The Home

Waking up after a good night's sleep had helped Marina relax. Her mind was clear and she was ready to rip off the masks everybody was wearing inside the Home. She was particularly interested in the vampires – since she couldn't read their minds – and that therapist, Abby. She was just a human, but she was supposed to help them. How was she going to achieve that? It seemed like a lost cause which made it all the more interesting for the young mind-reader.

She changed into a frilly white dress and let her long hair dance with the wind. She always kept her window open, even in winter. The coldness helped her mind calm whenever she went into shock. The windows had to stay open, so she would never be caught off guard and her life would never be at risk. The mind is a powerful thing and she who plays with the minds of others had to be afraid of the price to be paid. But she couldn't fear; mind-reading was in her nature.

Marina walked out of her room but not before taking a quick glance in the mirror to smile at her reflection. She enjoyed viewing herself as a pure being, at least in matters of looks. In the house, she heard nothing. It was pure silence – a calming change.

Before going downstairs to the kitchen, she decided to check in on Rogue. She wondered if the vampiress was sleeping – or if her kind could even sleep at all. She didn't know much of the details so against her better judgment, she slowly opened the door to Rogue's room.

Rogue was awake in her bed, her knees brought up to her chest and her arms held tightly around them. She was crying... or something. Blood was streaming down her face but she was silent. Her blue jeans were stained, as was her white shirt.

Too afraid to do anything, Marina left the room, heading towards the library. Hopefully the therapist would be there and she could help. If she couldn't do anything, then who could?



If she knew taking this job would've involved such early hours, Abby would have certainly thought twice. She'd gotten up at sunrise to collect the food deliveries for the day and it'd taken her over an hour to properly store the excess and set out breakfast. Once the coffee was brewed and teakettle set to boil she peeled an orange, plated a blueberry muffin, poured a cup, and grabbed a stool at the bar.

From her seat, she could see the front door - eyebrows furrowing at the undone locks. The deliveries came in the through the back and she hadn't heard or seen any of the residents for the morning. Had someone gone out? Had Rollin returned?

Shoving an orange wedge in her mouth, she quickly finish up her breakfast and moved to the library. She just needed to check a couple of books before heading out to see after the wolf. Tahmoh said he'd arrived sometime late in the morning. Hopefully she'd have enough time to take care of some things before he did.

In the library, Abby searched for a couple of old books. She knew she had a few (somewhat) reliable journals on wolves and hoped to find it before Rollin returned (or needed finding). She was reaching for a loosely bound notebook that looked a bit familiar when the library door burst open.

Opening the door with a little more force than necessary, Marina fell onto the floor. She quickly sat up to see Abby approaching her.

''Are you okay?'' Abby asked, offering her hand. She helped Marina stand and as she did, the mind-reader said, ''It's Rogue. Something's wrong. She's upstairs, in her room.''

Abby followed Marina upstairs to Rogue, trying to get information out of the mind-reader as they climbed the stairs, but she was frightfully silent. Reaching Rogue's room, Abby tapped softly on the open door.

"Rogue? I'm coming in."

The young woman was curled up on her bed, quietly crying. Abby could clearly see what had gotten Marina so worked up - blood tears were definitely a sight to behold, though not particularly concerning.

Perching on the edge of the bed, Abby leaned forward to place her hand gently over Rogue's. "What's wrong?"

''I don't know,'' the vampiress managed to reply after a few minutes had passed. She didn't move, nor make an effort to explain further. She clearly didn't feel good. ''He's coming, but he's hurt. I-''

"He's coming?" Abby repeated. Watching Rogue fold further into herself, Abby turned to Marina. "Who?"

When neither women answered, Abby stood abruptly. "Can you stay with her?" she asked Marina. "I need to make a call." Before Marina could respond, Abby left the room and headed down the stairs towards her office.

Marina just stood there in silence. She knew she would get no answer even if she asked who it was that was coming. But was that a good reason to cry blood? She was worried a bit, but even though she was afraid, she was also interested. Strange, she thought to herself as she waited for Abby's return.