Heartthrob

The drive was certainly an experience for the five of them. Long, silent, and some abysmal mixture of uneasy and comforting. Sure, in many ways, they were in the jaws of the enemy... Allowing themselves to be whisked away to an unknown stronghold, full of people who held beliefs that it would be merciful to call extremist. People who EJ had always believed, ever since she was pulled from the cold-wombs, would murder her with the same care one uses when taking out the trash. In a way, to the Waywards, killing the second-living was taking out the trash.

And yet, here she was, sitting in the back row of a vehicle ironically crafted to resemble a hearse, going along willingly with this sham of a plan. Walking of her own accord into the lion's den, at least figuratively. She could barely believe her own audacity. Telling Luca she'd divulge Tsang secrets to him? Tsang secrets she wasn't even sure if she had? Sure, he seemed nice, and Est trusted him implicitly... But what was his angle, what was his game?

Purity shifted in her seat, slipping an arm behind EJ's back to rest a palm on Esthrielle's back. The pale-haired cyborg looked over, but Purity was buried in her phone - sending a text one-handed, and then another, and another. Seemed important, so far as either of the other women could tell, but what could she be doing? Oh, duh. Texting Kell, letting her know they were... indisposed, but safe. Probably a solid idea.

Hearing that they were safe from Purity as opposed to Est or EJ would be the best option, anyways, thought the ghoulette. She instinctively patted herself down, realizing once again that her phone was missing, and cursing under her breath when it continued to evade her. Probably at Judas's, like she had earlier figured... But it didn't hurt to check, right? Right? Well, whatever. She didn't need that thing anyways.

What had it ever given her? Porn? She had had more sex in the last two weeks than in her entire life, and after some of it, she wasn't sure she needed more sexual stimulus any time soon. Anime? There was no time to sit and watch anything right now, and she wasn't in the mood, anyways. Music? The same as the anime. Memories?

She thought on that for a moment, letting her body lean into Purity's as Angelien made a long, forceful turn. Fuck, memories weren't something she could easily come by again once lost. Sure, she could do with losing the past three decades of employment and not care... Thirty birthdays down the drain... But her parents' phone numbers? Her notes of old friends' preferences and distastes? Her fucking mobile games that she had played for so long that they felt like a part of her now?

A downturn to Esper James' emotions came like a sudden storm, one far heavier than she had anticipated. Those things were things she couldn't replace. The photos of her family alone were worth their weight in gold, and while she had been finding herself in a new family of sorts, her parents had never wronged her, and they still meant something to the blonde. So far from here, all the way back in Nova Scotia... Back in the Maritimes, probably still able to eat poutine the intended way. Still alive, despite it all.

She had told them about Vitus, of course, and everyone in the UNAC knew of the second-living, but EJ had tried so hard to sell them on moving. Tried to get them to come here... Get revived, live forever, exist in a way they'd never lose her. A way she'd never lose them. But they had resisted her at every turn, telling her they wanted to die where they had lived all their lives, that they were proud of her for the life she had made for herself but didn't want to become undead like her. Told her they wanted to stay as they were, where they were.

Of course, these letters - yes, they still sent letters - had cut like blades into EJ's tender heart. After she had been forced into undeath, thrust into this world of flesh and little black pills and nocturnal life... To hear them reject it? To hear that her parents thought it would be better to live and die a true life and true death, away from this city of living death? Away from everything she had dedicated her first and second lives to?

Even now it brought tears to EJ's eyes, and she hunched over in her seat in a pitiful attempt to hug herself. A single sob broke the semi-silence, and in an instant, a pair of hands were on her thighs in offered comfort. One came from Esthrielle, right beside her, the owner of said hand leaning herself down and squishing over to offer the security of bodily warmth to the blonde. The other came from the shotgun seat - from Luca, his hand and gaze offered with a sad, sympathetic smile.

Luca spoke up when no one else could bring themselves to, EJ's watery eyes still locked down upon the carpeted floor of the vehicle. "Ah, little one... Again, I promise you, that no harm shall come to you. We will ask you some questions, speak with you about the city, and then release you. I am sure the mother abbess can organize a meal to be made to fit your... tastes, as well. Please, no tears." While he didn't know the true reason for the ghoulette's sadness, his words still soothed - EJ felt herself calming just from listening to him, and the shared closeness of the four of them helped her steady herself.

She nodded then, blonde locks shaking gently as her head bobbed; her back straightened slowly, and while her arms remained about herself, she seemed more stable than before. Luca's smile turned brighter, and he gave her a nod before returning his gaze to the road. It was Est's turn, then, to offer some further comfort - Purity was already holding EJ, and couldn't do much more for her, so it was up to the other Italian.

Esthrielle leaned over further as EJ straightened herself, her face coming close to EJ's own, and for a moment, hesitation gripped her. Her breath was warm against the ghoul's cheek, the heat of life permeating every minute rush of air; EJ began to turn her head to Est, but when she did, Est made her move. Just a sliver of distance, no more than three inches in distance, and connection was made: sweet, supple connection, the warrior's thin lips pressing awkwardly but genuinely upon the second-living's flesh.

There wasn't much Esthrielle and Esper James hadn't done together at that point - willingly or at figurative gunpoint. The entire spectrum, from handholding to outright sex, and yet... There was something new, something unfamiliar and indescribable about the gesture. Esper James gasped aloud, but didn't make to pull away - and, after casting a glance to a now-smirking Purity, she allowed it to linger there.

Esthrielle let it linger, too. She shut her eyes, the gentle smack of a completed kiss coming out timidly, barely audible above the sound of the vehicle's motion from outside. After the first, another one, more confident - more assured that it was okay to do, that it would be fine to get one more. EJ's tears were still wet upon her face, but no new ones were coming since Luca's reassurance - and in their place, a wide, bashful smile was forming, edges of her lips curling up, broad fangs displayed for all to see.

In the rearview mirror, Luca's own grin was as ivory and charming as ever. He winked back at Purity as she locked eyes with him in the reflection, then returning his gaze to the road. Purity simply gave a single muted chuckle and used her extended arm to pull the other two closer. There was nothing needful or jealous about the gesture; it wasn't performed to ward them away from their gentle, innocent affection, nor was it meant to steal one from the other.

When Est had finished kissing EJ's cheek, EJ turned her head to look at the white-haired woman at her side, only to find her looking at her feet with a notably new shade to her face. Her lip trembled as though there were a great many words each seeking to spill forth at once, and yet nothing came out - and so Esper James took the discarded initiative, pulling Esthrielle just that much closer. Their bodies touched, and in that moment, an impromptu group-embrace was formed.

Esper James spoke then, softly in tone but audible enough that Luca and Angelien could hear her. "Est... Esthrielle. I'm so sorry you got roped in with us in this nightmare. I promise, we're... We're gonna do everything we can to fix things for all of us, and then you can, I dunno... Go back to Italy with Luca, I guess. Go wherever you're happy." She gave Esthrielle a squeeze, and now it was Est's turn to weep.

A single sob broke the silence, and this time, no one said anything. They allowed her to have a moment with her own emotions, to contemplate the turmoil of a boundless, wayward heart. EJ laid her hand upon the one Est had on her thigh, and in a gentle motion, took the other woman's in her own. Est sobbed again, and the floodgates were completely rent asunder - sob after sob, soft at first but growing in intensity and volume, began to pour forth. Angelien removed a hand from the wheel to go turn the music up, hoping to drown out Est's sorrow with the sounds of violin - Luca tenderly pushed her hand away.

The rest of the drive was more somber, and in the same breath, more welcoming. It felt safer inside that vehicle than the three women in the back had felt in myriad days, the grief of their ordeal outweighed in this moment by the serenity of a moving vehicle, clean bodies, clean upholstery, and the presence of those who promised to protect them. Esthrielle settled herself into EJ's arms, and EJ in turn into Purity's, and the trio remained that way for the remaining duration of the drive. Finally, they arrived in the outskirts of Vitus, a desolate place riddled with derelict buildings and the burnt-out remnants of machinery.

Sure, Vitus was still growing even all these years after its initial conception and boom, but not every stretch grew the same. This stretch of once-hopeful cityscape was home now to little more than vagrants, rats, and dust. However, as the car swung around a corner and pulled itself into the sub-level parking garage of what seemed to be an abandoned medical complex, things began to change. Subtly at first, but more noticeable as they continued to line up: a lack of dust, tire tracks that seemed too fresh for the location, security cameras that still turned despite an apparent lack of function all told the truth of this place.

As the car reached a wall at the far end of the parking garage, it stopped - but neither Luca nor Angelien moved. Seconds passed like so many drops of rain in a thunderstorm, splashing down upon the occupants of the pseudo-hearse, until finally there was a loud hiss as hydraulics set into motion. Pneumatic pistons hidden within the brickwork of the wall drew a sizable chunk of it aside, making room for the vehicle to drive straight in, the other side of the false wall now revealing a smaller but far more pristine lot where two other identical sedans sat.

There was a woman in a nun's habit there, standing near a human-sized door set into the far wall. She had blonde hair and brown eyes, her hair almost completely hidden by her headpiece, but just enough of her bangs showing to determine the color - and thankfully, she was staring straight at the vehicle as it pulled in, so she was easy to observe. In her right hand, held close to her waist, was a machine pistol similar to Luca's.

Angelien pulled them in flawlessly beside one of the other vehicles, parked at a perfect parallel with mechanized precision. She turned her head to the nun outside, who bowed after a few moments of prolonged silence, then turning back to run through the door behind her. Luca nodded after a few more seconds of tranquil stillness, and began to address the women in the back of the car.

"Alright. Heike is going to go inform the rest of the convent that we are here, and begin preparations for dinner. I sincerely hope lamb is to your tastes, EJ." The way he said EJ was strange, stilted in a way as if he didn't normally move his mouth at all, and saying a shorthand name like EJ was anathema. But, still, he powered through it, and that was good enough for the blonde in the back seat. The blonde in the front seat, however, couldn't help but smirk at her lordship's inflection.

EJ nodded rapidly at the mention of lamb, her mouth already watering. Lamb? Fucking lamb? And since these were Easterners, old-world types, it was probably real lamb fresh from a farm out of town, or at least a few weeks frozen. That would be such an upgrade from what she had been eating these past however-many-days with Kell and Est and Purity that the idea of fresh-ish meat punched her in the gut with how badly it made her carnivorous inclinations flare. She had to set her jaw to restrain herself from just taking a chunk of Purity in her teeth.

Once the inclination had passed, she chanced opening her maw to speak. "That sounds lovely, Luca, I'm delighted to hear that you'd have me for dinner at all. It's a great honor to even be here right now." A great honor to be here as opposed to a splatter of greyish-black flesh and blood smeared on the pavement, she thought to herself, but she doubted Luca liked that kind of honest humor.

Luca gave her an affirmative gesture with his hand and head, nodded and tilting his wrist. "But of course. You are our guest here tonight. Esthrielle tells me you are not opposed to alcohol? I should hope not, we will be having red wine." Esper James nearly broke her docile posture at that, the humor of it stabbing between her ribs like a hitman's blade. Oh, of course the Catholics were having red wine with their dinner of lamb. The symbolism was so rich as to probably just be how they normally did things, and they didn't even realize how funny it was.

She cleared her throat to free herself of mirth before giving him a thumbs up, faking a few more coughs to make it seem like she couldn't answer verbally. Luca chuckled, undoing his seatbelt and climbing up and out of the vehicle. The women followed suit, with Angelien pushing herself out of the driver's seat only once the trio of ladies in the back seat had exited first. Once they were all out, the car's lights flashed twice, and its horn chirped in repetition to indicate it was locked. Angelien was still smirking, mischief in her eyes despite an absence of words on her lips, though Luca took it upon himself to say what he was thinking aloud.

"Alright, now, right through this door and we will introduce you to the mother abbess. She is in charge here, not me, though I will do my best to ensure she treats you all well. As well, it seems you could all use some new clothes - that can be arranged. Come, come, inside." He gestured them all towards the door, and once again, the lot of them did as they were told - filing in through the lone door in the garage, each eager to be within the convent for their own reasons.

For Purity, it was the promise of newer, fresher clothing. For Est, it was seeing her comrades again, even if they were meeting under strange terms. And for Esper James, finally, it was the meat that had been offered. She had had altogether too much wine when she last saw Judas, so that didn't tantalize her, but she thought back to the feeling of ripping through that Tsang officer's musculature with nothing but her teeth.

It had been euphoric. Terrifying, repulsive, vile, guilt-inducing... But euphoric nonetheless. She had never tasted a meat that remained so ingrained into her mind as that. Frankly, she wasn't even sure there was a steak in the world that could compare, but some delicious lamb cooked by a nunnery composed entirely of trained killers was still pretty tempting.

Oh, shit. This better not awaken anything inside of me, she thought.