War and Peace and Pancakes

Hate Me

The house was empty, the quiet weighing down on Urdu the moment she appeared in the centre of the living room. The smell of them hit her first, a comforting scent of Sam and Tim, Roses and a wild, predatory scent that was all her vampire. It threatened to bring a smile to her face out of reflex. But Urdu couldn't afford that comfort anymore, she was here on a mission and hardened herself to the realities of it. Only days ago she had tattooed them in a way that marked them forever as one, inking her last, desperate message in the last place they would know to look.

Taking a deep breath, she harnessed the simmering anger at the injustice of what she had to do until she could use it to do what needed to be done. Then she walked through the house slowly, breathing in the scent of the three of them one last time until she came to Sam's room and saw her bracelet lying forgotten on the desk.

It was all she had and she hoped it would be enough as she shifted her magic throughout the house, cleansing the place with brutal efficiency. She pulled every trace of her scent out of the air, out of the fabric of the place. There would be no trace of her being there. Sam's power warded the house, more than enough to protect the witch and vampire within. They were safe, her protections were unnecessary, they had one another and there was nothing more she could do for them.

Urdu felt Sam's power shift and from the living room she heard the two of them talking.

Tim sounded amused, yet exasperated, "Sam, honey, Mr. Alesky did not need stickers all over the reports he had prepared for the meetings today."

"You worry too much, Silly." Sam giggled, "Urdie?"

Urdu was already striding down the hallway, driving a merciless spike through her heart with every step, until she was clenching her jaw when she walked into the living room, toying with Sam's bracelet in her hands. "Forget something?"

Sam's eyes went wide at the sharpness in Urdu's tone, though the woman pouted for a moment when they flickered to the thing in Urdu's hands. "Whoopsie. I forgot to put it back on."

Tim frowned, his gaze locked on Urdu. "What's wrong?"

"You promised you wouldn't take it off again." Urdu let out a slow breath, " I suppose I should count myself lucky you had it on this long."

"You worry too much, silly." Sam offered, though her witch looked more confused than dismissive, taking a cautious step towards her, "It's fine. I was with Tim and Meri."

Urdu shook her head, gritting her teeth and forcing her anger to remain where it was, ignoring the guilt twinging through her at Sam's uncertainty. She shrugged, "It's not fine, Sam. You broke a promise to me. You can't just... dismiss someone's feelings because they don't matter to you."

Sam's eyes filled with tears, shaking her head. "They do."

"They obviously don't."

"Urdu." Tim's voice was a low warning, nearly a growl, "it's not that big of a deal. Sam forgot."

She bared her teeth at him. "Oh. It's not a big deal. Why, because she told you it wasn't? "

"I could feel her the whole time. There's nothing to worry about." Tim glared, glancing to Sam who was frowning, still looking near tears.

"But I couldn't." Urdu glared right back.

"I just needed a few moments... and then I forgot to put it back on..." Sam whispered softly, reaching out towards Urdu.

Urdu took a step back and rolled her eyes.

"A few moments to be free from me. I get it. Always with your secrets, trusting your voices more than you trust me. Tim's ok though, you trust him but I'm the afterthought." She shook her head. "Message received, Sam."

"Urdu. Enough!" Tim growled now, shaking his head, "you're angry and you're taking it out on Samantha. Its a god damned bracelet, she's safe. She always was safe. I would have let you know otherwise."

"It's my only god damned connection to her!" Urdu snapped, rounding on Tim and snarling right back at him. " And you'd tell me when you deemed it necessary to tell me, like every other damned time something happens! It's not a big deal, because you get to control just how much I feel, how completely you allow me in!"

"That's not fair, and you damn well know it!" Tim snarled.

"Stop yelling." Sam murmured, glancing between the two of them. "I'm not keeping secrets, there's just things you don't need to know."

Urdu let out a slow breath, shaking her head. "Give me your bracelet Tim."

"Excuse me?" He didn't move, his glare turning to shock.

"Your bracelet. It's not a big fucking deal, so give it to me." When she held out her hand, he shook his head and took a step back away from her.

"Hold on a goddamn minute. That's not what I meant." Tim's shock rapidly turned to indignation, bolstering his stubbornness once more.

Urdu gripped her anger tightly, keeping it boiling in her chest as she snapped her fingers. Her magic shifted around Tim's bracelet and returned it to her hand. "Oh, I'm pretty certain I know exactly what you meant. Both of you."

"What are you trying to say?" Sam's voice was a near whisper.

"I'm saying. I'm not going to be your whore anymore." Urdu snarled, crushing the bracelets in her hand, gritting her teeth against the burn of her magic lashing out as the stone bracelets being destroyed.

"Urdu, you're blowing this completely out of proportion." Tim snarled.

"I don't have what you have, Tim! The one solution I had, the one thing that allowed me any connection to her, she doesn't care about! And every time I bring it up, you both dismiss it. You're both perfectly fine with me being less! This isn't working! I'm through being trusted less than some damned imaginary friends that neither one of you has even thought to question!"

"Stop being so mean!" Sam yelled, her power flashing through the air, palpable in the house.

"I'm a DEMON, Sam!" Urdu roared, baring her teeth. "It's what we're known for!"

"Don't yell at her!" Tim's snarl was getting angrier, more forceful, his teeth bared right back.

"At least you're no longer lying to me, I know exactly what side you've always been on." Urdu shook her head. "You two can get your rocks off some other way. I'm not playing this game any longer."

"I don't want you here anymore!" As the woman's voice rose, Urdu felt the power spike, the light part of the witch's strength crackling painfully against her skin. "You're hurting Tim! You're hurting me! On purpose!"

"The truth hurts, Samantha. Grow up." Urdu shook her head, pulling her wards down, pulling every last trace of her and her power out of the house.

"Get OUT!" There were tears in her witch's eyes, streaming down her cheeks. Her hands were clenched and Urdu felt the woman's power shove her backwards.

"What did you just do?" Tim jerked suddenly, his senses obviously picking up the change in the scent of the air. "Urdu!"

The panic in his voice latched into her soul and ripped what little was left of her heart but she was gone. She left her two soulmates behind  in a flash of power. She couldn't afford to look back for a moment, couldn't falter. They needed to be angry, they needed to hate her, so that they would not miss her. Neither one of them could follow her. 

Urdu returned to her Earth, where she clenched her fist until only dust and blood fell from between her fingers as she stalked through the halls of Lucifer's manor.

She shook with fury but beyond all else, Urdu was having a hard time breathing, her chest was a hollow pit where her heart had been. She had known that was always the hardest part of the plan, but she hadn't expected it to hurt so damned much.

"They have each other." She murmured to herself as she plunged into the darker parts of the halls, seeking comfort from the dark. "They will be fine. 

A small part of her wondered if it was a lie. 

But even if it was, at least they would be safe.