Thread four

Klay was still being stupid, but at least he has the sense to pack some food and a blanket.

Advika didn’t like how much time they were wasting, sure she wasn’t supposed to be helping them but she was and they were being fluffy idiots.

Taylor finally stopped blushing and their smirk returned

Valerie was contemplating the idiots around her. Excluding Callyah and Cole, they were all idiots.

Taylor didn't know what to do so they just peoplewatched

Valerie continued riding and being annoyed at the world for no apparent reason.

Taylor tugged at their hair again

Kyra was rather relieved that the attention had been lifted off of her and Tay. Now she could blush in peace.

Taylor rested their head on Kyra's shoulder again

Kyra continued to ride in silence. It was quite like the calm before the storm. That's what it was--wasn't it?

Taylor didn't know what to say so they didn't say anything

"It's too quiet," Kyra observed, her brow crinkling. They should've seen some rebels by now...

"Gosh you guys are so silent." Aurora said

Holden actually agreed for once

Taylor tugged on their hair again, a little nervous

"How long do you think it'll be 'till we get there?" Kyra asked, still anxious.

Valerie tugged her hood lower over her face and said, "There's not anything I particularly want to talk about."

"No idea." Taylor scratched at their hands

"I third that." Ella said

Seth was riding quietly. "S'okay," he mumbled (at Holden).

Dally scrambled into his lap, he had fallen off of Seth's shoulder when Seth made his... announcement.

Paisley stayed quiet.

"Anyway...." Holden said, grasping at straws for conversation

"Well I already asked everyone's name's and favorite colors so I'm out." Ella folded her arms

Kyra rode on, “I think we should be there soon.”

"Finally" Taylor sighed

Ella started humming 'Here I go again' by Whitesnakes.

Taylor yawned. They were really trying to stay awake

Seth was impatient, he wanted to get off of the horse.

Advika looks up, “Guys I can see the castle.”

"Like  a drifter I was born to walk alone- Cause I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams!" Ella sang

Kyra’s eyes flicked up to the castle in the distance, spurring her Fate forward.

Taylor was half asleep, seated on Fate behind Kyra

"Oh joy- prissy's lair." Ella muttered

“Tay—now may not be the best time to sleep,” Kyra's eyes were on the numerous figures in cloaks—teeming all over the castle walls and behind the gate. “This is the definition of outnumbered.”

Taylor sat up and shook their head "[many redacteds]"

Seth marveled at the castle, it was super big.

"Did I say prissy's lair?" Ella asked

“You know—from here, they remind me of orcs. But don’t worry, up close they’re much worse.” Kyra told them

"Worse?" Taylor asked

"Oh this reminds me of the time I was down twenty to one, after- never mind." Ella mumbled

Valerie snorted at Kyra’s comment, unslinging her bow.

“Much, much worse,” Kyra said. “Sure, they’re not as ugly, but they’re smarter—which isn’t saying a lot—but they also have much, much more dangerous weapons.”

"[redacted]. [many more redacteds]" Taylor tugged on their dread

Ella rolled her eyes, she took off her purple mask reveling a white(and somewhat sparkly) mask that had the out line of a gold louts flower over the left eye.

Seth tugged his hood further over his head.

Dally climbed into Seth's hood, laying around his neck.

Val waited for someone to tell them the plan.

Ella also pulled off her hood, shoving it away in a pocket.

Kyra realized she wasn't wearing her mask anymore--it must've fallen off. Huh.

Taylor's hood was lost a looooong time ago

Kyra watched as the castle grew closer. They couldn't go in like this--they'd be shot down before they even reached the gate. She pulled Fate to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked

"We can't just ride up to the castle--they'll shoot us before we even get to the gates," Kyra voiced her thoughts.

Valerie tugged her hood lower over her face.

"I thought we were doing the captive thing?" Taylor phrased it more of a question

"We are? Well--I guess it might work...but who's going to be captive?" Kyra asked, It would be better than charging up to the castle--that was practically suicide.

"I can. Sleep is helping me not collapse" Tay said

Valerie listened to them, considering.

"*No*," Kyra said. "I--I'm not doing that--I--I won't--I--I'd rather ride up to those gates right now and get shot down by their arrows than bring you in, captive."

"You know that I want to be helpful. I can also be very convincing." Taylor crossed their arms

"And *anyone else* here could be convincing too! It doesn't have to be you. It could even be me--Aurora and Advika could say that they captured me because I was working with you guys," Kyra said, getting off Fate and touching back down on the ground.

"They won't be able to shoot you guys down with their arrows if they don't have the arrows in the first place," Valerie spoke up, her eyes glinting with an unspecified emotion.

"And how would you get rid of their arrows?" Kyra questioned.

Taylor looked at Kyra. "Am I really that useless? That untrustworthy that you'd rather go with Advika than me?" Taylor tried to sound emotionless

Kyra turned to Tay with fire in her eyes, "Tay--you absolute [REDACTED] idiot--I don't want to lose you! *I can't lose you*."

"I might have a plan. But I need to know how far we're willing to go." Valerie told her evasively, tugging her hood even further over her face.

"I think we're willing to go pretty damn far," Kyra snapped off to the side, still looking at Tay.

"Then let me be helpful. I'll find a way to be in the middle no matter what, at least this way you could keep an eye on me to make sure I don't die." Taylor was begging. They didn't care

Valerie got off of Tug and stepped between them. "Stop it, both of you!" She snapped.

"There has to be a better way--there is a better way! Huntress gir--Valerie has a plan--" Kyra turned to Valerie with desperation in her eyes, "Right?"

"Admittedly, it's a little rushed, highly risky, and the chances of anyone surviving are very low. So yes, I have a plan." Val affirmed

Taylor clapped "Sounds great. What's the plan?"

"Sounds splendid," Kyra said sarcastically.

"You already said we're dead if we go in the front, right?" Valerie pointed out scathingly to Kyra. "At least my idea will give us some semblance of a chance."

"Yes, a chance would be preferable, so go on--explain!" Kyra urged her, still a little annoyed about the way she was standing in between her and Tay.

"I love this idea already. Details?" Taylor remarked

"First of all, you two are splitting up." Valerie told them firmly, waiting for the chorus of protests that were sure to come."

Kyra grit her teeth, "And why would that be necessary?"

Taylor skirted around Val to stand near Kyra

Val blinked, surprised there had been no yelling so far. "Together, you're a liability. You know it's true. You'd do anything to save each other, even if it puts the whole group at risk. That makes you dangerous, not just to yourselves, but also to Anika and the rest of us."

Taylor opened their mouth to argue before shutting it with a click

Kyra paused for a moment, acknowledging the point that Valerie made. "All the more reason why Tay shouldn't be captive," she finally said, refusing to meet their eyes.

"Yeah, that was a horrible plan," Val agreed, "But we can build on it."

Taylor had a horrible, reckless, trust shattering plan forming in their head. *Plan B* They told themself

"Build on it how?" Kyra asked. "And...we might want to go fast, we don't have much time." She was still on the ground, Fate right next to her, and Tay still seated on the saddle.

"Someone goes up to them from the from, saying they found us in the woods and know out plan. Meanwhile, some of us sneak around behind the castle and scale the wall to come at them from behind.” Val said

Taylor's bad plan was becoming more solid by the second

"And who goes up? Me? We can't trust Advika or Aurora, so it would have to be me--wouldn't it? Anyone else would get shot down before they even got to the gate." Kyra said

"I'd offer to go but..." Taylor muttered, still salty

"You and Holden," Valerie decided.

"Holden? Really? You're kidding me, right?" Kyra asked

"Unfortunately, no." Val told her

Taylor didn't look too happy with the thought

"Why? That--that makes no sense," Kyra said.

"You're going to need a reason for them to believe you. He looks somewhat intimidating. And he can act. Sort of." Valerie explained her reasoning.

Taylor made a sour lemon face like they were trying not to argue

"They'll believe me because of my rank and status in their agency--which I still have. Having Holden there will only make them distrust me. Besides, a mouse is more intimidating than him." Kyra argued

"Squeak." Taylor muttered. They jumped off Fate

"He'll be proof that you're telling the truth about us being in the woods. Do you still have some of that paralyzing agent?" Val asked

Kyra snickered against her will. "Yup--it's inside my bag--been there the entire time," Kyra informed her.

Taylor looked at the distance between them and the palace

"How can I help?" Ella asked she ditched her stupid horse just then and was from here on out she was using her feet, "I'm the assassin so- anyway I can help?"

Callyah sighed. "None of you listen, do you? There's a secret passageway from the cliffs into the dungeons. Only Captains of the Queensguard are told about it -- hello, that's me -- and they can't be opened without a very particular set of information, which, again, only Captains of the Queensguard know. "

Taylor did a strange tap dance move for no reason. "Sounds life threatening! Let's go"

"Splendid, sounds wonderful. So is the plan to delude them into thinking we aren't coming? Also--how do you know they're holding Ani in the dungeons?" Kyra asked

Aurora rolled her eyes. "The queen is being held on the throne right now." she said

"It isn't midnight yet. Are they really planning to keep her on the throne for over an hour?"

"\*Cough\* Torture \*Cough\*" Kyra informed them

Advika snorts, “Obviously, it’s public torture.”

Taylor flinched at the word torture. They scratched at their hands

"That--that's literally what I just said," Kyra said.

"Fine. We can still go in through the dungeons, though. From there, we can access the servant's tunnels and get anywhere in the palace." Callyah told the group

Cole gave Taylor a look. "Seriously, stop doing that."

"I think that's a good idea--it sounds much safer than Tay playing captive and putting their life in danger," Kyra said with a pointed look at Tay.

"Truth" Holden said

Taylor scowled at both Kyra and Cole "First of all, I'm fine. Second of all, I literally asked to be captive. Third of all, I refuse to be useless"

"Like any of this isn't going to be dangerous," Valerie pointed out.

"Staying safe doesn't make you useless," Kyra snapped back.

Taylor backed down and nodded. "I'll be back." They stalked off. *I guess plan B is in motion.*

"They're going off to do something stupid, aren't they?" Kyra asked

Taylor dissapeared into the trees. Out of sight, they started running for the castle

Holden decided to let Kyra handle this

"Yep. Should I go after them?" Val asked, watching the forest where Taylor had dissapeared.

Callyah nodded. "Take Cole with you. I get the sense they won't listen to Kyra."

"No--I--I should go," Kyra said. "Besides, they forgot Fate." She mounted the horse and rode in the direction Tay had gone.

Taylor ran faster with a single regret filled glance back at the group

"Yeah, they're going to get themselves killed," Valerie decided, remounting Tug and heading after them. "I'll find you once I deal with them."

Callyah quickly gave Valerie directions to find the secret tunnel. "You and Cole need to get both of them there, okay?" She rode off in a different direction, heading for the enterance to the secret tunnel

Kyra rode into the trees. "Tay?" She called. Gosh, they didn't have time for this, "Tay?"

Taylor slowed in front of the gate "I surrender!" They called (Like an idiot)

"Right," Valerie said, offered Cole a hand up onto Tug with her.

Cole climbed up behind Valerie

Kyra's eyes darted to the palace gate in the distance. [REDACTED]. [REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED.] She was going to kill them if they died-- She took off towards the gate instead.

Valerie rode after Kyra, pulling to a stop as she saw what she was looking at. "That [ReDaCted] [ReDaCtEd]." She gritted out.

The guards snapped to attention, “Get her.” One says- yes they assumed gender.

Taylor balled their hands into fists. *Get in, get the queen, get out.* They told themself *I'll be their perfect little girl if it'll get me inside.* Taylor looked at the ground, holding out their wrists

The guards looked confused but one- the idiot who misgendered them cuffed her.

Kyra rode as fast as she possibly could towards the gate. They were such an idiot. She was going to strangle them when she got her hands on them. After she kissed them of course.

Cole signed a curse word Callyah would have yelled at him for using.

Taylor didn't meet the guards' eyes, deciding to act meek. They were thinking of all the ways to get revenge on the guards, really.

Valerie sighed at the sTuPiDiTy of Kyra. But she didn’t say anything in case it got her and Cole caught as well.

"WAIT!" Kyra pulled Fate to a stop in front of the gates. "DON'T SHOOT! I'm one of you! Checkmate--Checkmate. That's the password."

Taylor bit back a stream of cusses

"What is Kyra doin'?" Ella was a little confused, "YES IN KNOW HER NAME! normally I can only know like three names at a time."

"WHAT ARE WE DOING? I'm so confused." Ella said

Thankfully, Valerie was far enough away that only Cole would have able to hear her relentless stream of various creative swears and curses. Thankfully, as Ploofy conveniently forgot, Cole couldn’t hear her.

The guards didn’t stop for Kyra and kept taking Tay but one turned to her, “Well Kyra, I see you’ve went rouge now?”

"We're going to the secret tunnel," Callyah snapped. "Keep up, assassin."

Taylor nearly choked when they heard Kyra's name. "Oh my gods! The white queen! I'm such a fan! Can't I go say hi? Please? Please?" Taylor was trying their hardest to sound female.

"No--I--they--she's my prisoner," Kyra said quickly. "They have a group in the woods--I caught this one. And I overheard their plan."

The guard shoved Tay harder, walking toward the cell.

Ella rolled her eyes and was VERY tempted to flip over Callyah and push her over but she just settled with a series of flips.

“So you let your prisoner get away?” the guard asks skeptically.

"But they escaped--I chased th--her to the gates." Kyra felt a pang of anger at having to misgender Tay.

Taylor stumbled a bit, making a squeak sound. *Oh my gods. Just acting female is going to kill me.*

"She's a fighter," Kyra said in her defense. "The--She'd be good on our side. If she wasn't one of those--scumbags."

The guard scowls, “Why don’t we let the queen decide your fate, see the thing is, she now will hate anyone on our side.” He says and grabs her wrist and another guard takes all her weapons.

Valerie finished swearing and glanced over at Cole, surprised he hadn’t said anything. Then she remembered he was deaf. So. Yep. I will cover up my plot holes with bad memory. **What do you think we should do?** she signed.

"I've never pulled off a hit that ISN'T killing someone- let alone Prissy Crown." Ella shrugged

Cole shrugged. "Go back and tell Callyah we now have two idiots to rescue along with the queen?" he suggested. "There's not really anything else we can do."

"That's the definition of a 'hit'," Callyah told Ella, wondering why an assassin didn't know that and resisting the urge to add *idiot*. "Time to expand your skillset."

“I’m going to kill them,” Valerie muttered. “As soon as this is over, I’m going to come up with creative, graphic, idiotic ways for them to die together.”

Cole didn't know what she was saying, but he assumed it involved threats of painful death. "We have to rescue them first."

*[REDACTED].* "Do you not know who I am? And the queen isn't here--she's dead. They killed her." Kyra said

The guard looks amused, “Okay Kyra, don’t even try, get inside now.” he orders.

"Yeah well not for me- for me the work 'hit' is legit me stealing something or someone. And it's not ME who confuses the word it's the people who hire me." Ella argued

Callyah was not going to argue semantics with someone she thought was an idiot.

"They did! I'm telling the truth--do you think I'd lie? You know I'm ranked higher than you--I could get you killed," Kyra snarled.

The guard looks even more amused, “Oh Kyra did you not hear? You’ve been demoted for failing to capture the queen.”

Taylor hissed a not so nice word under their breath. *Gah. Misgendering all around. Punches for all.*

Kyra's eyes widened, "That's impossible--I--"

The guard smirks smugly, “Now inside Kyra.” he growls.

”Yeah,” Valerie sighed, “But are we rescuing them now or going back to the group?”

"I don't listen to orders from a guard," Kyra hissed.

Callyah opened the secret tunnel and helped everyone off the horses. "In. Quick."

"We should go," Cole told Valerie, noticing a guard walk onto the road.

Ella went in the tunnel.

The guard steps up to her, “Funny, your below a guard now Kyra.” He says her name like an insult.

Taylor dug their heels in and put on a whiny tone "But I wanted-"

Holden was noddi along with vals idea

"I am below no one," Kyra said, her hands wishing to curl into fists.

“Yeah,” Valerie agreed, wheeling Tug back into the forest.

The guard just laughs, “That was before *Kyra* now your one of the lowest ranks.”

Callyah saw Cole and Valerie coming and held the tunnel open for them.

Holden led Buttrrcup to the tunnel

"Sir, may I inquire as to where you're taking me?" Taylor asked politely

The guard doesn’t answer Taylor.

"You'll have to tie her to the tree for when we come back," Callyah told him. "She won't fit through the more narrow parts."

Kyra reached into her sheath for her knife--damn, they took it. What the [REDACTED] was she going to do?

The guard notices this motion and has another guard grab her hands and drag her inside.

“But what if someone takes her?” Holden says protectively

"So where now?" Ella asked

"Sir? Will you answer my question?" *Or are you too dumb?* Taylor bit back the end of their sentence

Kyra struggled against their grip, "You aren't going to get away with this--"

Tug waited outside the tunnel, stamping his hooves nervously. Val patted his neck reassuringly and went inside.

Guard #1 (Tay) didn’t answer and dragged them along, guard #2 just laughed, “oh I think I might get promoted for this.” He retorts.

Taylor had *quite* a few things they wanted to say to the guard

"Through the tunnel," Callyah said, closing the door behind her, leaving them in darkness. She pulled a flashlight out of one of her pockets and clicked it on. "We can use this until the tunnel turns in about six hundred feet. Get going, guys."

Kyra attempted to elbow the guard in the chest--she failed. Besides, he was twice her size! She was so screwed--so, so screwed.

Ella ran her hands along the walls.

"I wouldn't do that," Callyah told Ella. The walls were... slimy, to say the least.

“But what about Buttercup?” Holden asked

Taylor scratched at their poor, scarred, bruised hands

“If she’s any kind of horse she’ll stay with Tug and the others,” Valerie told Holden, heading down the tunnel.

"We'll come back for her," Callyah promised Holden. "Don't worry about her."

"I don't care, it's a habit-how I check for traps." Ella rolled her eyes

Holden frowned, but whispered in her ears “Don’t worry, I’ll come back.”

"There are no traps in this tunnel, assassin. Only three people alive besides us know it exists." Callyah said

"I don't care." Ella retorted

*Fine, be an idiot for all I care,* Callyah thought. "I'm turning the light off in three, two--" out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cole turn pale. She reached over and took his hand before finishing, "one," and turning off the light.

"This is my kinda tunnel."

Valerie found the sudden darkness disconcerting but quickly adjusted, moving slowly through the tunnel.

"Shh," Callyah told Ella. "At this point, assume that unless I speak, you can be heard by people outside the tunnel."

Valerie bumped into a stalagmite and hissed out a stream of curses, already in a bad mood.

"Shh," Callyah said again. "Here, I'll lead." She wove through everyone to the front of their group, pulling Cole with her.

Valerie fell silent, glaring at the black space where the stalagmite was before following Callyah and Cole.

Ella shrugged still running her hands across the walls and silently dragging her foot so as not to run into anything.

Seth was crouched near the ground, ducking under a stalagcite.

Holden looked around in awe at the cave, and continued after Callyah

Taylor dug their nails into their hand, a painful reminder to themself to not punch/cuss at anyone

Kyra struggled against the guard's grip as he lead her...somewhere.

Taylor winced. Their fingers were scarily stiff

The fact that something could be so dark was awe-inspiring. The thought sunk into Holden that dark, sometimes wasn't always bad. It was peaceful

While Holden was having his admiring thoughts, Cole was trying to quell his growing panic and not freak out. It wasn't working so well.

Callyah, with the intuition that many older sisters have when it comes to their little brothers, squeezed his hand, reminding him that she was still there.

"Maybe the window in which I view the world... is flawed?" Holden mused

"Shh," Callyah hissed.

Paisley glances in the direction of his voice with an amused look.

Valerie gave where she thought Hodlen was a strange look. "Where did that come from?"

"Maybe, or the world is messed up and you aren't." Ella inaudibly whispered.

"Shh," Callyah hissed again. "We're right below the servant's quarters."

Holden just nodded his head and was silent for once.

Dally leapt out of Seth's hood. "Dally-!" Seth whispered.

"Shh!" Callyah hissed.

*'jeez and I though bedrock was solid.'*  Ella thought.

Taylor's fingers almost made a creaking noise as they bent them

Klay was sighing and reconsidering his life choices. He had been captured exactly 2 minutes after arriving.

Dally climbed up the leg of the closest person, who happened to be Cole.

Seth was squinting to see if he could spot a flash of white (Dally).

Kyra stumbled into the dungeons as she was dragged there by the guard. She was absolutely livid.

Valerie was behind Cole. Or Seth. She couldn't tell.

Cole sucked in a breath. He was *trying* to be quiet.

Callyah felt him tense and heard him, as well as the little skittering noises Dally's claws had made on the stone. She lifted their hands and signed against his palm, **D-A-L-L-Y.**

Cole closed his eyes and slowly breathed back out. He reached down and pet Dally's head.

"Found him," Callyah whispered.

Kyra scanned the cells for Tay--they had to be here somewhere.

Seth heard Callyah's voice. "Dally?" whispered back.

Dally nuzzled against Cole's hand.

Valerie was pretty sure she was to the side of Seth and Cole so she took another step out of the way.

"Yep," Callyah whispered. "He found Cole, more like."

"Okay, thanks." Seth kept walking and tried not to stumble.

Taylor was getting nervous. Not because of the Gambit or anything, but because their fingers were getting more stiff

The guards shove Kyra and Tay into cells.

Kyra's eyes flashed over to Tay's cell--she was about to reach through the bars for them, but she stopped herself. Instead, she snarled, "You're going to regret this," to the guard.

Taylor looked at their guard and chirped "Thank you!" They were internally gagging hard

The guards locked the cells and left, ignoring them both.

"Ya'll what's goin' on?" Ella whispered, insanely quietly.

Callyah stopped suddenly and pressed one of the stones. "Everyone stay here until I get back," she said, stepping into a small tunnel that appeared -- of course, no one else could see it. Callyah only knew its location because she had memorized it. She let go of Cole's hand so it rested on the stone she had pushed, and the door slid shut behind her.

Cole panicked, but only a little -- he could feel Dally through his pant leg, and oddly enough, the ferret's presence was kind of helping.

Holden remembered these tunnels from being a guard and it brought back memories. fLaShbAcK time

Klay glanced at the door. The knob was moving. A guard showed up in the doorway.

Seth stopped where he was, narrowly avoiding stepping face-first into the cave wall.

"See that's why I run my hands against the wall!" Ella hissed

Once the guard was gone, Kyra instantly rushed over to the bars between her and Tay.

“I—you—you absolute IDIOT! I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Callyah stopped behind a one-way mirror, hidden high in the corner of the dungeon where no one would think to look unless they knew it was there. She could see Taylor, Kyra, and -- was that Klay? [Redacted], how many idiots were on her team?

"Oh great, he's still here." The guard said to someone behind him.

Holden grinned, and remembered the small trapdoor that went into the dungeon. "I know a way out." he said. "and a way in..."

"What?" Ella asked

"I'm glad you are too" Taylor was staring at their fingers

Klay glanced behind the guard, and blinked.

It was evidently a girl- a pretty girl too, with chocolate brown hair, and pretty brown eyes.  Advika scowls, “Guys, it’s half hour till midnight.” she warns.

"Callyah knows that just because she told us to stay here that means I now want to leave right?" Ella huffed

Kyra reached through the bars to hold Tay’s hands. “When I get out of here, I’m going to strangle you—I’m just getting warmed up.”

The door opened under Cole's fingers. "I need Advika, Valerie, the asssassin, and Cole," Callyah hissed, poking her head through the opening. "Be back in a few."

Cole stepped through the door, gently dislodging Dally from his pant leg

Advika raises an eyebrow but goes with Callyah.

Ella stepped out of the tunnel, and sat at the entrance.

Dally squeaked and ran back to Seth.

"I can tell" Taylor smirked at Kyra, fingers not moving from their earlier position

Callyah pointed at each of the seven guards in turn, numbering them. "Advika, you'll take one and two. Be fast. Valerie, three, and don't let them get to the door. I've got four and five since they're closest to the cells. You get six and seven," she added to Ella. "I figured you'd want the challenge." **Cole, wait here a moment,** she signed.

"Tay--your fingers--are they alright?" Kyra held them gingerly in her hands.

"Yes." Ella touched the middle of her collar bone where her necklace sat hidden under her jumpsuit.

"They're fine. Just stiff" Taylor assured Kyra

"You need to stop punching walls. And trees," Kyra muttered.

"Be ready." Callyah hovered her hand over a hidden button. She watched the guards's movements, deciding when to time it. "The door is right in front of you, Advika. In three, two, one--" She pressed the button, and the door opened silently.

"Hmmmm..." Taylor pretended to debate

"Tay--" Kyra mumbled

Ella shifted her weight and pulled her left leg into her chest- almost like a baseball pitch. She pointed her fingers out and stared over her right pointer finger.

"Fine." Taylor's fingers hadn't moved

"We need to get out of here" Kyra said.

Callyah followed and took out her two guards quickly, her butterfly knives flashing in the dim dungeon light.

Ella launched herself into a flip making ZERO sound when she landed behind the guards and in a flash they were out- by out I mean dead.

Callyah went back into the room and let everyone else into the dungeons.

**Can you pick the lock?** she signed to Cole. **It's simple.**

Cole shrugged and flicked the correct tool out of his Swiss Army knife. **Sure.** He knelt in front of the lock on the closest cell -- Kyra's -- and started to work on it.

Taylor's fingers were getting ore and more stiff.

Cole got the lock open on Kyra's cell and moved to Taylor's. He dropped his knife through the bars by accident. "Can you hand me that?" he asked them.

Callyah stood guard at the door.

Taylor looked at the knife. They picked it up awkwardly without bending their fingers before passing it to Cole

"We will talk about that later," Cole muttered as he picked the lock on their cell. He moved to Klay's and started again.

"Hurry up please!" Ella shouted

"You're not allowed to say I told you so." Taylor informed him.

Valerie did her job as well, going to stand by the door with a knife in her hands.

Callay ignored her -- it's not like her talking would distract Cole or anything.

The third lock was slightly more difficult, less carelessly closed, but a moment later, it unlocked and Cole stood up, flicking the Swiss army knife closed. "Done."

Callyah nodded. "Advika, Aurora, you're in front with me. Holden, Valerie, Kyra, in the back. Klay and Cole on the left, assassin on the right. Everyone else in the middle. Stay close, stay quiet, and stay with the group. Looking at you three," she added, fixing the three they had just broken out of the dungeon with a *look*.

Seth moved to the middle.

Taylor gave Cole a grumpy look

"Don't be mad at me because I was right," Cole joked.

Taylor flipped a finger up for a second, the first real movement they've made

"Don't flip him off," Callyah told them. "And get in the group."

Taylor turned their hand so it was aimed at Callyah. "I can't put my finger down."

"Sounds like you should have listened to Cole, then," Callyah replied snarkily. Nice to know she could still sass when all their lives were in danger. "We'll get you fixed up when we get out of here."

Taylor glared at Callyah, eventually forcing their finger down

Aurora moved to the front and Holden to the middle

Kyra exited the cage, grumbling something like 'why would I ever fall in love with an idiot?'

"My name is Ella thank you." She spat

Callyah ignored her.

Taylor looked at Kyra. "You will never tell anyone about what I did."

A smile tugged at Kyra's lips, "Not a soul."

Taylor brushed at a dread that had fallen in their face

"What?" Ella leaned towards Kyra.

"Just focus," Valerie cut them off, rolling her eyes and tugging her hood lower over her face.

Callyah silently cheered for Valerie.

Taylor folded their arms and looked in the direction that the guards went in "The guards misgendered me about 10 times each." They mumbled

"Sheesh, oh and Callyah if your going to call me assassin can you at least consider The Gold Lotus Thief?" Ella requested

"Really?" Callyah asked drily. "You want the world to know you stole the Gold Lotus?"

"Absolutely not," Valerie answered. "That is literally the most extravagantly repulsive name I've heard yet, and we're fighting chess obsessed fanatics that call themselves the "Queen's Gambit.""

"No it's one of my assassin names- you didn't think I'd put a giant sigh up in all of the alleys saying 'HIRE ELLA THE ASSASSIN' did you?"

Taylor rolled their eyes. "Can we get moving?" They asked impatiently.

"Yes," Callyah said immediately. "I genuinely thought that is a thing you would do."

"That would get me and everyone I've ever met killed." Ella said

Val nodded, "You do seem to be that idiotically bold and annoying type."

"Yeah- how do you think I'm still alive?" Ella asked

"Honestly no idea." Val shrugged. "Incredible luck, maybe."

"No." Ella rolled her left sleeve up reveling a scat that was made by a third degree burn that wrapped around her entire arm and up her shoulder, "I was six I thought I could save my family."

"Okay? And?" Val asked

"I WAS SIX, I kill people for money in the hope that someday I would be given the name of the man who killed my parents and sister, you don't know what I've seen or what I've done." Ella hissed

Seth rolled his eyes, it wasn't a competition.

Dally nipped his neck.

"Ow-!" Seth hissed.

"Then maybe we can help you find him later," Val offered, shrugging again. "But right now we're going to [ReDaCTeD] die if we don't focus."

“Language” Holden chided

"I don't need your help- the more people you trust the more you- and they get hurt. Now who are we gonna save Prissy Crown?" Ella asked

Val gritted her teeth and flipped both of them off, but fell silent and followed Callyah through the castle.

Holden felt slightly hurt and retaliated by flipping her off. With his pinky of course. He’s not a hEaThEn

Val ignored Holden, completely unfazed.

"Dude not now." Ella legit had no idea what Holden's name was.

"Fine." Holden pouted

Taylor followed the group

Ella rolled her eyes.

Taylor was trying to bend their fingers, annoyed

Valerie was still with the group.

"Tay--careful, you don't want to hurt them," Kyra said, concern filling her eyes.

"I'm fine." Taylor replied automatically, not taking their eyes off their fingers

"I really hate to say this I mean REALLY hate to but Kyra's right. Okay I'm not saying that again." Ella faked a gag

Taylor reluctantly rested their hands by their sides

"I find it helps to squeeze a rock- then again that's just me." Ella randomly said.

"I find it helps to punch inanimate objects. Or people who annoy me." Taylor glanced at Ella as they said that

Advika was existing...

As was Holden and Aurora

And Valerie too.

Aura was contemplating the meaning of existence and other deep things.

Seth was singing a song. In his head. While waiting to be relevant.

Dally was running up and down his leg.

Actually, Val sighed. “Taylor, you can punch her after we rescue the queen. I’m not saving your sorry [ReDaCtEd] again.” Not even looking at Holden, she added, “And if you say “language” I will seriously stab you and tie you to that pillar for them to find you.”

“Language.” Holden said, accepting the threat.

"Fine" Taylor said shortly

Valerie gritted her teeth and said. “Here,” handing Holden one of her knives. “Don’t lose it.”

“Thanks!” Holden said brightly

"Are we still going to the throne room to rescue Ani, or are we just going to wait here bickering while she's tortured and then killed?" Kyra asked

“Good. And remind me of what I promised after this.” Val added.

There was a loud staticky noise before a speaker said, “Hello Aurelians now watch as your queen is tortured and soon executed on her very throne. Just think. This is who was ruling you.”

“Gods, I hope there aren’t any kids watching this,” Valerie muttered.

Klay heard the announcement and felt like crying. *Anika...I'm sorry.* He thought silently to himself.

Advika mutters something under her breath but glances at everyone, “Well? Hurry up, if you want your precious queen to live we better go now.”

Taylor cussed quietly "Well then, let's go."

Advika nods and goes to a staircase that leads out of the dungeons.

Aurora followed and so did Holden

Callyah led them through one of the servant's tunnels that ended at a concealed door directly behind the throne.

Advika glances around and sees Anika being burned and she winces.

Callyah counts down with her fingers -- *three, two, one* -- and slams the door open, launching herself at the closest rebel. She took down the ones closest to the queen in less than a minute, fueled by anger.

Advika charges with Callyah and knocks out at least three with her hands and has to pull out her blade to hold off a few others.

Anika was crumpled on the throne.

Cole followed his sister out and put his hands on Anika's shoulders.

Callyah covered him, slicing and kicking and whirling like she had her own Percy-Jackson-style personal hurricane.

Taylor rushed to the queen "Queen. Up" Taylor ordered, trying to keep the charmspeak from their voice

Anika winces as she tries to get up her legs buckle underneath her.

Taylor rolled their eyes and offered a hand to help

"Okay," Cole said, his healery instincts taking over before he registered them. He picked Anika up and headed back for the door.

"Come on," Callyah told Advika as she kicked the legs of a rebel out from under them. "Get Taylor into the tunnel. I'll cover you."

Advika nods and leads Taylor and Anika into the tunnel.

"I can't [redacted] believe this. I am sidelined just because my [redacted] hands don't [redacted] work" Taylor hissed

"You're sidelined because we all care about you and don't want you to die," Kyra pointed out.

"You should have listened when I taught you how to kick," Callyah said, closing the door behind her as she stepped through and leaning against the wall for a moment.

Anika let’s out a breath and slowly says, “we need to capture all the rebels.” she orders.

"We don't have the time," Callyah replied. "And we're not doing great, people-wise. We need to regroup, heal, and train. Our job is to get you out."

"Ani--" Kyra rushed toward her friend, "You--I--I--we need to get you out of here--now."

Anika was being stubborn, “It’s my job to protect everyone and to do that I need to capture everyone who is a threat.” She rasps.

"Oh my [redacted] gods. Move it, Queen" Taylor ordered

"You're in no condition to do any of that--it's our turn to protect you," Kyra said, ignoring how noble and cringy she sounded.

Anika scowls then winces, “I-“ she didn’t get to finish her protest cause she winced.

"Anika, I swear, if you don't move right now I'll make you move and pass out in the process." Taylor gave Anika an *are you kidding me* look

Anika scowls again but sighs, “Fine.” she grumbles.

"Now move it" Taylor made a shooing motion

Cole followed Callyah back down the servants' tunnel, still carrying Anika. He did his best not to wince at the amount of pain he could sense from her.

Anika closed her eyes tightly trying to block out the pain.

Taylor glared at their fingers, mentally cursing their uselessness

Callyah got them back into the dungeons without much incident. She left the flashlight on as they stepped into the tunnel -- the rebels wouldn't be able to find it, and it didn't matter if they knew they were there. "When we get outside, we're riding in pairs. Anika with me. Advika with Holden. Aurora with Valerie. Paisley and Kyra. Holden and Seth. Taylor and Cole. Ella and Klay. There will be no debating or arguing -- just get on your [redacted] horse and ride."

"You said Holden twice" Taylor pointed out

Anika didn’t have the willpower to argue at all.

Paisley scowls but doesn’t say anything.

Advika shrugs mentally thinking of all the ways to annoy Holden.

"Is Holden with me?" Seth asked. "Or Advika?"

"Fine. Advika with Holden, Ella and Seth, Klay on his own." Callyah said

Taylor was not looking forward to the I-told-you-so's that were sure to come from Cole

"Okay." Seth turned to Ella. "Hello."

Valerie mounted Tug and reluctantly held her hand out to Aurora.

"We're taking Horse. C'mere Horse!" Tay called

Fate trots over whining.

"Nice to see you too." Taylor smiled at Fate.

Cole shrugged and lifted Anika up to Callyah, who had already mounted her horse. Callyah adjusted so that the queen was sitting sidesaddle, her head resting against Callyah's shoulder so Callyah could still control the horse and keep the queen comfortable.

"You're getting on first, Cole." Taylor death glared at their hands

Holden turned to Advika. “Front or back?” he said courteously.

Aurora grumbled something about stupid small horses and wiped some blood off her forehead. She has gotten a couple scratches.

Cole shrugged again, climbed up onto the horse, and offered Taylor a hand up.

“This small horse is twice as strong as any of those pureblooded, fancy shmancy horses the others are riding,” Valerie told her evenly.

Advika shrugs, “Either one, make one wrong more and I’ll throw you off. Which counts for being annoying.” she says with a smirk.

"What about me?" Kyra asked, not wanting to admit she was terrified of the rebels that had infested the palace.

Aurora considered that and shrugged. “I want front.”

Taylor took Cole's hand and hopped up. "Don't touch the reins. Horse knows what to do."

Anika was trying not to breath too fast and she sighed a bit.

"With Paisley," Callyah said, adjusting the queen a little more so she was sure she wouldn't fall through her arms.

“Fine. It’s not like you’d be able to see over my head anyways.” Valerie hailed Aurora up in front of her, keeping the reins for herself.

“Um okay. I’ll take front.” Holden swung himself up. “You can um.... here” Holden adjusted the reigns so she wouldn’t have to put her arms around him.

Aurora smacked her arm and hopped on.

Advika raises an eyebrow at this gesture and smirks as she gets on easily, “Do I make you nervous?” she says with a smirk, “I bet you would prefer to be with your girlfriend over there.” she says quiet enough for Callyah not to hear.

"Me with Paisley?" Kyra asked for clarification.

Paisley was on Minnie already and she frowns but doesn’t say anything.

“Girlfriend?” Holden spluttered. He then gathered his wits. “Which one?” he asked, with a touch of sarcasm. Holden however did look over at Paisley.

"Yes," Callyah told Kyra. She waited just long enough to make sure everyone was on a horse before putting her horse into gear and sending it galloping down the road towards Durnsee.

Advika looked disgusted for a split second but regained her smirk, “The pretty one.” she says and flutters her eyelashes innocently

"Horse, follow Callyah" Taylor requested

Fate obeys and keeps pace with Callyah.

“All the girls here are beautiful.” Holden replied. But deep inside him, a thought went, *hMmMmMm aNy pARtiCuLaR oNeS????,*

Kyra got onto the horse behind Paisley, grumbling about 'Holden's girlfriend.'

“Oh really? So you want me to pair you with hmm maybe Kyra or oooh Callyah.” she says with a mischievous grin.

Paisley caught some of what Kyra said and the tips of her ears were red.

Anika was half asleep-half awake as they rode and her hold on Callyah (or the horse?) was weak.

Kyra caught Advika's remark and called, "I wouldn't date that idiot if we were the last people on earth! Besides--" Kyra glanced at Tay and flushed.

Callyah didn't bother to glare at Advika. She was too busy keeping the queen on the horse.

“First off. Kyra is a no go because i can’t break up the fluffy Tayra. Secondly. The time I tried to flirt with Callyah ended up with a very bruised crotch and a nice visit to the infirmary. So definitely no.” Holden sniffed with disdain

Callyah smiled in spite of herself -- nice to know she made an impression.

“Don’t get too cocky Callyah!” Holden called

Taylor didn't notice Kyra's glance, too busy trying to force their fingers to bend

"Stop doing that," Cole told them from where he sat behind them on the horse. "Seriously."

Advika snorts, “Oh heck I am sorry I missed that!” she declares, “So who is it? The queen? Or maybe Valerie?” she asks obviously avoiding saying Paisley.

“No, no, and no.” Holden mumbled

"Fine." Taylor forced themself to stop with a grumpy look on their face

Advika smirks, “Is it me?” she asks with a even bigger smirk. She knew how to be annoying, very annoying.

"I'd skewer him before he had a chance," Valerie told her with a smirk.

“Me oh my! How did you know?” Holden said in mock surprise. “Of course it’s you! The person I barely know who tried to kill my friends and I. You must have an eye for seeing people who are head over heels for you.” Holden said completely sarcastically to Advika

Advika smirks, “Oh my I’m completely flattered that the senseless idiot likes me!” she says also sarcastically.

Holden mentally added that lovely nickname to his storage. “You should be,” he gushed, waving his hands around. “Why wouldn’t you be?” gesturing to himself

Valerie snorted and kept riding Tug in ze correct direction.

Advika snorts, “Oh yes your just making me blush,” She says completely straight faced.

“Likewise,” he said and rolled his eyes. Looking around at his surroundings, Holden peered through the woods? jungle?

Callyah cut to the left, just barely manging to catch the queen before she slipped through her arms. "Sorry," she apologized, slowing down long enough to readjust her again.

Taylor jumped off Fate for no reason other than to show that they're not helpless "Wheeee"

"Literally why?" Valerie asked Taylor exasperatedly.

"We're not stopping," Cole said, confused.

"TAY! I SWEAR, IF YOU PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER ONE MORE TIME--" Kyra bellowed

Taylor smirked and tried to keep up with the horses "Because you think I'm a helpless baby turtle on my back and I'm not."

Advika snorts.

Anika groans quietly rubbing her wrists.

"Unlike you, baby turtles are cute," Cole told them jokingly. "And it's not that I think you're helpless, it's that I don't trust you not to hurt yourself more out of sheer stubbornness."

"Tay, just get back on the damn horse," Kyra called to them.

"I'm sure Kyra would argue, Cole. And fine." Taylor swung themself back onto Fate

Kyra flushed, but pretend she hadn't heard their comment--instead turning to the road ahead of them.

Taylor snickered

"You guys are hopeless," Valerie muttered, urging Tug on to try and leave the group behind. Of course, she was still stick with Aurora so it didn't work too well.

Seth was on König.

"Have I said I don't like horses 'cause I don't, I also REALLY don't like the color orange." Ella said randomly

Taylor smirked at nothing. Because Taylor

"Noted." Seth scooted a bit away from Ella, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable.

"I mean red and yellow were fine before someone had to mix them." Ella muttered.

"True, true." Seth pulled his hood over his face, furtherly obscuring his fiery orange hair. Kyra rolled her eyes because she knew that Tay was smirking at nothing. Because Kyra.

Dally was sniffing at Ella curiously. *New person?*

Ella was going to ignore the creepy rat-squirrel thing.

Taylor started forcing their fingers to bend, cussing quietly

Holden awkwardly rode the horse

"Sooo...." Ella said

Taylor continued bending their fingers, cursing in a growing volume

"Tay--you're going to break your fingers," Kyra called to them. "If you haven't already," she muttered under her breath.

Seth was riding in silence, not sure what to say.

"I'm fine." Taylor called back as one of their fingers made a painful cracking noise. "Oops"

“Plus I’ll have to knock you out before *Loverboy* over there says “language” again and I have to make good on my threat,” Valerie added.

"Can't we be quite for once?" Ella asked

"I--Tay--you--just--" Kyra was at a loss for words. Well, there were plenty of things she could say, but she didn't say them, for fear of them not being the right thing. So she just went with, "Did you just break your finger?"

Klay meanwhile had escaped the dungeon and was heading towards wherever the others were because Kyla was just so lost-

"Pretty sure, yep." Tay examined said finger calmly. *Doesn't hurt as much as I thought*

"Tay--please, please just care enough about yourself as much as I care about you for a moment and realize what you just did to your hand," Kyra said in an equally calm voice.

"Meh. I've had worse injuries. And I broke my own finger, so what?" Taylor shrugged

"Friend I've dislocated my own ankle before- after I tore my ACL and MCL." Ella said.

“That’s not a good thing,” Val pointed out dryly. “It’s like saying “Yay! I just shot myself in the foot!” Or “I cut off my nose to spite my face!””

Seth couldn't help but giggle at Val's comment.

"SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO VOLDEMORT!" Ella shouted

Taylor burst out laughing. They were totally in shock

"So I care that you broke your finger--I don't want you to be hurt. And it doesn't help that you keep trying to prove yourself--why? What do you have to prove? We all know you're a brave, amazing person--and we all care about you- well, most of us do- so please, please just care about yourself," Kyra said, her voice raising, and turning around to look at Tay.

"Dude that was DEEP! WAY to deep for what two in the morning." Ella rubbed her eyes

"Beacuse all I am is the one who passes out, the one with the broken hands. The useless one, the one who was left behind. The one who was forgotten early on. The one who makes all the bad decisions, the one who refused to be normal and paid for their foolishness. So ExCuSe Me if I try to prove that I'm not any of these." Taylor said, looking at their useless hands and ignoring Ella

Seth rubbed his eyes. "How can someone say a meaningful speech at this time of night?" he mused in response to Ella's remark.

"You know- I'd like to know that too. I'd also like to know who here can quote Charles Dickens." Ella said

"Charles who?" Seth asked

"You aren't any of those! You're the one that wasn't afraid when I put my knife to your throat in the middle of the woods. You're the one who took a chance on me and freed me--even though you knew I was a dangerous criminal. You're the one who risks passing out to use your charmspeak to help everyone. You're the one who stopped me from making the greatest [REDACTED] decision of my life. So maybe you're a reckless idiot who thinks they have something to prove--but you're also an amazing person, who I happen to love very much. Don't you dare make me regret it!" When Kyra finished, she was quite out of breath.

"Dickens- you know like *Oliver Twist* and *A Christmas Carol.*" Ella couldn’t believe these uncultured swines

"Nope." Seth shrugged

Val reined Tug in and turned to face Kyra and Taylor. “Look, it’s late. Or early, I don’t really care at this point. But either way, we all need to sleep. Kyra, Taylor doesn’t need of anyone telling them what to do. Taylor, you say you want to be useful and then you go and hurt yourself. The more you’re hurt, the more Cole worries and the more the rest of us have to do to pick up your slack. So shut up, both of you, and just ride.”

"I- what! Do you not read?" Ella sounded offended

Cole had missed literally all of this, but he had felt Taylor's pain shift, and had been watching them move their hands. Kyra and Valerie seemed to have it under control, though.

"Well..." Seth drew the word on for a while. "Not really. The only book I've ever liked was The Outsiders. I named this little guy after Dally." He ruffled Dally's head.

Dally puffed out his chest in pride.

"Okay- so I can assume you haven't read Harry Potter." Ella said

Taylor opened their mouth to argue but the words turned to "Fine." They sounded defeated. The shock was wearing off and the pain in their broken finger was begging for their attention

“Good,” Val huffed. “Kyra?”

Cole could feel the shift in their tone, too -- they were less stiff and quieter. He reached around Taylor and held out his hand. "Let me help."

Aurora was trying to stay awake. Same with Holden

Taylor set their hand in Cole's

Ella was very disgusted with Seth.

Cole bit down on his tongue to stop from sucking in a breath at the surprising amount of pain in such a small space. His hand blurred under Taylor's. At the moment, he wasn't strong enough to completely take away their pain -- just make it tolerable. Stupid limitations.

Valerie watched Cole and Tay curiously, wondering exactly how his power worked.

Ella was bored.

Taylor sighed in relief "Thanks"

Callyah slowed her horse to a stop in front of a large farmhouse. "We're here," she said.

Val eyed the structure approvingly and dismounted Tug, helping Aurora get off since Auburn wasn’t on.

"Cool." Ella said

Taylor jumped off Fate once again, announcing "And they stick, the landing"

Cole climbed off and came over to Callyah's horse. She helped him get Anika off the horse so he could carry her inside, then vaulted off herself. "You can leave the horses. They're not going to get lost."

"They did." Ella said before flipping off Seth's horse, "But I stuck it better."

"Show off." Taylor rolled their eyes at Ella with a smirk.

"Come on, guys," Callyah said, sighing. She walked up to the porch and knocked on the door.

Cole walked, careful not to jostle Anika.

"Thanks." Ella flipped her ponytail in Taylor's face.

Anika’s eyes were closing slowly.

Taylor sneezed before flicking a dread into Ella's face

Paisley kept glancing at Holden then at Cole, back and forth feeling very confused.

The door opened, revealing a tall woman in a light pink mask. "Callyah!" she said, smiling and hugging her daughter. "And Cole is with you, too! What happened?" she asked, her wide grin disappearing.

"Long story. Can we come in?" Callyah asked.

"Oh, of course. But you *will* tell me what's going on. And Cole, the patient room is still set up," she added, signing to him. "You can put your friend there."

Cole nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

Valerie followed Callyah, tugging her hood lower and subtly hiding her weapons a little bit.

Anika groans a bit and isn’t sure what’s happening thanks to her sleep induced haze.

"OH JEEZ I HAVE TO MEET YOUR MOM!" Ella was totally not okay with this.

Taylor walked over so they were near the door. But not too close

Valerie facepalmed at Ella and sighed. “I’m Valerie,” she said, holding out her hand to Callyah and Cole’s mom. “Thanks for letting us stay here.”

Klay was travelling through the woods, mindlessly following Fate's directions to where she was with the group.

"Your friend is rather loud," their mom -- Matissa -- said. "Dear, try not to wake the neighbors. This is my house and you are staying with my permission, so I ask you to respect my rules. If that's a problem, there are hotels in town. You're welcome," she added to Valerie. "I'm Matissa. It's nice to meet you."

Callyah grinned and hugged her mom again as she stepped inside the house.

Cole followed and headed straight for a room near the front, with a white bed and a counter with medical equipment. He gently set Anika on the bed and stepped back, just letting himself think for a moment.

Ella shoved her purple mask on over her white one, "Ella you can do this- I can stay out here right?" She asked.

Taylor tried to slip away, trying to avoid meeting Cole and Callyah's mom. Because Taylor

"I won't force you to stay if you don't want to," Matissa told Ella.

Callyah changed into something clean and came down to the patient room, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Sorry, last time I was in a house with someones mother the house kinda burned down." Ella said

Val awkwardly tugged her hood lower over her face. She debated asking bout her mother but eventually decided against it. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she was always curious about where her family came from. Either way, though, now really wasn’t the time.

Taylor walked so that they were next to Kyra.

Klay was finally at the house, and he was battered up and bruised.

Anika was wherever she had been set down or whatever.

"The rest of you are welcome to come in, too," Matissa said. "I can cook you something, and we have a few guest rooms. No judgement -- Cole has brought enough strays home over the years that I've grown used to this kind of thing."

Ella just walked in. *PLEASE DON'T BURN DOWN!*

Valerie snorted at the word “strays.” “Can’t say I’m surprised,” she muttered, the said more loudly, “Actually, I’ll stay outside. I have a tent and I’m used to it anyways.”

Taylor made a quiet hmm sound. *I think I like Cole's mom.* They thought to themself

Paisley glances around with a slight frown which was normal.

Advika glances around also and smirks, “Much nicer than the rebels homes.” she comments.

Matissa nodded. "Well, feel free to come in if you'd like to shower or have something to eat."

"Thanks. Ella said"

Klay looked around, his whole body felt sore. *And the [redacted redacted redacted] just left me to die.*

Callyah brushed some of the loose hair off of the queen's forehead. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Cole washed his hands twice and started preparing the things he would need.

“Thanks. I might have to take you up of that,” Val admitted, letting out a small laugh. “But I think I’ll set up first.”

Anikas eyes flutter tiredly.

Taylor took Kyra's hand, watching to see Matissa's reaction. *If Cole's mom accepts Kyra and I, she's officially my favorite adult in the entire world*

Ella just sat on the floor with her back to the wall in a rather odd position.

"It's best if she goes to sleep now," Cole told Callyah. "I can give her a sedative if she needs one. And you need to sleep."

"So do you," Callyah countered. "I'm not going to sleep until you do."

Matissa didn't even bat an eye. "Would the rest of you like to come in?"

Val subtly let herself out of the house and moved out of the way for everyone else to come in.

Advika steps in, “Nice house, mom lady.” she says her smirk growing.

Taylor let go of Kyra's hand and walked into Cole's house with a small smile at Matissa.

"Matissa," Matissa corrected gently. "Or Ms. Dennison, if the first name makes you uncomfortable. And thank you." She nodded at Taylor as they passed, making a mental note to ask one of her kids what their pronouns were.

Ella just sighed.

Val went over to Tug and unbundled her tent and sleeping bag, expertly setting them up in the dim light.

Cole sighed. "Fine, you can stay."

Callyah didn't say anything.

"Do you want me to sedate you for the most painful part?" he asked Anika.

Anika opens her eyes a bit, “Whatever is less painful for you.” she manages to say.

Taylor poked their head into every room that the door was open to because ~curiosity~

"It's not going to affect me," Cole said, not lying. "You just won't be awake for it."

Anika wasn’t able to hear if he was lying or not so she nods

Klay knocked on the door of the place where he hoped Anika and everyone else was.

"Anyone hungry?" Matissa asked. "I'd be happy to make you guys something." She heard a knock, opened the door, and saw Klay. "I see we have a straggler. Come on in, honey."

Cole nodded. "Okay," he said slowly. "It's just going to make you go to sleep faster, not keep you out for long." He pulled a small needle out of one of the drawers in the counter.

Taylor, having seen all the rooms, walked into the kitchen and frowned at their broken finger

Anika couldn’t see the needle which is good cause if she could she would have started to pale and freak out.

"Look at me," Callyah said, knowing the queen hated needles. "Not at Cole. Relax. You're going to be okay."

Matissa smiled at Taylor. "Anything you want to eat?"

Val entered the house again with her bag and asked sheepishly, “Did you say I could shower?”

"Thanks but I'm fine." That was the most polite they'd been to someone other than Fate in- ever,

"Of course," Matissa said. "Down the hall, second door on the right." She turned back to Taylor. "Well, I'll be up for a while if you need anything. Cole and Callyah should be in the room with the red door near the front if you need to talk to either of them."

Anika glances at Callyah, still not seeing the needle.

Cole put a hand on Anika's arm and gently injected her with the sedative.

Callyah forced herself not to look away.

"Thank you" Taylor smiled at Matissa before walking outside and back to Fate

Anika winces but is asleep within seconds.

Fate shakes her mane when Taylor comes over.

Cole took another breath and turned to Callyah. "Do you want to help me out?"

"Yes," Callyah said immediately. Anything would be better than sitting here feeling useless.

"Hey Horse. You ok?" Taylor asked Fate

Kyra followed Tay outside. She said softly, “Hey.”

Taylor turned back around to Kyra "Hey"

Fate whinnies affectionately.

“I meant what I said before, you know. I—I do...care about you. A lot.” Kyra told the

“Thank you for letting us stay, Matissa,” Holden said, adjusting his mask

"Can you cut away the loose fabric?" Cole asked Callyah. She nodded and flicked open a knife, carefully removing the shreds of her dress from her wounds.

Cole began to check the burns on Anika's wrists and ankles methodically, doing his best to think of them as injuries and not what they were: evidence of torture.

"Same here. I was just mad." Taylor pet Fate with one hand

Valerie headed down the hall and paused between the two second doors. She couldn’t remember if it was supposed to be right or left.

"You're very welcome," Matissa said. "I'm going to go check on Cole and Callyah now, but I'll be back in a few minutes." She headed for the red door.

“I know,” Kyra said softly, moving to stand next to Tay.

Taylor turned so they were facing Fate. Their fingers didn't move as they stroked Fate

Matissa knocked gently on the door. "Hi, kiddos. Can I come in?"

Callyah looked up at Cole and waved for his attention. **Mom wants to come in.**

"Sure," Cole called.

"She doesn't look too good," Matissa said as she entered.

"She's not," Callyah sighed.

"What happened to her?"

"Can we talk about it later, Mom?"

"Of course," Matissa agreed -- not because she was a pushover, but because Callyah looked tense. She only moved her hands as she removed the fabric from the girl's wounds. Matissa would ask later.

“How’s your hand?” Kyra asked Tay.

Shrugging, Valerie tried the door on the left first. Stepping inside, she glanced around. This definitely wasn’t the bathroom.

"I'm fine. Cole took most of the pain" Taylor told Kyra

The room was pale blue, with glittery white gauzy curtains on the windows. Through the slightly opened closet door, clothes could be seen in pastel colors -- dresses, skirts, pants, and tops. A shelf between the windows was lined with books of every size and color; on top of it were glass jars. It was unclear what they once held. Another shelf next to the loft bed served as a nightstand, with a hairbrush and a music box resting on top of it. A drawing of a Ferris wheel was hung on one wall, opposite a corkboard with things like ticket stubs, quotes written on scraps of paper, and pictures of a younger Callyah and Cole -- posing for a family portrait; hanging upside down together off a tree branch; leaning against each other on a couch, reading; hugging and smiling in front of a big brick building.

But there was something... slightly off about the room. Slowly, Valerie realized what it was -- there were no mirrors.

“That—that’s good. I think,” Kyra said to Tay awkwardly.

Taylor smiled at Kyra's awkwardness. "Aw"

Turning in a circle, Valerie peered at some of the pictures.

“What?” Kyra asked, ignoring the smile tugging at her lips.

The pictures of younger Callyah and Cole made them look so, well, young. Innocent, even. Callyah looked sweet and easygoing; Cole didn't have the same weight in his shoulders.

Taylor turned back to Kyra and tousled her hair. "You're cute when you're confused"

Val knew it was wrong but she couldn’t help notice the differences between the Cole and Callyah of then and the Cole and Callyah she knew. Granted, she’d only know them for a few years, but still.

Matissa walked back to the kitchen -- or, she intended to. She noticed the open door to Callyah's room and poked her head in. "I see you found Callyah's room," she observed.

Valerie started. “Oh, sorry. I thought this was the bathroom,” she admitted embarassedly.

"That would be on the left," Matissa said. But she didn't indicate that Valerie should leave.

Kyra flushed, “I—I’m not—“

“Right.” She agreed, casting another glance around the room. “So, um, I know it’s not my business, but why’d she leave?”

"And now you're blushing. Case in point" Taylor smirked

Kyra rolled her eyes at them, her cheeks still pink. “Oh my goodness—“

"You'd have to ask her," Matissa said, coming in and looking at the pictures. She reached out and touched the edge of one -- Cole with his arms around Callyah's shoulders. "I don't think I know. But I know it wasn't because of Cole. They're like peanut butter and jelly, those two."

“They are,” Valerie agreed.

Taylor grinned at Kyra. Their face was lightly colored red

Callyah came running in. "Mom, I need-" She stopped, seeing Valerie. "Cole needs ice," she said.

"Right," Matissa said. "I'll take care of it. You look like you need a break, sweetie." She tucked a stray curl back behind her daughter's ear, then left.

Callyah didn't move.

"You have a nice room," Valerie told her evenly, internally smacker herself. She *knew* this was going to happen.

"Thanks," Callyah said. "Why are you in it?"

Kyra grinned back, “So...we good?”

"I thought it was the bathroom," Val told her, knowing how lame of an excuse that was, even if it was true.

Callayh shrugged, then noticed the music box on her shelf. "God, I haven't been in here in three years," she muttered.

"You got promoted to captain that quickly?" Val asked curiously.

"'course Queenie." Taylor tugged lightly on a strand of her hair

Kyra responded by tugging on one of their dreads.

"Yeah," Callyah said distractedly. "Took about seven months."

Taylor smiled at Kyra. "I don't know bout you but I'm thinking about food. What do you think?" They asked

Val whispered appreciatively. "Very quickly indeed."

"It was a choice between me or Holden when the previous captain disappeared," Callyah explained.

Valerie nodded. "And everything is suddenly explained," she said dryly.

"Right?" Callyah said. She had been wandering around the room -- now she stopped in front of the pictures on her wall. "I remember this," she said, smiling, reaching out to unpin the picture of her and Cole reading on the couch.

Val smiled softly and stood there awkwardly, not sure if she was still in the conversation or if she should go.

"Sorry," Callyah said, remembering herself. "Nostalgia. The bathroom is just across the hall." She pinned the picture back in place.

"Thanks," Val said, heading across the hall and closing herself into the bathroom.

Callyah sighed and went back to the patient room, where Cole was wrapping up. He'd put ice over her burns and bruises, and sealed her cuts with butterfly bandages. She looked better, but still like she'd been through hell. Cole did, too -- he'd clearly been using his ability.

**You look exhausted,** Callyah signed.

Cole did something between nodding and shaking his head.

**I got her,** Callyah said, putting her hand on her brother's shoulder for a minute. **You need to sleep.**

They had a brief staring contest, which Callyah won handily.

**Fine,** Cole signed. **Good night.**

**Good night,** Callyah signed as she gently shoved him out the door. She sat down in the chair next to the bed again and put her hand in Anika's.

Kyra smiled a bit goofily, “Food sounds good.”

Valerie turned on the shower and undressed, putting her dirty clothes to the side. She tried to rub her back-- her scars were hurting again. Feeling the water warm up, she got into the shower, taking the time to slow her thoughts down and actually process what had happened in the past few days.

Taylor took Kyra's hand and headed inside

Huh. Even after all the times Kyra had held Tay’s hand—something inside her still fluttered happily when they took it.

Taylor poked their head into the fridge and pantry.

Klay was a mess. And he looked it, too. His hair was matted with sweat and blood. His amber eyes were bloodshot. His whole body was bruised and sore. And his wrists were oozing blood, where the chains had been.  He felt angry, too. It reminded him of what the others had left him to. Because he was very certain they had just left him to die. Limping along, he finally reached the place where Fate had telepathically instructed him to go. He reached the front steps before he slumped against the stairs and fell asleep...

*"Anika?" Dream-Klay asked. No response came. "Ani?"*

*But there was only silence. Eventually, Dream-Klay gave up and sat down. Obviously, Anika wasn't there.*

*"Klay?"*

*Dream-Klay looked up and saw it was his father. Erret.*

*"Dad?"*

*"Son, you must hurry. I can't be here for lo-" Erret started, but he didn't finish, as he crumbled to dust. Dream-Klay rushed over to him, but there was no more him.*

*"I'm sorry," Dream-Klay said to the pile of dust. Before his eyes, it started to form another shape,*

*"Ani!" Klay said in relief. "I was worried about you...are you okay?"*

*But Anika just looked past him, like he wasn't there.*

*"Anika!" Klay said again. Finally, she looked at him.*

*"Klay," She stated coldly.*

*"Anika...what's wrong?"*

*"This is your fault. I wouldn't have been kidnapped if it weren't for you,"*

*"What are you talking about?" Dream-Klay asked, his eyebrows furrowed.*

*Anika blew away to dust.*

*"No..Anika!" Dream-Klay called out.*

*But she had left with the others.*

'Anika!" Klay mumbled when he jolted awake. *This is your fault.* "Anyone?" He said softly. "Is anyone there?" He was starting to think no one was.

Anika was now fast asleep in a dreamless haze. It had been hours since she was put to sleep and she was starting to stir. She groaned awake and looked around. She somehow felt much better but her wrists and ankles still left that burned feel. She stands up and winces slightly before slowly sneaking out front.

Taylor was getting some crackers from le pantry. They stared at the box with a sad expression. *[redacted] broken fingers*

Klay rubbed his wrists. They hurt, lots.

Anika noticed Kay sitting out there and she gasps quietly, “Klay?” she asks.

Klay stood up, "Anika-is that you?"

Taylor started fumbling with the box, trying to open it with their teeth. *[insert many redacted words]*

Anika nods and rubs her wrists, “Yeah, are you okay?” she asks worriedly.

The crackers fell to the floor, Taylor looked at it sadly

"No..I mean yes. I meant yes." Klay corrected himself

Anika didn’t look convinced and she slowly lowered herself down next to him, rubbing her wrists in the process.

"Are *you* okay?" Klay asked.

Taylor stalked out of the house, looking for a nice tree to punch. And then they remembered that their fingers can't even become a fist anymore. They kicked a tree, hissing quietly at the bolt of pain that came after

Anika sighs, “I would be lying if I said yes. We just let them go and it’s my fault.” she says.

"It's not your fault," Klay said quietly.

Taylor kicked the tree harder and harder, over and over. They paused when Val's words came into mind *Taylor, all you're doing is causing Cole more stress and we have to pick up your slack.* They slumped against the tree, thinking some not so nice things about themself.

“It is.” Anika mumbles, “My mother was leading them and I had no idea.”

"You couldn't have known, Ani." Klay told her

Ani sighs, “Ive been trying to figure it out for years, I should’ve seen it.” she says.

Taylor wrapped their arms around their knees and sniffled once. They forced themself not to cry.

Klay took her hand, and looked into her eyes, "It is *not* your fault. Your mother is just a [redacted] [redacted]"

Anika’s eyes lock with his and she sighs and doesn’t argue but she is silently blaming herself.

Valerie stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. She felt a lot better now that she had time to think and because she was clean. Just because she could live with the dirt didn't mean she liked it.

Quickly getting dressed and drying Val’s hair, she went back outside.

Taylor was cussing at their useless fingers once again. (Because Taylor)

Valerie saw Taylor by a tree and walked over. "I don't suppose everything is the fingers fault and that's why you're mad at them?" She began conversationally.

"Only almost everything is my fingers fault." Taylor said dryly

Val nodded sagely. "I see."

Taylor cussed at their fingers one last time. "What's up with you?" They asked

Shrugging, Val said, "Not much. I got to shower and think through the past few days, so that was nice."

"Nice." Taylor glared at their fingers

"Can I see them?" Valerie asked quietly, holding out her hand to Tay.

Taylor reluctantly put their hand in Val's. "Useless" They muttered to their other hand

Val inspected their fingers gently, noting different things about them that were different because Ploofy didn't know what to say.

Taylor tried to bend their fingers again.

Val stopped them. "Don't do that," She chided.

"Why not? It's not like my fingers'll work again." Taylor said pessimistically

"They will." *Eventually.* Val thought

"When? In a million years?" Taylor snarked

"I think we're going to have to cast your hands," Valerie decided thoughtfully.

"Nuh uh. No way. Those bandages were made of pure torture and now you want to encase my hands in plastic? Nope." Taylor shook their head back and forth

Holden was wandering, trying to find a place to sleep.

Kyra wandered outside again, spotting Tay and Val's conversation. Instead of going up to them right away, she just leaned against a tree within earshot.

"No no no no no no NO. No casts." Taylor said adamantly

Kyra's eyebrows raised--casts. Huh. She knew that Tay probably needed them--their fingers didn't look so good. But...she didn't really want to argue with them. So she just leaned against the tree, listening.

Anika stood up, she needed to walk, she had been stuck sitting, tied down and she didn’t like it. (Obviously) so she walked around outside and rubbed her wrists. She spotted Kyra.

Cole came outside and leaned against the porch railing.

Holden peeked into a room to see if a bed was open.

"If you want them to heal even slightly right you're going to have to." Val told Tay firmly.

Callyah had fallen asleep in the chair of the patient room.

Taylor made a face "... Fine." The scars on their hands itched like crazy

"I'll have to ask Callyah if there's any actual hospitals around here. No offense to Cole or anything, but an professional would probably be best." Val said thoughtfully, tugging her hood lower over her face.

Taylor was yet again trying to bend their fingers. "They're all the same, doctors. Except for Cole, all doctors are the same."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm sure Cole won't be against it."

Taylor poked their broken finger, sucking in a breath at the sharp pain. "[redacted]"

"Then don't do that!" Val snapped exasperatedly.

Klay didn't feel ready to see anybody else..especially because.. *No, no I won't go there. I won't think about it..* Klay argued with himself.

Gaylor smirked at Val. "How are you going to stop me?"

Anika ended up coming back to Klay and sitting down again too tired to keep walking.

Klay smiled at her.

Anika smiles tiredly and leans on him, rubbing her wrists.

Valerie rolled her eyes at Gaylor. “I can’t but she can,” she said, gesturing to Kyra.

Gaylor crossed their arms "Fine"

Kyra walked over to join the conversation, giving Tay a 'You know I'm here for you' look.

Taylor looked at  Kyra inncoently

Kyra gave Tay another look, this time communicating, 'Oh my goodness.'

Taylor smirked at Kyra

Kyra flushed, but smirked right back.

“Yeah, I’ll leave you guys alone,” Valerie muttered, backing away.

Seth was asleep in a tree. His hood fell off, exposing his bright orange hair.

Dally was in the hood. (ooP-) Dally fell onto a different branch, squeaking loudly. He wasn't hurt, just annoyed.

Taylor tried to move their fingers absentmindedly

Kyra caught their hands in hers, gingerly holding them, and protecting Tay from...Tay.

Klay put his arm around Anika's shoulders, pushing away thoughts of the dream.

Anika closes her eyes and tries not to rub her wrists which was extremely hard to do.

Seth was asleep, his hood on the forest(?) floor.

Paisley was fast asleep inside.

Advika was also asleep.

Taylor's face turned bright red

Kyra looked down at their fingers, "You know, maybe casts would be the best option--and before you argue--just think, once your fingers are healed, you'll be able to move them again--good as new!"

Holden popped his head into a room. It being dark, he didn't see that pAiSlEy was fast asleep on the bed. He breathed a sigh of relief and went to plop himself down.

Klay wanted to just be with Anika like this, forever.

"Having my fingers back would be nice but what about the casts? I wouldn't be able to do anything." Gaylor asked

Anika sighs contently as she sits with Klay and she scoots a bit closer her eyes closing.

"But without the casts, you won't be able to do anything--ever. At least you'd be able to move your fingers again after the casts," Kyra said. She definitely didn't notice Klay and Anika having a moment--and she definitely wasn't going to march over there in a minute and have a TaLk with Klay. Nope. Definitely not.

Paisley felt someone sit down on the bed and she shifted quietly her eyes opening, “Holden?” she asks quietly.

"FRICK FRACK YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!" Holden screeched and jumped up.

"Fine, Queenie. You win yet again" Taylor sighed

Paisley jumps a bit at the loud yelling, “Sorry.” she mumbles tiredly.

"No its not your fault sorry," Holden said, backtracking. "Go back to sleep." he said

"Technically, winning is what I do--but I wouldn't call this winning. It isn't really a game anymore, is it?" Kyra said to Tay. She swore--if Klay moved one inch closer to Ani (he was already FAR too close) Kyra was going to wack him over the head with a frying pan.

Cole didn't want to bother Klay and Anika, so he just causally hurdled over the porch railing and shook out his arms.

"Sure seems like one to me. Based on the way that you toy with my emotions." Taylor murmured

Paisley frowns, “Wait, it’s okay.” she says sitting up.

Holden stops. "Ight okay," he said, but mentally is cheering. *yAy! iTs oKaY!* "Um... I need to go find a room. Goodnight?"

Paisley frowns, “You're going?” she asks, her voice was thick.

Kyra's brow crinkled, "I would never 'toy' with you Tay. But to be fair--you still have my coherent train of thought captive, so..."

"And you're keeping my rationality captive so we're even" Taylor reached up to smooth the crinkle in Kyra's brow

Cole decided to give them a moment before he went over to try and convince Taylor to let him take them to the clinic. He leaned back against the railing and watched Seth and Dally. For no reason.

A smile tugged at Kyra's lips. She pretended to reach into her pocket and grab Tay's 'rationality' and then put it in their hand. "There--I might keep some of your rationality, but not all of it. I do believe I'd rather you make some rational decisions."

Dally the ferret saw Cole watching him. He, in this order, squeaked, climbed down the tree, and ran over onto Cole's shoulder.

Seth was asleep.

"Hi," Cole said, scratching Dally's head. "Seth knows he can sleep inside if he wants, right?"

Dally stared up at Cole.

"Right -- ferrets don't understand it when people speak English," Cole joked. "Welcome to the club, Dally."

"Rational decisions are overrated. Also," Taylor pretended to give Kyra something "Here's a train f thought. You'll earn the rest at some point" They winked

Kyra smiled--then noticed Klay and Anika snuggling and scowled, "Excuse me for a moment--I need to go interrogate Klay..."

Seth woke up, almost losing his balance on the tree. The adrenaline rush he got was better than 2 cups of coffee. He looked around, confused.

Anika had fallen asleep and was making cute noises in her sleep

"Feel free. This'll be interesting" Taylor smirked at Klaynika

Kyra walked up to the couple and cleared her throat. "So. Klay--or whatever your name is--We need to have a talk."

"I don't have to if you don't want me to," Holden said, a bit confused

"Come on, Dally," Cole said. "Let's go make sure Seth doesn't knock himself out." He walked over to Seth's tree. "You know, you're allowed to go inside. My mom's not scary."

"Huh?" Seth asked groggily. He wasn't really facing Cole, so he probably couldn't hear him. Seth slowly climbed down the tree and picked up his hood. "Okay. Thanks," he made sure to say in Cole's direction.

Paisley nods, “Don’t leave?” she asks, “It’s cold.” she says her voice still thick and tired.

Dally was walking by Cole.

Holden said nothing but comes over and puts his arm around her shoulders. Trying to warm her up oBvIoUsLY. None other reason. Nope.

Cole shrugged and went over to Taylor. "How are you doing?" he asked them.

Paisley leans into him happily and falls asleep thinking WaRm ThOuGhTs

"I'm fine. Val and Kyra want me to get casts." Taylor made a sour lemon face

Holden, being Holden, smiled, and tried to breath as shallowly as possible.

Cole made a face. "God, I would hate having casts on my hands." He sat down next to them. "Can I see?" he asked, holding out his hands.

"Yep" Taylor put their hands in his

Paisley smiles in her sleep.

Cole studied their hands carefully. "Wow, this is worse than I thought," he muttered under his breath.

Taylor waited for an explanation

Seth was watching Cole and Taylor.

Dally ran off to hunt.

Holden listened to Paisley's breathing, and rested his head on her head. He was eventually lulled to sleep

Paisley slept peacefully.

"You've got a lot of fluid buildup in your joints and it's keeping your fingers from moving." He paused. "There's a clinic in town that can treat you. I'll go with you. And Kyra can come too if you want. But this isn't something I can fix with the equipment we have here."

Seth cringed. That didn't sound good.

Dally had his sights on a rabbit a few yards away.

"I'll come!" Kyra called over. "I just have to have a little talk with Klay first. He needs to pass my 'Worthy of Ani' test."

Anika stirs in her sleep and threatens to wake up.

Taylor shuddered and shook their head "No other doctors. Nope. No no no"

"Why not?" Cole asked gently.

"No other doctors. I'd rather treat myself to a social visit where everyone misgenders me" Taylor continued shaking their head, not answering

Kyra's brow wrinkled. She looked between Klay and Tay--maybe she could have the interrogation later...

"Would you rather lose all function in your hands forever and live in pain the rest of your life? Because that's the other option here." Cole told them

"Ugh... Fine." Taylor masked their fear with disgust

"What's so bad about doctors?" Cole asked, honestly a little hurt.

"Bad experiences. You're the only actual good one." Taylor took their hands from Cole

Cole sighed. "I can respect that. But these are the people that taught me, and the people I went to school with. And I'll be with you the whole time," he promised.

"If they misgender me, I'm leaving. If they call me female, I run. But fine." Taylor folded their arms

Klay looked up at Kyra and said, "Yeah?"

Holden woke up with a start.

Paisley groans quietly in her sleep when Holden wakes up.

"They won't," Cole assured them. "The clinic won't open for another hour, though, so do you need something to eat before we go?"

"We need to have a talk. Please step away from my best friend--you must prove yourself worthy," Kyra said to Klay in a serious tone.

Dally came back, hoisting a rabbit proudly.

Seth walked over to Dally. "Probably shouldn't eat that right in front of us, bud."

"oOo," holden sucked in a breath. Paisley was still asleep. He gently pressed his lips to her forehead and closed his eyes.

"Prove myself worthy?" Klay held back a laugh.

Anika slowly wakes up, unsure what’s happening.

"Not hungry." Taylor was hungry but they didn't feel like fighting with their hands to get food

Paisley was slowly waking up and she woke up to Holden kissing her forehead and she smiles a bit and tiredly says, “You missed.”

"Dude--that's my best friend right there," Kyra gestured to Ani. "And if you think you're going to get to cuddle with her without passing the test--damn, you have got a lot to learn. See--there's a test. I have to make sure you're not an idiot."

Anika was now mostly awake and she noticed Kyra and Klay and she sat up a bit more and rubbed her wrists.

Cole didn't really believe them. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Um..." Taylor had zero idea. "That doesn't matter, I'm not hungry"

"Fine," Cole said, relenting. "How's the finger you broke, by the way?"

"It's fine." Taylor's answer for everything: 'I'm fine'

Cole raised an eyebrow but didn't push. "I'll be back in an hour to take you -- and Kyra if you want -- to the clinic. Please, for the love of God, do not try to bend your fingers in between now and then."

Taylor smirked, attitude returning. "Of course not!" They said in a sweet voice that no one should ever trust.

Dally was eating; Seth was watching him and the others.

"If you break any more of your fingers, you'll have to stay at the clinic longer," Cole told them. "Which I don't think you want. So don't bend your fingers, okay?" He stood up.

Taylor made a face. "Fine." They walked away, muttering about stupid pieces of plastic called casts that should go die in a hole

Cole shrugged and went back inside, careful not to disturb the Klay/Kyra shenanigans -- whatever the heck they were doing. He entered the kitchen and started making himself some cereal.

Callyah woke up and saw Anika was gone. She muttered something about stubborn queens who do stupid things instead of resting like they're supposed to and walked to the kitchen, having had the same idea as her brother.

"Dude--that's my best friend right there," Kyra gestured to Ani. "And if you think you're going to get to cuddle with her without passing the test--damn, you have got a lot to learn. See--there's a test. I have to make sure you're not an idiot."

"A test?" Klay raised his eyebrow, arm still around Ani.

Anika smirks at him, “Good luck.” she whispers.

"Yes a test--I literally just said--you know what? Just follow me. And Ani--don't even think about eavesdropping--that only worked on me once." Kyra said

"Stars.." Klay rolled his eyes, but followed.

Anika smirks slightly, “I would never.” she replies.

"I guess I have to fix that then," Holden smiled and softly kissed her. And he hit his mark.

Paisley smiles against his lips and eventually pulled away and grins happily at him.

Kyra led Klay into the trees and then stopped.

"Alright--let's begin. What are your intentions? With Ani. Describe them in detail." Kyra spoke in a serious tone. Inside, she was rolling around on the floor laughing. This was so fun.

"Umm.." Klay was very bright red.

"Sorry," Holden said sheepishly, "I should have asked your permission."

Paisley shook her head, “It’s okay.” she says still grinning.

"I'm waiting...also, this test is timed. You have about 3 minutes to answer each question before I wack you over the head with a frying pan." Kyra informed him

"I don't know. Maybe we'll get married someday," Klay shrugged, and he was still very bright red.

"Good." Holden smiled

"Hmmm..." Kyra got out a notepad from her pocket as well as a pen and took notes, "Overambitious...delusional...Yes. Right. Next question--how did you and Ani meet?"

Paisley smiles and leans her head on his shoulder.

Anika watches Kyra interrogate Klay from her seat on the porch and was smiling slightly.

"Umm..Anika held a meeting, and I was invited? I met her at the stables before that, though. Once." Klay put his hands in his pockets

"I see..." Kyra said, looking highly suspicious as she marked something down on her notepad. "Next question--what emotions come to mind when I say 'Ani?'"

"Umm...Joy? Happiness? Unworthiness-if that's even an emotion"

Kyra's eyebrows raised, "Hmmm...interesting..." She muttered something like 'low self esteem' as she made another note. "Next question--do you think this test is unnecessary?"

"No?" Klay said it like a question.

A hint of a smile appeared on Kyra's face. She marked something else down in her notebook as she muttered 'first time for everything.' "Alright--Do you love Ani?"

"..Yes." There was no question in Klay’s answer now.

Kyra raised her eyebrows, "And how long do you plan for that love to last?" This, of course, was a trick question. There was no plan to love.

Cole came back outside. "Ready?" he asked Taylor.

*No.* "Yep" Taylor said

"You want Kyra to come with us?" Cole asked.

"That would be great" Taylor sighed, looking at their hands again

"Cool." Cole jogged over to where Kyra and Klay were. "I'm sure you're enjoying threatening his life and all, but I'm taking Taylor to the clinic to get their hands fixed up. You coming?"

Kyra raised her eyebrows, "And how long do you plan for that love to last?" She repeated. This, of course, was a trick question. There was no plan to love. "Yup--Klay just has two more questions to answer."

"as long as Anika wants it to." Klay said

Cole sighed. "Have fun, kids." He walked back over to Taylor. "Kyra's got to finish interrogating Klay, but she'll come find us when she's done."

Kyra just scribbled something down on her notepad, with an unreadable expression, "Alright. Last question. You ready?"

"No," Klay told her

"Good answer. Now--your final question is...(drumroll please)...do you think you're going to pass this test?" Kyra asked

"Ok." Taylor had been about to scratch at their hands. Again

Cole rocked back and forth on his heels as Kat waited for Klay to answer Kyra so they could get going.

Taylor started scratching at the scars on their hands

"Stop doing that, Taylor," Cole said. "Do you even want your hands to heal?"

"Obviously not," Klay snorts.

"They're itchy. And I have nothing better to do." Taylor forced their hands to go still

Kyra gave one last look at her notes before looking back at Klay with a deadpan, "You passed. But you better watch it--one wrong move and I'll do much worse than wack you over the head with a frying pan."

Anika rested her head against the wall of the house waiting for Klay to hopefully come back without a big bump on top of his head.

"Well, you probably need to get back to bed," Holden said to Paisley

Paisley nods looking a bit disappointed.

"Coming, Kyra?" Cole yelled.

"Um-bye" Holden said, and left the room, looking back as he closed the door

Callyah came outside and sat down next to the queen. "Good morning. And how's completely ignoring the fact that you need to heal going?"

"Yup! Just finished up," Kyra said cheerfully as she left Klay to go be Tay's emotional support Kyra.

Taylor tried not to look nervous

"You look nervous," Kyra informed them. "You're going to be fine--besides, you've got your emotional support Kyra!"

"Cool." Cole opened the gate for them and led the way into the town. "Fair warning, though, you aren't going to be able to be with them the entire time, since you aren't personnel. But I'll still be with them for that part, and it shouldn't take too long."

"I'm not nervous. Why would you say that? And of course I'll be fine." Taylor smirked weakly. "Let's just get this over with"

Kyra gave Tay a knowing look as they followed Cole. She not-so-subtly reached out to hold Tay's hand, holding it gingerly in hers.

Taylor struggled not to death grip Kyra's hand, feeling like they were walking to their doom

Cole opened the door to the clinic and stepped inside. "Lori!" he exclaimed, surprised. "I didn't know you were still stuck with the morning shift."

Lori grinned and tucked a lock of short brown hair behind one ear. "Good morning to you, too, Peanut."

Kyra followed Cole inside, still holding hands with Tay.

Taylor wanted to hide behind Kyra. *Calm in fights, scared of doctors. You're a wimp*

Holden tossed and turned in his bedroom, and found himself making his way back to Paisley

Paisley wasn’t able to sleep either and glances up when her door opens and Holden was there.

"What brings you here?" Lori asked.

"My friend Taylor has fluid buildup in their knuckles," Cole explained. "Bruised bone and a broken finger, too."

Lori made a face. "D\*\*\*, that sucks. How'd it happen?"

“Couldn’t sleep. You?” Holden asked

Paisley nods, “Same.” she replies.

"I tried to force my fingers to move when they froze and then with the bruised thing... I may or may not get in a bunch of fights and punch trees" Taylor said, innocent as can be

Seth was uh still back at the house so he went to find some food.

Holden sat down on Paisley’s bed. “So what do you want to do?”

Paisley smiles, “I don’t know.” she says but she has MaNy iDeAs.

"May or may not?" Kyra deadpanned.

Advika was in the kitchen leaning against the wall and drinking a smoothie.

“What about Thorns and Roses?” Holden said, taking a page from the klanika book.

Lori blinked. "And you let them do this?" they asked Cole.

Cole shrugged. "They're... difficult."

Lori shook their head. "You're a pushover, Peanut, is what it is."

Paisley shrugs, “Okay, you go first?” she asks.

"Hey--I tried. Still trying. Probably won't ever stop trying," Kyra said honestly.

”Um, I dislike tomatoes and I love socks,” Holden said

Paisley smiles a bit at that, “I love plants and hate blood.” she says.

"And who's this?" Lori asked Cole.

"She's Kyra," Cole supplied. "They're kind of a thing, I guess?"

Lori twitched their nose at Cole. "She can't be in the OR."

"And why not?" Kyra asked bristling, scooching closer to Tay.

Taylor took a small step behind Kyra

Kyra was still holding Tay's hand gently in hers, and she definitely wasn't flushing from that--nope, no she was not. Not at all. Nope.

"Protocols," Lori explained apologetically. "Peanut here can still go with them, but nonpersonnel aren't allowed in the operating rooms. You can observe if you want, though."

"Do you trust me?" Cole asked them both.

“Nice nice,” Holden said

"I- Yes." Taylor stepped out from behind Kyra a little

"I promise, you can trust Lori. I went to school with them. They're good, and despite the sass, they're really nice. And I'll be with you the whole time, too. Okay?" Cole promised

Lori stayed quiet, although they were thinking, *What do you mean, 'despite the sass'?*

"Okay." Taylor looked at Lori, curious

“I dislike Kyra, and like... you?” Holden said

"Question--do these protocols allow emotional support Kyras?" Kyra asked

"No," Lori said. "No one who isn't medical personnel is allowed in the operating room, in order to keep it sanitary and ordered. But like I said, there's an observation room. And if you don't want to be alone, I have the Dennison's phone number, so I could call Matissa and have her sit with you."

"Oh, Cal's back, by the way," Cole told them.

"Seriously?"

Cole nodded.

Taylor stepped out from behind Kyra completely

Cole took that as a good sign. "You ready?" he asked Taylor.

Seth was eating chips.

"Just get the torture over with. I'll see you later, Queenie." Taylor stuffed their fear in a box labeled *deal with later*

"Come on," Lori said, leading the way down the hall. They gestured to a door labled *VIEWING*. "If you want to watch, you can do it there," they told Kyra. "Peanut, you can get them situated in the OR and I'll be there once I get washed up."

Cole nodded and opened another door. "In here," he told Taylor.

Taylor walked in "Lori's non binary too?" They asked

"Yep," Cole agreed. "Go ahead and take a seat on the gurney. The bed thing," he added, remembering that Taylor didn't have a lot of experiences with hospitals.

Taylor hopped onto the bed thing

"Stupid lever thing," Cole muttered, adjusting the back of the gurney. "There we go. Go ahead and lay back, and put your hands at your sides."

Lori walked in. "Wash your hands, Peanut."

Cole rolled his eyes at them and went over to the sink. He washed his hands up to his elbows and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Ready?" he asked Taylor, coming back.

"No. I'd rather be sleeping than here right now. And I hate sleeping. But the sooner you start, the sooner you finish, the sooner I get the [redacted] casts off." Taylor spat

"They're cheerful," Lori deadpanned.

"Shaddup," Cole told them. "You got the anesthetic?"

"Yep." Lori held up a pair of needles.

Taylor flinched. *NO* They thought frantically

Kyra observed, watching Tay like a hawk and giving them reassuring looks from her observation point. That's what emotional support Kyras were for, right?

"Hey, what's wrong?" Cole asked. He signed to Lori, **Put those back.**

Lori set the needles down on the table, out of Taylor's line of sight.

"Just knock me out before I have a panic attack. Honestly, doctors are worrywarts." Taylor forced their eyes closed, bracing for pain from the needle

"It's a localized anesthetic," Cole promised. "Just to numb your hands. I didn't think you'd want to be knocked out all the way, but we can get a sedative if you want one instead."

"Sedative. Good gods I'd rather be asleep." Taylor gritted their teeth

Cole nodded.

Lori went over to the counter and pulled out another, smaller needle. They quickly swabbed Taylor's arm with an alcohol wipe and injected them with the sedative.

"Don't worry," Cole assured them as the sedative took hold.

"[redacted] needles" Taylor said just before they fell asleep

Holden wrapped his arms around Paisley.

Lori and Cole got to work quickly, moving as if they had practiced this a hundred times. They drained the fluid from Taylor's hands. Lori splinted their fingers while Cole gauzed and wrapped their hands. It was a little bloody and a lot gross.

Taylor stayed still as a statue, fighting in their dreams.

They finished.

Cole looked at Taylor. "I feel bad."

"Why?" Lori asked.

"For making them do this. They really hate hospitals."

Lori shrugged. "You did it for them. I have never seen tissue damage that bad. What have they *been* through?"

"I don't know," Cole admitted. "They're not big on sharing."

"I figured." Lori pulled their gloves off and went over to the sink to wash their hands again. "But they said they trust you, remember?" they added, making sure they had turned to face Cole. "You're a good friend, Peanut. They're lucky to have you."

"At this point I'm just hoping they don't start calling me Peanut," Cole admitted, taking off his own gloves.

Lori grinned. "Good luck with that."

Taylor would've smirked had they been awake. Instead their nose twitched like they needed to sneeze

"They'll be awake in a few minutes," Lori told Cole. "I'm going to go check on-- Kyra?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Cole told them. "I'm staying here."

"I expect nothing less," Lori said, smirking. They went outside and stepped into the viewing room -- making sure to take their bloody surgery apron off first.

Taylor's eyes opened slowly. "ilfyd82op?" They asked

"I have no idea what you just said," Cole admitted. "And I don't think that's just because I misread your lips."

Taylor sat up quickly "How long was I asleep?"

"Not very long," Cole said. "And you're going to want to lay back down."

The world was flipping upside down "That sounds good" Tay agreed

"You doing okay?" Cole asked.

"I'm fi- No. I'm not fine. My hands are in [redacted] casts, I'm a waste of space and I'm going to be killed for threatening the queen" Taylor laid down

"You're not a waste of space, and I don't know what the second part is supposed to mean, but I'm pretty sure that's also false." Cole told them

Taylor was already back asleep

"Okay, then," Cole sighed.

Kyra was seconds away from bursting into the room and giving Tay a hug. She had a feeling they needed a hug. And she was their emotional support Kyra, after all.

Taylor's head thrashed side to side, eyes shut tightly with fear

Kyra burst through the doors, rushing up to Tay’s side. “Tay? Tay—you’re fine—you’re going to be fine—“

Taylor's eyes shot open "No!" They whispered, still half asleep. "Help"

“Tay—I’m here, I’ll help—I’ll always be here,” Kyra held their hands, repeating the words over and over.

Taylor relaxed, eyes focusing on Kyra "Hey Queenie." They smiled, having no idea that they just freaked out

“Hey,” Kyra said, breathless and relieved.

"You ok?" They sat up, casts making a weird sound on the bed thing

"I could ask you the same question," Kyra said, a relieved smile on her face.

"Other than these [redacted] casts, I'm fine." Taylor tapped their casts on something just to make some noise

Valerie existed. With Tug. Her emotional support therapist horse.

"Good--that's good," Kyra said, looking at Tay with nothing but pure care in her eyes. She couldn't even describe how terrified she'd felt when they were thrashing around in that bed thing--cot--whatever--and she--she thought for a moment that if she wasn't there for them, then they wouldn't be there. Which was silly, because it was only a nightmare--but she had to be there for them. No matter what. She just--had to.

"Can we go yet? Hospitals are filled with doctors." Taylor asked

"I--I think you should probably ask the doctor," Kyra asked, still looking at Tay with that same caring look.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Taylor asked, bonking themself in the nose with the cast

"I just really want to kiss you right now," Kyra said softly.

"Then you have my permission, Queenie." Taylor snarked, smiling at Kyra

Well, it's pretty obvious that Kyra kissed them--full on the mouth--with extra enthusiasm. Kyra was a very happy emotional support Kyra. An extra happy emotional support Kyra. The happiest of happy in the land of happy emotional support Kyras. Everyone should have an emotional support Kyra.

Taylor kissed Kyra back, eyes closed

Kyra didn't particularly care that she was in a doctor's office with two other people--one of which she didn't even know--she was quite happy, very happy--as I explained earlier. She threw her arms around Tay, still lost in the land of happy emotional support Kyras--the land where every emotional support Kyra had a reckless, infuriating, idiotic, brave, absolutely positively wonderful, emotional support Tay.

Taylor pulled away, grinning like a dope.

Kyra just grinned back, her grin just as goofy as Tay's.

Taylor got up, linking their arm in Kyra's. They were mostly leaning on Kyra though

Kyra helped Tay up, happy she could help--also still a little giddy from the kiss. She wondered if it was possible to get drunk on kisses--and then she wondered if there was an age limit--if you had to be 'of age' to get drunk on kisses.

Taylor was grinning. They took their arm from it's place twined around Kyra's arm and wrapped it around her waist

Kyra flushed. Like--completely flushed. Beet red. But she was still smiling. Yup. Definitely drunk on kisses.

Taylor blushed the exact same shade

"Aw, you two are adorable, but unfortunately Taylor has to stay here for 24 hours so we can monitor them," Lori said, coming in with a tray.

Cole had just been quietly in the corner -- he had turned around to wash his hands again, giving them space.

Taylor's smile dropped like a stone. "24 hours?" They asked, blush being replaced by paleness. *Oh [redacted] no. I am not staying here for that long*

"Sorry, kid," Lori said, putting the tray down on the table next to the bed. "Peanut, you want to deal with this?"

Cole gave Lori a look that said *You will pay for this later* before sitting down on one of the chairs in the room. "Why is that a problem?" he asked Taylor gently.

"Reasons. I want out. This place is becoming as much a prison as a palace." Tay were obviously scared

"I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong," Cole told them, still pretty even-keeled.

"No. Let me out" Taylor was acting like a five year old. Not that they cared.

Cole shook his head. "We have to be able to monitor you and make sure you're okay. And besides, that's how long it'll take before we can get the casts off your hands."

"[redacted] casts. [redacted] monitoring." Taylor eyes were wide as they glanced at the door

"I'll be here the whole time," Cole reminded them. "And Lori's not so bad, are they?"

"But needles. And *pain*. And white cloaked people who would capture me." Taylor argued

Cole shook his head again. "No more needles, I promise. And I can help with the pain part. And I know this place, remember? You'll be safe."

Taylor sat back down on the bed reluctantly. "Fine."

"What else would help?" Cole asked. He could see that Taylor *really* hated this, and he wanted to make sure it was as non-scary for them as possible.

"Nothing. I have Kyra and your assurance that I'll be fine." Taylor tapped their casts together, enjoying the annoying sound

Cole shrugged, electing not to be the one to tell them that Kyra wasn't allowed to stay overnight.

Taylor paused and opened their mouth as if they were about to say something before closing it. They tapped the casts together again. Taylor continued being annoying

Cole couldn't hear it, so it didn't bother him.

Taylor got back and started exploring the room. *I could get out through here. I could also see if there's food through this door...*

Valerie existed somewhere, probably with Tug.

"You hungry?" Lori asked, coming in with another tray.

"A little" Taylor admitted, trying to open a cabinet with their elbows.

Vaguely remembering something her uncle had mentioned a while ago, Valerie decided she should check it out and went to write a note letting everyone know she would be out ~exploring~.

Paisley was doing...something?

Arielle was uhhh also doing said something.

"Stop doing that and sit back down," Lori told Taylor. "I brought you food."

Taylor stopped and sat down.

"They need some boxing equipment." Ella muttered. Ella was still sitting in a very odd position, trying to sleep. Did I ever mention she can sleep with her eyes open?

Lori put the tray on the counter. "You should be able to use the non-broken hand enough to lobster-claw" -- they demonstrated with their own hand -- "the water and the fork. Don't bend your knuckles."

"I'll do what I want, Thank you." Taylor ended up doing exactly what Lori said

Cole shook his head and smiled.

**How are they doing?** Lori signed to him.

**Okay, I think. They're not happy about having to be here for 24 hours.**

**Have you told them that she can't stay overnight?**

Cole made a shhh motion. **No. They won't take it well.**

**You want me to be the bad guy?**

**Eventually,** Cole signed. **Not now.**

Lori nodded.

Valerie glanced around the kitchen for a pen and paper to write her note.

Taylor took a few bites before pushing the rest of the food away

Ella wasn't falling asleep- the giant video screen in the field had ruined naps for her.

"Oh, hey Valerie," Callyah said, coming in -- she was looking for her brother. "Have you seen Cole?"

"He poofed." Ella said standing up, "I think- I've been trying to nap. My brain is messed up."

Val shook her head. "No. I think he and Tayra went somewhere? Quick question, where can I find a pen and paper?" She asked, either not realizing she could just tell Callyah or deciding she didn't want to tell Callyah.

"Jeez, I thought you were asleep," Callyah muttered. "And do you know where they went?" she asked Valerie as she pulled a pen and a notepad out of a drawer and held them out.

"NOPE! Wait you sound disappointed." Ella said

"I think they finally went to cast Taylor's hands, but I'm not sure," Val answered, gratefully taking the paper.

"They're at the clinic, then?" Callyah said. "Right, you don't know."

"I'd guess so," Valerie said distractedly, quickly writing about how she would be gone for a day, maybe two depending on things and not to worry about her.

"Where else would they be?" Ella asked

Callyah shrugged. "Cole's been here more recently than I have. I don't know what's changed since I left."

Taylor cussed at the casts on their hands quietly

"Just--" Cole checked his watch. "22 and a half more hours."

"That's forever." Taylor complained

Valerie nodded and set the note on the table before brushing past them and heading back outside.

"It won't feel like that long," Cole said, shrugging.

Callyah leaned over and read the note.

Val packed up her tent and sleeping bag and started tacking Tug up after she quickly rubbed him down.

"It'll feel like foreverrrrrr" Taylor whined

"Whining will make it worse," Cole said matter-of-fact-ly. "Lori can call Callyah and have her bring some books over, though, if you want."

"Fine. In the meantime, I'm going to look inside all of the cabinets for torturous doctory stuff" Taylor started doing just that

"You're not going to find anything," Cole said tiredly. He stood up and knocked on the door.

Lori came in. "Yo."

"You mind calling my house and asking Cal if she can bring some books over?"

"Sure." Lori went to a phone mounted on the counter and dialed the Dennison house.

Callyah heard the phone ring. "Hello?" she said, picking it up.

"Hi, this is the clinic," said a familiar voice.

"Lori!" Callyah exclaimed. "I haven't heard from you in so long!"

"That's what happens when you never call home," Lori chided.

Taylor ignored Cole, opening cabinets and looking inside

Valerie mounted Tug and they set off in a direction.

They found a bedpan, some boxes of plastic gloves and face masks, and a stack of bedsheets. Nothing interesting.

"Are Cole and Taylor with you?" Callyah asked.

"Yeah, and Kyra."

"Oh, her too? I wouldn't have thought Cole would let her come, since-"

"Shh!" Lori said quickly. "We haven't told them that yet," they added, much more quietly. "Would you mind bringing some books over? We have to keep them for 24 hours, and they're getting kind of bored."

"Sure," Callyah said.

Taylor looked dissapointed and started pacing the perimeter of the room

Holden had fallen asleep with Paisley. Gosh that sounds like a bAd bOi move.

Paisley was also asleep with Holden like a bAd GuRl.

Callayh hung up and walked up to her room to try and find some books.

Slowly waking up, Holden's stomach growled.

Klay was wondering if he had passed Kyra's test-

Anika smiles a bit at Klay.

Paisley continued to sleep.

Holden edged out from under her, making a small pillow pop up to replace his absence. *fOoOoOOOoooOOd* his stomach said. *shut uuuuuup* Holden said back.

Paisley wasn’t satisfied with the replacement and mumbles in her sleep.

Holden froze. Slowly he made his way from the room, strolling into the kitchen. He would have to make something small, but something for Paisley too.

Paisley continued to sleep.

Taylor sighed. "There is nothing interesting in this room."

"Ouch," Lori said as they put the phone away. "You catch that, Peanut? They called you boring."

"Would you quit it with the Peanut thing?" Cole said, grumbling a little.

"Never." They booped his nose with the tip of their finger.

"That's not what I meant and you know that." Taylor crossed their arms and looked at Lori with a small smirk

Valerie and Tug were exploring.

Kyra existed with Tay.

Taylor sat back on the bed thing

Kyra sat next to them.

Taylor wrapped an arm around Kyra

Val and Tug continued exploring.

Kyra flushed for the hundredth time.

Taylor smirked, seeing Kyra's flush

Kyra flushed even more.

"Aw" Taylor leaned on Kyra

Kyra didn’t know it was possible to flush this much.

Taylor's face was red now

Cole shook his head and tugged his hood lower over his face.

"Are they always like this?" Lori asked,

Cole nodded.

Lori shuddered. "I'm out, then." They left.

Taylor was falling asleep yet again

Kyra looked at Tay like ‘oh my goodness—they’re really adorable, aren’t they?’

Taylor was asleep by then

Lori bumped into Callyah -- literally -- in the hall. "You're shorter than I expected," they said.

Callyah laughed. "You have more tattoos than I expected," she countered, pointing to the word in Greek letters on the inside of their wrist. εὐδαιμονία. "What's it mean?"

"'Perfection in respect of virtue'," Lori said, bending down to help her pick up the books she'd dropped. "Basically, doing what is good for yourself and others. Plus, I like the way it looks."

Callyah laughed. "Fitting for a doctor, I suppose," she said. "Taylor's in here?"

Lori nodded. "Kyra and them are being... cuddly." They mock-shuddered again. "How do you stand it?"

"I close my eyes," Callyah replied, only half-joking, as she pushed the door to the room open.

“Hey Callyah,” Kyra whispered so as not to wake Tay.

Seth was still at the house, he didn't go with the others to the doctor's office. He went outside to the porch and sat on a chair.

Taylor made a snuffly noise

"Hi," Callyah whispered. She handed Cole a stack of books. **You didn't tell me L-O-R-I had a tattoo,** she signed to him.

**Why would that matter?** Cole signed, putting the books on his lap.

**It's a cool tattoo,** Callyah signed, shrugging.

**They got it at the end of our first year,** Cole signed. **It means something like 'perfection through virtue' or whatever.**

**So you do pay attention.** Callyah smirked.

Taylor's expression changed in their sleep. "You don't get to hurt me anymore. I'm not your dog." They muttered, head moving back and forth

Cole stood up -- the books fell quietly to the floor. **Are they okay?**

Kyra’s brow crinkled, “No one’s going to hurt you Tay,” she said so that only they could hear. If they weren’t too deep in sleep.

Callyah quickly signed to Cole what Taylor had said. **I don't know,** she added.

Cole immediately felt bad. He shouldn't have forced Taylor to come here. Especially because they seemed to hate doctors.

"No." They flinched as if they had been hit.

Kyra held them tighter, “you’re going to be okay, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Taylor went limp, sleeping peacefully again

Kyra didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Taylor snored softly, faint smile on their face

Cole pulled a YA protagonist and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

**Can you get L-O-R-I in here?** he asked Callyah.

She nodded and went out into the hall. Lori came in a few minutes later. "What's up?" they asked quietly, seeing Taylor was asleep.

Taylor continued snoring quietly

Val and Tug continued exploring, heading for a mountain range that was seeable but not super close.

Holden made an two omelet, and a lots of mini crepes. He added some strawberries, glanced at it proudly, and set off back to the room he slept in.

Seth smelled something good, but he was too lazy to get up.

**Is there *any* way K-Y-R-A can stay?** Cole asked.

Lori shook their head. **You know there isn't.**

Cole bit his lip.

**Look,** Lori signed, sighing. **Yes, those two are adorable. But you can help them too, right?**

Cole hesitated before signing, **I got them into this.**

**Truth. But that means you can get them through it, too, yes?**

Cole didn't believe them, but he nodded anyway.

Taylor opened their eyes, feeling like they slept a full night.

“You drool when you sleep,” Kyra deadpanned.

Taylor blushed and swiped at their mouth

Kyra smirked at them.

"Guys, foods ready?" Holden said softly, trying to wake people up gently

Taylor bonked their nose with the cast and blinked in surprise

Seth woke up. He hadn't realized he fell asleep. "Hi..."

"I made crepes," Holden said, proudly and showed them off, along with the jar of nutella.

Val and Tug stopped at a stream and Tug drank a little bit because he was tHiRsTy.

"Cool!" Seth said.

"Hey, you're back," Cole said, having finished his sign conversation with Lori.

Callyah was just existing in the corner. Now that Taylor was awake, she said "bye" to everyone and gave her brother a hug before leaving.

"Serve yourself" Holden said

Taylor looked at Cole and Lori with a smirk that had a hint of a smile in it

"What?" Lori asked, skeptically, "They're smiling," they whispered to Cole. "Should I be scared?"

"Probably," Cole whispered back.

Seth grabbed a plate and took a crepe. "Thanks."

Taylor snickered. They had no idea that they'd freaked out while asleep

Kyra looked between Tay and Lori and Cole.

"I have rounds to make," Lori told the three of them, leaving. They weren't a fan of silence. Not for the first time, they thought vaguely that it was ironic that they'd become friends with the deaf kid in spite of that.

Cole shrugged. "Callyah brought some books over. I can read out loud, or we can all just pick one. Or Kyra can read one and I can chill in the corner with another one."

Taylor looked at the casts on their hands and sighed

"bReAkFaSt gUyS!" HOlden said

Seth walked over to a table and started eating his crepe. "Mmm, good! Thanks Holden!"

"Enough with the despondency," Cole said, shaking his head. "If you want to be sad, we can read *Ender's Game* and learn all about how children can be made into generals by psychological torture."

"No problem," Holden said, and settled down to eat

Callyah came back and saw them all at the table. "Yo."

*Me as a general. That would be cool* Taylor smirked at the thought

"So, pick a book? Or we can sit here staring at each other for a while longer, and while I'm sure you guys could do that forever, it's a little weird for me." Cole studied them

Taylor snickered "Ender's game sounds good"

Cole smiled. "Cool." He picked up the book and started to read. "*I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one. Or at least as close as we’re going to get.*"

Taylor listened quietly, head tilted curiously

~timeskip~

Cole closed the book.

Taylor was quiet for a bit afterwords, processing what they had heard

Cole set the book on the floor next to the others.

Taylor was completely still which rarely happened

"Did you... like it?" Cole asked cautiously, hoping he hadn't just scarred the poor kid for life. Well, they were the same age, but he still felt protective of them.

"Is there a sequel?" Tay asked, face turning into a smile

"Not one that's as good, unfortunately," Cole said.

"Sequel's a sequel. Still more to the story" Taylor shrugged

"It's not about Ender, though," Cole said apologetically.

"Welp. Then I guess not." Taylor hopped off the bed thing

Kyra was fast asleep in one of the armchairs—totally not snoring slightly. She was far, far away in dreamland. Funnily, dreamland was filled with a lot of Tay...

Taylor walked over to the pile of books and tried to pick up Ender's Game

Kyra continued to sleep.

Taylor picked up the book awkwardly

Cole watched them impassively, figuring they wanted to be able to do it on their own.

Taylor struggled to open the book

Cole held out a hand -- it was their choice if they let him help.

Taylor ignored his hand, finally opening the book

Kyra mumbled obscure things in her sleep--none of them coherent or loud enough to be recognized as words.

Taylor fumbled with the pages

Kyra continued to mumble. Occasionally--something that seemed like a word could be heard--but you had to think about it a bit, and contemplate whether it was just a coincidence or not. Such as, 'Pawn' or 'D4' or 'Checkmate' or 'Idiot.'

The book fell to the floor with a thud. Taylor looked at the book sadly

Kyra woke up with a flail of limbs--her knife out and ready to defend Tay and Cole. Then she came to the realization that the thud on the ground was not in fact an army of rebels bursting through the door--it was just a book. When she caught sight of Tay's expression, she immediately got up and gingerly picked up the book for them--dusting it off a bit.

"Thanks, Queenie. You ok? You were talking about chess idiots." Taylor looked at her with concern

"There are a lot of those in this world," Kyra said, shaking her head. "But I'm fine. How about you? You alright?"

"Just annoyed with the casts" Taylor muttered

"They look pretty annoying. But don't worry--once your hands are healed, we can both get revenge on them together," Kyra assured them.

Taylor smirked

Kyra grinned back, but then her grin ceased when a terrible thought came into her head--what if she lost them? What if they decided she was too--too overprotective or too--Kyra? But what if they--they did something so reckless and stupid and she wasn't able to save them? What would happen then? What would she do if they weren't there anymore and she was alone again--alone and the villain. And suddenly Kyra looked down at her hands and she could see them with casts too--from punching trees because there wasn't a Tay anymore. This was silly--it wasn't like--like this could possibly happen anytime soon--or anytime at all. She was fine--and so was Tay! They were both okay. Yup. And there wouldn't be any punching trees or walls--only happy flushes and glances and good things. No bad things. Just good things.

Taylor looked at Kyra with concern. "What's wrong?" They asked quietly, moving to brush at her hair before remembering the [redacted] casts

Kyra quickly looked back up at Tay--her eyes panicked for a moment, but then she swallowed and stammered, "I--nothing--no--um--nothing at all. Everything's fine." Kyra smiled, hoping it didn't look as forced as it felt.

Taylor looked doubtful but nodded "Sure, Queenie"

Kyra fell silent, hating this awkward moment. It was just so...riddled with curdling sea green anxiousness--all suffocating and gilded by bronze false smiles.

Taylor paused in front of the armchair, wondering if they could sit with her

Kyra looked up at Tay, not fully aware of how questioning her eyes were--how much...worry and doubt dwelled in them.

Taylor tried to sit next to Kyra in the chair but ended up sitting on her lap. They hugged her tightly

Kyra flushed and hugged them back, wishing she could stay like this forever.

Taylor whispered something to Kyra

Kyra's heart melted. She could've sworn she felt it puddling into a warm, happy, completely in love puddle of goo on the ground. "I'll always come back to you too--always--I--oh my gosh, I love you so much it's not even funny," Kyra whispered back to them.

Taylor smiled, sighing a little bit happily. "Even if the ones I'm running from catch up, I'll come back." They promised

Kyra kissed them. At first she didn't realize why the kiss was salty--wet--solemn and wonderful-- She was crying. Kyra didn't cry. But she was crying. It wasn't full out sobbing or anything--just a tear, maybe two--eyes a little misty. But it meant something. At least, to Kyra it did.

Taylor kissed her back, wishing that they could brush away her tears.

Kyra didn't know she'd have so many moments with Tay in a clinic's room.

Taylor pulled back and tucked their face into Kyra's shoulder

"This room has more of a romantic atmosphere than I thought," Kyra whispered to them, still a bit breathless from the kiss.

"I'd rather be at the actual house but that's just me." Taylor whispered back

Kyra kissed them again.

Taylor kissed back for a second before pulling away. Their face was bright red as they continued sitting on her lap

Kyra flushed too, but it was a happy, bashful flush--nothing to be embarrassed of. She wrapped Tay in her arms and just...held them. Even though she was rather petite, she could give a fierce hug.

Taylor just stayed there, like that, for who knows how long, resting their head on Kyra's shoulder

Cole was thankfully asleep, because Kat could not think of *any* good reaction to that. At all.

Van and Tug were still exploring. Yay them I guess?

Holden was showering

Taylor fell asleep again.

Kyra existed with Tay in her arms.

Taylor didn't get another nightmare for a while

Cole woke up, saw that Tayra was in cuddle mode, and shrugged and picked up another book.

Taylor was dreaming about punching things. It was their favorite dream.

Okay, well Tay was probably the most adorable thing Kyra had ever seen.

Taylor smirked in their sleep. "You'll never find me. I'd love to see you try." They muttered

Kyra held them tighter, hoping that this was a good dream and not a bad one.

In their dream, Taylor started running away, others chasing them. They laughed quietly, hiding in a abandoned building. There they waited to be found.

Val and Tug were now ~exploring~ in the mountians.

(This is all in Taylor's dream btw)

Footsteps came form nearby. Taylor grinned in anticipation. They sprung up, startling the pursuers. They ran away, laughing all the while

Taylor started to wake up, smile that had appeared in their sleep vanishing

"Good--um--evening," Kyra said as Tay woke up.

"I fell asleep again?" Tay asked

"Yup--did you have good dreams?" Kyra asked, still cuddling with Tay.

"Better than usual." Taylor admitted

"That's good," Kyra said, but it was muffled because her face was buried in their shoulder.

Taylor kissed the side of Kyra's head.

"So--Tay..." Kyra began, now that they were having a happy moment, and the mood was light and fluffy. "Earlier, when you were asleep--did you...did you happen to have some...bad dreams?"

"My dreams were better than usual, why?" Taylor asked

"Well...um...before that--the nap you had before your latest one--you were...mumbling some things, and you looked...unsettled." Kyra told them

"I don't remember anything about that dream" Tay mumbled

Kyra's brow crinkled--she knew they were keeping something from her, but she decided not to press any further as she hugged them tighter, "You don't have to remember, I was just wondering. I wanted to...make sure that you're okay. Okay?"

"I'm okay." Taylor assured her, smiling a little

Lori came in. "Hey, Kyra? Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Cole tugged his hood lower over his face. *Here we go.*

Taylor didn't know whether they were expected to move or not

Taylor got up and stood next to the chair

"I--uh--sure," Kyra said, untangling herself from Tay and pressing a kiss to their forehead with a flush.

Taylor blushed

Kyra blushed. And then, she followed Lori outside.

Taylor sat in Kyra's chair once she left

Lori shook their head, hiding a smile. "You two," they muttered, stepping out into the hallwayTaylor sighed loudly, moving so that their head was on a armrest and their legs were hanging off the other

"I hate to be the one to tell you this--" *and please don't stab me for it*-- "but you can't stay at the clinic overnight," Lori told Kyra.

Kyra looked at them blankly for a moment. "You look like you think I'm going to stab you--why?"

"You just give off that vibe," Lori admitted. "So you're cool with that?"

"Huh? Oh no, absolutely not. Question: why can't I stay overnight?" Kyra asked

Taylor folded their arms and closed their eyes, chillin, not knowing that Kyra would have to leave

"Legally speaking, we aren't allowed to let you stay overnight. We can let you stay an extra two hours by employing the 'minor patient' clause, but that only gets you to nine P.M. And you aren't -- can't be -- their legal guardian." Lori informed her

"Okay, yeah, now I really want to stab you. But you do know that even if I'm not allowed in the building, I'll still be here, right?" Kyra asked

Val and Tug had done some nice exploring and came down from the mountains together, heading towards what they assumed was the town.

"You're not allowed on the campus," Lori corrected. "And if you stay, you'll get me -- and Cole -- in a lot of trouble. We could get fired and kicked out of our classes." They bit their lip, knowing that they had one more card they could play if they absolutely had to.

"Mhmmm. And what if no one catches me? You do know that I'm a rebel, right? And I mean like part of the gambit--you know, those rebels--I've been training to hide and stay in the shadows for the majority of my life. So if no one catches me...well, I wasn't ever really there, was I? Kyra argued

"There's nowhere for you to hide inside this building where you won't get caught. And if you hide outside, it's the same as you just going home. The doors lock and everything. Look, I'm allowed to call you if something bad happens, and I promise I will. But that's the best I can do." Lori shook their head

Kyra narrowed her eyes at Lori, "I can't promise any picked locks or broken windows, but I will stay inside with Tay until nine pm--and then I'll work out how to make sure they're safe from there. Another thing the rebels taught me--you can never be too careful. Even if you are trustworthy, I'm not going to trust you--or trust that anyone is going to hurt Tay. So I will be watching--I have my ways. Thank you very much, and I'll go back inside now," Kyra finished with a smile.

Taylor was fighting sleep. *I DON'T WANNA SLEEP!* They shouted in their head like a five year old

"Wait." Lori closed their eyes -- they *really* didn't want to play their last card. At least they had one more. "You know Cole is allowed to stay with them overnight, though. And you trust him, right?"

"Sure, but I don't trust the rebels not to attack here. We kinda stole their queen, who just happens to be my best friend," Kyra said.

Lori shoved that information into the *weird and off-topic* section of their mind. "The only way into town is along the road to the Dennison house. Anyone coming in will have to pass by there. And-- nothing against them-- from what Cole's told me, I don't think Taylor is going to be a priority target for the rebels. Neither is Cole. But if you're an ex-rebel, wouldn't your being around them put them in danger?"

Taylor was falling asleep. They sat up, rubbing their eyes *I will NOT fall asleep here again*

"What's wrong?" Cole asked them.

Kyra hated when they made a good point. She really, really hated it. "That depends, but--I--I can't just leave Tay here. If they got attacked--I--there--I couldn't--just--that can't happen. Ever."

"Nothing. I slept too much. I hate sleeping. Wake me up, next time." Taylor looked at him

"They won't be attacked," Lori promised. "They're not on any records yet by name or symptoms -- just as a patient that came in needing emergency treatment. Even if their rebel group has access to an entirely closed system -- that's a big if, by the way -- they wouldn't know they were here. That happens all the time, everywhere."

"You need to rest, though," Cole argued.

"I've rested more in the past few days than in about a month. I'm fine." Taylor shook their head

"Okay..." Kyra said slowly. "So I guess I'll just stay with them until 9:00 pm, and then leave? Besides, I do need to explain this to Tay."

Cole opened his mouth to argue again, then promptly remembered the nightmares they seemed to have. "Fine."

Taylor relaxed a little back in the chair with a smug smirkity smirk, having won the argument

Lori nodded. "And if you can't get them to agree... I know one thing that might." They tucked their lips in for a second, leaving a thin line where their mouth would be. They'd avoided playing the card with Kyra -- hopefully with her convinced, Taylor would be quicker to agree.

"And...what is that thing?" Kyra asked

"I'd rather not say it if I don't have to," Lori said. "But it has nothing to do with you or Taylor."

"Mhmmm. You do know how suspicious you sound right now, right?" Kyra asked them.

"Yeah, I know," Lori said. "And if that's what it'll take to make you trust me, I'll tell you... but I really *don't* want to."

"Mhmm. See--I'd rather you tell me now so that I can trust you. Because keeping a secret from me isn't really helping your case," Kyra pointed out.

"Fine." Lori closed their eyes again. "Cole is deaf, and he's a good four years younger than everyone else with his level of training. Everyone here in Durnsee knows him. That's why he can work and study here, despite being so young and, well, disabled. Any other med school, any other clinic or hospital won't take him. Because he's young, yeah, but also because he's deaf. So if he loses this..." They didn't finish.

"Huh. That explains it. Okay, so I promise not to get Cole in trouble--he's my friend too. But now I do believe that I have to explain this to Tay, so I'll go inside now, thank you very much." Kyra made her way to the door.

"Please don't tell them that unless you have to," Lori said before opening the door for her.

Taylor was sitting in the chair still

Cole looked up. "Hey." **How'd it go?**

**She agreed,** Lori signed. **Just have to tell T-A-Y.**

Cole fidgeted with his hands before signing, **Here's hoping.**

Kyra entered the room, hoping that her expression didn't look as anxious as she felt.

Taylor looked up at Kyra with a smile "Hey Queenie" They greeted

"Hey--um, so..." Kyra sat down next to Tay. "Lori brought me outside to inform me that I'm not allowed to stay overnight with you. I mean--I'm allowed to stay until nine pm, but then I have to leave. Or...well, that's what the 'rules' say." Kyra informed Tay.

Taylor muttered some not so nice things. "Why not?" They asked

"Rules," Kyra grumbled.

Taylor made a face, pulling their feet onto the chair

Ella was yet again doing a handstand.

"Legally speaking, since she's not your legal guardian, we can't allow her to stay past visiting hours. She only gets to stay until 9 because you're a minor," Lori explained.

"That is very offensive. What's a minor again? It's on the tip of my tongue..." *Liar.* Tay thought

"Yup--whatever they just said," Kyra said. "So...I'll just...guard right outside the campus. I'll do rounds."

"Under the age of eighteen." Lori shrugged. "Cole and I are both allowed to stay, since we work here and all, so he'll be able to stay with you, even though Kyra can't."

Taylor folded their arms, grumbling under their breath

"Besides, I'll be there--just...right outside the campus. If you need anything, just yell. Really loud. I'll be there." Kyra told them

"Thanks Queenie" Taylor said quietly, already planning ways to stay awake. Sleeping was never good.

Holden was I think still at Callyah's house

Val and Tug were ~exploring~ ze town.

The clinic existed in the town -- it was a brick building with a caduceus on a plaque next to a pair of double doors.

Taylor moved to pinch their arm before remembering about the [redacted] cast

Luciana trailed behind Sandra as they made their way, trying to find the ability people

Taylor was falling asleep. They didn't want to though

Kyra was looking nervously at the clock on the wall. She'd have to leave soon. Not that she'd go far.

Sandra walked, a bit unbalanced, due to all the rUm she had had.

Taylor fell asleep, snoring softly

Kyra looked at Tay--then at the clock on the wall. 9:00.

Taylor drooled the tiniest bit

Lori stepped in. "Time to go, Kyra."

Kyra smiled at Tay before pressing a kiss to their forehead, murmuring a goodbye, and exiting the clinic.

Seth was... idek anymore XD

Taylor smiled when Kyra kissed their forehead before continuing to sleep (And drool)

Valerie dismounted Tug and started handwalking him. She knew he would be fine, but she didn't want to take any chances with him hurting himself in the dark.

Cole was still in the room -- he intended to keep his promise.

"I know," Kyra said to them. "I'm going--" she made her way out of the clinic and sat on the outer wall, staring out into the night for a moment.

Valerie noticed the clinic and saw a familiar looking figure on one of the walls. "Kyra?" She called in a puzzled tone.

Luciana gracefully stepped over a tree stump.

Sandra stepped on it, breaking it in half.

"Shhhh" Luci said

"sHhhhH,' Sandra mimicked, and saw the clinic in the background.

"I think this is the place they saw them last." Sandra said

"Good thing some of the nurses are on our side." Luciana muttered as they both approached the clinic

"Oh--hey Val," Kyra said.

Taylor snoozed, getting better rest than in a long time.

"What're you doing out here?" Val asked, drooping Tugs' reins and hopping up on the wall next to her.

"Guarding the clinic. I'm not allowed to be in there after nine--so I'm going to pull an all nighter watching the place to make sure no one gets in." Kyra informed Val

"That's a terrible idea," Val said immediately. "First of all, why would you do this alone? You'll just be super tired tomorrow. And if you're going to do something like that, you have to keep moving or you'll fall asleep."

"I will keep moving--I'm not going to sleep if Tay might be in danger, and they're in danger every minute I'm not there to protect them while there's rebels on the loose. And there are rebels everywhere," Kyra said to Val.

Taylor continued sleeping

"In a hospital in the middle of nowhere?" Val asked skeptically.

"They've got rebels everywhere," Kyra repeated. "And you know it's useless to try and get me to sleep--I'm not going to do it."

"Look, you're clearly tired. I'll let you sleep for an hour or two and watch around and then wake you for the rest of the night," Val suggested, tugging her hood lower over her face.

"No way--I'm not tired, not tired at all. I *will* stay awake. Besides, this isn't that different from the night watches I was forced to take when I was new to the Gambit. They always give the newbies the Night-watch."

Taylor started dreaming of their past. Their face was full of fear

"Kyra, shut up," Valerie snapped. "It may have been different with them, but now you don't have to do everything alone."

"I know that. But I--just--let me try to stay awake. Just for as long as I can." Kyra begged

"Fine. But that just means I'm letting you sleep longer when you pass out."  Val grumbled

“We are doing get help,” Sandra said

”No it’s humiliating,” Luciana groaned

”Suck it.”

Sandra barged into the clinic, screaming “MY COUSIN! GET HELP GET HELP SHES HURT!”

Luciana was ‘limping’ and moaned, her arm being strung around Sandra’s   shoulders

The nurses clambered to get Luciana into an open room.

Taylor jolted awake, falling on their face in the process

The only open one was cOiNcIdEnTaLLy next to Taylor’s room

Lori came into Luciana's room. "What happened?" they asked, holding up a clipboard.

Taylor could barely see, their eyes were so filled with sleep. "Queenie?" They asked

Sandra’s eyes flicked around the room *Crap I didn’t get this far* “I don’t know! She was just saying that she was gonna die! Help her please!” Sandra begged

"No, sorry," Cole said gently. "It's past nine -- she left."

“I-i need privacy,” Luciana gestured to the nurse

"What happened just before she started saying that?" Lori asked patiently -- but their suspicions were on high alert. "Honey, I am a doctor. You can't come into a clinic demanding help and then tell the doctor to get out of the room."

"But... I heard something!" Tay protested, stumbling for the door

When that didn’t work, Luciana started sobbing. The best lies were based on truths right? “He attacked me,” she wailed

"He whom?" Lori asked

"Hey." Cole stood up and crossed the room surprisingly fast to stand next to them. "What did you hear?" he asked gently.

"I heard something. I don't know, what if Kyra is in trouble?" Tay asked, pawing at the door

"Kyra can handle herself, remember?" Cole told them.

"What if she's hurt? What if she's hurt as I've been, in so much pain that she can't defend herself?" Taylor asked frantically

"Hey." Cole put his hands on their shoulders, forcing them to look at him. "Take a deep breath, okay?"

Taylor took a breath, not calming. "Open the [redacted] door, please" They could barely see because they couldn't rub the sleep out of their eyes with the bulky casts

“None of your business,” Luciana sniffled

Cole weighed his options. "Fine. But you're staying with me. I mean it." He held his hand over the door, waiting for them to agree.

"I will" They said, making it sound like a promise.

"You can let me treat you or you can go somewhere else," Lori said patiently. "If someone attacked you, I need to know."

Cole opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Queenie?" Taylor called, rubbing at their eyes as they walked into the hall

Sandra slowly pulled out a small revolver she had and aimed it at Lori’s head. “Can she get some alone time please.”

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I figured," they said, surprisingly calmly. "Ever heard of concealed carry?"

“Is that even a question?” Sandra laughed

"I asked it, didn't I?" Lori asked, taking advantage of her momentary distraction to open the door behind them. They stepped through, spun, and locked it with their key card.

Taylor still was rubbing at their eyes. "Queenie?" They asked

"Nope." Lori sighed. "Cole, why did you let them out?"

"They insisted," Cole argued. "They thought Kyra was in danger."

Lori sighed again. "Back in the room, both of you. We're on lockdown, as of now."

Cole took Taylor's arm and tugged them back in the room.

Lori closed the door and swiped their card against the lock, locking them inside. They turned to an intern passing. "Call lockdown, run outside, and find the girl sitting on the wall."

The intern followed their directions, running outside and finding Kyra -- and Val, too.

Taylor finally got everything out of their eyes. They took in Cole, the locked door and the room. *No nononono. Now is not the time.* They thought frantically, heartbeat kicking up. They walked to a wall and touched it, trying to soothe their panic

*[redacted]* Sandra thought as she paced the room. “\*\*\*\*” she said aloud

Luciana quickly dried her tears and sat up from the small cot

Val stood up when she saw the intern. "What's wrong?" She asked, hopping down from the wall.

"Hey." Cole immediately realized that most of this was his fault. He sat down on the bed. "God, I'm sorry, Taylor."

"The clinic is on lockdown. Lori told me to come get you," the intern said.

Luciana banged on the wall. “HELP!HELP!” she screamed

Sandra continued pacing, occasionally taking a swig from her flask.

Valerie sighed and grabbed Kyra, bringing her inside with them.

Taylor didn't seem to hear him. They pawed at the wall, worldview swimming. "No. NO!" They yelled, tears streaming down their face

"Do not open that door!" Lori ordered a nurse who moved to open the door. "They have a gun, and we are in full lockdown until the police arrive."

The nurse backed away.

“I have an idea. Stand aside,” Sandra pointed her revolver at the doorknob and shot her shot.

"Taylor." Cole put a hand on their shoulder. "It's going to be okay, okay? Kyra's fine."

Sandra missed, due to the fact that she was now officially drunk

Valerie was following the intern into the clinic, forgetting she was clearly carrying various weapons and a [ReDaCtEd] longbow.

Taylor whipped around, obviously expecting something (Or someone) Else. They sat at the base of the wall, trying to tamp down the panic

"What the hell." Lori saw the girl with the varying weapons was with Krya. "Oh, great."

Luciana tried to pick the lock, but to no avail. Her bobby pins were useless.

Cole sat next to them, giving them space, but close enough to be there if they needed it.

“Gimme the gun,” Luciana grabbed it, and shot at the wall.

Val studied Lori. "It's a long story. But I'm Valerie. I don't suppose there's a reason we're in lockdown?"

"You hear that?" Lori asked her, hearing another gunshot. "Room seventeen. Two girls, one with a small pistol."

Taylor broke down. They cried with barely a sound, sobbing, shaking violently

Sandra ducked at she thought the bullet would ricochet, but it just sunk into the wall. “Dang it,” she barked

"Hey." Cole put a hand on their back and gently rubbed circles, remembering the way they had done that for him after his nightmare. It felt like so long ago.

"Where's Cole and Taylor?" Val asked, prioritizing.

"Fourteen. Don't worry about them -- Cole can handle himself."

Taylor struggled to stop crying. They held their breath, eyes shut tightly

Cole kept gently rubbing their back. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Taylor stopped crying. They took a shuddering breath. "Sorry." They mumbled

"Yeah, but Taylor will probably be very much not okay. Also, I need to ask Cole a few things," Val told them.

Cole stopped rubbing their back, but he didn't take his hand off their shoulder.

"We have other priorities at the moment," Lori said. "Did I not mention the two girls with the *gun?*"

Luciana had exhausted her options

Sandra had exhausted her rum. tragic

"Just reminded me of last time." Taylor wrapped their arms around their knees

"What happened last time?" Cole asked gently. "I can close my eyes and not listen, if you want."

Val shrugged. "Unfortunately, I'm used to it. Tell me you can at least call Callyah so that if we die someone will know what happened?"

"I had tried to run and they hurt me. I wasn't allowed to move and couldn't move for a while after because I was hurt. They were forced to take me to the doctor. The one that hurt me." Taylor said, resting their head on their knees

"I am going to kill those girls," Kyra growled.

"I was about to do that when you showed up," Lori said, picking up the phone and dialing the Dennison house.

"That's why you hate doctors." Cole leaned his head back against the wall. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm sorry."

"I told you I should've been here--I should've been here. And I wasn't. And now Tay's in danger. [REDACTED]," Kyra said through grit teeth.

"Great. Can Kyra go in with Cole and Taylor?" Val asked, ignoring Kyra for a moment.

"And don't you dare say something about 'rules' again--we're far, far past breaking the rules now," Kyra growled.

"If I unlock one door, it'll unlock them all," Lori said apologetically. "Callyah? Hi. The clinic's on lockdown. Cole is fine. Yes, they are too. Just a gun. No, they're lockdowned too. Yes, I called the police. Sure, you can come down here if you want, but they'll beat you here. See you."

"Then at least go see them so they know you're alive," Val decided, tugging her hood lower over her face.

"Well then let me into the room with Sandra and Luciana--I'll take care of them, and then the doors won't need to be locked," Kyra said, her voice dripping with venom.

Lori paused. "No. I'm sorry. The police will be here in--" they checked their watch-- "less than a minute."

"What do you know about them?" Val asked, grabbing Kyra by the shoulders so she couldn't to anything stupid.

"You were right though. Lori's not bad." Taylor admitted

"[REDACTED] the police. They're not trained in rebel fighting techniques--Luciana and Sandra are. I would know. I've fought them before." Kyra spat

"They're pretty great," Cole agreed. "Have you told Kyra any of this?" he added after a moment.

"Then you can help them when they get here," Lori countered.

As if on cue, a squadron of soldiers entered the clinic.

"... No. She doesn't need to worry about me on top of everything" Taylor sighed

Cole shook his head. "It's your choice," he said, relenting.

"Oh I will. And I need to have a little chat with those girls," Kyra growled as she followed the soldiers.

"Later. When everything's calmed down a bit" Taylor promised

"Kyra," Val snapped, "Focus. Less revenge and more how to beat them."

Lori swiped their card, and all the doors unlatched with a *clunk*.

Three officers were stationed in front of Cole and Taylor's door -- the rest were with Kyra, pointing their guns into the room.

Kyra stared at two girls, Luciana and Sandra, with absolute anger in her eyes. She really, really wanted to stab something right now.

“Long time no see Kyra.” Sandra wiped out her gun

Luciana grabbed her ribbons, ready to get sLaShiNg

Kyra drew her dagger, with a strangely calm, but furious look on her face. "You know who's dagger this is?" she asked, running her fingers over the emerald stones set into the hilt.

“Enlighten me,” Luciana a said, actually curious

Taylor got up and brushed past the guards, tears blurring their vision.

"Remember Derek? He is--oops, *was* such an idiot--wasn't he?" Kyra said, her eyes still glittering with anger.

“You killed Derek!!!!!” Luciana was ecstatic “Finally!”

“You [redacted] killed Derek?!” Sandra said, angry. as. heck.

"He threatened a person I love--of course I [REDACTED] killed him. And technically, you just did the same thing," Kyra growled.

Taylor looked around "Queenie?" They called

“Ah thank you so much!” Lucí wanted to just fly away.

”Hmm. I’m sensing some...  business between you and this person,” she gestured to Taylor

Kyra's eyes widened, her facade breaking for a moment, "Tay?"

Kyra eyes then hardened again, glaring at Sandra, "I swear--if you [REDACTED] touch them--"

Val was there.

Sandra pointed the revolver at Taylor’s  head

Taylor turned and hugged Sandra, thinking it was Kyra. "Queenie, I was so worried. I'm glad you're ok"

Sandra stood there shocked, and gently hugged back

Kyra looked at Tay with a horrified and confused look, "Tay--Tay, that's not--that's not me. That's Sandra--I'm me--I'm Kyra."

Putting her finger up to shush Kyra, Sandra hugged Taylor

Taylor drew back, swiping at their now almost overflowing eyes. "Huh?" They asked

“Bye!” Sandra put them in a head lock and put the gun to their head

"Tay--" Kyra said again. "I--I'm Kyra. That--" Kyra pointed to Sandra, "Is a rebel who just pointed a gun at your head."

“Too late now!” Sandra said triumphantly

"I'm going to [REDACTED] kill you Sandra," Kyra growled. "Just--don't hurt them. Don't. You. Dare."

Luciana had been watching from the sidelines, sorta dreaming of having a love like that

Sandra laughed, sorta slurred. “I thought you knew? I always-always say yes to dares,”

Taylor looked at Kyra sadly with their now clear eyes. They tilted their head into the revolver with a small smirk "Love ya, Kyra"

"Sandra," Kyra's voice was a bit panicked now, "*Please.*"

Val was also watching from the sidelines, having a bad feeling about this but knowing interrupting would just distract Kyra and make it worse.

The gun fired. INTO THE AIR!!!

Taylor flinched

Val resisted the urge to shoot Sandra, afraid she might accidentally hit Tay.

Sandra fell to the ground. She had passed out from to much rum

Kyra stared at the collapsed Sandra for a moment before rushing towards Tay and wrapping them in a hug.

Valerie was now guardedly watching Luciana.

Taylor sniffled softly, too weak from relief to hug her back.

Luciana was quite shaken. She didn’t like the killing aspect of being a rebel

"I swear--if you ever do that again, I--I--I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do something," Kyra said, still hugging them.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll kick my \*\*\*." Taylor joked weakly

"What about her?" Val asked, gesturing to Luciana.

"Mhmm," Kyra said, still hugging them. She'd kill the other two girls in a moment--she just had to--had to hug Tay first.

“Wherestherumgoneiwantmyrumrumrum,” Sandra mumbled

Kyra pulled back from Tay gently, glancing at Sandra on the floor.

Taylor looked faint. *I hate emotions*

"So, am I shooting her or are we taking her with us?" Valerie asked impatiently.

Kyra glared down at Sandra, then at Luciana. "We need to *talk,"* she hissed.

“RUM!” Sandra bolted upright

Kyra instantly shielded Tay from Sandra.

“You need to lay off the rum for a little bit” Luciana said

"Right," Valerie muttered, her bow still ready. Glancing at it, she decided she should get a gun when she didn't have to worry about being quiet because ~convenience factor~.

Taylor gently moved Kyra out of the way "Can I talk to her?" They asked Kyra

"Talk to her?" Kyra asked incredulously. "She--she just tried to kill you!"

"You tried to kill them when you first met but they still gave you a chance," Valerie pointed out, still expecting to be ignored.

"At least I wasn't drunk to the point of collapsing!" Kyra pointed out.

Val shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Queenie, move please." Taylor stepped so they were beside Kyra

"Tay--Sandra is--this isn't safe--I--" Kyra stammered.

"You think my life is ever safe? I'll tell you later." Taylor said with a small smirk

"I'll shoot her if she does anything," Valerie said quickly, just wanting them to get the drama over with.

Kyra reluctantly let Tay pass her, her face contorted into a worried expression.

Taylor approached Sandra "Hello Drunkie. It wasn't very kind of you to almost kill me." They said pleasantly, as if they were talking about the weather

Kyra was now slightly concerned for Tay's mental health.

Val was wishing Tay would take a step to the side in case she needed to shoot Sandra.

Taylor hooked their foot behind Sandra's knee and pulled

Kyra's eyebrows raised considerably.

“Ezcuze moi,” Sandra said

Cole, meanwhile, was checking on the other patients with Lori -- he figured Kyra and Valerie could handle Taylor.

“Whydidyapullmyleg?” Sandra slurred

"Because I wanted you to fall." Taylor said like it was obvious. They folded their arms Valerie was watching Luciana suspiciously.

Kyra was surprised that Tay had just knocked over Sandra. Although, it was a bit easier due to the fact that she was completely drunk.

Seeing as Aura had gone inactive here she decided that Advika is now with them-

Taylor rocked back and forth on their heels, humming a little bit

"Tay?" Kyra questioned. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Taylor said, continuing to rock back and forth for no reason. Because Taylor

Kyra looked at Tay for a moment before turning to the others, "I need to have a talk with these girls--and you--" Kyra turned back to Tay, "need to be in a different room so that they don't try to kill you again."

"Please don't kill them. They need a second chance." Taylor told Kyra as they started walking out of the room

"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy," Val told them reassuringly. Sort of. Well, maybe Val just told them.

Taylor nodded and slipped out of the room. They stood in the hall

"ROod," Sandra was officially hungover.

"Thanks I guess," Luciana said

"Okay--let's start with something simple: Why the [REDACTED] are you here?" Kyra asked the girls.

Taylor chilled in the hall, every so often having to cool a flare of panic

"Come on," Cole told Taylor. "I need some help checking on some of the patients."

Taylor looked at Cole and nodded, hands still imprisoned in the casts

"We need to capture the abilities," Sandra said

Luciana looked uncomfortable, since she had an ability

Cole opened another door into what looked like a more permanent room. A little girl -- maybe eight or nine -- was laying on the bed, wide-eyed and definitely awake. She was hooked up to a few monitors and IV tubes, and she looked frail, but very alive.

"Hi, Cole," she said as they came in.

"Elissa, you're supposed to be sleeping."

"Couldn't. I was scared."

Taylor came in, looking at the little girl. "Hello" They said

"Gosh--they're still on about that?" Kyra rolled her eyes. "Okay--next question: Why *here*?"

"Who's he?" Elissa asked, waving.

"They, honey." Cole corrected gently

"Oh, sorry. Who's they?" Elissa

"Taylor."

"Is h- is they your friend?"

Taylor smile/smirked. They liked this little girl already. "Nice to meet you, Lissa, was it?"

"*Eh-*lissa." She turned to Cole. "Like Lori?"

"Hmm?" Cole looked up from the heart rate monitor.

"Are they not-- nom-- what's it called?"

"Non-binary?"

Elissa nodded.

"Why don't you ask them?"

"Are you non-biyary?" Elissa asked Taylor.

"Yes I am. And sorry for mispronouncing your name, Eh-Lissa." Taylor smiled

Elissa nodded solemnly. "You should be."

Cole choked back a laugh.

"Why not?" Sandra said

"Because, we have people everywhere looking for you guys," Luci said

Taylor laughed. They cut themself off, instead grinning

"Define 'you guys,'" Kyra said.

Val was watching silently, interested by what she was hearing.

"The ability people." Luci rolled her eyes

"What were those loud noises?" Elissa asked Taylor as Cole checked the IV lines.

"Mhmm. Right--so...sorry 'bout that, but you aren't going to get any 'ability people.' In fact, you aren't going to even touch a hair oh their heads." Kyra smirked

*This is going to end badly,* Val realized, and internally swore.

"They were dangerous things that you shouldn't have to deal with." Taylor said to Elissa "If everything in all right, you won't hear the noises again."

"And what happens if I do hear the noises?" Elissa asked them, tucking the blanket under her chin.

"Then we'll protect you." Taylor reached out to brush a hair away from Elissa's eyes before taking their hand back, remembering the cast

"Wha's that?" Elissa asked, pointing to their hands.

"They punched trees," Cole said.

Elissa shook her head. "That's a no-no," she told Taylor.

*And people but we don't talk about that* "I know that now, thanks." Taylor snickered a little

"Have you been practicing your signs?" Cole asked Elissa.

Elissa nodded. "A, B, C, D, E," she began, signing the letters as she said them. "Lori helped me practice while you were gone."

"Good job," Cole said, adjusting the bed so she was laying down. "Now, do you know what time it is?"

"It's bedtime," Elissa said sadly. "Good night, Cole. Good night, Taylor."

"Good night, Elissa," Cole said as he turned on her purple butterfly nightlight.

"Night Eh-Lissa" Taylor waved a little before walking out the door

Cole followed them, turned off the light, and closed the door behind them. "Ever considered becoming a doctor?" he asked Taylor.

"Nope no no no no no no." Taylor shook their head

Cole held up his hands. "Okay. Sorry," he added, checking the log on the next door.

Taylor looked away, feeling bad that they had shot down the idea immediately

Cole opened the door and turned on the light. He sighed a little. "Lucas-"

Lucas -- who looked to be about thirteen -- was sitting up in the bed, hugging himself.

"Hey." Cole came over and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Listen to me, buddy. I know you're scared, but it's okay, okay? You're okay."

Taylor poked their head in the door, waving to Lucas

"I heard--" Lucas started.

"I know. A couple of gunshots, right?"

Lucas nodded.

"It's okay. No one got hurt."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Cole promised. "I'm going to go check your vitals, but I'll be right here, still, okay? And my friend Taylor is here too, so you can talk to them if I don't answer."

"Hi," Lucas said shakily in the general direction of the door as Cole stood up and started checking some of the machines.

"Hey Lucas, was it?" Taylor came into the room

Lucas nodded. "Are you a doctor, too?" *A new one?* he thought but didn't add.

*There is no way in Tartarus* "Not a doctor, just a random patient." They held up the casts on their hands

"And you're allowed to walk around with one of the doctors?"

"Technically not a doctor," Cole said.

"Whatever."

"They're helping me out," Cole explained. "They just have casts on their hands, and it helps to have someone who can hear with me."

"I could go with you," Lucas argued.

"You have to get better with the white cane first," Cole reminded him.

"Stupid cane," Lucas muttered.

"Stupid casts, stupid canes, ugh doctory stuff." Taylor tapped their casts together on accident, making a hollow noise

"What was-" Luxas asked

"Casts tapping together," Cole said, looking at Taylor. "Right?"

"Doctory stuff is stupid," Lucas agreed.

"Oh, God, now you've taught him that," Cole muttered.

Taylor smirked at Cole "You're welcome!" They exclaimed with a bow

Cole shook his head. "Lucas, is there anything you need before Taylor and I go?"

Lucas thought for a second. "No," he said, laying back down.

"Okay." Cole walked over to the door and turned the light off. "Bye, Lucas," he said.

"Bye Lucas" Tay called as they walked out the door, snickering

Cole closed the door and sighed. "So, that was Lucas. I think Lori already checked on Marionn, so let's head back. Wait."

He opened Elissa's door, then closed it again. "Okay, good, she's actually asleep."

Taylor nodded

Cole opened the door to their room for them. "I'm guessing you're not going to sleep?"

"Not if I have a choice." They muttered

"Yeah, I'm kind of wired too," Cole admitted. "You want to read another book?"

"Sounds great" Taylor sat down. In the middle of the floor. Because Taylor

Cole shrugged and sat in his usual chair. He picked up the next book -- Inkheart -- and began to read.

Taylor listened quietly

Ella, I'm assuming, is still at the house.

Ella decided to have some sympathy on Taylor and go see them at the doctor place.

Cole finished reading and closed the book, looking up at Taylor.

Taylor stayed quiet, mind replaying the last words and turning them (The words) over for meaning.

"What did you think?" Cole asked carefully.

"Wow" Was all Tay said, staring into space. They shook their head to stop daydreaming

Cole smiled. "Callyah brought some real mind-bending books."

"Yes she did" Taylor agreed, setting their hands in their lap. Taylor was getting restless again

Kyra walked into the room, "Tay? Oh--there you are."

"Hey Queenie" Taylor greeted

Cole waved. Cole looked at the clock. "We've got about an hour before the clinic opens back up. And you've shared a lot in the past twenty-four hours, so any pressing questions for me? It's only fair."

"How the heck did you get such a great mom?" Taylor asked immediately

Cole laughed. "Sheer luck. And I am really lucky. Most parents with a deaf kid wouldn't be nearly as supportive."

Taylor folded their arms, snickering once. "Your mom is the best." They remarked

"She really is," Cole agreed. "You're welcome to borrow her, if you want. She's always happy to mother my friends."

"I'll take you up on that." Taylor sat back in the floofy armchair

"Me too," Kyra said.

"What are your paren- wait, sorry, that's kind of personal. Ignore me," Cole said, tugging on the edge of his hood.

"Meh. Almost all parents are overrated." Taylor closed their eyes

"I can agree with you on that," Kyra said. "But to be fair--my...unsavory relationship with my parents was kinda my fault, so..."

Cole took that as a don't make them talk about it. But he was honestly a little curious about Kyra. "You want to talk about it?" he asked Kyra.

Taylor waited for Cole and Kyra to talk

"Huh--I dunno. I guess I will--I mean, if this is...'sharing time,' that is." Kyra shrugged

Taylor forced themself to stay awake, curious

Kyra took the silence as encouragement to continue, "My parents kinda thought my ability was ridiculous. A waste, to be frank. But then, of course--they found out about chess tournaments. Specifically, the money involved. So...that went down--I won a bunch of chess tournaments--won them a bunch of money. But I'm not an idiot--I figured out what they really wanted--I figured out that they didn't actually care about what I was doing--and so when I was about 15, I just sorta said...'screw you,' and left. Tada--there's my sob story."

"Great story" Taylor remarked dryly, mentally fitting that into the puzzle of Kyra

"Why thank you. Your turn," Kyra replied in almost the same dry tone, but a smile tugged on her lips.

"I think I'll pass for now, Queenie." Taylor was half aleep

"Okay," Kyra said, deciding not to push them. "You look like you're about to fall asleep again," she observed.

"ywcqo870" They mumbled, asleep

Kyra grinned.

Taylor almost immediately fell into nightmares of their past. They flinched over and over, wrapping their arms around their ribs. "Stop hitting me" They whimpered. Their nightmare fast forward to the doctor's office. "No. No! NO!" They started screaming hoarsely, tears streaking down their face

"Tay--" Kyra immediately rushed over to them, cradling them in her arms. "It's going to be fine--no one's hitting you--you're going to be alright."

Taylor locked their jaw, tears leaking down their face. "I swear, next time I will get away" They hissed, still fast asleep

"Tay, you don't have to run from anyone--I'm here," Kyra said, hugging them tightly. "You're alright. Everything's going to be fine." She buried her face in their shoulder, whispering 'I'm here,' over and over again.

Their mind fast forward to when Kyra's knife was at their throat. They smiled as they said all that had been in their head then. "Who's holding a knife to my throat? Why is she so beautiful? Gods, my brain is a pile of mush. Stupid emotions. Really? Pressing your neck into the knife is your best plan? It worked, didn't it? I mean, I'm still here. That's better than I'dve expected. She's really pretty..." Taylor mumbled, making a snuffle sound.

Kyra flushed--she could definitely imagine what Tay was dreaming about. She kept her face buried in Tay's shoulder, so that Cole wouldn't see her flush.

"They won't catch us." Taylor said quietly, repeating it over and over

"No one's going to catch us," Kyra said to Tay soothingly. "I'm right here--I'm always here. And this time I'm not holding a knife to your throat."

Taylor blearily opened their eyes, falling silent.

Kyra heard Tay fall silent and raised her head, "Tay? You alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Tay asked, voice strangely hoarse

"Tay..." Kyra said slowly. "You have to remember that nightmare you just had--and if I were in your place, I'm not sure I'd be 'okay.'"

"What nightmare? What did I say?" *Curse my blabbering mouth* Taylor thought

Kyra hugged Tay tighter, "You were running away from someone--you kept telling them to stop hitting you--and then...well, you were kinda screaming a bit...and then you were talking about me--I think--Tay, you do know that you don't have to hide this from me, right?"

"Oh." Taylor's dreams surfaced in their mind. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say you want to know why I was screaming?" They guessed

"That would be helpful," Kyra said. "I just...I want to be there for you. But if you really don't feel up to telling me, then that's alright too," she assured them.

"Might as well get it over with. Quick version is that my group took me in and tought me to punch. I failed on a mission and tried to run. They hit me so much that I had to visit a doctor. You can guess how well that went over. And I ran. That second to last thing was my thoughts as you had your knife to my neck" Taylor's face pinkened "And I don't remember the last thing I said."

"Okay--three things," Kyra said. "One--what group? Two--the last thing you said was that 'they won't catch you.' Three--just so you know, I'm here."

"It's dangerous for you to know ou- their name. And I know." Taylor hugged Kyra

Kyra hugged Tay back, burying her face in their shoulder once again. "Hmmm, Mysterious Tay--Mystery Tay--I like it," Kyra joked.

Taylor blushed

"But if you ever need me to kick their butt--just give me their name, address, and maybe a machine gun," Kyra said, patting them on the back.

Taylor smirked "Another time, Queenie"

Kyra just gave a little happy hum as she engaged in Tayra-Cuddle-Time.

Taylor moved so that they were sitting side by side, arms wrapped around Kyra

Cole was pulling another fade-into-the-shadows-and-pretend-he-wasn't-there-because-apparently-no-one-can-have-drama-while-Kat-is-awake.

Val was existing with Cole, I suppose.

Cole was existing in a chair, apparently near Valerie

Ella came into the clinic- yeah she didn't care about visiting hours.

"Hi, who are you?" Lori asked her.

"Ella." She told them "Who are you?"

"Doctor Hennessy," Lori said. "Are you in need of immediate medical attention?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Uhh I know Taylor and Callyah." Ella shrugged

Lori shrugged. "Do you know it's also like--" they checked their watch-- "three thirty in the morning?"

"No, I do not." Ella said

Taylor was blushing. A lot

Kyra was smirking at Tay.

Taylor blushed even more if that was possible

"Someone's flustered," Kyra observed.

"I- Uh-" Taylor stuttered, words and snappy comebacks erased from their mind

"Mind telling me what's got you all tongue tied?" Kyra asked slyly.

Taylor swatted Kyra's hand halfheartedly, still unable to speak

Kyra just smirked at them, "Come on--what do they say these days? Spill the tEa."

"You're adorable" Tay blurted before hiding their face, mortified

"You're more adorable," Kyra pointed out.

Taylor peeked at Kyra through their fingers

"Yup. I diagnose you--adorablitis. It's uncurbable." Kyra deadpanned.

"Isn't Cole the doctor?" Tay asked with a smirk

"Adorablitis is my specialty," Kyra deadpanned.

Taylor snickered

Cole was, in fact, the doctor, but he was signing to Valerie instead of watching the cuteness. A person could only take so much.

"Can I just see my associate?" Ella asked Lori.

Ella started to wander around trying to find whats-their-name.

"You can't just go wherever you want," Lori told Ella, blocking her from going down the hall. "First of all, visiting hours don't begin for another three hours. And we don't allow weapons inside medical facilities."

Taylor held Kyra's hand

Kyra inwardly awwwwed at Tay’s hand—which was still in a cast—holding hers. Or...well, trying to. Kyra had to admit—those casts looked rather uncomfy.

Cole existed quietly off to the side with Valerie.

Taylor's hands itched like crazy

**Do you think they’ll do this all night?** Valerie signed to Cole.

**I hope not,** Cole replied

Taylor decided that sleep was a good idea and fell asleep, no nightmares in sight.

Anika was being a bean and sleeping.

Callyah was watching over Anika like a good bodyguard who hadn't repeatedly failed at her job in the past few days.

Anika murmured something in her sleep and rolls over.

Valerie sighed and stood up. **I’m going for a walk**, she signed at she headed for the door.

Cole waved bye to Valerie.

Callyah continued to sit with the queen.

Anika was slowly waking up.

Slipping out the door , Val made her way through the hospital to ~outside~. She needed to check on Tug and make sure he was okay.

"Good morning," Callyah said. She'd cleaned up -- she was in a clean white t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. She'd also found -- or Matissa had made -- a new hood/cowl thing.

Anika turns her head to look at Callyah, “Good morning.” she says tiredly.

"How are you doing?" Callyah asked.

Tug was chilling, grazing on the clinic’s lawn that Kat might tell me is nonexistent in a moment. Valerie hurried over to him to pat him down and check that he was okay.

“Tired, disappointed, annoyed with myself, a lot of things.” Anika says quietly.

Taylor was snoozing

"Yeah, join the club," Callyah said in agreement. Although it was probably best they didn't get into all the reasons Callyah was annoyed with herself. "You hungry?"

“Yeah.” Anika says, slowly sitting up.

"I brought you some clothes," Callyah added, gesturing to Anika's current outfit "You're taller than me, but they should fit." She handed her a pair of black jeans and a rose-gold t-shirt.

Anika smiles, “Thank you.” she says, standing up.

"You're welcome," Callyah replied, stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her so Anika could change in private.

Anika carefully changes and examines her sides which had a long strip of red where the bonds from her capture had bore into her skin before gently pulling her shirt on.

Matissa passed Callyah in the hall. "How is your friend...?"

"Ani," Callyah supplied.

Something clicked in Matissa's eyes. "You make a good lady-in-waiting," she told her daughter.

"Thanks, Mom," Callyah said. "But I'm not just her lady." She took a breath. "I'm the captain of the Queen's guard."

Matissa's eyes went wide, but she smiled. "I see."

Anika was about to come out when she heard Callyah talking to her mother. She froze and didn’t move, remembering her own mother.

Taylor continued sleeping

"You can't tell anyone here," Callyah told her mom.

Matissa shook her head. "Oh, I know, honey. But for what it's worth? You should be proud of yourself." She headed off for the kitchen. "I'll make something for you to eat."

Anika eventually walked out, tugging at the hem of her top.

"You look so..." Callyah began, then realized she didn't know how to finish that sentence.

Anika tilts her head, “Wait do I look bad?” she asks, she wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. She rubs the burn marks on her wrists.

"Not bad," Callyah said quickly. "Just... surprisingly normal. Although your hair could use some brushing."

Anika smiles just a bit, “I’m trying.” she says, referring to herself trying to look normal.

"Let's go get something to eat," Callyah offered. "My mom said she was going to make something."

Anika nods, “I can finally meet your mom, I mean I have but I was kind of a slurred mess.” she says and tosses her hair behind her shoulder and looking- well she looked much older than she was and much more tired.

"She's probably seen worse," Callyah said, shrugging. "Don't worry about it." She led the way into the kitchen.

Anika smiles slightly and follows Callyah.

"I made eggs," Matissa said as they came in, gesturing to two plates on the counter, in front of two chairs. One had scrambled eggs, while the other had fried.

Callyah didn't care what kind she ate, so she let Anika pick. "This is Ani. Ani, this is my mom, Matissa."

"Nice to meet you, honey," Matissa said.

Anika studies Matissa carefully, her eyes tired, “Nice to meet you too.” she says quietly, she eventually looks away, and sits down to eat her eggs. She ended up sitting down by the scrambled eggs and she tried not to look at Matissa cause every single time she did she thought of her mother. And how she had tried to kill her- how she had a mother who hated her so much she would kill her.

Callyah put a hand on Anika's shoulder for a brief moment before she sat down, feeling *incredibly guilty* for having such an easy relationship with Matissa when she'd just killed Anika's mom.

Anika doesn’t look up, afraid if she did she might do something stupid. Or cry. That would be worse. Much much worse.

Matissa studied the two of them for a moment. "I have some errands to run, so I'll let you two eat in peace." She picked her purse up off the table, adjusted her pale pink mask, and left.

"I'm sorry," Callyah said quietly after a moment. She wasn't sure what of the many things she was apologizing for.

Anika just simply nods when Matissa leaves.

Anika finally manages to look at Callyah, “Nothing is your fault.” she says, “It’s all mine.” she says.

"Eh, a good solid amount of it is mine," Callyah said. "And how could it be your fault? It's not *your* job to keep *me* safe."

“It’s my job to keep the whole world safe.” Anika snaps, she was too tired and she immediately felt guilty, “I’m sorry. I get your supposed to protect me but I’m supposed to protect the world and I’m failing. Over and over.” she says quietly, messing with her eggs.

"We're not very good at our jobs," Callyah muttered.

“Not me at least.” Anika mumbles, “I’m alive, so technically your doing your job perfectly.” she adds.

"Alive isn't the same as safe," Callyah said. "I let you get hurt. Twice." She reached out and gently touched the still-healing scar on Anika's arm that matched her other one.

Anika flinches slightly, “Alive is alive.” she says simply.

"But it's not safe." Callyah knew they were going nowhere. And... she had something more important to tell her. But still, she hesitated for a full minute. "Your mom is dead."

Anika straightens, “I-“ her muscles were tense and she wouldn’t look up, “Is it wrong to be sad and mad at the same time?” she asks.

"I don't think there's a right way to feel," Callyah replied gently.

Anika nods, “Yeah.” She says not looking up still.

"What?" Callyah asked softly. She knew the queen. Something was off.

Anika sighs shakily, “I- she hated me so much.” she says quietly, “She thought I was a failure.” she keeps going, “And she was right.”

"No she wasn't," Callyah said, putting a hand on Anika's shoulder. "You aren't a failure." And for the first time, she didn't regret killing Anika's mother. It was a petty, vindictive sense of righteousness. *No one hurts Anika.*

Anika sighs, and decides to silently hate herself.

Klay was alive because Kyla had neglected this roleplay.

"I know that look." Callyah put her other hand on Anika's opposite shoulder so Anika had to look at her. "Your mom was the leader of a group of [redacted] rebels and tried to kill you. How could she possibly be right?"

Anika sighs, forced to look at Callyah, “She’s my mother. What else am I supposed to believe?” she says helplessly.

"She was a [redacted] mother," Callyah replied. "A mother isn't supposed to make her kids feel like [redacted]. They're supposed to support their kids and make them feel loved and accepted and *safe*."

Anika sighs shakily, “I don’t know what that’s like.”

0itty Kat Chocolate Bar·2/7/2021

"I know," Callyah admitted. "And I wish I knew some way to fix that."

Taylor continued snoozing

Anika sighs, “It’s alright.” she says.

Callyah hesitated, then leaned forward and hugged Anika. "No, it's not," she whispered.

Anika stiffened for a second, she hadn’t been hugged very often but she eventually just hugged her back.

Callyah let go of her after a moment.

“Thanks.” Anika says quietly.

Callyah nodded and sat back down in her chair.

Anika sighs quietly and goes back to eating her eggs.

Callyah poured a glass of milk for each of them and ate her own breakfast.

Anika doesn’t say anything for the rest of breakfast.

Callyah doesn't, either -- she was pretty used to silent meals with Cole.

Anika finishes her eggs and just sits there waiting for Matissa to come back. For some reason her and her daughter made Anika feel safe, and not just because Callyah was her guard.

Klay pushed open the door to the house, ignoring the silent aching he had inside. Nothing seemed right to him anymore.

"Hi girls," Matissa said as she came back in through the side door, carrying several grocery bags. Callyah stood up and took a few.

"Thanks, Cally," her mom said, setting the rest on the counter. "Valerie's been gone a while -- anyone know where she is?"

"She left a note," Callyah said, shrugging, as she started putting food away. "Went exploring or something."

Taylor was awake once again and opening the cabinets, generally being nosy

"Seriously," Cole said. "You've already been through all those."

"I'm bored though." Taylor tapped the cabinet closed

"It's--" Cole checked his watch-- "seven. Can you sit tight for fifteen more minutes?"

"Fine." Taylor sat down in the middle of the floor and just stayed there

Cole sighed and leaned back in his chair.

After about twenty minutes, Lori came back in with what looked like a motorized pizza cutter.

Taylor glanced at Lori when they came in and paled

"It's just for cutting off the casts," Lori promised.

Taylor shuddered but nodded.

"Up up," Lori said, gesturing to the gurney. "Lay back and get comfortable."

Anika watches mother and daughter with slightly longing eyes.

Taylor laid on the bed thing and steeled their nerves

"Ani, hon, could you hand me that bag of peppers?" Matissa asked, holding a hand across the counter.

"It's going to be fine," Cole promised them.

Lori flicked on the saw, which begin to whirr, and angled it towards the base of Taylor's first cast.

Anika looked confused for a second, as if she had never been asked to hand anybody anything but it was...well it was a nice change. She quickly grabbed the bag of peppers and handed it to Matissa.

Taylor hated that sound. They bit their tongue to keep from charmspeaking, keeping still

"Thank you," Matissa said, placing the peppers in her well-ordered fridge. "Did you girls get out the nutella?"

Callyah shook her head. "It was probably Holden. I'm pretty sure he just eats that for breakfast straight out of the jar," she joked.

A smile forms on Anika’s face, “Sounds about right.” she says standing up, “What can I do to help?” she asks Matissa.

Cole held Taylor's arm steady as Lori carefully cut open the cast.

"Don't bend your fingers," Cole told Taylor as he lifted their hand out of the plaster and set it gently on the tray attatched to the bed. "Or we'll have to do this all over again."

"I won't unless I want to come back and visit" Taylor said sweetly with a smirk on their face

"Can you put the pasta with the other stuff in the pantry? Third shelf. Don't worry about getting it neat."

Callyah half-smiled as she wrestled open a box of granola bars. Who said queens were full of themselves?

"Oh, you're visiting," Lori told them. "I like meeting Peanut's friends."

Cole shook his head. "Just do the other cast before they start getting restless," he told Lori.

Lori rolled their eyes at him and began cutting the cast off of their other hand.

Taylor's smirk grew "Peanut?"

Anika nods and grabs the pasta and looks for the pantry, she finds it and walks in she sighs a bit with a small smile before neatly putting the pasta away.

"Don't you start," Cole said, lifting their other hand out of the cast and setting it on the tray. "Thanks for that, Lori."

"You're welcome!" Lori replied brightly, handing him a roll of bandages, some medical tape, and a funky-looking small metal... *thing*.

Taylor eyed the metal thing with suspicion

"Finger brace," Cole explained, carefully threading their broken finger through it and taping it to the finger next to the broken one. "What, you thought it would just magically heal?"

Callyah came into the pantry with the now-open box of granola bars and poured the individually packaged bars into a basket. "Thanks for helping," she said.

"Duh. You doctor people are supposed to be magic." Taylor said sarcastically, glaring at the metal horrible thing

Lori cocked their head. "What did you tell this kid to get them to come, Peanut?"

"That they'd lose their hands if they didn't?"

"Well, at least you didn't lie," they muttered, lifting the hand without the broken finger and wrapping it boxer-style in an ACE bandage.

"Gods. My hand is imprisoned once again." Taylor muttered

"Chill, kid," Lori said as they started wrapping Taylor's other hand. "Now your hand is supported enough that you can use it. There'll be a little more resistance than it would normally, but that'll help you build the muscles in your hand back up. They'll shake like crazy for a little while, too, but that goes away. And I'm sure Cole can teach you some signs to help you work on the dexterity."

Anika walked out of the pantry and glances around curiously. This is where Callyah used to live.

Taylor muttered something, most likely a cuss

It was a pretty modest place, with worn furniture and appliances that were just slightly out of date. But every piece of fabric in the house -- every curtain, every chair seat, every blanket -- was unique and well-maintained. The house seemed put together, but not matchy-matchy, and it had this sort of... homeyness to it. Maybe it was the pictures of the family magneted to the fridge and framed on a few walls, or the way the whole house smelled like laundry detergent and fresh bread, or just the people in it.

"Hey." Lori bumped the gurney with their hip. "Yep, it sucked. But at least you'll have full use of your hands again soon, and you aren't about to need an emergency amputation because of gangrene in your hands."

Cole rolled his eyes and signed something about bedside manner.

"Ginger-ine. You talking about the scars on my hands?" Taylor asked

Anika’s hands were shaking slightly, not out of anger but sadness. She whispers something almost too quiet for anybody to hear, “I like it here.”

"Gangrene. Tissue death. In your case, it wasn't because of infection -- good job, Peanut -- but your hands had gone into septic shock. If we hadn't removed the fluid and tissue, you'd have completely lost function and your hands and it'd probably be spreading to your arms."

Cole gave them a look. "You're really going to tell them that, Lori?"

Taylor started cussing before cutting themself off "Thanks, Cole." *Or should I say Peanut?* They thought with amusement

Callyah reached over and took Anika's hand for just a moment, gently squeezing once before pulling a bag of apples out of the grocery bag and flicking out one of her knives to cut it open. She promptly realized there was blood on it and went to clean it in the sink.

Anika just goes back to looking around then asks, “Um, can I go outside for a second?” she asks to nobody in paticular.

"You're welcome," Cole said. "We ready to go?" he asked Lori.

"Almost." Lori scrawled something on a notepad from their doctor's coat. "Give that to Ginnie at the front, and she'll get you the antibiotics they need," they said, handing it to Cole.

"Sure, honey," Matissa said, gesturing to the back door, which was a simple latch -- you didn't need a key to open it. "We're not going to trap you here."

"That's not what she means, Mom," Callyah told Matissa quietly.

Taylor hopped off the bed and spun in a quick circle for no reason

Anika nods slowly, tentatively she steps towards the door and opens it, stepping outside and looking around nervously, she was now scared of the woods. How wonderful.

"Great," Cole said, opening the door. "And thanks for this, Lori."

"You're welcome, Peanut," Lori said.

Callyah watched her through the window above the sink, calmly cleaning her knives still.

Matissa wondered vaguely whose blood it was.

Taylor mock saluted Lori before walking out the door

Anika takes a step down from the porch and clicks once before Desire is at her side, she gently pets her mane before walking a bit further, Desire at her heels.

Lori rolled their eyes and started cleaning up.

Cole led the way down the hall and to the front desk. "Hey, Gin."

"Hi, Peanut," Ginnie said -- she was maybe thirty-five or so.

"Can you fill this, please?" he asked, handing her Lori's sheet.

Ginnie shook her head. "Their handwriting is not getting any better," she said to herself as she walked behind a door labled *PHARMACY.*

Taylor snickered softly, arms folded

Ell was sitting in the hall.

Ginnie came back a moment later with a white paper bag, stapled shut. "There you go, Peanut. Have a good day!"

"You too, Ginnie," Cole replied, pushing open the hospital doors.

Anika slowly takes a few steps further into the woods, barely looking back before swinging her leg over Desire and climbing on.

Taylor walked out, glad to finally be out of there. The people were okay but the idea of going back made their skin crawl

Callyah stepped outside. "Where are you going?" she asked, drying her knives on a kitchen towel.

“Just need to go for a ride.” Anika says.

"That wasn't too bad, right?" Cole asked them.

Callyah nodded and untied her own horse. "You want me to stay with you or just follow?" No way in [redacted] was she letting Anika go alone.

"The people are fine." Taylor didn't say more

“Yeah, I’m not going to fight you on this.” Anika says.

I'm going to assume Valerie and Tug were on their way back to the Dennison house.

Ella started walking again. "So put your best face on everybody, pretend you know this song."

Callyah swung herself up onto her horse, which trotted over to Desire.

Cole nodded. "I'll take it."

Desire took that as the cue to start walking at a slow pace as Anika held the reigns.

Callyah and her horse followed.

Anika knew Callyah could keep up and would do so, so she urged Desire to go into a fast paced trot.

Taylor's hands itched like crazy. They moved to scratch their hands

Callyah kept up with Anika, giving her as much space as she could and still keep her safe.

Cole led Taylor (and I'm guessing Kyra) back to the Dennison house. "Don't," he told Taylor, seeing them move to scratch their hands out of the corner of his eye.

"I never liked hospitals, granted I've never been to one." Ella mused

Anika leaned her head back a bit, her eyes closed and she took a breath as Desire kept trotting.

Holden was also in the house, doing pretty much nothing

"Well, that was a clinic, not a hospital," Cole told Ella.

Taylor swung their arms by their sides like a child instead

Valerie and Tug pulled up to the house. She wondered where the prisoners were.

"Yeah well, I still didn't like it. Never had good experiences with doctors." Ella shrugged

"Thanks," Cole deadpanned.

"No offence- I've only ever been treated by fellow assassins. Our job is to kill not heal, so yeah." Ella scratched her cheek

"Well, they weren't doctors, then. We have to swear an oath," Cole explained.

"Well I'm pretty sure the doctor that treated me didn't swear anything." Taylor muttered

"Oh, well you seem like the kind of person I could trust with my life." Ella told Cole

"Lor-oh." Cole tugged his hood lower over his face. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Que?" Ella asked

Taylor shrugged and started running away, spinning in a circle as they did

"Nothing," Cole said to Ella. "Just forgot something kind of important."

"Oh I do that all the time." Ella replied

Taylor spun in another circle

"What are you doing?" Cole asked.

Taylor froze and looked at the floor "Nothing"

"Let them spin- YES I GOT THEIR PRONOUNS RIGHT!" Ella smiled triumphantly

"It's fine," Cole said, ignoring Ella. "You can keep spinning."

Taylor continued walking, noticeably not spinning or swinging their arms

Anika rides off into the woods, she knew Callyah was with her which was the only thing keeping her from riding off forever.

Callyah stayed with Anika and Desire.

Kyra existed, preferably with Tay.

Taylor existed as well

They got back to the Dennison house.

Taylor was staring at their hands, still wrapped up like a mummy

"You hungry?" Cole asked them.

"Not really" They *were* hungry but being at a hospital where you think everything will hurt you kinda took away their appetite.

Cole shrugged. "Well, let me know if you are," he said as he opened the door.

Taylor called quietly "Hey Horse. I'm back"

Matissa was still in the kitchen, mixing something in a bowl and humming to herself.

Anika stops Desire with a shaky breath.

Callyah gave her a little space, stopping her own horse a few yards away.

Ella started climbing trees.

Taylor paced back and forth before dissapearing into the trees as they usually do.

Ella sat against a tree.

Taylor kicked a tree. Over and over

Taylor bit back a wince and kicked the tree again

"Taylor." Cole caught them by the shoulder, harder than he'd meant to. "Stop."

Taylor froze as if they had been paused, flinching violently

"Sorry," Cole said quickly. He let go of them and held up his hands. "You have to stop doing that," he told them more gently, but his voice was still firm.

Taylor looked Cole in the eyes as they gave the tree one last good kick. "What else am I supposed to do?" They asked

"Talk?" Cole shrugged. "Or hug someone. Or yell really loudly. Or something that *isn't* going to end up with me having to take you to the clinic again, since I highly doubt that's something you want to do again."

Taylor shuddered "Talking is for therapists, hugging is for Kyra and yelling is for when I'm furious." They pointed out

Cole gave them a look. "So you don't punch-slash-kick things when you're furious?"

"I kick and punch things all the time. It's no special occasion. But mostly when I'm helpless. Helpless means these [redacted very redacted]" Taylor held up their wrapped hands

Cole almost laughed. "You think you're helpless?"

Taylor shrugged again "I mostly use my fists. So yes."

Cole mirrored his shrug. "I'm not Callyah, so I can't teach you how to fight without using your fists. But honestly, you charmspoke ropes. And a horse. And you're pretty smart, despite your impulsiveness. Trust me, I know what helpless is, and you definitely aren't."

"And I pass out a lot because I charmspeak. And you're Doctor Dude who patches me up after my stupid decisions." Taylor said with a smirk.

Val was existing somewhere, so I'm going to say she was in the house, sweeping up the dirt from everyone walking through the front door with their shoes on.

*At least Doctor Dude isn't Peanut,* Cole thought. Aloud, he said, "That doesn't make you powerless."

"Sleep is a waste of time. Passing out is sleep forced upon me." Taylor pointed out

"At least we can agree on that," Cole muttered.

Taylor tilted their head a little bit as if listening to something. "Should we get some food?" They asked

"Yeah, we both need to eat," Cole agreed.

Taylor swung their arms back and forth as they walked towards the house

Cole followed.

Matissa was in the kitchen. cooking something that smelled really good.

Taylor opened the door, smiling

Valerie, who had just finished sweeping, sighed as the others walked in.

"Sorry, Valerie," Cole said, taking off his shoes and setting them on the rack.

Taylor kicked off their shoes

Kyra existed.

Matissa poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hi, Cole. How was the clinic?"

"Good," Cole replied. "Lori says hi."

"Oh, they do?" Matissa smiled. "And how's Elissa?"

"She's doing better, I think," Cole said. "She really likes that blanket you made for her.

Matissa made a little *aww* noise. "Are you all hungry?" she asked.

"A bit" Taylor admitted

Kyra continued to exist.

Taylor decided to be nosy and see what had changed. They looked around, walking into the different rooms

"Come on into the kitchen, then," Matissa said. "I made green peppers with cheese."

Valerie finished sweeping and set the brow against the wall, moving over to see what Matissa was cooking.

"You want some?" Matissa asked, using a spatula to scoop a cheese-stuffed green pepper off of the baking sheet and onto a platter.

Cole took a plate, sat at the table, and began to eat the cheese-filled pepper.

Taylor came back to the kitchen and got a plate.

Kyra sat at the table, thinking about things.

Taylor sat next to Kyra

“Hey,” Kyra said to Tay.

Valerie took a pepper and thanked Matissa.

"You're welcome. Did you find whatever it was you were looking for?" Matissa asked

Ella was still up in a tree.

"Hey Queenie" Taylor said to Kyra

Ella stood up on the branch, she was a little cold she didn't care. She took in a deep breath- trying to clear her mind of a nonexistent fog. Her life sucked.

Klay was unconcious. Nice, right?

Val was eating her cheesy pepper appreciatively.

Ella could stay on top of that tree forever, she liked being high, on heights. They didn't scare her.

Cole was eating his pepper

Callyah was with Anika, as usual.

Ella sighed as she climbed down and walked back into the house.

Taylor ate their pepper, only half hungry

"Hows our hand?" Ella asked

Taylor looked up, having no idea who Ella was talking to

"Your hand, gosh I spent to much time in that tree." Ella motioned to her own hand

Taylor smirked a little, looking at their wrapped hands "Annoying."

"At least you got it fixed by a doctor. And guess what, if you do that they say it will heal faster that if you didn't." Ella mimed her had blowing up.

Taylor didn't realize they made a face at the word 'Doctor' "My hands wouldn'tve blown up."

"Hey mine haven't, and I've used them to kill over a hundred people." Ella’s eyes glassed over like she regretted everything.

Taylor winced a bit in sympathy. "You should have Cole double check, just in case. We can't have our favorite assassin with broken hands."

"It's not my hands." Ella smiled

Taylor set their hands in their lap, looking at Ella. "Feet?" *Heart? Cheesy to the max, Taylor.*

"Mind. It's gets easier to," Ella mimed breaking someones neck. "I only kill my target no one else."

Taylor moved to tug on their hair before remembering about the [redacted] wraps. They put their hands down again, mouthing something to themself

"If your cursing at yourself I'd avoid that." Ella told them wisely

Taylor looked up at Ella again with a smirk. "I'm not cussing at myself."

"Good. That get you nowhere." Ella nodded

Taylor snickered

"What?" Ella asked

"Cussing at yourself always gets you somewhere. Motivation. Anger which is also motivation." Taylor shrugged as if that was just life

Val, who had been there the whole time, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah but you need something else to draw on, anger can get others hurt along with yourself." Ella’s brow furrowed

"Anger works just fine." Taylor avoided Ella's eyes

'I thought that too." Ella sighed

Taylor waited for an explanation, trying not to scratch at their hands

Ella sighed, "It feels good to be angry, like anger can fix what wrong. But there's a point when it breaks you. When you- when you do something that makes you never able to live with yourself. Adam Lewis, I-I found out he had connections to the man who killed my family. I-I pinned him to the wall and yelled at him to tell me who did it, and all he said was *"You can burn with them."* What the man who killed my parents said before burning me. I killed him, and not just him, I brought his entire house down on his family." She blinked back tears and bit her lip.

Taylor held their hand out to Ella, head tilted slightly

Ella just looked away, "I'm scared now, I could do that at anytime. Not just with buildings but anything is I get to angry I just." Using her telekinesis she grabbed one of her daggers, "I don't know what I could do."

Taylor took back their hand "If you want, I could always just order you to stop." They offered hesitantly, hiding the dread and fear that came with offering that

"Yeah, I don't really listen." Ella bit the inside of her lip

Taylor leaned back a bit. "Charmspeak, Assassin. Magic."

"Telekinesis." Ella replied

Taylor closed their eyes. "Just tell me to make you stop and I will."

"Thanks." Ella muttered

Taylor didn't know what to do with that so they sat there until they fell asleep (Again) It didn't take very long

Ella stood up and sat by a window.

Taylor nearly fell out of their chair, having fallen asleep. They bolted awake, scowling

"You alright?" Kyra asked immediately.

"I fell asleep." Tay rubbed their eyes "I didn't scream, did I?"

"Nope--no screaming," Kyra said. "But...was there a reason for you to scream...?" she questioned them, raising an eyebrow.

Taylor avoided looking at Kyra guiltily "No reason"

"You do know that you pretty much just confirmed that there's a reason right?" Kyra pointed out, scooching closer to them.

Val was watching them, still eating her pepper.

Taylor shrugged. "It was nothing." It *was* something

A small version of Taylor, maybe 4 years old, was running. She had tears blurring her vision, watching a dark blond haired someone chase after her, yelling about someone being angry. "I DON'T CARE!" She had yelled "I'M GETTING AWAY!" Then, she slipped into the bushes and the dream stopped

"Not to push it or anything..." Kyra started. "But it...really doesn't sound like nothing."

"Just a dream about running. They're not out of the ordinary." Taylor still hadn't met Kyra's eyes

"'Running' is rather...vague," Kyra said.

"I don't know what from." Taylor tried to scratch their hands

"You sure...?" Kyra glanced at them, waiting for them to meet her eyes.

"I was little and running from something. I yelled to a blonde blob that I was running. Whoever it was must've been trying to catch me, imprison me." Taylor didn't like storytime

Kyra tried her best to give some nice, cuddly, fuzzy, soft, mushy advice--"Well, no one's trying to imprison you now. I mean--except for the rebels trapped in the other room--but they're [REDACTED], so--" She did her best, alright?

"Yeah, other than the rebels and my old group." Taylor said sarcastically, scratching at their hands furiously

"Speaking of this old group--what was that all about?" Kyra asked quizzically, not so subtly scooting closer to Tay.

Taylor didn't mind and leaned on Kyra "Just the people who taught me everything I know and practically raised me." They said casually

"Sounds like a long story," Kyra said, a smile tugging on her lips when she felt Tay lean on her.

"Longer than you'd guess." Taylor muttered, still scratching at their hands furiously

Kyra caught Tay's hands, stopping them from doing any more damage to the already damaged. "Well--I'm here. And I'll be here. For as long as you need."

"Thanks, Queenie. I'll tell you that long story sometime." Tay promised

Kyra chewed her lip for a moment. It was obvious that Tay didn't want to tell her now...and she wasn't going to push it. Nope. Not if they didn't want to. So..."I'll be here," Kyra reassured them.

Taylor reached for Kyra's hand with a small smile

Kyra smiled back, holding their hand in hers. There were no words to describe that fluffy, fuzzy, warm, happy feeling she was feeling. It was just so...Tay. Extra Tay.

Taylor leaned against Kyra's shoulder

Kyra just...sat there with Tay. It was nice. There was a lot of...Tay. Extra Tay. All the Tay. The Tayness of Tay. Kyra liked Tay. A lot.

Taylor was a bit reddish in the face. They hoped Kyra wouldn't notice

Kyra noticed--she smirked at them.

Taylor's cheeks reddened more

This was happy Kyra time. Very happy Kyra time. Extra happy Kyra time.

Taylor tugged on a strand of Kyra's hair

The phone rang. Cole, who couldn't hear it, didn't react.

Kyra tugged on one of Tay's dreads in return. She whispered to them, "You know how adorable you are--right?"

Kyra's eyes flashed to the phone, almost glaring at it, because it disturbed the moment.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Taylor whispered back, face turning red as a cherry

The phone, being an inanimate object and therefore unaffected by the Kyra glare, continued to ring.

"I have a few guesses," Kyra said slyly, before heading over to the phone to make good on her silent death threat that she sent with her eyes a moment earlier.

Taylor shook their head, getting up and answering the phone to spare themself from replying to Kyra

It was Lori. "Is Cole with you?"

"Yeah--" Kyra glanced at Cole. "He's with us."

"I need him at the hospital." Lori sounded like they were under a *lot* of stress. "Now."

"Got it. Doctor Boy, hospital. Now." Taylor ordered, keeping all charmspeak from their voice

"Why? Did something happen?" Kyra questioned.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked as he grabbed his shoes.

"It's Elissa," Lori said. "She- he just needs to get down here."

"Something about someone named Elissa...?" Kyra said to Cole. Then back to Lori, "He'll be there soon."

"Now shoo, Doctor Boy." Taylor made a shoo motion, masking their fear

"Elissa." Cole practically flew out the door.

Taylor scratched at their hands nervously

"Do you know who this 'Elissa' is?" Kyra asked Tay as she made to follow Cole out the door.

Taylor nodded "She's a little girl. Really sweet. Didn't blink when Cole told her that I was non binary." They scratched at their hands harder

"She sounds like someone who Cole would care about," Kyra said. "She must be a really amazing little girl. Come on--let's go."

Taylor nodded again "Horse!" They called, walking out the door

Cole was already halfway to the hospital. He had no clue how he was so quick now, of all times, but he wasn't about to question it.

Kyra rolled her eyes at Tay and called, "Fate!"

Fate came. Taylor hopped up onto the horse, waiting for Kyra impatiently

Cole dashed in and started washing up.

Taylor ended up dragging Kyra onto Fate. "Gallop, Fate." They ordered

Lori and a few other doctors were in the operating room already. Cole joined them and they got to work.

Taylor fidgeted with the bandages on their hands, really scared for Elissa

Cole and Lori came out of the operating room. They'd taken their gloves off, but they both were wearing doctor's coats and those little paper booties over their shoes -- and Lori was still in their scrubs.

Taylor was scratching at their hands nervously, internally cursing at the bandages

Callyah looked around, every sense on alert.

Cole looked up at Taylor. "You're here," he said, surprised.

Anika had stopped and just sat there on Desire.

"Duh." Taylor scratched at their hands again

Klay was riding Fate along a beach.

Holden was in the house, wishing he was with a certain s o m e o n e

"I thought you weren't planning to come back?" Cole said.

Lani bumped him with their hip. *Gift horse, Peanut,* they signed.

Callyah kept an eye on Anika.

Anika rests her head down on Desire’s neck.

Taylor looked at Cole "You should know by now I never mean anything when I say I won't come back."

"Yeah," Cole admitted. "I should have learned that by now."

Callyah gave Anika some space.

Taylor smirked "How is Elissa?" They asked, smirk dissapearing

Anika’s shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.

Callyah nudged her horse closer and put a hand on Anika's shoulder.

Anika shakes a bit more.

"Hey," Callyah said gently. She put her arm around Anika. "Breathe, sweetie."

Anika takes shaky breaths.

Callyah rubbed her back, remembering when her mother would do it for her when she came home from school unconsolable.

Anuja keeps crying for a bit before calming down.

"Better?" Callyah asked softly.

Anika sighs, “Yeah I’m sorry.”

"Don't be sorry," Callyah said immediately. "You're allowed to have emotions, and you're allowed to not be perfect all the time."

Anika sits up slowly, and turns to hug Callyah.

Callyah hugs her back.

Anika lets out a shaky sigh.

"You want to talk about it?" Callyah asked her.

Anika pulls back from the hug and nods, “I hate my mother so so much...but she’s also...well she’s my mother...then what will my sisters say...”

Callyah nodded, listening.

“How do I tell my sisters? How do I tell...tell anyone?” Anika asks, not really to anybody.

*How do I tell her it was my fault?* Callyah asked herself.

“I- I’m actually glad she’s dead...I’m such a...” *terrible person.* Anika thought guiltily

Callyah shook her head. "That doesn't make you a bad person."

Anika didn’t look convinced at all.

"You're not the one that killed her," Callyah said. She immediately wished that she could take the words back -- they'd kind of spilled out of her mouth.

Anika’s eyebrows furrowed, “You did.” she decided. Although she wasn’t mad.

Callyah hesitated, then nodded.

Anika nods, “Thank you...” she finally says, “I can’t believe I’m thanking you for killing my mom but-“

"Please don't," Callyah said. "I mean, I don't regret doing it, and I would do it again. But-"

Anika nods, “Well...either way...”

Taylor scratched at their hands furiously

"Stop doing that," Cole told them.

"I'll be executed for it, probably," Callyah muttered.

Taylor dropped their hands to their side

“I’m the queen remember?” Anika reminds her.

"If the story gets out, you'll be liked even less," Callyah reminded her.

“It won’t.” Anika says confidently.

"Elissa's... stable," Cole said.

Callyah shook her head. "You never know. The press can find out anything."

Taylor tugged on their hair

Anika looked fixed on not letting that happen, “If it does I’m putting the blame on me.”

"You know what that means, right?" Lori asked. Cole elbowed them.

"It wouldn't be your fault. It's not your fault," Callyah said.

Taylor's hands tightened into fists. "What does that mean?" They asked

Anika shakes her head but doesn’t say anything.

"She's not okay, per se, but she's not in critical condition. She still needs medication and rest, but she isn't at risk of dying anymore." Cole told them

"Can I see her?" Taylor asked, fists relaxing

"Not yet," Cole said. "She's pretty heavily medicated right now, and they're still making sure everything can be monitored correctly."

Taylor's gaze dropped to the floor as they nodded

Cole closed his eyes for slightly longer than a blink and swayed a little on his feet. Lori reached out to steady him. "Whoa, Peanut."

Taylor looked back up, eyeing Cole. "[redacted] Doctor Boy. What did he do now?"

"I don't know," Lori admitted. They gently shook Cole's shoulders. "Talk to me, Peanut."

"Just got dizzy for a second," Cole told them. It wasn't really a lie. But it had happened because he'd used his ability on Elissa, and he couldn't admit that in front of all the people in the lobby. Heck, even Lori didn't know.

Taylor scratched at their hands since that was apparently their new nervous habit

"Quit doing that," Lori and Cole said at the same time.

Taylor looked at them both "Make me."

"You deal with this," Cole told Lori vaguely. "Denna looked really stressed, so I'm going to take over for her for now." He headed off down the hall.

Lori raised an eyebrow at Taylor. "Look, tree-puncher, I've got seven years of caipoera training under my belt. Quit scratching at the [redacted] bandages."

"What's a capiora?" Taylor asked, hands dropping to their sides

"A Brazillian martial art," Lori explained. "It's a little like dancing, too. There's a lot of kicking in it."

"Hm." Taylor crossed their arms, thinking about that "How is it like dancing?"

"It's very fluid and dynamic," Lori said. "A lot of martial arts are just 'stand here, punch them in the gut,' but caipoera focuses on moving to give your strikes and blocks power, and to keep your opponent off balance."

Taylor scoffed, though they were smiling "Martial arts is more than stand here punch gut. You have to be light on your feet and ready to strike in a moment's notice." They were enjoying talking to Lori about fighting more than they'd admit

"A lot of people say that, but in a true fight or moment of crisis, they tend to forget they have legs that are usually much more powerful than their arms." Lori replied

"... You may be right." Taylor admitted

"Of course I'm right," Lori said, smirking.

"Don't let it go to your head, Doc." Taylor warned, smirking as well

"Too late." Lori looked around the lobby for a moment, and, seeing that no one was in need of immediate attention, turned back to Taylor. "So how'd you meet Peanut?"

"Um..." Taylor wasn't sure how much to tell Lori. "It's complicated and I can't explain it without droning on and on. You should ask Cole. Then again, he'll probably add in a ton of details and take forever..."

Lori shrugged. "He's usually pretty direct in sign language. We really only talk out loud out of courtesy for the rest of you hearing muffins."

"Muffins? Wha- Nevermind." Taylor shook their head

"Did it have something to do with Callyah? She's back, too, and apparently she's been gone for *three years.*" Lori asked

"It had something to do with literally everyone Cole and Callyah came back with. Including me." Taylor moved to scratch their hands before stopping

"Can you not be vague and just tell me what Peanut's got himself into?" Lori sighed with annoyance

"Fine. The queen recruited us for a secret group and chose each of us specifically." Taylor forced their hands to their sides

"The queen?" Lori raised an eyebrow. "Why him, though? Wait, you probably can't tell me. [Redacted]."

"Cole will tell you himself later or else I will." Taylor shrugged

Lori nodded. "If he gets himself killed, I will kill him."

Taylor smirked "What's up with calling him Peanut, by the way?"

Lori laughed. "Figures he didn't tell you. The clinic calls him that because he's so young. He was thirteen when he started med school, in a class with all these eighteen-year-old college kids. He was a tiny kid back then, too. So there's this kid -- a deaf kid, no less -- sitting in the classroom when everyone comes in, and what do you think is going to happen?"

Taylor hissed something under their breath. "[redacted redacted] jerks. Could you give me their addresses? And maybe a gallon of glue?"

Lori laughed. "Don't worry, they've gotten their desserts. And it was just a *lot* of name-calling. Squirt, Shrimpy, Mini-Medic, things like that. Plus a lot of deaf kid comments, which, again, before you go on the warpath, they paid for. Anyway, the first couple of weeks were rough. But I started learning sign language, and we became friends, and then he started to hang out with some of the other 'outcasts'--" their air quotes were *very* aggressive compared to their light tone-- "and from there, it got a lot better. We started calling him Peanut because there was a guy named Kyle in the class, and Cole and Kyle look really similar when you say them. Peanut just made it easier for everyone. Plus, it turned the taunt into a friendly nickname, so that was a plus. Everyone at the clinic calls him Peanut now."

Taylor nodded, tugging on their blue hair

Cole came back. "You can come see her now," he told Taylor.

Taylor nodded to Cole and started looking for Elissa's room

"Come on," Cole told them, leading them down the hall and into Elissa's room.

Taylor followed obediently

Elissa was asleep, looking tiny and frail connected to the varying tubes and machines, including an oxygen tube in her nose.

Cole went up to the young woman in the chair. "Thanks, Denna."

"No problem, Peanut," she said, standing up. "She's still steady."

Cole nodded.

"She'll be fine," Denna promised, putting a hand on his shoulder for a second before walking out of the room.

Taylor was skittish of the machines but walked over to Elissa

"Careful of the cords," Cole warned them quietly as he came over to behind the heart rate monitor.

Elissa was breathing shallowly in her sleep, and it might have just been their imagination, but she looked scared.

Taylor looked at Elissa, wishing they could help. *What I wouldn't give to be a healer right now.*

Kyra walked into the room because Sotilda needed to find a way to fit her into the scene.

Elissa made a little noise in her sleep, a scared noise. The heart rate monitor started to beep just a little bit faster.

“Is this....?” Kyra asked

"Elissa? Yeah," Cole said, checking a few other monitors.

Taylor brushed a strand of hair from Elissa's face

Cole signed something to himself.

Elissa's muscles went tight, like she was flinching. Not at Taylor's touch, but something else. The heart rate monitor continued to slowly speed up as her heart rate increased.

"Frick," Cole said, looking at the blinking light on the heart rate monitor.

Ella- having just woken up from her nap was lost in the clinic, she wasn't amazing at navigating IN buildings but she could climb one really well.

"You enjoy your nap?" Lori asked Ella conversationally.

"GAH- oh it's you. Yes I did." Ella told them

Taylor recoiled, thinking it was their fault that Elissa was worsening

"So what happened while I was asleep, and was the flying ferret real?" Ella asked

"Nothing much, and that's a no on the ferret. Do you need any sort of treatment?" Lori asked.

"It's not you," Cole promised. "I think she's having a nightmare or something. She's in REM sleep at the moment, time-wise," he added, checking yet another monitor, "and she's had a hard 24 hours."

"Like mental treatment?" Ella asked

"Well, this is the clinic, but there's a psychiatrist that comes in in--" Lori checked their watch-- "about three hours."

Taylor nodded but didn't move to go back towards Elissa

“She’ll be okay though, right? Elissa, I mean.” Kyra asked

"Oh friend I needed mental treatment THIRTEEN years ago, and that did not happen." Ella rolled her eyes

"Look, I can't do anything for her right now," Cole told Taylor, still managing several monitors at once. He reached down and brushed a finger against her arm. "She's not in pain. I can't hold her hand or talk her through it because I have to watch her and all these stupid screens. So I need you to help me out."

Taylor walked back over to Elissa, trying not to look freaked out by the beeping monitors

Elissa still looked scared.

Taylor didn't know what to do to comfort someone. They looked at Kyra *Help*

Ella was hopping up and down in place. she was bored.

Cole continued doing whatever it was he was doing, signing to himself and muttering under his breath as he checked monitors and screens and read instruments.

The red light and the beeping continued to slowly speed up.

Taylor whispered something to Elissa, fighting to keep the charmspeak from their voice "You'll get better. You have to."

Elissa didn't respond.

Taylor whispered to Elissa, smoothing her hair. Elissa was getting the full story of Taylor's past Because they didn't know what else to do

"Soooo. What happened while I was asleep?" Ella asked Lori.

Elissa started to calm a little, leaning her head against their hand.

The beeping leveled out but didn't yet slow back down.

"Not much," Lori said. A definite lie.

"*Sure.*" Ella looked at them as if saying *cut the crap*

"Patient confidentiality," Lori said, shrugging. "Couldn't tell you if I wanted to."

"Okay. You work here?" ELla asked

Taylor continued whispering to Elissa, rubbing gentle circles with their thumb, now telling her about Kyra

Lori gestured to their coat, scrubs, and ID badge. "No, it's cosplay day at the supermarket," they deadpanned.

"Okay, well- do you cosplay?" Ella asked

Slowly -- with a sort of agonizing slowness -- the beeps and flashes slowed back down.

Cole looked up. "Her pulse is normal, her muscles are relaxed, and her breathing's steadied. Good job, Taylor."

"Sometimes. You?" Lori replied

Taylor glanced up at Cole, half hoping that he had heard them and half hating the idea.

"Nope! Well unless you count that one hit where-." *Shoot Ella you just said that.* "I uhh- I do improv."

"Hit?" Lori asked, their expression suddenly guarded.

"Uh no- no I said yeah I said hit." Ella admitted

Lori watched her carefully. "It's not like you'll tell me the truth either way, but are you on a 'hit' right now?"

"NO! I am not- I uhh i'm actually taking a break from that... I'm so stupid." Ella groaned

Lori furrowed their eyebrows. "Okay," they said.

Cole had caught some of what Taylor had said to Elissa -- not most of the second part, but the first part, when he had been frantically looking back and forth between her and the machines, trying to figure out if there was something he could do.

"Sorry, I should probably leave." Ella pulled her hair out of it's pony tail.

Taylor backed up from Elissa, plucking at the bandages on their hands

"That might be best," Lori agreed.

"Hey, you did great," Cole told them.

Elissa made a calm little sighing noise in her sleep.

Taylor smiled at him sheepishly "Did you hear what I told her? Sorry- bad choice of words. See what I told her?"

"You can say hear, I don't mind," Cole said automatically. "And- a lot of it, yeah."

"Sorry." Ella walked out as fast as she could, and climbed the nearest tree.

"Oh." Taylor dropped their gaze to the floor, trying to figure out if they were glad or upset

Ella started pulling leaves off of the tree and weaving the stems together.

"Sorry," Cole said.

"It's fine." Taylor muttered, tugging on their hair

Cole took a deep breath. "People suck sometimes," he said.

"Most times but yeah." Taylor shrugged

Lori came in. "Howsit?" they asked, signing **How's it going?**

"Well, she had a nightmare and it all went to hell for a while, but I think we're good now," Cole said.

"She's done?"

"Yeah, Taylor got her out of it."

Lori nodded. "Anyone ever tell you you'd make a good doctor?" they asked them.

Taylor squeezed their eyes shut as they shook their head once "I'm not a doctor. Not after that." They knew that Cole would probably know what they were talking about

"After-" Lori began, but they cut themself off, seeing Cole sign, **Don't push it.** "Okay," they said instead.

Taylor opened their eyes, looking at Cole and Lori before walking out of the room without another word

Ella floated some rocks up to her, she was still weaving leaves, and tied the rocks to the leaves and flowers.

"Give them a minute," Cole told Lori before they could follow Taylor.

**What's up with them?** Lori signed.

**Not my story to tell,** Cole replied. **They went through some [redacted] with doctors when they were younger, but that's all I'll tell you.**

Lori nodded. **Should I not have said that?**

**Yeah,** Cole admitted.

Taylor clawed at the bandages wrapped around their hands, trying to get them off

**On second thought, I might need to go make sure they don't do anything dumb,** Cole signed.

**Go for it,** Lori replied. **I'll watch Little.**

Cole nodded and headed out into the hallway.

Taylor was now trying to get the bandages off with their teeth

"Hey, stop that," Cole said, catching their hands. "Seriously. I know you hate it, but you have to keep them on."

"But- Fine." Taylor heaved a sigh

Cole leaned against the wall, suddenly *really* tired. "I haven't slept in-" He realized he was talking and cut himself off.

Taylor folded their arms and looked at him, tapping their foot/shoe on the floor "How long has it been?"

Ella stared in the direction of the clinic, she had made a kind-of wind chime.

"Um... since Kyra showed up?" Cole said tentatively.

"Even I've slept-" *Collapsed* "Since then. You are taking a nap as soon as we get back." Taylor gave him a look

"That wasn't exactly by choice," Cole told them. "And yeah, I was planning to anyway."

Ella was making her third wind chime this one looked kind of like a rose.

"Also, Lori asked about why you and Callyah came back so suddenly." Taylor informed him

"Yeah, I figured they would sooner or later. Did you tell them anything?" Cole asked

"Just that you and Callyah were chosen by the queen for a secret group. Nothing else." Taylor said

Cole nodded. "Good."

"You may want to explain to them before they ask me again" Taylor warned Cole

Ella moved on to regular flower crowns, see she's not all mean and rude,

"Yeah, I'll do that," Cole said. "Thanks for the heads-up."

Taylor started sneakily trying to get the bandages off again

"I will tape your fingers together," Cole told them. "Stop doing that. And here." He pulled the orange container of pills out of his back pocket and shook one out. "You need to take this."

Taylor looked anything but enthusiastic about taking a pill but popped it in their mouth, swallowing with a gag

Cole went back in the room.

**I think she's waking up,** Lori signed.

**Cool. You asked T-A-Y-L-O-R why I left and am back here with C-A-L?**

**Yes. Why?**

**I got asked to help with finding a group of rebels. The ones that attacked the clinic last night.**

**Those [redacted]s?** Lori shook their head. **Why you?**

**Doctor skills in a young person's body, I guess,** he signed. **Plus, C-A-L helped pick the team.**

**Why? Thought she was a maid.**

**Not like a cleaning maid. Unmarried lady-in-waiting maid. She and the queen are close, apparently. She recommended me.** He didn't add that she'd done it because he had a useful ability.

Lori made a *huh* face and was about to sign more, but Elissa woke up then.

"Hi," she said quietly.

Taylor made a face at the pill

Taylor tossed their blue hair behind their shoulder, making a *ew-yuck* face

Lori crossed to the door and stuck their head out into the hall. "She's awake," they told Taylor.

Cole sat down. "Good morning, sleepyhead," he said to Elissa.

Elissa made a face. "I feel yucky."

Taylor walked into the room again, smiling at Elissa nervously

Elissa waved with a hand connected to an IV tube and a pulse oximeter.

Taylor walked over "How are you feeling?" They asked

"Kinda yucky," Elissa admitted.

Taylor brushed a bit of hair from Elissa's face

"Hey, your--" she made a lobster-claw motion with her hand-- "thingies are gone."

"Just bandages for now. Though I think that Doctor Boy is going to threaten to put my hands back in those prisons if I mess with the bandages anymore." Taylor said with a small snicker

Ella put her wind chimes up in the tree, twirling her finger to make a kind of actually pleasant sound fill the air.

"Probably," Elissa agreed. "Hey, this is new." She reached up with her other hand and poked the IV tube attatched to the first hand. "What's this for?" she asked.

"Fluids," Cole said.

"No touch." Taylor scolded "You'll hurt yourself"

Elissa gave them a look, like, *How do you think I got here in the first place?*

Taylor pulled at the bandages

"If I can't touch the tube thingy, you're not allowed to touch the bandages," Elissa told them.

Ella befriended a ladybug.

Taylor sighed in defeat "Fine."

"Why don't you teach them some signs?" Cole suggested. "They need to build up the muscles in their hands some, and you've been getting really good."

"Okay!" Elissa said happily.

Taylor sat down near Elissa's feet

"A," Elissa said, holding up her hand in the ASL sign for **A.**

Taylor clumsily mimicked Elissa, cussing at their hand under their breath

(here's what the letters look like if you/anyone else needs them)

"B," Elissa continued, showing them how to make the **B** shape.

Taylor's hands shook a little as they made a B

"Good job," Elissa said. "C." **C.**

Taylor's hands were getting more and more shaky with each letter

"Let's take a break," Cole told Elissa. "You're a good teacher, you know that?"

Elissa beamed. "Lori taught me a new word, did they tell you?" she asked excitedly.

"No, what word was that?" Cole asked.

**Fart,** she signed, giggling. "They called Hal a--" **fart face.**

Cole managed not to laugh.

Taylor tried to hide how shaky their hands were after learning a few letters

"You're doing great," Elissa told them cheerily. "Want to keep going?"

"I think they've learned enough for now," Cole said again. "Their muscles are still repairing, remember?"

"Right," Elissa said, pouting.

Taylor hissed something at their hands before glancing up at Elissa. "Never repeat anything I say"

"Or you could just not teach her those words," Cole suggested.

Elissa made another face. "You're no fun, Peanut."

"Hey, only the doctors get to call me that," Cole said, ruffling her hair.

"Not a chance, Doctor Boy. I need to reach my daily amount of cussing and complaining." Taylor smirked

"What about Doctor Boy?" Elissa asked. "Can I call you that?"

Cole looked at Taylor. "Thanks."

"What for?" Taylor asked, confused

"Now she's going to keep bugging me until I let her call me that." Cole sighed

Elissa shrugged. "He's not wrong."

"At least she's not calling you Peanut." Taylor shrugged

"He and Lori both said I wasn't allowed to unless I went to med school. And I have to wait at *least* six years before I can. It's not fair." She folded her arms carefully, trying not to tangle up the oximeter and IV cords.

"Don't rush to grow up, Elissa." Taylor told her

"If I ever grow up," Elissa grumbled.

"You will, trust me. And it'll be way too fast no matter what anyone does."  Taylor sighed

Elissa looked up at them. "You really think I will?"

"I know you will. Now sleep, Squirt. You'll teach me more of those fancy hand signs when you wake up." Taylor ruffled Elissa's hair a tiny bit

"Okay," Elissa agreed, lying back down and closing her eyes.

Taylor got up and backed away "Was that okay?" They asked Cole

"Um." Cole tugged on his hood.

Taylor fiddled with the bandages on their hands

Cole looked like he wanted to say something, but really didn't want to at the same time.

"Spit it out, Doctor Boy." Taylor told him

"Her disease is degenerative," Cole said quietly.

"English." Tay told him

"She's slowly dying," Cole said.

Taylor froze. *[redacted.] [redacted] [redacted very redacted]* "Dying?" They asked quietly, voice barely a whisper

Cole nodded.

Taylor's tired hands tightened into fists. They looked around, having that look of *I need to punch something so get out of my way* On their face

"I know," Cole said, his voice tight. "I hate it."

"Not her." Taylor told him "Almost anyone but her." Their hands were shaking

"I know," Cole said again. "It's the opposite of fair. And if there was someone to hit, I would."

"There is someTHING to hit though." Taylor started walking towards the entrance, planning on punching some trees.

Lori was still in the hall. "Hey, where are you going?" they asked Taylor.

"Outside for fresh air" Taylor lied smoothly

Lori studied them. "Okay."

Taylor walked out the front, looking for a tree *What the [redacted]. Where are all the good trees?*

Val was existing.

Taylor started walking towards the only tree in their sight

Callyah was existing in the living room, reading a book.

Anika was also in the living room, sitting in a chair and looking surprisingly calm.

Taylor punched the tree with surprisingly little force. They glared at their hand, hating that it was shaking

Matissa came in with her own book and sat in a chair near Anika. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Lori came outside. "What is it with you?" they asked angrily.

"What do you mean?" Taylor glanced up at Lori

"You just went through twenty-four hours in a hospital with casts on your hands for punching a tree, and the minute someone leaves you alone, you just go right back to doing it." Lori hissed

"Yep." Taylor didn't even try to deny it. "Trees are great to punch. They can't run or anything."

"Yeah, but they can send you back to the hospital. Cole's the one that told me you could handle not being in casts the whole time. You really want to undermine him?" Lori asked

Taylor paused, "No." They turned around and leaned against the tree instead

"Good." Lori let out a breath. "Sorry," they added. "I kind of lost it. It's been a [redacted] stressful morning."

"I can tell." Taylor tried to smirk

Lori shook their head as if knocking something loose. "I [redacted] hate..."

"Being a doctor? Having to watch people ///?" Taylor asked

"And not being able to do anything about it," Lori agreed. "I became a doctor to help people."

"Everyone expires sometime. You push back the best by date as much as you can. Some people have a short shelf life and it's not fair. But you do what you can." Taylor shrugged. *I took that metaphor too far, didn't I.*

Lori gave them a look. "Cole told you about Elissa yet?"

"Why do you think I punched the tree?" Taylor replied

"She's been at the clinic for a year now, and we've had maybe... ten of the little episodes like the one we had today. She's fine -- even improving -- for a while, and then..." Lori opened their hands like they were dropping something. "All our progress is gone, and we have to fight like [redacted] to save her, and then start all over again."

Taylor looked like they wanted to punch something. *[redacted]. What I wouldn't give to heal her.*

"I know," Lori said. "And if I could trade places with her, I would in a heartbeat."

"You wouldn't be the one to though. I would. You'd be the one to save a hundred more people." Taylor folded their arms

"I wish," Lori muttered.

"How long does she have?" Taylor asked, refusing to let their hands shake

Both Val and Danny were existing.

"We don't know," Lori admitted. "At best, she could make it to sixteen. At worst, she dies tomorrow."

"[redacted]" Taylor muttered, struggling not to punch the tree again

"I know," Lori said again. "There are places working on finding a cure, or at least a treatment, but they're still a long way off."

Ella named her ladybug Alex, she had no idea if it was a girl or boy.

"Storytime worked, it seemed like." Taylor was tugging at the bandages on their hands

Lori gave them a pointed look, but didn't say anything. "She likes stories," they agreed. "Cole made up a whole bunch of them for her about a warrior princess named Alicia."

Taylor was more tugging at the bandages out of nerves than actively unwrapping or ripping them "Sounds cool. She must like action stories then." The last part they mused to themself

"She says-" Lori cut themself off. "Never mind."

"What?" Taylor looked up at Lori

"If I tell you, are you going to promise me you won't try to punch the tree again?" Lori asked

"I promise." Taylor told Lori in a monotone

"She likes to say that if she grows up, she wants to be a soldier." Lori replied

Taylor nearly choked "A soldier? Admirable, but way too dangerous." They shook their head

"She's a fighter," Lori said, shrugging. "And I think she's kind of used to the idea that she's going to die at this point. Which is pretty sad."

"I- Ugh." Taylor shook their head again *Caring is so hard and tiring. And annoying.*

"I know," Lori said. "I was there when she got diagnosed. I'm pretty sure I cried for an hour."

Taylor scuffed a shoe/foot against the ground. "Why her. Of all people, why her." They muttered

Lori shrugged tightly.

Taylor clawed at the bandages on their hands, trying to get it off

"Stop that," Lori said. "Seriously. You get a second chance, so don't waste it."

Taylor dropped their hands, internally telling themself to be better. They hung their head guiltily

Danny stumbled up the road to the clinic, using some very creative curses. Of all the places she was assigned to look for Tay, why here? And to make things even better, her stab wound had opened back up. Joy to the world, indeed.

Ella noticed Danny, she was bored in the tree and ladybugs kinda freaked her out, she hopped out of the tree and quietly followed her.

Danny, being herself, was so absorbed in her swearing that she didn’t hear Ella. Later, she would slap herself for such a rookie mistake. She kicked the ground and kept walking up to the clinic.

*Profanity much?* Ella thought.

Lori noticed and shifted right back into doctor mode. "Hey, are you okay?" they asked, stepping closer. Then they noticed the blood. "Let's get you inside."

Ella, who was still being sneaky, was squinting, annoyed with her masks.

Danny glanced up, studying Lori suspiciously. “You work here?”

Lori gestured to their scrubs, medical coat, and ID badge. "What do you think?"

"I won't make that mistake twice." Ella whispered, yeah stalking a bleeding girl who need medical help, not the creepiest thing she's done.

Danny shrugged. “I’ve seen weirder imposters.” She still didn’t notice Tay.

Taylor looked up to see who Lori was talking to and paled

"Yeah, I'm a doctor. Can we get you inside and take a look at that" Lori asked

"Oh shoot." Ella noticed Taylor, "What is going on?"

Taylor shook their head, forcing a laugh "This has to be a nightmare."

"Oh, I should have brought popcorn." Yeah Ella was still being stalk-y and creepy

"Hey, are you okay?" Lori asked them, still waiting for the new girl to answer.

Taylor was starting to realize this was not a nightmare. They pinched themself on their arm. When they didn't wake up, they started panicking. Internally, of course

Ella started inching our of her hiding place in case Taylor needed help, you know non-medical help. 'cause we already got a doctor.

"I-" Taylor turned around and noped it out of there

"Well dang, no one got hurt!" Ella said

Because Ploofy had to go, Danny passed out from shock, lack of sleep, and blood loss.

"[Redacted]," Lori muttered. They knelt down and checked her pulse. Good, she'd just passed out. They carefully picked her up and carried her to the operating room in the clinic.

Taylor was now hiding behind the tree to avoid anyone asking about Danny. Or to avoid Danny herself.

Ella was STILL in her hiding place but moved to camp out in the front of the clinic.

Danny woke up in the hospital bed, swearing loudly at something in her dream. That she conveniently had. Because ~plot convenience~. Yay.

"Hey, easy," Lori said evenly, trying to calm her. "You're okay. I stitched up your arm and gave you something for the pain."

Danny glanced at them and fell silent, instinctively reaching to itch the wound.

Taylor eventually came back into the clinic, the bandages on their hands looking more worn from their panicked scratching

"Nope," Lori said, catching her hand. "That'll pull out the stitches."

“But it’s itchy!” Danny complained, wrenching her hand free and twisting her rings instead.

Taylor clawed at the bandages again

"Here." Lori pulled out a canister and sprayed something over the wound. It stopped being itchy.

Danny kept twisting her rings and asked quietly, “You know Tay?”

"Wh- Oh, Taylor. Mm-hm." Lori nodded

“Punching things as usual?” Danny guessed, not really sure where she was going with this conversation.

"You know them?" Lori asked

Holden somewhat existed at the house

Callyah was also existing at the house. Anika and Paisley might have been too

Taylor went back into Elissa's room, fist aching from when they punched the tree

Cole was sitting in the chair, elbows resting on his knees, looking less like a doctor and more like a worried family member. He didn't notice Taylor.

Kyra stood up when Tay walked into the room, her eyes immediately flitting to their hand.

Taylor poked Cole's shoulder. "Doctor boy, my shift." They told him, not noticing Kyra's glance at their hand

“Something like that,” Danny agreed, relaxing a little bit. “They’re a [ReDaCtEd] idiot and pain in the [rEdAcTeD], but I still care about them.”

Cole looked up at them. "You're not a doctor," he told them. "A trained person has to be in here."

"Sounds about right," Lori said.

"Tay..." Kyra said slowly. "Mind if I see your hand for a moment? Or better--mind showing your hand to Cole?"

Taylor rolled their eyes "Then you take a nap while I watch Elissa. I'll wake you up is something happens"

Cole shook his head. "Hey, what's up with-" He gave them a look. "Did you punch a tree again?"

Taylor avoided everyone's eyes "Maybe."

Kyra resisted the urge to facepalm. "Mind if I ask why?" she inquired.

"... Helplessness." They muttered

Cole sighed. "You have got to stop that."

"Believe me, I already got yelled at by Lori." Thinking of Lori reminded Taylor of Danny which was NOT something they wanted to think about.

Kyra tilted her head slightly, "I--I'm not even going to get started on how much I wish you wouldn't do that to yourself, and instead, I'm going to ask--what made you feel helpless? Because I need to know if I need to go kick someone's [REDACTED]."

Taylor jerked their chin at Elissa, hands still shaking

Kyra's gaze softened. She almost wanted to give Tay a hug, and cradle them in her arms--but Cole was right there, and...yeah.

Taylor didn't mention Danny, figuring that Kyra would figure it out soon enough

Cole didn't care -- he was focused on Elissa, anyway.

To fill the awkward silence, Kyra said, "You sure I don't need to kick anyone's [REDACTED]? Because if need be, I would be happy to--"

"Give me a few minutes to decide." Taylor told Kyra with a small smirk

The corners of Kyra's mouth tilted up, hoping that Tay's smirk was a sign of the dreary atmosphere in the room lifting.

"Also, Queenie-" Taylor beckoned Kyra to come closer

Kyra stepped closer, waiting for Tay to finish their sentence.

"They found me." Taylor picked at the bandages on their hands

Kyra's eyes widened, "You mean--you mean 'they' as in your gang? They're here?!"

"One of them. Danny." Taylor nodded

Danny snorted and laid back on the cot. “I don’t suppose I can get up now?”

"You're welcome to walk around, but stay in here," Lori said.

Danny didn’t move, deciding it wasn’t worth it as she considered her options.

Taylor fidgeted

"Danny..." Kyra said, her eyes narrowing. "Why do I get the feeling I won't like this person?"

"Maybe because she's the one who literally saved my life." Taylor muttered

Danny was done thinking so she got up to pace around the room and continued twisting her rings.

Lori looked at their watch. "I have to go check on some other patients, so I'm going to leave. If you need someone, just press that button on the side of your bed there and one of the doctors will come in."

“Sure,” Danny agreed absentmindedly, now fidgeting with her necklace.

Lori nodded and headed out to check on other patients.

Danny continued fidgeting and pacing.

Taylor looked at Kyra "I'll be back" They slipped out the door

You guessed it! Danny continued pacing and fidgeting but now she added overthinking to the mix.

Taylor heard pacing and walked in out of sheer curiosity

Danny didn’t look up and continued pacing, waiting for whoever it was to say something.

Taylor looked up, eyes falling on Danny "Why me. Every single [redacted] time."

Danny glanced up and smirked slightly. “Nice to see you again, Tay.”

"Yeah, you too." Tay said tightly

“What’re you doing out here?” Danny asked bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Getting real medical attention. Duh." Taylor motioned to the bandages on their hands

Danny winced. “Did the doctors not help?”

Taylor forced their face to stay impassive. "They didn't, actually. They tortured me."

Lori had come back to check on Danny, but they stopped outside the door, hearing Taylor inside.

Danny gasped. “Oh, Tay. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” She looked miserable and stared at her feet guiltily.

"Yeah. I figured that. What has the gang been up to since I ran?" Taylor asked casually

*Gang?* Lori wondered.

She wrinkled her nose. “Not a lot. James took over and wants us to call him Diablo. Since then it’s been one mistake after another.”

Taylor looked a bit smug "James is a [redacted] who can't order around a three year old." They rolled their eyes "And Diablo is the stupidest name since 'Swanboy'"

Holden felt offended

Danny smiled faintly. “I used to have a friend with that nickname,” she remembered wistfully. “And I told him that but he wouldn’t listen.”

Kyra waited for a moment, not following Tay out of the room. She was supposed to protect Tay--not this...Danny. She scowled for a moment before walking out of the room to join them, hoping she didn't look too much like an overprotective porcupine.

Holden felt eVeN mOrE offended

"Are we having a party in here?" Lori deadpanned as Kyra walked past them.

"Yeah. And one more thing, if you dare hurt anyone in this clinic or anyone else I count as my friends, there will be [redacted] to pay." Taylor brushed their blue hair behind their shoulder

Kyra moved to stand next to Tay, turning her eyes to the new person in the room, "You're Danny, aren't you?"

“Yeah, I am,” Danny agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Tay, I didn’t come here to bring you back. I’m deserting and wanted to know if you would join me.”

"Tay isn't going anywhere," Kyra ground out, resisting the urge to stand in front of them and shield them from Danny. "Unless they want to." She turned to Tay, "Do you want to?"

"I'm staying right here. I'm never going back. The past is in the past, though it seems to haunt me." Taylor folded their arms

Danny considered her option and chose the worst idea. “Did you just quote Frozen?”

Kyra felt a surge of--pride? Relief? She was just happy that Tay was here, and they weren't going to leave her.

Taylor avoided looking at anyone "... No..." Their reddish face said otherwise

"What's Frozen?" Kyra asked.

Taylor looked at Kyra "A movie we watched a few times in the gang"

“Every Friday.” Danny corrected them.

"Huh--makes sense that I've never seen it--the Gambit didn't really do movies--it was mostly training, training, training, and the occasional mission that was really a test for more training," Kyra said.

"It's a good movie. We should watch it sometime." Taylor informed Kyra

A smile tugged at Kyra's lips--she liked 'we.' She liked it a lot. "Maybe we should."

"Danny, I forgot to introduce you. This is Qu- Kyra, my..." Taylor glanced at Kyra, asking for permission

Kyra flushed, realizing she didn't really know what they were yet--did they have to be anything? She gave a little shrug, giving Tay permission to label them.

"Girlfriend or significant other." Taylor finished

Kyra didn't know whether to flush and look down or to meet Danny's eyes with defiance.

Danny met Kyra’s gaze evenly, almost amused. “Congratulations.”

"Thank you," Kyra said, meeting Danny's eyes with the same even gaze.

“And what are you really here for? I think we both know Tay would never just come to a clinic to treat their hands.” Danny continued, maintaining the eye contact.

"They had some...enthusiastic encouragement--mostly from me and Cole--but I...don't have to tell you that, do I?" Kyra said.

“No, but you don’t have to be here either,” Danny observed. “Unlike me, you can leave whenever you want.”

"I stay with Tay," Kyra said evenly. "I leave for an hour and rebels show up--and now you."

“Excuse me?” Danny raised an eyebrow at her. “What did I ever do to you? What rebels? Please tell me you’re not kidnapping the queen or something.”

"I abandoned that plan a while ago," Kyra waved off. "Besides--once I found out Ani was my closest friend who just so happened to forget to tell me she was Queen, I really didn't want to kidnap her and have her tortured. And I don't really care if you've done--or do anything to me. But I do care about Tay--and something tells me you have something to do with their nightmares."

Taylor sighed. *I guess we're sharing the whole story, huh. [redacted]*

Danny shook her head and decided, “I don’t even want to know. But Tay’s been getting nightmares?”

"That--I shouldn't have said anything--its none of your business," Kyra said.

“Given the fact that I risked my neck to get them out of there, I’d say it is my business,” Danny countered stubbornly.

"Queenie, it's okay. She needs to know. Maybe this means she won't hold the fact that she saved me over my head forever." Taylor sighed

"Saved you from what?" Kyra inquired.

"I may or may not have been toning down how badly I was injured by my gang..." Taylor said sheepishly

Danny scowled and muttered a few unkind things, both about the gang and Tay.

"That is very offensive, Star Girl." Taylor told Danny. "But fine. I lost our gang what I was tasked to steal. And they nearly killed me for it. Danny took me to the doctor, not realizing that I would just be healed to be tortured. That's the story."

"Sounds like there's a lot more to the story," Kyra muttered. So Tay had a nickname for Danny too--Kyra wasn't jealous. Nope. Not. At. All.

"We'd be here all day," Danny sighed. "And Tay, you are a complete and utter idiot. Ο Θεός ξέρει πώς επέζησες τόσο πολύ."

Taylor rolled their eyes "What, did you expect me to complain? You know that I would get beaten for less." They rubbed their fist, trying to not wince

Danny looked away guiltily.

Kyra looked between the two, "Okay--there's definitely something you're not telling me."

"It's just bad blood about the gang." Taylor told Kyra, clawing at their bandages again

"Yeah--I think I picked up on that..." Kyra said, her hand reaching out to stop Tay from tearing at their bandages, but quickly returning it to her side with a glance at Danny.

Taylor continued clawing at the bandages, now biting it too

"Stop it, Tay," Danny finally snapped, reaching out to stop them. "You'd think that you'd have a little bit of self worth in that tiny body of yours."

Kyra looked down at the floor, silently cursing herself for not going through with it and taking hold of Tay's hands before Danny.  She wasn't jealous of Danny--no--it wasn't like she was--taller than her, and had more history with Tay, and saved them like she was supposed to--nope. Not at all.

"Self worth is way overrated." Taylor informed them both

"Βλάκας." Danny muttered, shaking her head. "Self worth is not overrated."

"If you can't take care of yourself for yourself, take care of yourself for the people who care about you," Kyra said.

"That sentence confuses me, Queenie. And self worth is just self preservation which is unnecessary" Taylor said

"Darwinism, Tay," Danny sighed, shaking her head.

"Self preservation so that the people who care about you don't have to worry," Kyra said. "But then again--I'll probably always worry about you," she mumbled.

Taylor continued biting the bandages, trying to get them off

Danny slapped their hands lightly.

Taylor flinched.

"Do I need to remind you that those bandages aren't edible? Because I doubt they taste very good," Kyra deadpanned.

"It really not that hard, Tay. Whatever happened to solving the Rubik's Cube instead?" Danny asked exasperatedly.

"Bandages should obviously be edible. Next great invention, edible bandages." Taylor spat out the bandages

Ooooooof course they had a method for this--great. Something else that Tay hadn't told Kyra. Not that they needed to tell her everything--they didn't. She...she would have just liked to help.

Taylor was blinking quickly, obviously struggling to stay awake

Rolling her eyes, Danny reached over to support Tay so they wouldn't topple over. "Νομίζω ότι μπορεί να προσπαθείτε να βλάψετε τον εαυτό σας σε αυτό το σημείο." She muttered to herself

Kyra continued to stare at the ground. She really wished she knew how to speak Greek--if that's the language that Danny was speaking.

Taylor was asleep again. Almost immediately, they started dreaming.

Kyra's eyes flitted to Tay, who had fallen asleep again. Screw it--she went over to help Danny support them.

"Join a group? Like a family?" Taylor muttered in their sleep, seeing the moment they joined the gang. "Isn't that bad though?"

"Και εκεί πας πάλι." Danny added, picking Tay up and settling them into the cot.

Kyra followed Danny, sitting on the edge of the cot. She turned to the girl, "You know what they're dreaming about, don't you?"

Danny looked up and blinked at Kyra. "Yeah, I think so," She nodded and brushed a strand of hair out of their face.

"Why would I want to join in?" There was a pause "Okay. I'm in!" A smile broke out across Tay’s face

Lori had been leaning against the doorway -- now they gave Danny a look. "Let Kyra hold them. You shouldn't be straining your arm just yet."

Danny rolled her eyes but stepped back to let Kyra sit next to Tay.

Taylor fell silent, smile dissapearing. "Ow" They whispered, just like they did when Danny took them to the doctor

Ella was living, converting oxygen to carbon dioxide and going back to the house. She REALLY wanted to fight someone.

"Are they okay?" Lori asked Danny or Kyra -- whoever was going to answer them.

Anika fell asleep in the living room, a book in her hands.

Callyah, having inherited Matissa's mom gene, gently took the book from Anika and covered her with a quilt.

Anika curls up in the chair, looking much more vulnerable while she slept then she let on when she was awake.

Danny shrugged. “They should be fine, but you might want to strap them down so they don’t punch someone when they wake up.”

"Hi, is it really warm in here or just me?" Ella asked no one in particular once in the house.

"I think it might just be you," Matissa said.

Callyah sat at the foot of the chair and leaned against it, opening her book again.

"Are you kidding me?" Lori asked. "Then they wake up tied down. Why would I do that to them?"

Paisley was existing.

Advika came out of the room she had inhabited and looked around.

"Really? I'm really hot. You know temp wise." Ella said

Matissa shrugged. "The basement is usually cooler, if you'd like to go down there."

Paisley was looking around for Holden.

Advika walks into the kitchen and rests her elbows on the counter and sets her chin in her hands.

"You hungry?" Matissa asked Advika.

Taylor's head thrashed back and forth "Danny, don't let them hurt me" They whispered

"Hey," Lori said gently, coming to stand near Taylor and Kyra. "It's okay, Taylor. No one is going to hurt you, I promise."

Holden is with Matissa

Danny took Tay’s hand and murmured, “Σωχ Μην ανησυχείς, Tay. Δεν θα τους αφήσω να σας πάρουν αυτή τη φορά.”

"I'm good thanks." Ella rubbed her left side.

Paisley saw Holden and walked over.

Advika watched everyone with a smirk as she stood in the kitchen.

Taylor locked their jaw, still looking freaked out. They winced every so often

"Good [morning??]." Holden said to Paisley. He had silently debated between calling her princess or Paisley. Neither had won.

"[redacted] nightmares," Lori muttered under their breath. "Three [redacted] years of med school and I still can't fix these things."

Paisley smiles, “Good [morning?]” she replies tiredly.

Danny nodded in agreement. “Nightmares are the worst.”

Ella got out *Thick as Thieves*

Taylor flinched, wincing at the same time

"Should we wake them up?" Lori asked.

"How did you sleep?" Holden asked

Kyra chewed on her lip--was there a cure for nightmares? They were in a hospital, surely someone knew how to ease the distress in the air.

Taylor stopped thrashing and moving before they opened their eyes. "uh9pojliu?" They asked

"Sorry, I don't speak gibberish," Kyra said, a relieved sigh escaping her.

Taylor rubbed at their eyes, feeling sore.

"You okay?" Lori asked them.

"I'm fine." Taylor tried not to wince as they hopped off the cot, stumbling a few steps

"You don't look fine," Lori told them.

"Disoriented, then." Tay replied, picking at the bandages

Lori decided not to push it. "Look, Cole's shift is almost up, and you and Kyra can't be wandering around here without him, so get ready to go, okay? And Danny here needs to rest and get some of her fluids back."

Taylor glanced at Danny, sighing. They seemed to know exactly what they had said in their sleep. "Got it."

Lori nodded and headed back to Elissa's room, where Cole was still sitting. **Time for you to go home and sleep, Peanut.**

**I don't want...** He didn't finish, but they knew what he meant.

**I know,** they signed. **I hate having to let H-A-L or D-E-N-N-A do it. But you need to sleep.**

**Fine,** Cole signed as he stood up. "Bye, Elissa."

Elissa, still asleep, didn't respond.

Taylor leaned against the wall, trying to rub the soreness out of their arm

Paisley shrugs, “Good.” she says simply.

Anika stirred in her sleep, waking up and seeing people around her she suddenly felt very vulnerable.

Advika smirks, “Her majesty awakes!”

"Hey, be nice," Callyah said -- though more like a reminder, rather than being defensive.

"Missed you," Holden admitted

Advika smirks but doesn’t say anything else.

Anika swallows, sitting up, she didn’t like sleeping much, it made her feel very vulnerable. No matter how many guards she had surrounding her. Ever since her mother came out and proved she couldn’t even trust her family she was feeling even more vulnerable which is why she was trying to hold it together.

Paisley smiles and slips her hand into Holden’s.

Callyah leaned her head against Anika's knee, reminding her that she was still right there.

Holden grasps Paisley's hand.

Anika let out a small breath of relief and just pure exhaustion from the weeks events.

Paisley smiles, “Is there any food?“ she asks.

"There are some peppers in the fridge, and I can make you something else if you like," Matissa offered.

Callyah continued to exist at the foot of Anika's chair.

Paisley nods, liking this women, “That would be nice.” she says sweetly.

Anika clears her throat, “I’m going to go get ready, then I will decide what we are going to do next.” she says, standing up, making sure to be careful of Callyah still sitting there.

"What would you like?" Matissa asked.

Callyah stood up too.

"Food is always good." Holden said

“Anything is fine, but I am allergic to pepper, gluten and corn.” Paisley says.

Anika walks to her bedroom, grabbing an outfit and offers Callyah a small smile before going into the bathroom and locking the door.

"Okay," Matissa said, looking around in the fridge. "How about an omelette?"

Callyah sat down on the bed in Anika's room, waiting for her.

"Oh omelets are always good." Holden said

"I'll make you one too, then. What would you like in it?" Matissa smiled

Paisley nods, “Okay, thank you.” she says sweetly.

Anika turns on the shower water before standing at the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror for a few minutes before taking a quick shower. She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her hair wet and she was wearing an outfit that made her look in charge, and she felt a slight bit more confident.

"Want me to do your hair?" Callyah asked her.

Anika nods and sits down at the foot of the bed.

Callyah found a brush and started gently working the tangles out of Anika's hair before weaving it into a braid.

Anika smiles gratefully as she stands up, “Time to be a queen.” she whispers to herself before opening her door and going back to the main room, looking much more regal than she did when she was sleeping in the chair.

Callyah \*gasp\* followed.

Anika cleared her throat when she made it to the main living room.

"Oh yay, she put the '*crown'* back in prissy crown." Ella set the book she finished reading in her small 'done' pile and picked up a particularly thick novel.

"Oh- well that character died- oh no wait. He's fine, just being kidnapped." Ella said, reading *Year of the hangman*.

Taylor was, yet again, biting the medical bandages

Anika frowns slightly, “Okay everyone, we’ve had a...long week.” she says slowly.

"I've had a long LIFE, welcome to my rodeo! So what was our goal in this again? I forgot." Ella said

"Tay--" Kyra pushed their hands away from their mouth. "Not edible, remember?"

"Not edible." Taylor repeated with a sigh

"You hungry? Maybe I could get you something to eat instead of the non-edible bandages." Kyra offered

"That would be great." Taylor gave the bandages a *look*

"Okay--I'll do that. And don't even try to bite those bandages while I'm gone. I'll know." Kyra did that cheesy two fingered 'I'm watching you' gesture.

Taylor smirked, telling her without words that they would try to get out of the bandages

Danny was resting in her hospital room.

Valerie was waiting for Anika to be queenly and decide things.

Anika cleared her throat again before speaking up, “We all need rest.” she says, eyeing some people she knew had injuries, “But we also need to be ready in case of an attack. If that doesn’t happen we will be lucky.”

Taylor started nomming on the bandages like an idiot. Taylor continued biting the non edible bandages

Kyra came back with a muffin from the lobby, a box of carrots, and a steaming cup of hot chocolate from one of those hot chocolate packets that Kyra just...had. Don't ask why she just had hot chocolate packets lying around--it was a gift.

Taylor stopped biting the bandage immediately. They hated to admit it, but, they were really hungry

Danny was trying to sleep in her room. As one may expect, she was too guilty for thinking she had helped Tay when they escaped.

Taylor wondered if Danny wanted some food

"You were biting the bandages again, weren't you?" Kyra asked Tay as she set the food down beside them.

"... Maybe" Taylor reached for dessert

Kyra raised her eyebrow at them, "I would encourage you to eat the carrots first, but I don't want to sound like an overprotective mom. I probably already have the overprotective girlfriend down," she admitted, flushing at the label.

Taylor paused, smirking at their girlfriend before taking a carrot

Danny was in fact hungry and considering sneaking out to go to the cafeteria.

Kyra flushed for a moment, but then she attempted to pull herself together as she smirked right back.

"New game, who can get the other person flustered more." Taylor offered with a smirk, chomping on the carrot

"Fair warning--you know how I am with games," Kyra smirked devilishly, "I like to win."

"So do I, Pretty Girl." Taylor took another bite

"Challenge accepted," Kyra said, stealing one of their carrots.

Taylor took another bite of food

Danny was trying to fiddle with the lock on her door.

"I'll even allow you to make the first move," Kyra said, as if she were bestowing the greatest treasure upon them.

Lori came back into Danny's room and gave her a look. "It's electronic."

Cole shook his head at Tayra. "Come on, guys, let's go back to the house."

Taylor smirked at Kyra, ignoring Cole for the moment. They took another bite of their food

Danny groaned. "C'mon, can't I just go get some food?"

"I'll bring you something," Lori told her. "Any allergies I need to know about?"

"Besides overbearing nurses?" Danny asked

"Not a nurse," Lori corrected. "I'll be back in a few minutes." They closed the door behind them -- making sure it was locked -- and went to get her a sandwich.

Danny rolled her eyes and flopped back in the bed, just staring at the ceiling.

Lori came back with a sandwich and a bottle of grape juice. "Here's hoping you're just cranky because of the blood loss," they said half-jokingly, setting the tray on the bedside table.

Danny took a bite of the sandwich and thanked them.

"You're welcome. Anything else you need?" Lori asked

Danny shrugged. "No, I'm good. Thanks though."

Taylor pushed away the plate, having eaten an entire two bites

"Yeah we're NEVER lucky, or I know i'm not- so I think that might affect the group. I'm all rested up!" Ella actually needed a nap

Taylor stared at their barely touched plate

"You ready to go?" Cole asked them.

"Yep" Taylor got up, still feeling sore from the nightmares last night. They picked at the bandages on their hand

Danny was eating her sandwich.

Val was considering what Anika said.

"Come on." He led them (and Kyra too, probably,) out of the clinic and back to the Dennison house.

Taylor was scratching at their bandages the whole time. Taylor was finally making some headway on breaking the bandage. They scratched harder

"Stop that," Cole said as they walked through the gate and up the path. "Remember, it's this or the casts, or you lose your hands."

Taylor dropped their hands, sighing softly

They went inside.

Callyah waved them over -- Anika was about to say some important things.

Taylor picked at the bandages on their hands

"Would you stop that." It was a reflex for Cole at this point.

Danny was waiting in her room and trying to sleep.

Val was at the house somewhere, deep in thought.

"Will you stop eating! Your best friend is missing. Turn around, ya lunatic." Taylor quoted, putting their hands in their pockets

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, what?"

Taylor smiled and shook their head

Cole reminded himself not to get mad at them, but it was hard. He hated it when people made it hard for him to understand. He tugged on his hood.

"Hermione and Ron. They have some great lines." Taylor mused

Cole more or less ignored them and sat down in one of the chairs in the living room.

Holden existed

Taylor moved to pick at the bandage again, pausing

Cole didn't say anything -- upon further inspection, he had his eyes closed.

Taylor sat in a chair, deciding to take a short nap

Taylor dreamed of the past as they usually do "Danny, come back" They begged in their sleep quietly "Danny, please!"

"Hey, are they okay?" Callyah asked Cole, standing up and coming over to Taylor's chair.

Holden e x i s t e d

Taylor curled up in a little ball, face full of pain

"Hey." Callyah put a hand on their shoulder. "Taylor, what's wrong?"

"Danny, come back. Make them stop hurting me." They whispered, flinching when Callyah touched their shoulder

Danny was wondering how much longer they'd be kept at the clinic.

Callyah drew her hand back and kicked Cole in the shins. He opened his eyes.

"Are they okay? What's going on?"

Cole shrugged. "Flashbacks to their life." He stood and came over to crouch down in front of them. "It's okay, Taylor. You're safe. No one's trying to hurt you."

Taylor's eyes were tightly shut "That's what you used to tell me. I don't believe it. I swear, I'm never coming back." Their nails were digging into their arm

**My turn,** Callyah signed to Cole. He stood up and backed away, and Callyah took his place, singing this song as if it were a lullaby. (It's slow and quiet and I don't know any actual lullabies that couldn't be interpreted poorly by their nightmare.)

Taylor eventually relaxed, nails not digging into their arms anymore

Cole watched them, concerned.

Callyah finished the song, wondering when she'd turned into the team mom.

Taylor woke up and rubbed their arms, unaware of what they'd been saying in their sleep. They were sore from the pain filled dream.

"Are you okay?" Callyah asked them gently.

Taylor nodded, avoiding looking at anyone

"Anything you want to talk about?" Cal asked.

"Not particularly." Tay replied, hand freezing as it was about to play with the bandages

Callyah nodded. "Word of advice? Pull your sleeve down over your forearm if you don't want Cole to bug you about it." She looked pointedly at the half-moon marks their nails had made in their arm.

Taylor studied the marks with an unsurprised expression, as they usually do when it comes to injuries. "Good point" They pulled the sleeves down

Callyah stood up.

**What'd you do?** Cole signed.

**Lullaby,** Callyah signed back.

Taylor tugged on their hair

Ella sighed, and looked over at Taylor, *Lucky, they actually WOKE UP from her nightmares.*

Taylor tugged harder on their hair, trying to figure out what the blond blob was.

Anika was vibin wherever she should be.

Taylor was rubbing the marks that came from their nails.

Anika clears her throat, “Okay everyone.”

Ella peeked out from behind her book, the third in *The Inheritance Cycle*

Taylor looked up at Anika

Callyah bumped Cole with her hip and pointed to Anika. Cole turned towards the queen.

"Yes?" Ella asked

“So...I have an idea to save our world and while we have to work on that there is a place we can try to get as many people as possible to keep them safe.” Anika says, her stature back to being regal in a more relaxed way.

"Okay, I'm going to listen for the next three minuets." Ella said

Callyah nodded for her to continue.

Hmmm.....Klay was being dead. xD Idek anymore.

“Anyone who is willing to train to fight can stay with me and help, anyone who isn’t can go to the safe house.” Anika says.

"I'm staying," Callyah said immediately.

"I'll stay," Cole added.

Holden was existing also

"Der. I'm fighting." Taylor messed with the bandages on their hands absentmindedly

Anika nods gratefully but she was planning to talk to Matissa alone after this.

"I'm already trained, so I feel like your insulting my physical capabilities." Ella said.

Anika looked Ella over, “I’m not doubting your ability to fight, but you do need training to work with everyone against a larger group.”

"You do a fine job of that all on your own," Callyah told Ella sweetly.

"You know I can put any of you on the top of my hit list and I don't care if I'm getting paid or not. And I can hold my own against a large group of opponents." Ella scoffed

Taylor was trying not to fall asleep. They pinched their arm

"Don't make yourself a threat and I won't have to take you out," Callyah told Ella.

Ella whipped out a note pad, "Would you like to die AFTER your first kiss, or before- 'cuz I doubt the first one will happen."

Anika sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, getting a headache.

Callyah didn't respond -- just casually unhooked her knives from her belt without flicking them open.

"Just keep going," Cole told Anika. "She can listen and death-glare at the same time."

Taylor snickered "This is more entertaining than having a knife to my throat"

Anika sighs and continues, “As I was saying, we have to move fast before the rebels decide to do anything drastic.”

Ella pulled out a small blue ceramic tile.

"More drastic than kidnapping and torturing you?" Cole asked.

Anika sighs, “I suppose you make a fair point...but anything *as* drastic I suppose I should say-“

"So, we're staying here and training?" Callyah asked, not looking away from Ella.

Taylor was now just listening

Ella stared back.

Anika shakes her head, “No-“ she turns to Matissa, “*I* have intruded enough already and staying here puts you and anyone else in the area in danger.” she says, sounding much more mature than any 18 year old should have to be.

"We're happy to have you here," Matissa assured her. "And we're not unprotected."

Anika nods slowly, “I still do not want to put anyone here in more danger than you already are.” she says with a hint of regret in her tone.

"Do you have somewhere else to go?" Matissa asked.

Anika runs a hand through her hair that needed to be cut, “No...but I’m sure we could find somewhere.”

"I have a place." Ella offered

Anika nods, “Okay, that could work.”

"Is this a trick?" Ella asked

Callyah shrugged -- she trusted Ella way less than she could throw her, but she knew she could take her out if it came to that.

Ella could do the same,just with out Callyah feeling any pain.

Taylor looked at everyone in the room before walking out the door, planning on warning Danny

Meanwhile, Lori was hospitaling.

Anika wasn’t sure what else to say.

Taylor walked back to the clinic

"So when do we want to leave?" Ella asked

"Alright," Callyah said. "Cool. So."

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour," Matissa said.

"Thanks, Mom," Cole said. "You're the best."

"Divertida." Ella smiled a bit

"Sorry, what?" Cole asked her.

Taylor walked into the clinic "Where's Danny?" They asked, fingering the bandages around their hands

"You're back *without* Cole?" Lori looked mystified. "She's in [the room number]. You want me to take you there?"

Taylor nodded, casting a glance around

"C'mon." Lori led them down the hall to Danny's room. "I think she's asleep right now, though."

"No me gusta la gente." Ella said

Cole gave up, and Callyah didn't care.

"I just need to tell her a few things. I'd appreciate if you didn't listen too." Taylor looked at Danny's door

Lori shrugged. "Knock yourself out, kid."

Anika looked around the room before slowly walking to her room, pulling out her bag she had managed to get from the palace. She laid down on her back on the bed and held her crown in front of her face, thinking about ~things~.

"OOF! He just-." Ella was reading.

Callyah stood in the doorway of the room, facing the hall to let Anika have her space.

Anika closed her eyes, *don’t fall asleep. You are slacking on your queenly duties. If you fall asleep you are just proving your mother right.* She didn’t fall asleep.

Taylor walked in and told Danny almost everything that had happened. Even their nightmares.

Almost as if she could hear Anika's thoughts, Callyah turned and leaned against the doorway. "You look like you could use some sleep," she said gently.

Lori hadn't listened, because they understood confidentiality.

Anika shook her head her eyes still closed, “I can’t.” she murmured.

Taylor vented about everything. Except for Kyra and the blond blob

Callyah sighed. "Sleep doesn't make you weak."

Anika sighs, “I know...” she says, although saying it aloud doesn’t stop her thoughts.

Anika refuses to sleep but keeps her eyes closed hoping Callyah would let it go.

Callyah sighed and sat next to her on the bed. "Out with it?"

Anika groans, “Why do you have to be a good person?” she asks as she looks over, “Okay fine. I’m thinking about what my mom said.”

"That you're weak?" Callyah said it with so much disdain that it practically dripped off her words.

“Basically.” Anika mumbles, knowing Callyah would just tell her it wasn’t true and she wouldn’t believe her because from what had happened the past few weeks proved she was.

"And you believe that?" Callyah asked

Ella was still reading, a completely new series now. She was a fast reader.

“Well yeah, after everything I guess I do.”  says.

Taylor stopped talking abruptly, staring at their hands

Callyah made a *tsk* noise. "Ani..."

“Come on Callyah, you know it’s true.” Anika says, sitting up.

Lori passed by the door and stopped, hearing the silence.

"Do I?" Callyah asked. "Because from what I can tell, you endured torture because you refused to surrender."

Anika doesn’t know what to say anymore.

Taylor's hands clenched into fists

Callyah realized what she'd said. "Sorry," she apologized, looking down at her hands.

“It’s fine...” Anika sighs, “I won’t be satisfied with myself until I can stop the rebels and people can live their lives safely.”

"You can't do that if you're not taking care of yourself," Callyah told her gently.

Taylor glanced around frantically, uncurling their fists

Taylor looked down at Danny, trailing their fingers over her hair before walking out of the room silently

"You okay?" Lori asked them.

"I'm fine. Tell Danny when she wakes up that I was here." Taylor played with the bandage on their hand

Lori nodded. "Look, I know you've got Kyra, and Cole, and--" they waved vaguely at Danny's door-- "Danny, but you're welcome to come to me if you need to. I mean, I am certified."

Taylor half smiled "Thanks. I may take you up on that sometime"

Kyra was existing wherever they all were now because Sotilda needed to put her into the scene.

Cole was in the kitchen, cooking with Matissa.

An adult male came inside. "Um, 'Tissa? Why are there teenagers in our house?"

"Hey, Dad," Cole said. "They're friends of Cal's and mine."

"There are a lot of them," Erik observed.

"Yep," Cole agreed.

Taylor glanced back at Danny's room

"She's going to be fine," Lori promised. "It was just a cut on her arm. No infection, no irreversable damage. I promise."

Taylor nodded *Again, if only I were a healer.*

"Yeah, it's hard not to worry about people," Lori admitted.

"It was sure as [redacted] a lot easier when I didn't need to worry about anyone."Taylor shrugged

"And a lot lonelier," Lori reminded them, as if they knew. Which, they did.

"True." Taylor admitted

Danny slept through that whole dam thing. Really, she would be very annoyed when she found out. As in, I may stab, bite or cuss you out if you get too close annoyed.

Valerie was wondering if her idea would work and decided she would have to explore some more to see.

Cole was near Valerie. "You've got that plotting look," he told her.

Lori opened the door to check in on Danny.

Taylor looked inside before forcing themself to look away

“I have an idea,” Valerie admitted, tugging her hood lower over her face. “But there’s a fifty-fifty chance that it’ll either completely not exist or be to decrepit and falling apart to use.”

Danny shifted slightly in her sleep.

"Let's hear it," Cole said. "Or, well, not *hear* it-- you get what I mean."

"She's going to be fine," Lori said again. "And you need to go home and get some rest. You've had a long thirty-six hours."

Taylor nodded yet again "See you later. Tell Danny I came by"

"Of course," Lori promised.

Val shifted embarrassedly. “I’d really rather not, at least yet. Chances are it won’t even exist anymore, if it was even real in the first place.”

Taylor walked out of the clinic and back to Cole and Callyah's house

"I can't tell if you're being vague or if I'm misunderstanding you," Cole admitted.

”Oh, I’m definitely being vague,” Val agreed. “It’d just be embarrassing if I told you about it and it turned out to not be true”

Cole shrugged. "Fair point."

"I should know . . . soon-ish," Valerie told him apologetically.

Taylor walked back into the house and sat down like nothing had happened.

Danny was still at the clinic sleeping, I believe.

Taylor picked at their bandages half heartedly

"*Friends."* Ella said using air quotes, "More like people we have to put up with."

Taylor started clawing at the bandages on their hands again

"I'm getting *really* vexed when you do that." Ella told Taylor

Kyra shot Tay a look, hoping to signal them to stop tearing on those gosh-darn bandages.

Taylor ignored everyone and started biting the bandages

"Tay--that isn't going to help anything. The best thing to do would be to leave the bandages alone until you're healed--then they'll be gone and you'll never have to deal with them again." Kyra reasoned

"But they're here now and I am sick of them" Taylor argued

Ella glared at Taylor, she clamped their hand together using telekinesis. "I can do that for a while."

"Trust me Tay--I'm sick of them too. But you're not exactly speeding up the healing process," Kyra said.

Taylor struggled with their telekinetically influenced hand. They wiggled back and forth, trying to move their hand

"Yeah, good luck with that- NOW STOP EATING YOUR BANDAGES! Can we tie them to a chair?" Ella asked

"No, we can not tie them to a chair Ella," Kyra said. "Unless they do something else really reckless and stupid. Then I will personally tie you to a chair," she said to Tay, giving them what was supposed to be an intimidating look.

Taylor shook their head "Fine I won't touch my bandages. Just don't tie me up" Their eyes were wide with fear

"Aww man, I wanted to tie them to a chair." Ella released their hands, "I GOT THEIR PRONOUNS RIGHT! THAT'S NOT GOOD!"

"Wait--hey, what's wrong?" Kyra asked, ignoring Ella and noticing Tay's fear. "No one's going to tie you up unless you want them to, but I'm not really sure you're into that kind of stuff--okay, you know what, I'm going to shut up now," she flushed with embarrassment.

"New rule, never tie me up. Unless I'm threatening your lives, NEVER. And I mean NEVER tie me up." Taylor tugged on their hair

"The shutting up part is a good idea- probably the only good one you'll ever have." Ella mused

"Got it. No tying you up. And if someone does tie you up, I can smack them around a bit right? I mean, no one needs all their limbs to survive." Kyra asked

Taylor snickered "Ask me again when I get tied up."

"I'd rather it be an 'if' instead of a 'when,'" Kyra said.

"So would I but-" Taylor shrugged

A frown tugged at Kyra's lips, "But?"

"GAH! Don't start kissing PLEASE!" Ella begged

"Danny's here. I just worry that... Nevermind." Taylor shook their head

"Shut up Ella," Kyra muttered. She then turned her attention back to Tay, "You worry what? If she does anything to you, I swear to goodness-gravy, I'm going to--" She clenched her fists, unable to describe how exactly she would destroy Danny if she harmed one hair on Tay's head.

"Shut up Ella, *please*." She emphasized please with an annoyed expression

Taylor glanced at Kyra before looking away guiltily "She's done nothing. Other than let me know of something that I've been wondering about for a while"

"And that would be...?" Kyra asked them carefully, still ignoring Ella.

"My gang is after me. They found me." Taylor glanced in the direction of the door

"OH!" Ella jumped up, "WHEN CAN I KICK BUTT?"

"And Danny's part of the gang...she doesn't want you to go back, does she?" Kyra asked, still ignoring Ella.

"She's running. Like I did. And Ella, I hope you won't have to. Appreciate it though" Taylor tugged harder on their hair

"Are they close? Your gang--if they know where you are, why haven't they...made themselves known?" Kyra asked

"No idea." Taylor folded their arms

"Your not the only one with people after you I've got, seven- ten bounty hunters and six other assassins." Ella told them

Taylor's eyes flicked to Ella "I- That's a lot of people"

"Yeah- oh no it's only nine bounty hunters- but don't worry he's alive. Just gonna be in the ICU for a while." Ella said casually

Taylor snickered

"Ya, I laughed to." Ella told them

Callyah was still in Anika's room.

Cole had fallen asleep in his own room.

Taylor leaned back in their chair, thinking

Danny was awake and brushing her hair over and over out of boredom, waiting to be released.

Valerie was debating with Tug, since she literally didn’t need human interaction. Ever.

Taylor wanted to go back and chat with/talk at Danny

"You know it isn't going to get longer if you do that, right?" Lori asked her, leaning against the doorframe. "That's not a magic brush."

Danny glanced at them and shrugged. “It’s something to do in this box.”

"Well, good news. You're getting discharged. I just need you to fill this out--" Lori handed her a clipboard with a medical form-- "and sign it, and then we can let you go."

Danny started filling out the forms, occasionally squinting suspiciously at the small text or pausing to remember.

Taylor tugged on their hair

Ella went back to reading.

Anika closed her eyes a bit, trying to shut out the voices in her head.

Callyah said nothing.

Anika didn’t mean to and she certainly wouldn’t be happy about it when she woke up but she ended up falling asleep.

Callyah smiled to herself -- at least the queen was resting. She stood up from her seat on the bed, gently took the crown from Anika's hands, placed it on the dresser, and went back to standing in the doorway.

Anika slept peacefully, lost in a dreamless sleep.

Ella stretched, yawning.

Danny finished the form and passed it back to Lori.

Lori looked it over. "Looks good. A few more things. You paying attention?"

"Mhm," Danny agreed, shifting on the bed.

"First, keep that wound clean and covered. Leave the bandages on unless you're cleaning it. Don't scratch at it, don't pick at it, and try not to lift anything heavy with that arm. Yes?" Lori waited for conformation

"I'll see what I can do," Danny agreed, twisting her rings impatiently/

"You'll do that," Lori corrected. "If I think you're going to endanger yourself, I'm not allowed to let you go."

"I'm not going to endanger myself! I just might momentarily forget I can't scratch it or something." Danny argued

"Fine. Second thing: you need to keep this and give it to your usual doctor." Lori handed her an envelope.

Danny nodded and slipped the envelope into her pocket. "Riiiiight." *Yep, I'm totally not usually self treated with and from experience. Nope.*

"That's it. You're good to go." Lori opened the door.

Taylor was still tugging on their hair

Danny nodded gratefully and stood the leave but paused halfway out the door. "I don't suppose you'd know where Tay would be now?"

Anika slept peacefully for about a whole 5 minutes before the nightmares hit and she shifted in her sleep, her face contorted in invisible pain.

"The Dennison house. You probably passed it on your way into town." Lori told Danny

Callyah heard Anika's breathing change and turned towards her. "Oh, Ani," she muttered, coming over to check on her.

Anika’s breaths were fast and shaky and her hands were clenched tightly, her nails digging into the palm of her hand,

"oOkay," Danny agreed quietly. "And, um, thanks. I probably needed those stitches."

"Hey," Callyah said, gently touching her shoulder. "It's okay, Ani. You're safe, I promise."

"You definitely did," Lori agreed.

Anika’s breaths slowly began to even out but her hands remained clenched, her knuckles paling and the palms of her hands hand marks from her fingernails.

Kyra was existing with Tay.

Taylor was still tugging on their hair, thinking about the ~past~

"Well, I probably won't see you again, so bye," Danny told them awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably and internally cursing their social skills.

"You're okay," Callyah repeated. "I'm here. You're safe."

Anika’s breathing was almost all evened out and her fingers were slightly less tightened in a fist.

Callyah carefully sat down on the bed next to her. "There you go. It's okay. You're okay."

Anika’s face relaxes a bit and she starts to snore softly.

Callyah smiled to herself, though she was torn between getting up and going back to her position or staying there to watch over Anika.

Anika continued to snore quietly since her creator wasn’t exactly sure what else she should do.

Danny quickly left the clinic, relaxing slightly once she was outside with all of her belongings returned to her.

Holden existed.

Anika slowly groaned awake, as she tried to sit up the sheets rubbed against her wrist triggering the feeling of ropes digging into her skin and she starts to breath heavily.

"Are you okay?" Callyah asked.

Anika doesn’t respond, her breathing changing from fast paced to shallow and shaky. She whimpers a bit and curls up, her arms tucked by her chest.

Callyah didn't quite understand-- she was awake. She shouldn't be having a nightmare. And then she remembered: flashbacks. Well, [redacted]. "It's not real," she said gently, shifting so she was close to Anika but not touching her. "I promise."

Anika whimpers and scoots into the blankets, mumbling things that didn’t make much sense.

Callyah shook her head at herself. Stupid. She sat back, knowing she was just going to have to wait this out, even though it would kill her to do it.

Anika’s breaths were shallow and she was gripping at nothingness and let out a strangled sound.

Callyah bit her lip, wanting to reach out and comfort her, but knowing that would only make it worse. She started to sing that one song again, not sure if it was to keep herself calm or to calm Anika.

Anika sucks in a breath and curls herself up tighter, not moving except for her shallow breaths.

"You back?" Callyah asked gently.

Anika let’s out a shaking breath before murmuring a quiet, “Yeah.”

Callyah scooted back closer and gently pulled Anika into a hug.

Anika sank into the hug, shaking slightly and feeling like a complete fool.

Callyah held her, remembering the way her mom had hugged her when she'd had nightmares and wishing she could be as good at this as Matissa was.

Taylor got up and investigated the kitchen

Matissa was in the kitchen. "Glad to see you got your hands treated," she remarked. "Anything I can get you?"

Taylor glanced down at their hands "A glass of water would be great."

Matissa pulled a cup out of a cupboard and poured them a glass of water.

Taylor smiled at Matissa warily, taking a sip of their water

Danny walked up the road, trying to plan what she'd say to Tay when she saw them.

The water wasn't poisoned or anything. Just in case that mattered.

Taylor didn't notice Danny as they took another sip of the water

Taking a deep breath, Danny walked up to the front door and knocked firmly.

Erik opened the door. "Hi. How can I help you?"

Danny fidgeted with her rings. "Hi. I was wondering if Tay was in?"

"Um..." Erik turned around. "Is there a Tay somewhere in here?"

Matissa looked at Taylor.

Taylor came into Danny's sight "Hey Danny"

"Tay," Danny greeted them coolly, studying them. "You've been messing with the bandages again."

Erik wisely decided to step out.

"Um, yeah." Taylor fidgeted with their bandages habitually

Danny put a hand out to stop them. "We need to talk."

Taylor looked exhausted "Fine."

Pulling Tay into a hug, Danny simply told them, "I missed you." Which about summed everything up. Danny was not really one to have a big heart to heart, especially in front of a bunch of strangers.

Taylor leaned on Danny, sighing softly

Danny wrapped her arms round their short body, sighing slightly in return.

Taylor shook a bit "The nightmares have been getting worse" They told her quietly

"I know," Danny murmured, holding them tighter. "I know. I'm so sorry."

Taylor continued shaking, not saying another word

Kyra was in the kitchen, getting some food because food is good.

"I'm here. I won't let them find us." Danny felt like pieces of her heart were being ripped out and sewn back together again like a mushy grape every time she saw Taylor like this.

Taylor tucked their face in Danny's shoulder

Danny rested her head on top of Tay's, not even being able to enjoy the rush of warm protectiveness she got.

Taylor whispered to Danny "I dreamed of the doctor."

Kyra grabbed the bowl of cherries that she’d just washed and walked into the hallway to see....Tay. And Danny. Hugging. She almost dropped the cherries.

"You shouldn't have to deal with that," Danny whispered back guiltily. "It's my fault."

"What's wrong?" Cole asked Kyra, coming out of his room.

Kyra pursed her lips, watching silently as Tay had their chin tucked into Danny’s shoulder while they whispered to each other.

Taylor pulled away and cleared their throat, composing themself

Danny pulled back too, finally noticing Kyra and Cole. "Hello. I'm Danny," She offered, holding her hand out for Cole to shake.

“Oh, I know,” Kyra muttered under her breath.

Taylor fidgeted with the bandages

"Cole," Cole offered with a sideways glance at Kyra. He shook her hand.

Taylor looked very awkward. They glanced desperately at the door

Kyra stared at the ground. She was seconds away from hanging Danny’s picture up in her room so she could throw darts at it.

Danny shook his hand firmly and smirked to herself, liking how annoying and suspicious she seemed to Kyra. She was petty like that.

Taylor casually scooched towards the door a bit

Kyra continued to stare at the ground.

Taylor continued moving towards the door

Kyra continued to stare at the ground.

"I-" Taylor walked out the door and ran away

Cole sighed. "Always drama with them," he muttered to himself. "You two stay here." He stepped outside onto the porch and closed the door behind him.

Danny turned to Kyra. "They're not telling us something." She said abruptly, completely glossing over the fact that Kyra might be about to try and murder her.

Taylor was hiding behind a tree nearby

“Yes, I know that. But you’re not telling us something either,” Kyra said to Danny.

Cole sat down on the porch steps, letting them have some space.

Taylor poked their head out and, seeing it wasn't Kyra or Danny, walked over

"Hey," Cole said, electing not to pry.

"That is true," Danny agreed. "I have a lot of secrets. But most of them are personal and don't concern anyone here, so can we please move on from your jealous fits and work together to help Tay?"

"Hey" Taylor replied, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot

"You want to talk?" Cole asked. "Or just hide out here until they've calmed down. Either's good with me."

Jealous fits? How dare she? Oh, Kyra was going to win this game. She just had to figure out what it was first. "Cherry?" Kyra asked, offering Danny the bowl.

"A bit of both sounds great" Taylor replied, plopping onto the ground

"Not hungry. Avoiding the question?" Danny asked

"I thought that would suffice as an answer," Kyra deadpanned.

"So... Tanni?" Cole had misread their lips-- it happened a lot with him.

"Danny. She's from... Before." Taylor gestured vaguely

"Before... what?" Cole asked

"And I thought you wanted what's best for Tay, yet here we are," Danny countered, rolling her eyes.

"Before I met you people. The time I regret." Tay shrugged

Cole nodded, switching to his no-pry mode again. "And you two are close."

"I do want what's best for Tay--I just..." Kyra narrowed her eyes at Danny, "I can't figure you out. I don't know if you're a pawn, a knight, a bishop or a rook. Or maybe a queen. Possibly a King, but you wouldn't just move one space at a time."

"Before I ran, yeah. Not so sure now though. She seems to forgive me though" Tay tugged on their hair

"For running?" Cole asked

"I kinda left without telling anyone... I mean, that was the point so no one could betray me." Taylor looked sheepish

"I don't play chess, but I do play poker. So I guess you could say I'm a wild card." Danny told her, completely straight faced.

Cole nodded. "She's important to you, though."

"Yep" Tay popped the 'p'

Cole shook his head. "And Kyra's jealous." God, relationships were complicated.

"Apparently." Taylor was thinking the same thing as Cole

Kyra wrinkled her nose, "Poker is boring. Speed chess is much better. I used to play at the Boar's Head, they have a standard rule--take a shot every time you lose. I've never tasted alcohol in my life."

Danny snickered. "That explains a lot, actually."

"Oh, and you're so mature because you've gotten drunk a couple of times? Trust me, I know that I'm not missing anything," Kyra said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I've never been drunk, I have tasted alcohol before. And it explains the cocky attitude and frustration when you aren't winning. Though our so called competition seems to be a little one sided." Danny told her

"I do like to win, well spotted," Kyra said dryly. "I just want to know the truth, is that so hard to comprehend?"

"No. But some things about my past I'd rather not share, if you don't mind. I'm sure someone such as yourself can agree," Danny told her pleasantly.

Taylor leaned back so they were laying down on the ground, thinking about the nightmares. Their eyes watered a bit at the memory of all the pain

"Obviously," Kyra drawled. "But I'm fairly sure that it's going to be quite difficult for me to help Tay if I don't really know what's going on."

Taylor fidgeted with the bandages, wanting to bite it

"Fine. What do you know?" Danny asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kyra pursed her lips before responding, "Finally, you ask a slightly more intelligent question. Of course, there were better ones, but this will do. First, I want to know..." Kyra paused for a moment, deciding what to ask. She wanted to ask about Danny's relationship with Tay, but...she didn't want to seem like *that* girlfriend. "Who is this gang? What is their motive? What--what did they do to Tay?"

"We stole... things." Danny began, not sure how to explain everything. Like looking at a city and summing it up in a few sentences. "Money, jewelry, rare and expensive artifacts, you name it. We worked on the black market too, selling our goods to the highest bidder."

"Makes sense, not as sophisticated as the Gambit, but I'll roll with it. Go on." Kyra prompted

"Tay signed up for a hard job. High stakes too. They failed." Danny trailed off, feeling nauseous.

Kyra's brow furrowed into a concerned expression, "And...they punished them for it."

"They did." Danny wrapped her arms around herself. "It- it was horrible. Their screams-" She cut herself off again, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I don't--I don't need a detailed description. I've heard them. Nightmares. That's what they were about?" Kyra asked

"Yeah," Dammy agreed quietly, squeezing her eyes shut. "They'd punished us before, but not like that. They were making an example of them."

"If they ever come around here, I'm going to kill them," Kyra said softly.

Taylor drummed their fingers on the ground, struggling to stay awake

Danny didn't respond, trying to get the echoes of Tay's screams out of her head.

Kyra suddenly got a very stupid and very reckless idea, "Tay said they knew where we were--do you know where they are now?"

"No. I stuck my communications device to a random stray dog when I passed it." Danny said

Taylor started dozing. Because Taylor. They tried to stay awake, going as far to pinch their hurt hands to stay up. Nothing kept them awake and they quickly fell asleep

Cole kept an eye on the sleeping Taylor.

Callyah was still holding Anika

Anika took slow, shaky breaths until she felt like she could sit up by herself again and she rubbed her wrists quietly.

Taylor whimpered a few times in their sleep. Nothing compared to the usual

"You want to talk about it?" Callyah asked gently.

Cole watched them as non-creepily as he could,

Taylor rolled over once after laying on a sharp rock

Anika closed her eyes, looking older and more and more tired every second before she opened them, “Yeah...it-it was just memories of..of the ropes and the cold cell...” she says.

Callyah nodded -- on the inside, she wanted to scream. The next time they fought the rebels, she was done with the stupid honor code. She was going to kill them all. "A flashback?" she asked.

Anika swallows, “Y-yeah.” she mumbles.

Callyah nodded again, not sure what else to say, but knowing that a list of all the creatively brutal ways she was planning to kill the rebels was definitely not the way to go.

Anika slowly scooted to the end of the bed and took a slow breath, “I’m gonna go for a walk.” she says, knowing full well Callyah would come.

"Alright," Callyah said, standing up and putting on her shoes.

Anika slipped on some shoes she had found in the closet, black combat boots she normally wouldn’t wear but they were much better than her heels for walking, in her opinion.

Callyah opened the door and double-checked her knives.

Taylor was still dozing on the ground, flinching occasionally

Cole sighed and moved down to sit next to them, just in case.

Taylor got a lung full of dirt and air. They woke up coughing

Anika walks out of the room and down the hallway to the front door.

Cole helped them sit up and cough out the dirt.

Callyah followed.

Anika opened the front door for Callyah, since she was in the front.

Callyah thanked her as she stepped through and elected to ignore... whatever it was Cole and Taylor were doing, since Cole seemed to have a handle on it.

Anika nods and follows her, stepping off the porch and opted to walk down the path since Aura wasn’t entirely sure where they would find Klay’s body-

Callyah stayed with her, letting her have some space, but still close enough that she could do a bodyguard if the need arose.

Anika was trying to clear her head by busying herself by coming up with a plan to take down all the rebels with their small group when she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes had found something her brain didn’t want to see, *no, no no.*

"What's wro--" Callyah stopped short. She cursed and dropped to her knees, checking for a pulse. He was dead.

Valerie existed somewhere, probably still debating about her idea.

Anika was shaking but couldn’t seem to move from where she was standing.

Callyah stood back up and came over to Anika. "I'm sorry."

Anika’s knees looked ready to give out and she leaned on Callyah for support, “W-what h-happened?” she manages to croak.

Callyah put an arm around her. "Do you really think you can handle it?"

Anika swallows, “H-how bad is it?” she asks shakily, “Did h-he...” she doesn’t finish.

"It looks self-inflicted," Callyah admitted softly. "All his other injuries are old."

Anika sucks in a breath, “But why would he-“ she doesn’t finish, she couldn’t finish.

Taylor continued coughing even after the dirt was gone

"I don't know," Callyah admitted. She wished she did -- she wished she had an answer, some way to make it all better.

"You okay?" Cole asked them.

Anika shut her eyes tightly, this was her fault— in some terrible, painful way— this was her fault.

"Hey." Callyah stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Klay's body. "Stay with me, okay? You can't retreat into yourself, not now."

Taylor locked their jaw, biting back the rest f the coughs "Yep. I'm fine"

"You're not a great liar," Cole told them. "Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Anika takes a shuddery breath before opening her eyes, “Y-yeah, I know.” she says quietly.

"It's not your fault," Callyah promised her. "It was his choice. You had nothing to do with it."

*My horrible lying skills must be what gt me caught. [redacted]* Tay thought, doing as Cole asked

Anika wasn’t convinced but she just nods.

"Better?" Cole asked them after a moment.

Callyah put her hands on Anika's shoulders. "You're allowed to grieve," she said for the second time in less than a day. "You're allowed to care."

“And I-I will...but...I have a world to save.” Anika says quietly.

Taylor glanced at him "Horribly embarrassed. But, yeah."

"I've done worse," Cole admitted.

Callyah groaned inwardly.

Anika sighs, “I know that look, you can’t stop me from taking responsibility.” she says firmly, or as firmly as she could.

"So have I" Taylor shrugged. They stood up and offered Cole a hand (Bye Kat)

Cole took their hand and stood up.

"I don't want to stop you from taking responsibility," Callyah told her. "You're the queen. You have that responsibility whether I like it or not. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything else. You don't have to be perfect all the time."

Anika bites the inside of her cheek, “I’m anything but perfect...but I still have to try-“

"No, you don't", Callyah told her. "You don't have to be perfect behind the scenes. No one is here to judge you right now. You're allowed to be a mess over his death. You're allowed to still have pain from when you were tortured. You're allowed to be conflicted about everything."

Taylor tugged on their hair awkwardly

Anika swallows a bit before letting out a shaky breath and quietly shaking with sobs.

"Then how would Tay know that the gang knows where we are...?" Kyra asked Danny.

"Valid assumption. Chances are I had a tail with a tail with a tail." Danny told her easily, shrugging it off.

"Fair enough," Kyra said. "It's going to take a lot of self control not to go hunt them down and destroy them."

Callyah wrapped her arms around Anika.

Cole shrugged. "So... you think they're done trying to kill each other yet?"

Danny nodded- though she wasn't sure if it was in agreement or acceptance. "The hardest part would be finding them by letting them find us without letting them know we're actually looking for them." She tilted her head. "Does that even make any sense?"

Anika sank into Callyahs arms, silent sobs shaking her shoulders.

"They better be." Taylor muttered

"Makes perfect sense to me--remember, I'm a--I *was* a rebel. This sort of thing is my life." Kyra paused. "You know, I met Tay when I tried to kill them in the woods. They were more scared in that clinic than when my knife was at their throat."

"I know," Callyah said softly.

Anika continues to cry for a while, before eventually just going silent.

"'Course they were. Death is easier than living, especially when you've got trauma like theirs to deal with." She glanced Kyra up and down and thought to herself, *I like this girl. She's strong, she cares about Tay, and she's smart.* And that's basically the first level of Danny approval.

"Well, that plus the fact that I didn't really have the balls to kill them. I killed a rebel for attacking them though--" Kyra pulled out her dagger, "This was his."

Danny reached out to take the dagger, inspecting it closely. "Why do you still have it?"

Callyah just held her as long as she needed.

"You want to go back in?" Cole asked.

Anika didn’t want to face the world but knew she had to at some point but decided the world could wait a few more minutes.

"Because it's a decent weapon," Kyra admitted. "Besides--I'm pretty sure Val still has mine. She confiscated it when they took me captive. Of course, then I tried to paralyze them all with my poisonous chess set--but that *definitely* backfired. Then Tay decided it would be a good idea to untie my bonds. To this day, I have no idea what they were thinking," Kyra grinned. She didn't know why she was telling Danny this, but she wasn't about to question it. Her brain worked in mysterious ways.

"You go back in. I'll be in a moment" Taylor tugged on their hair

Danny grinned to herself and backed up enough so she was completely outside. Sitting down on one of the porch chairs, she pointed to the chair next to her and said, "I'm going to need a better explanation than that please. Oh, and don't forget all the idiotic things Tay has done because I'm *so* teasing them about it later."

Cole nodded and stood up.

Kyra grinned. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all. Maybe. Possibly. 2% chance. Okay, maybe 3%. Kyra plopped down in the chair, "Where would you like me to begin?"

Taylor, for purposes, had dissapeared into the forest again

"How did you first meet Tay? Also, who's Val? Is there anyone else I should know about?" Danny asked quickly. She loved a good story and now her curiosity was shining through.

Kyra decided to begin to answer the first question, "Well, since I was a rebel, I was on a mission to kidnap Ani--the queen--and then I was supposed to send up a flare for back up, but I had a bit of a run in with Tay in the woods. They used their charmspeak to make me reveal myself, I pressed them up against a tree with my dagger against their throat--there was some good old banter, I threatened to kill them--ah, the good old days."

"Wait, the queen? You were going to kill the queen? Did she escape? Why were you going to kill her? Is she still here?" Danny asked, completely baffled.

"Oh, Ani's somewhere around here--she was my best friend when I was younger. She just...uh...forgot to tell me that she was the heir to the throne. Minor detail." Kyra said dismissively

Danny shook her head and muttered, "Δεν θέλω καν να μάθω. Okay, so you were best friends with the queen, except you didn't know she was the queen. Then somehow you joined a rebel group and were sent on a mission to kill her, when you met Tay. Continue."

Cole looked at Kyra and Danny. "So, you're good? No more trying to kill each other?"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm telling her my life story--you're interrupting," Kyra informed Cole.

"That depends on what happens next," Danny informed him distractedly.

"Cool." Cole sat back down on the porch steps.

"So then Val--Valerie--the huntress girl--have you met her yet? Anyway, she found us, we talked, we threatened to kill each other some more--then we met the other guys--they captured me--you know, the standard procedure." Kyra went on

Danny shook her head. "Nope, not yet, but she sounds cool. You mentioned something about a poisoned chess set?"

Holden teleported to wherever the two were.

"I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it--okay, so I met the gang, I pissed off Holden, who slapped me--he's a real son of a gun--personally, I think he deserves to rot in the infernal pit for the rest of eternity, but Paisley would never forgive me if I took him down there myself--" Kyra mused

Taylor was glancing from a tree to their hands out of sheer boredom

"Don't do it," Cole told them from the porch steps.

Taylor looked at Cole guiltily

Callyah continued holding Anika.

"Don't give me that face," Cole told them. "Find Callyah, she'll block it for you."

"Block what?" Taylor asked

Anika took a shaky breath, “Okay...we need to...find someone to take care of the b-body.” she says, shuddering at the last part.

"A punch," Cole explained.

"I'll call Lori and see if they have any ideas," Callyah said, letting go of her with one arm so they could walk back to the house.

Taylor glanced back at their hands

Anika doesn’t respond, just walks with Callyah.

"Here she--" Cole cut himself off as he saw Callyah and Anika approaching the house. He stood up and jogged over to them. "What happened?"

Callyah didn't say anything.

Kyra stood at the look on Ani’s face.

Anika bit her lip and took a shaky breath, unsure what she should say.

Taylor looked worried

**K-L-A-Y is dead,** Callyah signed.

Cole breathed in sharply.

“Something happened—what happened? Are you alright?”

Anika looks at Kyra, communicating a message with her eyes that she couldn’t form with words.

"Klay's dead," Cole said.

Callyah nodded, still holding on to Anika.

“No. No—no, no, no, no—who did it? I swear—I’m going to kill them Ani—“ Kyra shook with rage. Okay was the one boy she’d actually approved of for Ani. He—he couldn’t be—dead.

“He did it.” Anika says shakily, trying and failing to keep her voice from wobbling.

Taylor walked over to Kyra, putting a hand on her shoulder

Danny watched them confusedly.

“He—he WHAT? He loves you too much Ani—someone threatened him—he wouldn’t just—just leave you like that.” Kyra continued to tremble.

Callyah kept her arm around Anika. "Let's go inside," she told everyone.

Cole nodded.

Taylor whispered to Kyra "Breathe"

Anika just nodded and she didn’t trust her voice enough to say anything.

“No—no, we can’t just—just except this—“ Kyra shrugged off Tay’s arm.

Callyah walked Anika inside as Cole held open the door.

"Oh, honey, what happened?" Matissa asked them when they walked into the living room.

Val existed inside now, glancing up when everyone else entered.

Taylor backed off, hiding how much it hurt that Kyra shrugged them off

Anika bit her lip and pressed her hands to her sides to stop them from shaking.

Kyra was trying very hard not to stab something. She REALLY wanted to stab something.

"Can you grab the phone?" Callyah asked her mom instead of answering.

Matissa nodded and headed into the kitchen.

Callyah walked with Anika over to the couch.

Kyra was going to find them—she was going to ride out tonight and find them. This—she had to. She was going to find them and destroy them.

Holden existed

Danny followed the group inside, glad she had forgotten to give Kyra her knife back.

Valerie stood up, eyeing Danny suspiciously. "What happened?"

Callyah met Kyra's eyes, almost like she knew what she was thinking. *Wait for me,* she told her silently.

"Klay's dead," Cole told Valerie.

Holden’s eyes flicked around the group, and eyes widened at seeing Danny. “Holy-“

Kyra gave Callyah a nod. She tapped Danny on the shoulder, “You still have something of mine.”

"Drama later, gosling," Callyah told him sharply. "We have bigger problems."

Val sucked in a breath and shook her head. "Who was it?"

Danny held the knife tighter. "I'm not entirely sure I trust you not to do something stupid that's going to get the rest of us killed."

Anika sank down into a chair and closed her eyes for a second before opening them. Closing her eyes was dangerous. She could fall asleep and nightmares weren’t something she wanted to deal with right then.

**He killed himself,** Callyah signed to Valerie with her free hand. She kept the other one on Anika's shoulder.

“That’s my knife,” Kyra held out her hand.

"I'm repurposing it?" Danny tried, holding it above her head. There are some advantages to being a tall person.

**Oh. How is the queen? Any note left behind?** Valerie signed back quickly, hoping that she was actually saying things right. Now was very much not the time to mess up.

“Danny?” Holden asked

**She's... not  great. And it didn't look premeditated,** Callyah signed. "Focus up, Gosling."

Matissa returned with the phone and handed it to Callyah, who began dialing Lori. Matissa reached down and rubbed Anika's back in her motherly way.

“Listen—you don’t know Ani like I do—nor do you know Klay. I have to do this—you would be better off staying out of my way.” Kyra warned

"I'm not saying I do. But I'm not going to let you endanger myself or Tay because you're mad over something you can't control." Danny retorted, not hearing Holden.

Val winced. **Do you want me to go check it out? Maybe bury him?**

Kyra grit her teeth, “Danny—please.”

Callyah didn't respond, her hands otherwise occupied. She managed to hold up a finger as she put the phone to her ear. "Hi, may I speak with Lori?"

Holden was staring. “Poor Anika-“ he murmured.

Anika closes her eyes, making a mental note to thank Matissa later when she could do so without breaking down. She also made a mental note to resist the urge to punch Holden.

Danny sighed, "Fine. But you better not die or get Tay in trouble."

"Holden? Shushing would be a good plan," Cole told him.

"Hi, Lori. No, we're all fine. Well, actually, do you have the coroner's number? Would you? Thanks." Callyah said

“I would never put Tay in danger,” Kyra promised as she took the knife.

"We'll see," Danny decided, rethinking her approval of Kyra. She could relate but not sympathize.

“I’d ask for your help, but I need you to—to look after Tay. Just until I come back with someone’s head,” Kyra muttered to Danny.

*And I'm incapable of that?* Cole thought.

"You're the best, Lori, thank you." Callyah hung up and started dialing the coroner's number.

“Obviously there’s Cole, but...It’s always good to have back up,” Kyra said.

"I'll try and keep them out of trouble," Danny agreed.

Valerie waited patiently.

“Thanks,” Kyra said. “You know—you’re not as bad as I thought you were. Still a [REDACTED], but not that bad.”

Taylor was scratching furiously at their hands, glancing at the trees.

"Hi, are you Dr. Foster? Yes. Um, we've got--" she looked down at Anika and switched to a quieter voice-- "a suspected suicide? A body, yes. The Dennison house."

Matissa covered her mouth with her hand.

Anika put her head in her hands and breaths out shakily.

Kyra paused for a moment before exiting the house and joining Tay on the porch.

Callyah gently squeezed Anika's shoulder. "Okay, thank you so much." She hung up and knelt next to Anika. "Do you want me to do this?" she asked quietly.

“I have to come...” Ani says.

Paisley had been sleeping this whole time I suppose and she came out of her room to see this all happening and she looked around for someone to tell her what was happening.

Taylor didn't look up at Kyra

Kyra sat down next to them, "Hey."

Callyah nodded. "He'll be here in half an hour," she told Anika.

Cole signed, **K-L-A-Y's dead. Suicide.**

Taylor finally looked up "Hey Queenie"

"I--I'm sorry about earlier. I was just..." Kyra trailed off

Anika nods and tries to offer Callyah a smile.

"Yeah." Taylor continued scratching at their hands

"Danny and I have a sort of...truce now." Kyra told them

Holden was in the room, still confused that Danny was here.

"It's better than you both trying to k/// each other" Taylor deadpanned

Danny was trying to decide if she should take what Kyra said as a compliment or an insult. On one hand, she didn't like being called a [ReDaCtEd]. On another hand, she prided herself on her annoyingness. On a third hand, she didn't necessarily want Kyra to look down on her either.

"True," Kyra said. She paused, falling silent for a moment. "Are you--are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Tay said automatically

"Oddly, I have reason to believe you're not just...fine." Kyra tld them

"Where did you ever get that idea?" Taylor asked sarcastically

Holden had been trying to sort this situation out. Too much fluff. He decided to ask. “Daenerys Quinn Ortez? Is that you?

Danny jolted out of her thoughts and glanced at Holden coolly. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Ignoring the hurt that came with being forgotten, Holden nodded. “I am a s w a n.” he said stupidly.

Danny studied him closely and gasped. "You've got to be [ReDaCtEd] kidding me. Holden?"

“Language!” Holden smiled in spite of himself. “Long time no see!”

Danny rolled her eyes. "Sorry. What the fluff are you doing out here?"

“Recruited.” Holden told her

"For?" Danny pressed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes again. "Is it some unspoken rule that you people can't give details?"

“Perhaps.” Holden debated telling her. He could trust you. “Come here.”

Danny moved closer to Holden impatiently.

Valerie watched Holden suspiciously. "Careful what you tell her, *Loverboy*," She muttered.

“Can I tell her?” he asked Val.

"Tay--I--Danny--she told me what happened." Kyra told Taylor

Danny raised an eyebrow and asked "Loverboy?" at the same time as Valerie shrugged and said, "I'm not your boss, am I?"

Taylor continued scratching at their hands halfheartedly "What exactly did she tell you?" They asked

Kyra took Tay's hands in her own, "She told me enough to make me want to stab something."

“We have aBiLiTiEs,” Holden said, snapping and summoning a marble.

"So she told you about the doctor, huh. She must've told you about my failure, too." Taylor muttered, shaking their head so their hair became a curtain around their face

"She...might've mentioned it, yeah," Kyra brushed Tay's hair out of their face.

Danny blinked at him. "Mhm."

Valerie sighed. Sometimes (often) she wondered how anyone here was still alive.

Taylor sighed softly

“So that’s why we were recruited.” Holden summed up, even though he never explained anything.

"Look--I know there's a lot going on right now, but...everything's going to be fine. We--we're fine, right?" Kyra asked

"That's it?" Danny asked skeptically. "Also, what were you recruited for?"

"We're fine." Taylor assured Kyra

“I am a conjured.” Holden said simply.

"I meant what were you recruited to do." Danny rolled her eyes

"Good," Kyra said softly, falling silent again.

Holden thought for a moment. “Catch whomever killed Anika’s grandpa I think.”

Danny sighed and attempted to pinch the bridge of her nose through her hard mask. "Why do you not know this?"

Taylor scooched so they were sitting next to Kyra

“I’ve been distracted.” Holden said

Kyra hesitated for a moment before resting her head on their shoulder.

Taylor looped their arm in Kyra's

"Είσαι ηλίθιος," Danny decided, shaking her head exasperatedly.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Matissa said.

Callyah looked at Anika. "You don't have to," she said, knowing it was the coroner.

Anika took one last shaky breath before standing up and getting the door herself.

Taylor was still sitting with Kyra, arm in arm

Callyah followed.

The coroner -- Dr. Foster -- was an older woman with gray hair, a white blouse, and a pinstriped pair of slacks. Behind her stood a young man in plain blue jeans and a T-shirt.

"Are you Callyah?"

"That's me," Callyah offered. "This is my friend A- Anna."

Anika nods along, “Yes, hello ma’am.” she says politely, her tone instinctively taking on a regal tone.

"Can you show me where the body is?" Dr. Foster asked.

Callyah nodded, and Dr. Foster stepped back from the door.

Anika steps out, nodding at the coroner and walking down the path, trying not to falter when she saw the body.

Callyah did her thing and followed.

Dr. Foster crouched down next to the body. "You're right, this does look like a suicide. You two are the ones that found his body?"

Anika nods, not saying anything.

Callyah leaned a little closer to her. "Yeah," she said.

"Did you know him?" the younger guy asked.

"Oh, right. This is Adam, my assistant," Dr. Foster told them. "But yes, did you know him?"

“Y-yeah.” Anika says, taking a quiet breath and was able to keep herself together.

"His name is Klay Twehen," Callyah said. "Pretty sure he was nineteen."

Adam wrote that down.

"Did he show any signs?" Dr. Foster asked.

Callyah didn't know the answer, so she stayed quiet.

“No, no I don’t think so...but I can think of some reasons why he- why he might.” Ani says, trying to think of an excuse so they wouldn’t figure out who she was.

"What would those reasons be?" Dr. Foster asked.

*Bursting into tears is always a good nonanswer,* Callyah thought to herself, silently willing Anika to either have an answer or to know how to get out of answering.

Anika thankfully decided bursting into tears, while it wasn’t what she would have liked to do but she did it to get out of answering.

Callyah, feigning surprise and pity like a good lady-in-waiting, put her arms around Anika and whispered, "Good call."

Aloud, she told Dr. Foster, "Sorry, Anna's had a hard day. She and Klay were really close."

"Of course," Dr. Foster said. "I'll finish my investigation and take the body back to the office. You girls are welcome to go back inside."

Anika nods a bit, quietly thanking them and trying to look as weak as she could which wasn’t very hard.

Ella was being insensitive and oblivious.

Taylor was still chilling with Kyra, watching the world go by

Ella was still reading, humming to herself.

Callyah led Anika back to the house.

Anika followed and when they got inside she managed to regain herself and told herself she would cry later.

Callyah nodded. "Better?"

Meanwhile, Dr. Foster and Adam finished up and took Klay's body back to the coroner's office.

Ani nods, “Yeah, for now I’m better.” she says, because she wasn’t okay. She wouldn’t be *okay* for a while. But she could be better.

Callyah nodded again.

Cole came up and signed, **How's [Anika] doing?**

**So-so,** Callyah signed. **Hiding it well.**

**And you?**

**I've been better,** Callyah admitted. **I have some [redacted]s to end.**

**Don't lose yourself,** Cole told her.

**I won't,** Callyah promised. **I know exactly what I'm doing.**

Taylor picked at the bandages on their hands

Danny was probably being confused somewhere.

Valerie was also somewhere. Doing something.

Holden was probably confuzled over the great Dannikans appearance.

Kyra was planning. She had to leave that night--and she was taking Callyah with her. She hadn't missed that look, she knew she wanted to come. And they were going to destroy whoever caused this to happen. As she planned, Kyra absentmindedly brushed her hands over Tay's, hoping to stop them from picking at the bandages.

Taylor knew what they were going to do. They were going to run from the only people they cared about to keep them safe. *It's the only way* They told themself. They didn't react to Kyra stopping them from playing with the bandages

Valerie was very much alike to Callyah and her gut was telling her that she was going to do something stupid. Sighing, she hoped that she wouldn't be left to deal with the queen alone.

Danny knew Kyra was leaving and also knew that it really wasn't her business so she didn;t try and get involved.

Kyra's hands froze, then she turned to Tay. She didn't know why, but...something was wrong. She didn't know what it was, she just had a hunch.

Taylor didn't look up at Kyra, a sign that something was really wrong

"Tay..." Kyra said slowly.

"Yeah?" Tay asked, still not looking up

Danny glanced at them curiously.

"Whatever you're thinking about, don't even think about it." Kyra told them

"But I *am* thinking about whatever I'm thinking of." Tay teased with a smirk

Kyra's fingers touched Tay's cheek, turning their head so they faced hers, "Well, don't do it--I know you're thinking of something reckless and stupid, I know you."

"I won't, Queenie." *Liar* Taylor felt more than a bit guilty lying to Kyra

"Promise?" Kyra asked

"Valerie, while I'm gone, I need you to protect Anika. Can you do that?" Callyah asked. She had a rifle on her back that she'd borrowed from her dad, and a belt with several sheathed throwing knives.

"Promise" Taylor told Kyra, guilt eating at their heart

Valerie eyed her suspiciously. "Unfortunately. But where are you going?"

“Yeah-“ Holden said inserting himself into the convo.

"None of your business, Gosling." **I have some [wow, really redacted]s to deal with,** Cal told Val in sign language.

Val narrowed her eyes and signed back, **If this is about Klay, you said he killed himself.**

**It's not about K-L-A-Y. It's about A-N-I-K-A.** Cal replied

**Why in gods name are you going off to kill someone for her?** Val asked

**They kidnapped her. They tortured her. She's got P-T-S-D. She's having nightmares and flashbacks, and now K-L-A-Y is dead, too? No way in hell they didn't have something to do with it. I'm going to find myself some answers, and then I'm getting rid of these [redacted]s once and for all.** Cal shouted with a flurry of ASL

Valerie sucked in a breath, wondering how she hadn't realized. **Alone?**

**[Kyra]'s coming too.** Cal told her

Val snorted. **That's a terrible idea. You realize that, right?**

Taylor fidgeted with the bandages on their hands

**You can't stop me,** Callyah told Valerie by way of an answer.

"Promise?" Kyra asked Tay again.

**I'm one of the best fighters you have,** Val pointed out. **At least let me come with you.**

Danny existed, quietly studying the house and eavesdropping on Tayra.

"Promise" Tay muttered reluctantly

**That's why I need you here,** Callyah argued. **If I can't be here to protect the queen, I need you to.**

Anika had been sitting in a chair, her eyes closed, unwilling to look at anyone.

"That didn't sound very sincere," Kyra pointed out, scooching a bit closer to Tay.

Cole sat down near Anika. "How are your injuries?" he asked gently.

**I am very much not qualified for that job. I think we both know that. Why can't Holden do it?**Val complained

Anika forced herself to open her eyes, “It’s just my wrists. Rope burn.” she says.

"I never really sound sincere, it's not in my nature." Tay pointed out, tugging at the bandages on their hands

**You serious?** Callyah shook her head. **That boy has the attention span of a goldfish. And you can do it. They'll assume she's with me, anyway, if they even know we're here.**

"You can be *very* sincere sometimes," Kyra said, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Give me a few examples" Taylor smirked

**And if I don't want the responsibility?** Valerie countered.

Kyra kissed them. She quite liked kissing Tay. It was one of her favorite activities.

Taylor squeaked, face turning bright red

Kyra pulled back, grinning, "See--very sincere."

"oyw?" Tay asked, apparently trying to talk

Kyra kissed them again.

Callyah rolled her eyes at them. **It's one night, [Valerie]. Please?**

Taylor hesitantly pressed their lips back against Kyra's, guilt over what they were going to do increasing tenfold

Danny turned away, not liking this feeling of jealousy. It's not like she and Tay were ever a thing. Maybe it was just friendly protectiveness. Hopefully.

Kyra found that when feeling guilty about being about to do something very reckless, it was best to drown your sorrows in kisses. Preferably from Tay.

Val sighed. **Fine. But I don't want to have to rescue your sorry [rEdAcTeD]s.**

Taylor pulled away, leaning against Kyra instead

**You won't,** Callyah promised. **I think we're both too [redacted] off to be holding back.**

"I think we both know what's about to happen," Kyra murmured to Tay, referring to the fact that they both had something dangerous and reckless on their minds.

"Probably" Tay agreed, closing their eyes

"I really wish you'd just do the smart thing for once and stay safe." Kyra sighed

**And the bodies? What's your plan for them?** Valerie asked practically.

"And would you, if I asked?" Taylor replied

"Point taken," Kyra grumbled. She paused before saying, "I would--if the world was suddenly without conflict and deaths to avenge."

**Plausible deniability,** Callyah told her. **It's best if you don't know.**

"No conflict would be great." Taylor told Kyra with a wistful smile

Valerie shrugged. **Fair enough. What about the new girl?**

Kyra stared right back at them. Their eyes were really nice. Extra nice.

**Well, she hasn't pulled any [redacted] yet,** Callyah said, shrugging. **And it won't be just you -- my dad is a veteran.**

Val nodded and signed, **I don't want to impose on your family any more then we already have.**

**Please, they love having a house full of kids like this,** Callyah signed. **My brother and I have a habit of bringing home strays.**

Taylor noticed and brushed at their face self consciously "Is there something on my face?"

Valerie raised an eyebrow under her hood. **Should I be insulted?**

Kyra cupped their face in her hands and kissed them again.

Taylor pressed their lips against Kyra's, no hesitation

**No,** Callyah said.

Kyra pulled away, "Just something right there," she smirked.

Taylor had no words. They looked at Kyra

Kyra smirked at Tay.

A grin spread over Taylor's face

Valerie snickered. **I suppose I probably am one either way.**

Danny hated this feeling of jealousy and protectiveness, especially since she knew it was completely unreasonable.

**It's not so bad,** Callyah said, shrugging. **So I can trust you with this?**

**Yeah.** Valerie sighed, then added, **But I'm not saying that I'll be able to be there for her emotionally.**

**Yeah, m/sewing-machine and my brother have that covered, I think.** Cal signed

**Good. Try not to die.** Val nodded

**I'll be fine,** Callyah promised.

**Cole will be waiting.** Val signed.

**I know.** Cal looked over at her brother. **Feel free to ignore him if he bugs you about whether you think I'm okay.**

**Nah, he's cool. But he needs you, so, you know, try not to let him down.** Valerie glanced at Cole as well.

Callyah looked between them. **What, you doubt my skill?** she asked, smirking.

**I think you and Kyra combined barely weigh as much as I do,** Val countered, smirking back.

**Was that a short joke?** Callyah asked. **Because I have more muscle than my six-foot brother over there.**

Val snickered. **Maybe. Either way, you're still pretty much half my size.**

**It's easier to k/ll someone with a bullet than a brick,** Callyah countered.

**Not if you don't have a gun,** Valerie debated, smiling to herself and wondering what they were even arguing about.

**Why would I have a bullet and no gun?** Callyah signed.

Valerie shrugged. **No idea. But the bullet alone isn't the dangerous part, it's the mechanism launching it.**

**The gun is useless without the bullet. Except as a weird club.** Cal smirked

**The gun is more threatening than the bullet though,** Valerie pointed out.

**Fair point.** Cal stopped. **What were we talking about?**

Anika had sunk into a nightmare filled sleep.

**I have no idea,** Val admitted sheepishly.

Callyah turned and looked at Anika, who was asleep, albeit not peacefully. She gently brushed some of her hair away from her face.

Holden was there, watching them sign to each other and being weirded out.

Danny glanced at Holden. "So, you just met up with a bunch of random people who also may or may not have powers and decided to group together to find the people that killed the queen's grandfather?"

"Precisely." Holden said. "We also have been fighting off rebels, sleeping in glamps, being ambushed, and mOrE!"

"Riiiight," Danny agreed, nodding sagely. "But, like, why?"

"That's-" Holden paused. "a great question."

"Θεοί, δεν σκέφτεσαι ποτέ για τον εαυτό σου;? Είσαι τόσο ανόητος” Danny muttered, shaking her head.

Holden's eyes lit up. "You still know Greek?"

Danny rolled her eyes. "Φυσικά, Swanboy. Σκέφτηκες ότι θα σταματούσα να το μιλάω;"

"Um- I am going to guess maybe. Yes maybe is the right answer…” Holden said, thinking the answer was either yes no or maybe.

Danny smiled to herself and translated, "Of course. Did you think I just stopped speaking it?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen you in forever." Holden admitted. "I missed you." *Gosh that sounds sappy what they hEcK bRo.*

"We had some awesome times," Danny agreed, smiling fondly at the memories. "Remember that time when the seagull stole your ice cream and then those swans attacked it?"

"Like I could forget the sheer fear running through my veins at that time." Holden replied.

"But your expression was objectively hilarious," Danny objected, smirking.

"Subjectively, it was terrifying." Holden said

Danny decided to test Holden now. "We can agree to disagree then. If I say "Ανόητος." would you still know what I'm talking about?"

"You call me it all the time. Fool." Holden said, his fingers crossed that it was correct.

"Also it also means silly and idiot." Danny added, smirking. "What about Γειά σου?"

"Um- Sup?" Holden tried.

"Hello, Ανόητος. Do you know what my favorite words recently have been?" Danny asked

“Let me guess. Idiot.” Holden told her

"No, Σκοτάδι. Λαβύρινθος. Αστέρια Φεγγάρι." Danny listed patiently.

“Of course you did.” Holden said. He knew those words. Very well. “That’s why you are αστέρι κορίτσι.”

Danny grinned to herself, irrationally pleased he remembered. She tried to squash down this fluttery feeling in her chest. It didn't work. Yay. She countered with, "αγόρι κύκνος."

“Yep!” Holden told her

Danny suddenly remembered something Kyra had told her. "Oh, yeah. Quick question, did you hit Kyra when she was tied up and defenseless?"

Ella was still reading, but she noticed just about everything that just happened around her.

Holden choked. "What?"

"Yeah, that's why I call him 'Fired guard boy'." Ella interrupted.

Danny glared at him. "You little [ReDaCtEd]."

"See that's what I've been trying to tell everyone." Ella said

"Language!" Holden said. "But I did apologize-"

"I still fired him," Callyah added.

"Good," Danny muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "That was a really [ReDaCtEd] move."

"Yeah." Holden hung his head in shame.

"Hey don't feel bad. I've smacked LOTS of tied up and defenseless people." Ella told Holden

"Thats no bueno." Holden declared.

"Then again, she probably deserved it," Danny admitted, not wanting to make Holden feel too bad. Just a little bit.

"No she just called me an idiot. Lots of people do it. But now I am number one Tayra shipper. I eVeN mAdE fLaGs!" Holden said nOt kNoWiNg that Danny was jealous of that.

"Riiiiight," Danny agreed, then muttered a few very unflattering things about him and Kyra in Greek that she was almost certain he wouldn't be able to understand.

"Oh no, Danny is mad about something." Holden anounced.

"Flags? Are you serious?" Ella asked

"I'm not mad," Danny told him quickly, then went back to muttering in Greek.

Ella opened her mouth but closed it.

"Sure sure sure, I know you better than that." Holden laughed.

"DUDE! You've known her for- like- eight hours!" Ella raised her hands in a what-the-heck motion

"No- I knew her before this." Holden said. Cue ripley memory music. "It was a summer of 1845-" he said

"2005," Danny corrected him.

"Yadadadad, we have known each other a while." Holden explained

"WHAT?" Ella asked

Callyah raised an eyebrow.

"Long story. He stole my pencil. I had to get it back. Long story short, we became friends." Danny said casually

"I-I don't care." Ella told them

"Its a great story really." Holden said.

"Did I ask?" Ella raised her eyebrows

Danny tilted her head, smirking slightly. "Actually, you kinda did," she pointed out smugly.

"What Danny said." Holden agreed.

"You really don't wanna get on my bad side new girl." Ella warned

Holden was slightly offended. "Okay one. Don't threaten her ever. And two. Seems like no one is on your good side. Ever. And three. Did we ask?"

"Simply pointing out the truth," Danny told her easily, proud of herself. Who doesn't like annoying people? On another hand, she wasn't quite sure how she liked Holden defending her.

"One. Don't tell me what to do. Two. You were right about number two. And three I'm not the only assassin in this world." Ella folde her arms

"Every time you bring up the fact that you're hired to kill people, I reconsider letting you anywhere near th- Anika with your limbs intact," Callyah told Ella.

"Why is she even on the team? So far she has contributed nothing." Holden accused

"Oh you can try to stop me. Plus I'm taking a break from the killing. Last time I tried that my pancreas was almost impaled with one of my broken ribs. That was like- three weeks ago." Ella told them

Danny turned to Callyah. "So you're, what, the queens bodyguard?" She asked skeptically.

"Yep." Callyah shrugged, making the rifle still strapped across her back move with her.

"Yeah. She hates me almost as much as I hate me." Ella mused

Danny nodded, wondering why so many people here were so short. Like, it was either four foot something or at least 5'7".

Taylor was still leaning against Kyra with their eyes closed

Kyra wished that they could stay like this forever.

Taylor started snoring softly, passing out

Kyra chuckled, supporting Tay as they slept.

Taylor looked a lot more relaxed than they had pretty much ever looked. A small smile rested on their face

Kyra grinned at Tay's sleepy smile. She loved it so much. She loved them. [REDACTED], she loved them.

"Run" Tay murmured, hands starting to twitch

Kyra frowned, and whispered, "No one's chasing you Tay, I'm right here. We're safe."

"Always chase. Never stop running." Tay looked worried by that point

"You don't have to run, we're safe. You can stop running, I'm here Tay. I'm here." Kyra promised

"They'll hurt Kyra." Taylor worried, not knowing that they were talking out loud

"No one's going to hurt me, Tay. I'm right here." Kyra soothed

"They'll come, take her away, take me back to the doctor." Tay was shaking, eyes squeezed tightly shut

"No one's going to take anyone away," Kyra assured them, holding them tightly in her arms.

Taylor stopped talking and just slept