Song for Chapter: What You Waiting For?- Jaques lu Cont's TWD Mix/ Gwen Stefani
A/N: hey guys! Happy April Fool's Day! Hope none of you got too tricked today. If so, then I hope tomorrow you offer double the pranks because they won't expect it. The true fools are the ones who dare to mess with you.
Anyway here is Chapter 20! On time even. This chapter is Victoria centric and it delves into her head a little, so bear with me, alright? Thanks loves. Also! If you read Survivor's Guilt but don't follow it or me, I uploaded Chapter 1 of the sequel today as well! I hope you all have good nights and days.
Limbs floating above her, hair caught on the current, Victoria sank through deep water that smothered her in a clear, crisp darkness. It didn't bother her that she couldn't breath, she felt like she had never been able to really breathe and this was just how it was meant to be. Fill herself with the water, sink down, allow it to make her weightless. It didn't sting to open her eyes.
This is simply how it is to live.
Drowning.
There was no sound, so warmth, no cold, nothing to pierce through the liquid swallowing her whole, so there was no reason for her to fight it. Deeper, deeper, deeper still, letting herself relax and just succumb to the will of the ocean weighing down her. She breathed it in it, she exhaled bubbles. Small air bubbles caught on her eyelashes when she blinked and that was when she knew she hadn't always been drowning. Once, however long ago, she'd been breathing air. Her lungs ached to protest but she tried to forget. Her eyes closed and she felt the caress of the disturbed water over her cheeks as it moved upwards while she sank.
So what if she'd once known what land felt like under her feet?
There was no land now.
It was better to drift down.
Let go.
Light behind her eyelids startled her. She flashed her eyes wide, a stream of bubbles erupting from her parted lips. Light? Down here? There it was, a light shining through the water, turning the darkness a beautiful surreal turquoise. Hands fell through the light, reaching for her and she blinked once, brows pulling down in confusion. Her arms came down to her sides, pushing against the pull of the water gripping her, yanking on her. Her legs followed, coming under her. She moved upwards, trying to swim towards those curious hands.
But no matter how hard she paddled, she made it no closer to the fingers clutching at empty water, hoping to find something substantial under the surface.
She was trapped, suspended, unable to move forward or back, unable to rise or fall.
Floating.
Sinking.
Surrounded by darkness and light and the small gradients that made up both.
Victoria gasped, choking on air as she rolled to her side. She coughed, hefting herself to her elbows, terrified for a moment when she didn't feel water claw it's way up from her lungs. It took several seconds of sputtering, of panic, to realize she was in her bed. Darkness coated the room, soft as velvet. Once she found herself in reality the cold sweat slicking her skin made her shiver against the warmth beating through the walls of her bedroom. She'd kicked her blankets off, they now pooled on the ground as they ran off the foot of her bed like a waterfall.
Hank whined, belly crawling toward her with ears down. He pressed his wet nose against her neck then ducked his whole head under her chin pressing the length of his body against hers. Victoria wrapped her arms around him, burying her fingers in his fur. Slowly she was able to breathe again, in and out, in and out, in and out.
Still feeling as though she were floating she sat up, Hank sliding down to lay halfway in her lap. His tale thumbed slowly against the sheets. Checking her phone, Victoria pushed her damp hair back from her face and made peace with her lot in life. Three in the morning.
Again.
She settled back against the headboard, eyes closed as she pet her dog and she tried to focus on relaxing hoping in vain that sleep would return to her. A wasted wish, as she knew it would be. So, just like she had every day since Dorian had shown up on her doorstep she stopped fighting and climbed out of bed to head downstairs as quietly as possible. She walked Hank around the perimeter of her property, blinking in confusion when she found herself back in her kitchen.
She couldn't remember coming back. Or was it that she hadn't left yet?
Getting three hours of sleep a night was making her crazy.
Hank seemed calm, satisfied, so she decided she had already taken him out. Moving to fill his kibble bowl she stopped herself, staring down at the half-full bowl she must have already filled that morning. Shaking her head she dropped the scoop of dog food back into the large tupperware it had come from.
"I should eat." She muttered to herself, moving through her kitchen like a phantom. Trying her best to pay attention to what she was doing, to stay present in the process, Victoria put a pan on the stove. Eggs and toast. Simple. It would be good for her. When was the last time she'd eaten? She couldn't remember but Kurama would have said something if she'd been consistently avoiding meals. Had she had dinner last night?
That's right, they'd had Grams' chicken and broccoli casserole. She'd brought it over in the afternoon to be sure they were eating. Victoria breathed out slowly, annoyed at herself for not remembering. For not focusing. For drifting through so many days that they all blurred together in a senseless mix of details.
Pouring herself a glass of water, Victoria chastised herself for letting this happen. She should be able to keep it together better than this by now. She should know how to manage herself. She was an adult. She had a college degree, paid taxes and owned a house. For fuck's sake, she should be able to make herself sleep. And she definitely shouldn't think that making eggs without incident was a damn success story. She was better than this.
She really was.
But it was like she couldn't grip time. It slid through her fingers like raindrops, finding no home in her grasping hands. No matter what she'd tried she just didn't seem able to control her present. It jumped around. One minute she was petting Hank the next she'd be mid-conversation with Hiei or Kurama, barely aware of how she'd gotten there or what had been said. The last two days had been the worst.
Maybe she should take something to make herself sleep she thought as she sank onto the couch, the television turned onto infomercials with the sound way down. Hank hopped onto the cushion beside her, once again pressing into her side as though to hold her up.
He was a good dog.
Victoria watched useless commercials blankly, not really paying attention, until she realized she'd once again zoned out. Hank made a sound, a small boof, and she knew that the boys were awake. Soon after the sound of the floor creaking had her on her feet and in the kitchen to start on their breakfast too. If she couldn't do anything else, she could at least make sure they were fed. For them she put bacon in the over with the timer set. Bread in the toaster.
A hand touched her arm and it sent a bolt of lightning through her senses. Crying out, Victoria scrambled back from the contact her hands flying up to her head in a pitiful attempt to stop the rush of sharp noise that strangled her brain. Hot static. Tears threatened to well up at the sensation, something she could never truly describe to another person. It was hard to put into words. It was like being struck by hot irons, stabbed with them, while your entire nervous system was on Novocaine. It still hurt. It scalded. But there was also a dullness behind the attack, no actual intent to harm. No malice.
Just a strange sense of molten concern.
Hiei jerked his hand back from her, just as caught off guard as she was if not more so. He looked alarmed, wide crimson eyes turning to his fingers before he carefully pulled back from her to watch as she straightened out. Victoria shuddered a breath, licked her lips, and blinked several times until the heat and the static and the hiss of it all dissapated.
Hiei had the sharpest, most intense emotions even when he wasn't trying to have any at all.
Kurama's were pointed but not sharp. The difference between being struck by a knife and a needle. Pressure points, that's how she'd describe Kurama. Pressure points. But Hiei was either all-encompassing in his emotions or he was a slice. Either way he ate at her in brutal ways that weren't his fault at all.
"I'm fine." Victoria swallowed, lying. "I just didn't sleep again. It's okay, Hiei. Sorry. You spooked me."
She forced out a smile for him but he didn't seem to buy into it. His face still scrunched a bit.
In measured, slow syllables he told her "The oven is done."
She glanced at the device and he was right, the timer had gone off. The bacon was done. Fuck. She'd done it again. He watched her, she could feel his attention on her back like the point of knife sliding down her skin to make it's presence known without any intent to harm. Pulling out the food she was glad to see the meat hadn't burned. It must have just gone off. Thank god.
Kurama had been teaching her Japanese for a while but she was slow to learn. It was hard to wrap her head around some of the intricacies of pronouncing the words correctly. Hiei took pity on her and spoke in small sentences, definitely dumbing them down to meet her level of translation. She appreciated that about him, actually. She should tell him that. She didn't thank Hiei enough for things, instead always goading him. It was fun to rile him up but it occurred to her that she owed it to him to show her appreciation too.
"Thank you." She told him. He stared at her and she laughed, quiet but honest. "Thank you."
He glanced over her, didn't seem to like what he saw, then nodded. Once she made eggs he accepted his plate at the counter, prepared to devour her offering. He waited, staring at her expectantly.
"I already ate."
Eat again. He demanded gesturing to the rest of the food.
"It's for Kurama." She protested.
He frowned at her. You need your strength. Eat. Kurama is busy anyway, he won't be down anytime soon.
Her stomach growled and she rolled her eyes to the clock on the oven, realizing it was well past eight in the morning and it had been no less than four hours since she'd last eaten. Her days were so scattered it was hard to keep track of what a normal schedule was supposed to look like. Relenting to Hiei's demand she made herself a plate and leaned against the kitchen counters as she ate from it.
I have to work. Kurama has a gathering to attend. You'll be alone today.
Her fork skittered over the surface of the plate, missing her bite of egg entirely. She turned her attention down to her food instead of looking at Hiei's face. "Sounds good. I'll see you guys this evening then."
Part of her had looked down because she knew Hiei was trying to gauge her reaction and she didn't want him to. His curiosity pierced her. It was so damn bright it hurt her head. But she also didn't want to see if he was going to say something else.
She'd never been this intensely effected by the emotions of others before. She'd always been effected but never this bad. If just Hiei and Kurama exhausted her she loathed to think what waited out in the world. Surely she would crumble into a useless mess of tears, pain and frustration when thrust into the closest crowd. Finally, after finishing her food which left her with no excuse to hide behind, she met that harsh gaze boring into her. Swallowing under his attention, Victoria just forced another smile.
"Good, it'll be nice to get rid of you two for a while anyway. Might finally get some peace and quiet." She told him then laughed as though she meant it. "Which aunties are going to be worshiping you today?"
He smirked then and went on to describe his plans for the day and when she could expect him back, most likely. They joked for a few minutes about him getting bigger tips if he let the aunties feel like they'd actually get a piece of him sometime when someone pulled into the driveway. Hiei pushed his long empty plate away and strutted toward the door, slipping on his worst pair of tennis shoes coated in green stains before marching out to greet his wanton ride.
Hiei was right. Kurama didn't come downstairs for a while, though she could hear him moving around in the room. He was likely working on his tutoring. Victoria admired that patience in him, it was something she lacked herself. It wasn't for lack of trying and honestly she'd gotten better since she was a teenager, but then again who hadn't gotten better since they were kids? She walked over to the back door, ready to sit on the porch and bask in the heat when she hesitated. Were her wards around the property strong enough? Even though Grams had done her work to reinforce them, would Dorian be able to feel her out there?
Without thinking about it she raised her hand to touch the spot he'd kissed months before. Lowering her hand, she chose to lean against the door instead of going outside. Just in case. Her eyes caught sight of Abraham bobbing around in the water. There was a sizeable splash and the quick glimpse of a tail fin from a fish before the splashing ceased and the kappa dove beneath the surface. The poor thing was trapped here and she didn't know what to do about it.
Unfocused, barely making sense of the fact she was staring out over the yard, she stayed in place.
Kurama's sudden appearance, his voice cutting through her static thoughts jarred her. She must have been talking to him without realizing it because he sounded like he was answering her. She glanced his way over his barbed comment about exterminating Abraham. Had she said that out loud?
There conversation was fairly short and she didn't like meeting his eyes during it. His expression, though genuine, bothered her. Victoria didn't like that mixture of pity and concern on his face. So, she did her best to do what she always did when she uncomfortable, she switched topics to something he might actually get excited about and asked him if he wanted a separate place for either him or Hiei to sleep. It doubled as a distraction because once she called her cousin, who was a known long-winded talker, she'd have something to focus on. A task.
She was glad Kurama could fill her place at brunch because she didn't have the energy to be out in the world, listening to people complain, feeling their frustration and tension as though it was her own. She didn't need that biting anger that Bethany carried under smile. She didn't need to feel Kurama or Vanessa's concern for her, digging into her and making her feel useless and guilty for not being stronger than she was. Nor did she need the rest of the world to come barreling down on her all once, a cacophony of emotions that she had no business containing, no investment in feeling.
She was glad she didn't have to go to brunch, but the silence that consumed Kurama's absence was little better. Hank looked up at her, rising from his belly to sit with his tail thumbing slowly from side to the other. She smiled at him, reaching down to scratch behind his ears.
"I guess I should call Payton then."
It took her a few seconds to dig up Payton's phone number as she quickly came to realize she didn't actually have it in her phone. She'd been certain he'd texted her at least once, right? Maybe?
"Bingo." Victoria smiled at her laptop, having found his number through an ad on facebook for the trailer she wanted to borrow from him.
They weren't close, not by a long shot. In fact, she didn't remember the last time she'd spoken to her cousin unless you counted the quick small talk at the family reunion last summer. So, when he picked up the phone it was no surprise he answered with a gruff, "Who's this?"
"Victoria. Your cousin." She drawled back, standing in her kitchen.
"Victoria?" He asked and she fought back the biting response she'd wanted to offer. Instead she inhaled and exhaled slowly.
"Yeah. The one with the weird hair."
"I know who you are, I'm just trying to figure out why you called me."
"Real warm reception there buddy. I want to take your trailer off your hands for a little while." She rolled her eyes. That's right, she didn't talk to Payton because she didn't want to. He was always a bit an ass. "I don't want to buy. I want to rent it from you. I have some house guests and only one bedroom to offer."
"I want to sell it, not rent it."
"Sell it after I'm done with it."
"You call me up to tell me what to do with my damn property? This is the sort of bullshit everyone hates about you."
"I did the math and if you let me rent the trailer you could make more money. Plus it's been up for sale for two months with no takers. Haul it down here to my property, I'll pay you monthly, and maybe we can do a little work on it while it's here so you can actually sell the damn thing. You sonofabitch." She snapped at him. "I'm trying to help you out here."
"Sounds like you're trying to help yourself."
I'm going to help you find the quickest path to the hospital you bastard. She thought with heavy frustration.
"Who is this for? Those two boys you got living with you? I'm not sure I want them in my trailer doing god knows what."
Oh cool, now she had to deal with protecting the boys from homophobes. Joy. Perfect. Just what she fucking wanted to do with her day. Why couldn't people just mind their own lives and stay out of everyone else's?
"Ain't a single fucking person on this big blue earth asking you to pass judgment on two men you've never met. Put the bible down and let me rent your damn trailer." She growled into the phone. Then she cooled herself. "How do you even know about them anyway?"
"Whole family knows. Uncle Craig said something about it, said you came in with them to dinner at your Grams'. He said they were strange, foreign boys and he didn't trust them." Payton explained.
Victoria bit back on the taste of acid rising in her throat. Not from sickness, no, this was from pure rage. Her head swam with it. Her fucking father was the worst thing to ever happen to her. She hated him. God. She hated him so fucking much. Didn't say a goddamn word to her at all that day and yet has the gall to run around spreading her business like he was involved.
"It's not right." Payton went on, painfully unaware of the monster foaming at the mouth on the other side of the line. "You've always toed the line of decency, but running around with two of the gays and doing who knows what with them. It's unnatural."
What was unnatural was what she was going to do to the bigots in her life.
"You don't have a whole lot to say all the sudden." Payton declared, sounding awful proud of himself.
"You're going to sell me that trailer and you're going to do it for a third of the price you're asking for it. Then you're going to bring it to my property and unhitch it." Victoria spoke carefully, eyes narrowed on the nothing before her. Not the empty space in her kitchen, but that strange nothing one focused on when they zoned out. She tapped into that, felt it in her veins and humming through her skull like the mildest current.
Hiei had seen it before, she knew. She wasn't sure what to call it. Maybe a form of compulsion. Her mother had said it was their family's light colored eyes that did it to people, made them listen. Grams said it was their stubborn pride. Victoria felt it was something of the mix and also something more. It was a power. Normally she hated to do it, she didn't like manipulating people and it made her dizzy. It felt wrong. On any other day, at any other time, when she wasn't run ragged and frayed on the edges and pissed off she might've had the capacity to feel guilty for what she was doing.
Today was not that day, and she was not that bitch at the moment.
She'd never been able to do this without making eye contact before. A thrill went through her at the idea that she might actually be getting stronger.
"Okay. When do you want it dropped off?" Payton replied to her, his smug tone gone.
Victoria set up the time with him then hung up the phone.
Her father's side of the family had never cared for her much. She didn't blame them, necessarily. She hadn't been a nice kid. Part of their dislike was her strangeness, the way she stared at things sometimes, the way she listened to things that weren't there. Her father never believed. She found that so strange given her mother who was made of magic and poured it out into the world around her with love and kindness.
She hoped Payton choked on his disbelief today. She hoped when he put his phone down he understood that she wasn't a liar. And she hoped that struck fear through his heart, fear he'd have to live with alone because not a single damn person on that side of the family would listen to him even if he bothered to tell them.
Victoria is a witch, he could say, and they would respond, you're on drugs aren't you?
A sick sense of vindication rolled through her at the thought and on its heels came another wave of crashing exhaustion. Reaching up she wiped blood from under her nose, disregarding it.
"I'm going to take a nice bath." She announced to the dog who panted by his food bowl. With a smile she shook her head. "It's not time for food yet baby. Soon. After my bath."
Victoria bathed in candlelight, soaking in her tub. The hot water held the distinct scent of lavender, orange, and chamomile, the dried bits of which drifted lazily around her as she lay back with her eyes closed. She'd used a hefty cup of epsom salt as well, something to soothe her muscles. Instrumental music played, echoing off the bathroom walls and resonating through her skull.
She focused on the scented steam rising from the water's surface, breathing deeply and exhaling slowly. She felt the aggressive heat of the water as it engulfed her skin.
Inhale deep.
Exhale slow.
Her body relaxed. She turned her focus inward, identifying her thoughts.
Inhale deep.
Exhale slow.
What am I doing?
Avoiding thinking about it. Avoiding it all together.
She screwed up her face, crease forming between eyebrows as she stiffened against her own answer. Once again she eased herself into the meditation.
Inhale deep.
Exhale slow.
What am I avoiding?
You know the answer. You're avoiding thinking about it all. How you handled the kappa. What you saw. Dorian. You're shutting it all down and out. You don't want to deal with any of it.
But you have to.
Inhale deep.
Hold it.
Exhale slow. Slower.
Why do I have to? I want it to have never happened.
You know that's not realistic, Victoria, you idiot. You know you have to do this. You can't hide and live in fear for the rest of your life.
Why not? I have access to UberEats. Amazon delivers necessities. I can work from home.
I can't believe I'm this stupid. I can't believe I'm going to let him win.
This isn't about him. What am I supposed to do? I can't stop the veil from opening.
Literally no one has asked you too.
It hurt to be there. It was scary. I was scared. I don't want to be scared like that again.
You can't hide from fear forever.
Inhale.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Keep holding it.
Exhale.
Why-
Ask it.
If you ask it, you'll have to answer it too.
Ask it anyway.
Inhale.
Hold it.
Why am I a black hole? Why am I swallowing the emotions of everyone around me? I feel like I'm drowning. I feel-I feel-I feel like I'm not actually feeling anything at all.
Exhale, slowly.
Hold it.
How do I fix this thing in me that got broken?
Or was it taken?
It wasn't taken. It just got broken a little.
Broken things don't feel like they're missing.
Am I missing?
No. No you're not. Think, Victoria. Think. Think about what happened. Stop focusing on the veil and on the fear and on how much you terrify yourself.
What else is there?
Inhale deeply, slowly.
There's so much else. Kurama was there for me, wasn't it? He made dinner. He took care of Ashland. Grams helped fix the protections around the house. Hiei took of me. He felt it too, a little, but he didn't lock himself up. Vanessa listened to me. She was worried but she didn't stop listening.
Exhale slowly, completely.
Inhale.
Then why are we drowning?
Because it's easier to be overwhelmed by others than by myself. I can make excuses if it's other people. It's hard to admit that I'm the one who is draining my own energy.
There it is.
There it is.
How do I stop?
Victoria jolted up from where her shoulders had rested against the wall of the tub, the water shifting harshly and spilling onto the floor. Hank barked outside the door. Another knock sounded against the wood and she waited, listening, before slowly pulling herself from the tub. Her conversation with herself ended, her meditation over, her mind instead focused on what was happening right then. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, peeling open the bathroom door just enough to be able to hear.
Someone opened her front door.
She moved on wet feet through her hall to her room, grabbing her gun and loading it. Quickly she shoved on a pair of shorts and a shirt, forgetting about underwear because who had time to get dressed when their home was being invaded.
"She's not here." A feminine voice spoke and the fire that had burned in Victoria in preperation for war snubbed itself out.
She knew that voice.
"Her truck is her." A male voice responded, sounding put out.
Victoria took a few extra minutes to get dressed properly before she came down the stairs, gun still in hand. Hank stayed in her room, locked away just in case this was a trick.
"You know, letting yourself into a woman's house is a good way to get yourself dead." Victoria declared from the stairs, brandishing her firearm casually when Brandon and Mekenzi, with two e's and an i, turned toward her. "Especially when that woman hates you."
"Jesus fuck!" Brandon jumped back, staring at her gun. "What the hell Vick?"
"Victoria." Mekenzi reminded him quietly before straightening herself. "Hi Vick!"
"Hey Mekenzi. Still haven't traded up I see." Victoria stared at Brandon with annoyance when Mekenzi giggled. "What are you doing here, letting yourself into my house?"
"I need your help." He deflated, uttering the phrase with defeat and disgust.
At his tone Victoria raised an eyebrow, then offered a glinting smile. "Well, well, well. Looks like momma is about to make some money."
"Let's deal with this before my roommates get home." Victoria
"Did you curse me?" Brandon sat on Victoria's couch deadly serious while Mekenzi wandered around like a marveling child, oooing and awwing over some of Victoria's trinkets and books.
"What?" Victoria deadpanned back, not quite sure she'd heard him correctly.
"Look, in the years that I've been doing this job I've had maybe four real cases. Maybe. The only I know for sure was real was the last one you were on. Everything else is muted or bullshit. You know that. You used to complain about it constantly. In the last three months? I've had three real hauntings and this one? I don't even think this thing knows how to pretend to be human, Vick. This is straight up an evil entity and that's your bag not mine." Brandon explained. "So I want to know if you cursed me or some shit because this is unprecedented."
"No. I didn't curse you. I don't think about you, much less with enough active energy to actually wish you ill." Victoria rolled her eyes.
"I knew you didn't." Mekenzi spoke up in all her perky, adorable glory.
Victoria had the strong urge to protect her from the cruel world but in a sort of detached way.
"Don't get me wrong, I would have. In fact, when we broke up I definitely did an impotence curse on him. But no, this one isn't me." Victoria shrugged. "Not my monkey, definitely not my circus."
"That was you?!" Brandon yelled at her.
"I told you I was going to." Victoria reminded him. "I don't know why you're acting surprised. I mean, I said it to your face. I think you have it on tape still."
"You're amazing." The blonde Amazon pacing the room sighed.
"She is not." Brandon snapped, glaring. "She's a monster."
"Oof, sounds like a strong name to call someone you just came to beg help from." Victoria tisked a few times, shaking her head.
"I'm not begging."
"Then I'm not going."
The two of them locked into a staring contest, Victoria unblinkingly daring Brandon to test her. Brandon seemed to think he could win this particularly fight, his nostrils flaring.
"It tried to drown someone."
Victoria blinked, shaken from her pettiness by Mekenzi's statement. "What?"
"The entity. It tried to drown one of the owners of the house in their tub." She explained.
"Did you call the police? Because that sounds like someone covering for attempted murder." Victoria waved her hand through the air. "Look, nintey-nine times out of a hundred, these ghost stories are just people either making shit up or people hiding something."
"No, it was real." Mekenzi assured her. "It told Brandon it wanted to kill him."
"Who doesn't?"
"Fuck you." Brandon glared at Victoria who flipped him the bird without thinking about it.
"What else?" Victoria centered her attention on Mekenzi.
"Well, it destroyed the circle I made." Mekenzi frowned then. "I did it like you told me, and I definitely visualized it, but it just carved a line right through the salt."
Victoria's interest piqued. That was interesting. Definitely something powerful and malevolent. She believed that Mekenzi had followed her instructions, mainly because the taller woman had been so excited to practice that aspect of her craft.
"Scratch marks started appearing on the floor and walls." Brandon went on. "The owners heard a voice all sorts of things. This is next level."
"Sounds like it." Victoria relented, falling into thought. "It cut through the circle?"
"Yeah. I was terrified."
"Then what did it do?"
"Nothing."
That was weird. It did all that work for no pay out? Why? What was driving this being? Where was it finding this level of energy? Where had it come from?
"Nothing like this ever happened in the house before?"
"No." Brandon pressed his lips together. "These people have lived there for twenty years without incident."
Victoria frowned then, her eyebrows pulling down and together. Just as she was about to ask another question the front door blew open and Vanessa marched in with fire in her big brown eyes, the boys coming in after her. After allowing Vanessa to have her moment to lay into Brandon, which Victoria couldn't deny was highly entertaining, she pulled out her phone and pulled up a rarely used phone number.
"Hey Mark. It's Victoria. Oh, I wasn't sure you'd saved my number-yeah not the point. Sorry. Look, Brandon is here and he's freaking out about these recent cases. Could you bring me the footage so I can get a sense of what's going on before I decide whether or not this is worth my time and my soon to double-or-triple going rates?"
"Seriously." Brandon stared at her dully.
"Supply and demand Bray. Welcome to capitalism." Victoria ended her call and shrugged. "Mark will be here soon."
"Are you alright?" Kurama walked over and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, his eyes taking in her expression. "You look a little better than you did this morning."
"I did some soul searching." She told him, nodding. "Thanks for worrying about me. I don't think I showed my appreciate for that, so, thanks. You too Hiei."
Hiei sneered at her, shirking back like he was afraid she was about to hug him.
"Yeah. That seems about right." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Alright kiddos, let's start from the beginning. So, here's the situation-"
Mark stood at the counter with his laptop open, his massive over the ear studio headphones hanging around his neck as he checked the sound quality of the videos before turning the computer toward Victoria. She accepted without a warm smile.
"You might want these." He pulled the headphones from around his neck and held them out to her.
Hiei made a sound in the back of his throat, standing close by. Victoria raised her eyebrow, turning toward her shorter roommate and found him assessing Mark with open distaste. He rolled his eyes toward Kurama, snorting derisively while muttering something in Japanese that made Kurama fight back a smile, turning away from the cameraman.
"Are you two done being asses?" She demanded of them.
Hiei fixed her with a pointed look then nodded toward the computer, Watch your video Victoria, we'll watch everything else.
"That was weirdly cryptic and seriously discomforting." She pursed her lips then pulled the headphones over one ear leaving the other one available, starting the video. She scrolled through the quieter parts to find activity listening and watching carefully.
Victoria was pleased to realize that the emotions in the house felt distant, the same sensation as hearing a song from another room. Mark sidled closer to her, not that she minded, right hand coming to rest on the small of her back and the left pointing at something on the screen. She didn't shirk away from his touch just tensed at it because she hadn't expected the warmth. "See that? That was the first indication something wasn't normal."
"There's a voice."
"I know." He nodded, speaking quietly by her ear.
Victoria paused the video and went to listen again when she stopped and turned to look to her right side where Hiei was suddenly very close to her, his eyes glued to Mark. The warmth of mark's palm disappeared and she glanced over her shoulder to see Hiei retracting from moving the other man's hand.
Hiei warned Mark in a strangely defensive tone, speaking Japanese that was too quick for her to follow. She turned to Kurama for translation.
"He says not to touch Victoria so lightly." Kurama explained in that carefully light tone he adopted when he agreed with Hiei and was mildly wary with the situation they were in. "I must explain, she had quite the shock recently and has been sensitive to the intentions of others. While I'm sure you only mean well, a little space at this time would be the most caring thing you can offer."
Hiei snorted and shot something back at Kurama.
"I know you didn't say the last part, Hiei, but it's true none the less."
"Wait, Hiei?" Brandon piped up, confused. "Like from that anime you were obsessed with?"
"I wasn't obsessed." Victoria scoffed. Like a liar. "It's a pretty common name in Japan nowadays. All the rage. Jeez. And that's Kurama. Got something to say about that? About two men named after prolific mountains?"
"Yeah, I do actually. That's is a completely weird coincidence." Brandon pointed out. "I mean, what are the odds of that? Or did you choose them to live with you because of your weird fetish?"
"We don't kinkshame comrades in this house." Victoria snapped at him.
"You just did it to me!"
"You're not a comrade." Vanessa pointed out.
"I didn't mean to overstep." Mark lowered his voice. "I'm sorry if I-"
"It's fine. They're just a little protective of me. They're good guys." Victoria assuaged him, running on fumes despite her improved emotional state. The had been long for entirely different reasons that the last week had been. For that she was actually grateful. This tiredness felt normal, familiar, not so hungry and all consuming.
She'd bet she would even sleep through the night.
Except-
"Yeah, I think I need to see this in person. Whatever is happening here sounds dangerous and Captian Dickhead back there will only make this worse. He might even get himself killed." Victoria sighed, annoyed with herself for actually taking this job.
"It's pretty intense stuff." Mark warned her, but he did so with a small smile. "Maybe you can show me a little charm for protection I can do for myself."
Victoria eyed him, then offered her best flirtatious grin. "I mean, I can definitely do that but that sort of work will cost you."
He hummed and nodded, looking pleased.
"Please stop." Brandon pleaded with them.
"Seriously." Kurama muttered.
Victoria rolled her eyes. "I guess I better go get a bag ready. Looks like I'm going on a road trip."
"Vick, are you sure?" Vanessa watched her warily. "I mean, after what happened-"
"I'll be okay." She assured her friend she drew an X over the left side of her chest. "Cross my heart, hope to die."
Hiei came down the stairs with a backpack slung over one shoulder, sunglasses already pulled down over his eyes. Kurama followed his suit, carrying another bag, his laptop tucked under his arm.
"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Victoria demanded of them, standing in the living with her own bag.
"We're going too." Hiei told her, at ease with the statement.
"The hell you are."
"You understood him?" Kurama smiled, impressed. "Good. But he's right. You're still recovering from your last incident, so you'll need all the help you can get. It's better if we come."
"You two don't know what you're doing. I can't worry about you and do my job."
"You better learn." Kurama narrowed his eyes. "You are not winning this particular fight, Victoria. We are going. That is final."
"I'll take Hank to Grams'." Vanessa sighed, looking at Victoria knowingly. "Be safe. And if you let anything happen to her I'll bury you myself, Brandon."
"I just gotta say bye to Abraham first." Victoria set her bag on the floor and headed for the fridge to grab a treat.
Hiei rolled his eyes at her behavior.
"We need to be back by Sunday, I have a score to settle. This ghost house will have a kitchen yes? I need to practice a recipe." Kurama hid his annoyance with Victoria's life choices by switching topics.
"Oh yeah, it's a great kitchen." Mekenzi bobbed her head.
Both Hiei and Kurama could not fail to notice that when she nodded certain parts of her ample anatomy bounced a little too.
"Who is Abraham?" Brandon asked, looking around the room for an answer.
"He's my kappa, you ass. Fuck. You never listen to me." Victoria growled as she pushed through the back door. She made the walk to the dock quickly while the others watch from the doorway. Holding out a cucumber to draw Abraham out, she waited. The water spirit's head popped above the surface of the water, black eyes shining. He reached for the treat with his clawed, webbed hand but she pulled it away. "Look. I'm going to be gone for a little bit, okay? You need to behave. No bothering the neighbors."
Chittering answered her.
"I don't care! You're not allowed to bother the neighbors."
Brandon and Mekenzi stared, engrossed but disgusted. He whispered as though he was scared of being overhead by the creature. "What the fuck is that?"
"It's a kappa." Kurama explained coolly, shooting him a look. "She just said that. You don't listen well, do you?"
"Why is it here?" Brandon demands.
"We suspect it has something to do with the rift between realities." Vanessa answered.
"What?!"
"Okay, now. You're going to stay near the house and the dock, right? No trouble." Victoria held the cucumber out, then when Abraham reacheed for it she pulled it back again and pointed two fingers at her eyes then his. "You hear me, Abraham? Be on your best behavior."
A nod.
A cucumber.
And the party was underway.
