Posts by Crimsy3366

~"I guess I'm... Indifferent?" It was an odd thing for someone like Devyn to feel- someone so anxious. She was a creature of empathy, sympathy, fear, love, every deep emotion essentially made up the fibers of her being. Feeling nothing was unnerving in and of itself, but truly, towards the new place, she felt nothing. "I don't know, it feels safe, but I guess nothing is gonna feel right. Lazarus was my home. All of our home. I spoke my first words there, I learned how to read braille there. It holds- held so many memories. It kind of feels like another person... Died. I don't know, is that dark?" She allowed an awkward laugh to follow her words in an attempt to make it a little lighter.

~So many of their family had passed or been killed in an awfully short period of time. She felt guilty for not crying anymore. She hadn't cried when Chelsea got shot down. She didn't even cry through La Seine's traumatic death. She had just... Watched. Silently. Numbly. She didn't feel anything and to be completely honest, she was just waiting for everything to hit her out of nowhere like a ton of bricks. And she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take. She knew sometimes it could take months or years for death to set in on people and by then everyone else will have learned to cope and-

~Spokely wasn't asking about the deaths. Of course she wasn't, it would be impolite, but even while dissociating, Devyn's mind would still wander. "It's really nice though. After being separated for so long, I don't even mind the close quarters or the lack of doors," she paused to laugh genuinely this time, "although I don't think it'll be long before we're at each others throats. Hopefully we'll have a real house before it gets to that point." Her eyes scanned the garden curiously before settling back on Benji. "I've been meaning to thank you for helping us. Maybe you did it for him," there was a pleasant smile on her face so as not to be accusatory, "but either way, you helped us out too and you really didn't have to." Devyn turned her gaze to Spokely, watching the other female partially through her bangs, "I'm glad that you've become a part of our family. Whether you intended to or not."

~Merrick had allowed his eyes to close, barely reacting when Coeus' thumb was placed on his forehead and he genuinely felt as though this was the touch of the grim reaper himself. His heart was thrashing against his rib cage, everything inside of him screaming to tell Coeus to stop, but he didn't. He just breathed in, breathed out, and accepted it.

~Whenever someone dies, there's a saying that their "life flashes before their eyes" and this derrives from how their brain absolutely ignites. All of the synapses are firing, trying to communicate neural impulses to say "arms move! Heart, beat! Lungs, pump! Come on!" This is why many people spasm ot twitch for a couple seconds as their brain sowly submits to death. Not Merrick. The lab errupted in sound with no way to tell where it was coming from, like surround-sound speakers were integrated into the wall. Sounds of memories, garbled together, inintelligible, carrying on for only about 5 seconds. Its conclusion was a high pitched sound akin to that of two microphones getting too close together on a stage. Then it was truly "all over" and the sound cut completely.

~"What the absolute fuck?" Carmen's voice was sandpaper at the end of the hallway. No matter how she'd tried to cover her ears, it did nothing to block out the sound. It just kept ringing at the same piercing volume, ending painfully and abruptly. Murky green eyes squinted at the carve out in the wall where a door would reside, instead hung a curtain that she'd left open for the time being. Just so no one could take her off guard. So much for that.

~Things were happening in far mmore rapid succession than they ever had when she lived on the city streets, playing a constant game of "hotel hopper". Things went slow on the streets. Apparently these people didn't know the defintion of "taking a break". It was just unnerving thing after unnerving thing and every little bit of it made her want to leave just a little bit more. With a disgruntled groan, she settled back into her bed, "trimming" her nails by gnawing at them until her fingers bled. It wasn't her business, and she had every intention of staying as out of these people's ways as physically possible, and she'd advised every "lab kid" to do the same. They weren't really welcome there. Not to say that ALL of them were unwlecome, there was just this weird sense of distance between those from this "Lazarus" cult and those from the lab- whether they had been a subject or a guard or a doctor, it didn't matter. There was just an impenetrable distance. And she sure as Hell wasn't about to be the one to pitch an ice breaker. Not with that Amazon woman on a constant rampage and her sickeningly sweet brother. The two of them were just alltogether off-putting. Unless someone was dead and it would be morally corrupt of her to just sit around in her own little room, Carmen had no intention of leaving- weird echo-y sounds or not.

~When Carmen's curtain flew open, she was simply lounging on her bed, studying the aimless markings on the ceiling with little care, but upon hearing the frantic tone of Clark's voice, she willed herself to sit up and look the other girl in the eye. "Alright, slow down, Supergal, I heard it too," I just figured that it wasn't my problem, "I don't know who's who or what's what with these people, but whatever it is, the best thing we can do is just let them handle it unless they ask us directly for help." It sounded oddly wise of her, especially given the lack of swearing woven into her words.

~Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she heaved herself up with a grunt and gently guided Clark out of the doorway and all the way into Carmen's "room", then, she poked her head around the concrete wall. It only took a moment for her to spot the slowly pooling blood at the other end of the hall before her eyes flew wide and she ducked back into the room all the way, yanking the curtain shut behind her, she met Clark's eye again with an oddly bemused look.

~"Holy fuck." She nearly laughed. "He's totally wrecked!" The rasping crackle of her voice jumped an octave in her excitement. This was the first exciting thing to happen in days! "Do you think someone got into a fight? I didn't hear fighting."

~Charles flew down the hall after Atlas. Loki had said Coeus. Last they'd heard of Coeus he was going to go talk to Merrick, now, only a few minutes later Loki bursts in looking terrified? Loki. Of all people. He almost always keeps his cool. This had to be bad. He felt like he was toppling over people, pushing his housemates out of the way with wreckless abandon and didn't stop when he saw Coeus' body. He B-lined to his brother. Or rather, his brother's body.

~Ellie watched the scene unfold with wide, doe eyes, skimming slowly over Coeus' unconscious body as he lay limp in the door frame. It wasn't long until Atlas and Charlie came down the hallway like two blonde hurricanes. One, wearing a stoic expression of business, the other creased into concern.

~Get Themis. Ellie's legs were moving before Atlas could even finish Themis' name.

~The young fashionista didn't know the layout of their new abode very well. She was sure she had taken several wrong turns on her way to the east hall until her worries were cast out the window upon arriving in the kitchen. Her gaze flitted over Dallas, then Maddox- frazzled and terrified before taking off again out the door on the opposite side of the dining hall. A long stretch of hallway opened up before her and she sighed, unwilling to waste any time looking in each room. That is, until a small wall placard reading "east hall" caught her eye and a weight lifted off her shoulders. She knew Themis was at one of the master bedrooms towards the end of the hall.

~She didn't bother knocking when she found Themis' door, throwing it open carelessly. "Themis!" Her breath was ragged, but she gave herself no time to relax. "Something happened. I- I don't know exactly what, but C-Coeus is on the ground, he's bleeding. I think something's wrong with Merrick too? I don't know, I- I couldn't really see a lot and-" tears pricked her eyes as she searched for words to express the situation, but they fell just as gracefully over her tongue as a bull in a coffee shop. "Just- Just- Just come with me! We gotta go!" And she took off again back to the West hall.

~"Merrick." Charlie's voice was a hard demand as he laid a rough hand on Merrick's frail shoulder. The other blonde was completely limp under his touch. "Merrick." He gritted out, harder, giving his shoulder a violent shake, causing the empty shell of a man beneath him to flop over, head lolling forward. Charlie's fingers flew to his brother's neck, feeling for a pulse, but something in the pit of his stomach already knew the answer to the question that singed his nerves. No pulse. No breath. Nothing. "Tu ferais mieux de te réveiller!" His raw throat forced out a scream, gripping both of his baby brother's shoulders in trembling fingers as he slammed him back against the bed. "Se lever. Se lever! SE LEVER!"

~He abruptly released the limp body and threw himself back onto the ground, kicking at the bed frame with his heel before he allowed his head to collapse into his own readily awaiting arms. An enraged, borderline animalistic wail bubbled over his lips as his scarred right arm swung down and collided with the ground in fury. He'd just gotten his brother back. He was a little asshole, but he was CHARLIE'S little asshole and now he was just... Gone.

~A few moments of silence passed before Charles lifted his head, untngling his fingers from the blonde curls atop his head as turquoise eyes settled on the man blacked out in the doorway. "I'm gonna kill him." His voice sounded hollow, distant coming from his tear-streaked lips. "Je vais le détruire."

Translations: 1. "You better wake up, you asshole!"

2. "Get up. Get up! GET UP!"

3. "I'm gonna fucking destroy him."

Blank form (note: I TRUST Y'ALL!! Be as vague or as thorough as you want! I always just like to give thorough forms cause I like em! Don't answer stuff if you wanna develop it naturally, just lmk!):

~Charles' exhausted gaze fell onto Coeus the second he rose from the floor. He was unreadable despite the white hot rage that surged through him as adrenaline pumped simply at the sight of the twin. Explain yourself. He could have laughed if he wasn't so furious. If there wasn't only destruction on his mind. If he didn't have to avoid looking at anything directly to save from a life-risking explosion errupting the building from its very core. He could feel it. That pressure. That need to get revenge. He was never like this before. He'd have never intentionally killed another man, but if that's the level Coeus would stoop to, perhaps it was time Charles joined him down there.

~"What could there possibly be to explain?" Charlie's voice was hoarse, French weighting each of his words heavily as English felt more foreign than it ever had before in his life. "We all know what happened here." He pushed himself up onto shaky legs, stabilizing himself with the same metal bed frame he had just moments ago been beating on as hard as he could, having caused no real damage. "Coeus killed him. There's no excuse no... No explanation that could make it okay. Words can't bring my brother back. Words won't make this blow over."

~As he spoke, Charlie ambled over to Coeus, almost so casually one would think nothing was wrong save for the slowly darkening look in his eyes. He'd lost La Seine. He'd lost the reason he tried to keep himself kind, tried to keep himself presentable. Maybe Merrick had been right all along. Maybe he was the Devil's child. Afterall, who else could have such a dangerously destructive power?

~Who else but Coeus. Maybe the two of them were far more similar than Charlie gave them credit for. But that didn't change the fact that Coeus took a life today. Deliberately. Unforced. How many others had he killed? How many more would die at his hand? How many more people would leave this world with the last pair of eyes that they locked in on being Coeus'? Coeus' dead, emotionless, sociopathic, disgusting eyes.

~He suddenly moved quickly, grabbing the bloodied front of Coeus' once-white dress shirt, twisting it, and pushing Coeus up against the nearest wall, leaning in so his knuckled dug in deep to the older man's chest. He could feel Coeus' breath on his face as he pressed forward, eyebrows knit together, eyes searching eyes almost as though he were looking for some bit of regret. Something to redeem him even a little. And there was nothing.

~"I could destroy you, right here, right now. How does it feel to be on the flip side of your own ability, you disgusting piece of-"

~"Charlie..." Ellie's voice was small, shrinking back into itself before she could even get out the two syllables of her housemate's name. "Don't-"

~"I could... I could..." His arms were shaking, almost all of his weight bearing down on Coeus, turquoise silently wearing into those dull optics.

~"I know for a fact that ONE of those guys is wicked dangerous." Carmen murmured to Clark, cautious not to be overheard. She was sure that none of the Lazarus people would appreciate her speculating on something so serious to them. To her it just... Wasn't a big deal. Being in the lab for so long was numbing. Maybe that French guy wasn't there long enough to be numbed. Maybe he was just different. Who knew. "I wonder about the other guy- coitus? Crowmus? C- C something."

~Plump lips pursed together in thought before looking back at Clark curiously. "This feels like something out of a movie." She chuckled, but cut herself short. How long had Clark been in the lab? She had been there seemingly long before Carmen herself, but even still... Did she even know what a movie was? "Or... Like- out of a comic." Better. Much more relatable for the other girl.

~"Bull SHIT." Charlie moved ot lunge for Coeus again, but forced himself to halt. He wasn't an animal. He'd been cooped up and caged like one for so long, it was almost as though he was beginning to lose his humanity. Or what little of it he'd had to begin with. Merrick would have reminded him of that. That he was a monster, that he was disgusting, that he was worthless. Was he angry because his brother was killed? His brother who'd tormented him his entire life? Or was he just mad because it was COEUS who did it? Honestly, he didn't know. All he knew was that he DIDN'T want to just roll over and let it slide. "Do you honestly think that ANYONE is going to take your word for it, you fucking sociopath?"

~Charles barely even knew what he was doing. It was barely afternoon, maybe 12:15 at the latest and he was already screaming at the top of his lungs, making a scene, attacking another man. Then again, it was barely afternoon and his brother had just been killed. "He would have told me." He assured himself, but would he have? Weighed down equally as persistent. "He'd have... He-"

~The heels of his palms flew up to his eyes, scrubbing at them furiously, but a few tears managed to escape, sliding over his flushed cheeks. He met Coeus' eye with knitted brows, seething within his own skin. Each breath he breathed heaved through his lungs, heavy, as though the air was molasses and he just stood there- swarming emotions fighting for purchace within his irises, stormy with sorrow and a drug-induced haze. An old shelf hung from the wall only a few feet away from Coeus' head and Charlie raised his hand. In a fast, fluid motion, he clenched his fist, watching the wood splinter immediately and cover the ground in the most satisfying of ways. A pang of pain scraped through his brain and he grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose hard with his left hand as the right retrieved pills from his pocket in a practiced method. He swallowed them dry, shook his head and left his eyes closed, searching for a solution. Something to make this okay. Some loophole. Maybe something to prove to him that that wasn't his brother's body laying on the bed behind him. That this was all a dream. That he'd wake up and be back in his bed at Lazarus house. No such luck.

~It only took seconds for him to feel suffocated. It was as if the realization that so many pairs of eyes were on him, that his brother WAS dead, that Themis WAS cradling his lifeless face in her hands, that Coeus WAS responsible for this. He needed to leave. He needed to get out. He needed OUT.

~"I'm- I, I, I'm going." There was a shaken tone to his voice, like he didn't have full control over his vocalcords. "I need to go. I'm- I need to-" He shoved past Coeus, making sure to ram the other man as hard as possible with his shoulder on his way out. He nearly tripped over Atlas and on his way to dodge her, he only narrowly avoided running face-first into Loki's chest. He needed out. He needed out.

(//I had waited to respond with Spokes and Devyn because I felt like I was typing A LOT for Charlie for my past few posts being on mobile, plus with Carmen, they were just getting hecka long, so here's picking back up with them//)

~Spokely's awkward words of appreciation sent a warm flutter through Devyn's chest. Just as her lips parted to respond, that awful garbled mess of a sound rang through the courtyard and she, with her sensitive ears, had to clap her palms over her ears to drown it out. Really? Something else just had to happen, right? They couldn't get a break.

~"What was... What do you think that could have been?" Her eyesbrows knitted together in confusion as her eyes flitted back and forth, a habit she'd developped when she was blind and for some reason couldn't stop doing despite the dizzying sensation it gave her when accompanied by vision. It helped her focus. Just a little psychological tick.

~She didn't really react for a few minutes until through the glass window panels looking into the lab, she made out Charlie's frenzied figure staggering along towards the exit. She rose to her feet immediately and made a b-line right to him.

~"Charlie." She called as she entered the building, following after him as he seemed to desperately search for something.

~"Where are the keys?" He demanded, not meeting her eye as he continued weaving about the bottom floor of the lab, checking near the front door several times.

~"Pardon?"

~"The keys." He repeated, harsher.

~"Charlie, can you stop pacing around and talk to me? What's going on?" Devyn was desperate. She'd seen him at some of his worst times, many of which being in passing at the lab. She'd figured now that he was out, he could... Recover. They could all recover and rekindle their family flame together.

~Charlie whipped around and gripped her petite shoulders hard enough to leave a small bruise on a normal person. Devyn? She was sure she'd have black and blues in the shape of his hands for a week. She could feel his breath on her face, see the look in his eyes and while she wasn't great at reading expressions quite yet, she knew it wasn't good. It was almost... Crazed.

~"Shut the fuck up for once in your life and make yourself useful. Find the fucking keys." He released her and carried on, out of the room and towards the hall Atlas, Coeus, and Themis resided in.

~For a moment, Devyn was frozen in shock, eyes wide, body tense, heart pulverizing the inner walls of her chest so hard that it ached. What had gotten into him? Despite the fear and anger cocktail swirling delicately in the forefront of her mind, she managed to push it to the back in order to fulfill his request. However, moments later, Charlie re-emerged, a bitter look on his face.

~"Nevermind. I got them."

~"Charlie, will you please at least tell me where you're going?" Devyn's voice was meek as she spoke after him, eyes fixated on the car keys he must have retrieved from one of their caretaker's bedrooms. He didn't respond, only swinging open the front door and allowing his eyes to skim over the expanse of snowy ground. Just as he moved to continue out the door, Devyn caught his arm, grip firm, like a mother silently telling her child she'd kick his ass if he didn't stop screwing around in public. "Charles Mattieu Devaux, stop right now. We're going to talk this out, just," She put her weight into tugging back his arm, "come back in and-"

~"You have three seconds to let go of my arm before I make you let go." His voice was low, throaty, barely his own. It only took a second for Devyn to weigh the consequences and release his arm. "You don't ever touch me again, putain stupide."

~The door slammed before Devyn's eyes and as if on cue, the second the blonde was out of her sight, she felt tears welling in her eyes. She knew he'd changed in the lab. They all had. She'd actually almost began to pride herself on how much stronger emotionally she'd gotten. Though apparently now it wasn't strong enough. There was a circulation desk not far from the front door and she made her way to it, plopping onto the rolling chair that was pushed in behind it, she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and allowed her body to relax forward onto the desk. She had no idea what happened to him and her mind had yet to compose a solution, but she was going to find out... As soon as the burning in her eyes ceased. In the distance, she could hear a car engine roar to life and the squealing of tires peeling out of the complex.

(//Atlas and I figured a timeskip would be helpful to avoid awkward filler fluff. Especially since Themis and Coeus will be leaving at night. We can skip right to the spicy stuff//)

8:10PM

~Devyn's hands were pruney from scrubbing dishes. This was the first dinner they'd eaten all together in months as everyone silently mourned Merrick together. They gave him a whole "service" of sorts, not saying much, but paying respects instead. Devyn could recall Ellie placing a photograph in the pocket of the sweatpants he was wearing. He was buried with the backpack he'd packed when they fled Lazarus house after taking out one or two little momentos to save for Charles just in case he'd want them. It was sweet, and she wished Charlie had been there to see it, but he'd been out since noon. She was beginning to worry.

~Once-blind eyes stared at the spiral of suds descending down the drain after she flicked off the water. She just stood there for who knows how long, elbows propped up on the edge of the sink, shoulders hunched, staring into the drain as if expecting something to come out of it. She was so absorbed into loud static of her jumbled thoughts that the sound of the front door swinging open almost made her jump out of her skin. It was him. It had tob e him.

~Charlie threw open the door with the same ferocity in which he'd left, despite his significantly higher spirits. "This is it!" His voice echoed in the barren lobby. Two figures filed in behind him. The hulking mass of a man seemed to tower behind the slender blonde, guiding him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. The man was probably 85% muscle with keen blue eyes and firey orange hair. Clad in a muscle shirt and jeans, he showed off an impressive spiraling black tattoo that sprawled down from his right pectoral to his wrist. Behind him, a young girl no older than ten closed the door behind her. Her expression was deapanned, brown eyes tired or unamused, it was difficult to tell. Her skin was painted a healthy tan as messy blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. She watched Charlie like she'd known him for years and he was the bane of her existence.

~"Where are your caretakers, son?" The man behind Charlie spoke with a thick Northern Irish accent, stepping out into the foyer a bit as he scanned the area, seemingly processing it, committing it to memory as wheels turned in his head slowly.

~"'Dunno." Charlie responded with a shrug, taking a few stumbling steps forward before Devyn's petite frame appeared in the doorway. And she froze like a deer in headlights.

~"Charles."

~"Devvy!" His speech was slurred, making the nickname easy to slide beyond his lips. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tight to his chest, turning to the two people behind him. "This is De-Devyn, 'member, I told you about her? She's the one with-"

~"Charles who are these people?" Devyn pried his arms off of her as she spoke, arctic blue eyes never leaving the man and child before her. Charlie wouldn't REALLY bring... Would he? Would he truly get so drunk that he'd bring civilians into their new sanctuary.

~"My name is Declan Dunne. This is my daughter Ceri. I found your friend sharing... Quite a bit with a bar full of patrons. Figured I'd give him a ride home and find out if what he'd been saying is true or not."

~Devyn's expression was horrified when she laid eyes on Charlie's grinning face. "Charlie what did you do?"

~"No no no no no, don't worry Dev!" He laughed, making his way towards the kitchen, stopped only by Devyn's steely grip on his wrist. "They're like us. It's fiiiiine. No worries, kay? They're cool. They're fine."

~Carmen had been bored, huddled inside her room all day and was already on her way down the hall to stretch her legs when she nearly toppled into Clark on her way out. Carmen had been keeping a pretty close eye on Clark since all of the... Issues earlier. Not only was it hard for her to gain trust for majority of the people in this place, but she'd grown pretty fond of Clark. It was like having younger siblings again. Curious, excitable, and a strangely ignorant innocence for a grown woman. But nothing more could be expected of her- her whole life was in that lab. Carmen sort of wished that she could relate.

~"Where are you-?" And she was gone. With knitted brows, Carmen followed silently after her.

~Atlas was a hurricane when she entered the room, flashing through every emotion on the spectrum, some outward, and some only to be seen whirling around in the emerald of her irises. Charlie watched her with a goofy, contented grin stretching his lips across a pale, scruffy face. He allowed himself to be pulled into her, falling limply against her muscular frame. He barely even had time to raise his arms to return the hug before she pushed him away, fury spillig over her lips like lashes from a whip. Still, his smile didn't fade.

~"I think you know better than anyone how much of a man I am." There was a snort from the other side of the room and his eyes caught that woman- Caramel? Carousel? Who cared.

~Declan folded his arms over his chest as the woman he'd learned to be "Atlas" rounded on him. For a moment, he looked completely and utterly unamused. What kind of place was this? This is how they treat their people? The kid made a mistake, a huge one, but a mistake nonetheless. Declan had listened to Charlie's drunken rambling long enough to grasp that he'd been through a lot. If his way of coping was to get shitfaced, then godspeed to him.

~He almost began to defend the drunken man. Almost. Then he too was able to look past the furious woman's exterior, down to the worry. The stress. The love and hate and emotional cocktail she surpressed in her rage. In her defense. Maybe they had it together better than he was giving them credit for.

~"At this point I think it's safe to say that I could write a personal biography about each one of ya in this room." His voice came out cool, low, articulate. A hand raised to the coarse hair on his face and he scratched lazily. "I don't want anything from you. At least, nothing you're thinking about."
~"We've got money. More money than your pretty little head could count." The young girl at his side piped up, her voice much rougher and more piercing than Atlas' own, weighted down by a thick Italian accent. "We wanna make sure that your shitty boyfriend doesn't fuck up any more than he already has."

~"Ceri." Declan let out a tired sigh as his hand slid up to rub his eyes. "Please, language."

~"He's an idiot, dad. He's gonna ruin it for all of us." She muttered, forest green eyes narrowing to glance between the two women before her, than to the man who'd first emerged.

~"What she means to say is-"
~"No, I'm saying what I mean."

~"Ceri." His voice was hard, commanding. Ceri's lips pursed together and she leaned against his leg defensively. "We're only here to see if you all are the real deal."

~Charlie's smile switched to something more genuine, softer. "They can help us." His hand rested on the small of Atlas' back, then trailed up to rest gently on her shoulder. He hadn't planned it and it DID come of a mistake, but he found two serious sources of aid and income that ALL of the houses could seriously utilize. He figured that made the rest of his actions at least a little forgiveable. All things considered.

(//Shits about to get spicey//)

~Carmen tensed at the new presence beside her until mocha eyes took in the frame of Dwyn. She'd never feared the twins. In fact, she spent a good part of her time mocking them. The way they marched around with two fracturing sticks lodged into the depths of their asses. She'd passed bets around with other people in the labs whether or not either of them had ever laid a woman. Turns out they were possibly the two biggest virgins in the entire facility. That had been two weeks worth of mashed potatoes down the drain.

~She especially didn't fear them now. They were like castrated wolves. Couldn't do anything but howl and bare their teeth. No balls to actually attack. No balls to do anything to any of them anymore. It was a good feeling to be on top of the world.

~"Shits like a soap opera." She hummed to neither Dwyn nor Clark in particular as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

~Declan's eyes were fixated on the door which Atlas had stormed out of and sighed, left hand griping Ceri's shoulder as he nodded absently to Themis and O'Malley. "Ceri is the only other person with... Abilities I've ever met." He explained carefully. "We help each other. I saw you all on the news months ago. Er, not you all, but her," he gestured to where Atlas once stood, "Charlie, that... Boy who was killed. My condolences. Then you just... Disappeared off the radar. For a while, there were these rumors going around that the government had captured you all, that you were killed, and most recently that it was all fake." He gnawed on his lip, oceanic blue eyes bearing into Themis' with all of the sympathy in the world. "I was headed to the bar for the night and happened to find Charlie inside, ranting and raving to some slag trying to steal him out of every coin in his pockets. Then he started... Oversharing."

~"He was blabbing off about everything that happened to you all. The lab. His arm. Dad pulled him out of there once he started going into all of your stuff. Your... Power-stuff. Brought him home to get me. Now we're here."

~"To help." Declan added quickly. He needed to make them sound as harmless as possible, what with how much they'd been through. He was surprised they weren't exercising as much caution as Atlas had. Caught up in explaining himself, he hadn't even noticed Charlie disappear after Atlas.

~"At-Atlas." Charlie called after the woman as he wove down the halls after her. "Hold on." His drunken haze was beginning to fade as the tensions rose. All that was left was a hard buzz humming through his head, making is organs run warm. She was headed for her room, he knew that much, so each time she disappeared out of his sight, he found her again soon after, sliding into her room after her.

~"I'm not sorry." Maybe not the best way for the frenchman to open. "I... I needed this. It's stupid and cliche to turn to alcohol, but you can't go acting so high and mighty. You would do the same." He shut the door softly with his heel and circled around her, gaze borderline predatory over her muscular frame. He took in her shoulders, the hard edges of her back as it cut in to the dips of her waist then flared back out at her hips.

~"You hace no idea how much I've changed." His voice was barely a whisper- gravely, almost catching in his throat with each syllable. "When we were in there we... We went through... A lot. I had so much time to think. About life, about myself. About you. And it's been driving me fucking insane. I hide behind pills and alcohol because it's numbing, but-" He was talking too much. She would lose interest. She didn't care, she- "j'ai besson de toi dans ma vie." He started again, "half of what I found about myself was that... I need you in my life."

~Carmen brimmed with a toothy grin, glancing sideways at Dwyn with a quiet chuckle. "A television show. Usually really dramatic. Lots of crying and yelling- generally in Spanish." She snorted, "Old hispanic women love them." Upon hearing her name, Carmen's eyes snapped back to Declan, lifitng her hand weakly in a greeting. "You two really haven't experienced much, huh? S'shame." She shrugged, glancing betweent he two of them lazily. "I don't think the two of you would much fancy a soap, but who knows?"

~Declan nodded to each of them as the names were tossed his way. He didn't have the best memory in the world. It would probably take him the better part of a week to remember all of their names. That's not even accounting for the others that may be wandering about the remaining parts of the lab. In the corner of the room, he could see Devyn slip out through the nearest doorway as the room grew a bit too full for her liking.

~Ceri sighed upon Themis' question. "It's hard to explain." She muttered, grabbing for Declan's hand. She was clad in a baggy pair of sweat pants, a sports bra, and an open jacket draped over her shoulders. Small tan hands clasped the zipper of her jacket, meeting Declan's eye for a moment. He got the message, and seemed to brace physically before she brought the rough metal of her zipper down on the flesh of his hand. He didn't even flinch as the top layer of his skin shredded. In fact, he looked positively serene, eyes never leaving Themis and O'Malley as the bloodied abraision split and Ceri released her jacket, allowing it to hand once again from her small frame. "Now watch and be amazed. Oooooooh."Ceri wiggled her fingers, voice mystically sarcastic like a magician putting her tricks on display. Light blue light glowed from her hand and she pressed it close to Declan's injury. The skin almost instantly melded back together, much like a welder would work two metals together to form a sword. "Ta-daa." She released his hand and it dropped limply to his side.

~"We've been perfect partners for the past four years." Declan explained breifly. "I was a boxer. My ability numbs my whole body. I can take any amount of damage for days at a time and not feel a single thing. After my matches, Ceri would heal me, and that was the end of that. I could compete in any amount of matches, sometimes several in a single night. With us here you get a human punching bag and a miracle worker." He shifted on his feet and raked the once-injured hand through the ginger locks atop his head. "Figure with how things have been going lately, you'd need at least her."

~Ellie had been napping on and off for days now, recovering slowly form her injuries. Devyn seldom left her side or let her get up and move too much out of fear that she would exasperate the wound on her leg. But Devyn wasn't in her room and it was growing annoying to find anything she wanted to find in her backpack. She needed to get rid of the stuff she'd grabbed for everyone before they left the house. There wasn't much. Some of Benji's baby clothes, Loki's IPod, the mug Rylan got for Themis, some pieces of jewelery from Djeserit's room. Just little things.

~She made her way quietly from her room and a few paces down the hall towards Loki's room. She would handle him, then Themis, then Djeserit, and end on Spokely. She wanted to spend the most time with Spokely and Djeserit, check up on them, see how they were doing. They seemed the most isolated. She knew Loki would never be shy of having someoen to talk to. He could throw a dart in the house and chances were he'd hit someone he was comfortable enough to say SOMETHING to. Themis was just plain busy and Spokely and Djeserit were different. They didn't talk to everyone as much, they were less keen to jump into conversations, let alone conversations about deep emotions.

~"Loki?" She slowly pushed the curtain of his room open, her backpack slung over her shoulder as she limped a few steps through the doorframe.

~Charlie could feel heat, a mixture of embarrassment and anger flourishing in his chest. That's how she thought of him? All this time, that was the impression he'd left? He'd have to change that. He made it a point to lock the door as loudly as possible behind him and took several strides forward. "No." He gripped her wrist with his right hand, the injured one, with pointed purpose. "How can you look at me and see no change? I killed people, Atlas. I killed people. I was beaten. I almost suffocated to death. I tried to starve myself three times and every time they put me on an... And IV drip to keep me just barely alive. I have gone through so much shit in the past 6 months and yoy are NOT about to invalidate it with a couple words and that... That LOOK."

~He pressed close to her, body flush to hers and holding her in place with a grip like a vice. For a moment, he exhaled. "I'm not leaving and I'm going to get an answer this time." Turquoise eyes bore into hers with fury, pleading, lust. "6 months ago, I told you I love you and 6 months ago, I never got an answer. You still don't have to tell me if it's hard for you to admit, but the fact that you're even giving me the time of day, the fact that you were worried while I was gone- that's enough for me to figure for myself." He lead her back towards the desk, expression dark, difficult to read. "No amount of alcohol could change how I feel. Unless you outwardly tell me no right now, I have no intention of leaving. If you think I'm not man enough, show me how I can change that."

~"Yeah, well, your face is weird." Carmen huffed her response, the mesh of accents fighting for dominance in her mouth was hardly ever acknowledged by anyone, especially someone she knew so little. Although, most people she had spoken to prior were a bit more keen on manners. Dwyn was a pure-bred killing machine. Manners were probably the least of his worries. God she hated men.

~"That would be fantastic, thank you." Declan offered O'Malley a greatful smile and a nod of his head, producing the car keys from the pocket of his jeans. "Here. And sorry for all the trouble. We'll make it up to ya. Promise."

~That being said, he felt Ceri's presence at his side disappear and slide back outside into the chilly night air. It was crisp as winter was winding down for the year, slowly making it's long due transformation into spring. There was still the occasional snow mound, but for the most part, the roads were clear of any visual cues of winter's presence. It was all in the temperature now.

~"I know we probably didn't show up at the best of times. Hopefully from here on out, things for the likes of you will just be on an upward slope."

~"I don't want a confession, I just wanna know what the hell you're thinking. And what I can do to make it easier for you to figure out." Charlie could feel Atlas shifting under his weight, but he didn't let up. They both knew she could destroy him if she wanted to. "I'll say it again: The magic word is no. If you tell me no, I'll leave. I'll give up, I'll walk out that door and you never have to look at me again. I'm not gonna pursue this is you distinctly don't want it, but..."

~There was a moment where his words lingered. The air in Atlas' room felt still, as though the universe was waiting with baited breath for the next move. His jaw clenched and unclenched almost rhythmically as words fought for purchase in his lungs. There were no other words to say. Only actions.
~Charlie pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, pupils blown as he stared silently. Finally, his lips trapped hers and he fortified his position once again, holding her hard against the desk. He was still, awkward for a second until it was like his body errupted into motion, hands gripping her knees as fingers dug in, afraid to let go again. He would get an answer. She could only dodge him for so long.

~Ellie offered a practiced smile and let her bag slide off her shoulder and to the ground. "Nope. Just wanted to-" Steady hands fished through the bag, finding Poppy curled between two T-Shirts on one of the sides of the bag. That snake really had to be more careful lest she jerked the bag too hard and hurt him. "Give you this!" She produced a small metal device with two cords wrapped tightly around it.

~She made her way towards his bed on uneven legs and outstretched the IPod to him. "I found it in your room before we left Lazarus." She explained carefully. "I would have taken the guitar, but I think Atlas might have punched me." There was a giggle to her voice, "but here it is. Fancy headphones, charger, and all. I may have downloaded a song or two, but everything is still on it."

~Carmen could have smacked Dwyn. There would be no repercussions. No one would care. He couldn't do anything but hit her back. She soooo could have. But she didn't. Instead, she just rolled her eyes. "I hope that fueled your testosterone fire, hunny. Did your dick swell with pride? Do you need to rip open your shirt and beat your manly, hair covered chest, roaring to the heavens with-" she was interrupted by the slam of the front door. Her head whirled around to watch the whirlwind of a stranger burst in, checking all reservations at the door. Who was this girl? Why was she so mad? Most importantly, did shit like this happen all the time?

~As if on cue, Devyn burst back into the room, working like clockwork, as though she'd done this a million times. Right to Themis' rescue. "Iza!" The dark haired teen exclaimed in a tired atempt at enthusiasm. Really? More stuff? She was happy to see the other girl, but why couldn't she have found them yesterday? Or at least tomorrow? Some day other than this one. Iza's voice did have a habit of carrying, as though walls weren't there, and Devyn had begun jogging from the dining hall back to the foyer the moment she recognized the voice. This was one person with which sight didn't disorient her from who she was. She knew. Only Iza would make an entrance like that.

~"A lot has happened." She explained, placing her petite, pale hands on Themis' shoulders, rubbing reassuringly as the older woman stammered and searched for words in her shock and dissociation. "I can handle her, mama, go try to relax." She whispered into Themis' ear, releasing her shoulders and moving towards Iza to envelop her in a hug. Don't get her wrong, she DID miss Iza. They all probably had, she was just... The last things on their minds through this whole mess. To be honest, she was surprised that Themis didn't arrange for her to get transferred to another house instead of leaving her to search for them all this time. "I'm sorry it was so hard for you to find us. We should have called or... Or something. How much do you know?"

~"I just... I didn't know when we would get you all back." Ellie shuffled slightly. "I wish I could have grabbed more stuff. Or more IMPORTANT stuff, but... I don't know." For a moment, she was ready to say goodnight and take her leave. That is, until she remembered one other little thing she'd stuffed in her bag. And she wasn't sure if she should hand it over quite yet.

~Humming slightly in uncertainty, she began shuffling through her bag again, feeling a certain cold flourish in her chest when her fingers brushed the hard cover of La Seine's prayer book. Loki was the one who gave it to her afterall. She would have given it to Charlie as a momento of the passed girl, but she knew how he was with religion. Ellie herself was never particularly close to La Seine and just knowing that it was in her bag made her a bit uneasy when she'd randomly remember it. So back to Loki it would go. "H-here." She placed it on his lap softly. "I think it... I think it helped her a lot." She offered in an attempt at reassurance. "We can never know when the last time we'll see someone or hear their voice will be. You just gotta... Hope that you said everything you wanted to say, right? That's... That's what I've learned from all of this. I think La Seine felt very loved."

(//IM JUST GONNA FADE OUT WITH CHARLES AND ATLAS CAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING???? KAY??? KAY. I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD WRITE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT OR NAH???? BUT CHARLES WILL REFUSE TO LEAVE HER ROOM TBH, SHE HE MORE THAN LIKELY HAD A GOOD TIME THEN CRASHED LIKE 5 MINUTES LATER//)

~"We were sorta... Kidnapped." Devyn's hand made its way to the tips of her fringe, twirling absently at the slightly tangled ends. "Half of us couldn't contact you if we wanted- that inclused Themis. The other half was... A little preoccupied. Sorry." Despite the kinder overtones, there was a bitter, slightly unapologetic aspect to her tone. Iza couldn't help not knowing exactly what they'd been through, she was right in her "woe is me" assumptions, but even still, assumptions were assumptions. With a group like them, you could never be certain if everyone is okay when you stop hearing from them. Although, Devyn also couldn't blame Iza for not having gotten the chance to learn that lesson. She was fortunate that she hadn't yet. "We've got a lot of catching up. And we have quite a few new faces." And we're missing quite a few old ones.

~"Too many if you ask me. And I'm one of them." Carmen snorted, using her shoulder to push herself off the wall and away from Clark and Dwyn. "I'm Carmen, this is Clark AKA supergal AKA the sweetest lab rat here," She gestured to the dark haired woman to her right, "and this is Dwyn. Careful. There's another one of him lurking around here somewhere. Much nicer, better looking, and less of an ego." She explained, not missing a beat as she gave Iza the low down. It was strange to know more about someone's new "family" than they did. Then again, they were hardly a family at this point. It would take a while for everyone to get to that point. Hell, EVERYONE might NOT reach that point.

~Charlie had always had an awful habit of waking up in the middle of the night. He'd done it as a nervous thing ever since he was a child. It started off as being stirred by horrible horrible night terrors that he never remembered- leaving him only with the feeling of unexplicable fear as his parents could do nothing to soothe him of trauma he had no control over. When he moved to Lazarus, the night terrors themselves ceased, but the waking up randomly feeling like the whole universe was distorted part was left behind. He was the type of person who woke up at 3am to take a walk downstairs, drink three glasses of water one after the other, almost fall back asleep while peeing, and return to his bed to a peaceful, dreamless sleep. That's how he slept. Dreamlessly. But tonight, he dreamt in vivid realism. It was a flashback, something that felt so real and so right and so like it happened that he nearly forgot that it HAD been his reality at one point. The original Lazarus house. Holding La Seine in his lap as she opened birthday presents. Looking around at everyone watching her as though a five-year-old's new playhouse was the most important thing in their lives. It wasn't just an image, it was an emotion, a feeling, a state of being all wrapped into a dream. Peace.

~That is, until the familiar sound of Coeus' rich cadence slithered its way into his dream, ripping the old polaroid picture-perfect moment to shreds. Charlie's eyes flew open and he stared at the streaks of fabric beside him where Atlas once lay, darkened by sweat. He was suddenly uncomfortably aware of not only his own nakedness, but the thin sheen of sweat coating his skin. There was something so unnerving knowing that Coeus stood not ten feet away from him and Charlie was so... Vulnerable. Not that Coeus was about to lunge at him from the doorway, but still. Waking to the voice of the man you hated the most was one of the most unpleasant ways to stir. Waking to the voice of the man you hated the most after having sex for the second time with his sister? Even worse.

~He waited out the conversation, making sure to keep his breathing just as even as it had been while he slept, though his eyes were partially open. Just in case. You never know. When the door finally closed, he allowed his eyes to flutter open all the way once again and he could feel his heart return to a resting rate. He was still in here with Atlas, sure, but that was better than both she and Coeus. And at least she wasn't fully clothed either. Way less awkward.

~Charles debated letting her know he was awake for close to thirty seconds before he could feel a dull ache in his side and his left arm was falling asleep from being contorted under him. Slowly as not to startle Atlas, he began to pick himself up, pulling his arm into his body first, then lifting his head, then his torso, taking in a deep breath as he did so. The moment tired eyes landed on her muscular frame, draped in a sheet leaning against the door as though to hold it shut against intruders, he fought the urge to grin, instead settling for a lazy quirk in the right corner of his lips.

~"Hey there." A brilliant way to start, right? He thought so. But now he had comitted to an exchange. A conversation of some sort. "Are you... You okay?" She looked exhausted, a bit concerned, and yet relaxed. It was a weird contrast of emotions.

~"I think this might be the first time I've ever heard you apologize about anything. Let alone something out of your control." Charles' smile grew slightly as he rolled his shoulders in a weak attempt to stretch. He listened to her words, blinking the sleep from his eyes and couldn't help but feel a little worried. He couldn't care less that Coeus was leaving. It was a relief, Atlas was right in assuming so, but Themis? It made him nervous. "Sometimes I forget that there are other houses. Themis does a good job at making us feel so... Focused on. Makes me sad when she leaves."

~He paused for a moment to chew on his bottom lip in thought, very uncomfortably aware of the weight of Atlas' comforter and sheets pooling around his legs and lap. With a huff, he pushed the heavy comforter off, allowing the sheet to remain for decencies sake, despite the lack of necessity. The lessened weight with the comforter gone seemed to make all the difference.

~It was then that he realized just how comfortable he was making himself in a bed he had only barely been invited into. The way Atlas clasped at the sheet around her body, the heavy feeling in the room, the way her attitude was just inherently off. It all settled into Charlie's mind as big red flags. And he suddenly felt disgusting.

~"I feel like I... Pressured you into this. I know apology is hardly acceptable, but I'm sorry. I'll- I won't..." Every time he tried to speak, the words caught in his throat, like his ehart was fighting his mind for control. Who would win? His desire for Atlas or his realization that his feelings would more than likely never be reciprocated? "We don't have to do this again. And I'm sorry for overstaying my welcome." Everything inside of him screamed at him to clarify, to tell her that he very much wanted this, he wanted her as many times as she'd allow him to have her and that went beyond just tumbling around in the sheets. But he didn't. "You made it very clear that this was not a part of your narrative and I just wrote it in myself. That's not right." Guilt knitted his brow together and he fought the urge to stare down at his hands. Somehow, he managed not to break eye contact.

~Charles listened to Atlas drone on in a voice to which most would tune out, but him? He hung onto every word, happiness flourishing in his chest. Each time she laughed, his stomach ran a miniature gymnastics routine. It was so... Genuine. So gorgueous and beutiful and just real. Why wasn't she high more often? If not for the suffocating mugginess of the room, he'd have thought he was still asleep. Nope. He was far too physically uncomfortable for that. When she flopped onto the bed beisde him, so just shut up coming muffled by the mattress, Charlie allowed his face to break out in a grin.

~"Yes m'am." He offered a weak salute, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and rising on wobbly legs. He was so excited he could hardly breathe through this thick air. Crossing the room, he heaved open the old window, welcoming the chilly air onto his heated skin. Turning back to Atlas, the grin hadn't left his face as his eyes wandered over her sprawled frame. He didn't even want to lay back down. Too filled with excitement, adrenaline, and whimsy to possibly lay back down. As he made his way back across the room, the feeling of the breeze whipping at his bare back was welcomed. Until, however, he saw how the wind stirred her pictures and documents that he'd pushed onto the floor earlier in the night.

~"I don't mean to worry so much." He bent to gather some of the papers, stacking them neatly as he spoke. "Up until this point I just felt like I was royally fucking everything up," he paused for a moment, "literally and figuratively."

~Once all of the papers were returned to their rightful place on the desk, he dropped a shirt on top of them as a makeshift paperweight. "I don't think you understand how relieved I am to have heard you say all of that... I guess I'm lucky that Coeus woke me up, huh? Or I'd have woken up in the morning and... What was it you said earlier? Left with my tail between my legs?" A smirk played on his lips as unadulterated happiness twinkled in the blue of his eyes.

~Charlie lowered himself back onto the bed with little hesitation, pushing the sheets as far from his body as possible. It would take a while to cool off. Why was it so hot anyways? Was there no ventilation? Maybe that was just a side effect of sharing a bed with another person. He laid on his back, one arm strewn behind his head, the other draped over his stomach. He just hoped her opinion didn't change too much when the weed wore away.

~"Not sure why, but I always imagined you were on the pill or something." Charlie hummed, casting his left arm over his eyes as Atlas rolled over. "Shouldda probably checked before... Ya know. But you never stopped me so... Yeah. But I have to admit, the idea of you as a mother is defeinitely television sit-com worthy." A rasped chuckle huffed from the depths of Charlie's chest as he blinked beneath his arm, feeling his eyelashes fight to close and reopen with his lids. "But I have to say that I'm glad Coeus can't reproduce. That would be a fucking nightare. Nothing funny about that. Who knows how his kids would turn out? And depending on when they develop their powers- if it's in the womb, I don't imagine the mother would even survive long enough to bring them to life." A morbid thought, but if they were sharing their feelings, he figured he may as well.

~He remained quiet for a moment, ever aware of the distant tingling in his right arm. He liked it best when those nerves remaind buried under the effects of painkillers after the incident. He didn't even want to know that the arm was there. He wasn't there for that "phantom pain" shit. Grumbling to himself, he turned over to the edge of the bed, grasping limply for his pants. Pale fingertips met the rough jean material and he produced the bottle from the pocket, dumping an unknown amount of pills into his palm and swallowing them one by one. Was it three? Four? It felt like four.

~"I killed a guy." The words came out so effortlessly. So casually. Like he'd been needing to say it for a while. "Tonight, I mean. Well- I guess I've killed other people too. One of which I didn't realize I was killing, but that's a long story and you're probably too high for that right now." Ah yes, the infamous slaughter of his significant other that landed him in Lazarus in the first place. "But when I first went out, I stopped at a gas station cause the car was low. I went in to pay for gas- only had cash- and used the bathroom. I was... A fuckin mess, to be honest." Another chest-heavy laugh heaved its way out of him. "But uh.. I was washing my face over the sink. Some poor guy saw me in my white scrubs, asked me what was wrong and I just kinda... Killed him." His eyes squinted up at the cieling in thought. "He surprised me and it wasn't really... Intentional. Just kinda happened, ya know?" He paused. "What do I even mean, ya know, you don't know the feeling of accidentally killing people with your brain. That's more of a me thing, huh?" Charlie paused again to clear his throat, breathe. He was talking a bit faster than he'd have liked. "I realized then everything that you've always told us: We aren't ready for the world. I had made so much progress since getting to Lazarus and it all went down the drain because I was upset. Ellie? Ellie could easily be a normal person. You? Sure. Themis, Djeserit, Merrick could have. Even Spokely could probably get there, but someone like me? Or Loki? Or that kid Angel? We're basically hopeless. When your ability comes from anger like me and Angel or if it's something that impacts literally every move you make, like Loki, you're just... Screwed. I realized that when I killed that guy. That is why I went out and started drinking. Not because of my brother. Not because of Coeus. Just cause I know that I have no future outside of Lazarus. This is it for me."

~Charlie's teeth gritted together momentarily once he finished speaking, realizing how that conversation had just taken a turn for the worse. He forced an awkward laugh in a sad attempt to lighten the mood, "I just talked way more than I meant to."