Alphas

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Rosalie returned Arianna's wave as she listened to Nick on the other end. He was giving her orders which she did not like. Sure she wouldn't let anyone else in, but she would have done that without being told to. That was just common sense. As for his other demand, to check in on the others... Well she was too curious not to. So he lucked out there for surely she'd make him pay once she saw him again. He would know how it felt to be bossed around.

Once she hung up Rosalie opened a new message, making it out to Teagan and Vergil. Why call when you can just text? It was much easier and faster than talking to each of them on the phone.

As she typed she read it aloud to Arianna (changing a few words to make seem like she was talking to just her), making eye contact so the other girl would know she was being addressed.

Then, after clicking send, she noticed a message from Thallen so she sent a reply.

Going out of her way to help another wasn't her thing but Thallen had been shot. Even she couldn't ignore that fact and let her wheel or limp all the way to the bar. And even though she did not own a car obtaining one had always been rather easy.

 

Ash was dumbfounded. Rosalie...Rosalie...it was a name he'd effortlessly managed to slip into his sentences and make it sound like a name he knew all his life. Since Ash had no face to put with the name, it danced in his head and a confused and worried expression slid over his features. "W-wait a minute...I don't...I don't know who Rosalie is. Why did you even mention me to her?!" His worry vanished in the blink of an eye and slowly he slid out of the car, holding the door open as he stood there, "You said...these Red Flag people know we're different..." Slowly...very slowly, Ash removed his hand from around Sandy's thin trunk and curled it into a fist, "If you don't like it then why not take care of them! You should've taken them out of the picture the second you knew that they know we're different!" Ash's anger came to boiling the more he thought about these mysterious people who apparently had visited each of the names Nick had rattled off. If those names were people like him...weren't they Nick's friends? His blue eyes narrowed into sharp slits of blue ice and he slammed the passenger door shut harder than needed. Heading off towards the park, Ash's anger turned to murderous intent. "I'll find those people..whoever they are...they won't know a thing when I'm through with them." But how? He couldn't just walk down the street and ask every single person he passed if they were apart of Red Flag...it would make him look insane...and suspicious.

Anger gave way to numb irritation and he found a sunny spot to plant Sandy. Kneeling on the grass, Ash let go of the remaining anger and sighed, "This'll be your new home, Sandy. Cindy's going to miss you...and me too... But I'll come visit you every day." Setting aside the small lemon tree, he shoved his fingers into the earth and carved out a decent sized hole and gently plopped Sandy's roots inside. Surrounding her with the extra dirt, Ash sniffed, "Damn...I don't like goodbyes." Feeling a pressing thirst he knew far too well, Ash reached off to his right for the jug of milk he carried with him.... His hand closed on empty air three times before he glanced over and found his dairy product gone. 'Uh-oh...' he thought with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was why he didn't like cars.... He must've left it on the floor of Nick's car. And Ash was willing to bet that same jug that Nick wouldn't notice it until he was long gone. Resigning himself to his sorrow over Sandy, he pulled out the pack of 36 individually wrapped slices of cheddar cheese from his back pocket and started to unwrap each and devour the yellow dairy goodness before his pressing craving for dairy could drive him over the edge.

 

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[OOC: I hate fickle bitchez]

Thallen had continued rolling down the street in her wheelchair when her phone beeped. She pressed down on the little break bar and picked it up. It was a reply from Rosalie.

She smiled at the message. It was nothing particularly special, but it did lift her spirits ever so slightly.

Thallen set the phone back down in her lap and continued down the sidewalks for a few more minutes.

She didn't want to bother any of the others with picking her up, and she was honestly almost there. The bar was only a couple blocks away. It was nothing she couldn't roll to. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was streaked with tears. Thallen did her best to clean up her face before approaching the brick building on the corner. She took one deep breath before knocking on the wooden door. Her head still throbbed and she desperately wished that that perscription had been filled. She had come to the resolute decision that she would not call Nick tonight after all. If she even went home tonight, she would most definitely not be settled. He was sweet, but she could do without the chivalry and heroics.

 

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After receiving Thallen's reply Rosalie pocketed her cell as she grabbed a few glasses to set on the counter, just in case Ari wanted to drink as well and if anyone else was coming over. She tried not to drink herself, as it was so easy for her to succumb to addictions, but after everything she figured just one glass would not hurt. So she poured a shot of tequila, downing it once the bottle was put down. And despite not trying this was hardly her first glass. But it has been a while so she took a moment for the taste to pass. Maybe she would buy more aged drinks, for the smoother tastes... It was easier to handle after all.

Either way there was soon a knock on the door so she had to move to open it. She felt a bit rash for not checking after Red Flag's visit but the habit of doing everything the opposite of what she was told overpowered her common sense. Luckily it was just Thallen.

Stepping aside with a lazy smile she made way for the girl to wheel in while holding the door open. "Welcome to the party," she said with a small laugh. If it really were one this would have to be the lamest party of all time. "What drink is it?"

 

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The door swung open and Thallen peered up into the almond-shaped eyes of Rosalie. Stepping aside with a lazy smile, Rosalie made way for her to wheel in while holding the door open. "Welcome to the party," she said with a small laugh. "What drink is it?"

Even with how ****** she felt, Rosalie seemed to immediately lift her spirits. She smiled up at her and once inside, pulled herself out of the wheelchair. Her green eyes darted to the bar and a stupid grin crossed her face at the sight of the tequila bottle ready and waiting. "I do believe that will do my dear." she said laughing lightly. Thallen took a seat on one of the stools--hopefully not transformed by Teegan--and rested her arms on the table. She glanced over to Arianna beside her and flashed a bright grin through her headache. "Hey there Ari." A little drinking would do wonders not only for her spirits but it would also dull all the pain radiating inside her. She swiped the glass bottle off the counter and began to nurse from it like a baby bottle.

When she finally set it down, her head was spinning and her cheeks flushed. Her whole body felt warm and tingly. Yup, that did the trick. "So..." she started before setting her elbows down on the table and resting her chin on her hands. Thallen looked the younger in the eyes and sighed. "Nick call you?" she asked, a bit dizzy.

 

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ooc: let's pretend this is a little while later... just a little.​

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Teagan was in her workshop again, but this time she wasn't working on anything.​

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She was lying down on the floor humming a tune, or at least it was supposed to be a tune. Teagan sat up sloppily and slurred out, "Siiimoon, not right now siiiimon..."​

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She stood up giggling and held onto the desk and looked at a picture of her and her younger brother. She smiled as she remembered that day. It was her brother's birthday and he had fallen and hurt himself at that moment, and for some reason the rest of the birthday he just could not stop crying... or maybe that wasn't how the story went... she had no idea.​

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"Somewhere... out there.... it's twoooo peee eeemmm...."​

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She heard a beep on her blue phone and quickly leaped over to see what it was. She raised an eyebrow at Rosalie's text and giggled to herself. She took another swig of the bottle of plum wine she had on the workbench and she placed it down.​

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She giggled and grabbed the bottle of wine and took a sip again and found herself slipping onto the ground. She laughed as she layed down on the ground.​

 

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Ari smiled at Rosalie while she waited patiently for her to come off the phone but as soon as she did she asked about Red Flag. Had everyone been approached? She'd assumed it was just her before. That was an interesting turn of events. "Oh, um yes I was approached, I think they want all of us to join them, well I think they want all alphas to join them, not just us. They probably just found out about us due to the robbery though I don't know how they found us." She said, pausing as Thallen knocked on the door and was let in. "Hey Thallen" She returned the girl's grin but made sure to keep a healthy distance away when she started drinking, she was not in a rush to be made drunk again. As for Thallen's question, she shook her head but she suspected that might be who Rosalie had just been on the phone to.

"Anyway, according to the girl who talked to me, Red Flag is an organisation that works for Alpha's rights, they want to go public with their abilities but apparently some people are trying to keep our existence a secret. Or something like that. Also..uhmm..." She trailed off as she tried to figure out if she should tell them about what else they'd said. It would mean explaining her memory problem to them, which she supposed she'd have to tell them anyway but she still felt uncomfortable talking about it. admitting her weakness.

 

As Vergil made his way towards the bar, he felt his phone vibrate. When he went to go check the cause he saw that he'd gotten a message from Rosalie.

So his hunch was right, they too were contacted by someone form Red Flag. That would certainly make things easier when he got their, still he typed his reply

With his response sent, all that was left was actually getting to the bar, fortunately he wasn't too far so it would take him too long to show up.

 

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Rosalie decided to take a seat instead of returning behind the counter, picking a stool with empty spaces on either side. This left enough room for her to take out her cell without her elbows hitting Thallen when it rang. The text from Teagan read like a drunken one so asking her about it would be saved for later. Then Vergil's had him near by so she could just wait for him to get here.

When she put it back Thallen had addressed her. "Yeah, called shortly before you got here. Had Ash with him... Told him someone from Red Flag was here, too."

She went back to Arianna's words, having thought about them little up until now with the arrival of Thallen distracting her. So they wished for Alphas to join them... Well, if all followed Ross' recruitment tactic of not even explaining things then it had to be a small group. Luckily for them whoever had spoken to Ari was more helpful.

"So, Alphas' rights?" She scoffed. It wasn't a bad purist but from personal experience she believed that normal humans would not accept them no matter how hard they tried. What a foolish group.

Rosalie excepted for Ari to say more but when nothing else was stated she gave her a confused glance. "Also?"

 

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Ari shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she looked at them, she'd have to tell them eventually so she figured she might as well now. Still, that didn't help how uncomfortable she felt. Taking a deep breath, she started, "Um, well I guess I really should explain something for this to make sense. I'd rather you didn't spread this. Do you remember that I said I had really bad memory? Well that was a bit of an understatement. My Alpha ability comes with a serious side effect, I can only remember anything for 30 days, after that I forget everything. And I mean everything, all my memories, people, places, conversations, experiences, all gone. I can only ever remember the last 30 days. I can't remember my past, my childhood, who I was, I have no idea. In about two weeks I'll completely forget the bank robbery, that's how it works. I can try to piece together clues and read things I've done but I don't remember it. It's ruined my life, you have no idea what it's like." Her eyes watered a little as she felt emotional, but she paused to get herself together. "Sorry."

She looked the two girls as she regained her composure, "Anyway, when the girl from Red Flag approached me, she already knew about my memory issues but more than that, she said I used to work for Red Flag with her but I left. I don't know if that's true or not. I can't remember. It's entirely possible that I did and forgot but I don't know why I left. But also if they knew about my ability, they could be lying, I have no way of knowing. Do you see how frustrating it is? She asked me to rejoin and if I did work there, that might give me answers about my past life. But I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." She shook her head and sat down. She didn't know how they would react to her admitting that, Ari just hoped they didn't think any worse of her for it.

 

Just as Vergil had said in the text, it didn't take him long until he reached the bar. When he got in, he saw that Ari and Thallen were already there, Nick wasn't there as far as he could tell. Still it didn't matter too much. "Hey guys." He announced.

 

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So far, she was enjoying her "girl's night." It hadn't meant to be that way, it just worked out in a sense. Thallen greedily kept the bottle to herself, which was probably going to make a bad impression since Rosalie had to pay for it all. She and Ari were conversing back and forth about some organization called red flag. That Vincent guy must have been a member of it. Thallen took another long pull off of the tequila bottle. Her whole body felt warm and tingly. She squinted her eyes at Ari as she began to dive into a confession of some sort. After she apologized, Thallen opened her mouth to console her. she had meant to say, "that's rough buddy," but it came out more like thasss ruphuh bud-dee. She slurred her words and then Ari continued.

Thallen hiccuped and giggled. Her cheeks were a rosy red and her eyes still puffy. She set a hand down on Ari's and gave her a lazy grin. "Weee all have ow-er downsssidez with ow-er gifffss." She hiccuped again as the door opened. Thallen waved and replied with a hello back to Vergil. Her green-eyed gaze drifted back to Ari and extracted the girl's negative emotions. She smiled sadly as it made the sting from her ex ripping away her daughter that much worse. "Does it feeel right?" She asked the girl. "Thar are two diff'rent types of mem-oh-eez--mental and physss....physical. what yer mine doesn't alwayss member, yer body does.."

 

Ash curled his hand closed and opened it again, frowning at the slowly healing puncture wounds from Sandy's thorns. They were small but so sharp. How he hadn't noticed it before completely flew over his head. Pushing himself up from the ground, he waved to Sandy and turned to leave. "I'll see you soon, Sandy. I'll even bring Cindy with next time." He had only taken a few steps away from her when he heard that heartbreaking, short snap from behind him and an annoyed male voice following the sound that would ruin his life. "Oh, wow...how annoying. What idiot shoves a twig into the ground in the middle of the park?"

The following may and will be horribly cruel, graphic and rightfully deserved...

Ash also heard another snap...but this one sounded more like a rubber band snapping inside his mind. He spun around on his heel, gouging a hole in the soft dirt, and promptly tackled a middle-aged man wearing a pin-striped suit with a blackberry hanging loosely in his hand. With Ash's added bulk, the poor, clueless businessman went down with a loud thump. Wrapping his fist in the man's shirt collar, piercing sapphire eyes glowered into his prisoner's dull brown eyes. "You...are so...DEAD!" Pulling back his fist, Ash had a moment of numbness that spread from the pit of his stomach and spread through his body. All that filled his mind was the sight of a broken and smashed Sandy as he pummeled the face of some businessman to a bloody pulp. Panting as he sat up from the unmoving man and swallowed. His hands shook as he released him. Sliding off him and scooting away, Ash whimpered, his eyes watering. Sparing a glance at his bloody knuckles and back towards his victim, he squished down a sob.
Of course, it was then that people had to notice what he'd done.

"Oh God...th-that man's not moving! Call the cops! An ambulance! Somebody!"

Shaking his head rapidly, Ash pushed himself up from the ground and ran away from the park...from the screaming woman...from the man lying on the ground. He caught the four words that would haunt him for the rest of his life even as he ran away.

"This man is dead..."


The sound of sirens hit his ears and Ash repeatedly mumbled to himself, "I didn't mean to...I didn't mean to..."

 

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Wow what a bummer. It sounded like such a pain not to remember anything that happened a month prior, though she probably wouldn't mind that side effect. However...with it she guessed you couldn't remember making that choice or not. How counter productive.

'You have no idea what's like.' Obviously, but what an annoying statement. With it she raised her hand to her face, resting it on the counter while Arianna finished sharing her tale. By the end of it she almost said 'tough luck,' but as she was still keeping up appearance and had seen the girl nearly cry she couldn't bring herself to it. Though she couldn't bring herself to look anymore than just a smidge sympathetic, either.

"Let's meet them." Before she could continue Vergil entered the bar so she paused. During this pause Thallen did something. Rosalie wasn't sure what but she would at least wait until they were finished. When it sounded like she was done Rosalie continued. "I'll make whoever it was tell you the truth, then you'll know for sure."

And owe me.

 

[/url]As Ari looked at the two girls as she finished, she realised she might have chosen a bad opportunity to share her story. Thallen was really drunk again and Rosalie, no offence intended to her, did not really seem the understanding type. Either way, she'd said it now and there was no taking it back. She still felt down and quite uncomfortable that they now knew but there was nothing she could do. As Thallen approached her, Arianna was a little wary and considered moving away to not let her touch her, fully aware of the previous day's events. However she made the choice not to move and let the other girl touch her. The moment she did, Ari felt a weight come off her chest and she simply couldn't feel down any more. "Thank you" She said, realising what they had done then listened carefully to her drunken words.

So they all had downsides to their abilities, well that made sense though she'd never really thought about that before or she had and forgot, probably the latter. She looked over and gave a small wave to the fire guy who'd just come in. "Does it feel right?" She repeated, thinking about the question, "I don't know, maybe. The name sorta seems familiar so it might be true but I don't know, something about it seems off like why did I leave before if it was true? Why didn't I leave myself stuff telling me about them when I knew I'd forget? I left myself other notes. I'm not sure, it may be true but it's worth being a bit wary of them." She smiled, "And I'm aware of that, my body's very good at remembering the physical stuff, that's kinda my ability. That's probably why I don't have room to remember the mental stuff. Ah well."

Ari raised a curious eyebrow as Rosalie spoke, saying to meet them, then listened carefully as she spoke. Her plan seemed quite good and it would probably work to give them all answers. That woman seemed really quite strong and even a bit intimidating. She was glad Rosalie was on her side, not against her, she would not want to go against her. She appeared to be a powerful ally but would be a deadly enemy. "Would you have any objections if I beat them up and raised hell if it turns out they've lied or kept secrets? I'm not a fan of being manipulated." She asked this quietly and in a reasonably innocent voice but she was not joking. She was aware that her memory meant that she could be lied to easily and made to believe something false but she had the capabilities to make whoever did so regret it when she found out.

 

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Arianna looked up as Nick came in, he was alright in her books. He seemed to know what's going on and managed to make a plan that mostly worked at the bank, even if his jokes were bad. Either way, he seemed like a good person to run things over and see if he'd join them. "Oh hey Nick. We're alright, just figuring out what to do since it appears everyone's been approached by this Red Flag group and invited to join. It's currently looking like we might accept their invite but work together to make sure they aren't trying to pull the wool over our eyes. What do you think about that?" She asked, carefully omitting everything about her possible previous involvement with them.

 

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Thallen was zoning out, too distraught with the added depression. She had already felt horrible enough to start with and then taking away Arianna's pain only made it worse. "Make whoever it was tell you the truth..." She lifted the bottle back up to her lips. The golden liquid no longer burned on its way down. "...seems off like why did I leave before if it was true?" Hm? She lifted her gaze slightly to Arianna as she continued to talk. Thallen blinked her eyes a bunch of times, but everything seemed all spiny. "...my body's very good at remembering the physical stuff, that's kinda my ability." Thallen broke out into a fit of giggles. She couldn't help herself. Her hands flew up to her mouth as she tried to stifle the laughter. "...have any objections if I beat them up and raised hell if it turns out they've lied..." She managed to get her laughter under control long enough to pick up the tequila bottle. Mm... Tequila...

She swayed back and forth as a slow steady stream of tears trickled down her face. The mild amusement had been immediately replaced with the sadness she had been feeling prior. It wasn't fair. Thallen had been wallowing in her bout of depression when a familiar voice entered the bar. "Ash left this in my car. He'll probably be looking for it soon." Her head perked up as she spun a little too fast on the stool to face Nick. She stared at him in a hazy fog of drunkenness.

"Nick?" she managed to ask as he took a seat beside her.

"Everyone alright?" Thallen narrowed her eyes at him. He didn't say anything about coming back to the bar. She wavered back and forth between between depression and annoyance. Her lips and she made a pouty face. Her green eyes narrowed as she reached out for the bottle again. "How much have you had to drink?" Nick eyed the bottle at the table and pulled it over to himself. "Didn't know I missed the party."

"Hey!" she snapped and reached out to grab the bottle, dragging it back to her. "Bad touch," she mumbled angrily. "Thass mine," she demanded before lifting it to her lips again. Her heart thummed loudly in her chest and her cheeks burned. "Not fer yew." Thallen tried to see how much of the bottle was left, but the contents kept sloshing around impairing her ability to do so.

"...make sure they aren't trying to pull the wool over our eyes." She turned back to Ari, hugging the bottle protectively so that Nick couldn't take it from her.

"I cud... I cud... dohn really have nothin' that cud make theeeeem tell tha tooth." Her expression grew hurt once more. They all seemed to be able to do things that could influence how others talked. Rosalie could control them with her mind and Arianna apparently had some sort of physical ability making her a good fighter or something. She wasn't sure. It was too hard to focus. Vergil had some sort of ability to control fire or something. She still wasn't sure what exactly Nick did, but right now she didn't care enough to ask. Thallen hiccuped and rested her head on the bar.