I Will Wait For You

[Jessica West]

She would've easily fallen asleep lying there if it weren't for the timely (rude) jacket landing right on her head. It jolted the creeping feeling of sleep right out of her, and with a grumble she twisted onto her back to sit up.

She had promised. Jessica was quickly wishing she hadn't. With narrowed eyes and a frown of displeasure, she threw the jacket right back at the likely amused blonde's head. "Fine..." She grumbled. Moving into a more comfortable position, she sighed and leaned back into the couch.

Remembering the news made her involuntarily wince. "Well...we found out that a number of registered humans started disappearing. We aren't sure exactly where they went, which is the biggest problem. They could've been kidnapped, killed, or left on their own. I'm not sure if you've already heard about that, since the Inquisition might have some people looking into that as well." She said, glancing over at her friend for any kind of non-verbal affirmation.

Now came the worse news. "That wasn't all though...or even the worst of it. We've been getting an influx of newly turned vampires. While we can understand a human wanting to become a vampire for some of the perks that entail, the issue is that none of them are identifying the sire. They're just showing up, expecting a handout or causing a ruckus." Even as she said it, she felt a minor headache start to come on from frustration. Her hands lifted to tend to it by massaging her temples.

She didn't want to think of what that might entail. How many gangrels could've possibly been formed by whoever was out there turning people. Were they out there right now, tearing apart the Outer City? It was so...careless. It went against everything her own sire had basically taught her. "The only good news is that it's not too many people. Just enough that we've noticed a pattern. All of them freshly turned, fairly confused, and miraculously forgetful of who turned them in the first place. I'm half convinced someone's trying to make a miniature army."

[Shannon Marks]

Unlike Jessica, Shannon was able to see the projectile launched at her. With ease she caught her jacket and put it on her lap. As fun as it was irritating the other woman this way, Shannon was much more interested in what the brunette had to say. So she behaved herself for now and listened to her friend retell the details.

By the end of it, she could understand why the meeting had been as draining on the woman as it had appeared. The issue with the unregistered humans was one she had gotten wind about. Not terribly much was being done about it, as far as Shannon herself knew, but there was at least one or two inquisitors set on the job. So she gave Jessica a small nod of acknowledgement when the brunette had glanced her way. The rest of the information was new to her however. Shannon instinctively felt her jaw clench in anger and her hands balled up into tight fists.

Hearing that a vampire might be running around turning whomever they pleased was enough to raise Shannon's terrible ire. She tried her best to keep it controlled, but this was the exact opposite of what Tommy had done. No observation or careful consideration. No thoughts to the consequences that might come of such an action. Thinking about it only annoyed the blonde further, setting the sluggish remainder of her blood afire. "When did you start hearing about this?"

[Jessica West]

Uh oh, she knew that tell tale sign. A subtle thing, a jaw clench. On anyone else it might've only warned against minor frustration or irritation. With Shannon it was like the red skies right before a storm hit the shoreline. Brow furrowing with worry, she dared to shift a little closer to the inquisitor and lay a hand gently on her knee.

"Only very recently." She answered, keeping her hand where it lay. From personal experience, it was best to keep the woman grounded somehow so she didn't erupt. Jessica tried to do that with a soothing tone and a soft squeeze to Shannon's knee. "It's nothing too serious yet, and I'm sure we'll be able to put a stop to it before even more are turned."

[Shannon Marks]

The contact helped draw Shannon's attention away from the cloud of anger she was slowly sinking into. She could tell the brunette was trying to help instead of run away before the annoyance got the best of her. Shannon could appreciate that much at leaf. The emotion persisted still though, gnawing at the edges of her focus. She turned her head away for a moment and clenched her eyes shut. Deep breaths had been Tommy's instruction. She tried following them now, releasing the air slowly each time. It helped enough that she looked back over.

"This needs to be stopped as soon as possible." She stated firmly. If not by her, then by anyone. No doubt the Magistrate was annoyed at something like this, so the Inquisition might be pulled into investigating soon. By Shannon's guess, anyhow.

[Jessica West]

Well she didn't receive a glare or a knee jerk to remove her hand. Seeing that as encouragement, she kept her hand where it was and watched as Shannon worked to calm herself down. She'd definitely come a long way in her control over her anger. It filled Jessica with pride to see the clear amount of progress from when they'd first met.

She nodded her head in agreement. This did need addressing before it became even worse. if someone was really out there making a deal with humans, things could get complicated fast. But she didn't want to dwell on the topic too much. The effects it was having on her friend were clear. As much as Jessica could try to calm her down, there was only so much she could do and put down to chance.

So what to do? She thought in silence for a few seconds before piping in with: "You know what I miss the most about the days before all this? Before the plague and the walls? Music."

[Shannon Marks]

It was nice seeing Jessica agreed. Although Shannon had a strong suspicion that anyone Tommy had turned would've agreed. They were all basically taught that turning someone came with a heavy responsibility and wasn't to be taken lightly. That much was obvious with the care their sire had taken in choosing them. So hearing about someone who didn't care was enough to set her off, as much as she didn't like it.

Fortunately distraction came in the form of Jessica West. The abrupt question was enough to grab her attention again. This time she stared and arched an eyebrow. "Music?" She repeated, feeling the hints of a smirk threatening to tug her lips upward despite the ire that had been creeping up on her mere moments before.

[Jessica West]

Spurred by the fact her question seemed to be working, the brunette pressed on. "Music." She responded with a nod, as if it were silly for the other woman to question it at all.

"I mean, think about it." She implored, staring her dead in the eyes. "With all that's happened, no one's going to make music any more. Or at least, no one's going to bother trying for a long time. Probably long even for us." She said, gesturing around the room. "Really, who would? In a world like this, survival is much more important than simple commodities. You don't necessarily need music to survive. Same with all the other arts. They're the first to disappear in events like these. They aren't vitally important."

It was a sad thing to realize, and she felt her expression dropping just a tad with the realization. Still, she kept a smile on for her. Even if it came wistfully now. "So it's made me realize that the music made in the past is all we have now." She finalized. Sighing, she tilted her head up and stared at the ceiling. "What I wouldn't give for a fully stocked, charged iPod. Or even a record player. I miss music." She admitted. Even more than she realized, now that she thought on it.

[Shannon Marks]

The concentration she was putting into this answer was surprising, to say the least. Shannon slowly felt her attention fully shift to the brunette instead of her anger of a mere few seconds ago. In a way, Shannon really ought to thank her for it. Listening might've been enough in and of itself. Besides, she really did have a point.

Music was definitely scarce now. In all her years stuck in the cities, she'd hardly heard much of it at all. Not that she'd really been paying attention to it. Considering it wasn't under the umbrella of food and shelter, it was little wonder the subject became unimportant. While Shannon herself might not be as upset about it, clearly Jessica was. Despite the way she tried hiding it with a smile, Shannon could see the sadness there. It made her own expression soften up a bit.

Making a mental note, now it was her turn to reach forward and place a hopefully comforting hand on the brunette's knee. "I'm sure you can find something. Maybe there's someone in the Inner City as well who performs." She offered. It was a long shot, Shannon knew. Not that she really went to any of the bars in town to be sure anyways. Still, it was a bit of comfort for her friend.

[Jessica West]

How the tables had turned. Hadn't it only been a few seconds ago when she was comforting her? The irony of the situation alone was more than enough to lift her spirits again. Added to the fact the other woman was actively trying to make her happy again and had listened to her little rant was only icing on the cake.

"Performers huh?" She questioned, thinking about it. Although Jessica was, without a doubt, more social than Shannon, that didn't necessarily mean she got out much. There very well could've been a possibility for her to find someone who sung in a bar or anywhere in general.

"That would be nice. Maybe I'll actually start getting out more." She joked, lips pulled up into a small smirk.

[Shannon Marks]

Despite her inexperience on being on the comforting end, her plan looked like it worked. At least, the brunette looked like she'd brightened up somewhat. Shannon could smile back a little at that, and roll her eyes at Jessica's joke. Whether or not Jessica got out more didn't matter as much. Shannon just wanted to make sure she was happy. Which was why she got up and headed towards one of the shelves to fish for something. "Let's watch a movie." She said suddenly.

She really wasn't the biggest movie-goer, even back when the world hadn't been hit by the plague. Still, she knew that Jessica in particular liked them. After a slightly more stressful day than usually, why not give her a little treat? She placed the cases on Jessica's lap before heading towards the door. "Do you want a snack?" She asked, glancing back over her shoulder as she unlocked to door. The humans they lived with were only a few doors down.

[Jessica West]

At first when the blonde got up and moved away, Jessica was confused. Then when she was the one to actually suggest they watch a movie, Jessica was even more confused. Not to mention more than a little surprised as the cases were plopped into her lap.

Over the years, she'd used her earning and influence to collect, of all things, movies. Of course, she had a lot of them herself before the plague even hit. She was a sucker for the things, especially anything animated. Still, she knew Shannon was not into watching nearly as much as Jessica was. The fact the offer was made brought an even wider smile to her face.

Although it was soon replaced with another smirk as she pointed a raised eyebrow at the blonde. "Please don't call them that." She said, rolling her eyes. Unlike most of the others in the city, she refused to just see humans as food. She was hungry though. "But...yes please."

[Shannon Marks]

Even though she was "scorned" for the terms she used, she got a yes for an answering. Chucking, Shannon headed out to fetch one of the humans. She didn't really see them as food or cattle as some others might. But right now they were going to serve as just that purpose: a snack. One Shannon very well might grab herself before bringing someone back for her friend.

The humans with them were treated well and given a generous amount of freedom in relation to other vampires. So Jessica got no resistance when she used her master key to go into one of their units for blood. Once she'd gotten her own fill, she returned with one of them for Jessica. "Picked a movie yet?" She asked, standing by the door while giving the human an encouraging little push forward. not that she really needed to. Jessica was definitely nice to them in terms of feeding.

[Jessica West]

While the blonde went out to grab someone next door, Jessica busied herself with actually picking a movie. Was the a present for surviving against the Consul? that was the only logical explanation she could find for the other woman's abrupt generosity.

Not one to squander it, she eventually settled on Sleeping Beauty. Why not? She missed Disney. Which made her realize yet another thing that was essentially lost with the plague. Movies. That hit her even harder than the music, considering it would likely be even longer before anything could be done for it.

A little solemnly, she put the rest of the cases away and loaded up the Disney film. By then, her friend had returned with a human from next door. Erasing her previous sadness for their sake, she offered them a warm smile as she approached. "Thank you." She said, to both the human and the other woman. As carefully and painlessly as she could manage, she drank enough blood to sate the no prominent hunger that played at the edges of her senses. Drinking always gave her a little bit of a rush, she had to admit. "Thank you." She said again a little breathlessly, this time solely to the human.

Briefly she turned her attention to Shannon as she pulled the human to the side to clean up the minor mess that came with feeding. "I put the movie in already. Could you start it?" She asked as she got a rag to clean the blood up.

[Shannon Marks]

While Jessica went to feed, Shannon kept her eyes on the human the whole time. Most of them were carefully selected by all members of Shannon and her coven. They didn't want anyone dangerous who might try offing them during the day. They were treated well enough that it should never be a problem. However, the inquisitor was not one to trust so easily. So she waited until Jessica separated from the human before breathing easy again.

Once that was over, she made her way over to the tv and set up their little movie night. When she saw what movie Jessica had decided upon, she couldn't help but turn her head back towards the girl and stare. She held the case up like it was incriminating evidence. "Really?"

[Jessica West]

As she finished cleaning up her mess and escorting the human out the door with a smile, she heard the word directed at her with a certain tone. Shutting the door and locking it, she glanced back over at her companion. A particularly cheeky smile grew on her face that she couldn't help.

"You're the one who let me pick." She pointed out as she headed back towards the kitchen to clean both her face and the rag in the sink. The other woman had set no boundaries for when Jessica made her decision. by all means, she could've chosen the worst movie in her collection and the blonde would be obliged (sort of) to watch it.

Once she washed and put the rag away, she returned to her seat. "We could always just go to bed instead." She offered with a small sigh, as if the very thought saddened her.