Homeward (Private)

Victoire heard the boy singing and looked up toward him. She stood up, forgetting about her sword and hearing it clatter to the ground. She sighed and picked it up, inspecting it for damage. She could not let this sword get harmed. It was her lifeline and her connection. It was the only reason she was alive. She moved her blonde hair from her face and looked back to the boy who had been singing.

She was semi-aware of how she looked. A girl in a ragged dress who seemed like she was abused a lot the night before. In fact, she had narrowly escaped her death after slaying the daughter of whasserface. Victoire stayed out of his way, her sword in her hand.

"Calm down," Victoire said shakily. Her first words since she had escaped Alaska. "Trust me, I've seen my fair share of monsters..."

She came into his line of site and put her sword away. "You're from Camp?" she asked, eyeing his own weapon. "Great. I kinda need to get back there... Except, I don't know where I am..."

Her voice sounded strange to her. A little hoarse and totally alien to her. She sighed and a hand raised to her neck and rubbed it gently. "I... I'm sorry if I startled you..." she said, her British accent cracking slightly.

I chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't startled. I never get startled. "I said exaggerating.... a lot. "And yeah. I'm from camp. As for where we are- ah, are you alright? You don't look good. -Wait no. That's not what I... I mean... uh..." I swallowed thickly.

"You're uh... You're shivering. Do you want my jacket? Here," I said and took a moment to work the jacket off my shoulders. After sliding it off, I reached out and handed it to her.

OOC So just to make it clear, are they in New York or Washington at this point?

OOC: Washington, right now. Unless you'd like a closer state.

She took it gratefully. "Thank you," she said. She had never felt what it was like to be humbled. She never knew what it was like to be that poor kid on the street. Now she did. "I'm Victoire. Victoire Capulet."

She smiled at him weakly. "It'd be nice to get in the warm somewhere. Perhaps a cafe?"

"I'm Liam Spencer," I said with a smile. "Yeah, a cafe sounds good. Somewhere to get out of the rain. How about I get you some lunch? You look awful hungry,"

OOC lkjfhiubN WEEEEH. Sorry for such a short post.

"Thanks," she said. "I can repay once I get back to Camp. It'd be no problem, really. I just need my credit card. Unfortunately, my other one was broken in Alaska."

She looked around. "There's one over there."

"I know you're helping me out but would you like some help there?" Victoire asked. Her sword started to weigh down her hip a little but she ignored it. Not now. Her sword was haunted, a curse given to Victoire as a gift from her father. It had some power but not much. It pretty much just liked to take her over.

She sighed. She knew it was pointless to argue. Besides, he was nice to her. That wasn't something she came across often toward her. "Well... Alright then. Uh, what is it a punishment for?" she asked. "I mean, if you don't mind telling me."

She moved her hair and forgot about her gash down her face.

"I know the feeling. I lie every day. Mostly to myself... My dad...," she said and cleared her throat. "My dad gave me a sword for the solstice... I think it's his idea of discipline or a joke because it's haunted. It possesses me. I guess it keeps me safe though. I still lie to myself and keep myself hidden... Why am I telling you this?"

She seemed confused for a moment and put her hand on her cheek. She winced in pain and quickly brought her hand away,

"Anything you deem good," Victoire said and shivered slightly. Inside was warm and she was sure she'd dry off a little. She gained a few disdainful looks and looked embarrassedly at the floor. She moved to a booth by the window and sat down, hoping her new-found friend would be OK with it. She just didn't want to have people staring at her. Ha... Me hating being looked at... That's new...

Before he could go, Victoire shook her head and grabbed some napkins. She tried to wipe some from him and then looked embarrassed. "Sorry..." she said. "I just... That must have hurt. It looked like it did. Tripping up and then the scolding drink."

She had never seen herself like this. It felt odd. She could feel the gentle hum of her sword beckoning her back to her seat. She tried to ignore it.

She sat back comfortably. She would have been one of those people to pick on the prey not so long ago. "Thank you," she said and took a long sip of her drink. She smiled, delighted. "This is even better than my mother's maid's hot chocolate!"

She leaned forward. "So... Why are you out here?"

She looked into her cup, the swirling chocolate drawing her in. She sighed. "It's a long story. It started at Camp. I was asked to go on a quest by a friend so I accepted. It wasn't easy but we had to get to Alaska. We were attacked by these bird things on the way. We lost a member of our quest because she wanted to go back to camp. We somehow gained another quest member and carried on. We went to this cave thing and the boys... Well... I'm not a big fan of swimming. I can't do it very well... They thought they saw a body in a lake inside the cave... So they took a boat which was just magically moored and we went over. It was a huge mistake. The lake was filled with these creatures... I nearly died. I nearly drowned and I got pneumonia. We got away eventually. My sword kept me safe, keeping the pneumonia at bay. I'm still suffering on the inside... We got to this castle where we were kidnapped. That's where I got the cut down my face. And there are scratches all over my body from these monsters. We were tossed in a dungeon and redressed before being let out for dinner. That's when I found my sword and a fight began. I killed this girl who was half monster... I managed to get away and I ran until I stowed away on a ferry and got back to mainland USA."

She took a sip. "And that's when you found me," she told him softly.

She smiled weakly. "I do still have it, yes... But I've put up with this far because I didn't really have a choice. Plus, my sword helped me... Not that that makes any sense at all. But yeah... I suppose I could do with some bed rest."

Her sword stopped buzzing and suddenly, she let out a cough. She supposed it deemed her safe now.