Always Sleeping

Piper watched as EJ’s face fell and winced. “Indeed” she spoke softly though wished to not speak at all. She had no excuse and anything she told EJ would make her sound more insane than usual. She had the sudden flashback to the times Piper had been so cruel to her for leaving before and shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head. “I-” Piper started put closed her mouth again, anything she would say at this point couldn’t help her case. She was a dead man. 

Ej crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her distance even if maybe she shouldn’t have. In actuality, it was rather cold and calculating of her to keep her distance when she knew she did the exact same thing maybe a half a year ago. She should have been more understanding, and deep down she was, but it was no where near the surface, where she could allow herself to embrace it. Now, she wanted to keep her bitterness for just a little bit longer, no matter how unreasonable it was for her to do so.

The girl was glad that she’d been right. It would have been a little embarrassing if she hadn’t. There was a slight awkward shift of her body before she watched the chair be pushed out for her. Chewing at her lip for a moment Aislin shifted from her spot to take the offered chair. “Um, Aislin M- Just Aislin.” she offered, she figured being on last name bases wasn’t really required. Even if it was habit for her to formal introduce her self. Pushing the thought aside she settled herself in to place. Her long leg easily moving to cross over the other. The red head looked around for a moment before settling her eyes back on to Ej. 

When she finally took a seat, EJ leaned forward with a bit more of a grin on her face. She could faintly remember meeting the girl before, even if it was only the shadow of remembrance, and by the way she was acting, it was obvious she didn’t do this often. That only made it more satisfying when she took the seat and seemed like she was trying to figure out what to say. As long as she wasn’t going to be awful about it, if she wanted to try something, EJ was more than happy to oblige. After all, she had been wanting to stick herself with a needle for the past while, she just hadn’t seen much of a reason to do it yet. However, if she had someone to join her...

It was beyond frustrating that nothing she was saying could get a rise out of the blonde. EJ shut her eyes as her hands curled into tight fists, trying to keep herself from getting too pissed off. It wasn’t that she truly cared if this woman knew she was on drugs, but the fact that she was taking on some bullshit ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. It was infuriating. “You think you’re so much better than other people just because you act like you were born with a silver spoon up your ass. I’d rather have a good high than class if it turns me into a snotty bitch.”

He could see that something had over whelmed her. He leaned in towards where she sat and pressed a peck on her cheek. Unable to stop himself from comforting her in some way, though he knew it was a small gesture. He always wanted her to know he was there. Julian always wanted to be the one she called when sitting alone in the dark became too much. Maybe that is why he was so sure she would be a good vampire, because he needed her now. He forgot how he was before he came to this town and found her. 

EJ’s hands were shaking, so much so that she needed to rest her mug against her crossed ankles to keep the drink from spilling out of the top of it. His lips on her cheeks served to calm her down slightly, and when he took her face in his hands, she could open her eyes once more. Did he already know? Had he heard the same stories that she had about the vampire that was closer to her than she realized. 

Florentin topped off her tea with a dash of milk, hoping this particular kind of nightcap would soothe away some of the hangover-induced anxiety from earlier. “On that, we are in perfect accord,” he said, handing over the tea. “I find the machines quite jarring, but nonetheless, I keeping finding myself three hours into The Walking Dead and no clue how it happened. If you’re eager for sleep, I can show you to my room? Best sleep you’ll ever get, guaranteed.” And if he willed a little extra serenity into her dreamscape while she slept, well, she’d be none the wiser.

“I’ve just never owned one before,” she told him with a half smile, taking the tea from him graciously and taking a big sip of the drink. It was delicious, and just what she decided she needed. “I think I probably should sleep,” she agreed, finishing off the tea quickly so that she could set the cup down and following him, wondering if she should alert him to the fact that she had nightmares in case she happened to wake him up. She prayed that she wouldn’t, but at the same time, the words were hanging on the tip of her tongue, ready to be explained if she decided to let them run loose.

Ugh, life was so much simpler before the intervention of the state into personal lives. One of the many regrettable turns of the fin de siècle, and coincidentally another hold Isaiah had over the immortals living in Antioch. Damn papers. The registration of citizens made life deplorably difficult when you didn’t age. “Well, the passport is a roadblock, I’ll admit. I can’t see who I’d have to notify though.” It’d been centuries since his comings and goings needed to be relayed to someone. Ellis had her ways of finding him when she wanted to, and no one else stayed alive along enough to warrant that kind of consideration from him. Huh. 

She could see him turn the thought over in her mind and she let her mouth quirk into a sort of indifferent, knowing smile. “I’ve never really had to go get a passport before, but I’m also not sure of all of the stipulations or whatever shit is necessary for me to actually get one, you know? Like, can I get one if I have a criminal record? And what do you mean you wouldn’t have to notify anyone? Like anyone you work with, or family so that they know where you’re going? I’d have to mention it to Isaiah that I was leaving, especially if it would be in order to go out of the country, you know?” EJ didn’t like having to shoot down his ideas at every turn, but at the same time, she felt the need to be realistic.

alternatively send ‘ + ‘ after the symbol for the roles to be reversed where possible !

Seeing the text, EJ waited patiently for Julian to arrive, losing track of time quickly as she sipped on her drink every few seconds, her sweater covered hands gripping the mug tightly despite the shaking in her hands. Her legs were pulled up and were now crossed as she sat on the counter, huddled over like a frightened child. She would have laughed if it wasn’t so true. She was absolutely terrified, not only by what she had just learned about the past year or so, but also about telling Julian what she had learned. What is he didn’t believe her. She was just contemplating this possibility when the door opened and she looked up slightly.

Julian didn’t question the text. EJ called on him all the time and he would always come to her aide. No questions asked, but as he walked into the kitchen where she was sitting, he could tell within the second that something was different this time. Julian closed the space between them. She didn’t seem high which surprised him. It was rare to see her looking so clear headed. 

Seeing him approach where she was sitting on the counter made her feel better. Just having him around made her feel less hollow after everything that she had learned that was contributing to bet declining health. And yet, it was so hard for her to find the words to explain everything she was thinking. How did she explain how unsafe she felt staying in Antioch even though she had no where to go. She had to stay in her freakish nightmare with no where to escape, she didn't want to be the only one who knew what she did.

Comming Home | Piper + Open

Walking through the woods, EJ found, calmed her down more often than not when she found that she she just needed some time to herself. However, she also discovered rather quickly that getting out of the woods was harder than she had originally anticipated. This time, walking on her way out to the woods, she had seen someone else. Typically on her walks there was no one around, but in her attempts to turn back around, EJ managed to snap a very large twig underfoot, causing her to wince at the misfortune.

Vane wasn’t at all at the top of list of places Aislin found herself often. Actually she could only remember stepping in one other time. Back when she’d let a friend drag her out for a girl’s night. Which had ended with the red head going home before anyone else because it wasn’t her thing. This time though she was there with a purpose. She was looking for something specific. In all her life, Aislin was pretty straight and narrow. She barely drank, mostly because it wasn’t that easy to get your hands on stuff when you were currently still under age. She wasn’t a party girl, she didn’t have copious amounts of casual sex. Hell she usually didn’t even really swear, unless she was pissed off. 

Though EJ had been watching the red head as she walked around blindly, but she had definitely not been expecting the girl to catch her eye and then make a beeline for her. She sat back in her chair, and waited for the girl to finally manage her way through the crowd over to where she was sitting. The whole time she tried to make her way past people, EJ watched her. She looked young, or perhaps not young, but she looked close to her own age. And the more she thought about it, the more the girl looked like she really didn’t belong in a place like Vane. How silly it was that she found herself to be the kind of girl that did belong in Vane though, and she merely waited for the girl to reach her.

Stephen waived the smoke from his face, his was never fan of cigaretts or cigars for that matter as his father preferred. “Oh yea Piper, we didn’t talk much, i think she may have been friends with Delaney though.” It was almost unsettling when Ej described it like that, people coming and going, never really being able to escape. “I suppose so, hopefully others were luckier than us and made it out for good” he half joked.

EJ was not phased at how he brushed the smoke away. If she noticed he was waving it away from him out of dislike, she didn’t change her actions. In a way, she enjoyed unnerving him. “Some made it out, though I’m not entirely sure if they can all be considered lucky,” she said, remembering the boy who had died recently as well as Nathan. They had both made it out, of course, but not in the way she thought he was insinuating.

Florentin merely shrugged a shoulder. When practicalities could been sidestepped with a sultry gaze and a well-placed hand, impracticality ceased to be a concern. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, amour. You will it, I’ll find a way.” He had a paramour in the business of private transportation, a quick word to the staff keeping up his chalet in the alps, and he could have everything ready by the week’s end. His mind hurried over the details, already planning it. It would hardly be a trouble at all, and it’d get her away from Ranier, for the time being.

His flippant attitude towards the idea of getting out of the country for a bit amazed her. As a child, she was told that dreams lead no where and just because you wanted to do or have something didn’t mean it was possible to achieve, no matter how much hard work you put into getting it. “But still, I mean, I’ve never left the country, I’d need a passport, we’d need to figure out where we’d be going, how to get there, surely you’d need to notify someone where you were going, I’d probably have to. How could it be so easy as you finding a way?”

He bowed, the epitome of chivalry and made his way to the kitchen, where he did not use an electric kettle, but an old-fashioned teapot with loose leaves. Electricity took the charm out of everything, and he refused to give up this indulgence (or any indulgence, really. They were his specialty). “Milk, sugar? Feel free to explore, make yourself at home. There’s a tv in the cabinet, with all of the…things…” he called over his shoulder, the irreverence in which he held the television quite obvious from his tone. He kept it in the cabinet because he found the thing so ugly. But damn it if he wasn’t addicted to his Starz account.

EJ nodded at his words as she walked around the apartment, looking at things with some interest before returning to where he was in the kitchen, far more interested in talking to someone than doing anything else in the moment. She smiled lightly at his teapot, something she hadn’t seen aside from pictures. Everyone she knew found that electric kettles were far easier to handle. “Milk is fine,” she said, leaning up against a wall. “And I’ve never really been a TV watcher, if I’m being perfectly honest,” she admitted, grinning at the disdain in his tone. For someone who seemed to like to live in the past, she was slightly surprised he even had a television.

They hadn’t talked much in high school other than in passing and a couple classes together. Stephen wasn’t sure if she had always been this direct. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that as he didn’t want to seem he was passing judgment. Instead he changed the topic of conversation, “Do you still keep in touch with friends from high school, Delaney and you are the only ones I’ve come across since getting back.

EJ shrugged slightly before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. “Not if I can help it. I was in touch with Piper a bit a few months ago, but she disappeared off the face of the Earth recently, so I’m back to not talking to anyone. Then again, I suppose I disappeared a little while back too, and you just came back from your disappearance. Some Antioch High School tradition or something. I find that it’s much nicer that way, don’t you?” she asked him, blowing her smoke out in rings.

“ On my way.” He sent back. He saw the message and moved quickly. Whenever EJ needed him he wasn’t far away. Julian’s mind raced with thought of what she was doing what his maker had done to her this time. The only way to save her from Isaiah and himself was to make her one of them. As each daypast that truth became more and more clear to Julian. He got into his car and drove.

Seeing the text, EJ waited patiently for Julian to arrive, losing track of time quickly as she sipped on her drink every few seconds, her sweater covered hands gripping the mug tightly despite the shaking in her hands. Her legs were pulled up and were now crossed as she sat on the counter, huddled over like a frightened child. She would have laughed if it wasn’t so true. She was absolutely terrified, not only by what she had just learned about the past year or so, but also about telling Julian what she had learned. What is he didn’t believe her. She was just contemplating this possibility when the door opened and she looked up slightly.