Threads of Destiny

[lily tomlinson]

Upon her disappearance from the bar, leaving the two men she loved behind, she'd made a decision. Her first stop had been to visit her family, peruse the tents and retrieve her most cherished possessions. There had been no crying, or sadness, just acceptance for her sudden departure. That was the way of her kind, the travelers, the gypsies. They did not stay long in one place, and were prone to moving on when times became hard, when it was time to disappear. But they always moved as one, as a group, as family. Gypsies craved the company of others, craved the feeling of being close and the companionship that came with knowing others.

Tabitha had never been different. As Life, it was in her nature to seek out the company of many, to give her heart to those that could fulfill her need for companionship. It was human nature to crave company, to fear loneliness. But with her current mistakes, the way the past seemed to be repeating itself, it was time to go against her nature. It was time that she embark on her own, a time for meditation and to leave the ones she was continuously hurting.

Her bag packed, she knelt before the group of children of her family. She considered them all brothers and sisters of her soul, if not by blood, and it pained her to leave them. A hug, a kiss upon the head for each of them and she was setting off into the night. She was determined, steeling herself against the fear of being alone and the pain at leaving her companions behind.

She made a slow walk through the city, visiting the few places that had often drawn her. The boundaries of the old carnival, the library, the small cafe she often would sit to read. The desert where she'd rediscovered Rhys and the crater that was once his home.

Her fingers brushed along an old tapestry, the fine threads that weaved the destinies of the Old Powers. In the past it had been said it was a gift to The Guardian from The Fates, the threads weaving together as The Old Powers lived. Now it showed the past mistakes, and how the future was shaping out to become. So many things gone wrong in the past, so much pain, and it was all beginning to repeat. Not all would know when to change their destinies, when to make things right again, but she would not fall prey to history. She would not hurt the ones she loved again.

This was her decision. To remove herself from the threads of destiny, to stop the recurring patterns.

Her hands worked slowly, fastidiously, pulling out the thread that marked hers. She couldn't change the past, too far etched were her threads, but she could remove what would happen from now on. She was disconnecting herself from her kin, removing her fate from theirs. What would come next, no one would know, but from there on she would make her own path, put her powers and her nature behind her. Put her future mistakes behind her.

She would leave it all behind, leave her love and her desires behind.

She could feel magic swirl around her hands as she pulled the threads, ripping and removing all traces of her, could feel her powers weakening as she gave up her hold on everything she held dear. For the greater good, she told herself, this is what it was for. To be alone, she would face that fear, and those close to her would not be hurt again. But though the threads were removed, she was still an Old Power, weakened, tired, but she would ignore it all, start anew away from any connection to the past. She would truly become a part of the background, life in observance and nothing more.

Her efforts through, work done, she straightened, brushing dirt from the knees of her jeans. She had to tear her eyes away from Lucient's and Rhys' threads amongst the tapestry, and the holes now in place where her own thread had once entwined with theirs. No longer. She would not interfere any longer.

Glancing around the destroyed home, she hesitated. It was so hard for her to leave, to walk away from everything she'd ever known. If she left, she would be no better than human, she would no longer have her companions. But though she was known to be selfish, there was only so far she could go. Only so many she could let be hurt. Anyone but her family, her loves.

So though it hurt her to turn from the tapestry and head back into the desert, she forced her legs forward, moving deep into the desert, away from civilization. She refused to look back, keeping her face stoically forward. If she looked back, her resolve would crumble and she would continue to be foolish. But with her gone, things could return to normal for at least two of her companions. Only a note of asking of forgiveness, confessing of love, and a goodbye would be left in her place, along with the torn thread of her destiny within the envelope. The thread alone would be all they needed to understand her reasoning behind her disappearance.

But though she knew she was doing the right thing, the night was not welcoming. The distance was no comfort. Her self-imposed solitude became her prison, and one that only she held the key to.

[titan]

Now, Jay knew that Tabitha was acting like a retard. What the hell? Like, when did it ever make sense to choose nothing instead of one out of two? What? Were they just supposed to...? WHAT? So, instead he went off to find someone else to spend his time with for the time being. It was better not to have to deal with this shit of the bull.

Rhys, on the other hand was not at all happy with what he found in his former home. So, she'd ripped out her thread, eh? Well, they'd just have to see what was to be done about that.

Over the next few days he devised a plan. He visited his local Home Depot ((LOL)) and built himself a guillotine, very sturdy and ultra sharp. He told only Light about his plan to kill himself. Or try, at least. Over the centuries, he'd had various things happen to him, but he'd never actively tried to kill himself. But here it was.

"Alright, Lucient, I need you to convey this to her please." he said, his head in the device.

"My name's Jay now and yeah whatever no problem," Jay replied.

Jay "recorded" the whole beheading in light and sent the event to the nearest reflection to her. If that didn't work, there were always other methods.

[lily tomlinson]

Of all the places she had traveled, she had never once been to the rainy cities of Oregon. Rainy didn't even begin to cover it. More like a monsoon, with a chill behind it that never quite disappeared, no matter how many layers one would wear. She didn't mind rain once in a while, but she was a summer girl, one who enjoyed the desert heat. The constant rain was not a refresher, something that she would run and play in.

She'd taken shelter in a dilapidated bus stop, the plastic walls thick and grimy, blurring the world outside of the shelter. It was so green here. So.... wet. Crinkling her nose in distaste, her eyes on the pavement, for a while she did not notice that her reflection in the panes of plastic had shifted. It wasn't until a car swept past the curb, showering her in puddle water that her head jerked up and she backed quickly into the walls around her, shivering, that she saw it.

And there she froze. She'd thought she'd been cold before, but ice now ran through her veins as panic overrode her senses.

"Rhys..." she gasped, staring into the scene playing out in the plastic.

She really was an idiot. She was supposed to be smarter than this, have some common sense. She should have seen how her stupidly running off like a coward would affect those around her. Not everyone was like her family. Especially Rhys. She should have thought about just how many people he'd lost, and how much he'd gone through. And to have her up and leave again? How thick could she get?

Truth was, when Rhys or Lucient were involved, common sense never had a place with her. Logic went out the proverbial window. She wasn't used to romantic emotions, and did not know how to process them like a sane person.

But seeing Rhys trying to kill himself- she didn't realize just yet if he could succeed or not- sent a chill of fear straight through her, spreading like a virus and pushing out all of her cowardly thoughts of changing history. Fuck history. Fuck it all. She needed to get back to Vegas now.

And it was then that she took the road of grand theft auto. Literally threw an old man out of his BMW convertible and hit the freeway at top speed. She made a three night trip in only one, not once stopping for red lights or even the cops that had tried to pull her over. Who cared when she was probably already too late?

What if she was too late? It was the worst fear of all. Worse than her fear of being alone, worse than having to choose between two men she loved. If she lost Rhys because of her stupidity, if she lost him at all... She would never be able to see him smile again, never be able to spend her nights with him. He just wouldn't be...

Gulping audibly, she swerved the car at the edge of the crater and leapt into the hole that was once Rhys' home. There she stilled, fear paralyzing her. What if? What if she was too late? Could she handle seeing him in such a state? Could she handle not seeing him? But what if he wasn't? Rhys was supposed to be indestructible. How could he even be dead? He couldn't right?

But he wouldn't just cut off his head for the fun of it, would he?

She knew there was only one way to find out, and she forced herself forward. Her logic told her this was all just some terrible ploy, but her heart just wasn't buying it yet. Always the heart mixed into things. It ruined everything. When she finally found him, she was trying very hard to keep her silence, but her breathing was ragged. She wasn't crying at least. She'd reserve that for when she finally found out what was going on. Face white, eyes wide, she swung her head around to stare at Lucient, desperately seeking an answer but finding none. And she was forced to actually look, to see the blood and the head on the floor.

Just because he was decapitated though didn't mean he was dead. But the scene was too close to death for her comfort. She'd always accepted death when it came to those around her, never feared it for herself, but just the thought of losing one so close to her heart, and one she thought would never die was terrifying.

"You can't die," she mumbled, dropping down on her knees, and lay her head down on his arm. "You're supposed to live forever. You just can't."

She refused to accept it, she refused. It just wouldn't make sense for him to die all of a sudden.

"I promise I won't be stupid and leave again," she went on quietly, "Just don't do this. You're scaring me."

[titan]

icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/funny-pictures-dramatic-cat-asks-where-the-sting-of-death-is.jpg

[titan]

Something about being decapitated tends to make one less than coherent. Odd. This is the feeling that currently gripped Rhys, taking him from charming immortal to...creepy.

"S'ok baaaaaybeeee" he slurred from a little ways away from his body. If he had been able to think properly, this whole thing would have grossed him out. But luckily for him, he was immune to it at the moment.

Jay, on the other hand, was not so lucky. At all.

"Ick," he said, face scrunched in displeasure. Taking pity on them all, he trudged over to 'The Head' and picked it up, rationalizing that it was still alive so it wasn't that nasty. After replacing Rhys' head on his body and watching it knit back with his neck, he really wanted to go somewhere and throw up. But at the same time, he knew not to leave them together and give Rhys the advantage. Sneaky little bastard.

"Alright, so I'd say that worked," he said, as Rhys began to look coherent again, "So we should probably get going then..." No, he didn't think that it would work. But that was ok.

[lily tomlinson]

Tabitha gave a small shudder at the talking head, then another shudder when it was reattached. She even turned a bit green, forcing her eyes shut so as not to look until everything was all put together again.

"Ok, so I may have a strong stomach but that was really pushing it," she said thickly, finally opening her eyes again.

"Wait... what??" She was mulling over Jay's words, and looking back and forth between the two men. "Oh. You guys. You plotted this? I'd say I'd kill you but Rhys, you don't die. And Lucient... well, you'd find a way out."

She stood up and glared at the ground, shaking her head. "You could have been a little less extreme, you know."

She would have come back eventually too, upon realizing she was being an idiot. It would have taken a few days, but it would have happened.

[titan]

"I'm a very impatient person." Jay said, "Oh, and my name is Jay now. But Lucient is fine too."

Now that everything seemed to be back in order, he didn't really feel like continuing to stay here.

"Weeell, I'm gonna head out. Now that we've sorted this out for the time being." he managed not to sound anything but matter of fact. Good for him. Truth be told, he really just needed some time to think.

Rhys was very much enjoying the attention he was getting and was hoping that Tabitha wouldn't abandon him for stupid Light at this moment.

[lily tomlinson]

"Oh, Jay," Tabitha says thoughtfully, rolling his name like some sort of sweet that she really likes. Not a good thing for her to do, but it was already out there. Oh, well. "All right, then it's Tabitha for me."

She felt kind of lame with the belated introductions. That's usually something one did before the sex, but alas, she was doing things backwards as of late.

She glanced back at Rhys, and shook her head slightly again, before removing her sweater and setting it off to the side.

"Please tell me you have a mop here somewhere, because I don't want to have to look at the blood all day, er, night."

And why yes, Tabitha was offering to clean up this mess. She was going to get all house-wifey and mop and clean and organize. Something to do because she was feeling really awkward right now.