Portalocity Hub, Baltimore, Wednesday Afternoon

[chosehumanity]

And to think Mitchell had planned on coming back to Fandom from an incredibly strained holiday week to find some peace. And to think. There had been very little peace in him since that morning, when Kate had called him sounding like a bloody wreck. He'd hurried down here as fast as he could, and...

... nothing, apparently.

"Are you sure no one's come in yet?" he asked of the staff for about the fifth time. By now, they were eyerolling, and had foregone any more attempts at calming him down.

He was not in the best of moods.

[[ for a kate. ]]

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[vanillajello]

"I don't need that," Kate said, but she wasn't really, honestly objecting. Arguing was just a habit, a weird sort of familiar comfort. "And chocolate is real food."

[chosehumanity]

He shoved the jacket at her without wasting a word on the subject. "Chocolate," Mitchell said, "Is not a food group."

He was already wracking his mind for a decent place to get food in really small portions in Baltimore.

[vanillajello]

Kate didn't bother even pretend-objecting, either. She pulled the jacket on, wincing when some movement in getting her arm in a sleeve made her feel a sharp but thankfully brief pain in her side.

"Fine," was all she said.

[chosehumanity]

"You want to head back to the island, or grab something to eat first?"

He was going to give her the opportunity to answer. Otherwise, fuck it, he was going for take-out and making her crash in the second bedroom.

[vanillajello]

Kate wrapped the slightly too roomy jacket a little more firmly around herself, then raised an eyebrow at him, mildly. "It's like ass o'clock in the morning, is there even any not gross food available?"

Well, it was something like ass o'clock in the morning in her own personal timeline. 4 AM, maybe, on Tuesday morning.

[chosehumanity]

"...What are you talking about?" Mitchell said, taking a break from being freaked out and worried and protective to look... incredulous. "It's three hours past noon."

[vanillajello]

"No it's not," she replied after a beat. Because sure, there was no way she with her head injuries and everything could possibly be wrong about this. "It's like four in the morning."

Another pause. "... Isn't it?"

[chosehumanity]

Wordlessly, he pointed at the windows near the very back of the lounge.

[vanillajello]

Her gaze followed where he was pointing, "... Well that's weird."

Said the girl who'd just been attacked by a vampire. To another vampire.

[chosehumanity]

"Yeah," Mitchell agreed, casually. He was used to conversations of the attacked-by-a-vampire-to-a-vampire variety, so taking it in stride wasn't that huge a thing.

"So food first," he said, "Or I take you back to the house on Fandom and you can tell me everything." See? There were options.

[vanillajello]

"Must've been a slow Montreal," Kate muttered mostly to herself as she frowned at the window, before acknowledging there had been options presented. "I'm not hungry."

She wasn't. Didn't mean she wouldn't have to eat, but she wasn't hungry.

[chosehumanity]

"Fine. I'll make you some toast later," Mitchell replied. "I'm not staying in this terminal any longer than I have to, if it's all the same. C'mon."

He jerked his head towards the exit. Mostly, he just wanted to get her somewhere defensible familiar.

[vanillajello]

"Okay," she sighed, already taking steps towards said exit. "I'm crashing with you tonight."

It was half to check his thinking was the same as hers, and half to just announce that was what she intended to do.

[chosehumanity]

"Good," Mitchell said, simply. "I've got some old Dark Serpent DVDs I brought in from home." So, yes.

He followed close behind, flanking her, a little like a personal bodyguard.

[vanillajello]

"I have no idea what that is." Well, she didn't think she did. She'd find out it fell into the category of 'things Moosh watches but I haven't bothered to', later. "But I'll take it."

It wouldn't make everything okay, but maybe it would make something a little better, a little more normal.

And maybe she'd fall asleep on the couch.

[chosehumanity]

"It's a good show," he said, and attempted a smile. "I like the last season of it. Brings back memories."

It was also really really depressing, but Mitchell was just... not going to let her get to the last episode.

He didn't say anything else, because as soon as they got outside he was hailing a cab.

[vanillajello]

"Hmh." Well, she didn't have much to say, either. Daylight felt weird to her tired eyes, and yet she was glad to be out in it, however briefly.

So she just stayed beside him, eyeing her surroundings, trying not to look too wary of everything.

[chosehumanity]

The cab pulled up eventually, and he pulled open the door for her. Just this once, mind.

"We'll be there in a couple," Mitchell said, quietly. His eyes were flicking back to the bruises on her neck. "You'll be safe."

[vanillajello]

Kate gave him a look for that. Something like 'don't say that'. Or, possibly, 'don't baby me'. She was stubborn and had her own ways of dealing with situations, nothing new there.

But she got in without a word, sinking heavily into her seat once she had.

[chosehumanity]

He wasn't babying her. Or maybe a little, but quite frankly, vampires were his territory. He was allowed to play the protective card, dammit.

Mitchell slid in after her. "Fandom Island causeway, please," he said, giving the cabbie a look.

The cab pulled onto the road.

[vanillajello]

Kate thought to pull her hood up, after a moment. She didn't need any cab drivers eyeing her bruises and wondering who'd roughed her up.

So now she just looked like a sulky teenager, looking out the cab window.

[chosehumanity]

The ride went on in silence that way, with Mitchell sneaking looks in her direction from time to time. Quiet, trying to take stock, and trying to think of ways to ensure this wasn't going to happen again.

That seemed to be the theme of his life as of late, didn't it? At least he could help Kate, the way he couldn't help Nina.

Eventually, they got there, and he paid for the trip, then got out. He still wasn't saying anything - he wasn't going to talk to her about this in front of the cabbie.

[vanillajello]

Kate was of like mind, there. Didn't need to be creeping out any cabbies on top of everything else.

She slid out after him, readjusting the strap of the bag still slung over her shoulder. It was kind of amazing she hadn't managed to leave that behind anywhere yet.

She looked out towards the town. Home. Kinda.

[chosehumanity]

The cabbie wasn't going to stick around longer than he had to; he crept back into the cab, took his fare, and drove out of there as fast as he possibly could.

"So," said Mitchell, after a moment, "Care to start telling me what happened?"

[vanillajello]

"Got roughed up by my former best friend."

There was more, and she'd get to it, but it was an ugly story. She preferred starting with oversimplification, as she started slowly towards the town.