I hate this one, I really do but I've reworked it as much as I can without rewriting the entire chapter. Sorry. Promise it does get less shit :P
Thank you to those who have not only reviewed but hit the lovely little alert button too, this fic is my baby so it means a lot to me :) This'll be a big one so strap yourselves in!
xx
"Who?" Henry asked, he'd only seen Rose like this once before and things hadn't ended well for the attacker.
"The Serbian cur," she spat acidly, her eyes full of loathing as she remained perfectly and unnaturally still. Her teeth seemed sharper and her hands were primed, as if she was going to claw someone's eyes out.
"Pegasus," a voice drawled from behind them, his voice ominous and distorted as he morphed into something far from human. Rosie spun around faster than anyone expected, the full force of her fury directed at Nikola Tesla, a feral growl reverberating from deep within the girl's small body as she rolled her shoulders, lips curling back in a snarl. Instinctively, Kate, Will and Henry took a step back but Helen and Nikola both took a simultaneous step towards the fearsome girl. Nikola smiled though his fangs as his black eyes glittered menacingly. Rose's eyes, on the other hand, swirled until the cheeky brown was replaced by shining white orbs that seemed to glow in their sockets.
"Please, Rose," Helen said, her boredom at these antics obvious but Rosie seemed not to hear her. Helen took another step forwards and looked to take another as Kate opened her mouth.
"Ahhh, Doc? You sure that's a good idea?" she questioned, not taking her eyes from the clearly angry girl barely a metre away from them. The pure hatred the newcomer was now displaying made Kate's earlier display of anger seem futile and she knew it.
Helen ignored the query and moved even closer to the pair, both subtly crouched, ready to attack.
"Stop this. Now," Helen said, her voice allowing no compromise. A tense moment passed but, with one last growl Rose straightened up and with a withering look for the vampire who was sheathing his claws, turned to face Helen.
"You shouldn't fear Helen," Rosie said as her eyes changed back to their normal colour, "I am more than happy to clean up after myself." Nikola let out a growl, but a human growl, his inner vampire retreating as requested and Rose smiled serenely.
"Insolent," Nikola started as he closed the distance between himself and the girl in the white cloak.
"Hush now, Nikki," Rosie said, holding up a hand to quiet him. "The adults are talking," her tone was patronizing in the extreme and she seemed unaware of the dangerous creature she was provoking. Helen knew better.
"Both of you stop it. Now," she said, hands on hips. "And I won't be asking again." She had to bite her tongue to keep from calling them children. And Nikola thought her team was bad.
"While I'd love nothing better than to rip your delightful guest limb from limb, for you, my love, I shall refrain," Nikola said coming to stand beside her, placing a hand on her lower back. Without a second thought, Helen shoved away his arm but not before Rosie let her mouth curl back into a snarl, a throaty growl escaping.
"Nikki," Rosie said again, tossing her shoulders back and looking him right in the eye, no mean feat considering she was barely as tall as his shoulders. A smirk appeared on her face as he fought to contain a snarl at the nickname he clearly hated. Will, Kate and Henry, who had come slightly closer now that the fight seemed to have been diffused, looked at each other, silently making a mental note never to even try and call Nikola, Nikki.
"Not only is ripping someone limb from limb highly uncivilised but it also, in your case would be quite impossible," Rosie continued, her voice light, a soft smile playing with her lips.
"The girl not wearing shoes is calling me uncivilised?" Nikola asked, raising an eyebrow. The group simultaneously looked down at Rosie's feet which she quickly hid under her floor length dress. They stood silently for a moment, Rosie and Nikola sizing each other up, Will, Kate and Henry trying to figure out what on earth had just gone on and Helen was internally cursing herself for not keeping Nikola away. The pair of abnormals seemed to settle down slightly and while it was clear Helen was the only thing keeping them from killing each other, they both had re-established their well honed manners that spoke of Victorian upbringings.
"So, umm, how do you know Helen and, uh Tesla?" Will finally asked, his voice shaky but his need to break the silence outweighed his fear. Rosie spun around quickly with a smile.
"I found Helen at Oxford, right after she…" her face went dark before continuing, "after she discarded of her humanity." Helen scoffed, as did Nikola at the explanation.
"So, you're a… I mean you've got… I mean are you-,"
"An 'abnormal' as you would say? Yes, I am," she answered, seeing Will's discomfort. Looking relieved, Will stepped back slightly.
"Which is why we call her Pegasus," Nikola said, smirking as Rosie turned around slowly to face him, a visible calm settling over her.
"I am no horse, you abomination," she said smoothly, eyeing him off. Something in her gaze made him step back involuntarily.
"Just wait 'til you can see what she can do," Henry enthused, trying to break the tension. Rose turned and smiled kindly at her old friend.
"You flatter me," she said with a tiny but genuine smile. She opened her mouth to say something more but then stopped and turned back to Helen.
"I have no intention of destroying your home again," she said with a glint in her eye.
"Well history says otherwise," Helen answered.
"What?" Kate blurted out, confused at the seemingly baseless dialogue. Slowly, so as not to scare her, Rosie turned to Kate and smiled.
"I have the ability to decipher and manipulate brainwaves," she said softly as if talking to a particularly slow child.
"Pardon?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows.
"In essence, Rose can read minds," Helen said, stepping forward and away from Nikola's arm which had somehow found its way back around her waist.
"That's cool," Kate said, her eyes widening in new found respect for the other girl.
"And I get visions, that's what happened before," Rosie continued as she turned to face Will who blushed before shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the floor.
"What did you see?" he asked, still not game to look up.
"The future," she answered, smirking at Helen who simply rolled her eyes.
"But how does it work?" Kate interjected, her curiosity avid.
Rosie chuckled, "It's a long story, and not one to get into now," she answered with a smile.
"But tell them about the other stuff," Henry said excitedly, bouncing up and down like a small child. Before anyone had time to think, Rosie had spun to face Nikola again.
"I am not," she said hotly, talking to something no one else had heard.
"What?" Henry asked, confused at the sudden change of tack.
"You're jealous Nikki, and green has never been your colour," she continued, ignoring Henry as her eyes bored into Nikola's. The corner of her mouth twitched and her eyes flicked to Helen's annoyed expression for just a second.
"Jealous of a mighty steed? Hardly," Nikola answered, his voice growing darker as Rosie stepped closer to him, her hands curling into fists.
"Here we go," Helen muttered, certain that they were both too caught up in their own world to hear her. Rosie paused for a second before letting out a snort of derision.
"You certainly have a high opinion of your abilities, Nikki," she said, cocking her head to one side as she took a step closer. After a beat her face took on a cold veneer.
"Do not goad me Nikki."
There was another pause before Nikola's smiled widened.
"You're on," he said as he towered over the girl.
Rosie snarled at him before spinning around to face Helen.
"Please?" she asked, her voice softer now as she began begging for something no one else had heard. Helen just stared for a minute before rolling her eyes.
"Fine, but not here. And don't you dare break anything," she said as both Rosie and Nikola's faces lit up with glee.
"Wait up," said Kate, still confused. "What's going on?" she asked, looking to Helen for answers.
"You wanted to see what I was capable of?" Rosie asked as she reached up to undo the silver clasp on her cloak, letting it fall to the ground.
"I never said that," Kate replied, her voice growing wary.
"Another perk of being part horse," Nikola responded sarcastically from behind her. Rosie growled but didn't look away from Kate.
"The mind reader-y thing?" Kate asked, confused.
"Correct," Rose answered, clearly working to keep her voice steady.
"Now, shall we?" she said, turning to face Helen again.
"Use the cathedral you destroyed last time you were here," she advised. With a grin, Rosie started to walk away from the rest of the group.
"Woah! What happened to your back?" Will said, running after the retreating figure. Her floor length dress was cut away at the back to reveal to large silver scars running down her back, starting on each of her shoulder blades.
Rosie paused and looked over at Will kindly as they waited for the rest of the group to catch up with them.
"Nothing, you'll see," she said, tapping her foot impatiently, making the silk of her dress shimmer in the dim lights. The second they caught up to her, Nikola let out a growl and walked ahead, clearly eager to get wherever they were going.
"But how did you do it?" Kate asked, her mind still reeling from having her own thoughts voiced by someone else.
"All in good time," Rosie answered lightly, skipping faster and faster in her haste to get down the corridor. Helen shook her head, these two were incorrigible, always had been always would be. "It's not nice to call people names," Rosie sing-songed over her shoulder in response to Helen's thoughts.
"Nor is it polite to delve into someone's mind without asking," Helen responded, quickening her pace to catch up to the rest of the group.
"Pish posh," Rosie chimed back with a carefree laugh.