Never Just Two Sides ((Mageling and Foxotanashi))
 

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open. Her room was dark, which was typical; although she could see some faint light struggling around her heavy blackout curtains on the window. The light seemed to be waning, though, which told her that it was likely sunset. Stretching a bit, she lay in her bed for a few more minutes before reluctantly getting up. Her hunger was stronger than her desire to try for more sleep. Grabbing her towel, she left the dark safety of her bedroom and emerged into the more brightly-lit hall of the apartment. Time to shower.

Elsewhere, Claramae was settling into her temporary home. She had arrived in town earlier in the day, and had taken most of the daylight hours to acclimate herself. There was far too much iron around the city for her comfort, but the cozy little wooden cottage she'd chosen was thankfully low in iron. She would brave the iron cage of the city if it meant she was able to be out on her own for a while. She loved her own kind, really she did; the Summer Court would always be her home and haven. But for now, she needed to be on her own. Of course, she had gone through all of the appropriate channels to let both the Seelie and the other non-human officials know she was staying, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Elizabeth could hear the familiar footsteps of her sister coming down the hall even before the knock on the door.

"Laura," she replied, "I just woke up." She was definitely not whining in the least. "And I was about to shower." She paused for a moment. "Did you bring me breakfast?" The question was asked teasingly, since she knew her sister better than that by now. Laura would ignore what Elizabeth was as long as it wasn't blatantly ground in her face all the time. Little teases like that were as far as Elizabeth would go.

"A Fae?" Elizabeth asked in return as she got into the shower. She left the door open so she could hear her sister. "What's a fairy doing here? Human towns are literally screaming metal deathtraps to Sidhe, right?" She wasn't an expert, by any means, but she'd been around long enough to know the basics. Which brought her to another question. "Is the Sidhe Seelie or Unseelie?" That was definitely something she wanted to know. While Summer Fae, Seelie, weren't as aggressive as their Winter, or Unseelie, counterparts, it was still a bad idea not to be prepared for both.

"Can't you, I don't know, use magic to find her?" Elizabeth asked as she got into the shower. She left the bathroom door open so she could still hear her sister. She sighed softly as the hot water warmed her skin from the outside. She wouldn't be warm from the inside until she got herself a decent meal, so the shower would do for the moment. She would need to feed soon, though; she didn't like going more than a day without feeding. Bad things tended to happen if she tried.

"A real map?" Elizabeth asked. She had to think about that one for a second. "I have an old map of the city, it's probably two decades old. It should be on the shelf of the desk." Turning off the shower, she wrapped herself in a huge towel and left the bathroom. "And you left a spare magic kit here, remember? For just in case? Your blue-goldstone pendulum is in it." She tilted her head towards the other end of the apartment. "It's in my room. Trunk at the foot of the bed."

"Sister, dear, you don't know the meaning of 'stalkerish' until you've spent more than a year learning exactly how to follow someone without being sensed," Elizabeth commented as she went into her room to get dressed. With practiced ease, she slipped a green-and-gold brocade corset on over a pretty, plain white shirt and cinched the laces. Her vampiric strength made it so she didn't have to struggle with tightening the laces, and she had it comfortably snug in moments. Then she pulled on a pair of jeans with embroidered pockets (she had embroidered them herself, it was much cheaper) and went out to see what her sister was doing. "The eastern outskirts?" She sat down next to Laura and thought for a moment, one hand absently playing with the end of some of her hair. "Not much out there last time I checked," she said. "A few houses, maybe a small park? Not a lot."

"Breakfast," Elizabeth promptly replied. She stretched a little. "Breakfast is my immediate plan." She paused for a moment. "Although I think my schedule is clear after that. I really didn't have much planned for today." Which, really, wasn't unusual. Since her break from her 'family,' she didn't have to follow orders from her sire anymore or babysit any more fledgelings. She grinned a bit at her sister. "So if you're asking me to go with you to see this Fae, I have plenty of time."

"I ran out of bags yesterday," Elizabeth replied. "I need to pick up some more, but for right now I'll need to 'eat out'." Meaning she was going to put those stalking skills to good use and find some fresh blood for her breakfast. "Where do you want me to meet you when I'm done?" Because, sister or not, she wouldn't make Laura go with her on a hunting trip. She had to be subtle, anyways; humans didn't know about any of the supernatural, and she wanted to make sure to keep it that way.

Elizabeth nodded; she knew which place her sister was talking about. She gave her sister a quick hug, making sure not to squeeze too tightly.

"I'll meet you there, then," she said. "I shouldn't be more than an hour, alright? Give me a call if I take longer than that." Going over to her purse, she pulled a few bills out of her wallet and then handed the bag to Laura. "Take this with you? It's easier if I don't have to tote it around while I'm out."

Elizabeth, on the other hand, didn't bother with a car. It would just be a distraction while she was hunting. Once Laura was gone, she left as well, locking the door behind her. Then she headed into the city proper, heading towards some of the 'established' hunting grounds in the seedier parts of town. There was always fresh blood to be had there, since everyone obeyed the unspoken rule of not killing.

Two donors later, Elizabeth headed towards the cafe on East Main, her skin flushed a bit from pasty to just fair and her movements smoother than before. Yes, she enjoyed a good, fresh meal once in a while. Walking into the cafe, she looked around for Laura.

"Take your time," Elizabeth said as she slid into the booth with her sister. She waved off a waitress who asked to take her order, giving the girl some generic 'nothing for me' answer. Once the waitress walked away again, Elizabeth focused on her sister. "No rush, really. I thought I would take longer than I did, so I'm just early."

"I'll be fine until tomorrow," Elizabeth replied, nodding. She knew how strange Laura felt asking about it, so she made it as easy on her sister as possible. She stood up when Laura did, stretching a little. "I'm ready when you are. You know where we're going, right?" Elizabeth remembered the general area on the map, but she couldn't pinpoint where they needed to go. She hoped her sister would have a better idea.

"A predator, yeah, but I've never hunted down a Fae before," Elizabeth pointed out. Fae were notoriously hard to track down and even harder to catch unawares, so most hunters and predators didn't even try. "I mean, between the two of us we should be alright, but still." She waved a hand as she strapped in. "Buckle up, you're less durable than I am. And let's go see what we can find."