Seeking the Truth (Rebecca and Simon, OPEN In Between)

[Akirapryde]

The alarm came way too early for Rebecca as it ripped her from slumber. As the alarm sounded, Rebecca was faced with the very real choice of turning it off or climbing from the bed. The former seemed so tempting that she almost gave in to that temptation. However, Rebecca knew that her duty was before her. She didn't like the idea that she had to put the needs of her Cabal ahead of her own rest. But she knew in her heart that she had little choice. She silenced the alarm and started to get up. The past two days were already taking their toll on her. Her mana was tapped, her body felt near exhaustion. Every little moment she made seemed to rip protests from her own body. With a deep grown, Rebecca slid off the bed and dropped to her knees.

Using her sheer force of will, Rebecca pulled herself back up to her bed and leaned across it. Softly she curled her fingers as she bowed her head. Her mind seemed to be filled with an emotional stormed. Her thoughts clouded by conflicting feelings. She was mad at Simon and Richard for their actions. She wasn't sure if Simon had anything to do with what happened after the attack on the Theater, but she knew his hand was in the accident with her truck. She was angry at Richard for his near constant violation of her personal privacy and her free will. Still, it was because of these things and the current crisis in her heart, her Cabal and beyond, Rebecca sought clarity in prayer. It was through prayer that she hoped that she could sort out these issues. Closing her eyes, she once more had a personal conversation with God.

Never before had Rebecca found herself in such a situation. In just a matter of hours she could find herself before entire Vampire court. However despite all of this, Rebecca found Kira to be her rock. A place of calm in her life. For as long as the two had known each other, Rebecca knew that she could count of Kira. Rebecca offered a silent moment of gratitude to God for bringing Kira in to her life.

Her thoughts and mind drifted back to Richard. She hated to admit it, but she was attracted to him. She couldn't deny he was attractive, but lately she doubted those emotions. She questioned if those emotions were actually her own or planted by him. He had toyed with her emotions before like how he induced her happiness after her run in with the magic sucking monster. Then her mind and thoughts centered on Simon. She admitted that there was so much about him that she simply didn't fully understand.

Twice before, he had threatened her life. The last time was for merely suggesting that the Cabal use his abilities as a negotiator during a run in with an imprisoned spirit. Simon seemed as easily to temper as she was. However, his violent nature in threatening others made him so much more dangerous. Still there were those times when Simon could be the nicest guy she had ever met. When he was calm and able to speak without anger, Simon could be so convincing. She had seen this behavior during their first run in with Meatball. He was masterful and clever. She didn't want to admit that she had allowed her own temper to sour those talks. She wouldn't allow excuse to cloud the fact that she allowed her anger to govern her actions. She prayed that God would give her to strength to keep her temper under control in the coming events.

As she reflected on her thoughts of Simon, it was because of this random and drastically opposing behavior shifts that Rebecca concluded that Simon was mentally ill. She couldn't help but wonder if this illness had something to do with Richard's ongoing head games that he enjoys playing. Was Simon just another victim of Richard's malice? In that moment, Rebecca felt petty for Simon as she figured that it was more likely that he was just another victim of Richard's 'harmless' games. Rebecca's heart saddened as she prayed that God would touch Simon's mind and silence those demons that are causing him to behave like that. She prayed for his salvation from those mental demons. Even in this, Rebecca couldn't dismiss the fact that she felt that Simon was a dangerous individual.

As her prayer continued, she began to realize she simply wasn't ready for this meeting tonight. She simply wasn't physically, emotionally, or mentally ready for any confrontation. She also realized that she wasn't clear on all the details of what happened between Simon and those vampires. Some of those details that she knew simply didn't make much sense to her. She wondered if Simon had lied to her or withheld some of the details of what happened. She decided in that moment to get to the bottom of what happened. She ended her conversation with God and thanked Him for giving her clarity over what she knew and what she didn't. She also thanked Him for the courage for being able to face those unknown details. Rebecca opened her eyes once more and slowly rose up to her feet.

She turned and walked over to her dresser and slowly brushed her hair. In her mind she ran over what she had to do before she could be ready for this meeting. If she didn't have all the facts, than she could easily find herself in harms way without any hope of survival. Out of habit, Rebecca reached for her gun belt. However this time she paused before touching it. 'Was what Simon said true?' she wondered about giving this Cabal another chance. Could she really expect him to keep his word. For that matter could she expect Richard to keep his word. To date, the two didn't seem very trust worthy, but she was willing to try. After all, she was Silver Ladder and this Cabal was created by her leader. She felt an obligation to try to make this work.

She left her gun belt on her dresser hoping that the gesture wouldn't be over looked by those two. However, she wasn't about to be foolish either. She picked up her Five Seven and checked it to make sure that it was ready for action. After checking to make sure that the clip was fully loaded and one in the chamber, she was satisfied with the weapon. She ensured that the safety was on before hiding it under her loss fitting jacket. She took an extra moment before the mirror to ensure that there was no tell of the weapon on her. "After all" she whispered in a soft mumble. Adding, "he did threaten my life enough times to warrant reasonable caution."

She walked back over to the bed and pulled up her pant leg exposing her bandaged wound. She removed the bandage and checked the stitches that were holding her two bullet hose closed it. Using a small cosmetic mirror, she looked closely at both entry and exit wounds. She gave a soft laugh wondering what Kira was thinking saying that she was shot at the theater. Rebecca made sure that there were no signs of infection as she cleaned the wound. She was looking for signs of pus, odd discoloration or unusual smells. Satisfied that her wound is closing up nicely, Rebecca started to apply a fresh bandage to the wound. Once she was completed, she pulled her pant leg down and stood up. Her leg hurt, but she pushed the pain aside as she started to walk on it. She could almost hide her limp now, almost.

She walked out of her room and started down the corridor. Halfway down the corridor she paused. Rebecca wanted to make sure that Simon wasn't going to lie to her. She closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. If he summoned up his magic she would know. Her focus was on sensing that magic before he could form it in to a spell. She also brought up her own one mind two thoughts. This allowed her to hold her conversation and see focus on sensing his aura. Her whole focus was to ensure that if Simon was going to lie to her, she would have the best chance of detecting it. She might not know what his reasoning behind the lie was, or what the truth was, but she would know if he was lying to her. She thought about hiding her spells but then as an after thought she changed her mind. Instead, she decided to allow others to see what she was doing. If they had nothing to hide, they wouldn't care if she was searching for lies.

Once ready, Rebecca continued in to the main room and saw Kira outside, looking over things in the truck. Clearly Kira was getting the truck ready for their meeting with Mr. Black. Rebecca's eyes then fell upon Richard. She couldn't hide her anger once she saw him. In her mind, she couldn't help but recall how he groped her. She couldn't excuse this behavior. Worse yet, it triggered a flashback to a moment in her life that that she would rather not ever remember. In that second as her eyes met his, she took in a deep breath. It was if something in her gave way as she let her anger subside. 'This has to end' she thought to herself. She knew that if this Cabal was to survive, it would fall on Richard and herself. Really had little control over that. She made a conscious effort to push her anger further away. In that moment, she knew it wasn't going to happen over night. But there had to be a point where it had to start. She choose to let this be that moment. After all, he was just a teenager running around with powers that he clearly barely understands. Her own words echoing in her mind now were biting at her ego, 'Maybe with a better teacher.....'

'Could I be a better role model' she wondered then answered, 'only if I let go this anger I hold.' She gave Richard a nod hoping that the young man would realize the change. If not, she would make a point to make it clear to him later. She turned and walked for the Kitchen where she smelled Simon fast at work cooking one of his signature dishes. She walked in to the Kitchen with a neutral demeanor. She wasn't sure how this would play out. 'Which Simon would I speak with today' she wondered in her mind.

Checking her watch to make sure she had time for this. After all, she was not about to miss her meeting with Mr. Black. She didn't know where to begin, so she decided to be straight forward with her questions. Sitting down at the table so that she faced him while he cooked. She started speaking, "Simon," she said trying her best to be as polite as possible. "Do you mind going over all the details of what happened between you and the Vampires?" Still in her attempt to keep her voice level and calm, Rebecca over reached leaving her voice sounding emotionless, sounding more like a police investigator speaking to a suspect, instead of a friend looking for more information. Rebecca simply wasn't a very good 'people person.'