:.: Abigail's Nine :.: {Accepting/Open}

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Without even glancing up, Cybil said absently, "Unfortunately unmarried, but one out of two ain't bad. And there is no leader here. We're all equally lost and confused, unless you've got something you're not telling us." She was focused on Mark, trying to figure out exactly how to test him when she didn't know what she was looking for.

Why not sense for it? she thought. Try to get a vision, maybe. It was possible that she could control it, right?

She hesitated. Her visions of the future were not quiet events. They had gotten her rushed to the hospital before, with witnesses screaming about seizures and psychosis. Would having one now scare the others away? More to the point, would it scare Mark away?

Nothing for it. To find a way to test him, she had to know what she was looking for.

"Mark?" she said softly. "Will you give me your hand?"

Confused, nervous, he gave it to her.

She took it, and focused.

Picture him, in the future. Focus on him. What will he be doing, with this power? What will he need it for? How will he use it?

Slowly, her gaze began to cloud.  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda wrinkled her nose at Cybil. 'Technicalities......' She thought dismissively. She bit her lip though, curious as to how she was going to test Mark. Without meaning to, she leaned forwards, dropping her defensive posture as she watched. She was about to ask what Cybil was doing when she saw the girl's eyes cloud over. The raven haired girl knew better than to interrupt a vision of any sort. She hated it when people did that to her. As in, really really hated it. So she kept quiet, not wanting to do to Cybil what she knew truly sucked. She just waited, holding her breath.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil tried to build it slowly. Tried to take her time, focus on Mark and let all the rest fade away. And at first, it went splendidly.

She could see him. Had to be the future - his hair was a little longer, like he hadn't bothered to cut it in awhile, and his eyes held more purpose. He looked determined.

He had the notebook.

She made a note of that - she'd have to tell Miranda that it seemed that book was important after all. They'd have to research it, find a way to track it down.

Then, suddenly, the images began to spiral out of control, and before she knew it she was plunged back into the cycle.

Blood. Fire. Darkness. Screaming. Alone in the middle of it all, with voices whispering to her.

Daughter, daughter. Our daughter. So precious. Done so well.

Mark and Miranda were nowhere to be found, and somehow she understood they were dead. That she was alone.

And they had come for her.

~

For a moment or two, Cybil's vision seemed quiet, even benign. She remained still and calm, her head cocked slightly and her eyes vaguely glassy. Then, sudden as a pistol shot, her back arched, her eyes snapped wide, and her head fell back. Her hands fell limp in Mark's. Shocked and scared, he let her go, and she tumbled back on the bed, where she writhed and arched like someone in either the throes of a seizure or incredible torment.

It was punctuated by whimpers, a few little moans, the occasional terrified cry or shriek of pain. Her wide eyes were glassy and unseeing, but they still wheeled, full of agony and panic that was reflected in her face.

Mark looked at Miranda, terrified. "Wake her up," he pleaded. "We have to wake her up!"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda watched with baited breathing, waiting. She gasped when Cybil suddenly seemed to snap. She stared at the girl. What in the world was this? This wasn't like anything she knew. She moved to stand beside the bed without even realizing it. She had one hand half-way extended to the blonde but she hesitated. She knew that, personally, it hurt like hell if someone besides herself interrupted the vision. That was why she hated it.

"I.....I don't know....." She whispered to Mark, still hesitant. Would Cybil thank her or hate her for disrupting the vision? "I....don't want to hurt her....." But the screams became more than she could take. It sounded like Cybil was dying. Miranda put one hand on the blonde's shoulder, shaking her. "Cybil!" She called the girl's name, her voice sharp with fear and worry. "Cybil! Wake up!"

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Mark saw the flare leap in Cybil's eyes, and shifted forward instinctively. He gripped Miranda by the shoulder, ignoring any resistance she might have shown, and pulled her back. He set himself in her place just in time.

Cybil's hand flashed out first, aiming for Mark's throat. With the practiced ease of someone who had spent far too long dodging blows, he evaded her and grasped her wrists. There was a look of purpose in his gaze now, one that had been missing before.

"Cybil," he repeated. "Cybil. Wake up. It's okay."

He was parroting the words she had used to call him back when he'd gone nearly out of his mind after a bad trip. It just seemed like it was the thing to do. "Cybil. Cyb. It's okay."

With a shudder and a low, last whimper, the glassiness faded from her eyes. She blinked them open, confused, and raised her eyes to Mark. From him to Miranda.

"I..." she rasped. "Sorry...got ugly. Didn't hurt you, right?" She looked up at Mark. "Right?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda was too surprised by Mark's initiative to fight back as he pulled her aside. She was instantly glad he did. She hadn't thought about if Cybil would react violently. Given what she'd learned about the girl, Miranda realized she should have. She watched worriedly as Mark called to Cybil, trying to wake her up.

Miranda breathed a sigh of relief as Cybil "woke up" from her vision. Remembering her own visions, she slipped away from the pair, into the other girl's small kitchen. She dug around for a second before finding another mug and filling it with water. She brought it back, holding it out to the girl. "Need a drink? She ask softly, a hint of concern in her voice. Sure she'd had some bad visions that left her shaking, but nothing like what Cybil had just shown.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to force aside the migraine now banging gleefully away behind her skull. She sat up slowly, attempting to keep her head from moving any more than was absolutely necessary, and slowly inched backwards until the headboard supported her back. Then she returned her steady - if somewhat pained - gaze to Mark.

"No one's hurt?" she rasped.

With Cybil's awakening, Mark's determined look had vanished, and he now looked as tentative and shy as before. "Um...no. No one but...but you. You know."

They both seemed grateful when Miranda approached with the water mug. Wordlessly, Cybil took it. She closed her eyes and drank half of it off in one go, then looked up at Miranda. "Yeah," she said, her voice beginning to sound normal again. "Thanks."

She rubbed at her forehead again, trying to make the banging go away. "I got a few things before it all went nuts on me. Whatever else it is you get, Mark, you learn how to use it - you looked really confident. Strong." She was tempted to add healthy, but didn't. "That book you saw, you had it. I guess we're going to need it after all. Point for you, Miranda."

Taking another cautious sip of the water, she sighed. "But I still don't know what it is."  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda sat back in her chair, watching Cybil. The temptation to say 'I told you so' was removed by how tired and banged up the other girl appeared. "So we have some good news." She said, keeping her voice low. It was clear Cybil had a headache and she didn't want to aggravate it. "But judging from the way you were acting, I'm going to say that there's bad news too. More bad than good news." Even just a little bit of good news was a relief though, considering how the day just kept spiraling from bad to worse over and over again. "What was the rest of what you saw?" She asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted the answer or not.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil looked more than banged up; she looked beaten, defeated and as though she was already grieving. Whatever she might say about her visions not being set in stone, she obviously took them a lot more seriously right after having them. She sighed, leaning her head back against her headboard.

But her voice was light and breezy when she spoke, in direct contrast to her pale and devastated face. "I always act like that when I have my visions," she replied. "But as to what I saw this time? Well, you know. Blood, deaths of thousands, fire everywhere, the Apocalypse...just your normal everyday doomsday prophecy. Clichés R Us and all that."

She glanced at Mark, who remained stubbornly silent. Although Cybil was afraid she'd frightened him (terrified him, actually, she admitted to herself), she refused to try to draw him out about the problem.

Instead, she looked back at Miranda, shrugged. "Same thing I tend to see a lot these days. Does it matter?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda sighed, shaking her head. She hugged her knees to her chest, amazed at Cybil's airy voice, despite what she'd been through. "How have you not been driven insane?" She asked quietly. "Between the visions and the pain they seem to cause, how are you still so.....down-to-earth. I know sometimes my visions drive me crazy, and mine aren't half as bad. And I don't wake up looking like a monster truck ran me over, put it in reverse, and did it again." She found it hard to believe that the blonde could be so casual about visions of the apocalypse.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil hesitated, a sarcastic retort on the tip of her tongue. At last, she showed admirable restraint (or so she decided to herself) and kept it back. Instead, she leaned her head back to breathe deeply a few times. "You can get used to anything, I guess," she replied with a shrug. "First few times I got it, I was a total wreck for days - it used to hurt more, too. I'm pretty casual about it now."

Her vanity, of which she had a fairly healthy amount, took a bit of a blow when Miranda mentioned her looks in relation to being run over by a truck. "Oh, well, thanks. s**t. I'll go look into that in a minute." Gathering herself again, she said lightly, "But this isn't about me right now, as much as I appreciate it. Point of the matter is, we need the book, we need to find out what Mark's unknown power is - I wonder if the book has something to do with it," she mused, struck by the idea.

Shaking her head, she returned to the topic at hand. "And to do all that, we need to find out some more about Abigail. There must be something about her somewhere, even if just legends or something. Let's start with the Internet."

She looked from Miranda to Mark, questioningly. "Okay?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda cocked her head to the side as she considered the idea of the book and Mark's powers in relation. "That seems kinda weird. But then who am I to talk about weird?" She said, then sighed. "Either way, I'm no good for helping discover his power. I can only see present and maybe past. Not future." Her words struck an idea in her - Had Mark unknowingly used his power in the past? Maybe she could try what Cybil had......She pushed the thought aside. She'd try later. Mark had already been a guinea pig once today.

"Let's start with Abigail." Miranda said with a nod, agreeing. Right now, that seemed like their best bet for finding anything to help them. This whole situation seemed to start with Abigail all those years ago, so that seemed like a good place to start looking at. "Does she have a last name I wonder? Abigail isn't exactly a super rare name. We're probably just going to end up with a dozen facebook pages named Abigail. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look."

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil, already at the computer and beginning to regain her colour, glanced back. "Well, I can't help you with anything last-name related," she replied cheerfully. "My powers are all-- Wait. Wait a second. You saw Abigail in one of your visions, didn't you? What era did it look like to you? Like what time period? Did you recognize a place? A country?"

She clicked on her Internet tab, then looked back at them. "I figure it might be a little easier if we can narrow it down to a specific set of years. At least we won't get all of the Facebook pages if we specify, I don't know, ancient Rome or whatever. Uh, not that I think Abigail was an ancient Roman name. Just an example."

Mark sat on the edge of Cybil's cheap desk, leaning over sideways to look at the computer screen. There wasn't much room, but Cybil didn't seem to mind.

Then she frowned, her brows drawing together. It had nothing to do with their search, however. "Hey, Miranda. You still young enough to be living with your parents?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda looked caught off guard the by question, then nodded, closing her eyes. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the image in her mind, trying to decide. "It was old....." She said slowly. "But not really old, like ancient." She cocked her head to the side as she thought. "It's hard because her clothes are all ripped. Actually though, her clothes remind me of those I saw in the textbooks from around the time of the World War. Maybe a little earlier."

She opened her eyes again, raising an eyebrow at what seemed like a random question to her. "Yeah. I don't know what happened to you, but I still live with my parents. What about it?" She asked, the pieces not clicking together for her.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil glanced at the time on her cheap plastic wall clock, very deliberately. "Then maybe you'd best call them, ducky. It's almost five, and school, unless it's changed a ton since I finished, lets out at three-thirty. They're probably wondering where you are, and I am not interested in being hauled in for kidnapping by the cops. Phone is in the kitchen."

She turned back towards her computer and typed in "World War Abigail" and sat back. Since Miranda had not mentioned which World War, Cybil avoided adding any numbers.

"Oh, God," she muttered. "Five hundred and forty-one thousand hits. We're never going to find her in that."

There had to be a way to narrow this down. What exactly it was, she wasn't quite sure. If she had someone around with better computer skills than her own, it might help.

Her mother was good with computers. Not that it mattered anymore; they hadn't spoken in a couple of years now. But maybe Cybil could pull up some of the things she'd learned way back when, with Mark leaning over her shoulder and too obviously trying to figure out how to be helpful.