Realistic or Modern Project X12

[Ari]

12:30 PM - Thursday, May 10, 2018
25 W 118th St, New York, NY 10026

Was life better on the outside than it was on the inside of X12? Definitely. There was no debate about that, and Tori didn't think that any of her friends would disagree with her on the subject. The fire that had allowed them to escape had killed many of their captors, but it had also killed many of their friends. The entire event was a double edged sword for most of them, because while they had gained their freedom through it, they lost many loved ones. Life inside of X12 was far from ideal. It was essentially a prison, with inmates separated into different blocks based on their age. Everyone under the age of seventeen lived in a block, the eighteen to twenty-eight year olds were in another block, and so on, grouping inmates based on their age. Some inmates whose powers were so extreme and developed (or who were just unruly), were taken away from their blocks. To where they were sent, no one knows exactly. Tori often heard rumors that they were tossed into ovens and burned to death, or that they were used for cruel testing measures before being killed off. Whether it was true or not, she did not know, but she didn't think she wanted to know if it was true, anyway. All she knew was that X12 had robbed her of every ounce of normalcy in her life. She did her best to preserve that normalcy for the others there, and had taken on a maternal role towards many while imprisoned. It came naturally to her, but putting on the brave face and reassuring the others that things would one day be better was a facade, because she never imagined that they would get out. She got out, but unfortunately, many of the others didn't.

Even if they had escaped X12, though, they weren't free. No one knew if the government knew how many of them survived, if any, but they all had sensed more than once, over the past year, that they were being watched. It was why they had taken on such a nomadic lifestyle, moving from state to state, and city to city, on a nearly weekly basis, in order to avoid anyone recognizing them. When Sal had insisted that there next move be to New York City, Tori didn't object. Not only did she trust Sal, but she agreed that it was easier to blend in in a big city. She didn't know, however, that he had plans on making this their long term home.

They had only been in New York for two days by the time that Sal had pulled through (as he always did) and found a place for them to stay. By now, Tori was used to sleeping under overpasses, in shady motels, or bus stations. Many of their powers made theft and trickery easy, but given how sensitive they had to be to allowing their identities to be revealed, they weren't able to live like lavish millionaires, and adjusting to the real world, where three meals and a bed weren't provided, was a real adjustment in itself. Tori maintained her optimistic nature, even when Sal revealed the abandoned building he had somehow gotten permission for them to stay in. Tori knew better than to ask questions at this point. If Sal insisted they would be safe there, then she would roll with it.

"Well this is certainly... a unique place," Tori said, running her finger against the numbers "666" written in graffiti on the wall beside her. The place definitely was unique. The walls were crumbling, there was a puddle on the floor and glancing up, the sun shining through a few gaps in the roof confirmed that there was a few holes there. Graffiti covered nearly every inch of the building's interior, and she was nearly positive that among debris and trash a few feet away, there were a few pigeon or carcasses. "I'm sure we can get this place cleaned up and... livable. I mean, I think we've dealt with worse," she continued, trying to sound positive. At the very least, this was a roof over their head.... and Tori was sure that she could get some grass growing in at least a small area of the place, to give them (or at least herself, since she knew that others weren't as fond of a constant natural touch like she was) an organic rug for their sleeping areas.

Moving into a new place was always an event in itself. None of them typically had many belongings, since it was inconvenient to lug so much around in their frequent travels. Much of whatever they stole or bought in one city was typically left there, simply due to the logistics of transportation. Right now, Tori had just a backpack filled with some clothes, hygiene items and a few granola bars. After they cleaned up the place, or maybe before, depending on what the others were planning on doing for the day, she decided that she needed to get at least a pillow and a blanket. A sleeping bag would be nice... maybe even an air mattress. "You said the guy told you there's still running water in here?" she said, glancing back at Sal.​

 

[cure]

Her actions might not show it, but she was grateful every single day to not be in that prison any longer. Even a year later, when she woke up outside of a cell, when she was able to just freely move about (at least sort of), it was like a moving dream. The reality was still settling in for her, but of course it easily settled in when she had to pack up things and move shortly after settling. It reminded her that running to the store or sleeping in or wearing clothes she actually chose, hearing new music, all of that was still a privilege. And privileges could be taken away, and with her situation, even more than that. While she appreciated her new found quasi-freedom, she was still Raine, and Raine didn't like having to do things she didn't want to do. Certainly, some of that could stem from being an inmate for the majority of her life and her wanting to feel some resemblance of independence, but a lot of it was due to her personality. She didn't like too much stability because then she inevitably felt trapped, but once she liked a place, she didn't want to have to move at the drop of a hat. Even if she knew it was necessary, even if she wasn't going to argue and refuse to leave too, it didn't mean she had to like it. The motel they were staying in had left her itchy, something she made sure the group knew the entire time, but when Sal brought them to this place? This place? She would have looked around for cameras if she knew that was a joke that existed. Instead, she just gazed across the vast concrete wilderness, the best she could describe because it seriously looked like something to hold animals or dead bodies in.

She was already opposed to moving, but to a place like this, that automatically gave her asylum vibes, the motel was now more preferable. It actually felt like a place. This right here? This felt like a prison all over again. It might have been a stretch, but the decrepit nature of it all, the clear abandon, the walls, the debris everywhere. It was tickling the wrong memories. She wasn't going to announce that this place was triggering her just a tad bit; that was never her style. What she would do is roll her eyes as she stepped further inside, her hands gripped the straps of her backpack tighter, as though that would make this all easier to digest. She scoffed and hung her head in exasperation. "Really, Sal? This is the best you could do?" She ignored Tori's (albeit much needed) enthusiasm. She wasn't trying to look on the bright side of things because there was no getting around that this place wasn't great. She wasn't sure what possessed Sal to choose this place, but she did trust him enough to believe that it was safe for them to stay. She just didn't feel that way right now. If they stayed that long, in a few weeks time, it would be her new home, like the places always were. And sure enough, she would likely be torn over leaving it as well. "If that thing couldn't make it," Raine began in response to Tori's comment about making the place livable. She nodded towards a pigeon carcus. "We've got a far shot in Hell. I doubt that thing was being tracked down by psychos," she said, nudging a broken beer bottle with her foot. "Drinking the water is probably what killed the damn thing. But whatever," she said in a sing-songy voice and took a couple more steps in and twirled around, a sly smirk on her face, as if she was plotting something. "If you like it, I love it. Well...sorta. I don't think I could even make this look good," she said, alluding to her own powers, "But this'll do."

 

[Ariel]

Yukio

Location
Lesser Hell

Interaction
The Fam

Feeling
Weary

Tags
BurningBridges

It wasn't that Yukio was unhappy to be out of that place. He'd been plotting his escape since they overpowered him and brought him to that horrid dungeon, even if he had to do it with a spork and some cramped makeshift tunnels. And it wasn't that he was ungrateful for everything the group had done for him. He just... sort of hated the way things were now too. As soon as they left, Yukio had planned to go back home to his lavish life of name brand T-shirts and egyptian sheets but they wouldn't let him and he still didn't quite get it. What was the big deal? If he didn't use his powers, they wouldn't come back right? And after that fire, they had a lot more to worry about than a group of teenagers and young adults who kind of just walked out when everything started to fall to pieces.

Thinking back on it now, Yukio was sure he had he had never seen something as horrible as someone burning alive. One of the staff members ablaze in heat had screamed, shrieked and reached out to those around him as his skin melted off his body. And Yukio... He hadn't really been able to do anything. What was he supposed to do? Burn with the guy? No, Yukio wasn't ready to die just yet and he certainly didn't want to die in such an ugly and painful way. This place was able to keep making new marks on his life. Most horrible thing he had ever seen. Most painful feeling he'd ever felt. Most afraid he had ever been. Most uncaring and douche-baggy guy he'd ever met. It might have been exciting if it wasn't so.... terrible.

The last few days haven't really been that great. They've eaten garbage, slept in garbage, and now they smelled like garbage. If it didn't end soon, Yukio was afraid he was going to turn into a garbage bag. Not really desirable. Now Sal wanted the group to stay in a building that's total make up consisted of 70% dirt and 30% garbage. When he looked up he could see the sun shining through the roof. And through the walls. His lip curled in distaste and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hey, Dad," Yukio said, regarding Sal. "I don't know if this really cuts it as shelter. I'm sure the modern art and the swimming pool sold you but there's got to be better houses on the market for the family."

 

[Uxie]

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⠀♡coded by uxie♡

[div class=name]ayaka koizumi[/div] [div class=info][div class=infoscroll]location: hideout?????
mood: tired
mentions: Ari Ariel cure

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[div class=textbox][div class=textscroll]sal had really outdone himself this time. of course, if you compare it to the prison, having freedom was certainly better, but was this really the best he could find. "your optimism is adorable, tori." she said dryly as she made her way to the lonesome chair stood in the middle of the building. she considered putting her backpack down on it, but the large brownish stains didn't look exactly hygienic. oh, ayaka had lots of criticism of this place, but it seemed raine and yukio had already beat her to it. she was sure sal got the point. at yukio's words, she responded, "as much as i'd love that, the chances aren't in the least bit high. we should just settle." that said, shooting a glance up at the ceiling already had her eyebrows knit in concern. the structure looked like it was ready to collapse at any moment. if that happened, it'd take ages for her to get everyone back to their optimal health, and that was if none of them suffered any major injuries. was it safe?

she normally tended to trust sal's judgement, but the move to new york had been sudden. sure, more people meant a bigger crowd to blend in with, but it also meant more people that might notice them– notice that they were different. more people to catch them using their powers. ayaka had never thought she'd ever live like a fugitive, but life was horrifically unpredictable. sometimes she wished she'd never had powers at all. she'd probably still be with her family, watching anzu grow up. at the thought of her little sister, she subconsciously cast a glance at yukio, the curled lip and crossed arms making her heart ache even more.

turning away and surveying the place again, she decided she'd make it work. what other option was there? "running water would be nice."

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[Kloudy]

Calm Iceman
("Lesser Hell")

​

Calm was feeling rather... calm. His neutral and disinterested expression had rarely shifted since his escape, his usual lack of motivation or any real desire likely having already frustrated some in the group. Calm glanced about their latest location with an a more-unimpressed-than-usual look on his face, eyebrow cocked and arms folded, "What a dump. I think the alley we passed in the street earlier had less suspicious liquids and dead things."

Not that Calm was really arguing or complaining about their latest accommodation, his living standards really didn't require much to keep him going. Of course, this was due to his powers in cryomancy and was probably part of the reason for his extremely laid back attitude. Although it was hard to tell, there was actually a transparent layer of ice that coats every inch of Calm's skin. It was not something Calm could control, as with the majority of the applications his power afforded him, but at least this one was useful. It protected his body from light-medium attacks, negating normal hand attacks and even somewhat mitigating small firearms so that their bullets only left tiny bruises. The most useful ability was the fact that it meant Calm would never get dirty and it even cleaned his body naturally, something a lazy person such as himself greatly valued. And it meant he never really had to change clothes, not that he could afford to in the first place. His Ice Armour had scarier applications that were suppressed thanks to his very especially tailored suit.

"We don't need running water. I am your water, remember? Although I'm not running for any of you..." Calm had finally decided to engage in what the group were talking about and emphasised his statement by generating a ball of compact snow in his palm before forcibly melting it instantly. The water poured over his hand and trickled to the floor, forming its own miniature pool by his feet. Calm's water was perfectly drinkable and plentiful enough to sustain the group, except it was a real drag for Calm. It'd be easier to just make a water holder or something, but he couldn't be bothered to build one either. Oh, the woes of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, Calm thought, completely sidetracking from the fact that they were ex-homeless fugitives.

Glancing about, Calm walked towards the nearest wall, which happened to be a spot right by the door they had entered from and generated a small waist-height block of ice. He sat on the block with a 'hmph', raising his hands behind his head, and leaned back against the wall. As he did so, the wall began to grow a layer of ice where the skin from his hands came into contact with the graffitied brick. Realising this, Calm sighed in annoyance, placed his hands in his lap and leaned back again with his eyes closed. Helpful or not, his powers were a real drag most of the time. Especially with this whole 'fugitive' situation he now had to deal with. He had never really spoken with the others in the group before the breakout and had only followed them due to a lack of direction or planning on his own part and not wanting to be caught alone against the entirety of the government. He was lazy, but not stupid: there was strength in numbers.
Ari Ariel cure Uxie

 

[BurningBridges]

Sal didn't get a minute's time to introduce them to the place, or explain what it was all about, before they all started throwing their opinions out there. He was already tired from coming to the city and having to figure out the logistics of it. Having only enough money for one motel room for all of them, Sal hadn't slept in two days time. He was running on no sleep and the power of a couple stolen food items, so needless to say, he wasn't in the best mindset. This wasn't unusual for him though. It was simply in his character to give up his own comfort for the comfort of others. There was no way that he would have been able to sleep knowing that one of the others could get a couple hours worth of rest over him. Even if he felt like he was strong enough to sacrifice his basic needs for the others, though, he was only human. And the stress of all of this was catching up to him. "You guys think you've got something better, then get the fuck out of here," he snapped. It was worth noting that Sal was a friendly and nice guy 95% of the time. You really had to catch him on a bad day to see his short tempered side, but today the others were getting a glimpse at it. Like all of them, he was tired of running, but that was their life now. He was just as physically and mentally exhausted as they were, but he was also stressed out from having to carry the responsibility of looking out for everyone on his shoulders.

Regardless of what any of them wanted to think, they would not survive on their own. None of them would. The government was looking for them, plain and simple. A mere phone call to an old friend or family member was going to trigger a response from the government. Sal was 100% positive that everyone they used to know was under secret surveillance, so returning to their old lives (if they had one) wasn't an option. It was nothing short of a suicide mission, actually. Additionally, none of them had powers that were developed enough to allow them to truly get by on their own. With no jobs, no family or friends outside of each other, no money, and the constant pressure of knowing you could be re-kidnapped with one wrong move, it was blatantly obvious that they were safer together... and quite frankly, he was sick of the others complaining all of the time about a situation that he didn't want to be in any more than they wanted to be it. Sure, he had been appointed as the unofficial leader of the crew, and he didn't mind that, but he wasn't going to sit there and act like he was being paid to be their concierge. "You wanna go sleep under a bridge, rather than have a huge place to ourselves? It's a mess because it's been abandoned for years. What the fuck else would you expect from it?" He was tempted to tell them that they all sounded like idiots. He knew that they all had their flaws, and typically some of them whose personalities involved sassiness, promoted their traits in ways that were typically amusing or endearing. He wasn't in the mood for it right now, though. Not when he had to rob a couple of people last night to get the money he needed to secure this place from a sketchy dude who's father apparently owned the building, but had no plans on selling or renovating it at the moment. He felt like he was constantly sacrificing himself for a group of people who were rarely thankful, and he was getting sick of it.

"And you," he said, glancing towards Calm then. "What the hell are you talking about? You think you're strong enough to supply everyone with water to shower with? Water for plumbing? Get the hell out of here. Take your Dasani water bottle sized abilities and go do something fucking useful with it. Find them bathroom upstairs and power wash it clean."

The way that he was speaking was different than he normally would have, maybe even to such a stark extent that it would come off as startling or concerning. He was never one to act so abrasively, but he also couldn't be blamed at the moment, given that the others were acting like ungrateful four year olds. Though he had only been there for a few minutes, and hadn't been able to give them all the same tour that the building owner's son had given him a few hours before, when he was alone, he headed back towards the door anyway. He knew that his temper was getting the best of him, and he needed some air to clear his head. "I'm going out to get stuff done," he stated, biting back bitterness and speaking in a plain, yet confident manner.

 

[Ariel]

Effie

Location
Modern Art Museum

Interaction
Friends?

Feeling
N/A

Tags
Kloudy

The past few days haven't been great. But Effie wouldn't complain. The only memory she had that wasn't of Project X was the one she suppressed the most. For years she would only hear about what the outside was like, about different things she had longed to try or do or see and that always had to be enough. Because what else was there in her mundane world? Now, she was seeing and experiencing all sorts of new things. To hell with what everyone else thought, to what they had to go through or how hungry they might be. Effie was living it up. Because they may all be dead tomorrow.

She still wasn't sure what to think of the fire. These people are smart. She'd known them all her life. It still bothered her that they had managed to escape so easily and frankly, with this many people. An organization that didn't know how to keep their subjects wouldn't have this many in the first place. Effie tried to push the thought away but it kept bugging her. Her thoughts were thankfully ripped away from the topic again when Sal stormed out and she snickered in response.

"Guess we made him mad?" She murmured sarcastically with a raised eyebrow as she watched the guy retreat out of their new home sweet home. No matter how grim their situation, she was grateful for the leadership Sal had shown and what he had done for them. He could have simply done nothing like a lot of the group. But he did try. And that was enough for Effie.

Her gaze moved to the frosted hair boy sitting on the miniature glacier in the corner. "Hey, I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but that's kind of a waste isn't it? Also, that's gonna make the ground real muddy when it melts. Which means you get to sleep in the puddle." Even if she spoke teasingly, her expression was unyielding and her eyes were not friendly. They were hardly ever friendly. It took a lot to get Effie to feel anymore and currently she was still working on the high she got after their escape. Other than that, emotions were kind of vacant within her. Whether or not that bothered her, one would never know. They would need to be able to tell how she's feeling to gauge that one.

 

[A_Writer]

Her giggles were probably inappropriate given the current tension that filled the large warehouse-like space that Sal had brought them to, but it was hard for Audrey to suppress them right then and there. Sal's comments (especially the one putting Calm into his place) were funny, plain and simple. The sentiment behind them - the blatant amount of stress, anger, and emotion - wasn't funny, and was actually a bit disheartening considering how good Sal typically was at holding them together. Still though, Audrey had to bite back laughing aloud at his reaction to the comments from Raine, Ayaka, Calm and Yukio. This place wasn't nice, but compared to some of the places they had been in over the past year, it was like a palace. Or... at the very least it could be turned into a palace with a little bit of work. Given that they all had powers that could help put the place back into livable condition in only a couple hours time, she didn't know why so many of them were complaining. Then again, she did know that it probably had to do with how stressed and tired everyone was. Admittedly, Audrey had been selfish at the motel over the past few days. Whenever there was a chance, she was the first to sleep. She didn't offer to get out of bed until told, and she hadn't been putting any thought or effort into getting food or a shelter. She let the others, particularly Sal, worry about that. Maybe her youth had something to do with it, or the fact that she was still so used to the structure and regime that X12 had provided her with, but Audrey definitely wasn't independent. There was no way that she would survive more than a week on her own. Even if the others were less transparent about it, she doubted that they would do well either, so she understood where Sal was coming from.

Though Calm was quick to use his powers (whether he wanted to or not, it sometimes seemed), Audrey felt more wary. Not because she struggled to control them sometimes (which she did), but just because she knew that for many of them, fire brought back bad memories. She also secretly knew that she was responsible for that horrible fire, but her own PTSD had those memories suppressed to an extent where she would never admit to it aloud, and was actually somewhat convinced, herself, that she hadn't been the start of it. There were nights that she spent hours just staring at the cieling (if they were lucky enough to be sleeping indoors), convincing herself that maybe the facility had some horrible electrical problem. Maybe someone else with a similar power as her had started it. She didn't want anyone's blood on her hands - not those of the evil people who held her hostage, or those of her friends. Even if she hated the workers there, Audrey wasn't a murderer. Not an intentional one, at least.​

"We didn't make him mad," Audrey corrected Effie, watching Sal disappear back outside. "The crybabies did." It was pure luck that Audrey was in a good mood today (though the fact that she had slept more than the others was probably a help). Audrey had her days when she could complain and be more selfish and immature than the others combined. She was in a more cheerful mood today, though. It was one where she actually felt pretty upbeat and amused, and the misfortunes and down moods of the others made her feel all the more better. She sat down on the floor next to one of the puddles, crossing her legs like a pretzel. Carefully, she held her hands above the puddle, and focused her energy to create a small flame on each of her palms. Holding it over the water, she began to heat it to a boil, hoping to get it all to evaporate. It would leave dirt behind, as the water wasn't actually clean, but dry dirt was easier to work with than a dirty puddle. "If someone goes out," she said, glancing back up at the others, "I want Doritos. The red bag, not those nasty blue ones."
​

 

[FrostFire]

Elanor 'Ella' Fraser

Spoiler: Image

Since Sal had declared their move to the city, Ella had been very quiet. She had hardly said a word to anyone in the group unless they had spoken to her directly and she was required to answer, and she had been distant, sneaking off by herself more than usual to seek out quiet places where she could practice her power, and just mourn the loss of things she loved, like forests and wild animals. She was going to become very acquainted to the pigeons, who happened to grate on her nerves a tad.
Ella always did her best not to dwell on the past, it just made her sad. Her arrest, the facility, and even the fire - all these events would just bring her down if she were to think about them. She had lost many of her then friends and allies in the fire; but in the last year she had grown comfortable in the group, and despite her attempts to remain somewhat detached she was very fond of a few of them.
One such person, she was currently avoiding, Sal. She completely and utterly disagreed with their move to the city, the only reason she herself had been captured so late was solely due to how rural her family home was. Of course, none of this had been voiced by her, nor would she ever speak her mind on the matter. Others had voiced their own opinions but Ella was not one who spoke up for herself, instead demonstrating her opposition through silence and absence.
In the days leading up to their move to the city, Ella had seriously considered leaving the group and going off by herself. Of course she knew they were safer together, and that she would likely be killed, or worse, if she left them.... But the prospects of what lay in front of her were so abhorrent to the redheaded female that she had very nearly done it and left them.... She hadn't, but only because her connections to these people were strong enough to make her suffer through living in such a huge, built up area.

Now they had been there for two days, New York was almost as bad as Ella had feared it would be. There were people everywhere, and the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan streets were exhausting for the young woman, her claustrophobia and paranoia rife among her thoughts and feelings; meaning that she was even more subdued that she had been before the move - she may have been quiet but this was unusual behaviour from her.
Even the parks, which she had imagined would be her safe haven, were little comfort. There was always at least someone somewhere, a runner, a businessman, a thief, she was never truly away from society. In fact, it surrounded her on all sides, there was no escape.
But, she suffered silently. To those that knew her, it was obvious that she was hurting quite badly, but despite that she did her best to hide it, and the fact that she hadn't had much sleep over the past two days.

As they approached their new accommodation, Ella lagged near the back of the group, deflated from another night with barely any sleep. She could certainly appreciate the large space, after the past couple of days sharing cramped rooms she was glad for it, however once the others pointed out the dead animals she was immediately upset again, but did her best not to she her distress on her face as she tried her best not to look at the numerous dead animals littering the ground.
It all became too much for her once Sal became animated, and she made her escape whilst her was snapping at the others.
"Please excuse me, I'll be outside.", Ella spoke so softly, her already quiet voice was barely audible as she backed away from the group, turning and heading back out of the door she had entered not moments ago, hearing only the tail end of responses as she silently slunk away.
Ella didn't doubt that someone would follow her out (if they had even heard her, or indeed, noticed she was missing), but for now she was... Well, not alone, the bored looking man walking his dog some distance away meant that she wasn't at ease. She eyed him wearily, the almost constant fear niggling at the pit of her stomach intensified slightly as she walked along the side of the building a ways before sitting on a concrete brick, clasping her hands together and drawing her knees to her chest.
She could hear a trio of pigeons above her, sitting on the edge of the roof bickering amongst themselves, apparently completely oblivious to the death inside. There was a very easy solution to their argument, one that Ella would normally be more than willing to provide, but in that moment she didn't have the energy for conflict resolution.
So Ella did her best to drone out the jabbering of the pigeons above her as she sat dejectedly on the concrete block, trying her best to cheer herself up and quell the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that hadn't truly gone away ever since they had come to the city, she was desperate to get rid of this permanent anxiety but had no idea how, so she just sat with her head on her knees, breathing evenly as her skittish eyes scanned the mostly empty derelict space in front of her.

@ open for interaction BurningBridges

 

[Kloudy]

Calm Iceman
("Lesser Hell")

Calm didn't open his eyes as Sal berated him and instead waited for the tantrum to subside as the man exited what barely passed for a building. No matter which way you looked at it, although it was better than nothing and Sal had still worked hard for it, this place was cold, open to the outside and pretty gross to live in. A lot of work was needed and Calm didn't like work. As Sal stormed off, Calm shook his head and smiled ruefully, "SALutations, angry Sal. Haven't seen you in a while." The pun wasn't great, but he didn't particularly care. It usually got only slightly interesting when Sal got heated and Calm was only sometimes the cause of it. He didn't really know how or care enough to factor in how other people might feel because figuring out emotions is hard and a drag. Much easier to just tell it how it is, and that was something Calm lived by.

It was at that point that one of the females in the group decided they had some annoying bone to pick with him, attempting to point out flaws in his actions for some reason. Calm wasn't interested enough to argue with her, but he was also bored and had literally nothing better to do. With a sigh, something he'd almost trademarked at this point, he looked up at the Effie with a slow, deliberate gaze as if she were stupid, "I've never understood why idiots like you try to tell me how to use my powers when you don't understand them. You're just as bad as government." Was Calm trying to pick a fight? Not really, but his blunt nature could have fooled all of them. As he spoke, his block of ice began to melt until he was sitting against the ground, the ice across the wall also having melted. The water Calm was now sitting on had begun to shrink and, if one were to inspect closely, merge with the Ice Armour on his body as if it were being sucked in.

Calm shrugged dismissively and gestured to the water that was almost gone now, "There, all clean. Although don't lump me in the same boat as you. I can't feel the cold, so sleeping in a puddle doesn't make a difference to me. In fact... I can't feel anything. At least, not in the same way as you." It was true, due to his Ice Armour, Calm had completely lost his sense of touch. He could still 'sense' things that came into contact with his ice, but otherwise... Some found this thought to be rather sad, Calm wasn't entirely sure what to think. He had lived his entire life like this, never knowing anything different. Never feeling cold, never knowing how different things felt, never needing to drink or worry about if he was going to scrape his knees when he ran and fell. He was wired different, he lived his life different, and that sometimes grated against the others whether he intended it to or not.

The situation had gotten a bit awkward now, Calm hated talking about himself. Changing the subject would be very favourable for him and he did just that with an accompanied flicking of hair from his forehead, "Anyway, I don't just create ice y'know. I can also condense moisture in the air, which is much less draining. I could probably make a days worth of drinking water, probably, but don't expect me to do any heavy lifting after that. Probably." Despite his rude words, earlier he still offered help when things looked dire, looking to help in spite of his cool, uncaring demeanor. Why was he so conflicted in his attitude? God knows, but one could probably attribute it to his strange upbringing with the government. Calm only needed food to survive, his body naturally supplied him with all the liquids he needed. The others were not so fortunate and so having someone like him around was beneficial, if they could actually motivate him to do anything. He was probably one of the laziest in the group, doing about as much work as Audrey who, speaking of which, was apparently joining in on the 'counter-the-complainers' crew. Sleeping in and doing very little were things he agreed with, although not when the group was in some serious jeopardy. Despite his looks, Calm too was capable of 'getting serious'.

Another characteristic about Calm that some would fail to notice was his perception. Although he appeared as if he didn't really care about anything, Calm saw more than he was willing to admit. Little things like the unfriendliness in Effie's eyes or Ella's clear discomfort as she quietly excused herself. She had been like that for a while now since they'd arrived in the city and Calm had nearly gone himself to see if she was okay, which would have been a monumental effort on his part. He glanced in her direction and then looked back at the other, "Does someone wanna... y'know... talk to her?" Because god forbid if Calm was about to walk over with his clear lack of social skills and diplomacy.

Ariel FrostFire A_Writer BurningBridges

 

[cure]

While Raine had definitely been the one to start things, and she had little regret since she wound up amused at Sal's angered quip, she hadn't intended on initiating a complaining fest. That was what made their unofficial leader's uncharacteristic outburst less entertaining. Even she had to roll her eyes at the others. She was intentionally being dramatic, but it was no fun when everyone else robotically followed suit and it left even her thinking that the place wasn't that bad. Because, especially compared to other places they had stayed in or at or under, this was certainly preferable. Sal was obviously calling her out too since she had been one of the handful to complain about the living arrangements, but she still sided with him in calling out Calm who, at this point, was really a euphemism for a try-hard-disguised apathetic loser. After a year, she had become accustomed to tuning out his voice, which wasn't especially hard since he didn't put in nearly half enough effort to sound even remotely interesting. By this point, it was like tuning out white noise. While the others went on, she looked around, now bored of the scene she was partially responsible for initiating. Unlike Calm, she would complain, but not without doing something about it afterwards. Part of Raine's thing was that she hated feeling useless and incapable and she hated that especially when it involved other people. She certainly didn't act like it all the time, but the majority of the reason she did anything was for the benefit of the group. That didn't negate her selfish tendencies, of course. "For someone who likes to act like he doesn't care, you sure talk a lot, Calm. Crazy hot much hot air comes out of such a cold, little thing," she said, a quick smirk pointing in his direction. While she didn't necessarily enjoy his presence, she wasn't challenging him, as her gaze showed. She spoke smoothly, if not a little taunting. It wouldn't matter regardless since she knew the guy, despite his front of being so without any cares, somehow felt compulsively moved to respond to every single comment he heard. She wondered if he would ever use his seemingly limitless abilities to create a sheet of ice over his mouth. But, of course, it'd probably melt right away with his incessant remarks. "While talking Sal off a ledge sounds more fun, we should probably grab some things."

Raine swiped her foot over a patch of dirt near where she was standing, trying to create some type of makeshift cleanliness before she set her backpack down. She shifted through the few things she had and made another mental note to the list of things she needed to grab. She would probably need to make multiple trips. While she could disguise things to look otherwise when she was shopping, it wasn't like she could hold it for that long. So making a pillow look like gum didn't mean she could stick a pillow in her back pocket. The longer she held something, especially when that something didn't remotely resemble what it was being disguised as, the more difficult it became to maintain. Snacks and drinks weren't an issue, but the larger items would be. She rolled her neck out. Sure, they had survived on far less, but this place did need some work and she wasn't quite sure what to prioritize. Now she was sort of wishing Sal was around to at least bark orders at her for what to do, that way she could offer some smartass remark before ultimately doing it, and then some just because she was the type who felt like she always had to prove something.

"You'll take what I bring you," Raine said sweetly as she stood up and turned to face Audrey. Even if Audrey didn't go, Raine would sure enough bring the girl back the red Doritos, but not without making a scene of it. Even if it seemed hypocritical, at the end of the day, Raine did want to be helpful, that strong desire stemming from her own childhood trauma from feeling like she utterly failed her mother. So even if she complained about something, she would always try to see something through, and she usually concealed that inner desire with a smart retort on how that person just got lucky that she had a change of heart. This didn't mean she was a pushover though, because while she could forgive, she was not the type to ever forget, which is why it was wise to not take Raine all too seriously depending on what the situation was; it could just easily go from being in your favor to not. "Unless you want to come along and play magic thief with me. It's probably going to take a few trips, so the more people that want to come, the better, at least for me." She wanted to also add that only those who could be useful on run out even bother to volunteer, but she refrained. With something like this, Raine's was probably the best involved, but that didn't mean having extra hands would be useless. The less she had to carry, the less she had to focus on besides what was in front of her. "We'll need something to sleep on, food, water, anti-depressants for Sal and the other one. If there are other special requests, let me know now because I'm about to leave." She returned to her backpack again, digging around in the front pocket. "Does anyone have any extra cash? It'll make it easier for me," she said, though that was likely something known by the group by now. While she could make most things look like something else, it was infinitely easier if they were comparable. Making a piece of paper look like a dollar bill was nothing, but making a couple dollar bills look like a couple of hundreds was a lot easier because it only came down to switch a small detail on the object. The more money she had in her hand, the better, and the more things she could get at once. Otherwise, she'd have to make do with the small pocket change she had. The others would obviously get their money back and then some, since the change she would receive from the false amount would be greater than the amount she actually had. But if the others didn't have anything, it wasn't the end of the world. "And therefore, easier for all of us."​

Kloudy A_Writer Ariel

 

[Metaphorically]

Tommy​

Tommy didn't talk about the Facility much, beyond the occasional comment that they'd spent too long in one place or a quiet admission of the horrors they'd faced there. Occasionally he'd mention the original Tommy, and it hurt to do so as it was just a reminder that he was alive and the man he'd considered his brother was not. They'd grown up together and for many years Tommy was the only friend he'd had in that place, eventually he'd met Sal and then Tori but it hadn't been the same. He and Tommy had been brothers and now it was just him, he'd lost his best friend in the fire - his salvation and his brothers damnation. Sometimes he wished the fire had never happened but only sometimes, in the middle of the night when there wasn't anything to distract Tommy from the raw grief and guilt he felt.

He was glad to be out, and he was beyond grateful to Sal for everything he had done for them. Sal could have left them all to rot, to wander aimlessly around the country or return to their families and inevitably be captured, instead he banded them together and formed a makeshift family. He kept them all alive and he kept them safe, Tommy had been apprehensive when Sal had announced the move to New York but Tommy trusted him.

Tommy stuck towards the exit, it was a habit of his - staying close to the escape routes and mapping them out. It was paranoid, he knew but sometimes he could still feel the tasers and hear the sirens of the Facility. Paranoia kept him alive and it kept him safe. As he glanced around at what would be their home for the next few weeks, hopefully less than that, he felt relieved. The motel had been making him paranoid, a fact he'd been vocal about, as there was people there and security cameras. It seemed like the perfect place for the Facility to find them. And so an abandoned building, as far as he was concerned, was a step in the right direction. Even if it meant they wouldn't be living in the lap of luxury.

He'd rather be living in a dump than living in a cage.

His head jerked up at Tori's comments as he watched her look around the place, "The former drug den was definitely worse." He commented with a small nod, litter, used needles and what looked like feces everywhere - that had been a miserable week for all of them. Whilst this place wasn't perfect, courtesy of the holes in the roof and graffiti on the walls, it wasn't as bad as that place and Tommy was sure that they could make it work. He chuckled at Tori's attempt at optimism, knowing that she was already bracing herself for the backlash and trying to show her thanks to Sal's attempt at finding them a place. His own comment had been a weak attempt at adding to her positiveity.

And then the complaining started and he barely suppressed a groan, he understood where they were coming from as it was far from perfect and it was far from a normal life but a normal life was something they couldn't have. Not unless the Facility was destroyed but that was about as likely as him growing a second head. He'd give anything to see the Facility burn and turn to dust, albeit in a less literal sense but it wasn't going to happen.

He wasn't surprised when Sal snapped, he would have too, he shot Tori a weak smile in a silent thanks for her attempt at enthusiasm before glaring at the rest of them. "Maybe you could go find yourselves somewhere better if this place is apparently such a shit-hole..." And then he turned to Calm, the main source of his annoyance. "You want to compare Sal to the Government? Sal...the guy who could have left you to the wolves...to starve...let you go back to the Government where you'd be poked and prodded with needles...tortured and where your friends had died....count yourself lucky that you escaped instead of whining about how unfair and how shitty this all is....you're free to go and survive on your own and when the Facility find you you can try complaining to them about how unfair it all is...see how long you last then." And if he burned to death then Tommy wouldn't exactly be grief stricken about his passing. Normally he'd keep quiet, complain about whoever had annoyed him later to Tori or Ella but he was running on three days without sleep and a hell of a lot of nervous energy. So his patience was starting to run out. That was probably the most he'd spoken in one go in a number of weeks and he hadn't even tried to keep the anger and bitterness out of his tone. He pulled off his backpack and grabbed a dollar bill, it was all he had after he'd helped pay for supplies last time, and tossed it to Raine. "Don't get caught." Were his last words before he went outside in search of Ella.

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Miasma
Azaria Kairus

Tick.... Tick.... Tick.... Tick....

Pulling the long chain of the grandfather clock downwards he began to wind it. Having never done this before he began to reflect back to how he knew what he was doing. Slowly stopping he took a deep breath, it had been some time now. The reminders of his confinement were all around him. It made controlling his 'Gift' all that more difficult. Beginning to pull the chain once more he slowly finished winding it up. Taking a step back he looked at the hands before beginning to move them forward. Slowly but surely he neared twelve. Hearing the clock chime he pulled his hand away. However, the clock had more to it than he knew.

Still close to the clock, the second chime brought out the coo coo bird which ended up scaring the shit out of Azaria. Kicking the clock as a reaction he caused it to fall to its side and smash its top. Watching the fruits of his labor fall apart in front of him didn't seem to bother him at all. Staring at the now heap of a clock Azaria rubbed the back of his head. "Well, that's my life." he laughed before hearing a commotion nearby. Glancing up at the gathered group Azaria listened in. Hearing Sal snap made him smirk but he quickly wiped it off his mouth. Pushing the ruins of the clock towards a nearby wall he began to approach the group.

"So, what caused his gasket to burst?" Azaria asked before looking around. With his attention no longer focused on the clock, his perception took in the very specific and expansive detail of the room, it was filthy. "Oh sweet merciful christ, why the fuck are we here." Azaria asked his OCD coming to the fore. Rubbing his eyes he groaned "I think I am going to have a conniption." he mumbled under his breath before beginning to pick things up in some forlorn attempt to make the place look good. Filling his hands up after only a minute he stopped. Hearing someone speak about going out Azaria dropped everything immediately.

"Im coming." He spoke out quickly. "If I stay here anymore like this I think I am going to have a seizure. I mean, yay a place to live. But, I have some serious sanitation concerns..... for you all." He specified, himself not falling into that category. In Fact, he could eat a rat raw without risking any ill effect. Out of them all, he was likely the least hungry. Yet, due to his metabolism, he ate like a pig. "Soooo.... about food." Azaria chimed in unable to hold himself back from pushing the conversation about food forward. Motioning with his hands a walking motion he looked towards Raine. Patience wasn't a virtue. Luckily, Azaria wasn't the virtuous type.​

 

[Kloudy]

Calm Iceman
("Lesser Hell")

Calm closed his eyes again and leaned back into the wall again, taking the verbal abuse that was being hurled his way without so much as a reaction. Words weren't really something that affected Calm, nor did he use them with the intent for them to have much effect. Raine appeared to be trying to make valid points, but her vain attempts of trying to be sassy or snarky or whatever her strange humour was didn't do much to drive it home. Tommy had also decided he wanted to hop on his high horse and berate everyone before homing in on Calm personally even though he'd basically been echoing the others. He wasn't sure what he'd meant by Calm comparing Sal to the government though, he'd been talking to Effie at that point so Calm just assumed Tommy hadn't been listening properly.

As the threats and insults subsided, Calm allowed himself a smirk and opened his eyes to observe the aftermath. It was necessary for one person to cause an issue so that the group could focus their frustration on something. Was he a martyr? No. Was it brave or just? Not even slightly, but Calm felt it was necessary for there to be something to unload all that pent up emotion on. Why he had decided that it should be him, he had no idea himself. Probably because it was easy to do. Maybe he wasn't being helpful after all, but he also wasn't one to doubt himself either. Hopefully the others felt a bit better after blowing off all that steam. Calm briefly wondered if he should apologise to Sal, deciding he'd cross that bridge later.

Thinking over all that had been said to him, Calm was slightly intrigued by Tommy's misconceptions the most. Calm would starve on the streets? Get recaptured by the government? The thought almost made the young man snigger as he coolly looked back at Tommy, his eyes betraying little emotion. He seemed all worked up, acting as if he knew Calm, as if he knew what he was capable of. And that didn't just mean powers. Calm briefly remembered back to the day of the fire at the facility. The fire hadn't been able to hurt him, but several people had been running around begging him to put them out. It looked disgusting, but Calm hadn't helped out. The one time he had, he'd completely frozen and shattered a staff member by accident. Using his powers in that state had been useless. Of course, none of them knew that. Everyone had seemed a little affected by that day, so why then did Calm feel nothing despite all the death that had surrounded him?

 

[Ari]

Tori was unlike many of the others for many reasons, but one of the major ones was that she was still enthralled by everything that the outside world had to offer her. She had spent over twenty years away from the feeling of rain falling on her skin, from the sound of car horns and children laughing. Grocery stores, pet stores, hair salons, department stores... they all felt new and surreal. If she had learned nothing else in X12, she had at least learned to appreciate every moment of freedom. Granted, sometimes in the moment, it was hard to actually do just that, but Tori was grounded enough that she always came back to that realization. To her, the gaps in the roof were a disadvantage for the obvious reasons related to rain, or unwanted animal guests inviting themselves in (though she doubted Ella would be bothered by that), but at the same time, it was a free light source during the day, and it would be a nice way to get sunlight on some of the plants she wanted to grow in there.

While she was capable of remaining positive in the most grim of situations, she was also good at recognizing that not everyone could be as positive as her. She often attributed it to the others being younger (even if none of them were really young enough for that to be an excuse for their tendencies), and that that allowed them the leeway in being less emotionally stable. Although she would still cut them slack, she was concerned when Sal stormed off after a mini-tirade. He was one of her closest friends back in X12, and that remained true to the present day, so she knew him pretty fluently. Through that, she knew that getting this angry wasn't something that was common of his character, but she couldn't blame him from acting differently. Sal worked, and worked, and worked, and worked. Unlike some of the others, he didn't just rely on his powers and act like he was a superior being simply because of them. He did things the old fashion way, and used his mind and charms to think, barter, and map out their future. Even if his way of caring about the others wasn't as maternal and nurturing seeming as Tori's was, she was still positive that he cared about the others just as much as she did.

Offering Tommy an appreciative smile at his attempt to be positive too, she then paused to figure out what she needed to do to stop this bickering from getting out of hand. Or getting any more out of hand, since Sal's exit had already confirmed that things were pretty bad. Raine had simmered down, and was taking Azaria out with her. That was two fewer to worry about, even if for Tori, the worrying would never actually subside, especially in a big city like NYC where there was so much.... everything. It had to be a culture shock for most of them, after how they were raised, and she didn't want anyone getting overwhelmed or lost in the midst of it. "Take her with you," she said to rain, nudging Audrey lightly with her foot, as she looked towards Raine and Azaria, who were already heading out. "And don't go anywhere too far. I don't want anyone getting lost. Ayaka, why don't you go too? I'm sure they could use the help." Even if a few of them just waited outside the shops, a block or so away, they could take what Raine "stole" and bring it back while she continued on to a different store. Tori knew that Raine didn't need any help in actually stealing things, but extra arms for transport couldn't hurt. Plus, she didn't think that after being cooped up in one place for so many days, that being together with everyone again would be good so soon. They all needed some air and some space. Since Tommy was frequently on the same wavelength as her, she automatically assumed that he had went out to tend to Ella, who also left abruptly, though in a way that was more characteristic for her, since it had been a quiet exit, unlike Sal's. Her exit was concerning too, and Tori knew that she needed to speak to the girl to confirm that she was okay, but that was another thing added to her long to-do list now.

"Maybe the rest of us can start getting this place cleaned up," she continued, looking towards the others. "It looks like there's another level or two," she said, looking upwards, before pointing to the stairs. "We can explore, but everyone needs to be careful." At that, she glanced towards Effie, who had reason to be pretty fearless. "Why don't you take some of them up there?" she suggested.

Ariel Uxie Kloudy A_Writer BurningBridges cure Mook-LandStrider Metaphorically FrostFire

 

[A_Writer]

It was a good thing that Tori piped up when she did, because Audrey had turned her head automatically to look at her from where she sat on the floor, ready to demand that she ensure that Raine brought back to Doritos that she wanted. It probably seemed childish (and to an extent, it was), but Audrey was used to, and comfortable with, Tori being the one with the final say. Growing up, she had been the only maternal figure she had in X12. Since Audrey had lived such a nice life before X12, she was used to being comforted and cared for and nurtured by her parents, but especially her mother. How she survived in X12 for all of these years still felt like a mystery even to herself, but she was positive that she owed her survival to Tori. Even if she didn't necessarily aid in it physically, she kept her alive emotionally, and Audrey was sure that at least a few of the others in the room could say the same about Tori.

Her legs were tired and she didn't feel like getting up and walking around the city at all right now (despite being one of the few who were excited to be coming to New York), but when Tori told her to, she got up. It came in part due to her relationship with Tori, and in turn, a level of a respect, but she had also thought of something else she wanted after Raine asked if anyone wanted anything else. Picking up Tommy's dollar, she hurried after Raine and Azaria. "So, I think that before we get carried away getting any of that stuff, we should find a Sephora," Audrey stated confidently. Ever since leaving X12, she had become fascinated with makeup. Most of the time, she had to accept feeling lucky if Raine got her some drugstore brand things from whatever local store they went to in the smaller towns they moved through. In a big city like New York, though, she was sure that there was a Sephora. She had only been to the store two times before, and had been fascinated at all of the choices. Makeup had become her new hobby, and in a sense, the only thing keeping her mind off of their predicament. It kept her busy, but it also allowed her the opportunity to feel like a normal teenager in a world that she was raised to be taught would hate her for who she was. "We can even get some face masks to do tonight!" she mused with delight, waving the dollar in front of Raine once she had fully caught up to the other two. Giggling to herself, she looked towards Azaria then to say, "And I bet they have massage oil! You can give Sal a massage while I take care of Raine's pores."

( cure Ari Mook-LandStrider )
​

​

 

[cure]

After procuring the things she needed, she slipped her backpack back on, figuring it would be easier to lug things around in to start. She swiftly walked pass the bill that Tommy had the nerve to toss at her. Raine could be an instigator herself, and she liked to think of herself as strong and not overly sensitive (though when she got her payback it tended to outdo what was done to her), but she wasn't going to be treated like some dog that you could toss things at. She almost told Audrey to burn it while she was at it, just to show that his attitude could burn, but they had it now, so it would be pointless to get rid of a resource. At the end of the day, it wasn't that deep, but Raine wouldn't forget that. As they exited the building, she looked behind her to see Audrey catching up, a dollar bill fresh in her line of vision. Repressing a smirk, Raine recoiled a bit so that the money wasn't in her face before snatching it playfully. "You sure you want to wash your face with that sewer water, Audrey?" If Raine knew where the hell they were, and if she had the energy, she wouldn't have protested Sephora, or anywhere that was non-fundamental. Like Audrey, Raine liked to have things she didn't need. It made her feel normal and like she was actually in control of her environment. Given her power, the fact that it was so easy for her to just steal made it all the more tempting, but she did have to be careful not to get carried away. While Raine knew how and when to behave, like now where she viewed the others as her responsibility until they got back, she also had a tendency to be reckless for no real reason. There have been times where Raine disappeared without so much of a word and she would come back with a bag full of clothes or other non-necessities. It was childish at best and selfish at worst because she was effectively endangering the group by being out on her own, and not only that, but she had nothing to show for it except for things only she could benefit from, and arguably so since a cute lip gloss wasn't all too beneficial.

Still, Raine knew when to tone it done, and she knew now wasn't the time to go wandering off in search of lip gloss. Not because she was feeling especially mature today, but because she had the others with her. It might signify an element of lack of self-respect on her end, but she only tended to be reckless when only she would be the one to get caught in the crossfires. To behave stupidly now would be too much of a risk on its own, and it would mean a great failure on her part. Even if everyone was supposed to be helping out in bringing items back, really this was Raine's mission as she was the only one could sneakily get items without getting authorities involved. She already had no clue where she was going, having walked east from the building. She looked around intently, trying to quickly familiarize herself with the area. She didn't want to be out longer than an hour, an hour and a half max, at least not without checking back in with the others. On the outside she looked a lot cooler than she felt, but in reality, she was a bit frightened. It explained her complaining from a few moments ago and her quick change of personality to something more serious now. She didn't look upset or stern or anything, but she was definitely focused. "You keep talking about my pores," Raine said, nudging Audrey in the arm. "And you can forget the red Dorito's and Sephora." Because Audrey was the youngest, and Raine had a desire to be of use, she did tend to treat Audrey not so much as a little sister or someone who needed to be tended to (that was Tori's job), but at the very least as someone who needed to be looked after. It was why she was she was still curt with the girl, but a lot of the time in a teasing manner, like now. Even if her tone didn't suggest it, Audrey probably knew well enough that Raine would have an urge to go on an unnecessary shopping spree, even if it was just for something stupid like pens or a different flavored gum she'd never had or a juice she'd never seen before, so her threat was half-assed at best.

"But really, we need to get the priorities first before we think of anything like makeup. I feel like we should start with food first; I'm not sure if I can tolerate another granola bar. Although, there is one in my backpack, Azaria, if you want to dig in and get it." She hadn't forgotten that the guy had mentioned something about food just before they left. "Either you or Audrey will go in with me when we get to a store. Audrey, we know how...detail-oriented you are when it comes to the necessities," Raine began, choosing to find a better way of describing the girl's neediness. She only meant it in that Audrey clearly had a set of standards, something that could be annoying, but also quite useful in times like these because the girl would know right off the bat what everyone--or at least what she--needed. Raine didn't want to be burdened with trying to remember everything on top of trying to control her powers so that there were no mishaps, so Audrey would be good for jogging her memory. "So I trust you won't let me forget a single thing, but if we need to get rid of the cashier for whatever reason, I'd need you Azaria." She was thinking along the lines of a nausea session, but that would have to be a last resort more than likely, when Raine couldn't do anything except push items into her bag disguised as someone else and make a beeline for it. Hopefully it didn't come to that. "If one of you wants to be list maker, go for it. The clearer my head is, the smoother this will all be."​

A_Writer Mook-LandStrider Uxie

 

[Uxie]

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⠀♡coded by uxie♡

[div class=name]ayaka koizumi[/div] [div class=info][div class=infoscroll]location: building -> outside building
mentions: cure A_Writer Mook-LandStrider

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[div class=textbox][div class=textscroll]honestly, sal's minor breakdown didn't really take her by surprise. if anything, it was impressive he'd held out that long, but what else was to be expected from the leader? it was only shortly after sal had stormed out that she'd heard ella's soft voice quietly announce her departure as well, that she looked towards the redhead as it disappeared behind the door to the building. that was concerning. ayaka had just made to follow her when tommy spoke up, then went after her. it seemed everyone was taking the move really well. delightful.

catching sight of a smirk on calm's face that he didn't even bother to hide, she raised an eyebrow in irritation. "stop looking so smug, elsa." she cast a brief glance around the room, then at the way sal had gone. "he deserves a break." she was positively glad when tori stepped in to defuse the situation, giving out orders so gently ayaka was compelled to follow. she wanted to explore new york, anyways, and hopefully not get caught. she followed audrey out of the building to catch up with the other two.

"i'll be the list maker, since i can't be of much other help unless one of you gets a papercut while browsing magazines." ayaka said dryly as she unzipped her bag and retrieved out what little cash she had, handing it to raine as she fell into step with the rest of them. "where are we headed first?"

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[A_Writer]

"Are you talking about the water in there, or the water Calm claims he's going to conjure up to supply the city and then some with a lifetime supply of water?" Audrey inquired in a seemingly innocent manner, though the eye roll and smile that followed indicated that it was one final jab sent in Calm's direction. Now that they were out in the fresh air, turning in the opposite direction of where Ella went, she knew that it was appropriate to switch conversations, and Raine's prompts made that easy to do, especially once Ayaka chimed in. "You can be of help outside of that," she insisted. "You can save your energy for when--God forbid--the sewer water that Raine is speaking of makes me break out. I can deal with living in an abandoned whatever-that-was, but I don't think I could survive living in it with bad skin." It probably seemed like Audrey was out of touch in an obnoxious way when she went on about the new material things that she had become infatuated with since leaving X12. Makeup, hot chocolate, nail polish, neon lights, junk food like Doritos and Starburst and Oreos... the list went on and on, and Audrey was typically chatty enough to share all of her new favorite finds with anyone in a close enough vicinity to listen. Maybe it was obnoxious, but it wasn't meant to be so, and if nothing else, it was her coping mechanism and best distraction. She let the others worry about the seriousness of their predicament, because it simply wasn't something that she could handle.

There wasn't much in the direction she was walking, just some schools and apartment building looking places, so when they reached a more major looking street, Audrey made the executive decision to turn left down it, rather than crossing straight over. None of them knew where they were going, and she didn't mind playing leader for a few minutes. Audrey was content with going into whatever store they found with Raine, but she decided that it was important to list what they needed aloud now, anyway. "So we need Doritos, pillows, maybe like an air mattress? Definitely some air freshener... Midol for Calm, Midol for Sal, something nice for Tori... maybe chocolate, bread for Ella to feed to her ugly bird friends..."

( cure Mook-LandStrider Uxie )
​

​

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Azaria
Mentions
( cure A_Writer Uxie )


"Makeup? You want makeup when there isn't anything to eat?" Azaria asked as if taken back by her desire. "Face masks? I mean its not like we are going to at Galla or something." Azaria spoke, seeming ever so slightly irritated with Audrey. "As for the cashier, if its a girl I think I can distract her. But if its a guy I may have to resort to making them sick. Unless I can really irritate him." Azaria spoke trying to think of the different avenues he could take. Every bit of his psyche screamed make them sick, however Azaria didn't feel all that interested in possibly gaining a headache. Walking out with them all he looked around. "Know what, I am fiending for some milk duds right now. Like, seriously I think I have to get a very large box of milk duds... even if I have to shove it down my pants." Azaria spoke, dignified yet humorous.

Walking down the street he ended up somehow following Audrey. However, just being outside made him relax, the fresh air was lovely. "Im kinda bummed, so there was this dude who was like quite literally a living battery back in 12. Well, for the time I was in general that is. Literally, he could power tv's and everything. It wasn't like electricity or anything, his body was almost like a walking reactor. Why couldn't he have survived? I mean... I kinda want to watch Tv. Unless... we can convince someone to splice a wire into the circuit." Azaria said pointing up at the live wires high above them.

As they turned another corner, Azaria noticed the upcoming shop. It was a small convenience store, yet with his lips parched he glanced back before opening the doors. "I need to wet my whistle." Azaria said taking out a makeshift wallet he made from tape. "Okay, so I have six dollars in single bills. I forgot to give you these. Well, I mean I guess it doesn't matter now."
​

 

[Girl2Fine2]

CeeCee Davis

​

The only reason why CeeCee had managed to stay silent for so long was because she was honestly thrilled. Yes, they were in - and she was going to have to use one of Sal's more...colorful phrases for this - a bit of a "shithole" and this place wasn't pretty. It really wasn't. There was trash and debris all over the floor, not to mention things CeeCee really, really didn't want to have to fathom the idea of cleaning up herself, puddles of dirty water in various places, graffiti along the walls, and holes in places CeeCee was honestly disturbed to have holes in once nighttime came - there really was no telling what could creep inside while they were sleeping. Nevertheless, bubbling just above that underlying abhorrence of the place Sal wanted them to call home for awhile was an overwhelming, all-encompassing elation at the idea that this could be home. Never mind that they might eventually be found out and have to move again. Never mind the dead remains of creatures and questionable stains on the ground, or the bottle of alcohol lying in the corners, and the fact that CeeCee really, really was going to need a good scrub down herself once they eventually started trying to clean this place up - this could be a home. Their home. And - God willing - it could stay that way for a good amount of time....if, you know, psycho government people didn't see to crushing her dreams before they could fully form. They had a habit of doing that.

Still, the only reason CeeCee hadn't decided to voice her opinion was because instead of allowing the negativity to quell her overall excitement and eagerness to see what they could do with a place this sizable, she was too busy roving her dark brown eyes over the wide expanse of inordinately colorful, ridiculously dirty space, suddenly wishing that one of the first things they could eventually fully realize - even before beds because CeeCee was ambitious in her head - was a kitchen. Not because she was some kind of top chef or even believed that she could randomly whip up a full-course meal, but because she remembered the kitchen at what used to be home. The memories weren't always concrete nor tangible, but the sensations were. Red meats lathered in spices and mixed in a hot broth wafting through the air, an underlying sweetness inching its way up her nostrils from the closed oven, her skin dewy from the damn near suffocating heat as she stirred and stirred, pushing her tiny thin arms as hard as she could despite the fact that she was standing on a step-stool in front of a hot stove with a big pot of vinegar-ridden cabbage that was half her size. That had been home, at least to a younger CeeCee who was slowly but surely losing the memory of what her mother smelled like. And with these people - these survivors she'd been trekking through hell and back with, she wanted that feeling back - no, CeeCee demanded to experience that once more and vowed, only to herself, to work to get them all there.

"Uh oh, now y'all done done it," she commented wryly to no one in particular, half amused, half anxious at the way Sal had stormed off. Like he had said, it was a huge place and CeeCee's mind was still lingering on the possibilities as opposed to the current reality, so she winced at how Sal probably wound up taking everyone else's...opinions. She even had half the mind to wander after him, just to trail after him and annoy him until he grinned at her while telling her to leave him the hell alone. To someone on the outside, it wouldn't have sounded all that nice, but considering the fact that CeeCee was well aware of the fact that Sal did in fact like her, she was also pretty sure it wouldn't have been him actually sending her away. However, as her eyes had followed his departure, it also tracked Ella's move, especially since she had been closer to the back and to the redhead on their way here. Calm asking if anyone wanted to go talk to the girl only solidified the developing idea in CeeCee's head because a beat later, even if he didn't hear her, she chirped up probably too eagerly, "I'll do it! Be back!" She didn't really know where she'd be back from, considering she didn't even know how far Ella had traveled, but CeeCee skipped along regardless.

Once outside, CeeCee wandered, not seeing Sal nor really seeing anyone she knew, what with the sidewalks lined by continually progressing people, all going nowhere and everywhere all at once, their eyes forward or slightly lowered to phones. Had CeeCee wanted one when she was younger? She thought she would have, especially if her big brother had one, regardless of the age difference between the two of them. Would her mom have gotten one for her, just in case CeeCee came back one day, just because she knew her youngest daughter wanted it and it was one of the last things CeeCee had had a fit over? CeeCee shook her head of the thoughts and wandered along the side of the building, skipping a little bit underneath the hot rays of the near blinding sun until she saw Ella curled up in to herself, a state CeeCee had found the other girl in on a few occasions. She didn't know if they were close; CeeCee thought Ella was her friend and acted as such, especially since Ella didn't act like CeeCee annoyed her as much as she potentially did. So, CeeCee liked her and didn't like when she was like that, a pale and thin ball of quiet and something else and kissed by fire with the way her hair draped over her back. So, CeeCee traipsed closer, a smile pulling on her lips, as she neared, footsteps loud enough so she would not exactly sneak up on the girl. "Sooooooooo...I'm thinking that we're gonna need plants. After the kitchen, of course. We need to be able to cook, though I'm pretty sure everyone's gonna want beds first which isn't a bad idea - no, especially not with the way that floor is set up - but there definitely needs to be a kitchen eventually," CeeCee babbled, not even sure if she was making sense to the other girl because she was pretty sure she made sense to herself. "But plants - definitely plants. All over the place, too. Maybe a small one near each person so everyone could have their own little batch of flowers or something, maybe we can grow our own herbs!" That really made CeeCee excited, even if she had never planted a damn thing a day in her life. Ella liked nature and plants were nature, so that would work. Plus, she liked the way they looked that one time they had stayed in a semi nice spot, little pots of various green, leafy things looking so pretty against the beige wallpaper. "Big, potted ones - ooooh maybe a tree, for the living room? It can't be super, super big, but it'll be nice and if we're gonna have a hole in the ceiling for the sun, at least it can be useful, right? What do you think?"


Mentions
(@BurningBridges, @FrostFire)
​

 

[FrostFire]

Elanor 'Ella' Fraser

Spoiler: Image

Ella had managed to cheer herself up a small bit, the breathing helped, so did curling up into a ball. She definitely didn't want to deal with the... The... The dead... Things, in there, and there was no way she would ask any animals to do it - the sight of it was traumatic enough for her, despite animals (especially pigeons) not having the same emotional capacity as her, she saw them as her, and everyone else's, equals.
She was glad when she saw CeeCee approaching, if anything the other woman would be a welcome distraction - even if CeeCee was loud, and often could be a bit much for Ella, she nevertheless liked her, as she did almost everyone, Ella was easy to get along with and easy to please, so making friends with her was a fairly simple process.
"Hi CeeCee.", her soft voice was slightly dulled from its usual quiet cheerfulness, but she smiled weakly at CeeCee nonetheless.
Listening thoughtfully, Ella waited for CeeCee to ask her a direct question before she spoke, "It would be really nice. I would love to have a tree...", she smiled wider, looking up, "There's certainly enough space to perhaps allocate a garden where we could grow food too, it would be incredibly useful.", it was definitely a brilliant idea.
"We should talk to Tori about it, I'm sure between us we could get something going relatively quickly.", she smiled wider still, the distraction proving to be very effective, she was almost back to her usual self as she thought about the forests she loved so dearly. A garden growing vegetables would certainly help Ella out especially, refusing to eat animal products could be difficult when the others didn't bring back much for her to eat... She never complained and barely ever mentioned it to anyone - but sometimes she did have to sneak off to find food alone because of how hungry she got.
Thinking about food, Ella had heard a few people leave to presumably go and get supplies, she secretly hoped that they brought her something back to eat... Ella hadn't eaten yet that day, and had only consumed some stale bread and a boiled potato for dinner the night before, and now her stomach was twisting painfully... It happened a lot, so she could deal with it (she had been so, so much hungrier before), but that didn't mean she particularly enjoyed the sensation of her stomach eating itself.
"Perhaps we could... Do something? I hate to be the person not helping or doing anything...", the expression on Ella's face was painfully apologetic, "But... I... I would prefer not to... Go back in...?", her tone was hesitant and unsure, and sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Is there anything you would like to do? I know some people went out but... Maybe we could go and get something too...?", she asked quietly, staring at the ground and then back up at CeeCee, uncomfortable that she was asking something that was in her mind a big favour, something she did very rarely. She disliked having to ask something from anyone in the group, CeeCee included, but Ella really didn't want to go back into the building where living beings she saw as good friends lay as corpses, rotting in the trash.
If she was asked to go in, or even if she was asked to clean them up, she would... But the consequences of that would mean Ella would suffer for days or possibly even weeks afterwards, something she was currently trying to avoid. She didn't really have many ideas as to what they could do, the busy streets of New York were deeply uncomfortable to her at best... And another group had already left to go and get things...
Ella looked around where she was. The side and back of the building also had a lot of space, and it too had a fair amount of rubbish, scattered in amongst ruts of baked, dusty soil, yellow grass and small, tough looking shrubs. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any dead animals.
Ella quite liked the idea of cleaning up out here, she really liked it. At least she would be outside, and the back of the building was spared the prying eyes of people passing on the pavement, in fact apart from CeeCee and herself, Ella couldn't see anyone else in the fenced off grounds sandwiched between the buildings on either side of the property.
Despite her preference, Ella didn't utter a word of it to CeeCee as she turned her attentions away from the empty space and back onto the woman standing over her - she would let CeeCee make her decision and follow that.

Girl2Fine2

 

[Kloudy]

Calm Iceman
("Lesser Hell")

​

Calm's eyes snapped open suddenly as his mind focused back to reality. He really had to stop getting caught up in his own thoughts, it was beginning to cause him to miss out on things that were happening around him. Glancing about passively, he saw that some had already left to go shopping and CeeCee had decided to go after Ella. And so the group divided up to go about their daily missions. Calm wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do, but despite Tori's suggestions he just merely sat against the wall and closed his eyes again, content in the knowledge that if someone needed him then he'd be called. Besides, he'd already offered his help and it had been rebuked with snark and hostility, not that it particularly bothered him. Calm really had to work on his people skills anyway.

A cold breeze passed through the cracks and crevices of the old building, although Calm could only sense it rather than feel it. It wasn't unpleasant to him, familiar even. In the facility, in his private room locked away he had nothing but the four walls, some furnishings, his thoughts and the random outbursts power that occasionally appeared from his body. It still happened to the present, sometimes his powers just decided they wanted to activate. He thought back to the bad days where it got particularly terrible for him, lying on the floor gasping for breath as ice spread and retracted out from his body in a radius like cold waves at an icy beach. Those hadn't been fun times. Calm had gotten so used to doing nothing, having everything he needed brought to him and simply existing with nothing to do but wait for the cold to come. It was funny, some people joked lightly about catching a cold.

Calm didn't find it so funny. And almost as if thinking about it had summoned the terrible affliction, Calm began to feel the beginnings of his side effect sickness. He'd had no idea what they were doing to him back in X12, experiment after experiment from a young age and all of which he could barely remember, but he was sure this byproduct was because of them. The ice that coated his skin began to thicken and become visible in places, patches of white appearing across his face. He grit his teeth as the young man felt his skin go tight from being squeezed by the expanding ice, his clothes frosting over despite their excellent ability to resist his power. He needed to leave as well. Standing up abruptly, Calm made his way across the space towards the nearby staircase, "I... need a... a little air..." The sound of ice cracking was slightly audible as Calm could barely get the words out, swiftly striding out of view and climbing the stairs as fast as he could. Already his toes and fingers had frozen together. His mouth and nose would be next, restricting his breathing before his eyes and ears would become plugged up too.

Reaching the rooftop, Calm found a corner by a ventilation unit and slumped down against it, struggling to get air into his lungs already. So far, this particular side effect hadn't been able to kill him, but it was particularly painful. It was about the equivalent of having to breath through a straw while becoming suddenly blurry sighted and partially deaf. Not to mention it constricted his entire body like a burmese python, he'd be lucky to get off with some bruising, if not a dislocated joint or even a cracked bone. Calm had tried to remain alone whenever this happened in case he accidentally hurt himself or, hell, one of the others. Many X12 researchers had lost their lives trying to assist him when he was like this. Time would be the best healer for now, although Calm never knew how long it'd last. Maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours.

Perhaps it was karma for being a dick to Sal. The thought made Calm smile, or at least twinge his mouth muscles futilely as the ice thickened across his face. It would hurt to move anything soon, so it was best to just get comfortable for now. He didn't think anyone else knew about what was happening to him, especially given how he had put in a lot of effort to have kept it a secret. Calm wanted to direct their stress at something to channel it out, not add to their worries. Besides, he doubted any of them would have much sympathy for him. Hah, as if you deserve the self-pity. This is what you wanted, right? Of course, Calm was right about himself. He couldn't compare himself to Sal, but everyone had their sacrifices.
(open)

 

[OppositeInverse]

It hadn't even been minutes before the group started to incite their personalities and individual thoughts about the place to the makeshift patriarch of the group, Sal. Or, as Mick called him, Tatuaje because of all of the ink on his body, had unleashed his repressed emotions. Everyone else had went in to scope the venue as he and Tori tried to keep them on the move from place to place. New York wasn't what the Caribbean girl had imagined in the slightest. She always saw on the movies as a kid the grandeur of the nightlife and city lights. This was more like the underworld of such lavish natures. Mick would usually be in there with them at this very moment, joking and offering her intellectual diplomacy to ease everyone simultaneously, but much like Sal, to her shock began to snap at them on some once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, her inner turmoil was catching up to her. All those nights of making others laugh to sleep to replace the thirst and hunger in their souls, the nights of smiles and indifference even when not so noble things had to be done, and prominently the fact she couldn't go home to see her madre or padre... it'd ate her up. So while the group was inside offering critique on the abandoned place, Mick had found a nice isolated place behind a dumpster, her back leaned on the steel as she looked to a foreboding sky. Tears just flowed as she sobbed and sniffled as quietly as she could. The past year was hell, and considering the prison they'd been in almost their entire lives... they really wanted to complain about some shelter? The only family she had left could be heard bickering in the distance as she released the pent up sadness the girl had been harboring.

Mick soon heard the scuffling of feet, peeking around to see that Ella had made her way outside. More bickering ensued. Calm's voice, then Raine... it was giving her a headache. It seemed like when the festive Mick wasn't around, the group lost its glue. It was a group unofficial thing that Mick was usually not only the light that tried to spark the group, but also the spark to zap others back in shape should they try to get out of pocket, but today she just couldn't. She only wanted to be behind that dumpster in the now, crying and having sometime for herself for once. She was a big sister figure to Audrey, a great companion to Ayaka, but also that strong keen little sister figure to Tori. No way in hell she let them see her like this, let alone the others. They'd probably all forgot Mick was there by now, something that saddened her even more. Such a mark left on the group, yet no one bothered to ask where she was. She saw Raine and a few others start to head out towards more civilization, as Mick just watched silently. They'd all did what they wanted mostly anyways. Mick was a bit more old fashioned, she could thrive off of whatever the universe gave her to settle on. Her parents were real faith and moral based good folks. She'd try to give wisdom to the pack best she could. She'd only learned English fully while at X12, she only spoke a little when she'd first been brought in. The girl was in an entirely new country with no ID or papers, and the fact that it seemed this nation was under immigration fire from some leader she'd denoted as Trump, she could only feel like it was a matter of time before she was caught one way or the other.

Yet she would still smile and live to make the group happy until that time comes. She still had flashbacks at night about the breakout. So much heat and sapped oxygen. A few probably wouldn't have made it out if it weren't for her. And ironically even though she's one of the more nurturing and selfless of the pack, she'd be lying if she said she was thinking about others when trying to escape. Not until she saw their pain at least. Fires blocked hallways and nothing but smoke and deprivation surrounded them. And yet visually they still remained, they seemed to cease in action and function. Flames that still were bright but no longer flicker, and ghastly smoke that still shrouded but no longer suppressed. They were frozen still. Not ice frozen like Calm's mod, but just... still. Heat cannot burn if molecules aren't moving. Smoke cannot fester where gas particles don't remain in atmospheric motion. Few had saw Mick walk through them as if they were mist and foam. She'd saw a rat scamper from underneath the dumpster, impulsively thinking to practice more of her abilities on it. Getting inanimate things to immobilize was a muscle she could flex, but living things were more intricate. Her endless nights in her cell of working out and staying fit would pay off, being one of the more athletically gifted of anyone that had the disdainful instance of staying at X12. Looking at the animal, she lifted her hand towards the rodent's direction, immediately stopping herself as she thought about it. They were the same. Two creatures trying to survive off scraps.

"No... no more lab rats..."

The rat ran off, seeing it reunite with two smaller baby rats as it drops a few food pieces by their side. She smiled lightly as her crying gradually began to subside, her wiping her bronzed face from sun, dirt, and environment. She could now hear the voice of CeeCee, probably the only other optimist of the group to match Mick. She must've been talking to Ella, no doubt about either the arguments or some menial personal endeavor. Mick wiped her eyes fully now that her crying had subsided, and moved from the dumpster and towards the back near an open lot. She took her backpack off and set it on the ground, scrounging through her change of clothes, the few protein bars she had, washcloth and body wash, toothbrush, and MP3 player, until she finally reached what she was looking for.

For a girl who could speak Spanish, English, Patois, and Italian... there was two other languages she knew to be universal in this world, that everyone could respond to in essence. Music, and her passion / #1 sport in the world: Soccer. Even if not specifically nor directly, even for those who aren't athletically inclined, a soccer ball could be a stress reliever, bonding mechanism, coping mechanism, and just a good old fashioned workout of the body and mind's coordination. She started to kick it around, doing a few rainbows and dribbles as she starts to shed away the turmoil from the past year, and even before then. If anyone would approach her, she'd of course be back to her usual light self and no one would be the wiser. She did wonder if Sal was doing alright though. She plugged in her headphones and listened to some reggaeton music as she rhythmatically moved to the tempo. Whatever they had going on inside or schemes they could have it, for once Mick just wanted to be a 12 year old kid again, even if it was just for 5 minutes.

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@ Indirectly every and anyone ~ Open for interaction.

 

[A_Writer]

"Yeah, because Milk Duds are a total need, too," Audrey shot back at Azaria, after he acted like her own wants were meaningless too. Granted, food obviously was more of a basic need item than makeup was, but she still felt like his request was specific enough that it was close to a "want" more than a need, too. It was probably because Azaria wasn't actually speaking to her in a hostile manner, that the comment didn't bother her to an extent that she felt compelled to do more than respond and roll her eyes. Thankfully, it hadn't triggered a mood shift, because Audrey sort of had a reputation for being susceptible to those. Little things bothered her, and sometimes nothing at all bothered her, and yet she still could get into agitated moods easily. She struggled to regulate her emotions at times, and just as obnoxious as it probably seemed to those around her, it bothered her as well, because she didn't want to feel so out of control, but she couldn't help it. Luckily, today her spirits were high enough though, and she was content with carrying on until Azaria stopped in front of a corner store. It had a bodega feel to it, since it was a little corner store that was clearly independently owned. Even without looking inside, Audrey was sure that it was the kind of corner store that had an aisle of candy and snacks, maybe the basic of basic care items, cigarettes and lottery tickets, and probably a few drink coolers, and maybe an ice cream freezer as well, but not much more than that. In a city like New York, it didn't seem like they needed to resort to something like that.

"I don't want to stop here," she protested. "They're not going to have the things I need.'" Even if she was aware that this trip wasn't all about her, she still didn't think it was logical to stop there instead of somewhere else, when there were probably chain stores within walking distance. From her year's worth of experience, she learned that stores like CVS or Walgreens sold more than one would think. You could often find everything from your basic undergarments and t-shirts there, to snacks and frozen food, and some seasonal home decor, hygiene products, and more. "There's a Target on East 117th Street," she added. Admittedly, Audrey had no concept of where they were geographically, and no concept of how the streets here worked, but she knew that they had been on West 118th Street, so in her mind, the store couldn't have plausibly been that far away. "There's one in the real part of the city too. Sal said he'd go with me one day this week," she added. Unfortunately, Audrey didn't have any superpower related to having a plethora of knowledge or a photographic memory. She had just spent a few hours at the library yesterday (because there was little else to do, thanks to the rain and their shitty living conditions), and clicking around, she had found that. Target was a store that she had specifically looked for when she finally pulled up Google Maps on the computer (which had taken far longer than it should have, partly due to the slow and old public computers, but also because she had very little experience using a computer). It was another store that she had been to before while they were out on the move, and another one that she had fallen in love with because of just how much it had to offer. She still had a pair of fake pearl earrings that she had begged Raine to add to their load during one shopping trip there. "But we should go to a place like that. Not some stupid place like this, just for some Milk Duds," she attempted to reason. "There's probably a better store up ahead. Can't you just be patient?"

( cure Mook-LandStrider Uxie )
​