Exploring [Open]

[kozeph]

She was monster, but at least she didn't kill Zack like always was trusting blindly. Even after almost three years back in the ''real'' world he wasn't used to humans , to talking. everything moved faster he was so used to work day and night in a kitchen that he had forgot how to deal with people. Although he had spent his whole life alone, only in the recent years had he tried to make contact with people something in his heart was lonely. Maybe this was the reason he had become involved with the other Changeling and the vampire child.

the car passed and Zack was oblivious to the tension that had overcame the Ogre, it look like he was cold and his offer to go somewhere more safe and private could be a good idea.. but where could they go?

he pondered for a while, he had the keys of the restaurant they could go there. But the police might come if they make to much noise or even worse Kimmy could find out and fire him! no the restaurant was not an option. perhaps they could go to his place but could he trust them? a minute went by and Zack made up his mind

eh... excuse me.. I have a place near here... my.. home home? the word made a funny noise in his core. It made him feel something in the void that was his soul '' We could go there if you wish he continued saying while look at the floor and watching his feet.

[Khay]

Back into the alley? Khay followed the ogre’s gesture. That would appear strange to any passersby who happened to notice the group of adults leading the seven year old into the dark…Then again, there were not many people out and about. The risk was worth the advantage. Khay stood. Then another thought entered her mind. Back there, it would be harder for her to escape an attack.

Then again…They seemed more afraid of her than her of them. She did not see any danger emanating from them. No hate or violence. Fear, yes. But Khay thought they were beyond thinking of her as whatever it was that was after them. She should be safe. If not, she had a few tricks up her sleeve that may help. So did her mommy-ghoul. Khay had the advantage of a bodyguard who knew the way she worked.

Her attention was captured once more when the smaller one mentioned a home. Khay tilted her head to the side in thought. A home would be safer. She was also curious as to what the house of a changeling would look like. Was it like a normal kine’s? Or were there those slight differences like with the Kindred? Or was it completely wild? “I think that would be a wonderful idea. Thank you…?” She gave him a quizzical look, unsure of what to call him.

[Desmond Vinson]

It was touching that this elemental Desmond barely knew would open his home to not only a stranger of his own kind but also a self-proclaimed drinker of human blood. A little too touching in a world where gestures of kindness were rarely as simple as that. Old suspicions leapt back into the Ogre's mind as soon as Khay agreed with the suggestion. He would be on unfamiliar ground with two strangers of unknown allegiance and power; taking such a risk seemed unwise. But he was still curious, and given the evidence he had seen so far that these two were not servants of the Fae, it might be a risk worth taking.

Thinking it over for a moment, he finally spoke. "That would be more... secure. Lead the way, then." Drawing himself up to his full, impressive height, he scanned the street; not only did he ensure that no potential threats were lurking nearby, he also reminded those with him that he wasn't to be trifled with and would react very poorly to any attempts at deception. Having established this vital fact, he prepared to follow the other changeling wherever he led; he had no idea where this rumored house was, of course, which was what made him so vulnerable.

There had never been a time when he would have trusted a stranger unconditionally; that was just street smarts, and he'd earned those fair and square through trial, error, and good advice. But now that he fully understood that no good deed went unpunished, having lived through the reality of such a grim pronouncement, he was even more cautious. It occurred to him that he had no home of his own; he'd been sleeping on the streets and in train cars since he'd seen his Fetch back in Charleston, and only his mud-like form hid the stench of his desperate living, just as real mud baffles trackers.

He wondered if that would give him an advantage if the Others came after him.

[kozeph]

Zack was a little scared of the vampire thing but he shouldnt be rude he thought''My name is Zack...Miller I...I work at a local restaurant.. whats your name?'' he shaked his head in denial why was he telling them where he work at Zack was being to trusting even if he is lonely he shouldnt be to trusting of extrangers, The ogre had a hard time accepting his invitation and look to be in the edge again''It's not that far from here..'' he said to confort the mud man.

Zack lead the group for a while until they left the center of Ithaca and they came to a more urban place, eventually he stopped and with a hand gesture he showed his home. A completly unremarcable house, one story tall a small garage without a car and a well kept garden. ''this is it'' he said shily while opening the door he turned the lights of the living room and looked expectanly at his new guests.

The house still smelled of old people and the furniture was old and completly normal, some of the things had gather dust, the only really clean place in the house was the kitchen that was state of the art and looked well cared. regardless things looked unused the couchs where stiff and hardly used, the tv was covered in a thin layer of dust. the whole place was a bit warm but it looked empty and lonely

[Khay]

The tall man was an impressive sight. Khay could not help but look up at him as they started walking. She was used to feeling small; sixty-five years spent mostly around adults while stuck in the body of a seven year old could do that to you. This was different.. She felt like an acorn at the foot of an oak tree. Yet Khay felt no fear of the tall man.

She supposed it was because she saw his own fear. Having that ability certainly did change things. Seeing emotions taught Khay empathy. And so she countered his fear by feeling compassion. For both of them. Her gaze shifted towards the smaller one. Something about him…It was as though he was not much older than her body.

Zack Miller. Poor creature. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Zack,” Khay murmured. It was a delayed response. Ah well. They continued walking, Khay still holding the hand of her mommy-ghoul. Moments of silence passed until they finally reached the little one story house. Khay smiled. “It think it is quite cozy,” she complimented as she walked inside.

It smelled old and needed to be cleaned. Almost the opposite from her place. She still liked it. The place seemed lived in. Khay hardly noticed the kitchen. Food meant very little to her now.

[Desmond Vinson]

There was no fear coming from the little vampire, though Desmond could feel his own as well as that of Zack Miller; did vampires have emotions at all? He wasn't entirely sure. The way that her silent companion accompanied her like some parody of a family still unnerved him, perhaps because it reminded him of everything he himself had lost. But that hardly mattered now. He kept an eye on everyone in the little group, and on where he was going; if it came to running, he wanted to know the way back. Getting lost would get him killed, or potentially much worse.

The other Changeling's house was plain and simple, but Desmond could hardly criticize, having lived on the streets for so long now. It didn't look like a trap, but he knew all about illusions by now, and he stayed observant and ready to move. Still, Zack was either an unlikely choice for a Fae loyalist or a very good one. He had ignored all the rules of common sense: don't tell potential enemies your name or where you work, and definitely don't let them know where you sleep, unless you're trying to lure them into an ambush. Moving warily through the door, the older Changeling look around.

The smell of food hit him first; he'd lived on stolen hot dogs and discarded boxes of take-out ever since he'd returned, and the odors that wafted from a well-stocked kitchen... his still very much human stomach grumbled loudly, and he murmured an apology. The dust was next; he coughed, but carefully kept his eyes open and watching. A moment of distraction could be all anyone needed to bring him down and drag him screaming back to Faerie. He waved his hand in front of his face to disperse the particles, then looked around to make sure no more Changelings were lying in wait.

Finding none, he almost took a seat on the couch, then realized that doing so would make him vulnerable. He stood from his half-sit in spite of his tiredness, then leaned against one of the walls. "It's better than what I've got." The silence was awkward; they'd gotten off the streets to avoid attracting attention, but what were they going to do now? It was almost comical: a great lunk of an ogre, a little wisp of a vampire, and an immature flame-head to host them. What on earth were they supposed to talk about?

[kozeph]

Once they we're in the living room, Zack could hear the ogre powerful belly. It was his duty to feed his guest, he happily walked to the fridge opened it and look at what he had.

The elemental always kept his refrigerator fully stocked with fresh food, he was a cook of the hights level and need good ingredients to keep with his level. He was about to pull some eggs when he figured that he should ask if they had a preference '' ehm... your hungry right you want me to make something? he asked while looking at the ogre that was having trouble sitting in the couch and what about... oh sorry he was about to ask the little child vampire and the broken human if they wanted something but remembered she was a blood drinker. He shyly stuck his head in the fridge to avoid showing his embarrassment.

the air of the refrigerator was cold and it made the little flame feel fresh. Zack kept his ear open incase the others started to talk

[Khay]

The big one looked very awkward. And still very much frightened. He did not trust anyone, did he? Khay felt sad for him. At the very least, she had Gregg and Sabia. They were sort of boring as far as humans went, but at least she could depend on them. She looked up when the younger one began to speak.

What would happen if she tried to make a changeling into a ghoul? The thought was more a curiosity than something she was seriously considering. Anyway, she was more interested in her host at the moment.

Khay smiled. It was nice of him to ask (or almost ask), even if she did not eat normal food. She looked at the woman beside her. “Sabia?” she asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Actually,” the woman replied, “I am.” She looked at Zach. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience, but if you plan on cooking something…I would appreciate a bite to eat.”

Khay was a bit surprised. Sabia was not much of a talker. Ever since learning about vampires and all that jazz, she’d been pretty quiet. Oh! “How terribly rude of me. This is Sabia. She is my…caretaker.” It somehow seemed rude to refer to Sabia as a ghoul now that she was actually speaking.

[Desmond Vinson]

”Thank you,” Desmond rumbled, surprised at and more than a little suspicious of the other Changeling’s generosity. He wasn’t sure how his new body would be affected by mundane drugs, but if Zack was an agent of the Fae he might well have access to some sort of enchanted cocktail that rendered Changelings unconscious if ingested. Still, he was very, very hungry; with the Vampire present, perhaps he could chance it. She couldn’t be drugged, and he had grown to doubt that she even knew of the Others.

”I’ll take whatever you’re willing to provide.” If Zack really was just what he said he was, Desmond didn’t want to inconvenience him, and the type of food selected might make it easy to determine whether it was likely to be drugged or poisoned. He’d never been an expert on the subject, but he’d seen some strange things even before his abduction, quickly learning what not to buy in the markets of Kabul and Baghdad. Perhaps those skills would serve him well here.

That the Vampire’s servant finally spoke came as something of a shock; apparently she retained some personality after all. Was she a willing servant? If so, why would she sacrifice a mundane life, the sort of life Desmond would do anything to reclaim, to follow a blood-drinking creature of the night through the darkened streets of Ithaca? Perhaps her will had been imprisoned, causing her to believe that she wanted to be where she was. She would be the perfect servant, highly functional and perfectly loyal. The thought scared him deeply.

Finally he had to indulge his curiosity. ”Did the Others make you, Khayyria? How did you come to be what you are?” It was a sudden outburst, propelled by a need to set his fears to rest or begin immediately to flee them.

[kozeph]

Zack's embarrassment and shock that the broken woman spoke was more evident than anything else, he lowered his face in shame and the ogre could clearly see the flames that Zack had for hair got a little more dim ''Ohm... Sorry I... I... Sorry he said retreating while he retreated back to his world is kitchen.

He had a loot of pre-made food, he often cooked but he almost never ate just a bite once or twice per day most was left to rot. He took out some fresh vegetables and started to cut them with amazing agility and precision. He also took put some water to boil, adding some meat later, then the vegetables and some spices to give it taste. thirty minutes later he had a soup ready. He also made some spaghetti with a white and creamy sauce made of cheese, and from the freezer he took out a cake he had baked yesterday, he served and cooked it all in less then 36 minutes, a stupid yet prideful smile in his lips when he finished cooking and everything was in the table''Eat as much as you like..'' a bit of embarrassment in his voice.

While cooking he was in his own world and didn't even bother to listen what Khay and the ogre talked about

[Khay]

The Others? Khay tilted her head to the side, trying to determine what exactly he meant by that. “I was created by another vampire,” she replied, “He bit me, and then fed me his own blood. I woke up the next night…like this.” She tried a smile, but her smile was tinged in sadness. Something like bitterness had actually crept into her voice.

An odd expression crept onto the face of her ghoul. Puzzlement? Concern? Possibly a mix between the two? It was difficult to tell. Sabia never had much life in her. She seemed destined to be a ghoul. “It is not something I enjoy talking about,” Khay continued. Not that she had anything to hide. Talking about her past made her a little…cranky.

When the food came out, Khay grinned. “That looks wonderful!” It didn’t, not really. Not if one equated ‘wonderful’ with appetizing. Even so, Khay could appreciate the effort that went into the art of cooking. And Sabia would not. At least the woman could be grateful enough to receive a good meal.

“Thank you,” the woman said. She seemed to show a preference for the spaghetti. Things like that interested Khay. She always searched for signs of personality within Sabia.

[Desmond Vinson]

At first, Desmond barely even noticed the even stronger food smells wafting from the kitchen. He was too intent on Khay's words, his curiosity more powerful even than his nose and grumbling stomach. Despite the fact that she seemed a blank spot in his emotional senses, he could see fairly clearly in her what he saw in himself and other Changelings he had met: a sense of violation and loss. Both he and she had lost their lives unwillingly, damned to wander the world as ex-humans who could never know peace. But she, at least, was free from the fear that an even worse fate might drag her back.

"Like the movies, then," he said, half amused and half sorry for the little girl. "God has a strange, ironic sense of humor that victims of fate like us tend to dislike." He wondered whether the first vampire, the one who had given rise to all the others leading down the twisted family tree to Khay, had been some twisted Fae experiment; he wouldn't put it past them to unleash some soulless monster into the world, sending it out to mortals and laughing at the results. But even if that was the truth, it was hardly the fault of one of the victims.

Though reluctant to open up to Khay too much, Desmond began to sense in her a kindred spirit, and he relaxed a little further. But further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the food. Thanking Zack, he just nibbled at first, hoping to detect the signs of poison before they hit him full blast. Soon, though, he couldn't keep it up; his stomach needed to be filled. He had a little bit of everything, and then a lot; it wasn't just the first real meal he'd had in a long time, but also the first decent sized one, and his appetite had only grown along with his new, monstrous body.

He knew he was eating more than anyone else, and much faster and more messily than was polite, but he just didn't care; he expected the tables to turn at any moment, for some cruel Fae trick to steal away any satisfaction he gained from the food, and he was determined to feel it filling his gut for as long as possible. But even as he gorged himself, he didn't even look at his food; his eyes stayed moving around the room, watching for signs of danger. When he had finally eaten his fill, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyelids were heavy, but he refused to allow himself to relax too much. That would be his last mistake.

"Thank you," he told Zack. "I owe you a favor."

[kozeph]

Zack could only help but smile proudly as the Ogre and Sabia eat his food, he was glad he was being useful to them. Seeing people eat his cooking always made him happy.

Zack didn't touch the food he only had a little of the soup, but only ate it out of politeness, he didn't like to eat with people... No he wasn't allowed to eat with others, it was one of the many things Mr Crocker had drilled into his head, but after coming back to this world he had been told by Kimmy and Sib that what Mr. Crocker had thought him was wrong, it was hard for Zack to learn new rules and laws. After finishing the little he served himself he sat in a nearby chair to Khay, dust flew around and was clearly visible, Zack smiled like a child jumping in a bed. He looked at the little vampire trying to figure what to talk about, he wasn't sure at all what to ask he would just stare at her... some minutes passed before he came up with a topic ''So..........what brings you to... to Ithaca?'' he asked shyly at Khay.

After the Desmond finished eating and said expressed his gratitude, Zack just smiled ''It's the least I can do.... Sib ask me to help anyone in need... He is from one of the courts, he said that I should help and share what I got with any lost one.... So...o...Soo if you ever need some help.. or meet someone who needs a place to hide you can come here Zack slightly smiled to show what little confidence he had ''The back door is always open and... and there is always food in the kitchen... and a few beds, you can come and go as you please'' The little flame said now looking at his feet to embarrassed to look at the ogre