Hello darkness my old friend....

[doomedtheworld]

Characters: Vin and Elaine. Open to people coming to find her.
Time: Evening of February 15th. Immediately after she, Thomas and Kitten find Thomas.
Location: Between the Blackstone and Millenium Park
Content: Finding evidence of Elaine's presence in Thomas' apartment, Vin sets off in hot pursuit.
Warning: Some disturbing content.
Format: Prose.

Comments

Timeskip - Blackstone Hotel

[legallygreen]

The trip back to the Blackstone had been short enough with She-Hulk's strong legs propelling her. She got Vin up to her room, and got the girl stripped of her wet clothing and into the bed. She then returned to Jennifer's form, and got towels out of the bathroom, putting one over her own shoulders before gently drying Vin's hair while the other woman slept.

Now there was nothing to do but wait until Vin woke up. Jennifer wanted to go get some clothing, to take a hot shower and wait until Vin awoke in relative comfort. But she was too determined to be there when her friend returned. That only lasted about a half hour though before she went to her neighboring room, Neal's wrinkled silk tie still hanging from where it had been removed near the bedpost, and her cheeks flushed again as she traded her wet suit for her cozy warm pajamas and her bathrobe.

Grabbing a book, she returned to Vin's room, glad to see the other woman still slept, checking her for signs of pain or fever. It was probably going to be a long night of watching, but she was there for the long run, and opened her book, occasionally rubbing her own hair with her towel.

[doomedtheworld]

Vin lay silent as time ticked by, only occasionally making a small sound and shifting under the covers. Even now nightmares kept haunting her, images of the woods, the mirror and a dark shadowy version of herself. Only occasionally broken up by dreams of being alone in the rain with that... image she'd seen when she looked into the woman's face looming over her.

Still, even exhausted and hurt habits died hard ad only a few hours later, Vin awoke with a start. Her eyes snapped open and she blinked. She was in her room, and carefully tucked under her blankets which was strange. She was also undessed, which was slightly more strange... Vin always went to bed dressed. Finally, neither of her knives were in her hands which more than anything confirmed that she hadn't made it to her room herself.

Slowly, she scanned the room until her eyes fell on the woman seated next to her bed.

"Jenn?" She asked quietly, blinking at her.

[legallygreen]

"Hello." Jennifer replied softly.

She was more than a little relieved to have Vin wake up so soon, though it probably was not good for the younger woman. She set her book to the side and leaned forward, putting a hand on Vin's forehead. No fever, but she was nice and warm. Smiling, she leaned back.

"How are you feeling? Up to something warm to eat and drink?"

[doomedtheworld]

Vin glanced up at Jenn's hand when she touched her forehead, blinking, and shook her head. Slowly she forced herself to sit up. Her movements were slowl as the bits of the curse that clung to her made themselves known. It was nothing though, she had woken up hurting worse before.

"I'm not hungry." She said and glanced toward the window. Still dark out, she couldn't have been out longunless she'd somehow managed to sleep through the entire day. "How long was I asleep?"

[legallygreen]

Jennifer sat forward a little and smiled at the other woman. "Just a few hours. The sun is on it's way up, I'm sure."

She propped up pillows behind Vin so she could sit up more easily, and nodded, smoothing the blankets a little. "You should try to get back to sleep soon. But first...could you tell me what you remember? What you might remember about what attacked you? Apparently you're not the first person it attacked tonight. Thomas was hurt too, I guess."

Even Jennifer was able to feel badly for Thomas after seeing how Vin had been hurt. She frowned, pushing some now dry hair out of her face, getting up and going to the tray she had ordered up to the room. The tea pot was still warm though, and she poured a cup of the amber liquid and brought it back, setting it on the table next to Vin.

"Drink up. It's just tea."

[doomedtheworld]

Vin accepted the tea and drank slowly, sitting back against the pillows and wrapping the blanket around herself. The curse was still there but faded to a dull pain but that she could deal with. She'd woken up in worse shape than this in her past.

For now, she was just grateful for the warnmth from the blanket and the tea. Even if that tea, had been prepared and handed to her by somebody else. Besides, it was Jenn and she trusted her.

"I know about Thomas. Kitten sent out a message saying he was missing so I went with her and John to try and find him. When we got there I--" she frowned, "I found something that gave me an idea of who might have been there and...."

She trailed off as her memory went to her pursuit of someone in the rain and finding her. But who was it? She tried to remember but all she could see was the image of the creature she'd run into. A thing of endless darkness and rage that threatened to swallow her. The memory loomed over her, threatening to rob the strength from her.

"I don't remember." She said, setting the teacup down and shivering a little despite the blanket. "I know I went looking for somebody but I can't even remember who."

[legallygreen]

"It's okay. Something that strong, it doesn't surprise me that it could keep you from remembering. And in the long run, that's probably a good thing. John says he found a blonde hair at the scene of Thomas's attack." Jennifer replied with a nod.

"I've sent out a message to the people I know, people we both know, telling them to be cautious. You did manage to tell me it was a woman before the elderly lady that helped us had to let the spell go."

Jennifer poured Vin another cup of warming, soothing tea, the Sleepytime flavor, in hopes that the girl would get more rest. She looked at the other thing she had brought, and wondered if it were the appropriate time to try and give it to Vin, and decided to wait.

"John and I have talked and shared information..." And more. But she didn't mention it. "He tried following the blonde hair, but it blocked his own magic. So for now, your job is to get better."