All Magic The Gathering Characters belong to Wizards of the Coast, and all OCs belong to me. This story is based on headcannon. Don't forget to review! Fanart is on it's way about this story! Feel free to make your own!
"PAYTON CALL ME BACK YOU BITCH!"
Cait hung up for maybe the tenth time in the last two hours. Her voicemails were varying from pleading with her, yelling at her, apologizing about yelling, joking, everything she could think of. Cait knew Payton was checking them too, otherwise the brunette's inbox would have filled up by now. Payton had been gone for almost two weeks now. She had sent something the other day with bank account information and a check from Michael. Seems the big asshole decided to help out with at least a few house payments.
"That won't help her come back," Jace pointed out to her.
"I know...I just...," she sat down beside him and Nissa on the couch with a plop, "She left me here with all of you without a word. She never does that. She never just leaves and doesn't come back, not without calling."
"She did send you a letter," Nissa said softly. Whether she admitted it or not, she was worried about the smaller human.
"I know that," Cait responded, obviously trying not to snap, "but it was just a piece of paper pretty much hinting for me where to put what money and how to do it. What if she isn't back and someone else shows up?"
"We can handle them," Tibalt chuckled at her. He was currently lounging on the floor in front of them, watching Saw on the TV.
"No. I have noticed a pattern in what happens when you all started to show up, from what she has told me at least," she said, this seeming to get the attention of everyone in the room, "Think about it...Why would Sorin care to bring her in after she fainted? Why would Tezzeret care about her well being enough to save her from Jace? Why has even Tibalt defended her on more than one occasion? Whether any of you have noticed it or not, you are drawn to her for whatever reason...so much that it has made you severely out of character."
Things got quiet for a few minutes, but it didn't seem anyone was going to respond about it. Sorin stood up and walked out of the room and up the stairs. Nissa went back to messing with the plant in front of her. Tibalt went back to chuckling at the gory scenes on the TV. Tezzeret was engrossed in his book again. Jace closed his eyes and dozed. Gideon was messing with Payton's 3DS, having gotten interested in video games while he was there. Cait sighed softly and texted Payton again, apologizing for yelling. She heard a commercial come on and everyone froze hearing a familiar voice come from the door.
"Honey I'm home! Now stop filling my voice box!"
Cait shot up and darted to the brunette who now stood in the doorway of the living room. Payton let out a yell as she was tackled to the floor by the blonde, who was sobbing dramatically.
"I thought you were dead," she said, "Don't ever do that to me again."
"You're overreacting," She wheezed out but ruffled her hair. "Let me up I'll explain everything."
"You better," Sorin said from the top of the stairs, crossing his arms.
[x]
"Okay," Payton started once everyone was ready, "So after I left the bar, I got in a cab and had them take me to my hometown..."
"But that's three hours away," Cait whined.
"Hush. Well, while I was there, I visited my brothers and got some things done that I had fallen behind on. I stayed with Skylar for a while and took up teaching classes at my old dance studio. And before you whine again, it was just simple stuff, nothing major. Well I was out at the park painting when I ran into an old friend from high school. Ches!"
"But Ches moved to do international studies I thought," Cait said, frowning slightly.
"She was," Payton confirmed, "But her internship with that neurosurgeon ended and she ended up saving enough money for her mom to live in Italy and for her to come back. She has a job near here and was looking for a place to stay...so.."
"We have another roommate," Cait finished with a big smile.
Payton let herself smile at her friend before she stood up again. Jace did as well, walking over to her, his eyes boring into hers. Payton blinked a few times before rolling her eyes and turning away from him. Despite this, he followed her up the stairs, carrying her bags.
Cait sighed, "I swear...Jace is like a big guard dog with her."
"He always has put focus in people like her," Tezzeret said boredly.
Cait fisted her hands, "And what is that supposed to mean?!"
He looked over at her, raising an eyebrow, "Aren't you supposed to know him or is that just the brunette? She seems to understand why he does it...then again he's been in her mind..."
"He..WHAT?!"
Nissa stood up, "Silence. There is no need to bring such things up!"
"No," Cait snapped, "Tell me...have any of you attacked her too?!"
At their silence, she stood up and stomped upstairs to yell at Payton about keeping things like that from her.
[x]
Payton let out a content sigh now that she was emerged in the huge bath, surrounded by scents of lavenders and vanilla. Her music played softly, drowning out somewhat the yelling downstairs as Cait found out what had gone down with all of them. She had shut all of them out...well all but Jace, who was seated with his back to her. She looked over at him and decided to speak.
"Jace," she said softly, "I know you're worried but I don't really feel comfortable with you in here while I'm naked."
"You don't get it do-"
"Jace...I probably know you better than you know yourself. I know why you don't like Michael. I know why you want to keep watch on me. I may not be an expert on you, but I am an English minor...I studied your character like I studied the others. You're afraid."
"Of course I am," he spat at her, "Who knows who will show up next."
She moved and looked towards the ceiling now, sinking further into the bubbles. "If she does show up, you have Cait and I here. Though I will tell you she's another favorite of mine..."
He got quiet and then decided to leave to go help downstairs.
[x]
It was dinner time. Everyone was seated, eating, some short conversations happening. Payton, and Cait after a moment, seemed to get the same idea. They all needed to loosen up and have fun.
"So when Ches gets here," Payton said to Cait, "We should go camping."
This seemed to get their attention.
"She will be down for that," Cait agreed, "Isn't there a lake around here?"
Payton shook her head, "No but there is in my hometown. Big huge lake. I know my sister will let me borrow the boat so we can ski and stuff. "
Cait laughed, "You mean watch you try on the skis yet again and get mad because they won't fit?"
"Hey," she huffed, "I finally found some that fit me...now you can laugh when I keep falling face first into the water."
"Is that really such a good idea," Gideon questioned, looking between the planeswalkers, mainly the ones that didn't look very...human.
Payton smiled, "I'm not worried about stares. The lake is owned by some friends of the family so if I tell them I'm coming with some friends then they will bar it off for us."
"What if someone else comes while we are gone," Sorin questioned.
"I think if someone comes, they will come around us. When the first three arrived I was in the living room, next two I was as well, then Sorin came when I was outside. So if someone comes then I believe they will come around us."
"What's this about someone coming?"
Payton jumped, whipping around to see another blonde standing there, spike braclets, necklaces, belts, Disturbed t-shirt on, and combat boots. Ears holding earrings almost all the way up, and bags on her shoulders which dropped seeing the grouping at the table.
"Hey Ches," Payton stood up and walked over, hugging her, "Welcome to the Magic house."
"I...um...that's Sorin...and...I...," Ches stopped talking and looked at Payton, "So..."
"Sit down...it's a long story."
Ches watched Payton closely as she explained everything, this time not bothering to leave out things like she did with Cait, seeing that the blonde had found out anyways. Now that she had two angry blondes to deal with, it was better to have them both on her side. Once she had finished, Ches looked back over to the planeswalkers, paling slightly.
"Cait," she questioned slowly.
The other blonde shrugged, "I didn't believe it at first either, until I tried to pull the horns off." Tibalt rolled his eyes.
"Well...about that camping trip..."
[x]
Payton smiled at Gideon as he lifted the cooler into the back of her van. He was wearing some of her oldest brother's clothes, some she had brought home when she had first come back. All of them were sporting normal clothes, of course some of them had altered them with Cait's help. Ches was busy nerding about something with Jace, who seemed to listen intently, seeing as it was about her studies in neurosurgery. Cait was over with Sorin and Nissa, reassuring them that they would be better off going with them. Payton looked at Gideon and touched his arm, pulling back his sleeve to reveal his sural.
"I'm not leaving us unprotected," he said in a stern voice.
Seeing that he wasn't going to back down she sighed and walked back into the house to grab her purse and keys. Once everyone was in the van, it being a tight fit, but luckily the three girls weren't that big so Ches and Cait were able to sit on the ground, while Jace, Sorin, and Nissa were crammed into the back seat together, Tibalt was sitting in a seat as well as Tezzeret, while Gideon sat in the front. If it wasn't for the fact that her van was bigger than normal, someone would have to sit in someone's lap.
"Ok so this will be about a three hour's drive," Payton warned, "But there are drinks and snacks so get as comfortable as you can and don't fight."
She looked into the rearview mirror at Sorin and Nissa mainly. Said vampire had to brace his arms along the back of the seat, behind Nissa and Jace, just to get comfortable, unfortunately making the other two less comfortable. He narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded slightly. Nissa huffed and looked out the window.
Payton put Pandora on and pulled out of the driveway. The girls sang along to the songs that they knew all too well, talked, and eventually the other two fell asleep, knowing the day would be tiring enough. Payton turned the music down and glanced back at everyone else. Everyone was dozing, even Gideon up beside her. This wasn't surprising seeing that she had gotten them up rather early. Sorin's head was slightly lolled to the side, almost touching Nissa's, who was squishing up away from him best she could but was using his arm as a rest. Jace decided that since they were already smashed together, he would use the vampire as a rest too. Sorin didn't seem to mind either way. Tibalt was leaning his head on his hand using the arm rest, she couldn't help but notice how he looked in pain even when asleep. Tezzeret had his feet propped on the center console beside her, his hands resting across his stomach. She couldn't really see her friends but assumed they were probably curled as comfortably as possible around each other too. Gideon was using a pillow to sleep as well. It was lucky that she had taken her sleeping pills early yesterday so she was mostly wide awake. Even so she had pulled in and gotten some Starbucks.
After an hour or two, they started to slowly wake. Some groaned, trying to stretch in the cramped space. Payton pulled into an RV park and got really quiet. Ches reached out to put a hand on her arm but the brunette mumbled for them to stay in the car before she got out and went into one of the RV's.
"Where are we? What is she doing," Jace asked, narrowing his eyes.
Cait yawned softly, "She is getting the skiboat from her dad."
Nissa frowned and looked out the window again, watching as Payton came out with an older looking man with gray and thinning hair. They were talking with each other, smiling and laughing. He helped her hook up the hitch on the back and turned, handing her some money before she hugged and kissed his cheek saying bye. Ches rolled down the window and waved excitedly.
"Hey old man!"
He laughed and waved as Payton pulled out of the driveway and back onto the road. Things were quiet before she answered the obvious questions those who had witnessed the rant had.
"I grew up dealing with my dad," she said softly, "You learn to get used to his ups and downs."
"He looked more like a grandfather...kind of like a certain vampire," Tibalt snickered, hearing Sorin growl softly.
Payton and Ches started to laugh, making the half-devil frown slightly. "My parents are over 20 years apart, so yeah maybe he is old enough to be my grandpa or something, considering my grandfather on my mom's side is only a few years older than him."
Cait shook her head, "Yeah that still isn't very surprising to me."
The next hour of driving proved more entertaining. The subject of the girls' lives became prevalent after that tidbit of Payton came out. Payton remained silent when asked, Ches answered some questions, and Cait would mostly respond in sarcasm. Sure most inquiries were innocent, but what point was it to share things like that with them, especially Tibalt. So when the lake came into view, it was a gift.
Everyone got out and stretched. She hoped no one would come, she would have to get help driving them back. For now she didn't worry about it. Once the stuff was out she backed the boat in and anchored it by the dock for now. As she did, Cait and Ches worked to set up the huge 8 person tent and get fire wood. Sorin sat under the shade, staring out at the pretty lake silently. Nissa and Gideon were trying to help with the tent. Tibalt was still sitting in in the doorway of the van, smirking at Payton's back as she took off her shirt to show her bikini. Jace had moved to get the luggage out of the back of the car.
The day was spent and surprisingly most everyone had a blast. Tezzeret really wasn't into it, but he did at least sit with them, reading. Even Sorin joined in, though it was only to "accidentally" hit Tibalt with the volleyball. When it got close to dusk, Payton drove the boat back in and tethered it. Ches and Cait were complaining about possible sun burns, Nissa looked happy to be around somewhat nature, Jace and Gideon had hit it off, Tibalt had...calmed? As she bent to start a fire, she knew this had been a good idea.
She was suddenly yanked back and shielded as a sudden heat flared in front of where she had been. She looked to see that Jace had grabbed her. Ches peeked out from behind Sorin, Cait from Tibalt, though it looked like the red man hand't been trying to help her. Payton felt dread come over her, realization sinking in on what had happened. Chandra stood behind Ches, glaring at the group, mostly Jace and Payton. Payton stood and waved her hands in front of her.
"That's not a good idea!"
"Chandra," Gideon breathed out, standing as well, "She is right. Don't use up your mana."
The red-headed planeswalker grit her teeth and tried to summon more mana, but of course she couldn't. An image of the short brunette girl flashed in her mind and her glare hardened. Payton took a step back, groaning softly, until she ran into someone. Delicate feeling hands encased her arms tightly. Jace whipped around, a lokk of surprise on his face, staring. Tezzeret glared and stood, finally putting his book down. Ches and Cait tried to move to help their friend, but Nisssa, Sorin, and even Tibalt moved to not allow this.
Payton looked back to eye her captor, finding Liliana. She met eyes with Jace then Tezzeret, then over to Gideon, but he was keeping eyes on the pyromancer. Why did the girls know to attack her? This was getting old!
"Why are you protecting her," Chandra yelled our.
"Yes," Liliana agreed, "After all...She is the reason we are here."
Payton blinked, "Woah, woah! Can we stop playing the 'attack the short girl on sight' game?! I have nothing to do with this!"
"Liar!"
"Calm down," Gideon urged, "There is no way she has anything to do with this."
"She is too weak to eve lift a box, no less planeswalk any of us," Tibalt added in.
"I hate you," Payton huffed.
Liliana raised an eyebrow to Jace. She knew if anyone could say, it would be him. Jace narrowed his eyes.
"She is innocent," he confirmed.
Liliana let her go, the brunetter stumbled a bit before moving behind the two blue mana users. Chandra growled, but seemed to back down. Once things quieted, Cait peeked around Sorin.
"So...about those turkey dogs..."
[X]
Payton cooked the dinner, making sure everyone got one. Of course she had planned for a certain number of people, so she handed the last two towards Liliana and Chandra. The look of surprise was clear. The girl hadn't taken one, they had just attacked her, and now she was feeding them? Slowly they took the weird food and watched as her friends threw bread at her. What was this? The other planeswalkers didn't seem concerned. Liliana stared at Jace for a moment before looking back at Payton, who had broken out the alcohol. Who was this girl? The necromancer knew who had done this; at least now she was pretty sure. But why target a simple civilian? Why were beings like Tibalt and Sorin, even Tezzeret, turning to her aid?
The weekend drug on after that. The ride home more awkward than the last. They got back at night and Ches had to head straight to bed, early morning and all. Cait was already in the shower. Payton hadn't gone in yet. Her mind was on the growing 'family'. Her mind went to the bigger planeswalkers, like Xenagas, or Nicol Bolas. Upon thinking about the elder dragon, a light bulb went off. Wouldn't he have the power to do this? Something so...impossible?
She felt Jace sit beside her on the porch. It didn't take her being a mind reader to tell he was uncomfortable with the new additions. Maybe one more than the other.
"I told you, Jace," she pat his hand, "I will be here."
"Why," he questioned, making her blink, "I know you don't like me very much...why?"
"Because you're here now and needing a friend. You're already lost, no reason to add all that drama on top of it. Payton's Home of Hysteria is a drama free zone."
For whatever reason, this elicited a laugh from him. Good. She wasn't very certain if her words would stay true for very long, but at least she seemed to have the support of those who mattered. As long as this was true, then maybe...they might be able to get through this and get the planeswalkers back to their timelines.
Though...hearing the crash and sudden yelling from inside, she knew that maybe this was going to be a rather long and painful ordeal.