Vivienne

Pulling herself out of Sylvie’s arms, Casey walked down and stood beside Vivienne as the others began packing up and ascending the stairs to the appointed third floor. “That was nice of you, Viv.”  Casey leaned against Vivienne’s arm. “If you are honestly still hungry, you know, I…”

Gazing over her shoulder at her ward, Vivienne softly brushed a few curls away from her wards brown and soulful eyes. “You are still recovering.”  Vivienne paused, “Rest assured, I am content.”  Handing Casey off to Sylvie once more, Vivienne placed her hands on her hips. “Yes, Casey, it was nice.”  A set of green cat eyes burned in Vivienne’s mind. “Faye would have wanted me to do it.”

“Faye…what are we going to do?”  Casey pulled Sylvie’s arms around her waist. “What if she’s….”

Vivienne shook her head and started walking into the eastern wing of the manor, “She is still with us, Casey.”  The flair from her evening gown wafting as she strode through the various hallways, Vivienne finally stopped in front of a very large door with another combination lock. “I can feel her, Casey.  Faye is in pain, but she is still with us.”  Punching in the code on the panel, Vivienne heard the doors locks start hydraulically sliding and a few seconds later the steel door cracked open. “I have missed this place.”  Vivienne pushed the heavy door to her armory open, then looked at her two shadows. “I am going to get Faye back.”

Gracefully gliding through the entrance to the armory, Vivienne found herself in front of her newest Ravenesque suit. “I had this commissioned just before I met all of you.”  Vivienne ran her hands over the thick material and tapped her fingernails on the hardened fabric. “Kevlar, polyethylene and steel woven in, almost a reminder of chainmail.”  Etched feathers adorned the body suit, mimicking the bird she adored so much. “I wanted it to look almost like the other suits that I once hunted in.”  Vivienne pointed to the old black leather suit to the right of where she was standing.  Vivienne ran her fingers down the length of the arms, inspecting the joints and covering.  Satisfied that the suit was flawless, she began to unbuckle it from the stand it was on. “My primary concern was honestly wooden stakes that could have been augmented somehow.”

Snickering lightly, Casey nibbled on her lip for a moment before speaking. “I was curious when it arrived.”  She turned to face Sylvie and shook her head, “I tried to put it on, but…”  Casey grabbed her large chest, “My boobs are way too big.”

Sylvie let out a little chuckle and started prying into the rest of the gear that lined the walls.  Picking up a small vial she held it between her thumb and index finger. “Is this the mixture that you told us about using in Spain?”

Having already removed her elegant evening gown and donned the inner layer of her armor, Vivienne had started snapping the leg plates into place when Sylvie asked the question. “Indeed.  It is a variation of it, so be careful.”  Vivienne smiled and grabbed the torso of her suit. “It would be unfortunate if you happened to paralyze yourself.”  

“You’re Batman.”  Casey laughed. “All you need now is the cape and a sidekick.”

Curling up one long eyebrow and looking at her ward odd, Vivienne shook her head. “I can only ascertain that your allusion was another pop culture reference, much like my beloved said on the way to the manor.”  She held up one blood red fingernail. “I also protest the use of the word bat.  Although a great many of my brethren do use that form.”

“Yeah, that's what it was.”  Casey let the light comical moment pass and walked behind Vivienne and helped to snap the body armor in place. “You must think the situation  is pretty bad to wear that.  I mean you went into the hotel without anything.”  Casey fastened the shoulder guards to Vivienne. “I can only guess this is going to be a trap.”

Vivienne stopped what she was doing and slightly turned to face Casey, “Yes, Casey.  Beyond contestation, this is a trap.”  Vivienne reached up and pushed the curly hair from Casey’s eyes. “I suspect a magical one as well.”  Glancing between the two in the room, Vivienne confessed. “The reason it took me so long to get back was that I recalled a feeling associated with the attack on Phantasmagoria.”

Sylvie scanned the vials on the wall and took note of a different colored vial, one with purple contents. "What do you mean? After the meeting we all agreed that it was human magic like you explained to us." Sylvie's eyes crossed into the blackness of twin new moons, "What is in this vial?”

Stomping her feet into her protective boots, Vivienne buckled the straps and continued. “Yes, human magic but it isn’t what I experienced before.  It isn’t based around anything of a religious tone, it’s manifestation even feels different.  I am fairly confident that it can do something to me, I just don’t know what.”  She paused, “Yet.”  Blinking her blue eyes, Vivienne tilted her head. “Miss Mikoda, if the other vial was bad, that is worse.”  Vivienne stood up and flexed her muscles in suit to get the feel and balance. “I created that substance after other doctors had discovered what the function of blood was.  If my testing is right, that would render our brethren unable to do much of anything.  It isn't paralytic, it is a way to break up the blood platelets that we have ingested.”  Vivienne smiled, “Hopefully rendering blood useless.”

“Do you mind if I take some of these?”  Sylvie shrugged before picking up three of the vials. “It is just a feeling, I don’t know if they will be useful at all.”

Vivienne watched Sylvie carefully tuck the vials into the beaded wristbands on her arms, “I haven’t tested those.” Vivienne pointed to the set of darts and accompanying metal blow tube. “I would suggest that you take them as well, in case you need to administer the drug.”

“Viv…”  Casey tried to speak and her voice cracked.

Vivienne walked back over to her ward, “Casey?”  Vivienne’s blue eyes shined with concern and empathy. “Oh..”  Her voice softened and Vivienne wiped away a single tear making its way down Casey’s cheek. “I know.”  Vivienne sat down and hugged her ward tightly. “I love you as well.”  Softly running her hand through Casey’s soft curls, Vivienne lightly rocked with her ward on the bench. “Strangely, I never knew what I was truly missing, even though I desired it.”  Vivienne took a breath, “Using a metaphor, once you uncork that bottle, you want to drink its contents.”

“I..”  Casey started to say and once more buried herself into Vivienne’s side. “I..I..love you both.”