Restless

Park Slope Studios - Brooke's Studio Apartment

The large studio apartment offers a great deal of open space. The studio has been recently renovated to include walls between the rooms, and though it's only 900 square feet seems much larger due to the open concept.

Two bedrooms can be found in the apartment, though only one is an actual bedroom. The second, which looks out onto Prospect Park, has been set up as a home office for a budding new business. Filled with filing cabinets, a computer, several calendars, extra day planners, the office manages to look both comfortable and busy at the same time. Several client clipboards hang on the wall.

French doors separate the two bedrooms from the main living area, which encompasses both a small living room and a dining nook. The living area has exposed brick wall with a fireplace. The remainder of the walls are a soft cream in color, and all the furniture is black.

The small kitchen is simple and elegant, with hardwood floors, and wooden cabinets to match. The appliances are older, but still in good working condition. There's no balcony, but there is access to the rooftop garden through a stairway that runs alongside the entrance.


Characters

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Bryn Blackwell Christian Knight Rory Bainbridge Kieran Collins Serafine Roche

There was a moment, in the middle of the night, that Bryn allowed himself about twenty minutes of sleep. Face planted on the computer keyboard. He woke before anyone else did and rubbed the key marks off his face, and after that he was greeted with a ring of the bell and a delivery of breakfast. He set it on the table where the sandwiches were when he arrived, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Then he set about contacting Callum to see if his friend could pull up any information that the Priory might not have access to.
When that provided no results, he got in touch with Serafine to see if she and Kieran found anything additional.
Then he got to looking through various maps of Maine, provided by the Priory there. Ones which showed forests, buildings, ownerships. It's hard to determine where the women may be being kept, but he's got a few possibilities.

~*~

Rory slept like a log for all of about three hours. He's still fresh enough out of uni that he's got the sleep at the drop of a hat and wake on command still down to a science. It's one thing uni kids have in common with the military. He wakes up, and stretches his arms over his head, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. At least his back feels fine; Miss Bishop has a comfortable couch.
"Did you find anything else while I was out?"
~*~
Christian finds his home is stifling. It's been crowded before, but that was different. That's when they have visitors for good reasons. Right now, home is more than Chris could bear. He woke early, grabbed a shower, and put on a pot of coffee. Two cups later, he went out to the terrace and tried several location spells. Siobhan left a few trinkets around the house, and they're blood related.
Ariel caught him, and though he's sure she'll give him the what for later because of the obvious blood spell he was using, or tell Siobhan about it (because they're going to find her and get her back, and that's all there is to it), she let it go.
By the time the whole house was awake, Chris had to get out of there. He told his father he was going to Brandon's, pocketed the trouble charm his mother made all those years ago, and even waited patiently for the car his father called. Of course, it's not Brandon's where he's being dropped off.
He's never been here before. All Chris has is an address, but that's good enough. It's easy enough to magic the lock open, and head up to Brooke's apartment. Taking a breath, he knocks on the door.

~*~
"Maps. Plenty of maps. It would help if we had a closer pin on the location, because there is a bloody lot of forests in Maine." Bryn frowns as he stares at one of the images, then leans back to sip his tea.
"There is more food if you are hungry. It would appear that Miss Donovan means to feed an army."
There's a blink at the knock to the door, and he holds his hand up for silence. The sorcerer isn't taking it easy at all at the moment. Most of his contacts wouldn't be here at this time of day.
Peering through the security hole, he blinks again.
"Christian Knight," he tells Rory as he opens the door.
"Come on in, Mr. Knight. There is plenty of food, and you can make yourself useful peering over the maps with Bainbridge over there."

~*~

"Maine is a big area." It rather goes without saying, but Rory will blame his words on the early hour. He scrubs his hands over his face and wanders over to the table, stretching as he goes. "Right now, I could eat like an army." Rory considers it brain power, but in fact he knows it's his body replenshing from using his talent so much yesterday. He's heard that it's much the same for witches and sorcerers when they expend great amounts of magic.
He stiffens at the knock, and then relaxes a bit when Blackwell identifies the person on the other side of the door. Rory does shoot his boss a curious look, but says nothing.

~*~
"Mr. Blackwell." Christian gives the man opening the door a polite nod. He straightens and takes a breath, then deflates with a blink when his stored up words and speech are unneccessary. There are no inquiries of what he's doing there, or why he isn't at home.
"Thank you, sir," Chris says, genuine gratitude in his voice. He was raised with proper manners, a proper UESer, even if his parents have been hassling him about the hair, and his Grams just gave him that look.
He steps inside and joins the other man by the maps. "Maine, is this where Shiv and Brooke are?"

~*~
"Sometimes," Bryn says with a wink, "One does not need to know what one is doing, just that they are about to help the cause. I take it you need a break from home and wish to do something more pro-active." The sorcerer has no qualms with telling it like it is, and were he in Christian's situation, it would be much the same for him. He would rather do something than sit and listen to people grieve instead of handling the situation.
"That is the current theory, based on several contacts and what Bainbridge could pick up. Touch psychic," he explains to the younger man.

~*~

As long as the young man isn't going to break down and blubber, or get in the way, Rory has no qualms with him being there. Sometimes family is a bit too close, but the young man seems steady right now. A fresh set of eyes might do them some good.
"Tell us about your sister," Rory says. "Anything you tell us might help. If not helping us find her, at least helping us know what to expect when we get there and rescue her." It's always good to know if a victim is going to be relieved and coooperative, or freak out.

~*~
Chris nods again, and breathes another sigh of relief. It means he doesn't have to explain that he really can't handle seeing his mother like this and feeling so helpless. He doesn't envy his father or his aunt; he doesn't blame his mother. If he had a kid, he might react the same way. He can't help his grandmother; she's older and has coven connections. It's like he told Ariel: coming here was at least something he could do.
Chris glances at the younger Brit, and gives a shrug. "Siobhan is … really stubborn. Grams says she's hard-headed. She's - hell, she's a stone bitch sometimes." Christian decides not to sugar coat it. It is what is. "But she's really smart too. Everyone just sees a pretty face and thinks she just some hot dancer, but she's a lot smarter than she lets on." He really doesn't see how that will help them, but it does help him. It just reinforces his knowledge that his sister is a survivor. And she's too stubborn to go down without a seriously vicious fight.

~*~
"She is also a survivor, and we know that she took things your father taught both of you and used them. I have no doubt that it will be much the same wherever they have taken her. Survival is key, and it will be one she will fight for, even if that fighting is laying low for the moment until she can formulate a plan."
It definitely reiterates for Bryn that Siobhan is not one to lay back and take orders. Which could be both good, and bad. Depending on what the captors have planned for Brooke and the younger woman.
"Her playing an idiotic young woman will also work in her favor."
Beat.
"Does your family know you are here, Christian?"

~*~

That was partly Rory's goal. To get the young man to talk, and make certain that, as the Americans would say, 'his head is in the game.' As long as he's positive, then he won't break down and be a hinderance. "Do you know anyone who might have been interested in Miss Bishop? Any creepy people hanging around?" It doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes people are more forthcoming with those closer to them. Siobhan Donovan might have mentioned something in passing.

~*~
Christian shakes his head. "Shiv never mentioned anything, but she probably wouldn't have to me. Maybe to Jenna or Pres. She had some creepy boyfriends, but that wouldn't have anything to do with Brooke, right?"
Off Bryn's question, Christian pointedly looks at the food sprawl and makes a point of adding eggs to his plate. "No."
Beat.
"They know I left, but I told them I was going to my - to a friend's house."
Beat.
"I don't think Grams believed me." He looks up then and fishes his 'trouble stone out of his pocket, dangling it from its chain. "They won't be worried though. Mom made these when we were younger. They let her and Dad know if we're hurt or in trouble. They know I have it with me."

~*~
"Regardless, I will take care of it." Bryn will place a quick call to Robert, and let him know that Christian is safe, and with the Priory. "I would rather your father at least know that you are here aiding us, than heading out on your own."
Taking a look at the stone, he nods. "Mrs. Bishop made those for her family as well, until the girls became older and moved to the city." It's probably a good thing Brooke didn't have hers when she was taken. He couldn't have handled talking to Prudence in person.
"If you could write down the names of the shady boyfriends, we can have someone take a look at them. They may not have anything to do with it, but every lead helps at this point. One of them could have tipped off the captors as to where your sister happened to be."

~*~
Christian is pretty sure that his father wouldn't have let him come if he'd known where Christian was planning on going. He would have told him to stay out of the way and let the professionals handle it. Which would have been fine if Mrs. Young and those Elders hadn't shown up, and made it feel like Siobhan's family could only get in the way. Oh, and the one evil bitch who looked at Christian like he was bug under on her shoe. It didn't instill confidence.
"I can do that. I can't remember their full names, but I know how far of Shiv they were in school, and I'm sure they'll be in the yearbooks." Christian takes a seat on the couch and accepts the pen and paper that Rory hands to him. The plate is placed on his knee, and with a whispered spell it stays balanced there. He's not inept when it comes to magic, he just has never tried pushing his limits like Siobhan has.
"If you think they're in Maine, but you don't know where … does that mean that they're being blocked with magic? Couldn't you try to pin point places that have too much magic or places that are dead zones?"

~*~
"Thank you, Christian."
Bryn makes the call to Robert, letting him know his son is safe, and that he's actually helping quite a bit. He also lets the man know that his son will be brought home by car, or someone from the Priory.
"We have Dalton's books in our database, so that will help a great deal," he says after he gets off the phone.
"Yes, precisely. Both witch, and sorcerer magic, as well as fey. The most that my contact could come up with was a forested area out of state. Bainbridge got Maine plates, and a vampire contact also came up with Maine."

~*~

Christian writes down the names he can remember, and gives good descriptions of the ones whose names he can't or the ones whom he only has a first name for. At the top of the list, he writes down Jesse's name and hands the pad off to Bryn. "Jesse was her longterm boyfriend, and he's one that I know she told about being a witch. They had a big fight about it, and he called her a freak, but they ended up working it out." Christian never cared how or why they worked it out. He didn't like Jesse from day one, and after hearing about that ugly argument? He wasn't going to like him.
"Vampire contact?" Christian peers between the two men. Okay, that one is unexpected. "I didn't think that vampires would be very helpful."

~*~
Bryn takes the list, looks it over, then hands it off to Rory to input into the system. "I would normally have Kayla doing it, but I think it is better that she sleep as long as she can right now. Curtis is going to need her to stay sharp here while we head to Maine."
Chuckling, he claps a hand to Christian's back. "Sometimes they can be. As it happens, this one has a vested interest in the case and will ensure that any information we get from other vampires is correct. How is your healing magic, Christian?"

~*~

"I've never met a vampire." Beat. "That I know." Christian isn't sure how he feels about that overall, but if it helps get his sister back, then he won't put up a fuss.
"Pretty good, I guess. I'm nowhere near as good as my Grams, or Mom, but it's one of the first things I could do." He wasn't happy with it either. Siobhan was levitating things and lighting small fires, and he was making plants grow and healing bumps and bruises. It's his family's natural talent however, and though he's branched out, he still has more than a basic grasp of it. "It's the one thing I'm better at than Shiv."

~*~
"It is a natural talent in your family, is it not?" Bryn considers this for a few moments, and pours himself another cup of tea.
"They may need one in Maine. Not just for your sister and Miss Bishop, but for anyone else that may have been taken before them." Taking a sip of the tea, he raises his brow a little and looks at the boy curiously.
"Would you be interested in coming with us? Seeing what the Priory is all about?"

~*~

"Mom's family, yeah." Christian doesn't know what the natural talent on the Knightley side is, but considering he can't tap into sorcerer magic as easily as his sister, it's not a big concern.
"Dad mentioned that you said this could be related to other supes going missing." Christian remembers his plate and takes a few bites before continuing. He's not naive enough to ask who would want to kidnap supes or why. He has an active enough imagination to come up with plenty of reasons.
"You'd let me do that?"
~*~

"By my estimation, you will be attending university in the fall?" Bryn sips at his tea quietly for a few more seconds, before moving toward a computer and pulling up one of the maps.
"It does not hurt to broaden your horizons and see what you might want to do with your life. I trust that you want to get your sister back as much as we do, and therefore you will not hinder or get in the way of anything that may be necessary to return both she and Miss Bishop safely."
Grabbing a croissant, he sets it on a plate beside the computer.
"Afterward, you may be interested in a job with the Priory, or working on a skill that could further aid us. If you are, allow me to talk to your father about your tuition fees." It's not uncommon for the Priory to seek out new members when they are a little younger and can grow into a role. He has no idea what Christian might be interested in, but everyone has a niche they fit into.
~*~
"Yes, sir." It's not a secret after all, and he's even chosen his university. He waited until the last minute because he isn't Siobhan. He hasn't known what he's wanted to do since he was three, and has had more plans and ideas than he's had socks and underwear. "I'll be going to Columbia University." Staying in the city, but living in the dorms. It might sound a bit silly for an eighteen-year-old man, but he does want to be close to his family.

Just not under the same roof with his parents any longer.

"Are you sure you're not a mind reader, Mr. Blackwell?" Christian finishes off the eggs and carries his plate to the kitchen. "I have no clue what I'm going to be studying. Columbia's a good school and it's close to home. Whatever I decide, I'll get a good education and get into a good post-graduate program if I go that way."

He rinses his plate and sticks it in the dishwasher. Turning to Bryn, he nods. "I want to go and I won't get in the way. I just want to help. Shiv and I rattle each other's cages a lot, but she's my sister. I want her back."

"Yes, I guess that will be good." Christian pushes his hands through his hair. "I mean, I don't have a five year plan right now and I'd like to be doing something that could help me figure it out. I don't want to be that guy who's majoring in college but doesn't know what he's doing with his life when he's fifty years old."

~*~
"Columbia is a good, solid school. They have good programs in pre-med, and pre-law, and plenty of others in between." Bryn chuckles a little, giving his head a small shake. "No. To be honest the Priory tends to keep dossiers on other known supernaturals, so it was a simple matter of knowing your age, assuming you were a senior at Dalton, and reading your body language. It does help at times."
Flipping to another map, he uses the program to lay one over the other in case areas have changed recently.
"There is absolutely no pressure here, Christian. If it is an option you are interested in, then I am simply opening it to you. Sometimes we do not need five year plans for our lives to fall right into place. I never did bother with that nonsense, and I am certain that you likely have a leaning toward something, you just are not entirely sure if it is the way you want to go in life yet. You are young, and that is quite understandable."

~*~

It's something that Christian will think about. Like he said, it's not like he has a plan right now or really knows what he wants to do. That's what freshman year is for anyway. His plan is to take those required liberal arts electives and see what really fires him up.
"How are you going to narrow it down to where to go in Maine?"
~*~

"Well, magic cannot be used in the area, so we can narrow it down that way. Location spells, though a non-ping with it does not necessarily mean we have found the correct location anyhow."
Bryn considers quietly for a few minutes, allowing himself to eat the croissant and sip his tea.
"We could, potentially, look for an area void of magic. It would have to be away from any ley lines. I was hoping that the Coven would scry for us as well. I am certain your grandmother will have a far better time with Regina Young than I ever would."
~*~
"Yes, she probably will. Grams can be formidable." Christian gives a faint chuckle and shakes his head. He wouldn't want to tangle with his grandmother, especially if the safety of a member of her family is involved.

"What about …" Christian strokes a hand through his hair and scratches the back of his neck. "A blood location spell?"

Beat.

"I, uh, tried it at home and it didn't work, but maybe if it could be boosted or if it could be focused? I mean, I would think that it would still be blocked but it might get closer?"
~*~

"Dangerous magic," Bryn states. It's not a chastisement though. The young man does come from a mixed magical family, so the fact that he knows blood magic isn't a surprise. His reaction to it, however, means that it's a spell he shouldn't have been using.
"It did not work because the magic is blocked wherever they are, but you are correct. It could give us a closer hit to the location. If they did make a stop anywhere for any reason, it may get us in the right direction at the very least."
~*~
"It's my sister," Christian says as though that is explanation enough. In his mind, it is.

"I know it's not safe, and it was probably something that Dad thought of or tried. I thought I would have better luck. My blood is going to be a lot more of a match to Siobhan's than Dad's or Mom's alone is."

~*~
Rory's been sticking to eating and working on the computer, just keeping one ear on the conversation. When the boy says the last, he looks up and over at Blackwell. He's not a magic-user but Rory has learned plenty about magic, growing up in the Priory shadow. The magic may be dangerous, but the boy is thinking logically.

He says nothing on that subject, but instead asks, "Do we expect to hear back from the Coven?"

~*~
"It is a brilliant idea, Christian. We can do it in a more controlled setting, where you will be much safer using it. There are a few boosts we can add to it as well. We just need to narrow down the buildings in the woods, and work on just a few." Bryn glances over at Rory, lifting his shoulders in a slight shrug.
"It is hard to say. Chances are they will avoid talking to us as long as possible. They have their own networks, and ways of getting information. Regina dislikes how 'unconventional' our ways are, and she would rather not deal with me at all. However, two Coven witches are missing, possibly more. One is a Bishop, which means she will have to act whether she wants to or not. My best guess is that she will send several witches to us, and the rest of the Coven will take to scrying for a location, or anything that could help them break the magic that is binding the area."
~*~
Before anyone can respond, there's the sound of a key in the lock. It's accompanied by a call of, "It's us." Which is only an appropriate identification when the voice speaking it has a lilting Irish accent.

Kieran is also one of the few people with an actual key.

Swinging the door open, Kieran steps inside. He's wearing gloves, a long coat, sunglasses and a fedora, all of which he begins to pull off once he's in the apartment. It's a misconception that vampires can't go out in the day. They merely have to take extra pains to protect themselves.

"Bryn." The sorcerer is given a nod and Kieran tilts his head as he regards Christian. "Babysitting?"

~*~
Sera follows her Maker into the apartment, clad in much the same fashion. Designer gloves and a long coat, with a silk scarf wound around her head and shoulders. Looking around as she unwinds the scarf, she makes a tsking sound at Kieran and shakes her head.

Christian doesn't pay attention to the gossip pages or the society chatter. The man who's just entered looks vaguely familiar, which means that Christian probably has seen him around. What does hold his attention is that the man is hot. Why that stranger's attractiveness should stand out when Mr. Blackwell's and Rory's didn't, he doesn't know, but he has to blink and force himself to look at the man's companion.

Which, he's gay, but the woman is beautiful. Strikingly beautiful with haunting green eyes.

Is the Priory working with super models now?

~*~
Rory tenses at the new arrivals. He understands that Collins and Roche have a vested interest in this. He's been briefed on both of them, Maker and Child, and discussed Blackwell's relationship with the Lousiana vampiress with Ashford and Curtis.

Still, a vampire is a vampire and he can't help but feel wary when the pair enter the apartment.

Especially since in all the briefings, there was an emphasis on Roche's humanity, but nothing of the sort regarding Collins.
~*~

There is a little tension when he can hear the key in the lock. Bryn prepares a spell, but allows it to fizzle when he hears Kieran's voice. "You are both rather early. I was not expecting you until this evening." With nights beginning to shorten, that means closer to eight in the evening rather than five. With it still being morning, he's surprised to see them both.
"Christian Knight, may I introduce you to Serafine Roche, and Kieran Collins?" To the vampires, he says, "This is Siobhan's brother. He is here to help us locate the women."
Noting Rory's tension, he provides introductions there as well. "I do promise they will not turn you into a blood bag, Bainbridge." A pointed look is given to Kieran at that statement, though there's a bit of a smile on his face as he says them.

~*~

Kieran gives the young man an appraising once over. It's not predatory or sexual, more like the sort of sizing up one would do of cattle or a prize fighter. "You're the other Knight child." Of course Kieran knows of him, even if he's never seen (or at least never paid attention to) the boy before. The Hecanthenos take an interest in the special and rumored more powerful witches and sorcerers, which means Kieran has to keep abreast of them to make sure that Magda's bunch keeps respecting the truce.
Beat.
"Your parents do good work."
Kieran glances over at Bryn, "Hybrid too?"
~*~
Sera gives a warm smile and a nod to both men. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Crossing the room, she rests a hand lightly on Christian's shoulder. "Brooke is one of my dearest friends, and I know she's very fond of your sister. We're going to get them both back."
~*~
Rory blinks, but isn't the least bit ashamed of his reaction. It's a logical reaction to being in the presence of not one, but two, vampires. Listening and watching their interactions, he does recognize the files are not wrong. Collins is rather brash and aloof, though Rory can see where the vampire likely has his charming moments. Roche is very demure and seemingly gentle; she's either truly maintained a bit more humanity than most vampires, or she's damn good at projecting it.
"I'm not worried about it. I'm on juniper."
~*~
"Thank you, ma'am," Christian responds to the woman. Collins' words and reactions are curious, and even more curious is Mr. Blackwell's comment to Bainbridge. But Christian is a smart boy, and after a moment, his mouth goes dry and he swallows hard.
"You're … vampires."

~*~
"Not as strong as his sister, but yes." Bryn has no problem confirming that. He gets more of a witch-vibe off Christian than sorcerer, but the sorcerer is there. It's just not been tapped into fully, or hasn't manifested as of yet.
"We need to get you the properly spelled tattoo, Bainbridge. Juniper does not stay in the system forever, and what are you going to do if you are taken by a non-friendly, and set in a cell for several days?" Once this situation is dealt with, Bryn will take the younger man to see Grainne and get the tattoo. She's one of the only ones that he knows who can work that sort of magic and tie it into the blood of a non-magic user.
"They are. Serafine is my fiancee, and Mr. Collins is Brooke's boyfriend. It is unconventional, I realize, but there is a rather long story to accompany that."
Beat.
"Before you arrived, we were discussing how to locate the area in Maine where the women may be being held."

~*~

"Hnh," Kieran says.
Beat.
"You have a way of ruining all the fun, Bryn," Kieran rolls his eyes and drawls the words. He pulls a face, "Magical tattoos."
Mention of Maine gets Kieran to sober and focus, "What do you have?"
~*~
Serafine swears Kieran is fifteen sometimes. She gives Bainbridge and Christian an apologetic look, "I'm sorry about that. He didn't -" She stops, looks at her Maker and shakes her head again. "Never mind." Sometimes it's best to not apologize for Kieran.
Helping herself to a croissant and some fruit, Sera crooks here head, "Yes, did you come up with anything?"
~*~
Rory decides that if he's going to be left alone in a room with a vampire, he'd pick Roche. However, there's something in the way Collins shifts from jocular to deadly and focused that makes him glad the vampire is on their side. If he's going into a dangerous situation to extract the women, and who knows how many others, then he wants Collins at his back. "There may be a way to search with magic, but I'm not the professional when it comes to magic. I can, however, see if I can't use data from the geographic scans to narrow down areas to focus on." He hasn't been idle; he's been collecting satellite imagery and information regarding abandoned sites, rumored haunted sites, and professional, private and protected sites and correlating it all together.
~*~

"I cannot help liking to keep my people safe. Besides, if Bainbridge is up for it, it is a rare thing to have done. As far as I am aware, I am the only one to have one that works in this particular way." To stop the glamour, or the biting if it is not allowed by the bearer of the tattoo.
"Maine. Wooded area. Sealed against magic so that no one can possibly do a proper location spell to find anyone that may be there." A glance is given to Christian, then he adds, "A blood location spell that is amplified may be able to get us in the general vicinity, but I do not want to subject Christian to it until we have a slightly better idea of areas that may be our site. Which is what Bainbridge is working on currently. Narrowing things down."
Pointing at his own screen he adds, "I have been taking old maps, extrapolating data, and setting it atop the newer maps in order to see if there are any sites we may have overlooked simply because they are grown over now. However, once we decide who is going to Maine, we can take the laptops into the van and head out. The internet feed may be a little slower whilst we are traveling, but it is better than nothing."

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