Is it okay if I stalk you? [Backdated to Undeadfield]

[have_your_lives]

[Well, after being abducted, killed, and buried, Schuldig is unexpectedly - although is it really unexpected, in Mayfield? - back. Though he's looking a little...different. He's prowling around Mayfield in an outfit that would be called eccentric even by his standards, looking for a few specific people. Ema and Edward are at the top of the list,

Comments

[glowing_science]

[Ema proves easy to find--she's going through her daily routine to try and take her mind off of the graveyard. Even trying to do this, however, nets her little relief. Schuldig will be able to tell that her surface thoughts go back to the graveyard and how she felt seeing all those headstones.

Well, that and dealing with Edward's grief. It was a long, sad night last night at Edward's house, just the two of them huddled together trying not to be swallowed by their own despair.]

[have_your_lives]

[Schuldig slips in through a window; he does this silently and with surprising grace, thanks to being agile and used to unconventional means of getting around. From there, it's easy enough to slip up behind Ema.] People have been dying in Mayfield as long as you or he have been here. What is it about headstones that makes it seem more serious?

[He hasn't forgotten his reason for coming, but he can't help but be a little curious. Why headstones should make such a difference in their perceptions of Mayfield's usual high death toll, he can't imagine.]

sob, I'm the worst

[glowing_science]

[Ema jumps and spins around, thoroughly--and unsurprisingly--spooked by Schuldig's sudden appearance. He seems... odd. But he seems alive, from what she can tell. In some bizarre way, it's a relief.

More than that, he asked a question. After a deep breath, she answers it.]

It was empirical evidence of your death... and you weren't back the next morning like the dead usually are here. A change in the system is something to be worried about.

[have_your_lives]

I'm assuming this is the collective 'you'. [Schuldig cocks an eyebrow. He has no illusions that Ema is particularly glad to see him; he half expects most of her relief comes from knowing that if he's back, then probably the others she was worried about - and that Edward was worried about - are back too.

Being a telepath, he's aware that some of that relief is indeed reserved specifically for him, but he knows not to read too much into that. It's a reaction she can't really help, and one she tends to find questionable or shameful. He can't bank on reluctant sympathies that are half engineered out of a sort of abusive dependency...even if they're really the only kinds of sympathies he's capable of evoking.]

The town was just working up to this. [He makes a somewhat mocking gesture to his outfit.] What do you think? Was it worth the effort?

[glowing_science]

Of course it is. You weren't the only one in that graveyard. [And she leaves it at that. There's no need to get into a deeper discussion about any of this, especially when he can read her mind.

Besides, he's calling attention to his getup, which looks more than a bit ridiculous, she has to admit.] Why are you even dressed up like that? What are you supposed to be?

[The borderline-silliness of it all, plus familiarity and the fact that he's obviously taking it with a grain of salt, is disarming her far more effectively than even he might have realized. Easy pickings.]

[have_your_lives]

[At Ema's questions, Schuldig grins - a sharklike grin that's only enhanced by the fact that his canines seem sharper than usual. Granted, there's no desire to suck blood or anything of the sort, but he's been fitted out to at least look the part of a vampire; why wouldn't it come with the most obvious accessories? And, as he often does, he gives the most unsettling answer possible.] I'm supposed to be dead.

Care to join me? [This statement is not actually meant to be connected to the last one - he simply intends for Ema to come with him - but there's a subconscious emphasis toward the macabre in Schuldig's behavior right now. It's largely town-inspired, but in truth he doesn't need any further incentive to amuse himself disturbing even those few people he likes than his own natural sadism

[glowing_science]

[Ema regards him with a raised eyebrow, not necessarily buying this whole elegant vampire act. That doesn't stop her from taking a step closer to him and taking his hand when he reaches out to her, however. There's something magnetic about him right now--she feels drawn to him in some strange way.

In the back of her mind, it occurs to her that he's likely influencing her mind to respond favorably to all of this.

However, she quickly deems it not worth fighting (further influence?). Instead, she smiles.] If you dying was what it took to turn you into a gentleman...

[She's teasing.]

[have_your_lives]

[Schuldig is almost pleasantly surprised by how readily she comes to him. He's not having to fight her much, mentally or otherwise. It's possible his own threads of mind control are being influenced by the town, to render his strong-arm tactics into something more subtle, more compelling in the style of a B-movie vampire seducing a female victim. Or maybe there's actually a latent charm effect inherent in his current state.

Or maybe he and Ema are on slightly better terms than he'd allowed himself to think. Though, frankly, he considers this the least likely possibility.

No matter the cause, however, her snarky reply actually gets a laugh out of him.] Oh, have I never shown you the suit in my closet...?

[And with that, he begins leading her out of the house, toward the graveyard. Through the door, simply because it's hard to gracefully climb out a window while holding someone's hand.]

[glowing_science]

No, you haven't. I don't make it a habit to poke around in your private belongings...

[Ema doesn't resist when he starts leading her away--he has her hook, line, and sinker. However, she is aware of herself enough to ask a simple question.]

Where are we going?

[have_your_lives]

[Another cackle. Interesting how easily they get along, with Mayfield's compulsions and Schuldig's telepathy smoothing the way...later, when he's more aware of just how much was induced rather than natural, Schuldig will be disgusted, but for now it's almost pleasant.] As if anyone does make a habit of it. But I meant while I've worn it, Ema.

[In response to her question, he simply grins.] You'll find out when we get there, won't you?