video; un: tamwood

[neurotoxicity]

Mmm... interesting. [ Despite her words Ivy doesn't look too interested as she taps the upgraded screen on the phone. Which means tapping the video. She brushes a strand of her hair out of her face and then starts to thread her fingers through the chain of the cross necklace she always wears. ] Hopefully everyone had more luck with those...things than I did. Has anyone figured out what they really were? They tasted like sawdust and mold. I never needed to know what mold tasted like. [ Her eyes widen for a moment and she blinks. Why did she just say that? When she tries to speak to say she didn't mean that how it sounded she finds she can't and instead just starts threading her fingers through the chain more awkwardly. ]

Something else is going on. [ She scrunches her nose up. ] Pollen. You'd think a vampire wouldn't be bothered by pollen.

Comments

[faithfulsupport]

I beg your pardon..did you say they tasted like sawdust?

[There might be a lot of things Ignis would be willing to try in his cooking but sawdust and mold weren't any of those things. And while his scholarly curiosity might get the better of him at times this wasn't a thing he was going to inquire about - as to how she knew that. But then she said the last part and Ignis didn't know what to say so he kept that question to himself as well.]

[neurotoxicity]

I made the mistake of biting into one. It would have been a mistake even if they were that person.

[faithfulsupport]

[There are just so many questions here.]

I see. Well they seemed to appear as people we knew back home but were something else entirely.

[neurotoxicity]

That was the problem. It looked like my master and I followed it because of that.

[faithfulsupport]

You have a master..

[Ignis is trying not to form conclusions on his own over here. And at the same time his scholarly curiousity got the better of him at times.]

[neurotoxicity]

All of my kind do.

[faithfulsupport]

I see.

[And he tried to be careful here because offending people wasn't his style even if the lads back home might argue that point. They didn't have vampires back home though they had skeletons, liches, reapers, mindflayers, wraiths and necromancers.]

Must be hard then, being by yourself.

[neurotoxicity]

Not at all. It was nice to think I was free. Our masters are usually cruel.

Video;

[gadaboutdetective]

[Llewellyn can't help but think that Ivy did not mean to say several things there, and he frowned a little. Great, he's had to deal with a similar song and dance before, and it's not fun.

But priorities, Ivy had run into one of those things too.]

One of those things found you too? I hope you're alright, Ivy?

[Well, beyond the obvious 'not alright' that would go hand in hand with the whole situation.]

[neurotoxicity]

[ Ivy looks a bit frustrated for a second before her answer slips out. ] Not at all. It was my Master. [ That admission just adds more frustration to her expression and confusion. Why had she said that? ] Who was yours?

[gadaboutdetective]

Mm... Of course not, probably a stupid question, but... I uh- had to ask.[Llewellyn doesn't want to bring up run in again, he's about ready to shove all that back in some corner in favour of focusing on other things. But given her expression, there was definitely something about the pollen that was making people tell the truth. Not that he was prone to lying without good reason, so he wasn't even going to try.] My sister.

[He wrinkled his brow a bit,] Seems it's one thing after another here, those impersonators and now something that's making people say things they'd rather not if your expressions have been anything to go by.

[And his first month had gone by so smoothly, he can't help but feel a bit foolish now to have not guessed bad things would be on the way.]

[neurotoxicity]

Because it's the polite thing to do and you felt obligated? [ Now she feels a bit bad, that was definitely kind of harsh. She looks down briefly before looking up hesitant. ] I'm sorry. How did your meeting with your imitation sister? [ Not well she imagines considering what hers turned into. ] I hope you weren't hurt too bad. [ She's going to assume he was probably hurt because he's just a human and how could he have not been? Is that a rude assumption to make? Maybe. ]

Maybe they have something to do with each other?

[gadaboutdetective]

[It was kind of harsh, but considering some conversations they've had? Llewellyn was rather patient on the matter, it wasn't like he wasn't used to being being a bit harsh with him in the past.] No, Ivy, because you're a friend and I'm concerned. I've been told I tend to over worry, at times.

[Llewellyn wished he could say it went well, but he's sure it wouldn't have gone well even if it had been his real sister.] Not much better than your meeting with your imitation master, I presume.

I'm alright, just a- sprained my arm, got a bit banged up. [And Llewellyn was fairly used to that. What he wasn't used to was discovering how much he'd worried Rhy after he'd gotten home. He shook his head a little, moving on.] But! I was quite lucky, all things considered... Ran into Harry, he blew it up. [Under less frightening circumstances that might have been fascinating, he'd never seen the wizard actually use magic before.

Llewellyn couldn't help but pause to consider the idea.] I hadn't thought of that, but given how little we know? Hard to say it's not a possibility.

[neurotoxicity]

You shouldn't worry about me, I definitely don't deserve it. [ Eternal self deprecation. The worst part was probably that she actually believed that. She let out a little scoff that was laced with bitterness. ]

So something filled with emotions you didn't want to feel in the slightest? [ Because that's how hers went, not that she's happy to admit that. ]

A sprain isn't as bad as it could be I suppose. Mm. Of course he did. You're both lucky blowing it up worked and didn't injure either of you.

[ And she's grateful he wasn't injured more than just a sprain, in fact she actually offers something of a soft smile. ] I'm glad you weren't hurt too badly. [ She sighs. ] It always comes back to how little we know of everything, doesn't it?

[gadaboutdetective]

I'm not in the habit of taking advice, I'm afraid. [Sorry, Ivy. Llewellyn was hard to convince on those matters.

He winced a little though at her comment,] Mm... Lingering complicated emotions I'd certainly rather not deal with. I'm sorry that they got to you too, it's not right. [Being messed with like that, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.] I can't imagine how they were able to mimic those we know so well, I can't quite wrap my head around it. Not that I've ever seen anything like it before.

[It was actually somehow Llewellyn's first experience with some sort of dangerous, unnatural entity. He hadn't even considered Harry's method of attack might have gone badly.] Thank you, Ivy. I was lucky, but Rhy patched me up fairly well. I'm glad that beyond the unpleasant emotions, and taste I suppose, that you weren't injured either.

[He shook his head a little, expression shifting to something a little more frustrated.] It is, I suppose we can't ever expect something to make sense easily.

[neurotoxicity]

So I've noticed. Though I guess I can't say much, neither do I. [ But she's still judging, mostly because she wants people to accept that she's a terrible person undeserving. ]

That's why I've been avoiding people lately. I haven't wanted to think about what happened or talk to people about it. [ Now she's just annoyed at everything. ] It means they've been in our minds. Those spirits and maybe this place in general. [ Which she is not happy about. ]

You're lucky to have Rhy. [ Maybe she's a bit jealous. ] I was injured, but I can heal fast. Naturally and faster if I had help.

[ She heaves a sigh ] It's strange though, the aspects seem to want to help so I don't know why they can't offer us more information.

video;

[everybodypanic]

Target practice, that's what they were for me!

[neurotoxicity]

Lucky for you. Most were target practice for me after that initial one.

video; un: dresden

[harrythelizard]

( Harry raises his eyebrows in surprise as the feed initializes. )

I never took you as someone who discussed their meals with strangers on the internet.

( A beat. )

It's kind of cool that I sort of get to use the internet, though. Wizards can't usually get within five feel of anything this fancy. As for the creatures, they were some sort of spirits...really pissed off spirits.

[neurotoxicity]

[ She looks...mildly mortified which is odd for someone that usually doesn't show too much emotion on her face. ] I don't discuss it with anyone usually. I've tried to not let anyone know that I've eaten anything here. [ Mostly due to her own concerns about how people would react to that. ] Let alone admitting I bit into a...spirit [ she sounds really irritated by this part ] impersonating Piscary.

[ Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. On so many levels. ] Wizards in your world can't use the internet? Why?

[harrythelizard]

[Living with his brother for a few years has given him a bit more respect for the whole vampire necessity thing.]

Ivy, starving yourself would be stupid. That's just asking for trouble.

[A pause.]

Do I even want to know why you'd try to bite that guy?

[He shook his head.]

Magic and technology don't mix well. All the energies around even minor practitioners tend to foul things up. Even corded phones sometimes.

[neurotoxicity]

I've gone without before. It's just harder to keep control, especially after what he did. [ Wait, why didn't she just do what she usually did: insist that she didn't need blood to survive? Why did she actually admit that part. ]

He wanted me to. [ And why did she just admit that? She frowns and then glares at him through the camera as if this was his fault. ]

That sounds inconvenient for you.

[harrythelizard]

Does it...have to be human? [He has a hunch he already knows the answer to that question, but he's going to ask it anyway.]

Oh.

[There was a brief pause before the word vomit.]

I'm sorry, Ivy. I can tell this guy, Piscary you said his name was? He did things to you. You remind me a lot of my brother, and a lot of your abilities remind me of his court. They're psychic vampires, and they can feed off one another, too. It's addictive, and they use it to control each other. So, you may not think I get it, and on a deep level I don't, but I can understand, and I'm so, so sorry.

[A beat, and he cleared his throat.]

And no. Not for me, really. I'm pretty good at sleuthing without the internet. It's pretty inconvenient for other people, though.

[neurotoxicity]

Of course. It isn't just about taking blood. [ She frowns at the admission and then just lets out a frustrated huff. ]

Things. That's a nice way to put what he did to me. [ There's an undercurrent of anger and sadness in that response. What he was describing was disturbingly similar and she closed her eyes. ] Addictive...[ her tone softens at that, something like embarrassment was hidden in there. ] You end up not knowing the difference between love and blood. He started when I was really young and I've tried to leave so many times but I can't. [ And that's one of the worst parts. ]

I don't know why I'm saying this.

[harrythelizard]

I don't know. I don't know why I want to tell you that you scare the hell out of me sometimes, and that it's hard for me to accept the things that I you have to do to stay sane, but I want to, because I like you.

And that I should warn you that usually ends badly for the other person, because people I care about tend to get hurt. I don't know if I'm cursed or what, but it always ends really badly. My last girlfriend was turned when she followed me to a Halloween party and I murdered the vampiress hosting it and started a war that's gotten a lot of young wizards killed. I'm bad news.

[He pauses for a second, breathes deeply a few times with a sort of scrunched grimace on his face, and then turns and sneezes a few times, very loudly. Honestly, they're dad sneezes.]

That was awkward.