IC Time: Sunday, March 29, 2007
Location: Battaglia’s Bookstore / Hunting Blind
Synopsis: Elizabeth’s unfortunate encounter and subsequent turning.
Submitted by: Elizabeth
Standing far, far away from the entrance to the bookstore and the brilliant stained glass windows found along its front wall is Sabriel. The pale young woman stands before a shelving of books, hand raised, fingertips tracing some of the more weathered spines. She seems slightly out of place amidst all the books and magazines but doesn't let it bother her for now. Suddenly, a small odd smile quirks the corner of her lips as she finally decides on a book, easily slipping it into one hand and flipping it open. "…I suppose it wouldn't hurt to read up on this area since it seems that I'll be staying for a short while." Her smile increases a slight measure though its warmth never fully reaches her eyes. "Especially since I'll be meeting up with that puppy 'fore too long."
Since her search proved so fruitless last time, Elizabeth stands in a different part of the store today. Flipping through a copy of Dante's Inferno, she scowls at it and immediately shoves it back on its shelf. "Honestly, some of these modern translations just /suck/." There's a pause in the London-accented commentary as she meanders down the aisle, fingers trailing almost tenderly over various spines in a gesture unknowingly reminiscent of Sabriel's only moments before. "Yeah, I know you could, but it'd take too long." Another pause. "I'll see what I can find here and then I'll call you back." And without a parting salutation, the click of a mobile being snapped shut can be heard. Eyeing the shelves with scrutiny, the young doctor passes Sabriel with no more than a passing glance. That is, until she hears the muttering. The 'puppy' catches her attention and she stops, tilting her head to try and read the title of the book this mumbling woman is holding.
It's simply a book based upon the geography of Forks. The wildlife, the history, the people, the town. Any little thing anyone could want to know about the area all resides within this book. Or at least most of what any normal person would want to know. The woman makes little to no notice of Elizabeth even though she'd been listening to the conversation being carried out upon the mobile phone. She recalls reading Dante's Inferno so many years ago when one of the Volturi had introduced her to their libraries but that must have been…what? 50 years ago? With a slight shake of her head, smirk still firmly in place, the wanderer closes the book and tucks it under one arm. "Well, looks like I found somethin' to pass the time with at least." And then, she tilts her head to the side, looking over towards the other woman. Her dark grey eyes remain chillingly cold though the smirk quirking up one corner of her mouth is warm. "Might I help you with somethin', Miss?"
Perhaps it's Elizabeth's ridiculous over-attention to detail. Perhaps she holds some weight to the saying that eyes are windows to souls, or it could be her incredibly cynical nature. No matter the cause, Elizabeth catches the dichotomy of eyes and smile, decides which to trust and immediatelyand against common reasondecides that she likes this one. "Not unless you know anything about disgustingly large mutant dogs." She drops it so casually it's hard to tell if she's joking or not. She nods at the book Sabriel holds in her hand. "Didn't find anything in there that was useful, unless you're fond of hiking."
Sabriel pauses momentarily. It's almost as though she's forgot to breathe from how still she appears. Her dark grey eyes flash and the smile upon her lips falters momentarily before a soft chuckle breaks the tension in the surrounding air. "I wouldn't call her a mutant. Just an inordinately big puppy." Her smile turns into a lopsided grin as she tacks on to the end of her sentence, "Even though she could stand some trainin'. Likes to bite, this one." The young woman tightens her hold upon the book, just slightly noticeable from the tensing of her long pale fingers, and replies noncommittally, "I'm new to this place. It didn't seem an unwise idea to find a book to learn more about it." With an air of feigned casualness she leans one shoulder against the bookcase, tilting her hat back as she actually takes the time to really truly look at Elizabeth. Her smile tightens as she thinks, 'Human. Not like the pup. So what would she know about that lot?'
"Don't you think so though?"
Elizabeth snorts. "The one I saw had the same problem." Only instead of a pinprick of pain, a bite from the thing /she/ saw could remove limbs. "Did you find yours from a local breeder? I've been having trouble locating just the right one." Hard to find overlarge ranch dogs if you don't know the area. Elizabeth shrugs half-heartedly. "Books'll only tell you so much, especially about small towns. There's always more there than meets the eye."
Sabriel unconsciously brings a hand up to her left bicep, fingers gently resting against the spot. A bite that could remove limbs? Well, she assumes it would be that way for humans, but as for vampires? The quick slice she'd received had only split open her clothing and barely grazed her flesh. Lucky at that too. She wouldn't like explaining any new scars if caught again.
"…The pup I'm trackin' can't be found at any local breeders." The pale young woman tilts her head just slightly to the side and fixes Elizabeth with an appraising gaze, one that speaks volumes, as though she could see beyond to the unspoken words floating just behind the other woman's lips. "I'm sure you know what I speak of though. Seems like yer pretty knowledgeable with the strays o' this area."
Elizabeth snorts in amusement. "That's what happens when you like to hike in the woods." There's a derisive edge to her voice, directed at herself. She blames herself for those deaths—likely the result of not enough information. Still, it's a bitter memory. The woman's hinting drags a wicked grin from the immunologist, though. "If you're trackin' dogs the size of bears, then it would seem you and I are on the same page." She notes with a quick eye movement the brush of fingers against arm. "They get you?"
The wanderer chuckles wryly before slightly giving her head a nod. "Missed by the narrowest inch. Though she wouldn't have done much damage had she actually gotten a hold of me." Sabriel removes the book from under her arm and looks down at the illustrated cover; a bright green forest with a sunlit trail winding through it. It leaves her feeling disquieted. That's all the reason she needs to reshelf the book. Let some human who would take joy in the few interesting things in that book take pleasure in it. She'd skimmed over the mundane majority of the book and found little that would help her, asides from the geography of the land. "She did charge at me. Good thing I rolled or else the pup might have gotten hurt. After all…" The vampire turns around and fixes you with a cold stare, smile completely dead. "There are more dangerous things than those lil' dogs runnin' loose out in the wild."
Elizabeth nods, following the entire thing…up until that last bit. "Little dogs?" Elizabeth snorts derisively. "And by the way you phrased that, I can assume you mean to intimate that you are one of those 'more dangerous things'?" She eyes the woman up and down slowly, taking in little details that most would consider meaningless. Suddenly, she jerks once, as if she'd been shocked, then looks sharply up into silver eyes, meeting their stare evenly and without the fear a smarter woman might have. "Don't suppose you 'more dangerous things' could fireman-carry someone larger than they are while being pummeled by said someone for five miles without stumbling or injury?"
Sabriel smirks slightly and replies quite simply, "An interesting example…but yes. I suppose if one of those dangerous things wanted to bother with a human, they could do that. Though I wouldn't see why they would ever want to." Her cold grey eyes flicker just slightly and in less time than it takes to blink, Sabriel appears behind Elizabeth, whispering quietly, "So you've run into us more dangerous things before, I take it?"
Elizabeth nods, another puzzle piece clicking into place at the same time it demands more answers. The sudden motion has her eyes trying unsuccessfully to track it, but she manages to stifle the urge to whip around. Rather, she swallows hard and lifts one hand to examine her nails. Her voice, when she speaks, is just a little too casual. "I wouldn't have labeled them as 'dangerous' under the circumstances, but yes. I do believe I have. Does it matter?"
Sabriel smirks at the casualness the woman bravely puts on but the wanderer's other senses are telling her a completely different story. She can practically taste the woman's heartbeat racing beneath her chest and chuckles faintly, though with an edge of underlying hunger. It's been quite a few days since the last time she's fed and it's getting closer to the time when her body won't last much longer without a fresh meal. Cool fingertips, much too cool to have the low throbbing rush of blood pulsing through them, graze one side of Elizabeth's neck. Tracking small animals and draining them has long lost its charms for her. Now, only humans sound good enough to sate her thirst. "It matters to me, lil' one. After all, if you've had dealings with our people, you might not rebuke me quite so easily when I say I'm a little hungry right now…am I right?"
A combination of the too-cold-to-be-human fingersand Liz should know that feeling, she's done many an autopsy in her timeand the apparent non-sequitor seems to shock her out of her building fear. "Hungry? So go buy a burger or something. There's bound to be a McDonald's somewhere nearby. These Americans can't seem to get enough of their grease-laden beef." She shrugs one shoulder, the motion brushing up against the cold, too-hard frame of her…captor? "Can't say I've ever sat down to a meal with 'one of your kind', but if you're hard up for cash, I've a twenty in my wallet." Dry humor. Oh joy. Now would be a great time for those pesky little self-preservation skills to kick in. If, that is, she has any.
Sense of humor indeed, though a great majority of it is lost upon Sabriel. McDonalds? What is this? She pauses for a moment, lips just a hairsbreadth away from the other woman's neck as she ponders. Maybe…a place of convenience where vampires can stop for a quick bite to eat? Then again, she doesn't understand how grease laden beef equates the strange things called 'burgers' so she shrugs her shoulders and pulls Elizabeth back to rest against her. "Just relax…this shouldn’t hurt much since I'm not goin' to change you…" Regardless that it's a public place, or the fact that her fangs are now in plain view and her eyes have shifted to a golden colored hue, is lost upon her. Slowly, she dips her head down and prepares herself for that first bite, making sure that when she does the fangs don't go in more than necessary. "Don't say this too much to m'food, but since you've been so cooperative…thank you."
Change…food…hurt… Suddenly it all comes together into Elizabeth's logic-obsessed, fantasy-lovin' brain. "Holy shit." Her eyes dart back and forth, following her wild train of thought until she reaches the only logical conclusion. She is going to die. Oddly enough, this thought bothers her. Not much at all, but still more than she'd anticipated. Still, her reaction isn't to cry or bargain or plead or beg or even fight. She can't help herself. She starts to laugh; real, belly-shaking laughter. "Poor John, he'll be so confused," she manages out amidst her laugh. It probably won't make a lick o' sense to the vampire about to feed, but Elizabeth doesn't care. 'Serves her right for eating one of the premier medical minds. Little mystery never hurt anyone.'
Sabriel smirks slightly, though her expression is confused. 'Well, if she tastes a little funny, 'least I know why', she thinks to herself before prodding the woman gently and growls, "Stop laughing or else I might knick something that could actually hurt you. Can't feed if you keep laughing. Moves your neck muscles."
Elizabeth only continues to laugh. If anything, she laughs a bit harder. "I'm about to be lunch to a pale Italian vampire who's hunting the abnormally large dogs that seem to like this abysmally small town." She gasps in a few breaths and calms enough to finish with. "What about that /isn't/ funny?"
Sabriel frowns as the woman begins to laugh even harder. With a growl, she replies, "I'm not Italian. Not truly. And I'm not hunting the dogs so much as I am playing a game with one. Besides, you've run into the shifters before, and lived. Which is odd for a human such as yourself. You should know how lucky you are to have lasted this long, knowing so much." Then with a sigh, she decides to not feed from Elizabeth's neck, instead biting down quickly on the length of her shoulder. It's not half as good as feeding straight from the vein, but at least this way there aren't any complications afterwards, asides from the marks left behind.
"Shifters?" That startles Elizabeth out of her laughter only seconds before the vampire sinks teeth into her shoulder. "Ow!" She turns her head as best she can to glare at her attacker. It's not very effective at all from this angle, but it's the thought that counts. "Watch it, would you?" The sting soon goes away, replaced by the odd sensation of blood leaving via muscle tissue and smaller vessels. She can't decide if it's unpleasant or not, but it is most definitely different. "Shifters, huh? Shifting implies change, which means they're not dogs all the time." She tries to snap her fingers in delight at her discovery, but finds the nerve endings blocked by the vampire's teeth. "That's inconvenient." An odd thing to focus on shortly before death, but Elizabeth is most definitely what one would call an odd duck. "Are you trying to say we've got vampires /and/ werewolves, all in this tiny, backwater town?" As if Sabriel can answer while feeding.
Sabriel smirks as she quickly retracts her fangs and begins to feed languorously. The metallic sweetness of fresh blood flowing over her palette does wonders for the wanderer's energy and soon enough, she's having to stop herself from taking too much. The vampire listens to the human woman's question before licking away the last trace of blood from the other's neck and murmuring, "Wouldn't know anythin' 'bout werewolves. Just the pup I ran into." Knowing that Elizabeth is sure to be a little wobbly after the ensuing feeding, Sabriel cordially extends a hand to her. A disturbing flush has fallen across her features and lends her a positively life-like quality. The once pale lips have turned a rosy pink, tinge with the last remnants of her meal. "Come on. You'll want to rest for a moment after that."
Startled to feel Sabriel pull away, Elizabeth turns to see just what is going on. Unfortunately, the blood loss has, in fact, caused dizziness and she stumbles only to catch herself on the shelf. Staring up at the vampire, Elizabeth waits for the double-vision to die down, too unsteady to be disturbed. Short of breath for reasons that would likely only make sense to a fellow physician, she shakes her head to clear it. "What are you doing?" Nevertheless, she accepts the hand. It's no more comfortable than the shelf, but might be able to react faster than said shelf, should she need more support.
Sabriel looks around the bookstore momentarily before grimacing. There isn't anywhere private to sit. Not private enough for what's about to happen anyhow. Even though it's overcast most the time in this town she still tries to avoid any sort of light at all costs possible. Carefully, she guides Elizabeth over to the front door before quickly ushering her out into the open. "I'm not so discourteous as to abandon the human who's just donated a meal to me. After all, you might be my main source of communication here if worse comes to worse." The vampire looks down at the doctor for several silent moments before asking, "…So? How are you feeling?" Dark grey eyes dart over to the two puncture marks upon the woman's neck and she can't help the smile that comes to her lips. It was fun feeding upon a human again even though it's a short lived moment. Soon, very soon, the venom will soon react to her human blood and it will be anything but fun. Which means the wanderer has to get Elizabeth very far away in a very short amount of time before the actual change takes place. With a sigh at some of the things she does at times, Sabriel quickly picks Elizabeth up despite any protests the other woman might have and bolts off towards the forest at as fast a run as she can manage, which is pretty damned fast, to say the least.
"I…what?" Already Elizabeth can feel the disorientation that goes above and beyond the loss of a couple pints of blood. She opens her mouth to ask more, but her veins are starting to heat up; to burn. They're barely outside the city limits when Elizabeth starts to scream. It's more painful than anything she could imagine, more painful than anything her life has shown her. It throbs like a headache and burns like liquid fire. She doesn't mean to cause Sabriel extra trouble, but the pain is to an extent that the human body is just not equipped to handle. She writhes and twists and screams and cries like she never has before, and never will again. At some point, she gains enough presence of mind to gasp out between screams. "What have you /done/ to me?"
The wanderer winces slightly at the screams but knows the pain goes hand in hand with the transformation. She clutches Elizabeth closer to her chest, surprised the woman hasn't passed out before now, and replies, "Yer goin' to experience firsthand exactly what you've been questioning here in this town, Doc. You wanted answers, and this is the easiest way to get them." Sabriel decides this is far enough away from the general human population to not worry and settles down with Elizabeth near the hunting blind. Even though her face is completely neutral, the slightly worried way her fingertips flit about the flushed woman's face speaks volumes. Even if she's a supposed bad guy, it doesn't mean she still doesn't have a trace of humanity left within her. "It should get better soon…so just relax."
"It'll…get better soon?" Elizabeth hisses and writhes under the hunting blind, doing her best to hold in that pain. She fails. There was no hope for success and she screams, the sound raw as the tissues of her throat begin to swell and tear from the abuse. The fingers about her face don't even register. Her brain can do no more than process the pain coursing through her body. She's bouncing back between consciousness and not, but the pain always follows her. She can't escape it. In lucid seconds, she wonders if it will snap her mind.
Esme was just out hunting, minding her own business, alas, the peace of the hunt does her no good, as she hears the sound coming from the hunting blind. With graceful fluidity she leaps into the blind and immediately spots Doctor Tyler. It takes only seconds for the realization to hit her as to what's going on. A level glare, unusual for the Cullen matriarch, is settled upon Sabriel. "She's ours," she states, simply, as if there's no argument behind the matter. She has no clue what to do with Elizabeth, mind you, but she'll figure something out.
Sabriel quirks an eyebrow, for now blocking out Elizabeth's whimpers and screams of pain. She might not have any clue who this woman is but she is adept enough to sense that she's also one of their kind. With a slight smile that doesn't reach her eyes, Sabriel replies, "I think we have a disagreement there, Miss. Though I suppose that'd be common given the situation." Even if this isn't a very common situation itself. The wanderer allows her eyes to glance back down at Elizabeth and she gives the woman's hand something to latch a hold of in her more lucid moments. "She'll survive this. Just like you did, and I did."
Eyes bleary from tears of pain and the pain itself, Elizabeth startles at the sound of another voice, blinking as she tries to focus. "Mrs. Cullen?" she croaks, gasping in breath before squeezing her eyes shut against a throb of intense pain. "Ha," she coughs out. "I knew there was something off about…you." Another groan of pain and it becomes obvious that the once-doctor is trying her hardest to hold in evidence that things are as bad as they seem.
Esme smirks. "I'm not concerned about her survival to be one of us," she hisses at Sabriel. "I rather like her as a human, far more entertaining," despite the annoying questions and the stubbornness. "And I'm afraid my husband wouldn't be very happy if his colleague were to disappear from work. And frankly, I don't feel like explaining to him why Dr. Tyler's taken an unexpected leave from work," the woman states, fiercely, though her approach towards the good doctor is done in a steady, yet slow, rate, not feeling the urge to startle either the doc or Sabriel. As Elizabeth addresses her, Esme moves to place a hand on the doctor. "Feel free to scream, Dear, we both know how painful this is," she gives in a calm, soothing voice, one very different from that given to Sabriel.
Sabriel's hackles rise at the hiss. It's been a very, very long while since she's had to deal with other vampires asides from newly turned ones. It's not the best for her etiquette when dealing with those older than her. "If you can deal with humans and havin' to keep everythin' a secret, then that's fine." She nods towards the doctor. "She had plenty of questions that could only be solved with a bite though. Or otherwise she could chose to know and die rather completely at the hands of a Volturi instead of only losing her humanity." It's a weak argument, even to her ears, and she doesn't stop Esme from coming closer even though in increases her tension visibly. The wanderer looks down at Elizabeth as Mrs. Cullen starts speaking to the changing human and grips her hand tighter. For once, she's in unfamiliar territory here. It's odd for her to stick around as long as she has, especially since she usually just drains humans completely of their blood.
"It's not…so bad," Elizabeth chokes out, managing a smile that even she knows has to be at least a little macabre. A scream later, though, and she's not even trying. She does her best to level a glare at them both, but squeezes the hand in hers and leans into the cool granite skin at her forehead. "Not funny…" She roars out at a burst of pain. "Anymore." Her back arches and her body twists until Elizabeth is certain she's about to snap something in two. "How…long?"
Esme scowls slightly. "Forks is ours, we'll deal with the humans as is necessary, but we like them human," she gives in a voice that's full of certainty. "There have been questions before, and we've managed quite well without having to turn anyone," she points out. "And you know, more questions will arise if our good doctor were to disappear," apparently Esme hasn't lost hope yet for Elizabeth's humanity. "Three days, Dear, if I can't fix this," she gives, quietly answering the woman's question. "But I intend to fix this first, before it's too late."
Sabriel is surprised to hear that the territory is claimed. She's run into a Shifter alone but this is the first time she's heard of other vampires residing here as well. "I…didn't…" For the first time in a few good years, Sabriel is actually speechless. As Elizabeth squeezes her hand and brings it to her fevered forehead, the wanderer feels something akin to…regret?
"I didn't know that Forks was a claimed territory." She looks down at the woman and shrugs her shoulders slightly, before replying, "Do what you see fit with her. Though I'd hurry. It's been quite some time since we've been here."
Esme scowls slightly, listening to Elizabeth for a bit, not so much what the doctor speaks, but her heartbeat, and so on. She then turns her scowl on Sabriel. "Keep her off our land, out of Forks. I won't have a newborn feeding here," she gives, before sitting herself up straighter, though she still keeps a hand on Elizabeth, offering the woman her free hand, should she choose. "Forks is Cullen territory, it has been for awhile and shall continue to be so," and even when the Cullen's aren't there, the Quileute tribe would be there to protect the town. "It's too late to save her," she frowns, scowling at Sabriel. "It's been too long."
There's a lot going on over and around her that Elizabeth doesn't understand and doesn't have the presence of mind to even try. The temporary relief provided by the chilly hands is short-lived as the venom reaches her deeper tissues. The last thing she hears before she's unconscious again is that she has to leave. For some reason, this only adds to her pain and with one final scream, she's out, left to deal with her agony in dreams; writhing and groaning and utterly miserable.
A deep growl resonates in the wanderer's chest as she replies, "I'll keep her away until she's learned to control herself. After that though, I've no say in where she roams, be that here in Forks or elsewhere." Sabriel fixes Esme with dark grey eyes as she adds, "Tell her work she's taken a long vacation. I'm sure your husband will understand given her circumstances."
Esme glowers at Sabriel for a moment or two. "Good, just teach her that Forks is not a feeding ground," she gives as she gently rests an icy cold hand upon Elizabeth's forehead, disliking the pain that the other vamp has put the wonderful doctor into. "We'll make sure that no one has any clue what's happened to you, Dr. Tyler, not those who don't already know. It'll be the best thing to do."
