From a [Short] Distance Down the Road

[StLouisS]

[This is closed to all but one who already knows who she is.]

"An Inn? An Inn. Your 'No seriously we just gotta check one more spot' is some random INN in the middle of....wherever the hell we are?! Come ON. This is ridiculous."

"And like I said the first twenty times you complained so sweetly: no, it's not. This is
as far from ridiculous as can be, so be quiet and keep your senses peeled."

It was just the two of them, a bit down the cobblestone street where the Inn was located. Far enough away that if they had mortal eyes, there would have been no way they
would've been able to read the sign that to them so clearly said "Tel'Ranaemyn Inn". They weren't hiding, not exactly anyway. At least not the kind of hiding that involved cowering behind trees and peeping through branches. There was a reason they were keeping their distance from the building, sure, and that reason was also why right now as they argued one of them was showing the Inn their back. He was the one who could be recognized. Not that he'd ever been here before, but...well, he could be recognized if it was the right person who saw him, let's put it like that.

Maybe that's why he was staring to lose his patience with his traveling partner. Maybe that's why he rolled his eyes at her even though he knew she couldn't stand that, and maybe that's why he was giving her that patronizing look after he told her to keep her senses peeled. And maybe that's why he didn't even blink when she started yelling - she and him had been around this bend plenty of times before, he knew what was coming.

"Peeled for what?!" Back home those close to her always marveled at how that pitch, volume and power could come out of a package so small. But that was the trick of this blonde, she was a deceptive package who had some of the most powerful people back where they were from willing to die just to protect her. And sure, yeah, when it came down to it the one she was yelling at now was one of the willing. And she knew it. So she knew she had liberties. "He's not here, Sean. Just admit it, for christ's sake. You were wrong. Your big smart lead turned out to be a big stupid goose chase, and now you're just doing the typical male b.s. where instead of turning around like a normal person would, your ego is dragging us all over god's creation looking for an impossible needle in a ridiculous haystack. Well I'm done letting you drag me. Put your tail between your legs and let's go back to St. Louis."

"...are you done, Jade?" Sean asked her that dryly, making a point to look less than impressed. "Because no offense to you and your dysfunctional...whatever you'd call it with him, this side of him is something you don't know a damn thing a - "
" - oh, but you're his personal biographer? We're on another PLANET, Se - "
" - I'm aware - "
" - Another. Planet. Not just another planet, but the one he asked you and Dominic to keep him from - "
" - well gee Jade we can't do that if he decides to go AWOL like he obviously - "
" - do you even know if he's BEEN here before, Sean? Hm?!"

The argument hit the breaks then, that question made him pause. He rolled his eyes. This time it wasn't to push her buttons, it was because of what he had to answer. "Not for sure. But - "
" - I knew it! - "
" - Christ, Jade, I'm trying - "
" - you've probably picked this place at random - "
" - trying to track him, or what I think could be him - "
" - like a little honeymoon getaway as an excuse - "
" - You're damn right, Jade!" He raised his voice for the first time to drown her out, and also banged every word into her head telepathically, too, just to get his point across. "That's exactly what I was doing. I said to myself, 'Hey Sean, what's a good way to get back in Jade's pants since she dumped you after she got done screwing Damon in a cemetery the night after you proposed to her? Oh I got it, let's go on a field trip scouring the solar system for him, that sounds a surefire way to slide into home base to me!' Hot damn, Jade, you caught me. Brav-thehell-o."

It was about then that Jade - who'd been looking like she was ready to explode - started to laugh. One of those laughs that started and then got away from the person where they couldn't manage to stop. At first Sean looked like her laughter was going to throw him farther off the deep end. But that huge rocket he could've let fly, he sighed it out instead. And he kind of chuckled himself, almost.

So he was pretty much composed when he said, "As I was trying to say, what precious little insight he gave me when he asked me and Dom to keep him from coming here I've been using best I can, and there is a shot he's been here. More recently than he's been anywhere else we've looked, at least." A shrug, and a real brief glance behind him at the Inn as he added quickly, "Which is why I think you should check in there for a while."
"What?! No. Don't be stupid, no."
" - it's not - "
" - NO - "
" - STUPID, and if I'm right about the scent I'm smelling around here I sure as hell can't check in there, she'd recognize me..."

The look on Jade's face was priceless then. A look that matched her last name - Stone. When Sean saw that look, he knew there was no way he was going to win this battle unless he clubbed her over the head and checked her in himself. Which he wasn't about to do.

Jade, meanwhile, drew herself up nice and tall. "Listen, Sean. If we've been looking this long and haven't found him, he obviously doesn't want to be found. I get that I've been bait this whole time, even if you haven't come out and said it. Dragging around shiny Jade, the little angel he protects above all, hoping it would be like a mouse sniffing cheese. But what you don't get is he could find me faster than the speed of light, wherever I was, if he wanted to. And I haven't seen him any more recently than you have. Doesn't that tell you something, Sean? And in that case considering who he is and what he's capable of, don't you think if I checked in here he would be able to sense it, and he'd steer clear?"

Sean let out the sigh through his nostrils, looking up at the late night sky. The stars were different here than they were when you looked up at a St. Louis sky. They really were on another planet. They really were chasing a goose. A goose who was too god damn clever for his own good, but there was nothing he or Jade could do right now to change that. Or any of the rest of it. When he dropped his head, it bobbed in a nod.

"You win. Game, set, match, let's go." He started walking.
From the way she smiled at him, he could tell she felt bad even before she took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, Sean."
"Yeah, I know."

And that was as close as they got to the Tel'Ranaemyn Inn.

[Epiphany]

What a night it had turned out to be. Not only had things gotten a little out of hand at the orphanage when the older children had decided to have a gaming competition using the new technologies they had, but many of the parishioners at the church had been frantic; flooding the alter pleading for protection and salvation. Someone had been spreading tales of vicious creatures roaming in and around the city and it had people on edge.

It had taken a while to get everyone calm and for the priest to anoint all who wanted protection and hear the cases of others. The Nuns had a lot of work to do, and the apprentices were kept busy as well. By the time service was over and everyone was gone and the place was cleaned, Epiphany was tired. Normally she would have stayed at the church for the night – she was always welcome to stay – but after the focus of the night she had need to be out in the cool January night air.

Epiphany was walking along the road that connected the city to New Haven and eventually the Inn. It was one of the main roads. For the chill of the night she only had a thick woolen wrap over the high collard button shirt of her uniform, her dusky hair pulled up into a bun atop her head. Any normal person would have been cold, but while she was hardly ‘normal’ she was not completely immune to the elements either and therefore needed something right now to protect=2 0her from the chill. Epiphany held on to the wrapping for comfort more than anything else.

It was the perfect night for stargazing and she mused over that fact as she walked with her head tilted upward. Thinking on that made her mind drift to the gold pocket watch that rested inside her skirt. Midnight. The night sky always made her think of Midnight.

As she drew nearer she heard voices. Not clear voices for she was still a-ways away, but the quick sounds, elevated pitches, and tones sounded like people have an argument. What was strange was the fact that the voices sounded to be coming from up ahead, towards the direction of the Inn. Even stranger, one of them sounded familiar, though it was a voice she hadn't heard in ages. But she was still too far away and her mind could be playing tricks on her. Still.

Time for looking at the stars and indulging in flights of fancy were over, her curiosity had come into play. Epiphany walked a little faster and felt the wind pick up a notch or two before dying down again. The wind carried the voices and they were becoming clearer. Two people, a male and female who were looking for something. Lucky her, she was on the same road as they. As she drew nearer, Epiphany got colder and her stomach began tying itself into a knot. Maybe it was simply nerves. Maybe stopping to stargaze had filled her head with crazy notions. She should simply ignore it.

Rounding a corner she stopped as she saw them and her eyes grew wide from shock. She knew them, At least she knew him, and she didn't have to be really close to know that it was Sean, one of Damon's friends. She could never forget him, especially after that talk they had so long ago. How could she see him? Her vision was nothing compared to the creatures of the dark, but it was slightly enhanced, and there was moonlight to thank.

First instinct was to turn and duck away, but if she had seen them then surely they had seen her. Taking a deep breath she attempted to calm her breathing and continued walking, albeit slower than before. What was Sean doing here? Had she done something she wasn't suppose to do with the gift she had and he was hear to take it away from her? Or had something terrible happened to Damon and he was hear to give her the bad news. Even if that were the case, she couldn't think of why they'd want her to know.

Epiphany couldn't go too far, she didn't think her legs could manage it. A hectic night at the church and now this? The poor girl. Licking her lips she clutched the ends of her wrap and took another deep breath. "Good evening, Sean."

[Jade Stone]

Son-of-a-bitching-hell. Those words shot off like a warning bell when he caught whiff of a certain scent in the air. Growing closer. He didn't even have time to say anything, no time to have a single thought of how to manage an escape plan before the cover was as good as blown. All he had time to do was turn his blue eyes in the right direction to confirm what his preternatural senses told him was already confirmed. Those senses happened to be what also told him exactly where to look in order to spot the target right off.

Don't look at Jade right now, don't look at Jade right now, don't even friggin think of looking at Jade right now...That thought pounded in his head on repeat followed by a whole string of swears. Because he wasn't repeating that mantra long before he felt it, and knew. He knew Jade had spotted her. He knew Jade had spotted her and knew exactly who she was. Because he knew Jade. And he knew the hell in that look he was getting right now, practically burning his skin with the intensity of her glare. With the green eyes she had, you'd think...that she'd have the power of recycling or growing trees or something. Not the power of setting people on metaphorical fire with just a glare.

Jade was glaring at him, Epiphany was talking to him, and Sean was busy regretting ever offering to go on this goose hunt in the first place. And even though he knew better than to even try it, there he was doing it. Playing it casual as if none of this was strange and all of it was some dumbass coincidence. "Well hey-ho there, Epiphany, isn't this something, yeah? We're out here just taking a stroll on a different planet for a change, and of all the people in the world - on the world - here you are."

Hey-ho? Seriously? But that wasn't what won him the jackass sweepstakes. No sir. It was this, as he kept on lip flapping: "That's something, really something. Isn't this something, Jade?" When he sat the set of Jade's jaw, and the way she shifted her weight as she slowly folded her arms across her chest and set him on fire with her eyes all over again, well that's when he knew he'd won the jackass sweepstakes. But when Jade replied, that confirmed he might have even won runner-up too.

"Oh it's something all right."

What could he even say to that, to either of them. So he was kicking gravel with his boot, cramming his hands into his pockets, and hoping some kind of sudden animal stampede would put him out of his misery. And then, he finally echoed helplessly, "Yeap, yeap. Sure is. Sure is something." Kill me now, he thought inwardly, before he blurted out in an obvious change of subject, "So how the hell are you, Epiphany?"

[Epiphany]

She was speechless. Absolutely speechless, and that wasn't something that happened very often. She still couldn't believe it was him, half expecting it to be some sort of illusion brought to life by her wild ideas - and she had quite a few. If this was Sean than the woman was.. was...

Epiphany gasped and took a step back, her hands coming up and clasping over her gaped mouth as she openly stared at Jade. Hearing of her was a lot different than seeing her in person. When you finally saw someone face to face all of the preconceived notions got tossed out the window and you had a real view. Jade was pretty, even if right now she looked angry enough to chew nails and spit fire. Or even skin the guy standing next to her.

This was when she started to get nervous. Why was she here? It had to be something serious if she was here. Why was she here? Yes, that thought seemed to stand out from the others at the moment.

Epiphany took a single backwards step as she pull her hand down from her mouth. It looked like she was about to say something, but her mouth closed before anything came out. This happened once more before she scrubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. "Sean! Why are you.. Why are you here? No." she held her hand out. "No don't answer that." She took a step to the side and tugged on her wrap again as she took a few deep breaths.

"Is he here? Is he....okay?" Her hands came together in front of her face and she bit down on her knuckles. Dusky eyes darting between the pair of them. Only then did she realize that Sean had asked her a question, but she was took busy looking around her. If he was here, surely she would know. Right?

It took her a moment but she tried to calm down, lowering her hands to her side. "Seriously freaked out and you don't want to hear my rant or let me keep talking ... . Please," looking up to the both of them. "Why are you here? Where's Damon?"

[Jade Stone]

[Far as the picture goes, Dominic is left, Jade center, Sean right. Felt like I should include Dominic too under this account, in case he ever passes through sometime.]

When you're like Sean and Jade were, and you had a history like they did, and you were at a certain point in that history like they happened to be, you were really good at certain things. Such as, say, having a huge balls-out argument telepathically where she was screaming like a banshee in his head and he was cycling through curse words like letters in the alphabet in hers. But the real talent of it was that none of that showed on their faces - Jade was still glaring at him. and Sean was still staring at Epiphany, and maybe Epiphany was none the wiser to what was going on. And good for her, if that was true and she was actually spared that little slice of the current reality.

Where it got harder, though, was when Epiphany stopped being speechless and started speaking. You try to listen to someone speaking at normal volume when you've got a banshee shrieking straight into your mind - see? It's not easy. Which is why a slight pained crease appeared in his brow when he had to follow the two of them talking at once. Sadly for him that animal stampede he'd wished for on about five or six of the stars up in this sky just wasn't coming, or was late, or...whatever... so was going to try giving this situation from hell a good ole college try and try to talk to the pair of them at the same time. It was Epiphany he spoke to aloud, of course. "Well...there's been - "

See how long that lasted? But it was because right then opportunity knocked, and Sean jumped right on it. Head snapping in Jade's direction his voice snapped at her too. Said loud and clear so Epiphany could hear it, just because he knew it would tick Jade off that she could, "Stomping off sounds like a great idea. You just make sure to keep exuding this temper-tantrum-ankle-biter-bitch-vibe you got going so I can find you nice and easy when I'm through here, you little sweetheart you. Ta ta."

Right after he said that an "Oof," burst from him, followed by a cough. He'd even doubled over slightly as he added a few more coughs to try to play it off like he just needed a lozenge of something. Instead of the reality, which was that Jade being so nice and all had just paid his ass back by giving him a nice telekinetic punch to the gut. Who says you can't get along with your exes, right? As he straightened up he turned his attention to Epiphany, but to his chagrin Jade actually spoke to Epiphany first:

"He's not here."

A sighed, "Thanks, Jade, thanks," was said to her back as he watched her walk off. But truth be told he'd never been so happy to see that back walking away from him before. Now he could relax. And try to finesse this nightmare situation into something a little bit better, more like just a bad dream maybe.

Wait. Bad dream. As he turned back to face the music with Epiphany, he realized this situation had a saving grace. Sean had the power to make her forget. That she's seen him, that she'd seen Jade, and maybe most importantly: that there was any small chance in hell that Damon was here, had been here, or would be here in the future. That saving grace would be tucked as a possibility in a corner of his mind during this whole conversation he'd have with Epiphany - so would the rationalization that based on his instructions to Sean and Dominic after he'd come back from this planet the last time, making her forget would be exactly what Damon wanted.

Sean cleared his throat and tried flashing his most Prince Charming smile. "Sorry. She's spitting venom at me," an index finger drew a circle around his own face to highlight his point, "Not you. She didn't want to help me in the first place."

[Epiphany]

To any passerby it may have appeared that the three of them were locked in some strange statue-esque staring contest. No one moved and there was barely any breathing - especially when you consider that only one of them really needed to breath in the first place. The three of them were simple 'there', standing still in the late night air.

Until Sean started to speak and Epiphany felt herself fill with anticipation for the words he might say. Just a few small words that he was in town, or not far behind, or even that he was lurking somewhere in the cool air, all things that may never be said. What Jade said was the reality.

"He's not here."

Those words hit hard, it was evident by the way her eyes opened wide and then almost fell closed. Sean was saying something then but Epiphany didn't seem to hear it, she was lost in her own thoughts. He wasn't here. She shouldn't have thought otherwise. Of course he wasn't here. Why would he be? It's been a little over a year and there had been that letter. She never should expect to see him again, but she always held out that bit of hope.

People fought, they argued, they may have even done unspeakable things to each other but, in books and stories, things always came back around in the end. This wasn't a book or a story and after how they parted she should never think that there would be a reconciliation. Yet she did. Stupidity on her part.

Epiphany's face was solemn and she thought about the object hidden under her skirts. Then she remembered bits of that conversation she heard. They were looking for him, why didn't they know where he was? "She's right Sean," Epiphany said slowly. "He's not here. He wouldn't come to me if he was." Sadness was in the undertone of her voice.

Tipping her head back up to sky she sighed. "Why are you here, Sean? Looking for him? I've tired so hard to not call him and even if I did, he probably wouldn't come." Then she looked away. Vampires. If she wasn't careful she was going to betray herself more than she already has.

Through it all, she was still curious. "He's not in trouble is he Sean?" Epiphany squeezed her eyes shut. No, she shouldn't think about him, but simply seeing Sean there and knowing why they were here, was enough to bring up thoughts and they went to the worst.

[Jade Stone]

What Epiphany said, how she reacted...Sean had a whole bunch of choices he could make now. He chose nonchalant but charming poker face. Taking the path of 'what she didn't figure out on her own wouldn't hurt her'. Let Epiphany think that he'd tracked her scent to this place that he or Dominic had never been to before, rather than what he thought was Damon's. That assumption would just be easier on everyone that way, as far as he was concerned. Okay, it would be easier on him. He'd stepped in it big time running into her, and he was looking for the easy out. Can't blame a guy for that, right?

So it was a choice to keep his answer in the present tense. By using the present tense, he wasn't lying. "No, he's not here," he agreed with a faint shrug. Blue eyes wandered, taking in the sky, trees, so on. As they wandered, he kept talking. Maybe it was a choice to look around instead of in her eyes while he spoke. And he was pointedly about to reply to her questions only, and none of her statements. 'He wouldn't come to me if he was'? C'mon. If he said anything in reply to that he'd be opening up the powder keg that was bipolar reality of female emotion. And he'd already opened up one powder keg today which had stomped off just a minute ago, so he wasn't looking to up his numbers.

A slow nod, his tone as casual as a wacky tacky tie day Friday. "Ah yeah, yeah. We've been looking for him. Trouble is, if he doesn't want to be found?" Another shrug. His blue eyes glanced at her briefly as he answered his own question. "Impossible." He wanted her to really hear that. Which is why he added, "Even if he was standing right behind you, right now. Neither one of us would know. Neither would she..." a nod off in the direction that Jade had stomped off. "...despite their...whatever their dysfunctional is."

That other question though. How the hell was he going to answer that? And the lag time, it was obvious. No way to hide the pause he was taking it before that. He said finally, looking off in the distance as if he had a reason for it, "I wouldn't waste my time chasing after my nemesis if there wasn't a reason for it."

[Epiphany]

"I remember the stories of Jade." Very simply put. Was it wrong to call them stories? Possibly, but what else was she to call it? It wasn't as if they had spent long hours talking over Jade. One of the stories she remembered was of Jade being very sick . . . On that thought she turned her head to look off at the direction of the walking Jade. She always did like the story of their, what did Sean call it, dysfunction?

This was no time to get lost in thought and memory of the things of yester-year. Those two were here for a purpose, and being that they hadn't found who they were looking for they might simply leave. Still. Sean had to know about her curious nature and she wasn't going to simply nod her head, wave, and send them off with a good humored 'goodbye'. Besides, Damon was in trouble, that's what he said in an off-handed type of way. That's why they were here.

Thinking about it she reached into the fold of her skirt with her right hand, inside the hidden pocket.
"And you believed him to be here. Or at least that I may be able to tell you where he is." Contemplative. Very contemplative. Sean might not have been trying to look at her, but she defiantly was looking at him in an analyzing way.

Pausing she pursed her lips together and took a step towards him.
"There's something else isn't there?" Looking all the world like a curious cat at a can of tuna.
"What trouble is he in and why would you think he was here?" Lingering effects of his blood might still have been in her system, but that couldn't have been enough to give the impression that he was here was it.

"Is it because of this?" From that hidden pocket in her skirt she pulled out the round, golden pocket watch. Held securely by the chain and left to dangle in the moonlight, Epiphany watched him closely.

[Jade Stone]

His mouth twisted briefly into something between a smirk and a smile. "Yeah, those." He remembered them too, course he did. At least he remembered how he was interpreting the word 'stories'. When he'd first met Jade, she was shoving paper and pen into his hand and telling him to write down his days with her, with Damon, with all of them. Like she was keeping some sort of collective diary. One that she authored, most of the time. He knew Damon had copies of them, because Sean had copies of them too. One of the others had made those copies when everyone thought she wasn't going to wake up, that she'd died, in the way that immortals could die at least. Those were the stories he thought Epiphany meant. Somehow the notion that she might have read them didn't surprise him at all.

But then? All those damned questions. Sean glanced skyward, picking a second handful of stars to wish that the stampede he'd wished for would hurry the hell up. He'd nearly forgotten this about Epiphany. The way she had. Of putting words, of thinking, of acting. She was calculating in a way that Jade never was. And that Damon had always been, at least ever since Sean had met him. No wonder, you know? No wonder. Like kind.

He borrowed some air, sighing it out and giving his head a little shake at the sky. Even if Dominic was here right now. But he was in a kingdom far far away, as the saying goes. Following a different lead. So he had to face these questions alone, and just hope to hell he was answering them right. 'Right'. Whatever that meant. He'd keep to his main strategy. Only answer the questions. Because statements were where they tricked you, women. By fooling you into answering statements. It was in the statements that they kept their tricks.

And just answer the question, don't add anything, he told himself. A little nod. Before he gave it a whirl. "He's in the kind of trouble where we need to make sure we're the ones who find him first." And that's not going so well, he added to himself. One of those little details he was making sure he didn't say aloud. And then he cheated, because she'd tried to answer her own question with that last question. So he'd only answer the last one, instead of the one before it. "No, it's not because of that. That's dead blood, been way too far away from him for way too long. For my purposes, at least." Of tracking him, he finished in his mind.

[Epiphany]

Epiphany continued to watch him, being still, trying to read past the facial expression and to all those things that he wasn't saying. Lucky for him she wasn't a mind reader, but she didn't have to be. He never answered the question on why he thought Damon was here. Though he had said something interesting about the watch.

"For your purposes, but not for someone else. Isn't that right?" She seemed to say it with a smile, maybe from an unknown personal victory of some sort. Epiphany slightly relaxed her hold on the chain and looked at the watch fondly. This watch shouldn't be on her, she should have let it stay were that cat had taken it and left it there until all memory of him was gone. That may have taken an eternity and besides, it wasn't something that she wanted.

As she stood there she felt her heart rate increasing. Maybe because she was cold, or maybe it as for what she was going to say. "You two are not the only ones looking for him. Did he go against an order, refuse to do what he was told?" He always did do the things he wanted to do when it suited him. She slipped her item back to it's place.

"Tell me Sean. Tell me who else is after him and why. The reason for this chase, and I may help you." Could she help them find him? Anything was worth a shot.

[Jade Stone]

He shook his head, a smirk curling the corners of his lips. The headshake wasn't in answer to anything she said, it was just a head shake. An 'I'll be damned' kind of deal. A long sigh through his nostrils, and he stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his black pants. Not because they were cold, but maybe because he suspected he might as well settle in. That this conversation wasn't going to end soon. He even leaned his back against the tree just behind him.

"Epiphany, if we needed his blood to try some hocus pocus summoning bullsh-t we've got a bottle of it back home. I wouldn't come all the way out here looking for a couple drops in a glorified locket." That he was an idiot giving to you in the first place. He didn't say that out loud, but...there might have been a hint of that thought in the way he was looking at her. It was obvious by what he said what his feelings were on hocus pocus. Which was that it was just hocus pocus. So to him, there was no reason to try to take that watch from her.

He lifted his brow, right after her heartbeat quickened. Of course he could hear it, and he assumed she knew he could hear it. She was one of Damon's pupils, after all. He was not about to underestimate what she knew. He'd stick to answering the questions, and not the statements. "The only order the pompous ass went against was disappearing like this without a trace because he feels like it. No one is after him yet. But it's coming." We think. "So I shouldn't leave her alone for long."

A nod off in the direction that Jade had stalked off. He wasn't just saying that as an excuse to make an exit. There was a look on his face, as he stared off that way. His eyes slowly looking around. He senses were peeled, just like he'd told Jade to do earlier. And he wasn't just listening for traces of Damon.

[Epiphany]

"You still haven't told me why you thought he was here." It was a snide remark, at least that's what it sounded like. There was even a slight huff at the end. He was looking at her and for a moment or two she simply said nothing, only looked back at him. It wasn't a hard stare, but it wasn't calming her down any either.

Therefore she turned away from him, pulling that thick brown wrap off her shoulders and making a show of straightening it out. "Why don't you all simply leave him alone? If he left then he must have had good reason too." Which were...? "No one wants to give an accounting for everywhere they go. They want to be free to go where they want, whenever they want, and, and, and do whatever it is they feel like doing without having someone standing over their shoulders." She got caught on a small rant and wasn't even aware that she had gotten into a small pace and had wrapped and unwrapped her wrap a few times now.

She had to calm down. It did no good getting worked up over something. Stopping she pressed the palm of her hand between her eyes. "Maybe...maybe he just had to get away for a while. Disappear." Epiphany took her hand down and simply removed the wrapping all together, feeling slightly better. She didn't need it now, she was warm enough to not be cold and the collar of her shirt covered her neck to under her chin, so she was 'safe'.

"Haven't you ever just wanted to disappear?" The question was asked in a very sincere manner. "What if he does come here?" What if he did? Would she tell him they were looking for him? That was something to consider. Maybe that answer all depended on the circumstances. "Would he have to go back?"

[Jade Stone]

Bang up shot his eyebrow. Right after that huff of hers. While she kept talking he pushed away from the tree. And while she kept talking he was taking a slow step or three toward her. And while she kept talking, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms across his chest. The whole series of moves had an air of 'do you really want to pick a fight with me?' It was good for her that she started pacing like that.

He was adopting a new tactic now. Only answering whatever he felt like, in whatever order that he felt like it. Because seriously, he didn't have to answer to her. And as all three of them agreed on earlier, Damon wasn't here. And from the way she kept getting worked up every couple of minutes and what she'd asked and told Sean so far, it was obvious she hadn't seen Damon lately. So she was a dead end. You didn't have to play nice with a dead end if you didn't feel like it. Only nice guys bothered with that. Sean was a nice guy a solid 70, 80 percent of the time. When his mood lined up with the rest of those percentage points he could be a real sonofabitch.

"I already disappeared. A hundred and twenty-seven years ago. When you're a vampire, Epiphany, there's no need to disappear. Because you've already done all you needed to do to become absolutely invisible." She might've asked that sincerely, but Sean's mood had turned thanks to her little rant. He was officially tired dealing with emotional women. So what she got back from him was matter-of-fact. His blue eyes were steely as he stared her down. They weren't tempting black pits like Damon's eyes were, but you could get lost in them just the same. They had that same power.

And he switched tactics again. Just shooting questions back at her. Turning the tables. "What if he doesn't come here? What if he doesn't even know here exists? What if he's on some nude beach in the Mediterranean saying smooth charming words into sexy ear after ear after ear? Better yet what if he's dead already, and that's why we can't find him? Would you still be fixated on whether or not he'll drop by your doorstep then, or would you actually acknowledge that he's gone?" Yeap, definitely the other 20 - 30 percent of Sean talking now.

He shook his head, stepping in closer to her. "But, I'll be a nice guy. I'll do like you asked, I'll leave him alone. Let him disappear. I'll go back to St. Louis, call off the calvary, and we can put our efforts into the cause that I've said the moment that all this danger started was far more worthwhile. Protecting Jade, and everyone else."

[Epiphany]

If Epiphany had been one of those over sensitive, highly emotional who were quick to react, or acted without much thought, people then she probably would have slapped Sean when he got close to her. Suggesting that Damon was dead. Preposterous.

Thankfully she wasn't that type of person. Hard headed, stubborn, crazy, but she wasn't suicidal and you didn't hit a vampire unless you were prepared. Epiphany stared back at Sean and set her jaw. She wasn't going to say anything. She wasn't going to say anything until she calmed down and had sense. She wasn't a vampire, she hasn't had hundreds of years to learn everlasting patience and whatever else came along with it.

"Look. Sean. I'm sorry. It's been a long day." Yes, she had just apologized and was being truthful about it. "I didn't mean to disrespect you...or the reason why you're here." That last bit was said a bit more slowly and there were a couple of reasons for that. One was because she didn't know if she was wording the apology right, and the second was because she had been staring into his eyes this entire time and she was beginning to feel slightly light-headed.

A hard blink and a quick shake of her head to help her get back to the present and deflate her head. "Protect Jade." Protect Jade? What did she need protection from? Epiphany even lowered her head an inch. Only an inch.

"If you still want it, or if I can help, I will." Why? Because he had mentioned that it was a matter of protecting people. Not only Jade, but the 'everyone else'.

[Jade Stone]

Little secret: Sean had tacked on that "everyone else" just so it wouldn't look like he was Jade's number one lap dog, still walking a couple steps behind her on a daily basis just to make sure she didn't fall. That Epiphany took him literally, well that was even better for him. Because if she hadn't noticed, patience was something Sean had in short supply as well. He was one of the shorter fuses in his circle, if his buttons got pushed.

And Damon was a man who sure pushed those buttons. A LOT. Epiphany was hopefully not forgetting that while they were chatting it up. Sean and Damon were not friends. Not even close. To Sean, Damon was at best a necessary evil that he barely managed to tolerate.

Even after Epiphany dropped her eyes, Sean's continued stare at her nice and steadfast. His next move was fast. Way beyond human fast. In a blink's time he was standing just an inch or two away from her and her chin was cupped in his hand. How many times while he was dating Jade had he caught Damon doing this move with her? Enough to know that this choice hold was something Epiphany was probably familiar with, too. This choice hold also had a purpose though. It would make it easier for him to lock eyes with Epiphany, and make it a bit more challenging for her to look away.

"You want to help?" He was leaning on the power his voice could have, which was not common with Sean. But when it was necessary, he sure as hell leaned on it, you better believe it. "You really want to help? Then don't let him come back here, Epiphany. And if he does come here, then yeah he'll have to come back. And you'll have to be the one sending him home. You and I both know you'll never be able to do it, though. But thanks anyway. You have yourself a good one. It's been real."

Real what? Well that would be one of those things he left spoken only in his mind. If she hadn't pulled away already, he released her chin and broke eye contact with her, turning in the direction Jade had gone off in. It was time to deal with the other irrational female in his life today.

[Epiphany]

How dare he. How dare he even think of getting that close to her and touch her in such a manner. He was so close that she could feel the breath of his words on her skin and those eyes piercing right through her. Epiphany wasn't scared, maybe a tiny bit intimidated, but not scared. Angry? Oh yes. She had anger boiling in the pit of her stomach and it was good. It helped her to be able to focus. It also made her want to impale him on the nearest tree branch. Or snap off his fingers. Whichever was easier.

She was angry because it was true. If she honestly did want to help then she would have to tell him to leave. Or at least make contact so people knew where he was. What were the chances of that happening? She tried to meet his stare, and she thought she did a fair enough job of it even if she had to constantly tell herself to not look away or close her eyes.

When Sean moved away she fought the urge not to snap at his hand but lost. Luckily she didn't snap her teeth until after he had already moved away. Again, she was no suicidal. One thing she couldn't stop her foot kicking the ground before her, a pebble or two getting hit in the process. She most defiantly wasn't cold now.

His back was to her, and her back was to him. Just thinking about the whole thing was frustrating. The old saying "hot under the the collar" was a slight understatement. Taking a step, and then another, she undid the first few buttons of her collar, pulling hard enough that a button broke off in her hand. She needed to start walking. She needed to do something.

There was that button in her hand. The size of pebble, oval, covered with white fabric. She contemplated, pondered over it, and then decided that she should. It might not even hit. With that button in hand she turned and chucked it at the back of his head.

Men. Vampires.

After that she turned back around.

[Jade Stone]

[ Couldn't resist this. ]

Sean knew those looks, that kind of tension in the muscles, that struggle to keep still. He knew it well - she was angry. Angry enough that he could almost literally taste it as he started to walk off. He could sure as hell smell it in the air, mingling with the scent of her unshed blood and the natural sweetness of her female body. And do you know what it smelled like?

Satisfaction.

Dealing with two friggin bat-sh-t crazy women all night, it was just pure bliss knowing that he left one of them fuming in her panties. It put a bit of strum in his stride as he set off to go find the other one and hopefully give Jade a taste of the same. Because enough was enough. He tried to be a nice guy, he really did, but he was only going to put up with so much.

So when he was a short ways down the road from her and he heard the distant sound of rocks kicked across the cobblestone? Man the bastard grin it brought to his face. But it was what she threw - which sailed past him to his left at about waist level before it smacked the stones just in front of him - that prompted him to laugh. One nasty hoot. And it prompted him to yell this, loud and clear, just before he disappeared completely: "Hey, Epiphany! Honestly? He was here. Guess he saw no reason to stick around."

If she turned around, she'd see Sean was gone.

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