Aberrant: Dead Rising - The Pumpkin Patch [Complete]

[Jasmine Gentian]

"She seems to have control over her powers, she can make the creatures go away easily enough. But we don't know her temperament yet. I mean, she's been living on her own now - a five or six year old kid - and doing what she has to do to survive against zombies. She's going to need some discipline, I would imagine, and someone who can handle it if things get a little out of control. That's not saying they will.. but it's a possibility."

She gave them both a level look, studying not only James and Violet, but Jill and JoAnna as well.

"If any of you feel uncomfortable about the idea, then I would say that it probably isn't the best place for her. It's not only the kid with powers thing.. this kid hasn't had anyone, you know? She seems completely sweet so far, we haven't had any problems with her, other than her being a little skittish. But.. that could change as she gets used to her new surroundings."

She glanced at Violet one last time, and bit her lip a little.

"We haven't asked the little girl what she wants.. but at the same time, she's a little young. It's not like we're all family members for her to pick between. She doesn't know any of us. We need to find someone who won't be afraid of her and her abilities to take her.. I'm sure if she could pick, it would be to stay with Priest. But that isn't an option, she makes his people uncomfortable, it seems."

[Venus]

Violet looked at the sisters and then back to Jasmine, "I know of no other Super that can control emotions so I believe I'm a natural pick if that's a criteria. Like I said, I would take her if she wants to stay with us. Of course I can manipulate that to my favour but I'd prefer to get an honest response from the kid first. Are you sure she is 'safe'? What else can she do aside from summoning those little creatures?", Violet's eyes studied Jasmine for a moment. For a brief moment she had the impression that people were trying to get rid of the kid-super and 'dump' her at the least popular folks in the refuge. She shook her head casting away that stupid thought, Jasmine would never do that.

"You really care for the kid, don't you?", she asked her and for the first time Jasmine could tell that Violet was really considering the idea of adopting Pumpkin. There was a certain kindness in her eyes that she had missed earlier when she said she would take the kid.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine nodded at Violet, her expression gentle and obviously quite concerned. She shrugged a little bit at the question though.

"All I've seen her do are summon the animals. I can't assure you of anything else, Violet. We all seem to grow in our abilities, it would seem. I'm sure she will as well. And you're not the only super who controls emotions - Gabrielle has the ability to sooth people, and keep them calm. Which would probably be the only "emotion-controlling" ability that would ever need to be called on when it comes to raising a kid with super abilities. Hopefully it won't ever come to that, but it's better to be prepared."

A concerned look flickered across Jasmine's face as she searched Violet's. The other woman could tell that she trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say without upsetting her friend. After a moment, she took a breath, and let it out.

"I'd prefer this kid be raised in as 'normal' of an emotional environment as possible. She's had a lot of instability, a lot of fear. She was scared as shit of us when we showed up, and it took a little bit of convincing to even get her to come. While it's nice that it's there in case things get out of hand, I would hope that if she stayed here, there would be as little.. emotional interference as possible. I mean.. I don't want that to sound like I'm saying you're gonna control her."

Jasmine bit her lip, hoping the other woman wasn't taking this the wrong way, and struggling to make herself understood properly.

"I just mean if your seven year old just had a really bad day, and was picked on by the kids at the refuge, and comes home crying.. well, if you care about her, it's going to be awfully hard not to try and make her happy any way you can. Which is what regular parents do by trying to cheer them up, but.. you've got kind of a cheat code there, you know what I mean? And kids need to learn to deal with that shit on their own. I'm not saying you will, but.. I'm saying it might be hard not to. I know it would be for me.. if those were my abilities. You know? It would be really tempting to take the easy way out.. but that's not what she would need. You know?"

[Venus]

Violet listened carefully to what Jasmine said next and nodded in agreement at first. Then she brought up the topic of raising the kid as 'normal' of an environment as possible and Violet had to laugh. It wasn't meant to be mean but she laughed a bit at first, trying to swallow it down but that made her laugh even harder.

"I'm so sorry, Jas... but normal? Are you kidding me? Nothing is normal these days anymore and if that's what you're looking for you came to the wrong place.", Violet had regained her composure by then and changed her mood as fast as a rollercoaster went from uphill to downhill.

With a much more serious inclination in her voice she continued, "Even if we accomplish to provide a 'normal' as possible surrounding for her, Jas - People wouldn't just accept that. They would always come down on us and blame us for the tiniest of mistakes and even if I could care less I have better things to do than deal with that. I told you it is complicated enough as it is right now. If she were my own child, my own flesh it would be different. There would be no choice - but this...", she shook her head at Jas.

"I'm sorry, Jas. I don't think it will work out that way. If we took her under our tutelage, adopt her, then it would happen to our conditions and not to anyone else's out there.", she pointed angrily at the general direction were the tent-city was.

"And about that cheating thing you said - What would you do? Do you have any idea what it's like?", there was a lot of repressed anger in that statement. Sadly she added, "Why do you all assume I'm a monster? Or does this body not entitle me to having some common sense and intelligence?"

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine shook her head, a little sigh escaping her as she stood up.

"I didn't say you were a monster, Violet. You're putting words into my mouth. I only said that if it were me.. I think I'd have a hard time not using those abilities in an inappropriate way. The fact that you handle it as well as you do is a credit to you, whether other people see it that way or not. But.. I think I've got my answer. I don't want to make things any more difficult for you than they already are, and I hadn't considered that aspect of it.. I'm sorry."

Jasmine picked up the glass, and closing her eyes, she drained the last of the small drink that Violet had poured for her. She sat the glass down quietly, and looked at Violet with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry - I hope this doesn't cause any conflict between you all."

[Venus]

Violet sighed and felt Jasmine's sadness... which made her sad too.

She looked down and apologized for her outburst, "I... I didn't mean to put words in your mouth, it's just... I've had some rough days when you guys were gone. I'm trying to sort out my life, make the right decisions. I didn't mean to come down on you like that. You haven't deserved that.", the buxom succubus walked over to Jas and reached with both arms out to her hoping the young woman would stand up and accept her apology.

"If no one is up to taking Pumpkin I'll do it - assuming James and the sisters don't object. Can we agree on that?", Violet smiled at Jas trying to find her eyes and show her that she really meant it that way.

[Courier]

Though blind, James looked off into the distance and remembered.

Click to reveal..

Z-day. Children being pulled from cars and eaten alive. Most James either couldn't possibly have saved or he didn't through ignorance of what he could do. A few... a few he could have if he'd made saving them a priority.

Fort Worth had far too many people. James, Jill, Jo, and a few others had walked away leaving far too many behind. Sometimes you can only pick who you save and he hadn't picked them.

James shook off his memories and focused on the hear and now.

James pointed out, "Jas, if she gets picked on by the kids at the refuge, we'd better hope the only thing that happens is she comes home crying. I assume her powers can kill zoms?"

James said dryly, "I think we should actually meet the kid before making a final decision, but... yeah. I'm willing. We still need consensus here on this one though. I'm not going to be here all the time."

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine hesitated, and nodded slightly.

"Okay.. that all seems to make sense. But I think I'm going to include Gabrielle in that too.. the people here, they're scared of these abilities, and of us. But maybe those people at Gabrielle's refuge have adjusted to it better. If that's the case, it may be the best place for her, surrounded by people who aren't scared of her. That could do a lot, cause if people aren't scared of what she is, then I don't think there's gonna be as many issues for her."

She accepted Violet's offered embrace, and then tucked her chair back into the table.

"I'm gonna go, and let you guys discuss all this. I think I might go see Priest, and see what we can do about a trip to Gabrielle's refuge before the New Mexico visit. If that doesn't pan out, then I'll let you know, and if you've come to a consensus, we can discuss it then, okay?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and drew in a deep breath. Then she gave Violet a sisterly kiss on the cheek, and smiled at the other three before heading towards the door to leave.

(Edited because of multiple conversation points afterwards.)

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Jasmine Gentian

"I'm gonna go, and let you guys discuss all this. I think I might go see Priest, and see what we can do about a trip to Gabrielle's refuge before the New Mexico visit. If that doesn't pan out, then I'll let you know, and if you've come to a consensus, we can discuss it then, okay?"

"Please tell me when you're going - I'd like to go, too.", Violet added just before Jas left the club. Somehow she had to meet this Gabrielle again and investigate the reasons why that girl made her feel so... strange.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Originally Posted By: Violet

Originally Posted By: Jasmine Gentian

"I'm gonna go, and let you guys discuss all this. I think I might go see Priest, and see what we can do about a trip to Gabrielle's refuge before the New Mexico visit. If that doesn't pan out, then I'll let you know, and if you've come to a consensus, we can discuss it then, okay?"

"Please tell me when you're going - I'd like to go, too.", Violet added just before Jas left the club. Somehow she had to meet this Gabrielle again and investigate the reasons why that girl made her feel so... strange.

Jasmine bit her lip slightly, but nodded in agreement. She didn't know how Priest would feel about it, but she'd mention it to him. He seemed to have a lot more of a problem with James than with Violet, anyway.

[Courier]

James said to Jas as she was on the way out, "The issue with Gabrielle isn't herself or whether she's willing, the issue is what will the kid be like in a decade after being worshiped for 10 years?"

*Good going James. You're not 100% sure you want the kid but you're still fighting for what's 'yours'.*

[Jasmine Gentian]

Originally Posted By: Courier

James said to Jas as she was on the way out, "The issue with Gabrielle isn't herself or whether she's willing, the issue is what will the kid be like in a decade after being worshiped for 10 years?"

*Good going James. You're not 100% sure you want the kid but you're still fighting for what's 'yours'.*

Jasmine hesitated at that for a moment, and started to turn back as if to say something. Then she shook her head, and left silently, closing the door behind her.

It might still be better than here. Being raised my a mother whose emotions change in a heartbeat based on what people around her are feeling, and by a father who'll probably get himself killed one of these days doing something stupid because he didn't stop long enough to think. And in a household that's resented or feared by almost everyone around it.

She sighed and headed away from the club then, and back towards the camp shared by Priest and his followers, deep in thought. Once she got there, she scanned the crowds, searching with worried eyes for Priest's more familiar face amongst the others of the group.

(Edited Jasmine's thoughts.)

[Adrian Moss]

Priest was trying to entertain Pumpkin while simultaneously taking to Sarah so she wouldn't feel more put out. It was a hard task that put his sizable social talents through a work out. It was almost with some relief when Leo came around the trailer and said,

"Hey, Bond's girlfriend is hanging around. Must be looking for you because she hasn't said word one to us."

Preist nodded. He didn't like it, but in the crew everyone had to do tasks they didn't like.

"Sarah, keep Pumpkin occupied for a few minutes. Take this book and read to her for a bit. I've got to talk to someone."

Sarah glared and took the book forcefully. Priest nodded, acknowleging his daughter's discomfort but there was little he could do. He got up and headed around the trailer. He spotted Jasmine immediately.

"What's up Jasmine?"

Once he was closer,

"You don't look pleased. What went wrong?"

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine looked relieved as Priest approached, she had just been about to start asking people where she could find him. But the concern was evident on her face, and at his question, she sighed a little.

"Well, I don't know that anything went wrong so much as it just didn't go very.. right, I guess. I mean, at least they're not being impulsive about it. They want to talk it over between the four of them. Basically, if one of the four of them nix the idea, then it's not happening. Violet is concerned, and rightfully so I suppose, that this is only going to cause her more problems reputation-wise. She's afraid that people around here are going to accuse her of raising her incorrectly, or blaming her for anything that happens."

She hesitated for a moment before voicing her next concern. After all, once it was out there, there was no taking it back. She wasn't sure if Priest had even thought of it or not, but they needed to consider what was best for Pumpkin, and she wasn't doing that on her own. She felt kind of bad, as if she were talking badly about the woman who was such a good friend to her. But she was just trying to be brutally honest with herself, for Pumpkin's sake. Concern about the gossip mill prompted her to pull him a little more off to the side and away from the others, though. Before she spoke any further, her voice dropped to a low murmur.

"I'm also a bit concerned.. I mean, Violet is a pretty emotional person, as we both know. That could work in Pumpkin's benefit, she forges close ties with people very quickly. But at the same time, I'm concerned about Pumpkin's emotional growth. I'm worried Violet would be tempted to suppress her unhappy emotions. If her feelings are suppressed or changed every time she has a serious problem to deal with because of fear of what she could do, then she's never going to learn to handle them, which could, in time, make her a dangerous or unstable person. Now, I'm not saying that couldn't be a useful ability if things did get out of hand, but I'm afraid that Violet might be tempted to overuse it because of fear, or concern, or even love. And when I brought it up.. she didn't deny it. She told me that if she were going to take Pumpkin in, it would have to be by her rules, and not those of the people around her, or here at the refuge. So.. I'm concerned. Between that and James's.. who seems devoted to his family, but isn't exactly a pillar of community support, I'm afraid she may end up with.. a feeling of entitlement, I suppose."

She covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, and then ran it across her chin and over her throat after a moment, as if wiping away both the stress and the sweat of the increasingly warm Oklahoma weather.

"Violet told me that if the sisters and James agreed to it, then they'd take her if nothing else works out. I left them to discuss it, and told her I'd get back to her. I'm almost thinking that perhaps we should consider taking that road trip in the next couple days, instead of waiting. I mean, I need some time to get settled, and I'm sure you need some time with your crew before we leave, since we just got here. Or were you planning on taking the crew with us? Either way, Violet has expressed an interest in going with us to visit Gabrielle. I'm not sure why exactly, but she has. James also pointed out - and I hate to admit it, but he has a point - that we may have other problems taking her to Gabrielle's. He seems to think that they'll end up worshipping the kid, and screw her up there too. It's.. a concern, I have to admit. I still think we should check it out.. but I'd like to see how they treat Gabrielle, and how she's dealing with it. If she's holding her own and keeping her head on straight, then I don't really care if she thinks she, and the rest of us like her, were sent by God to help humanity. Hell.. she could be right. It's like my Gramma used to say.. "Who the hell are you, to say you know the mind of God?". But if it's going to her head, if she's showing signs of letting the attention get to her, or building it up into some kind of cult or something.. then that might not be a good idea either. Of course, Gabrielle seems to have the ability to calm her down in an emergency, without necessarily the risk for emotional manipulation that being around Violet has, no matter how well-seeming. I think it's better than the options we've got here, though."

Her hand still resting against her throat, she took a deep breath and let it out. She'd just dumped a lot of information on him at once, and she hoped she hadn't overwhelmed him. She reached up after a moment, and ran her fingers through her hair again, pushing it back from her face.

"I'm sorry my news isn't better, but.. what do you think?"

[Priest]

"Well, I must admit Violet and James weren't even my second choice. I understand Violet's predelictions and James and I ... don't get along. I want to be able to see and interact with Pumpkin even if I'm not her caretaker."

"I don't know Jasmine. I think we need to give Gabrielle' compound a chance it's just ... its off the beaten path."

"I guess I'm getting attached to her. She's a refugee whose lost everything, just like the rest of my team. I feel for her. I really do."

"I take her with us to Gabrielle's compound if we have the chance. We could take your car or one of mines, or we can ask Dan if he can hook up the sled and fly us up there. That way we can be back before dark."

For some reason Priest seemed to really want to be back before dark, as if he was afraid of something.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine shook her head slightly at the mention of her car, and suppressed a little sigh.

"Do you think you and your crew could keep an eye on her for a couple days? I don't know for sure if my car's in working condition yet, and I don't even know how to drive the damned thing. I'm gonna take a look at it in the morning. And I know Pumpkin wouldn't mind a road trip, but she just got done with one. Let's give her a couple days to relax. I know it's a lot to ask, but then we can figure out the best way to go down there. I'd rather be able to spend a couple days down there and see how things go, and what it's like down there, before coming back."

Jasmine bit her lower lip, deep in thought for a moment. Finally, she glanced at Priest.

"Fox said he's not going to New Mexico for a week, maybe two. Perhaps we could leave in a couple days - I could take my car, if I can figure out how to drive it between now and then. It's only about a seven or eight hour drive anyway, we could stay there for a couple days, and then come back before the New Mexico run. What do you think? I know.. it's easy to get attached, Priest. But.. that's what we all are, right? Refugees.. who've lost everything? The best thing we can do is to do what's best for her.. whether that involves us being around or not. I mean.. if we can be.. that'd be great. But.. if Gabrielle's refuge is the best option.. then that's the option we should pick. Despite how we feel about it. Besides.. do you really plan on sticking around here forever?"

[Priest]

"Everything breaks down eventually. In time, there will be nothing left to scavange and then we'll become traders and tinkerers. We've already got the horses squirreled away for that time."

"In the meantime, we are helping Fox build a refinery here to produce ethenol. I hope it will be up and working by the end of summer, which is good because the fuel in the ground is already starting to go bad. Cars and trucks are rapidly becoming a luxury."

"Wesson has made some noise about building some hydro electric facility to help out with power needs here. Crops are being planted. The Refuge has two full time doctors. If any place should make it, this place should. That's the major point I have against Gabrielle's. Is her settlement going to make it?"

"We can take a ride up in three or four days. I don't want road trouble to keep us from the New Mexico raid. I mean to help you find your family and once the woman are freed, I figure we take one of my vehicles down to find them. We'll need to find some fuel for the trip back, but I've had to do that before."

"Anyway, we go to Kansas, go to New Mexico, find your folks and find Pumpkin a new home. We make the trip to Kansas with Pumpkin, which I'm okay with. I would like to take her, but I know the reasons for not. You come get me when you are ready, or if Violet comes calling."

[Jasmine Gentian]

"Great.. I'll let you know what happens. Let's plan on three days from now, early morning. I'll let Violet know too, so she can go if she wants to. In the meantime.. I'm gonna get out of here, and probably go relax for a bit. It was.. a really long trip. I'll see you later."

She turned and took a few steps before stopping and offering him a wave as she walked backwards, still talking.

"Tell Pumpkin I'll come by and visit her tomorrow, okay? I'll take her off your hands for a little while."

With that, she turned and hurried off at a slight jog, back in the direction of the other side of the compound, and Violet's club.