Castouts (Accepting new characters)

Alicia merely raises an eyebrow, then laughs scornfully at Anthony's outburst, gesturing at the beer in his hand. "Oh really? Will you be able to stand up long enough to manage that without falling on your face? I'd worry about more than the kids at this point, my DEAR husband. What do you think our superiors will have to say about your tendency to drown your inadequacies in a bottle?"


She drew close to him, her hand squeezing his shoulder almost as though in a massage, but in actuality simply to emphasize her point in a less than gentle manner as she leaned in towards his face. "They will blame every bit of your incompetence on your inability to get through the day without self-medicating. The fire could very well have spread so rapidly because of your ever present bottles of alcohol so near, acting as fuel to Kyle's flames. It could very well be your fault this has happened. Our superiors would be interested to hear that tale, if it ever came to that."


**


Students he thinks worthy...Rikarah is not certain, but she thinks he detects a slight aimed her way from Steven with this comment. Undoubtedly he would not think her "worthy" purely based upon the fact that he appears in her eyes to dislike her, perhaps to even feel threatened by her. Rikarah wishes to discover for herself why this is, because on surface level, she would offer him very little threat at all. It is true that some males are threatened by a female who shows intelligence and confidence- neither which she has witnessed either Katarina or Christina displaying openly as of yet- but she believes there to be more to it than that.


"That sounds interesting," is her noncomittal response. "Perhaps I will watch one day. Perhaps I will even join."


Katarina is paying no attention, again speaking to her siblings, Max, and Steven with growing impatience. "Aren't you coming? I can't move everything myself, you know."


**


Julian ran until his sides ached and his breathing sputtered in ragged gasps, and he had to stop and hold his stomach to keep its contents from coming up. He leaned against the first wall he came across, his thoughts racing, his entire body shaking.


Madison...Madison, in his park, his special place...Madison, sitting where he had sat so often, where he had played his guitar, where he had slept. The spot was dangerous now, tainted....the whole city was. He should have known she might come. It wasn't like she didn't live close by, it wasn't like she never came in to the city. It wasn't like she couldn't have moved. Had she moved? What if she lived much closer than he had thought, what if she was here all the time, always? What if she knew everything about him and his life now...what if she had followed him?


Panic rattled through Julian as he closed his eyes tightly, shivering from head to toe. What would she do now? Tell on him? Call the police? What had she told his parents, his teachers, his brothers in his absence? What if there was a warrant out for his arrest? What if that little girl she had with her...what if she was to draw Julian in? Madison could think that he would try to save her, try to help her...it could be a trap. She could still be watching. Maybe the little girl was her spy. How could Julian ever feel safe again?


She would get to Jillian...she would ruin what he was just beginning to have with Jillian. Madison would tell Jillian everything, really make him hate Julian. Madison would tell the people at the shelter and they'd never let Julian stay. Maybe she would be jealous and hurt Jillian...maybe she would make Julian hurt Jillian.


Could she do that? Of course she could...and she would.


He couldn't go back, could he? And put Jillian in danger? He couldn't...he had to leave, to protect him, didn't he?


But Julian didn't want to go...what could he do, when he finally had somewhere he wanted to stay?
 
(I find it funny that you guys are talking openly about being gifted around a complete stranger xD )


It didn’t seem like Hailey could just blow them off, as the boy kept talking to her, wondering why she seemed so interested. Did she have anyone to talk to? “N-No” she spat out, trying to avoid his gaze again and all of the others. Another girl seemed to notice him then, and she drew the boy’s attention away, but Hailey’s attention was also drawn. This girl was probably the most visible, via the news feeds, and she recognized her right away.


They seemed to be distracted, talking to each other about a dojo… or some training facility to make flame- retardant. The girl seemed to be pleased with this idea, and she finally seemed to notice Hailey, who only waved meekly. It seemed that these people were in their own world, as they all seemed to ignore her and stay focused on this conversation about powers and moving somewhere…and getting their stuff.


Hailey’s surprised when someone finally talks to her, due to the familiarity in voice, this was the girl that had first seen her. She had scars over her eyes though… the blonde frowned slightly, forgetting about her question. It seemed they were too busy with their own conversation again though, and Hailey was probably ignored. The girl waited for a lull in conversation to answer Chris…


“I recognized some of you from the zoo…” she eyed Steven and Rikarah.


“The rest of you are on TV” she notes, “They did a news story about last night, most of you at the zoo were caught on film…”
 
(Funfact: For it to be considered pedophilia, the "pedophile" must be older than 18 and the person he's involved with must be 5 or more years younger than him/her and a minor. So technically, Chris is legal. Shira is not.)


Max shrugged at what Kyle said. "Fine. But I hear the new Halo game is awesome. Pity. My friends aren't very big gamers. I thought I might've found a playmate." It was somewhat true. Most of Max's friends were not exactly the intellectual or gamer type. They were mostly airheads who wanted to live the big life without working for it. He tried playing games with them before. That was a huge mistake. The boys were complete noobs who got angry and threw things whenever they lost. And the girls were trying oh so hard to be seductive that they didn't even look at the screen. Max once threw a girl out because she had the gall to put the controller in her mouth. That's not sexy. That's @#$%ing gross. He had the controller burned as soon as he could. The only times he invited those people to play was when he felt in the mood for friendly fire.


Max facepalmed as Hailey brought up the news about . . . well, the news. That was the whole reason he came there in the first place. "She's right," he said, confirming Hailey's claims. "The pictures are poor quality but you can still pretty much figure out who the figures are if you're familiar with the people they belong to. From what I could tell, it looks like they don't have much evidence other than that and I don't think they're going to pursue the issue, but I might be wrong."
 
(actually, even that isn't fully accurate...pedophilia officially is someone loving a child who is not yet pubescent (including adolescents who haven't undergone puberty yet). Ephebophilia is meaning you're turned on by pubescent minors, which is mainly teenagers....so technically that is ephebophiliacs...)


Rikarah stills as she hears Max and Hailey outside the window, and quickly going to stand before it, so she is still remaining in the lobby yet close enough to have a conversation with those outside as well, she turns towards them more fully. She recognizes Hailey- who in her mind, is still "the idiot blonde from the zoo"- but she is not concerned with her identity or her reason for being there. She is only concerned about what she and now Max have both stated.


Their images were on TV? Whose, specifically? What if Rikarah's face was on TV? Even if it wasn't, and they could see her outline only, what if someone, somewhere, would recognize her, bring to mind the girl who had gone missing not quite a year ago after the murder of her family? What if she were a suspect in the crime, or if some do-gooder, thinking she were a kidnapped, Stockholmed child, would try to find her to "rescue" her?


If someone had filmed them, that meant there were witnesses. If someone had witnessed, that person was someone that Rikarah needed to find and take care of, however was necessary.


"What are they saying?" she asks them both, her expression intent. "Who specifically have they identified, and whose faces were shown? Are they attempting to discover our identities, or is this just some youtube craze?"


Katarina, finally giving Hailey notice too at this rather alarming news, whirls around, now forgetting Steven, their new housing possibilities, and everything except what this could mean for them. If they were on TV, their parents could find them. If they were on TV, police could find them, foster care services...could they go to jail for running away? For setting fires? For what happened at the zoo? Jail would be better than their parents...what would their parents do to them if they found them? What if they knew where they were, what if they were coming for them right now, today?


"We have to go to Steven's," she almost whispers. "We have to go now. God...they're going to find us, aren't they? They could find us there too..."


Turning to her siblings, she grabs hold of both Kyle and Chris, needing to feel them physically there with her to steady herself with the fear now coursing through her. She can't stand to think of what might happen if their parents find them, of what they could do to them...Kyle especially.


"We have to go," she repeats, her fear blatantly showing in her eyes. "We have to go NOW."
 
((I think the inside/outside things are screwed beyond fixing. Max had caught Shira who fell from the rafters, so their inside, but Hailey’s outside with Kat and Steven. I thought Chris would have to be outside to hear Hailey originally…so I’m not really sure at the moment where she is??? DX))


At Hailey’s admittance of the truth, Max face palms next to her, and she stiffens, “Sorry!” she apologizes quickly, looking down once again. It seemed the man had forgotten about them being on the news and admitted to her being right, that the figures were grainy but there. One of the girls that she had recognized slowing approaching Calico had approached the window and was now talking to them.


She asks an array of questions, and Hailey is hesitant in answering, afraid she may say the wrong thing again. “The news story was about a terrorist attack…and it was done with a cellphone camera, so nobody has been identified yet. They say police are investigating though…” Hailey pauses, looking at all of them, “Most of you only caught glimpses of” she answers. She didn’t even recognize the boy with the hurt leg or the small girl that talked so fondly with Max (Shira and Cas). There were also two small girls she had never seen before… (Terebithia and Lei)


Finally, she looks at Katarina, who seems to be panicking the most and telling Steven that they should leave.


“I recognize you the most…you and her, with the scars” she clarifies, motioning to Chris.
 
"Hey there Richie!"


"Morning there Miss Quinn..."


Quinn Thompson smiled brightly at the older gentleman who ran the paper and coffee booth outside of Bryant Park. The wind whipped at her face, stinging her cheeks and she shivered slightly as she stood there, digging one hand into the pocket of her jeans for the little change she knew she would find there. Just enough for a small cup of joe and a bagel. Her stomach growled at the thought of her small breakfast. She shouldn't have splurged so much on her dinner the night before. It had been awhile since she had enough money to get a decent meal at a diner, and her waitress had been such a sweetheart that the nineteen year old couldn't help but leave her a generous tip. Sometimes she felt like she cared too much, even about complete strangers.


Passing the money along to Richie, she smiled greatfully as he handed her the small bag and cup, thankful for the slight warmth the styrofoam gave off. She really needed to find a better jacket already, she had lucked out enough with this one, having found it in some trash can outside of an apartment building. There had been a small tare in the sleeve, which was easily fixed with the small sewing kit she had swiped from a hotel room once. But the grey pea-coat only did so much, she had to layer her clothes underneath once it started to get really cold out, and even now, with her shirt and black hoodie under it, she could still feel the goosebumps covering her skin. She hated this time of year...why couldn't it just stay warm like all the time?


Nodding a farewell to the vendor she headed back along her way towards the latest spot where she set up her drawing booth. Well, it wasn't really a booth, just a eggcrate and a small fold-able stool that she had the tourists sit on. Her thick drawing pad would need to be replaced soon, she'd have to start saving up for that and she was going to have to find a way to get more markers without getting caught this time. She had barely gotten away with it the last time, lucky for her the store owner had been having a good day and just threatened to call the cops if she showed her face again. It wasn't everyday you got away with just a warning like that...and it sucked because that was the one decent art supply shop around without her having to lug all of her belonging around almost 30 blocks to the next one.


But, she learned from her mistakes.


Her converse where getting a little worn and she wondered how long it was going to be until she had to go out and find another pair. Those salvation army drop off boxes were always hit and miss with her, she could never seem to find her size with anything, and it was hard to grab anything extra. She only had a small backpack and she was afraid to leave things behind in the new shelter she was crashing at. She had only been there for two nights now, hadn't really bothered to meet or talk to anyone. It wasn't that she was afraid to, but after walking around the city all day by the time she got back to her bed she just wanted to sleep, and she got up early, before the others she noticed, so there just hadn't been time. What was the point anyways? No one ever seemed to stick around ever, she hadn't had a solid relationship in years. Quinn doubted that she ever would.


The sun was out more, so she was able to lose the jacket, and after jamming her hair into a messy ponytail, she sat down on her crate and waited. A few of her drawings were tied to the gate around the park, and they flapped away in the wind. Quinn was proud of her artistic ability, it was the one thing that she really had going for her. Sure, it didn't always go the way she wanted, she sometimes went days without making any money but it was her way of getting her name out there so to speak, and Bethany would have been proud of her.


Her throat tightened at the thought of her deceased foster mother and she gave herself a quick shake, not allowing herself the time to get upset. She had a job to do, money to make...


---------------------------------------


The hours passed by quickly and before she knew it, the streets were more crowded, letting her know that people were getting out of work, returning home after their shifts. It was time for her to close up shop, there always seemed to be more cops out around this time, and she really wasn't in the mood to have to find another drawing spot so soon. This one seemed to be doing her some good, and as she headed back towards the shelter she counted up what she had earned.


Thirty bucks, not bad, a little more then the day before. Quinn wasn't really hungry, so she decided to try and save most of it, stopping in to a Dunkin Donuts on her way back, grabbing herself another coffee and a box of munchkins. Maybe tonight she could try an at least learn the names of some of the people she was living with.


The shelter seemed empty as she walked in but she caught sight of a flash of movement and looked over, smiling softly as she held up the box. There were a few kids there, the one with the multi colored hair eyeing her warily. Well it was her own fault for never taking the time to introduce herself.


"Hey there..." she grimaced slightly at her accent, but quickly shrugged it off. "Um, I got doughnuts, er munchkins if you'd like..."


View attachment 10297
 
Liselle looked at the girl as she offered her donuts. She was sort of taken by surprised. She wasn't sure of any of the residents of the shelter. Jillian and Lionel seemed okay and she knew Julian. Still she gave the girl a smile and took one.


"Thanks." It was kind of surprising and depressing to see that there was plenty of young people in the shelter. Few around Lionel's age thank God, but still. She couldn't imagine why these people were here, young or old. She thought of her own reasons for being out on the streets and frowned. Lionel looked at her from his work and then turned to smile at Quinn.


"Hello," he said softly to Quinn. He had seen her before, but he could not remember her name. Still Lionel made a point to try and be nice to everyone here. Many of them were kind to him because he was a kid. Of course no one tried to befriend him like Jillian had done, but he didn't mind. As long as they didn't treat him like he didn't know anything. Something in Lionel knew they wouldn't. After all he was living here. He was more world weary than most kids his age, though not that much more. "Can I have some as well? Jillian says I shouldn't eat too much sugar but I'm sure she'd have some too."


----


Chris swallowed. Of course she was recognizable. There were few people out there with burns around their eyes. Chris wish she could just look like normal. She didn't even need her sight back. Maybe if she didn't look like a freak Max might actually like her. But Chris knew if there was a way to rid herself of her scars it would never happen. Or maybe...


Chris thought of Max's wealth. Maybe if they became closer she could ask him if he knew a way. The thought filled her with an odd sense of nerves and anxiety. She allowed her sister to pull her along though. She'd think about it later. It was better to focus on things that were happening now.
 
*Hard to believe that someone saying "Them" could have such a powerful effect on someone but when Kat says that word a chill shoots down Kyle's spine and he huddles tightly against his sisters.* No no I don't want to go back with them, they'll hurt us! We need to hide now! *His hands start to shake at the thought of Anthony beating them again.*


*Steven watches Kat, Chris and Kyle.* What's going on? What's the big deal most people would love to get on tv. Kyle..Little man why are you shaking like that?


*Anthony glares at his wife, the disgust apparent to both of them but they still need each other for now* So what's your plan and it better not be some complicated mind games crap..cause that worked out so well the last time. I'm all for kicking in doors and kicking all their asses!
 
Rikarah continues to regard Hailey silently, her expression unchanging, even as her mind is working steadily, examining all the angles of what she has heard. It is possible her face was not shown, and she will not be identified. It is also possible, however, that if police are investigating, that the witness with the cell phone may have seen her, even if she did not accurately record her, and that she will be able to describe her or recognize her on site. And if Katarina and Christina have been recognized, then if Rikarah is ever seen with them, that will put her at risk.


Clearly she needs to distance herself from these people...but even as she thinks and knows this, knows she should be moving out of town, settling elsewhere, she is reluctant. She has a job here. These people are interesting. And what's more, she has a possible mission of her own. Does she really want to run scared? Wouldn't it be easier to simply strike back, if needed?


She voices none of this however, simply shifting her eyes to the DeSanto siblings, who appear completely terrified. THEIR story, she can practically read, word for word, in each of their faces.


Katarina wraps her arm more tightly around Kyle, one hand rubbing over the ball of his shoulder as she takes in a slow, somewhat unsteady breath, trying to keep herself from starting to shake as badly as he was. This was the role she should be playing, the role that had been so much easier for her, before the fire, before Alice...the role of the oldest, the big sister, the one Kyle would look to for help, the one who could at least pretend she knew what she was doing. It was a role she had been allowing to slip further and further away from her in the past few months, a role she had almost given up on entirely. But Kyle and Chris needed her. She could see it, and even if she was afraid- and she was very, very afraid- she had to protect them. Like she used to. Even if it meant getting hurt.


She feels hot and itchy from the inside out, and the desire to do something to relieve it, to hurt herself as has become her standard pattern of reaction, is strong, but she keeps her arms around her siblings, trying to think about how they feel against her hands, as she speaks to Steven, not meeting his eyes. She is very aware that likely several of the others can hear her too, but the shame this brings is dulled by fear.


"Our parents...they are the reason we left. Most of the reason...they'll hurt us, Steven. Maybe even kill us, if they found us...we have to go. Now. Right now, before it's too late."


She didn't wait for anyone else to respond; she simply pulled both her younger siblings forward, hoping that Xander was following behind, and gestured for Kyle to go through the window before helping Chris out herself, waiting for Steven to join them.


**


Alicia rolled her eyes, giving a huff of disgust as she crossed her arms, still standing in a manner that appeared to loom over Anthony, despite his considerably larger size. "Oh, and you have such finesse and talent yourself, have you? Get a clue, Anthony, if you go around the city, as steroid-pumped as you look, snatching up random children and half killing them before your blurry drunken eyes even register that they aren't one of your beloved CHILDREN, you end up putting the senator's grandchild in a coma or something like that, and having witnesses confirm it. Even if it was one of our brats, if someone witnessed it they could think it to be kidnapping or child abuse and stick their nose in things, and then it could get to be much more complicated than it should be. Mind games is the way to go, and if you would stop polluting your own mind with that disgusting poison of yours, you would see that."


**


Julian's feet continue to walk, once he had caught his breath, and though he doesn't know where to go, or where he is leading himself to, he finds himself standing outside the homeless shelter entrance. He stops, staring inside, knowing that Jillian will not be there, and for several moments he struggles inwardly. If he returns, then Jillian will be drawn into this mess...he shouldn't cause trouble for him. If he cares about Jillian, he would leave now and never come back.


But Julian's heart aches at the thought, and so with heavy steps, head down, he walks back inside.
 
*Steven never officially met their parents, he's seen them at a distance and he has to admit to himself he's never had a good feeling about them especially their father, something about the way he stood, he just had a dangerous look about him..Steven shook his head thinking the worst and not knowing the full story. Not knowing just how resourceful their parents are he tries to reassure Kat, Chris and Klye.* Look so what they may or may not have seen it and even if they did it's a big city how could they find you..Still we should get going, if they did see you and they went to the police...Well New York has the most cameras in the country it would be easy to pick you up on one of them..So we should get you off the streets as soon as possible, I think I should just take you to the dojo and then I'll go get your stuff myself..Unless we go late at night.


(sorry so short)
 
Quinn laughed softly and opened the box wide and held it out.


"Knock yourselves, out. What's a little sugar now and then right?


She took a quick sip of from her coffee cup, smiling again at everyone, and walked back over to where her bed was, dropping down as she shook out of her sneakers. The toe looked like it was starting to fray a bit, she'd have to remember to fix it before calling it a night.


After slipping out of her jacket and kicking her back into a corner, she grabbed a few pencils and her drawing pad and walked back over to where everyone seemed to be hanging out. She felt a little better, watching most of the kids digging into the tiny doughnuts, and felt a little sad at the same time, wondering when the last time was that any of them had gotten a random treat brought into this place.


Looking around, actually taking things in, she decided it was probably one of the better shelters that she had crashed at. Just needed maybe a few homey touches, she wondered if she'd be allowed to paint the walls or something, get a little color going.


She noticed there was a seat over by where the one boy who had made the sugar comment was and after grabbing a few of the remaining munchkins for herself, walked over, sliding onto it quietly, not wanting to disturb him from his work. Flipping to a blank page in the back of her sketch pad, she started to doodle, not really on anything in particular, but it helped work the edge off from the day.
 
Max was puzzled at the DeSantos' reaction to the word "them". Whoever "they" were, the kids seemed terrified of the very thought of those people. But who were they afraid of? Calico had been arrested last night from what Max saw. Who else could be after them? His mind then thought of the article he found about their house fire. With the youngest of the DeSantos dead from it, were their parents after them? He remembered that they had survived. Kat had confirmed what he guessed. Of course with no corpses to go upon, the adults would wonder where the rest of their children went. Abusive parents it seemed. Well, parents or not, it seemed like they were going to get in the way of Max's research. He put a mental note in the back of his mind to watch out for those two, although he should probably figure out their names as well. Who knows how many Mr. and Mrs. DeSantos there are.


For now this seemed like a family matter . . . and Steven, so Max decided to take care of Shira's brother first. If he handled his cards well, he should be able to get more points with the girl. He turned to the DeSantos with a smile. "I'm going to help this guy avoid getting a stump so I'm going to have to see the new place later. Tell me if you guys need help moving though. We can't have the girls or Kyle carrying anything too heavy, right?"





He then turned to Cas and Shira. "Now we're going to have to bring him to my place. There are plenty of supplies there." He looked at Rikarah. "You said you have knowledge of first aid, right? Do you want to come as well? Most likely, I'm going to have to send them home with some extra supplies and well . . ." He got closer to the small pixie-like girl to whisper in her ear. "I don't think either of them can carry home something important."


He somewhat was worried about that. Cas couldn't carry anything and Shira would most likely lose them or get lost. But he also wanted to get Rikarah as research material. Given her personality, she'd be a tough one to crack but her powers seemed interesting. Now was a good opportunity though, from what he could deduce, her powers seem to take a great deal of mental strain and energy, so she most likely wouldn't be using it willy nilly on him. Plus, it was a chance to paint a good impression of him.


Noticing Hailey, he smiled to her as well. "Do you want to come too? If you're headed to a homeless shelter, you might need some things as well. Or I could give you a ride to wherever you need to go."


Shira walked up to Hailey. Staring at this person she didn't know, she brought her hands up to the blonde girl's face and pushed the corners of her mouth up to form a smile. "Better. My name is Shira. You were on tv?" Cas sighed. "Shira, stop bothering the girl." Shira spun around and stuck her tongue out at her brother. "I'm not bothering her Cas. She just seems a bit gloomy. So I fixed it."
 
"We should go now, right now," Katarina insisted, though her voice is a little softer now, and she continues to lead Chris to Steven's car, glancing back to make sure that her brothers and Steven are following. She throws a hurried "Thanks, Max," over her shoulder, but she isn't really paying attention to his offer.


Opening the door for Chris and giving her a little nudge on the shoulder so she knows to get inside, she slides in after her, then hunches down as low as she can in the backseat, wanting to make herself as small as she can, to avoid being seen by others. Her heart is beating faster than is comfortable, and her hands are cool and clammy as she takes Chris's hand, sitting in the middle seat. Waiting for Steven and her brothers to get in as well and start the car, she says under her breath to Chris, "This...they won't find us in Steven's place...they won't even remember him, they never really met him. Right? Chris, we'll be okay. They won't find us."


This is more a prayer to her own self than a reassurance to Chris, however, and she nervously taps her free hand against her knee, squeezing then releasing repeatedly as she tries to keep her hand busy where she won't be tempted to scratch, pinch, or scrape at herself, but not so busy she starts to do so without realizing.


Rikarah, watching this exchange without comment, says nothing to either assure or continue to frighten the DeSantos. She does not know their parents, but if they are child abusers, as the DeSantos declare, they certainly would meet her own personal criteria as those to target. If she cannot defeat Calico, then she can certainly shift her frustrated energies to this couple...and how deadly could they be, if the DeSantos, who in Rikarah's eyes, with the exception of perhaps Xander, seemed pretty pathetic an ineffectual, could escape them?


Yes, it would be interesting for her to remain close to the DeSantos, to continue to prod them for information on their parents, to even read their minds to obtain information when she is a little more recovered, and to perhaps track them down herself. It would ease Xander's burden, if for no other reason, and she likes him well enough to encourage him.


She has forgotten Castiel in her interest with the DeSanto drama, and so she turns back to look him over again, her eyebrows lifting as she observes again the extent of the damage to his leg. Yes, he does need to be treated more effectively than their current sad measures, and so when Max addresses her, she pauses only briefly to consider her reply. It will keep her close to them all, and this is her goal, isn't it?


"I will come." She too lowers her voice. "I believe you will need all the help you can get with this group."


**


It was Julian's intention to head straight for his shared bedroom in the homeless center. He knew that Jillian was out for now, and that he could not speak with Lionel about what he had seen. Liselle...maybe, though she would not understand, he was certain. She could not know the meaning of what had happened unless he told, and he had neither the ability nor the desire to attempt that now.


But when Julian tried to slip away through the front door, he saw that there was a new girl sitting on the couch in the main area, and that Lionel was nowhere to be seen. He had said that he would hang around the shelter all day, so that likely meant he was in the bedroom, meaning Julian would have to face him alone. He froze in the doorway, unable to decide whether to head back out or go in.


He really wished Jillian was there...he couldn't even remember now what plans he had made with Jillian. Where was he supposed to meet him later?
 
Xander can't help but admit how happy he was to see Rikarah's clear annoyance with Steven, her huff and eye roll even at the mention of him, finally, there was someone else around here who could see through the ex-marine. He listens to her explanation, her thoughts and theories on the 'angel' Steven, nodding lightly throughout it. She was definitely right, and extremely clever for her age, she was about his age, right? A bit younger maybe?


When she takes not one, but TWO steps closer to him, well Xander isn't sure whether he should step back, step closer or just look away all together. He didn't want to step back, that would make her think he wasn't interested, and well, it would be rude right? But stepping closer, would that freak her out? Would he also blush? To him, boys blushing was a big no no, only sissy's blush, sissy's and girls. Surely she wouldn't find it attractive? So he manages to instead meet her alluring eyes as she speaks of him carrying her. "Um, it, it was nothing honestly, I mean, you helped and everything, so it was the least I could do..." He trails off as his twin chooses then to burst into the room, speaking at light speed about Steven, dojo's, bedrooms, sharing, self-defense? Moving? Wait, what?


"Woah, slow down Kat!" But nope, instead of slowing down she is leaving the room, seemingly bounding with excitement - which he had toadmit was odd to see in his sister. He answers her question about Max just as he follows her into the crowded area, so it is entirely likely that the rich boy heard him, "Left Max behind? I thought he'd already left, he had a car with him and we waited there for quite a while." He only says this half-heartedly though, and he glances back at the room he and Rika had been in, was..was that her way of asking him on a date? Wasn't he supposed to ask her? Wait, what was he thinking? He couldn't start dating a girl anyway, he had to look after Chris, Kyle, even Kat! Why would a girl like Rikarah even want to 'date' Xander? She was smart, brave, attractive and best of all, she saw through Steven too!


Speaking of which, the ex-marine had only been here minutes and he was already pissing Xander off.


Xander looks to Steven as he tries to insult Max, even bringing Xander's little sister into it, and this is the first strike. Daggers from her eyes? Was that some kind of blind joke? Xander realised he disliked the man just as much as he always had. Rikarah had put ideas in Xander's head, how did Steven walk away so easily from that fight back there? Sure, Calico would have gotten restrained and taken away, good riddance, but Xander saw the helicopters, he knew Steven had called the marines, and they sure as heck wouldn't have let him just walk away with some sort of military arrest for unauthorized absence and MURDER. Rikarah was right, something shady was going on here.


Katarina was back to her usual, dopey, Steven-loving self, which annoyed Xander immensely, and when she turned to him, tugging on his sleeve and asking to go he frowns slightly, still not convinced with Steven's offer, "Wait, where are we staying? Here? A dojo? When was this decided?" He had to admit, he was a bit annoyed this huge decision was simply made without him, wasn't he the eldest too? He was one of the older boys as well, it wasn't like he was Kyle's age. He was in rank with Max and Steven in his eyes, so he should be treated like it too.


He hears Rikarah speak up about Max's foot, and the pedophilia issue, and glances to her with a barely-hidden smile, would she really want to go out on a 'date', with him? All this talk of dojo was confusing Xander a bit, he had caught up though when Rika spoke, so Steven had a dojo, where he was offering the DeSanto's to live, and also to train them and others to fight? Xander knew maybe he should try and learn to fight, he knew how to fight, but that was only street brawls and high school tussles, maybe it would be handy to learn marine style fighting. His power wouldn't always get him out of sticky situations, and it wasn't exactly smart to rely on it all the time, what if he lost it one day?


He wasn't sure if that would be a good or bad thing.


Then TV was mentioned. TV, they were on TV? Oh god no. Their parents, what if their parents had seen it? What..what if they were coming for them right now? No. Xander couldn't, he wouldn't let his disgusting, alcoholic abusive parents ever hurt Kyle, Chris or even Kat ever again. He decided there and then that if it came down to it, he would give himself up for his siblings just to get away. Kyle was older now, Chris was older too, they would have absolutely no qualms with hitting either of the younger siblings properly now, and Alice...they...what would they do to them after what happened to Alice? They'd kill them. They honestly would.


Xander paled almost as much as Kat, meeting her eyes and having the same thoughts. They needed to go. Now. He nodded at Kat, "Come on, the car's outside." He then quickly followed, helping them out. He couldn't even glance back at Rika he was so worried. He did however hear Max, and glance back at him, Xander did look worried as heck, more for his siblings than himself. "Uh thanks Max, we'll let you know." If we're not dead by then that is. He glances to Natalia and the girls, who are standing watching them, noticing that Natalia herself looks a little bit pale too, and nods at her, "Stay safe, you got my power?" Natalia shakes her head then, frowning a bit, and Xander quickly goes over to her, she grabs his wrist and a bolt of blue shoots up the girl's arm before she pulls back, creates an electricity ball, then makes it vanish before nodding at him, "Thanks. You stay safe too." He nods before chasing after his siblings, why did Natalia look so worried too? Was she worried about him? Or herself?


He quickly gets into the passenger's side of the car, as Steven should be the one to drive them to his house - as he knows where it is - and he immediately turns to face the others in the back, noticing Kat's worry. Of course he is terrified also and he tries to reassure them, "It'll be fine, they don't know where Steven lives anyway, I'm sure they never paid much attention, and anyway, who knows? They might have not even seen the news." This last piece is just some sort of half-hearted attempt to calm both himself and the others down. Maybe they had missed it? Maybe...





He turns to look at Steven, ignoring his dislike of the man for now, "Is the dojo far from here?"





-------------------


Natalia watches the siblings go with her own pale face. She can absent-mindedly feel Terabithia tugging on her lightly, questioning her about the TV and about killing and who knows what else. But still, she can't bring herself to answer. The news. They had been on the news. SHE had been on the news. What...what if her mum had seen it? She used to watch the news when she was in the middle of her morning drugs, or her afternoon drugs, she did watch the news, she knew she did. Was Natalia's face blurred? Was it clear she was there? She couldn't ask the blonde girl, no, she would look too weak.


She of course didn't stop to think that her standing there, with a pale face and widened eyes, made her look weak.


"Blue! Blue! What's wrong? What TV news? Why did Xander just shock you!" Terabithia was a bit worried now, tugging on Natalia's arm more prominently until she felt Lei's little hand on her shoulder, "Calm down Terabithia, Natalia doesn't look so well." Abi turned to look at the smaller girl, frowning, "Why?" She turned back to Natalia, "Are you okay Blue?" With this question Natalia seemed to 'wake up' from her thoughts and she glanced to the girl, "Um, uh, I'm fine Abi, it's nothing." Just the possibility of her Mother killing her when she found her, no biggie. "Why did Xander shock you? Did you two fight?" Natalia grinned lightly then, "He didn't shock me Abi, he just gave me his power for a bit in case my m..." She trailed off, "In case anyone else tries to be bad to us." Terabithia didn't seem to notice the slip of the tongue there, but Lei did. "Gave you his power?" The younger girl spoke this time, sounding curious, and Natalia looked to her, a tad suspicious. "Um, yeah." "How is that possible?" "Um, well.." Natalia seemed reluctant to tell, but Terabithia was piping up now, "Tell us Blue! We don't have secrets remember?" "Well, I, um, I have the power to copy people's powers?" She spoke quietly then, but it is highly likely that Max may have heard if he was paying attention. "Oooo! That's so cool Blue! So you can shock us now?" Natalia chuckled lightly, "Yeah, don't worry though Abi, I won't."


Lei meanwhile, has turned to look at Rikarah, Max, Shira and Castiel, "Can I come as well?" She walks over to stand beside Rikarah slowly - she trusts the girl who took her in more than Natalia. Rikarah seems kinder to her, less suspicious of her. She eyes Castiel's injury, "What did you use to clean it out before you bandaged it?" She hopes he cleaned it out. She clenches and unclenches her gloved hands, glancing up to Rikarah, waiting for permission to join them. You could see why Natalia was so suspicious of the girl, considering she was only five, she did speak all too well and act way to old for her age.


Terabithia chimes up now, bouncing on her feet as she speaks to Max happily, "Ooo, can me and Blue come aswell? We can help carry stuff! And I've never seen a proper rich house place before! Do you have an elevator or..or a lava lamp!!! I really want a lava lamp! They're soo pretty! Like a magical rainbow pool, but usually only one colour instead of all of them" Natalia doesn't speak at this. She won't admit it if asked, but she would actually like to go with them. If...if her mum comes for her...she can't be alone, especially not with Terabithia by her side. No..she...she can't.


(Amdreams, that Steven and Max comment made me laugh, it's actually way more accurate than mine - especially the kitten part xD Oh, Faith, is it okay if Natalia's mum has also seen the news report and comes for her daughter? Oh, and two questions about adorable little Alice, one, would the DeSanto siblings recognize her if they saw her? How long has it been since the fire? And two, would the non-DeSanto's see the similarity between Alice and the DeSanto siblings and be supicious? Like Abi or Natalia? Or would that give up the secret too fast?)
 
*Steven slowly shook his head to Xander* You guys are really scared of your parents aren't you? Well don't worry the dojo is on the other side of Queens, a good distance from the zoo, they shouldn't be able to find you, but we should all lay low for a few days and let things cool down. *Steven had no intention of telling anyone the whole reason he was free was he had to agree to be a NSA Assassin and that he has a poison flowing through his bloodstream that has to be slowed by the very people that hired him or it will kill him. That was the price of his freedom. No there was to much tension in the car as it is, he'll just keep this all to himself beside the less they know the less chance they can be in danger because of him again.* But while we're here Xander if you ever take my car again without permission you and me are gonna have a problem. As long as you don't do that we'll be fine.
 
(Sure Jo, that's fine. It's been about five months since the fire, so no one is significantly older, they should recognize Alice. I doubt they'd immediately think her related to any of them, her hair is lighter and she is very little, there are a lot of brunette little girls running around. Though not many without parents, admittedly. )


Katarina let out a slow, soft sigh of some relief as Steven assured them that the dojo was not exactly just around the corner from their current location. Still holding her younger sister and her younger brother's hands, she lets her eyes shift up to the ceiling of Steven's car, taking in several more calming breaths as she continues to try to calm herself.


They'll be okay. They're moving, right now, and surely her parents couldn't have already found them, this fast. Surely they wouldn't know where Steven lived or who he was. They weren't that smart, were they, they weren't that connected. At least, their father wasn't. They would all be safe. They would be safe, and Steven would teach her how to fight. He would finally see her really trying, and really making something of herself, hopefully, and then maybe he would love her again. Chris would feel better with Max helping her out, and maybe they'd fall in love too. Kyle, well, he could learn ninja stuff, though secretly Katarina hoped she would be just a little better than he was, if only to be able to impress Steven. And Xander...well, Xander had been looking at that Rikarah girl when Katarina walked in on them in the dressing room. Maybe if she was coming to train too, he would start something with her.


Yes, they could all be very happy, if it all happened like that.


"Thank you," she said to Steven yet again as they drew closer to their newest home. "Thank you so much."


**


Rikarah, watching the DeSantos depart, waits patiently for further instructions from Max, as well as his help in transporting Shira, who would almost certainly need herding, and Castiel into his vehicle. Lei, Natalia, and Terabithia, however, seem to have no plans to let this continue with little drama as the little girls request- or beg, in Terabithia's case- to be taken too. Considering this, Rikarah regards them, seeing no reason to herself that they would need to come. What use would children be in training or observation, except perhaps in the case of the rather exceptional Lei? Terabithia and her habit of being unable to tell a lie or keep back the truth could in fact endanger them all.


"It is Max's home and Max's decision," she says, "but I do not believe that it would be wise for either of you to go. You are young and best left in a familiar environment where you will be safe. You are too young to be doing training in my opinion and you have seen enough violence in the past few days. You have been very brave, the both of you, but I believe you are best left here...you would not want, Terabithia, to accidentally cause the others to be in danger."


Looking to Max for confirmation, she says to him quietly, "I am ready to leave when you are. However, I do wonder if you are offering for Castiel and Shira and I to stay the night, or simply to use your place to help Castiel."
 
It seemed Hailey’s news caused a new uproar within the family, the family she now figured some of them to be. They were scared of something…or someone rather, now that their faces were plastered on local news. Haile was feeling nervous and the urge to lie was ebbing n her, so when Max asked her about coming along with him, she responds quite easily. “I want to come” she is not sure where this place is or where exactly is her destination… just that she is going.


There are others who are quick to ask him, the girl that had touched Sebastian, the two young ones…and the small girl. Suddenly one of the girls she hadn’t met yet had approached her and pulled at her face. Hailey frowned, her face being forced up into a smile despite it by this….Shira-girl. She idly wondered if she was on TV “I was…” was her simple response, finally deciding on something “My name’s Amber” she lied easily, given that it was her real name…just not her first name.
 
Max did catch what Natalia said about her power but it wasn't anything shocking. He had already had his suspicions after the incident at the zoo and of course how the interactions between her and Xander. It'd have to take a complete idiot to not notice what was going on. He was still iffy on whether or not to pursue her ability. Her personality seemed skeptical and she was on the same sort of threat level Rikarah posed. One wrong step and it could be hazardous for his progress. He supposed it couldn't do too much harm to scope her out a bit like he was doing with Rikarah. Plus the only incriminating thing at his apartment was his computer and that was locked in his room under three levels of encryption and protection against all sorts of hackers.


He ruffled Abi's hair. "I don't see why you can't come. It seems more dangerous to leave you unprotected in this place. I don't think I have a lava lamp though." He did a quick count of the people coming. "Okay. Wait a bit." He then pulled out his phone. They were going to need another car so he called a random friend to come by.


Then Hailey introduced herself as Amber. "My name's still cooler." "Shira. You don't just say that to someone you just met." Shira stuck her tongue out at Cas who had his face in his hand. He turned to Hailey. "I'm sorry for my sister. She can be a bit . . . blunt. It's nice to meet you though Amber. My name is Cas and you met Shira."


In about ten minutes, another car pulled up by the theatre driven by one of Max's friend. He helped Cas into his own car and let everyone sort out the seating on their own.


Soon the entire group drove around New York until they came across a large apartment complex. His friend left after dropping everyone in his car off. Then after greeting the doorman, he led them to the elevator which took them up to his penthouse apartment. "Make yourselves at home, I guess. Kitchen's over there. There's a bathroom down the hall plus another one upstairs."


Then after supporting Cas to one of the sofas in the living room, he left to get the first aid kit. The first thing Shira did was run up to the large windows that made up an entire wall of the living area. She could see all sorts of buildings and could only imagine how this view looked at nighttime when all the lights came on. She then dove toward the television when something caught her eye. Resident Evil 6. Max had the latest game?!


The blond boy came back with a large box in his hands. "To answer your question earlier, Rikarah, I originally thought of just offering some help but you could stay the night if you want. I can only imagine how cold that theatre gets. I don't know if there's enough room though. There's only three bedrooms but my parents don't come here often. They have another house they stay in. It's your call."


He began unwrapping Cas' leg. It didn't look too bad though it was pretty disgusting. A simple broken bone that would heal in somewhere between three weeks to two months at most. What worried him was the torn muscle fibers. That would take much longer to heal and given that they weren't tended to right away, there was a chance the Asian wouldn't be able to fully recover his walking or running ability. He didn't voice this though. He then started disinfecting, grabbing a small brown bottle from the kit. "This is going to sting a bit." He then began dabbing the wound with the solution in a damp white cloth.


Cas nearly swore but held his tongue back. He looked at Max with conflicted feelings. On one hand he was grateful for the free treatment but was it really free? What did this rich boy get out of helping a homeless runaway? But then again, they say don't look a gift horse in the mouth.


As Max wrapped Cas' leg in some clean gauze, he spotted Shira holding up one of his games as if it was the holy grail. "You want to play?" Shira turned to face him with wide eyes and nodded as if she was having some sort of seizure. "Okay, we'll play later." She then jumped and started spinning around like a top. He assumed that meant she was happy.


Now excited, Shira went about the place trying to explore. Max sure had a lot of books . . . and snow globes. There was a full shelf of snow globes on the bookcase in the corner. She grab one that had a ballerina and shook it. Watching the dancer spin on her tiptoes as the snow circled her, Shira felt a sudden pain shoot through her head. She saw a vision of the ground but she was much higher up. She shook her head and everything was back to normal. That was weird. Shira placed the snow globe back on the shelf and found her way to the kitchen.


By this time, Ma had finished wrapping Cas' leg. "I don't have the things to create a proper cast so you'll just have to be extra careful not to move your leg, okay?" "Okay, I will. Thanks." Shira then came in with a bag of Oreos she found in the kitchen. Cas stared at her as she continued to eat the cookies. "Shira? Did you ask for those?"





Shira looked down at the bag and then back at her brother. She then ran toward the door out of the room shouting "Mine!" while trying to stuff as many cookies down her throat as she could. "Shira! Get back here!" Right as she said that, Shira fell to the floor. She had so many cookies in her mouth that she nearly choked but managed to swallow the chocolate lump with much effort. She looked out at everyone after her near death experience, picked up the bag and ran out of the room eating more cookies. Max then burst out laughing. "It's fine. I can get more anytime I want."
 
Max's decision to open his home to the children as well as to the older teenagers, particularly considering that it has only three bedrooms, is a decision that Rikarah privately thinks is foolish and dangerous, but she says nothing. It is his home, his life, and as it is, she can always exit whenever she feels necessary and leave the others behind to reap consequences. If they endanger her or her freedom, she will simply deal with that as the time comes.


Hearing the blonde foolish girl say her name- Amber- Rikarah turns to regard her. The girl has been so quiet that she has paid her little mind, and she certainly did not expect her to volunteer to come. Looking at her steadily, she says to her with skepticism, "You were walking directly to the men who were holding a young boy captive and threatening to harm us all, as though you allied with him. Or perhaps as if you thought you were foolish enough to save him. Yet I did not see you use any powers of any kind. What would cause you to do such a thing, if you are not on their side and wishing us harm?"


They are already climbing into Max's car, and her concern seems moot, but she voices it all the same. "I would not be so quick to trust Amber, here. No innocent person would be associating themselves so readily with people like us without an agenda of her own or a connection to any one of us."


It is a toss up to her which person she should exert her energy upon attempting to read the thoughts of next- Amber, who is clearly suspicious to her, Max, whose great generosity seems most unusual in a boy of his age as well, or Steven, who Rikarah flatly distrusts and believes to be holding something back from them. As she slides into the car with the young girls, Max, Shira, Castiel, "Amber," and Natalia, she pulls Terabithia onto her lap to make room and allows Lei to choose a lap to sit on as well. At least she is not the one required to sit on someone this trip.


She remains sharply observant of the interior of Max's place as she follows the others inside, making sure to note each of the objects and its layout, as is her habit when in a new environment, for it would likely tell her much about Max himself. Mostly ignoring the others as they trickled in, she went up to where Max was bandaging Castiel again and studied them both. "It could be infected. What is the pain to you, Castiel? Burning, throbbing, stinging, what is the severity...does it feel numb, cold, hot?"


Max is offering her and the others the chance to stay the night, and Rikarah considers it carefully. If a person or two shared a couch, then that left several to a bedroom. Clearly Castiel with his leg should get a bedroom, and perhaps he could share with Shira. The little girls could share another room, and herself and Natalia another. That left Max and Amber, with one taking the couch.


And yet, how could she go back to the theater alone, when offered a place with running water, heat, a place where others likely could not track her? How could she miss out on finding out more about these people?


"I suppose we can work out arrangements," she said to Max finally. "I do not know if you are staying or where you plan to sleep. I was thinking that if you do not plan to stay here, the children to a room, myself and Natalia to another, Castiel and Shira to another room, and I suppose Amber..." she lets her eyes slide to her meaningfully, making it clear that she thinks the girl does not belong with them, "can do as she pleases. If you are staying, then perhaps you could be with Castiel as you are both males, Amber and Shira, then Natalia and me. The children could share the couch in that case."


She watches Shira's antics with faint amusement, adding, "Although I suppose she is considered a child as well, in all reality."


**


Pulling into Steven's dojo, Katarina is already thinking about arrangements of bedrooms. She cannot remember how many Steven had said there were- three? He should have one to himself then, of course, and then she and Chris and Xander and Kyle could share the other two between themselves. How long will he let them stay, will this really work for any of them?


Looking to see that her siblings are following as they begin to get out, she reaches for Chris's hand to guide her towards its door. "Thank you," she says again to Steven as she starts forward. "You didn't have to...I mean...thank you."


Maybe this can be a new start for them all. Maybe this will be totally different than it's been...maybe THEY can be different. And she can't deny that a small part of her- or maybe not so small- is still hoping that somewhere down the line, she can succeed at impressing him.


**


Alice DeSanto, known by any who ask as Leslie Smith, had hoped that her friend Madison would stay with her in the park for a long time, but that wasn't to be. Madison had gotten a phone call only about half an hour into their time together, and it had been with a hug and quick kiss on Alice's cheek, lasting entirely too short of a time for her, that she had told her she had to go, that she had business to get to.


"I wish I could hang around with you, have fun with you some more...you know I'd rather be with you, right?" Madison had whispered, tweaking her nose. "I'll be back tomorrow, same time, same place, okay? Tonight, guess what I've decided...tomorrow you can sleep in my garage! MY garage of MY house, and you know what else, Leslie? You can stay there EVERY night from now on, and you'll always be safe, and I'll always know where you are! So when I meet you, I'm taking you home with me, and I'll show you exactly where you can hide where my parents won't see you. That way I can come to you every night and teach you everything you should know, and we should really have some fun...isn't that exciting, Leslie?"


And it was. Alice could hardly wait until tomorrow, where she would finally have a place to go, even if was only part of a house. And she would have Madison. Madison would always take care of her, she had promised...she was the best friend in the whole world.


Alice was humming to herself happily with anticipation as she skipped through the park.
 
Liselle nodded and took a few donuts. She was bored and she glanced around looking for something to entertain her. She was going to have to explain to her boss why she wasn't there yesterday or today. It made her sick to think of the things her gross boss would say to her to "make up" for her missing work. She realize she was no longer hungry.


The girl was about to engage one of the workers, see what she could find out about staying at the shelter, when she heard the door open. Julian was back and he didn't look happy. Not that he really looked happy. Nervous seemed to almost be his permenant state of being. Still Liselle wanted to talk to him. She was curious as to how he got here, who was the girl he was with this morning. She moved over to him and offered a munchkin.


"Hey there Julian. Back from a walk? You okay?"


----


Chris kind of wanted to go with Max instead of to Steven's house. She felt kind of jealous if she was being honest about the others that got to go with Max, but she was going to see him again. Well not exactly see him. Although she was trying to memorize his outline. She did it with everyone she was close to. It made it easier for her to identify them among other things. She could tell which of her family was around by the way they walked and if they were close enough their smell. And other small ways.


She let her sister bring her to the car but not before turning and waving goodbye to where she hoped Max was. She smiled a little to herself, but she was not exactly in a good mood. She was still shaken up. If she wasn't, she'd probably throw a fit over being led by Kat. Even if she was blind, she didn't like it when someone lead her around. Not when it wasn't necessary. She had to do it once though for Xander. It was dark and he couldn't see but with her powers they were able to get through a rather broken down place. It seemed so long ago.


Chris sat in the car. She leaned against Kat when she spoke. "I know," she told her sister. "We'll be okay." Chris wanted to believe that. She wasn't to believe that things were getting better, even if it wasn't that much. They were going to a better home right now and they'd be safe. Chris wanted to believe that so much she felt like she might scream if someone suggested otherwise.


Chris let Kat help her out of the car, but she shook off her hand after a while.


"Yes thank you Steven. You didn't have to do this." Sure Chris didn't like Steven as much, but he didn't have to do this. Share this place with then, Her thanks was sincere.


----


Jillian wondered what his life was going to be now. He was finally dating someone again and he felt really good about this one. He liked Julian a lot. He knew he had his issues, but Jillian was sure they would work past them and have a good future.


The man laughed at himself. What was he doing? Thinking about the future. He should concentrate on the now, but still. It felt nice to imagine having a good future with Julian.


"Well as good of a future a gay crossdresser can have with his gay lover," Jillian said to himself with a smile. Maybe he had a feel of his own issues to work past too, He couldn't forget about them. It was even more important now to figure out who he was now that he had entered into what he hoped was a serious and long relationship. He didn't want to hurt Julian because he realized that he was something else.


Jillian passed by the park as he normally did. Julian and Liselle use to live here and Duck as well. He missed Duck wondering where the boy had gotten off to. Maybe he'd reappear some day. Maybe he was happy where he was.


Jillian paused though when he saw a young girl in the park. He waved at her. "Hey shouldn't you be with one of your parents?"
 
Julian, who had been vaguely staring in the direction of the donuts still resting on the coffee table, wondering without full concentration if his physical hunger would be overruled by his anxiety and make it impossible for him to eat, looked up with a gasp as Liselle addressed him. He had known she was present, known she could likely see him, maybe even guess at his mood or emotions, but somehow none of these factors had clicked together into his mind to make it clear to him that she might speak to him about them. Even in the best of times Liselle, nice as she had always been to him, was someone who made him nervous, and now it was difficult for him to speak at all without stammering horribly, heart beating wildly. What if she could see through him, could see EXACTLY what he was thinking, knew what had happened? Was that possible?


"L-Liselle...I-I...I w-was...yes...."


It was true, he WAS on a walk. That was perfectly true. It was all the rest that was difficult to even begin to think of saying aloud to anyone.


**


Alice didn't notice the "girl" watching her, and in fact skipped right past her, oblivious to her presence entirely. Usually Alice was quiet, careful, and very watchful, making sure to keep her eyes on anyone and everyone around her. It was necessary, when you were only little, when everyone automatically noticed you and wanted to take you away. Madison had told her what would happen to her if anyone ever found her, or if she told them that Madison was looking out for her and keeping her secret, and Alice believed her. It was just as bad as what Alice had already known herself.


"If anyone ever found you, Leslie, and they figured out that you were living all by yourself, they would think you must be a bad girl that no one wanted," Madison had told her, her eyes serious and sad as she kept an arm around Alice's shoulders, leaning close to her ear. "They would think that a bad little girl like you needs to live in a home for bad girls that was like a jail for kids, and they would hardly feed you and never let you go out and play, and you would never have anyone who cared about you or loved you at all. They would hurt you in that bad jail, and if they knew that I was helping you, they would think I was bad too, and I would go to jail. But it would be a jail for grown ups, and for me, it would be even worse. So you can't ever, ever let anyone take you, and you can't ever tell them about me and how I love and help you...can you?"


And Alice had known she couldn't. Madison didn't even know how bad she REALLY was, how she and her brothers and sisters had made a fire and not even put it out, and how they might even be dead. They must be or they would have found her...that was what Alice thought. And if they weren't then their parents might be, and they might be so, so mad at her for making them have a fire if they were alive. She couldn't ever go back to them, could she?


So when this "girl" calls out to her, asking her about her parents, Alice froze, her first instinct to point out a random stranger in the park and claim them as her parent. But her stronger instinct was simply to run, and so this is exactly what she did.
 
*Steven jumps out of the car, he told everyone not to worry about their parents finding them here but he can't help but look around and rushing everyone inside. The dojo is a 3 leveled brownstone, the first floor being the dojo, sadly it's not very modern and the equipment is rather worn and old mostly from being used since Steven was old enough to walk, his father was more about fixing stuff then replacing it. The door to the living area is next to the door to the dojo as well as one in the back of the dojo, the main floor of the living quarters is the living room, kitchen, there is a bathroom with a shower and the two smaller bedrooms, the next floor is the main bedroom and bathroom, Steven's father kept his office up here also again not much for modern touches and hasn't been touched since his father was killed. After showing everyone to the rooms they would use. He leads them to the living room.* So you've had the tour make yourselves at home, I haven't had time to shop but I'll leave some money for you in the kitchen, if you don't want to go out there is a store that will deliver but it's a bit expensive, not sure if it's as good as I remember but the pizza place 2 blocks away was pretty good, for tonight that sounds like a plan.


*Kyle lights up at the thought of an actual hot pizza, they've had cold pizza that nobody wanted to finish but he's also confused about something, the bedrooms, one of them was set up like a typical guest room but the other, the one the girls are in looked like it was Steven's room, why wouldn't he want to stay in his own room, but it dawns on him, if he loved his parents as much as Steven loved his, he wouldn't want strangers sleeping in there anyway, it probably hurts him just being in there himself..This dawns on him as some deep thinking for him. But in the end he's just happy to have a clean room and bed again, he shouldn't worry to much about details.*


*Anthony now restock with beer, already killed half of the new 6 pack, pacing around waiting for something to go on, sucks being the muscle in this relationship Alica is such an arrogant ***** especially when she knows she's the one calling the shots but this is fine let her for now but as soon as there is something to hit then everything will shift and he'll be back in control and when that happens if he sees a chance well lets just say friendly fire is not off the table but for now let her prove she can still be useful, cause if the company finds out they lost those damn kids, he'll really have to go on the run she'll just be dead weight and that he doesn't need.*
 
(I forget...how did Steven's parents die again? Is that in your character sign up, and do the DeSantos know the story? sorry)


Katarina notices when Chris pulls away from her, but she had also noticed earlier when she leaned against her, letting her touch her. She doesn't begrudge her sister retreating and instead moves beside Kyle, squeezing his shoulder as they follow Steven inside. She doesn't yet move towards Steven or try to touch him, as she is not sure how he will react. He has been distant from her ever since before what happened at the zoo, and she is no longer sure she knows what he wants, or if he wants at all from her.


He is probably letting them stay here and agreeing to train her out of pity, but on the off chance that he might still like her, Katarina stays quiet as she walks through the front door, trying to figure out how to best make him like her again. She has no ideas at the moment, but is soon distracted from this line of thinking anyway as she walks around Steven's living room, familiarizing herself with the dojo's layout as she follows where he is guiding them. She is smiling, even as she keeps her head slightly down. The place is clearly old and somewhat unkept, but it is better by far than the theater or the motel, and even than the apartment they had once shared with their parents. She wonders how long it is that Steven will let them stay there, because this is better than she could have hoped for.


"Thank you," she tells him again, and she reaches out to both her brothers, giving them little hugs on impulse before, in a more thought out gesture, slowly approaching Steven and attempting to hug him too. This she is more nervous about, and she holds back, allowing him to react as he wants to it. It crosses her mind briefly that she has not thought about or felt an impulse to hurt herself in a few hours, which for her is rather impressive.


**


Alicia rolls her eyes, sighing impatiently as she casts a disgusted glance in her husband's direction. It was beyond her why anyone would select Anthony DeSanto for a job of this magnitude. Granted, he did have some skill, and he had muscle as well, but anyone could see he wasn't to be trusted with anything of any importance. Why else would they have screwed this all over so royally to begin with if he hadn't let the kids slip through their fingers that night?


"I"m going out," she announces abruptly, snatching up her purse and keys and pushing past him none too gently on her way towards the doorway. "If you can manage to not fall into a drunken coma, refer anyone who calls to my number. You know that sitting with your hands beneath your ass is never going to get us what we want. If we want this


(was thinking...what if they did get Alice back, and used her as bait for DeSantos? Alicia could meet up with Madison, have her direct her, and decide that Madison is just too slow. Maybe she could even have Madison come retrieve her while Jillian is talking to her, and he could witness her being taken, draw him in on the main plot. But how will we connect the DeSantos with the homeless shelter gang? Maybe Rikarah can witness it, head otu to the car, see the child being taken and rifle through Alicia's mind to realize what is going on? That might could work if she left Max's place briefly)


(if that's the case, then we might need to have the kids go through some training lessons soon, lol)
 
*Anthony waits till Alica is about to reach the doorknob when he throws a knife that breezes a half inch pass her ear.* Damn I missed I guess I must be drunker then I thought or maybe not drunk enough oh well back to drinking...Oh be a dear and bring me back some more beer, make yourself useful you don't cook, you don't screw and a root canal is more fun then you so yeah do something useful!


*Steven nods to Kat and gives them all a small smile.* Are you kidding it's the least I can do after anyway you all settle in and feel free to use the dojo, just don't wear your shoes inside and don't touch the weapons without me there...Oh can you all give me tonight alone before you decide to go down there.* Steven going down to the dojo, it's been a long time since he's been here, showing respect to his father his removes his shoes before stepping inside, walking around seeing pictures, metals and trophies that either he, another student won for their dojo, he comes to a picture of him, his mother and father together at his graduation from boot camp, it was the last time he saw his parents alive 7 months after that Calico and his thugs beat them both to death. He walks to the training mats where a heavy bag is hanging and starts hitting it, at first it was just something to do but the more he thinks about his parents the harder he lays into it before he knows it the bag the same bag he's worked out on most his life is suddenly shredded and a pile of sand on the floor
 
((Probably a bad idea to let Lei sit on Hailey 8D…Also, if Jessie managed to get in range to null their powers...would he null Alicia’s influence as well? Just a thought.)


“Allied with him?” Hailey had expected skepticism at her being here…but to go so far “I don’t know what you were seeing, but he was the one to give me this…” she retorts, pointing on her still very black eye. Then after a pause she adds, “He had something of mine too…” she remembers Jessie’s face behind him, and that brings all her memories of him up to the surface. The blonde missed him dearly, and she could only guess that he felt the same way about her now.


They were in the car already though, and she tries to avoid the children; she had never been good with children. “I thought I could save him” she mumbles, still disappointed in how well that plan had went “I am not gifted…but I…I just thought…” the girl trails off, upset at herself. What this girl was saying was true, she had put the young boy in danger by trying to get Jessie back, but for her Jessie was the only thing holding her here. He was her family…much like that boy was to the others.


Rikarah is still quick to note not to trust her, and she realizes no matter what she says the girl will still be suspicious. Hailey simply came along because she was invited along, but it was no use telling her that. Instead of focusing on the girl, she turns her attention towards Cas, Max and Shira who were friendly to her.


When they make it to Max’s apartment complex she follows the others, astonished by the penthouse’s size. The man who initially invited them tells them to make their selves at home, but she isn’t sure what that means. Her first home probably didn’t qualify, and she was in foster care after that, either that or the homeless shelter. The girl eventually submitted to taking a seat in the love seat, looking around idly. Hailey was curious as to what was in the rest of the house, but it was probably better for her image to stick around.


It was lucky, because she almost missed Rikarah’s suspicious looks and the weird show that Shira put on with Oreos. It was clear that the girl did not like her, and she sighed “I could always go to the homeless shelter like I was planning to…it doesn’t seem she likes me” she notes. Hailey gaze slides to Rikarah, as if it wasn’t obvious she noticed her disdain. “Thank you for inviting me though” she bows her head slightly and stands up, brushing her shirt over the bruises from both Calico and Mike.
 
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