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[bloodbinds]

WELCOME . . .
( Roberts, Ava )

@ daimonori

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[fix]

[ Finally, after about half an hour thinking how to best start this message, Anya says. ]

Hey.

[ Yeah, that'll do. ]

[bloodbinds]

[ Uh. Okay? ]

Hey. What's up?

#0180710 - Statement of Emmanuel Li regarding an infestation at the Smiles Retirement Home

[compellingstatement]

((cw: centipedes, body horror))

It's sort of weird, isn't it? You sitting in your office and me out here, writing on a clipboard. When I saw the flier, I thought there'd be more... interaction? I mean, you know supernatural things, right? All these LIERs. Could be the LIERs.

Hope it's the LIERs.

I'm an EMT. Emergency Medical Technician. We're the ones who show up when you dial for an emergency number. We run our ambulance out of the Hollyview Hospital over on 2nd and Green. You know the one? It's got the holly leaf at the top. I've been working there for about... three years? Give or take. It's only a part-time thing. I mean, even a Dominant can't make enough to support a Submissive on just an EMT's pay.

I've seen a lot of weird things in those three years. You get all sorts between allergic reactions to aphrodisiacs, accidents in the bedroom, just your standard shooting. The one that's really stuck out to me, though, the reason I'm here... that happened about two months ago.

Jeffrey Sharpe and I were out on a run together with our driver, Gail Rodriguez. It was toward the end of our shift when we got a call. Smiles Retirement Home. We get those every so often. Sometimes you get lucky and it's just a bad cough. Sometimes you're going to collect a dead body. This one was... different. The dispatcher said it was some sort of insect bite or sting.

My first thought was bees and anaphylaxis. If they didn't have an EpiPen on site, we'd be carrying out a dead body. So, we raced over there, got inside, and it was... usually there was someone waiting for us at the reception. That's the standard way they do it at these communities. Someone there to direct us. Luckily, we had been given an apartment number, so me and Jeff headed over there with our equipment, thinking it might be serious enough they had all hands on deck to deal with the issue. The door was open when we got to #16 and there were three people inside. One was an older man, late 70s, heavy set. He seemed fine. The second was a young woman, clearly one of the carers. And the third was out patient. At least... I think he was meant to be the patient. He was sitting on the floor scratching at a lump on the side of his neck.

I remember thinking it was all bizarre, but couldn't put my finger on why until later. They were all completely silent, not moving except for that scratching. The young woman and the heavy set man were stood there, just frozen. They didn't even look around at us when we came in. The patient didn't either, not until I was kneeling down and taking his hand. I asked him if he was having trouble breathing, if he hurt, if there was any burning. He didn't answer for the longest time, and I was getting ready to try again when he finally spoke.

"You ever been kissed a hundred times?"

That's what he said. That's all. And then he reached down and lifted up his shirt and those lumps were everywhere. There was a tattoo on his chest, too, a giant centipede. I don't know if you're familiar with the common house centipede? I wasn't. Not until that day. They're little exterminators. They'll go around killing all the other bugs in your house. Never liked them, mind. Still don't like them.

I really don't like them.

The important thing, though, is they've got venom like a bee or a wasp. Not dangerous unless you're allergic, really, but with the number of bites on the patient we were definitely bringing him in. We checked him over while we were there, got him up, took him out to ambulance and headed to the hospital. The doctors were concerned, and he just kept asking that question:

"You ever been kissed a hundred times?"

Honestly, I just tried to put it out of my head. There was a weird old man with a weird infestation of centipedes in his weird room. In his bed. All over his bed. I didn't see any while we were there. Jeff didn't, either. But there would have had to have been. That many bites? There had to have been a swarm of the things hanging around. I thought that would be the end of it.

It was three days later we got another call for the Smiles Retirement Home. It was a woman this time, mid-60s. Insect bites or stings. We got there and the reception area was empty. It was across the complex from the last one, #43, Grace Holynskyj. The scene was almost identical to the one in the old man's room. That's what struck me first. The young woman the heavy set man were there, just standing, watching this woman lying on the floor, scratching. She was in lingerie; not my first run-in with that on the older set mind, but you don't go in expecting to see it. She was covered all over in those bites, not saying a word. Not until I got a hand on her. And there it was again:

"You ever been kissed a hundred times?"

We had three more calls like that over the next month. I tried asking Jeff about it, see if he thought it was as odd as I did. He did, but he didn't want to talk about it. I don't blame him, mind. Jeff's always had a thing about creepy-crawlies.

Honestly, if that were all, I wouldn't be here. I know your advert said you were only interested in the supernatural, and if it were just some infestation of mysterious house centipedes at some random retirement home, I'd leave it at that. That's weird, but it's... fine. No one's died. Not that I know. Obviously, I haven't been keeping tabs, but we haven't got any calls to bring in a dead body, yet. But I just can't seem to shake that question out of my head.

"You ever been kissed a hundred times?"

Every time. Every time they've asked the same thing. Every time that young woman and that old man are there and it just feels wrong. Like the sort of wrong you can feel deep down in your bones. My bones.

The last one was three days ago. We treated the patient, Jeff was showing her out, but I couldn't stand it this time. I finally just... snapped, I guess? Every time I'd tried to talk to the woman or the heavy set man, they'd ignored me and, really, they're not my concern, just the patient. That's the only concern I'm meant to have. But I couldn't keep doing it. I grabbed the woman's shoulder, just to shake her a little. I wasn't try to hurt her. But as soon as I touched her, the man had his hand on me. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

There was a centipede between his lips. I left. I left as quickly as I could and I haven't been back since. But I think you might be able to help me. You have to be able to help me. I don't know what else to do.

Bites have started appearing. Red bites like the patients. I've checked my house, top to bottom, and I can't find them. I can't find the centipedes, but I know they're there. I know because all the fruit flies are gone, all the silverfish, all the spiders. I'm not a slob, but I know what my house gets like in the summer. I know.

They're somewhere. I know they are.

I've seen things moving under my skin.

They have a lot of legs.

[bloodbinds]

[ Hawke brings the Statement to her and she, honestly, puts off reading it. His little message that Jon told him to stick around while she did it leaves her a bit ill at ease. It's about three days later that she finally sits down to read the Statement, turning on the tape recorder she's bought on her own to begin recording. She's hardly more than two minutes into the Statement that she begins to feel a crawling up her spine, like something is wrong.

She feels the weight of many eyes watching...but it's only her and Hawke. No one else. Nothing else.

By the end of the Statement, the weight of being seen feels oppressive but there's nothing she can do about it. She's caught up in the reading, in the experience, in the Statement itself just as assuredly as she might be caught in a web. That's the worst part of it, she thinks: that though she can feel every moment that something is watching her, she cannot look away from the paper. She cannot stop the recording. It goes on and on until, at last, she finishes. ]

Statement ends.

[ The feeling of being watched doesn't go away. ]

I've seen that nursing home before. Smiles Retirement Home. It's always seemed a little bit too nice on the outside, like something out of the Stepford Wives. I've made a precursory call to the home but I was just sent to the voicemail of one Percy Turner, who might be the owner or might just be the manager. Or head of customer service. It was a weird voicemail message. I'll stop by and do a proper follow up later.

According to Jon's notes, this is probably part of the Corruption. Part of the Hive. Bugs, insects, things like that. It sounds almost like an epidemic, but I'm just as curious about the older man and the woman that Mr. Li tried to speak with.

It reminds me of the Plaguebearers back home.

[ That feeling starts to go away somewhat, like whatever was watching isn't as interested in the follow up...at least at first. Until she starts to speak further. Then, there's something that feels almost compelling about it, like she's making a connection that she wouldn't have considered before.

And that she should share it. To...Jon? To the recorder? ]

Plaguebearers are vampires that feed indiscriminately on kine and who begin to spread sickness. Not kept properly in check, people can die very quickly. When I encountered them back home...it was like people had been turned into mindless zombies. There weren't bugs involved, really, but the sickness spread so quickly... [ She pauses, tapping her pen on her notebook. ] ...I wonder if Kindred, in being so similar to humans, have other alignments that would match with the other Entities and not just the Hunt. Sabbat might fall under Slaughter or Desolation. The Tremere... I-- It's something I can look into.

[ She's getting off topic. ]

I looked through my device and found Emmanuel Li's information. I called him but there was no answer, which doesn't bode well. I'll look into it tomorrow night, maybe swing by his job. They might be able to help me if he's not there. I just...have a feeling there's going to be an infestation, and I might need fire. Again.

[ Ava bristles at the idea, setting the Statement aside. ]

I... I guess that's it. [ But why does she still feel weird? ] Recording ends.

[ The tape recorder is turned off and bundled with the Statement proper, put into a bag for Hawke to take back to Jon at his convenience. She turns to look at him. ]

That...wasn't too bad. Really gross, though.

[fix]

Eh, not much. Which is in and by itself really unsettling, sometimes.

[ Sarcasm is easier, sarcasm comes naturally to her. ]

You? Got your hands full with certain Archivist?

[ She'll get to the point in a moment, really! ]

[championmage]

[She did a lovely job recording that. Hawke sits there quietly for most of the Statement reading, listening with disgust slowly dawning on his face.

Ava's recording is going to be slightly ruined the minute she says "Statement ends" by a voice in the background that shouts:]

The fat man is made out of centipedes and he was KISSING THE ELDER PEOPLE--

[... but then he sees Ava is still recording and manages, somehow, to clam up. Even though he has only half a clue what's going on, and then keeps trying to talk to Ava while she's pondering out loud. When the tape recorder finally clicks off, he stands up and cracks his knuckles.]

So, where was that rest home again? [He snaps his fingers with a fire spell, for show.] Let's get to it.

[bloodbinds]

[ OH MY GOD, HAWKE, YOU'RE A MENACE.

Ava looks up when he stands, surprised at the sudden gusto - Hawke had insisted he was only here to monitor, and was going to just read - when he'd been so casual about things before now. ]

What, like, now? Hawke, we can't just run in there and torch the place. We don't even know what all is happening.

[bloodbinds]

Oh, I bet. You sound like the kind of person who's always busy with some shit.

[ The quip earns her a sigh. ]

I did. I...can't see him right now, actually. [ ANYWAY. ] What's going on with you?

[fix]

Indeed I am; sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse.

[ Anya only hums a "hm-hmm" at Ava's mention of not being able to see Jon. They go back further than her, surely they have their own shit to sift through. Much as Anya would like to know, sometimes you have to let people deal with their own stuff.

Which doesn't make her feel any less weird about what she wants to talk about. ]

Oh, still trying to set in. I got a Sub, but she's a minor and while I'll kill anyone that looks her wrong, it doesn't really help me in some... matters...

[ Sex matters. ]

I actually talked to Jon about it, out of all people. [ Anya snorts. Really though, she has to start picking her friends better. ] It went as well as you can imagine.

How do you deal with it? I could use some pointers... and maybe, I don't know, we can find some way of mutually help us in that matter. If you want.

[bloodbinds]

Oh. Yeah, that's... Hm.

[ Awkward. Not that she had gotten a contract with Hawke for those reasons but it makes it easier that he's not a minor or anything. She can't imagine how weird that must be, honestly. Why would Duplicity bring a minor in, anyway?

But then she makes a sound that might be a laugh. ]

You talked to Jon about sex? He's not interested in it, I don't think. He just goes to those hookup hotels and watches people who have a voyeurism kink. I think LIEs allows that as his quota. Sounds like he gets out of it pretty easily.

[ Ass.

There's a pause. Slowly, Ava sighs. ]

I... I haven't really been dealing with it. Something...happened the first month I was here. And then this past month I...kind of just made do. I'm barely making quota. The guy who's my Dominant has told me that he won't let me go to that rehab center but I hate...putting it all on him.

[ And Ava doesn't trust enough people to allow herself to be vulnerable like that. ]

The people here haven't been too bad about it. They were nice. Surprisingly.

[fix]

Really sucks not being able to help her.

[ If only Tinya were older, Anya would take it upon herself to help her with the quota, but even in a place like this she can't bring herself to go against certain principles.

Anya outright laughs her ass off at Ava's mention of Jon. ]

We talked about quotas and how he is, yeah, kind of a voyeur enabler. Sounds like, right? But I think he hates it all the same. Wuss.

[ This time Anya doesn't make a sound. Ava is dropping little clues now and then, but there's something else behind. And maybe even a thing that goes way back to her world, who knows. ]

He sounds like a pretty cool dude, alright.

And actually yeah, at least some of the people I've talked to seem to have a pretty reasonable opinion. Who knew.

Well... I haven't really done it with anyone here yet. [ Save the guy she was forced to kill to get the words to go away, but shhh. ] I totally won't judge you if it's not how you swing, but if you want to help me with the quota, and help yourself I guess...

[ While Anya has never been shy about sex, she has never been on a schedule. She can be pretty liberal about it, but she's always had it at her own pace and with the people she wanted. This? This puts her on a weird spot. ]

I would feel a lot safer with someone that knows exactly how it goes when you're all about Vitae.

[bloodbinds]

And I get that, yeah, but you're...also not her mom, Anya. I talked with her for a bit. She seems really resourceful.

[ But a fifteen year old shouldn't really be having to worry about something like quota. Ugh. ]

Yeah, I think he hates it. He's just doing it because it's necessary. So I get it. And Hawke is really cool. You should talk to him. I feel like he needs more friends, especially the sorts of friends that can take care of themselves.

[ And Hawke really just needs people who are going to be kind and nice to him. People who are going to treat him well for all of the things he does for others. It can't just be her. ]

Wait. You... Shit, Anya. You're going to cut it close if you don't get a move on. [ Oh my god, Ava, chill. ] ...Look. I-- I'll be honest. I've been with a woman before and I liked it. I've never, like, taken it further than that. But I'm not put off, okay?

[ Well. No more than most vampires are, at least. ]

I'm fine to help you. I don't want you shoved off to that fucking place. I hear horror stories about it.

[fix]

I mean, I know. It's frustrating nonetheless.

[ She needs to learn to care a little less, in all fairness. ]

I'll bother him then! Say you sent me his way. Anyone you trust enough to make a contract with has to at least be a decent person. I just hope he has a sense of humor.

[ Anya grunts. ] I know, I know. I just don't like it when it's all forced like, okay? Even as a vampire I've had sex, and it's fine, but it's always been on my own terms and on my own times.

[ She sighs at all. Well, she at least didn't freak Ava out. ]

Trust me, I don't want to end there at all either.

...thanks. This is extremely embarrassing, by the way. Usually I would take you out and woo you with my wordly expertise. Actually, I would feel better if we can at least have a nice night out before, err, getting down to business.

[ Wine and dine? It sounds incredibly stupid in Anya's head, but how else can she convey her seriousness about this all? ]

Or if you'd rather we keep cut the chase...

[bloodbinds]

Oh, don't worry, Hawke's got enough humor for all of us sticks in the mud. Trust me.

[ It's said fondly, in all fairness. Hawke is a much better person than she is or ever will be. She wants him to be happy and to be safe...even if that means not being around her. ]

Yeah, I get you. It's... It's awkward.

[ Wait, hold on-- ]

Uh, I... I didn't think you were going to actually, um. [ Well. ] You know what? Yeah. Let's... Let's go out. It'll be fun. And it'll be better than just starting off on a weird foot.

Anywhere you wanna go in particular?

[fix]

I like him already.

[ And she's curious to see what kind of people has Ava surrounded herself with. Jon feels like an outlier (sorry Jon), but others? Others might be interesting. ]

We've had enough awkwardness already, right? And I don't remember the last time someone actually tried to at least pretend it wasn't only about the sex. Which is not, mind you. I think it might be a good time to talk and compare notes.

[ Anya considers the question for a moment. ]

I don't know. You've been here for longer, where would you like to take me? Or where haven't you been yet?

[bloodbinds]

Yeah, I guess so. That's a good point. It'll be fine.

[ She guesses they're friends? It's weird. There's nothing to call Anya, even if she isn't sure she's a friend...but it feels wrong to say she isn't a friend. It's just complicated. Ava likes her well enough, and doing this doesn't feel expressly awkward. Just different.

Like knowing someone too much and then asking to take them to dinner. ]

I mean, I wasn't really able to eat normal food until about a month ago. I'm still getting used to that again. But we should find somewhere to eat that'll be...better for us.

There's a dive bar in the Up we can go to. I've snacked once there. The people there are smart, usually healthy.

[fix]

So you can? That's pretty cool. Is it a Duplicity thing? Actually, I guess I forgot to tell you, but I had some mages do some work on me. Basically I can eat and drink, but it doesn't really do anything for me. No nourishment, no nothing. Actually it sort of dissolves the moment I swallow, but at least I can still taste them.

[ It's not the same, but it's something. ]

I mean, getting actual blood is always preferred, specially if I know I won't freak out my date for the night.

[championmage]

Why not?

[What else do you do upon hearing a story like that? Throw it in an archive and talk about how neat it is?]

I thought it was pretty bloody clear-- the fat man's made of centipedes and he's feeding on people. We're not going to let him keep on doing that! Those people can't help themselves!

[bloodbinds]

No. I...got this thing, from doing a few tests. It's a necklace. If I feed it blood, I can get a few hours in the sun or I can eat a little bit. But it's not enough, you know? I still need to feed on people. It's nice, sometimes, though to just...share a meal with someone. To feel normal.

[ It's...something. That's all she can say. ]

I know that some people at those clubs are into it. One of the guys I fed on there wanted me to do it again and he said I wasn't the first, so. He knew. Even if I was tempted to mindwipe him.

[bloodbinds]

[ That's more of Jon's purview than hers.

Ava sighs, slowly standing. Her legs feel like lead and her head feels a little foggy, a little heavy. She shakes her head, gets her bearings. ]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We should go deal with him and the other woman...as quickly and efficiently as possible. And then we should alert some people about the old folks who are there.

[championmage]

That's the spirit! I say we go root out this insect-man before he preys on any more helpless elders or healers.

[He grins and only then notices how tired she suddenly seems.]

You all right? That was pretty nasty to think about. You look like you're going to be sick.

text. un: l.kennedy

[raccity]

hey ava. how are you doing?

[He'd probably written and erased a similar message about ten times before just giving up and pressing send before he got cold feet.]

[bloodbinds]

[ Oh. Right. She figured this was coming. The reply takes a while to arrive at his inbox, likely for the same reasons: she types up about ten responses and then takes each one down, afraid to send. ]

Been better
How about you?
Did you get out okay?

[bloodbinds]

I'm okay. A little...dizzy, I think. I might just need to eat before we go. Maybe it drained my reserves?

[ Jon said it would be a problem. Ava glances over towards the mirror in her room, like she thinks something's going to be watching her. Nothing is. She grabs her hair tie and pulls her hair back. ]

We should just go and get it done. Sooner the better, right?

[raccity]

yeah i bet. i got out alright. hopefully most people did.

[He sends the first text and then stares at it on the screen for a good few minutes, chewing on his lip, before starting another message.]

so... vampires.

[He jams the send button before he second-guesses himself and deletes it.]