State of Panic ( Mekiel/Open )

[Ceraphine Davis]

She just smiled...honestly she had gone as far as she could...Before the asylum..before Kevala "died" she had quite the established career. She had sold her art to private collectors and was in the midst of working out a deal with a modern arts museum when everything came crashing down.

Now.....she just did not know if she would be able to get back to that point. She supposed she could change styles......change the manner in which she took her photos..but it worried her that somebody would put the pieces together.

"I hope some day I can...I have to save up though...buy the equipment and stuff....Right now all I got in my phone."

She shrugged...It was true...Upon her "death" all her money had gone to Ezekial and the twins......Now, she was back to the way she had started......

"But it is better than nothing.....So music huh? Any specific type or just a master of all genres?"

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color] He'd grin, though it was the total truth. What was cool about those 'I cheated on my girl and she left me so I was like WTF?!!! and shot her!' songs? They were horrid. Really. And country songs only talked about honky tonk and crap. It was annoying.

"I specialize in, I guess you could say rock."[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

She felt that emotion.....generosity....it was a strange emotion, and one that not everyone felt.....That alone made her smile....Then as he spoke she laughed...a little nod of her head given as she reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear.....

"Yeah those have to be my two least favorite ones. Rock though huh? That is pretty cool....."

She liked music, more than most things it kept her sane most of her life.....though lately she had not really been that into it....It was not that she didnt like it.....it was just that she had been so busy with trying to save her own mind that she had just lost touch with it.

"Though actor to huh? You seem to be a jack of many trades...."

She grinned and glanced at him before turning her eyes back ahead of them.

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color] Truth was, it all did. Again, everything but country and rap. They were annoying. As for acting, he was okay, and really specialized at many roles - not specialized as i being the best suited, but he could pull 'em off - though he never truly had been in anything.

After a moment, his offer found it's way to the top of his brain once more and he could no longer resist - he'd make the proposition. "Hey, you mentioned saving up for equipment and stuff earlier.. I'd like to help you out. I mean, it won't be much, but it'd be great to see you get back into what you love." He'd never seen it before, but hell, it made him feel great to help people. Bad, though, when they rejected it.[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

Then came the offer....the one she had felt building in him before. It was one thing for a person to feel it but another entirely for them to act upon such an emotion. Most people....by nature....were greedy and selfish...It was just their way and though there were those that hoped they would change, it was rare that such an act occurred.

She stopped, standing in her current spot as she debated over his offer. She knew the complexities of such a thing. On one hand, if she said yes there was the chance of coming across as greedy herself, yet if she rejected it ran the risk of creating in him doubt to offer such a helping hand to somebody else in the future.....

Feeling the heat within her cheeks she ducked her head slightly and nodded, that smile there even though her hair fell to slightly conceal her from view.

"That would be great. Thank you very much. It is not often you run across somebody so willing to help others....especially some crazy girl they just met......"

She wished she could have come across as joking and in a way she supposed it could be taken as such, but in truth she was being honest.....

"Looks like I will have to make a special series just for you when I get up and running....Though it wont be near enough to repay you or express my gratitude."

Funny......a poor lil girl who was raised in foster care had such proper manners.....It was odd..but it was just how she was.......

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color]

Oddities. Why was he saying thank you? He was the one who was going to be giving the help. It's simple, really. He said thanks because he's the kind of guy who gets his living out of helping people. And fighting. But mostly the helping. If she'd really let him help her, that'd be a huge mood lifter right there. Hell, it made his day.

"Letting me help you is payment enough. Just let me know what all you need and I'll get it for you. Or, actually, we could go to check out some equipment right now, if you'd like." He suddenly got a lot more cheery. Helping people made him really happy, it seemed.[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

She was almost overcome with the onslaught of happiness that poured from him. She was still not used to the emotions people felt in such heavy waves, but she could deal.....

"Umm..sure...I mean just basic stuff is fine."

It really was....She had mastered the art of making such great things come from the simplest of equipment....Though she had enjoyed her larger pieces and the beauty they could create....

She missed her studio.....A thought crossing her mind as to what had become of it...Honestly she did not know. Nobody cared enough about her to take care of it or close it down for her, so she supposed it was still just sitting there...The mail piled up and the orders coming in....

She would have to sneak out one night to check it out......If she could manage that is.....

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color]

Was school even out? Who knew. He was excited to get to help someone out after so long of not helping anyone do anything, and this was, to him, a really big thing. He wanted to get the most out of this - Funny, huh? - and help out as much as humanly possible.

He'd urge her to follow him to his motorcycle and, when she'd arrive - if she'd follow, o' course - he'd give her a helmet. Safety precautions. No one wanted to be on the wrong side of the law, did they? Hah. Mekiel already was. ;] He'd seat himself down and wait for her to get on, too, though he realized that this was quite close proximity. Would she get on? [/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

She followed.....and she took the helmet...yet she stood there, her fingers gripping it tightly as she drew in several heavy breaths. If she got on......that meant she could possibly touch him.....and that meant a panic attack......If she didn't.....it was likely to upset the good mood she had put him in, and honestly she enjoyed the happy emotions coming from him....much better than the negative she felt from most people.

Finally she would put the helmet on.....biting her lip to the point her teeth cut the inside of her lip, though as always she just licked away the blood and paid it no mind.....Balling her hands up in the sleeves of her jacket, she would draw in a deep breath before she finally climbed on.....

At first she tried sooooo hard not to touch him.....the thought of it alone putting her in a state of fear......yet as she slid into the proper position she felt the heat of his body and it sent her nerves and brain into overdrive......

"I...I suggest you.....make it fast...before I...I lose it..."

She would then shut her eyes, her hands gripping him just enough to steady herself as her face buried into her jacket...Yeah...just breath......her newest motto......So long as she kept her eyes shut, and that scent in full force she should be okay.....Just....think of home...of being near David....anything to keep her calm.

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color]

The drive would be just under five minutes. Too much for her? God, he hoped not. The last thing he wanted was to put the person he was trying to help in a craze. That'd equal bad. Like, really bad. That wasn't good. Pulling into the driveway, he'd get off of the bike in a way that she wouldn't be disrupted. It was awkward moving that way, though. Weird movements. o.O He headed into the house, placed the keys on the counter and then switched to the car keys. He still didn't know why he didn't keep 'em together.

"Alrighty, got the car keys. Sorry 'bout the closeness and whatnot." He'd wait for her to enter the passenger of his Volvo c70, which wasn't the greatest car in the world but it was nice, and then start it up and head on out.

"So where are some good places to look?"[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

She held on, and she panicked....By the time she got to his house her eyes were a bright golden yellow and she was barely able to breath.

As he ran in to get the keys she plopped down onto the cement and pressed the sleeve of her jacket to her face.....the helmet now removed she threw the hood back over her head.....Once more trying to hide away from the world.....

When he came back, she would slowly push herself up to stand...Slowly making her way toward the car and climbing in. It took her a moment to gather herself well enough to speak but as she did she would draw in a few heavy breaths.

"You can get the basic stuff on Lexington and 5th, though their is a really good shop on Rivington and Michaels that sells some of the best equipment you can get.....though it is a bit pricey...."

She had the stores memorized....Hell she had been in them enough times.....She would let him choose, she honestly would do fine with just the basics, but he was the one leading this little expedition.

[Mekiel Echigo]

He was going for the good stuff. Why not? Thanks to what Takehiro left him, he was basically rich. Considering the fact that he barely used any money anyway, he had a lot and could, in turn, buy a lot. Like I said, it made him feel good. He'd pretty much buy the whole store if he could. Could he? If it wasn't too expensive. But it probably was.

The drive wouldn't be too long. Once he got to the street he'd wait for her to point the place out. He wasn't too good with that stuff, really, so he had no clue what to look for. Did I say that already? Eh. My bad.

"I'll get you everything you need."[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

She could not help but feel that usual excitement build up inside her at the knowledge of where they were going. Then as the came up near the store she would feel herself spark to life inside.

"Pull over here...."

It was a small shop but god the stuff they sold was amazing quality.....As she climbed out she would wait for him before she entered, looking at the shopkeeper and smiling as she pushed back her hood.

It did not take her long to start browsing over the equipment....hand tracing over camera's, lens' and things of that nature.

[Mekiel Echigo]

[/b][/color]

He rested his back against the wall and folded his arms. He felt really good right now. She could get back into what she loved, and he was helping her with that. If he was magical, he'd be sparkling right now. SPARKLING. But he wasn't magical. Nor was he a vampire. So don't judge.

His right arm came up and rested on his left hand and held his chin. With a grin, he'd wait for her to finish. Of course, he wouldn't rush. Even standing there, he felt damn good.[/ul][/color]

[Ceraphine Davis]

CJ just smiled and nodded as she went about looking over the equipment. Honestly she did not want to get the things that she really really wanted and need, simply because that was asking too much and up until lately everything she had done she had done on her own.

Yet she managed to find some things, enough to get her started and to provide prime pictures, yet nothing that was too over the top. As she went about, she never noticed the old shop keeper's eyes on her nor did she note the way that he seemed to perk his brow.

It was odd to him, to see a girl like this, one who had never come in here before, move about so easily, picking up everything required for that specific set up. In fact very few used that type of set up as it was hard to get the lighting and angles just right unless you were a very well practiced photographer.

By the time she was done, she would set them all on the counter, she would motion for Mekiel to come over. Chewing her lower lip softly she would look at him to make sure that it was okay. Not a whole lot of money to be spent, just a couple hundred...but still it worried her.

It was then that the shop keeper would speak up, hands taking each piece to wrap and place in a bag.

"I have known of only one other girl that could move about so fluidly picking that which she needed. Tiny little thing..I believe her name was Kevala...yes Kevala Katashi...."

Without thinking CJ would raise the hood on her jacket, hiding herself from sight as she shook her head.

"I..I dont think I have ever heard of her.."

Big mistake, because the old man's hand came up and pointed at a piece on the wall. It was one of the best she had ever done, and though she could have easily sold it for 15 grand or more, she had given it to him as a thank you for his help in her starting out here in this town.

"She had an eye for the art you know? It was as though everything she touched just seemed to mold and shape into something beautiful. Shame what happened to her though."

She started to fidget, her hands worrying the sleeves of her jacket as she bit her lip harder, tasting blood inside her mouth.

"Poor girl, locked away in that asylum...Heard she was killed in the massacre that happened up there. Shame to. Such a talent lost."

"Yes, it is a shame, though I am sure that if she was there, then perhaps there was more to her than met the eye. Yes?"

He rose his brow, looking at the girl before him with suspicion in his gaze. Just a nod given as he continued his task.

She gave a glance toward Mekiel, offering a shrouded little smile, shrugging her shoulders as if to say she had no clue what the guy was talking about.

Yet still she wanted to hurry up and get out of there. This could end badly, and though she had been throwing off signals right and left, she did not really notice, nor did she note that her eyes had again turned yellow in shade.