blood for blood, nothin' wrong with that Who: Jezebelle and Erin When: Evening Where: Forsythe and Family Funeral Parlor
Sometimes, Erin was astounded by her own awesome.
No, seriously. The way she saw it, most people had a friend (-slash-guy-they-wanted-to-fuck-stupid) in the hospital, and they bought a card, or balloons, or flowers. Erin Fucking Forsythe had hit up Craigslist looking for vampire blood. And actually fucking succeeded. The arrangements made, she’d headed downstairs, drained a pint of her blood, and by the time the sun was setting she was sitting at her kitchen table nibbling cookies and drinking orange juice. She felt a little woozy - being a regular blood donor, she was perhaps pushing this impromptu bloodletting just a smidge - but she was sure it would pass soon. Not bad, considering.
Since Graham had successfully found himself a blood doll on Craigslist, Jezebelle thought it might be worth her while to keep an eye on other vampire related dealings in Scarlet Oak. She was shocked to see Erin’s offer and even more surprised to see that she was the first one to respond. Then again, maybe not every vampire was looking to get high, but with Graham around, it seemed like a good deal. Even better, it was her own type of blood, and fae, so maybe she’d just keep this for herself. At least it would be good to have as back up for when Graham was going through withdraw.
Walking up to the front door of the funeral parlor, Jezebelle glanced up at the sky, putting her hand out for a drop of rain. Drat. She was hoping they’d gotten past this. Plus, she’d forgotten her umbrella and didn’t even want to know what the rain would do to her dress. Hurrying up the rest of the way, Jezebelle knocked on the door, eager to get inside before it really started raining.
Erin practically bounded from the table at the sound. She really didn’t care for either of her parents to answer this one. Without a doubt, one of them would try to sell him or her a coffin. And her mother would probably invite them to dinner. After standing still a minute to make sure she wouldn’t get light-headed, she headed through the house to the entranceway and opened the door.
Damn. Bitch could dress, she’d give her that. She wanted that dress. This had to be the vamp - she looked too pale to be human. “Hello,” she greeted with a smile. “Are you...” Huh, she never got the name. “JM?”
“Jezebelle Marino,” she said, offering a hand with a smile that showed her fangs. She’s spent so many years hiding them that it felt good to really smile when she could, and this girl had earned it. “You must be Erin?” While Jezebelle had never considered tattooing herself, she found them fascinating on other people, and loved seeing what Erin had done. It also pleased her to meet someone else who knew how to properly play with color.
“I am,” Erin replied with a smile. She looked from the fangs, to the hand, and back to Jezebelle’s face again. “I am also a clairsentient. Touch-know,” she explained, with a vague hand gesture. “I don’t want to be rude, but... you might not want me to do that.” It didn’t feel right not to warn the vampire. After all, Erin knew what she was. And she also knew that there were quite possibly a lot of things a vampire could do that she herself did not want to see. Besides, Jezebelle had mentioned her value for discretion. Shit. Vampires need inviation. Remembering that, she stepped back slightly. “Would you like to come in?”
“Oh!” Jezebelle said, eyes widening for just a second before she pulled her hand away. Danica had taught her exactly how that worked and now Jezebelle would steer clear of passing along whatever it was that Erin might pick up from her. It could be her last evening with Graham or it could be her slaughtering some innocent-- neither was something she wanted to share. “My apologies. Thank you for the warning,” she said, then smiled once more as she nodded her head. “I would love to. I wasn’t expecting more rain.” Weather was always a safe topic to start with, even if she was there to give and take blood.
Erin smiled apologetically. “It’s not the kind of thing I always share, but a lot of the time it feels rude not to. If I have gloves on, it’s not a problem.” But when people saw the M.E. in the funeral home wearing gloves, they tended to assume she’d been touching dead bodies. This probably wouldn’t bother a vampire, but Erin wasn’t taking any chances. “I’m all set up in the kitchen, if that’s okay.” A weird place for sharing blood, but it was better than downstairs with the bodies. “Yeah, I’m tired of the rain myself. It’s hell in heels - yours are fab, by the way.”
“I understand. I’m still not used to sharing what I am with others. It tends to creep them out.” Vampires might be public knowledge now, but that didn’t really make people any less scared of them. It was clear that there were some to be feared and Jezebelle would rather not be put in that box, especially since she knew which box she should go in. “The kitchen’s fine. I was thinking on my way over what other places would have worked and decided this was probably the most logical. There’s not a lot of public places where we could do this, and I don’t think you would have been comfortable coming to my place.” Not that it was shabby or anything, but for safety’s sake Erin was smart not to. “And thank you!” she smiled brightly, casting a look down at her shoes, then at Erin’s. “I’m loving yours myself. It’s nice to meet another girl with some fashion sense.”
“I’ll be honest, I would have gone - but I would have had a friend waiting in the car with a cell phone and a silver bullet. Just in case.” Why, no, Erin Forsythe was not one to beat around the bush. “Can’t be too careful. I’m happy you were comfortable enough to come here. It’s right this way.” She gestured down the hall and lead the way, grinning as shoe compliments were exchanged. Hey, girls were girls - heartbeat or no. “I love vintage cuts. And I just don’t feel right in flats half the time.” Even at work - which got her a fair deal of teasing. She embraced it.
“Oh, that’s lovely,” Jezebelle said with a little laugh. She’d have done the same in Erin’s shoes, and had her own escape plan just in case-- blinking worked best in the evening and she could be out of there before Erin even had time to argue. From the looks of things thus far, that wouldn’t be necessary. “I’ve never been able to convert completely, and I’m afraid it often made me look a tad behind the times. Now I just seem to be over dressed for every occasion.” She was certain Graham would have teased her about dressing up to donate blood, but when she didn’t dress up it was only to hunt. A Jezebelle in jeans was someone to run from.
“Better over than under, right? I’ve always been into the punk scene, and the girls who show up places dressed to the nines in vintage everything are always the most capable, hardcore bitches you don’t want to mess with,” Erin said. “All smiles and class until you step wrong, and the claws come out. And I don’t mean that in a bad way.” Fierce bitches for the win. In the kitchen, she headed straight for the table and grabbed the pint of blood. “I wasn’t sure if you’d prefer bagged or bottled, but I figured the bottle was easier if you needed to... uh... test it.” Man, was there etiquette for this sort of shit?
“No offense taken. I find that quite the complement,” she grinned. Erin had just described her to a T, and probably Nikita as well. Jezebelle’s favorite friends were the ones that looked harmless, yet packed a punch. She kept herself close to them, finding them to be good back up when they weren’t busy with girl talk. “I prefer it bottled, though it’s mostly for aesthetic appeal. Something about drinking from a bag feels a bit too much like fast food for the fanged-- too grab and go.” She could just imagine driving through McDonalds, though what would the order be? A pint of B-positive with a side of ketchup? Ew. “I’d just like a sip, if that’s alright. Just to know what I’m getting. I assume it’s yours?” She was the psychic, after all.
Oh yeah, this was going to work well. Erin grinned, and offered her the bottle. With her free hand, she pointed to the little mark on her skin from the needle. “There are benefits to living in a funeral home. Admittedly, this is not a benefit I ever anticipated before, oh, an hour ago, but it works.” She took a seat at the kitchen table, and gestured for Jezebelle to do the same if she liked. “Make yourself comfortable.”
It was such a tiny little mark that Jezebelle was surprised to see it. Sometimes she forgot how slowly humans healed. The second the needle was out of her skin, the wound would likely close up, but that was one of the benefits of what she was. “This is actually something new for me,” Jezebelle said as she took a seat at the kitchen table. “I’ve never given blood in such a... sanitary fashion. How exactly do you plan to give it to your friend, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m just curious.” Was he going to drink it? That was usually what she would recommend, but she imagined that didn’t appeal to a human in the slightest.
“I’m going to ask him nicely to drink it,” Erin answered. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll punch him in the stomach and pour it down his throat. Or something. I don’t know, I haven’t really figured that part out yet. But he’s kind of a gentleman and I’m going with the hope that he won’t fight with a girl about it too much.” Once again, Erin Forsythe was nothing if not honest. “It’s definitely new for me, too. I never thought I’d be in this position. And usually I’m taking blood from the dead.” Blink. Grin. “Hey, I guess I still am.”
“It’s been a while since I was human, but he might find drinking blood a bit hard to swallow, which would totally defeat the point,” Jezebelle said with a little laugh. “If you can give it to him intravenously, maybe replace his pain drip or something, it’ll work just as well and won’t make him vomit.” She hadn’t been in this guy’s position, but she could imagine well enough. It would be like trying to drink a glass of orange juice. “Promise my blood will be red, and hopefully a little less gross,” she smiled, laying her arm out on the table. “So can I ask what happened to your friend, or is that too personal?”
Erin pulled on a pair of gloves as she went about readying the bag and needle. “I may have to. We’ll see how it goes.” Just as she reached to sterilize Jezebelle’s skin, she realized she hadn’t asked permission first. “Still cool with this? I forgot to tell you, I’m a doctor. A medical examiner, but... you know. Promise I won’t kill you.” She offered a smile, which soon turned sheepish at the question. “Well... he was attacked by a vampire, actually. One was trying to abduct a friend of his and he stepped in. He’s pretty banged up, and I get the feeling he’s a lot more injured than he’s letting on.”
“Yes, it’s fine,” Jezebelle said, calm even if she’d never gone through with such a procedure. She’d incurred worse, though, so it couldn’t be all that bad. “I don’t think you could kill me with that needle unless it was silver, and that would still take work,” she teased, but then her smile faded. She didn’t like hearing about vampire attacks gone wrong. They were either sloppy or careless, neither of which she appreciated. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said in all seriousness. “Did the vampire get away?”
“Here we go then,” Erin said, with a little chuckle. She carefully inserted the needle, and once the blood was flowing, leaned back to wait. “Yeah, I guess so. Decided it wasn’t worth it and ran off. So at least it wasn’t all for nothing. I just hope the bastard doesn’t come back.” It occurred to her that maybe she shouldn’t be so comfortable with talking badly about a vampire in front of another vampire, but it didn’t bother Erin. Some people were idiots, and needed their ass handed to them. Vampires were no different.
“It’s unfortunate that some of us give all the others such a bad name,” Jezebelle said with a sigh. Yes, she was being a hypocrite, but preferred to think that everyone she killed deserved to die, at least if it was a hired hit. If not, well... sometimes a predator just gave in to their nature. She could be human-like though, and preferred to be viewed as such. Erin would likely be a lot less accommodating if she thought she was sharing her table with a psychopath. “So, I’m curious. Do your abilities work on objects? Or just on people?” she asked, tilting her head. “I would think it could get in the way of your work, but then I’m a florist who works at night, so what do I know?”
Erin grinned widely at the question. “Pretty much everything,” she answered. “Not so much, like... water. I might see stuff at random if I’m swimming in a lake, but for the most part that one’s pretty safe. Objects are definite, I can get a lot of history from a single touch. But the gloves stop everything, so they’re on at all times at work. Sometimes in layers. I wouldn’t want to have visions at work, so I take extra precautions to make sure I don’t.” Hey, wait, florist? “My sister’s a florist, actually. She owns Seeds of Beauty.”
That all made a lot of sense. It got Jezebelle thinking about Danica again and how maybe it would be a good gift to give her a nice set of leather gloves. Not that she needed to be giving gifts to Danica, but the woman kept Graham sane and that was a gift in itself. “Seeds of Beauty? Is your sister Erika?” Jezebelle asked, brightening up. “We’ve never met in person, but we’ve talked over the phone. She was looking into these weird flower arrangements that we both received. Well, me and her brother. Your brother. If she is your sister.”
Erin’s jaw dropped, and she had to laugh. “Shit, small world,” she said. “Yup, that’s her. Those gifts are driving her nuts. I haven’t seen any of them, but I heard about what Evan got. Damn near jumped a plane to go beat the shit out of his no-good ex, but I guess now it sounds like that might not be it. You guys ever figure it out?”
“No, but I wish we had. I received a bottle of blood, my type, circa the year and place of my birth. I can count on one hand the number of people still alive that would know that information and I can’t peg it on any of them,” Jezebelle said, pressing her lips together as she thought about it once more. The bottle of blood was still in her fridge, untouched. “There was a touch-know in my house recently and she said she got nothing when she touched the bottle. That only made it more creepy.”
Erin frowned as she thought that over. “Okay, straight up? That’d freak me out,” she admitted. “I don’t know how strong she is, but... okay, I don’t see something every time? But if I want to, I can.” Maybe she should ask to see what Evan had got. Huh. “So what did you do with the blood?”
Psychic abilities fascinated Jezebelle, perhaps because they were all in the mind with no real physical evidence--except for telekinesis. Then again, she could hardly explain how she could do what she could as a Shade. Not all things had easy explanations. “It’s sitting in my refrigerator,” she answered. “I couldn’t bring myself to drink it, but I didn’t want to throw it out just yet. I’m guessing your brother didn’t get any new leads?”
Erin shrugged faintly. “I haven’t heard anything else about it. I’m pretty sure I would have if anything else happened.” Considering for a bit they’d been worried it was Dorcas - and ready to commit murder over the fact - she was pretty sure any new developments would make rounds to everybody. “It’s the weirdest damn thing.”
“Well, I hope it’s the end of the weird, because I don’t even want to consider what the follow up would be,” Jezebelle said, shaking her head. Looking down at the needle in her arm, Jezebelle’s eyes followed the tub to the bag filling with blood. She didn’t mind doing this for an even exchange, but would never do it on a regular basis. Maybe that was wrong, but she liked to know where her blood was going and what it was being used for.
Erin followed Jezebelle’s line of sight and checked the bag, which was just about to the halfway mark. Yup, they bled just like normal people. “It’s always something around here, I guess. Better crazy gifts than demons and asshole human rights nutjobs.” Her battle wounds from that little experience were finally healed, at least. Hopefully she’d have no reason to get covered in bruises again any time soon.
“Haven’t had to deal with the human rights people yet, thank God, but the demons? I could go another hundred years and be happy not to see one again.” Jezebelle was just glad that she and Graham had survived that horrible run in. The demon that had come after them-- him specifically-- had been dead set on tearing them apart. They only succeeded because Graham blew it up. While the explosion had been magnificent, the battle itself had been a little too unpredictable for her comfort. Demons were not something she was familiar with. “I’m sure there are other things out there that we’ll have to watch out for eventually, but it’d be nice to go a while without having more pop up.”
“We had a couple dozen protesters on our lawn at a teenager’s funeral a while back. My brother and I literally got in a knock-down drag-out fight with the whole bunch. They’re worse than parasites,” Erin replied. “Put them and all the demons on an island together. And then blow it the fuck up.” It occurred to Erin somewhere in the back of her mind that she was talking with the vampire - while she drained said vampire’s blood - like they were old friends over tea. She had no problems with this whatsoever.
The idea of protesting at someone’s funeral appalled Jezebelle, having missed it on the news when it actually happened. There were just a few things that she thought were sacred, and funerals, along with weddings, made the list. “That’s horrid,” she said, eyes wide and mouth open. “What purpose does that serve? Protesting at a funeral. If anything, I’d think it would hurt their cause, turn more people against them. At least demons can be semi-predictable: all evil, all the time.” Jezebelle sighed, realizing she’d gotten herself a bit worked up. “Sorry. I like your plan. It’d be nice if we could make it happen.”
“There’s this nutbag church that protests all kinds of things. None of it makes any sense. And I’ve seen into some of their lives, most of them are nowhere near as pious as they claim to be.” Erin grinned at Jezebelle’s apology, immediately waving it off. “It’s a damn fine plan. I’m always happy to meet a like-minded person. Even if said plan is strictly of the realm of fantasy.” How unfortunate.
In Jezebelle’s mind, the only reason the plan would fail would be their ability to round up all the demons. If Erin wanted an island blown to bits, Jezebelle knew exactly who to call. It would be so spectacular that they could sit on the opposite beach with popcorn and binoculars. “Believe in the fantastic,” Jezebelle said with a little smirk. “Vampires and werewolves now exist, so why shouldn’t anything be possible? If someone’s smart enough to create legit demon bait, you’ll be the first one I call.”
“I think we’ve found legit demon bait. It’s called spongy, spongy humans,” Erin pointed out, smirking faintly at the joke that should not be funny. She realized the bag was full, and carefully removed the needle from Jezebelle’s arm. “Huh. Do vampires need bandaids?” she asked, realizing she had no idea. She knew vampires healed fast. When she’d played that prank on Evan, the vamp chick hadn’t seemed bothered at all.
The pain was so small that Jezebelle had almost forgotten the needle was under her skin until Erin went to take it out, and then the wound closed up almost immediately. “Not for something that small,” Jezebelle grinned. “If the wound was bigger, yes, but only because we wouldn’t want to bleed on everything while we heal. I don’t really think infection is an issue.” She could be wrong, but she didn’t recall it ever being a problem for her, and usually that’s what band-aids were meant to protect from.
Erin shrugged and began the proper disposal of used equipment. She now had a pint of vampire blood. Kick ass. “I hit up Craigslist once to play a prank on my brother. Vampire posed as a corpse, he started to embalm her, she screamed... by the time I finished howling in laughter she was all healed. I wasn’t really watching the process.” She’d been way too busy in convulsions of laughter on the floor. “That shit would certainly come in handy.”
“I’ll admit, I would have screamed as well.” Anytime something that was supposed to be dead turned up not, it tended to die soon after. Jezebelle saw to that fast. “There are perks to what I am. That’s just one of them,” Jezebelle said with a little laugh and a smirk. There were a lot more, but nothing she liked to brag about. It was better to keep what she could do a secret, at least when it pertained only to her house. The general strengths and weaknesses of vampires were now public, something she couldn’t change, no matter how much it annoyed her. “That should be more than enough to heal your friend. If he doesn’t need it all, keep some for a later date, just in case.”
“I was doing a little reading on the internet, and I think that’s what I’ll do. You know they actually have charts for that kind of shit online? How much is needed for various injuries? Even cocktails to put the blood in so you can’t taste it.” It was hard for Erin to be surprised, and easy for her to be amused. “I figure I’ll split it four ways. Never know when this shit’s gonna come in handy. It seems like a good thing to hang on to. Especially these days.” She smiled faintly. “Look, I know this was an even trade and all, but I still consider it a big favor. Keep my number, in case you ever need anything. My family’s been here forever, I know a lot of people. You ever need a favor, maybe I can help.”
The idea of people tracking how much vampire blood was needed for what creeped Jezebelle out. She didn’t want people taking her blood, no matter what good it served, but the return on investment was too good to pass up on an exchange like this one. So long as she wasn’t being forced to give blood, she could accept that other vampires might be willing to donate. “It’s really no trouble,” Jezebelle smiled. “I don’t normally give blood, but psychic blood is hard to come by and I’ve got someone close who needs it as well. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me, too.” Wow, she had a human contact! Who wasn’t looking for drugs! Miracles could happen!