Ophelia nodded slowly, wary. He was still again, eyes glazed as he appeared to come to terms with it all.
If he keeled over she was going to be gone, g-o-n-e, gone.
She barely knew what to do with males to begin with, let alone one overwhelmed by emotion, even with the ability of empathy.
The man beside him, Caspian, Finn’s memories supplied to her, kept his eyes trained on her.
She liked his eyes.
They didn’t glow with power like those of the Otherworld, nor did they seem particularly joyous, no, they were dark and stormy and a quiet strength revealed itself to her. She didn’t have to delve particularly deep using her occlumency skill to see what was on his mind and she could gather the gist of what had happened to him to make him so different from the man in her father’s memories.
“So I take it you are the only one here? The base was cleared out when you got here?”
She shook her head at the grey eyed male, “No, they destroyed whatever they had and ended their lives.”
Caspian narrowed his eyes on her, “So you were already here?”
Ophelia shrugged, “My mother told me to come here when I left the Otherworld. I’ve been here for something like five months, or at least that’s what they told me.”
Her father appeared to shake himself out of whatever haze he was in and stare down at her, “What did you do for them to let you stay here?”
She shrugged again, “I am a seer, they used me for my clairvoyant ability primarily. The commander, Vilenov, also had me interrogate any new transfers or new recruits to see if they would make a good fit for the base.”
“Interrogate?”
“My other chief abilities are empathy and telepathy. I have skills when it comes to divination as well, such as divination through the eyes- occlumency.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot as he took in her statement.
Caspian seemed uneasy around her and she angled her head to glance at him briefly, sensing his turbulent emotions hanging right below the surface.
He didn’t dislike her per-say, more like she made him tense. Confusion was absent, curiosity being the dominant emotion as he analyzed her. She cast out her senses a little more and quickly withdrew when she sensed the rage that sat deep within him. It didn’t feel pointless, she knew that it was the result of what he had suffered under Viscera, the pain, the confusion, the deep seated humiliation, the hurt from his loss scarring him.
Ophelia schooled her expression and turned away from him and back to her father.
He was confused, tense from being put into an uncomfortable situation and irritated.
A part of her raged at the irritation- she was no irritant dammit- till she searched him deeper, sensing the deep seated joy at having family again, the hope that though discreet, was not to be ignored.
She didn’t know how she felt about it all.
It was a habit of hers to lay her feelings aside in favor of others, doing it so well that even she had trouble figuring out how she felt about situations or people.
At times she had even questioned if she had feelings herself.
But no, she did, they were just minute in comparison to others.
“You were a tool to them?” Caspian asked with a soft lilt, an uncomfortable question.
Ophelia blinked and thought on it for a moment.
“For most everyone I think I was. Vilenov was more like a friend than a superior though.”
He tensed up a little further and she witnessed flashbacks to a white haired man in a jade green uniform yelling at him while what felt like acid raced through his vein frying his senses until he didn’t know his right from his left.
Ophelia blinked and the memory slipped from her mind.
She sent him a discreet wave of calm coupled with strength and reassurance.
“Vilenov was a recent fissure of this base- he came into command within the past decade he told me. He… was odd compared to the rest of Viscera. He leaned almost pacifistic and was almost a pariah because of it. From what I could gather from the guards and others, they were sent here after they fell into disfavor with their prior superiors. Vilenov worked primarily in intel, but recently made a half-hearted split from the main body of Viscera, I don’t know why, though.”
“How do you know he wasn’t acting to gain your favor?” Caspian cocked a brow at her and she shifted her weight again, her fingers skimming her thighs lightly.
She had never liked being questioned, especially when it came to how she handled people or her gifts. She put a strong leash on her anger- he was human, he didn’t know any better, he did not know much her faerie blood demanded reparations for daring to question her ability to tell the good from the bad or the in between, how much her demigod self wished to lay a curse on anyone who had the gall to question her.
She had not figured much about how his humanity and his human ways would be so different than hers.
But was he really human? Viscera had changed him into something else, something completely unknown to her.
Her father was staring down at her again and she tucked a wayward locke of hair behind her ear, feeling his eyes wander to her ear’s distinguishable point. His brows furrowed and she recalled the scene his mind sifted through from his memories- a wrinkled silver haired woman with sharp green eyes, warning him of the fae and their oddities.
Ophelia bit her lip to refuse the desire to smirk.
That old woman had clearly not known of the nature of her daughter’s husband’s ancestry-or her truly adopted changeling daughter- his, a long line frequented with excursions with those of the fair folk, resulting in a high level of faerie ‘sparks’.
The ‘sparks’ were of course the extra sense fae naturally had, the sense that alerted them to others of their kind along with their strength. It was what allowed for a strong connection between those of faerie blood- it was what drew them to near always be in close contact to each other, the very sense that made it near impossible for full blooded fae to ever fully depart from their courts.
For the fae, exile was worse than the punishment of death for that very reason, and most full blooded fae die off into haunted versions of themselves- banshee or other tormented spirits- when exiled.
Finn blinked and waited for her to reply.
“It is near impossible to fool me or my kindred, if he had managed it, and that is a very big if, he would be praised by both me and others of the Aes Sidhe, well, until he met a tortuous end via my lance for daring to undermine me.”
Finn frowned at her, “There’s no way…”
His mutter drew his friend’s eyes away from her briefly and she softly smiled at her father as he shook his head at her.
“I assure you it is quite true, I can explain it if you wish, but I would rather not be here when the scent of seventy six rotting corpses break through my seal.”
“Christ,” Finn swore and Ophelia frowned.
Her godly nature abhorred even the mention of the religion that had deprived her Tuatha family of their worshippers. It had infuriated all save a few of the Tuatha that they, the true gods of Eire, had been laid aside for some false God in their eyes.
She would forgive her father for his… oddities that had resulted from living a mortal’s life, but she knew that inevitably she would grow angry and lash out. Ophelia only hoped that she could hold off until she explained to him the ways of her people, his people as well.
But were they his people still? She could sense his immortality and she could see sharp beautiful features that she knew were only native to the Vampiric Races.
A large part of her hoped that he would accept her as her mother had claimed he would- but an even larger part of her was disgusted in herself for wanting the approval of a vampire of all things, even if he wasn’t completely vampiric.
Sure, she had sought out the attention of others before, but she had never craved their approval of all things- her faerie blood demanded that she use them as all faeries do, and that had never meant demeaning herself in such a way. Dammit, she was a lady of the Autumn court, a daughter of the Morrigan, betrothed to a god, she should never have to feel the need for another’s approval, even if he was her sire!
But despite herself, that part of her was strong and simmering inside her, just waiting to slowly boil over where he would no doubt turn her away!
But the hopeful part bit back savagely, ‘he is kindred! He would never sever blood ties, no one of faerie blood would ever willingly sever blood ties with their own!’
‘He is a vampire! He has lived as a mortal! He only knows the ways of mortals!’ She screamed back, her mind in a tumultuous scramble.
‘He is your sire! He is not that despicable human boy that dared bed you and then turn you- one of the fair folk- away in favor of a human girl!’
Ophelia sighed and blinked three times to find her father and his friend staring down at her in what seemed like wait.
Finn blinked and repeated his invitation.
“Would you come with us then? We’re staying a couple hours away from here, it might be easier to talk there?”
She blinked her identical pair of blue eyes back at him, “Where is ‘there’?”
Finn rubbed the back of his head with a hand, “Cas, where was it?”
Cas shrugged, “I think Galway, but Thorn would know better. He was the one of us who’s actually been to Ireland for more than ten minutes.”
Ophelia’s brow furrowed, “What do you mean?”
Cas’ eyes widened and he stared at Finn to get him to explain the concept of idioms.
Finn sighed instead, “Do you have all of your things?”
Ophelia nodded and he frowned at her again, “Just that?”
He pointed at her armor and adorned weapons and she shook her head.
“The rest… is somewhere only I can reach- not really tangible for anyone outside of myself.”
He nodded and clapped a hand on her shoulder, drawing a look of confusion on her delicate features.
“Follow us, then.”
He turned around and they escorted her back to where the rest of the team had re-congregated to, a small clearing hidden by overhanging trees.
Baptiste was the first to greet them and also the first to appear to gain his daughter’s ire when he greeted her.
“Hey, I’m Baptiste, thanks for you know- well, not causing trouble.”
She narrowed her eyes on him and her glare clearly unnerved his friend.
Thorn clapped him on the back as he dropped down from an overhanging branch.
“Nice, Axe-man.”
Baptiste shook him off and looked back at them to see Finn grimace.
From what little he could recall of what his grandmother had regaled him with- one never ever thanked the fae, it was their most famous form of offense taken. To thank the fae was to incite their wrath, she had warned.
Ophelia wandered away to where their youngest member was seated, leaving the rest of them relatively alone.
“So wanna tell me what A-is-she translates to?” Cas asked and Thorn and Baptiste nodded, having heard the conversation via the communicators in their ears.
“It’s Aes Sidhe. It is a way to refer to the… faeries.”
Baptiste chuckled, “You’re kidding, right? I mean the woman at the airport was superstitious, but I never thought she’d be right.”
Finn shrugged, “I mean, I didn’t want to believe it either, but she clearly does not consider herself to be human, she even pointed out the name of her… kind. But what really gives it away is her ears.”
“What?” Cas clipped, “They look normal to me.”
Baptiste and Thorn nodded and Finn frowned, “No, they’re pointed, can’t you see?”
Baptiste scoffed, “No they’re not, Kelly. She looks exactly like you, well except for the height and body type- she’s got your hair, eyes, tan, hell- she could be your sister!”
The other two nodded and Finn glanced back at her before looking back at them.
“No, I mean, she has my eyes, but everything else looks like her mother. Dark hair, fair, heart shaped face, small nose- she looks almost exactly like Neve…” He trailed off into a mutter and the other three cast worried glances at him.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing, Ophelia had approached the redhead from her vision, casting out her senses quietly only to be cast out from the younger woman’s mind.
“You are enhanced?” The teenager asked and Ophelia shook her head, staring into the witch’s eyes, scanning her via occlumency when telepathy failed her.
She pulled back, “I am not human, so no- I would not consider myself to be enhanced. I was born as I am today.”
“But Finn said you were his daughter?”
Ophelia cocked her head to the side and replied, “I am- what laid dormant in him was awakened by my mother’s magic when I was born. Though, I do not think that it was that dormant in him, if my knowledge is true.”
“Your knowledge, but you just met?” The redhead asked and Ophelia sighed.
“I have gained knowledge from the memories of my ancestors passed down to me inadvertently. I have my mother again to thank for that blessing.”
The younger woman stood and held out her hand to… shake?
Ophelia stared down at it curiously for a moment before the woman blushed and withdrew.
“I’m Julianna Beauregard, but everyone calls me Jules.” She introduced.
“I am Ophelia.” Ophelia returned and Jules laughed.
“Do they not have last names where you are from?”
Ophelia’s lips quirked, “My mother was fond of the last name mortals gave the sorceress her myth was denigrated to.”
“What was that?” She asked and Ophelia smiled softly.
“I believe the sorceress was called Morgan le Fay.”
Jules went silent, but a smile still played on her lips.
“So are you a sorceress, then?”
Ophelia shook her head, “I have skills in magic, yes, and can cast the spells I’ve been taught, but I consider myself fae as I was raised among them and hold title higher among them than the Tuatha.”
Ophelia scanned the other woman, noting the russet brown eyes and long copper red hair that ended at her waist, the black fingerless gloves, the form fitting red leather pants and loose black top coupled with a matching red leather jacket.
She was not dressed for proper battle and it was safe to assume that she had outside gifts that she could harness easily.
The warrior in Ophelia grew excited at the thought of fighting the redhead- it was so rare that humans were any match for her, especially when she brought any of gifts into play.
Jules could already lay aside her telepathy, but occlumency had worked, and Ophelia could feel her distinct eagerness, hope, and mild excitement, along with present grief, but grief that was fading slowly like a river eroding a rock. Her faerie abilities were still ringing true and she could sense that the mortal had not seen through her glamour like her father had. Shape-shifting would be easy as well as well as invisibility- she didn’t even need to test to figure those out. It was safe to say the ability to bless, curse, and steal were all safe and accounted for as well, leaving only levitation and her severely lacking ability of flight.
She could levitate slowly, but she was not of the trooping fae of her court and as such lacked the wings needed to truly fly. So either way, those two would be foolish to use in a battle against someone who was ‘enhanced’.
Clearly the woman was telepathic to fend off Ophelia’s own, but there had to be something else, or else she would have been trained to physically hold her own and as such would be dressed accordingly.
Her occlumency failed her when it came to deciphering abilities- it only allowed her to glimpse the inner depths of a person, decipher who they were as a person where they were strong and where they were weak in mentality and body, her empathy being the bridge between the two- but still, the younger’s gifts must lay almost like another sense for her.
How curious.
Jules pointed behind Ophelia and the demigoddess glanced over at the men to see them staring at the two women.
Finn waved them over and Jules packed up what little she had brought for the trip- a book, a pen and notebook, a device (phone! That was what the guards each kept married to their sides!), a cord with a block of some sort strung at the end, and slung it all into a side satchel. Ophelia walked alongside her new… companion and approached the group of mortal men.
Her father’s brows were furrowed.
“Ophelia?” he asked, “Why is it that I’m seeing a different you than everyone else?”
She sighed, “Only those of faerie ancestry can see through faerie glamour naturally. Anyone else must be given the sight.”
He nodded and looked distant as he thought it over, everyone else focusing their eyes on him and waiting for him to… what? Ophelia wondered.
Ah, yes. She had identified him as their leader in her vision.
He came out of his thoughts when Cas clapped him on the shoulder, his hand clapping with more force than her father had done to her prior.
“Let’s get back to the van.” Finn directed and they quickly began their trek, the joking man from her vision, Baptiste, - the one who had uttered such a cheap form of thanks to her- continuing to amuse everyone where he was beside the archer at the front, Finn and Cas following behind them, leaving Ophelia and Jules hanging at the end.
Her father and his friend kept glancing back at them and Ophelia caught them both each time, annoyance starting to surface in her.
Cas looked back again and she caught his eyes, his body tensing up again at her glance.
“Do you need something?” She inquired and red blossomed in his cheeks apparently despite himself and he quickly looked away.
Jules giggled beside her and Ophelia could hear her father chuckling softly in front of her, trying to hold it in despite himself.
Ophelia shrugged, her eyes falling back to Cas who appeared to relax at the sound of her father’s laughter. After a moment he grinned and laughed a bit himself, glancing back at her for a moment, their eyes meeting briefly.
A small glimpse of present happiness- for a moment it overcame his discomfort and his eyes appeared bright.
Her lips quirked a bit and she gave a soft smile back in response.
Her father’s thoughts briefly trailed into her mind, he was happy to see his friend smile, if even for a moment, recalling how his friend was when they were young- each of them paired off with a date at a neighborhood diner, snow falling outside onto the stone streets.
He didn’t think Caspian would ever get past Viscera fully, even if he hoped he would, but as Ophelia’s eyes met with the black haired soldier’s, she knew that while he would never be back to how he was before- he would most certainly get past it.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
