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Disclaimer: MTG belongs to WOTC. Payton and any other non mtg character belong to me. This story is based on headcannon. Enjoy! Extra long chapter this time!

When she was a kid she would fall asleep on the couch and find herself in her own bed when she woke up. First she thought she was sleep-walking. Then one night she woke up to find that her dad or brother had been carrying her there. So when she opened her eyes and found herself back on the couch instead of the doghouse, she thought maybe her dad had come over to apologize or had sent one of her brothers there. But that wouldn't happen, so her only conclusion was that most likely Gideon did it. Everything around her was quiet, but she smelled food. Who would know how to cook out of her guests? She decided not to dwell on it. Turning onto her side, she saw that a cup of water had been placed on the coffee table, but she didn't reach for it. She knew that she was coming down after her panic attack and it must have been one hell of one too considering that she blacked out. Nothing in her wanted to move or get up ever again...but she had people here that were depending on her. With this in mind she sat up slowly and moved the hoard of covers laid on top of her before standing to stretch. She knew they were alerted to her waking. She didn't care at this point.

"You probably should stay under the covers."

She jumped and turned around to look at Tezzeret who had apparently found a book he wanted to read. He didn't even look up at her and she could only imagine how stupid she seemed to all of them. Or perhaps the majority. Him and Jace knew what the mind was like...and it wasn't like she was a mage or anything like them. She wasn't going to dwell on that thought either, she already felt like shit.

"I am going upstairs. It would be in everyone's best mind to ignore that I exist for the rest of the night."

He closed his book and stood, walking over to her.

"Well," he said "while I understand why, you can't do that. They want to speak with you...as do I."

Seeing that there was no room for discussion, she followed him to the kitchen, holding the blanket he had put on her shoulders close to her. Everyone was sitting there in mostly silence, the only thing breaking it was the sound of their eating. She ignored their stares as she walked into the kitchen. She picked up the pieces of her phone and sat on her knees as she put it back together and turned it on. Of course she had a ton of texts and voicemails from her dad, all angry, and from her brothers wondering if she was okay. She just went through deleting her inboxs of them. She could tell they were peering at her from her dining room. Once done she sat down at the table with a sigh. There was a tenseness in the air, but she didn't care about what she knew they were thinking about. She was more worried about the rent for the house that would be due next month. The old roommates paid up through the month to help her out, probably as a cop out for ditching her at a time like this, but she knew they had their own lives. She was just being bitter right now.

"Are you feeling better," Gideon questioned to at least start things up.

"As much as I can...There's medicine in the bathroom upstairs above the sink."

Jace stood up without a word and went upstairs. He came back with surprisingly the exact medicine organizer she was talking about...then again he had just scoured her mind not but a few hours before. She put what looked like a handful of different pills in her hand and took them with her water. Taking a piece of bread from the basket she started eating parts of it.

"Can we see the room?"

She looked over at Nissa who looked uncomfortable. Payton shrugged, "It should be unlocked after Abel and Mari moved out their things. I'll probably put a cot or two in there for my growing family of insanity."

Tibalt let a grin settle on his lips as he reached and picked up the pill box to look at the pills she had just taken. "What are these for then...?"

Payton sighed deeply but decided that he didn't need a plate full of food in his face. "One is for my heart, one for my seizures, the other five are for various mental problems. With all of you coming in I have forgotten to take them..."

Tibalt raised an eyebrow and looked back down at the pills before he found them taken away by Jace who narrowed his eyes at him. The half-devil didn't do anything but keep his grin at him. Jace glared even harder at him not liking the calculating look in the other male's eyes. How the girl had survived with this man here? He had to put his money on Gideon and maybe even Tezzeret. The artificer wouldn't let his only asset get killed. Hurt maybe, but not disposed of. He didn't know much about the elf, but from what he had observed he would hope to believe that she had been some help too.

"Look guys," Payton said as she stood up, "I can show you everything but would it really be worth it? The cards won't show you anything as much as me telling you about yourselves would. Gideon you yourself said that it would be better to not know. But right now I need to make some phone calls and such to figure out how to help get my parents off my back and make sure we don't all end up on the street."

With this she stood up and walked out again. The silence was thick again before people started to disperse to different areas of the house. Jace stayed near the girl for now, but kept his distance as he tried to reconnect with his mana while she did something on the computer.

\m/

A few days had passed and the short brunette was scarce around the house. She was doing extra work where she could so she could make a little more money. She had tried to just drop her classes considering that she couldn't keep up with them right now, but she realized she couldn't since she had lied to her dad that they were helping with payments. So when she was there, she was on her computer or in the Geek Cave turned into studio doing pictures for projects or painting something. She was thankful that the planeswalkers were actually trying to help out, though they couldn't do very much besides stay out of her way, carry things for her, cook, clean, and just be good company. Tibalt had even been slightly helpful. Slightly being the keyword. No...he wanted to know more about that medicine and more importantly why she needed them. The amount of time she spent speaking to them was as little as she was there nowadays.

So when Nissa alerted them that she was home three hours earlier than normal, the fact that some of them were rather surprised was nothing.

Payton walked in and smiled at Gideon who had been there to greet her. "Hey."

"You're home early...are you ok," he asked with a stern voice. To say that tension hadn't been high in the past few days without the 'voice of reason', as she's called, there would be an understatement.

Her smiled fell and she only offered a shrug to him. She walked past him and towards the couch in the living room.

"That's not an answer," he said, trying to keep his voice from growing too angry.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly, giving him another smile.

"I just want to know that you're taking care of yourself."

"That's not your concern."

"Whether you like it or not, I believe it is."

"Gideon, really don-"

"Please. I'm just trying to hel-"

"Geez! What do you want from me," she growled at him, her eyes narrowing unusually. "What? Your little butt buddies not enough to keep you entertained?! Is it not enough that I'm busting my ass for a bunch of ungrateful brats that just dropped into my life and fucked it up to begin with?!" She let her purse drop from her shoulder to her hand where she threw it at him. Of course he fumbled a bit before catching it, shocked to say the least as the girl had the breakdown that had been on the tip of her tongue. "I came home early because I got lightheaded, stumbled into the parking lot and got hit by a car. You know why I got lightheaded?! Because I forfeited my food to make sure you all could fucking eat! I appreciate the sorry ass attempt at being concerned bu-"

By this time all her guests had come to investigate the yelling. Gideon was frowning at her which deepened when he noted something was off. She was still trying to talk but it was as if she lost the ability to produce the words. She stopped trying then looked up at him again, her eyes slowly glazing over. Then she was down. He dropped the purse and moved towards her, but Jace was the first one over there. He gently turned her over and frowned down at her. Her eyes stared blankly ahead but her breath came out in raspy, harsh breathes as if she was struggling. Was this a seizure he had read about? Must be. Ever so slowly, her body and limbs started to jerk violently and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The mind mage took what he had learned from his studies and started to snap his fingers in front of her face.

"Focus, Payton." snap snap "That's it." snap snap "Focus. Come on. No. Focus." snap snap snap.

Her breathing slowly turned normal and she slowly relaxed back, though he could tell she wasn't close to being back with them. He noted that her eyes threatened to roll back again and her limbs started to twitch again and when they did he would start snapping his fingers again. One last breathe and she relaxed at last, him turning her on her side gently. Things were quiet for a little bit before she grunted softly and slowly sat up with Gideon's help who was staring at her with worry. Tibalt was kneeling in front of her, an unreadable expression on his face. Tezzeret hadn't moved from his spot beside the staircase, an amused expression on his own face, mostly at Jace. Nissa looked like she wasn't sure where she should be at this point. She opted to slowly walk over to the scene in case they needed help. Jace kept the frown on his face and was being uncharacteristically touchy as he brushed the hair from her face, but in reality he was just making sure she wasn't showing anymore signs of going back into the seizure.

Slowly Payton stood up, trying not to use their help, but once she almost dropped again, Gideon hooked his arm under her shoulders and lifted her in a cradle easily. She looked up at him in surprise but said nothing as he laid her on the couch.

"Good job, Beleren," Tezzeret said, though it was certain that he was being satirical and not serious, "Good to see that you're still of use."

Jace's eyes flashed blue for a second, but Payton beat him to it. "Hey man go fuck yourself. He did more than you even thought of doing. By that logic you're the useless one."

He let his glare turn to her, however, he just smirked at her after a second. "If we want to talk use then-"

"Normally I would hate to be a positive voice, but I really wish you would go there, metal man," Tibalt's voice came out icy "She might be a weak little girl but even I wouldn't call her more useless than others around here."

Payton blinked a few times at the red man that had...defended her? No that certainly wouldn't be the right word to use. Tezzeret scoffed and shook his head, but didn't move from his spot. Payton sighed and waved off the conversation. She blinked a few times and looked around.

"Where's my purse?"

Gideon cocked his head and Nissa handed it over to her without a word, though a smug look was on her face. She had never really cared for the man with the metal arm, so seeing him put in his place was rather great. Jace frowned again and had her look up at him until she met his eyes. She noted the glow and shook her head.

"Hey don't do that," she frowned deeply at him. "What is the matter with you guys? You look confused."

When they didn't answer immediately, she just dug out her phone and stared at the number she knew she should have contacted in the first place. If she was having seizures then she had no choice at this point. But why was her purse on the floor over there? She wouldn't dwell on it if they didn't want to tell her...maybe stress was bringing...her out again. She would have to make sure took her medication on time more closely now. She typed in a message and sent it before checking a few things online, to at least clear her mind for a few seconds. When she looked up, Jace still hadn't moved from his spot so she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Do you not remember anything before your seizure," he questioned.

"No...I usually don't. I have a very bad memory either way, but you all know that already."

He crossed his arms and kept watching her. When he was in her mind the first day, he only found out about the secret she had been hiding, however it had been like walking through a room of mirrors with no way out. Anguish, despair, and doors he had barely explored but recognized. In one civilian girl? He wanted her permission to scour her mind, help her find her memory, fix anything he could as a thanks for what he has watched her do the past few days...but she was right...he couldn't feel that much mana here. What he could pull took him about an hour to get. He had been doing one hour every day...just for the chance to planeswalk away...of course if he had enough to do what he wanted he would offer.

Her phone went off and her expression changed to one of relief. This friend had been looking for a reason to move closer to town for her internship at some animation studio in the town for several months. She would have offered her a place here before, but her other two roommates hadn't been too keen on a fourth person living there. She was extremely happy...because now she had some help.

\m/

Deciding it would be best to do something for herself to unwind, she sat outside with a glass of wine reading sketching anything she saw in the backyard, currently a bird. With her new roommate coming this evening, she knew she could afford to relax until she does. Cait knew what MTG was, she cosplayed with her on several occasions mostly as Nissa and Nahiri. She had thought it best for Cait to get here and let it soak in altogether than tease her for joking with her. Payton sipped her glass and closed her eyes as she let the setting sun hit her skin pleasantly.

Suddenly the air felt very thick and tasted like...electricity? She sat up and gulped as she saw what look like a surge of energy in the middle of the yard. It looked very much like the one Jace had come in. She slowly looked at the figure that dropped from it and saw...a lot of black. Her heart dropped. Oh no..not him...anything but that...Not because she didn't like him, no he was a favorite. Simply because she knew that once Nissa saw Sorin...oh boy...

Sorin grunted and stood up slowly, stumbling a bit before righting himself and his clothing. He slowly looked around until he finally made eye contact with her. She slowly poured the rest of her wine on the ground.

"I really need to stop drinking..." she mumbled, once again using sarcasm as a defense for the fear she held.

Sorin eyed her with his yellow eyes and hunger was apparent. He made slow strides towards her, admiring for a split second how she stood there defiantly, even if it was stupid of her not to run. He let a smirk fall on his lips as he finally got close enough where she started to back up. She didn't back towards the house, though. Payton knew she would need to try and talk him down before she let him inside. She turned slightly and tried to get him towards the shed. At least there she had a chance to get a shovel...though not a lot that can do against a vampire lord. She could only guess after the sudden planeswalk to her dimension he might be rather peckish to say the least. But damnit...he should stop smirking like that. She might just LET him take her blood...No...she shouldn't think about that.

Sorin raised an eyebrow when she obviously was trying to get him away from the house. No matter, but why was she blushing like that? He was confident he was rather good looking, but he wasn't even concerned about that, not from a little girl like her. It was odd, though, he felt flattered. He pushed it from his mind quickly; it wasn't important. He wasn't a savage vampire after all, he wouldn't drain her uncomfortably.

Payton didn't like the look he was giving her, and she had barely made it any closer to the shed. In fact, the older male had slowed down. Shit...he had caught on. Then again she wasn't that surprised, but why the hell was it so hard to speak right now?! The others it came so naturally, but getting attacked each time she got a new set of visitors either way? It was getting rather old. This time though...she didn't have anyone to save her. They were all inside. And she was out here. With a hungry vampire. Great.

"Look," she said, almost jumping at the sound of her own voice in the thick silence, "I know this is confusing right now. Probably got sucked in a vortex like the rest of them. But killing me won't be in your best..fa...vor..."

He had started to advance on her rather quickly so she broke into a run towards the shack. His hands fell on her wrists and he quickly had her pinned against the side of the small building.

"How do you know about that," he hissed down at her. "'The rest of them'? Why did you bring me here?"

She gaped up at him. He had pressed against her and it was making it rather hard to breathe. She couldn't come up with anything else as she saw him bare his teeth at her in warning, showing he was getting impatient.

"There are o-other planeswalkers here," she stammered out quickly, "They said the same thing a-and I've just been giving them a place to st-stay! Please don't hurt me!"

He chuckled down at her. "Foolish girl," he began, his tone darkening, "If what you say is true...then be a hospitable host."

He bit into her neck before she could even muster a scream. He wasn't being violent, nor was he being gentle, but it still hurt. She tried jerking her wrists free and tried to yell but he had moved a hand to cover her mouth. She didn't want to cry, but the tears fell down before she could stop them. Her struggling was getting weaker and weaker. He was starting hold her in a more gentle way, rather than restraining her, sliding his hand to hold her head up and an arm around her waist to keep her up, no longer concerned about her making a noise. He was a gentleman after all, he wouldn't do this to a male. The vampire knew he couldn't kill her, so he slowed down in his drinking, even though he knew he was far from sated. He licked her wound and let his mana close it up. He frowned however when he couldn't pull more from the ground beneath him.

The girl gripped onto his lapels weakly, shaking like a scared little kitten. He eyed her for a few seconds then looked over his shoulder at the house she had come from. There were definitely mana users inside. She was most likely telling the truth and until he was sure of it, she would keep beside him. He lifted her off of the ground and he took out a handkerchief to wipe his chin and her neck with before discarding it in a trash can before walking towards the home.

Nissa heard the backdoor open and looked up expecting to see the other girl come in. She had been out there for an hour or two. Nissa had sat outside with her the first hour, mostly to draw in what little mana she could. Even in her natural surroundings it was difficult for her to do so. She had left after Payton admitted she was her model. While it was flattering, she would have liked to be asked first. Her heart dropped when, yes, her hostess entered...but in the arms of Sorin Markov.

She stood up and cursed herself for getting too comfortable and leaving her staff upstairs in the room she shared with her. She eyed the girl first and noted that she was alive then fisted her hands to meet Markov's smug gaze.

"What...did you do to her leech," she growled at him.

He raised an eyebrow and let an almost sincere pleasant smile fall on his lips as he saw his favorite elf. "Oh her," he looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms as if he had forgotten she was there. Would have been easy to honestly; the girl barely weighed anything. "Unfortunate, but I found her outside like this. Seems like she fainted from lack of nutrition."

"Liar," she hissed a him, stepping towards him, her eyes flickering between glows. So it seemed like he wasn't the only one having problems with drawing mana. "You probably did this to her!"

"Nissa. Calm down."

Sorin wasn't concerned about the elf, at least not when he had the girl cradled into him, so he looked over her head to find another man standing there, a weapon attached to his wrist, a shorter man in all blue, an artificer, and...Tibalt. The vampire's eyes narrowed but he kept his smug smirk. Tibalt let a savage grin settle on his lips...but didn't move to attack? Sorin eyed all of them then glanced down at the girl before back at them. He understood now that all of them were probably having the same troubles.

"Why," she ground out, but he noted that she had stepped back, "You don't know him like I do."

Tibalt chuckled "Listen to the elf for once...she knows who she is talking about..."

Sorin just met his glare with his own. It didn't do to have two people against him in one domicile, but there was nothing he could do about it. He knew his best bet would be to trust this human's word. This was the only place for the night...tomorrow he would venture to find which plane he was in.

"I'm not here to fight. But I would do with making her more comfortable," he nodded down towards Payton, who was starting to blink her eyes open.

"I'll take her," Nissa said firmly, making him finally look back at her.

"I think I can manage."

\m/

Of course while she rested, the situation was explained to Sorin, so he decided it would be best to stay put to at least figure out how to leave. No one believed him when he said he found her outside like that, but there wasn't anything they could do but keep constant watch. Payton was up again, acting like nothing had happened. She couldn't believe that dream though...how embarrassing...

Currently she was in the kitchen making some kind of fish dinner, letting herself sing softly to the music she was playing in there. The vampire was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, though he was alert. As a result, Nissa, who had retrieved her staff, stayed in the kitchen, sitting on the counter next to him. Currently the vampire was actually dozing, so Nissa was slightly less tense. Payton had already broken up two fights about Zendikar so Nissa finally caught on that this wasn't the time nor the place. The house settled into 'peace' for the time being. Until Payton remembered that her new roommate was coming...and she had just drove up.

"NISSA," she heard Cait yell from the door she had flung open "YOUR OTHER ZENDIMOM IS HERE!"

"Shit...Cai-"

It was too late. In came Cait dressed in her Nahiri cosplay, since she had just come from a draft. She hadn't seen Payton standing at the stove and only saw who she thought was Payton in her Nissa cosplay. She went over and hugged the unfortunate elf, burying her face in her chest. Sorin had woken up and was staring with wide eyes at 'Nahiri' before he realized it actually wasn't her. Nissa cleared her throat and pushed the girl away, a soft blush on her cheeks. Cait blinked up at her then turned around.

"PAYTON!"

She hugged the shorter girl and nuzzled her cheek against her. "Are you ok? How long was the seizure this time? Did you take your medication? Did you go to the doctor? Are you sure you should be cooking right now? And..."

Now she turned her sights to Sorin, looking him up and down shamelessly. "Why are you always hiding the hot cosplayers...how do you keep your paint set so naturally and where did you get your scaleras? You're like the most authentic one I've ever seen!"

Payton put her hand over the excited nerd's mouth and pulled her back. "I assure you his teeth are authentic too."

Cait blinked a few times then looked down at Payton with a more serious face "Seriously though. You ok, Pay Pay? The last time you told me you had a seizure you ended up dead in the hospital for like five minutes." She cupped the younger girls cheek in a motherly fashion.

"I'm fine...go get changed and move your stuff in...I'll explain everything at supper..."

\m/

"So wait...," Cait, who was in her normal clothing now, frowned at all of the other guests at the table, "Are you all just really dedicated to your rolls or too lazy to remove your make up for dinner?"

Payton rubbed at her head, "Cait be quiet for like five minutes. I'll explain everything."

And she did. She left out the parts she was attacked, knowing that the blonde would start a fight. A fight was the last thing she wanted, especially considering Cait would lose...badly. She decided that food getting cold while she talk would be a waste of the tilapia she bought so she began to dish out the food to everyone. She told the story as it it was story-time she did as a teaching intern. She would only pause to take small bites, but Cait didn't touch her food, looking in shock as her eyes darted between her and the planeswalkers, who were watching the brunette closely. Their expressions varied from neutral, confused, amused, and slight disgust.

"And that's when you came in," Payton finished.

The blonde stared at her friend in disbelief, mostly due to the fact that she just continued to eat quietly like this was the most normal thing in the world. Though Cait knew it was Payton's anxiety more than anything. After a few seconds she looked over that planeswalkers, meeting their eyes in turn.

"So...you're sure they aren't just really dedicated cosplayers...?"

"Little girl," Tezzeret started, "I don't know what 'cosplayers' mean but we are the 'real deal'."

Cait gulped a little, her bravado diminishing for a slight second before she looked at the calm as ever Payton.

"...We need Michael..."

Since I had to take out some characters due to issues, I am introducing Cait and Michael. You will have to find out who Michael is next next.

A few of you messaged me last chapter about Abel leaving, finding his personalities interesting. So I decided to keep the trend going. However Payton's is nowhere like his, she took measures to keep it contained. There will be a part where it's explained further, most likely Jace being the nerd he is haha.

Until then! -PayPay