Paying the Price (RP)

Emma let out a shaky sigh as she shifted her weight on the bed, trying to ignore the dull throb in her head. "I know this sounds insane, but Chablis was starving, on the brink of tearing people apart for blood. We’ve got her calmed down for now, and she's manageable, but I don't want to risk her going off the rails again" she paused. Did she start the story at the beginning? It was so hard to concentrate with the room spinning around her "I'm running out of options. I got Bev here. She's a nurse. I thought, maybe you can volunteer a little of your blood? She doesn't need much more..."

"Yes... I've been drunk" Emma muttered into the phone. She sounded exhausted as she explained about the needles, the tube, and assured Kenedi that no one would actually bite her. She allowed her phone to slip from her hand once she ended the call, looking at Bev and Pers through heavy eyelids.

"I'm going to get something to drink" she announced, but her body betrayed her. She didn't move. Overwhelmed by the dizziness and nausea , she collapsed back onto the bed with a frustrated sigh

"Crap..."

After pushing herself up again, this time using the wall as support, she managed to stagger toward the kitchen, one step at a time, determined to make it all the way to the sink.

Persephone winks at Bev and turns her back on the two women. While doing so, she removes her blood-soaked bra and drops it to the ground, where she picks up an oversized t-shirt with a Bedazzled puppy on it. She scowls in disgust, but puts it on. She needed something to cover herself. She turns back around, looking annoyed. "This is ridiculous..."

Then she realizes Bev asked a question -- a difficult one. She sighs and replies, "My blood is... tainted. With another supernatural being. It's what allowed me to withstand Chablis's attack and get her in the closet in the first place. I ...keep it hidden mostly, because it's horrible."

She shrugs and smiles ruefully at the nurse and adds, "I'm sorry to tell you, but I think you've fallen down a rabbit hole; we're all mad here."

Persephone's jaw drops and she says, "Are you effing kidding me? Does everyone in London know about the supernatural? Yes. It is demon blood, actually. And here I thought I was something shocking and unbelievable."

She sighs. When Emma starts down the hall on wobbly legs, Persephone speaks in her "mom" voice, saying, "And where do you think you're going, young woman? You need to sit down and rest!" But Bev is already there, helping. Persephone follows them into the kitchen and comments, "I don't think Chablis knows what she is. She seems puzzled when I mentioned vampires. Oh, here..."

Persephone finds some Jammie Dodgers and offers one to Emma and another to Bev. Then she sits on the kitchen table and has one herself.

Persephone take a moment to absorb what Bev has told her. Seeing the woman struggling with the tea, she steps close to her and puts her hand very near Bev's and asks, "You're shaky; here, let me help."

She glances sidewise at Emma, her eyes narrowing in frustration. She asks, "So, do you know the deal with Chablis? And do you have a vampire coming to claim her or adopt her or whatever? Do they train each other? Is it like a parent-child relationship? Or, like a boss-employee one, or maybe sovereign and subject, or like totally random casual sex partner? Or... ugh, like abuser-victim?"

The tea helped lift the dizziness a little. She let out a soft groan and closed her eyes as she sipped from her cup, feeling the spinning sensation slowly starting to fade. She felt much better after finishing the cup, though her body still demanded some rest. She accepted the packet of biscuits from Pers, though she eyed her menacingly when she gave her just the one, rather than hand her the whole bag.

"Chablis is a vampire" she spoke with her mouth half-full, the usual sharpness returning to her voice. "But she had a roommate. That’s why she has the kettle and teabags... though it’s a bit of a shame the milk’s gone sour." She tugged her shoulders slightly "Could’ve been worse, I guess."

She decided against telling Pers about Bev's involvement with demons. It was a bit of a touchy subject, and private. Bev could tell her on her own, when she was ready. Having finished another biscuit, she placed the empty cup down on the counter and gave a small nod to both of them. "I’m feeling a bit better now. Still got a headache, but at least things don’t look so blurry anymore."

She stood with another deep breath. Her body protested, but she pushed through it and slowly made her way back to the bedroom. The door to the closet was still slightly ajar, and she could hear the faint rustling inside. Standing closer, she gently knocked on the door:

"Chablis? Are you alright?"

She paused for a moment, waiting for a response. "We’re arranging for another blood donor to come by, but I’d like to ask you a few questions in the meantime, if you’re up to it." She gave her a few seconds to compose herself, then slowly pushed the door open a little wider, letting the light spill in and illuminate the woman inside

Persephone follows Emma back to talk to Chablis. She watches Emma try to talk to her through the closet, her frustration rising. Finally, when Emma begins to open the closet door, she snaps.

Persephone steps forward and leans agains the closet door, hard, slamming it shut. This also put Persephone in Emma's line of sight. She puts a hand on Emma's arm and speaks, her voice filled with frustration. She says, "Emma! Please! Can you spare me one minute of your time? I thought we were friends... Yet you have been ignoring me to help this total stranger. You don't know her; you're not responsible for her. Who appointed you vampire whisperer of London? I'm here, right now, Emma, and I am asking for your help!"

She exhales and slumps, clearly upset and sad. She steps away and waves her hand and says, "Forget it. Help the stranger who tried to kill me. Sure. Just tell me this, Emma: do you want me to leave?"

She hadn’t seen this coming—not in the slightest. For a split second, all she could do was stare at Pers with wide eyes as her mind scrambled to catch up. "Hold on one second, okay?" she was surprised, but there was a slight edge to her voice. She didn't like standing there and be accused of neglecting her friend, after she just donated a pint of blood to keep things from going pear shaped "I didn’t realize you felt like that. But I am helping everyone. I’m trying to keep everyone safe, including you."

She ran her hand through her hair and sighed, leaning back against the wall next to the closet "You think I wanted to deal with this shit right now?" She gestured to the closet. "But do you understand what could have happened if Chablis went feral? If we didn’t do something? She was an inch away from killing someone. Gene. People on the street. " her gaze softened when she looked at Pers, dropping her voice to a quieter tone "And think about it; what would we have told the police if we killed her in her frenzy? How would we explain that? You can’t just kill a vampire like that. Her body wouldn't just go away. Feeding her now means we don’t have to fight her again. We keep her under control, and maybe, just maybe, we get a chance to fix things with Sarah." she reminded her why both of them were here. Afterall Pers was also here to help a total stranger - just the thing she accused Emma of doing.

"But... I get it, okay? I’m not saying you’re wrong for feeling like this. I don’t want you to leave. I just... I didn't want us to end up with bodies all over the place" she looked at the closet, and back at Pers. Both women needed her help right now, and she felt angry of having to choose between them.

Persephone stared at Emma for a moment, a hard look in her eyes. Finally, she relents, and nods. "Fine. But you owe me a complete explanation of all of this, how you know vampires, and demons, and everything. OK? Now how can I help? I can... um, I can restrain her if needed."

"I promise; I will tell you everything you want to know" Pers was on Emma's list too, but she didn't want to remind her of that right now. They will deal with the vampire situation, and then she will find a way to renegotiate Per's contract with Satan himself. Just another Tuesday.

"I think she is alright now. Right, Chablis?" she slowly opened the closet, but nodded to Pers just the same to stay at the ready

Emma hesitates. Chablis looked so confused and helpless, she wanted to reach out and hold her hand. If only she could be sure she wouldn't bite it clean off

"Poor thing" she sighed softly to herself "I guess we better wait for Kenedi to get here after all.."