Prey: A Character Driven RP [FINISHED]

[DktrAgonizer]

"No, I don't think we should do either of those options." Zetta chewed on her bottom lip, a troubled look on her face. "She's so young and she's already been through so much. I don't want to risk putting her through anything like that."

"Then what? One of us takes care of her?" Lily asked. "That raises its own host of problems; like Alec said, I don't think any of us would be ready for that kind of responsibility." Not that I'd want to do it if I could, she added silently.

"I could take her, I guess," Zetta said, somewhat anxiously. "I mean, I think we'd get along fine. I don't live with anybody else, so that wouldn't be a problem. Plus, her powers are a type of illusion magic. It's slightly different from my own, but I might be able to help her control her invisibility a little better."

"Perhaps, but how would you support her?" Lily asked her. "Would you really be making enough money to do so from that delivery job of yours?"

"Well, I could always find a new one--I probably would have to anyway," Zetta said after only a moment's hesitation.

"That's not all, though. What about paperwork, or questions from the police? You're not her family; there'd be questions on why and how she left China. You can't hide her with the both of your powers for forever. And what about school? Something tells me you're not qualified to be a home-school teacher. No offense."

"I don't... I'm not..." Zetta's eyes widened as Lily fired off the questions, aware that she must look like a fish out of water. She was stammering and couldn't even gather a coherent thought. Finally, she buried her face in her hands and groaned, "Oh, I don't know. But what else can we do?"

"Good question." Lily tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Either we hand her over to the orphanage, or to an inexperienced caretaker. I suppose I could ask some of my contacts for help with the paperwork, but everything else would still be tricky. Unless anyone has a better suggestion?"

 

[JoJo]

Gabriel and Alec looked blankly at Lily, there was little more for them to say, either way the companions were stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was then that Maya piped up, it wasn't clear how long she'd been listening to the adult's conversations but now she turned to face the four with a wide-eyed earnestness.

"Please... don't leave me in an orphanage, there was one near where I used to live and it was horrible," Maya shuddered "You could hear babies crying when you walked past it all the time and it smelt funny. The children there were naughty and always getting in trouble for stealing things..." she said the last part somewhat guiltily, since before she'd met Rin she had been responsible for exactly the same sins.

The small girl shuffled closer to the four companions and put tentatively put her hand on Zetta's knee. In her mind the preference was clear: Lily had never been particularly caring or friendly, Alec irritated her and Gabriel she didn't really know at-all. Maya looked up at Zetta but didn't quite meet her eye, deep down she felt sure the woman would reject her but she had to try: the idea of being unloved and alone in the world was too scary to contemplate now she knew Dr Strauss, Takeda and her mother would all never return.

 

[DktrAgonizer]

"No, honey, we won't do that to you," Zetta told the girl gently, reaching over to give Maya a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She looked over at Gabriel and Alec, but since neither of them offered any other suggestions, she turned her attention back to Lily. "You said you get get somebody to help with paperwork?"

"I've got connections," Lily replied with a nod. "In fact, I know a few people who oew me a favor. If you really want, I can get them to prepare some adoption papers for you. Maya was already motherless and living on the streets in invisibility before Rin brought her here, after all; we don't need to completely forge an entire new identity to hide her from anybody searching for her."

"Then let's do it," Zetta said firmly. "Like I said, I can find another job. Something that pays more. Maybe make enough money to move us out of Paris, settle somewhere... safer. After all, Rin's gone, but I'm sure some of her lackeys are still kicking. Plus, the police are still after me. It'd be nice to not have to cover myself in illusions every day."

Lily nodded, already flipping through the contacts on her phone. "There's no telling how long it will take to get this settled. Might as well get started now." With that, she turned her back to the others and put the phone against her ear.

As Lily began speaking softly and quickly to somebody on the other end of the line, Zetta ruffled Maya's hair. "Guess I'll have to learn how mothers work," she said cheerfully, giving the girl a wink. "And what about you two?" she asked, looking back up at Gabriel and Alec.

 

[JoJo]

Maya smiled up at Zetta, more confidently before. Gabriel reached into his pocket absent-mindedly for a cigarette as he replied to Zetta's question, privately cursing when he remembered that he'd run out.

"I'm coming back to Paris too, at-least for now. Part of my street got destroyed by that fire, now I realise that was probably dragons under Rin's spell, but I'd guess by now the fuss around it should have died down enough for me to get back home. I wonder what my flat-mate thinks. On that matter, Goch, we're heading West right?"

Yer right boyo, we're headin' back to the old country now o'er the sea from Europe, don't yer worry I'll drop yer back off where I found yer in good time...

"I'll come along too," Alec injected, "After the whole mess with Dr Yang and Mr Kimura, I'm not going to be returning to China any time soon. There's lots of archaeological sites in France I can visit and I'll help you Zetta with young Maya if you want, I mean just a bit as you're getting started. I know lots of..."

He rambled on the dragon flew off into the desolate west, over rocky plains and tribal villages far below. Maya rested her head on Zetta's lap, it would take many months if not years for her to fully come to terms with the events of the last two days and though she might not know it now, one day many years in the future she would follow in the footsteps of Dr Strauss' ultimate example. In this moment though Maya sheltered blissfully in the warmth of her new guardian, safe at last.

~​

A few hours later, evening was setting in over the narrow streets of Paris as a dark shape flew above the cobbled streets. None of the passers-by noticed the giant creature swooping much lower than any aeroplane would, or if they did they thought nothing of it, for Goch landed uneventfully in a small wooded park on the outskirts of the city. Lily, Gabriel and Alec were huddled together talking about something banal, Maya was soundly asleep in Zetta's arms.

This is it my friends, thank yer for flyin' with Y Ddraig Goch airlines, if yer could kindly exit using my left or right wing, it's time for me to say goodbye... Goch thought to the others, from his voice even he seemed drowsy.

 

[DktrAgonizer]

When Goch landed, Zetta carefully shifted Maya in her arms before sliding down the dragon's wing to the ground. Maya was heavy in her arms, but she didn't want to wake the girl quite yet. She needed as much sleep as she could get.

When the others had slid off of Goch as well, Zetta dipped her head to the dragon and said, "Thanks for the ride, and, well, for everything else. I don't believe we would have made it this far without you." She paused, then added, "I hope you and the rest of your kind are able to live peacefully now."

"We'd best get going," Lily said, glancing around the park. "Time to split up and go home, I guess. Here, Zetta--give me your number. I'll give you a call later when all the paperwork and everything has been sorted out."

After exchanging numbers with Lily, Zetta turned to look at Alec. "I'd appreciate that offer of help you mentioned earlier, if only to get Maya back to my place. If you don't mind, anyway."

"Goodbye, everyone," Lily said, dialing a number on her phone as she gave the group a nod. "It's been... interesting. I'll see you later, maybe. Or maybe not." She turned and walked away, softly chatting with somebody on her phone.

 

[JoJo]

No, tis we that should be thankin' yer, the dragon replied formally to Zetta and the others. Yer have freed our people, we're in yer debt. I sense that one day we'll meet again, until then farewell.

With that the huge dragon swooped into the air and within moments silence fell over the secluded park. After a minute, the silence was broken by Alec.

"Sure, I'll help take her back, you must be tired after holding her for most of the flight" he replied eagerly to Zetta, who gratefully passed the sleeping child over to him. They then turned to Gabriel who was standing awkwardly away the other three.

"Well... goodbye I guess," he said to the others "I better find a way back home now, my flat-mates will be wondering where I am."

He too departed after a few hurriedly exchanged phone numbers and so in the end it was just Zetta and Alec walking down the dusky Parisian streets, Maya still soundly asleep in the American's arms. They probably could have spoken without waking her up however it seemed better not to, both of them enjoyed the silence anyway after the madness of the last few days. They knew the road ahead would be difficult, but if they could give their little charge a chance at a normal life, then by God they had to try.


.

3 months later

.

A cool September breeze swept through the golden leaves that lay scattered around the play-park's tarmac surface. Maya leapt from one of the colourful raised platforms and sprinted after a young blond boy of a similar age to herself, catching him by the shoulder.

"Vous avez attrapé! Jouons à chat!" she shouted in broken French and took off again. The teachers at her new school had been astonished at how quickly she was learning the language, said she must have knack for it and she could well end up fully trilingual by the end of next year, if she didn't forget Mandarin Chinese and English in the mean time. They'd nodded knowingly when they'd found out her deceased mother had been a translator.

As Maya was running from the boy she noticed some coloured paper flying in the wind and briefly recalled with a sinking feeling the ceremony she, Zetta, Alec and Gabriel had held several weeks earlier. They'd decided to hold a memorial for her mother, Dr Strauss, Takeda and Blackrose to commemorate those lost in the terrible events earlier that year and had combined western and eastern traditions: burying a symbol coffin for the four and also burning fake money and paper objects in the way the Chinese did at funerals.

After a moment though Maya suppressed the painful memory, she was getting good at that. The first few weeks with her new mother had nearly pushed both parent and child to the limits: the nightmares, flashbacks in public place, the time where she inadvertently became invisible in a supermarket... then she'd starting seeing a new doctor recommended by Lily and everything began to improve. No longer did she spend hours staring out of a window or refuse to speak for an entire day, now she was actually making friends and recently had managed to go an entire week without wetting the bed. Maya was very proud of that achievement and this trip down to the southern coastal city of Marseilles was a reward for her good progress.

Panting with exertion, the small girl slowed down and saw to her disappointment that the boy she had been playing with was leaving with his father. The boy smiled briefly at her and then he vanished amongst the masses of tourists seeking out a last sunny weekend before autumn fully set in. Maya sighed and made her way over to Zetta who was sitting peacefully on a park bench, alone except for her picnic bag.

"Can I have an ice-cream? I promise I'll be good for the rest of the day..." she asked in English, she and Zetta had agreed to keep using the common language until she was fully fluent in French. She added what she hoped was a cute grin to seal the deal.

 

[DktrAgonizer]

As Maya ran around with the boy she'd met earlier that day, Zetta slouched on a bench with her face raised to the sky. The sun was out, and she liked the feel of its warmth hitting her face as the breeze blew over her skin. It was almost strange how nice these past few months had been, after only days of running and fearing for her life. They weren't uneventful, and certainly not quite quiet, but it was still nice. Before then, she'd been nobody; she'd been just another person trying to get by with a lackluster job and a reluctance to make herself stand out. After everything with Rin, caring for Maya made her realize just how lonely she'd been.

So she'd gotten a new job, as she'd promised that day on Goch's back. As expected, the delivery job was no longer waiting for her when she'd gotten home. No matter, though. It had only been a matter of days to find a job as a high school counselor. It wasn't something Zetta had expected to do, but she'd decided to give it a shot when she noticed how easily she got along with Maya. (Though she wouldn't admit to the girl that she had to call in another favor from Lily to secure the job, since she lacked the proper education for it.)

Zetta smiled as Maya came over, asking for some ice cream with a grin on her face that would make telling her "no" extremely difficult. "Of course you can," Zetta said, reaching over to ruffle the girl's hair affectionately. "But," she added with a wink, "you've still got to eat your lunch first. I didn't pack this stuff just for decoration."

She dug out some sandwiches and chips from the picnic bag, laying it out carefully on a blanket she set on the ground. "Dig in," she told Maya, taking time to let her hair out of its bun. It was nice, seeing Maya have fun with kids her own age. After everything Maya had been through, seeing her genuinely happy gave Zetta no small sense of relief. This trip to Marseilles would be over soon, after all, and they'd have to go back to their apartment in Paris. Zetta still had plans to move the both of them to Venice, once she'd saved up enough money. She could only imagine Maya's delight at getting to ride around in the city's gondolas (something she'd always wanted to do herself.)

But, one thing at a time. "So, make a new friend today did you?"

 

[JoJo]

Maya shrugged in reply to Zetta's question as she sat down on the rug and took a bite out of the nearest sandwich.

"His name was Henri, I probably won't see him again though because he's on holiday too. I like playing with boys, it's easier to make them do stuff for you than girls. We were playing cat and mouse and then..."

The small girl dug into the picnic ravenously all the while talking with Zetta about everything and anything. Eventually the pair ended up on their backs looking up at the clouds, newly returned after a season's banishment.

"You know," Maya said, "sometimes I wish there weren't any normal people in the world, it would be so cool if we could just use our magic without worrying about them finding out. Do you think there could be spell that would get rid of them all?" Seeing the alarmed look on Zetta's face, Maya quickly added, "Don't worry, I wouldn't use it even if there was one," and then she jumped up eagerly remembering her new mother's promise.

"Come on, let's go get the ice-cream now!"

She dashed off and Zetta followed after collecting up the picnic gear, the two laughed and played for hours more that day and indeed would for many years hence as their unusual family thrived and blossomed. Around the world the magical community was breathing a collective sigh of relief as the mysterious disappearances that had plagued them for the past year finally halted, no rumour or explanation that was passed around tucked away bars and meeting rooms was the same but they all had one common theme: no-one would forget the manic quest of an ageless Chinese spirit any time soon, nor the characters whose stories were entwined with the whispered tales. A fearless half-demon wouldn't give up in the face of danger, a noble doctor who gave his life to ensure the world would live to see another day, a plucky orphan who's plight drove her comrades to fight on, these figures quickly became legends which few knew the true story behind and those who did, well they didn't want to be found to tell it.

Fini​