He needs to have a close eye kept on him, I think."
Char:
"He lost his wife." Felix. Without any gravity. Reporting as if announcing that they had enough bread left for dinner. Avery glanced at him, but nodded slow when he looked back to Liessel. More softly, he said: "He did. He lost his wife. To a monster." That last part he added because it was a term Tomlin had used himself. Aurelia had used it, too.
Bobbi:
The news got her to turn toward Felix. She didn't know if she found that surprising or not. There were a lot of things about Tomlin she wasn't sure of, she had to admit that to herself. "A monster?" She had looked back toward Avery, but was now making an attempt to take them both in as she spoke, "Rachelle? Was that his wife?"
Char:
"No," Avery told her. "Rachelle was the monster. A sorceress of some kind, who used the life force and souls of others to gain strength. Tom's wife was a witch and healer, though I don't know the details. She was a target because of her affinity with and for magic."
Bobbi:
"And that is why he was so hard on Aurelia, perhaps not entirely but in part." Liessel surmised, "There are similarities between the two, I can understand why."
Char:
Avery nodded, and right then did not say more, letting Liessel think about it. She would reveal what that meant to her--if it meant anything at all--in her own time.
Bobbi:
That would certainly affect how she saw Tomlin Jefferson, but it didn't change her opinion of him just yet. It was more than that, she was sure. "I will keep that in mind going forward." It certainly did mean he needed a little leeway, some giving room to accommodate, but how much really depended on the circumstances. "It still does not excuse his treatment of Miss Dimitru earlier, or his expectations of you and your brother. Aurelia has a good core to her, she genuinely wants to be something other than what she is. Wrestling with how others treat her is going to make it harder for her to achieve the betterment she strives for, I think."
Char:
"I agree." Avery had not intended to whisper it, but the words came out on his breath and his voice did not try to help. He met her gaze. "But there is a 'meantime.' A real meantime. In the meantime... what happens to those upon whom she would feed? How does she know for certain what she takes, or how much? Do they not matter? Does no one fight for them?" It just spilled out of him in a rush. "I didn't realize. At first. I didn't think. I should have. I don't understand how I thought it was all right."
His head dipped. Suddenly, his face was in his hands.
Bobbi:
"There is," she agreed with a quick nod of her head at the mention of a meantime. Everything else was set to the side for the following moments because Liessel was leaning toward him, placing a hand on Avery's back. It was a light touch, easily shrugged off if he wanted it gone. Ultimately, she had meant it in comfort, "Hey, we don't have answers for that yet -- but that doesn't mean they won't come. Would it be possible to use some sort of...spell on her, or something that would help lessen the need for her to feed? Or something that would better help you be aware of what is going on with her? Or those she might feed on?"
Char:
Avery did not shrug it off. He leaned a little toward Liessel, elbows on his knees, and didn't look up. "She has one. There could always be a way...." He sighed. Felix came around, standing nearby, silent. Avery did finally register his brother's boots in his downcast field of view, and nodded to him, before sighing, "But there's still the 'meantime,' Miss Wickham. The meantime."
Bobbi:
When Felix came over, she looked up at him but kept her hand on Avery's back. How to help this? She honestly did not know. There was nothing immediate that she could think of to do beyond what the Flynns had offered earlier. "In the meantime, we give Aurelia every opportunity she needs to make the choice for herself. Both of you offered yourselves for her needs, and while that is good -- and it means something -- you are both too important -- too needed, just as is anyone else she may come across in her travels. Families, and all that entails. It just won't do. What she needs, what would be ideal, is a source that is inexhaustible and non-damaging to the populace."
Char:
"I agree," Avery breathed. "Do you know of such a source?"
Bobbi:
"No," she said with a sigh, "Not one that doesn't involve sacrifice -- which I am fully willing to step in for, but it's only a temporary fix. I don't know how being here will affect me in the long run, if at all, health wise. I have no idea if there are any differences between where I came from, and here, that I need to be wary of at all. I do know, though, that it would be a far better circumstance than having her feed on anyone native to this place. That is the only thing I've come up with so far."
Char:
Avery nodded.
It was Felix who said, "If we spend too long speculating, her need to feed will come around again. And again, and again."
Bobbi:
"That seems inevitable," She said to Felix, "The repeat need to feed." Liessel gave Avery's back a small pat before slumping back against the couch, "I feel like, if how it works was better understood, maybe the way to move forward without her needing to take from anyone else might be easier to fix."
Char:
"You haven't addressed the meantime," Avery sighed. "I don't know what to do, either, except what I have already proposed."
Bobbi:
"That's just it," She gave a flip of her left hand and a shake of her head, "I don't think there is a way to get around the 'meantime'. Someone will need to be her meal, and continue to be her meal until "beyond the meantime" is figured out. I can pray for her, but I doubt that will be of any help. It just doesn't work the same as your magic does. The guardians are not quite as quick working, or obvious."
Char:
"So we trade off," Felix said--adding on, after a second, "If we have to."
Bobbi:
"I wish I could disagree with that, but it makes sense. If she's taking from just one person, the chances are higher that that person will wear down rather quickly," She was looking up at Felix from where she sat, "You said earlier that she can take years, too. No one needs to meet their end any faster than the guardians have planned, but I don't think she'd do anything like that consciously. She said she's never killed by use of her ...erh...ability, so I wonder if that means no one has died prematurely as a result of years taken, or if she means she just didn't drain anyone to the point of expiring."
Char:
Felix was left squinting at her at the end of that. "What you said makes no sense. There is no empirical evidence that she knows all of what she takes, or even what she takes at all. She thinks she takes passion, years, and I suppose life. Clearly, she did not design her situation. A lot of ignorance may come with that. Do you have the concept of demons in your homeland?"
Bobbi:
A hitch in everything there. Liessel was forced to answer very honestly with, "No, from how they've been talked about we don't have anything like that where I come from."
Char:
Avery straightened enough to watch Felix as he spoke. Now he rubbed his face and sat back with a sigh. "This is going to hurt."
Bobbi:
"What's going to hurt?" That went Avery's way.
Char:
Avery opened his mouth, but Felix was faster. "We saw the faces of some people she'd fed on."
Bobbi:
She turned back as Felix answered, and then looked Avery's way again, understanding dawning on her, "And it was not the most comfortable of experiences," that understanding made its way into her voice, "Perhaps now would be a good time to ask about your past with her. I gather that she was helping Ethan, and through that and the attack from Mister Seth, she came into your company -- but what of your experiences with her since then? These people she's fed on, what happened with them?"
Char:
"She didn't hurt them," Avery was quick to say.
"As far as we know," Felix added, ever the affixer of asterixis.
"--Right. I believe her. But they looked...." His face drew tight, and he looked sad and ill right then.
Guilty.
Avery Flynn looked guilty.
"Empty," he breathed. "Like... they were just moving. Because their bodies could move. And that was all."
He did not immediately address their history.
Bobbi:
Out of everything that had been said so far, that got her to move her fingers up to the mark on her forehead. It was a movement of disbelief, a movement also made to ask for strength for Avery who did not look so well just then. She couldn't help but feel bad for the Flynns, and for Aurelia, and sad for the people she'd affected, "So, when she said she needs to consume their lives, it wasn't just energy. But their essence as a whole?"
Char:
"She says they recover," Avery said.
Felix was silent now. He suspected his 'Stoker' reference at the time would not make sense to her yet.
Avery passed one hand through the air. "But how they looked… I can't believe I didn't think anything of it at the time."
An actual tear tracked down his cheek, and he clenched his jaw. "All I saw was how bad she felt. I was blind. How is that possible?"
Bobbi:
Avery had her attention. She reached out to place a hand on his back again, just as lightly as before while leaning over to place her other hand on his shoulder, "It's possible because you are human. And being human means missing things. It means being able to look back and see the mistakes that were made. It means sometimes only seeing opportunities after they've past." She didn't know how much this was going to help him, if at all, but what else could she say?
Char:
Felix finally sat down on Avery's other side, his own face pinched up now. Sometimes, he was slow on the uptake, and sometimes he was cold. Sometimes he was distracted, and sometimes he was disinterested. But Avery rarely looked this broken to him, and the last time he remembered seeing his brother cry, they'd been children.
Bobbi:
From across Avery's back, Liessel looked at Felix before leaning closer toward his twin. The hand on Avery's shoulder slid down to rest at the bend of his elbow while she laid her forehead against the round of Avery's shoulder, the mark on her forehead at the center of that connection. She didn't say anything for a moment or two, giving room to what she had said earlier about sometimes words got in the way. Fumbling for the thing that would help him wasn't going to do anyone any good, so she stayed quiet and shared in that moment of pain that she was with him.
Char:
On Avery's far side, Felix pressed his shoulder to his brother's, sealing the gap between them, even shoulder to even shoulder, even arm to even arm. He said nothing.
Avery squeezed his eyes closed, shook his head, and looked like he wanted to say something. Nothing but a few more tears came, though. Lost, but also angry.
He did finally sigh and seem to reach equilibrium again, the only sounds in the Smoking room Liessel's breathing, his, and Felix's, and the smart crackle of the fire. The young man nodded slightly--to what? Unknown--and sighed again, steadier than he had been before. "I want this to work out," he said.
Bobbi:
She hadn't moved through all the time that had passed. She was as silent as anyone could be, with the roar of the fire cracking and popping in the background. Liessel let the silence have its way, giving more inward prayers up to the guardians for strength to be lent for Avery and Felix, both. When Avery spoke, Liessel nodded her head just slightly, not yet lifting it away from his shoulder, "You will, Mister Flynn. And Felix and I will help as best we can." She knew she could speak for Felix in this. Avery was his brother, and after seeing them both together so many times, she didn't have a doubt in her mind about what she said.
Char:
"We're better than anyone she'd find in Gloucester," Felix said in agreement, nodding once, as if the truth of it were so self-evident it only needed one nod for punctuation. He'd said that same thing before.
Avery turned his head, regarding Liessel. The tears were gone, wiped away, as if the moment were erased and the feelings with it. But he still looked like the world felt heavier than usual, because to him it did. No false smiles for her right now, no stiff upper lip. Just him, sitting there. And the him sitting there was not so different from his usual self. If anything, it was a more awake version. He licked his lips and considered Felix's insistence. "We are professionals," he mused.
Felix nodded. "We also currently have in our acquaintance one priestess, one priest, one spirit-talker, and the half of England that owes you favors."
Bobbi:
Avery's shifting to look at her brought her head up and some space between them. While he didn't smile, she did. It was an expression of encouragement, one meant to comfort more than anything else. This Avery looked somehow more human than the polished version she was used to seeing, the one that knew just what was needed at a moment's notice. She could see the resemblance between Felix and Avery a bit more clearly around the edges of his face, and the way his expression settled on him just in that moment. To his words she nodded, and then to Felix's she laughed, just a bit and just quietly, "Your brother is right, I think. We'll get it figured out somehow, and in some way." She put her trust in it, her faith in the guardians to help them find the way they needed to go.
Char:
Nodding, voice still quiet, Avery said, "Maybe when Father Camejo gets here, we'll make some headway."
There was Liessel's English to work on until then.
When Avery inhaled, he brought that idea inside his lungs. That was something specific that needed doing, that he and Felix could do, that would be directly helpful, and that would enable Liessel to bring her full presence to any gathering.
One corner of his mouth quirked back with a sudden idea. "You know," he told her, "when we perform the spell for your language... you don't, strictly speaking, have to let everyone know right away how much more you understand...."
Bobbi:
In regards to Father Camejo, Liessel gave a soft nod. For whatever that meant, whatever kind of headway Father Camejo could help with, she hoped it would happen and that the priest could help. That soft smile she'd given just a moment before was growing, solidifying into a more real thing when Avery's mouth quirked and he made his suggestion. "I think, given our current companions, leaving them to believe I do not understand too much may be a good thing. They do not have to know just yet, but eventually they will. I cannot be seen as dishonest with the guardians watching over me. I do not wish their blessings to fade."
Char:
"Ah--" The grin appeared. Like a flash of lightning out of the thickness of a storm. "I understand. I shouldn't have suggested it. I only wondered what might be overheard in a room of people who don't think anyone's listening."
Bobbi:
"I think," She answered, touching the mark on her forehead, "That given all this talk of darkness, and of monsters and demons -- that the guardians will permit me some deception. With not knowing what to expect, the only way to learn is to listen. --For a time."
Char:
"This might actually be interesting," Felix mused. "I'll get the newspaper; you set up the twine."