taxonomites | 004 ;; [ VISUAL ] not all that it seems

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004 ;; [ VISUAL ] not all that it seems

Usually Ashley could find herself a rooftop to sit upon and think, to work through whatever was bothering her or to calm from her mental beating if something had gone wrong. Here, despite their being plenty of rooftops to choose from it didn't quite seem appropriate. The situation was different, wildly different from anything that they, particularly her, had previously encountered and her normal quiet reflection didn't seem fitting. Especially in the middle of the day.

She'd collected her bike a little earlier, not feeling her usual drive as she rode it back to the Sanctuary before taking a lone walk in the middle of Osten. Forgoing the use of the trains, Ashley had tried to free her mind and let herself just walk; to finally explore this place which as trying to become home. Neither of those things had worked and eventually Ashley stopped, standing in the middle of whichever street she'd found herself in. People went about their day, barely bothering to give her a glance.

The previous night had been hard and Ashley had found herself unable to sleep; nothing about their lives or what they did had ever had this effect on her, yet none of them had ever been experimented on before. She'd gone through her usual morning routine, trying to feel like herself: she looked the part, but Ashley didn't see herself looking back in the mirror. Pain had come with her anger as did the reminder of what she was. Her mother hadn't yet done any tests or scans which was one reason as to why Ashley had left. Coming to terms with what had happened was something that Ashley believed would be hard to accept or come to terms with. Seeing it happen to someone else was one thing, but to yourself? It wasn't something that Ashley had ever imagined.

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John had not felt much like reaching out. What place was it for him? Even talking sense into Helen wasn't working lately. He was painfully obvious as to how much he didn't belong. He left the Sanctuary and took to the streets of Taxon, in search of enlightenment or peace, or some other, unattainable goal that he had no choice but to search for. Nothing was sacred. Even the good were targeted, while he roamed free. What sort of sick and twisted fate was that? As he walked, he thought about the brief moments he'd had with Ashley and Helen, ones he'd never have again - when she was small and Helen had opened her heart to give him something he could never have again. It had been beautiful, but unrealistic.

He'd walked until he no longer knew his way. The tablet in his jacket pocket had become less foreign. He knew how to access a rather detailed map. John reached for it and held the device in both hands, pulling open the map, but another sight caught his attention. The visual feed of his daughter came onto the screen. He couldn't tell where she was, but then again, he barely knew where he was at present. He was silent for a moment, watching her. He caught the reflections of several emotions on her face - ones he'd felt a thousand times over.

"Ashley." He finally spoke, just her name, just enough to gain her attention. Perhaps he was the last person she wanted to see. It was quite possible, after all. It was his fault that she had come to this. It was his disease that raged within her blood.

Ashley was unaware that the tablet was broadcasting, so hearing the low but familiar voice caught her attention. With what had been happening Ashley didn't know how she felt. Usually she'd be pissed or in the least mildly annoyed, but now? Part of this she'd gotten from him, but the rest was a mix of both of her parents; yet he knew more of it personally than her mother. Ashley didn't know what that meant, whether it was good or not but she wasn't filled with irritation, just the confusion that seemed to be following her. She gave a small nod, an acknowledgment at him; a somewhat more pleasant greeting than she'd ever given. Perhaps this was putting certain things in perspective for her: he'd tried to kill her once, but he'd saved her mothers life and had searched desperately to find her. He wasn't a killer now, and she'd fallen into the same fate or path that he'd once been on.

"You talked to my mom?" Hello probably could have sufficed, but she didn't know how much he knew; whether it was the same as the knowledge that she shared with her mother or not. It was the quickest way to find out.

"We have spoken, yes." It was the simplest answer. John didn't really need to converse with Helen, since he was aware of all the same memories that they had both gained, seemingly overnight. He was not quite sure how this was all happening, or what danger they were in because of it.

He was silent for a very long time, studying her. It was strange for her to be so cordial. Normally, he'd be deflecting sarcastic quips left and right, but now she was calm. It unnerved him.

"Are you well?" To anyone else, the question might have seemed passive, but John didn't know of any other way to find out the physical, mental, and emotional state of his daughter.

Ashley took that to mean that he also had the same knowledge, which was most likely fortunate; it saved an explanation at least. His question though was not one which Ashley was confident that she could answer. Physically... well she wasn't sick, but she also knew that wasn't what he meant.

"If you mean 'am I going to go vampire killer on your ass', then I'm fine." For now anyway. Would that change? She found that in anger it did, but permanently? Henry had needed help to control his changes and the Cabal had tried to make it permanent. Had it not been for her mom it could have been for Ashley too.

"Fine would not be a word I would use to describe any of this." He said quietly. It took much more effort for him to teleport to her when he was only vaguely aware of where she was, but if he concentrated hard enough on her. Yes, there she was. John pulled himself to his daughter. It was easier now, perhaps having something to do with her new abilities.

He paused, hand raised and poised near her shoulder. The hesitation broke and he placed his hand lightly on her. "We'll find a way, Ashley. We'll fix this."

The old guy had a point. It might not be the best descriptor but it was the one that came to mind most quickly, though if she were not fine then what was she? She wasn't surprised at the sound of Druitt's teleport: it was something that sound rather familiar now thanks to her own use, that and she'd noticed the picture changing on her tablet. When he reached out Ashley didn't flinch or pull away: she wasn't in a mood for conflict or confrontation.

"You sound like my mom."

"Your mother and I have always had similar amounts of stubbornness in our personality." He might had humor in his voice at any other time, but could not manage it now. He was pleased she hadn't pulled away from him, though. It showed signs of possible improvement in their relationship, which could only mean for a better chance of her coming to tolerate his presence.

"You're alive. We must be thankful for that. And here we have a better chance of undoing what has been done." From what he was to understand, the Cabal were not lingering in this place. John had his doubts, but he trusted Helen to keep those she cared about safe, and if she believed the Cabal were not behind this, then he did his best to believe as such.

Claire hadn't talked to Ashley since she'd spent time with the child version of her, but she had heard a few things at the Sanctuary. Not much, just enough to know that something was wrong. When the image of her popped up on her tablet, Claire wanted to respond. She thought Ashley might want a chance to talk to someone who was removed from the situation. Sometimes it helped to be around someone who was clueless about the things you wanted to avoid talking about.

But sometimes, people who tried to lend an ear looked more nosy than concerned. She closed the book she had been reading and picked up her tablet, deciding to risk that on the off chance that she could help. "Hey," Claire greeted quietly, shifting the tablet in her hand.

In a way Ashley supposed that she should have expected someone to talk to her; nothing in Taxon had ever seemed to be quiet, least of in regards to her. Tentatively, at first, Ashley lifted the tablet, unsure of who it was until she saw the face. It took a second or two to put a name with it; she'd only met her when she'd been a child, but she'd been nice enough.

"Hey." Ashley took a look around her. Using the map would easily tell her where she was, but right now she wasn't interested in knowing.

"There's nothing wrong with the name 'Clementine'," Claire started, using that to break the ice. If Ashley didn't remember being a little girl, then she was pretty sure she was going to turn the tablet off before she could ask her how she was doing. She wouldn't be especially offended by that, given the fact that she had at least two enemies in the Sanctuary already. Sylar didn't remember now, but he would sooner or later. One more wouldn't be that big a deal.

That had the ability to bring a hint of a smile, which Ashley silently thanked Claire for. "It's still silly."

Ashley wondered how the bear had been given that name. She hadn't asked as a child, it not being something that she thought of but it was curious. Ashley hadn't been creative so when James had been suggested, by her godfather no less, she'd taken it; though she hadn't really had many bears since to improve her naming.

"I was like, five, and constantly hyper, it's supposed to be silly," she answered, return the smile with a more cheerful one of her own. "Besides, I got so many stuffed animals that I started running out of normal names after a while." One for every major trip. Technically, one for every major assignment the Company had sent him on. She'd never thought about it that way until now.

"Well I think you've got me beat on that." On the naming and the number. How someone could have so many wasn't quite that fathomable.

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