A/N Okay I had some problems with this Chapter guys, so bare with me. I wanted to smoothly integrate the relationship aspect into the conflict aspect of the story. I don't know how well I pulled it off. Tell me what you think.
Disclaimers: I own nothing. Yadda, yadda, yadda. On with the show.
Chapter 6
In a few minutes they were on their way to the carnival grounds on Cash's bike. As soon as they got there and bought their tickets, Charlie made a b-line for the roller coaster. After their sixth time on that , Cash finally convinced Charlie to try the other rides. Her lucky shoes must've worked because she won a huge Snoopy Dog playing Wack-a-mole and three goldfish by throwing ping-pong balls into water-filled fish bowls. Cash won a handful of small stuffed animals on various games. They both pigged out on cotton candy and chilly dogs. It was the most innocent fun Cash'd had for as long as he could remember.
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"Come on!" Caitlyn cried as she pulled at Julian's arm.
Julian groaned. Why had he let his girlfriend talk him into this? He'd never really liked these sorts of things. "You know, we don't HAVE to go to the carnival. I could take you to a nice restaurant and we could take in a show." he suggested hopefully.
"Oh, no you don't, Mr. Luna! It's my turn to pick what we're doing and I say we're going to the carnival."
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"I don't get it." Cash commented, shaking his head.
"What?" The redhead smiled at him through her second ice cream cone of the day.
"I've never met anyone like you before. You switch from leather to Mr. Bubble, from combat boots to lucky sneakers, and you can down chilly dogs, slurpees, cotton candy, and ice cream and not say one word about dieting." Cash chuckled as she tried to lick a dollop of chocolate ice cream off the tip of her nose.
Charlie looked at him in all seriousness. "What would be the point? You only live once, right? So, what's a slurpee or two in the grand scheme of things? And I happen to like Mr. Bubble, thank you very much."
Cash grabbed the Snoopy Dog out of his girlfriend's failing grasp. "That's exactly my point. You have the whole Carpe Diem outlook on life. You are such a passionate person and yet you keep holding back when we're together. Why?"
At the moment, Charlie's mouth was too full of chocolate ice cream to answer. Instead, she nodded, indicating a picnic table nearby. They sat down as Cash waited for Charlie to compose herself. After a while, Charlie looked up at him, seriously. Her gaze reflected so many emotions: pain, longing, desperation, fear and desire. Cash could have sworn he actually saw flames dance across her eyes. "Cash, you know how I feel about you."
"I.." Cash tried to answer but was cut off by a finger brought to his lips.
"I've loved people before; been close to them. They're all dead now." Her voice choked up and Cash could see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "My parents... they died protecting me."
"I'm sorry." Cash said in a soft voice. Charlie held her hand up indicating that he should let her finish.
"My last lover, Vincent, pursued me relentlessly. I couldn't get rid of the guy. I let myself fall for him and he was killed because of it. Since then, I never let myself get too close to anyone. I move around from place to place, never getting too attached to anyone or anything. Because the closer I get to a person, the deeper I love him, the more heinous his death is." She met Cash's gaze full-on. "And I have fallen absolutley head-over-heels for you."
Cash stared at her for a while , trying to determine whether or not she was telling the whole truth. The pain in her eyes spoke of incredible loss. He had no doubt that what Charlie said was true... to a point. The Gangrel highly doubted that the deaths Charlie spoke of were as much her fault as she made them out to be. But he wondered what it was she wasn't telling him.
He took Charlie's trembling hands in his own. Cash tilted her head up so that she again met his gaze. "I feel the same way." The tears began again and Charlie tried to turn away. But Cash's grip on her jaw forced her to keep her gaze level with his. "I've had my share of danger in life Charlie, more than you can probably imagine. I'm not afraid to take on whatever I have to in order to see this through between us. Now, the way I see it, we have two options here. We take what we have all the way, or nowhere at all."
Charlie calmed down a bit and really studied Cash for a moment. He had the air of someone who faced extreme circumstances on a day-to-day basis. Could she do it? Could she just let herself go with him and trust that he could take care of himself? "What are the terms?... If we take it all the way, I mean."
Cash let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "No more secrets. No more holding back from each other. We let ourselves go, and deal with the concequences."
For Cash, it was a lot to put on the line. It was insane really, because he meant what he said. No more secrets. He'd tell her about the Kindred and his clan and hope that she would allow him to Embrace her; to show her his world. If things went right he'd end up with a loving Childe and possibly a Mate. Worst case scenario, it could mean betraying his clan, enraging his Prince, and possibly resulting in his Final Death.
For Charlie, the stakes were just as high, but they were more simple. If things went well, she'd have someone to love her that could deal with what she was and with the power she possessed. If it didn't work, she'd most likely have to watch another of her lovers die in agony. Either by the hands of those that sought to harness her power, or by her own lack of control.
In the end, it was Charlie's choice to make. She looked deep into Cash's eyes and said simply,"Okay, let's give it a shot."
Cash felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment. The world was spinning. When it stopped, the Gangrel had a Snoopy doll shoved in his face. For a moment he looked around, confused. Charlie was headed in the direction of the parking lot. He quickly got up to walk after her. But he misscalculated the nearness of a carnival-goer going the opposite way. Before he knew what hit him, Cash found himself flat on his ass on the pavement. Glancing around the huge plush animal, the Gangrel was shocked to see none other than the Prince of the City in the very same situation. Only, Julian was holding an oversized Tweety doll.
"Whoa, Clash of the Cartoons!" Cash heard from behind him. He looked back to see his girlfriend descending into fits of giggles at his expense. She reached out a hand to help him up, which he greatfully accepted. The Gangrel then turned to help his employer up.
"Sorry, Julian. Couldn't see where I was going." He gave julian a sheepish look and shot an annoyed one back to Charlie. After all, it was her stuffed animal.
"No, no, don't apologize!" cried the blond woman who appeared at Julian's side. "That was priceless! Julian Luna laid out on his ass, thanks to a pair of oversized cartoon characters! Now, were is my camera when I need it?"
"Thank you, very much Caitlyn." Julian said dryly as both women continued to giggle. The Ventrue tried to recover some dignity as he brushed off the dirt from his very expensive, very lush azure blue suit. He noticed the redhead by Cash's side. " And you must be the lovely Miss McCall I've been hearing so much about."
Caitlyn's head shot up. She was immediately brought to full reporter alert at the mention of the young up-and-coming artist's name. "You're Charlene McCall? The one who just opened that new gallery downtown?"
"It's Charlie, actually. Nobody ever calls me Charlene." she replied, extending her hand in greeting. *Except my Mom.* she thought sadly. "And you must be the infamous Mr. Luna."
Julian smiled. The girl had style and beauty. He could easily see why Cash was so taken with her. But he could also sense why Daedalus had been so weary of her. The redhead really did have power radiating off her in waves.
"I don't know if I'd say infamous, but I have my mysterious side. It's true." He replied with a smile.
Charlie gave Cash a mischevious grin. "Yes that does seem to be going around."
Cash was about to comment when he suddenly felt Charlie tense up beside him. She took hold of his arm in a death grip as if she were about to collapse if she didn't hold on to something. He followed her line of vision past Julians' shoulder. Standing at the other side of the circle, past the games, he saw a man. The stranger was average height and build, with white hair. What was remarkable about him was the cold look in his eye. The man's gaze was shooting proverbial daggers at Charlie.
"Are you alright, Ms. McCall? You look as though you'd seen a ghost." Julian said. He and Caitlyn both turned to see what she and Cash were staring at.
Charlie's mind went blank. Fear welled up inside of her.* It can't be. It's impossible. He's dead. I killed him myself.* Her mind was only coherent enough to bring one word to her lips,"Rainbird."
As soon as he heard the word, a flood of mental images washed over Cash. Memories that were not his own shot through the Gangrel's mind. A young girl with her parents. That same girl lost and alone. A friendly custodian that talks to the girl. The custodian killing a man who is obviously the girl's father. The little girl's rage culminating in a sea of flames, with hundreds crying out in pain. Then another set of images came. The same little girl, all grown up and running for her life. A dark haired man whom she loved. An old foe, returning with back-up. Five young boys running rampant over a small town: a screamer, a blind seer, a telekinetic, a mind-controller, and the last (and most powerful)-an energy sink. The dark man is murdered by the friendly custodian, just as the girl's father had been. A kiss. The custodian is no more. The town is going up in flames. The girl, the Firestarter, embraces the energy sink; holding the boy in her arms until they both collapse. Then, all is dark and peaceful.
Cash blinked a few times before looking at Charlie. Her gaze was still fixed at the spot by the games, which was now vacant. The look in her eyes left no doubt in Cash's mind that the mental images had come from her. It was all becoming clear to him. The fear and the pain in her eyes reflected the horrors she had undergone and the terrors she'd committed. A great wave of emotion swept over the Gangrel Primogen. Pity, outrage, understanding, empathy, and most of all love prompted Cash to take Charlie's hand and turn her face toward him.
Slowly, recognition of her surroundings shown through Charlie's gaze. Coming out of her mind fog, the redhead looked into Cash's eyes and saw the understanding there. He knew. He had seen her and seen what she'd done; what was done to her. Cash didn't have all the details but she could tell he had seen her memories. And now, all she saw in his eyes was love and compassion.
"Cash, I wanna go home." she said in a small, vulnerable voice. Instantly, the image of the lost little girl was recalled in his mind.
"Okay, baby. I'll take you home." Cash sent looks of apology to Julian and Caitlyn, who still looked utterly confused. Forgotten were the goldfish and stuffed animals from their day of fun. Even the Snoopy Doll was left behind with the Prince. The only thing Cash thought of as he led Charlie back to the bike and sped off into the distance was home. He was going back home to the darkness with his love: his Firestarter.
Disclaimers: I own nothing. Yadda, yadda, yadda. On with the show.
Chapter 6
In a few minutes they were on their way to the carnival grounds on Cash's bike. As soon as they got there and bought their tickets, Charlie made a b-line for the roller coaster. After their sixth time on that , Cash finally convinced Charlie to try the other rides. Her lucky shoes must've worked because she won a huge Snoopy Dog playing Wack-a-mole and three goldfish by throwing ping-pong balls into water-filled fish bowls. Cash won a handful of small stuffed animals on various games. They both pigged out on cotton candy and chilly dogs. It was the most innocent fun Cash'd had for as long as he could remember.
*************************************************************************************************
"Come on!" Caitlyn cried as she pulled at Julian's arm.
Julian groaned. Why had he let his girlfriend talk him into this? He'd never really liked these sorts of things. "You know, we don't HAVE to go to the carnival. I could take you to a nice restaurant and we could take in a show." he suggested hopefully.
"Oh, no you don't, Mr. Luna! It's my turn to pick what we're doing and I say we're going to the carnival."
*************************************************************************************************
"I don't get it." Cash commented, shaking his head.
"What?" The redhead smiled at him through her second ice cream cone of the day.
"I've never met anyone like you before. You switch from leather to Mr. Bubble, from combat boots to lucky sneakers, and you can down chilly dogs, slurpees, cotton candy, and ice cream and not say one word about dieting." Cash chuckled as she tried to lick a dollop of chocolate ice cream off the tip of her nose.
Charlie looked at him in all seriousness. "What would be the point? You only live once, right? So, what's a slurpee or two in the grand scheme of things? And I happen to like Mr. Bubble, thank you very much."
Cash grabbed the Snoopy Dog out of his girlfriend's failing grasp. "That's exactly my point. You have the whole Carpe Diem outlook on life. You are such a passionate person and yet you keep holding back when we're together. Why?"
At the moment, Charlie's mouth was too full of chocolate ice cream to answer. Instead, she nodded, indicating a picnic table nearby. They sat down as Cash waited for Charlie to compose herself. After a while, Charlie looked up at him, seriously. Her gaze reflected so many emotions: pain, longing, desperation, fear and desire. Cash could have sworn he actually saw flames dance across her eyes. "Cash, you know how I feel about you."
"I.." Cash tried to answer but was cut off by a finger brought to his lips.
"I've loved people before; been close to them. They're all dead now." Her voice choked up and Cash could see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "My parents... they died protecting me."
"I'm sorry." Cash said in a soft voice. Charlie held her hand up indicating that he should let her finish.
"My last lover, Vincent, pursued me relentlessly. I couldn't get rid of the guy. I let myself fall for him and he was killed because of it. Since then, I never let myself get too close to anyone. I move around from place to place, never getting too attached to anyone or anything. Because the closer I get to a person, the deeper I love him, the more heinous his death is." She met Cash's gaze full-on. "And I have fallen absolutley head-over-heels for you."
Cash stared at her for a while , trying to determine whether or not she was telling the whole truth. The pain in her eyes spoke of incredible loss. He had no doubt that what Charlie said was true... to a point. The Gangrel highly doubted that the deaths Charlie spoke of were as much her fault as she made them out to be. But he wondered what it was she wasn't telling him.
He took Charlie's trembling hands in his own. Cash tilted her head up so that she again met his gaze. "I feel the same way." The tears began again and Charlie tried to turn away. But Cash's grip on her jaw forced her to keep her gaze level with his. "I've had my share of danger in life Charlie, more than you can probably imagine. I'm not afraid to take on whatever I have to in order to see this through between us. Now, the way I see it, we have two options here. We take what we have all the way, or nowhere at all."
Charlie calmed down a bit and really studied Cash for a moment. He had the air of someone who faced extreme circumstances on a day-to-day basis. Could she do it? Could she just let herself go with him and trust that he could take care of himself? "What are the terms?... If we take it all the way, I mean."
Cash let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "No more secrets. No more holding back from each other. We let ourselves go, and deal with the concequences."
For Cash, it was a lot to put on the line. It was insane really, because he meant what he said. No more secrets. He'd tell her about the Kindred and his clan and hope that she would allow him to Embrace her; to show her his world. If things went right he'd end up with a loving Childe and possibly a Mate. Worst case scenario, it could mean betraying his clan, enraging his Prince, and possibly resulting in his Final Death.
For Charlie, the stakes were just as high, but they were more simple. If things went well, she'd have someone to love her that could deal with what she was and with the power she possessed. If it didn't work, she'd most likely have to watch another of her lovers die in agony. Either by the hands of those that sought to harness her power, or by her own lack of control.
In the end, it was Charlie's choice to make. She looked deep into Cash's eyes and said simply,"Okay, let's give it a shot."
Cash felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment. The world was spinning. When it stopped, the Gangrel had a Snoopy doll shoved in his face. For a moment he looked around, confused. Charlie was headed in the direction of the parking lot. He quickly got up to walk after her. But he misscalculated the nearness of a carnival-goer going the opposite way. Before he knew what hit him, Cash found himself flat on his ass on the pavement. Glancing around the huge plush animal, the Gangrel was shocked to see none other than the Prince of the City in the very same situation. Only, Julian was holding an oversized Tweety doll.
"Whoa, Clash of the Cartoons!" Cash heard from behind him. He looked back to see his girlfriend descending into fits of giggles at his expense. She reached out a hand to help him up, which he greatfully accepted. The Gangrel then turned to help his employer up.
"Sorry, Julian. Couldn't see where I was going." He gave julian a sheepish look and shot an annoyed one back to Charlie. After all, it was her stuffed animal.
"No, no, don't apologize!" cried the blond woman who appeared at Julian's side. "That was priceless! Julian Luna laid out on his ass, thanks to a pair of oversized cartoon characters! Now, were is my camera when I need it?"
"Thank you, very much Caitlyn." Julian said dryly as both women continued to giggle. The Ventrue tried to recover some dignity as he brushed off the dirt from his very expensive, very lush azure blue suit. He noticed the redhead by Cash's side. " And you must be the lovely Miss McCall I've been hearing so much about."
Caitlyn's head shot up. She was immediately brought to full reporter alert at the mention of the young up-and-coming artist's name. "You're Charlene McCall? The one who just opened that new gallery downtown?"
"It's Charlie, actually. Nobody ever calls me Charlene." she replied, extending her hand in greeting. *Except my Mom.* she thought sadly. "And you must be the infamous Mr. Luna."
Julian smiled. The girl had style and beauty. He could easily see why Cash was so taken with her. But he could also sense why Daedalus had been so weary of her. The redhead really did have power radiating off her in waves.
"I don't know if I'd say infamous, but I have my mysterious side. It's true." He replied with a smile.
Charlie gave Cash a mischevious grin. "Yes that does seem to be going around."
Cash was about to comment when he suddenly felt Charlie tense up beside him. She took hold of his arm in a death grip as if she were about to collapse if she didn't hold on to something. He followed her line of vision past Julians' shoulder. Standing at the other side of the circle, past the games, he saw a man. The stranger was average height and build, with white hair. What was remarkable about him was the cold look in his eye. The man's gaze was shooting proverbial daggers at Charlie.
"Are you alright, Ms. McCall? You look as though you'd seen a ghost." Julian said. He and Caitlyn both turned to see what she and Cash were staring at.
Charlie's mind went blank. Fear welled up inside of her.* It can't be. It's impossible. He's dead. I killed him myself.* Her mind was only coherent enough to bring one word to her lips,"Rainbird."
As soon as he heard the word, a flood of mental images washed over Cash. Memories that were not his own shot through the Gangrel's mind. A young girl with her parents. That same girl lost and alone. A friendly custodian that talks to the girl. The custodian killing a man who is obviously the girl's father. The little girl's rage culminating in a sea of flames, with hundreds crying out in pain. Then another set of images came. The same little girl, all grown up and running for her life. A dark haired man whom she loved. An old foe, returning with back-up. Five young boys running rampant over a small town: a screamer, a blind seer, a telekinetic, a mind-controller, and the last (and most powerful)-an energy sink. The dark man is murdered by the friendly custodian, just as the girl's father had been. A kiss. The custodian is no more. The town is going up in flames. The girl, the Firestarter, embraces the energy sink; holding the boy in her arms until they both collapse. Then, all is dark and peaceful.
Cash blinked a few times before looking at Charlie. Her gaze was still fixed at the spot by the games, which was now vacant. The look in her eyes left no doubt in Cash's mind that the mental images had come from her. It was all becoming clear to him. The fear and the pain in her eyes reflected the horrors she had undergone and the terrors she'd committed. A great wave of emotion swept over the Gangrel Primogen. Pity, outrage, understanding, empathy, and most of all love prompted Cash to take Charlie's hand and turn her face toward him.
Slowly, recognition of her surroundings shown through Charlie's gaze. Coming out of her mind fog, the redhead looked into Cash's eyes and saw the understanding there. He knew. He had seen her and seen what she'd done; what was done to her. Cash didn't have all the details but she could tell he had seen her memories. And now, all she saw in his eyes was love and compassion.
"Cash, I wanna go home." she said in a small, vulnerable voice. Instantly, the image of the lost little girl was recalled in his mind.
"Okay, baby. I'll take you home." Cash sent looks of apology to Julian and Caitlyn, who still looked utterly confused. Forgotten were the goldfish and stuffed animals from their day of fun. Even the Snoopy Doll was left behind with the Prince. The only thing Cash thought of as he led Charlie back to the bike and sped off into the distance was home. He was going back home to the darkness with his love: his Firestarter.