Trouble in Paradise

OOC: This topic should be considered a closed RP for me only!! This will complete Erin's origin story and end with her leaving Mexico to hopefully catch up with some other characters!

IC:
On the Yucatan Peninsula

The warmth of the morning sun felt pleasant on Erin's arm as she opened her eyes. The first traces of the morning were starting to peek underneath the window shade. Erin's left arm extended off the bed and was just starting to catch the rays. She rolled onto her back and looked to her left to see the man she left the club with last night. The man was sleeping, and he was attractive, but not attractive enough to hang around long enough for him to wake up.

Erin removed herself from the white sheets and rose out of the bed, slinking quietly over to the bathroom, picking up her clothes as she went. She took great care to shut the door behind her without the slightest squeak. She flipped on the light switch and the light flickered three times, before holding steady. Turning on the water just enough to draw what she needed, the blonde splashed her face with water. She then looked up at herself in the mirror.

The girl looking back in the mirror was not Erin, or at least, Erin didn't think so. She ran her fingers along her face, as the less attractive girl in the mirror did the same. Then, with a wave of her hand, a flick of the wrist, and a twiddle of her fingers, The appearance of the girl in the mirror changed. First the hair flew, as if carried by an imaginary breeze, rearranging itself behind her ears and out of her eyes. Blush and some lipstick were instantaneously applied, and finally, Erin recognized the girl in the mirror.

She rummaged through the pile of clothing she had collected and put the items on. Erin was disappointed to learn that one of her sandals were missing. No worries though, she held out her hand and a soft green light filled the bathroom. After a few moments, she had a new sandal in her hand and she put both on. She stared deeply into the mirror and decided her outfit reminded her too much of the club she was in the night before. With another flick of her wrist, the club dress melted around her, and taking the new shape of a dark gray tank top and chino shorts.

Now, Erin and the girl in the mirror could agree they both looked good. Erin left the bathroom, picked up her wristlet, and left the apartment. Once outside, she observed the street signs and determined she was only a ten minute walk away from home. She headed east.

"Buenos Días, Señorita," a man said from his porch.

Erin smiled at the man, "Buenos Días," she replied. After walking a few additional steps down the street, she outstretched her arms and felt the warmth of the sun as it tickled her skin. She turned her eyes to the sky and no clouds were in sight. "A good day indeed," she said to herself as she continued her trek towards her destination.

Erin lived in a house with her sister Melanie and father Robert. Of course, none of them were actually related. Robert had a PhD, and was studying some the ruins in the area. Although he presented himself as a man in his 40s, the doctor was actually in his late sixties and was very proficient in the magical arts. His research on the subject of the Mayans was officially to learn and study their culture, but unofficially, he was here for his own reasons: to research the history of magical use by their civilization.

Robert adopted Erin almost four years ago, during an unfortunate incident that turned Erin into a murderer. Erin hadn't known of her own magical powers and couldn't control them. Over the years, Robert taught her how to harness her abilities, one of which was the power to teleport. On this particular morning the weather was too nice to make use of that particular power. She walked very slowly up the driveway, relishing the warmth of the morning sun. It wouldn't be long before the pleasant morning sun turned into the midday sun, which was something else entirely. The morning sun was nice and brought a smile to your face; the midday sun brought only agony and sweat.

She used her keys to open the door and heard sounds coming from down the hallway. The sounds surprised her, it was still relatively early and she hadn't expected anyone to be home. "Good morning!" she cheerfully shouted down the hall.

More rustling. Erin started to walk down the hall, but after taking a few steps Melanie shuffled out of the study and into the hallway. She was dressed comfortably and her hair was a mess, a few wisps of brown seemed intent on covering her face. "You're home early," she said. Her voice had a hint of a questioning tone to it. She chuckled, "Didn't like the look of four-eyes very much?" Melanie had went with Erin to the club the night before. Melanie left much earlier, apparently when Erin was still talking to a man with glasses.

Erin shook her head, "'Four-eyes' was a very charming gentleman, but he wasn't that charming..." she trailed off. "Anyway, what were you doing in the office? I'm surprised you didn't wake Dad up." she said, nodding in the direction of their father's closed bedroom door.

Melanie's eyes darted back towards the office. She rocked back and forth slightly on her feet and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Erin took a step forward, but Melanie shuffled to block her from the section of hallway. Erin closed her eyes and imagined the office as she crouched slightly.

"Hey!" Melanie exclaimed as Erin vanished from the hallway.

Erin opened her eyes and found herself in the office. Books and paper were strewn across the floor. The few picture frames remaining on the wall were all crooked, the rest were smashed on the floor. Artifacts her father had been examining were destroyed, reduced to dust due to whatever had occurred, and in the center of the room, laying face up was her father.

Erin's hand shot to her mouth in an attempt to cover her scream, but it did nothing to muffle the sound. She moved around an overturned chair to kneel by her father's side. He was wearing a crisp, white lab coat, although it was drenched in blood. His face was lifeless, and almost unrecognizable from the numerous cuts that could be credited to the broken glass that covered the room. A lump was forming in her throat; it was only a matter of time before the tears started.

Erin heard the sound of glass crushing and turned her head to the left. Melanie was standing in the door frame, her hands outstretched as if she was going to explain what had happened, but Erin knew she was also readying herself to attack if necessary.

Melanie remained silent. "What happened?" Erin asked plainly. She felt like she was unable to speak more than two words at a time and retain her composure.

Melanie's eyes darted from left to right. "Shit!" she shouted. Melanie took a deep breath to calm herself and then continued, "Shit. Shit. Fine." Melanie arched her fingers, and Erin took a step back. "I killed him," Melanie said with a sigh.

"You what?" she shouted. She could now feel the tears welling up behind her eyes. "Why would you kill Dad?"

"Don't be so dramatic," Melanie said dismissively. "He wasn't even our father. He was just a old man who built a family out of thin air. I don't-"

"He saved us!" Erin yelled. "Mel, he saved us from prison, he taught us what we know, and you kill him?" She shook her head and pulled on her tank top to wipe her tears. "And he loved us like a father would."

"He may have treated you like a daughter, but he was always different to me." Melanie raised her hands to move the stray hands out of her face, and then she folded her arms. "I'm not going to get into that. I didn't expect to be here when you got home this morning, but since you are, I'm going to extend an offer to you."

Erin stood up, "What could you possibly offer me?"

"I have a contact in the states, who offered me 1 million for the Mayan talisman that Dad recently brought home. These guys seem like a good crowd we could hang with, and if not, we blow them off and start up our own operation. There is a demand for people with our skills. People who can become, whoever you need them to become."

Now it was Erin who was squaring off her feet, "So this was about money?"

Melanie unfolded her arms and readied her hands, "This wasn't just about money. But money does sing a sweet song."

"You're a bitch," Erin spat as she inched closer.

Melanie's fingers began to cackle with electricity. "I may not have though of him as my father, but I did consider you my sister."

"My family is dead," Erin said, as a glowing, green light was forming in the palms of her hands, "You are no sister of mine."

No sooner did Erin finish her sentence had lightning erupted from Melanie's fingers. Erin somersaulted to the right and she saw the lightning strike the spot where she was just a moment before. Erin scooted over a little further to hide behind a desk, one of the few pieces of furniture that were not overturned in the ruined office. Erin took a deep breath and reached out with her senses. She could feel Melanie crouching, only seven feet away, waiting for Erin to move. No doubt, Melanie was also using her expanded senses.

Erin closed her eyes and imagined the office from the other side of the room. When she opened them, she had appeared behind Melanie, and kicked out with her right foot towards Melanie's back. The brunette had sensed Erin's disappearance, and managed to avoid the kick, lashing out with another explosive blast of lightning. The purple and blue streams of energy caught Erin in her stomach, sending her reeling backwards towards the wall.

Melanie's right arm was outstretched, fingers spread wide, and Erin found it difficult to move. "I really meant it Erin," she said. "You were a sister to me." She raised her left arm and the desk Erin previously took cover behind floated slowly in the air until it was over Melanie's shoulder.

Erin grimaced as she struggled to overcome the magic Melanie was using to hold her against the wall. Melanie swung her left hand back, and pushed it forward. The desk mimicked the movements of her hand, but Melanie's was dividing her attention between Erin's restraints and the desk. Erin surged forward with a scream, launching a large, green fireball directly at Melanie.

The brunette dropped the desk and raised her right hand in the air, palm to the ceiling, as a golden aura flowed down over her hand. As the fireball hit her it dissipated into the golden aura, which momentarily flashed green, before reverting back to gold.

Both women locked eyes. Melanie took two steps backwards while Erin shifted her weight, bending at the knees. Melanie continued to slowly back herself towards the doorway. Erin took note of her slow movements. She was probably trying to get to the garage. Melanie likely had packed the car with all her belongings and was trying to escape to the car so she could leave and return to the US to sell the talisman.

Erin broke the momentary cease-fire first, launching a stream of fire just in front of Melanie. Melanie raised her hand once again, and the tongues of fire licked at the golden aura to no avail. "Get back here!" Erin shouted. She imagined the garage with its tools, and its car, and its indescribable, but inescapable musk. She snapped her fingers and teleported to the garage. She readied bent at the knees slightly, and readied her hands, for it would only be another second or two before Melanie made it to the door.

"2....1.....0....," she counted slowly out loud. Although the door never opened. Both of her arms flew to her sides, and as she slowly raised them she could sense the whole house. She could hear the kitchen faucet with its perpetual drip. She could see a spider in the corner of the living room, traversing its web towards its tasty meal. She could see Melanie, backpack in hand, climbing out the window of the office. "Shit!" she exclaimed, "She doubled back!"

Erin tried to imagine the grass in the backyard, but rushed her mental image, appearing 30 feet or so away from Melanie, who was sitting in the dirt after jumping from the window. Erin dug deep into the earth with the balls of her feet, sprinting towards her sister. Melanie stood up quickly and clasped her backpack in one hand. Erin was accelerating quickly, but in her mind, everything was occurring at half-speed. She saw Melanie bend her knees and then extend them, launching herself into the air, far out of Erin's reach. Melanie hovered momentarily 15 feet in the air as she adjusted her backpack, placing the straps over her shoulders. Within another second, Melanie was out of sight, flying through the air to a destination unknown.

Erin collapsed in defeat in the grass. As she lay with her back on the grass, staring up as the sun and the clouds, she thought about how wonderful of a morning she thought it was only 15 minutes ago. The tears, once again, began to flow.

Erin opened her eyes. The sun was casting shadows differently than when she first collapsed on the grass, but she could not determine the passage of time.
She only knew that time had indeed passed. She sat upright quickly, and felt the vision fade from her eyes as she stood up quickly. She paused momentarily in the grass, waiting for her vision to come back.

Dad was dead!

All the circumstances that lead to her lying the grass flooded back. She sprinted into the house and grabbed a backpack. Nothing held her to Mexico anymore, and she wasn't about to stay in the house that was the setting for her sister's patricidal actions.

She grabbed her identifying documents and a few other items from her room. She sighed as she shut her closet. She had no way to take all her clothes, and she could always create then again, but it was still sad to leave all the outfits behind. She reopened the door and grabbed a yellow sundress, stuffing it into her backpack before closing the door once again.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled out her phone. She searched the travel website for deals, sorting by a combination of lowest price, and the flight that left the soonest. "Chicago?" she questioned out loud as she read the city across the screen.

She didn't know much about Chicago, but she knew it would be colder than the country she had called home for the past few years. "Chicago." She stated it more clearly this time as she was slowly accepting her destination.

She stood up, backpack in hand, and said the city out loud one more time. This time with a hint of a smile. She grabbed the keys off the counter and went to the garage to get the car. She moved the car out of the garage and into the driveway, and got out of the car.

She faced the house for what would be the last time. She held her tears for the kind man who took her in as she pointed her fingertips at the house and unleashed a torrent of flames. She watched the fire burn only long enough to make sure the fire caught. Once she was sure, she got back into the car.

She didn't turn back. The house on fire was not her home. Mexico had been fun, but now, it was time for Chicago.