Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "K is for Killswitch"

Aura Castillo ∴ Hel (calaveritas) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-08-18 18:47:00

Entry tags:

Who: Aura and Pierce
What: A meeting
Where: The graveyard
When: Tonight
Warnings: Graveyards?

It had taken Aura a few days to get home from North Carolina. Her plane ticket had been one-way, and she'd taken the bus back. She'd watched cities pass through the grimy bus windows, and she'd thought about how things had gone all wrong.

She had always worried that someone would find about what she could do, and she'd worried what they would think. She hadn't thought, however, that Billy would react the way she expected other people to. After all, they'd been in each other's heads for years now. It wasn't something she'd planned, despite what he thought, and it hurt that he'd know her so little after all this time.

And then there was Simon.

She hadn't seen him since she'd left North Carolina, and it had surprised her when he hadn't tried to contact her in any way at all, not even to see if she was okay. At first, she'd assumed Billy had spoken to him. But Billy said he hadn't, and she believed him.

All this meant that after two days of sleepless nights on a bus, she was back home, and she was alone again.

The shift the day before at the Hospice had been long, quiet, and one of her favorite patients had died with his hand in hers that morning. The sun had long since gone low in the sky, and she'd made her way to the local graveyard to talk to the man's wife (she'd passed on the year before).

Which is where she was when the moon rose high in the sky - kneeling at the grave of a woman she remembered as spitfire and showtunes, explaining that her husband would be joining her soon.

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 03:16 am UTC (link)

Pierce never spoke about what or who he saw, simply because paranormal activity was a highly debated issue and obviously not scientific - therefore, it didn't make much sense (nor was it good for his credibility) to go around explaining that he saw ghosts all of the time and the images were always horrifying. Very few people looked picture perfect right when they died.

But this was different. His niece was in a graveyard at night. This wasn't some ordinary situation. She talked to them too, perhaps?

"I do talk to them," he said, watching her. "I always have. Not something I've told anyone though." There was an unspoken undercurrent of 'so you probably shouldn't either.' And he waited expectantly for details about what the fight with his son entailed.

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 03:23 am UTC (link)

She was quiet a moment, weighed her options, considered. "I can tell when people are dying, and I can... help." She said it with a wave of her fingertips and enough nervousness in the words that let him know she wasn't kidding. "In the hospice, I mean. I can help." She clarified, wondering if that made it sound better or worse. "And I see them after, but only a minute or so." She sighed, closed her eyes. In for a dime, in for a dollar, right? "I don't normally tell people. No... I never tell people, but it slipped with Billy, and he freaked. He thinks I'm a murdered. I asked him to come to the hospice with me, to see, but he won't. He says I broke his trust." She shrugged again and looked over at him. "And here I am, telling you all this, and you're probably going to have me committed."

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 03:31 am UTC (link)

"Have you committed?" He actually laughed at that - not at her, but at the thought of doing such a stupid thing. "I just told you that I see dead people. And talk to them. My life's like that goddamn Sixth Sense movie with that annoying kid who has probably overdosed on heroin by now."

"And you're not dead, just so you know," he added, as kind of a joke. Like it would be an epic M. Night Shalamfytuandaj twist at the end of the movie. Then he paused, thinking over what Olivia had told him. He grew more serious. "You're not a murderer. It's better that they go peacefully than suffer, and if you can see when it's their time...that's quite a gift."

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 03:37 am UTC (link)

"You're not dying," she offered, when he told her she wasn't dead. "Not anytime this week, anyway. But I recommend staying away from jogging or extensive fits of happiness." She smiled at him then; a true, honest smile. "People don't understand, people who don't care for the dying. In the hospice, there's no hope, no chance someone is going to get better tomorrow, and there's a point where they ask and beg to go, where their family members are getting sick from being there and not sleeping and crying. Some nurses use Morphine." She reached forward, brushing a leaf off the gravestone. "I just don't need the Morphine."

She looked over at him. "Are you humoring me, Pierce?" she asked him, all grown-up eyebrow quirk.

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 03:55 am UTC (link)

Well, it was reassuring to know that death was not in the near future! "Good to know, as I've still got things to take care of before I croak," he said with a good-natured wink. But overall, death didn't frighten him personally. He had heard enough about what 'the other side' was like.

But that didn't mean he wanted his near and dear ones to leave for that 'other side.' It was still difficult to accept, no matter how natural the course of life was.

"No, I'm not humoring you, Olivia," he promised. "Sometimes it helps to get these things off your chest though. And I understand completely. 'There is no death,'" he quoted. "'Only a change of worlds.'" It was one of his favorite proverbs.

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 04:01 am UTC (link)

"How do I make my friend understand that? He thinks I'm around to kill him, because he had an accident once, and I think that translates to me wanting to kill him somehow. I asked him to come to the hospice, but he won't, and he needs watching after. He's not so good on his own," she explained simply. She chuckled a moment later. "Man, you got a bum rap tonight, huh? Playing counselor in a cemetery. Tell me something about you, so I don't feel limitless amounts of guilt that will keep me awake all evening. Any kids? Siblings that hate you for abandoning them in their time of need? People who eschew the benefits of pastels?"

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 11:24 am UTC (link)

The idea of Pierce abandoning his brother in his time of need was almost laughable. More like the opposite. But he didn't want to discuss David right now. That was pretty much the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"I can simultaneously tell you something about me and answer your question." And he understood his son's need for independence, but Olivia was right about one thing - the boy needed watching after, no matter how much he believed otherwise. "Billy's my son and, just between you and me, watching after him's why I moved into Pax Letale." A chuckle, then an added comment of, "And I'll spare you the It's a Small World' theme."

He moved on to answering the question. "It's hard for most people to understand that such gifts even exist. I've never told him what I told you. And he's not judgmental, truly, it's just that right now is a difficult time for him so what you told him is more salient than ever. He's frustrated easily, more than he ever was. So give him some time, is what I'm trying to say."

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 04:57 pm UTC (link)

She stared for a moment at when he confessed, because It's a Small World hardly covered it, and she looked for similarities. Would she have told him about her ability if she'd known he was related to Billy? She shook her head a moment later. Too late for that now. Again, in for a dime, in for a dollar. "You know Mauricio? Merc? He's in Billy's band?" she asked, making Merc sound like a silly name indeed. "He's my cousin, and my parents sent him to Pax to watch over me. Why didn't you just have him keep an eye on Billy?"

Even as she asked the question, she knew that her cousin was hardly capable of watching over anyone, but she wanted to know why he thought Billy needed looking after. Was it the accident, or his unhealthy level of trust in other people? "Do you know who was driving?" she asked out of the blue, a touch of anger in her voice. Sore subject, obviously.

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 05:10 pm UTC (link)

Pierce sensed her uneasiness, and while she gave him the once-over he looked right back at her - right back into his brother's eyes, the ratfink bastard. "I won't mention anything to Billy, that we met or that you told me about your gift," he assured her. "I do know Maurico. He's a good kid, but...Billy's my son. He's my only son. It's difficult to explain if you're not a parent, but when you become one, then you will understand." He knew he could be overbearing but he meant well. Nearly losing his son had done a number on him - never before had he faced anything so terrifying.

Oh, he knew who was driving. And who the others in the car were. An eternity of punishment was not enough for them - especially because of the way they acted as if they had done nothing wrong, and tried to cover up the indiscretion. They drove off and left Harrison to die and they didn't even care. Not to mention the anguish afterward, the moments where it was touch and go with Harrison's life. Pierce hoped those three assholes at least appreciated that they could walk wherever they wished. His son could barely do it without pain.

But of course he couldn't tell Olivia all of this. Safer that way.

"Wish I did," Pierce exhaled in a sigh. "They were never caught."

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 05:19 pm UTC (link)

"He's stubborn about taking help," she said when he talked about Billy, because was he ever. "But he's a good kid, a little chipper, too pretty, too cheerful, but I'll give you a pass on that one, Pierce. We can't all be perfect little balls of gloom and despair. My brother's good too. Not cheerful, but fragile, if that makes sense." She lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "I wouldn't tell him about the dead people, though."

She wondered if he knew his son could glow like a light-bulb with regularity, but she decided not to mention that. In fact, she hadn't mentioned the dreams either, because there was a point where anyone would freak out about things, even this man beside her.

The fact that the drivers were never caught made her scowl. "We need to find them somehow, the drivers," she said with determination, because she'd already decided as much.

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 05:30 pm UTC (link)

"Don't I know it," Pierce snickered, rubbing his forehead. "I think he gets that from me. But I worry about him. The cheerfulness is definitely all his mother. How come you told him about your gift?" he wondered, and she had said she let it slip out. It could have always been an accident, but he doubted that.

He had to work to fight a scowl as well, but Olivia's determination was impressive. She obviously thought very highly of his chipper son - who apparently glowed like a light bulb, but no, he did not know that. "Have you mentioned finding them to Billy?"

Then he was curious. It was a lot of questions, but he had to know. "What's your brother like, besides fragile? Though you might have to explain that one as well."

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 08:41 pm UTC (link)

"It wasn't intentional. I was... sleepy at the time. My brother's brother had just died, and Billy had put me on a plane across the country, and Simon wasn't doing well at all. I just wasn't being careful," she admitted. "And I thought he would understand," she added, shrugging a little. Billy was such a good, caring person. It hadn't occurred to her that he would react like she feared other people would.

"Simon - well his birth name is Casper - he's a brilliant artist, moody, sweet, fragile," she explained, her smile indicating fondness for all these things. "He needs me. I'm stronger than he is," she said, because she had no doubt that was true. "You haven't met him? He and Billy are close."

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 08:51 pm UTC (link)

Pierce nodded at the explanation. "He'll come around. It's a sensitive issue for him and he just needs to gain some perspective, that's all. Plus, he probably wasn't expecting anything like that - takes awhile to sink into that hard head of his." He smiled slightly.

The words sweet and fragile threw him off. Was Casper really like that? It didn't seem possible. But the way Olivia was smiling, it was genuine, not as if she were attempting to deceive him. "I haven't met him yet, no. But I probably will soon. I just moved in not too long ago. I'm glad Billy's making close friends." Even if they were the wrong ones to make right now.

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 08:56 pm UTC (link)

Aura stood, and she held a hand out to help Pierce up. The movement was entirely equal, making it evident that regardless of his age or the expensive cut of that suit, she considered him precisely that. "I'll introduce you to him, if he ever talks to me again. Or maybe ask Billy about him?" she suggested, nodding as the idea solidified. "They shouldn't be alone without anyone to watch out for them, it'd be good if you made sure they were still talking. I don't think Simon can do anything like I can, so Billy doesn't need to be scared of him." She paused. "You'll make sure? They need each other, at least."

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 09:12 pm UTC (link)

He took her hand when she offered, and knew that he liked her. Olivia had turned out well. And they shared similar gifts, gifts that couldn't exactly be explained - what were the gifts a result of? Genetics? Chance? Something else entirely? He would be up until the sun rose, thinking it over.

"I'll make sure," he promised. "And I'd like to meet him, whenever you can introduce me. Because somehow I doubt you two are finished for good. Not at all, not over something like that." They waited all this time to find each other - and persevered, obviously, much to his dismay - but Pierce wanted to know more about Casper. Would he get the same uneasy feeling creeping up and down his spine if they were face to face?

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calaveritas
2010-08-19 09:22 pm UTC (link)

She smiled at him, because his statement was entirely hopeful, and it reminded her of Billy. "Careful, you're sounding positively hopeful and cheery already," she cautioned, a teasing grin teasing at the corners of her mouth. She sobered then, squeezing his hand surely one last time before letting go. "Thanks, Pierce. If you ever need anything, let me know," she said, meaning it entirely. He'd helped her, and he was related to Billy, and that was all it took to earn her loyalty, especially in graveyards in the middle of the night.

She started to walk away, then she turned and looked over her shoulder. "Do you like art?"

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the_allfather
2010-08-19 10:35 pm UTC (link)

"The cheeriness won't happen again, you have my word. Gloom and doom reign supreme," he responded gruffly, though he was kidding as well - evident in the hand squeeze he bestowed upon her before she let go. "And the same goes for you, Olivia." He would extend the same courtesy and mean it; it was a promise now, and he didn't make promises he couldn't keep.

The question surprised him a little. "I do, of course," Pierce nodded. "Why do you ask?"

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calaveritas
2010-08-20 12:12 am UTC (link)

"It's a good way to get you to know Simon, and it gives me an excuse to contact him for you," she said truthfully, not hiding the fact that she was going to do just that. She smiled at him one last time, before nodding and taking off toward the street and the building on foot. "I'm in 1001, if you need me," she called back to him, not turning around this time.

Not bad for a late-night graveyard visit.

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