The morning after [For Eleanor/Daphne]

[thecautionarywhale]

New Year's Eve had started well. A couple hours out and then back to the Apartment with Daphne. They'd had a few drinks, watched a movie and kissed maybe more than a little. Then the reports started rolling in on television. The animals were attacking.

Juno had sat up, a baseball bat clutched in her hands, watching the cats and Milo. She was waiting for Captain Jack or Eve to go crazy.

Hours passed, and nothing happened. Eve had abandoned the living room to sleep on Eleanor's bed, and the Captain lay on the couch, curled into a fluffy ball. Milo was asleep in her room, on the floor near to Daphne. At 3am, after being cajoled be her sleepy girlfriend, Juno gives up, deciding that whatever happened to the animals in Darrow had passed their pets by. She puts down the bat (and why is there a baseball bat in their apartment anyway? It isn't even like either of them play the game) and goes to bed.

Sirens wake her the next morning. Groggy, Juno rolls over, reaching for her phone to see what time it is. Barely 7, and Daphne was still asleep. Milo has his head up, listening to the sounds, but other than that looks like he usually does. Alert, attentive, and waiting to alert Daphne if there is a problem.

She slips out of bed, thinking she'll go to the bathroom and get some water and go back to bed. Only her feet don't hit floor. Instead they land on a pile of cds and books, scattered everywhere. Carefully, she picks her way across the room to open her door, thinking that she must have knocked over the shelves while sleepwalking or something. However, that doesn't explain why there's a tipped over coffee table in front of her door, why the couch has moved, or why the kitchen chairs are pushed in front of Eleanor's room.

The hissing makes her freeze. Eve is sitting atop the kitchen counter, watching Juno. She has no idea where the Captain is, and honestly, she's a bit scared to find out.

"Um, Eleanor," she calls out across the apartment, her voice trembling. She hears Milo move and hopes that he's not gone rogue too. Juno wishes she still had the bat. "Eleanor, I think we have a problem."

Comments

[happy_dsign]

Of course the sirens didn't wake Daphne, but she was an early riser by nature, and it didn't take much nudging against her arm by Milo to wake her up today. She sat up in bed, frowning at the dog. "What is it?" she asked, because Milo wasn't giving any of his usual signals. He paced back and forth a few steps and then sat down, watching her intently and whining, though she didn't know that.

She climbed out of bed and noticed the mess, her mind immediately jumping to a burglar or some other kind of intruder before animals gone crazy, despite the news reports they'd seen the night before. "Juno? What's going on? Is someone here?" she hissed in what she hoped was a low enough voice to not be heard by anyone who might be lurking in the kitchen or something.

[thecautionarywhale]

She's practiced now at turning to face Daphne before speaking. Today, however, her eyes keep flicking back to the open door, even as she eases it shut. Juno doesn't want to cut off Eleanor but the other woman is in her room and the cats are both starting to growl and hiss.

"I think the cats are trying to take over."

[happy_dsign]

"Oh, no, are you kidding? Like the stuff we saw on TV last night? It's really happening here?" She shot a panicked look at Milo, who immediately came to stand next to her obediently, ready to work. "Okay, he seems okay..." she observed, which was a huge relief, but still left the question: "What do we do now?"

[thecautionarywhale]

It's a relief when Milo heels next to Daphne, her held breath rushing out. "I don't know. I'd say call someone, but I don't know when anyone is going to be able to get here if stuff out there is still crazy."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne wanted to call Scott. Her sister's werewolf fiancé would probably be pretty damn handy in a situation like this, but his secret wasn't hers to share. "So, what? Lock the door, stay stuck in the bedroom all day?" And of course, the moment she said it she realized she had to pee, because of course she did.

Of course, Scott had another connection, one that could prove far more handy in this situation. "Oh! I could call Scott. He works for a vet. Maybe he could...I don't know, get some tranquilizers or something and come over here? I mean...we don't want to hurt them if we don't have to, right?" Hopefully this whole bout of craziness wasn't going to end in every animal having to be killed, hopefully it would just blow over like things had done on the island, like things sometimes did here--but not always.

As for how Scott would manage to get from their farmhouse to the vet and to the apartment...that would be his problem to explain, she guessed. If even he could. She had no idea what the roads were like, just what they'd seen on last night's news reports.

[thecautionarywhale]

"No because..." Because they couldn't just be trapped in her room. They needed to get food, get to the bathroom, and they didn't know how long this might last. "because we might end up trapped in here for weeks if we do that."

Daphne's suggestion is a good one. Not that she's sure how well anyone is travelling through this, but it's the best idea that she's heard today. "Maybe we can corrall them. Into a cupboard, or closet, or something."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne bit her lip, looking around the room for ideas. "Maybe if you use a pillow as a shield so they can't claw you?" she suggested, thumbs tapping out a brief text to Scott asking for his help.

[thecautionarywhale]

"Or blankets? When we had to take Eve to the vet we wrapped her in a towel to get her in the box. Maybe I could throw a blanket over them?" She has no idea if it would work, but it's better than her bare hands.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne missed the first part of what Juno said, glancing between her and the phone, but she caught enough to get the idea. "Yeah, good idea, let's try that." She gestured to Milo, a silent command to stay, and then grabbed the blanket from the bed. "Be careful," she cautioned, because this was super creepy, and she didn't know exactly what to expect, but she knew even a house cat could do a fair amount of damage when it was angry.

[thecautionarywhale]

With Daphne she thinks they have a chance of corralling the cats without hurting them. At least she hopes they do, as she really doesn't want to hurt Eve or the Captain.

She pauses at the door, waiting until Daphne is looking at her before opening it again. "You count to three, then I'll open the door and we'll go, okay?"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne nodded, glancing at her phone hopefully, but there was no response from Scott yet, so she had to drop it onto the bed for now to keep both hands free. "All right. One, two, three!" She shook the blanket out, ready to watch for any flicker of movement once the door swung open. She didn't know if they would be waiting just outside the door or in the other room, so they had to prepare for any potential situation.

Gosh, she loved this place some days.

[thecautionarywhale]

Darrow was crazy. Full on needed meds crazy. But it was also their home, what they were stuck with and really.... What else could they do but deal with this crap as it got tossed at them?

Juno swung the door open on Daphne's count, and stepped out, blanket held up. The cats were looming, and she shrieked, tossing her end of the blanket over them.

[behindmothersback]

I tried, Father, to stay up with Juno, but I'd studied too late the night previous and since things did seem quiet, I thought that sleep was safe. Hearing Juno's voice as I slowly awakened made me reconsider things.

Especially when I stepped on a broken planter on the floor of my bed, sending a shard of pottery into my skin. Pulling my foot up, I look around in dismay. Nearly all of my plants, all of your carefully tended, lovingly placed plants were scattered on the floor, their ceramic and glass pots broken.

"Juno? Did someone break in?! Are you alright?!" Pulling the shard from my bleeding foot, I carefully find a clear spot of floor to stand on. Which is when I hear the hiss and several sharp somethings clamp onto my ankle.

I'm so surprised, I scream and accidentally teleport myself into the torn-apart living room. "Juno!"

[thecautionarywhale]

Even weirder than the attack-cats is the fact that Eleanor teleported into the living room. Juno doesn't know what to do with that, her mouth opening and closing like a surprised fish. Suddenly she doesn't know what she's more freaked out by, the fact that the Captain is circling her with murder in his eyes, or the fact her best friend can teleport and hasn't ever told her.

"What the hell?"

[behindmothersback]

"Something under the bed bit me! And there's broken pottery and plants all over the place." Looking around, I realize that perhaps a bit isn't the worst of my problems, Father. It looks like the place has been pulled apart. How did we sleep through all of this, were we really so tired?

And that's when Eve comes out of my room, yowling and hissing. Is she what bit me? "What's going on? Were we robbed?"

[thecautionarywhale]

Focus on the issues at hand, she tells herself, ignore the fact her roomie is apparently magical and get back to what is relevant. Like Even and the Captain trying to corral them together.

"Hey," she shouts at the cats, lunging across the room for the baseball bat. She gets her hands on it, and holds it out, even though she knows she can't hurt either of them. "Okay. Okay, see, the news had all these animals going crazy, but the cats seemed okay and I was going to tell you in the morning only... Now they aren't okay."

[behindmothersback]

"I can see that. Get over here." I don't know what to do. I'm perfectly capable of protecting us, but I don't want to harm the cats. They're dear to us, more than just pets.

"We need to lock them up. The bathroom?"

[thecautionarywhale]

"I don't have to pee if you don't," she says, dashing across the distance to her friend. She holds the bat up, and keeps her eyes on Captain who keeps moving closer and is growling at them in a very un-Captain-like way. "Um, that thing you did earlier? What was that?"

[behindmothersback]

"It is... a long story. And I'm afraid I'm about to do something else rather shocking." And I wince because I really hadn't intended the pun, Father, but the silly little habits of the internet seem to have crept into my vernacular. Reaching out my hand, I sent a light shower of electricity towards the cats, hoping to force them to move.

They do, just not in opposite directions. Suddenly the phrase, "herding cats," makes a bit more sense.

[thecautionarywhale]

"Haha," she says, her voice more highly pitched than she'd like. She's practically hiding behind her roomie, but then she seems to be able to handle it. "Could you tell me the cliff notes version?"

[behindmothersback]

"I'm a science experiment from a dystopian city under the water?" It's the only thing I can think of as I track the cats' movements through the living room. I really don't want to harm them, but they're looking at us like they look at their toys before they rip them apart. Nothing's looked at me like that since Rapture. I don't like it, Father, it makes me feel hunted.

"Do you think freezing them temporarily would hurt them?"

[thecautionarywhale]

"Okay. Sure, that's cool." Another time and she would have been proud of the inherent dad joke in her comment. For now she's more concerned with the cats. "I think it might kill them? So kinda with the hurty."

[behindmothersback]

Captain tries to pounce on us and I manage to use my telekenisis to toss him in the general direction of the room we want to lock him in. It doesn't seem to do him much harm and I do the same with Eve, both of them landing and looking quite surprised.

"I think if I'm careful I can push them in if you can close the door?"

[thecautionarywhale]

Watching Eleanor is like watching a superhero movie, only it's her friend and the bad guys are cats. "Okay. We gotta try something, because something tells me this isn't going to suddenly get better."

[behindmothersback]

"Alright, start towards the door, I'll watch them, let me know when you're ready." Eve hisses at me, she at least knows what I'm capable of from living with us, Father, but Captain seems a bit more hesitant. But so long as they both focus on me, I'm happy to keep them occupied, pulling a pillow towards myself to use a shield.

[thecautionarywhale]

"There's no time like the present, right? On three." Juno grabs a blanket, figuring she can use it somehow to help if needed. "One, two..."

[behindmothersback]

"Three." I wave my hands so the cats watch me instead of Juno. I threw a little spark towards them. I don't want to hurt them, Father, I know deep down that this isn't their fault, but if I don't do something, they'll go after Juno.

"Come on, puss, look at me! Good kitties."

[thecautionarywhale]

Juno flaps the blanket, trying to corral them toward the open door. The Captain shies backward, going where she wants him to. Of course, it's Eve who hisses and rears at her. "Um, a little more help I think!"

[behindmothersback]

"Oh, Eve, please?" I nearly cry because she's so angry and it pains me to see her so unsettled. She's usually so sweet, Father, perhaps a little cold towards Juno, but she's the piece of you that I hold closest here. It feels almost as if you're angry at me.

I give her as light a push towards the door as I can, easing the telekinesis in a way I never have before. I suppose they are right, necessity is the mother of invention. Finally, she turns and bolts for the bathroom, Captain following her after I give him a push, too. "Close it, quickly."

[thecautionarywhale]

Eve leads the little pack of two cats, and Juno bolts behind and slams the door shut. She gasps with relief, even as a paw comes out beneath the door.

"What the hell."

[behindmothersback]

"Indeed. We're going to have to get in there at some point, they'll need food. And litter." Sighing, I brush a strand of hair from my face as I balance on one foot to examine the other. The gash from the broken pottery has almost completely healed and the cuts from Eve are nothing but a sore memory. Honestly, Father, these kinds of things are quite... annoying.

"I take it New Year's didn't pass quietly, then? And this is what we're stuck with?"

[thecautionarywhale]

"Yeah," she says, so tired already and she's only been up an hour. "I would have woken you up last night, but they seemed normal, so I didn't worry about it."

[behindmothersback]

"Lovely. So whatever this is, it's on a time delay as well." It makes as much sense as anything does these days. I'm sure that whatever this is will pass, it's just a matter of time, right, Father?

"I suppose we should start cleaning all of this up? I fear I may have tracked some blood out and my bedroom is a mess. Eve knocked over all my plants."

[thecautionarywhale]

"There's glass all over my room. I think they broke a couple of my cactus pots. Jerks." There's no venom in her words, though, no vitriol or anger at the cats. They can't control it, can they?

"Clean, and then regroup and figure out what's next?"

[behindmothersback]

I nod, mostly because I don't know what else to say. What else can we do, Father? Poor Eve and the Captain can't really control what they're doing, no more than I could control being turned back into a Little Sister while you were still here. This place leaves us with so little control sometimes, it frightens me.

But there is another pressing matter, "Juno, about what you just saw, about what I can do... I didn't mean to lie, exactly, and I haven't, but...."

[thecautionarywhale]

"But it's weird and not something you wanted to tell people?" She's guessing, but Juno expects that it's something vaguely in that direction. She shakes her head, not wanting Eleanor's apologies, because she doesn't need them.

"It's okay. As long as you haven't been x-ray visioning me in the shower, we're cool, okay?"

[behindmothersback]

"It's dangerous. What I am. Not to you, not directly, but just... dangerous." I don't want to make her worry, but now that she knows, Father, I won't lie to her. What I am is dangerous because it can be done to other people. It can be spread like a plague.

"But certainly not to your showering habits."

[thecautionarywhale]

"How dangerous? We've been friends for years Eleanor. You've never hurt me." That means more to Juno than any promises or reassurances. If Eleanor was really dangerous, surely she would have seen it.

[behindmothersback]

"And I never would, I promise." A promise I hope to keep although we both know, Father, what conditioning can do to a person. What a simple command or the wrong plasmid can accomplish. One gun and one shot was all it took for Mother to steal you away from me and she made you do it. What might someone make me do, if they discovered a way to control me?

"But what I am... it can be replicated. Others can be made like me and they... well, no one who would do that is a good person. And they'd have to use me to do it."

[thecautionarywhale]

"But they're not here, and even if they showed up here they'd have to get through me first. Okay?" Juno reaches out to her friend, taking her hand. She might not be big or super-powered, but she'd kick the city down if it meant keeping her safe.

[behindmothersback]

That's what I'm afraid of, Father, but I'm not altogether certain Juno understands the risk. And I hope she never does. I hope she never faces anything like what happened in Rapture. But I can't tell her that. I don't think she would believe me if I did, so I just give her a hug. Rare for me, I know, but I rather think she's earned it.

[thecautionarywhale]

It's Juno who's the touchy one in this friendship, so when Eleanor hugs her it's a surprise. "I- It's okay Eleanor."