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In southwest Philly, you can find Mount Moriah Cemetery. It originally opened in the mid 1800s, but has been abandoned long enough that the forest has started to reclaim it. Everything is covered in vines, moss, and long grass and weeds cover the ground like a thick carpet. Even the mausoleums have been engulfed by nature. Tombstones peek out from foliage here and there, creating quite an eerie sight. Especially in the dark.
Finley had texted Calamity and Phaedra to see if they were interested in exploring this fantastical, spooky place that totally isn't haunted or contains a hedge gate or something. Zhe waits by the front gates that loom over head, peering up at them curiously... More info
No mask on tonight, surprisingly enough. Showing all those sharp, gruesome teeth.
Phaedra, meanwhile, has a small backpack on her back and is carrying her shoes, because some places you just want to let your feet feel the earth, and a spooky-ooky place like this is totally one of them. She's in jeans and a peasant blouse, her hair loose and brushed out to look like a cloud around her head.
As she sees Fin without the mask, her smile grows. "There's the monster. How's your night?"
Southwest Philly isn't somewhere the Calamity knows well, really, but the prospect of exploring this sick-ass cemetery isn't something they're gonna pass up either. Especially with friends.
So they show up with their ratty backpack, hood of their sweatshirt up, bandana on. Ready for a night of mischief, it look like. The corners of their eyes crinkle when they see the two Kindred, and they trot over with a small wave. Pulling their bandana down, they give Finley a small smooch on the cheek, and Phaedra gets a shoulder nudge and a grin.
"How're yinz?"
Finley has no bag, but zhe is carrying a flashlight in their hand! It's currently turned on, but angled down. Zhe turns to... well, it's hard for zhem to smile, but zher eyes soften. "Hi... Mm, I'm good. Um. I hope you don't mind that I invited..." Zhe pauses as Calamity also walks up, lifting zher free hand to wave. "Hi!" The cheek smooch catches them off guard, looking flustered briefly. "Um... Hi. I'm good. Excited to check this place out. How are you both...?"
The cheek kiss also seems to surprise Phaedra a little, and she glances between the enbies quietly for a moment, before shrugging. "Good. I saw Andy. They want to teach me about astronomy and astrology and asked how I saw them when they were invisible. I think we're okay."
"I haven't seen 'em since...the theater. Texted a little, but...I got questions for 'em. They're cool though. Glad yinz're okay."
"Did... you tell them? How you saw them?" Finley asks, watching Phaedra nervously a moment, zher weight shifting between zher feet. "Astronomy is fun, though. I know less about astrology."
"I told them a little. They told me a little. We lay down in the grass and watched the stars a little. It was nice." She smiles softly. "I think we all oughta try to do-over the theater meeting, but this time not make it weird. Actually just hang out."
"That'd be cool." Calamity nods. "At...there, or wherever? 'S a lotta cool places around to hang out in when no one else's around."
"The theate is cool. I didn't get the chance to look around much..." Zher hands stuff into zher coat pockets, looking between them. "I'd like that, though. They seemed nice, and I'd... like to get to know them more."
"I don't really care where, I just like the symbolism of going back to the theater, to sort of...take back that first time. Undo it. Wash the memory away with a good hangout." She swipes a hand like wax-on, wax-off.
"Yeah...I'd like that. Didn't get a lotta chance to poke around either - be fun with everyone. Or even just hanging out." Calamity nods decisively, and slides their backpack from their shoulders, unzipping it and pulling out an energy drink.
They eye Finley as they take a drink. "Fin - does Phaedra -" They turn to her. "D'you know Rena?"
"I like the symbolism," Finley agrees, nodding. Zhe looks to Calamity, then to Phaedra, letting her answer herself. Though after a second zhe turns to move to the fence blocking off the gate, eyeing it thoughtfully. But... it doesn't look remotely secure, so zhe just... grips it and yanks to pull it enough to create a larger gap on one side, enough to easily squeeze through.
"I know Rena. She's the one who gave me the Dark Phoenix comic, the one that led to me meeting you at the comic book store. Eyrgjafa thought we should meet, Rena and me. Eyrgjafa means well, when she thinks she should arrange things." There's no particular surprise from her at Finley's feat of strength; perhaps she was even expecting it.
"Right - right you said...yeah. We uh...we know each other, she...I didn't know she was back in town." Calamity flinches at the noise of Finley bending the gate to zher will, but after a moment they move closer. "She'n I are good, I think."
Finley slips through the gap in the fence and pops out the other side, turning to look back at them. "Eyrgjafa does mean well. She's family. I'm surprised she knows you, Calamity. Seems like you know a lot of us..."
"Clearly it's fate." She slips in the gap in the fence as well, dainty as you please. "Or something."
"Wait, Eyrgjafa...?" Calamity pulls back a little as it clicks into place. "...Huh. Guess I do, yeah, she...I think we met at some bar somewhere, I don't remember at this point. She's been tryin'ta mom me ever since." They roll their eyes as they slide through the gap in the fence.
"She moms me too, sometimes. Not as much as Tahmina--but I love Tahmina and she kinda is my... adopted mother, so... she has that right." Zhe pauses a moment, looking between them. "Oh. Um. I found out... I have a sibling. Um--a broodmate. Which is like the vampire version of having a sibling," zhe explains the latter to Calamity.
"Whoa, you do? Are they...I mean, are you cool with them? Are they like your sire at all?" She gives Fin a bit of a concerned look, before glancing back at Calamity. "And you've heard my take on Eyrgjafa. I think she and I are cool, but like. Yeah, that's what it is, huh?"
"...Yeah. She's...yeah." Calamity nods, because Phaedra knows, and then turns to Finley to heard zher answer about zher sibling.
"I've only met them once, but... Y-yeah. I... think so. They claim that my sire did the same thing to them. Well... I don't know if it was exactly the same, but... It didn't sound like he was nice to them." Zher brows crease a little, before zhe exhales. "They seem nice, though. And pretty cool. They do tattoos and piercings and stuff. Um... They said they came to Philly because they felt me and wanted to meet."
"Their name is Squick."
"Squick's a cool name, though." As if this actually holds any meaning to anything, right?
"Squick is a cool name. And they do tattoos? Fuckin' sweet."
"It is a cool name. They're really cool!" Zher head bobs quickly. "It's... it's kinda nice. They're really pretty. But they embrace it? And make it their own form of beauty. It's... different than what he was. I'm... excited to get to know them better." Zher head dips a bit as zhe walks.
"Good. It...yeah, it sounds like a good thing for you. I'm happy, Fin, that you get that soft of something. Someone to call blood relative, and who gets what you went through." She brushes close past zhem, hip bumping zhers lightly.
"Thanks... Part of me is... I can't help but be a bit nervous. Like it's some sort of... trap. But--mm... I'm trying to be hopeful. Give them an honest chance." Zhe nods, then smiles as Phaedra hip bumps zhem. Zhe reaches out to touch her hand. Even grip it, if allowed.
And Phaedra totally allows that and gives a light squeeze, looking over her shoulder to smile softly at Finley.
Zher head dips lower, sheepishly, but zhe keeps hold of her hand as they walk.
After a moment zhe looks around, taking in the sight of the overgrown cemetery once they've moved far enough in to start seeing tombstones and mausoleums dotting the landscape. "It's... so pretty. Spooky, but... beautiful."
"I hope Squick's not a trap. I'll track'em down if it is..." A slightly...murderous? look crosses their face. "Never had much luck with family, really, so maybe I'm biased..." They fall silent, looking around the cemetery.
"Yeah. Really is."
"I wish I'd thought about it in advance. I could have, uh. Made it so I could hear the voices of spirits. I bet there's a lot here." She pauses, then holds out her other hand toward Calamity quietly.
Zhe pauses to watch Calamity, seeming touched by their protectiveness. "I'm sure... it'll be fine... Oh! That'd be amazing. Do you mean ghosts, too? Or just spirits?" Zhe peeks past her towards Calamity, watching to see if they take her hand.
Calamity takes it with a little squeeze, and their face turns a little pink. "You can hear ghosts?" Their eyes go a little wide. "...Or...spirits, they're different?"
"Spirits. They are definitely different. Like. A lot different. I mean, at least in what they are. Sometimes, what they do looks kinda similar."
There is such a smile on her face, at having both their hands.
Finley watches Phaedra a moment, smiling wider--as much as their teeth allow them to. Zhe continues along, carefully walking through the tall grass to avoid tripping over any gravestones. "I bet there's a lot of spirits of death here. Maybe... loneliness. And plants?"
"How're they different?" Calamity cocks their head. They're not paying quite as much attention to where they're stepping as Finley, too interested in the company.
"Sorrow, too. Mourning." She glances back at Calamity. "Ghosts were once people, who died and got stuck. Spirits were never people. They're...thing-ghosts, kinda. Like...the immaterial representation of a concept or thing. It's hard to explain without getting into some theory stuff."
"The rats are spirits, apparently," zhe says to Calamity. "Rat spirits? Or... spirits of something bad." Zhe looks to Phaedra. "Have you heard about the rats?"
"...Huh. But if spirits are...just for things like...death and sorrow, like you said...rats counts as 'things' too?"
"I...haven't heard about the rats. But animals can totally have spirits too. Like...and you'll get this thing where spirits eat one another to grow bigger. A weak dog spirit eats another dog spirit, or a spirit of something related to dogs, in order to grow? So a dog spirit might become a spirit of attack dogs, or hunting dogs."
"Spirits are fascinating," zhe murmurs dreamily. "I wish I could talk to one. We should return sometime, Phaedra, when you have your magic up. That'd be so cool."
"Didn't even know they were a thing. Are they like...everywhere? Or just places like this?"
"They're totally everywhere. There's all kinds of spirits--they're not tame things, though. Dealing with them isn't...you know. Easy."
"Have you talked to many of 'em yet?" zhe asks Phaedra.
"Do they have shit to say, or just like...feelings and shit?"
"I've only talked to them a couple of times. I only learned the--how to talk to them recently." The cut-off, the point where that sentence was about to end differently is obvious, even blatant. "And most of the ones I've heard, they're small and simple and what they give a fuck about is pretty limited."
"That makes me even more curious about what the spirits here might say," Finley says, looking around. "I wonder which is the oldest grave here. Or the newest."
"Yeah, same. 'Specially 'cause everything's so...old. Wanna...see if we can find 'em? The oldest and newest?" They take a step toward one of the stones, brushing away some moss to try to see the date.
Phaedra lets go of Finley and Calamity's hands, drifting a little away from the pair of them, and turning to look toward them both.
"I think it'd be pretty hard to find them," zhe admits, looking around. "But we can try?" Zhe starts leaning over to peer at dates as well.
"We can look until we get bored." Calamity chugs the last of their energy drink and bleps at Finley, and shoves the empty can back in their bag. And then eyes Phaedra curiously.
And she shrugs and then turns to look at the gravestone nearest herself, reading off the name and date--quite possibly mangling the name.
Zhe looks over at Phaedra, watching her a moment--maybe worriedly? But then zhe continues poking around, pulling back vines and such to peer at names and dates. "Phaedra... this would be an awesome place for a spooky tarot reading..."
"Would you believe I brought a deck?" She gestures over her shoulder at her backpack.
A quiet gasp, and Calamity grins at the prospect, nodding excitedly at Finley. "It would be - ohfuck really?"
"I totally believe that." Finley giggles, exchanging a glance with Calamity before peering at Phaedra. "Would you be willing...?"
"Of course. That is why I brought the deck. Here, let's find someplace to sit that isn't right on top of a grave. That'd be rude."
Calamity glances around, and gestures to an area that's overgrown, but free of graves. "How 'bout there? Oh man I wanna see this..." Their eyes are sparkling with excitement.
She nods a bit. "There's perfect. Calamity, could I maybe borrow your bandanna, to lay the cards down on?"
They pause for a moment, and glance around, as if someone else might see them, before they untie the bandanna and give it to her. "Sure."
Finley is practically bouncing on zher feet, rushing over to settle down in the place Calamity picked. "This is gonna be so cool," zhe practically squeaks out.
When Phaedra Auspexes the bandanna, she feels...The warm comfort of belonging. Calamity creeping through some dark building or other with four other figures, the bandanna over their face. Then, their hands over their face, defending themself from something.
She pauses for just a split second, the bandanna in her hand, before she lays it out on the grass and sits herself down pretzel-style in front of it. "Thank you. Alright, who am I reading for, and what about?"
Calamity leans forward a little. "What...can it be about?"
Finley leans over to nudge Calamity. "How about you?"
"Well...anything. The future, the present, sometimes even the past." She pulls the deck out of the backpack. It is gothick and Extra and clearly fairly new--the box isn't ragged at all yet--and clearly dear to Phaedra.
"Oh those are perfect for here." Calamity grins, and sits back a little. "I uh...sure I guess I'll go first. Uh...I dunno what about though, the uh...the present, I guess?"
"Ask me a question." She begins to shuffle her deck carefully, seeming to calm down as she does so. Shoulders straightening. Becoming the authority she oh-so-rarely is.
"Ooh... Those are pretty... And yeah, so fitting..." Zhe leans forward to peer appreciatively at the cards. But then Phaedra gets going and Fin sits up, staring intently at her.
"Um....hmm." Calamity gives Finley a look, like they're hoping zhe will have a question for her. "Is like...what's something I could be doing better? Is that...enough? Or does it need to be more specific, or...?" Poor Calamity's so out of their depth here.
"That, I can work with. Yeah, okay. Give me a moment..." She sets the cards on the bandanna. "Cut the deck."
They take just a few cards off the top, setting them aside, and give her a little bit of a cheeky smirk.
Finley tilts zher head, watching with wide-eyed fascination.
"Smartass." She lays out six cards in a triangle, with the point facing toward Calamity, then takes a deep, wholly unnecessary breath, before flipping over the first three. "These cards are a basic layout of 'what's going on'. It's the broad view of the situation as it stands. Okay?"
The first card shows a woman playing with a large lion as if it's a kitten. However tame it seems, its claws are extended. "Strength isn't about fighty strength, it's about a depth of compassion, it's the courage to be vulnerable. Strength is about allowing yourself to not have to always be The Strong One."
The second card shows a figure sitting up in bed, their face in their hands, nine swords behind them. Unlike Strength, the card is facing Calamity. "This card's actually interesting in contrast to that, because it's about really deep worries and fears, the things that block you off from your emotions--I think the next row will speak to that conflict a little."
The third depicts a figure in a Dramatic Cloak and Hat on a road, their back to the viewer, eight silver goblets in the foreground. It too is reversed. "While this card's often about abandonment or feeling isolated, when it's reversed, it takes on this feeling of indecision, not knowing where your destination really is. Not having a goal to aim for."
"...Huh." Calamity's face goes a little pink with embarrassment at being read like this. "Okay."
When she moves to the next row, she starts from the righthand side, instead of the left, perhaps wanting to savor that mystery, what lies between Strength and that Nine, for a moment longer. "The next row is influences. It's like...okay, so that's what's going on, but why?"
The righthand card is a man sitting on a throne, holding a sword in his hand. "Court cards are often people. This one's...well, kind of a dick. I mean, not that the King of Swords always wants to be a dick, but like. It's a position of authority, and he is coming down from this place of reason, right? I Know What's Best. I kinda wanna say it's your dad, but that might be me reading into it."
And then the second card. It's a large stone tower on a cliff, being hit by lighting. A few tiny figures fall out of the tower into the night sky. Phaedra actually gasps quietly when she sees it. "Well. Okay. Like, because I'm not reading your future, this isn't bad news, right, but this is That Moment, the time you were hurt so bad the memory is seared on your psyche. The moment you lost all innocence and safety in the world. No wonder you're struggling with being vulnerable; you have dealt with unimaginable pain."
It's clear that the first card makes Calamity a little uncomfortable, they lean back slightly with a frown. At the second card, they cross their arms, leaning back a little more.
"...Sure. Yeah," they gesture sharply. "So what's the last one?"
"...sorry. You wanted to know." She reaches out to flip the last card, and stares at it for a moment. It shows a figure on a sunny day. Walking toward the edge of a cliff, without a care in the world, a bag slung over their shoulder, a cute black cat at their heel.
She doesn't say anything right away.
Finley looks back and forth between Phaedra, the cards, and Calamity. Zhe looks absolutely awed by Phaedra's readings, mouth hanging open in wonder. Which is saying something, since zhe's always so careful about keeping their mouth closed when the mask is off. Calamity's reaction brings some worry though, zher hand reaching out to rest on their arm.
Calamity flinches at the unexpected contact and glances quickly at Finley with an apologetic look.
"What...does this one mean?"
"So, the last card in this spread is kind of...the 'pivot point'. It's where you can change something to make the situation different. It's what the whole future of the matter hinges on. And this card is the Fool. It's...the beginning. It's innocence. It's fucking off and having some fun, and letting go of a lot of the harshness of past cycles, because there's something fresh here. Something that's just getting started. It's pretty hopeful, honestly. But it does mean not holding onto all of the worst of it so tightly."
"..." There's a quick glance at Finley when Phaedra mentions 'something that's just getting started', but then they look her over, too. "...Huh. I...huh. Feel like...could'a been a lot worse. Right?"
She nods slightly. "It could definitely have been worse. Did it give you the answer to your question?"
Fin also gives Calamity a rather... sheepish glance, head dipping a bit. "I... think it was a really good reading. Phaedra... you're so good at this. It's... amazing to watch..."
"I...I mean I guess so? Kinda sorta. It's...it's really cool that you can do this shit, yeah." Calamity nods, agreeing with Finley. "But yeah it uh...it all made sense."
She looks between Finley and Calamity quietly, and then nods, picking up her cards and tucking them back into the box. "Good. Um, you can have the bandanna back."
Zhe leans over to nudge Calamity gently with zher shoulder, smiling. "It's... just... more excuse to enjoy the changes in your life."
"Thanks." Calamity flashes Phaedra a smile and grabs the bandanna back, tying it carefully around their neck again. Then they snort at Finley. "Sounds like those awful videos they show you at school, 'bout puberty and shit. 'Enjoying the changes in your life.' An' I mean there's not a lotta changes an' shit. Not really." You know. Besides meeting a hell of a lot of vampires, and leaning into the supernatural.
"Well. I guess that means the changes there are are ones that matter, now. Or something. Are you two dating?"
Finley blinks, eyes going wide. "H-huh? Uh--No! We're not... We're just friends," Finley says in a rush.
Another glance at Finley, and they shrug. "Uuuh? Yeah not...not really?"
"Oh. Okay." She tucks her deck away in her backpack and stands.
Finley blinks rapidly a few times, staring at the other kindred. Then in a burst zhe scrambles to stand, practically throwing zhemself onto her, wrapping her up in a near-crushing hug. "Oh--oh Phae--oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," zhe mutters, pressing zher cheek urgently to her's.
Calamity looks between the two, clearly a little confused. "What...?"
She closes her eyes at the hug. "It's okay, Finley. It's perfectly okay. Everything's okay."
"N-no! It's not okay!" zhe insists, still squeezing. "I care so, so much about you. You're amazing, you're--you're so kind and smart and pretty, and--I want you around. I want you here! And--and Calamity does too, I know they do!"
"...Yeah, 'course I want you around, I don't just like...hold hands with anybody...?" Calamity still looks pretty heckin confused.
"I just didn't know if...I was intruding on something special that was between you two. It's...clear you care a lot, about one another."
"I..." Finley hesitates, a nervous tremor going through zhem. "I do. I care about Calamity, but I care about you just as much..."
"Oh - oh yeah no, you're not...I wanna have you around." Calamity takes a few tentative steps forward to put a hand on Phaedra's shoulder.
She leans into the touch from Calamity slightly. "Get in on the hug. Finley gives the best hugs."
"Yeah zhe does." Calamity leans in to give Finley another peck on the cheek. And then gives Phaedra one, too, just a brush of their lips on her cheek, before squeezing into the hug.
She startles slightly at the kiss, but doesn't pull away, brushing her cheek against each of theirs lightly in turn, instead of offering kisses to either.
Finley moves zher arm to envelop Calamity in the hug as well, squeezing them both. "You're... both amazing. I'm so glad to be your friend."
"You're pretty fuckin' amazing too, like...you're so fuckin' smart and shit." Calamity snuggles in and drapes an arm around Fin's and Phaedra's shoulders.
She nods, or perhaps nuzzles against Fin as Calamity is brought into the hug. And like, Phaedra's pretty strong herself, though careful not to squeeze too hard on the one who actually needs to breathe. "Brilliant. And patient. And tender-hearted. And I'm happy around you."
"O-oh... Um..." Finley isn't Blushed, but if zhe was, zhe would definitely be blushing. Instead zhe just looks very shy, head dipping. "Mmm... Th-thank you..."
"All That shit. Yeah. An' Phae, you're pretty fuckin sharp. Like...you get shit."
"...I mean...uh. Only some shit." She sounds pretty sheepish about that.
"What you did with the cards was really incredible," Fin insists. "I couldn't do that..."
"Exactly..." Calamity nudges her. "You do amazing stuff."
"You both could learn to read the cards if you wanted to. Finley, I doubt you'd have any trouble memorizing them, given how good you are with all the science stuff you remember. And there's nice friendly pictures on them to help."
"Still a kick-ass thing that you do. An' I bet you gotta like...perform a little more, when you're working, right?"
She nods. "More build-up and mystery to it. Yeah. But I like doing it a bit more casually, when I can."
Finley hesitates. "I kinda want to learn. Um. So I can read your cards, sometime. Just... for fun. I figure you get it done for you more rarely? If you'd teach me?"
"Yeah it'd be cool to like...read for you sometime." Calamity nods.
"I can teach both of you, yeah. I can lend out a couple of my old decks, so you don't have to buy your own unless you decide you want to stick with it. There's some decks that are easier to learn on than others. Not that they're more simple, but that they're more fundamental. Closer to the modern ideal of a deck, less artsy."
"I'll take whatever advice you have," Fin reassures, smiling. Zhe nuzzles against her cheek again, then after a second's pause, nuzzles against Calamity's as well.
"See and I bet you're gonna be a good teacher, too." They grin at the nuzzles, and squeeze Fin's shoulder. "It'd be fun to learn."
"Either of you feel weird just standing around a graveyard doing a hug?" Not that she's going to be the first to disengage.
Finley blink-blinks, then bursts into giggles. "U-um... Pretty weird. But... we're all kinda weird, aren't we? In... different ways. Not... bad ways, but..."
"Worse places to hug..." Calamity hugs the two Kindred closer. "I'm okay bein' weird with you two."
"Rather be weird with you both than normal with most people, yeah?" She sighs contentedly.
"No way I can really be normal, but..." Zhe hesitates, then nods. "I'm okay not being normal, with you two."
"Good. 'Cause your not normal is one'a the good things about you." Calamity kisses zher cheek.
"I don't think I ever knew normal, and I never will now. But if this is what I've got, it's pretty amazing." She closes her eyes. "I hope it stays, for a while."
The kisses, nuzzles and hugs seem to be overwhelming the poor Nossie. Not in a bad way, but zhe only manages to linger against them for a few more seconds before zhe withdraws slowly, hands lifting to rub at zher cheeks shyly. "U-um... I don't plan on going anywhere, s-so... I'm gonna stay..."
Calamity giggles at poor Finley, but does let them go. "You're fuckin' adorable. An' yeah I dunno how long this shit's gonna last but it's nice now, yeah?"
Phaedra looks down at the ground quietly for a moment after the hug ends--one might almost think she's praying. Because she totally is. But it's only a brief desperate wish, before she looks up again and smiles. "Yeah. These need to happen more often."
"I'd like to hang out with you both more," zhe murmurs. "Calamity has been coming over a lot lately. I have a freezer full of ice cream and there's video games and... we can hang out. Whenever you want."
"Careful, that might be often." She laughs. "Gah, but now I wish I could, like...have some of the ice cream. I miss it."
"You... could, I guess..? Sometimes I try a little bit, then just spit it out..."
"Too bad blood doesn't taste like whatever the person's eating..." They...seem to be semi serious about that.
"I mean, if they've been drinking or getting high, it can be in the blood sometimes, but food doesn't really stick around once it's not food. I often end up feeding on drunk people sometimes."
"Oh yeah?" Calamity cocks their head, curious. "'Cause you like it or...? An' - does it get you drunk, or can you just taste it?"
Finley bobs zher head. "Yeah, its the only way we can get drunk or high."
She looks sheepish. "I mean, yeah, I can get buzzed when I feed on drunk people, but that's not why I tend to do it, so much. It's just...one of the quickest ways for me to feed is to go to a bar or a club...and..." She trails off.
A quick nod. "They're easy to lift from, too." Calamity shrugs, and then frowns. "You don't gotta...do anything you don't really wanna with 'em, do you?"
Finley gives Phaedra a sympathetic, but quiet frown, reaching out to take her hand to squeeze. "Even if you don't do anything with them, they tend... to think you did. It's... not the most comfortable," Finley murmurs.
"Part of being a vampire means being able to handle situations like that that I never could, before I was one. I can be stronger, I can be faster, and I can deal with those sorts of things. No, I don't let anyone touch me any more than I want them to." Her voice is a little cold there.
"Ugh. Still shitty you gotta put yourself out there like that, just to eat." Calamity grimaces. "If uh..." They glance at Finley, then back to Phaedra, and gesture to themself. "If you ever don't wanna deal with that...?"
Finley blinks, hesitating for a second, but then calms and stays quiet, looking to Phaedra.
"I mean, that's not the only way I feed, it's just the easy way. I, uh. There's a group of Wiccans I hang out with and some of them don't mind if I nibble, but that's not enough for all the time. Also there's someone who lets me eat her chickens, too." A pause, as she looks at Calamity. "Why are you offering? I'm not saying no, I just want to understand where your head's at."
There's a pause, while Calamity considers. "'Cause it's shitty that you gotta do that, and you're my friend, and also it feels good as fuck?" They shrug. "And you don't gotta like...pretend or any shit around me."
Finley shifts zher weight nervously between zher feet, totally for no reason at all.... Nope....
And Phaedra looks sidelong at Finley, eyebrows both raising.
"...What...?" They glance between the two. "Fin didn't - I mean I asked about it, it's..."
Finley just stares at the ground, looking embarrassed.
"That's between you two, I'm not mad or anything. Surprised, a little, maybe. But...you're very kind, Calamity. Just...realize exactly what you're offering up. Blood is life. Be careful offering your life to people. Some aren't going to be very thoughtful, if you do."
And she reaches out to touch their cheek gently with her fingertips, like a benediction.
"...Yeah, I know." Calamity's voice is quiet. "I...I ain't gonna offer to anyone else, I...I get it. But...you're thoughtful. You'n Finley both are."
Finley looks up, fixing Phaedra with a stare. Zher eyes crease tightly with displeasure.
Phaedra looks at Finley with a quiet question in her gaze. "What?"
Calamity looks at Finley, too. "...You good?"
"I just... wish you'd take your own advice," Finley murmurs softly.
"Ah." She grimaces. "That's different."
"Is it?" Zher arms cross.
"...What am I missing?" Calamity frowns.
"A vampire problem." She lets out a humorless little laugh.
Finley sighs, looking away with a flicker of annoyance. "Mm... Sorry..."
Calamity's eyebrows are still furrowed in concern, looking between the two. "Sorry I...said that shit about feeding. Didn't mean'ta bring shit up."
"Finley. I'm vividly aware of exactly who I'd be offering my blood up for. Not to, but who I'd be doing it for." Her voice is low and steely and she doesn't look at zhem.
Finley keeps zher eyes away for a moment, then rubs at zher arm slowly. "Sorry," zhe murmurs again, softer. "It's okay, Calamity."
They've shied away from the two Kindred slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the tension. Even if it doesn't have anything to do with them. And they take a moment to dig in their backpack, like they feel like they have to put something between them and the heightened emotions.
Phaedra puts her own backpack back on her back. "Besides. I haven't done it yet. He's not paying a lot of attention, seems like. Or he has nothing to say to me. Who knows?"
"I dunno," Finley murmurs, scuffin their foot at the ground. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"I know. I care about you, too." She touches zher sleeve gently.
Calamity pulls another energy drink from their bag, and looks quietly between the other two as they open it and take a drink. "...Phaedra, I do trust that you're not gonna be a piece of shit about feeding, or whatever. Wouldn't'a offered otherwise. An'...sounds like yinz have some shit going on, I...prob'ly can't help, right?"
Zhe gives a shy little glance over towards Phaedra, then turns to take her hand, squeezing it gently as zher eyes warm. "Thanks." Zhe frowns at Calamity, apologetic. "No, I don't think so..."
"I'm not going to be a piece of shit. That said, a ground rule--I'm not gonna bite on you if Finley's done the same in the last three nights. Because like. Safety. Want to make sure we don't end up making you sick or weak or anything. Right?" She glances at Finley as she asks that; zhe's the blood doctor.
Zhe blinks, then bobs zher head. "Yeah. I... I never take very much, at all. And Calamity heals fast but--that's a good rule, anyway. There's no need to put stress on your body, even if you do have superhero powers," zhe murmurs to Calamity.
"I heal really fast. But I...dunno anything about it, so." A shrug. "Whatever. Fire an' healing fast ain't totally gonna keep me from getting sick, prob'ly."
"Better to be safe. We like you or something." She smiles.
"We really like you," Finley murmurs sheepishly.
Calamity's face turns pink, and they dip their head, unsuccessfully hiding a warm smile. "Kinda like both'a you too, or somethin'."
"Oh, good. Means I've been reading things correctly. I can be stupid about things sometimes, until I take them home to think about." She laughs a little. "Anyway. I might head out, I think. I've got a couple other things tonight."
A pause, then she leans in to very gently kiss Calamity's cheek, and brush up against Finley's in that soft way.
Finley smiles, as much as zhe can smile, nuzzling back before zhe looks down at the ground. "Okay. Thanks for coming out. It was nice."
The kiss makes them start in surprise, but they give her a warm grin. "See you 'round, Phae. An' thanks for the reading."
Zhe watches Phaedra wander off, then gives Calamity a somewhat awkward, very shy glance.
"...It's okay, that I said all that, right? About feeding, and stuff?" Calamity glances right back
"Oh--um, y-yeah... It's... a little embarrassing, but not bad. It's okay," zhe assures.
"Okay." They grab Fin's hand and squeezes. "Sorry to embarrass you."
"It's okay. Really. Um. And if you want Phaedra to drink from you... It's okay. I trust that she wouldn't hurt you. Just... be careful... Maybe don't, um. Offer to many other people. Or you might really get sick..."
"i...yeah. Don't think I'm gonna, 'sides you and her. 'S not like I know a lotta others anyway, like...Rena and Eyrgjafa I guess. Between you'n Phae I'll be good. An' help both'a yinz, too."
Finley looks... rather relieved. And embarrassed. "Okay. Good. Um. Do... you wanna walk around a little more, or... head back...?"
"I bet there's a lot more in here, but...I'm getting kinda hungry. But if you wanna walk a little more I can wait?"
"We can always come back another time," Fin replies. "Let's get back."
"M'kay." Another hand squeeze, and they take a few steps toward the gate, tugging Fin along with them.
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