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The gang gathers to investigate the old brownstone that Sylvia has envisioned as the address for the woman she saw at the museum.  The area is a collection of old brownstones, all clean and tidy from the outside.  One can look down the street from the corner and see an order to the regularity of the wrought iron stair rails, brick steps, and trees that form the boundries of the houses and the curb.  Retirees walk dogs, and mothers push baby strollers along.  Power walking singles with iPods make a brisk pace along the sidewalk, and everyone forms tiny clouds of breath as proof of the season.  Snow is mostly absent in the hug piles seen downtown, care having been taken to keep the narrow residential street more navigable.

The house in question is near the middle of the block.  It's off white door and gold porch light just the same as the houses on either side save for perhaps slight details of style.  The house, like all of it's close neighbors, is a three story brick structure, with modern vinyl double pane windows.  It seems just as mundane as every other house on the block.

Sylvia serves as switchboard.  Well, damn.  I can't get a lock on her if I can't see into her house.  What now?

How long do you need to see her? thinks Sarah.  I could ask her some questions about saving Whales or Global Warming.

Uh, a minute?  Two?  Sylvia is still new to the psychic thing.

OOC: Colin meant to do some research on the net and eventually the library about the Egyptian princess and her story. Has he found out anything?

We could tell her there's a kitten stuck on the tree in front of her house, and ask for a ladder to rescue it. Colin suggests.

OOC: Nothing that wasn't already on the plaque at the museum.

Sylvia, susceptible to the growing tension as the gang gears up to action, impulsively raps on the door.

OOC: I only need s slight clarification as to weather it's day, or night.  It's winter, so it gets dark early.  What time are we looking at here?

OOC: probably mid to late afternoon at the earliest.

The woman who answers the door is petite, with dark hair and skin of a slightly olive hue.  Her brown eyes seem large for her face, but the lines of her face, and the sharpness of her features make them blend together into a pleasant picture.  Her cloths are probably expensive, the sweater and jeans certainly not bought from any common chain store.  "May I help you?"  Her voice is soft, and her enunciation sharper than most peoples.  Sylvia is immediately struck by a sense of antiquity, something about her psyche blows across the distance and whispers centuries of mystery to her.

The fine hairs on the back of Sammy's neck stand up.  A tingle across her skin raises goose bumps all along her arms and she feels her face flush.

Colin sees it, her nature, not human but he's not sure what it it.  Whatever it is it's interwoven with fine silver threads of magic, like a disguise of some sort.

Donnie can feel the tug of magic, like a similarly poled magnet.  Some sort of attraction that he's only vaguely aware of in the upper part of his brain, like a compass seeking North.

Sarah smells the delicate aroma of blueberry muffins drift out from the house.

Whatever it is, Sammy doesn't like it.  DO NOT WANT! is the strongest emotion she feels.  She struggles internally with the urge to just cut out and fly away as fast and as far as she can go.  She stays because they need her.

*sniff* Mmmm muffins.  Evil people don't bake muffins.  Everybody knows that.  Sarah smiles at the woman feeling a bit better about the situation already.  She says, "Hi there.  I was wondering if we could take a minute of your time to talk about endangered animals?  Every year more and more animals are added to this list which with the increasing expansion of mankind into their territories has become the short list to extinction.  We're trying to raise awareness for the International Wildlife Organization which hopes to secure the safety of all species and modify the practices of many industries to utilize our worlds resources in a more economical and less damaging fashion..."

Sarah keeps chatting, talking about hopes to change farming methods and expansion practices in Africa and the Americas...

OOC: if her eyes glaze over and she falls over unconscious can Sylvia still read her mind?

The woman listens intently for a while, nodding and smiling.  "I'm sorry, but I think I might have already given to your group."  She gives the others a smile and begins to close the door.

OOC: I assume Sylvia is looking inside her head?

Sylvia wears the bland smile the other Mormon always wears and lubes up the princess's brain before she commences her hard, hot mind-fu--

Um, yes.

The woman's mind is a vast expanse of memories laid out across the vastness of centuries.  People's faces, hair stlyes, and the trappings of the world are stretched out, into ancient antiquity.  Starting from a moment of utter pain and pleasure.  The moment she's turned into a vampire.

The spells woven by her ancient Egyptian sorcery to prevent her mummy guardian from waking when she left her tomb.  And a hundred thousand feedings.  All with a sexual power to them that shakes Sylvia loose from her investigation, but not before she nearly topples down the steps from being dizzy.

Sylvia tries not to swoon.  It's so cliché.  But sometimes a girl just has to blanch and brace herself against the brickwork.  You guys really picked the wrong mummy to banish, she broadcasts, but she's talking to the gung-ho magicians.  Sarah and Sammy are included just so they know whom to blame.

"Why? What happened?"

Donnie takes a step out form the copse of trees he was currently skulking in.

Vampire.  Extremely old vampire.  She sneaked out of the tomb while our buddy was looking the other way--a.k.a. dead.  Sarah gets to play Buffy.  I'm going to run and hide now.

Sarah thinks, Vampire?  Oh crap!  I'm only playing Buffy if Whedon is around here writing the script.  Quick Group Vote - Confront or Retreat?

So he was there to keep HER inside?  Great.  Just great.  Sammy looks around.  Night comes early this time of year.  It's getting darker.  Probably not a good idea to confront her right now.  She was out in daylight, but still, she's probably not as strong at, oh, high noon then she would be in darkness, right?

Sylvia doesn't think it's worth weighing an ancient vampire's morality while standing on her doorstep.  She votes emphatically for retreat.

Sarah lets the door close with a final, "Well okay then.  Thanks for your time.  Please be sure to check them out on the web for ways you can help your planet, your community and your"  *Click*  "...self."

She turns to Sylvia and says, "Let's try a couple more on the next block and call it a night."

"Don't know if ancient vampires have super hearing or can read lips from three hundred yards away but let's get clear a ways before we say boo about her."

She walks away from the house and back the way they came past the rest of the gang in hiding. 

Sammy wants ground between It and herself.  Good idea, Sara.  Let's get away from here before we talk.  Far, far, far away.  The inside of a church might be good.  Or someplace surrounded by running water.  A church surrounded by running water?  Or Jack's house.  Yes, Jack!  Let's go to Jack's house.  She starts heading that way.

Good idea. Colin agrees. Then he turns to his spiritual guide.

What should I know about vampires?

Sarah heads off around the corner and when out of sight she asks, "All aboard?" When everyone has a hand on her, she practices another group move to Jack's house. *Yoink*

The air is crisp, and as the group arrives some stray snow is displaced in a wave away from them.  The house where Jack is staying is lit and smoke rises from the chimney.  You have all been given a key, so gaining entry to the house wont be hard.  You could also ring the bell.

Sammy does both.  As she's letting herself in the front door, she rings the bell and yells "Jack!  It's us!"  Like he doesn't already know.  There are bound to be security cameras all over the place.

"We have cookies!" adds Sarah also unnecessarily.  She almost always has cookies, unless Donnie's little friend has gotten to her first.

Jack opens the door, "Hey guys.  Come on in."  he says motioning for them to come out of the cold.  "Anyone want some hot chocolate or coffee or anything?"

As she divests herself of her coat, Sammy replies, "Hot chocolate sounds good to me.  That, and a vampire proof room."

Jack just looks at her for a minute.  "Just back from a scary movie?"

"No.  Afternoon at the museum.  Tweedle dum and Tweedle dee here took the magic off a mummy case, and it got out and attacked.  Me.  Did you know mummies have a taste for djinn blood?  Anyhow, after it was taken care of, Sylvia told us that she had figured out there was a woman there who was somehow the princess whose tomb this mummy was supposed to be guarding -- am I moving too fast for you? -- So we figured out where she lives.  Lives.  Ha!  Sarah and Sylvia knocked on her door.  Turns out pretty Princess never died.  She's a vampire, and she's in Chicago.  So we left, and came here."

Her eyes plead with him to please be the responsible adult and spritz her with silver laden holy water, or whatever it is that is the equivalent of Deep Woods OFF! for vampires.

Sylvia, standing to one side of Sammy and Sarah in a nervous stupor, gives Jack big lolcat eyes.  "Make it go away, please?  You do that, right?"

Jack looks back and forth as everyone talks.  "Hot chocolate then."  He goes into the kitchen (and I assume everyone follows).  Jack goes about making hot chocolate, "Ok.  Yes I recall something about mummies and Djinn being like sworn enemies.  My granddaughter has a friend that was a dijinn, but she was full blooded, used to eh have Genii bands and everything."  he begins to make milk hot and gets down mugs, "And you two."  He looks at Donnie and Colin, "Need to stop touching shit without thinking first.  Instinct is a fine thing, but it's nothing without smarts."  He scoops coco mix into mugs and then gets bars of dark chocolate from the cabinet, breaking off a few squares and setting them on the saucers, "And give me her address.  I'll go talk to her.  If she's got a place to live and goes to museums in the middle of the day then she's probably not a danger to people.  I can see if she'd be willing to tell me her story.  It's not making it go away, but it's the best I can do until I know more."

Sarah accepts a coffee/coco mix gratefully and munches on the chocolate while her drink cools a little.  When Jack offers to go check it out she pipes up.  "I'll tag along if that's okay.  When we woke up the mummy and fought it we took responsibility for what came after.  Turns out it's a really old vampire girl.  So we figure it out.  I'm glad we didn't try and confront her tonight on her turf but I don't want to end up out of the loop on this one and let someone else clean up our mess.  Plus if she's not a horrible monster then maybe we can get some information out of her.  Maybe she knows a boat load about your family tree Sammy."  Tilting her head in a thoughtful RCA dog way she wonders aloud, "Or would that be family lamp?  Plus maybe she's got magic man seducing mojo and poor Jack might need a big tough girl to protect him or at least grab him and dash if things get all fangy."

She sips her cococoffee, forgetting the heat pouring off of it and burns her tongue, "Frak!" adding slightly embarrassed, "Sorry.  I think it's good.  It's a little hard to tell with all the burnt tastebuds and all."

"You dip the chocolate into the coco and then lick it off silly, until it's cool enough to drink.  And I'll happily let you come along, in case I need rescued.  Never let it be said Jack Donaldson has not needed rescued before, and as bad as it sounds said rescuers have been teenage girls."

"It's okay, Jack," Sylvia chirps, feeling safe enough here to give Jack some guff.  "We love you no matter what your kinks are."

Sarah cries out in mock alarm, "Sylvia!?!  I can't believe you just said that!  Jack doesn't think like that."  A heartbeat's pause before she adds, "He's old!  Those girls probably helped him across the street or found him wandering confused in the mall or something."

Jack just grins and dips his dark chocolat into his coco.

"Actually, I knew what I was doing. But that poor guy had been imprisoned there for thousands of years, with the additional torture of having his soul torn in half. He needed rescuing." He says, stirring his chocolate. "That said, I agree with you. Next time I'll make sure no one can get hurt. You should be careful too, though. She might not be evil, but she had a long long time to set right what she did to her guard, and she didn't. That ain't pretty."

Donnie lets the chatterbox girls do most of the talking. "I just wanted to see if a mummy would pop out or not. Colin released it." Having divested himself completely of guilt, Donnie sips his cocoa and takes two cookies, flipping one into the air as Pip materializes above his head to snap it up. Pip gives a chirrip of approval and lands on Donnie's shoulders, where he daintily nibbles at the cookie, doing his best squirrel impression.

All the kids knew it to be a farce though. Pip was a ravanous eater and only pretended to have manners when in front of company.

Sammy asks "When will you go?"

Jack shrugs, "Whenever I guess.  Maybe after dinner this evening?"

"Can I come as back-up?"

Sylvia looks concerned as she considers the logistics and strategy of this operation.  "Me, too, Jack.  Anyone that old has got to be a serious contender, and as far as I can tell, your only super power is having survived life before color TV."

Jack looks at Sylvia and Colin, then shrugs.  "Sure I guess."