I got her!

Yay!

It wasn’t difficult to find her either. She practically told me where she lived the last time we spoke.

So who is it? Well if you haven't guessed by now have a look back here

Congratulations Om and Brightsky, looks like you were right back then. It wasn't a coincidence.

Go get yourselves some cookies or other treats of your choice

Anyway, as I said, I had a pretty damn good idea of where she was, so it didn’t take me long to spot her, figure out which house was hers and then watch for a couple of days to get an idea of her and her boyfriend's routines. When she mentioned their “new” home, it seems it was just “new” to them as they were living in one of those slum row houses.

Funny thing about a lot of the row houses around here; the tourists love them because they’re so bright and colourful but the reality of the situation is that on the inside they are drafty, rotten, faulty wired, death traps. Let me tell you, this place was proudly upholding that standard. When I returned that night. I had only to go around back to find the cellar doors. They were padlocked, but the door was rotted to the point that I could use my knife to help pry the handles and the useless lock free. I crept as quietly as I could, down the steps, then up through their house until I made my way to their bedroom. I moved to the side of the bed where she slept, reached out a hand and gently stroked her long hair. She awoke at my touch, then sat bolt upright, giving out a cry. I grabbed her by the hair and put my knife to her throat to keep her in place. Her boyfriend woke up to her cries and now, upon realizing what was going on, bravely leapt to his feet and ran. I laughed as their room became the dead end path.

I let her go as she fell to the ground, then quickly stepped to her side and stomped on her sternum before she could roll over. While she was trying to catch a breath, I slipped my knife back into my coat. When she attempted to get up, I positioned myself behind her, wrapped my right arm around her neck and put her into a blood choke until she stopped struggling and fell unconscious. I dragged her to the cabin, then bound her to a chair. Hardly the graceful performance art that some of my brothers and sisters seem capable of, but it worked.  

She has since woken up and, now that she’s done screaming for help that won’t come she’s alternating between trying to talk to me, sobbing and silence. I haven’t said or done anything more to her yet. Been letting her consider her situation so far, though that will change shortly.   

Feel free to make suggestions if you like. Not making any promises but I’ll take them into consideration

Well…

Let’s begin

I’ve seen what I need to

no need to waste time

moving in 

Home Again

Left Antithesis earlier today. I’ll miss my little brothers and sisters, but, as I said previously, our dear employer calls and I must attend to the task at hand. Hey, who knows, maybe someday I’ll barge in for another visit haha or you could come visit me. Either way, you all better take care of yourselves until then, especially you Cat!

Well, not much else to say at this point...

I’m going to be getting a few things ready here, then I’m going to sniff out my target. Shouldn’t be too difficult… The city isn’t that big and I have a pretty good idea where to start looking thanks to the last time we spoke hehe

Sketch for Ryan

Well, I had a stitch ‘n bitch with Cat yesterday, so it seems right that I had an art session with Ryan today. I didn’t think to pack my sketchbook or pencils but replacements were easy enough to acquire. The weather was decent so we decided to set up outside. Myself and Ryan went about our sketches while Cat seemed content to watch Ryan draw.      

We talked as we drew. I was glad to learn that I hadn’t spoiled the weekend with my lapse in manners yesterday.

Ryan drew a wolf for me, which was awesome  

I, on the other hand, drew this vampire bat for him

Once we were finished our drawings- again, thanks Ryan- we headed back inside

It wasn’t long after that Cat pulled me aside. She wanted to give me a gift; her switchblade. She said it was just a painful memory to her and she figured I could make good use of it. I was surprised that she wanted to give it to me as opposed to just throwing it out but she said that she felt it would be a waste of a good knife to do that.

I smiled at this and thanked her, then apologized again for yesterday. She returned the smile said it was okay, that I hadn’t offended them and that she understood what I was trying to say.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I made several sweet potato quiches last night. Half were eaten, the rest were dinner tonight.

  

Other than that, I spent a good amount of time just cuddling Dairam while joking around with everyone. I’m going to miss this when I go

I’m leaving Antithesis tomorrow. I wish I could stay longer. I only got here on Friday and this place already feels like home. But I have a job to do that can’t wait any longer.

Knitting Curious

Cat and I had a nice long stitch ‘n bitch today. She made some tea for both of us then we sat down to our projects. She was working on a scarf where as I focused on my latest doll... until Dairam decided to “help”, that is. Then I ended up working on a little toy mouse for him instead hehe. 

I sipped the tea. It was a lovely green tea blend… very soothing. I let out a contented sigh as I felt myself relax. Cat seemed to notice the shift. She smiled and said that it was good that I was finally getting some time to relax and heal. I told her I was grateful for hers and Ryan’s hospitality, that it was making me feel much better. She said that she was glad they could help. While we were on the subject of helping, I asked how she was feeling about everything right now. She told me of her thoughts and concerns about being a mother and about the baby. She spoke again of how she didn’t want to end up like her mother. I reassured her that I knew she’d do just fine, just as I knew Ryan would be a good father.

At this, Ryan peeked into the room laughingly asking if we were talking about him. Cat was about to banish him from the “girl time in progress” but I suggested that we not be sexist and offered to teach him to knit. I admit I was surprised, yet pleased when he accepted the offer. He took a seat between us. I rifled through my knitting supplies to find a pair of single point needles and some extra yarn for him to use. It took a few attempts of Cat and I showing him how to cast on for him to be able to do the same, but he did it. I think the limited dexterity in his right hand was giving him some trouble, but he managed. Then we moved on to show him how to do a basic knit stitch. Again it took him a few tries but he eventually got the idea. His stitches were messy but I told him that would improve with time and practice.  

While Ryan was focused on the knitting, I got a few more glimpses at his scars… I told myself that I shouldn’t- that it would be terribly rude, but the curiosity that I had been feeling since I met him in the park finally got the better of me.

“Ryan…” I said

“I’m really not trying to upset you with this, but may I see your face?”

He looked taken aback by this and so did Cat. I was about to apologize for my poor manners when he obliged. I was awestruck at the unique colors and shapes that played, twisted and turned through his skin where there used to be an eye    

“It is beautiful”

He looked shocked

“Please understand” I continued, “To me, scars like that stand as a testament to your strength. They are a sign that you have overcome much”

At this, Ryan looked pensive, looking at the scars on my hands and arms. 

Cat, on the other hand,  looked sad.

I knew I fucked up. I hadn’t meant to upset her. Mentally cursing myself for my rudeness, I said,

“Cat, I’m sorry, I know how you feel about this, but the way I see it, the scars that really mattered- the ones inside-have healed. I can see it in how happy he is around you; how happy he is to be with you”

“She’s right” He said, putting an arm around her “I’m okay as long as I have you.”

She seemed to brighten up a little at this.

We decided to move on to more cheerful topics after that.    

I still feel like an ass for my lack of manners 

Antithesis

Well I figured I’d do some writing now that everyone’s either turning in or heading out for the night.  

I arrived at The Point Park here in Pittsburgh earlier today.

Nice looking park

I had studied pictures of the place in preparation for the trip so by the time I had packed my stuff (clothes, knitting supplies, cooking supplies, my laptop, my mask and one of my knives) and was ready to go it was easy enough to focus on- to imagine my little clearing in the woods shifting into that area, with is straight lines of winter-dead trees and the neat little trails now covered with snow and then to see and feel it happen.

Thankfully, I remembered to bring some tissues along to take care of the inevitable nosebleed.

It was not long after that Ryan appeared. He was hard to miss considering his size.

He seemed a little on the quiet side but friendly enough as we said our hellos, then made our way to Antithesis

Once inside the apartment, I was struck immediately by the warmth. The many lit candles gave it such a cozy feeling. After being so cold for so long in that cabin, this felt wonderful. Equaling the warmth of the place was the welcome I received. It was good to meet Cat face to face. I was happy to see that she was doing so well though I was caught off guard when she gave me a hug to go with the greeting. She showed me to the kitchen so I could put the ingredients I had brought away, then brought me around the rest of the place and made introductions.

It was nice to meet more of the family and friends though I felt a bit awkward at first. It’s been ages since I’ve had a friendly face to face conversation with someone without bloodshed being involved, let alone a whole group of people. Thankfully, the awkwardness wore off after a while and I offered to make that parmesan crusted chicken with sautéed spinach like I promised.

Cat and Ryan accompanied me out to the kitchen and watched as I began to prepare the meal. It’s an easy and flavorful dish to make, but it’s still fairly healthy and I figured Cat could use all the healthy meals she can get right now. She watched and helped, trying to learn the recipe. Ryan watched too, but I think it may have been suspicion rather than the cooking lesson that kept his interest. Can’t say I blame him

Before long, the others trailed into the kitchen, and the conversation started to pick up again. It kept going until the dinner was done. The meal seemed to go over well with everyone which I was pleased to see.

The rest of the evening was spent in idle, drowsy conversation, accompanied by the odd video game or movie.

That’s about all I have to tell right now… As I said, everyone’s turning in or heading out so I think it’s time to get some sleep, myself

Heading Out

Still healing… but I need to get out of here for a couple of days. I’m going stir crazy after being stuck here so long for one reason or another and now being unable to do my job

I’m sure Ritter won’t mind. I’ll still need a few days before I can reasonably do it, no matter where I am, so I’m going where I might just be able to heal without climbing the damn walls.

I’m going to visit some family