Claire Redfield - { inactive}

Ask/rp Blog for Claire Redfield - TerraSave Agent Blog is 18+ / Mun is 30+ Behave accordingly. Keep it classy or keep away (respectfully). Thank you! (follows from architekt-in-the-fog)

[heaven-made-sister]

Fighting for the Human Cause

But...sometimes a rapidly moving projectile is still the best answer...

My name is Claire Redfield. I'm an agent for TerraSave. My team (whom I definitely stick with during all my missions) act as both cleanup crew and public relations when the government has finished doing the "boots on the ground" work in the war against bioterrorism.

I also have "professional brother tracker" on my resume. As a joke. Mostly. Keeping tabs on Chris has been a chore since 1998.

But yeah. Hit me up if you need a second for your mission. Or if you're on the way to a good burger stand.

Better Redfield, out.

---

Rules

Headcanons

Verses

[heaven-made-sister]

Big news, Medium news, Big Thanks

Big news first...

Major life event. My husband and I have recently found out that we are gonna be having a baby!

Result: I'm in constant fatigue, and hormones are driving my emotions through the roof

Medium News....

Due to the stress and strain of my upcoming months, I'm going to be taking Claire offline. She's been my darling lady and I resonate a lot with the maternal instinct side of her, but I often feel like an imposter in the Resident Evil rpc with my limited knowledge.

Result: I still have my main blog @architekt-in-the-fog and will do my best to get back to writing there.

Big Thanks...

You all have been SUPERSTAR writing partners. I love and cherish each and every person I've had the privilege of writing with in the past some odd months. Thank you so much for the time and attention you've given me.

Know that I'm cheering for and enjoying your writing from the side lines and I wish you all the very best in your future writing endeavours!

So so much love from me and Claire! It's been a blast!

[heaven-made-sister]

Albert Wesker was painfully intelligent. He would not let up on his line of questioning. And Claire imagined he would not take well to lies at this phase. She could try to pull a power play, remind him that he was the one in shackles in this interaction. But she had already allowed him the card of knowing he had the information she needed.

They were in such a delicate balance that it made her shoulders stiff from the tension. She needed to get the focus back on him. It was too soon to tell him the whole story. If he knew the whole impact of the virus - at least as much as they even knew at that time - there was no getting the upper hand back after that.

"I'd do anything to make things safer for Chris. Why do you think I went all the way out to Rockfort? Surely you understand the need to protect something - someone - you care about."

Her superiors would have her lie to him, trick him into giving them what they needed with nothing in return. That mission would probably be easy enough. But Claire wanted more. She wanted to reach further into the man and find something; redemption felt like a naïve word, but there were few other words to better describe it.

Unfortunately, to get what she wanted required transparency and the ability to open a two-way road between them. The look he gave her screamed that the road was barely an overgrown footpath.

"I know you at least care about yourself. If you give me this, I have access to the kinds of strings that can allow me to make things more comfortable for you here. Maybe not at the same level you had before...well, everything. But, well, I don't know. What does a guy like you consider to be creature comforts?"

[cynicalmastermind]

Hm. An interesting response. If Claire knew Wesker better, she'd know that trying to appeal to his emotional side would run her into a brick wall. There was no care in Albert's dictionary; it was either cold indifference or complete obsession. Just ask Chris.

"Comfortable, hm?" It would no doubt be a troublesome task, trying to convince everyone else that this unique specimen of a bio-terrorist should be allowed some comfort, especially if it was promised to him in the sort of game they were playing. Albert is half inclined to deny any response to the question, but he did say that he would play along if she answered his question and answer it she did, even if he felt it lackluster. What does he consider his creature comforts?

"I suppose I prefer a softer and larger bed than what I have now. I enjoyed having space to move during the night — and air conditioning. The ability to make a room colder than the outside temperature was a luxury I took for granted." Being without one now made him realize just how hot his temperature ran and he wasn't sure if that was because the first virus or his own. Regardless, he found it difficult to sleep because of it, stiff bed aside.

"I'm not happy with your answer, Miss Redfield. I find it just vague enough to satisfy my deal but not at all a solid explanation to satisfy me. Protecting your brother I can understand, but what does that have to do with your line of questioning, especially when I'm in here? I pose no threat to him anymore, so who are you protecting and from what?" Though it was quite possible for him to escape his containment, Wesker chose to remain put. The effort needed to break out of a facility like this would be immense that he'd be exhausted by the time he reached the front doors and easily recaptured. No, better to remain here where he might live somewhat easily.

[heaven-made-sister]

Claire spins the tablet back towards her, swapping to a notepad app. There's not much to write, but the action gives her a moment to think. At least the list of demands wasn't unreasonable. Even if she got grief for it, getting an AC unit installed wasn't an impossible ask. Although the range of ones that could be installed in a single room, with no vent to the outside, were not the most impressive models.

If he felt slighted by the quality, she could work her way up her strings - as long as what he gave her in return was equal value.

Even with the distraction, she's forced back to the moment much sooner than she'd like. She was rapidly exhausting her means of escaping his scrutiny, short of just standing up and walking away from the table. That felt like the wrong move.

It was either the Redfield Way or the Government Way from this point - and Claire never pulled off the government look well. A wry smile taps up the corner of her lips. "It's like having your hand around my throat on that island again, isn't it? Nothing gets by you and you take no prisoners."

Maybe a partial lie could be forgiven. She couldn't be sure if it was true or false - not yet - not this early in the development. Play it up, act the part...her shoulders drooped and her gaze slid from the tablet, to the corner of the table, off to the wall, anywhere but him.

"Fine, you win this round, I guess. It's not like I could hide it forever. You know I was in Raccoon City that day things all fell apart. A lot happened that night . I always thought I only had to deal with those ghosts in the classic sense, but well ... I don't know much about viruses, but I know they mutate, evolve, keep ahead by adapting. There's a chance something's adapted its way back into my life."

Her eyes flick to him. One last spin to keep his focus off the real issue...

"So, think you can stomach doing something that might save a Redfield life instead of trying to kill us all the time? Just on this occasion, of course."

[thxgrxmrexpxr]

[ CRIMSON ]: the sender, noticing the receiver has blood on their clothes (either from an injury or another person) takes them to a private room to help remove the clothes and find clean ones.

{ From @heaven-made-sister if it's ok to start interaction here.

"It's probably not mine."

Unlikely, really. Considering how many creatures he's had to shoot just to secure the area, he wouldn't be surprised if he's ended up with a full slick coating of blood across his uniform by now.

The question is ... seemingly futile. Concern that he deflects as being a waste of time. But something that she simply won't let go. It's when he finally catches a glimpse of himself as they are walking forward into the trashed remains of what he estimates to be a formally well-stocked admin office, that he sees there is indeed a hole on the side of his jacket.

Grunting, he removes one glove, knowing better than to risk contamination by outright touching a wound. "If the skin's not broken, it should be fine. Bruising doesn't matter."

She mentions something about changing, and he scoffs so loudly it causes his respirator to temporarily sound robotic and gargled.

"You're joking, right?"

[heaven-made-sister]

The situation is not ideal...infuriating, almost. Claire was still working out how she had gotten trapped in this situation with an Umbrella operative. At least - she shot a swift, assessing look over him - she assumed he was. He hadn't outright attacked her yet. As long as she he was the only person she had to watch her six, she wanted to make sure it stayed that way. That included confirming he wasn't going to go feral for her brains during their survival stint together.

"I'm not asking you to do a strip tease. I just want a little more confidence that you've actually checked for infection."

A rattling thump started to echo down one of the halls. Company. This guy's nonchalance grated on her nerves. Under normal circumstances, she'd be glad to have someone cool under pressure, but this was next level. They were running out of time.

"How about a compromise? Your shirt's the only thing with an obvious cut. Just lift it up and let me give the area a quick once over, then we can get back to getting out of here and never seeing each other again."

She's a display of obvious emotions, her gaze constantly flicking back towards the noise in the hall. The critical, but searching glare when she looks back to him. "Deal?"

[gretasartt]

made in heaven

[heaven-made-sister]

"I hear you walking about at night, when you think everyone's asleep." - @imperfect-design

Claire did not take her eyes off the coffee in her mug. It was rare that she stayed over at Chris' place, usually just when he needed a last minute babysitter for Rose. Even that requirement was gradually fading now that he trusted Zeno enough to watch the child - and Rose liked Zeno enough to be left alone with him.

But some nights were special. The nights where they all played pretend that they were a normal American family, barbequing, watching movies or played board games, horribly mundane, middle class activities. It was anything they could do to make life more normal for Rose, to give the kid a fighting chance at not becoming what had become of them.

And even that effort took three full grown adults to accomplish.

It also made Claire restless, anxious, skittish of every noise or shadow that might threaten Rose's peace. And with Zeno there, she was hyper-aware, desperately wanting him to have a chance at normalcy as well. Holding still became impossibly difficult for her.

"I don't mean to keep you up, I'm sorry. I had too much coffee after dinner last night."

Even though all they had was decaf and she only drank half of hers.

[heaven-made-sister]

✈️ for our muses to wait for a delayed flight together -@valen-stars

Flights were nothing. The sheer amount of travel involved with TerraSave made the constant air travel as natural as breathing. Would she have preferred to go places on her motorcycle instead? Deeply. It just wasn't possible and she couldn't pull strings to get her bike transported around the world.

She also wasn't alone on this particular trip.

Claire's death glare at the monitor declaring the delayed fight shifted and softened as she scanned over to Jill. The woman had always been a favourite for Claire. She was a good influence on Chris, by Claire's estimation, although no amount of positive influence in the world would ever be able to hold him down it seemed.

But as far as travel companions went, this was the closest thing to having Chris at her side, and Claire was grateful for that.

"Looks like the whole world is conspiring against this trip, huh? If I were more superstitious, I'd say this is a sign to stay home."

[valen-stars]

Jill snorts as she lounges way back in one of the seats next to Claire, one foot up on her carryon. "Yeah, I mean between this and the whole 'getting to the airport' debacle earlier, I'd say it's a pretty solid set of signs, even."

Ugh. She hates airports. Having someone to talk to has definitely made it better, of course. She's closer to Chris' age than Claire's, and they'd been friends a lot longer than she'd known Claire, but she can't help but feel like her and Claire get on pretty well, even outside all the BOW shit. "Whatever, I guess we're not getting out of it either way, right? Delay or not. I've gotta speak on behalf of the BSAA and you on behalf of Terrasave."

[heaven-made-sister]

She managed an actual smile when reminded about the 'debacle' earlier. She still could not begin to imagine how the raccoon had gotten in the guy's trunk in the first place. She had nearly jumped out of her skin when it sprung out with bared teeth, probably more scared of them than they were of it.

"Conferences are the worst. If I'd have known being a TerraSave agent and saving the world would involve standing up in front of so many crowds of rich people to ask for money..."

Then she wouldn't have the ability to go out and help people...

"We don't even get to enjoy the best part of going out for pre-drinks tonight. Guess we'll just have to do double duty on the after party, huh?"

[valen-stars]

"Oh hell. Don't remind me. Shouldn't we be able to delegate stuff like talking to politicians and the like at this point?" For all her complaints, it isn't that bad. She likes wearing something fancy here and there. She likes free drinks even more, even when her tolerance for alcohol is kind of screwed up because of the virus exposure.

That said - "I think we deserve triple duty after that damn raccoon," she winces slightly. "That almost felt targeted."

"Airplanes," Jill sighs again, sinking back in the frankly uncomfortable chair. "Airports. Can't even get a snack for under ten dollars. I think you're taking this better than I am. Guess it makes sense, you're more used to it, right?"

[heaven-made-sister]

Claire nudged her own bag with her toe, a sorrowful smile crossing her face. Used to it was an accurate but sad way of putting it. It felt like she hadn't held still since she was nineteen. And not nearly enough of those trips included her motorcycle as she would like.

"Yeah, well, some trips are better than others. Having someone I trust with me for this definitely makes the whole event easier to swallow."

The delay message on the screen changed, the number only going up. Claire felt an uneasy knot forming in her chest. It was hard not to imagine horrible reasons for delays - another zombie outbreak, some BOW crawling out of a lab somewhere, or worse. More likely, it was just a plane with a missing screw or a captain delayed from the last flight to this one...

Careful eyes trailed over to Jill, concerned about asking the question, but equally unwilling to let the queasy feeling sit still. "Don't suppose there's any BSAA reports about Umbrella activity that you're supposed to keep under wraps, right?"

[dani-dimitrescu]

[  fever  ]  sender  presses  the  back  of  their  hand  to  receiver’s  forehead,  brows  knitting  with  quiet  concern {From @heaven-made-sister in Post RE8/Wandering verse? Perhaps Claire stumbles upon her while doing TerraSave missions and tries to help - because apparently my Claire loves to help people that could seriously harm her...

@heaven-made-sister

Daniela had been wandering for days. It had been days since she had eaten properly. Days since she had touched anything but rainwater and felt anything but restless, broken sleep. Her body, which usually fixed itself quickly, was now turning on her, using up its own remaining strength to survive. The first thing Daniela felt was the cold but it was different. It was heavy, and it felt wrong. Even the flies that made up her form were sluggish, their usual energetic buzzing reduced to a weak, tired hum.

By the time she stumbled into the town, night had already swallowed the streets. She made it as far as a narrow alley before her legs finally gave out. Everything after that was a blur.

She heard Mother’s voice. She heard Bela’s laugh. She heard Cassandra shouting about something. Through the haze, Daniela clutched her small bag against her chest. Inside were the last family memoribilia she had left. And she couldn't lose them.

Something warm touched her forehead and the redhead jerked away, startled. "No.....!" Her hand shot up, not to fight, but to push the touch away. The young Dimitrescu didn't have the strength to be dangerous. Her eyes opened wide, frightened and confused. The woman looking down at her was a stranger.

Daniela curled her body around the bag, squeezing it so hard her knuckles turned white. "No…" her voice cracked. "No, no, no…" The words came out as a desperate, feverish whisper. "Please…" A weak buzzing sound escaped her as her shoulder briefly dissolved into a swarm of flies, struggling to hold its shape.

"Don't take it…" Her eyes were glassy and unfocused with exhaustion. "Don't...." Tears welled up, though she didn't seem to notice them, and she pulled the bag closer, tucking her arms tightly around it.

Finally, she looked up at the stranger properly. The woman’s hand was still resting against her burning forehead. Daniela froze. For someone her size she looked small and terrified. Her voice dropped to a tiny, trembling whisper. "Please," she breathed, "don't hurt me."

[heaven-made-sister]

The day had been so busy. Things were getting back to normal surprisingly fast, considering all that had happened in the village mere miles from the town. The TerraSave team had taken one night out to celebrate a successful mission before returning home, quickly reinforcing the American stereotype of being loud and rambunctious. But they all had the good sense to up and go when the time was right, paying their tab and stumbling out onto the quiet street.

Claire nearly missed shambling figure down the dark alley as she left the restaurant. Something in the woman's gait tugged at the back of her mind though, and she paused. That wasn't just a drunken stagger. A glance at the woman also quickly dismissed the idea that she had been given any other kind of....influence.

Then she collapsed and Claire felt every hint of the former reverie drop.

At best, the woman had been given something unsavoury. At worst...Claire shrugged off the thought as she ran down the alley and dropped to her knees next to the girl. "Hey, hey...you ok?"

Even in the darkness, Claire could see this girl was in a bad way. She was deathly pale and looked like she had crawled out of a pile of ash and dirt. Still, Claire carefully turned her onto her back and started to feel for vitals. Her hand jerked back a moment when she felt the scalding fever. How long had this poor thing been walking like this? Fumbling through her pockets, Claire took out her phone to shine a light on the situation.

Claire's eyes caught on the girl's eyes and teeth and her jaw dropped. At the same time, she became aware of a low buzzing sound that seemed to emanate from the girl herself. She had read reports about something like this. But...the Dimitrescu's should have all been eliminated.

"Shh...hush now. I'm not gonna take anything from you."

What in the hell was she going to do though? Their flights were scheduled for the next day. No one would be pleased to find their mission extended by a spontaneous Dimitrescu.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say a hospital won't do you any good. We need to get you cooled down though...Guess you're stuck with me for a bit. Just...promise not to bite, ok?"

With how frail the other was, it was easy enough to hoist her up to her feet and loop an arm under hers to keep her vertical. The way back to the hotel was mercifully short and most people only gave a passing glance. The situation probably didn't look great, but it was likely the type of concern was misdirected with two women stumbling into a hotel late at night.

Up in the room, Claire set the other down on the toilet while she ran a cold bath. She crouched down to get back into the line of view. "You'll need to put your bag down for a bit here...don't want it getting ruined in the bath."

[architekt-in-the-fog]

ooc

It's too dang hot in this country....

Brain fried....

[heaven-made-sister]

✈️ for our muses to wait for a delayed flight together -@valen-stars

Flights were nothing. The sheer amount of travel involved with TerraSave made the constant air travel as natural as breathing. Would she have preferred to go places on her motorcycle instead? Deeply. It just wasn't possible and she couldn't pull strings to get her bike transported around the world.

She also wasn't alone on this particular trip.

Claire's death glare at the monitor declaring the delayed fight shifted and softened as she scanned over to Jill. The woman had always been a favourite for Claire. She was a good influence on Chris, by Claire's estimation, although no amount of positive influence in the world would ever be able to hold him down it seemed.

But as far as travel companions went, this was the closest thing to having Chris at her side, and Claire was grateful for that.

"Looks like the whole world is conspiring against this trip, huh? If I were more superstitious, I'd say this is a sign to stay home."

[valen-stars]

Jill snorts as she lounges way back in one of the seats next to Claire, one foot up on her carryon. "Yeah, I mean between this and the whole 'getting to the airport' debacle earlier, I'd say it's a pretty solid set of signs, even."

Ugh. She hates airports. Having someone to talk to has definitely made it better, of course. She's closer to Chris' age than Claire's, and they'd been friends a lot longer than she'd known Claire, but she can't help but feel like her and Claire get on pretty well, even outside all the BOW shit. "Whatever, I guess we're not getting out of it either way, right? Delay or not. I've gotta speak on behalf of the BSAA and you on behalf of Terrasave."

[heaven-made-sister]

She managed an actual smile when reminded about the 'debacle' earlier. She still could not begin to imagine how the raccoon had gotten in the guy's trunk in the first place. She had nearly jumped out of her skin when it sprung out with bared teeth, probably more scared of them than they were of it.

"Conferences are the worst. If I'd have known being a TerraSave agent and saving the world would involve standing up in front of so many crowds of rich people to ask for money..."

Then she wouldn't have the ability to go out and help people...

"We don't even get to enjoy the best part of going out for pre-drinks tonight. Guess we'll just have to do double duty on the after party, huh?"

[heaven-made-sister]

WHICH BEAR IS YOUR LOVE TYPE?

tagged by: @cynicalmastermind (Thank you! This was so much fun! Had to do it twice cause I accidentally answered too much like mun, not muse the first time!)

tagging: @winged-comrade, @bela--dimitrescu, @imperfect-design, @old-man-kennedy, @replicae, @valen-stars, or steal it! (if you steal it, you owe Claire a hug!)

[heaven-made-sister]

Gilded Wings, Icarus - Let Him Fly

{ Continued from here with @prctctype

There was an unpredictable energy to Zeno, something entirely alien to all of Claire's notions of Wesker. But she saw it as a good sign. Zeno wasn't letting himself he tethered to what people told him he had to be like anymore. He was...he was looking through her clothes?

She sat up when he zipped off down the hall, wondering how she should even begin to address those kinds of boundaries. It wasn't like she really wanted him to stop doing laundry. She would never discourage help around the house, but...

The bag was set in her lap and she carefully opened it, the dress spilling out like a wave of crimson. It wasn't a classic red dress, too dark for that. The colour was spot on to her favourite, though it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out from her daily wardrobe.

Claire's jaw hung slightly slack as she unfurled it to look at. It was far prettier than anything she had ever worn. It wasn't perfect, but it would be odd for anyone's first shot to be perfect. It was the sort of thing someone wore to a classy dinner or one of TerraSave's charity fundraiser events, something she usually avoided in favour of field work.

And Zeno had made it for her.

When she looked up at him again, there was a sheen in her eyes, barely held back emotions she was scared to let loose and scare him. "You made this? When...when did you...How, more like?"

[prctctype]

Zeno had enough sense in him to know that it might be a bit weird to admit to looking at Claire's dress size but in his defense....he was unsupervised.

As for how he made it.

"....Whenever Chris and Leon come by to....check my progress.....I ask if they can get me some cloth from the store. I found a website called Youtube that has a lot of how-to do things so it helps me when I'm trying a new design."

Zeno had a weird need for someone to be proud of him. To be happy because of something he did for someone because he wanted to do it and not be forced.

His bright blue eyes were so soulful....so much like Albert's before his madness destroyed him.

".......I just....I wanted to do something for you as...as a thank you...."

[heaven-made-sister]

The tears spilled, whether she wanted them to or not. Claire quickly brushed them away, careful not to let any fall on the dress. Well, this was silly, breaking down over a dress. "Sorry. I just - I bet Chris told you - actually, he probably didn't."

Claire stood, carefully setting the dress on the sofa before wrapping Zeno in her arms and squeezing him close. "No one's ever done anything like this for me. Thank you."

She kept a hold of him, long enough to let her own emotions find some semblance of calm. She had...never had the chance...to know what having a child felt like. She only had the glowing memories of her short years with her own parents, grinning with motor oil smeared on her face when her dad taught her how to work on cars and motorcycles. She remembered the burst of joy when he'd smile back and ruffle her hair.

Maybe that was how this felt, watching someone grow and learn and flourish. And maybe she could keep nurturing that and watch Zeno fly. Fresh tears threatened to well up in her eyes. So she pulled Zeno back out to arm's length with a bright smile - just like dad's - and reached up to ruffle his hair.

"We need to buy you a nice suit then, because a dress like this deserves to be worn and seen. We'll go somewhere nice, yeah? Just promise me you won't peek at people's clothes anymore to figure out their sizes. There's better ways to get that kind of intel."

[memepocalypse]

Go To Bed

Another one about making people sleep...

"Are you still awake?"

"I think you need to rest..."

"I'm getting worried about you, you know."

"You really do need to sleep."

"It's okay to be tired."

"You can rest your head on my lap... if that'll help?"

"Let me stroke your hair..."

"I just want you to feel better."

"You would feel better if you actually slept."

"The last time that you actually, really rested..?"

"Sh, sh, it's okay. You're overtired, that's all."

"Okay, I have you, just... relax. Let yourself relax."

"I worry about you, you know. How little you sleep."

"I hear you walking about at night, when you think everyone's asleep."

"I know that you're pretending."

"I'm really not that tired. Promise."

"I'm just a bit... uh. Just... just a bit... I'll be okay in a moment."

"You're swaying so badly you can barely stand!"

"You have to rest! I'm not taking no for an answer!"

"Don't worry about me this is - this is normal -"

"You keep yawning like that you might break your jaw."

"It's nice. Warm. Cosy. Come to bed."

"I just want you to actually rest, for once. Please."

"You have to actually relax."

"Take a breath. Lean back. Close your eyes."

"When's the last time you trusted someone enough to do this?"

"I want you to actually try. That's all."

"Would you let me try something?"

"This is not normal. Even for you."

"I'll get you a heated blanket, warm milk, blackout curtains, anything. Just go to sleep."

[ciricearts]

it took me a while but the queen is heree

[heaven-made-sister]

✈️ for our muses to wait for a delayed flight together -@valen-stars

Flights were nothing. The sheer amount of travel involved with TerraSave made the constant air travel as natural as breathing. Would she have preferred to go places on her motorcycle instead? Deeply. It just wasn't possible and she couldn't pull strings to get her bike transported around the world.

She also wasn't alone on this particular trip.

Claire's death glare at the monitor declaring the delayed fight shifted and softened as she scanned over to Jill. The woman had always been a favourite for Claire. She was a good influence on Chris, by Claire's estimation, although no amount of positive influence in the world would ever be able to hold him down it seemed.

But as far as travel companions went, this was the closest thing to having Chris at her side, and Claire was grateful for that.

"Looks like the whole world is conspiring against this trip, huh? If I were more superstitious, I'd say this is a sign to stay home."

[heaven-made-sister]

Glittering Teeth, Tipped in Blood

{ Continued from here with @bela--dimitrescu

Of the many things Claire vaguely expected the woman to do, bursting into a swarm of bugs was catastrophically low on the list. Instinct brought her arms up to shield her face, fighting the urge to clench her eyes shut. She disliked bugs on a good day. This was entirely unprecedented and she spun to match the flow of the swarm's motion, eyes quickly finding the reformed woman blocking off her main escape.

The BOW theory was stronger, although now this was moving much closer to the actual supernatural. At least other BOW's had some level of science that tethered together the loose definitions of their abilities. Most were just 'get bigger, get stronger, get more violent'.

This was something else.

The woman mentioned a sister. Was she another inhuman being? Likely so, given the implications of her words. How long had they been like this?

Rather than tamp down the desire to help, these words only invigorated the conviction. With a sigh, Claire managed to calm herself. What would she have given for someone to have come alongside her and Chris all those years ago? Maybe then their circumstances would be different and she would actually be able to reliably see him for Thanksgiving dinners.

"If I'm honest, it was mostly to keep things de-escalated so I could get out of here in one piece. But, the card is real and so is the offer. Most things that are human shaped, but aren't actually human, have always attacked me on sight. You didn't."

She shrugged, a quirked smile giving her face a hint of the youth, a long held ideal that started when she met a little blond girl in a zombie-ridden police department.

"I was curious and that usually tends to land me in this kind of situation. It's kinda how I know I'm where I'm supposed to be these days."

[bela--dimitrescu]

heaven-made-sister

Claire was quiet as the woman assessed her. There seemed to be a battle going on in her mind, her words cutting back and forth in the indecision. But above all, Claire could see the protection, the family bond, the exhausted tension of someone trying to keep things together. "Your village...?" Her eyes widened. She was from that village? But the BSAA report...Chris' message...there weren't supposed to be any kind of survivors. TerraSave was there to ensure the surrounding population returned to normalcy. Whatever she was, BOW or actual supernatural being, the stakes were steadily rising for Claire. She already knew the other woman could sense - hear? feel? - her heartbeat, so she would already know her reaction to that bit of information. No point in lying. "I can't decide if I can help if you don't let me know more about you. For all I know, the extent of my help may be leaving you be and going back to work like nothing happened." Claire set her gun down on a nearby dusty table. "If that means you're going to kick up another storm like what happened in that village, then we're at an impasse. But let's start with something simple, huh? Do you have a name?"

Her gaze narrowed ever so slightly. So she knew. Or at least knew enough. The reaction had been impossible to miss—the widening of Claire's eyes, the sudden shift in her heartbeat, the realization settling into place.

"So you heard about my home." It was a statement, not a question. Her golden eyes remained fixed on Claire, studying her with renewed caution. Whatever information existed, it clearly hadn't included her and her sisters.

"I would actually prefer to be left alone." The admission came without hostility, just honesty. Because whatever this woman believed she was doing, Bela had no desire to become another specimen to be studied, managed, or monitored.

Then Bela's gaze drifted briefly toward the table where Claire had placed her weapon.

"You needn't worry about me creating another incident like the one in that village," she said at last, her voice calm. There was the faintest hint of irritation beneath the words. "That is not within my capabilities." The blonde frowned. "I'm not Mother Miranda." The name left her lips more quietly than the rest.

Then, after a moment's hesitation: "…Bela." She said the name as though she had intended to leave it there. Yet something stopped her. Perhaps because Claire already knew too much. Perhaps because part of her was tired of pretending she was no one.

The hesitation lasted only a second. "Bela Dimitrescu," she corrected quietly. "Daughter of Countess Alcina Dimitrescu." The title carried no pride, only fact. And perhaps a trace of loss and grief.

Then she fell silent again, waiting to see whether the name meant anything to Claire at all.

[heaven-made-sister]

The picture was making itself more and more clear as the conversation unfolded. However, where most might tense up and become hostile, Claire felt more in her element than earlier. Bela spoke with genuine emotion, though it was masked in careful nobility, like she was from a Victorian movie.

The names she used struck a memory, plucked out of the case brief Claire had read before starting this mission. They were context details given to the agents in case survivors were found or surrounding villages were discovered to have learned more than most of what happened within the main location.

This woman and her sisters - Claire was now aware there might be more than one sister somewhere in the house - were not survivors of the problem. They were part of the problem, although Bela seemed disinclined to continue being a problem. Even if she did, Claire had no means of preventing her, besides reporting the incident and letting one of the other agencies do their thing. But something about Bela made her want to keep this incident buried.

With a sigh, heavy laden with the impact of that decision, Claire crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Her eyes closed, thoughts pinging through her head as her brow furrowed in concentration.

She was set on not reporting this, so now it was back to bargaining for her personal survival and convincing herself that Bela and her sisters would be content enough to manage themselves without interference. When she opened her eyes again, she managed a gentle smile.

"Well, Bela, I guess the obvious question is what happens next? I don't plan on telling TerraSave about you, so the BSAA won't get anything unless you or your sisters make more of a mess. That happens whether or not you let me go."

Claire's head tilted to the other side as she evaluated the woman opposite her. "So how do you plan on keeping that from happening? I've managed some dodgy agent work in my time, but I'd rather not have to fish you out of a government facility and lose my job if I can avoid that."

[architekt-in-the-fog]

ooc: I'm exhausted

I'm so tired today friends. My drafts are not done. There are things in my inbox. I cannot keep my eyes open.

But tomorrow is Friday!

I shall get caught up then. For now, sleep.

Hugs to all!