September 27th, Thursday Night - Casey Silpetti
Going into the half, both teams are tied, and the game has been pretty exciting. Veronica turns to Casey and gushes over how well Aiden has been playing. She tries to start up a conversation with Casey, clearly hoping to get everyone else involved. It doesn’t quite work, and an awkward air settles over the group.
Finally she gives up trying to bait a conversation. Instead, she turns to Jill and her fingers flash through a few quick movements. Jill lights up for the first time that night, her hands answering back in quick sign.
Veronica grins and answers back in silent sign, ignoring the looks that everyone is giving her. Cadence’s eyes are wide open, watching the silent conversation like watching a tennis match.
Jill opens her mouth in silent laughter, clearly enjoying whatever it was Roni just signed. Cadence turns to her. “You know sign?”
Anyone else would probably have replied with a sarcastic retort, but Roni just shrugs. “I was bored one day, so I learned it. First time I’ve used it in three years, so I’m a little rusty though.”
Harmony finally steps in. “So Connor, should we start taking lessons from Roni in sign? Are you and Jill an item? Cause Silpetti and Mini-Kane here have a double-date thing planned, I’m sure if y’all wanted to go I could get Chris too, we could make it an eight-way date.”
Casey turns to Harmony, her eyes wide. Her friend ignores her, waiting for an answer while subtly watching Roni, who’s also less subtly waiting for Cadence’s answer.
Cadence on the other hand, shakes her head no quickly while Jill watches on grinning. “Oh no, no… we’re not an item.” She looks over at Jill, who just grins wider at how flustered she is. “I mean, we used to be. But we haven’t been… not for years. Not that…” she finally bites her lip and shuts herself up.
Jill laughs her silent laugh, shaking her head in amusement. She starts writing in her tablet, even as Tom turns to Roni. “Double-date? Who are you dating?” he asks her in a confused and grumpy tone.
Roni turns to him a little abashed. “Well, I was going to ask you…” she starts, stammering a little.
Jill holds up her tablet, We’re just friends. I think her heart is already somewhere else written on it, which just flusters Cadence even more.
Harmony watches it all in silent amusement, the wheels still obviously spinning in her head. Casey sighs, thinking to herself humorously that no good can come of this.
Luckily, the game starts back up. But while Aiden and Chance both play well -obviously the best on the team tonight - they can’t hold onto a win. Holsey loses by 1 point in OT.
Aiden waves to Casey as the team walks off field to the locker rooms. Looks like he decided to give her some space tonight instead of coming over to talk, since she said she had plans with Cadence.
“So now what?” Veronica asks, as they all gather at the bottom of the bleachers. Tom turns to her, about to ask something, but Harmony interrupts him.
She steps next to Roni and links her arm with the younger girl. “Well, I need to get Mini-Kane here back home, since it’s a school night. Plus, we have things to talk about, girl.” She turns to Casey, nodding over at Cadence and Jill. “Y’all be careful and have fun, but not too much, since I won’t be there. See you at school tomorrow!”
Harmony smiles and gives Casey an air kiss as Roni turns to tell Tom goodnight. She squeals with laughter and giggling as Harmony says something and pulls her away, and she turns around to wave goodnight at everyone as they walk off.
Tom rolls his eyes, and starts to walk off. He stops and turns, saying “Goodnight Casey,” before walking off again. Cadence makes a quiet clucking noise under her breath as she stands next to Casey, but forces a smile when the other girl turns to her.
“Well, sure you’re ready to go?”
Casey nods and the three of them walk over to where Sarah’s mustang is parked. Jill gives Casey a quick smile as she climbs into the back, leaving the front seat for her.
The ride starts off quiet, the radio turned off as they pass through the dark streets. Cadence seems to favor taking the odd back street instead of using the major roads to get there, even though it takes longer.
She turns to Casey. “A few things. Legal Tender is a completely neutral place. No one can do anything to anyone without consent. Any violence has to be taken outside. But with that said, stick close to me and try not to talk to many people. There are plenty things there that can influence your mind, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Remember to be ready to see anything. The place can be kinda overwhelming. We’re going to find a nice quiet place to sit while Jill makes her rounds. I’m not going to be any further than a few inches from you at all times, so don’t worry, k?”
Cadence pulls the car into a parking lot near the Power Plant. They get out and walk into an alley on side the building, the same alley that Casey and Aiden had searched the day they were trying to find their way in.
On the way, Jill drops the glamour surrounding her. Her skin pales and takes on a similar opalescent cast to Cadence’s, her features sharpening slightly. Her ears come up to a graceful point, and her almond eyes seem to get much larger, the blue of them taking on the bright shining color of a clear summer sky.
Cadence moves with the grace of a dancer, but Jill puts her to shame. She more seems to flow than to actually walk, and Casey has an appreciation for how dangerous it’s going to be in a building full of people like them, the unconscious pull of their nature against all of her senses.
She starts to work on blocking some of it out, going a little on some of what she’s read in the book that Faust gave to her. By the time they get to where they are going, she feels pretty secure that it shouldn’t be a problem.
They stop in front of a section of wall that looks no different to the rest. It is spray painted with graffiti and caked with the grime that tends to form in the center of cities like this. Jill turns to her, smiles, and then walks straight through the wall.
Casey stares in amazement for a moment, Cadence’s hand resting on her back breaking her out of it. “Don’t worry about it, just close your eyes and step through. Trust me.”
She takes Casey’s hand, and holding it tight, pulls her forward. Casey closes her eyes at the last moment, tensing up, but feels no impact with the wall.
She opens her eyes to find herself in a covered little walkway leading to a large, brass door. A plaque next to it is inscribed: Accorded Neutral Territory.
Jill rests her hand against the door, and with a quiet click it opens, letting them into a place that Casey will never be able to forget. The place is huge on the inside, much larger than she had expected it. Along the walls are openings into different nooks and rooms, taking up most of the left center is a huge bar. Many different tables take up the majority of the space, none too close to the other.
Hanging from the ceiling are a number of cages, dancers inside. Raised platforms are also abundant, filled with men and women dancers/strippers. A wall of voices and sound rush over her, throbbing music the predominant ingredient. Most of the languages she can hear are foreign to her, some clearly inhuman.
With the sound also comes a wave of different odors, incense and perfume and spices mixing with the smell of so many bodies packed into such a small area. If she hadn’t have run through the techniques to wall off her senses, she’d be easily overwhelmed by everything.
Jill disappears into the throng, and Casey gratefully finds Cadence standing close behind her, one hand on her back to guide her through the crowd. Some of the people in here are clearly not human. Some wear the cover of glamours that she can spot, but others simply don’t care. Horns sprout from this one’s head; a thin tail whips behind that one. One guy walks past, hulking over everyone nearby, his leathery face split by the tusks he has for teeth.
Cadence walks Casey to an empty table, and waits till she’s sitting before taking her own seat. There is a metal ring embedded in the floor around the table, its surface carved with runes that look familiar. They also adorn the wooden table in between them.
Cadence runs her finger over the rune on the table, and Casey gets the sudden feeling of a pressure change, almost like her mystic ears just popped. The sound around them dulls to a barely heard whisper. The sights of everything around them is blurred, as though a curtain had been drawn around them as well.
“There, now no one can hear us. Not by listening in, or by spell, or even by technical means. I figure we can talk a bit, while we wait. You said you found out something about Roni?”
She says it casually enough, but Casey can feel the quiet tension in her voice when she says the other girl’s name.
“Wait, how’d you do that? Can anybody do that? Can people still see us?” Casey asks as she looks out from the table. She shakes her head and turns her attention back to Cadence. “Nevermind, I’m not sure I’ll ever be used to all this. Anyway, she’s a Star. I realized it when I was reading that book that Faust gave us.”
Cadence’s eyes widen as she leans back in her chair, silent for a long moment as she considers it. Finally, she nods slightly. “Even my people have legends of Stars. You’re right, it explains a lot. Brings up a lot of questions too.”
“Questions?”
“Yeah. Why doesn’t she remember Falling? What caused her to? Why is she getting older? It doesn’t make sense. But it explains why someone is out to get her, and why they haven’t really pushed the issue yet.”
“What do you mean, why would they wait?”
“A Star’s heart is what they’re after. And a heart is most powerful just before it’s given away in love.” She suddenly looks miserable. “Which means that if she doesn’t get close enough to Tom quick enough, they’ll be after her.”
Casey tries to find a way to broach the subject she’s been wondering about. “What about… well, didn’t she ask you…”
Cadence turns her face away from Casey, leaving her in profile as she stares out into the crowd. “Ask me out with you and Aiden? She did. But earlier she talked to me, and said that it was just to celebrate me being able to stay here and all. She didn’t want me to get the wrong idea, and since so much was going on – I guess she meant Jill being here – that she was going to take Tom instead. I think it was easier for her to take him anyway. Seeing the way Bianca looks at me, I can’t imagine her family being too happy her taking me out, even if it wasn’t a real date.”
She goes quiet after finishing, leaving Casey unsure of what to say in response. After a long moment, Cadence fills the quiet, “It’s a good thing too. I mean, she was out of my league to begin with, but a Star? Shit, way beyond me. I’m just a goblin girl, not…” she drifts off, her lips pursed tight.
Casey just waits quietly, sensing that Cadence needs to run through something in her head. A long moment later, Cade starts as if she hadn’t said anything else, “Jill shouldn’t be too long, and I’ll get you home. You should be real careful if you ever come here without me, ok?”
As Casey is about to answer, someone walks up to the table. Cadence slides her finger back across the rune, dropping the barrier around them. A waitress stands there, looking over her shoulder.
“Do you want anything?” She asks, turning to them. Her eyes widen comically. “Shit! I mean, Casey!”
It’s Shelly.
She’s wearing a blue tank top that’s nearly skintight, a black bra underneath it. Black shorts so short they disappear behind the small apron tied around her waist. A black leather collar that makes Cadence’s choker seem demure wraps around her neck. Her skin is so pale against the color of her top that it almost seems to glow from within.
“Hey… Casey.” Her eyes flick over to Cadence quickly before coming back to Casey’s. “Look, I wanted to apologize for that other night. I called and talked to Harmony, but I didn’t have your number. Somebody I know decided to play a trick on me and spike our drinks, and I feel so bad about all that. I really, really do. I hope you forgive me?”
Casey looks over at Cadence, who hasn’t taken her eyes off of Shelly. Her body is spring coiled tight, her eyes narrowed slightly as she waits for any threatening move to set her off.
“Do you forgive her, Case?” she asks.
Casey bites her lip at glances from Cadence to Shelly before answering, “Ummm, I guess so…” She trails off, not sounding very sure of her answer.
Shelly relaxes just slightly, “I really am sorry about it, I wish it didn’t have to involve you. What do you guys want to drink? First one’s on me tonight.” She forces a smile as she finishes.
Cadence names some drink that Casey has never heard of and Casey just asks for a Diet Coke. “She’s the one from the video, isn’t she?” Casey nods and Cadence brings the barrier back up around them, half-smiling at her friend. “She likes you…and Harmony too, otherwise she would have had more of a group love-fest going that night. If she’s telling the truth about her drink being spiked, there’s only a couple of things that can make a vamp act like that. Be careful around her Case. At least if she’s working here, she can’t be too bad. The owner is a stickler for a lot of things, no way she’d hire on a feral fang-face.”
Casey nods as Shelly and Jill both come back to the table at the same time. Cadence drops the barrier and Shelly sets down their drinks, looking toward Jill and asking for her order at the same time. Jill shakes her head no as she sits down.
Shelly turns back to Cadence and raises an eyebrow as she points out the girl’s drink with her chin. “I hope you’re not the designated driver.”
Cadence shrugs and reaches into her pants pocket, pulling out her keys and tossing them on the table. Casey thanks Shelly and gives her a couple bucks for tip and Cadence brings back the barrier the second her back is turned.
“What did you find out,” she asks Jill, before reaching for her glass. The tall, skinny glass is filled with various layers of color: blue on the bottom fading to a deep purple in the middle, orange and brilliant red on top. She had called it a “Night on –something- Sunset”, Casey didn’t quite catch it.
Casey turns to look at Jill, who is busy writing in her notebook. She smiles as she shows them both the page. Found my Sister. She’s supposed to come in tonight, I’m going to wait and see. You can go, I’ll find someplace if she doesn’t.
Cadence shakes her head. “No way, I’ll wait until she shows, or you’re ready to leave.” She turns to Casey. “If you need to leave before then, it’s not a problem. I’ll run you home, or you can just drive yourself home,” she nods at the keys on the table between them.
After a moment, Cadence reaches for the rune carved in the table, and lets the barrier fall again. Noticing Casey’s look, she leans closer. “Costs money, and catches attention if it’s up for a long time. People get curious, even if it’s a common sight. Better to save it for important talks.”
Her eyes flick around the room as she talks, never staying in one spot for too long. Casey wonders what it is like, having to live her life in such a constant state of paranoia. She suddenly feels sorry for her.
Cadence turns her attention back to Casey. “So how are things going with you and Aiden? Better I hope. I’m still not sure what happened with y’all, was it the Kale nonsense? I mean, he likes you and all, but it’s not reciprocal, is it?”
As the night gets longer and Cadence’s drink gets lower, she gets quieter… sinking into a clearly “not wanting to talk” mood. It gives Casey time to pay a little attention to what’s going on around her – which may be a good or bad thing.
Every few minutes there is a sight of something even more astounding than what came before it. And all of it moving around together around her in a way that is utterly pedestrian, the cognitive dissonance of it all is a bit much.
Jill does her part to distract Casey after Cadence falls silent, passing her notebook back and forth and just trying to get a little background on everything that’s happened before she got here, without overly prying.
Shelly doesn’t exactly hover around – especially considering she seems somewhat cautious around a clearly hostilely protective Cadence – but she comes around several times to refill drinks or check up on them. At one point Casey watches her flirting with a guy one table over, and when she laughs the tips of her fangs are obvious, driving in the fact of what she truly is.
Cadence pulls off her baseball cap and flips it into the empty chair next to her, one hand going up to ruffle her hair. The neon pink streaks on either side contrast with the deep black of the rest of her hair. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She shoots Jill a wary eye, the other girl nodding slightly, which seems to satisfy Cadence. She stands and stalks off, her small frame disappearing quickly into the crowd.
Jill frowns as she watches the other girl leave. She turns to Casey and writes something out on her notepad, before passing it over. She’s not happy I came back.
They’re not sitting there long before Shelly walks up. She hesitantly looks between Casey and Jill. “Casey, do you mind if we talked? I kind of wanted to clear the air between us.”
Jill gives Casey a questioning look, and at her nod writes something on her pad. I won’t be far. You’re perfectly safe, just don’t leave the table. I won’t let her do anything, promise.
Casey smiles at the other girl, who gives Shelly a threatening look before standing and walking towards the bar. Shelly sits in Cadence’s seat, across from Casey.
“Look, I had no idea you were in the know on things.” At Casey’s confused look, she makes a gesture that encompasses the building around them. “If you’re here, you know things. I mean, I had heard you were dealing with Faust, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you know what goes bump in the night, you know… things like me.”
She huddles miserably in her seat. “I really didn’t mean to do that to you and Harm. Some of my friends got wrapped up in the Carlin-Kane girl’s kidnapping, they’re police. When she was rescued, they started looking into things, following her. That’s how they twigged to you and her other friends. They followed you to some of the games, to Faust’s place. I still look young, so I could kind of fit in with y’all, so they asked for my help.
“At your birthday, I kind of worked on Harmony to get some answers as to who you were. That’s why she thought she knew me, I kind of pushed her into believing that. They still suspected you might have something to do with it, and they’re looking out for the Kane girl. I wasn’t supposed to bump into you at the dance, and especially not let on that I knew you.
“But look, we all know you’re on the up and up now, and that y’all are trying to protect her too. And I really, really didn’t mean for that to happen the other night, someone really did spike my drink. If someone wouldn’t have broken things up…” she doesn’t finish that answer, shuddering slightly.
A shadow falls over them, and Casey looks over to see Cadence standing there, another glass of whatever she was having in her hand. Her eyes are a deep violet, the irises slit like a cat as she glares at Shelly.
Before anyone can say anything, Shelly raises her hands in a non-threatening gesture, and smiles up at the other girl, the tips of her fangs peeking out from under her lips. “Hey, was just keeping your seat cold for you.”
She stands and walks off, giving Casey a wink before she does. Cadence sits down. “Where’s Jill?”
“She gave me some space, so Shelly could talk to me. She said she’d be close, there she is. Who is she talking to?”
Cadence turns to follow Casey’s gaze, and they both watch Jill and the two people she was talking to walk over. The girl is clearly cut from the same cloth as Jill. Statuesque, seeming to shine with an inner light, and almost alien in her beauty. The man with her is her opposite in almost every way: big versus lithe, dark verses pale, hostile versus serene.
They are both wearing the uniform that Casey has become familiar with, the suits and fashionably understated look of bodyguards. However the tailoring and materials lend Casey to believe that they must be very successful.
The man steps up and smiles as he makes introductions, though the smile is a wary one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hello, I’m Alec Guiness.” He reaches to shake their hands, and when Casey touches him she feels the faint prickling of glamour. If she were to ‘open’ her newfound senses, she would surely see something other than a normal human man standing in front of her.
“This is my associate and friend, Angel Monroe.” He gestures to the woman standing next to him. Up close, Casey can see that there is something a little ‘off’ about the woman, from the way she stands there unmoving to the completely neutral expression on her face. That lasts for a moment as though it has to sink in, and then she turns to Casey and smiles brilliantly, her whole being coming to life.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She reaches out and shakes Casey’s hand before turning to Cadence.
“We own a small security and transportation company. Angel knows about Jill’s situation, and having been there herself, has given full hospitality to her.” Casey glances over at Angel, who has gone back to that oddly neutral poise. “She can stay with us until she finds something else, and we’ll help her find a job as well.”
Jill smiles and nods enthusiastically. She pulls Cadence over to the side, and they ‘talk’ for a few moments, before heading back. Casey notices Cadence pulling a cellphone out her cargo pocket and passing it over to the other girl.
“Thank you Alec, Angel. I hope y’all take good care of my friend. She has my number if you need to reach me for any reason.” She reaches in her pocket and throws some money on the table to cover their drinks, and they all head out to her car. She gets the keys from Casey and opens the trunk, helping to carry the few items that Jill owns over to the limo that Alec points out.
They have another conversation to the side, Casey waiting at the car. Finally Cadence pulls the other girl to her for a quick, tight hug, before turning and walking back to the car without looking back.
She climbs into the passenger seat without saying a word, staying silent for a while as Casey cautiously starts the drive back home. She can tell from the other girl’s posture that now isn’t the time to tell her she doesn’t have her license, and after what she drank, she’s clearly not capable of driving herself.
“Case?” Cadence doesn’t turn towards her, staying slumped against the door, staring out the window.
“Yeah Cade?”
“You mind if I crash with you tonight? I can’t drive like this. I’ll be gone before the Carlin’s wake up, don’t worry.”
Casey looks back over at the other girl still slumped against the door. She’s got her glamour back up, the wild and exotic look replaced with that of a sad, tired, little girl.
“Yeah, sure Cade.” She cringes a little to herself. She can’t afford to get the Carlin-Kane’s mad at her – which really boils down to Madison – but there’s no way she can say no to her friend in this condition either.
They park a little way away from the house, and make it to the pool house without any problem. Cadence drops her on the floor next to the sofa-like cushions lining the sill of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up the walls.
“I’ll just be a few minutes in the bathroom, and then it’s all yours if you don’t mind.” Casey nods at her, and she disappears into the door in back leading to the bathroom. Casey hears the shower turn on right after, so she heads to her closet to grab her nightclothes and change into a nice fluffy robe.
By the time she’s finished, she hears the shower turn off and thinks to herself, She really means it when she says just a few minutes!
Cadence walks out a few minutes later, wearing the brown short sleeve t-shirt she was wearing as an over shirt earlier, and the same white boyshorts she was wearing when she rescued Smudge from the drain. The rest of her clothes are neatly folded in a pile in her hands, and her black and pink hair is pulled back into a pony-tail.
She still has the look of someone who doesn’t want to talk, so Casey heads into the bathroom herself to wash up and get ready for sleep.
Casey steps out of the bathroom a darkness broken only by the light of the moon through the shades and the small lamp next to her bed. Cadence is sitting on the sofa-like cushions in the window, leaning against the glass as she looks out into the night. The shades on that one window are open to just above her head, backlighting her into a black silhouette.
“You don’t need to sleep over there, we can share the bed you know,” Casey tells her softly.
“I know. Thanks, but I’m ok.” Casey has to strain to hear the other girl’s voice, quiet as she is.
Casey climbs into the bed, reaching over to turn the light off as Cadence’s voice cuts through the darkness again.
“There’s a storm coming.” As though to punctuate her words with uncanny timing, lightning flashes in the distance illuminating her sitting there, staring out into the night.
