<div class="floatleft">(http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae282/caela_ecub/Blondes/ts1-1.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Abigail "Abby" Holden<br/><strong>Species:</strong>Human/Slayer<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Entering Redemption, splitting from her group<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Open<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Abby sighed when they actually saw the gates of Redemption at last!<br/><br/>It had been a long journey with her Father and his men...especially with his men eyeing her like she was the last piece of candy in a candy shoppe the whole way. They knew she was off limits, she was only 16, they couldn't touch her until her next birthday when she would be taken to live at the Brothel, but that didn't stop the speculation she could see in their eyes. She'd made sure her tool kit was always near and if one of them had gotten too handsy, he might have gotten a wrench across his face. They all kept to themselves however, especially after her Father had scowled and put a hand on his gun the first night out.<br/><br/>Everyone in Homestead knew he was a crack shot, no one was going to cross him as long as he was armed...and he made sure he stayed armed. That might have kept the jackles at bay, for now, but Abby had no doubt that if they cornered her alone, something bad would happen. She made sure she was never far from her Father.<br/><br/>When the messenger had arrived with news of a Council being called by the Enclave of Witches at Redemption, she had seen her chance for escape from Homestead. She'd tried before and had always been caught, though the last time she'd nearly made it to the edge of the territory their men patrolled. If she'd managed to cross they might have given her up for dead, but she'd been caught and returned to her Father...and been on house arrest since. This had given her plenty more time to work her way through the extensive library he had managed to save, reading books on military strategy, battle strategy, the difference between strategy and tactics...and how it all went to hell once battle was actually joined.<br/><br/>She'd expected an argument when she'd told her Father she wanted to go with him to the meeting and had had all kinds of arguments prepared but he'd surprised her. He'd said yes with no argument needed and had reached out to gently stroke the soft curls of her hair just once before leaving the room. She'd thought she'd seen tears glittering in his eyes when he said it, which had confused her, until she realized that he too saw this as a chance for her to escape the fate that would fall on her if she stayed in Homestead. They hadn't talked about it, but she was aware that her Father loved her and hadn't wanted to give her up to the Brothel...now he wouldn't have to. She'd seek Sanctuary from the Witches...and never see her Father again.<br/><br/>Having seen the way the other men watched her while they'd traveled though, she'd also realized that she was going to have to do something while in Redemption to give them a reason<em>not</em>to kill her Father the minute they left. Seeing the way he watched them as well, she knew he'd accepted that her freedom might be bought with his life, which only made her all the more determined to ensure he didn't have to pay that price.<br/><br/>And through all the plotting and scheming had been the Dreams. She kept dreaming she was someone else, someone faster, stronger, a warrior of some sort...someone dangerous. She had a hard time remembering all of the dreams when she woke, but she'd wake and find her body twitching slightly, hands clenching into fists and it would feel as if she had been through some sort of rigorous training despite having been asleep. She was also finding she, suddenly, had to take more care when fixing things. She'd turn the wrench and end up breaking the nut she was trying to tighten! Mostly she was just trying to ignore the dreams and the sudden increase in strength, she had enough to worry about without adding all that in as well. There would be time enough to worry about the dreams and strength<em>after</em>she dealt with her escape from Homestead.<br/><br/>And now that time was nearly here! She could see the gates, and hear the men with them drawing into tighter formation, as if somehow afraid of the people of Redemption. Looking to her Father, she drew closer to him while he paused to let his men go through the gates first. The dour look on his face making it clear that he was ensuring that no one came at their backs because he didn't trust the people of Redemption. None of the men under his command would question that distrust, or his watching their backs. On maneuvers at Homestead, he often too the back watch, where the most dangerous of predators often attacked, and had saved more than one of the lives traveling with him.<br/><br/>She'd been raised with their hatred of all things not human, but she somehow couldn't share it. After all, Homestead wasn't exactly a prize if you were female but here, at least, women had a voice and weren't kept as slaves. There had been times growing up that it had been all she could do to bite her tongue and<em>not</em>point out to the men of Homestead that they were just as vile in their treatment of the women as the demons they fought against were. She had been smart enough to know that even being the General's daughter wouldn't have saved her hide if she'd voiced that opinion.<br/><br/>Seeing the woman at the gate sent a shudder running down Abby's spine. There was nothing about her to mark her as anything but a<em>very</em>attractive woman, but something inside Abby screamed<em>predator!</em>Unconsciously, she felt her hand reaching for the stake she'd been dreaming about so frequently of late and then pushing down the sudden urge to cause this woman harm. The red head hadn't even done anything! Abby didn't understand why she had such a visceral reaction to the vampire (she didn't even know she<em>was</em>a vampire) and was worried that such reactions might keep her from staying in the one place she had hoped could be her Sanctuary.<br/><br/>While the men were distracted with holding formation before them, and going through the gates, Abby stepped sideways. She kept her movements gradual, sidestepping just a bit further away from her Father each time she moved forward until they reached a building that she could simply slide around. None of the men of Homestead were paying her any attention now, they expected her Father to keep her in line and were caught up in their own worries about the "freaks"  and pulling their formation even tighter to ensure that the freaks of redemption didn't catch them unawares.<br/><br/>It never occurred to them that Abby might find the "freaks" less frightening, less threatening, than the men she'd grown up with. Or that she might seek to escape them.<br/><br/>Pausing she waited for the men to continue on their way, letting them go forward, and out of sight,  to be shown where they would be staying for the duration of their visit and suddenly realizing the largest hole in this part of her plan. She wanted to seek Sanctuary from the Enclave...but she had no idea where they met! Drawing a deep breath she looked around and simply chose a direction that seemed to head more toward the center of the town figuring that it made the most sense for the Enclave to be near there.