alone, I fear the tide Who: Lilith & NPC Neil Landers Where: Landers' household When: Morning
The house had an unsettling silence to it. Each and every one of even the smallest corner fountains in all of the rooms had been turned off, and Lilith sat in the lounge, suddenly uneasy in the quiet the absence of her element had left behind. At some point the remote control for the television had been thrust at her, but she had no desire to watch it and the plastic thing remained on the arm of her chair, completely ignored. Not even her familiar’s nervous silence or her husband’s tuneless humming from the kitchen was stirring any kind of a response of out her – whether that was because she did not care or because Neil was managing to keep her emotional state fairly static was far beyond Lilith and not something she felt inclined to question. It was far, far easier to sit as she was, with her knees brought up to her chest, staring at a fire that she would have usually hated and pretending that Water had not burst the pipes in their en suite. Easier to pretend that every single glass, cup or plastic beaker that bad met her hand so far had not had its contents frozen so fast that irreparable damage had been done to the container. Easier to pretend that her husband was not busying himself switching off the water in certain parts of the house so his wife would not find herself killed by an element she had been born so fundamentally connected to. That she was not allowed to leave the building was a rule that went completely unspoken.
Part of Lilith was still waiting for the moisture in the air to begin collecting in her lungs.
‘I think that is why Neil put the fire on.’
It was not at all comforting to know he thought along the same lines she did. She was sitting in dry air; it was a strangeness she could feel on the skin of her face.
She had fallen out of bed that morning, confused and upset, pulling her husband out along with her at the most unreasonable of hours to make sure that the rest of their family were there and most definitely still in their beds. It had taken him effort enough to bring her back again, persuade her even the smallest bit that it was just a dream – that it had to be, because none of that had happened. It had, and Lilith knew it had. It just had not happened to them. She had never been one to truly have a problem with vampires; given the general theme of her dream she was changing her mind. Why steal young elementals? She was old enough to be mother to some of them in the very least. It left her with the sickest feeling that went far beyond the loss of her element; her mind kept putting Niamh, Cole and Isolde into that situation, even though she recognised how far removed this scenario – Not just a scenario, it really happened. – was from Scarlet Oak and its own problems. That family had been from somewhere else. They were— That was when the pipes in the en suite had creaked, like someone far too heavy was sitting on them, and water began to spray from the taps: the moment her feet touched the floor again to seek out her reflection. She had not even been in the bathroom, it was Neil who was… caught in the cross-fire, as it were. Lilith had watched her expression shift from a heavy, uncomfortable unease at the memory of her dream to the horrified recognition that her element was actively seeking to do her harm. The argument that followed that she was sure had woken the children had hardly helped anything whatsoever.
“I have a day to find that young blonde woman and work out how to switch ourselves back.” She had finally moved away from the fire to lean against the doorway, watching Neil attack piping she did not quite understand with tools that she did not really understand either.
He turned to look at her a moment, like he was searching for something in her head. “You’re serious about this.”
“You know I am.” She cast her eyes down to her nails with what could have easily been mistaken for nonchalance. “A day. I have to try. I just don’t know how. People aren’t listed in the phone book by appearance.” She paused, ignoring the breezes the had apparently summoned that Neil was now appreciating. If he did not like the extra heat he should not have put the fire on in the other room. “While you’re not hiding under the sink, I’ll have a coffee, please,” Lilith added, disappearing into the lounge again. She would be fine if the drink was hot. She would. She... She needed to think.
‘You need an hour’s rest.’
No. If she only had a day, she was not wasting it by sleeping it away.