Hear My Whispers in the Dark || Chris & Carmen
Ever since her cousins had settled into her apartment back in the city, Carmen had been fluctuating between the two locations, spending a few days at her penthouse and some at the mansion. The city was tiring, though, which was not a feeling Carmen was particularly familiar with, but she took that as a sign that she needed some alone time in the space of her own bedroom. Christopher was the last thing on her mind as she exited the shower and grabbed her pajamas from where she had hung them on the door; in fact, there were a million thoughts in her head, and the former politician was not in any one of them. Drying herself off, Carmen dressed and began blow drying her hair. Honestly, she was tired and just wanted to go bed.
When her hair was sufficiently dry, Carmen unplugged and stuffed the hair dryer back into its drawer. She spent a few more minutes in the bathroom brushing her teeth, her eyes absently wandering as she did so. Her mirror was uncomfortably empty without the picture of Penny she had had taped to the corner, but that was most likely for the better. Finally shutting off the lights to the bathroom, Carmen grabbed her phone from where she had left it on the counter and walked back into her bedroom while thumbing around her playlists. Quickly, she locked bedroom door as part of her normal routine (Gavin had almost walked in on one of the few - and last - times she had decided to sleep naked) and docked her phone on her nightstand stereo before sliding into bed. The soft, dull rhythm of her music was easy enough to fall asleep to, and Carmen generally fell asleep pretty fast. Of course, she thought a good amount, which used to keep her up at night when she was trying to sleep, but by now, she’d figured out how to prevent from keeping herself up. Within minutes, she was drifting off.
Wouldn’t it have been funny if she’d needed to get something out of the closet before she went to bed? That would have been an interesting predicament to find himself caught in. Fortunately though, that wouldn’t be an issue tonight, because he didn’t want to push his luck anymore than necessary for his plan. Chris knew from his experience with Pestilence that his ability could work even on post-humans as powerful as the Horsewomen, but there was also a chance that it had only worked on her because she hadn’t expected it. A part of him thought that perhaps without the element of surprise, Carmen would be strong enough to resist his ability. It was also a possibility that because she’s the remaining horse who actually terrified him, as much as he hated to admit it, that that fear could cut down on the effectiveness.
So he waited for her to sleep, where her mind would be more open to suggestion than awake. Or so he hypothesized. He’d never actually tried this before, but it was the best shot he had. Chris needed to unsettle her, and the best way he could think to start that would be to shake her foundation. The Rogue cracked the door open slightly so his voice would carry over her music and tapped into his ability. “You’ve barely held the Rogues together since Penny died Carmen, and your sisters know it. How much longer do you think it will be before they decide to push you into the background again? Better for someone who won’t act to sit back and watch while her big sisters take the reigns. They’re tired of waiting, and they blame you for it.”
