vaughn is an asshole
who: samson, epiphany & vaughn (with a little wren) setting: central park
The frantic alerts had pulled Samson away from his work, scrolling through them before he was connected directly with one of the Temple’s elders, getting an update on what was going on. He was solemn on the call, but the moment he cut it off he was swearing under his breath. He finished up what he was working on, sending a note over to Epiphany.
Where are you, Piph? I’m coming to get you.
He had an idea of where the delivery guy was based out of, but it wasn’t like he was friendly with the guy. It was enough to start on though and he grabbed his things and headed out of his place, starting towards the park, figuring if he couldn’t find her right away, he could knock some heads around and see what shook loose.
Epiphany had been living a blissful few hours. She’d slept more soundly than she had in a very long time and was happy to attribute it to the fresh air or the lack of responsibility or whatever else she could. The concept that her body had shut itself down to regenerate her blood hadn’t really crossed her mind. Bloodlettings typically helped her sleep, but this was somehow different.
When Samson messaged her, it was the first time she’d looked at the messages in her comm link. He was the most recent of the multitude of messages she had gotten overnight, so many that there was no possible way she could read them all. And as soon as she saw Samson’s message, she knew why he was reaching out. She could feel the guilt start to swirl in her stomach again as she responded. I’m fine. You do not need to come and retrieve me.
Try again. Even if I don’t take you back I need to check in on you. Samson slowed his steps, relieved she was answering. She was mostly okay. He hesitated in sending the next part. I won’t make you go back. He couldn’t. Not if she didn’t want to go back. He wish she’d gone about it a better way, but still.
Of course I am going back. At least, she intended to. But there was something so calming about being here, sequestered away from all the needs and the leadership, all the decisions she had to make down below. I am fine, Samson. I am with Vaughn. He has checked on me. There is nothing to worry about.
And I will feel much better if I can see you myself. Do this for me, Piph. Just like how you asked all the questions about Wren. Samson had to swallow down some choice comments about Vaughn, but settled for mumbling them under his breath and not across any comm link with her. He already kind of hated his guy.
Epiphany exhaled carefully and thought it over. He had a point. She had pried into his life with Wren and he had been willing to answer her. Plus she did not like hiding things from Samson. It felt wrong to her on many levels. All right. Let me find out the best way to tell you where we are.
Carefully, Epiphany cleared her throat and reached out with a bandaged hand into the air around her. “Vaughn?” She called, having to clear her throat again to truly get the words out.
Vaughn had spent an uncomfortable night on the ground. He had no idea where Vic had gone, but imagined it was to his 'business partner' which was the biggest load of bullshit he'd heard in a long time. He was sore, cold and pissy. But he wasn't asleep. He hadn't really fallen asleep at all, even if he pretended to. When Piph spoke, he glanced up at the hammock above, and reached up to touch her hand. “Right here,” he said, voice a little hoarser than usual.
Linking her fingers with his, Epiphany smiled. She would have liked to have him closer to her, to feel his warmth around her as they rested, but that he was there near her now made her heart flutter. “Hello,” She started, and let that sit for a moment before adding, “Samson is concerned. He wishes to come check on me, but I do not want him to be hurt in the process.”
“He’s not coming here,” Vaughn said. He silently exhaled as he shut his eyes, then got to his feet. Everything ached. “Where is he?” he asked. “I’ll take you to him, or whatever. But yeah, he isn’t coming here.” He had zero intentions of letting any of her followers anywhere near he and Vic’s home. That wasn’t happening.
Epiphany listened and shifted a little, feeling the hammock swing under her. She was not confident enough to sit up or try to move too far from her spot on the hammock. It felt like she was floating in space without anything but Vaughn to ground her. She liked it. “I will confirm,” She said before sending off the question to Samson, We will come to you. Where are you?
Then she turned her attention back to Vaughn while she waited on the answer. “Did you rest well?”
He had kept hold of her hand and reached out for her other one to help her sit up, steadying the hammock with his hip against hers as he did so. “Hold on then swing your legs my way, pivot around my hip,” he instructed. “Yeah,” he lied smoothly. “You seem like you did, slept really hard once you were out.” Because that's what massive bloodloss does to a person.
Following instructions, Epiphany swung her legs and held tightly onto Vaughn’s hands. She leaned a little closer to the edge of the hammock and tried to find the floor with her foot. “I have never slept in a hammock before, but it was very restful. I only wish you could have joined me.”
Samson growled to himself and then sent Epiphany the lake by Wren’s boathouse, marked on a map. He was trying not to be annoyed at this guy but it was irritating. It was a safe space and if he needed to he could maybe tap Wren for somewhere to hide her out.
When Samson sent over the coordinates, Epiphany immediately shared them with Vaughn. “Samson is there,” She told him. “Shall we?”
Vaughn looked skeptical even if she couldn’t see it. “Over by the dead cult’s land? A living grave doesn’t seem like the best place, but whatever.” Most of them were dead. Mass suicide. It had really rocked the Park community when it happened. He didn’t even know if there was anyone left there, though had heard rumors that the fortune teller chick was. Some people thought she was a ghost though, she couldn’t be found on the net. He started to lead her in the right direction, getting them quickly out of the maze of tents to the more open area and picking the path that would lead them to the reservoir fastest.
It didn’t take long for Samson to get to the meeting spot, giving him time to debate if he should message Wren or not. He was still a little ways from her boat house, not wanting to draw this stranger over there, but he could see it from where he stood. After a few minutes though he gave in and messaged her. Might need your help. It was sent through the secure channel he still felt bad for turning on for just him, but he got that she wanted to keep her privacy. It just felt like he was doing exactly what her cult leader had done and the thought made him feel sick.
“Get your head in the game,” he grumbled to himself, going back to pacing. This wasn’t about him and his issues, it was about Epiphany being out in the park in a godforsaken tent and not with her people. Leaving in the middle of a ritual. It was ninety levels of not good and he needed to make sure she was fine before he let her out of his sight again.
Epiphany walked with Vaughn, mostly in silence as she tried to absorb all the sounds and smells and stimuli of the park. As they walked, the noise died down and slowly things turned quiet again. She felt more at home in the quiet, but there was something so vibrant and exciting about the sounds of the ground. As the wind shifted, she could feel the difference in energy in the air. Samson was close. She’d always been able to tell when he was near in some way she just wasn’t able to explain. Maybe it was by scent. She’d never truly given it much thought. Regardless, she smiled as they took a few more steps. “Hello, Samson.”
Wren, in her houseboat, dropped a mug she’d been holding as the message came through and startled her. It didn’t break and had been nearly empty so she didn’t have much of a mess to clean up, but it took her a moment to recall how to return a message. I am here for whatever you need. Simply tell me what it is and I’ll do my best.
Vaughn had spotted the guy as they were walking and was eyeing him up as they got closer. He was unable to help himself as he compared the two of them, wondering who was more handsome (pointless since she was functionally blind), better to her, more important. He kept it to himself as much as possible but also couldn’t help adopting the protective posture with her as they got within speaking distance. He didn’t smile at the guy or anything, just eyed him suspiciously.
Samson let himself have the slightest of smiles for Wren’s message, part the willingness to help without question, but more that she’d figured out how to answer him and that the line of communication was open. Step outside and keep an eye on this meeting for me? He knew she’d be able to at least spot them from her boat or her dock.
When Epiphany was there, finally, he dropped his focus to just her. She was paler than he’d like, even more so than she should be in the sunlight, which thankfully wasn’t as bright as it could be or she’d already be burnt. It was something he’d dealt with the first few years coming above ground. “Thank the gods,” he breathed, relieved just to see her up and walking. Of course that was about where the relief ended. Anger bubbled up under it. He shot a look at Vaughn, but didn’t pay him that much more attention. He dug into his bag for his scanner and tablet, shaking his head at her. “A blood letting. What did I tell you? It’s a terrible idea, it helps no one and it only proves how much of a slave to them you are.” He flipped on the scanner and started to work. “Most of your enhancements run off your biological power. Putting that in jeopardy puts all of them in jeopardy.”
“You told me not to perform a bloodletting,” Epiphany answered simply. She could hear Samson rummage around for items, assuming he was producing his tablet to run diagnostics on her. She let him speak, staying quiet until he finished, and only then did she answer. “If it helps their mental state, a bloodletting is not completely useless,” She said. “But I believe you two are aligned on that thought. That bloodlettings are not the answer. I do not believe we will do another bloodletting.”
She didn’t like the way he called her a slave to her Temple. It was the same consistent battle she was fighting every time she spoke with Vaughn about her followers. They meant the world to her and Epiphany would, and had, done everything in her power to bring them serenity and happiness. But the more she spoke with Vaughn and Samson, the more she was beginning to wonder just what her purpose was anymore. If she was failing as a leader in the Temple, why would the Temple continue to follow her lead? “I will do my best to keep my enhancements performing optimally.”
Wren very quietly stepped out onto the back porch of her boat, leaning on the railing as she observed the goings on from not that far away. She signaled to him that she was watching, and remained quiet as she saw the three people converge.
Vaughn was less than impressed at his complete dismissal by Blondie here. Really? He wasn’t even going to say a fucking word? Just ignore him. Asshole. It did nothing to improve Vaughn’s foul mood. And even if the guy did apparently share his feelings on her and the bloodletting insanity, and he did in fact note the ‘slave’ comment, that didn’t make him like the guy. He stood back, arms crossed over his chest as he pretty much glared openly at Samson. He was probably most growly over the fact that he very much felt like a third wheel right now. Like this fucker summoned her, bitched at her, and now was going to do shit to help her and Vaughn just had to stand back and be ignored.
Well, at least the guy had one thing right. Samson shot Vaughn a look and caught the glare, which brought out a touch of a smile to his lips. Good. He didn’t like the guy either. “I don’t think it helps them that much,” he said, looking at her. “They like to see someone suffer and they’d rather it be you and not them.” He shook his head as her diagnostics came back clean, thank the gods.
He glanced back at Wren, feeling better with her there. It was like being...grounded. He looked back at Epiphany, taking her bandages. He shook his head. “I hate this.”
Epiphany exhaled and tried for it to not sound like a sigh. The two most important people in her life and neither were supportive of her decision. She understood it was because they cared for her, but this was still the only life Epiphany had ever known even if she was actively starting to wonder how different her life would be if she just stayed topside. Turning a little toward Vaughn, she reached out for his hand to try and squeeze it. “I am sorry I put you both through this. It was never my intention to worry you. But you should not hate this, Samson. Vaughn brought me home and cared for me. His brother found a miracle balm to help heal my wounds, right Vaughn?” His silence had not gone unnoticed by her and Epiphany didn’t want for Vaughn to shut down here.
Oh good, he was being included. He had the urge to take his hand back from Epiphany but didn't. “Right,” he said, though he sounded a little put out that he was just being included to chime in a support of a statement he found obvious. And since he lacked any real kind of impulse control, he shook his head, let go of her hand then stepped away. “Look whatever the fuck this is,” he said, gesturing between the two. “You go for it. As for the slicing yourself up and practically bleeding out for other people's 'peace of mind' that's fucking insane. No one should feel fucking better, that someone's cutting themselves for them. Putting themselves in danger of infection and worse. If you had this guy already telling you that shit wasn't okay, then some part of you should have been given pause at some point. I get that you grew up in this and it's been normalized, but you watch the rest of the world right? You know other people don't pull this. And maybe you see you and your people as better or more enlightened, I'm sure you do. 'Organizations' like yours always see themselves as above it all.” He pointed at Samson. “You should have done fucking better if you know this is dangerous bullshit,” he said, then looked to Piph. “And you should take ten minutes to give a shit about yourself instead of everyone else. You can't live an entire life only catering to other people especially if they're fucking batshit. And you know what? That includes me.” He glanced at Samson. “And I'm guessing it includes Chuckles here, too.”
“Chuckles?” Samson glared at Vaughn and took half a step to move between Vaughn and Epiphany. “I was going to say that not a word of what I hated was what you did, that I’m glad you’re here helping her, because I couldn’t be there, but fuck you. You think you’re that much better than me? Great. Awesome. She left for you. She’s never left for me. No matter how much I ask her to.” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, tugging at it. “And if you think being an outsider down there is hard, try being a deserter.” He shook his head and turned away, hand on his hips, watching Wren, wishing he could just curl up against her and let her soothe him. Her message popped up, asking what had happened, and he shook his head so she could see. I think I hate this guy.
Epiphany always leaned toward silence, listening rather than speaking first, but she could never have prepared herself for this attack. An attack from both sides. She stared forward, black eyes watering with each angry, biting, venomous word they said. She could feel her throat tighten, feel the oncoming tears pound at her temple, and she refused to let either of them see that she was close to crying. All she could hear was their words, swirling and circling around in her head amidst the onslaught of notification pings each time a follower sent a message of concern her way.
Finally, after a long moment of silence and shaking, Epiphany turned her back toward them both and started walking whichever direction they weren’t. “Goodbye,” She told them both, forcing her voice to be strong enough that they wouldn’t hear a warble in it.
Vaughn knew he shouldn't have opened his mouth pretty much instantly after he'd spoken. He did this though. It was possibly his worst character trait, second to none. He'd never learned to edit his mouth. He didn't want to hurt Piph's feelings but knew he had. He didn't give a shit about the guy, but figured that wasn't going to do him any favors either. It was possible he was self sabotaging, whether or not he was aware of it. Vaughn wasn't always great at self awareness. He didn't know why he was surprised when she very clearly started crying (even if she was trying to hide it. As a kid who'd made a career of that so hard that he wasn't sure he could shed tears now even if he wanted to, he saw it) then walked away. “You can't just walk off, Epiphany, you don't know where you're going. You can't get lost here, people – it's not a good place to be vulnerable.” He was an asshole, that didn't mean he didn't still care about her.
Wren watched the proceedings go quite sideways, and she frowned. When she saw the woman turn to walk away, she sent a message to Samson, going with her instincts. Please re-direct the young lady to me. I will care for her.
She’s blind, so you’ll have to come get her. Samson sent the message the reached for Epiphany, waving at Wren and turning Epiphany the right way. “Wren’s got her. You, you talk to me,” he added pointing at Vaughn.
He stepped away from Epiphany, looking at Vaughn. “First, thank you for helping her. But second, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Wren was here. Wren was here and she had likely seen every little insult Epiphany had just suffered. Now not only was she angry, not only was she hurt, but she was profoundly embarrassed as well. She wanted to internalize all of it but there was something shoving at her lips to get out, something just as venomous as what Vaughn had said to her. “I can see everything I need to see very clearly,” She responded, voice cold and harsh as she continued to walk away from the group. Of course she had no idea where she was going, but she was not positive she wanted to be talking to Wren right now. If they so desperately wanted her to be alone, to prove that she was not some sort of slave to her own people, then Epiphany’s goal was to get as far away as possible from them both. Whether Wren found her or not did not matter to Epiphany.