Who: Jane & Vex Where: Some store or another When: Friday 12/01 Status: Complete
Point Pleasant really was something. Vex was starting to see more and more people and places he hadn't been sure existed for real. He'd seen a kid at the store that he remembered watching in his own damn room, swallowing pills and looking forlorn. That had been a vision. This one? This one had been real. Vex knew because he'd prodded him in the back and gotten a dirty look for it and since visions tended to not react to him - or feel corporeal - he could be certain the kid was real.
Then there was Mal, the Sold One. Vex was still waiting for him to show up at Ludlow Lane but he was most definitely real too. Or was he? Vex hadn't touched him so he was starting to question that bit.Only time could tell. Now... Here at the grocery store there was one of the girls he'd seen pretty frequently over the years. As a child, then as a teenager, then once as a fully grown woman.
Ever subtle, Vex stared at her until he caught her attention and got a better look at her face, then pointed at her before bringing his hand up to tap his temple. "This town is like a congregation of my Brain People," he said, ignoring the way the man behind him in line suddenly gave him a wide berth. She was out of reach so he couldn't touch her and he might have changed lines to get closer but someone was behind her already. "You're all here."
Jane had been quite distracted since her last dream walk. Encountering something in the dream world that could physically harm her had been a first, and it was both unnerving and fascinating. She had started to do a bit of research on her own, reaching out to a few people she had gotten to know over the years to see if they could help. So far she hadn't received any potential answers, but these things took time.
Standing in line in the grocery store now, she checked her phone to find a message waiting from her mom. Jane thumbed in a text back when she felt someone watching her. Looking up, she spotted a man in the next line over, staring at her. And then he spoke and Jane arched a brow, her interest piqued despite the very likely fact that he was probably just mentally ill. Still, in Point Pleasant the quirky people were more often than not the most fascinating.
"Are we?" Jane asked, glancing at the register to see the cashier still scanning the groceries of the woman ahead of her. "How many Brain People do you have that you've found here?"
Three was a charm, Vex thought and realized that was not all of them so her question was a good one and called him out on his bullshit. "That's fair, that's fair," he said with a grin. "Not all of you. Some though, enough for it to be getting interesting." He almost asked if she knew Mal but thought better of it, at least for now. There were other people present and that was something he remembered now, belatedly. "Not so much mine, I guess, not just in my brain, but I've seen you plenty of times over the years, interesting things. You're brave and you don't mind a little crazy so we should talk outside." He had a feeling she wouldn't avoid him, the way she was looking at him was with interest and not fear or revulsion despite the fact he was probably coming off as a lunatic. Hell, he was a lunatic, he'd embraced that particular quirk a long time ago but not everyone appreciated it.
Jane's gaze shifted back to his and she studied him for a moment, interest delving into something much deeper. He was either a loon, or he was something Else. Like her. Given where they were, it felt like that option was much more likely, although he could still be certifiably insane as well. Jane stepped forward to check out, aware that there was nothing wrong with talking to him outside. It wasn't like she would hop in his car and let him take her wherever. Besides, she was so used to Neil's jittery avoidance that if this guy was like them, it would be a nice change of pace to talk to someone who could admit and accept it. When she finished paying for her groceries, she carried the bag to the sliding doors of the store and stepped outside, standing under the awning to keep out of the rain. It was chilly but not unbearable, and Jane waited for the stranger to join her. When he finally did, Jane looked him over, trying to figure out if she had ever met him. "Do you know who I am?" she asked, needing to know if he was worth talking to first and foremost.
"Do you ever really know who someone is?" Vex countered, shaking his head. He'd brought his cart out with him, full of stuff that he didn't want to carry if this conversation dragged on. He leaned one arm against it now as he studied Jane curiously. "You're one of the first," he said. "Little girl at a table, long time ago before the fire. Do you know what I'm talking about or did you forget too?" He at least could be certain she was important. Behind her a great big pegasus had formed from black smoke, towering over her, half its body fading into the building they had just exited. It was interested in her, it wanted Vex to know her.
Someone came out of the store behind them and Jane waited as he walked away into the parking lot before she spoke again. "I didn't forget anything," Jane said. "The people who would have made me forget died in the fire. I like to remember it." For various reasons, some of which were quite morbid. Jane studied him curiously, wishing she could slip into his dreams right now. She was betting they were fascinating. Colorful too. "How do you know all of that? I don't remember you at all."
"I think I may have been there but if I was then they made me forget." Who were They? This was getting more and more intriguing by the second and Vex studied Jane curiously as he spoke. "If you remember everything you gotta tell me more. All I have are snippets, little brain people like you, showing me things I don't understand. Thought I was just crazy for a while there but I may be crazy but that isn't all there is." He tapped his temple again and scraped his bottom lip with his teeth. "Who are they? Are they human?" It was a logical question to Vex, though anyone listening would definitely chalk it up to craziness. He wondered if Jane was like him or not, if she thought it was a strange question. Watching her intently still he fished his gloves out of his pockets to fend off the chill in the air.
Jane arched a brow, a small smirk playing at her lips. "How do I know you were really there? How do I know you're not one of them? Or someone else looking to cause trouble by finding people like me? How do I know you're not going to toss me into a van somewhere and take me to someone who'll mutilate me to find out how I tick? Tell me what snippets you see, or who else there is, and then I'll know if you're telling me the truth or not." As much as she wanted to talk about what had happened, and what might be happening now, Jane had literally just met this guy. She didn't even know his name. She knew better than to start spouting off about AIR to a stranger in Point Pleasant.
Vex made a low, curious and drawn out growling sound in the back of his throat as he listened, one eyebrow inching upward at the implication. "They have a habit of mutilating people," he said after he took a moment to let it all sink in. "And here I thought werewolves were my biggest problem." He straightened up and smirked at the fact that he did have a van and he'd just recently mutilated a dead body but none of that was comparable, that had been Different. "Let's see- what do I know. I know someone got sold, there's a kid taking pills and that's important for some reason I haven't figured out yet, a squirrely little kid pushing a button over and over again, you and some other children - back when you were one - walking out of flames. You see, visions don't always give you the whole picture. They're finicky."
Jane snorted softly. Werewolves. Yes, they were definitely a problem. Or could be, if they weren't taken care of properly. But this town had so many more problems than just werewolves. But what this man was telling her was definitely interesting and she absorbed the information, intrigued that there were others he must have met here. People who were like her, and possibly him. He had visions. Jane exhaled softly between her lips. Had he met Neil? She wanted to ask, but if he hadn't, Neil would lose his mind over Jane talking about him to a stranger. Not that she really cared what Neil wanted, or what he thought, but she didn't need to give him another excuse to ignore her. "I was fourteen when I got out. Not really a child anymore," she said, though none of that was relevant to what this conversation was about. "Are the others... they're all here? The ones you've seen besides me?"
"You were small and skinny," Vex pointed out with a dismissive shrug. She had looked like a child to him but it had been a while. "I haven't seen everyone yet," he then said in answer to her question. "But many. Enough that it's looking like a pattern. You wanna know who they are, hm? Maybe you got a van of your own." He grinned at the idea of her snagging people off the streets and stuffing them in a van but of course it would be a lot more nuanced than that if she was actually one of the people she'd expressed worries about before.
She had been small and skinny, and for a long time after escaping AIR. Then again, this guy could have gone over past newspaper articles and what not. Jane knew her picture had been posted all over the place back then. It wouldn't have been hard to find out more about her. But her gut instinct was telling her that he was telling the truth. "No van," Jane said with a grin. "But I have only been able to talk to one person here that went through what I did and he seems very eager to forget the entire thing. It's frustrating. I suppose if you want me to tell you certain things, then you can tell me certain things too. A mutual benefit, right?"
"Mutual benefit," Vex repeated in a low murmur that sounded a bit like a big cat purring. "Tell you what, you drop by Ludlow Lane whenever you want," he said then and fished a lollipop out of his chest pocket to start peeling off the plastic. Why not? He'd already told Mal where he lived, it wasn't like it was a secret. Make it a party! "I don't know a whole lot but maybe I can make more sense of it with your help. Or not, maybe it's not meant to make sense, what do you think?" He plopped the lollipop in his mouth and started patting down his jacket for his glasses since he had a feeling he was about to get in the car soon.
Ludlow Lane. Jane's lips twitched. This guy definitely looked like he would live on Ludlow Lane. That street had always intrigued her. Giving his proposition some thought, Jane finally nodded and smirked softly. "I think maybe I'll come visit," she said. "I can try and help you make sense of things, if you help me too. I think it's absolutely meant to make sense... we just have to figure out how." Jane looked out into the rain toward her car. "What's your name?"
Right. Names. Vex gave her a toothy grin at the realization that names probably would make interactions easier. "Vex. I'm on thirty-five if you come knocking." He should probably warn Lem at this point that there might be random strangers coming by, some of which she'd seen before through his visions so that was bound to be interesting for her too. He narrowed his eyes as if to study her again, then offered his hand quickly. "You had a number too, but I don't know your name."
She would definitely come knocking, though Jane was aware she could slip into his dreams too and see if there was anything worthwhile there. Maybe she could find information that even he wasn't aware of, depending on how deep she could get. Jane took his hand, lips twitching at the gesture. "Vex. It fits. I'm Jane. Do you have a phone? I can text you my number if you need to get a hold of me before I come knocking at your door."
"Do I have a phone," Vex muttered, amused. "Get your phone out, I'll give you my number," he added then with a little up-nod. "Or you can just give me yours, I'll remember it." Or alternatively he'd put it in his phone now, just thinking about it had him reaching for it and pulling it out of his pocket to have it handy just in case.
Yes, yes, most people had phones these days, but there were always the outliers who had no use for 'technology'. Jane never wanted to assume. Rather than depend on Vex remembering her number and remembering to actually call, Jane pulled out her phone to enter his information so she would be able to choose when they spoke again. When that was finished, Jane slipped her phone back into her bag. "How long have you been here? In Point Pleasant."
"All my life and only a second," Vex mused. How long had it been? It felt like forever and no time at all simultaneously and it was hard to tell how many weeks had gone by. So much had happened while he was there and even before he'd physically been there, his visions kept bringing him back. "And you?" he asked back, as if his answer was completely legitimate. "Did you go away or have you always been here too?"
"Ah." That wasn't really an answer, but Jane wasn't overly surprised by it. Maybe Vex just liked to speak in riddles. "We moved away a while after I returned home. I just came back a couple of months ago. Unfinished business, I guess. Point Pleasant has a strange pull to it." Jane shrugged. "I'm not quite sure where it'll lead me just yet, but I'm feeling pretty confident that coming back was the right thing to do."
Vex didn't like riddles so much as he was just full of shit but she didn't push so he didn't clarify. He did agree her remark on the town, nodding sagely. "It never left me," he said darkly, before visibly perking up again. "Maybe you came back to join the legion of people like us. Who knows, we might have a grand purpose here. Or not." He didn't really care either way, he'd done what he set out to do when he arrived in town - catch the werewolf that killed his aunt. Okay, so he hadn't caught exactly it but dead was just as good in this case.
"The legion." Jane smiled. "I like that." She didn't know if they had a real purpose there or not, but she was willing to find out. Maybe with more of them in town, Neil would be more receptive to things. Maybe not. He didn't seem to like people. "I suppose we'll find out, right? Maybe things will become more clear once we talk more, or talk to the others. Find the others. Is that something you want to do?"
"I do now," Vex said. "You look like you might have names. I have names, together we'll get this party started." It did feel like this was why he was brought here, it really did, it felt big and sprawling and complicated and that was exactly how his visions felt too. Maybe the werewolf business was connected too, he didn't know. It wasn't like he knew a whole lot about what his purpose was but it was all coming together in a muddled, crazy way. "You drop on by and we'll talk more. Drop some names."
Jane nodded, amused. “We’ll definitely drop some names. When I come see you.” She wasn’t going to drop Neil’s name just yet. Maybe she would talk to him first, so he knew what was going on and who was in town. That might freak him out, but oh well. He couldn’t run from this forever. “Maybe I’ll bring someone with me. Unless you would rather I come alone.”
Vex wasn't so far removed from reality that he didn't remember that it wasn't really safe for a woman to show up at a stranger's house alone. Bringing a friend was a smart move and he nodded in understanding. "You bring a friend, as long as we can talk freely." Maybe her friend was one of them too, in that case Vex might even know his or her face.
Jane didn’t say anything about a friend, but she let that one slide. Neil was… Neil. She was betting she would have to more or less blackmail the guy just to get him to consider speaking to Vex with her. But hell, stranger things had happened in this town, so there was always a chance he would say yes without it becoming a Thing. “We’ll be able to talk freely,” she assured him. “Do you live alone?”
Vex shook his head. "Mm-mm, got my conduit living with me. She's seen it too so she knows what's up. As much as anyone can know." He didn't even know what he was looking at but soon they might all get answers as they brought their respective puzzle pieces together and lined them up. There was a chance there were still important pieces missing, some central piece they hadn't yet found but they could still start building their borders.
Jane's brows rose in surprise again. "You have a conduit. How did that happen?" It didn't sound like she had been involved with AIR, but maybe she had been, before Jane's time, or Vex's. Maybe not. Jane didn't know the entire story of AIR, or who had come and gone, and she knew nothing about Vex's conduit. But it was certainly an interesting turn in his story. Jane couldn't imagine having someone like that in her life. She honestly didn't think she wanted one either.
"Right time, right place," Vex said with a little shrug and that was possibly the only upside to his stay in the psych ward, meeting Lem had changed his life for the better. He would understand why not everyone would want to share their gifts but in his case it had helped him embrace it, realize it wasn't just mental illness fucking with his head. "What is it that you do, Jane?" He asked then, eyes narrowed as he studied her again. It was possibly not the time to discuss that, they could talk later, but the way she spoke - she surely had something going on.
It was an innocent enough question, and in any other circumstance Jane would have assumed he meant what did she do for a living. But Jane was aware of the other implications in the question and she smiled, glancing out into the parking lot where rain continued to fall. "I dream walk," she explained. "It doesn't sound very glamorous, but it's come in handy a time or two." She could do much more than 'walk' into dreams, but that wasn't a discussion to have with him right now.
Vex snorted at her appraisal of her ability. Not very glamorous? "That sounds fucking awesome," he said enthusiastically. "Can you do more than observe? Do you need to be close to whoever is dreaming?" There could be some amazing uses for that ability, a few he could think of off the top of his head on short notice though some of them might need the dreamer to actually remember their dreams. Maybe that was something she could influence, a handy messenger service via telepathy then.
"I can do more than observe, although it takes a bit more energy when I do," Jane explained. "And... really, I just need to have seen the person. Preferably meet them, since that makes it a bit easier to find them when I sleep. I can't dreamwalk in someone's sleep if they live across the country, but... I don't know. I've never really pushed the distance much." She thought about how she had been able to create a dreamscape for Neil and his friends to draw that... thing out. It still made her shudder to think about it.
"You should experiment," Vex said and his fascination was still very visible in his expression even if he'd calmed down a little. "And keep it secret. Stuff like that can be weaponized." It was easy to imagine multiple ways with which this gift could be used to hurt people and Vex knew on some level he should probably be wary of this woman but... it was what it was. He faced down whatever he needed to face down in that moment, no use worrying about hypotheticals. "You could be valuable to all the wrong people, Jane."
Jane's smile widened for a moment. She really, really wanted to get inside his brain, even if it was only his dreams. She could only imagine the things that went through his mind when he was sleeping. "I know all about that. Why do you think they took us in the first place? We certainly weren't experimented on to save the world." Pausing before she got too ahead of herself, Jane glanced around again and then shook her head. "We should probably talk about this later... in private instead of outside a grocery store. I don't trust many people in this town, as paranoid as that sounds."
Vex straightened up and nodded sharply. "You're right. See you soon, Jane. Come around." It was an abrupt way of ending things but she was right, they shouldn't be talking about this outside of a grocery store where anyone could hear. He'd never really thought of his path as having enemies but it stood to reason that it would. He might not expect them but he was ready for them, ready to fight and maybe even eager to do so. That didn't mean he had to be stupid about it. He backed up and gave her a toothy grin before tugging his cart back with a near violent jerk then wheeling it around to go back to his van.