On the Hunt

"Mm..how about a large...triple berry with a splash of orange?" The brunette with incredibly long hair and silver eyes leaned against the counter, the Florida sun shining in the window and hitting her skin. Gods, that felt divine. The last mission had been in northern Minnesota. In freaking January. She was so happy when she heard the next one would be here. She'd even bought the khaki capris and green tank top just for the occasion. "Thank you," she put some cash on the counter before taking her smoothie outside with her. The first sip made her eyelids flutter and a small happy groan escaped.

Going down the sidewalk, she stepped into one of the outdoor malls. Her prey this time liked to go after middle school aged girls, but not just any girls. It went after something called an "Otaku." To hunt your prey, you had to learn about what it considered prey. She'd heard there was some kind of Japanese comic store here and was checking it out.

Inside that very store, was a person Ellie probably thought, and hoped, to never see again, though she looked a bit different. More lighthearted than she once was, and not wearing all dark colors. Tiamat "Tiara" Pandra was humming to herself while browsing the shelves, picking out manga that she was interested in. She'd only met Ellie briefly, so did not immediately recognize the approaching energy, so payed it no mind.

Ellie walked the aisles, bemused by the odd hairstyles and clothing she saw on some of the young customers. Who knew wearing fake dog ears was so popular? "Now that. Is not possible," she said aloud to herself as she angled her head to stare at a large poster depicting some...she supposed it was a band of warriors...but just what the frigg was that guy holding? She froze, about to shake her head at it when she felt a familiar presence. Her senses went on high alert and muscles made ready for a fight before she even recognized it. Then she turned, spotted the cause of her distress, and her world went red.

Tiamat. Ti-a-**-mat. Several years ago she'd run across this woman, dressed much more goth than now, and had been contracted to slay a dragon. That adventure led to her learning, among other things, the true murderer of her little Yngvar.

Tiara continued to hum to herself softly as she browsed, then glanced off to the side. And blinked, seeing Ellie. She turned to her, and cocked her head to the side in confusion. Why did she get the feeling she recognized this woman? "...Um... do I... know you?" The way the woman was staring at her made her think they knew each other.

Rage and hate emanated from her every pore as Ellie glared at the woman talking to her. It took every ounce of her will not to attack her in the middle of the store. "You fucking bitch," her voice was a low growl barely above a whisper, "you murdered my son. What are you doing here? Are you the one killing all these Otaku kids?" Her hand twitched as she kept herself from summoning Frigghild.

Tiara's eyes went wide at Ellie's first words, getting even wider as she continued. "I... wh-what? I don't... I didn't... I'm not..." Then, it sank in. "....Oh... oh no..." She slumped, realizing that this woman was a victim of 'The Dark Days' as she called them. Everything from that time was fuzzy at best. She bit her lip, and looked away. "...What did I do?"

Tiamat's reaction just confused Ellie, making her angrier. "What do you mean, what did you do? You led a fucking army, slaughtered thousands, took blood tributes. How can you not know what you did!?" Her voice was raising. Although no one could understand the words being spoken, they eyed the women and shied away from the rage in Ellie's form.

Tiara flinched at Ellie's words, her grip on the books in her hands tightening as her body tensed. "I... I'm sorry, I... I don't... I don't remember.... it's all fuzzy, I... I know I did horrible things, but I can't remember..." She didn't know what to say. Apparently, because of her, this woman's son had died. What could she say to that?

Ellie snapped, surging forward and grabbing hold of the other woman by the collar of her dress. "It was once just my job to kill you. Then I was once promised the chance to help kill you, but circumstances cha--" the humans in the shop started exclaiming, the store manager giving a shout from the other end of the room. Ellie saw him marching towards them. "I'm Hjodis, daughter of Zosime the Exiled, and you will die. Lucky for you, not today," with that she pushed the other woman back before running out of the store. She moved so fast that the humans were confused, thinking she'd just disappeared, and stood staring at Tiara.

Ellie kept running, so angry she thought she was going to explode as her magic surged in her veins ready and eager to be called upon. Tiamat, here in the very city she had to work in. It had to be Tiamat, she'd recognized her own name and acknowledged she'd done horrible things, but what the hell had happened to the psycho? Ellie didn't stop until she'd left the city and collapsed to her knees in under the shade of the everglade trees.

There was a long silence from Tiara after Ellie left... until things clicked into place. Hjodis. She knew that name. She KNEW that name, and the name caused a burning sensation in her chest. Anger. Anger was eating it's way through the crippling guilt she felt, and she set her books back on the shelf, and calmly left the store, disappearing once out of sight. She arrived shortly after, right behind Ellie, staring at her.

"...Ellie. That's the name you went by. You're the woman that was with my brother... and my niece and nephew. You're the one they told me about..."

Ellie leapt to her feet, cursing herself for not having expected pursuit. Her brows flew up at the mention of Tiamat's brother and his children. It'd been five years since she'd last seen any of them and their mention was an icy punch to the gut. She felt her other form call to her, wanting to flee, but she didn't. "They...talk to you now?" Ellie kept a good distance between them, watching the other woman warily. Light thunder sounded and the sky started to fill with clouds -- her state of mind affecting the environment.

Tiara just stared at Ellie, a conflicted look on her face. Anger, guilt, and confusion showed in her eyes. "..Yes. For three years now. I'm told Bahara came to kill me... for you. Shortly after you left them. And I nearly killed him. But Father was woken up by our fight... and he... he somehow... he fixed me...." She went silent for a long moment, fist clenching.

"I... did horrible things after I lost my mind... I can't remember it all, just flashes... Bahara said that because of me, you lost your son... nothing I say can ever make that right. I won't even try to convince you not to hate me. I deserve your hate... but... why? Why did you leave them? Why did you just leave them without a word?"

Ellie listened and remained silent a long time after Tiara's speech, not sure what to say or do, but remaining frozen just the same. Finally she looked up and met the dragon's gaze, just as the skies ripped open to drench them. "I hate you. I can believe you've been 'healed' as you say, for you stand before me without growing scale and trying to filet me where I stand. And I can understand that, if it be true you're healed, you would hate me as well. I did..." Her gut twisted, thinking about how Tiara said Bahara had nearly died. "...I can't tell you why I left. Nor can I tell them. I just...I can't go back. Now I've been gone so long, and I know I hurt them..." Her mind flashed an image of the hurt on Bahara's face from the last fight they'd had and she was glad her face was already wet with the rain. "Don't tell them you saw me."

Tiara's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. "I can't do that. I won't lie to him, and he'll know something happened. Even if that wasn't the case... he'd be able to smell you on me. He'll know you were here. He'll track you down." She looked up toward the sky, closing her eyes. She'd been 'reborn' on a rainy day... she felt it was if the rain washed away all those centuries of pain. She loved rain now, it soothed her.

"...If you have even an ounce of respect for my brother... if you care about him, and Kala, and Virgil... if you care at all, you won't make him track you down. You'll tell them why you left. Why you made the decision to be the third woman in his life to rip his heart out. Explain to Kala and Virgil why the woman they saw as their true mother abandoned them without a word." She looked at Ellie blankly. "...I'd hoped you were dead. I'd hoped you were dead, and that was why you didn't come back to them... you're as bad as Lorna was... you hurt them just as badly as she ever did... but worse than that, you dangled happiness in front of them first... at least Lorna never got their hopes up... at least Lorna gave them a reason why, poor as it was...." She closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"You're not as bad as I am... but at least I'll face the people I hurt. At least I'm not a coward. You'll never forgive me for what I've done. I'll never forgive myself. At least I can say I never ran away from my responsibilities to the people I hurt, the people I love."

Ellie felt each word from Tiara strike her worse than a physical blow. It hurt, but she knew she deserved for it to hurt. Shame gnawed at her stomach, and she let herself collapse, sitting her ass on the wet ground. She wasn't looking at Tiara anymore, her eyes not really seeing anything anyways. She was crying openly. "I deserve that. I know I do. Tell me where they are and I'll go back and speak with them, if they'll allow it. But only..." Now she did turn her head back to her, watching Tiara's every movement, "Only if you really think my coming back won't just rip them new wounds. If they've been moving on, I want them to continue to. I won't disrupt their lives."

Tiara's face twisted in pain, and she looked away. "...Bahara... keeps saying that he's sure you'll return one day. He fully believes that if it was within your power to return, you would; you're just being waylaid. Kala and Virgil hold their hope on that, but they know. They knew you were never coming back... and Bahara is just in denial. It will hurt them, Ellie. It will hurt them to know the truth... but the not knowing... it's far worse... leaving them is one thing... but the cruelest thing you've done, was to never tell them why. To never reassure them that you hadn't been taken and killed, or worse. You've let them live for five years without closure. They don't know whether to mourn your death, pray for your safe return... or curse your name. There is nothing worse than to simply not know, because the mind can supply far worse answers than the truth."

Ellie nodded, "I'll go." Something inside screamed not to, that seeing them and telling them what truth she could would be nothing but pain for all of them. But she knew she had to. "Do they still live in the same place?" She stood wearily, feeling like she'd been beat to shit and knowing worse was to come.

Tiara shook her head. "No. They live in this city now. Myself and Bahara bought some properties here, are laying low and pretending to be more... normal, than we are. People with powers and the like are more accepted these days, but still. Bahara is working at the shop right now, and I'm supposed to meet Kala and Virgil at the grocery store in thirty minutes. Bahara will be home in two hours. So... what are you going to do?"

Of course in all the cities in the world, she had to have a job in the one they'd moved to. "Go to my motel, shower, change. Then...I'm not sure if I should see them all at once. If they'd want me at their house. The kids...they'll scent me on you." She eyed Tiara, "I'll do what you think is best. I trust you just enough to know you'd know better on this. Should I meet them seperately?"

Tiara paused, thinking that over. "...I... I believe so. It will be easier on everyone. I'm going to trust that you won't run away, that you'll keep your word... but for extra incentive... if you keep your word and show up, and actually talk to them all... then you and me can go somewhere, and you can take out your hatred on me. I'll make sure they don't find out you did it."

Ellie stared, "By Yngvar, I'll be there."

****

Thinking it over as she drove, there was still part of her that wished she hadn't sworn by her son. That she could just drive away. But she wouldn't. She was heading to the house Bahara and the kids lived in now, having gotten directions from Tiara earlier. Finally, she parked her blue Rav 4 on the street, double checking the address on the mailbox. Ellie froze with her hands on the wheel for several minutes before finally walking up to the door. She changed into her more usual jeans, band t-shirt, and jean jacket after her shower--feeling more covered somehow helped. Taking a ragged breath, she knocked on the door.

When Tiara had met up with Kala and Virgil, she'd expected them to recognize Ellie's scent on her. What she had not expected, was for them to pick it up immediately, and for Kala to grab her by her collar and shake her desperately, demanding to know where Ellie was.

"...She's going to meet us at the house, to talk to you guys until Bahara gets there. Then she'll talk to him." She said this while smiling, but Kala just stared at her. It was Virgil who spoke up in a bitter tone.

"...So she did abandon us after all...." Tiara closed her eyes at that, and sighed.

"It's not my place to say. I don't know where she's been or why."

"But you know something!" Kala shook her again. "You always know something! Tell us what it is!"

"...She still loves you. And she hates herself for not being here. Now... we have groceries to buy." Tiara hurried along, not wanting to look into their pained faces anymore.

~~~~~

When Ellie had knocked on the door, it flung open a moment later, and Kala was standing in the doorway. She simply stared at Ellie for a long moment, then grit her teeth, squeezing her watering eyes shut. "...Come in..."

When she did, she'd find Virgil sitting on the couch, staring at the fireplace, and Tiara sitting next to him, watching him with naked concern.

Ellie felt the first blow of the evening when she saw Kala's watering eyes. She couldn't speak, and didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and wiped her shoes on the mat before following her into the living room. She scanned the place, as was her warrior's habit, before she sat lightly in an armchair. Her gaze went over Kala and Virgil, not believing how much they'd grown. Hell, they were adults now and she'd missed it all...

Virgil's non-response chilled her. "I..." She paused, "I'm sorry I left without telling you and for the shit it, no I, put you through." Somehow, apologizing made her feel like more of an ass. Like an apology would really help. "That's probably not what you want to hear, or at least--I know a simple apology won't be enough and nothing will. So, I'll tell you as much as I can." Her eyes went back and forth between the siblings, trying to gauge them before she continued. Ellie would have to ignore Tiara being there for now. If they hadn't told their aunt to leave then she certainly wasn't going to.

Ellie didn't have to tell Tiara to leave. Once Ellie had sat down, and Kala and Virgil were simply waiting for her to continue, Tiara stood. "I'll step outside for now. This isn't my business."

"No." Virgil spoke up, not taking his eyes off of Ellie. "No, stay. It is your business. This is family business." Tiara bit her lip, and then sat back down, placing her hands in her lap.

"Very well..."

Ellie flinched. She understood the meaning behind Virgil's request. Both the kids had learned the story of how she'd lost Yngvar. Her hands twisted in her lap. "That day in December 2006, when the two of you were at classes and your father had left, Saskia summoned me. She came herself, instead of sending one of the others like normal. I had to go with her." She didn't know how much they understood about her screwed up family, but resolved once again to explain as much as she could if needed. "There was a mission, and I can't tell you about that," she knew the next was going to be her killing blow, "and it ended June 25, 2008, when I woke up alone in some backwater motel in Wyoming."