Subterranean Homesick Blues (Closed, Charlotte Only)

[Abigail Parker]

The pebbles on the road rumbled underneath the tires of the pickup truck as it chugged along towards Oak Town at a leisurely pace. The moon was just beginning to rise, painting the sky a calming, inky blue dotted with pinpricks of white light. There was just enough light with which to write, which was what the passenger in the truckbed was currently doing. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, her mismatched eyes following the movements of her left hand as it danced across the paper in her lap, pen in hand. Her long, fiery red hair shifting in the breeze, the young woman sung to herself as she wrote. "Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear. How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air..." Her voice was a pleasant mezzo-soprano, obviously practiced in the art of song.

The truck hit a bump, causing everything in its bed to bounce up very briefly. Abigail took this moment to pause in her writing and see if she could steal a glance at her destination. Turning around and peering around the truck's cabin, she saw it: Oak Town. Or at least its silhouette. The dominating feature of the town was most certainly the large castle resting on top of the hill which the town sat around. In the daylight, she was certain the sight would've been breathtaking. But in the dark of night, it was nothing short of intimidating. The fact that Oak was supposedly where the Magic Council had established its headquarters after the war certainly didn't help to alleviate that feeling. As if to choke the uneasiness in smoke, Abby pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit up, before returning to the letter which still sat unfinished upon her lap. All the while, the words still sang from her lips.

"Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor I met a girl so fair. But Gollum and the Evil One! Crept up and slipped away with heeeerr! Heeeerr... Heeeerr, yeah." Though slightly muffled by the cigarette in her mouth, her voice still carried emotional power. The mention of the "girl so fair" brought to mind her wife, Sarah, the intended recipient of the letter she was writing. Smiling, Abigail continued dragging her pen across the paper, for nearly a half hour. It was only when the truck passed under the gates of the crumbling walls surrounding Oak Town that the young woman began to gather her effects: the letter, her journal, the pen. Bundling them all together, she stuffed them into the duffel bag sitting next to her and slung it over one shoulder.

When the vehicle came to a stop, she rose to her feet and disembarked, the heels of her black leather boots slapping loudly against the stone as she landed on the street. Stuffing her free hand into the pocket of her coal black jeans, Abigail walked up to the driver's side of the cabin. The driver rolled down the window and poked his head out. He was an elderly man, more gray in his beard than color, with kind blue eyes and a grandfatherly grin. After adjusting the thin strap of her black tanktop, Abigail produced a small pouch full of money from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Thanks for the ride, man. I appreciate it." As the man took the money off her hands, his fingers seemed to purposefully brush up against the wooden rosary wrapped around her wrist. "Always willing to help out a wandering pilgrim. Stay safe, kiddo." And with that, he drove off, waving. Abigail waved back, the black tribal tattoos on her left arm seeming to shift and mingle with the shadows of the moonlit night. Pulling off her glasses, revealing the long, horizontal scar running across her nose, the redheaded adventurer began wandering the streets of Oak Town.

Her reasons for journeying into the proverbial lion's den were many. Chief among them being the rumors of a woman in a priest's cassock being sighted about a week ago. If Abigail were a betting woman, she'd put good money on that woman being Emiliana. Undoubtedly she was planning something horrible. But what? That was always what scared her about the Woman in Black. There was never any knowing what she would do until it already happened. All that could be said that the results were never good for anyone within the immediate area. Just thinking about the past horrors she had visited upon innocents made Abigail wish that Emiliana was standing before her at present, if only so she could strangle her sister and end her evil acts.

Of course, her ever-eternal pursuit of her vile kin wasn't the only reason she came to Oak Town. After the encounter with the Council's seeker, Abigail figured it'd be best to distance herself from Era as much as possible. And heading straight for the Council's stomping grounds was most certainly an unorthodox choice, one that she doubted any pursuers would've been able to foresee. But it would be foolish of her to assume that simply because she made such an unprecedented decision, the Council wouldn't be able to find her. She'd have to be careful, not garner any undue attention.

But at the moment, all Abigail cared about was finding a place to rest for the night. On such a pleasant night, she wouldn't mind a perch in some tree, or even a park bench. As she puzzled over this, the young woman sat down on the curb so that she could allow her feet some rest. Sitting there, she stared at the wedding band which adorned her left hand, the moonstone seeming to glow in the light of the full moon. "I hope you're doing okay, honey. I'll be home as soon as I can. Promise." she assured Sarah, even though they were separated by entire worlds, if not dimensions. She might as well have been assuring the wind. But she felt that her wife would be able to hear her, no matter the distance.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte was standing inside a seemingly empty room painted in white and cream colors. It reminded her of a ball room out of a fairy tale that gave off a peaceful air all around. It was one of her most favorite place after the library. A huge mirror was in front of her and her eyes spotted a lean, small, raven haired girl. Her hair was all over her face and there were tears streaming down her milky white skin of her cheeks. She looked tired, her chest heaving up and down as her right hand held on to a broken piece of glass. Her plain white shirt had stains of blood here and there…blood of her own of course. Same blood that was now trickling down from her right hand that held on to the piece of glass.

Thirty minutes ago, she was a the dining room, sitting along with her father and brother in silence, eating whatever the maid served for them. Twenty five minutes ago, she was engaged in a heated conversation with her father. She had heard once again that someone innocent had once again been forced into joining a guild. Her father was taking away their freedom because he was scared of something that he never even talked about, Twenty minutes ago, she was in her rage mode, throwing and breaking everything she saw which included the plates and glasses. Fifteen minutes ago, her father had struck her for the first time and Kai had to hold him back. She knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn’t have lost it but she was angry at her father for the stupid things that he was doing. He was completely oblivious to what was going around him and he was turning into a coward even without realizing it himself.

And now, fifteen minutes after that, she was standing in her mother’s old dancing room where she had some of her best memories from her child hood. The room was lighted so much to keep anyone warm but Charlotte felt cold as if something in her had frozen over. The next minute, she was moving across the tiled floor, gliding and almost flying, drawing pictures with her legs and hands. The glass reflected her lithe figure moving gracefully and dancing as if she was singing a song with her body... a song that screamed her frustration and sorrow. The piece of glass laid abandoned at the far corner of the room where she had thrown it.

Another fifteen minutes later, she was lying on the cold floor, catching her breath and running her hands across her hair, screaming in frustration in solitude so that no-one can hear. She knew she couldn’t stay inside that suffocating place any more than this. She had to get out and clear her mind. She had to stay sane minded unlike her father who was going to cause his own destruction if he wouldn’t be careful.

With that thought, she kicked herself off the ground, landing on her feet before dragging herself off to her room. She ignored the questioning glances she received as she stormed into her room, quiet with her head hanging down. It took her less than ten minutes to clean the blood off her and to get changed before she came out of her room. This time, with her head held high with an expressionless face. She caught site of her brother from the corner of her eyes who gave her a nod before retreating to his own room. He knew better than confronting her about anything that night and she was thankful for it.

As the cold wind hit her white dress clad figure, she did nothing to stop the biting chill that ran all over her. It was a sort of punishment for herself…for losing her cool and making such an episode. She might have been the right one but it still didn’t mean that she should have acted like how she did. And she was hoping for it to calm her down for she wanted nothing more than to destroy something in front of her.

The streets were almost empty, only working men were out and they were going home. ‘Home’ she snickered at the word. Her home was destroyed when her mother died and her sister went missing. Her father was never the same after that, she concluded in her head as she sighed.

Walking around under the brightly lit moon, she noticed a woman she had never seen before sitting looking at something on her hand. A ring? She noticed that she was talking to herself and wondered what the girl was doing there alone instead of finding somewhere to sleep. It was obvious that she was a traveler so why wasn’t she finding an inn? Oak town wasn’t the perfect place to be sitting around like this especially with the guards around. “What are you doing here?” she asked the woman, looking around to see if there were any council guards patrolling that part of the town.

[Abigail Parker]

When Abigail heard someone speaking, she snapped out of her musings and looked up to see who it was. What she saw was a young girl, maybe only in her late teens, with inky black hair and amber eyes. Looking at this girl, it seemed sort of strange that she was asking what the redhead was doing out at night. If she were feeling confrontational, Abby would've had half a mind to turn the question right back on her. But the kid seemed nice enough. Brushing away the bangs covering her left eye, revealing its own amber iris, Abigail spoke up. "Oh, y'know. Just givin' my feet a rest and enjoyin' the night air." she said in a conversational drawl, pulling out her cigarettes and lighter with the intention of gunning another stick. The flickering lighter flame illuminated her face, making her facial features more easily discernible in the darkness of night. In the orange light of the fire, the scar on her face was more prominent, the tissue still very red. Fresh.

Dragging off her cigarette and exhaling the smoke away from the teenager, Abigail rose to her feet and shouldered her duffel bag. Standing at her full stature, it quickly became obvious that the redhaired Amazon had a good five inches or more on the raven-haired girl standing before her. Abby hated when that kind of thing happened. It meant she literally had to look down at a person simply to make eye contact. It was enough to make her wish she hadn't inherited the height gene from her father's side of the family. The only Parker she knew that was below 5'9" was her aunt Allison. Everyone else was at least that tall. Hell, Marian was six even, last time Abigail had seen her.

Dismissing thoughts of her pseudo-gigantism from her mind, Abigail put on a warm, friendly smile and extended her hand for the girl to shake. "The name's Abigail." she said, either unaware or uncaring of the fact that the fringe was back with a vengeance, completely concealing her left eye from view. Without missing a beat, her hand still held out, she continued speaking. "Since you asked me, I figure it's only fair that I get to ask you. What's got your out and about tonight? Figure most people are in their beds countin' sheep right about now." Abigail's tone was that of idle curiosity. She wasn't really looking to pry into the girl's business, but it was rather strange for a girl to be out so late without company. Awaiting a response in regards to at least her introduction, Abigail took another hit off her cigarette, exhaling rings of thick gray smoke up towards the night sky.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte was aware of the eyes that took her in and just stood there waiting for her to make a move. She nodded when she got her answer and took a step backwards as she lighted a cigarette. Charlotte wasn’t a fan of cigarettes and she didn’t hide it with polite smiles. She wasn’t even feeling like smiling that day. Though the light did allow her to see the woman a lot more easier. Her eyes landed on the scar on her face, making her wonder how such a beautiful woman could have gotten a scar like that on her face.

Charlotte had to look up at her when she got up; a nagging voice inside her head told her that she didn’t really like the height different between them. Somehow that meant she had to look up at this woman whom she didn’t know. Charlotte was average when it came to height. She might be prettier than most, as a few others tell her but she wasn’t the mature woman with killer looks despite being 18 years old.

Shaking her head to drop the subject from her head, she took Abigail’s extended hand. “Charlotte and I’m out because...reasons,” she trailed off, looking away. She couldn’t possibly tell her she was out because she had a fight with her father who is the council head about his actions. “Shouldn’t you be finding a place to stay tonight?” she asked, running a hand through her hair. “It is pretty late after all and sitting around here is not good because the council guards will be out patrolling tonight.”

[Abigail Parker]

So the girl's name was Charlotte. At least she was willing to give out that much. Now Abigail could stop calling her "girl" and address her like a proper human being. A start in the right direction, she had to say. Abigail rolled her shoulders and looked up at the night sky before speaking. "'Reasons,' huh...?" she parroted, taking a hit off her cigarette, the cherry glowing a bright orange. "Well, whatever your reasons for walkin' around, you definitely picked a good night for it." And indeed, it was a very fine night for a stroll. The crisp air was enough to keep you awake, but lacked the teeth of winter, and the combination of the street lamps, the moon and the stars painted a pretty picture of Oak Town. Looking at the town from its streets, it seemed a lot more quaint than first impressions had implied. Though it probably helped that the castle's fearsome silhouette was completely out of sight at the moment.

Abigail was brought back to reality when Charlotte insisted that she should be finding a place to crash for the night, citing the lateness of the hour and the Council as reasons why such an action would be a good idea. The mention of the Council made her roll her eyes. "Yare yare dawa..." she muttered under her breath, not expecting Charlotte to understand what it meant. Although the exasperation in her tone probably served as a good hint. "The Council doesn't exactly scare me. I'm not harming anyone by enjoying the night, am I? I've got nothin' to hide, no dirty deeds I intend to do. So if they decide to start something with me, it'll be on their heads. Otherwise, I'll just stay out of their way." During this whole impromptu speech, Abigail began gesturing in an aggressive manner, pointing at empty space with every "they" and pointing at herself with every "I" or "me," the rosary beads around her wrist rattling with every movement. She wasn't spoiling for a fight or anything, but there was no way in Hell she'd let the specter of the Council push her around. She was sick of being told that the Council was something she was supposed to fear. They were mere human beings, just like she was, and they held no power over her.

Inhaling deeply and then exhaling, Abigail stuffed one hand back into her jeans pocket, while the other one rested on the duffel bag hanging off her shoulder. "Sorry about that rant. I just don't take all that kindly to the implication that the law has the right to push me around when I'm minding my own damn business." she said, taking a final drag off her cigarette and flicking away the butt. She turned around as if she intended to walk away, then looked over her shoulder at Charlotte. "But you're right. We should probably get off the streets if we don't want trouble. You hungry?"

[Charlotte]

She was surprised. There were a very few people that openly talked about the Council like that. Most were scared of it even though they didn’t have to be. She supposed it is people scared of consequences and what not. The Council wasn’t some tyrannical body ran by a tyrant even though the recent laws had given that impression to people. She sighed knowing that the Council had stained its image as an organization for the people and justice.

“It’s alright. I can understand. I’m not a fan of the council these days either,” she said, looking around to see any of them coming around. The last thing she wanted was for the woman to know she is Argon’s daughter, ruining her evening in the process. “Yeah…I’m hungry. I know just the place to go to,” she smiled, gesturing with a tilt of her head to the right. “There is this great place where you can eat all sorts of sea food. Oh if you are ok with sea food,” She said putting a hand to her chin in deep thought.

The sea food restaurant was run by someone she knew since childhood. She remembered how her brother and sometimes her father took her to the place, knowing how much she liked sea food. But as much as she wanted to go there, she wanted to know if Abigail is okay with sea food. The last time she took someone there without notice, she threw up because she was allergic to sea food.

[Abigail Parker]

When Charlotte suggested that they go to a sea food restaurant that she knew about, a smile reminiscent of a well-fed cat appeared on Abigail's face and she nodded. "Yeah, sea food sounds great." she said in accordance before rotating sharply on her heels and walking towards the right, as Charlotte had indicated by gesturing her head. She moved at a slow pace, mainly because she wasn't in any sort of hurry, though there was a small skip in her step, as if she were close to bursting with energy. Her boot heels clocked loudly against the sidewalk with every step she took, producing a steady, toneless beat.

Rotating once again so that she was walking backwards, Abigail made eye contact with Charlotte and began talking. "Ya seem to know the layout of the town really well, Charlotte. This where you grew up?" she asked in a conversational manner, brushing her hair out of her face again. Abby figured she might as well try to get to know her new friend on the way to the restaurant. Of course, it was up to Charlotte if she wanted to be forthcoming with information. If she didn't feel like talking, then the subject would be dropped. Some people just liked to keep things to themselves.

As she awaited some sort of response from Charlotte, Abigail yet again spun around on her heel so that she was facing forward, just in time to sidestep a lamppost she would have otherwise walked into. Then she began humming a melody to herself. It was a jazzy sort of tune, fast-paced, energetic and eclectic. She slapped her free hand against her thigh to simulate the beat, mostly to keep time beyond anything else. If it were being played on actual instruments, it'd undoubtedly be something worth dancing to. And probably a good bit louder.

[Charlotte]

The grin that slowly took form on Abigail’s lips told her that she did like the idea of sea food. ‘That’s great’ Charlotte thought happily as she took the lead, walking the familiar road to her favorite sea food restaurant in all of Fiore. The steady beat of Abigail’s boots reached her ears as Charlotte relaxed not having to look back to see if she is still following her. When Abigail spun on her heels to walk backwards, Charlotte took her eyes off of her father’s poster on the side walk to look at her in question. Well, of course she knew the town like the back of her hand. No-one has probably strolled around this town like she has. Not to mention she had gone on countless patrols around the place, sometimes early in the morning and sometimes late at night. Every route, every road, every building, every shop and even the remote locations of the town had been sketched into her memories with her ability to remember everything as if she has a photo of it.

“Well, I was born in Era and lived there till you know what happened,” Charlotte started, thinking back to her life in Era when her mother was alive as well. Era was a beautiful place even though it was home to the only governmental body in Fiore, the magic council. Those were good times…only if they could have lasted a little longer. “After the war and everything, I moved to Oak the same year that the council moved to set up their main headquarters here. I had to leave a lot of good memories back there…feels like they have been destroyed along with Era…”she trailed off with a sad smile. “Depressing thoughts aside,” she started again, making a lazy waving motion with her left hand as if brushing aside her current thoughts. “What took you to Oak?” She asked, slightly swaying to the sides in tune with Abigail’s humming. “You must really like music…”she grinned, thinking back to the time where her mother used to sing for her.

Taking a sharp left turn, the familiar structure of the small beige colored sea food restaurant that had a big colorful banner on top. The restaurant’s banner had soft neon lights on it that made the place pretty hard to miss on a night like the one they were wandering around on. “That’s the place” she singed cheerfully, increasing her pace with a light skip.

[Abigail Parker]

Abigail nodded solemnly when Charlotte explained that she had been born in Era, but the war had forced her to relocate. It was a story the youngster shared with many others, both in Fiore and elsewhere. War was good at that kind of thing. Ruining people's lives, displacing refugees... All meaningless cruelty. She realized she sounded like a hippie when she said it, but time and time again Abigail found herself wishing that people would take Lennon's advice and "give peace a chance." Most of her family had resigned themselves to the "fact" that true peace was a pipe dream, and even she had to admit to herself that it was true, on her more cynical days. But that didn't stop her from wishing it wasn't.

Charlotte brought Abigail out of her own thoughts by asking why she had come to Oak Town. "I..." She began to say, before stopping herself in order to think about her answer. It went without saying that not a single word of her fugitive status would be uttered. But beyond that... Should she tell Charlotte the truth? That she was hunting Emiliana with the intent to kill her? Abby felt that would prove to be unwise. Charlotte had no idea just how much evil Emili had done. How many people she had murdered. And even if she were told of all those atrocities, there was no guarantee that the girl wouldn't just say that killing the bitch wasn't the right course of action. But at the same time, Abigail doubted that she'd buy the "just passing through" line of bull. She had been suspicious enough of her to question why she was sitting on a curb, after all.

Sighing, the redhead found her voice again. "I came here because I'm looking for someone. A woman. About in her early fifties, dressed like a priest." As she told these facts to Charlotte, she reached into her jeans pocket for her cigarettes and lighter. "I heard rumors that someone matching that description had been spotted here recently, so I did as logic would dictate and made my way here as well." It was a bare bones version of the truth. Anything Charlotte didn't need to know wasn't mentioned. By now, her previously cheerful and passionate expression had shifted to a picture that was far more difficult to read. Her eyelids drooped, a dark vibe to her gaze, and her lips were a vague frown. She dragged off her cigarette, the smoke seeping out through her nostrils when she breathed out.

When Charlotte commented on her love of music, however, some of Abigail's good cheer returned. A small, yet warm smirk played across her lips, juxtaposed with the grim fire in her eyes. "Yeah, I do. My mom and dad were in a rock band together when they were kids. It was how they met." She placed a hand over her heart, as if to feel the warmth of those older, happier times. "Mom would listen to some of her old vinyl LPs when she was pregnant with me, and dad got me my first album for my sixth birthday." She still remembered which album it was, too. Queen's News Of The World. Dad already owned it on vinyl, but she had begged him for her own copy. So he eventually gave in and bought the CD. She practically set up a shrine to the damn thing on her dresser. Abigail wouldn't be surprised if it was still sitting there in her room, in the past... future... whatever. (Gods, but time travel was stupidly confusing.)

"What about you, Charlotte? I noticed you groovin' to the tune I was hummin'. You must have a musical bone or two in yer body." She then asked, turning the dark-haired girl's question back onto her. It was around the same time that Charlotte pointed out that they were within spitting distance of the sea food restaurant. The low-key coloring contrasted by the bright and loud banner was strangely inviting to Abby, and she couldn't help following Charlotte's lead and picking up in speed a little.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte, as much as she played the part of a retard in other’s eyes was not as ignorant as everyone assume to whatever goes on around her. Even though she didn’t look back at Abigail, the amber eyed girl could read the heavy atmosphere which pushed away the juvenile one out rather quickly to settle in followed by a few minutes of silence with the only sound being the one made by their shoes tapping on the concrete below.

‘So she is looking for someone important hmm’ Charlotte mused, looking at Abigail from the corner of her eyes now, zeroing in on her blank looking face. That look, Charlotte could instantly tell, was not that of longing or of affection. It was strange but lucid and yet almost unreadable but the eighteen year old paladin, even though she couldn’t be sure, got the feeling that Abigail is not exactly looking for a tearful reunion with whoever she is searching for. The cool night wind that ruthlessly pierced through the still night had Charlotte wrapping her hands around herself as she thought back to the description that Abigail had given to her. A woman in her late fifties dressed like a priest, huh? None fitted the countless faces and images of people that ran through her mind like a slide show, almost effortlessly. She concluded that, either this person never showed up in the town or had not checked in with the council which would be most unlikely as Magic Council has been collecting data of everyone that goes in and out of town ever after the previous attack. Sometimes, it proves to be difficult as not everyone has intentions to check in with the council where members like herself who was fortunate to have photographic memory and Kai, who is fairly good at remembering, comes in to identify them. The siblings were the sharpest tools the Council had so far with their amazing power to remember things easily in first glance.

“I think I would remember if I saw someone of that description…” she trailed off with a finger on her chin as her steps became more light and relaxing. Looking back, Charlotte smiled as she saw Abi’s face lighting up at the mention of music. She could just feel the warmth of her words, and her precious memories about the two most important people in a child’s life. She was glad that Abigail had such good memories about her childhood. Sighing, she remembered her mother’s kind face along with her father’s strict and sometimes flustered face. Now that she thought about it, between the two of them, her mother was always the light and guide for her father. She saw faults in her father’s judgments for the first time after her mother’s death and even now, she could tell that her father lacked the presence of someone warm in his life that was able to absorb all of his troubles.

She was pulled out from her train of thoughts at as Abi directed the question back at her. She just grinned, nodding as she looked straight back to the street. “My mother used to sing for me and brother all the time when we were kids. The songs were sometimes slow and melodious and sometimes they were fast and groovy. She loved to sing for us,” she said, closing her eyes. “Anyway, since we are here no…” she trailed off without completing her sentence, color quickly draining from her face as she saw some magic council guards coming towards them from the opposite direction. From what she could tell, they were out on patrol with a bottle of beer in one of their hands. As much as she wanted to yell at the fools for drinking while they are doing patrol, she didn’t want her companion to figure out who she was just yet. And so, just as the guards neared them, Charlotte swiftly spun on her heels, pretending to smoothen out her dress as she hid her face from them, whistling a happy tune to herself. When she was sure that they have passed, the sound of their footsteps dying in her ears, she slowly looked back before letting out a big sigh of relief. “That was close,” she whispered more to herself without noticing it as she looked up to find Abigail behind her. “Ahh My dress was getting caught up in the wind hahahaha,” she laughed it off as she crossed the street easily to get to the restaurant.

Gozen must have recognized her raven hair and short height instantly as he called out to her from behind the counter.
“Oy! Kiddo! Isn’t it past your curfew already?” he laughed, probably thinking back to the days her father came or rather stormed in to find her fooling around the restaurant just because she stayed past her allotted time. Her father’s red face was one to see as he practically dragged her out of the restaurant with everyone staring at them trying to hold in their laughter. Her father was way too overprotective then and she knew that it hasn't changed much now either. There would be huge almost unbreakable walls her future lover would have to pass to get to her, the picture of her father and brother crossing her mind as she thought so.

“Gozen! Hey! Don’t joke around about that anymore!” she shuddered “I don’t want to remember anymore,” she pouted as they stared at each other for a second before doubling over in laughter the next second. “Anyway, you have to get me and my friend here something special tonight~” she sung, nodding her head towards Abigail.

[Abigail Parker]

When Charlotte said she didn't remember seeing anyone matching Emiliana's description, Abigail couldn't keep herself from chuckling. "If there's one thing I know for sure about that bitch, she's harder to catch than a ghost. Feel like I'm chasing air half the time..." She said, her words laced with thinly veiled frustration. The wanderer ran a hand through her fiery red locks, taking a hit off her cigarette with the other. That grim, smoldering look in her eye intensified, and she continued speaking. "But I've been on her trail for a while now. I know what to look for. And it's all going to end here, in Fiore."

With that vague statement made, Abby fell silent about her troubles. She had already said too much, and she didn't want Charlotte getting involved. It was a matter of family. A matter which she bore the responsibility of ending. It was her burden. Her sin. Best to keep it that way. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Abigail flicked away her cigarette and shouldered her duffel bag as she and Charlotte continued walking towards the sea food restaurant.

As Charlotte told her more about her mother, about how she'd sing for her and her brother, the small smile on Abby's face grew a little more. Though even then, her eyes contained a darkness that just refused to disappear. But she was happy that the girl had lived a good life at some point before the war. It was more than some others had. The desire to ask Charlotte more about her mother was somewhere in Abigail's mind, but she knew better than that. It was the girl's decision whether she wanted to say more than what had already been divulged.

And then Abigail spotted some guards. "Shit..." She hissed, noticing that their uniforms bore the symbol of the Council. Well that was even better. Thinking fast, the redhead brought a hand up to her mouth and let out a noisy cough. She made it a point to close her eyes as she did this, since they were most definitely her most identifiable feature. The guards walked by without incident, it seemed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But she didn't open her eyes until all she heard was wind. Charlotte said something about her skirt catching in the wind, but it sounded somewhat forced. Abigail wondered if maybe the girl had reason to hide from the Council as well. But again, she didn't ask aloud. It wasn't her business.

With the close brush with the law out of the way, the two of them finally reached the restaurant. The owner seemed to recognize Charlotte, going by the familiar way he called out to her from the counter as they both walked in. He mentioned something about her father, but Charlotte essentially told him to can it. More things the youngster seemed to want to hide. Abigail shrugged. She wasn't one to judge. After all, she had her own secrets. But when Charlotte mentioned a special meal and nodded in her direction, the vagabond spoke up. "Oh, you don't have to do anything extravagant. I'll settle for some fish and chips. Maybe a beer, if you sell any." She told Gozen, smiling humbly. It was true. She'd just be happy to eat something other than trail mix or bar food tonight. But really, it depended on how insistent either Charlotte or Gozen planned on being.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte pushed her disheveled raven hair back behind her right ear as she smiled at Abigail from one of the counter seats that she had taken after greeting Gozen. It was fun, in her opinion to go there once in a while with a friend, she thought as she patted another seat beside her for the said friend. “Come on…Sit down! I’m sure Gozen would get us something good and don’t worry about payment…I bet Gozen would give them for free!” she gave a cheeky smile to Gozen who instantly looked up alarmed from one of the plates he was cleaning with a small glare directed straight at the giggling amber eyed girl. “You are rich enough to pay for the whole shop, Charlotte,” he commented, putting the plate away before going off to grab something for the two of his customers.

Charlotte sweat dropped at the comment and waved her hands in front of Abigail in a motion to tell her to forget what she heard. “Ha ha ha Gozen…you’re so funny!” she tried to brush the whole idea off as she took a menu from the table and hid her face with it, making it look like she was seriously going through it when she had most of it memorized already with the amount of time she frequented the place.

“So fish and chips it is,” Gozen said as he came back in with a few plates of food in his hand. He set them down in front of Charlotte and the older girl before going back in to get a bottle of beer. By the time everything was set up in front of the two very hungry females, Charlotte was rubbing her hands together while eying everything in her plate. She had asked Gozen to replace her glass of beer with plain water already when he scratched the back of his head remembering that she didn’t drink beer. “So Charlotte dear…how’s your father?” Gozen asked, taking up another plate for cleaning. Sometimes she wonders if it was Gozen’s habit to have a plate and a piece of cloth in his hands because that’s how she found him almost all of the time. “He is…well..fine.. I suppose,” she answered, looking down and remembering the recent fight she had with him.

[Abigail Parker]

Abigail sat down with a nod when Charlotte patted a stool to her left, obviously inviting the vagabond to take a seat. The leather upholstery of the seat sighed and creaked under the pressure. She had to admit, sitting on one of these was better than planting herself on the curb like she had when Charlotte first happened upon her. The redhead shifted around a little until she was appropriately settled, then rested her hands on the counter top. Her green-and-gold eyes scanned the surroundings meticulously, taking in everything. Overall, the place looked more like a roadhouse than a seafood restaurant. Had that sort of broken in highway stop to it. Lots of framed pictures of people, places, even a few cars. A couple of the cars in the pictures looked like one lemon or another she'd driven in her youth, causing her to chuckle quietly.

Her taking in the sights was interrupted when Gozen made a comment about how Charlotte was rich enough to buy the restaurant itself. One of Abigail's eyebrows arched upward at that, but said nothing about it. Especially when Charlotte made it clear she hadn't wanted her to hear anything like that. Some people were just in good money, she thought with a shrug. Hell, it could've been argued that she was one of those people, considering that her father had made millions as a bounty hunter. Though speaking truthfully, almost all of that money stayed in the bank, no matter what. Sighing, Abby's eyes fell on her wedding band, which gleamed warmly in the seemingly fluorescent lights of the establishment. After staring for a couple minutes, she removed the ring from her finger and stuffed it into her pocket. She didn't want to get grease on it, now did she? Since she was at it already, the woman even deigned to remove the rosary from her wrist. It rattled, the sound amplified by the relative quiet of the restaurant, as she took it off and set it down beside her on the counter.

By now, Gozen had returned with their food, setting out a plate each before the two, as well as two beers. Though he replaced Charlotte's beer with water when reminded that she didn't drink. Abigail looked at her food. Two cuts of beer-battered, fried fish, with a pile of golden crinkle cut fries next to them. Simple, but it sure looked damn tasty. Uttering a quick "Arigatou," to Gozen, she immediately snatched up her beer and popped the cap off the neck with her thumb. Then she began chugging. She drank the stuff so fast that little streams of it dribbled down from the corners of her mouth. By the time she pulled the bottle away from her lips, the beer was already halfway gone. A euphoric "Ahhhh" burst free from her mouth as she slammed the bottle down onto the counter with enthusiasm.

Now Gozen had asked Charlotte about her father, to wish she sheepishly answered that he was okay, she "supposed". Now, if Abby knew her doublespeak, and she liked to think she did, that meant things with her old man were decidedly not okay. Wiping some excess hooch away from her mouth, she spoke up. "You havin' problem with your pops, Charlotte?" She asked, rather bluntly at that. Her tone, however, carried its normal friendly warmth. Normally, she would've tried to be a little more delicate, but in cases like these, you just had to ask them directly. Of course, it was Charlotte's decision whether or not to answer.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte watched in amusement as Abi got started on her food. ‘She really must have been hungry,’ the girl thought as she smiled, a glass of water in her right hand. The small yet melodious sound of the couple of wind chimes coming from the window on Charlotte’s side caught her off guard. Those wind chimes had been the ones that she managed to make along with Kai one day when they were little. Seeing as he had kept for all this time made her happy as she sighed and stretched herself. It was nice. Just relaxing was really nice.

“My father….he is like huge compared to me, Abi. He is..no...he was such an amazing person that whenever I looked ahead, I always saw him as a strong big wall there to protect me and so many others. What would you do if that person makes a really stupid decision?” She asked, looking towards Abi, dropping her fork on the plate. The sound that resonated around the room stopped when she grabbed the vibrating metal utensil, effectively cutting down its movement.

“It’s stupid...how can someone who always find the right solutions make such a stupid mistake and don’t realize it even when the facts are thrown at his face? I’m just frustrated...that’s all,” She ended with a sigh, dropping her head to her open palms. Gozen who had stared sadly at the girl the whole time finally spoke after putting down another glass of water near the girl. “It wouldn’t be this bad if Sophia was still around…” his voice had a nostalgic tone to it but he didn’t expect what happened next.

Charlotte snorted and then broke out into an all out humorless laughter as she clutched her stomach. “That man….that man has gone deaf. I doubt my mother could have done anything even if she was still alive,” she dismissed the whole idea even though the light in her eyes diminished. Her mother….She couldn’t have possibly stopped this mess.

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