Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jopen couldn't help but look around as she followed Imhotep and Basima into their home. She noticed old books as well as a few old paintings. Jo had no idea how old they were. When they got into the living room, her hosts sat on the couch. Basima asked for a story as she pulled Jo down onto the couch with her. Jo chuckled at her excitement. She wondered how often her dad retold stories. She thought a moment before she began her story:

"The circus was in town, and that usually made most towns scramble to get there. Not only were the performers very talented--some of the best--they were also oddities. A pointy-eared woman who grew horns and soared through the air on metal bars; a dancer who could control a majestic inferno and change the mood of volunteers; a strongman who could lift a pickup; an archer who changed into a wolf; and a girl who could speak to lions, but had another side: a twin that lived inside her mind, but could transform his sister into himself. These last two performers had the biggest secrets, not even the performers knew about them. The day they found out was a bad day indeed. The town they were due to perform in thought them to be followers and Satan. They told their children about how the Whore of Babylon resided amongst them and planned to bring damnation to the town. The townspeople were going to just leave the group alone, until they discoverd one of them changed into a wolf and another shed her skin to become a man.

They came like thieves in the night, bearing torches and knives. The men began setting tents and trailers alight. Chaos erupted when the pastor set fire to the tent with the lions. His horse reared and threw him off. He burned in the fire he set. The dancer made her way out quickly and she tried to quell the flames, but had to flee when knives flew at her. The acrobat happened to be an avid drinker, and collected ales all the way back from when she dined at the tables of great Viking kings. The fire made its way inside and caused all the alcohol to explode. Lucky for the acrobat, the strong man was with her and threw himself over her so she could be protected from the blast. He didn't make it, and she barely lived. She crawled from the rubble, and her luck continued; none of the attackers were nearby. She spotted a horse she had fallen in love with earlier that very day: a huge piebald Gypsy Vanner.

The woman heard the snarl of an animal and turned to see the archer, who was now a huge, gray wolf, fight back to back with two lionesses. The lionesses' master had been slain, and they were protecting her. She stared too long and someone spotted her. The acrobat found strength inside her after seeing her fallen friends and family and unsteadily rose to her feet. She caught a thrown blade and threw it back into a man's chest. She dashed for a snapping rope and leapt. She caught the rope in her hands and somehow managed to find herself on the back of the bucking stallion. It took all she had to hold on. She kicked the horse in the sides and dashed to the woods.

Hours later, the horse collapsed from exhaustion and she tumbled off. Her wounds were gaping and she was beginning to see things. Fuzzy white shapes moved around her. She was on a hill in a clearing and heard voices. She crawled up the hill, through the strange hallucinations. The pain caused her to black out. When her eyes opened, it was still night and two ghostly faces peered down at her with concern, and a third was distraught. He tried to hold her, but his arms just passed through her. It was the strongman who had saved her life. She tried to touch his face gently, but to no avail. The other two were the twins who shared a body. The girl shed a ghostly tear and smiled down at her. She placed her hands on the dying acrobats chest and slowly faded away. Her brother did the same. The woman felt a little stronger, and her wounds were closing, but not the one in her heart.

How was she supposed to go on after such a tragedy? She had done it a few times before, but none to this degree. The strongman tried to grab her one more time. His failure caused him to let out a silent scream. Finally, he looked down at her and smiled. He mouthed a thank you and placed his hands on her chest. His white face was the last thing she saw before she fell into warm, dark unconsciousness, her heart healed, but not completely. After what seemed like years and years of floating around inside her own head, she awoke to an old woman fussing over her. She was in an inn that held stables outside. Realizing it was the woman she had saved centuries before, she left with a thank you, not wanting to trouble at that moment. The acrobat roamed the forest for a few days, hunting in the creeks. She eventually found her way into the city and the first building she saw was that of a fortune teller. She went inside. She left not even half an hour later, she emerged into another new chapter of her life."

When Jopen finished, she felt the warm trails on her cheeks that only tears could bring. She lifted the back of her hand to her face quickly, somewhat embarrassed. She laughed, but it was obviously a fake one to hide her feelings.

"Well, didn't quite expect that to happen! Sorry for such a terribly depressing story. It wasn't supposed to go into so much detail. Anyways, the moral of the story: no matter what life throws at you, you can fight through it. It will always renew you. But I do believe it's bedtime, and this couch is calling my name,"

Jopen said with a wink. Her small smile was unconvincing and tears threatened to push out of her eyes again. Now was not the time to cry; she should have done it at Mabel's, not here. Trying to leave the past behind was the most difficult thing she had to do in her long life.

It wasn't a surprise Imhotep had named his daughter Basima, because the name was very appropriate. She somehow could say the right things with a smile on her face and lift any mood. Jo wondered if she wasn't descended from a siren on either side. Jopen couldn't help but be jealous of Imhotep; he had someone who would last as long as he did. She wasn't sure how dhampirs aged, or if they even stopped aging at a certain point in their life, but by the way her host talked, she knew that Basima would outlive any mortal family.

"Yeah. I used to age just a little when I came to the mortal world, but after that whole Eshm Alari ordeal, I know I'm destined to walk the world forever. . . . But, hey, at least Basima has a wonderful father to watch out for her."

Jopen said the last part with a sad smile then proceeded to take her boots off when he left the room. After she took off her sleeves, she saw a picture frame tucked beneath a few outdated magazines. Her curiosity got the best of her and she pulled it out. It was a picture of Imhotep standing next to a very beautiful woman who was holding a laughing baby. She smiled, realizing it was Basima. Imhotep was looking down at his little daughter, his eyes and smile filled with love. Jo felt a little more sadness squeeze her heart when she realized the woman had come and gone, just a flicker in an immortal's eyes. She wondered if Imhotep ever regretted not spending more time with her; Jopen knew she did with men she had fallen in love with. Petty fights and terrible exchanged words that could never be taken back floated in her mind. She began to get a little choked up and cleared her throat just as Imhotep was walking in. She put the picture down and made sure it was standing up; it really was a lovely photograph. He asked her if she needed anything else after she took the pillow and blankets from him. She gazed into his handsome face a moment too long, and became slightly flustered when he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uhm, no I should be fine. I--I'll be gone by nightfall, probably in the afternoon. Don't want to take advantage of your hospitality or anything. . . . Actually, would you tell Basima I said good bye, tomorrow? I'll more than likely be gone before she wakes up, and I'd feel terrible if I had just disappeared. I really like that girl, she's wonderful."

Jopen looked down at the picture again and made a small but glad sound in the back of her throat. It was in that moment she realized he pushed others away because he didn't want to get hurt anymore. She was just too wishful and foolish to quit falling in love and dealing with heartbreak. But she liked it that way; better to have eaten a sour apple than to never have one at all. As Imhotep was leaving the room, Jo called out to him.

"Imhotep? You have a beautiful smile; you should do it more often. Goodnight."

Right, so Imhotep was a very blunt, but Jopen already knew this. She rolled her eyes after he walked out. It didn't take her long to fall asleep on the couch. The blankets were warm and smelled amazing. They lulled her into a welcoming sleep and she didn't dream. Around 9:30 the next morning she rolled off the couch and hit her shin. She hissed a curse before hoping she didn't wake anyone.

After folding the blankets and stacking them along with the pillow on the end of the couch, she found her way to the kitchen. Jo would have felt weird if she dug throught the cabinets for a glass, so she just turned on the faucet and stuck her mouth under it. She gulped at the water thirstily. Before then, the only thing she drank for the past few hours was alcohol. She stood and wiped the water from her mouth and made her way back to the living room. She slipped on her boots and sleeves and stood to leave. Before she began up the stairs, she thought about Basima.

Jo looked around for some paper and a pen. She found some and sat down and began sketching. After about five minutes, a dragon was left on the page. It was sitting with a girl that looked like Basima, and they were both grinning, although the dragon wasn't scary.

'Thanks, kid. And keep on smiling!'

was written beneath the pair. Jo smiled at her work and stood again after tossing some cash from a hidden pocket in her boot. She sighed after remembering what Madame Alexandra said, and threw a hand in the air.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

she growled to herself quietly. Jo puffed out her cheeks and headed for the stairs. She was going to be out before afternoon even hit. She hoped Imhotep would find some pleasure in that at the very least. Jo did regret leaving before telling Basima goodbye. She really liked that kid.

Jopen let out a surprised yelp when Basima landed on her back, then laughed.

"Morning, kid. And yes, I told your daddy dearest I'd be out before this afternoon. He said I could only stay once, and I don't want to take advantage of his hospitality. But yes, I would love some breakfast! My stomach is eating itself. I could also throw together some red velvet cake for after lunch!"

She said the last part with a wink and followed the girl to the kitchen.

"Man, your dad really is a cranky butt! He should probably sleep longer,"

Jopen joked as she hunted for ingredients in a pantry Basima pointed out to her. She frowned at the scant amount of cake flour, but it was okay. Regular flour would do just fine, and she could mix up some buttercream icing without any problems. Red velvet cake was her favorite thing to make, probably because it was the first thing she had to make. That and it saved her life more than once.

Jo laughed when Basima called herself her dad's little princess and agreed. But when she asked if Jo had been hitting on her dad, she grew quiet and thought a moment. When Basima said she knew how to win her dad over, she realized just how mature the child really was, on so many levels.

"Well, let me be completely honest with you. Yesterday in the morning, I went to a fortune teller. I was desperate and was ready to give up hope. I asked her if I'd ever find anyone I could be with the rest of my life, which at this point lasts forever. She led me to your father. I didn't quite expect to make a friend along the way."

She said the last part with a smile and continued:

"I figured 'No problem, I've won over kings and princes before.' Man, was I wrong. Your dad. . .he's both a stubborn man and a hard nut to crack. He's definitely much more exciting than a mortal man. Although at this point they seem much more loving! Nothing against your dad, of course, but he's kind of an a--I mean a butt."

She decided it was better to be careful with her language. She was in a stranger's house, and maybe he wasn't really asleep. She finished the butter cream icing after she finished mixing the batter and put it in the oven.

"Wanna help me put on the icing after the cake cools? I can make some scrambled eggs while we wait for the fun part."

Jopen smiled at Basima, then thanked her when she pulled the eggs out of the fridge. Then she proceeded to tell Jo about why her father was so closed off to the world. She frowned and pondered this. Who was this mysterious jailer, Jo thought. She thought it was awfully horrid to live this way; it made Jopen kind of glad that she lived detached from the world for long periods of time.

"I suppose that would make one very untrusting of strangers. Especially ones that try to smuggle their way into your life,"

she said quietly. She wondered about a lot of things all at the same time, like why was Basima mad at her mother, and who was Imhotep exactly? What roles has he played in history? The only major thing Jo ever did in history was start the Great Fire in 1666, but she tried to push that memory away and pretend like she never killed thousands and thousands of people. (She likes to think she helped stop the Bubonic Plague.)

"After what you've just told me, I realized what's important here, and it's not winning over your dad. It's you. I want to help break this curse so you don't have to live trapped here forever. And trust me when I say forever is a long time."

Jo had just finished scrambling the eggs and threw some cheese in the pan. She divided it up between three plates--just in case Imhotep would get up earlier than Basima expected--before pulling the cake out of the oven and putting it on the counter where it could cool. She thought a moment then added:

"I hope he likes cheese in his eggs. . . ."