Thread five

Taylor was still asleep

Kyra was still plotting. She would have to wait until Kat was online tomorrow so that she and Callyah could go and destroy the monster that caused Kay to kill himself.

Taylor mumbled something about bandages in their sleep

Callyah knelt down next to Anika again. "I'll be back soon," she promised.

Anika was asleep so she obviously didn’t hear Callyah.

Callyah gently moved Anika's hair away from her face and left her hand resting on her head for a moment before standing back up and turning to Kyra.

Anika continued to sleep, her nightmares at bay for now.

Paisley was in the kitchen.

Cole was also in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat and carefully ignoring Paisley -- he was still a little mad at her and trying not to be.

Paisley was making biscuits or she was trying to, she had never made her own food so she had to make it up as she went.

Cole looked over at her just in time to see (some mishap). "Here," he offered, holding out his hands for the (whatever -- I don't know if she's doing it from scratch or not).

"Ready?" Callyah asked. She'd exchanged her usual sheer white hood for a black one.

She hands him the [insert whatever she was holding cause aura is so tired and can’t think straight] trying not to look him in the eye cause she felt bad for being a jerk earlier and wasn’t very good with apologizes.

Kyra had tied her usual white mask around her face, and she glanced at Tay. She gave them a quick kiss on the forehead and then stood to face Callyah, "I'm ready."

Cole smacked the can against the counter, making it pop open. He untwisted the cardboard the rest of the way and handed it back to her.

"Then let's go," Callyah said, heading out the door.

Paisley had startled a bit when he did this but takes it gratefully, “Thanks.” she says, making sure to look at him as she said it.

Cole nodded.

Kyra followed her, "I am so ready to stab someone right now," she muttered.

Paisley isn’t sure what else to say so she starts to take the biscuit dough out of the tube and place it on a tray like the instructions said to do.

Callyah let Kyra lead the way to the rebel hideout (assuming she knows the way...)

"I assume you know where we're going?" Kyra asked Callyah.

Cole watched her for a moment before saying, "You need aluminum foil under that, or it'll burn onto the pan." He opened one of the drawers and held out the long, thin box.

"I was never a rebel," Callyah reminded her. "But I know every inch of this town. Even if you know a little, we can figure it out."

"That's what I was hoping for. Did you get a good look at the body?" Kyra asked.

Callyah nodded.

Paisley blushes because she was embarrassed that she couldn’t do this on her own, “Oh, thank you.” she says.

Cole half-smiled. "First time cooking?" he asked.

"The knife--was it Klay's, or was it different, do you remember?" Kyra asked

Paisley nods, looking embarrassed about it.

"It was someone else's... Klay didn't bring knives." Callyah told Kyra

Cole shook his head. "Well, first things first, you have to start by preheating the oven, or it won't be ready in time."

“Oh...” Paisley didn’t want to admit she also didn’t know how to do that.

"Splendid, can you tell me what it looked like? Was the handle green, like this one?" Kyra brought out the knife she won, "Or was it red?"

"Here." Cole came over and showed her where the dial was on the oven. "Turn that to where it says 375."

Taylor snored softly, arms wrapped around themself

Paisley does as he said and turns the dial to 375 wondering how stupid he thought she was because she didn’t even know how to turn an oven on.

"Red," Callyah told her.

"There you go," Cole said, as if he hadn't thought anything of the fact that she didn't know how to use an oven.

"That's what I was hoping you wouldn't say," said Kyra.

Paisley nods, bitting her lips before turning to look at him before saying, “I’m sorry for being a complete brat and jerk earlier.” she says.

Danny was existing somewhere in the house, probably just watching everyone.

Valerie went to find Anika now that Callyah left.

Anika was about to wake up from her seat on a chair in the living room.

Valerie sat in the chair next to Anika silently and wondered if she was really up for this and if she even wanted to be up for it.

Anika slowly opened her eyes and she decided right then that she would start her plan and that she wouldn’t break down every three minutes.

Taylor was still asleep. They started muttering about running away again "Keep safe. Run."

Danny went to find Tay now that Kyra had left.

Tay was sleeping on the porch, I think

Danny went out on the porch and sat next to Tay.

Valerie watched the queen.

Taylor woke up and blinked sleepily

"Why, is it bad?" Callyah asked.

Cole nodded. "You kind of were," he admitted. "But... I accept the apology."

"The worst," Kyra confirmed. "But at least we know who we're looking for now."

Danny offered Tay a small smile. "Hey."

"Good. Where do you think they'll be?" Callyah asked.

Anika closed her eyes a bit, taking slow breaths.

Paisley smiles gratefully, “I’ll try not to be a complete [redacted] anymore.” she says with a faint smile.

"That's a good plan," Cole said, also smiling.

"Hey Danny" Taylor rubbed at their eyes

Holden was still in the kitchen.

Paisley laughs a bit then jumps in surprise when the timer goes off for the biscuits.

Cole grinned. "See, now I can tell that they're done," he said, pulling an oven mitt out of a drawer and opening the oven to take the biscuits out.

"Oh, I know exactly where she'll be," Kyra said gravely, saddling Fate.

Paisley rolls her eyes but was still smiling a bit.

Callyah reluctantly got on her own horse.

Cole set the biscuits on a trivet and took the mitt off.

Holden's ears turned red watching this.

Paisley studied the biscuits and a sense of some small accomplishment washed over her.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Danny apologized quickly.

"Nah, nah." Taylor waved their hand dismissively "All you did was rescue me from the torture known as sleep."

"Nightmares?" She guessed sympathetically.

"Less so than normal but yeah." Taylor got to standing, joints popping a bit

"Good yob, you cooked for the first time and didn't burn off your hand," Cole said, half-joking.

Danny winced and she stood up with them, staring guiltily at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Paisley snorts, “Well I’m glad I didn’t, thanks again.” she smiles.

"Not your fault." Taylor picked at the bandages

"No problem," Cole said, smiling.

She hmmed skeptically but didn't argue.

"It's not far from here," Kyra informed Callyah as she began to ride.

Paisley takes two biscuits off the tray when she was pretty sure they wouldn’t burn her hands and put them on plates she had out, “Is there any butter?” she asks.

Taylor glanced at the trees, remembering their plan. They pushed away the guilt knawing at them,, *Stop it. This is to keep everyone safe.*

"Yeah, here." Cole opened the fridge and pulled out the little tub thing of butter.

Callyah followed in silence, the rifle hitting gently against her back.

Paisley took it with a quick thank you and grabbed a [butter] knife from a drawer she had seen opened earlier and glances at him, “Did you want butter on yours?”

Cole shook his head. "I'm not hungry, but thanks for the offer," he said, despite having not eaten in at least a day

"What are you planning?" Danny asked, studying their face and reaching out to stop them from picking at their bandages.

"Nothing. I need to go check on Elissa at the clinic. See you later, Danny." Taylor backed away from her, walking into the trees

“Okay.” Paisley says, deciding not to press as she butters her biscuit.

Danny jogged after them. "I'll come with you. I should get my arm checked on anyways."

Taylor tugged on their hair but nodded, *Aw crud. How am I supposed to get away now?*

Danny has a ~suspicious~ feeling that Tay was going to do something incredibly stupid.

Taylor started walking to the clinic

Danny walked with them, trying to decide what idiotic thing they were planning this time.

Taylor picked at the bandages absentmindedly

Danny reached over to stop them again.

Taylor glanced at Danny's hand, having not even realized that they were messing with the bandages

She shook her head. "Tay, you need to start taking better care of yourself."

"Taking care of myself is overrated though." Taylor dropped their hands to their sides

"Not to me. Not to Kyra. It shouldn't be." Danny countered.

"It is and it should be." Taylor informed Danny

"No, Tay. It shouldn't be." Danny corrected them.

Taylor decided not to reply or argue

Danny studied their face. "Okay, what are you planning?"

"I'm planning to visit Elissa and make sure she's okay." Taylor told Danny

"Mhm. Who is Elissa?" Danny asked.

"A little girl who seems to like me for some reason." Taylor shrugged

Danny nodded. "What's she in for? A broken arm? Sprained ankle?"

Holden was there.

"Something a lot worse." Taylor obviously didn't want to talk about it

Cole also existed in the kitchen with Paisley.

Danny dropped the subject and walked in silence for a while.

Paisley took a bite of her biscuit.

Cole relented and buttered himself a biscuit. They weren't bad, he decided as he took a bite.

Taylor glanced at Danny, knowing that she didn't believe them for an instant

Paisley smiles faintly and takes another bite of her biscuit.

Danny watched them, ready to reach out and stop them from picking at their bandages.

Taylor, of course, started scratching at their bandages. They didn't notice

Danny reached over to stop them again.

Tay ignored her and scratched harder

"Tay," Danny warned, grabbing their hands.

Taylor shook off her hands and scratched harder still

"Taylor," Danny repeated firmly, grabbing their wrists. "Stop it or so help me god I will hold you until the bandages come off. And then I'll recast them myself."

Taylor recoiled a bit. Their hands froze and went limp

Danny flinched and stepped back. "I'm sorry."

Taylor shook their head and hid behind their hair

Danny stared guiltily at the ground, twisting her rings.

Taylor nearly walked into something

Ella was, well she was outside doing a handstand on a tree branch about 30 feet in the air.

Taylor went into the clinic, wanting to scratch at the bandages before remembering how Danny had snapped at them

"You're back. Again. It's been like--" Lori checked their watch-- "five hours."

"Came to check up on Elissa." Taylor fidgeted a bit

"She's asleep," Lori told them. "Why'd you bring Danny?"

"She followed me to check on her stitches." Taylor's hand froze as it started moving to play with the bandages

"Here." Lori rummaged around in a drawer and found one of those fidget cubey things. "Mess with this, not the bandages. And Danny, I don't need to check your stitches. They're stitches."

Taylor fidgeted with the cube thing

"See? Much better. And it'll help you build up some dexterity in your fingers." Lori studied Taylor for a moment, then sighed. "Come on, you can come see her for a minute."

Taylor nodded, a small smile coming on to their face

Lori led the way down the hall and quietly pushed open the door.

Elissa lay sleeping on the hospital bed, one hand -- the one connected to the IV and the pulse oximeter -- curled against her chest, She looked pretty peaceful.

Taylor looked in, sighing silently when they saw that Elissa was okay. "Can I borrow a few pieces of paper? And a pen?" They asked quietly

Danny waited outside awkwardly.

"Your handwriting is going to be atrocious," Lori reminded them, handing them a notepad and a Crayola marker. Why they had that as a writing utensil in their doctor's coat, even Lori didn't know. "Maybe ask Danny for help?"

"Nah. I'd rather make it myself." Taylor sat on the floor and started writing a few messy notes

Taylor finished writing and set down the marker. The notes were barely legible. "One's for Elissa, one's for the clinic." They told Lori "Wait to open the one for the clinic until Cole gets here. I'm assuming he's coming back." They messily folded the papers in half and passed them to Lori

"Sure," Lori said, tucking them both in an inside pocket of their lab coat. "Anything else?"

Taylor shook their head "I'll be back. I need to get away from the cleaner smell." They started walking out of the clinic

"Hey." Lori followed them. "Why are you here, really?"

"To check on Elissa." Taylor fidgeted with the cube thing

"You hate hospitals," Lori reminded them. "Believe me, I know what that looks like. You're scared of this place. And you didn't bring Cole, or Kyra. And as much as I know you care about Elissa, I really don't believe you."

"Fine. I was trying to keep everyone safe." Taylor didn't elaborate on how, figuring that Lori would guess soon enough

"From wh- oh." Lori tilted their head at Taylor. "From you, huh?"

"And the people that follow me." Taylor tugged on their hair

Lori took a breath. "Let me ask you a couple of questions. What does Callyah do for a living?"

"She's a bad\*\*\*." Taylor smirked a bit at their joke "Seriously though, she's a lady in waiting/guard person."

"And Ella?" Lori asked.

"Assassin," Taylor responded.

"Kyra and Valerie?" Lori raised an eyebrow.

"Part of the Gambit. She left though. Valerie... I don't know. Guard, maybe."  Taylor shrugged.

"But they're fighters. That's my point. And Danny, too, seems like a fighter, at least by the looks of her. You really think you're putting them in danger?" Lori asked.

Taylor paused "I hate it when people make great points." They muttered

"Look, if you're still set on being a noble little [redacted], I can help you figure something out. But give them at least a little chance, okay?" Lori told them.

Taylor nodded reluctantly. They kept glancing at their hands before looking away

"And I won't tell Danny," Lori added. "Or Cole, if you don't want me to."

"That would be great." Taylor sounded relieved.

Lori nodded.

Cole existed. So did Lori. And Callyah continued to follow Kyra.

Taylor was fidgeting with the cube thing, not knowing what to do now that they had been convinced to stay for now

"Are you planning to go back, then?" Lori asked.

"To the house? Yeah." Taylor's hands were starting to hurt

"Do you want to take your note back?" Lori asked,

Taylor nodded and held out their hand, hoping that Lori would miss how it was shaking

Lori pulled out the two notes. "How's your hand?" they asked.

"My hands are fine." Taylor told them, eyes looking just to the right

"Mm-hmm. You need to go back to the Dennison house and find Cole.” Lori replied

"To get him to check on Elissa again?" Taylor asked

"He's got your meds, dummy." Lori told them

Taylor nearly started laughing "Yeah thanks." They had an amused smile on their face

"And you need to take them, so get going," Lori added, opening the door.

Kyra continued to ride to where she lived. The person who was responsible for Kay’s death.

Callyah followed

Taylor walked out the door and over to the Dennison house

Ella was still doing a handstand on a tree, but she incorporated push-up.

Cole was on the porch. "I've been looking for you for ten minutes. Where'd you go?"

Taylor's hands were ki///// them. They shrugged "I went to check on Elissa"

"Come in," Cole told them. "Your hands hurt like [heck but less nice], huh?"

"Maybe a bit" Tay said sarcastically as they went inside

"Here." Cole handed them a plastic cup of water and one of the pills.

Taylor swallowed the water and pill without complaint

"Better?" Cole asked

"Yep" Tay messed with the bandages

Cole gave them the stop doing that look.

Taylor sighed "It's a habit."

"I can see that." Cole remarked dryly.

Tay snickered

Kyra pulled Fate to a stop when they reached a cliff overlooking what had to be the most diabolical, evil villain, mysterious fortress that she'd ever seen. She always had a flair for the dramatic.

"What is this place?" Callyah muttered, stopping her own horse.

"This is where she lives. Yeah, I know--it looks like a villain's lair from a fairy tale. She always liked that sort of thing, it was pretty annoying, if I do say so myself." Kyra sighed

"Who is she?" Callyah asked, searching the grounds for guards.

Kyra pursed her lips, anger swirling behind her eyes.

Callyah hopped off her horse and crouched at the edge of the ridge, using the rifle's scope to search the grounds of the 'lair' for the telltale signs of security systems.

"It's best not to say her name," Kyra told Callyah. "Too many eyes watching us here. Let's just say...she would have reason to kill Klay. That reason being that you killed her sister."

"Klay killed himself," Callyah replied, electing to ignore the part about her killing Anika's mom.

"Yes, but that dagger definitely wasn't his," Kyra pointed out. "Only she deals with the red daggers. They're her trademark."

"Great," Callyah muttered. "So, are we going full kamikaze, or did you want to do this stealthily?" she asked, sliding the scope back on the rifle.

"Oh, we're just going to walk right in. She'll let us. It's all part of the game. She gets Klay to kill himself, she waits for someone to come and...how would she put it--praise her handiwork. And then she either kills us or tortures us and uses us as bait for the rest of our friends."

"Is she expecting us to be fighters?" Callyah asked, screwing something long, thin, and black onto the end of the rifle.

"She's expecting something. I suspect she'd rather like it if we were fighters--makes the game more exciting." Kyra informed Cal.

"Where will she be?" Callyah asked, slinging the rifle back over her shoulder and adjusting it so it hung just so.

"No idea," Kyra said. "But she's definitely here."

Danny existed.

Valerie existed with Anika.

So did Holden.

Taylor was taking a nap in an armchair.

Ella was also existing in a a tree doing Grizle dead-drops.

Callyah waited for Kyra to tell her the plan.

Taylor continued napping

Ella was existing.

Danny was somewhere. So was Valerie.

Taylor started looking troubled as they slept

Ella was standing a tree branch, leaning on the trunk.

Cole sat down near Taylor.

Taylor dug their fingers into the chair, that same troubled expression on their face.

"You're okay," Cole said quickly. "You're safe, Taylor."

Taylor made a unsure noise

"You're fine, I promise," Cole said.

"Okay, so we'll be able to go in there--we just have to have a plan to get out alive." Kyra said.

"How many people will be in there?" Callyah asked.

"Nuumm" Taylor said sleepily, hands relaxing

"All her guards, her servants, the scientists, and the test subjects--and her. And a few prisoners. But they're really just future test subjects or are about to die." Kyra told Cal.

"Test subjects?" Callyah asked, her voice going steely.

Cole took a breath -- nightmare averted. Probably.

"Did I mention she's evil? I did, right?" Kyra clarified.

"There's 'make-someone-kill-themself-for-revenge-for-your-sister's-murder' evil, and then there's 'test-innocent-people-to-the-point-of-torture' evil." Callyah pointed out.

"Let's put it this way, she's one of the only people who I would really call 'evil.' Because she does it for fun," Kyra said, staring down at the fortress.

Callyah set her jaw. "How many guards?"

Taylor breathed silently as they slept peacefully for once

"I'd say about 40 or 50 patrolling the outside--and she practically has an army on the inside, each level requires certain passcodes and cards to get in." Kyra's face changed, "I--I went in there once. I--I'll be happy when she's dead."

"40 or 50 outside?" Callyah ran through her mental checklist. "I can take out thirty or so from here."

"Sounds splendid," Kyra grinned. "She'll be impressed."

"I don't care." Callyah knelt and set up her rifle -- scope, silencer, and all. As if it were something she'd been doing for years, she quickly shot a guard, then four more.

Kyra watched as Callyah shot the guards, "You might care if she decides to inject you with a bunch of her...experiments just to see what it does to your brain, but that's really not the point. The point is that we still need a way out, and although I know a lot about this place, I still have no idea how we're going to escape."

Callyah shot seven more, scouting the exterior of the lair as she went. She shot the next eight and switched out the magazines.

The whirring sound of helicopter blades filled the air, Kyra grimaced. "Callyah? You might want to finish up with that, our ride is here."

Cal nodded and quickly shot out nine more. "That's twenty-nine," she muttered, shouldering the rifle.

Taylor was still napping on the seat. They started murmuring about Kyra and Danny, getting a smile on their face

Cole smiled to himself, noticing.

"I always reached for Danny's hand during the scary parts." Taylor murmured, meaning when they would watch Frozen, "She'd always let me hide my face in her shoulder." They continued. Taylor muttered about how they used to cry into Danny's shoulder when Anna died/almost died. They looked happier than they had almost ever. They started waking up and their smile dropped off of their face like a lead weight. Taylor rubbed their eyes

Anika was somewhere holding it together.

Ella was still in the tree, but was not in the tree. No now she's on the ground.

Danny was using that bathroom but came out to sit next to Tay.

Tay looked at Danny "Hey Danny"

"Hey, Tay. Are Krya and Callyah still out being idiots?" Danny asked.

"Yep." Taylor popped the 'p' They decided not to mention that they left to be an idiot too

"You look tense," Danny observed, then decided, "We should do something."

"Do what?" Taylor asked

Danny shrugged as she stood up. "I don't know. Go for a hike? Watch a movie?"

"Sounds good" Taylor got up

"The hike or the movie?" Danny grinned.

"Either" Tay smiled at her

"Tay, I asked you because I wanted you to choose!" Danny teased laughingly.

"In that case, Movie sounds great" Taylor told her.

Danny nodded. "Were you think something along Pirates of the Caribbean, the Princess Bride, or the Disney Princess movies?"

"How about Frozen." Taylor was grinning now

"I'll protect you from that ginger slimeball," Danny agreed, grinning idiotically.

"Oh thank you Danny! My heroine!" Taylor laced their fingers under their chin and tried to look innocent

"Oh, shut up," Danny mumbled, blushing slightly. Though that might've just been her usual sunburn. Yep, totally a sunburn.

"C'mon. Where are we playing the movie?" Tay asked

Danny shrugged. "Honestly, no idea. I thought you'd know somewhere."

"I think I saw one here..." Taylor muttered to themself as they looked around

Danny glanced around with them, not really wanting to intrude on the Dennison house. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was always watching her when she was inside.

Taylor was babbling to themself as they looked in the fridge, throughly distracted by food

Taylor shook their head, murmuring "Focus" to themself. They started looking for Cole instead

Cole was reading in his room.

"Cole?" Taylor called, not caring who they woke up

Cole, being deaf and all, didn't notice.

Taylor continued walking around the house, wondering if he might be on the roof for some reason

Cole continued reading in his room -- the door was open, so Taylor might see him if they wandered by.

Taylor started looking in all the rooms they didn't hear sleep sounds from

Danny just quietly followed Tay.

Cole looked up. "Hi."

"Hey Cole. Do you have Frozen?" Taylor asked

"What?" Cole asked -- he'd misread their lips.

"Frozen the movie?" Taylor tried. They fidgeted with the bandages

"Oh, that makes more sense," Cole said, standing up. "Yeah, I think the DVD is somewhere around here."

Taylor looked down and slapped their hand. They wanted to help Cole look for it but didn't know how so they just stood there.

Danny stood with Tay.

Cole rummaged through a few cabinets. "Here we go." He held the DVD case out to Taylor.

"Thanks." Tay smiled at him and took the DVD

"You're welcome," Cole said.

Taylor mock saluted before walking out of the room

Cole was confused for a moment as to why Taylor had signed I know before remembering that Taylor didn't know ASL.

Danny nodded and thanked Cole before following them.

Taylor started looking for the DVD player thing

Danny helped them look, eventually finding it under the TV.

Taylor started the movie, sitting on the couch/chair and patting the seat next to them

Danny snuggled into the couch next to Tay and put her arm around their shoulders.

Taylor leaned on Danny, smiling at the screen

Danny tucked her feet up and leaned her head on Taylor's as the first scene began.

Taylor hummed to the music

Danny hummed with them, resisting the urge to mouth along with all the dialouge.

Taylor looked ready to punch Hans as he showed up

"What a Marcus," Danny muttered, tightening her grip of Tay's shoulders reassuringly.

Taylor nodded in agreement

Danny bit back groans of frustration every time Hans was onscreen.

"Anna, you idiot, can't you see he's a [redacted]?" Taylor murmured

"The second-hand frustration never gets old," Danny complained in agreement.

"Never." Tay agreed

"Bu Kristoff," Danny sighed contentedly as he came into the frame.

"Kristoff is way better for her." They smiled "What about Elsa?"

"She doesn't need no man," Danny responded immediately.

"Maybe she needs a female..." Tay mused

Danny rolled her eyes and grinned. "Have you not seen Frozen 2 yet?"

"No... ?" Taylor grinned as well

"What?" Danny gasped. "C'mon, you have to see it!"

"I will! Sometime..." Taylor continued leaning on Danny

"Fine, Sparkles. I guess it can wait."

"After Frozen."

"Sounds good." She fell silent and went back to watching.

Taylor grinned at Olaf

She giggled at Olaf and murmured to Tay, "Olaf is a mood."

"He so is." They replied

"I should get that printed on matching t-shirts," She mused teasingly.

"Maybe" Taylor snickered

"They'd have "I'm in my Olaf mood" on the front," She decided.

"And Olaf squad on the back"

"For sure."

Taylor looked up and saw it was the part where Elsa froze Anna's heart. They hid their face in Danny's shoulder

Danny stroked their hair soothingly, only half watching the movie.

Meanwhile, Callyah waited for the helicopter to freaking land already. She considered shooting it.

Taylor continued hiding their face, waiting for that part to be over

She smiled to herself. This happened every time, but gosh, it was so darn adorable. Not that she could say anything about it, you should've seen her after finishing ATLA.

Taylor looked up at Danny "Is that part over?" They asked softly

"Yep," Danny whispered back. "You're about to miss the best part though." Hint: In Danny's opinion, the best part was when Kristoff steps back to let Anna just deck Hans in the face.

Taylor looked up and smiled

Danny watched like an excited five year-old.

Taylor may or may not have squealed happily when Hans got what he deserved

Danny giggled and resisted cheering Anna on.

Taylor was grinning ear to ear in a very childlike way

Finally the movie finished and Danny turned to Tay. "Ready for the sequel?"

Taylor nodded excitedly

Danny grinned and went to take out the Frozen disc.

Taylor bounced up and down on the couch a bit

Danny managed to conveniently find Frozen 2 on a disk and pop it in the player.

Taylor grinned at the screen

Danny settled back in next to Tay.

Tay had high hopes for the sequel

She pressed play.

Tay grinned

Danny watched the movie as eagerly and the first time she saw it.

Taylor ooohed, ahhed and awwed

Danny sang along to all the songs in her head.

Tay hummed to the yoik

When they got to Into the Unknown Danny couldn't help but stand up and sing and act along with Elsa.

Taylor watched Danny more than the actual movie when she did that

When the song finished, she sat back down breathlessly, a huge grin on her face.

Taylor clapped, leaning on Danny again

Danny wrapped her arm back around them, trying to calm her heavy breathing.

Taylor leaned their head on Danny's shoulder, the grin staying stubbornly on their face

Danny kept watching.

Taylor laughed when Kristoff proposed to the wrong person

"Aww, I feel bad for him!" Danny whispered to them, laughing slightly.

"That's hilarious" Tay whispered back gleefully

Danny shook he head and grumbled, "You're so mean."

"Yes I am" Taylor raised an eyebrow at Danny

"Oh, shut up," She laughed, turning her attention back to the movie.

Taylor grinned

Danny smiled to herself as she kept watching the video.

"Na na na hey na na" Tay murmured

"Shoosh," Danny whispered, poking them gently.

Tay poked Danny back

Danny poked them again.

Tay giggled as they poked Danny yet again

Danny poked Taylor with two fingers now.

Tay poked Danny with one finger each hand

Danny brought out her other hand as well and poked them with four fingers.

*Poke poke poke poke* Tay was barely paying attention to the movie anymore

Danny had thrown all thoughts of Frozen to the wind and she giggled, starting a full fledged tickle war with Tay.

Taylor squealed and squawked as they were tickled

Danny giggled harder and kept tickling them.

Taylor started laughing so hard tears came to their eyes

Danny had to stop tickling Tay to grasp her sides since they were hurting from laughing so hard.

Taylor was wheezing

Danny was gasping for breath between her giggles.

Taylor moved so that their head was on Danny's lap as they giggled and wheezed

She stroked their hair gently, managing to get the majority of her goggles under control.

Taylor could barely breathe

She glanced down at Taylor, grinning idiotically.

Taylor finally managed to stifle their giggles, staring up at Danny

Danny bit her lip through her smile, studying them.

Kyra watched as the helicopter dropped a ladder for her and Callyah.

*I'm going to die, aren't I?*

*You might.*

*At least I got to kiss Tay one last time before I left.*

*There are more important things to worry about.*

*Maybe, but that's the one I care about the most.*

Taylor couldn't get up. Their sides were really sore from laughing and their cheeks from grinning

Danny poked their cheek, managing to stay pan faced, and then burst into a second fit of giggles.

Taylor struggled to get up, giggling

Danny tried to stand up and push Tay of herself but her knees were weak from the laughter.

Tay finally managed to sit up, nearly falling back down again from the tiredness

Danny was able to push herself off the couch and stand on wobbly knees, still occasionally giggling.

Tay was sprawled on the couch, getting fits of giggles every five seconds

Kyra began to climb up the ladder.

*I want to kiss them again.*

*Well, you're not going to get to do that unless you get out of here alive.*

*We won't. You know that.*

*I do.*

*Do you think there's a place that you go after death?*

*Maybe.*

*If there is, I want to go to somewhere with chess. Chess and Tay.*

*If there's a place that you go after death, wouldn't Tay have to die first to be there?*

*I don't want Tay to die.*

*Neither do I.*

Kyra's mind could agree on one thing.

*I'm going to see them again.*

*We're going to see them again.*

*In this world or the next?*

*In this world or the next.*

Callyah climbed the ladder behind Kyra

Once Kyra was in the helicopter, she sat on one of the seats.

Callyah didn't sit, looking around.

"Callyah--you do know--you do know that the possibility that we don't make it out alive is...rather high, right?" Kyra asked her softly.

"[Redacted]," Callyah told her. "I promised Ani and Cole I'd be back, and I'm going to [redacted] get back."

*We're going to get back.*

*Are we?*

*We'll try.*

"We'll get back then," Kyra said simply.

"[Redacted] right," Callyah replied, fingering the edge of one of her throwing knives.

Danny collapsed again, giggling too hard to stand.

Taylor curled up in a ball, still giggling

Danny finally thought she had her giggles under control again when she glanced up at Tay and another fit overtook her.

Taylor was wheezing, clutching their sides

At this point, Danny didn't even know why she was laughing anymore.

Taylor finally stopped laughing.

"There are a few things you should know about her before we get in there," Kyra said to Callyah.

Danny was finally all laughed out.

"Besides the fact that she's a [wow, Callyah, who taught you all these bad words?] who tortures people in the name of science?" Callyah asked.

"Yes, besides that," Kyra said. "I'm talking about weaknesses--ways we can get to her. That sort of thing."

"Go ahead," Callyah said.

Taylor was sore from all the laughing

"Alright--erm--well, as you've...probably gathered, she's a bit insane--we can anger her rather quickly, although then she'll probably kill us...and she hurt her leg, a while back--I suspect it's mostly healed now, but when I last saw her, she had a limp," Kyra said.

"Which leg?" Callyah asked.

"I--I think it's her right one, but I can't be sure until I see her again," Kyra said.

"I'm going to need to know which," Callyah said. "Is she a good fighter?"

Danny stumbled over to the kitchen to get a glass of water and finish calming herself down.

"She may not look it, but she's--good--not human good. Oh, and her ability--she can...read your vitals. I think. One of the guards there told me that she can tell you how many breaths you take per minute--what your pulse is--your heartrate--if you're lying or not--just from a single glance. Poor guy, he's probably dead now," Kyra said.

Holden was in the bathroom.

Taylor was curled up in a little ball, rubbing their sore sides

The drink of water calmed Danny down fully but she was still grinning as she walked back into the room with Tay.

"Ouch." Tay whispered

"Did I poke you too hard?" Danny teased, sitting down on the couch.

"Yep. I think you won the war, Star Girl." Tay admitted

Danny considered this. "Does that make me Darth Vader?"

"Huh? How-" Tay asked

She snorted and admitted, "I have literally no idea."

"Vital monitorer? Okay." Callyah told Kyra

Tay snickered, wincing as they did so

Danny glanced up and saw they were just in time for Olaf’s resurrection and Kristoff’s proposal. She sat down and gestured for Tay to join her.

Taylor settled back against Danny's shoulder

Danny may or may not have gotten a tad emotional.

Taylor reached up and brushed at Danny's eyes in case she was crying. Not at all because they wanted Danny to do the same-

Danny blinked back happy tears and wiped under Tay’s shining eyes in return. Clearing her throat, she asked, “So, what did you think?”

"Amazing." Tay grinned, even though they had not watched like half the movie because of the tickle war

“I know. Into the Unknown and Show Yourself might even be as good as Let it Go,” Danny agreed, grinning.

Tay wrapped an arm around Danny

Danny put her arms around them too.

Tay closed their eyes, sighing happily

“I missed you, Sparkles,” Danny murmured.

"You too, Star." Taylor replied

She hugged them tightly and then asked softly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

"What?" They decided to play dumb

“Tay,” she warned. “You know.”

Taylor looked away

“Tay,” Danny asked softly, “What did they do to you?”

Taylor mumbled something as they looked at their hands and fidgeted with the bandages.

Danny tilted their chin up to meet her gaze.

Taylor tried not to look scared or nervous. "Bad things." They muttered, avoiding Danny's eyes

She studied their face defeatedly. “Tay, please. I- I need to know,” she begged, hating the way her desperation crept into her tone.

"You need to know how they tortured me? You need to know how they hurt me to near death and healed me to only experience more pain? You need to hear how I have scars because of them? You need to know how I would cry and wish only for you to come back and save me from the pain? You see why I don't talk about this." Tay didn't notice the tears streaming down their face from remembering the pain and suffering.

Danny let a horrible, strangled, choking gasp, her face horrified. And to think she’d thought she saved them.

Taylor cupped Danny's face in their hand "Breathe, Star." They hiccuped silently

Her eyes were wide with guilt as she mumbled, “I can’t believe I did that to you. Tay, gods, I’m so so sorry.”

Taylor swiped at their eyes as they hiccuped "Not your-" \*Hic\* "-Fault. How could you have-" They hiccuped again "-Known? I'm around because-" Another hiccup "-You took me there."

“How can you think that?” Danny choked back a sob. “I should’ve checked on you, should’ve made sure you were okay. But... but I didn’t and you had to suffer because of it.”

Taylor scooched closer to Danny and leaned on her "Shoulda coulda woulda... Past is past though it haunts everything I do. And I could feel myself slipping away as you took me to the 'doctor'."

Danny wrapped her arms around Taylor tightly, not comforted in the least.

Tay wrapped their arms around Danny as well

“How can you not hate me?” She asked softly, afraid of what the answer would be,

"You're my Star Girl. You saved me. What's to hate?" Tay closed their eyes

“Tay, how can you say that? I’m the whole reason you were [ReDaCteD. I’m not a savage like some people.] tortured!” Danny argued, her voice rising.

"You're also the one who brought me there in the first place to be healed." Tay reminded Danny "And shush, some people could be sleeping."

Danny bit her lip guiltily and fell silent.

Taylor sighed, eyes closed. They mumbled something, half asleep

Sighing, Danny led them back to the couch and tucked them in before finding her own seat and beginning the torturous process of going through her memories and finding everything she could’ve done differently.

"Danny?" Tay asked with their eyes closed

“Mhm?”

"It's not your fault. You're not a telepath, you couldn'tve known." Taylor told Danny

Danny ignored them.

"I don't blame you. That's all you need to know." Taylor sneezed once and fell asleep

Danny sighed and eventually drifted asleep as well.

Taylor muttered about Danny in their sleep, mentioning "Come back" A few times

Danny didn’t hear them,

Taylor slept in silence and stillness for the rest of the night.

Danny also slept, though not very well. She shifted and woke up almost constantly.

Taylor literally didn't move except for their face. Their expression changed every so often from fear to a very fake smirk to neutral and back

Taylor wondered, in a small part of their mind, if they would wake up screaming again

Danny... just slept, with the occasional nightmare thrown in.

Callyah shrugged. "Looks like I'm starting out lying my head off, then."

"That would be...a good way to check," Kyra said. "Providing she doesn't kill you for it. But to be fair, she could try and kill you for almost anything--"

"I'm pretty [redacted] hard to kill," Callyah said. "And lie detecting requires a baseline -- without something to tell her what my behavior would be if I were honest, she won't know if I lie."

"Then again, if this is her ability--she might not need a baseline," Kyra pointed out. "But I do have to admit--from experience--yes, you are rather difficult to kill," she cracked a smile.

Callyah smiled back. "Why, thank you."

The helicopter landed, because Sotilda couldn't think of another way to describe it at the moment because her brain was tired.

Callyah suddenly looked scared -- but she winked at Kyra to show it was an act.

Guards flanked their sides as they were led out of the helicopter. A long bridge was set ahead of them, over a chasm that surrounded the fortress--true evil queen style.

Still looking panicked, Callyah scanned their surroundings, making note of everything.

Kyra didn't have enough hope to look scared--she just had to get through this. The end might be coming, and she...she was okay with that. She'd just like to take out Minerva before she died. To rid the world of something that evil would truly make her life worth it.

Anyone who knew Callyah -- so, Kyra -- would know she was faking being scared. She hugged herself, her hands resting just above her well-hidden knives.

Taylor was sleeping.

Danny was also sleeping.

The guards led them across the bridge, and Kyra had to force herself not to look down.

Callyah did look down -- she wanted to know exactly how long it would take someone to hit the bottom if she shoved them over the edge.

Ella was still on the ground, watching an ant crawl on her knee.

Callyah looked around, still faking her fear.

The double doors shut behind them. Dang, Minerva sure knew how to make a dramatic scene.

Callyah startled. "Are- are we locked in here?" she asked one of the guards, sounding panicked.

The guard merely nodded, as if this was just a normal part of his day. It probably was.

Callyah stepped a little closer to Kyra and whispered, "Can you pick a lock?"

Kyra whispered back, "I'm a criminal, of course I can pick a lock."

"Good." Callyah ran through her mental checklist -- twenty-one bullets left in her magazine, plus another two ten-round magazines hidden in her boots, seven throwing knives, and her butterfly knives. Enough for a small army.

Anika was currently in one of the bedrooms--she had been sitting at a desk and writing down notes--she wasn’t done grieving and she definitely wouldn’t be for a long time but right now she needed to focus on saving her world.

Tay was still asleep

Callyah pulled her horse to a stop in front of the hospital, still carefully holding Kyra. She'd managed to wrap Kyra's stomach with her hood, but Kyra was still bleeding badly. "[Redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted]," she muttered under her breath as she somehow managed to get down off the horse and lift Kyra down.  "LORI, I NEED YOU NOW!" she yelled as she stepped into the waiting room. Several people gasped at seeing her without a hood on, then  again when they realized where it'd gone.

Lori came running out of a side room. "[Redacted]," they muttered. "Bring her here."

Callyah followed them down the hall and into the operating room, gently setting Kyra on the bed. "She was shot. I-"

"Call Cole," Lori told her. "The phone's at the front desk. Go."

Callyah dashed out of the room and to the phone while Lori began preparing Kyra. She dialed her own house and prayed Taylor was asleep.

At the Dennison house, the phone rang.

Taylor was asleep still

Advika was close to where the phone rang and she raised an eyebrow--not bothering to check who it was she picked up the phone and put it to her ear, “Hello?”

"I need you to find Cole. He's probably in the kitchen. Tell him to get down to the clinic now," Callyah said. Even now -- panicked as heck and in some serious pain -- she sounded like a general giving orders.

Kyra wasn’t there. She was there, but she wasn’t there. Everything was blurred—were they still at the fortress? Where was Minerva? Why did it hurt—it hurt—there was pain, too much pain.

Advika pursed her lips--sensing that something was definitely wrong she says, “Okay.” after the word left her mouth she set the phone down and sped walked into the kitchen looking for Cole.

Lori sung to themself and Kyra while they worked, carefully but quickly.

Cole looked up. "Hey- wait, what's wrong?" he asked Advika.

Tay smiled in their sleep, unaware

Valerie was silently nearby wherever Anika was, because Callyah told her to make sure she was safe and she wasn't just going to ignore that.

Danny was with Tay, I suppose.

Familiar voices drifted through Kyra’s head—or was she actually hearing them? Where was Tay? Tay—Danny. Danny was pretty. Tay and Danny. Was Callyah alright? It hurt a lot. Lots of hurt.

Callyah went back to the OR.

"You can't be-" Lori started.

"Shut the [redacted] up, Danvers," Callyah replied. "I got her into this mess. I'm staying."

Lori sighed. "Fine."

“Your sister said to tell you that you need to go to the clinic now.” Advika informed him.

Tay rolled over, their hair tangled in their face

"I- [redacted]," Cole said. "[Redacted]. Get Val and Anika and send them to the clinic, will you?" He jammed his feet into his shoes and left.

Advika nods even after he left and she turned briskly, pursing her lips and looking for Val first.

"Where-" Cole asked.

"OR" the receptionist said.

Cole barreled into the room and stopped short. "Oh, [redacted]."

**Language**, Callyah signed. **Get to work.**

Cole nodded. He brushed his hand against Kyra's arm and sucked in a breath. "My God. She's in a-- in a lot of pain."

"How do you...?" Lori asked.

Callyah nodded. "Get to it, little brother."

Cole put his hand on Kyra's arm and concentrated on slowly, carefully pulling some of the pain out of her.

Tay sat up and rubbed their eyes, hair a giant poof around their head

Valerie was still with Anika.

Pain. Pain was going away. Going away. Was she going to go away? If she went away, it might not hurt so much. But she wouldn’t see Tay if she went away. She didn’t want to leave them. Or Danny. Danny and Tay.

Advika knocked on Anika’s current bedroom she had been sleeping in, not waiting for an answer as she opened the door.

Valerie, who had been sitting in the chair sharpening one of her knives, glanced up.

"You're going to be okay," Callyah told Kyra. "Promise."

**What is he doing?**

**Focus,** Callyah told Lori. **Get the bullet out and get her stable, then we'll talk.**

“Good you’re both here. Now Cole wanted me to tell you both that you need to go to the clinic. Seemed important.” Advika says to Valerie and Anika who had looked up from where she had been seated at a desk.

Kyra thought heard someone telling her something about being okay. The voice washed above her, and it felt like she was under water, sinking down, down, down, down.

Val was on her feet immediately, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did he say why?"

Advika shook her head, her lips pursed, “No, but I’m assuming somebody is hurt.” she replies.

Anika quickly stood up, “It’s not Callyah is it? Or Kyra?” she had paled and was already heading towards the door.

"It better not be Callyah," Valerie muttered, tugging her hood lower over her head and sliding the knife back into its sheath as she moved out in front of Anika.

Lori got the bullet out. "I'm going to start stitching her up."

Cole nodded and used his free hand to pull out one of the sedatives. He gently inserted it into Kyra's arm and pressed the plunger down.

Callyah was still, holding Kyra's other hand.

Anika tried to push past Valerie, intent on making sure it wasn’t anybody she cared about--she couldn’t go through that. Not again. Not when she was still grieving.

Down, down, down, down—Kyra’s world plunged into darkness as the sedative was given to her. She welcomed it, embraced it, as if she were finally going home.

Tay rubbed their eyes, still not realizing that anyone was hurt or in danger

Danny was sleeping with Tay, I guess.

Valerie quickly went outside and debated the fastest way to get to the clinic.

Anika scanned the area outside, calling for Desire.

Lori finished and stepped back. "God."

"Thank you," Callyah said.

"What were you doing?" Lori asked, gesturing to Callyah's all-black outift, her knives holstered behind her hips, and the rifle still slung over one shoulder.

"My job," Callyah said simply. "Can we get her to a room?"

Lori nodded and wheeled the gurney into one of the rooms, hooking up the machines and an IV tube.

"She'll be fine," Lori said. "Don't let her sit up."

Cole nodded.

"Are you going to explain the other thing?" Lori asked.

**Later**, Cole signed, half-collapsing into one of the chairs.

Lori nodded. "Call me if you need me."

Valerie whistled for Tug.

Tug, who had been grazing peacefully, raised his head and trotted curiously over to Val.

Desire, who had been near Tug, trotted over to Anika and nuzzled Anika’s hand. Anika smiles faintly but doesn’t say anything as she pulls herself up onto Desire.

Lori continued going about their hospital duties.

Callyah and Cole existed in Kyra's room.

Cole leaned over and put his hand on his sister's arm. "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Bruised ribs. Had it before," Callyah told him, pulling her arm out of his grip. "You need to rest."

Tay looked around "Where is everyone?" They asked Danny

Anika turned her head to Val, “Any idea which direction the clinic is?” she asks, her tone unreadable.

Advika rolls her eyes after being left inside, she walks slowly to the front door, in no real rush.

Paisley was...probably still asleep.

Valerie nodded, quickly grabbing her tack and saddling and bridling Tug. She swung up on his back and waited for Anika.

Danny yawned and said, "No idea. Why, are they not here?"

"No..." Taylor looked around, fingering the papers in their pocket

Anika did as Val did just much less skillfully, swinging her leg over Desire and pulling herself up with strained muscles. She has Desire follow Tug and Val to the clinic, ready to hop down the second they got there.

As Kat was impatient, Valerie and Tug quickly led Desire and Anika to the clinic, dismounting and tying the horses up before hurrying inside.

"Room 27," Lori told Valerie, pointing down one of the halls. "On the right," they added.

Anika didn’t wait for anybody to say anything else and she quickly walked down the hallway, scanning the doors before finding Room 27 and knocking.

Callyah stood up and opened the door. "Anika?"

Valerie followed Anika, trying to repress a sudden smile at the thought that Lori probably just knew her as the weird longbow girl.

Anika felt a wave of relief flood her at Callyah standing and talking to her, “You’re alright.” she breaths, relieved, “Wait where’s Kyra?” she asks, trying to see around Callyah.

Callyah sighed and stepped out of the doorway. "Before you panic and/or blame yourself, she's going to be fine and it's my fault anyway."

Anika paled slightly and took a small step inside, her eyes finding Kyra lying there and she couldn’t have been more pale, “What happened? Where did you both go?” she asks, her voice quiet but demanding.

"Does Taylor know?" Valerie asked quickly. She really did not want to have to deal with an angry, emotionally unstable Tay.

Tay continued fingering the papers in their pocket

"No -- and let's wait to tell them, please," Cole said from his spot in the chair.

Callyah looked down at Kyra. "To the fortress of one of the members of the Gambit. I-- we were fighting, and one of the guys in the balcony had a han-- I shouldn't be telling you this."

“I want to know.” Anika insisted, not going to leave or even calm down without a full answer.

"He had a handgun and got off a lucky shot. I should have realized -- should have taken him out first, but I didn't." Callyah was eerily still, her hands frozen around the bedrail. She had blood on her face, a black eye, and was missing her hood.

Anika nods slowly before starting to realize Callyah’s current state, “Callyah, go get some medical attention, you cannot blame yourself for anything and you most certainly cannot punish yourself by not helping yourself. That’s an order.” she adds the last part in case she was thinking of giving her an excuse.

"I'm fine," Callyah promised. "It's a black eye and some bruised ribs. This was a Tuesday for me in high school."

Cole had missed that last part, but he'd gotten what Anika had said. "She's right, you're bleeding."

Callyah looked confused for a moment, then reached up and touched her face. "Ew, that's not my blood."

Cole sighed. "Use the sink to wash up -- I'll go get you some ice." He stood and left.

Callyah turned on the sink and got a wet paper towel, starting to clean her face, although lifting her left arm made her wince. Hopefully Anika hadn't noticed.

Valerie studied Callyah and moved next to her, signing, **What happened to your arm?**

**Nothing, it's fine**, Callyah said. **My ribs hurt like [redacted], though.**

Val tilted her head slightly, an amused smile playing slightly on the edges of her lips as she admitted, **I think I'd be more worried if you weren't hurting somewhere. Did you deal with the problem?**

Anika purses her lips but doesn’t say anything as she moved to her best friends side, studying Kyra.

**Yes**, Callyah said, her face set.

Tay went into the kitchen, picking at the bandages on their hand

"If Cole were here, he'd tell you to quit that," Matissa told them.

"Where'd Cole go then?" Taylor asked, hands dropping to their sides

"The clinic, probably. He gets emergency calls all the time," Matissa explained.

**Good**. Val glanced over at Kyra and Anika and added, **I still wish you would've brought me.**

Anika pressed her wavering lips together as she stood up and turned back to Callyah and Val, “She will be fine, right?” she asks, needing a final reassurance.

**I needed you to protect [Anika]**, Callyah said. **And I didn't want you to get hurt either.** "She'll be fine," she told Anika out loud. "She needs to heal, but the bullet didn't hit anything too important."

"Thanks, Miss Matissa." Taylor smiled at her before turning to leave

Matissa nodded. "Of course."

Anika simply nods, rubbing her nervous palms together in front of her as she scans the room.

It was a regular ol' hospital room.

Cole came back with a bag full of ice. "Sit down and put this on your side," he told Callyah, taking the paper towel from her.

Callyah sighed and sat down, putting the ice against her side with a small wince and letting Cole clean the blood off her face.

**Only one of us dying would've left Cole without an older sister,** Valerie pointed out.

Anika frowns when Callyah winced--she knew her guard, her friend, was hurt and yet she refused to want to take care of herself. Although Anika herself wasn’t much better with handling things.

Tay walked over to Danny "Cole's at the clinic." They tried to avoid thinking about whether Elissa was the reason or not

**I didn't die,** Callyah reminded her with her free hand. **[Cole], I'm fine. Quit fussing.**

Danny tilted her head at them and guessed, "You want to go see why?"

Valerie shook her head and chided, "You're very much not fine."

"Did you miss the part where she's got a bullet in her stomach?" Callyah asked. "I've got some bruises. Big deal."

Tay nodded, hand moving towards the bandages on their other hand before they forced their hand by their side again

Holden was there.

**What happened to your arm?** Val asked, changing the subject. **Did you fall on it?**

Anika bit the inside corner of her cheek and pressed her lips together, deciding she was going to go for a walk around the clinic.

**It's not my arm, it's lifting it. Pulls the muscle**, Callyah explained.

Valerie nodded and asked Cole, **What can you do for it?**

**Ice, mostly,** Cole said. **I could use my ability, but**

**No**, Callyah signed.

**That**, Cole explained.

Tay smiled at Danny "Come if you want to. I'm going to the clinic." They put their hands in their pockets

Anika snuck out of the room and began to walk around the clinic, tugging the mask she had one and debating whether it would be alright to take it off as she walked into the entrance room.

"Hey, you're the Dennison's friend, right?" Lori asked Anika.

"I'll come," Danny agreed, starting to walk.

Val held her hands up in surrender and stepped back.

Anika turned to the voice and offered a polite, faint smile from under her mask but it didn’t reach her eyes, “Yes.” she agrees simply.

Tay walked out the door and started walking, fingers wrapped around the papers in their pocket

"You doing okay?" Lori asked, picking up a disposable coffee cup and taking a sip.

Anika opened her mouth to offer up a petty excuse for how she was fine but she sighs, “No. No not really.” she admits, offering up a sad smile.

Danny walked with Tay.

Valerie alternated watching Kyra and Cole and Callyah.

"Yeah, me either," Lori admitted. "Cole and Callyah keep bringing badly wounded people to me -- I'm getting worried about them. And you've clearly gotten hurt too," they added.

Anika presses her lips together with nerves at the reminder of how many people had gotten hurt but she says, “Yes...my injuries at nothing compared to the others. Only memories of the pain really.” she says, rubbing her wrists with a grim smile, still sounding much more regal than a normal person should sound--how she was supposed to be sounding at the moment.

"Trauma?" Lori asked, indicating her wrists. Their voice was gentle, but not pitying.

She wet her lips since they had gone dry at the memories that had flashed through her head but she nods, “Yes. Many kinds.” she says, not elaborating.  She twisted her rose-gold ring that was on her finger. The one she shouldn’t have on right then. Dead giveaway.

Tay kept on moving to play with their bandages before stopping and forcing their hand away. They eventually curled their hands into fists and kept them like that until their hands hurt

Ella was walking the perimeter of teh clinic, she didn't feel comfortable going in.

"You know, Taylor told me they and Cole were on a secret mission for the queen," Lori said conversationally, taking another sip of their coffee.

Anika’s lips separate before they close and open again to speak, “Is that so?” she asks, her tone calmer than she really was at the moment.

"You might want to get a slightly bigger mask," they continued, gesturing to her face.

Anika caught the hint almost immediately, she coughs, “Right.” she says.

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Matissa will probably make you one if you want."

Anika smiles faintly, “I’m sure she would. But we’ve bothered her enough. I’ve bothered her enough.” she says, as she speaks she couldn’t help glancing around the room as if she expected someone to be eavesdropping.

Ella existed

Tay sped up, just wanting to get to the clinic already. *That's a sentence I thought I'd never say again.* They thought

"Please -- the Dennisons would parent the whole planet if they could. I lived with them for about a month and a half my first year of med school, and Matissa and Erik are basically the nicest people you will ever meet. You don't have to worry about 'bothering' them or whatever. They will parent you regardless." Lori told Anika

Anika felt her heart clench every time they said ‘parent’ and she couldn’t keep the hesitation to have any parental figure off her expression.

"I- [redacted], I crossed a line, didn't I?" Lori muttered.

“No, no it’s alright. Really.” she assures them, the lie burning her tongue, as she avoids eye contact, instead taking to staring at her feet.

Tay watched the clinic come into view

"You're going to need to be better at lying," Lori told her.

Anika sighs, “Yeah. Not a strong suit recently.” she mumbles.

Cole poked his head out of the room. "Hey, Anika, can you come help me for a minute?"

Ella continued being irrelevant, and useless.

Anika glanced behind her at Cole, “Yeah coming.” she replies, turning back to Lori briefly, “It was lovely to meet you.” she says.

Ella just started walking.

"You too," Lori replied.

Anika nods, standing there another moment before turning and walking back over to Cole.

Taylor bit at the bandages on their hand, trying to get them (The bandages) off

"STOP!" Ella yelled at Taylor.

Tay flinched but didn't stop. They looked at Ella

"Oh, you're supposed to be healing!"

Taylor spat out their hand "And?"

"So stop chewing your bandages!"

"But-" Taylor started to say

"'But' nothing, Taylor, take it from someone who has REPEATEDLY not listened to doctors, well I go to an assassin doctor but, anyway, you WILL hurt your self worse if you don't leave it alone!"

Taylor glanced down at their hands "Fine."

Callya was standing in the corner.

"Tell her to let me bandage her ribs," Cole said.

"I'm fine," Callyah snapped.

"They're fractured," Cole yelled back.

Anika turns to Callyah, “Let him bandage them Callyah.” she says, her voice carrying a insistence that no other voice could.

Callyah sighed. "Fine." She lifted the edge of her shirt, revealing some nasty discoloration that had already formed.

"Thank you," Cole said, carefully wrapping a wide bandage around her stomach and lower ribs.

Callyah muttered something about him being an overbearing little [redacted].

“I’m not babysitting any longer than I have to, Callyah,” Valerie warned.

Anika smiles tiredly, now that she had made sure Callyah would get proper treatment she slowly eased herself out the door and began to walk through the halls of the clinic. Clearing her mind was something she needed to do more often.

"Good." Ella told Taylor.

Taylor put their hands back in their pockets, hand curled around the papers

"You okay?"

"Yep. Fine." Tay shrugged

"I know," Callyah muttered. "How's Elissa?" she asked Cole.

"Pretty good."

"Can I go say hey to her?"

"Be my guest. Don't bump into anyone, and don't lift your arms higher than your shoulders."

Callyah rolled her eyes.

Anika made her way to the front of the clinic, planning to go outside.

Lori didn't stop her.

Ella looked at Taylor skeptically.

Anika walked outside, letting her hair cover her face as she went over to Desire, pulling her only knife out of her pack and turning it over in her hand. She debated what would make a good target for aim practice.

Valerie shrugged and slipped after Anika. She wasn’t going to stop guarding her until Callyah was better, even if it wasn’t her favorite thing.

Taylor met Ella's eyes "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get this [redacted] thing off my hand" They gestured to the thing on their broken finger (Because I just now remembered that)

"Wha? Fine."

Taylor walked over to the doors of the clinic

Callyah pulled her shirt down over the bulk of the bandages.

"You're welcome," Cole told her.

"Thanks," Callyah said grumpily.

Lori waved to Taylor. "You here to see Kyra?"

Anika didn’t notice Taylor and she went a ways to the side of the main way into the clinic so she didn’t hurt or scare anyone as she began to aim and throw the knife at a tree until it stuck and she could get it over an over. Her arm was burning and aching.

Taylor walked over to Lori "Kyra's here? I heard that Cole was here for an emergency and I wanted to check in?" They had a very bad feeling about this.

"[Redacted], I've put my foot in it again," Lori muttered. "Yeah, Kyra's here. Room 27. You want me to take you there?"

Taylor nodded "What happened to her?" They asked

Anika continued to throw her knife at the tree, going to retrieve it, walking back to her position, aiming and throwing it. Repeat. Over and over.

Ella may or may not have snuck in through a window, (Okay she did)

Lori headed off to the room. "Took a bullet to the stomach. Not too deep, though -- she'll be fine."

Taylor swallowed hard. *Nope. Nope nope nopity nope. I can't do this.* They gathered the papers into their hand still in their pocket

"Hey." Lori stopped and turned to face them. "There's no blood or anything. She's just sleeping, I promise."

"Any pain?" Taylor asked, scared of the answer

"She got shot in the stomach, what do you think?" Lori paused. "That was the wrong answer, wasn't it. You should talk to Cole, he's better at this [redacted]. Oh, lovely, I'm so stressed I've started cursing at visitors," they muttered.

Taylor shook their head, bringing the notes out of their pocket and into view

"Oh, [redacted]," Lori muttered. "Are we back to the noble self-sacrificing running away [redacted] already?" They were aware they were being a little bit callous, but it had been a long night and they had dealt with a lot of [redacted] in a very short period of time -- they were running out of patience.

Ella was walking around.

"That's what happens when people I love get hurt. The noble self-sacrificing [redacted] comes into play. Do you have a pen? I need to add one thing." Taylor put all the notes back in their pocket except for one, Elissa's note

Anika threw the knife one more time, her arm burning and she missed the tree by a few feet, her muscles aching and unable to continue this at a constant pace any longer. She walked and picked up her knife, sinking down against the tree.

"Kyra didn't get hurt because of you -- unless you're the one that shot her. You can join Callyah in the blaming-yourself party if you want, though," they said, handing Taylor a pen.

On the back of Elissa's note, Taylor wrote: *You can find me near where this began. Star knows*. "Thanks." They returned the pen and took the rest of the notes out of their pocket and made it into a little roll of paper "I'll be back." They held the notes out to Lori

Anika slowed her breaths, trying to ease the pain of her burning muscles. She had pushed herself and she would continue to push herself until she broke.

Ella started humming 'Radioactive' bu Imagine Dragons.

"Why did you come through the window?" a small voice in the room Ella had entered asked.

"Fine," Lori said, taking the notes. "Don't be stupid."

Callyah got up and wandered outside -- she was out of still mode and needed to move, or she was going to break.

"Uhh, I just did." Ella shrugged

Anika was still sitting against the tree, her eyes closed as she rubbed her aching muscles, her knife dropped at her side.

"There's a perfectly good door," Elissa said matter-of-factly. "Why couldn't you use that?"

Taylor mock saluted before walking out of the clinic, starting to run. *I better get a headstart on Star...* They thought

"I like being unpredictable." Ella told Elissa

Callyah spotted Anika and sighed. She walked over to the tree and carefully eased herself down next to the queen, wincing silently as she went.

"Unpredictable is fun," Elissa said. "But now I'm assuming you'll come through the window every time, so you'll have to mix it up."

Anika glances over and frowns, “Callyah, you should be inside resting or getting whatever medical help you need.” she insists, her tone unwavering,

"Not all the time. I might just come in through the door, or ceiling." Ella smirked

"The ceiling?" Elissa asked.

"And you shouldn't be practicing throwing knives with a recently injured arm, either, so I guess we're both breaking the rules today," Callyah replied mildly.

Anika huffed, “I wish you hadn’t gone to risk your life again without telling me.” she says.

"Yeah. I'm Ella."

"I told you," Callyah argued. "I mean, you were asleep, but technically I did tell you."

"I'm Elissa," Elissa said.

Anika glanced at her to give her a look, “It doesn’t count if I couldn’t hear it!” she protests. And if it wasn’t about something so important it would have been two friends playfully arguing over nothing important but that wasn’t the situation.

"So do you know Doctor Boy?" Ella asked.

Taylor leaned against a tree momentarily, panting hard. They curled their hands into fists, about to punch the tree when they almost saw Cole yelling at them. They relaxed the fists and started running again

"There are a lot of doctors who are boys," Elissa said, seeming confused.

"I know," Callyah said, looking down. "I know it was underhanded, I just -- I didn't want you to stop me."

Anika sighs, leaning her head back against the trunk of the tree, “I know. I’ve just lost too many people already. I guess it shows me what terrible things actually happen out here. Not that I didn’t already know but it’s a harsh reminder. I suppose it helps. Shows me I need to do anything I can to give everybody a life without fear.” she thinks aloud, not realizing she had begun to say everything aloud.

"Uhh the one people person I know? Like- uhh he's my height, deaf?" Ella held a hand near her head

Callyah didn't say anything, staring off into space like there was something out there, and she couldn't decide whether it was a threat or not. She'd gone still again.

"Cole," Elissa said. "Yeah, I know him."

Anika glances at her and knits her eyebrows together with worry, “Callyah? Can you do something for me?” she asks, her voice quiet.

"What is it?" Callyah asked.

"Cool." Ella said

“Don’t blame yourself for everything that happens.” Anika says, letting a hint of charm speak into her tone, hoping that maybe it would be enough to get the idea that maybe everything wasn’t her fault into her head.

"I don't," Callyah promised. "I blame myself for not preventing the things I can, like you getting hurt or kidnapped, or Kyra getting shot. It's my job -- literally my entire occupation -- to keep you safe." But the last part sounded like she was justifying something... else, something very different.

"Were you looking for him?" Elissa asked, playing with her IV tube.

"No, I was just wandering."

Anika tilted her head to the side slightly, biting her lip, “Callyah...if someone else does something that gets them hurt doesn’t that make it their own fault?” she tries.

"I uhh," Ella pulled on her sleeve, "How are you?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Elissa said -- not like she knew what it meant, but as if it was something she had heard other people say and she liked the sound of it.

"I suppose," Callyah said. "But being your guard means I'm supposed to keep you safe from everything -- even yourself."

"Yeah, I'm alive too."

It was dawning on Taylor that they planned this very stupidly. No water, no food, no shelter. *Great job, Genius.* They thought, scratching at the worn bandages on their hands

Anika smiles sadly, “I think we are past that chance now.” she murmurs, staring at nothing.

I guess Danny was in the waiting room of the clinic, waiting for Tay to come back out.

Valerie had slipped away and was talking quietly with Tug.

"Well, duh," Elissa said. "A ghost wouldn't have to climb through the window."

"Yeah," Callyah agreed softly.

"Well that depends if the ghost could do what I do."

"What do you do?" Elissa asked curiously.

Taylor started running again, tripping a few times

Anika coughs with an awkward laugh, “By the way, I might need a new mask. Lori suggest I get one that covers more of my...highly recognizable face.” she says, glancing at Callyah out of the corner of her eye.

Callyah smiled. "They're pretty quick," she agreed. "You can ask my mom -- she's a seamstress."

Ella pulled several flowers out of her pocket and swirled them around the room, she eyes narrowing at every flower.

“They are.” Anika agrees with a faint smile, “And are you positive I’m not being a bother to your mother?” she asks.

"Are you deaf too?" Elissa asked.

"Please -- my mom loves having people around," Callyah said. "She'd adopt every kid she meets if she could."

"No, my aunt was though, I have- other problems."

"Are you sick like me?" Elissa asked, waving the hand with her pulse oximeter on it at Ella.

Anika laughs a bit, a hint of sadness hidden in there but she masked it easily with a smile, “Good. But I demand to know if I’m ever a bother.” she jokes.

"No, it's complicated."

"You're not a bother," Callyah promised.

"Lori says unless it's calck-uh-lus, nothing is complicated," Elissa said. "They tell that at Cole a lot."

"What? Trust me it's complicated."

Anika looked skeptical, “Whatever you say.” she replies, stretching out her legs on the grass in front of her.

"Is it calck-uh-lus?" Elissa asked curiously.

"Ohh, math, I don't like math. Cal-chu-less."

Callyah sighed, then winced as the exhale triggered a sharp pain in her ribs.

"Cal-chew-lus," Elissa repeated.

"Why are we taking about math? I hate math." Ella sighed, muttering something in German.

Anika turned back to her, “You should rest. Or just lie down and do nothing.” she says, “We could even go watch a movie or something.” she suggests.

"Was that a bad word?" Elissa asked, sounding like she was asking if it was ice cream.

"I thought you'd want to stay with Kyra," Callyah said.

"No, maybe."

Anika bit her lip, “I do...but she has people to take care of her and there isn’t much I can do so I feel useless.”

Taylor leaned back against another tree, looking in the direction of the clinic, of Danny, of Kyra

"Lori taught me bad words in sign language, but they told me I couldn't use them in front of Cole," Elissa said proudly. "I don't know what they mean, though. They do them when they're mad."

"I get it," Callyah muttered. "Apart from knifing the guy that did that to her -- which I kind of did already -- god, I shouldn't have told you that -- there's not much I can do."

Ella laughed, "They did? Wow. Sie müssen ein Arschloch sein."

"Sigh mew sen ine--" Elissa stopped. "Huh?"

Anika sighs, “I’m guessing worse things are going to happen before anything gets better.” she says quietly.

"Probably," Callyah muttered.

"It's German. I won't tell you what I said though." Ella started humming Foreigners  'Jute box Hero'.

“We should also probably stop sitting her and complaining.” Anika says with a faint smile as she pulls herself to her feet, holding out a hand for Callyah, ignoring her burning arm muscles from pushing herself with the knife throwing.

Callyah tried to stand on her own, triggering a sharp, stabbing pain in her side. "[Redacted]," she gasped, pressing a hand to her ribs.

Anika quickly drapes a supportive arm around Callyah’s shoulders, holding most of her body weight and grinding her teeth to avoid her burning muscles. Her pain was nothing compared to Callyah’s.

Lori came into Elissa's room with a tray. "Din-- hey, you've met my assassin friend. How'd you get in here?"

"Window," Elissa supplied helpfully. "Ella's an assassin?"

Callyah let Anika stabilize her before gently pulling away. "I can stand," she promised, and sure enough, she was stable. "Holden bodyslammed me into a wall once during training, and I still kicked his [redacted]," she added. "I can walk with a couple cracked ribs."

Taylor settled against the tree, sighing. *This was a bad idea. But they can't have me there. This was a horrible idea. I'm protecting them by staying away.* They told themself

Anika smirks at the thought of Callyah kicking Holden’s \*\*\* but then she frowns, “Callyah, you need some sort of cast. And if not medicine. Cracked ribs aren’t something you walk around with!” she says, “I’m pretty sure at least. I’m not the doctor. Your brother is and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want you walking around injured.”

"Can't cast cracked ribs," Callyah said. "And he can't stop me. He already gave me the lecture about not lifting my arms too high or overexerting myself, and I'm listening to him. I promise."

“Okay, fine but promise me you’ll try to rest tonight? Or as soon as possible.” Anika says.

"I'll try," Callyah promised. "My mom will make me, believe me."

Anika nods, “Good.” she says, smiling slightly.

Taylor looked up at the sky, picking at the bandages

"Come on," Callyah said, heading for her horse. "Let's go home."

Anika nods, following Callyah, calling Desire, who had been grazing nearby.

"Yes I'm an assassin. And please don't call me 'friend' again, whether it's sarcastic or not." Ella sighed.

Taylor muttered to themself, looking this way and that. They set off again, resolving to cut their hair when they could because their hair was being a pain in the [redacted]

Ella snapped her fingers, the flowers falling out of the air and into her hand.

"Whoa," Elissa said. "Did you do that?"

"Telekinesis."

Elissa's eyes went wide. "Are you magic?"

Anika called Desire over to her.

"No."

Callyah carefully -- with a substantial amount of hissed cursing -- managed to climb onto her horse's back.

Anika helped Callyah the best she could and once she was on her horse Anika pulled herself onto Desire -- with a fair amount of stretching to her muscles.

"Teach me, teach me!" Elissa said, bouncing in place on her bed.

"Thanks," Callyah said, getting her horse to go down the road.

Anika nods, tugging on Desire’s reigns and urging her towards Callyah.

Kyra was still fading in and out of consciousness. The worst part was, she was aware of the pain now. Not that she hadn't been before, but now...she felt closer to life, and she wanted the pain to go away instead of wanting it to finally end her.

Cole stood up, seeing Kyra's eyelids flutter. He put a hand over hers and tried to draw out some more of the pain -- it was slow going, but it was better than nothing.

Callyah stopped her horse at the Dennison house and slid off ungracefully.

Anika was just as ungraceful as she slid off Desire, her arm muscles burning.

Callyah climbed the porch steps and opened the door.

Matissa looked up. "Honey--"

Callyah raised a hand. "It's best for everyone if you don't know. Can you put Dad's gun away?" she asked.

Matissa nodded, helping Callyah get the rifle off her shoulder. "You girls should sit down -- I'll make you something to eat." She had the mom voice --  the kind that said *I am your mother and you will take care of yourself.*

I’m just going to say Valerie went with them and easily swung down from Tug.

Anika nods, smiling tiredly, “Thank you.” she says, waiting for Callyah to go sit down first.

Callyah led her to the living room and sat down on the couch unceremoniously. "Ow."

Anika sits down as well.

Valerie sat down in her own chair, watching them.

"I don't think I can." Ella admitted, "I don't like using it, I discovered I could when I jumped out of a three story high window, I don't think you want that."

Tay looked around, not happy with the memories of this area. Except for one area, the place they had watched movies with Danny every Friday. Taylor shook off the memory, leaning against a tree.

"I-"

"No," Lori said immediately. "You will not be doing any window jumping."

"Aw," Elissa pouted.

Matissa looked at Callyah and sighed. "Honey, you're covered in blood. You need to change."

Callyah made an I don't wanna face.

"Come on."

Callyah sighed and let her mom pull her off the couch. She changed into something that was more or less pajamas -- sweatpants and a loose T-shirt -- and left her knives on her nightstand before going back to the couch. "You want to watch something?" she asked Anika.

Anika chews her lip and nods, “That would be nice.”

Callyah reached for the remote and flipped through the options. "Have you ever seen Logan Lucky?"

Anika shook her head, she hadn’t watched much TV in her life.

"It's one of my favorites. Cole's, too," she added, selecting the movie and pressing Play. "I think you'll like it."

Anika trusted Callyah’s judgement on this front and relaxed into the couch.

Matissa brought them some food. "Callyah's making you watch this one, huh? She's seen it a hundred times and she still always wants to watch it." Despite the good-natured complaint, she settled down into one of the easy chairs to watch.

A faint smile creeps onto Anika’s lips-- maybe this life could have been her’s. Maybe she could have had a simple yet perfect life where she could sit on the couch with her friends and family and watch a movie. But she couldn’t do it without thinking about her responsibilities. She chewed on her lips, trying to focus on the movie.

At some point -- maybe about halfway through the movie -- Callyah's exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she fell asleep, her head resting on Anika's shoulder.

Anika runs a finger through Callyah’s hair gently.

Callyah continued to sleep. She looked strangely peaceful and sweet -- normally, she looked like she could take your head off with a single kick, but now it was clear that she was barely 21, a college-aged kid who had somehow ended up with too much to fight for.

Anika studies her guard--her friend. The person who blamed herself for the mistakes that she, Anika had made. And it wasn’t fair. None of it was. But she had to find a way to make it better for Callyah. She swore it to herself that she would as soon as she could.

"Yeah, no window jumping. Maybe something easier like a hair pin?"

Taylor got up again and started looking for something to cut their hair with, trying to convince themself that their hands weren't hurting

"A lettuce leaf?" Elissa suggested, pulling one out of her sandwich.

The movie ended, the credits rolling up the screen. Callyah was still asleep, some of her hair falling over her face.

Anika grabbed a pillow, careful to not wake Callyah as she placed it under her head and gently lowered her head to the couch and slowly stood up.

Callyah shifted a little in her sleep, but she didn't wake up.

It was maybe noon, or a little later. Matissa was embroidering something in her chair unobtrusively.

A faint smile rests on Anika’s lips as she silently walks down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Taylor looked for a knife or something that had been overlooked when the camp was abandoned, hands starting to shake uncontrollably

"Why are you quiet?" Elissa asked Lori.

"No reason," Lori said. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Calculus," they said casually.

Anika enters the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She turns on the shower water, quickly undressing and stepping into the cold water.

"NO! NO MATH!" Ella said panicked, once she calmed down, "Yeah a lettuce leaf would work."

"What do I do?" Elissa asked.

Anika takes a long shower, feeling refreshed when she steps out, wrapping herself in a towel.

Taylor curled their hands into shaking fists as they continued looking for a knife or a sharp rock

Matissa had left some clothes outside the door for her, as well as a small parcel wrapped in brown paper.

"Close your eyes, feel the lettuce, how much space it takes up in your hand, how heavy it is, now breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, with each breath focus more on the lettuce, then imagine you can life it up, not by using your hand but by using something else."

"Um, okay?" Elissa closed her eyes and concentrated on the lettuce

Anika opened the door quietly and glanced down, she smiles and picks up the clothes and parcel, curiosity running through her as she went back into the bathroom.

Taylor finally found a sharp enough rock but couldn't pick it up. They stared at the rock, pain snaking up their arms from their hands. They were tempted to charmspeak the rock or something but could barely think through the pain

Taylor made a small noise in frustration

Instead of floating up, the lettuce leaf shimmered for a minute before folding itself into the shape of a paper doll.

Lori gasped.

Taylor bent down and tried to pick up the rock. When they couldn't, tears of frustration pricked their eyes which they quickly blinked away

"Oh my gosh!" Ella started bouncing on her toes, "Okay, now slowly open you eyes."

Elissa opened her eyes. "It's not flying," she said matter-of-factly.

"Well, yes but you got it to fold."

Taylor stared at the rock, hands shaking painfully

"Elissa that's amazing!" Ella was amazed, "That's amazing."

"It's really cool," Lori added. "Try the orange."

Elissa set down the lettuce paper doll and put her finger on top of the orange. It peeled itself and segmented open into a flower shape.

"Whoa," Lori said.

"Whoa," Elissa repeated.

"Okay, I've had MY telekinesis for thirteen years and- wow."

Anika carefully opens the parcel after slipping the clothes on, looking to see what it was.

Taylor scrabbled at the rock on the ground, finally getting a hold of it

It was a mask -- black, and cut diagonally so it covered the top left half of the face. The soft fabric shimmered with rose-gold embroidery in the pattern of swirling waves; on closer inspection, the lines were done deliberately to disguise the shape of the nose and the arc of the cheekbones, hiding some of the defining features of the person who wore it.

Elissa looked very proud of herself.

Anika breathed in awe, slowly lifting the mask with a careful grace. She traced her thumb over the rose-gold embroidery, gently moving it up to her face.

"Ooohhhhh! Okay, maybe just one more thing, then you should stop."

"Okay," Elissa said. "What should I do?"

Ella held out the flowers, "Try making them fly."

Taylor brought the rock to their mess of hair, hand shaking so badly that they dropped the rock. They started cussing

Elissa held a hand out over the flowers and closed her eyes, concentrating.

They didn't fly, instead weaving themselves into a bracelet around Ella's wrist. Lori laughed. "That is really cool," they said.

Anika pressed the mask against her face, studying her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

"That's the most control I've ever seen, especially for someone who JUST discovered their telekinesis."

"I don't think it's telekinesis," Lori said as they observed the orange flower. "I think she's literally making things beautiful."

The mask made Anika look like a different person, hiding her defining features.

"That makes sense. Okay so, does it just take the whole- close you eyes and breathe- thing or can abilities emerge at anytime?"

The mask made her feel like a new person. Like maybe she could have a second chance. Maybe she could start all over. She sighs, *life doesn’t work that way*, she chided herself as she runs her fingers through her wet hair.

"I don't know anyone else with an ability," Lori admitted. "So I wouldn't know."

Ella raised her hand and pointed to Elissa.

Taylor pushed away the pain clouding their mind "Cut my hair into a bob" They charmspoke the rock before passing out, sinking into the dark world far from all the pain

"Yes, you two. That's it. Were yours triggered by something, or did you just chill out and breathe to get it to work?" Lori asked.

Elissa was occupied with folding the rest of her lettuce leaves into origami shapes.

Anika finished brushing her hair with her fingers and hung up her towel, walking out of the bathroom silently. She went looking for Matissa, planning on thanking her.

"I specifically said I jumped out of a window and my telekinesis was triggered and it saved me. I was six and my house was on fire!" Ella (probably) over shared.

Matissa was still in the chair in the living room; Callyah was still sleeping on the couch, her hair falling over her face.

Anika walks over to Matissa, “Thank you for this.” she says as soon as she gets over to her, running a finger over her mask delicately.

"Oh, [redacted]!" Lori shouted suddenly. "Elissa, if you repeat that, I will wash your mouth out with soap." They fished the correct one of Taylor's notes out of their pocket and handed it to Ella. "Read that to her -- I need to find Cole."

They headed out of the room and into Kyra's.

"You're welcome," Matissa said. "I thought you'd like the rose gold."

Anika smiles faintly, “I love it.” she says, “Is there--well is there anything I can do around here? I could use something to do.”

"If you say that I won't tell anyone." Ella whispered to Elissa.

"What's it say?" Elissa asked.

Matissa nodded. "Do you know how to fold towels?"

Anika nodded, “Yeah.”

Kyra was finally asleep, resting a bit more peacefully than she had before. Hopefully recovering. Hopefully.

Matissa gestured to the small pile of finished towels in the chair next to her. "Could you fold those?"

"What's wrong?" Cole asked Lori. Instead of answering, they handed him Taylor's note.

Anika nodded again, “Of course.” she says, sitting down, her legs folded under her and she began to fold the towels.

Ella played with the flower bracelet.

"What's it say?" Elissa asked again. "Read me the note, window-jumper."

Cole read it once, twice, and then a third time, not saying anything.

Taylor was passed out, sprawled on the ground. The rock cut their hair into a short bob

"It's Ella." Ella snatched the note from Cole.

"Please say something," Lori whispered.

Cole shook his head, signing something somewhere between **no** and **I can't**.

Taylor continued laying sprawled on the ground, cut hair all around them. The rock thudded to the ground next to them

**Where's V-A-L**? he signed, dropping the note onto the table.

"I don't know," Lori said. "Why, what--" It hit them then. "Their hands."

Cole nodded grimly. **We have to find them.**

Danny was still waiting for Tay at the clinic, I think.

Valerie was outside the Dennison house, grooming Tug and the other horses.

Holden was at the Dennison house, in the bathroom, because he had summoned and ate one too many oranges.

After a while, Taylor woke up. The first thing they noticed was the intense pain in their hands

"Dear Elissa, This note is just to tell you that you're amazing. You should be what you want and you will be. I may not come by as much. But, I'll be worrying for you. Love, Tay." Ella read out to Elissa, "Correct me if I'm wrong but is this Chess Girls 'Tay'?"

"I'll call your house, see if she's there," Lori promised, already heading out the door.

"Taylor," Elissa said, tugging on her hair in an impression of the way they tugged on their dreads.

"Sooo, Chess Girls, Taylor?"

"I don't know," Elissa said. "They have bandages on their hands and a broke finger."

The phone rang at the Dennison house. Callyah started awake, shooting upright, and then immediately pressed her hand to her rib and winced. "Forgot about that," she muttered as she stood.

Ella was actually a little concerned so she flipped the paper over, "WHO KNOWS A STAR GIRL?"

Danny glanced up distractedly. "Yes?"

"Who was that?" Elissa asked.

Callyah picked up the phone. "Hey?"

"Callyah, hi, can you get down to the clinic? Bring Valerie."

"Yeah, give me a minute." Callyah hung up. "VALERIE?" she yelled as she went outside.

Taylor continued to be passed out, facedown on the ground in Danny and their old gang's old camp

"Yeah?" Valerie asked, moving away from the horses and over to Callyah. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but we need to get to the clinic," Callyah said, already heading for her own horse.

"I don't know a Star girl but the back says, 'You can find me where it began. Star girl knows'. Wer zum Teufel ist freaking Star Girl?" Ella was kinda really worried. (\*Who the heck is freaking Star girl\*)

"Someone outside said something," Elissa said, pointing to the window.

"What?" Ella rushed to the window.

Val nodded and quickly tacked Tug up, swiftly mounting him and heading down to the clinic. She watched Callyah carefully, looking for any signs that she was overdoing it with her ribs.

Callyah looked completely fine, though she'd forgotten her knives at first and had run back into the house to grab them. She swung down off her horse as soon as they reached the clinic and hurried inside.

Valerie hurried in after her, wondering what had happened.

Holden left the bathroom and hurried after everyone else.

Taylor sat up and winced immediately. Their hands started to shake again

"I'm going to find Cole and Lori to see if they know anything, you good?" Ella asked Elissa.

"Yeah," Elissa said.

Taylor got to standing, looking at the roughly chopped off hair strewn nearby

"Okay." Ella kinda ran/sped-walked to find Cole and Lori.

Lori was at the front desk, talking to Callyah.

"Hey," she said as Ella approached. "Lori was telling me Taylor ran away?"

"Yeah she had a note for Elissa and on the back they put, 'You can find me where it began. Star girl knows'. Well [Redacted] I'm getting pronouns correct!"

Taylor started walking around, wondering if cutting off circulation to their arms would cut off the pain too

Lori elected to ignore that. "Who's Star Girl?"

"I thought you knew. I don't know. It's not anyone from the Alleys."

"I wouldn't know," Lori said.

"Okay, well, I have some- \*ahem\* contacts- I could see if they know anything."

Taylor decided that Cole was the doctor and not them so they continued walking around and struggling to deal with the pain in their hands

"It would be someone Taylor knows," Callyah said. "Someone they have... I don't know, a past with? I'd guess Kyra, but they call her Queenie, not Star Girl."

Valerie tilted her head and said slowly, “Didn’t Holden call Danny Stargirl?”

Taylor bit the bandages on their hands, ripping it

"I-- maybe?" Callyah said,

"OHHHHHH!" Ella gasped like an over-enthusiastic fan girl, "Danny IS Star girl, and 'where it all began' refers to where Taylor and Danny met, when Taylor got dragged into that gang!" Ella only took one breath while saying that, and said it faster than humanly possible.

Lori blinked. "Oooookay..."

Taylor stuffed the ripped bandages in their pocket, hands shaking painfully

"What? It's my job to find people, and kill them, but not this time!"

Lori pinched the bridge of their nose. "Please stop saying that in the clinic."

"WHAT? I said not this time!"

Val bit back a snappy retort and asked, “Does anyone know where she is?”

Ella shrugged.

"Haven't the foggiest," Callyah said. "How's Cole?"

"You should probably go talk to him," Lori said.

Callyah made a face. "That bad, huh? Don't do anything stupid without me," she told them before heading off to room 27.

"I will make no such promises."

Taylor scowled at the rock, cursing at it loudly

"Wait did she Callyah just say she does stupid things? I'm so confused what happened to miss high-and-mighty?"

"She cracked some ribs," Lori said.

"Okay? A month ago I broke three ribs and one of the broken ribs almost impaled my pancreas. Right? Is your pancreas on the left? Or is it on the right and your liver is on the left?"

Taylor kicked the rock and stalked away, trying not to move their hands. Taylor sat down, leaning against a tree. They stared at the sun, eyes half closed

"I'm going to ignore that," Lori decided. "So... Danny?"

Valerie shrugged. “I have no idea. I think she came here with Taylor to see Kyra, but I’m not sure.”

Ella muttered something in German about -well I shant say, I will say it was rude.

Tay's hands shook as they watched the sun with a weird expression on their face

"Someone find her," Lori decided. "Ella, you like to say you're a good assassin? Prove it."

"The best." Ella nodded, "Give me a minute." She pulled out what looked like an airpod, and started rambling in Spanish.

Taylor closed their eyes, a headache forming after staring at the sun

Danny was in one of the chairs in the lobby, reading a magazine.

Tay sighed, head drooping

"\*Si, No, necesito que averigües dónde la consiguió esta pandilla a ella oa él. ¡No lo sé! Por favor, Viper, ¿de verdad? ¡Dios mío, gracias!\*" Ella rambled, "Did he just? He hung up on me!" (\*Yes, No, I need you to find where this gang got her, or him. I don't know! Please Viper, really? Oh my gosh thank you!\*)

"Great?" Lori said tentatively.

Anika finished folding the towels, carefully stacking them, “Where do you want them?” she asked Matissa.

"You can leave them right there," Matissa told her. "Thanks for your help."

Taylor fell asleep

Anika nods, “Of course.” she agrees, pulling herself to her feet and instinctively reaching up and running her fingernail over the embroidery on her newest mask.

"So my contact say's that the gang that best fits the description I have would have found Taylor somewhere east of here." Ella said, "It it wrong that I hate him? He did save my life but he's so vexing."

"*They*﻿," Lori corrected. "They are somewhere east of here."

"No, I mean- I CHOSE to forget pronouns and names, but my contact, he's miffing."

"Fine," Lori said. "Wait for Cole to get back -- we're leaving Callyah here to protect Kyra. And find this Danny person."

"Okay! Let's go!"

“What about me?” Valerie asked, tugging her hood lower.

"You wanna come? I'm okay with that."

"You want to come?" Lori asked, shrugging off their lab coat and throwing on a beat-up aviator jacket.

Cole came out of the room. "When we find them, I swear--"

"I call first punch!" Ella exclaimed.

"No punching," Lori told her. "They're not going to be in good shape, most likely." They pulled a red backpack off a hook -- the kind marked with a white "+" -- and slung it over their shoulders. "Get Danny and let's go."

"AWWWWW!" Ella pouted, and grabbed her dark green denim jacket, and assassin bag.

Lori headed out of the clinic and east.

Cole followed, internally cursing himself for... well, everything.

"We should probably hurry, like you said, they're won't be in good shape. We need to get there soon."

"No [redacted]," Lori replied. "But I don't want to be running in the wrong direction."

**[Callyah] told me V-A-L can track,** Cole signed.

"Valerie, can you track them?" Lori asked.

Ella stopped and just looked offended. "Ich kann auch verfolgen, es ist mein verdammter Job.\*" (\*I can track too, it's my freaking job.\*)

Taylor was curled up on the ground, asleep, breathing with barely a sound

“Literally all I do is track. All day. And wait. But between those two things, there’s not much else I do.” Valerie informed them. “But it depends which way they went. Through wild areas, yeah, but if it’s through a city then it might be a bit harder.”

"Do your best," Cole said. "We need to find them."

“I will. Now, do we know where Danny is?”

Danny was still in the waiting room.

Cole sighed and went back inside. "Yo, Danny, we need you."

Danny glanced up, setting down her magazine. “Yes?”

The pain in Taylor's hands strengthened and they woke up with a quiet sound of pain

"Taylor left -- they said you would know where they are. Something about where it all began?"

Danny froze and asked slowly, "They left? And went back back?"

"Yes, they left. Now I have a theory, okay. Are you Star girl? If so is 'where it all began' where you found Taylor and convinced them to join the gang?"

"I don't believe it," she muttered, beginning to pace. "They can't--they just--Why would they go back after they left? They must know what they'll do to them."

"Can we have this conversation on the way?" Cole asked. "We need to find them."

"OHHHHH!" Ella ghasped, "SO the gang is still there? OHHhhhh! Okay we gotta go!" She set down her bad and pulled out a pair of white, blue, and neon yellow running shoes, after slipping them on she stretched a bit. "East? Right Star girl."

"Don't call me that," Danny snapped irritably. "But yeah, I think so."

"Okay, New girl," Ella said. She gave Danny a mock salute and took off running east.

Kyra was...awake. And everything hurt. Goddamn, everything hurt. She didn’t know whether to call for someone or not. She definitely couldn’t get out of bed—no, she definitely couldn’t do that. And she distinctly remembered dying. Was she dead now?

Danny shook her head and took off after her, scowling and grumbling to herself about idiots.

Valerie shrugged and loped after them.

Taylor got up to standing again, hands shaking violently. They bit their tongue

"Hey, you're up," Callyah said from somewhere in Kyra's room.

Lori and Cole were following Danny.

“Callyah? Are you dead too?” Kyra asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to turn to face her friend, but winced. Nope. Moving was definitely not a good idea.

Taylor looked in the direction of the abandoned camp (Or they think it's abandoned-)

Danny was swearing to herself as she led the way.

Valerie followed her quietly.

Holden was probably where the majority of the group was.

"I'm not dead," Callyah promised. "Neither are you, promise."

“Alright—then how—how are we here? Weren’t we in Minerva’s lair of doom or whatever?” Kyra inquired.

"We're at the clinic. I got you out and rode like \*\*\*\*, basically."

Taylor decided to start walking to the camp to see if there was anything helpful left over

"'Com on!" Ella shouted, "Hurry!"

Lori and Cole were keeping pace and did not need to be yelled at.

Ella didn't care, and broke into a sprint.

Danny and Val were also keeping pace.

Taylor pressed their hands to their sides in a futile attempt to still them. Taylor let out a hissing sigh as they ignored the pain

"What do you want me to do? Fly us there? Wait, I could do that!"

"It should only be a few hours away, since it took me about half a day to get from there to here," Danny informed them breathlessly, panting pretty hard.

Taylor looked around, their eyes falling on the sharp rock that had cut their hair. They stood there, simply staring

"So is that a 'no' on flying us there?"

Lori sighed but said nothing.

Danny ignored her and kept jogging.

Taylor started to try and pick up the rock again, the pain flaring whenever their hands touched the gods damned rock. A tear hit the ground from their eyes watering at the pain

"Don't say I didn't offer to get us there faster."

Taylor tried to blink the other tears away, fumbling with the rock still. They hissed louder, pain increasing even more somehow. Taylor managed to pick up the rock and put it in their pocket, a small whine coming from them. They blew gently on their pain filled hands, wincing when they (Their hands) hurt more

Taylor studied their shaking hands, hissing softly when their fingers brushed against each other

Ella firmly planted her feet, skidding to a stop. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she focused on herself, after another breath she thrust her arms in the air. She thrust her arms back down and started floating.

"How close are we?" Lori asked again after they'd been going for a while.

"I think I see-GAAH!" Ella ducked to avoid a bird, "GAAAH!"

“Close,” Danny informed them distractedly.

"Helpful," Lori muttered.

"Close is good," Holden said. If he wasn't with them, then he was silent.

Ella flew up higher, "Yeah, I think I see something, THIS IS SO COOL! I'm flying!"

Danny scowled to herself and cursed under her breath, maintaining the same steady pace.

Taylor walked more towards the 'abandoned' camp, letting a pain filled tear streak down their face

“Where’s Tay? And Danny?” Kyra asked Callyah, still staring up at the ceiling.

"They're dealing with something else, but they'll be here," Callyah promised.

“We’re they—were they here before?” Kyra asked. *While I was unconscious?*

"Not yet. You haven't been out long -- just a day. Lori wouldn't let anyone besides me and Cole in for a while, too."

“So they don’t know that I’m...not dead? Or that I was dying in the first place? Was I dying? I thought—I thought I—goddamn, this hurts and I’m so damn confused,” Kyra grumbled. “Getting shot is really disorienting, you know.”

"I figured," Callyah said. "You're not dead, and you weren't dying -- you just lost a \*\*\*\* ton of blood."

“That makes sense,” Kyra said. “Also—I’m really craving Pad Thai. Is that also a side effect of being shot?”

"Maybe? You can't eat anything for at least another day, though," Callyah warned her.

Danny slowed as they neared the camp and warned, “You guys might want to stay here. Things could get...messy.”

Valerie snorted, fingering an arrow.

Taylor continued walking towards the camp, fully expecting it to be empty

"We're coming," Cole said, gesturing to himself and Lori. "They're not going to be in good shape. We need to be able to help them right away,"

She nodded. "Alright, but let me do the talking."

"Fine," Lori said before Cole could argue.

Ella muttered something about punching, as she landed.

Danny nodded and continued, tensing as she stepped into the camp.

Tay shook their head as they walked in the 'abandoned' camp

Cole and Lori followed.

Ella pulled out a knife. Okay, three knives.

"Well that's just splendid," Kyra said sarcastically. "I just found my least favorite part of getting shot." Other than the pain. The pain was pretty bad.

"Tay?" Danny called cautiously.

Ella muttered something about 'being quiet'.

"Yeah, sorry," Callyah said. "I got knifed in the stomach once. It wasn't great."

Anika tied her hair back into a ponytail--tucking her knife into her waistband, pulling her shirt down to cover it. She walked out the front door, calling Desire over to her.

Kyra winced at the thought, "I think we should both just try not to get injured in the future."

"Yeah, we both know that's not going to happen," Callyah agreed.

Anika pulled herself up onto Desire, finding it much easier to do now. She took a moment to remember the way back to the clinic before leading Desire there.

"Guide to being an assassin, rule two, part a." Ella muttered.

"Tay?" Danny called again, louder this time.

"Du wirst uns umbringen, danke.\*" (\*Your going to get us killed, thanks.\*)

Anika quickly hopped off Desire once she was in front of the clinic. Walking inside with a calm expression she glances at the room numbers, looking for the one she knew Kyra was in.

Tay paled when they heard someone call their name "Who the \*\*\*\*-"

"Taylor, it's us. Ella. And Danny, Cole, Lori, Holden. Please come back. We don't want to see you hurt!"

"Too late," They muttered, wincing as their fingers grazed the rock in their pocket

"Well, hurt more. Taylor running isn't going to solve anything!" Ella yelled, stretching out her mind trying to find anything that might have a similar weight to Taylor.

"Leave me be." They complained "I'm fine." The pain in their hands flared in a very not fine way

"You're not fine," Lori said. "Your hands hurt like \*\*\*\*, yeah?"

"You should know me better than that," Ella called, her eyes still closed, trying to find them, "I'm WAY to stubborn to leave you alone. Taylor, trust me, I've run from a lot of things, problems, people, and all it does is make me miserable." Ellas eyes snapped open as she started towards Taylor.

"Tay, I swear to the gods, you will come over here and Cole and Lori will fix you up and then we'll figure things out together, okay?" Danny added, looking for them.

"New girl, this way," Ella whisper this see.

Anika knocked on the door to Kyra’s clinic room.

"Come in," Callyah said.

Anika opened the door, stepping in and closing it.

Tay started backpedaling and fleeing

Ella took off after Taylor.

"Ella, stop," Lori said. "Let Danny, alright?"

Ella insulted Lori in German, and stopped.

Cole moved away from the group, standing under one of the trees and looking at the camp.

Tay's hand hit a branch "\*\*\*\*" They cursed loudly

Danny swore and took off after Tay. "You will be the death of me, you idiot," She muttered under her breath.

Ella climbed a tree looking for anything that might cause alarm.

Tay continued running away, ignoring the lava-like, burning pain in their hand

Danny just ran faster, determined to catch up to them.

Tay tripped and went rolling

Danny didn't stop, running up to them.

Tay looked up at Danny from their place on the ground "Hey Star..." They mumbled

"Tay, what were you thinking?" She asked, crouching down beside them and studying them to make sure they weren't, like, bleeding out.

They didn't respond as they tried to get up with the least pain possible, They were lucky that the rock they used to cut their hair only nicked them

Danny reached out to help them, sucking in a breath she she saw their hands.

Taylor sighed "I'm fine." Their hands felt like they were being chewed on by Venomous wolves

"No, you are not fine," she told them, reaching out to gently cradle their hands.

Tay winced as Danny took their hands, a pain filled tear falling

Danny flinched and dropped their hands guiltily.

Tay whimpered "Will you help me up?" They asked softly

Lori skidded to a stop a few feet away. "Oh, \*\*\*\*," they muttered.

Ella jumped from the first three to another.

Tay stood up, hands trembling violently "I'm fine," They insisted

Danny stood up as well, pulling them into a gentle hug. “You don’t have to pretend, Tay. It’s okay to not be okay.”

Tay sniffled into Danny's shoulder

Danny rubbed their back soothingly, feeling horrible.

Tay pulled back after a moment, brushing at their eyes with their stiff hands

”Why’d you come back here, Tay?” She asked softly, studying them concernedly.

"I had to get away. This was the place I thought of first," Tay looked away

“Oh, Tay,” Danny murmured. “Is this about Kyra?”

They shifted from foot to foot, not looking at Danny still

“She’s going to be fine, you know that,” she added reassuringly.

"Maybe, but..." They trailed off, getting completely distracted by something nearby

Danny resisted the urge to glance behind her. “What is it?”

They had been looking at a tree longingly, nothing more. They started walking away

"Taylor, you are not going to punch more trees," Danny warned, following them.

Tay snorted "I'd collapse if I even flicked the tree, Star." They pointed out

"Then why are you going towards the tree?" She asked suspiciously. "You and trees haven't exactly gotten along."

Valerie was watching the empty camp warily. She signed to Cole, **I have a bad feeling about this.**

Tay sighed and leaned against the tree instead

Danny sighed back and apollogized.

They nodded, playing with their newly cut hair

**Me too,** Cole admitted.

Lori watched Danny and Taylor, the red medical bag still on their shoulders.

Taylor looked to Lori "Does anyone hate me now?" Their hands dropped to their sides

"Cole's mad as h\*\*\*, and I'm not particularly happy about it myself, but we don't hate you," Lori promised. "Can we take care of your hands now?"

"I never liked you to begin with," Ella said, "They did ask!"

"Don't hurt me." Tay studied their hands before looking at Lori

"I won't," Lori said. "Promise."

They slung the bag off their shoulder and started to rifle through it.

Cole came over, seeing that Lori had started to work. "Can I?" he asked Taylor, holding out his hands.

Taylor's hands trembled as they put them in Cole's hands

Cole sucked in a breath through his teeth and slowly began to draw the pain out of their hands. There was a *lot*.

Lori looked up at both of them and decided that now was not the time to be asking stupid questions. They went back to pulling everything they needed out of the backpack.

Taylor sighed as the pain was drawn away, staring at their hands in Cole's

Danny watched sympathetically, wishing she could do something to help.

Lori was still flipping through the bag, pulling out supplies. Their motions were deliberate, not frantic -- it was clear why they made a good doctor.

"You took the bandages off," Cole said.

"What, you think I'd leave those monstrous bands on my hands?" Taylor asked with a small smirk

Lori shook their head, but said nothing.

Cole sighed. "It's like you *want* to have permanent damage," he muttered. Then he stopped, seemingly reconsidering. "Is that why you ran?"

"What?" Tay questioned "What do you mean?"

"Because you didn't want to be taken care of?" Cole asked.

"Partially." They shrugged and didn't elaborate

“We want to take care of you, Tay,” Danny said exasperatedly. “We want to help, but you have to let us.”

Cole sighed and moved aside so Lori could start treating one of Taylor's hands. They cleaned the cuts expertly, muttering something under their breath as they worked.

Taylor hissed softly at the pain, looking up at the sky and closing their eyes

"If you didn't take of the bandages and let them get dirty, I wouldn't have to do this," Lori told them before gently testing each of their non-broken fingers. "Luckily, we don't have to drain the fluid *again*. Don't be stupid," they told Taylor. "I have a pair of compression gloves we can use back at the clinic instead of the bandages."

"Oh yay we can go *back*."

"Yay. Now I'll be able to play in snow safely," Taylor said sarcastically. It was obvious that they were feeling better though

Lori snorted and moved to their other hand, cleaning it slightly more gently this time.

"What'd you do to your hair?" Cole asked them.

"Cut it. Long hair is a pain that I didn't feel like dealing with." Taylor watched the sky

Cole raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Finished," Lori said, putting a band-aid over where one of the scabs had cracked and started to bleed again. "Well, aside from the fact that you *took the bandages off*, but we'll deal with that later. Cole?"

"Meds, right." Cole pulled the little orange-yellow canister out of a pocket and shook one of the capsules out. "Can you swallow it dry?"

Taylor dropped their gaze to Cole, giving the pill a dirty look "Nope." They pulled away

"You think you can go another few hours with your hands hurting that bad, then?" Lori asked. "I might have water or something in here, but no guarantees." They went back to searching through the bag.

"I've already gone this long," Tay pointed out, rubbing their knuckles gent;y

"Water?" Asked Ella jumping out of the tree. "How do you not always have water?" She handed Taylor s canteen.

Cole gave them a *look*, like *You were out of it when we found you.*

Taylor sent a smirk at Cole as they took Ella's offered water

Cole held out the pill. "You're going to want to take it," he told them.

Tay took the pill and swallowed it with some water. "Blech." They muttered when a short strand of their hair got in their mouth

Lori shook their head. "Come on, let's get going."

Taylor looked around before pulling the sharp rock out of their pocket and dropping it to the ground

Lori noticed; Cole didn't.

"Yay, lets move!"

"She's enthusiastic," Lori said, shaking their head.

"I don't like this place, it creaps me out," Ella said.

Taylor shrugged "Keeps people out. Only idiots come here willingly" They looked pointedly at Danny with a smirk curling across their lips

"Guess that means I'm not an idiot," Ella said, laughing a bit.

Danny looked back, her expression serious. "Like you. I still don't know why you'd ever want to come back here."

"I already said that it was the first place I thought of, Star." They responded, smirk dropping like a stone

"Back? Well I know for me, going somewhere I have had an \*ahem\* emotional experience, is, is a place I think of when I want to be alone."

She sighed, moving to walk next to them.

"Let's just go, okay?" Ella pleaded.

"She's right," Lori said. "Come on."

Taylor nodded, moving closer to Danny so they could rest their head on her shoulder

Danny wrapped her arm around their waist, thinking as she walked quietly.

Cole walked with Lori, the two of them occasionally signing something back and forth.

"EVERYONE HEARD LORI SAY THAT RIGHT? THEY SAID I'M RIGHT!"

Cole couldn't hear her, and Lori ignored her -- though they were secretly happy she'd gotten their pronouns right.

Tay whispered something to themself, looking exhausted

Ella started (loudly) humming Jukebox Hero.

Danny ignored Ella and glanced at Tay concernedly. "Is something wrong?"

Taylor shook their head

"I would just like to say I was right, Star girl is Danny, and where it all began' is err was here," Ella said, a little to loudly.

"Ella?" Lori said.

"Yes," Ella replied, "Don't deny it. It was my theory first."

Valerie rolled her eyes and Danny ignored her.

"Will you please talk less or at least less loudly?" Lori requested

"NOPE!" Ella grinned, "I haven't kicked \*\*\* in a few days."

"I'll shut up when I die," Ella decided.

Taylor closed their eyes, yawning

Ella pulled out a dagger and a file, holding the dagger with her telekinesis she began to sharpen it's blade.

Taylor rubbed their knuckles as they walked

Ella flipped the dagger over and sharpened the other side.

Danny was with Tay, I think?

Tay leaned against Danny as they walked

Danny walked with Tay, thinking.

Kyra was still lying in the hospital bed, grumbling about how she was hungry and how she wanted to play just one game of chess. Alright, maybe two or three.

"With the poisoned set?" Callyah asked. "I don't think they're going to let you bring that in here."

"I cleaned the poison off already! It's harmless now," Kyra said.

"Sure," Callyah said.

"It is! The poison isn't even anywhere near it. The only way you could die from the set is if you swallowed one and choked to death. Or if someone bashed your head in with it. Or maybe--"

"Kyra. I'm kidding." Callyah smiled and shook her head. "I think the clinic has some board games. But you can't sit up while your stomach is healing,"

"No food, no sitting up, no chess set--please tell me we killed Minerva--I need this to be worth it," Kyra groaned.

"She's dead," Callyah said.

"Oh thank the gods," Kyra let out a breath of relief and then winced.

"Yeah." Some of the laughter was gone from Callyah's voice, and her hands tightened around the bottle of water she was holding.

"How did she--did you do it?" Kyra asked softly.

"I shot her," Callyah replied.

"Soo, what do we do after this?" Ella asked, flipping over the dagger and sharpening teh other side, "I mean, my offer still stands to take us to a place where we can train and what not."

Taylor shrugged. They were half asleep as they walked, having only really rested after using the rock to cut their hair

Danny shrugged with them.

"Okay, anyone else forget it. I'll ask Prissy Crown."

Tay was sleepwalking.

...I have no idea, Danny and Valerie were with the group.

Eventually they got back to the clinic.

Lori turned to Taylor. "You need to stay for observation again."

Taylor woke up in time to hear that (Plot convenience) "Fine" They sighed

"Come on," Lori said, holding the door for everyone. "You want to hang out in Elissa's room until I can get you a room set up?"

Taylor nodded, blinking as if they were getting something out of their eyes

Cole went into Kyra's room, and Lori lead Taylor to Elissa's room.

Tay followed Lori eagerly

"Child, you should be asleep," Lori told her.

"Look," Elissa said, holding up a pair of scissors that were now shaped like a metal butterfly.

Lori sighed.

Taylor smirked "Nice job."

"You're back!" Elissa said happily.

Danny waited awkwardly in the waiting room, I suppose.

Taylor nodded "I am." They scratched at their hands absentmindedly

"Did they run away?" Elissa asked Lori.

They nodded.

Tay looked away

Kyra was...still in the hospital bed, bored out of her forking mind.

"Why?" Elissa asked.

Danny went to go see Kyra.

Taylor sighed "Too much. Of everything."

"Of me?" Elissa asked.

Kyra turned her head toward the door as Danny walked in.

"Hey," she said softly, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"I'm going for a walk," Callyah said, standing up. "Don't let her sit up," she added to Valerie.

Val nodded, sitting down a few seats away from Danny, in the corner.

“Hiya,” Kyra said.

"Tay ran away," Danny said slowly.

“What do you mean by ‘ran away?’” Kyra asked conversationally, trying not to jump to conclusions.

"Well, we found them," Danny added quickly.

“Oh, so you mean ‘ran away’ like ‘*ran away,*’” Kyra inferred, a hint of panic creeping into her voice. Why had Tay run away? Was it because she left? What would they do when they saw that she got shot?

Taylor fidgeted "Not really..."

“They left notes,” she informed her. “Notes!”

“Notes? Did they leave one for...me?” Kyra asked a bit timidly. Then she remembered to ask, “They’re okay, right?”

“Lori and Cole are treating them now,” Danny told her. “But they should be fine.”

“What happened? What did they do?” Kyra demanded to know, wishing she could get up.

"Then of what?" Elissa asked.

Lori had left a few minutes ago.

Danny just shook her head.

"People in general." Taylor rubbed their knuckles

“Danny, I swear to the gods, what the [REDACTED] happened?” Kyra demanded.

Elissa cocked her head.

"Nevermind. What have you been up to?" Taylor asked, moving to stand beside Elissa's bed

"I can do this," Elissa said, holding up the butterfly-scissors.

"What is that?" Tay studied the scissors

"A butterfly," Elissa said simply. "I made it."

Taylor nodded like they knew what Elissa was talking about "Very nice."

"Where did your bandages go?" She asked

Tay fumbled to take the worn and dirty bandages out of their pocket

"Can I see?" she asked.

They passed her the bandages

Elissa held them in her hands for a moment. Slowly, the bandages began to twist and fold themselves into a rose.

Taylor gawked "What-"

"Ta-daa," she said, holding it out to them.

Taylor brushed their fingers over the rose

"What?" she asked.

"How?" They asked "How did you make this?"

"I just held it and concentrated," she said.

They took the rose and studied it. "That makes as much sense as anything else." They muttered

Elissa shrugged. "Why did you come back?"

"Reasons, Squirt." Taylor had no idea where the nickname came from

"Did Lori yell at you?"

". . . Maybe. Not just them though."

"Did Cole?"

"Not as much as Danny."

"Cole just wants everyone to feel like they matter," Elissa said, picking at the sheets. "Or that's what Lori tells me."

Tay touched the bandage-rose's petals "He definitely seems the type."

"You matter," Elissa told them.

"Whatever you say, Squirt." Taylor replied

Elissa yawned hugely.

Tay smiled "I'll come back later. Bye, Elissa."

"Bye," Elissa said, laying down.

Taylor slipped out the door, leaving the bandage rose in the room

"Hey," Ella said to Taylor.

“They went back to one of the gangs old camp outs,” Danny said shortly.

“And what did they do to get injured? Or who injured them?” Kyra questioned.

Danny scowled. “They did it to themselves. They went back to punching trees.”

“Did they tell you why?” Was all Kyra said.

A sigh was all Danny gave her in response.

Taylor turned their attention to Ella "Hey."

"Elissa's awesome right, I was actually trying to get her to use telekinesis but, now according to Lori she makes thing beautiful."

Tay thought of the rose "That's some ability..."

"Yeah," Ella sighed, "It's incredible."

Taylor scratched at the new wounds on their hands, welcoming the sparks of pain

"Stop that," Cole told them as he walked by. "I swear, Taylor..."

Taylor looked at Cole but continued scratching

Ella sighed, "I can and will place 100 pounds of pressure on your hands," She tapped her temples, "Don't worry it won't set back their recovery," She said to Cole

Tay's hands dropped to their side

"No, it will," Cole told her. "Come on, Taylor, let's get this fixed again."

"Okay, I'll stay here, and think about life."

They nodded in resignation

"I mean, sure?" Cole said, holding the door to one of the rooms open for Taylor. "Have fun, I guess."

Ella sat on the floor, "Ugh, life is to complicated to think about all at once!"

Taylor walked through the door and sat down in the middle of the floor

"Uh..." Cole gestured to the bed against the wall.

Taylor stood back up and sat there instead

Cole started treating their hands again.

Taylor watched Cole treat their hands with an annoyed expression. They blew out a breath

"If you'd stop hurting yourself, I wouldn't have to do this," he told them.

"But this is more interesting. What else would I do all day then?" They asked with false upbeatness

Cole's face tightened as he continued treating their hands.

Taylor tried to pull their hands away

"Please stop," Cole told them.

"Stop what?" Tay asked, not looking at him

He sighed and put gauze over the bleeding areas. "Stop pulling away. Literally and metaphorically."

"Fine." They slumped

Cole finished and sat on the bed next to them. "Why did you run away?"

"Why is everyone asking?" Taylor shot back as they started to pick at the new bandages

"Stop." Cole took a breath. "We're asking because we care."

Tay's hands froze "You care. That's the problem. I care. That's the bigger problem." Their voice was low and it was as if they were talking to themself

Cole sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You think you're going to get us hurt?"

"Everyone, it seems, gets hurt around me." Taylor pointed out

"I think you're mixing up correlation and causation. Your power isn't to hurt people." *That's mine.* "People get hurt, Taylor. I'm a doctor, I see it all the time. It's going to happen with or without you there."

"They'll get hurt less if I'm-" Taylor cut themself off

"No," Cole said. "Trust me. It'll hurt them if you leave."

Tay nodded. They weren't even being sarcastic or anything now

Cole sighed through his nose and leaned back.

Taylor yawned widely

"You should sleep," Cole told them, standing up.

Taylor didn't argue as they laid down

Cole opened the door to leave and put his hand on the switch to turn off the light.

Taylor closed their eyes "Lights on, please." They whispered

Cole nodded and closed the door behind him.

Tay slept fitfully. The smell of clinic didn't help either

Ella determined that life sucked.

Cole went to go check on Callyah.

Taylor slept

Ella was existing, and Drondon was tired.

Callyah left the clinic, annoyed with her ribs.

Anika was probably outside with Desire.

Ella was still contemplating life... actually she was humming Poker Face.