Joscelin Fitzthomas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dredefulchilde) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
undergrounds2016-01-04 08:58 pm
dredefulchilde) wrote in undergrounds2016-01-04 08:58 pm
Entry tags:
No Way to Handle Things/Who Made Me So Bad - January Catch-All
Mamma, the weeping
Ealing, 4 January
Jamie Brown died on 28 July 1990. He was nine years old; the victim of an accidental drowning at a crowded water park. Joscelin knows this because he did his research. That is one of the main perks of the modern technological era; all it took was a name on a headstone and a few keystrokes on a smartphone and he had access to twenty-five year old obituaries and opinion pieces about whether the water park was liable for the tragedy.
It also helped him track down the boy's mother, Candice, at her flat in Ealing. She was still grieving, the poor old dear, all these years later.
Getting her to invite him into her flat had been a bit trickier than usual, but once he was in he wasted no time in integrating himself into her little family. Joss excelled at mind control; he had her fully convinced he was her long-lost little boy in a matter of minutes. The arrangement worked well for both of them. He was back in London for the first time since the Seventies, and she had a son to take care of once more.
But it's been six months, and Mrs. Brown, no longer as young as she had once been, is fading fast. He has to find a new blood bag. Soon.
Before that, however, there's an appointment to keep.
An all-night cafe is a strange place for a small boy to be at two o'clock in the morning, but the very large bribe the boy gave the proprietor to keep quiet means he remains undisturbed. Looking quite bored, he idly checks the time on his phone. That is when he hears the footsteps behind him.
"You're late, Lord Coward."
Mamma, the angels
Westminster, 6 January
The Sixth of January marks the Feast of the Epiphany, an important point on the liturgical calendar celebrating the arrival of the Three Kings to the Holy Family. Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season, and the beginning of a series of holy days culminating in Candlemas in February.
It's also Joscelin's birthday. He is six hundred and seventy-nine.
Birthdays are hardly important in the life of a vampire. Now that he's in his seventh century, they don't exactly hold the same significance as they once did when he was alive. The only reason he even remembers that his birthday even is 6 January is because of the interminable church services he endured as a child before getting to go home and feast.
Still, it isn't every day a boy turns 679. He decides to treat himself - a day at the cinema, perhaps. Or a cupcake at the cafe down the street.
Or a visit to a blood bag for hire. Just to celebrate.
No sleep in heaven
Tower Hamlets, 15 January
It's taken months to work up to this. Tower Hamlets is Islington territory, pure and simple. He's been all around London, everywhere but here, since his return to the city more than six month ago...just not to the heart of the vampire's world.
It's changed a lot since he was in power here during the nineteenth century. So has he. He's calmer now, more patient. Revenge doesn't need to be hasty to be effective. Time is one thing he has a lot of.
He smirks at a figure in the distance.
"Pleasant evening, isn't it?"
Or Bethlehem.
Ealing, 24 January
It isn't raining for once; a small mercy. The full moon shines down on the wintry city, and Joscelin knows instinctively he must be careful--werewolves could be about. But that doesn't matter, not now. Not when Candice Brown is dying in his arms in the middle of an abandoned park.
Joss hadn't thought about her heart when he started feeding off her. It hasn't kept up well with the strain of the constant bloodloss, and it's giving out.
"Help me!" he calls, out trying to get someone's attention. "Someone! She's sick!" It isn't supposed to happen this way. He's stopped killing humans. That was one of the terms of his banishment and he's kept it, damn it.
"You're not going to die, old woman. Not yet."
He bites his wrist and holds it to her mouth.
Ealing, 4 January
Jamie Brown died on 28 July 1990. He was nine years old; the victim of an accidental drowning at a crowded water park. Joscelin knows this because he did his research. That is one of the main perks of the modern technological era; all it took was a name on a headstone and a few keystrokes on a smartphone and he had access to twenty-five year old obituaries and opinion pieces about whether the water park was liable for the tragedy.
It also helped him track down the boy's mother, Candice, at her flat in Ealing. She was still grieving, the poor old dear, all these years later.
Getting her to invite him into her flat had been a bit trickier than usual, but once he was in he wasted no time in integrating himself into her little family. Joss excelled at mind control; he had her fully convinced he was her long-lost little boy in a matter of minutes. The arrangement worked well for both of them. He was back in London for the first time since the Seventies, and she had a son to take care of once more.
But it's been six months, and Mrs. Brown, no longer as young as she had once been, is fading fast. He has to find a new blood bag. Soon.
Before that, however, there's an appointment to keep.
An all-night cafe is a strange place for a small boy to be at two o'clock in the morning, but the very large bribe the boy gave the proprietor to keep quiet means he remains undisturbed. Looking quite bored, he idly checks the time on his phone. That is when he hears the footsteps behind him.
"You're late, Lord Coward."
Mamma, the angels
Westminster, 6 January
The Sixth of January marks the Feast of the Epiphany, an important point on the liturgical calendar celebrating the arrival of the Three Kings to the Holy Family. Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season, and the beginning of a series of holy days culminating in Candlemas in February.
It's also Joscelin's birthday. He is six hundred and seventy-nine.
Birthdays are hardly important in the life of a vampire. Now that he's in his seventh century, they don't exactly hold the same significance as they once did when he was alive. The only reason he even remembers that his birthday even is 6 January is because of the interminable church services he endured as a child before getting to go home and feast.
Still, it isn't every day a boy turns 679. He decides to treat himself - a day at the cinema, perhaps. Or a cupcake at the cafe down the street.
Or a visit to a blood bag for hire. Just to celebrate.
No sleep in heaven
Tower Hamlets, 15 January
It's taken months to work up to this. Tower Hamlets is Islington territory, pure and simple. He's been all around London, everywhere but here, since his return to the city more than six month ago...just not to the heart of the vampire's world.
It's changed a lot since he was in power here during the nineteenth century. So has he. He's calmer now, more patient. Revenge doesn't need to be hasty to be effective. Time is one thing he has a lot of.
He smirks at a figure in the distance.
"Pleasant evening, isn't it?"
Or Bethlehem.
Ealing, 24 January
It isn't raining for once; a small mercy. The full moon shines down on the wintry city, and Joscelin knows instinctively he must be careful--werewolves could be about. But that doesn't matter, not now. Not when Candice Brown is dying in his arms in the middle of an abandoned park.
Joss hadn't thought about her heart when he started feeding off her. It hasn't kept up well with the strain of the constant bloodloss, and it's giving out.
"Help me!" he calls, out trying to get someone's attention. "Someone! She's sick!" It isn't supposed to happen this way. He's stopped killing humans. That was one of the terms of his banishment and he's kept it, damn it.
"You're not going to die, old woman. Not yet."
He bites his wrist and holds it to her mouth.
no subject
"Do you know CPR?" It has never exactly been Joscelin's area of study, having spent most of his unnaturally long life killing people rather than trying to save them. This whole situation is extremely novel and strange.
Mrs. Brown's lips start to turn bluish and Joscelin swears, temporarily forgetting he's still playing a part for the stranger.
"God damn you, you old cow. You're not allowed to die yet. Where's the bloody ambulance?"
no subject
He really shouldn't stick around longer than that, given his circumstances. Though, maybe helping someone like this would see a slight improvement to his reputation.
He shakes his head as an answer to the question, his attention focused on listening for the ambulance. He supposes he should have learned at some point, probably did and then forgot.
"That's hardly any way to talk about your mum."
no subject
He could feel her pulse weakening. Throwing caution to the winds, and figuring he could always feed on the stranger (who didn't smell entirely human anyway) next to him and use blood magic to make him forget, Joscelin let his fangs descend and re-opened the wound on his wrist. He held it against the old woman's mouth.
"It'll keep her alive until the ambulance comes."
no subject
"An arrangement. Doesn't look like it's working out." He doesn't know a lot about vampires, but he has an idea of what that means and doesn't like it. It doesn't seem...right.
"Well, it's on its way now, at least," he said, cocking his head and catching the sounds of sirens.
no subject
The sirens were coming closer.
"Hospitals and vampires don't mix well." The dog-man didn't seem at all surprised to see him, so it was best to just call a spade a spade and have it done with. "Once she's stable I'll erase her memory and disappear. Can I trust you to get a message to her family?"
no subject
"I admit I'm in the same boat, but I can probably manage that at least." He didn't want to hang around too long. The less people saw of him the better things usually went. And he was decent enough about sneaking around London that he could come up with some way of contacting them.
no subject
Joscelin looked down at the stricken woman almost tenderly, wiping a strand of hair off her face. "Drink up, Candice, there's a good girl. Everything will be fire. You're going to sleep now, and when you wake up it'll be in hospital, surrounded by people you love. You've had a lovely dream that Jamie came back, haven't you? He was such a good little boy, just like you remembered. But it was a dream, and now you're going to focus on getting well. It was a dream, right?"
The woman's eyes glazed over, and she nodded weakly.
"Good girl. Now, you," the tone of Joss's voice changed considerably. For a moment he'd seemed almost sweet, but now he was back to his bossy, brattish self.
"Tell them that she was out for a walk late at night. Her memory's going; she thought she was going to pick up her son from school. She needs to be watched from now on or else she'll do herself permanent harm. Can you remember that, dog-man, or do you need me to write it down for you?"
no subject
Because doing in from the hospital was not going to work for him. Too many people about, and too many chances to get noticed, other emergencies or not.
no subject
"I'll give you the information later. I know your smell, dog; you shouldn't be too difficult to track."
With that, he smoothed the woman's hair one last time.
"Goodbye, bloodbag."
no subject
"I prefer Sirius, if you must," was all he said, before heading off into the park, trying his best to look inconspicuous. His pace was brisk, hoping to get away before anyone started asking questions. He didn't really want to know if his presence would change his reputation or just result in more trouble.
no subject
"You will be a good dog, won't you?"
With that, he vanishes.
no subject
He does a loop around the park before hiding in some bushes to watch and make sure the old woman makes it safely into the ambulance. This really has done anything to improve his feelings on vampires.