The Stewarts (rebooted- accepting new characters)

[pistolmouth]

Tegan kept up with Rikarah easily, her hands in her pockets, one wrapped around the tactical pen she kept in her coat in case she ran into trouble on her way to the bus stop. It had become second nature to her, something she rarely even noticed that she was doing until the pen would move or do something to remind her of its presence. While it wasn't as lethal as the knife she often kept in her bag, it still granted her a sense of security that she didn't get from anything else, really.


When they came to a stop in front of the building and Rikarah pretended to flirt with her, ending it like a bad date, she surprisingly managed a genuine laugh and a shake of the head. “I'd love to chill sometime, preferably without the presence of a body.” She smiled weakly, “Maybe we can get coffee or something.” She checked the time and let out a breath, “I need to get to the bus stop, but I'll see you around.”


Turning on her feet, she began to walk away when she remembered that Rikarah had asked for an update on Evan's condition before they'd parted ways in the school hall and turned on her heel, still walking slowly backward, “Oh, and uhm, Evan's okay. Little irate about the bite and my fussing with it in general. We're going to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected, but the kid is an ox.” Tegan lifts a hand in a wave goodbye, turns back around and half jogs to the bus stop.


It's just pulling up as she arrives and steps on, hands over her fare and takes a seat, calves aching dully from the extended time on her feet. The bus was virtually empty at the current time, so Tegan had plenty of room to stretch herself out as she waited for it to come to a stop near her building. When it does, she's off in seconds and making her way through the door, up the stairs and quickly unlocking the door and letting herself in.


She briefly considered soaking in the bath, but instead opted to shower in the morning, too tired to go through the ritual of bathing just then. The day had been far too strange for her to entertain the thought of participating in it any longer. Quietly, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, letting sleep overtake her.


--------


Riley had been sleeping so hard he didn't even dream. When the movement on the bed jostled him to barely awake, he merely rolled over to close his eyes again when he heard Regina shouting about being late to the clinic. At first, it didn't click, still too groggy to fully understand what she was saying, but it didn't take very long for him to add it up.


Letting out a loud string of curses, he flung himself from the bed and pulled on the first shirt and pair of pants he could find and raced down the stairs after Regina. He grabbed the keys to his motorcycle off of the hook and linked his hand in Regina's as he pulled her out the door and toward his bike.


With both of them on it, he starts it up and accelerates onto the road, speeding enough to cut maybe a few minutes off of their time, but not so much that the car ahead of him has to worry about the bike driving into the ass end of the vehicle. Once at the clinic, he lowered the kickstand and swung his leg over the side, turning his gaze to his sister.


“You ready for this?”

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Back in her dorm room, Rikarah sees, as she had expected, that her roommate is still MIA. It does not trouble her; in fact, she often prefers, despite her words to the contrary to Tegan, to have this time to herself. As she slowly prepares herself for bed, undressing, brushing her teeth, and wiping down her skin with her acne-prevention pads, she stops when she is finished to look into the mirror. Her eyes shine brightly back at her, finally able now, with no one watching, to show the excitement the day has generated in her, and as she continues to regard herself, she suddenly begins to laugh.


This has definitely been an interesting day, and honestly, Rikarah cannot wait for the next. She had settled into a relatively safe life here at the college, where she had kept herself apart from others just enough that she would not have her identity challenged. And yet now, to be in such a precarious position, which would require so much care on her part to maintain safety...it was thrilling. She felt more alive than ever.


When she went to lie down in bed, her heart was beating fast enough that it took her almost an hour of lying there, still smiling faintly, before she could sleep.


When Rikarah awakened in the morning, she had no reason to go about her day any differently than she normally would. She dressed herself, getting together her homework and other items needed for the day, and went to class as usual, behaving no differently than normal. After her first couple of classes of the day she went to look for Professor Luna, knocking on his office door. Surely by now he would know what had happened to Zane, and she was very interested in his take on the events.


**


By the time Jeremy had showered and drank some blood, he felt slightly revived for the day, though no less beaten down emotionally about the events of the day before. He had barely acknowledged Regina's details of her planned day, and even if he could have said something to stop her, what were the chances she would have listened? Zero. Less than. No, he had to get Juliette up, see what she was going to do about school today...god, they'd have to make arrangements for Zane's body today, they probably should have the day before. And if the police come back, or that professor...oh no, the social workers no doubt would, they were due in two days anyway! How would they think that this home was appropriate for Juliette and Renee if they mentioned that Regina was pregnant, or that Jeremy had gone off on a bender all night, or that Zane had been murdered?


Almost running upstairs to Juliette's room, trying to shove the ugliness of the word "murdered" from scraping against his heart, Jeremy knocked on her closed door, calling out to her. "Juliette? I have to go pick up Maddy...she's...well, she's- I have to pick her up." He didn't feel like explaining, mostly because he didn't understand why exactly she was at some child's house in the first place. Backing away before Juliette could verbally assault him too badly, he made his way downstairs, hastily checking his reflection in the mirror and despairing at the dark circles beneath his eyes, the still stricken look in their surface, before he slid beneath the wheel of his car, drove to the address indicated on the answering machine, and walked with slow steps to the front door of the house, ringing the doorbell. Nervously he ran his hand through his hair again as he waited for someone to come to the door.


**


This time around on the motorcycle, Regina had closed her eyes tightly and lowered her face into Riley's back, between his shoulderblades, hoping that this would help stem any nausea that came about. When she finally dared to lift her head, as they came to a stopping point outside the clinic, she is dizzy and nauseous enough that she wishes she hadn't. She remains sitting on the bike for a few moments, head lowered, before she feels well enough to stand, setting her jaw, and take Riley's hand.


"You actually think there might be a chance I wasn't?"


In the waiting room as Regina goes up to the receptionist area, giving her name, she is handed a clipboard of information to read through and sign, including waivers and forms to fill our personal information for. Regina goes through them all, simply making up information about when her last period was, when her last visit with a doctor was, when she took a pregnancy test, and other information which was there to ascertain the validity of her pregnancy. She knew if she didn't pretend to already have this information, the doctor would likely want her to do and know all of it before he would consent to giving the abortion. She didn't have time for that sort of crap. She wanted the baby out now, no, yesterday.


When she had filled it all out she simply sat, tapping her foot in an impatient yet faintly nervous staccato and gripping Riley's hand. It was almost an hour before her name was called, and without asking whether this would be allowed, she simply stood, Riley's hand in hers, and took him with her into the examination room they had lead her to.


"If you can remove your clothing and put on this gown, please, the doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse told her before leaving the room, and Regina did as requested, not nervous now so much as relieved. Sitting up on the examination table, she again let Riley take her hand as they waited.


When the doctor came in, he smiled at them both, reaching to shake Regina's hand as he said to her, "Regina Stewart? My name is Dr. Lock, I will be performing your procedure today." Turning to Riley, he nodded to him as well. "And you are-"


When Riley has given his name, he smiles at him. "Oh, then you are Regina's husband?"


"No, he's my brother," Regina informed him. As Dr. Lock glanced down at the chart in his hand, and the papers Regina had filled out that he had glanced at just moments before, seeing that the name of the father of the child listed matches that of the man standing in front of him, he looks up again, slightly perplexed.


"Oh? You have put here in the space for the father of the child...I think perhaps you-"


"Oh no, it's no mistake," Regina assured him with a grimly amused smile. "He's my brother. He's also the baby's father."


Dr. Lock's face went stiff, and he attempted to smile politely, though he then turned to address Riley. "If you'll excuse me...Mr. Stewart...I need to examine the young lady before her procedure, so if you could step out for just a moment..."


"It's fine with me if he stays," Regina shrugged, though she knew perfectly well why he wanted Riley out of there and was in fact finding this entertaining to take part in. "It's okay, Riley. Come back in like three minutes."


When Riley has left, the doctor turns to her gravely, with an appropriately sympathetic look as he says to her, "Then this pregnancy is the result of...of sexual assault?"


"Oh no," Regina shook her head, and now her smile was an outright grin. "No, definitely not. But I still want to get rid of this thing."


The doctor's mouth opened, then closed, and he quickly lowered his head, beginning to mutter instructions for her her and terse explanations of what he was doing as he began the examination. For Regina's part, her little enactment with him was exactly what she'd needed to relax herself a little, and she was still smiling faintly as the examination began.


Only the problem was that after the exam's conclusion and her bloodwork had been drawn as well, the doctor had left the room and not returned. Impatient, increasingly irritable, and beginning to be a little anxious as well, Regina sat up, swinging her legs as she waited. What exactly was going on to take so long? When were they getting this thing out of her, already?


When the doctor finally returned, Regina barely waited for him to enter the room before she said with an obvious edge to her tone, "When are we getting to this already, what the hell is taking so long?"


Looking her in the eye, with the chart held in his hand for apparent reference, Dr. Lock took one step forward as he shook his head.


"Well, Ms. Stewart, we seem to have a confliction of interests here...you see, you are not pregnant."


Regina could not have been less astonished if he had announced she was giving birth to a litter of kittens. She blinked several times, her mouth opening, before finally sputtering, "Um, excuse me? How the hell do you figure? I'm not SICK, I know I'm not sick. I don't GET sick. There is nothing else that would make me puking and fainting and sore all over, with a fever and all the rest, except a BABY, so since I'm not SICK, why don't you redo your little tests and then get out the BABY!"


"The fact is, Ms. Stewart, there is no baby to "get out," the doctor's voice was getting edgy as well. "As for your symptoms, they are all symptoms of hepatitis B. Which is what you have."


As Regina went still, he began to explain, "Unprotected sex, mixing of blood of the infected, shared needles, there are many ways to contract the infection, and it will cause all of the symptoms you have described. There is no need for antibiotics; you are lucky in this regard that hepatitis B will usually eventually work its way out of your system on its own. Sleep, eating as much as you are able, rest for a few days and you should be fine. If not, see your doctor and they will examine you again. As for now, since we have no procedure to attend to, then I would suggest you go home and get set resting."


And he left the room, leaving Regina sitting there in shock.


(yeah, sorry if any of this is at all inaccurate, I've never had an abortion, so not sure about procedures, lol)

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas didn't go back to the university, instead he decided to take the day off, he headed back to his apartment, it was completely tidy except for his office, there was wall to ceiling with books some on the courses he teaches but most on just about every form of vampirism he could get his hands on. He settled into his favorite chair and watched tv, hoping that there was nothing on the news about Zane or what he did but given it's a double murder on a major university campus that is hard to believe it wouldn't make the news. Strange enough while sitting there he sees a stack of papers that needed be organized so they can be handed out in class this week and it hits him he has a paid assistant. He sat up and reached for his phone and his student directory looking up Rika's contact information and calls her.* Hello Rikarah, this is Lucas Luna, I was wondering if you would meet me for dinner, I have some work to go over with you and I think it will be a good chance for me to get to know who's working for me.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

When Rikarah knocks again and still receives no response from Lucas, she comes to the conclusion that he is not in office. His office hours are not posted on his door, and she does not feel like digging out her syllabus to see when he is scheduled to be in office. She does not have his class on that day and so has no way of even knowing if he is present in the building.


Inwardly shrugging this off, somewhat disappointed by this turn of events, she turns to kill time in the library until her last class and then her evening shift in the cafeteria. But as she is walking, her cell phone rings. She doesn't recognize the number and frowns at it slightly, suspicious, before deciding to answer. She can always pretend to be a wrong number if need be.


"Hello?"


Surprised to hear Lucas's voice on the other end, she blinks, listening to his offer, and working through her options before replying. It is true that she has work this evening. It is also true that with it being Regina Stewart's brother she had killed, Regina would probably not come in for her own shift, which meant that they would be short a worker. Not that Regina was so very dedicated while she was there. But Rikarah did want to speak with him, and if he was obviously willing to do so...


"Perhaps make it a late dinner," she said finally. "I have work until 8:30. Perhaps I can meet you at nine. Where will I be meeting you?"

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas smiles to at how quickly she agreed to dinner with him* 9 is fine, I was going to say I'd be happy to pick you up but if you insist we can just meet, how do you feel about Greek? There is a place in Mid-town, I suggest you wear something nice there is a bit of a dress code. Oh bring your laptop since this will be a working dinner..By the way be careful, you did here about the death of your fellow student, I don't want you to fall victim to whatever perverted sicko who feels the need to take out their sexual frustrations on someone like yourself. *He stares at his student directory and starts to wonder if there was anymore like Zane and him in his or in the university, hell the entire city, the numbers of his kind could be way more then he thought originally.* So 9 pm and please don't keep me waiting.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Rikarah continues to grip the phone somewhat more tightly than usual as she considers her professor's words. If he picked her up, he would know where she lived, and Rikarah was not sure she was okay with that at this point. Then again, as she is a student living on campus, he can probably find that out easily enough through records. Greek food, in a place nice enough to require a dress code? What is this, his attempt to groom her eventually into being his student mistress?


It would hardly surprise her, if this were the case. She had hoped for Lucas Luna to be a different sort of man than the typical male persuasion, but if she must resign herself to him being ordinary and expected, then she supposes she will cope with that as it comes.


A "pervert sicko," he had called Zane's killer. Oh, if only he knew exactly who it was he was talking to...but what would make him think her action against Zane to be perverted? It was not as though she had killed him as he sat on the toilet. He had been fully clothed, as had his victim.


"I will be there," she tells Lucas finally before hanging up. As she continues on to her next class, Rikarah is thoughtful. What has she gotten herself into with this?

 

[pistolmouth]

Being made to sit in the waiting room was more irritating than anything for Riley. He allowed his feet to tap on the floor quietly and his eyes to roam around the room. He was hungry, and now very aware of the blood waiting at home in the refrigerator for him. It's not that he HAD to wait, he could easily walk outside while he waited for Regina to finish her abortion and pick someone off, but it was broad daylight, and while he and Gina loved to torment Jeremy, Riley was pretty certain their older brother would have a stroke if anything else happened.


His mind kept returning to his sister down the hall and his general nerves about what was taking place. Riley was far from stupid, and knew full well that that baby couldn't be born, but – wait, why was the doctor walking out? And more importantly, why was he already calling for his next patient?


Standing up, Riley marched down the hall, past the doctor and into Regina's room, instantly observing the shock written on her face. “What is it? What's wrong, did he mess something up?”


--------


Tegan was on her second cup of coffee, eyes glued to the news program on the television. Some reporter was standing outside of the bar – HER bar, the one she spent most nights at – where not even twelve hours before, she had been awkwardly talking to the police, trying not to glance toward the bathroom and ignoring the sourness in her belly.


At exactly 7:03, Evan made his way out of his bedroom and padded into the kitchen to measure out his cereal, milk and orange juice. She let her head turn to him, more specifically, to the bandage on his neck. The bite was shallow, really, and Tegan really wanted to get him to a doctor to make sure he didn't contract some sort of disease, but the mere thought of wrestling her brother into a waiting room was exhausting, let alone actually accomplishing it.


“Morning, Ev.” She said quietly, forcing a smile and lifting the remote to turn the television off. “How's your neck feel?”


“It hurts,” Evan said flatly, not complaining, just answering her question honestly. She appreciated that about him. “But it's only a three.”


“That's not too bad, then.” Tegan rose and walked into her room to get dressed while Evan finished his cereal. She left her room, pulling her hair back into a loose braid over her shoulder to keep it out of the way and poured some coffee into her travel mug.


She could hear Evan brushing his teeth, which meant that he was already dressed. When his ride showed up, he said goodbye and left, giving Tegan time to gather her things and walk to the bus stop. Her trip to campus was easy, as usual, and she, finally regaining her appetite, went to the cafeteria to get a bagel.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Regina's head turns as her twin re-enters the room, but rather than jumping up to go to him, she continues to sit, legs dangling from the examining table, and allows him to come to her. She knows that the doctor will want her to move along, that he had, not exactly with subtlety, prodded her to do so, but at the moment her legs don't seem quite capable of standing. Instead she looks up at Riley with a small smile, more a twisting of her lips than a show of real happiness, and then she laughs, slowly running one hand through her hair and allowing her shoulders to slouch slightly before she replies.


"Got news for you, brother of mine. There's nothing he can do to help us out. That, apparently, is because I'm not pregnant. No parasite infestation to worry about. But there is the fact that I've got hepatitis. Probably from that man whore of a college kid I sucked off of from the bar the other day. I should have known not to go for a frat boy, guess I'm lucky it wasn't AIDS."


Finally sliding off the table and reaching to take Riley's arm for support, Regina shakes her head again. "I'm supposed to go home and rest, but something tells me between Juli screaming and Maddy bawling and Jeremy walking around wringing his hands, I'll have a faster recovery staying away. So let's go. We've got a killer to catch, right?"

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley listened to his sister wordlessly, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion, trying to work his way through it as she said it, but it didn't seem to make sense. Not pregnant? Hepatitis? … Frat boy? Riley did feel a significant sag in his shoulders, even though the baby was going to be aborted anyway, it was still a relief knowing that there wasn't one there to begin with.


What came out of her mouth next, though, was something that required an immediate response. His lips curved into a smile and he moved forward to plant a small kiss on her lips, gripping her hand. “Let's go.”


They walked out of the clinic and he climbed onto his bike, waiting for Regina to join him. When her arms wrapped around his waist for security, he gave her hand a small squeeze and turned his head to peer over his shoulder at her.


“What's our first stop?”

 

[amdreams]

When Juliette woke up that morning, Maddy wasn't in her bed. Not that she cared. Maddy usually got up early anyway and she was grateful for the minutes of calm and peace she could get before the youngest Stewart could start annoying her with questions and weird drama. Maddy was probably downstairs though, trying to convince her stomach that she could eat normal food. More importantly, she had to get her hair straightened with her pathetic old straightener. She'd have to get a new one pretty soon or who'd know how her hair and social life would suffer.


Soon Jeremy came in though, telling Juliette that he had to go pick up Maddy. And before she could react, he was already out the door. It took her a while to process what just went on. So Maddy wasn't home? It was fairly early in the morning so she must've either gotten up extremely early or she could've stayed the night somewhere else. When did she leave exactly? Why did she leave? Was this another attempt at copying Regina? Juliette shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore.


Continuing her morning routine, she thought about her schedule for the day. Math after homeroom, english then history . . . And after school, Delilah wanted to to hang out and . . . That's right . . . they had to decide what to do with Zane. Maybe she should cancel her plans with Delilah . . . Suddenly, Juliette threw her hair brush at the wall. Stupid Zane. Even dead he was out to ruin her life. As more tears fell from her eyes, she quickly wiped them away. Now was no time to think about that.


~~~~~


The next morning at the Winchester house went by normally, even with the little guest. In fact, Leo had actually forgotten that Maddy stayed overnight in his family's guest room. That is until Bobby once again kicked him out of the bathroom to do whatever he did in there. Clad in his Superman pajamas and fresh bedhead, Leo was still banging on the door when Maddy came out of the guest room, rubbing the last bit of sleep from her eyes.


"Good morning?" Leo froze as he turned around to face Maddy who was now looking at his pajamas. "I . . . like Batman better . . . " His face turned red and he began to stammer a bit before running into his room and slamming the door.


~~~~~


The Winchesters sat around the kitchen table to eat breakfast. Maddy peeked in at the scene from the door leading to the living room. That sort of scene must be nice she thought. Her family couldn't be normal like that. Leo was so lucky. He still had his parents and his big brother. And they loved him. Mrs. Winchester saw Maddy looking in and motioned for her to join them. "Come Maddy. We have plenty and you need to eat after all."


Maddy shook her head. "I only want to eat Jeremy's food," she said. She wanted so much to join them. To eat pancakes like a normal girl. But she knew that real food didn't agree with her and it would be impolite to them if she spontaneously threw up on their floor. Not to mention no guy would like a girl after witnessing that. Leo's mom looked at the little girl and placed her hands on her hips. "You know it isn't good to be picky like that. I swear I'm not a terrible cook so why don't you have a little bite?"


Maddy backed away. Poo. What was she going to do? She couldn't tell them that she could only digest blood. God, she hoped that all the time she spent imitating the people on tv didn't fail her now. Tears started pouring from her eyes as she shrunk back. "B-but -hic- only Jeremy -hic- m-makes it taste like mom's."


Mary Winchester felt a pain in her chest. That's right. The Stewart parents had died. She opened her mouth to say something but then heard the doorbell so she stayed quiet and went to the front door. Opening it, she saw a young man standing there. She didn't recognize him. "Good morning. Are you looking for someone?"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

The woman at the door looked so...well, normal. Normal was something that as much as Jeremy observed in others, and tried with great concentration and increasing desperation to come across as for himself, he could never quite manage to make himself come across in the same manner that others did without thinking about it at all. Somehow his version of normality never seemed to match theirs.


"I'm...I'm Jeremy Stewart?" he stammered, then, forcing a smile across his face, he stuck out his hand to shake with an overly strong pumping of his arm. "Maddy's big brother? I'm sorry she came by like she did last night, it's been quite a difficult situation for our family, I'm sure you can understand how it's been...Maddy?" he called, looking past her through the doorway. "Maddy, time to go home, thank Mrs. Winchester for being so kind to you and come with me now, please?"


"I hope she hasn't been any trouble," he said to Mrs. Winchester apologetically as he waited for his sister. "It's been...very difficult times, as I said."


**


Regina smiled grimly back at her brother even as she steeled herself for the ride, mentally willing herself not to become sickened by its motion. She tightened her arms around him, her hair brushing against his shoulders as she answered.


"Where it started, obviously. We're going to see where our brother died and figure out who the hell did it to him. So the school. The bathroom...what the hell was that professor saying, and the cop? Whatever, doesn't matter. We'll figure it out."


She closed her eyes then, her grip tightening just slightly as she waited for Riley to start the motorcycle's engine.

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas got to the restaurant a bit early, not for any special reason except he hates being late to anywhere, he's rather fanatical about being on time to places almost as much as he was about his appearance, always wearing perfectly pressed and clean suits unlike a lot of professors at the university he was rather attractive and knew it. He made sure that he gotten a very private booth towards the back for a number of reasons, the most important being he might not mind being seen having dinner with a young attractive student but she might.


As he waits for her he orders a bottle of wine but doesn't drink any, only allowing it to breath while until she gets here, instead he orders himself a club soda with a few limes in it. In his bag he has notebooks to share with her, this is of course a working dinner.*

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

(Okay, so right now, Rikarah and Lucas are at evening while the others are still at morning? I guess that's okay...just as long as we keep track of who's where and are able to catch everyone up to the same time frame again)


Rikarah had taken some time and care in choosing her appearance for the evening. She was semi-sure that this was not a date she was embarking upon, though it would not surprise her if this turned out not to be the case. The question is, how will she react, if it becomes clear that a date was precisely what Professor Luna had had in mind?


Rikarah has no romantic interest in him, she is sure, at least, not from what she knows of him now. But he is an attractive man, and she is interested in precisely what he is interested in. If he does not grope her or clumsily set himself upon her like an overly amorous adolescent, then it is possible, if it would further her knowledge and cause, that she would allow him to pursue her, perhaps even to return it. She will have to see how this plays itself out.


She comes dressed somewhere between casual and formal, appearing precisely on time and sliding into the booth he has selected. Seeing the wine that is sitting out before him, her suspicion of his intentions deepens. He would know that being a freshman, she is legally not supposed to drink.


"Hello, Professor Luna," she greets him with a slight inclination of her head. "I hope I did not keep you waiting."


View attachment 13983

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas stood up to greet her with a smile and extended his hand to her to help her sit in the booth.* Please we're not in class my name is Lucas, if we're to work together try to remember that, I feel things aren't already awkward enough between us so no need to be formal when we don't have to. *Once she's sitting he sits himself next to her but with enough space between them so she won't think he's trying anything.* So how about we look at the research before we order dinner, so we can get that out of the way. *He lays the notebooks on the table infront of her, filled with notes on vampire cultures as old as the Aztecs in South America.* You see from what I can tell there have been rumors of vampire like beings all over the world but unlike the movies that say the largest concentration were in Eastern Europe, the most concentrated stories I found and was in South America. It's actually really amazing how details from history validate my own research of a modern version of the vampire in modern times..maybe in every major city on the planet.


But again unlike the movies, these vampires of today don't have special powers, they don't fly or turn into bats none of that crap..These beings are very much like humans only they need blood to survive...That boy Zane, I'm not sure but I think he was one of these vampires and there more of them...Still the person who killed him may also be one that didn't want Zane exposing their secret..I'm not sure but it's exciting to think about it. *Of course he's not gonna tell her he's one of these beings..but he is showing how much of a nerd he is by being so excited in his own research.* Anyway I'm just gonna need you to confirm my findings, I'm giving you my access to the the schools research computers.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Rikarah accepts his hand, though she has no need of help, of course, and is certain he knows it. His request for her to call him Lucas only increases her wariness of the situation. She can think of two reasons why her professor would ask such a thing of her- either he is overly familiar with students due to a desire to seem "hip" or young, or else he is attempting to groom her into wishing to have an affair with him. Either way, she is not excited by the prospect, and so she makes up her mind to simply avoid speaking any name for him as much as possible.


She makes up her mind that he is definitely going for her second possibility when he sits beside her, though she does note that he is not touching her. Still, some men prefer to ease slowly into things rather than going for a straightforward grope, and Rikarah is conscious of the location of his hands as she looks over the notebooks he is showing her. Soon, however, she almost forgets his presence entirely as she becomes engrossed in the information before her. Bending over them intently, she flips through, her expression quite serious, but her thoughts are racing in many directions. Here in these notebooks is proof, or something like it, of Zane's identity.


When he mentions Zane's name specifically her chin lifts to regard him slightly quicker than she intended, and though she is sure her face is neutral, she considers, just briefly, whether it is possible he suspects her. If he did, this man who knows of the identity of monsters, who knew what Zane Stewart was...how would he react? How would he regard her?


"What makes you think that Zane was one of these people?" she asks. "Did you ever witness him...is it called feeding, on a human?"

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas, shakes his head no to the question if he witness anything* No I didn't see him feeding or anything like that but before I called the police I did a quick exmination of the bodies, I saw the wound of the boy there were teeth marks and found blood in Zane's mouth..It's not solid proof but I'm sure Zane was trying to feed on the boy. *Lucas slides away from her to give her space to read more of his research. The waiter comes over to take their order, Lucas makes a risky assumption that Rika doesn't know much about greek food and orders the house specials so she doesn't have to look foolish in front of him, he also ask the waiter to take away the wine and bring him another club soda and the same for her.* So what do you think? I know it's not nobel prize worthy.

 

[amdreams]

Mary Winchester smiled at Jeremy. "Oh, of course. Come in. It was no trouble at all. She's quite well behaved. It must be hard taking care of such a large family when you're so young." She turned her face toward the kitchen before calling Maddy to come. Then she turned to Jeremy with a big smile on her face. "And between you and me," she whispered. "My son has a bit of a crush on little Maddy, so he was actually pretty happy about it. She should come stay over more often." Mrs Winchester chuckled slightly. She loved playing cupid whether it was for friends, family or perfect strangers. Her gaze fell back on Jeremy, looking him up and down. "Come to think about it. You're pretty handsome yourself. Must run in the family. But it's a shame you're not married yet. I could introduce you to some nice girls if you want."


Maddy, upon hearing Jeremy at the door, sluggishly shuffled her way to the front door. When she had, she hid behind Mary, peeking at Jeremy briefly before sinking back behind the woman. Mrs Winchester nudged Maddy to come out. "Come on, Maddy. Your big brother came all the way here to pick you up. Don't you think you should go home?"


The youngest Stewart resisted at first, but after some more nudging, she popped out from behind Leo's mom and stood before Jeremy. She kept staring at her feet, refusing to look at him. "I don't wanna go home." Mary, surprised to hear this, knelt down beside the little girl. "Why not?" Maddy's eyes began tearing up, but using all of her willpower, she was able to barely hold them back. "Because nobody likes me there. They all hate me because I'm annoying and a crybaby." She looked Mrs Winchester in the eye. "Can't I stay here?"


Mary began rubbing Maddy's arms to help calm her down a bit more. "Oh, sweetie, I would love for you to stay but I'm sure your family misses you. See, your brother is here. He wants you to go home. I'm sure they love you plenty. Sometimes it's not easy to say what you feel. So, what do you say? Why don't you go home?" Maddy looked over to Jeremy in slight disbelief, eyes still teary. She was sure Jeremy must've hated her like the others, but she shouldn't cause him or Leo's mom any trouble. Plus if she stayed here, they might find out about her . . . unique diet and then Leo would hate her. He'd call her a monster and then he'd tell the government or something and then the scary men would come and dissect her like those aliens on tv. "Okay . . ."


After saying goodbye to the Winchesters, Maddy followed him out to the car. She got into the backseat and remained silent for a while. She didn't want to say anything in fear that Jeremy would just scold her.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Rikarah is still pondering the papers that Lucas has gathered, noticing but not commenting when he has the wine removed and club sodas brought instead. It is possible, she supposes, that she misjudged and he is in fact simply interested in her as support for his theory, but still, she will remain alert to contrary evidence. Listening carefully to his reasoning behind his suspicion of Zane, she tries to read between the lines as to whether he suspects her of being the one to cause Zane's death. Hearing nothing saying as much in his tone and seeing nothing to indicate it in his expression, she simply nods.


"That would seem a suspicious theory, then, yes. He certainly did seem a bit...off, if you know what I mean. Did you know that he has at least two siblings at well? Riley Stewart is a student as well, and their sister Regina works with me in the cafeteria. If Zane is one of those kind...does that sort of thing run in families, or is it a birth defect of some sort? If it is genetic, then it is likely that they are...infected...as well, and could be dangerous also. It is something to watch for and bear in mind."


**


"Oh, yes, it can be very chaotic, for certain!" Jeremy tries to chuckle in response to Mrs. Winchester's comment about his caring for his family; this to him is definitely an extreme understatement. If the woman ever saw a day in the life of the Stewart house, she would not only definitely be horror stricken, she would probably call for the National Guard to come execute them all.


"A crush on Maddy?" he asked next, his tone still trying for lightness but showing some surprise. "She's only ten years old, she's certainly not ready to be dating any time soon! Er...I do hope they haven't been up to any...shenanigans of any kind! Haha!"


This is a genuine concern to him. Maddy is so young that if she were to spend too much time with this Leo kid, horsing around and having close physical contact, given how often she denies herself blood, it was very possible she could lose control and end up biting him. And then what would they do, it wasn't like they didn't have enough to deal with as it was.


He blushes, his eyes widening with genuine surprise as Mrs. Winchester compliments his appearance. Was it possible she was flirting- her, an older and somewhat attractive woman? Was it possible that someone thought HE was attractive? This was a thought that had never crossed his mind, despite Kelly's clear signs of her attraction to him at work. For Jeremy, a man who tended to focus on only the possible disasters of his life, to think that anyone could look at him and think of him as neither "normal" nor "freaky" but rather to be drawn to him, to enjoy his appearance, was a new and astonishing thought.


Jeremy is hardly surprised when Maddy resists going home, but he is a little angry. He tries to force a smile at her, extending a hand and talking in the slightly higher than usual tone of voice he tries to use with her whenever someone outside the family is around- his version of a "kid" voice.


"Come on, Maddy, we have a lot to do today, and you need to eat your breakfast. Tell the Winchesters goodbye and thank you, and let's go."


He hoped to hell she hadn't told them that Zane had been killed. It didn't seem from their behavior that she had, but if she could stand there and say she didn't want to go home and that no one at home likes her, then there was no telling what else she let slip.


"Of course we like you! Don't be silly, Maddy, we all miss you and want you home. We were so worried," he said heartily, then in a stage whisper to Mary, added, "She and her sisters argue a lot...it gets a little out of hand sometimes. But don't worry, I'll make sure it's all straightened out. Thank you again!"


Taking her hand, he pulled her after him towards the car, waiting until it was safely closed where no one could hear before saying to her tightly, "Madeline Stewart, you shouldn't have left the house like that in the middle of the night, there's no telling what they think of us! You could have got picked up by the police, what would our social worker say? They might try to take you away if they knew! Or someone could have hurt you, you know what happened to Zane! Maddy, you can't do that anymore...and you can't tell people things like that about us..."


He gives off to frustrated silence as he continues to drive to the clinic where he works. It doesn't dawn on him until he has pulled into the parking lot that he can't take Maddy to school today, she hasn't eaten, and he also doesn't trust her being left home alone with Juliette. Letting out a loud sigh, as he realizes he'll have to stay home with her, he instructs her just before exiting the car, "I'm just going to tell my boss there's been a family emergency and I can't work today. Stay put, don't get out, I'll be right back."


Then he strides towards the entrance, giving two glances back at her with some anxiety. He also has it in his mind to steal at least a bag of blood or two to tide them over; otherwise he'll have to go hunting tonight. He certainly doesn't trust the twins to.

 

[Ophelia Danvers]

Looking at the piece of paper in her hand one more, Elena Donovan's eyes scanned the address the woman in the human resource office had jotted down, before looking back at the building across the street , as she slowed her car down to a complete stop.


Working as a nurse at a blood bank wasn't her ideal choice of jobs, but she had to make money somehow while she finished her last semester off. Since she had moved out, her Grandmother had cut her off from what remained of her trust fund. But she was going to show the old bag of bones that she didn't need her or her family's money.


She could do this on her own...


Letting out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, Elena's killed the car's engine and grabbed her keys from the ignition, stuffing them and her cellphone into her purse. Checking one more time to make sure she had all of her papers in order, the half dozen letters of recommendations, her birth certificate, high school diploma...it never hurt to be prepared...she slipped them all back into the light blue folder and got out from her car, slamming the door behind her loudly, causing her to jump.


"Breathe Lena..." she muttered softly. "It's just a job...they told you it was a shoe-in anyways...no reason to be nervous...just go in there and do this...you got this..."


Nodding to herself, then realizing how she probably must look like a crazy person to the people along her side of the street, she watched the traffic, before running across the road, stopping in front of what she hoped would be her new workplace. Smoothing her hands down her white jacket, and pulling at her black skirt, Elena took in another deep breath and pushed the doors open, stepping inside.


It was a lot nicer then she had expected. Doing a tiny turn, she circled the spot she was standing in, nearly knocking over a young man as he passed.


"Oh s***! Oh I am so sorry!" Elena's voice shook as her free hand went out to steady him. When her eyes locked with the man's blue ones, her voice caught in her throat and she felt the familair tug at shyness creeping in as she quickly dropped her hand, her eyes going to her feet as if she was suddenly interested in her heels and the floor.


"Um...I'm supposed to apply for a job here...the open nurse position..." she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind one ear as she finally dragged her eyes back up to look at him. "My name is Elena Donovan?" This came out as a question and she mentally kicked herself. "Do you know where the main office is?" She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a little dizzy. It must be the smells coming from all the sterile equipment and the blood...her grandmother always said she had the nose of a bloodhound.


Standing up a bit straighter, Elena rolled her shoulders back and tried not to look like the helpless mess she was feeling like.


View attachment 14112

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Jeremy's boss had been understanding of his explanation of being unable to work for a couple of days, even though Jeremy had not explained the exact and rather grim circumstances of his need to be absent. Jeremy has been a conscientious and reliable worker, and so he is willing to cut him a break- especially considering that he doesn't know about his habit of thievery. Jeremy promises to keep in touch about when he can be back as he backs out of the office, his anxiety still high regardless of his boss's positive reaction. He feels certain as he steals into the storage room for the blood, grabbing a bag and stowing it within his coat, that by the time he tries to get back to work, somehow the boss will understand that he is not a good person for the job and he will no longer have one to return to.


Jeremy's thoughts are shifting back to Maddy waiting for him in the car, to the twins at the abortion clinic and Juliette doing who knows what, when the young woman almost bowls into him. She appears embarrassed, beginning to blush and talk very fast, but Jeremy can't follow what she is saying at first. He is concerned first and foremost with the possibility of dropping the blood bag, or of her having felt and guessed the source of the slight bulge barely noticeable beneath his coat. As he frantically arranged his arms to conceal it, then looks up at her quickly, he then takes in the fact that she is very attractive- which for Jeremy, makes this much more potentially awful.


A pretty brunette nearly knocks into him and discovers his blood-stealing...but...she's not seeming to notice at all. In fact...she's asking him for advice. She's...asking for a job? No wonder he doesn't recognize her...and this is both something he can answer, and a way to send her away from him.


"Um...down the hallway? To your right?" he pointed, his answer coming out an uncertain question as hers had. "Uh...nice to meet you, Elena...I'm Jeremy Stewart...and...I sort of have...I'm not actually working today..."


Could he sound any stupider? Now he would have to go into some big explanation, and what sort of first impression was this? How would she ever think of him as normal, having met him while he was hunched over concealing a bag of blood, barely able to make himself look her in the eye?

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley started up the engine and took off, being mindful of Regina's nausea as he drove. While he couldn't exactly protect her from every bump or sharp turn, he could make the transition from clinic to school with as few problems as possible. Her grip around him was comforting, and the thought of finding whoever had killed Zane even more so.


When he pulled into his spot outside the school, he waited for Regina to hop off and got off beside her, giving her hand a quick squeeze before he let go and walked into the college center. “Which bathroom was it?”


He was more or less asking the hallway, knowing that Regina knew about as much about what happened as he did, but it still filled the silence between them. Riley spared a brief glance over at his sister, who was still pale and sickly looking, but had gotten just a little of her color back. That, too, was a comfort.


He spotted the bright yellow crime scene tape down the hall and picked up the pace, walking toward it. He ducked beneath it and stepped inside, trying not to disturb anything or leave his fingerprints anywhere, even though Riley knew it probably didn't matter. It's a bathroom, for god's sake. There were fingerprints and all other sorts of things all over the place.


“Well, let's get this party started.”

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Well, the fact that she had made it through all necessary rides so far without losing the breakfast she hadn't bothered to drink was something, anyway, but then, Regina attributed that to the fact that she hadn't had anything more so to a full recovery. Still, having this mystery of their brother to focus on was something to take her mind off herself and how she felt, off their family and everything about it that was so irritating and just wrong to her in its set up.


Like Riley, she knew nothing about the location of the bathroom, but seeing the crime scene markings was a pretty good clue. There were no cops hanging around, nor students walking by, which to Regina was certainly a free pass being provided to them. If cops really wanted a crime scene not to be disturbed, then they needed to get off their asses and stand around to make sure it wasn't disturbed, obviously- not that this would have mattered either. In the back of her pocket, Regina already had her card to play if necessary. She was the sister of the victim, after all, so how easy and convincing would it be to get someone to have sympathy and forgive a little trespassing if she could instantly burst into tears and go off on a spiel about needing to find her brother's killing to give herself peace?


It was all true, after all, if a bit more dramaticized from her genuine current reaction. And she'd have no problem pulling it off if needed.


Reaching for her brother's hand, she ducked beneath the tape with him into the bathroom, letting the door shut behind him. Although the bodies had been removed, she could still see traces of blood on the floor. She was surprised they hadn't chalked or spray painted outlines- maybe that was just something of the movies, and they had taken pictures and been done with it.


With no bodies and no chalk, it was hard for her to be able to tell exactly what might have happened, and she swore under her breath, kicking at the stall door of the second stall. Then an idea occurred, and she licked one finger, tracing it through the blood closest to the wall, then brought it to her mouth. Human, normal human. She repeated this without self-consciousness to blood on the floor, further back from it, and she could taste the difference.


"That's Zane's," she announced. "So yeah. He probably was behind this guy...sucking him off? Neck, not otherwise, though I wouldn't be surprised with either of our brothers being otherwise. But he was bleeding. So either that guy stabbed him...or someone else came in and did?"

 

[pistolmouth]

At first, playing the lookout seemed to be the best option while Regina surveyed the bathroom. Riley watched her taste the drops of blood on the floor while he listened for footsteps. Once sure they were in the clear, though, he joined her and crouched down to get a better look at the blood.


“Zane's blood is too far away from the other guy's for him to have been stabbed by him, right? I mean...” He held his hands out to measure the distance between what was left of the blood on the floor, going so far as to stand where Zane might have been standing when he died. “I guess maybe if the guy stabbed him while Zane was behind him, but I don't think that would have been a killing hit, and he would have been weak by the time he got his knife out.”


Riley's eyes continued to move around the room when he spotted it; a small amount of blood on the doorknob. Stepping forward, he repeated Regina's action of rubbing his finger on it and sticking it into his mouth.


“This is Zane's.” He turned to Regina, eyes darkening, “Someone else did this, otherwise his blood wouldn't be on the doorknob.”

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

"Yeah, that's true," Regina nodded in response to Riley's observation of the improbability of Zane's victim having stabbed him. "If Zane had been sucking him off, then he would have been lightheaded and weak, he couldn't have stood there and used enough strength to shove a knife in him hard enough to kill. So someone else must have come in. Which means it would have been a guy, right? It's a guy's bathroom...so, what, someone comes in because they have to piss or whatever...or maybe they heard Zane's guy yell? Someone could have heard him yell and came to check it out, or maybe the guy had a friend who was waiting outside for him and went in to see what was taking so long for him to come out. Guys don't go to the bathroom in groups like girls, right? Not macho enough or something," she rolled her eyes, still leaned against the stall door as she watched Riley finish his own search.


When Riley discovers the blood on the doorknob, Regina's eyes darken, and she pushes off from the stall door, coming to stand beside Riley. She stares at the smear of blood on the doorknob, her lips pressing into a thin line, the muscles of her back and shoulders tensing as she takes in this confirmation.


"So they come in, see what the idiot was doing, stab him, and walk out with his blood on their hands, leaving him to die. God, our brother was a f****** idiot, what a dumbass."


Still, her voice shakes ever so slightly, and she swallows before she can harden it again.


"So it might have been any guy on campus, or it could have been one of the guy's friends, or someone passing through the hall. Which doesn't narrow it down much. I guess first thing we need to do is find out who the guy Zane killed was, then."

 

[pistolmouth]

When Regina's voice began to shake, Riley wraps an arm around her, his hand resting protectively over her hip as he draws her close into his side. He can't really disagree with her, can he? Zane was stupid to do it this way. The very least he could have done would be to take the guy into a stall before he killed him, but, of course, that would imply that Zane had common sense.


He listens to her patiently, nodding in agreement about needing to find the name of the other victim and clears his throat as he runs his eyes over the expanse of the bathroom again, trying to take in every detail he can, to permanently embed it into his memory. “We could keep our ears open around the school. I mean, people will definitely be talking about the fact that two of their classmates were murdered on campus. Shouldn't take long to get any sort of information.”


While he speaks his arm tightens around her, though he barely notices. Giving her a small half-nudge, half-shake, he removes his arm and slides his hand over hers, grasping it tightly. “Let's get out of here. We might have just gotten lucky and showed up at a shift change or something.”


((sorry this is so short))