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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[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.

[chosehumanity]

"Who's now a vampire," Mitchell observed. There wasn't a lot of emotion in his voice. He kept close as she started walking.

Maybe he was a bit territorial, but that came with the vampirism.

[vanillajello]

Kate couldn't say she minded it right now.

"Who's now a vampire," she agreed, a little flatly. It was safer that way. "Which I failed to realize in time."

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell took a moment to collect his thoughts before he went on. "How did he hurt you?" he said. Had there been any bites? He hadn't seen any on the side of her neck, but if there was anyone who knew how many rich arteries there were in the human body-- it was him.

[vanillajello]

The list came out sounding emotionless and flat. Like she was recounting things that had happened to someone else.

"Yanked me around by my hair, took a swing at my head, and slammed me against the wall pretty hard a couple of times. And he got a pretty good kick at my ribs, too. Plus, y'know." She gestured weakly at her neck.


"But he didn't bite me, if that's what you're thinking."

[chosehumanity]

"Good," Mitchell muttered again, and took the left turn into the long road past the Abandoned Warehouse District. "I mean, not good, obviously--" And obviously, she was still in shock, "But it could have been worse."

Could've been Nina all over again.

[vanillajello]

"I know," Kate replied, quietly. It hadn't really hit her yet, but she still knew. "I threw holy water in his face."

That was... a vaguely positive thought, right? If not entirely connected to the previous statement.

[chosehumanity]

There was a brief pause (of the verbal kind; Mitchell wasn't stopping the walking end of it until they'd reached the house, thanks) before Mitchell answered, "...Where did you find that?"

[vanillajello]

Kate glanced over at him. "I blessed my bottle of water."

Maybe there was the tiniest hint of wryness to her voice. Maybe.

[chosehumanity]

"Well, that one's new," said Mitchell, and pulled a slight face. There was a lot of surprise in his voice, though. "Since when do you even know the words for that?"

[vanillajello]

Kate sighed and shook her head. "I don't," she said. "I just... tried doing a sign of the cross and thought about Jesus really hard. Think it worked just by sheer desperation and dumb luck, but it did work."

[chosehumanity]

"Herrick said George's Star of David doesn't work on me because of his affection for me," Mitchell muttered. The face-pulling was just getting worse, though they were making the last turn into his street now. "Maybe it's like the opposite of that."