singillatim | Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man

Jessica decided to live half and half with the towns, mainly because of the job she gave herself as. With people learning of new supplies to Lakeside, somebody needs the unpleasant job of taking things from Lakeside to Milton and back again. It was the kind of job she just volunteered herself to do, lacking any ambition or idea to do anything else. When she gone to Milton to deliver her packages, she stayed at the Community Center. The next night she will spend her time checking on people to see if they have anything they want delivered to Lakeside as she return home. The few days later she will return to Milton and repeat.

Community Center

Jessica didn’t have much to do in the Center. She can’t cook meals because cooking dead flesh was honestly the worst and made it pretty clear she can’t handle it. But when she wasn’t busy with her job she helped cleaning up the place. It was boring shit, boring than Bon Temps, but it gave her something to do. Sometimes she mulled over things, about home, about here, and what to do about it. And one day, a thought occurred to her and she spoke out loud, without thinking of a reply: “There wouldn’t be a library in this town, would it?”

Around Town

The goddamn fog was the biggest pain the ass for her. While being dead meant she wasn’t as breathless as the others were, it was still strong enough to make her weak and feel like she was too close to fire. Absolutely maddening.

Still, this was the job she basically forced herself to do, so she’s doing it even if the weather sucked ass. It’s why she’s knocking on a random door. Another downside: she really needed a post office. Now she’s sympathizing all the mailmen that come to her home, back when she was alive and a complete brat.

When the door opens, Jessica perks up with a smile. “Hey! I’m heading over to Lakeside tonight, so if there’s any things you want delivered over there I’ll be happy to help.”

Wildcard

[ pick whichever and whatever, as long as it’s sundown! ]

Peter really hasn't settled so much as found a place to sleep that was out of the way and could give him the space to think. During the day, he goes out, walks around, does what he can to acclimate but his thoughts tend to creep in at night, making it a little dangerous for him to go out, distracted as he was.

So, he tucks himself away in a random home and reads a book that he's found around. It's burned, missing pages and not all that good but it gives him something to do.

Until...he hears a knock. First time that's happened. Peter gets to his feet and goes to the door, pausing. Then, he laughs at himself because a person eating monster wouldn't knock. He opens it.

"Oh, hey." He's seen her around, he thinks, but hadn't expected an offer like that. "Lakeside at night?"

“Yeah, I know, it’s weird,” Jessica said with an embarrassed laugh. In hindsight, she should have try to set up a post office somewhere instead of knocking on stranger’s doors like a lunatic. God, she’s so dumb. Still, she plunges on. “In the middle of nowhere, there’s not much of way of jobs that can be all nighters. But I can’t go out during the day, so I’m just making the best I can get.”

"Hey, no judging on my part."

Maybe some people are night owls. That's what he assumes when she says she can't go out during the day before he thinks about it a little more closely.

"Sun allergy?"

Jessica bark out a laugh. “Oh, you have no idea. I burn up so badly.”

She’s not one to hide her vampirism. Back home vampires been out of the coffin for years now. But here is not home and she’s still a little shy on revealing it. But she does plan to come out…eventually.

“Maybe I should make a post office?” She said, tentatively. “I’m kinda pulling things out out of my ass here. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

"Hey, you and me both."

They were in the same boat there. He laughs a little and then steps aside.

"Did you want to come inside for a second instead of standing out here? No use in just haunting the doorstep."

Jessica paused for a moment, recognizing an invitation. “Sure,” she said with a small smile. “I guess I can hang out for a bit.”

Inside the home seemed like any other house here: rustic and clearly used. She wondered what happened to the people who first built this house. “How long have you been here?”

"Uh, not too long. Like at all. Still getting used to this place. Still waking up and not realizing that I'm not where I was."

His nightmares had been mostly quiet for a few weeks now but he knows that they're bound to return sooner rather than later. He shuts he door behind her.

"I'm Peter. Did I say that already? If I did, sorry."

“Yeah, it’s the same with me. I wake up and wonder why it’s so cold in Louisiana until I remember where I am.”

Her nightmares was always on the monster came into town. She will never ever forget the terror she felt when the sky turned green.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t say my name. I’m Jessica.”

"Nice to meet you."

He nods, stepping further into the beat up house. It's dark and there's not a lot of furniture but he does offer her a chair that he'd found.

"I'm from New York. Never been down to Louisana but I've heard there's good seafood. And, uh, that it's hot."

He doesn't know a lot about the place, it seems.

Jessica can’t help but laugh. “Oh. Hot doesn’t even cover it. I heard it being described as someone soaking a towel in hot water and slapping it on your lungs. It’s ain’t the heat that kills ya, it’s the humidity.”

She tugs on a strand of dirty red hair. “Still, from the Big Apple? That’s a girl’s dream, especially if she’s from the middle of nowhere, Louisana.”

"Yeah, it's...well, it's definitely big. Lots to do, lots of people, lots of chances to get run into when you're just trying to take a walk."

There was always someone out at night in New York.

"It's the city that never sleeps for a reason. But I would recommend sleep. It's kind of needed to deal with some of the people there."

Randvi is sitting by the fire reading her book when she hears a knock at the door. A surprising number of people in Milton prefer to operate at night, even in this fog.

The young woman at the door is doing a good turn, though. Randvi herself is avoiding courier work until the fog clears.

“I have some of Heartman’s talismans, if you’d like to bring those. Come in for a moment while I get them, you must be frozen.”

“Talismans?”

Jessica only knows of them as the gimmicky voodoo stuff people in New Orleans sell to tourists. She entered, quietly acknowledging the invitation.

“So, uh, where in Lakeside you want to put the talismans at? Or delivered to whom, I should ask.”

“There is a creature here that hunts us,” Randvi says, pulling the door closed behind her guest. “It has killed five of us in the past four months. Methuselah says that the people of this land had a warding talisman against it, and I have been helping Heartman to craft them.”

She gestures to a stone charm hanging among her other beads. It features a diamond shape inside a broken circle, the break bisected by a line of dried blood.

“There is an office located near the cabins. That may be the best location for access. We do not know whether this creature ventures to Lakeside, but I would rather not find out through reports of more deaths.”

“Oh yeah, the Darkwalker, that’s what it’s called?” Hard to forget. “I know it killed some people living in the church. I saw the sky go green and everything that night.”

Jessica observed the charm closely. “I guess it’s better than nothing. I been to the office in Lakeside. I know where it is.”

Although…

“Are you gonna give these talismans to every house, by any chance?”

“The moon disappeared. I have never seen anything like that.” She had never felt anything like that either, the terror.

“I hope to have more than one for every home eventually, but they do take time to construct. I don't think I have enough yet. Did you have an idea?”

“Well, there’s a forge and a whole lot of stuff in Lakeside,” Jessica pointed out. “I don’t know what it takes to make these things, but there are a ton of tools that can make the process easier. There’s a girl named Ruby who is basically living there right now. Last I saw before coming here she’s trying to get the forge working.”

Lakeside is God’s gift as far as Jessica is concerned. Mainly for her, as she knew having a starving vampire as a roommate would be disastrous for Milton, so able to claim free real estate in Lakeside was a big sigh of relief.

“Oh, yes. Ruby the young huntress.” Randvi had attended her whimsical little party when she had still been living in Milton. “I don't know whether she works with stone, but she could certainly be a help to us if she does.”

“Well, she seems to know what she’s doing,” Jessica mentioned off hand. “And a lot of the equipment there look like they can work with stone as well as steel. Maybe if you write down instructions, I can send them over to her and see what she can make?”

Jessica can’t do much lately. She can’t hunt worth anything and she hated to tend to dead bodies. She knows a little of sewing but not by much. So far this gig she made up seem to be the only thing that give her some purpose around here.

“Or I can try my hand at them, if you want.”

“This is a situation where I don't think it is possible for too many people to be working on a project.” The Darkwalker is the biggest threat they currently face.

“I would recommend visiting Heartman before you leave for Lakeside. He can show you the technique he uses.”

Edited (Wording) 2024-05-08 05:17 (UTC)

Jessica decided to settle in Lakeside for one reason: real estate. She didn’t feel comfortable to stay in someone’s home when she needed to be invited in and having to explain her vampire junk. No, it was easier for her to go to a separate town altogether and claim the nicest cabin. That way, she can modify it to suit her needs. (Which is her basically covering up the bathroom and sleeping in the tub until she learn some skills in making a secret door on the floor, like Bill did. Or find an actual coffin.)

After securing her little nest, she went out to explore the tourist town on her own.

Maintenance Yard

When she first arrived, she never paid close attention to the yard. But now by herself, she can think of possible potential. Her human mother always tended to the decorations and encouraged Jessica and her little sister to be part of it.

There was nothing remotely Hallmark about a scrap yard, but surely there’s something in here that Jessica can use. For what, she had no idea.

She approached one of the scrapped cars and wretched it open. The door made a painful screeched into the night, making her wince. She crawled inside, checking to see if there’s something of interest. Well, she found an owner’s manual. That’s something.

At the corner of her eye she spotted something moving. She jerked up in surprise, hitting her head. “Ow! Fuck!” She hissed, her fangs popping out in reflex. She turned around and see someone else. “What?”

Old Hunting Lodge

Jessica heard by now of the Forest Talkers. Gossip spread fast no matter if you are in Louisiana to Canada, apparently. She dared not go closer to the Lodge, knowing she can’t afford to be shot at it. She even turned off her flashlight before sneaking close to the old place.

It’s funny, but Jessica was almost relieved to hear there were mysterious groups of assholes. She can occasionally see their torches at the edge of the woods but no matter how hard she try, she could never get close to them. Selfishly, she hoped they attack one day. That way she can eat someone without feeling too bad.

But for now, she and the poor bastard she brought along for company, have to settle to look at the lodge from afar and wonder.

“God, I wish they would show themselves. The fuck are they doing there?”

Wildcard

[ go nuts as long as it’s after dark! ]

Said poor bastard she brought along for company is a grownass man in his early fifties. Hilbert really looks like he wants to be anywhere else but here. And yet, here he is, following Jessica to scope out the hunting lodge.

After all, there's only a few of them who've decided to stay in Lakeside. It made sense to get to know his neighbors, even if they made him feel remarkably old (why were few of the interlopers over forty? There must be something in the data to explain it.)

"Suspect they are doing what we are doing," Hilbert dryly points out. He's got a relatively even tone in his voice, though a hint of sarcasm is creeping in. "Trying to survive. That and also wondering what we are doing here."

“Well, sure,” Jessica said like a teenager would acknowledge something painfully obvious. Her deep southern accent made sound more obnoxious. “But do they have to be so creepy about it? If it wasn’t snowing I would have thought they put the forest on fire with all those torches.”

If she had her vampire powers she could have run in, take a peak, and get out easy. Now she’s just grateful she kept her fangs. “Bet they are cannibals. I heard some people survived a plane crash in the mountains but had to eat each other to survive. Bet it’s the same thing here.”

"What? Why would they do something like that? Plenty of animals around, going straight to cannibalism is ridiculous decision."

It's obvious based on Hilbert's tone that 1. he is taking Jessica's suggestion at face value and 2. has absolutely never seen a horror movie in his entire life. Somebody hasn't gotten the memo that occasionally there would be cannibals because it'd be creepy, that's it.

"Besides, higher risk of prion disease with cannibalism. Better as last resort."

Being a literal bloodsucking sort, Jessica felt the need to support her theory. “People are crazy and assholes, there’s no real logic to it sometimes. Maybe it’s a bad year or sometimes they just need to sacrifice and eat someone and hope it gets better.”

Jessica crouched down, observing a pair of twigs. “Course, we’re assuming they are human. If they are vampires I’m gonna be so annoyed.”

Hilbert, entirely unaware that there are actually vampires in this world, brought in by the Aurora like the rest of them, looks at Jessica with a little frown.

"Why would they be vampires? Vampires do not exist."

Is this a joke? Teenagers like to joke, this might be a joke. Hmm. Perhaps the thing that Officer Eiffel said about how he needed to develop a sense of humor might be true.

“They so do exist,” Jessica said. “It’s just ain’t all of them out of the coffin.”

Jessica put her flashlight underneath her chin and turned on the light. “I’m not.” And with a dramatic flair she bared her teeth, the light illuminating her fangs.

Oh.

Well then.

Hilbert's eyes widen as he looks over at Jessica. You know what? Sure. Vampires might as well exist. After all, this world involves gods, monsters, things of that nature. Why not have vampires?

"Caveat. Vampires do not exist in my world."

“Okay, see, that I don’t understand. What do you mean, your world?”

Jessica folded her arms against her chest. “Like, vampires only came out of hiding for a few years now, how do they don’t exist in your world? Aren’t we all from the same place?”

"I do not think we all come from same place. Why? Because I have had the 'yes, I came here from a space station, yes interstellar travel is commonplace, yes it is 2015 and all this is normal' conversation at least four times now."

These things happen when you arrive here wearing a space suit.

"My personal theory is alternate universes. It makes more sense than mass delusion or me somehow not knowing that vampires exist."

After all, part of his mission involved looking for extraterrestrial life. If there were nonhumans on earth, why waste all that time, money, and manpower to begin with?

Huh. To Jessica’s credit, she never really had a chance to really talk to people about their homes…especially when she’s particularly homesick herself and can’t really talk to people when most people are asleep at night. It’s surprising she’s able to grab this guy to here in the first place.

“I guess that makes sense. Still, you never heard of a drink called TruBlood? Ever?”

Hilbert shakes his head, making a little noise of disapproval as he does.

"I have not. It sounds like energy drink." TruBlood. It sounds like something that a fourteen year old would drink, thinks the man who hasn't spoken to a fourteen year old since he was fourteen. But the general vibe fits.

"What is that drink?"

Ruby had basically taken up shop in the maintenance yard as soon as she had found it. She was a tinkerer at heart and this place practically screamed her name. It was the screech of the car door that caught Ruby's attention and pulled her out from the service office and out into the night. This place had been super quiet so a sudden noise was worth investigating.

She catches a flash of Jessica in the vehicle before the other girl hit her head, shouted and turned around. Ruby herself gives out a surprised yelp. Not quite noticing the teeth right away.

"Yeesh, You scared me!"

“I scared you?!” Jessica all but snapped, rubbing her head. “Least warn me when you pop up behind me.”

She crawled out of the car, as the driver’s seat was missing. “I thought no one was here,” she said in a way of making an apology. “Are you living here now?”

"Well yeah- I had no idea there was anyone else around here. You could have been animal or one of those Tree People or whatever!" She means the forest talkers, but she didn't exactly have a great relationship with them after getting shot the other month.

"But- okay. Okay. Next time I'll give you a heads up." Because- It's probably better to do that then get into an argument about it.

She gives a light little shrug at the next question.

"Yeah. Kind of going between it and the resort. But I'm trying to get the forge up and running so we can actually make some stuff.

I'm guessing you're sticking around too?"

“Yeah. Staying in one of the cabins here. I thought maybe it’s better to start fresh in a brand new town instead of being the weird roommate back in the Community Center.” And to get out of that fucking chest.

She let out a sigh, noticing that she can’t breathe out the condensation like she used to when she was alive. There’s no air in her lungs.

“What do we do with the forge once you set it up?”

"Yeah. I spent a few days in there myself when I first got here because there was a huge snow storm. It was awkward, getting your own place is definitely the way to go." It made it so much easier to mourn in private.

She taps her chin as she considers the answer to that.

"Well- I should be able to make all sorts of things once we get up. I figure getting some new weapons and bullets should help us defend ourselves against the wild life and those Forest Talker people. Plus- any tools that could help make things easier for folks in Milton and the area would be good."

“Huh…” Jessica thought about that. “That does sound handy. So you can just melt down any metal to make a bullet? That sounds pretty awesome.”

Jessica can hear an echo of a wolf howling, somewhere in the distance. “What to think of those guys in the forest earlier?”

"That's the idea. Can probably do some knives and other blades and stuff too." Says with a cheeky bit of confidence before she adds in. "Probably wont be able to make anything as fancy as my scythe. But we're working with what we've got here.

There's a pause and Ruby hears the echo too, but it sounds a little too far off to worry about right now. Instead she focuses on the question.

"Well. Me and Wynonna ended up going out to try and see if they were open to talking. ...We got shot instead. So- Right now I'd say Bill was right about them. But who knows- Maybe they'll lighten up with some time?"

“Maybe. I’m inclined to think they are a bunch of assholes. If they aren’t, then why haven’t they talked to us yet? We’re stuck in a bad place as the rest of ‘em, don’t see the reason to start shit.”

Jessica then remembered her fangs were still prominent, so she try to discreetly hide them away. “I was thinking of maybe going back to Milton for some things. Is there anything you want to send of to?”

"I don't think you're wrong about that. ...I mean considering they opened up with gunfire when I tried to approach is a sure sign that they aren't openly friendly.

...But they could be afraid too. There's a lot of reasons that makes people weird when it comes to reaching out.

Not that I'm really looking to defend them or anything." She still had a bit of a limp to her walk after all. And Wynonna wasn't in much better condition.

She blinks and it's the movement of the fangs that starts to catch her eye. But it's dark out- and she kind of shrugs it off as her eyes playing tricks on her at the moment.

"Actually. That's not a bad idea. I'll write up a note with what I'm doing here. Maybe you could post it on the bulletin board and if anyone has any requests I can either pick them up when I go down or feel free to bring them here?"

“What, like I’m the post lady now?” Jessica jokes until it suddenly hits her. Well. That may not be such a bad idea. Jessica can’t cook and definately can’t hunt, but carrying things back and forth? Sure, she can work with that. She knows how to get through the mines, and if she start late in the evening and can’t make it to Milton before sunrise, she can just stay in the mines for the day.

“Should I put on a uniform too?” She adds, mirth jerking her lips in a smile. It’s been a long time since she felt okay enough to really smile.

"If that's what or who you want to be. I don't think anyone here would complain."

Ruby feels a little smile curl up on her lips. She remembered being a similar spot not too long before she wound up here. She knew a little bit about being lost and suddenly your place in the world again.

Her smile switches to something a little more playful. "Hey. No sense in doing a job if you can't be cute while you do it."

Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man

MILTON

Around Town

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Around town

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LAKESIDE

old hunting lodge

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Maintenance Yard

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