Space. (The aftermath of Tara vs. Black Widow.)

[Sabin / Madjinn]

Dawn.

The morning glow of the sun was barely visible from behind the clouds, but the orange glow found its way of dancing between the clouds to bring its light to the city of Seattle. However, the darkened clouds, heavy with rain, continue to stroll across the sky and are blocking out the sun in its entirety.

The curtain is drawn back inside of a condominium that overlooks the skyline, and a fantastic view of the Space Needle skyscraper that Seattle is famous for. Despite the overcast, the sun still brought its natural light to brighten the otherwise dark home… This morning, in this city, Sabin sits on the balcony with his phone in his hand. He appears physically concerned from the aftermath of Night of the Immortals that saw Brandy Cvetkova, rather The Black Widow, wage war against Tara Diosa Docherty-Jimenez, or Tara Fenix, in a war that had them both leave with their own scars. Whilst he overlooks the city– the noise from the traffic below, the sound of their horns are heard even from this great height. Talking over the sound of all of the traffic below is that coming from the speaker on Sabin’s phone.

“Where are you?” Tara asks on the other end of the line, “How’s Mikaela?”

“I’m safe, Tláa– we– we’re safe,” Sabin reassures her.

“I literally cannot believe that you would do this!” Tara’s voice rises, becoming more and more infuriated by the passing seconds. She continues to ramble, as Sabin fights to get a word in.

“After everything that she’s done–”

“Tláa–”

“What she’s put this family through! What she did to your aunt– what she did to me…”

“Tláa–”

“She can’t be trusted–”

“TLÁA!” Sabin shouts, and earns Tara’s momentary silence, “We didn’t intend for this to happen, okay? Something just– clicked– and she’s really not bad once you get to know her… You have to remember what it was like when you were starting out; how many people tried to hold you down; how many people that were doing this a lot longer than you were trying to stop you from hitting the mainstream. She saw an opportunity, and are you really trying to say that you wouldn’t do the same thing if you weren’t in her place? I trust her, Tláa, and if you trust me, your son, then you will, too, and I just– I need you to calm down, okay? I need you to give her a chance… and then I will come back with Mikaela, otherwise–” Sabin’s own voice trails off, the indication being rather obvious, though.

Tara is at a loss for words, and she takes a deep breath. While she could not be seen, it was easy to tell that she was seething, her jaw was likely clenched as she was biting her tongue to every word that she wanted to let out.

“Fine…” Tara mutters. “Just– come home…” Tara continues, her voice shaking quite a bit in the process.

“I will.”

A creak is heard from behind Sabin, and he shoots a glance over his shoulder to see Brandy standing at the door wearing an oversized shirt, and Mikaela Jade sitting on her hip as she holds her carefully.

“I have to go, Mom. We can video chat later, and you can see Mikaela, okay?”

“Okay…” Tara answers. “I love you…” Tara states.

Sabin is slightly shocked by the comment; he could tell how upset she was, and how torn she was with everything… It felt like a miracle that she would still say those three words to him, even if she did.

“I love you, too,” Sabin says.

The line goes dead, and Sabin remains silent, contemplating what the next move could be. Could Brandy, Tara, and even Jennie bury the hatchet between all of them? Was it merely the nature of competition in their line of work, or would the hatred continue to seethe? Would the tension continue to be there?

“I didn’t want to eavesdrop,” Brandy says in a softer tone than she’s known for when the cameras are on, “This little one was looking for her daddy, though.”

Sabin stands up from the sit, and brushes himself off while Brandy walks toward her.

(To be continued.)

[The Black Widow]

Earlier… While Sabin sat outside on the phone with Tara, Brandy stirs herself awake; her eyes, still closed, brush against the covers to reach for Sabin but to no avail.

Brandy rolls over onto her other side, reaching for the nightstand beside the bed. The fingers on her heavily bandaged arm fumble across the cluttered surface, hunting for a brown prescription vial. Bleary-eyed, she hears the sounds of a lamp crashing to the floor. "Damnit," Brandy thought, knowing full-well what she had done. The contents of the vial rattle when her hand bumps into the bottle, tipping it onto its side. She feels around more precisely now, grabbing the brown vial in hand.

Brandy's feet touch down on the floor as she sits up on the edge of the bed, not quite fully awake. Her mouth was dry, her body hurt; but more than anything, she wanted a cigarette.

There comes a sudden whine that lasts for a couple of seconds before turning into a full cry. The cry jolts Brandy to full consciousness. She sets the bottle back down on the nightstand before hurrying out of the bed and rushing to the next room of the condominium where Mikaela Jade had slept in a portable crib.

Brandy moves with a slight hobble while clutching her arm, as she still feels the effects of the match that she had against Tara.

“I’m coming,” Brandy calls out in a soothing, but rushed tone, “Don’t cry, don’t cry–” Brandy continues trying to soothe Mikaela with her tone as she reaches the crib. Mikaela is sitting down as Brandy enters the room, and looks up to her while still sobbing and crying, “You're okay–” Brandy leans down to pick Mikaela up, Mikaela stifling her sobs slightly as she’s being picked up, “–I got you. What’s wrong? You hungry?”

Brandy bounces Mikaela up and down on her hip carefully, trying to keep her calm while also walking toward the kitchen. She holds her with one arm while pulling the refrigerator open and pulls a premade bottle of formula from the top shelf, “You’re okay, we'll get you some food” she says to Mikaela while finally getting the bottle into the microwave.