InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Daddy, I want a squirrel!"

abby has been twelve for a very long time (becauseihaveto) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-01-10 14:27:00

Entry tags:

abby, caroline salvatore, edward cullen

WHO: Abby, Caroline Forbes, and Edward Cullen
WHAT: Rescuing Abby ~~from the evil sunlight~~.
WHEN: Immediately after this.
WHERE: Main Library → Caroline's house.
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

When Abby had first woken up in the library, she had been completely out of sorts and terrified. The last thing she remembered was being inside her trunk, on a train, with Owen watching over her and keeping her safe. Then she was somewhere else with shelf after shelf of blank books, and two knights who seemed very determined to get her out. Which would have been fine, under any other circumstances, but the fact that the sun was still up - something she realized only after the doors had opened and the knights were half-carrying, half-dragging her outside - meant that she was as good as dead if she didn't figure something out.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for her to come up with anything before the knights were tossing her on the ground and dropping some strange looking device beside her. At first, Abby hadn't paid a bit of attention to the device; she was far too busy scrambling away from the sunlight that was covering the stairs where she'd come perilously close to being thrown. However, a few scant seconds later, as she was clawing at the once again sealed library doors in an effort to get back inside, the device suddenly became of much more importance than it had first seemed.

It was a means of communicating, she realized distantly as she began conversing with a couple of disembodied voices. More than that, it was a way to get help. A dangerous risk, of course, because all she had was the word of complete strangers that they were actually going to help her and not drag her the rest of the way into the fading sunlight, but Abby didn't have much of a choice. Pressed fully against the doors of the library, knees tucked up to her chest, she was only just barely managing to avoid the sunlight that was seeping underneath the covering overhead. Another five, maybe ten, minutes at most and the sun would be low enough in the sky that it would reach her for sure. And then... well, Abby didn't want to think about what would happen next.

So she simply waited, clutching the PDA tightly in her small hands and hoping that whoever was coming got there before it was too late.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

tolovealamb
2012-01-11 03:31 am UTC (link)

Edward stood from his chair when he heard the PDA sounded with the voice of a terrified child. He wanted to help the child and by listening to Caroline's thoughts, he quickly learned that the child was a vampire.

Edward frowned. A poor child had been turned into a vampire. Trapped with immortality forever. Who would do such a thing to a small child.

Edward nodded as Caroline grabbed a blanket and when she took off, he followed her, keeping pace with her. When they got to the library, Edward stood in front of the child as Caroline put the blanket around the girl. If the sun shifted enough while they were standing there, at least Edward's body would shield some of the light instead of the rays hitting the poor child.

"We don't have time for introductions." Edward said gently. "We need to get her to safety. I can carry her back to our room. She can stay there until the sun sets."

He looked at the girl. "You don't have to be afraid. Caroline and I are not going to hurt you and you are safe. Let's get you inside and we can answer the questions I know you have."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

becauseihaveto
2012-01-11 03:53 am UTC (link)

It was all happening so fast. One minute, Abby could feel the very tips of her toes beginning to crackle as the sun began to warm them for the first time in far too long for her to even remember, and the next there were others there and blessed darkness finally covered her. Although that certainly removed the immediate threat of the sunlight, Abby still didn't relax because now she had other things to focus on that were just as, if not even more, worrisome than the sun had been.

These people knew what she was.

Yes, some other disembodied voice had assured her that they were also vampires, but so little of what he said had made any sense. How could they be vampires and walking about in the sun? How could a ring of some sort protect them, much less impersonating a disco ball? Honestly, Abby had far more questions than she had answers but she knew that the male who had arrived on the scene was right. They didn't have time to discuss things where they were standing. Not with the sun dipping dangerously lower ever passing second.

So she did something she rarely did and simply placed her faith in those who had come to her rescue. She remained silent and still as they rushed her away from the setting sun, safely concealed within a thick blanket that smelled of lavender and vanilla. She stayed mute, too, until the second they passed through the doorway out of the home and she felt the first warnings of what was sure to come next.

"Invite me in!" she finally exclaimed, jerking herself free and landing, with a thud, on the ground. Wriggling out of the blanket, on her hands and knees, she peered imploringly up at the duo that had just saved her life only to put it in danger once more. Already she could feel the blood beginning to seep from her eyes and ears, her tongue thick with it.

"Please," she whispered as she slowly climbed to her feet, unmindful of the blood that was trickling down her bare legs from beneath the dress she wore. "You have to invite me in..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rubber
2012-01-11 05:05 am UTC (link)

Caroline was really glad Edward had cooperated. Not that she thought he wouldn't, but it was still a relief. She had been so worried about the girl, and getting to help her eased something inside of her. So often, back in Mystic Falls and even here, they hadn't been able to help people who needed it. It was good to manage it this once. She stood back and let Edward pick the girl up, even though she could have managed it herself thank you very much, and followed as he rushed her back to the house and brought her inside. And that's where it went wrong. Because she should have asked. After all, she knew most vampires needed to be invited in. But the fact that Edward had brought the girl in without running into a barrier had made it seem fine. Right up until the girl absolutely freaked out.

And then she was jerking and wriggling and looking up with pleading eyes as she bled, and Caroline brought a hand up to her mouth with a gasp. For a moment she couldn't speak, and then her brain kicked in. She had to do it. This was her house, so she couldn't just stand there and let Edward do it. Even then, it took her a moment. "You can come in," she exclaimed finally, the words blurted out in a rush. "You can come in. You're invited in." She sighed in relief as it seemed to do the trick, and she moved to quickly close all the curtains so the room would be safe for the little vampire. "I'm so sorry," she said, "I just thought that you would hit some kind of barrier if you had to be invited in. I'm really, really sorry."

She sat down, looking at the girl. "Let me get you something..." less bloody, "clean to put on. Do you want to wash up?" She realized after a moment that she couldn't just carry on calling the girl 'little girl' and 'tiny vampire' in her head, and focused on manners to keep from absolutely freaking out. She missed Damon. She really missed him. He'd know how to handle this. Or he'd fake it really well, so that she didn't feel so completely out of her element. "Like I said before," she said after a moment, "I'm Caroline. And this is Edward. What's your name, sweetie?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tolovealamb
2012-01-11 05:47 pm UTC (link)

After picking the young vampire up and running back to the house, he was surprised when the girl started jerking and wiggling when he attempted to bring the girl inside to safety. It never occurred to Edward that this vampire needed an invitation to enter a private dwelling. His kind could come and go as they pleased. He frowned with worry and he felt terrible when he saw the blood running down the vampire's legs.

He glanced over to Caroline as she extended an invitation, relieved that the invitation seemed to have helped. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that you needed an invitation." Edward said, looking over the vampire again.

"How old are you?" Edward asked after Caroline asked for the girl's name. "How long have you been a vampire?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

becauseihaveto
2012-01-11 07:03 pm UTC (link)

As soon as she was invited in properly, the bleeding and pain stopped. Abby absently wiped away the blood on her face using the sleeve of her dress. She figured it couldn't get much more ruined than it already was, at any rate. Her gaze flickered to Caroline at the repeated question about her name, blue eyes shining with wariness. Names were dangerous things to offer. They carried power with them, gave those who knew them an ability to cause harm. However, she reasoned, these two had helped her. If they'd wanted to hurt her, they could have easily have done so several times by now. So maybe, just maybe, she could extend a small bit of trust in return.

"Abby," she finally spoke softly. "My name is Abby. I-" She hesitated at the offer to wash up, grateful that Edward asked other questions that would give her a few more precious seconds to decide precisely how she wanted to proceed. Her gaze flickered to him as she replied.

"I was twelve when I was bitten," she answered, first and foremost. The question about how long she'd been a vampire was a bit more forward than she was accustomed but she saw nothing wrong with it. "And I stopped counting after two hundred years. It seemed pointless." The truth was, if Abby really thought about it, she could probably remember the year she was born. However she wasn't about to do so now.

Instead, looking from Caroline and back to Edward, she asked curiously, "What about the two of you?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rubber
2012-01-11 08:26 pm UTC (link)

"Abby," Caroline said, more to distract herself from the revelation that the other vampire had been turned so yount. "That's a pretty name." Still, her mind was caught up on what she had just learned. Abby was twelve. Abby had been twelve for at least two hundred years. It was mind-boggling.

The girl had been twelve for over two centuries, likely far more than that. Caroline couldn't imagine living like that. Abby didn't seem to be too bothered by it, but it was still more than Caroline herself could comprehend. There were still days when it was hard for her to acknowledge that she would be seventeen forever, or at least until she died. A year ago her biggest concerns had been making head cheerleader and boy troubles. Now she was a vampire with a vampire boyfriend and a child on the way that was at least part vampire. It was funny how much life could change in a relatively short span of time, she mused to herself. Then Abby was asking.

"I was turned when I was seventeen," she admitted. "It was actually about a year ago, maybe a little more. I'm still pretty new to the vampire thing." It felt strange, admitting her inexperience to these two. She hadn't been a vampire very long, though she had taken to it fairly easily, and both of them had been vampires for decades. Centuries, in Abby's case. She just felt like she didn't measure up. Moving to the kitchen, more to give herself something to do than anything, she grabbed a blood bag and popped a bendy straw into it. She was hungry more often lately, something she attributed to her pregnancy. "Can you drink bagged blood?" she asked Abby, knowing already that Edward didn't touch human blood, even bagged. "I can get you one if you can. I know it's different for different vampires."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tolovealamb
2012-01-13 05:51 am UTC (link)

Edward frowned when Abby answered his question. The girl was twelve years old and had been twelve for over two hundred years.

"Like Caroline, I was turned when I was seventeen. I've been a vampire for eighty-eight years though. Some of my family are here as well. You`ll find that there are `many different types of vampires here in Colligo."

Edward had to admit that he found it interesting that there were different types of vampires in Colligo. There were vampires who slept during the day, or couldn`t go out in the daytime, like Abby. Edward found it fascinating.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

becauseihaveto
2012-01-13 07:55 am UTC (link)

Others in her situation might have found it somewhat odd, or possibly amusing, that she was the oldest out of the three of them. However, Abby was far more focused on the fact that they simply were vampires. In her experience, her kind didn't mix well with others. There were territory issues and risks of diminished food supply if they tended to stay in the same vicinity for very long. So, on those rare occasions when her path had crossed with a fellow vampire back home, she had always wound up leaving town shortly after in order to ensure they both stood the best chance of survival.

At Caroline's offer for bagged blood, Abby shook her head. "I can't," she said simply, eyeing the substance for a long moment before meeting the blonde's gaze with an almost curiously blank expression. "My meals have to be fresh. Within an hour or two, at the most," she explained.

Then, as though she hadn't just admitted that she had to feed from humans while the blood was still pumping through their veins, she turned her gaze back to Edward. "A voice over the device said the same," she responded. "He sounded British and spoke oddly when he tried to explain the difference between the two of you. I didn't understand him very well." She hesitated, gaze flickering briefly to the curtains that Caroline had drawn in order to protect her.

"The sun has set now," she said flatly, her expression once again blank as she looked back to the duo. "I can leave now, if you would like."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rubber
2012-01-13 09:37 pm UTC (link)

It was still really weird to think that this little girl was older than her and Edward. Older than the both of them combined. She also wondered what other vampire traits held true for Abby. So far sunlight and invitations were definitely issues, but what else? Would a stake kill her? Would vervain? Fire? Water? Did she have to sleep in a coffin? It was kind of funny, that only a year ago, Caroline had thought vampires were just stories. Now she was comparing different kinds in her head after saving one vampire with another. All of them were different and this place seemed to be collecting them. One thing was certain. This wasn't how she'd ever expected her life to go.

Abby's comment gave Caroline a fair idea of her dietary requirements, at least. If the girl could eat animals, she probably would have said so, since it was an answer with less stigma attached. So, she had to have fresh blood. That could definitely cause some problems with some of the less understanding people here, but Caroline wasn't one of them. She drank human blood, bagged though it was, and she'd killed people before. And she didn't even need the blood to be human or fresh to survive. She wasn't about to judge someone who was bound by those restrictions.

"You know," she said, silently hoping Damon wouldn't be upset with her for what she was about to say, "my boyfriend has a list. It has information on...some bad people in the city. People...who wouldn't necessarily be missed if they...you know...had a messy, violent death. If you talk to him, he would probably let you use it. People are much less likely to raise eyebrows at you killing to survive if it's bad people who are dying."

When Abby offered to go, Caroline fought back a wave of disappointment. She didn't like the idea of the girl being alone, even if she was technically older than her and could likely take care of herself. "You don't have to go," she insisted. "Really. You can stay if you like. At least for a little while."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tolovealamb
2012-01-14 11:02 pm UTC (link)

Edward hadn't felt the need to hunt since he arrived in Colligo. He'd been too busy trying to figure the place out and then this spell, or whatever it was happened. Edward was surprised to learn of another vampire with a list and Edward wondered if there were animals in Colligo for himself and his family to hunt. Would Edward have to drink from a human in order to survive here? He hasn't seen Alice or Jasper yet so he didn't know. The thought of having to drink from a human, made him nervous. He would not and could not risk Bella's safety like that.

"Please stay. Just because the sun has set doesn't mean you need to go." Edward smiled. "Do you have any questions about Colligo? I just arrived recently myself."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

becauseihaveto
2012-01-15 02:56 am UTC (link)

It was a strange thing, to be amongst beings who were at least similar to herself and to not feel as though she was going to be attacked at any given moment. It was even stranger to think that at least one of those beings drank bagged blood rather than feeding from a fresh source.

Filing away the information about someone named Damon having a list of people she could kill, Abby simply nodded her head. She didn't comment directly on staying, figuring that her not heading to the door would be indication enough. She didn't mind being there with them, really, and if she wasn't imposing she figured it was smarter to stay someplace she knew was safe than to take to the streets. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.

Offering a touch of a smile in response to the kindness she was being shown, Abby finally seemed to take notice of her dress. Or, rather, the blood that covered it. "Is there..." She trailed off, looking back up at both of them. "Might I have something to wear?" Yes, Caroline had already offered as much but Abby felt odd taking the conversation back that far. It was much easier to simply ask and hope she hadn't changed her mind.

Then her gaze flickered to Edward fully, considering what he'd asked with a slight tilt of her head. "I've been around the world and seen many places," she began slowly, letting the thoughts align in place before asking her most pressing question. "I've never before heard of anywhere called Colligo. Where is it located?" A pause. "Why are we here?" Another pause. "And how do we leave? I have a... friend," The word felt strange on her lips. "That I was with. He'll miss me if I'm gone."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rubber
2012-01-24 05:59 am UTC (link)

Caroline was relieved when Abby agreed to stay. She knew logically that the girl could more than look after herself, being several hundred years old and a vampire, but she still wanted to look out for her. When Abby asked for something to wear, she immediately nodded, thinking of what she had that might fit the girl. They didn't have anything for kids, but she was sure that she could make something work. "Of course," she told her. "Give me just a second and I'll find you something."

She hurried from the room, leaving Edward and Abby in a flash of vampire speed. In her room, she found a dress that was a little short on her and would probably be a little long on Abby. It was simple and not too grown up for the girl, but she thought it would look nice on her. Grabbing that, she headed back to the sitting room in time to hear the last part of what Abby said. "Well," she said, "everything points to people being sent back to the exact time and place they were pulled from, once they do go back. So, if that really is the case, your friend won't even know you're gone. So...there's that, at least."

She held out the dress to Abby with a small smile. "The bathroom is just down the hall, second door on your right, if you want to wash up." If she didn't, that was fine too and she was hardly going to judge her for it, but she'd at least give her the option. The worst she could do was say no, and that wouldn't hurt anyone.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -