[Alice Rhodes]

Alice examined the scrapes on her hand. She'd done a face plant on this last job, and gotten dragged a couple feet before regaining control of the situation. The heels of her palms were covered in swollen red lines, and only a little bit of blood, but they stung like hell. The guard who helped her unload the leech had gone into the office to print out her receipt. And she was left thinking to herself, I wonder if I have any Peroxide left at home for this...

Oh well, she resolved, no sense worrying about it while she was standing around here anyway. Brushing her palms against her jeans to try and wipe away the little bit of blood sent a painful burn racing almost up to her elbows. Wincing, she kicked at the gravel around the gate with her sneakers and made her way over to the fence. It didn't look strong enough to keep vampires in, but that's probably what guards with weapons were for. Besides, the gate was the only place with a fence. The rest were stone walls crowned with barbed wire, and patrolled hourly.

She'd sent Elliot a text, which she did about fifty percent of the time when she brought someone in, and wasn't sure whether or not her cousin would actually show. Sometimes the humans inside would come to the gates to barter, trade, or beg for things. Alice leaned against the metal and pulled out the crinkly Twix package from her jacket pocket.

[Elliot Rhodes]

Elliot had been down at the gates almost as soon she got the text message. She'd been people watching. The hand full of people begging at the fence line. Then of course there was the slow trickle of cold towns newest deadest citizens being brought in every now and then by the guards. She'd wondered which one was Alice's catch.

It seemed weird but with every one them she saw she began to get more and more concerned about the well being of her Cousin. Yes she was living with them but for her it was like living with near a family of bears, she gives thema wide birth and she is fine. Yet Alice is going out poking them with stick. Madness it was.

Then she saw her, the tiny little blonde who completely stuck out from the usual burly and tough looking men who were usually on the other side of the fence line. And as she go closer she noticed the the Twix in her hands and grinned ear to ear. It had been so long since she had had some of that crispy chocolaty goodness. She hope it was a gift for her but if it wasn't Elliot was willing rep the fence down and get at them.

“Hey there cuz.” She grinned as she and gave a little wave from her side of the fence. “You always bring me the nicest thigns don't you?”

[Alice Rhodes]

Alice spotted Elliot making her way over from the corner of her eye and smiled to herself, prying open the wrapper. Of course Elliot beat her here. She wondered where her cousin lived inside this frigid fortress. Breaking off the top of one of the Twix she popped it in her mouth and chomped loudly. She didn't like to waste time on subtlety when she didn't have to.

"Who said it's for you?" she chuckled around a mouth full of cookie and caramel. "I like Twix too, you know." She finally managed to swallow, even though some of it stuck to her teeth and offered Elliot an impish grin.

Turning to face her through the bars was always a little strange. They'd grown up together, played silly games in the backyard, and even been at the same high school until Elliot graduated. Now she only saw her when she was dropping off some bloodsucker. At least today she wasn't scraped up and bleeding(anywhere too obvious). That had happened plenty of times.

"I'm just kidding," she confessed, pulling another candy wrapper out of her pocket and handing it over. "So...how's life with the dead ones? Or is...unlife?"

[Elliot Rhodes]

Elliot let out a frightful gasp as Alice ate a piece of the Twix. With every grueling mastication of her cousin Elliot's reaction became one of increasing and exageratingly disgust and shock. Until Alice finally spoke and Elliot grinned ear to ear at her.

“Who said I'm talking about that? She retorted, “I was talking about one of those handsome fellas they're bringing in over there.” She gestured with her thumb in the direction of the main gate where the guards bring in the bounty hunters catch. “Those things will go strait to your butt,” She added, “I got my boyish figure to maintain y'know.”

“Thanks!” Elliot as she took the offered candy bar, opened and took a bite of her own as she considered her question. “Hmmm,” She said as she savored the flavor, she couldn't remember the last time she had one. “Oh you know same old same old,” Elliot finally said, “You should see my home. Rents cheep, view nice, only problem is my neighbors are up all night.” Her tone was very blasé, as if she didn't have a worry in the world. She was fully aware of how much danger she was in at all times.

“What about you?” She said to Alice to change the subject before Alice called her own her lying not telling the whole truth. “They given your family a cable reality show yet? Like that whatsthere face?”

[Alice Rhodes]

Alice laughed at her cousin's banter. Somehow they always managed to make light of the "elephant in the room", which was more than she could say for her father or brother on the subject. Since it seemed there was no way that they were convincing Elliot to leave Coldtown, they'd elected to give her the cold shoulder until she saw reason. It didn't win Alice any brownie points that she kept up the pleasantries.

"Cheap rent?" Alice snorted. "I hope by cheap you mean free, because anything more would be highway robbery."

Pinching the wrapper together, she tucked the Twix back into her pocket. "Yeah right, you see any film crews stalking me? And it's not like I want Pops to find out how I give him the slip when I play hookey. Don't tell me you watch that crap? You know reality TV will turn your brain to Jell-O. Blood flavored Jell-O, which is popular among throngs of the undead, I hear." She grinned and kicked at the dirt absently.

[Elliot Rhodes]

“And last time I checked free rent is cheep. Then again the land lord is a total slum lord,” She chortled between licking the chocolate off her fingers. “The hot waters heaters been out for a week now and I'm not going to try and fix it. I'm very adverse to being exploded.” That was true, both things being blown up would suck, and her warm water was out.

She wasn't worried about it though, she was sure somewhere in cold town there was at least one person who would fix it for the right price. Until then she would just have to endure nightly arctic showers.

Elliot took another bite of her twix and chewed it as Alice dismissed the reality show. She laughed so hard at her crumbs of nougat and chocolate came spitting out of her mouth before she could bring her hand up to block the projectiles. That just compounded her laughter causing her to so hard it was become impossible for her to swallow.

“I don't watch that crap!” Elliot said protested. But she totally did. And her brain wasn't jello... at least she didn't' think it was. I mean yes she was willingly living in one of the most dangerous places in the country on a vague whim about becoming a famous journalist. Maybe her brain was jello, blood flavor jello.

“Well don't' think of it as a reality show then,” Elliot said, “Think of it more as a weakly documentary, then it will be educational. And no one will become blood flavored jello.” Thinking about that caused a twinge of old pain in Elliot's neck that she instinctively scratched.