Kelly recognized Czigani's voice in her half-asleep state. "We need to talk. Soon...", she had said, making Kelly wonder just what was so damn important. But at least Czigani was awake now. Well, both women were.

Kelly was hesitant at first, lying in bed for nearly a minute or so before she pushed the covers aside to get to her feet. She walked across the room, rubbing her face in the process as her mind started to flood with various thoughts of the events that had led up to that very moment. Kelly stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, and right away she knew where Czigani was when she saw the bathroom light flood out through the crack underneath the bathroom door.

"Czigani, you wanted to talk?" Kelly knocked lightly on the door before she let herself in. It was an invasive move, but it's not like privacy wasn't already abused by both of them.

"How are you feeling, is everything okay?"

Czigani was relaxing in the bathtub, barely moving but still acknowledging Kelly's presence. She took a seat on the same bench Czigani had used earlier, a bit anxious at this point as she wondered why the woman was taking her time with a response.

@Rawk

_{Collab with @Xandrya}

“There’s a word in my culture…‘Mahrim’...” The woman’s voice was low and somewhat monotone as she spoke, her body laid still in the cool bath water and head rested against the curved edge of the ceramic tub. “...which basically means, ‘spiritually unclean and impure’ and probably one of the worse stages of life to be in for my kind. No matter how much good you think you’re doing in the world, you can never really change that. And no matter how clean you think you are on the outside, there’s a shit storm of filth building on the inside…”

There were a few moments of silence before she shifted her body in the water -causing the otherwise calm surface to ripple- as she opened her eyes and turned her attention toward the girl sitting on the wooden stood near the tub. The low lighting from the ceiling lamp reflected the flecks of emerald color from her eyes, giving them the appearance of a soft glow as she gazed up at Kelly with a grim expression.

“Did Doctor Zvikas ever talk to you about another werewolf he knew years ago who was at the hospital?”

“No, he never told me anything about another werewolf. So far I only know about us two…” Kelly smiled, pausing to look down for a moment as she thought about her current relationship with the woman, one who needed her help just as much as Kelly needed hers. “But we can’t blame ourselves for this…curse. We didn’t deserve this, never did.”

Kelly got off the small bench and knelt down in front of the bathtub, leaning forward to let her chin rest on her arms.

“So now we come up with a plan to get back at Zvikas. We can’t let him get away with this, that would be just as much of an injustice.”

“Thing is, Zvikas isn't the problem-” She immediately noticed the dark-skinned woman tense up, most likely ready to give the girl in the tub a slap in the face for such a stupid comment. “Wait…” Czi placed a wet hand on Kelly's arm. “I know that sounds fucked up, but just hear me out.”

The girl let out a long sigh as she continued. “Yeah I get that he has a perverse way of showing hospitality, and his mental asylum needs to be burned to the ground, but…” She closed her eyes for a moment trying to regain her train of thought before opening them again, but this time staring off past Kelly. “...He told me things that are unbelievable enough as it is, and yet as much as I hated him and wanted to tear his heart out and shove it up his ass, I believed these crazy things he was telling me.”

Czigani returned her gaze to the woman who sat only inches away, a woman she considered a friend, and probably her only friend at this point in her life. “There was another like us, a guy who had the same afflictions, changing into this…thing that we’ve become, but eventually escaped the hospital. Although the difference is that he checked himself into that place willingly because he thought he was losing his fucking mind.” Czi smirked briefly. “Ironic considering the people who work at that hospital are batshit crazier than the patients...but anyway, Zvikas said this man used to be some ‘big shot government official’ in Washington years ago, worked in the White House as part of the VP’s staff and shit like that.”

The girl shrugged. “I guess the dude was babbling something to Zvikas about Government cover-ups and secretive shit that he knew about but couldn’t prove. Oh! And here’s where it gets better.” She snorted abruptly. “This guy believed some kind of ‘witch hunter’ organization was being funded by the Government under various code names and shit, and he was under the impression that even his own co-workers were involved. Pretty fucked up, eh?”

Czigani let out a chuckle that quickly died down, allowing her expression to become somewhat somber, and her head to slowly slump forward and rest on Kelly’s arm along the edge of the tub. “Then again, what isn’t fucked up about this situation?...” She whispered, closing her eyes once again.

_{Collab with @Rawk}

As Czigani gave her some of the background information she had at her disposal, Kelly couldn’t help but be in total disbelief over the news that was slowly being revealed to her. “Wait, let’s backtrack for a second...you said this guy worked in the White House and was part of the VP’s staff?” She stopped to think for a moment.

“Holy shit, I remember him!” Kelly immediately perked up, forcing Czigani to sit up in the tub. “His name was Jim White, he was the Council to the Vice President until he was fired for rambling on about various government conspiracies. This was...a few years ago?"

Kelly got up, walking back and forth within the bathroom like some scientist just on the verge of a breakthrough. "He was brought onboard shortly after my appointment because the previous guy--" Upon noticing Czigani's confused stare, Kelly scrambled to explain herself.

"I worked at the White House, assistant to the VP's Chief of Staff. Obviously I know more than the average American, but this...I didn't even hear the rumors."

“And maybe that's all they are then.” Czi shrugged, pooling water in her cupped hands and pouring it over her head. “Rumors. Or...” She grabbed the washcloth that was draped over the edge of the tub, and ran the bar of soap across it a few times. “Maybe this ‘Jim’ dude has some answers to whatever the fuck’s going on…” She started washing her arms and shoulders as she spoke. “Which reminds me. What happened to you? How did you become...what we are?” Her arm contorted enough to attempt to wash her back but she struggled with it nonetheless, gritting her teeth and then smirking. “Eh, do you mind helping me?”

Czigani pivoted her body in the water until her bare back was facing Kelly, and for the first time, the woman noticed a jet black raven tattoo, with it’s wings stretched from one shoulder blade to the other. In it’s beak, a long violin or fiddle [/i]bow[i] that laid verticle across the bird’s body. Several small scars also could be seen in various places, and carved into her skin along her spine, what appeared to be a series of small runic-looking symbols that started from the bottom of the raven tattoo and ended to about her waist line.

Kelly smiled bitterly. "That old story, huh?" She got comfortable, then grabbed the washcloth from Czigani to start washing her back.

"To put it simply, I was framed for a murder I didn't commit. My world turned upside down on a simple Friday evening as I was leaving work. I was on my way to the parking lot when someone, or rather, something, attacked me without warning. I remember human hands pulling me behind a tree, but the thing that bit my neck...it certainly wasn't human."

She stopped, admiring Czigani's tattoo for a moment before leaning closer to the woman to wash her arms, well aware of the fact that they were already clean.

"Maybe it was good ol' Jimmy White, or possibly somebody else who wanted me gone."

The girl sat quiet for a few moments, taking in what Kelly had said and wondering who the hell she really was? Had this woman been part of whatever is going on, or a victim of circumstance?...

“Well at least you know where it came from.” She finally said. “I couldn't even begin to tell you how it happened to me or why it only started happening within the last few days. I certainly don't remember being attacked by anything, and yet the only glimpse I've ever had of these werewolves were through nightmares going all the way back to when I was a kid.” She shook her head. “And those barely made sense…”

She turned her body around to face her friend once again. “So, I don't know if this guy ‘Jim White’ is some kind of key, but maybe it's a start. Zvikas said the last he heard, this guy was in Boston working somewhere in Chinatown.”

She smiled momentarily, trying to keep from laughing uncontrollably as tears began rolling down her cheeks. “In retrospect, this whole matter is completely mental and I have no fucking idea what to do at this point…”

“Hey, no, don’t cry…” Kelly pulled the woman into a hug in an attempt to comfort her. “Shh, it’ll be alright, I promise.” She herself wasn’t sure just how factual that statement was, but it would at the very least put Czigani somewhat at ease.

With the front of her shirt now soaking wet, Kelly pulled away to stare the woman in the eyes as a sign of truth and sincerity in her next statement.

“I’m just as scared too, you know? I may not show it much, but sometimes that’s how I deal with things.” She smiled, then took Czigani’s hand in her own. “You’re not alone in this, I promise you. We’ll find a way to get back at all of them for what they’ve done to us.”

The woman’s touch was comforting, and yet Czi couldn’t believe she had let herself sink so low as to come off as some helpless little girl, on the verge of crying like a baby in front of someone she didn’t even really know. That wasn’t her. However, she also allowed her emotions to stay bottled up for so long that eventually it would come crashing down like a twisted house of cards. But it wasn’t easy…the change, the hurt, the stress of not knowing how to control something you don’t understand. Nightmares made no sense to her, even as vivid as they may have been over the years, they didn’t seem to piece together the larger puzzles. Either way, Kelly was the only one she knew of who was like her, and who needed just as many questions answered.

“Zvikas probably knew more than he was telling me.” She said, splashing water on her face to wash away the remaining tears that had welled up around her eyes. “That much I could sense from him. In fact I called him on his bullshit more than enough times...” Her hand reached behind to grab the towel sitting up on the small shelf next to the tub, and patted her face dry. “But there was guilt in his words, like he was trying to make up for something. So I come to find out, this guy ‘Jim White’ never escaped the hospital, Doctor Zvikas let him go free because he believed Jim was rehabilitated, free from his afflictions. But then, Zvikas heard about the attack in DC, and another, and then several after that…”

Czigani pulled the plug on the drain and stood up in the bathtub, as she stepped over the edge of the tub and onto the cool tiled floor, creating a puddle of water that ran off of her naked body, and began drying herself off as she continued.

“Bottom line...we never escaped anything, he let us go, because he wants us to find this asshole. He knows we have the ability to sense another wolf like us, and he damn well knows you have every reason to go after him. However, the part that sucks is the only leads Zvikas could provide is ‘Underground Teahouse’ and some lady named ‘Senora Tatiana’. He said Jim spoke about those two quite often when he was at the hospital and apparently they’re located in Boston. So...I guess that’s where we start.”

Boston.

The two hour drive north up Interstate 93 wasn’t nearly as unbearable as Czigani thought it would be, as her anxious mind ran it’s course thinking back to all that had transpired up to this point. Her home, family, life...all taken away in a blink of an eye. The police raid ending in bloodshed, only to have her as the prime suspect, and imprisoned to eventually rot away in a mental hospital she should have never been in. She wasn't crazy...or was she? A creature lived inside her flesh that begged to be awaken and yet it took a tragedy in her life for it to finally reveal itself to a world that could never understand what it was.

Czi turned her head to the left, staring at her new friend who had been driving for most of the trip. An unlikely ally, Kelly was still a Gaje and trusting a non-gypsy was like turning yourself over to the executioner as far as her people were concerned. But regardless, the two women from different sides of the tracks shared an obvious bond that blurred the lines of enmity, even if only for awhile. Beyond that, however, the girl felt something for her that couldn't be explain; a sexual attraction?, an empathetic connection?, or perhaps the need for another she could confide in considering their common affliction? It didn't matter the reason, and as much as Czi didn't want to admit it, she needed her if she was going to survive.

Thankfully Kelly still had a phone, although how she acquired it exactly Czigani didn’t know, but the small bit of dried blood in the upper corner of the screen suggested by force. In anycase, according to a quick search of “Senora Tatiana” and “Boston”, it turned out there was such a person doing business as a Palm and Tarot Reader -basically your modern day fortune teller- in the heart of the city, so both agreed that she would be their first stop.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” She said a few moment after passing a small diner that was just a block away from their destination. “But who the hell knows if that’s me talking or the freak living inside…” She couldn’t help but smirk at that last part, since what was left but to laugh about an uncontrollable situation. “You game for food?” She rifled through the pockets of her jeans, pulling out several bills of 10s, 5s, and 1s. “And I’ve got about...fifty bucks left from the shit I stole from the hospital…”

@Xandrya

Kelly turned her head to stare at Czigani for a second as the young woman scrambled for some money. "Yeah, I could eat right about now," she replied before focusing on the road once more. Kelly turned into the lot where the diner was located as she came to the realization that she was pretty hungry as well. "Honestly, who would ever be foolish enough to turn down free food?" she added jokingly. After finding one of the parking spots closest to the restaurant and pulling in, Kelly turned off the car and looked at Czigani.

“I hope you’re as excited as I am for our first date.”

She got out of the car then, and as the crisp air made contact with her skin, giving her goosebumps, Kelly couldn’t help but be doubtful of her “relationship” with Czigani. It had happened so fast, and she got so caught up in it all, that she was afraid she was going to regret everything. She had nothing against the woman, but her past relationships had all been with men, and something this new and unfamiliar scared her a little bit. Kelly was curious, but she was also afraid that she might not like the experience and then she'd be stuck deciding whether to hurt Czigani or break off whatever they have. These decisions tugged at her, but Kelly shook them off as she walked across the parking lot with Czigani by her side.

@Rawk

“Eighth Street Diner” Czigani snorted as she looked up at the sign above the front entrance. “I wonder what genius came up with that novel name.”

Both women strolled into the quaint diner, being hit by the multitude of smells emanating from the kitchen, some good, some not so bad, but as both were hungry they didn’t care much. For mid-morning on a weekday, there were quite a few customers, mostly older couples in booths and a few stray fellows sitting up on the barstools up at the counter. Classic rock, circa 1970s, was playing in the background and two waitresses -one looking to the be in her early twenties and the other who could have worked there at the turn of the twentieth century- busily went back and forth from the dining area to the front counter with food and empty dishes. Czigani scanned the room, picking up on various conversations, some of which were nothing more than idle chit-chat as they waited for their meals.

“Seat ya’selves ladies.” The older woman’s voice carried boldly across the room. “I’ll be right with ya.”

The booth near the window seemed fine for them of both, as it gave them a pretty good vantage point to keep an eye on the small “Palm Reader” business a block up the road. The fact that it was part of a strip of stores facing the main road made it easier to keep track of anyone coming and going. A middle-aged dark skinned man sitting in the neighboring booth nursed a tall orange juice, and simply stared for a moment through his thick glasses at both women before turning his attention out the window.

“Hey Kel.” Czi paused for a moment, a slight smirk formed on her lips. She never thought she’d address her new friend with a nickname already, which caught her off guard. “Um, I really need to use the restroom so...please order me whatever you’re eating. Oh, and keep the coffee coming. ” She gave Kelly a wink before heading toward the restroom.

@Xandrya

“I’ll be right here,” Kelly replied with a smile, grabbing the menu from the stack at the far end of the table. She glanced through the limited options they had, but she wasn’t paying too much attention, not with her mind distracting her away from reality with intrusive thoughts of the hospital, Dr. Zvikas, and Jimmy.

“Excuse me, miss? Would you like some coffee?” The young waitress had approach the booth, pot of coffee in one hand and two white mugs in the other, without Kelly noticing.

“Yes, please,” Kelly replied, watching as the young woman poured the hot beverage for her and Czigani.

“So you ladies out for the day, taking a break from your husbands?”

The question caught Kelly off guard. “No, we’re not married. “We’re actually dating,” she replied, slightly exaggerating their relationship status. She noticed the waitress making a face, and that’s when Kelly figured that the woman was more than likely a bible-thumping bigot. “Does that bother you?” she continued, annoyed by the waitress’ reaction to what she had just said.

“No, it’s just that—"

“You don’t approve of same-sex relationships, is that it?” Kelly interrupted.

“Well, I…I don’t think it’s right—”

“Because of your religion?”

“Yes, exactly. Jesus talks about it in the bible...”

“Oh honey, that’s all bullshit.”

The waitress was visible shocked, as if the insult was aimed directly at her. “You have no right to speak of our lord using such language!”

Something within Kelly snapped.

“No, you have no right forcing your beliefs down everyone’s throat!” she replied as she pointed an accusatory finger at the waitress after standing up to be eye-to-eye with her. Kelly didn’t realize that everyone had stopped eating—or doing their job—to stare at the women. “Stop treating people like—“

Kelly stopped when someone placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled.

“That’s enough, miss.”

She turned around only to face a uniformed police officer. He must have walked in after her and Czigani as Kelly hadn’t noticed any cops when she entered the diner. But Kelly knew better than to do anything stupid.

“My apologies officer. I’m gonna go get my friend in the restroom—"

“Actually, you need to come with me,” he demanded, “I have to take down your information and then you can get your friend and get out of here.” Kelly looked in the general direction of the restroom, then put her hands in her pockets.

“Alright,” she sighed, “let’s get this done and over with.”

@Rawk

Her leg was cramping again, just as it had a few times during the car ride to Boston, but she hid it well. Why worry her new friend Kelly? The pain came and went like a light wave starting from just above her knee, then building as it surged up through her thigh, and stopping just short of her pelvic area. The bullet was still there, embedded in the center of her thigh same as when she had first been shot by that goddamn truck driver.

Why did he have to interfere? Why couldn’t he have just let me leave with Kelly?

Czi gritted her teeth as she made sure the stall in the restroom was latched before reaching down into her pocket and pulling out a small clear baggie containing a dozen or so white pills with a label that read “OxyContin”. Peeling open the seal, she poured two into her palm and quickly popped them into her mouth before turning on the faucet to gather a handful of water to swallow. The woman stared at her face in the mirror for a moment, as she felt the pain killers slowly washing down her throat, and would -within several minutes- begin to dull the pain that continued to pulse through her wounded leg.

“You fuckin’ disgusting bitch…” Czigani mumbled, commenting on the dark circles under her eyes, the tired expression, dried lips, and general unhealthy feeling that she couldn’t shake.

She stood up straight and unbuttoned her jeans to examine the wound that never really went away and slid the copper zipper down, exposing pubic hair that used to be much shorter and trimmed, back when she had a life and a reason to take care of herself and respect her body. She’d barely ever noticed the small scratches and scars along her inner thighs leading upward toward her vulva that was since obscured by the mess of dark hairs, covering any signs of sexual abuse at the hands of corrupt and debased prison guards, and -to an extent- hospital orderlies. There was nothing she could do, no where she could go, and the only way to survive where she had been was to simply allow it to happen. Allow pieces of her to be torn away by men who cared nothing about her as a human being, but rather a means to an end, seeing her as a “cop killer” and nothing more. Not a woman defending her people, not a girl lost in a sea of chaos, not a daughter of a family who was murdered by an unjust and prejudiced society. No. Murderers like her had no rights, not even to their own body.

Just as she slipped the tattered blue jeans further down her legs, both ears perked up from the abrupt and muffled sound of a female’s voice emanating from the far side of the dining area outside. A voice that seemed angry as it tossed a barrage of words toward another.

“Kelly?” She whispered, quickly pulling her pants up in order to fasten them again.

The restroom door opened, it’s squeaky hinges echoing through the small area, causing Czigani to flinch as she fumbled with the button on her jeans, followed by greater concern in her mind when she heard the lock on the door slide shut and sounds of heavy footsteps outside the stall she stood in.

“Come on out, girl.” The male voice was low and husky, with a slight accent of unknown origin. “We need to talk…”

“How about you fuck off. Clearly you’re in the wrong restroom dude, so keep moving.” As bad luck would have it, the silver button popped off her jeans and went flying against the wall before plopping into the dingy toilet.

“Oh for fuck’s sake…” She mumbled angrily, turning to the stall door to unlatch it and give the asshole on the other side a piece of her mind. But almost simultaneously, the large man kicked the now unlocked stall door inward, cracking Czigani square against the face and causing her to fly back against the adjacent wall, blood oozing from the gaping wound across her bruised forehead.

The man lunged at the girl who was now sprawled out on the floor dazed, his large hands grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her against the filthy tiled wall. She caught a glimpse of his face, which was chubby and rather pale, and his dark clothes -a business suit of some kind- seemed old fashioned and worn.

“I said we needed to talk.” The fat sweaty man's heavy breath was like death to the girl’s heightened senses, and even his tone of voice didn’t altogether seem normal

“And...you want to talk...here?” Czi slurred her words, partly from the blow to the head and the other from the onset of the Oxy slowly creeping through her bloodstream. “What if I had to piss?”

“Then I guess you'd have to wet your pants, so listen up mahrime...”

Who was this man to call her such a name? She only ever heard her own people use this Kalderash term, a word she’d heard more times than she wanted. But she had no idea who he was, or why he came. Czi couldn't move, even as much as she tried, the man's iron grip against her neck and sheer weight was more than she could handle.

“Who the f-”

A sharp heavy hand flew across the woman’s bloodied face. “I told you to ‘listen’, which means I talk.”

Again, the woman tried to push against a force that was clearly greater than her own, and yet all her attempts fell short, until she finally allowed her muscles to relax and give in to her assailant. Her tired eyes finally met his dark and unreadable ones, which seemed more like windows into another dimension than physically normal eyes. The man’s chalky and expressionless face was mere inches from her own, and what should have been body heat generated from such a large and robust person, was cold and clammy.

“You need to leave this place. This City. Go back to where you belong and stay far away from the affairs of the unclean. Stay away from those who are not like you...” The man’s voice was heavy with an underlying sadness, subtle, but still there nonetheless.

“You have been warned mahrime.”

@Xandrya