Tallulah Evans

It was incredibly easy for Hunter to follow the girl’s thoughts as they sat together, their hand starting to caress her thigh at the same time they spied on Tallulah’s thoughts.  Her thoughts only helped to solidify their thoughts that their current course of action was the right one to take.

“Honestly, most doctors will assume you’re delusional or something of the like and just toss medication after medication at you.  They can’t help it, they’re human.  It’s why I worked to become your primary physician, I knew you weren’t.”  They smiled broadly as they leaned back on their couch, giving the girl a moment to absorb what they had said.  "There is another option, but it’s what we’re doing right now, talking.  My concern is that you’ll need more than just therapy to help you.“  Hunter had to work to keep the grin of their when they felt Talullah give in to their suggestion.  They knew she would eventually, but it was nice to see their plan pushing forward nicely.  "I was unable to perform this treatment personally due to the restrictions of the hospital, but in my private practice I was able to implement portions of it and saw great success when I did.  Sex stimulates the brain in ways that cannot yet do through other methods and I strongly believe that stimulating your brain in that fashion will help you acclimate much faster than you are now.”

Her own thoughts were fuzzy. Tallulah found it hard to concentrate on anything in particular, let alone make a decision. She assumed that was what Dr. Morrigan was here for. His touch was as soothing as it was subtle. She nearly forgot about this too, perhaps a sign of how much she trusted him already.

“I know. It was cruel”, Tallulah said eventually. It was one of the few things she was certain of, even if she came to the conclusion only after she had been released. The man had been right to work these feelings out with her and had equally been the reason she did not despise her former doctors for how they had treated her. It wasn’t their fault – the girl reminded herself once again. But more than this, her mind was playing with the suggestion he had just made. Tallulah grew tense at the thought but had to agree that maybe she did need something more radical. Progress had been rather slow in the previous months.  “So…”, the girl exhaled deeply. “How is this going to work?” Tallulah was almost embarrassed to look him in the eye as memories resurfaced from when she had previously been intimate with others. It had been a few hundred years, though she was still unable to let go of them. This was how she knew that Dr. Morrigan was right; that at least something had to change. “Do you mean to… overwrite… you know? I don’t know if it will help but-“ In truth, she did not know what she had agreed to precisely, though she trusted the other enough.

“You are probably wise not to. Not just with me but..everyone else too.” Still, as he spoke those words, Keith was aware of how lonely that could be: to feel like you had to keep your guard up, like some wall preventing you from truly connecting with someone. Of course, he had not been a slave..nor would ever be, so her judgement was her own to deal with. “Mary sue is a term used to describe someone who views themselves as perfect, as though they can do no evil. In our case, a vampire who claims they don’t need or have any desire to feed from humans, let alone hunt.” The corner of Keith’s lips twitched into somewhat of a smile at Talullah’s admission. “Shame about the collar, then.” Her potential, for one, was real interesting. “I have not heard of elementals. Are there many out there?”

Making note of her species to do some research later, the vampire huffed and leaned back against the wall there and eyed the door for a second. “..I was. It might be something you end up liking, who knows. And Grace is always looking to fill out roles.” he shrugged, “She also happens to love meeting people.”

“Then why are you trying to change my mind?”, Tallulah asked with narrowed brows. She had always been blunter than the other slaves, whether on purpose or otherwise. And Keith’s words still made no sense to her. As usual… “Hmm… I guess I can agree with you here. I have never heard of such a vampire who refuses to feed from others” She knew of species preferences – even if she had no idea of her own blood tasted to them – but she could not think of a single case where they refused to feed altogether. Tallulah then cocked her head at his remark. “Do you think I can get rid of it? And still live here, I mean?” She wouldn’t want to trade a place on this island. Despite the many indifferences she had with others, this was by far the most normal she had felt since her awakening. Needless to say, her most trusted therapist was here also. Eyes lowering, the elemental shook her head. “I don’t think so”, she admitted. “There were more of us once but I haven’t seen another in a very long time. I wonder what…” It hurt to speak about it. More so, she did not trust the vampire, though she was longing to find out more. Could it be that he lived long enough to know something? “Dr. Morrigan says we are the ancestors of the witches today, but I do not know if that’s the truth”

“I do not know what to think of this Grace either. When will she arrive?” Lula had yet to make up her mind whether she was going to leave or stay. She was curious to know her, rather than to trust the accounts of Keith. But if she was anything like Keith, she was equally certain that she would dislike and mistrust her just as much. Part of her even was shy about being alone with them both.

Persephone matched her frown with one of her own. “I was talking to myself. I do that sometimes, sue me. Technically I was talking to my magic, it doesn’t like you that much.” She explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. She really just wanted to be left alone, find her little rabbit and play with him. “If anyone is bothering anyone, it is you bothering me,” she scoffed, crossing her arms. She didn’t flinch at the fire. “Fire doesn’t scare me and neither do you. Yes the woods are big enough that we both can, if you care little for your safety, I care less.” Percy said. “I wish you stopped threatening me.” She said sitting on the ground. “ It’s getting old.”

Tallulah furrowed her brows and scrunched up her nose. Today even more so, she was as blunt with her expressions as she was with her words. “How was I supposed to know? You spoke to me just now”, she frowned. “And I do not speak to myself” – not like this, anyway. Mostly, she was able to keep her thoughts to herself. Mostly. At this moment, everything seemed a little more intense. “But you came after me. If I’m bothering you, you should leave – just like I told you to” Tallulah turned away then. She had enough of this woman. To think that she had sympathized with her not so long ago!

“Right. What would be my motivation?” And with that, the vampire was really going beyond..trying to hopefully learn what others had possibly wanted from her in the past. The things Talullah might have to offer that he did not know about yet. “As for vampires, I don’t find that surprising. Some try to sugar coat the whole thing, Mary Sue vampires..mostly, but many of us won’t bother hiding our true nature for too long. I mean, we’re predators.” Had they been a week ago, Keith might not have so openly admitted this but things had changed. His only friend had ditched him. Business was going okay but not reaching the standards he had hoped for. And now..this woman was his only source for entertainment. “When you say your people, you mean…”

That’s it. Now they were getting somewhere. Stalling, the american leaned back on his heels and pressed down onto a bench, tilting his chin up a bit to look at her. “..would you like to change that? There might even be room for you to try acting if you wish. I’m sure Grace would love it.” he shrugged. Not him, though. He was not into that sort of thing. “I mean..just that. Go somewhere. Chat. See some art.”

“I don’t know”, Tallulah shrugged. She thought this argument was mighty stupid. Why speak of the things which he could not prove? Why not accept her mistrust towards him? “I don’t know you and I don’t trust you. That’s all I know”, the elemental added, rolling her eyes. She was becoming impatient. “Mary who? Is that someone famous, someone I’m supposed to know?” Or was he simply playing with her? With how little sense even other people sometimes made to her, it was hard to tell. “I’m a predator too”, Tallulah instead focussed on the other words of his sentence as she crossed her arms. Indeed, a long time ago all she could think about was to hunt and to survive. This life was a lot different. Her features softened momentarily as she reflected on her past life. “My people. You know, elementals. And others of my group. People I knew”, she responded vaguely – and then she was back to normal, whatever that meant.

“Maybe… But I don’t think I can act”, she mused then. “Why, you aren’t offering, are you? Why would I go with you?” It was suspicious that he acted to kindly towards her now; so unlike last time. Is he trying to play me? Does he think me a fool? “…Really? But she’s never met me”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Persephone snapped harshly. She wrung her hands together once more. She should just walk away, she doesn’t want a fight, she didn’t even know if she could control her magic enough to fight someone. “Because I can’t be around a lot of people and there are people all over the island. I’m trying to protect people, my magic… it isn’t well, it’s been dormant too long. I need to be around nature, trying to calm down a bit,” her voice shook more than she wanted it to, but she didn’t care she needed the other girl to listen.

“I’m not afraid of you and your little fire. I quite enjoy fires, but I doubt you’ll enjoy my magic snuffing out your little fires. It’s best for you to leave. I am not going anywhere,” she said.

Tallulah frowned and confusion washed over her features thereafter. “Who were you talking to then?” There was nobody else around. Did the woman take her for an idiot? Wouldn’t be the first… Indeed, little had changed over the past hundreds of years. Her power and intellect were still overlooked and underappreciated by most, sometimes including herself. “You make no sense but I suggest you leave me alone”, the elemental returned harshly. She released a bit of fire to the side, away from the other woman, partially because she couldn’t keep it inside her for longer. The release both calmed her and fuelled her destructive desires. “The woods are big enough, hm?” The girl slowly became irritated by the quizzical words, and her unwillingness to listen. Her eyes narrowed and she exhaled sharply then. “Fine. Then stay. I don’t have time for you, but don’t disturb me or you’ll regret it”

“I don’t know. I tend to hide from people so sneak is the correct word to use,” they shrugged. They barely paid attention to the rules, as long as they didn’t kill anymore they assumed they were fine. “I think you have to reserve the room, but I’m not sure. Don’t worry I will just be reading.”

“Oh, I understand”, Tallulah nodded. The feeling the woman described wasn’t so unfamiliar to her. It was maybe because of this that her demeanour changed and her posture relaxed. The girl leaned back into her chair and shrugged. “Never mind, I think this room will be big enough for us both. Enjoy your book”

“Oh, come on, sweetheart. When have I lied to you?” Keith finally complained. Slightly, that is, for he had to keep the wall of indifference up. “Did you have a bad experience with my kind in the past, perhaps? An experience other than the time you sneaked into my property, of course.” That had been wrong of her, she should know. In fact, he would have gone ahead and reminded her she’d come out the other end lucky, but he figured that wouldn’t help things much right now. “Mh, fair. Grace teaches theatre here. That something you’re into?” he said as his lip twitched slightly, a huff leaving him. “..no. But she might want to take you out for a little fun.”

“I don’t know…”, Tallulah conceded quietly. “But everyone lies. Maybe you already have and I just don’t know it yet” Although Keith indeed had not lied about his business practices, it was hard to give him credit when her imagination had been running so wild that day. More so, he did not seem very apologetic about how he had handled the situation. “No… I haven’t met many vampires, but I’ve heard stories. Mostly bad ones. We were lucky to have never encountered one of you. I think…”, the elemental paused then. Was it wise to share so much of herself so soon? But she noticed his eyes resting on her with expectations. To change the subject now would only serve to intrigue him further. “I think your kind wasn’t very interested in the politics of our people”

“I… I don’t think I’ve ever been to a theatre”, Tallulah admitted. She knew of them, of course, but her life and her finances had forbade her to ever visit one. Usually, they told their own stories at the fireplace. It was good that Keith did not stop speaking or else nostalgia would have likely crept up on her. “Take me out? How do you mean?”

“Oh, see..that’s the thing about me. I don’t lie.” Keith stated plainly, very much like he did with everything else that evening. “I guess I don’t see the point in it. The truth will often pass as the opposite if you’re blunt enough..so I usually leave it up to the other to do with the information as they will.” Like now. Although he might have just been acting ambiguous for the better part of it. As she pretty much sent him away, the adman moved back slightly, beginning to pace across the room ..just not far. “She’ll show.” he shrugged, silent again for the most part, until a question landed in his inner ear. He smiled. Interest, was it? “We had arranged to meet after her sessions..but she may have got busy. Her name’s Grace Carleton. Have you met her?”

“And this a liar would claim also”, she said, feeling quite clever as she did. Momentarily, maybe because it was so easy to converse with him, she wondered if he perhaps was just as old as she was. He hardly seemed confused by her words. More importantly, he was not confusing either. It was a shame that he was just so awfully dislikeable! When he remained adamant on staying, Lula had half a mind to be the one to leave instead. But this did not seem right. It seemed like giving up. And so they both remained at close proximity, at least she trying to look busy. “No, I don’t recall her name. Naturally, I don’t usually hang out with the likes of you” A smile almost crept up, proud about her comeback, though she stopped it just in time.  “I hope you don’t expect me to leave once she arrives. I was here first”

“I know it’s pointless to say, given the fact that you won’t believe me, but..I have no interest in hurting you.” Keith said with a raspiness to his voice, “No reason to, actually.” Meaning she was safe, for now, but he would not put it beyond her to try anything if he gave her the slightest bit of an indication he was going to do something unpredictable. A quick, sudden move. An excess of closeness. He had seen her react before. Crane’s hand stayed there, suspended in the air for a few seconds after she gave a name, and was then withdrawn.. moved into the vampires’ pocket. “Pleasure, I suppose. And..I came here looking for my sire. Although it appears she is not here.”

“Pointless indeed. If the case was different, surely you would have said the same”, the elemental pointed out with a shrug. She did not understand many things in this modern world but people she knew. Vampires she knew. “So, I think only time will tell” Yet was it not funny that this conversation with this very disagreeable man was the most natural she had had in a long time? Tallulah almost enjoyed it, if it wasn’t such a horrible thing to admit. Thus, her expression remained disinterested. “It has only been me for the past hour. You should be looking elsewhere”, she pointed out then, averting her gaze once again but not for long. Suddenly, she was alerted. “Why, does she come here often? And you?”  

Persephone couldn’t help but scoffed at the woman’s words. She stood up to her full height, looking the woman up and down. Her magic hummed loudly in her ears. “Calm down,” she mumbled to herself, before addressing the other woman. “You are not danger to me.” Maybe she should have said she wasn’t a threat to her, but it was all the same to Persephone.

“I was in here first. I can’t leave the forest.” She couldn’t be around too many people, she wouldn’t be able to handle. “Look, I don’t know what is going on and I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to leave. My magic isn’t friendly, it’s hungry and you look delicious.”

“Calm down?” It was insulting and confusing both. Had she understood her right? Why should she calm down when it was her who came and interrupted her playtime? Tallulah pressed her lips together. The fire inside her was tickling, urging her to release it but she resisted for now. “Why can’t you leave the forest? It is big. If you cannot, you should go elsewhere. I want to be alone”

The woman made no sense, though this was not an unfamiliar feeling. There were more people she did not understand, than there were people she did. It was only when she elaborated that Lula narrowed her eyes somewhat. “And my magic will burn you alive” The trees behind her were proof enough of that. “Get out. I’m not going”

Keith let the silence settle around them for a spell, letting his eyes do the talking instead. It was not difficult to tell he still made her feel uneasy. Probably due to last time. But as usual, the vampire thrived in those types of situations. “..convenience is good, isn’t it? It means you did not actually come across someone who may have an interest in harming you.” he announced, eyes drifting to the seats she pointed to before cracking a laugh. “…really? ‘cause I’m good right here. Maybe it’s time you and I have a proper introduction.” His hand dipped forward, open. “I’m Keith.”

“Ah, is that so? I could hardly say…”, Tallulah trailed off and averted her gaze, hoping that the man would do the same. Strangely, even though she had accused him of terrible crimes and even though her dislike towards him was so obvious, he seemed to enjoy her company. How could you trust someone like that? “Tallulah”, she returned and ignored the hand that was stretched out. Did he really think she would touch him after last time? “So, Keith… Did you just come here to pester me, then?”

“I have no interest in stopping you at all” she said with a shrug, she had been walking around seeing people go wild it seems suddenly and even she felt more intensely? than before, well she wasn’t quite sure how she was feeling or what was happening but she also didn’t care enough to find out, in fact she was mainly looking for something fun to do, she was even thinking of tricking some mortals into an oath or something like that. “Are you trying to set things on fire?” 

“No?” Tallulah narrowed her eyes with scepticism. Why else would they come and find her, if not to stop her? To punish her? The Institute had hardly been kind to her circumstances, though there was more freedom here than in the human medical institutions. Here, they promised, she could be herself. Her muscles tensed at the memory. It was only now that she fully understood that she would never be herself without her powers.  “Trying?” With the trees ablaze behind her, this question seemed completely nonsensical. “I am setting things on fire”

The Phoenix could feel it: the fire. It was like he was drawn to it. He smirked a bit to himself and made his way towards the flames. Towards her. She didn’t strike him as another Phoenix, but she did catch his attention. He wanted to see what was drawing this out of her.

He could feel the heat, the flames, all of it, building up inside of him. He stepped closer to her. “I’m not here to ruin your fun,” he called back, holding up his hands. He could feel the firebird wanting out. He wanted to let it out. “I’m here to join you. Between you and me, I think we can make this amazing. We can have all sorts of fun.” He chuckled a little bit and licked his lips. “What do you say?” he asked her. He paused, rubbing the back of his neck just a little bit. “Phoenix,” he continued. “I’m a fan of fire, as well.” He chuckled lightly and smiled at her. “What do you say? Want to play with fire?”

Tallulah was deeply afraid to lose the powers she had just unleashed. It was too good to be true – especially with the collar still around her neck. Yet she was sure she did not hallucinate. In all those years she had never felt more like herself than in this moment. She’d rather be alone than to risk losing it again. “Come no closer”, she demanded fiercely. The man was taller than her, though she was hardly intimidated by that. She had fought many who were physically bigger and stronger than her. “join me? But you don’t know me” Though undeniably she was relieved that he did not seem to be here to capture her again. He did not seem angered. “And I don’t know you” Phoenix. That was all that needed to be said. Tallulah had never met a phoenix in her life, though her guard instantly dropped. Could it really be true? “Prove it"  

Persephone was losing her grip on reality and herself. She thought coming here she would be fine that her powers being bound would be a good things. It would keep the ghost away and her from hurting herself or someone. Luckily it seemed whatever was keeping ghost off the island was working, but in her mind it was failing. She could hear fighting and moans of pain and pleasure but without seeing it, she thought she was losing her mind.  She needed to get away and be away from people so she wouldn’t hurt anymore.

She ended deep into the forest. Her hands shook and she brought her knees to her chest, rocking back and forward. Her heart was beating like a humming bird and her magic begged her to use it. Screaming out she grabbed a rabbit killing it without a second thought. Her magic hummed in approval and she focused on reanimating the poor creature. The moment it got up it hopped away. “Fiddlesticks,” she groaned getting up to follow it only for someone to speak. Looking up she started at the woman. Her magic already begging her to kill the girl.  “You need to get out of here, it’s nice safe.”

Tallulah knew that sooner or later she would be found. She would have preferred it happened later rather than sooner. And when the intruder appeared, she did not know whether the trees or her heart burned more. At least she is a woman… Although the elemental did not know herself, she had always felt closer towards women. For one, they had hurt her less in the past. But more so, they went through experiences which men would never be able to understand, regardless of their background or experience. And it was maybe because of this that Tallulah did not attack her straight away. She knew what it was like to be silenced.

“It is not”, she confirmed, her voice sharp like icicles. Part of her was surprised that she still had it in her. It must have come with her powers. “I am the danger and you should go” But deep down, she wished her no warm. She simply wanted to play with fire; to feel alive again. Nobody needed to be harmed in the process. She was not like the others – though the others would eventually suffer. “This is personal”