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.'

[Ashla Marr]

Once Kira had loaded their suite cases in to the back of the Expedition she went over them to make sure everything was set. What the others didn't know was that Kira had smuggled out everything else so she and Rebecca didn't have to return, if they choose not to. Kira understood why Rebecca didn't feel safe in the house anymore. All her life, Kira had been taught that a person just doesn't casts spells on another members of your Cabal like how Richard had been doing. She didn't find it funny and knew that Rebecca didn't either. Kira turned around and looked out over the lake as she leaned back against the truck. For a moment she allowed her mind to wonder and wished she could tell them way Rebecca reacted so badly to those mind spells. But that was Rebecca's secret and Kira was not about to let it slip.

Then there was this whole meeting with the Vampires that had Kira worried. Kira's gut was telling her that they shouldn't go speak to the vampires. She knew that they couldn't be trusted any more than her own Cabal could. Rebecca was no where near her peak and while Kira knew she would defend Rebecca she doubted Richard or Simon would lift a finger to help. It also bothered her that no one else in the Cabal had noticed the toll that the past two days had taken on Rebecca. Instead, Simon and Richard had only added more stress to Rebecca's life. Kira didn't even know where to start explaining the fact that she and Rebecca were being sued because of Simon and Richard's mistake. Kira had also heard the way Simon yelled at Rebecca over the phone when Rebecca was just trying to help in keeping the enemies of the Cabal limited. Instead, Simon only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.

While she wasn't very sure of Mr. Black either. He seemed, at the moment, reliable even after Simon's accident. He was willing to help them secure a safe place to live and to help them get away from the other members of their Cabal. In thinking about the Cabal, Kira's eyes shifted back to the house and wondered something about the house. There are five mana available each morning, but only four members of the Cabal. Four equal rooms, bathrooms, book shelves. It was if the house was tailored just for them. Could the house reconfigure itself to accommodate her Cabal of four. She then thought back to her vision of the clouds and the images within it. She wondered for a moment if there was another empty room in their house somewhere hidden by a space spell. 'Was our Cabal suppose to have five' she thought as she looked at the house. There were ten Arcana, Five Watch Towers. Five images within that cloud. A lump filled Kira's throat as she started to realize why there was five images in that cloud.

Kira knew that the images in the cloud were another Cabal out there going to oppose her own Cabal. This was the conflict that she was foreseeing. A conflict between two Cabals. Kira suspected that if she was able to see three members of that other Cabal, then it was safe for her to assume that the other Cabal could see them as well. With her and Rebecca's highly public profile, it wouldn't be long before they became targets from that other Cabal. She knew in her heart that she and Rebecca needed Simon and Richard. She also knew that Simon and Richard needed her and Rebecca in turn. From her dreams, Kira knew that the red side of the cloud had some kind of energy coming from it. Could it be a first strike heading their way? Kira just wasn't sure. Events were already in motion and no one in her own Cabal seemed to care about these events unfolding before them.

Instead, her Cabal was deeply divided. This division was due to its own stubbornness. She couldn't help but place blame on Rebecca, Richard and Simon. Each in their own way has caused and is continuing to fuel this division. Going back to the very beginning, Kira knew why Rebecca had wanted to take those pictures. Nether of them had ever really seen a Magic Duel before and both were excited over it. Rebecca simply was acting more like a tourist than a mage. But instead of just talking to her, Simon and Richard both just freaked out. This didn't give Richard the right to cast a spell on Rebecca to stop her. Then again, Rebecca didn't have to go out of her way to try to get even with Richard either. Then Simon got involved in defense of his brother. Kira didn't fault Simon for that, but he didn't have to push Rebecca's buttons with that off the wall bible quote about women serving men. "Or what ever it was that he had said," Kira said not really remembering the entire quote but knowing that it cast Simon in a bad light in Rebecca's eyes. Kira realized that there was so much blame to go around, that not one of them were free from it.

With a heavily sigh, Kira knew that her thoughts on this could easily go on. There were so many examples of how each of them continued to play this stupid game. Instead of that, Kira thought about how the Cabal needed to come back together. Till this day, Rebecca's and her careers seemed insulted from the division within the Cabal. Kira knew how important the show was to both of them. The show was a labor of love between them. Kira had her reservations about involving Simon and his brother in the show. But trusted Rebecca when the suggestion was made. This caused her thoughts to shift to the law suite that was pending against her and Rebecca.

Kira wondered how it was going to play in to what was going in within their Cabal. She suspected that Richard nor Simon would do anything to fix it. 'Why shouldn't they fix it' Kira wondered. After all, it was their mistake. Their use of magic in public. Their rash action that created it. But if they do nothing to fix it, that would mean that she and Rebecca would have to come up with something. Kira reflected on how easily Richard had tossed them under the bus when the video of what he and Simon had done on the street surfaced. He may have kicked the can down the street. But in doing so, placed the entire thing in her and Rebecca's lap. Kira knew in her heart that Rebecca's sense of justice would never allow her to forgive them for that. In that moment, Kira knew that the accident with Rebecca's truck would hover over the Cabal for a long time, if not spell the end of it.

The bitterness of their betrayal will only continue to fester under the surface. Unless Simon and Richard take responsibility for this, how could she expect Rebecca to let go of her own anger linked to it. Kira shook her head softly as she stood up and turned to double check the suite cases once more. 'If only Simon never stoled Rebecca's keys' Kira thought about the events that unfolded during the attack. She continued to consider that one action, 'nothing else would change. Just the direct link to the show via Rebecca's car and what happened on the street.' She went through her mind looking at each and every event linked to what had happened.

She knew that Rebecca had been bothered by what was going on, but Rebecca was still willing to work with the Cabal. Kira was even trying to help guide Rebecca back before the blow out two days ago. If Simon had not taken the truck and caused that event on the Street, Kira was sure that she could convince Rebecca to calm down. Once Rebecca started to move closer to center again she knew that Richard would do the same. Richard was a very prideful man and wouldn't allow a challenge slip through his fingers like that. If Rebecca moved to put that division past them, she was sure that Richard would do the same. Kira smiled and found it funny how similar Rebecca and Richard were in personality. "Their names even started with the same letter" Kira said with a hint of laughter.

As she looked at the luggage once more, she thought of what they were about to do. Once more she let out a long sigh as her smile faded. She didn't mind Mr. Black at the moment. He seemed to be reliable even after Simon's accident. She felt unsettle and now unsure about Rebecca's plan to go meet with the vampire council. Kira felt that once more, Rebecca was being rash and foolish. She knew Rebecca well and knew that Rebecca would have done the same thing in Simon's place. In fact, Kira padded her purse and felt the large can of hair spray as she suspected she too would have done the same thing if attacked by Vampires. Simon had a right to defend himself when attacked. Everyone has that right, and Rebecca only needed to be reminded of this.

However Kira knew that Rebecca was right also, that the Cabal didn't need more enemies. Not right now at least. Worse yet, they didn't need to hand deliver allies gift wrapped over to this opposing Cabal. She had heard stories of how her father and the silver ladder had allied with vampires. They could be very powerful allies, but they weren't to be trusted. This added a mix to the situation that could be an issue for her Cabal. Kira was starting to hate Rebecca's plan to speak on Simon's behalf. 'Why couldn't Simon speak on his own behalf to the Vampires' Kira questioned.

In that moment, she noticed Rebecca walking through the house. She reached up and closed the Expedition and locked it. She secured the keys in her front jean's pocket for safe keeping. Knowing what laid before them now, Kira had to talk Rebecca out of this foolish plan. More importantly, Kira had to find away to bring her Cabal back together before it was too late.

[Kunanaki]

Woke up like every day, feeling rather refreshed. There was nary a thought that danced between those ears of his, fingertips grasping and pulling away the covers, stripping his bed for a good old fashioned cleaning! It wouldn't do to keep sleeping in the same filth after all! Like Clockwork, Simon would do his daily routine of greeting the Sun, his personal avatar of new beginnings. In his Ideology, the Sun was not only the spiritual beginning of what Humanity Considered a Day, but likely had a Spirit of it's own. Magic was Tricky like that after all.

Knees pressed into the dirt, bowing head down as if in worship to the giant Spirit. Yet this was a fallacy, as it was a stretch more or less in the physical and spiritual sense. Magic Senses opened up and stretched out, like blinking the sleep out of ones eyes. Followed by a small smile and a pat upon his friend Solaire's Shoulders. Then they sparred, in which Simon was trounced fairly regularly, but it was more to train his reactions to fight against things that were faster and stronger than he was. The encounter with the Vampiric element of Colorado showed him how poorly equipped he truly was to respond to that threat.

Greeting Kira on his way to take a shower, Simon would seem rather laid back. The only times he was angry was when people were mean, and that tended to get his mouth before his brain. It made him seem rather hot headed, but that was hardly the case. It was a simple man whom had enough. It's funny, because Rebecca was the cause of a lot of quick anger from Simon, but mostly because he recognized that she doesn't respond to Diplomacy. The first meeting with Rebecca was gun directly to his brothers face, then a mocking 'Now I know your Limits' from her lips when he didn't want to attack her lethally. At that, Simon learned that perhaps anger and Lethal threats were all Rebecca knows. But when he did it, she suddenly became very pouty and odd. Simon brushed it off, not really understanding.

Simon was what one would consider to be a Simple soul. It was actually partly true, Richard was at fault for it. Budding Mind Magic had to be practiced somehow, and as a Brother he never minded. In that, he leaned a little bit on Richard intellectually, but was capable of his own introspective nature when two brain cells connected in there. That's how he figured that thier cabal was in trouble, and mostly it was a fault of miscommunication. So, he did what he thought was right! Apologies, foods, and smiles. It worked! Everybody was happy and it was awesome!

So whilst the man went into Autopilot and prepared breakfast, he was a bit startled as Rebecca appeared before it was done! Nobody had ever talked to him in the morning before! Well, not while he was making breakfast! The company made him smile over at her, having completely missed the question. "Good morning Rebecca! I'm making Shit on a Shingle this morning. Or Chipped beef, if'n you prefer it called that." was wisking the flour and milk at the moment, looking over to her with a smile. Dressed in a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and an apron. Rebecca looked nice today, as she always did. Though there seemed to be a care-worn expression upon her features that didn't get it. "What did you ask me? I was focused on prep."

[Akirapryde]

Rebecca carefully scanned the kitchen and saw what Simon was cooking and noted his happy good morning. 'Good Morning' she thought looking at her watch. It read just after seven in the evening. "I don't mind what you call it" she said softly double checking Kira's phone just to make sure she had the right time. 'Yeap, its evening' she noted. Taking in a deep breath, "I am not such the prune that I might appear" she added softly the pulled out a small note book. In that moment, she allowed a smile to cross her face. Her tone, her demeanor and now her little note book made her appear more like a detective rather than someone just asking question. She just wanted to make sure that she didn't miss anything. Simon's life could depend on the smallest of detail and she wasn't about to risk his life to her memory.

"Simon," Rebecca said as she started to explain why she was asking. "I want to make sure that I have all the details about what happened between you and vampires down before I go speaking on your behalf." She didn't address Simon's mistake about the time of day. It wasn't important to what she was doing. However, it was something that she could use. She wrote down in her little book, 'doesn't have a clear grasp of the movement of time.' She thought a moment then added in her notes 'could he not be held accountable for his own actions?'

She lifted her head from her note book and gave him her full attention. Though even with her spells up, she found it difficult to maintain the spells. She had hoped that activating them would had been the challenge. However her own weakness over spells apparently didn't stop at activation. She had an inner struggle in maintaining control over the spells while keeping the magical energies flowing correctly to power them. Rebecca accepted that casting spells was still going to be a struggle for her. She questioned menacing Richard's One Mind Two Thoughts spell. While it gave her the benefits of watching his aura carefully while carrying on with the conversation so not to seem distracted. It was a burden for her to work like this. Richard seemed to have a much better control over magic then she does. In that, she had lots of respect for Richard.

[Kunanaki]

Wondered where the time had flown! Then again, it was very much the probability that the man had spent most of his day spending time with Solaire, losing track of time down in his work lab, or idly smoking a bit of recreational herb and contemplating the mysteries of life 'pon a rock. It wasn't a very hard life really, being a Mage. If you removed the tedious squabbles of power between factions, it was actually rather fun. The seduction of making everything easy with Magic was a hard one to ignore, but Simon managed it by instead using it like a Tool in the Toolbox. You didn't need a power drill every time when a screwdriver could do.

Simon's eyes drifted off to the left. "I am curious though Rebecca, for what reason do you feel the need to explain my actions to Vampires in the first place? I thought you were a member of the Silver Ladder?" Simon was honestly confused. He didn't go directly into recanting anything, as for the moment this core little nugget was something that hadn't been brought up at the table. Vampires were.....predictable for the most part. They were people, but people that fed off of people. Which meant that anybody who wasn't a people feeder was food. Being food, you didn't walk up to an eater and say how delicious you were. Yet Rebecca had done that, until Simon had intervened.

Actually, come to think of it, they really didn't have a reason to bother with the Vampires at all. The more curious thing is A. How they Vampires knew that he was a Mage and B. Why did they need his phone? His phone only had his brothers number on it, a Generic Walmart Brand Monthly subscription that he had paid for in cash, and had cancelled after it had left his possession. Magic Items he supposed, but he was making them for his Cabal for free. Moving along in the Kitchen to keep the meal going on. "I mean, I do appreciate your concern for my well being, and going to try and patch things up, but they are Bad. Vampires eat people. Like, for sustenance. We are their prey." didn't really know Rebecca's driving factor here.

[Akirapryde]

Rebecca listened as Simon spoke despite the fact that her own request wasn't even acknowledged. It deeply bothered Rebecca that Simon would expect her to answer his question but didn't even pay her's any mind. Maybe she simply didn't word her intentions right? Maybe he simply didn't understand what she wanted. These questions raced through her mind as she listened.

It wasn't hard for her to sense that he blamed her for everything. Those little bits were glimmered from his aura. Or was it just her own lack of confidence in what she was doing coming to the surface of her thoughts. She thought back to when the group spoke to the man that created the Cabal. She cursed herself for allowing that same feeling surface then. Rebecca drew in a deep breath as Simon finished what he had to saw. She slowly let it out, almost like a sigh as she reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Holding her control over this new spell was causing her to have a headache. It was one of the more difficult mind spells for her. She hadn't tried this spell before but had seen Richard cast it many times. In cutting of the light to her eyes, this seemed to bring her some relief. Though through the spell she was able to listen carefully to Simon despite the pain in her head.

Rebecca nodded respectfully as she acknowledged his statement. She wanted to be respectful and made an effort to not act in tone or in facial display as if she was holding or casting judgment. Even if, Simon had proven to be a person lacking of higher mental capacity. Still, he had raised a legitimate question and deserved an answer. She decided to address his concerns and statement. As she opened her eyes, she started to break it down as simply as she could in her mind. She reached down and took hold of her note book and pen once more. As she started to speak, she made a point to make eye contact when ever it was possible as she spoke.

"Simon, most of what you say about vampires is true" she said making an effort to keep her voice level and calm despite the pain in her head. The last thing she wanted to do was sound judgmental or trigger Simon's anger. 'Damn you Richard, you could have starting smoking again' she cursed deep in the back of her mind at that stupid deal she made which was now baring her behavior. 'I'll be damned if you will make me break first' she added in her own thoughts. For now, though, the deal was going to work in her favor. She needed Simon to be cooperative. "That being said, what you don't take in to account is that they are, as individuals powerful. More so, as a faction, they can be a force that could cause us a great deal of problems. Many magical factions know how useful they can be and have worked with them in the past. Beyond what happened on the side of that road, there is no reason why we can't use them for our own ends."

She paused to gather her thoughts before continuing. As she thought about her next statement she watched his aura carefully. At the same time, she took careful notes of his aura, mannerism and words. Her notes were written in a mixture of Latin, short hand and Atlantian. Having a degree in higher education was clearly a benefit for Rebecca. "There is another faction out there who will be opposing us in the very near future, if not already. We don't know if this group belong to these vampires or not. It does seem like you were targeted in this attack. This much is clear to me. But are the vampires a tool or the architect behind this attack. This is an answer we simply don't know. If they are only a tool, removing them from the field is important and should be a priority to us. Worse yet, if they have no involvement in what is going on between us and that other faction. Then we can not afford to personally deliver allies over to those who would oppose us. It would seem to me, that this would be a poor strategic move."

She looked down at her pad and thought for a moment. It was clear that she wasn't sure if Simon even understood what it meant to think strategically. In fact, she really didn't understand it that much either. However, she knew enough to feel like it would be a bad move. "Even if we only ensure that as a resource we don't isolate ourselves from them, then speaking to them is a benefit. Besides, from this conversation with them, so much could be obtained. It is my belief that we must find a way to bridge this indecent with these Denver vampires. Because, if we do nothing then we set ourselves is a position of a disadvantage across the board. Something we can not afford to do...."

She cut herself off before she said something she knew she would regret. In that moment she paused once more and decided against bringing up any other issues. The issues of the relationships within the Cabal were serious, but after this afternoon's chat she wondered if they could set that issue aside long enough to deal with the vampires. "Does this answer your question?" she asked then added, "If so, could you please start from the beginning. What were you doing just before the attack occurred. Remember Simon, the world could be hiding in the details." Rebecca said as she painted a smile on her face trying to be pleasant. The effort was genuine and not for Simon's benefit. It was time that Rebecca started thinking more strategically as well. After all, she didn't have much of a choice.

[Ashla Marr]

As Kira walked back in to the Hollow, she found herself thinking about the Three Goddess. In particularly, the Mother Goddess. The past few days had been so busy that Kira had not made time to offer thanks for all that she had in her life. She knew that she needed to pay better attention to her faith in the future. Though Kira's faith was not as centered in her life as it was for Simon or Rebecca, it was still very important to her. Her faith was a deep conviction that gave her both identity and strength. Today, she found renewed strength as she walked in to the house through her faith. She offered a simple pray for wisdom in how to carry out the upcoming conversation. She knew that it would be an uphill battle for her to get the entire Cabal to set aside their differences and focus on where they share similarities.

It was in that moment that, Kira found yet again another commonality between members of the Cabal. Simon and Rebecca each paid a great deal of respect to their own faiths. Kira could see how Rebecca's faith shaped her and allowed her to summon up both wisdom and strength during great times of stress. Kira had seen this over the past forty eight hours. While Kira knew that Simon praised the sun each morning, she really didn't have any clue as to what Simon's faith was. In the beginning there were times when she felt that Simon's reason for waking up early to praise the morning sun was just an excuse to beat everyone else to the morning mana. But the longer she knew Simon she started to suspected that there was much more to his actions than just that. For in his actions, she started to see that his faith was important to him. She wondered why someone of faith couldn't see the same in Rebecca. While Rebecca was often accused of being judgmental, Simon seemed to be just as judgmental as Rebecca could be.

As she walked through the house, she knew that Richard was somewhere around. She had seen him a couple of times watching her pack up the truck. It didn't take long for her to spot him. Kira wasn't sure if Richard was ease dropping on the conversation that was going on in the kitchen or if he was just lurking around as usual. She had always found it interesting in how closely Richard paid attention to what was going on around him. Despite as mad as she was with Richard for using magic on her to change her free will, she still respected Richard for being a study of human behavior. For all of Richard's immaturity, he had these moments that really made Kira feel like he was much older than he really was. She understood why Rebecca saw more in Richard than just his age.

She smiled as their eyes met. Richard had this way of commanding a person's attention. He over flowed with confidence which cast him in this light that demanded respect. She couldn't help but compare him to James Bond. 'Well a much younger, sexier version of the great Sean Connery' Kira thought as she took a moment to observe him. She couldn't understand why Richard didn't welcome his role in the Cabal. Instead he seemed to embrace this whole high school billy bad boy act. She knew it was an act because he often allowed his true maturity to shine through. And when it did, had a spell like effect on Rebecca. For Kira, there was no reason why Richard couldn't be the magical core of the Cabal. If he would only stopping getting in his own way. Kira knew that Richard was important to their Cabal, just like each and every member was. Because of this, she motioned for Richard to follow her in to the Kitchen. She needed everyone to be involved.

Kira continued her walk towards the kitchen. Just as she walked in to the kitchen, Rebecca was explaining her reason why she felt it was important to speak to the vampires regarding the attack on Simon. Without saying a word she found a place in the kitchen where she could see the other three members of the Cabal. She wanted to observe them during the conversation. Kira understood why Rebecca felt that this was important. While she wasn't the most educated when it came to matters of the occult, she knew enough that this could cause them larger problems for them in the future. But that didn't change Kira's opinion. She felt that Rebecca should hold off having this meeting. The Cabal wasn't ready for it and neither was Rebecca.

Kira noticed that Rebecca intentionally cut herself off in mid-thought. Kira knew all too well what was left unsaid. Kira wondered why Rebecca didn't bring up that issue, because it was clearly linked to what was going on now. It was because of this issue was why Rebecca was so willing to put her neck on the line for Simon. Her eyes once more found Richard as she wondered if Richard, the man who studies everyone, knew this reason as well. She set there silently as she listened to the conversation.

When Rebecca stopped talking, Kira was about to speak up and offer her opinion. However in that moment she changed her mind. Already it was clear that Simon had plans to try to talk Rebecca out this action. While Kira supported this goal for different reasons. She also knew that if Rebecca felt cornered, that her pride wouldn't let her back down. Pushing Rebecca was never a way to get her to change her mind. Kira had learned this lesson a long time ago. Kira decided to remain silent for the moment and listen. After all, there were some details of Simon's story that simply didn't make any sense to her either. Kira also wanted to hear what really happened on that street.

[a magical taco]

Richard sat in the living room reading. Both time and mind magic swirled around him to help him read faster. He was already on his second go around with this book. He wished that he had another. Matter was not a subject that really interested him. He had made sure to keep an ear out while in a communal area. Rebecca walked through the area he was in on her way to the kitchen, she came through with a purpose, even if that purpose was slowed by a broken body. She nodded at him, a half assed attempt at a greeting and continued on. But he had noticed the anger first and he still did not really know it's source. Dispite all her preaching she was just a secretive as he was. With in the last 24 hours Rebecca and Kira had wanted to leave and a large part of that was put on him. He didn't much care at the moment though.

Everything he had done recently was for Rebecca and she had threatened to turn their backs on him and the cabal. A cabal that one of her leader established, I mean why should he care what some old silver ladder wanted. He had tried to befriend meatball because Rebecca was angry about her car and when it reached a point of really mattering she put his life jeopardy by making sure the job failed. Not hard to draw a conclusion that the new guy betrayed them. He had went jogging with her through the woods simply because she had asked him to, he had been trying to make friends with her even if his walls were a little slow to come down. More than the he hated jogging, almost as much as he hated the woods and nature. He joined her show when she asked him and even went after kira when he thought she was in danger. Though admittedly he had botched that a bit. I mean seriously, terrorist? Stupid.

Hell she'd pulled a gun on him twice now even if he didn't actually known it the second time. Wearing nothing but a bra and panties she had reached out towards him, he had only done the same. Now he was being treated like a traitor because he miss read a few signals. He smiled when he remember her jogging outfit. It faded quickly.

They were mad because he used his power as a mage. He had the power to render the two of them into nothing, to dive into the darkest parts of their minds and reveal every dirty little secret they had, he could wreak havoc on their minds if he wished. But he haven't. A simple spell to make Rebecca giggle, a spell that instilled a little trust. I guess he was a bad guy everytime one of them went missing and he scryed on them too.

He wished his curiously hadn't gotten the better of him. Wished that he didn't need to prove himself to himself. Arun had come out of hiding after years and selected him for something, if this wasn't the place to test his limits then those places didn't exist. He just wished someone other than Rebecca had been selected to help. Hell she can barely use magic. Apparently a powerful father had given her some kind of princess complex that didn't matter for shit out here in the world. She should just stick to bring an illusionist out go home to daddy.

Kira walked him from outside. Finally finished packing their car, trying to hide the fact that they still might not return. Considering the amount of luggage she had loaded everything was in that vehicle. He didn't care, at the moment he was even a little hopeful. Keira motioned him to follow her. He took a moment to turn on his mage sights and cast a couple of protective spells in case guns came out again. He kept his mind divided to he could keep an eye on both women as he walked to the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against the wall.

[Kunanaki]

Simon had a full table! It was glorious! With that, he got up and got the food finished bubbling, and served it piping hot to everybody. Warm toasty bread, with a bit of the gravy with bits in it. Smiling broadly at everybody as he settled back in the seating. "Well, This is what I remember. I was walking home. An old vehicle pulled in front of me near the highway. Four very snazzy suited dudes got out, and approached. I thought I was watching one of those old flicks, and if one of them started snapping his fingers.......Anyway. One guy, who looked like the image Richard showed you, Asked me for my phone. I declined. He insisted. I sought to walk away. He declined. I attempted to get a car to move closer so I could get into it. He stabbed me in the foot. I gave up my phone. Then there was an Explosion, and three of the Vampires were gone. The fourth was super fast, running away. Then I ran into a barn and chilled out there, working out my emotions."

It was his side of the story, and every time it was asked or Analysed that's all he would say. Verbatim. Even if attempting to analyse the type of magic or what not, Simon didn't wholly trust the motivations of Rebecca. It seemed either that Rebecca was going to have her way, or threaten him again. Not wanting to give her ammunition for either, Simon also would not reveal his secrets. Not directly to any of them, except Richard. "Vampires are not our friends Rebecca. No amount of persuasion is going to smooth over their view. They are Predators. Prey simply do not kill them. If they do, they trace the person, end the Lineage, and salt the earth. Or they make them into puppets. They are bad. I don't like bad. Bad hurts friends. I can't let bad hurt my friends." looked really hard, narrowing eyes. It was tough for him to push his mind like this, and it made him get a headache. He tried to say these things without angering Rebecca. Hopefully it worked!

[Akirapryde]

Rebecca listened carefully to Simon as he explained what happened on that road. There was no hiding her surprise as he spoke. He was so brazen to provide even less details than he had given over the phone just the day before. If she had only this information to go off of, she would be even more confused. 'Does he really think I am that stupid' she questioned herself. She didn't need magic to reach the assumption that he didn't trust her. It was written across how he left out details in this accounting of what happened. Sadly she couldn't really blame him for not trusting her. After all, she really wasn't sure if she could trust him or his perverted brother. Based on how he was acting now, what ever doubt she had about trusting him was fading fast.

But in that moment, her mind rang out with epiphany. She didn't fully understand where the thought came from but it was clearly a result of her One Mind Two Thoughts spell. Trust in the Cabal was at a breaking point. She knew that she was partially to blame for it. Any unless she at least attempted to reach out and show a bit of trust, she had no right to expect it from them. It just seemed so simple to her. As Simon gave his shorter version of what happened, she started to think of how she could use this as an opportunity to try to show a bit more trust.

And in that moment, that epiphany and the thoughts that followed it were gone like the morning dew when exposed to the midday sun. As Simon started to speak like some mentally challenged child, Rebecca just felt like giving up on all of this. Walking out that door and leaving them behind seemed much easier than dealing with this. She had heard Simon speak before on many occasions and knew that his current form of speech was nothing more than a ruse. 'He must think I am stupid' she thought at the comments. For her it was more than just another sign of the lack of trust between them. This seemed more like a slap in the face. As he finished his little speech she started to reach down and close her notebook. Clearly nothing she could say or do would change this situation, or their opinion of her. She simply had no reason to care what they thought anymore.

'But then again' she thought as she glanced at Kira. Kira had always been the person who did all the interviews. She was the prefect people person. Something that Rebecca never claimed to be. She never knew what to say or when to say it. In that regard, even Richard was better at dealing with people than she was. As she glanced down at her notebook she took a long moment to collect her thoughts. 'Why does everyone expect me to be this prefect person who knows what to say or when to say it' she wondered. She recalled the way Simon had looked past her towards the door just before he plated diner. Counting the plates that Simon put on the table was also a clue that Richard was either close or in the Kitchen. She fingered her notebook thinking long and hard about just getting up and leaving. 'why should I even try if nothing I say or do will change anything' was that nagging voice of the defeatist within her mind.

She knew from their last conversation that Richard had been pissed at her. She was pretty sure that the anger was still there currently and doubted he would let it go soon. There was so much going on around them and so much going on that centered on her. As she played with her notebook for a few more moments she couldn't help but wonder why trouble seemed to follow her. It wasn't like she went looking for it. 'But I know how to find it when I want to' she thought with a half smile. It was more a joke about her own stupidity rather than light at the situation. After all, she leaped in to a large lake after a magical monster that nearly killed her. Her free mind wondered over to the look in Kira's eye when she told Rebecca that Richard had dared to rescue her in the buff. 'God, he does have his moments' she thought as she pictured him leading the charge to save her for that monster. Her smiled broke in to a slight laughter for a second as she pictured the scene in her mind. Rebecca glanced back to Kira as she thought, 'just maybe a bit more effort is all that is needed.'

Rebecca flipped her notebook back open and reached down in to her emotions as she was going to make this last effort to keep the Cabal alive. She pushed any negative thoughts from her mind as she choose which path she would take based on Simon's statement. If this effort fail, well then, Richard will find her parting gift on his bed. After all, he loved reading and she was done reading that Prime Grimoire. She figured that she owed him something for being so willing to put his neck on the line for her and Kira. Not wanted to invade his personally space, she tossed it on to the bed from the hallway.

She looked up from her notebook and gave Simon a genuine smile, "Simon. I know you don't want to talk about this. But so far, it is my understanding" she said then paused a moment to add, "from personal experience, that what one of us does will effect all of us." She made a point in her statement to not use the word friend, because she really didn't feel like they were friends right now. Could it happen, she really didn't know. And she wasn't about to discount anything.

But in her statement, the memory of how meatball was out to hurt her because she shot him and ruined his burglary stung. More because Kira got caught in the middle of it than anything else. "You see Simon again you are right. They are not friends. But does that mean they have to be our enemies? Also your view is flawed. There is more going on here than simply predator and pray, as you like to put it. I know this is true cause I have seen the results of cooperation between vampires and mages. If you killed them in self defense than there is no reason for us to fear." As she spoke, she started to doubt his statement and questioned what he could be hiding. "However, if your side of the story isn't true, than you very well could have placed us all in danger. Making this meeting so much more important."

She fell silent as she thought for a moment. At first she wasn't sure about the events that led up to the deaths of these vampires. But it was in his statement about pray killing the predators that got her starting to worry. She didn't know the truth, but she knew that he wasn't being completely truthful with her. 'What really happened on that road' she thought softly. To get that answer, she had to at least try to reason with him.

Rebecca knew that she could just question his statement over and over again and search for the truth that way. But she also understood that this action would only cause more tension in an already stressed situation. She needed to find a softer approach to get through to Simon. "Simon I've made mistakes. Just like anyone else has. I regretted what I did with meatball cause it put Kira in harm's way" she said truthfully as she glanced over at Kira. There was sadness in Rebecca's eyes. If there was anything Rebecca could do to undo that attack, she would have gladly don it. But it was done, all she could do was learn from that mistake to go on. "I would like to think that if there is something more to your story, that you would include it now."