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Karrin Murphy is tiny but fierce (karrinmurphysi) wrote in madisonvalley,
@ 2013-10-24 09:24:00

Entry tags:

!log, !open, ~2013 october, ~~!35 points, ~~annabelle (neverhurthim), ~~karrin murphy (karrinmurphysi)

WHO: Karrin Murphy and OPEN
WHAT: Exploring
WHERE: The Library
WHEN: Thursday morning
WARNINGS: Spoilers to Cold Days, TBD
STATUS: Open/Ongoing

Karrin woke up early, having found it very difficult the last few days to get any sleep at all. She spent most of her time tossing and turning, playing through different scenarios in her mind, thinking about what had happened on Demonreach, and not the least what she'd done to Molly. What she'd done to Molly. She didn't for a second regret killing Maeve. That bitch was bad news, and had hurt plenty enough people. She'd killed Lily right there in front of them. But she hadn't thought - it had never crossed her mind - that the mantle would leave Maeve and go right into Molly, condemning her to the same life...Maeve had had? She didn't understand that exactly, how the mantle worked. She should talk to Harry about it - she would - but the idea of it scared her more than a little. More than she would ever be willing to admit.

Molly was acting...not like the Molly she remembered, although she couldn't say that she was too surprised. She'd known for a long time that Marry had her scary side. Ever since the Ragged Lady, she'd known that.

And Karrin herself was feeling...lost. She'd felt at least a little lost since she'd lost her job on the force, forced into early retirement because she cared too much about her job. That was how she thought about it, anyway. She'd lost her job because she wanted to do it right, and not just half-ass it and sweep everything under the carpet. Because she wanted the truth. Because she wanted justice. And because she'd come to understand, working with Harry Dresden, that maybe the law of the United States and the State of Illinois wasn't flexible enough to account for all...sorts of crimes. Her sense of justice hadn't changed one bit - or her sense of righteousness. She realized, in a way, that she was as devout a believer in the rule of law as Michael Carpenter was a believer in the almighty. It was an article of faith to her, something she followed with every ounce of her being. The world was divided into right and wrong, and she was an agent for the right. Or, the White as that Cuthbert kid would put it.

But the right path, in the last few years, hadn't always been so clear. She didn't really believe in shades of grey - she thought of it more as a path of justice that started wiggling, and made it harder to find. And maybe the law didn't understand all the things out there. In fact, she was pretty sure that it didn't.

She'd participated in vigilante action against Black Court vampires. And people had been killed and destroyed - not by them, but shooting the Renfields would always weigh heavy on her. She'd also helped Harry to destroy an entire race of vampires...not that she regretted it, but the law would likely censure her actions out of misunderstanding. In short, she'd done things in the last few years that were so far outside of the rule of law that the only path she'd had to follow was the guide in her heart. And she trusted it completely. She had a good moral compass. She knew she did.

But following it instead of the letter of the law had ended in her losing the job she'd fought tooth and nail for her entire life. The job that had defined who she was so long that she'd had a crisis of identity after losing it. She'd been Karrin Murphy, CPD or Karrin Murphy, SI for so long that losing that had been devastating.

But while she missed her job, she didn't regret what she'd done. And she didn't regret what she was doing, back home. Maybe she didn't have even the tiniest bit of magical ability, but she'd seen a lot. And she knew a lot. And she'd do her best to help people, to find justice and a higher law than the police had ever sought.

But here...things were different. She felt out of place. She'd gotten off on the wrong foot with most of the people here, and the supes were convinced that she hated them. Which she didn't. Hell, she'd spent months (years? she couldn't remember how long it had been) in a sexual relationship with Kincaid, who wasn't human at all. And her feelings for Harry Dresden...well, that was complicated. The point was, she didn't hate supes at all. She addressed them because it was what she was trained to do - the cop in her still considered them her jurisdiction. Leave the normal people to the other cops.

Karrin had gone to the shooting range after waking, glad to find that the interdimensional hop hadn't destroyed her aim. Then she'd gone to Walmart, eyes peeled, as they always were now, for vicious faerie plant-monsters, and picked up some more ammo, some orange juice, and several cases of Coke. She'd taken it on herself to pick up a few whenever she was at the store, to make herself a third player in the struggle for Coca-Cola between Harry and Georgia Mason.

After taking her things back to her apartment, she made her way to the library, to catch up on the news, and to find what she could about the creatures and supes here. She wasn't a fool, and she'd also taken Georgia's advice about reading the network to find out what had been going on before she'd gotten here. And she had quickly discovered that it wasn't good. She'd doggedly avoided looking up her own books - she'd heard that apparently this dimension had a fiction series about them - but she really didn't want to know.

She was deep in the stacks searching for a book on vampires when she heard footsteps behind her, and her senses went on edge. She didn't think she was in danger, but it was sometimes hard to tell, and she'd been through enough weird shit that she didn't just ignore her gut.

"Hey," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "I'll be right out of your way."

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neverhurthim
2013-10-24 09:43 pm UTC (link)

Anna was aware of the fact that she was bordering on old habits when she found herself at the library for the fourth day in a row. She'd always loved to read and her mom had encouraged her love of the written word by giving her books for gifts every chance she got. When Pearl had been trapped in that tomb in Mystic Falls, Anna had spent a lot more time than usual reading. First it was a way to escape from the reality of the situation she found herself facing: being completely and utterly alone for the first time ever. Even though she'd been an almost four hundred year old vampire at the time, she still felt like the fifteen year old girl that most people believed she was.

And then she'd gotten tougher.

She'd turned her love of reading into a focused ever to find a way to free her mother. She'd read every single book about magic and witches that she'd been able to get her hands on. She spent years watching the people of Mystic Falls, waiting for the right person in the Bennett line to be powerful enough to cast the spell that would set her mom free. She hadn't anticipated on the Salvatores returning to town, but they had been a minor annoyance. Barely a blip on the radar.

Jeremy Gilbert, on the other hand, had been a much more unexpected development. She'd set her sights on him because he was a Gilbert, because it all seemed to come full circle. Gilberts were the reason her mom was trapped and Anna had been alone for nearly 150 years. And a Gilbert would be the one to pay the price.

She hadn't anticipated actually liking him. Hadn't anticipated falling for him, being so utterly blind-sighted by her feelings for him that she'd put her own life on the line when she'd learned he was in danger. It had been the reason for her demise. But Anna didn't regret it. She'd do things the same way she had even though she knew how it would end -- as long as Jeremy stayed safe and alive.

Except he hadn't. Katherine had wound up killing him. It was what Elena had told her when she'd first shown up there in Madison Valley. Elena Gilbert, the sister of the one guy Anna had actually loved, had become her friend. And considering how precious few of those she'd had over the years, Anna was protective of her. They hadn't been friends at home. Not even close. But this place had brought them together. She and Elena and Caroline and Jeremy and somewhat reluctantly, Damon Salvatore. Even more reluctantly, Klaus. Even though she hadn't seen or heard much from Klaus lately, some part of her was relieved he was there. If nothing else, she had a feeling he'd protect Caroline if it came down to it. It wasn't like anything could actually hurt the Original vampire.

The other part of her was still vary wary and very on guard because she knew the things he'd done. Knew what he was capable of. But as long as he was their ally and not their enemy...well, Anna was going to stay wary but not as wary as she was about the council. And about some of the other refugees.

She was so lost in thought that she was actually startled when the woman spoke. She blinked a couple of times, shaking her head. "It's fine. Take your time. I'm just browsing."

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-25 12:28 pm UTC (link)

Murphy pursed her lips, looking up at the book she was after, which happened to be high on the top shelf. Her size wasn't usually much of an issue - she didn't allow it to be - but at five-foot-nothing it was often thrust at her in annoying and unforseen ways. Like being unable to reach the book she wanted, and having a bit too much pride to ask for help. She climbed on the little stepstool made available for the use of the patrons, stretching her arm as far as she could to reach it, to no avail. She gave a little hop, just a little one, and still came nowhere near the book. Her eyes narrowed, and she put her feet on the shelf itself, effectively beginning to scale the very shelves to reach her prize.

Grabbing the book at last, she jumped to the ground, landing evenly and with the skill of someone well trained in the martial arts, and then looked at the woman before her.

"Sometimes being short is a real pain in the ass," she grinned. She'd never met the girl, although she looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps she'd seen her on the network. "I'm Karrin Murphy."

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neverhurthim
2013-10-25 06:53 pm UTC (link)

Anna followed her gaze to the book on the top shelf, taking note of the subject matter. Vampires. She watched the woman scale the bookshelf in order to grab it. Took note of the easy way she did so and the equally easy way she got back down. She could hear the woman's heartbeat, so Anna knew she wasn't a vampire.

The blonde looked familiar to her, too, and as soon as she said her name, she realized why. Right. Karrin. The woman who warned all the supernaturals not to cause any trouble.

She smiled, because it was what was expected. It was what was normal when meeting someone new. "Anna," she told the woman. "Nice to meet you, Karrin." She eyed the book. "Vampires, huh? Big Dracula fan?" Her voice was light, teasing.

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-26 01:48 pm UTC (link)

Karrin grimaced, flipping the book over to look at the back. "Quite the opposite, actually. Seen too much of the aftermath of what the real ones do to be too much of a fan." Her eyes were dark, full of past experience and sadness. She lifted them again to meet Anna's, trying to place her. She didn't know her, but thought perhaps she'd talked to her on the network.

"There are three different types of vampires in my world, and more still here. They're all dangerous in their own way, some more than others. Figured forewarned is forearmed."

She smiled a little, weakly, trying to gauge the girl's reaction before saying anymore.

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neverhurthim
2013-10-26 04:36 pm UTC (link)

She'd already known that much. Or at least assumed. Vampires could certainly do a lot of damage, cause a lot of trouble. But so could humans. And werewolves. It made her uneasy that this woman seemed to be focused on vampires, considering there were several trapped in the town aside from her. And to her knowledge, none of them had caused any problems.

There were two kinds of vampires in Anna's world -- regular vampires like Anna, and Original vampires like Klaus and his siblings. And the latter was virtually unkillable. Not that she'd be telling Karrin that. Or anything else about vampires from her world, for that matter. She knew from the things that Dresden had posted weeks ago that the vampires of his world were very, very different from hers. And she was extremely glad that no one had access to that kind of information.

"Yeah, always better to be safe than sorry," Anna agreed easily. "But...three different kinds? I always thought there was just one kind."

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-26 09:12 pm UTC (link)

"No, there are three different types. Or. There were three different types." The Blacks were pretty much gone now, and the Reds...well, Harry had made short work of them in Chichen Itza. Not that they hadn't entirely deserved it.

"Or apparently four, but I've never seen a Jade Vampire. The ones we do have are Blacks, Reds and Whites. Blacks are like Dracula, more or less. Dead nasty things that dress all in black, hate garlic and all of that. Reds are...well, they've got some bat like creature inside them that they cover up under a skin mask. They can look human enough until they get hungry. Whites...well, whites look pretty damn human, and that's the problem."

Thomas Raith could be the most charming person she'd ever met, but he was also a killer. And no matter how pretty he was, she couldn't let herself ignore that fact.

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neverhurthim
2013-10-26 11:36 pm UTC (link)

Anna found that she was suddenly grateful she wasn't a vampire from Karrin's world. She was sure there was a lot more to the different types than the woman was going into, but unless one of them showed up in this world, it didn't really matter. But a bat like creature inside them? She was having a hard time imagining that.

And the Whites. Like Thomas. Incubus. Different names for the same thing. She sensed a slight shift in the blonde's focus and she frowned, watching her closely.

"Because it's hard to tell who's human and who's a White?" she guessed.

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-27 01:26 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah," she said with a shrug. "You actually can't tell unless they're hungry. Then their eyes turn white and they get all...cold and creepy. But the thing is, they are human, at least in part. Human with a demon inside."

She knew Thomas was one of the better ones, no matter how much he scared her at times. At least at some points in his life, he'd tried to fight the demon, and he loved Justine, no matter how dysfunctional their relationship was. Whites weren't even supposed to be capable of loving.

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neverhurthim
2013-10-27 01:49 pm UTC (link)

Anna wondered if that's how people saw her. Human, with a demon inside. She knew what she was capable of. The violence. The death. Every human was capable of those things, but human methods usually involved external weapons -- knives, guns, rope. Not always, but they seemed to be the preferred methods. Her preferred methods didn't require external weapons.

"I'm not sure if that makes it more scary or less scary." Anna wasn't really scared, but she was smart enough to know that a teenage girl who wasn't obsessed with Twilight probably would be.

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-27 02:04 pm UTC (link)

"Personally? I'd go for more scary. Whites can catch you off guard, make you think that they're people just like anyone else before they go for the kill. It's dangerous because it can lull you into a false sense of security. And they're smart. And patient. And very political. Thomas is the best of them, I'll give him that, but he's still not someone I want to run into when he's hungry."

She shrugged a little, looking down at the book she held.

"This is just something I'm reading to learn about the other kinds. Seems there are as many sorts of vampires as there are different worlds."

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neverhurthim
2013-10-27 02:12 pm UTC (link)

She wondered if that was true for all Whites from Karrin's world. Were they really all that much alike? Vampires from Anna's world were as different from each other as humans. Really, ones from her world tended to be just like they were as humans -- only everything was amplified. She found herself wanting to ask more questions, learn more, but she knew she needed to restrain herself before she wound up raising the woman's suspicions.

But there was one question she couldn't let go of. "What do you mean by political?" she couldn't help but ask.

She looked at the book Karrin was still holding. "Yeah, it seems that way." She barely refrained from adding and none of them has hurt anyone here. That would definitely cause suspicion.

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karrinmurphysi
2013-10-28 02:27 am UTC (link)

"I mean that they're political," she said, shrugging one shoulder. "It's all about intrigue and who knows who. Their internal politics are intense, as are their fights for leadership. They never do anything themselves, it's considered bad form and a loss of face to actually kill someone yourself."

She shook her head. "Don't get tangled up with them, that's all I can say."

Looking a bit closer at her, she didn't recognize any of the signs that marked a vampire in her own world. She looked, in truth, like a pretty young girl; like any pretty young girl. Of course, there were many supernaturals who looked just like anyone else until they decided to eat your face.

She smiled a little, making her look a great deal softer.

"I don't hate them, you know. Any of them. Supes."

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