Charlotte (charlieangel) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-10-12 20:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-29, charlotte |
a little bird told me
Who: Gabe and Charlotte
When: Late morning/early afternoon
Where: Gabe's house, around Scarlet Oak
The days since Claire's funeral had been spent researching vampire families for one Charlotte Angel. She'd found that there seemed to be an awful lot of vampire who admitted to having some sort of shape-shifting ability, and even more alleged to have it. While good to have confirmation, it didn't help her at all in the grand scheme of narrowing things down. Trying to pinpoint even a few possible 'suspects' was ruled (to Charlotte's mind) as basically impossible. If she had anything else to go on, anything at all, maybe she would have had a shot. But she did not, and it was back to the drawing board.
It was a daunting task. How could they possibly identify a vampire that Gabe had never seen in a human form? If only someone, anyone had seen him... And that thought was what gave Charlotte her epiphany. Within an hour she was in her car, pulling into the driveway of Gabe's mom's.
Gabe didn't know what Charlotte had in mind, but he was willing to go along with anything that might help find Claire's killer. So far, the police had done little more than confirm it was a vampire that he killed her. Gabe would have been fine with that, except it was the only thing his memory didn't agree with. He hadn't seen a vampire; he's seen a werewolf... one without a heartbeat that smelled like the dead. It made the whole vampire thing believable, but Gabe needed an explanation for what he remembered. If the police couldn't give that to him, Gabe was willing to believe that Charlotte could. Ever since they'd met, Charlotte had been the expert on this sort of thing.
As she pulled up outside, Gabe called out to his mom that he was leaving, then jogged out to Charlotte's car. "Hey," he said, giving her a small smile as he climbed in. "So, where are we going?"
Charlotte had prepared herself for that question with a deep breath and slow exhale. This, she wasn't sure would go so well. "I want you to take me to where it happened," she said. Probably no point in trying to ease into it. That was what she needed, and she was under no illusion whatsoever that it would be easy for him. "You don't have to stay. I just need to get there, and I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important." Or if she had any other idea in the world. This was the one. This was what would do it. She knew it.
For some reason, Gabe had expected her to take him to the library or Nevermore, anywhere but the park. He hadn't ventured through there since Claire's death and hadn't planned to anytime soon. Just the mention of it made him freeze up, a knot forming in his stomach, tightening to the point where breath seemed difficult. Gabe forced himself to inhale, then exhale. "Okay," he said, eyes locked on hers. "Can you tell me why?" Not that he thought Charlotte was dragging him there to torture him, but reasoning might help ease his mind.
That wasn't as bad as it could have been, though Charlotte wagered a war might be going on in his head. "I can find and talk to witnesses that the cops can't. Witnesses don't have to be human to know what he looked like, and animals won't abandon their nests unless a predator drives them out. They'll just go quiet. Birds or rodents that were there that night could still be there." This might sound crazy to some people, but Gabe would probably know enough about her abilities to know what she meant. "One of them might have seen him before he shifted. If I can get them to put the image in my mind, I just need to find a normal telepath that knows how to draw to get it out."
Gabe gave a little nod and ran his fingers through his hair. It sounded like a good plan, if he could do his part and show her where it all happened. That was going to be easier said than done, but he wouldn't wimp out without even trying. "Let's go... before I change my mind," he said, attempting a small smile. It was as shaky as his voice, his hands already beginning to tremble. There had been a point in his life when Gabe had never been afraid of anything, but it felt like the longer he lived, the more his fears affected him. A walk through the park should be a simple thing, yet he knew the memories there and feared how tight a hold they might have on him.
Charlotte offered a sad smile, put the car in reverse, and pulled out into the road. She put one of her hands over one of his and squeezed gently as they headed towards the park. "You don't have to stay," she reminded him, gently. "You just have to help me get to the right place." And after that, she just hoped to God she'd find something that would talk to her. If not, she'd keep coming back on her own.
He squeezed her hand, finding comfort in the gesture. Charlotte was someone he could trust, who he could show weakness in front of without feeling absolutely ashamed of himself, but he still didn't like how uncomfortable he was with this. "I just... haven't been back there since," he said. "It was late. Do you think anything was awake? Or paying attention?" He didn't know enough about how the animals operated, if they could remember that far back or if they cared. Charlotte would know, though, if anyone did.
Charlotte couldn't imagine that what happened wouldn't wake everything in the area up, but she didn't know how to say so delicately. She imagined it had been... loud, at the very least. "It's worth trying," she decided on, ever diplomatically. "Animals don't like vampires. Instinctively. Sensing one in their territory would probably be enough to make them take notice. Some animals might have fled, but a lot of birds would have just gone silent and waited for it to be over. That's what I'm hoping for. If one of them just got a glimpse..." It didn't have to be long. It just had to be something to start with.
Gabe gave a small nod as he thought back on the night Claire had died. He remembered the silence, a silence that might have been more than usual. It was possible that the vampire's presence had made all the other animals go into hiding, or at least become watchful and weary. They would have been guarding themselves, and to do so would have had to been watching the vampire, so... this was probably a brilliant idea on Charlotte's part. Gabe just hoped he could keep himself together long enough to give her what she needed to start. "It was too quiet," he said softly. "They sensed the danger, but I didn't."
"Why would you?" Charlotte replied, rather matter-of-factly, but softly so. She wagered that Gabe would be blaming himself for quite some time, and she could see where some if it might come from. Weren't weres supposed to have special senses for this sort of thing? The fact of the matter was, Gabe hadn't been a were for that long. What, three months? That was nowhere near enough to master the sort of senses that animals were born with. "You couldn't have." She almost ended that sentence with 'you're not a psychic', but managed not to - considering that was exactly what Claire had been. A clairvoyant, at that. That left a lot of questions in Charlotte's mind, and she didn't care to think about any of them.
"I should have sensed something. If not me, then--" He bit his lip to cut off that thought, not sure he wanted to go where it was taking him. Had Claire been worried that night? Had she felt something and ignored it? Gabe always told her not to worry so much, he'd wanted that night to be a start of something good, but that might have doomed them as a result. He couldn't consider it. Instead, he looked out the window, goosebumps rising on his arms as he recognized the area. "We can walk from here," he whispered, the knot in his stomach getting tighter.
"No," Charlotte said, shaking her head as she dismissed the idea. "I truly don't believe there's a single thing you could have done differently." And if he had? Then what? He might have sensed the threat and shifted even earlier out of defense. That wouldn't have done them any good, either. This was also not an idea Charlotte wanted to put in his head. When he suggested walking, she simply nodded, and pulled over at the curb. "Remember," she said, before even getting out of the car, "At any time you can point me in the right direction and come back here. Don't deal with any more than you can."
It was hard not to think that way, no matter what she said. Gabe looked back on the night with a series of 'what ifs', all of which might have altered the night just slightly, leading them down a different path. In his mind, any path would have been better than the one he stuck with, but there was no way to retrace his steps and make different choices. "Okay," he said, taking a deep breath before he climbed out of the car as well. "This way. We need to get on the path." From there it was easy, though Gabe wasn't entirely sure he could handle re-walking the walk, even if he desperately wanted to save face. This was Charlotte, though, so at least he was safe if he had to back off.
Charlotte nodded as she climbed out of the car, taking the moment to do her best to clear her head. For dragging him out here, she really hoped she actually found something. She would feel twice as bad if she put him through this for nothing - even if she would keep trying every day. She silently headed to the path, walking slowly and keeping a careful eye on him. If he seemed too bothered, she was just going to have to stop and send him back. She could do that.
Gabe led the way in silence, a way to let Charlotte listen to the surroundings and for him to maintain his composure. It sounded like such an easy task, when it reality it was so close to reliving it that he had to stuff his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking. The differences made it bearable-- the daylight, the sound of birds and cars, people in the distance. These were all things that had blended into the background that night, or had been silently waiting and watching. As they stepped onto the path, he paused for a moment, then headed further into the park. "We headed in this way," he said softly, continuing to walk. It was easy enough going until he saw the tree-- the tree where he'd been kissing her, where she'd screamed and the night took a turn for the worse. Gabe's breathing began to speed up to match his heart, so fast he could hardly speak. "Here. It started here."
Charlotte stopped walking the second he said it, turning to look at him. "Don't stay if you can't handle it," she said, firmly. "I don't know how long this will take." She was trying desperately not to imagine things how it had happened, but there was no help for that whatsoever. She had an active imagination, and the scene was dying to unfold in her mind. She frowned, and did her best to clear her mind. Of course it had not escaped her attention that she was about to invite someone who had seen it into her brain. She may see a lot more than she wanted to. Despite that, she did her best to reach - mentally. To call out to anything that would hear her. I want to speak with anyone who recognizes the man next to me. He may scare you, and he smells like a predator. I promise your safety. I won't let anything happen to you. I want to help you... and I need your help in return.
He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down, but that only made them water and that was the last thing he wanted. Despite what she said, Gabe wanted to stay if he could. What if she had a question for him? What if she needed more detail? He was worthless in the car, and he wouldn't let his fear of what had already happened stop him from providing what she might need to catch Claire's killer. Gabe watched, trying to stay still, as Charlotte... well, he didn't know what Charlotte was doing. He'd never tried to observe her talking to animals, but for some reason he thought there'd be some kind of vocalization going on, both on her part and on the animal's.
After watching him for a moment to see if he'd be okay, Charlotte slowly sat on the ground, watching and waiting. Yes, she could vocalize it. They'd understand her either way. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is anything that saw what happened also saw Gabe shift, and she needed to assure them - at least in the beginning. "No one's going to hurt you..." she murmured, though she realized it may be somewhat unclear who she was speaking to. "Don't be afraid."
While she wasn't speaking to him, Gabe still found Charlotte reassuring. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, no matter how hard he tried, and he finally shook his head in resignation. "I'm gonna wait at the car," he said, wishing he could do better. It was all too fresh on his mind to be in the place where it all happened. He could still smell that odd smell that must have been vampire, though it might have been more his imagination than reality. He could still smell the blood. Turning back around, he headed towards the car, ready to return if Charlotte should call for him, but desperately hoping she wouldn't need to.
Charlotte cast a soft, sad smile in his direction, and naturally, didn't fight him on the decision. She was only glad he was willing to do so. She watched him go before turning her back to him, settling Indian-style on the ground and closing her eyes. Mostly, she kept her mind open, but a small section of her brain was running over the events of the past few days, and making the faintest mental call for help. For a long time things were silent - the sort of silence that only came about in nature when the animals went quiet. Gabe had been thought of as a predator. Sad, but true - and he didn't need to know that. Maybe she would offer to teach him how to read nature - Ransom seemed to know it instinctively, so it was a probably a good skill for a wolf to have. She didn't let her mind linger too long on the idea, though. She'd come back to it later.
Finally, ten minutes after Gabe left, she felt something. A little tug at her brain as something entered her reach, and she felt its - his - curiosity. And also his fear. It was a little bird. "You're okay," she murmured. "He's gone, but even if he weren't - he wouldn't hurt you. Would you come and talk to me?"
There was a light flutter of black and yellow as the bird tentatively flew through the trees, first settling on a branch high above Charlotte's head. It was a tiny Baltimore Oriole. He'd be going south pretty soon, Charlotte reckoned. She stared up at it, saying nothing as it seemed to feel her out. She opened her mind to it, and after a few more quiet minutes passed, Charlotte held her hand out. It descended to perch there. She smiled faintly.
You're sure he won't hurt me?
Charlotte didn't know for sure, but she felt - very strongly - that this bird was the witness she wanted. "I promise. Do you trust me?" She felt immediately that he did. Charlotte had almost nothing in the way of mental shields, and she found with her abilities, she often projected her own thoughts and emotions without thinking about it or even meaning to. Plus, animals liked her. Most never came across another animal psychic, and she was used to being followed around like a real live Disney princess. I trust you, he replied. His voice in her head was very young.
"He lost his mate," she murmured. "She was killed by a bad thing. A dead thing. That's why he got so upset. That's why he got so scary. Did you see the dead thing? Did you see the wolves?" Charlotte made sure to think about the words, just as much as she said them. When she said wolves, she thought about Gabe's first full moon, and going to keep Claire company while she sat in the basement and he was in his cage.
I saw, the oriole answered. I stayed very quiet. I was very scared. I don't like the dead things. Charlotte got glimpses of its memory - not the images, thank God, but the feelings. The way its little heart pounded and he tried to make himself very small. The way he had been too afraid to move. In return, it made Charlotte's heart pound. It made her feel very small.
"Did you see before it turned? Before either of them became the wolves, and they both looked human?" she asked. She tried to make her heart slow down, but it wouldn't now. She was afraid, even though there was no need to be. She had gathered all of the fear like a sponge, and now she couldn't help but think about how she was sitting in the place where Claire died, maybe the very place, and if this worked, she might see more than she wanted to. Gabe didn't remember it, and that was very good - nobody needed to see it, and that was just what she might end up doing. She felt a wave of nausea and tried to fight it off.
...Yes...
Charlotte's heart leaped. Still, it was raising, and her blood now felt very cold, but she reminded herself that this was what she wanted. "I want you to try and remember what he looked like. Think on it very hard, and if you can do that, I can see it too. And then maybe my people can find him and punish him, for taking my friend's mate away."
The young oriole's response surprised her. She was your friend, too. It had heard her think that. No, not think it. She'd felt it. Charlotte nodded, her throat feeling very dry. You're afraid to see. So why do you want me to show you?
Charlotte needed to learn to shield herself better. Soon. She didn't want this poor little thing having to deal with everything she was going through. "Because it may be our only chance. And it's what's right. Nothing deserves to suffer like that."
He seemed to think on this answer for a moment, and after shifting back and forth on Charlotte's hand, she felt a mental sort of approval. He decided, Then I will do what's right, and began to think very hard. Charlotte closed her eyes and focused, using all her mental strength to do so. It wasn't easy to just implant herself in an animal's brain, at least one she had no previous bond with. All the same, the image did come to her. The filthy man with sharp teeth that looked just as wolfish in human form as he probably did in all his others. She saw him watching, following, moving through the bushes. She heard the memory of Claire's voice, and gasped. "Stop!" It stopped. It all faded away, like it was never there at all. She was in her own mind, and the world was quiet and safe. Claire was dead.
She kept her eyes squeezed shut, and tried to bring the image back on her own. She could. She had his face. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was crying. She couldn't remember when that had started.
For a while longer, they just sat there. The oriole said nothing, and Charlotte just worked at pulling herself together. It had all hit her all over again, very strongly, that Claire was gone. Gabe hadn't just lost his mate, Charlotte had lost her friend, and up until now she'd been so consumed with Gabe's loss that she hadn't grieved for her own. She grieved now. It was poorly timed, but she didn't try to rush it. She let herself feel it, here where it all had happened. She wanted it out of her system before she went back to Gabe. She just let the tears quietly roll down her cheeks, and when they stopped, she wiped her face.
Now what will you do?
Charlotte looked down at him. "I'll find someone who can enter my mind the way I enter yours, to take the image out so others can see it," she answered. The bird didn't understand how she would do that, but seemed to be satisfied that she knew how. "You won't stay in this area for long - it'll get too cold. Until you migrate, though, I'd like you to come home with me. You'll have to ride in my car to get there, and you probably won't like it. And my friend will be there too, and he still may scare you. At my house, though, there are other birds, and I can make sure no one hurts you. And I'll leave you orange slices every day." He didn't like the sound of most of that, but the promise of safety and oranges won him over. Charlotte thought hard about her backyard, and all the trees and flowers there, and most importantly, how safe it felt back there. Again, she felt his approval. He'd go. Charlotte nodded, and carefully stood up. "Thank you." Time to go back to Gabe.
Gabe leaned against the car, his back to the world and his head resting on his arms. As much as he'd wanted to keep his emotions locked away, he just couldn't manage it. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he closed his eyes and focused on breathing. The slow inhale and exhale kept him calm as he tried to clear his mind. The pain would fade; it had to, or else he'd crumble. As footsteps approached, he straightened and wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. "Hey," he said, turning around to face Charlotte. A tiny smile found it's way to his lips as he saw the bird. "You found a friend."
Charlotte smiled as Gabe came into view, even if she could tell that he'd been crying too. Crying was pretty natural right now. Everything was raw. "I did," she confirmed, putting the little bird up on her shoulder. "He was very helpful, and he's going to come home with me." In other words: success. Now she just had to find someone who could get it out of her head. And made the world believe that it was real. They could do that, right? One step at a time, she told herself. The hard part was supposed to be over.
"Thank you," he said, looking at the little bird on Charlotte's shoulder. He didn't know what the bird had seen, or what it had told Charlotte, but anything more than what he could give was helpful. "And you," he smiled, looking to Charlotte. "For... for continuing to be there for me. And for bringing me here, even if I'm not ready for it." He had to acknowledge it, and that was something he'd been trying to avoid. Claire was dead, and she died here in the park, and he couldn't ignore it forever. Maybe he wasn't going to take a stroll through anytime soon, but at least he knew his weakness, and that was better than nothing.