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| Scene Title | Lights on the Water |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two weeks after the events that almost destroyed the Ferrymen and claimed either the lives or the liberty of more than one fourth of those under its protection, the network's survivors pay tribute to the lost with a candlelight service. |
| Date | November 21, 2010 |
There is no chapel on Pollepel Island or a churchyard in which to bury the dead. Those who wish to worship do so behind closed doors, holy texts hidden away and prayer rugs lovingly rolled up, stashed under wooden cots, and although the Ferrymen network understands the meaning of the word tolerance better than almost anyone, its people choose to segregate themselves when it comes to matters of religion.
The exception to this rule is the memorial service dedicated to the missing and the dead.
The sky outside is dark, but the castle's interior is awash with light emanating from the hundreds upon hundreds of candles used to decorate the great stone chamber with the high ceiling and wooden rafters that the council utilized for the first network meeting after the events of the eighth. A collage of pictures taped to one wall has been put together of the course of the evening, many of the photographs rumpled and torn, flimsily held together with whatever was available, but none of them the same.
Almost everyone has lost someone dear to them.
At the front of the room is a table with small sheets of paper and a tin of pens and pencils donated by the island's refugees for the purpose of allowing people to write notes to their loved ones and then burn them using the candles in the distant hope that their words might somehow reach the afterlife this way. A man with red-gold hair surrenders his slip, held between two of his long fingers, to the flames, silent as he watches its edges blacken and burn, curling into nothing.
While they might not have died on the eighth of November — or at least not the eighth of November, 2010 — Walter Trafford has things he wishes he could say to people but for whatever reason can't. Time travel is not a cure-all.
Kendall didn't know anyone personally who died on the 8th, he didn't even know the face of the guy who had his brains blown out as they were trying to escape. And it would be kinda bad to write 'that guy who had his brains blown out on the dock' on a slip of paper meant to honor the dead, so he just stands off to the side, looking solemn. Of course, he does know at least two people who were injured, so he's here for that more than for people he doesn't know. The young illusionist has his hands in his pockets, looking around at the people present curiously, since there's mostly people he doesn't know here who is in Ferry.
Like Kendall, Wilhelmina didn't really know any of them. So the one-legged ferry courier just stands there watching. She is here to respect those who were lost, even if she might not know a single one of them.
Representation from the Ferrymen is diverse, but still not the entirety of the network to be found here. Alistair McKeon, however, is a face that has been with the network since near its inception, but one not well known among many of its operatives. tired, unshaven and with hair tangled in curly locks down to his shoulders. His eyes are reddened around the edges, staring at the photographs as he finishes taping up a service photograph of one Scott Harkness in full military dress, a good decade younger than anyone in the Ferry might remember him.
Stepping back from the wall, Alistair's eyes flick from one side to the next, uncertain if Scott's picture deserves to be up there. But with everything he's heard, with everything he's feared, he has no reason to believe that Harkness is still alive after the raid on the Hangar. Without proof — without confirmation — Harkness' status as Missing in Action may as well be Killed in Action.
Backing away from the wall and lowering his head, Alistair keeps to himself, especially away from Nurse Young. Megan is — of all people — the one here that he is most worried about the emotional state of. While she and Scott were never romantically involved, there was a bond between the two like an old married couple. Alistair, if nothing, feels he failed Scott. Nothing anyone says, save for Scott Harkness himself, could change that.
Away from Alistair and across the chamber, a group of five are standing together in silence with candles in hand, looking to the plastered wall of names and faces with tears in their eyes. Some unable to view just how large the memorial wall is, just how many photographs have been tagged up. It's a sobering representation.
Abigail is present, a beaten jacket that doesn't belong to her folding in half over her arm and watching the people who come and go, writing their notes and committing them to flame. It reminds her of that show that Alexander made her watch a few episodes of in his attempts to bring her current with pop culture. Battleship or Battleguns or Battle-something. He never quite succeeded in his mission. But it reminds her of the wall there with all the pictures.
The former EMT just watches, silent prayers given up when people she knows move forward to either add another picture or scribble and sacrifice in flame their thoughts. Occasionally her lips move so very very little, just a fraction as she almost says a word but doesn't. Just a blue eyed, brown haired sentinal.
Megan knew many of them. If not in too personal a fashion, the nurse/medic has patched up so many people in her years in the Ferry. The ones lost on the 8th are additions to the list of the lost. The ones imprisoned the redhead can only pray for the safety of. Her heart hurts with their losses, but she's an old soldier who has buried many. Too many. Losing August last year, now losing Scott has gouged the woman's heart into an open wound. There are tears in her blue eyes as she watches Alistair, but as she meets his gaze across the room, her chin comes up. And she simply nods to him. She won't approach him for now, allowing him to keep his distance — but it is not his fault. Any more than it was hers for following Harkness's last order to get her ass to the boats.
Coming into this room a little late are Howard and a face that is unfamiliar but to those who have been aiding those in the infirmary. Of course, half of the young woman's face is obscured, gauze bandages swathing her eyes. Howard decided to add a pair of sunglasses to Nora's face, to protect her eyes further, or for the comedic effect, it's hard to say.
Nora didn't ask permission from the medics to be here, sneaking in after they left the infirmary a few moments before. She doesn't know most of those being remembered, those who have been lost, but her hushed argument with the blond man whose arm she clings to with both of hers can be heard explaining her reasons:
"I'm not going to stay in bed when it's my eyes that aren't working, not my legs, and this is important. These people deserve to be remembered, and I will help them be remembered if I can. So quit telling me why I should be back in bed and just make sure I don't fall down and break an ankle, already," Nora whispers.
Quinn has only just arrived in time for the wake, dressed in stiff jeans and a heavy looking black leather jacket. Still, it didn't stop her from making her way straight up towards the collage, looking for familiar faces. She can't help but feel her heart sink a bit when her gaze settles on Else's picture, the photokinetic closing her eyes momentarily. She didn't know Else that well, not personally, but it still saddens her to see one of her more recent friends up on the wall. Dead or terrorists, seems to be the case with too many of her newer friends. She's silent for several moments, only speaking to give a silent prayer, for Else and for everyone else up on the wall.
Barbara stands a bit off to the side, her hat pulled down a bit over her eyes. Not that she's trying to go unrecognised, but just helping to set up the memorial had left her eyes a little red - with remembering those who had fallen on the eighth, came memories of those lost in August, and those taken from Thompson. All of it has her just as quiet as ever, her bag slung over her shoulder as she tries to distract herself by sketching teh scene before her. Just for her own benefit, if nothing else.
Most of these people have not seen hide nor hair of Delilah since before the 8th. So it is a little bit of a surprise when she turns up on the evening boat into Pollepel. The first short while was primarily spent finding a few people that she knew she had to talk to, knew she had to check in with. One of the main ones was Eileen, if she could find her in this big damn castle. Is it that hard to find a little blind woman? Hopefully not.
For some of the kids, and some of the adults that managed to get here, she is a familiar and welcome new face, even if just for the night, and possibly the next day. Red hair tied back, long clothing, and of course- an infant sling on her front- maybe she's the picture some people wanted to see. Needed, maybe. Someone that seems just marginally more happy to bring a living warmth into the room. Of the few things she had to do when she came, telling somebody about what happened to Else was on the top of the list. The one right after it was wandering into the tall room lit with candles, to put a picture of the lanky blonde woman up on the wall.
It was hard for Dee to not put Else front and center, for all that she meant; and when someone else, Quinn, seems to think similarly, there is a ghosting presence when Quinn shuts her eyes, and a gentle hand on her arm. Delilah has nothing in particular to say, but she's there for a few seconds with that touch. The murmur of the baby in the sling against her chest gives her away.
Walter rubs the soot from the tips of his fingers, then wipes them off on the front of his jacket. He turns around, away from the table, slips both his hands into the pockets of the leather jacket he wears and meanders back toward the wall of photographs. When he passes Barbara, there's a fractional turn of his head in the opposite direction, unwilling to risk meeting her gaze for whatever reason. His blue eyes skip past Howard, past Nora, and he comes to stand beside Quinn at the collage, keeping her between him and the young mother on her opposite. "Hey," he says, his tone skirting along familiarity without coming close enough to actually touch it. Like with Barbara, he is very careful not to allow his eyes to wander over to Delilah or the infant in her sling.
"Not to interrupt or anything," he continues, "but I'm looking for a Dr. Francois Allegre? You don't know if he came in on the boat tonight, do you?"
"Fine," Howard breathily agrees to the young brunette at his side, "but when Hannah skins me alive and feeds me to a pack of hungry fire ants, I'm haunting you." Both of Howard's brows raise as he carefully and slowly walks with Nora, guiding her through the crowd. When a pair of people block his passage, Howard steps forward and jabs one of the men in the back of the leg with his boot. "The fuck out'a my way, blind girl coming through." A livid look is fired back at Howard from Alistair, whom he just kicked, but after a moment of seeing Nora's bandaged face he just steps out of the way.
Nora and Howard's approach into the room brings them right up with Wilhelmina, and Howard's initial greeting is little more than an unfriendly stare of cold, blue eyes to the young woman. Unaware that one of her legs is a prosthetic, he turns his focus back to Nora with a furrow of his brows on hearing a voice in the crowd saying the name Francois. Blue eyes fix on Walter with a moment of scrutiny, eyes narrowed and then dart over to something more pressing— at least persnally.
Abigail.
Howard's attentive stare seeks out the brunette's, until he manages to meet her eyes and widens his own. With a jerk of his chin, Howard invitingly orders Abigail over with his precious jacket, to where he, Nora and Wilhelmina are.
Mina uncomfortably smiles towards Howard, "Hello." She greets the man. When Abigail is motioned over, Mina steps back, the sound of her replacement foot distinctly different from that if a natural foot, or even footwear, hitting ground.
Yeah yeah Howard, you weren't in your room. Abigail rolls her eyes at Howard, dark brows going up in a 'maybe I will' sorta of gesture that her shoulders match. But there's a detour before she'll bring him his jacket. Let him sweat. She knows why he's worrying about it. There's a delilah to get to first, and the baby that she hasn't seen since she pulled him from unmentionable places in proper company and watched him take his first breath.
Abigail slips through the gathering throng till she's beside Delilah, Howards jacket tucked under an arm so she can give the redhead a careful hug, and a peek at baby Walter, make sure that really is the red haired squalling lifeform that she brought forth. "You made it okay" grateful admission. "And so did Wally" Abigail doesn't make a move to touch him though, much like in the SUV. "How you doing Dee?"
Kendall sees Quinn, someone he hasn't seen in like… forever, and makes a beeline for her. "Hey…" he looks nervous, for some reason. Then again, he's shy, and in a crowd full of mostly people he doesn't know, so it's somewhat understandable. "You okay?"
The sound of the infant brings Megan's eyes toward the group that now includes Reynard and Abby along with Delilah and her infant. Her expression softens slightly, and then her attention returns to the front. Narrowed blue eyes are on the blind girl heading toward the front with her companion. A sigh escapes her and Megan starts moving through the crowd to join those two. "There was a reason that I told you not to come out of the infirmary," she murmurs as she gets near. "Now that you're here, you shouldn't stay long." She's not going to make a scene, though.
Stepping in also late is the forlorn figure of Tasha Oliver, arms wrapped around herself as she scans those assembled, offering a weak and sad smile to anyone she sees. Until she sees baby Walter, and a grin broadens across her face. She makes her way that way as well, offering a smile to Abby as the other gets their first. "Oh, my God, he's so cute, Dee!" she gushes, letting the infant's presence take her mind off other things — namely, Colette and Tamara, her father and her mother.
"Death by fireants is too good for you," Nora says with a smirk, then winces as he calls her blind girl. "Like that isn't totally obvious, Howie. Jesus. People don't need to move for me, just because I'm blind," she whispers, and then her head tilts toward anyone she can't see, within hearing distance. "I'm sorry, don't mind him. He's terminally rude…" Luckily she didn't see him kick Alistair.
"Oh — M-megan. I feel okay, I just can't see," she says apologetically.
Avoiding contact at such a close range is not going to work when the question is practically personal. Delilah's face edges out from behind Quinn like a squirrel from its hole in the tree. Hm?
"Francois has been missing. For more than a month, I think." Brown eyes are scrutinizing the redheaded man with a measure of curiosity. It blossoms there in the back of her head, and soon her eyebrows are knitting. She swears, to herself, that she has met this person before; she cannot place where, of course, but that does not mean she can't stand there and squint.
That is, until Abby distracts her. Then, she's all smiles again. "Abby, hi. Yeah. We got there fine, everything was fine. I stayed out of state until I could get home this week." And Tasha, now! Dee won't say she doesn't like the attention, even if it is technically for the baby. She takes a second to peel back the part of the sling cradling his head. He's only slightly awake- suddenly moreso since there are hens now cooing over him. What's this ruckus? Mmnnneh.
Quinn looks over at Delilah when she feels the hand on her shoulder. Remaining silent, she just gives a bit of a nod and a sigh. Her on hand reaches up to rub Dee's back, shaking her head. It isn't until Walter speaks that she looks up again, over at the unfamiliar redhaired man. "Huh? Oh. Um… no, I can't say I do. I'm sorry, I just got in." She offers a bit of a weak smile, even as she wipes something away from her eye. The beginnings of a tear, most likely. "I dunno if Eileen's around either. I'll keep an ear out, in case I hear anything, though." A look back over to Delilian, and Quinn removes her hand from the natural rehead's back long enough to half heartedly offer it over to Walter. "Don't think I've seen you around before. RObyn Quinn, pleasure t' meet you." And then she hears Kendall, which has her looking back with a bit of surprise. She'd heard he was on the island, but last she'd heard, he was tstill bed, "Glad t' see you up, Kendall."
Oh wow, says the expression on the older Walter's face. This is a lot of people standing around me all of a sudden. Maybe I shouldn't be here. He's spared having to weasel himself out of the room, however, when the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps echoes through the hall, drifting in through the chamber's open double doors. A moment later, the face of a tall, willowy woman with dark eyes, hair and a frame like an elegant sapling enters its frame, a manicured hand coming to curl around the left door's edge.
Michelle Kaneda, or Chelle as she is better known, lingers on the threshold as if torn between saying something there and moving deeper inside, navigating the mourners to do it. Her heels click against stone, and she makes a bee-line for Abigail, the most easily-recognizable council member in the room thanks to Barbara's hat.
"Abby," she says, keeping her voice low as she moves into earshot, a glance flicked at the others standing around before her eyes return to the brunette. "They're back."
They're back. The gentle smile Abby had for Delilah and little Walter melts away, her attention turning to Chelle as she comes to relay a message. "Don't suppose it can be marked down as a huge success or a triumph was it?" There's a pass of her free hand to Delilah's shoulder, squeeze, smile for the others gathered around and she's turning. Away from the small group, away from the wall and the people on it. There may be more to add in a few minutes. "I'm coming, go tell Megan, we'll go get ready for the injured" She has something to return to someone first and with a nod to Chelle, she's moving perhaps a bit more swiftly now towards Howard and Nora, his jacket held out for him.
The announcement of they're back has Barbara perking back up a bit, the hat pulled back up and off her head - a little overdramaticly, but it reveals her presence and her slightly reddened eyes. "So you need help, Abby?" is Barbar's first question, even as she moves to follow after her, just in case. No real mind is paid to teh growing crowd, but catching a sight of baby Walter does bring a bit of a smile to her face. Always nice to ahve something around to brighten a somber occasion such as this.
"Hey, uh, Nurse Young…" Howard's brows furrow as he wraps an arm protectively around Nora's shoulders. "Look she just— wanted t'like… pay her respects and stuff. The— " he reconsiders his words, "your people, they put their necks out for us. The least we could do is acknolwegde that. We'd be like— dead if it weren't for everything you've done for us. So just…" Howard looks back to Nora, frowning faintly, "give the girl a break."
It's uncharacteristic kindness that Howard is displaying, suddenly willing to come to Nora's defense about something he was just minutes ago insisting that she not do. Howard's willingness to stick to one side of an argument is as mercurial as his attitudes seem to be. It's then, however, that Howard does a double-take on seeing Wilhelmina, as if only noticing her for the first time just then.
"Oh— holy sh— " his lips clamp down, awkward smile grows, "ah, yeah I— hey there." There's a faint smile crossing Howard's lips as his brows raise, expression far less severe than it usually is. "Sorry I didn't…" Howard cuts himself off awkwardly again, scratching at the back of his neck as he tries to come up with a way to salvage that sentence.
In comes Abigail, proving him an excuse not to.
"Oh, sweet," Howard murmurs, taking the jacket in one hand, fingers curled around the collar. "Hey I… thanks, for like— taking care of it, Doc." Apparently Abby's nickname is now Doc? "I appreciate it." However it isn't Howard that wears the jacket. Instead, he unwinds his arm from Nora and then folds the coat around her shoulders, leaving her practically swimming in the olive-drab fabric.
Nervous blue eyes flick up from Nora to Wilhelmina, followed by a faint smile of uncertainty, as if he's not sure how to act around her.
"It's okay." Mina responds, her smile fading however, as Howard's clearly set on not treating her like a regular person, "I'm Mina, by the way."
Kendall rubs the back of his head, looking embarassed. "Uh, yeah. I kinda overdid it, and stuff. I never tried making seven people invisible and then conjuring giant monsters to attack people all on the same night. Didn't think I'd end up in bed for 5 days straight though…" Dee and her baby are peeked at, though Kendall doesn't make it too obvious.
"They liberated fifteen," says Chelle, to anyone who will listen now that Abigail is showing her back. "Pastor Sumter's with them, and one of the Messiah too. There's at least one woman in critical condition — Eileen sent her to the infirmary with most of the others, but we didn't lose anyone. I'm supposed to tell Nurse Young that the volunteers are stabilizing her now, but the bullet's still in there. Someone needs to take it out."
At her heels are more footfalls, a group moving in unison as opposed to a solitary individual. The Englishwoman who Chelle is referring to appears first, flakes of snow not yet melted glittering in her windswept hair and lashes and a wet smear of blood at her jaw that doesn't belong to her, but the shadows behind her materialize soon after, in varying states of dishelvement or distress. Their voices, too, are quiet.
They didn't come here to disturb the memorial, and so consumed with grief are most of the mourners that they do not give their arrival much notice.
"There's so many people here I donno," Tasha whispers, glancing around from one unfamiliar face to the next. Her hands go nervously to the thick scarf tied around her neck before her eyes take in the collage. "Be right back," she whispers, moving to where the candles and papers lie, writing something out on a piece of paper and then holding it to one of the candles to let it burn, wincing when she holds it just a bit too long and burns her finger tips. She turns to look at those entering the room with an appreciative silence.
Nora's lips curve as Howard comes to her defense, and she squeezes her fingers around his forearm. "I promise I'll go back to the infirmary as soon as this is over, Megan. I just want to be sure to remember people — however I can. I know I didn't meet them, but it's one more person with their memories in their head, to carry them with them, to remember what they died for. Even if I don't know what they looked like."
Her voice warbles just a touch on that last note before she presses her lips together to fight that wave of despair off. Her head angles toward Mina's voice. "I'm Nora."
Always nice to have something around, even if its now fussing over the people suddenly all standing around him. The infant pries open his eyelids as Dee peels his head and shoulders out, her hand underneath and the sling loosening from her shoulder. The first thing he looks at, isn't Tasha or Abby leaving, or Quinn nearby, but the firelight on the wall, maybe the candles if he can try and swivel that far. under his little winter cap is that sprout of orange hair peeking out. Walter's mouth closes, cheeks working, and it opens again with an indeterminate noise.
"You should have seen him with the flurries." Delilah's chuckle implies that he did something interesting, at least. In truth, she is trying to listen in on what Abby is being told- the relay is spotty, and she's only hearing parts.
Megan moves as soon as Chelle's information registers in her brain, listening intently. At the information that someone's in the infirmary with immediate needs, the redhead breaks free of Howard and Nora with a terse, "Get her back safely." She moves with an efficient grace at a speed that's not a run but yet brooks no one standing in her way.
Out of the darkness comes an Australian familiar to most, dressed in dark clothes and carrying a MP-5 on his chest, the muzzle pointing to the ground, the safety quite obviously on. He looks tired and wet and cold, but compared to some, those would be things to strive for instead of being under the care of the US government or, worse, quickly attaining ambient temperature. His tools still dangle from his belt, his mask pulled up to reveal his face as he pauses at the door, looking at the gathered throng, at the candles twinkling like stars in the darkness. The wall of the lost draws his attention and, after a moment, he moves to add a picture of his own with a nail scavenged from somewhere. A picture of a red-headed girl on a swing, laughing and smiling. Delia. His girlfriend, now in a coma, lost, but hopefully one to be found soon.
There's a moment of silence before he steps away, moving to a small space in between a couple of people to watch and speak when the time comes.
"Yeah, we might need extra hands, pass us stuff or hold lights" Murmured to Barbara. She didn't know how many people knew about the convoy run, but they were going to know it now. "Your welcome Howard. It's Abby, I'm not a doctor. We'll need to talk after though, if you don't mind, I didn't take anything from your pockets" Which is to say that Abby doesn't care if he doesn't want to. They'll need to. But here isn't exactly the place to discuss it. Not when there's people returning and there seems to be a gunshot victim to take care of. "And you better get back there Nora or I'll find the most handsome guy here on the island to pick you up and carry you back."
And with that, in Megan's wake, Abigail is going too, already pushing her sleeves up to her elbows, a nod for Jaiden as he enters.
One Griffin Mihangle is looking a rather frightful mess as he makes his way in behind Eileen and Jaiden, heading up the group of disheveled escapees. His business suit is still stained with the dried blood of his victims, as well as looking like he's been wearing it for two weeks too long. He doesn't smell quite pleasant, either, having had only a sink and limited privacy to clean himself with. He also bears a two-week old beard covering his face.
A stick has been turned into a makeshift cane, which he leans on heavily as he limps along. The snow did nothing for his bad knee, but at least he's uninjured. He's just hungry and in desperate need of a hot shower and a shave. Tired green es trail across the faces of those gathered; he smiles upon spotting Abby, the only familiar face in the room, and immediately begins to make his way toward her. "Abby," says a voice that carries hints of hoarseness to it, thanks to the cold.
"Howard," is offered after Nora's introduction to Wilhelmina. "Ain't met too many people here outside'f a hello," he slowly seems to be losing that awkward slant to his tone of voice, offering a side-long look to Megan with a subtle nod before turning his focus back to the younger woman nearby. "You one'f these folks y— " Howard grimaces, "yuh— uh… yeah. You one'f the Ferry? Or, like, are you just a refugee like Nora an' me?"
As he looks from Wilhelmina over to Chelle, Howard's brows furrow, trying to parse what the dark-haired woman is saying, but distance and noise isn't allowing it. Instead, he turns to look back to Wilhelmina and slants his head at a crooked angle. "Nora'n me and my friend Benji who…" Howard's blue eyes scan the crowd, "I guess ain't being a fairy 'round here at the moment," then looks back to 'Mina, "got picked up by the Ferry-folk. Lucky that, Nora was right banged up…"
Mina's smile returns somewhat, "Yeah, I'm with the Ferry." She responds, "Nobody important though.. just a courier."
Quinn quirks an eye at Kendall. "Wow, an' I thought going colourblind was bad," she remarks, looking a little shocked. "Glad you're feeling better now." One more look over at Walter, and then over to Tasha. "Yeah. There's a lot of people up here I don't know. Which… doesn't really help…" She speaks quietly, shaking her head as she turns back to the picture of Else. She doesn't have a candle to offer, but instead she folds her hands together. Closing her eyes and sighing, she slowly opens them, sending a small spread of little motes of light spilling out and down into the grass, like little firefly lights to shine on the pictures of teh various fallen Ferrymen.
Behind Abby, there's a quick nod as Barbara looks back up past her and over at the other arrives, eyes moving to Eileen. "What can I do to help?" she immediately asks, stepping towards them with a grimace.
Unlike Griffin, who has someone he knows whom he can flock to, Mynama has no one. For once, her mask of confidence and self-assurance is gone, replaced by tender vulnerability as she creeps in with the rest of the refugees, her hands curled into the loose fabric of her coat. This…place - it may not be the Ritz, it may not be home or anything like it, but at least it's warmer than outside. Held wide, her eyes dart from person to person, and finally alight on the wall of faces, lit by the candles. She doesn't have to ask to guess what they are, given the somber tone of the room, and the hushed voiced everyone uses to speak in.
Slipping like a shadow, Mynama eases herself away from the group she entered with, having no more ties to them than any one else in the room, save for some still unknown amount of time in some still unknown government facility and their recent rescue from whatever fate that held for them. The teen moves along the side of the room, searching out the darkness in order to conceal herself. There are too many unknowns, and too much has happened in too short a time for her to process. Once she's found that shadowy spot, Mynama slips down the stone wall and hugs her knees to ehr chest, one eye held on the wall of faces.
"Colorblind?" Kendall blinks at Quinn. "You're colorblind? Now?" he considers. "I wonder if I could help with that… actually, that's an interesting thought. I wonder if I could make a blind person see…" hey, isn't there someone blind here right now? He looks over towards someone with bandages over their eyes, looking curious.
Griffin. Griffin. Abby's pulled up short by the sight of him, the sight of Eileen and the blood on the Englishwoman. "Griffin" She surprised. "You're here" You know, instead of in the city, with his son and Marjorie and… "Eileen" First time she's managed to see the other woman. The now Brunette looks between the two as if one of them might have the answer. "Who's the one that got shot?" Please don't be Ryans, or Huruma, or… a myriad of other people that she knows. Gunshots will be tricky to treat out here, even more so if they didn't have Megan. "Eileen… we need to talk" An underlying urgency to her request as well. "Can the gunshot wait a few minutes?"
"Shut t'fuck up," Howard casually slurs towards 'Mina. "You got any idea how fucking important a courier's gotta be to a group like this? That's like saying somebody's fucking veins aren't important 'cause all it does is circulate the blood." Blonde brows pinch together and howard's nose wrinkles. "You're a more important than you think you are, so tip that chin up and don't give me none of that humble crap, 'right?"
Howard cracks a broad smile, despite his abrasive tone of voice. "Ain't gonna' get no sympathy from nobody, so be proud of what you are. Me? I'd walk up and slap my damn chest and say I'm a courier as loud as I could, 'cause that's a fuck of a responsibility for someone young as you."
Howard's brows furrow together as he looks up and over to the people coming in, watching Griffin with a briefly wary look, then back to Wilhelmina. "Tough chick I knew growing up taught me that."
As Megan takes her leave of the memorial, so does Walter, his pace a brisk clip to match hers. His desire to get out of the room is outweighed only by his desire to see who the injured woman is, and luckily these do not conflict with one another. His departure is not a difficult decision to make, and even if he'd stayed long enough for Abigail to pose her question, chances are he wouldn't have remained anyway.
"She's ex-Company," says Eileen of Lashirah. "Ashley O'Brien." Her request to talk has her moving away from the group, candlelight playing off her skin and hair as she leads Abigail and presumably Barbara as well to one of the room's less populated corners. What's wrong? feels like a stupid thing for her to ask with the network's situation as dire as it already is, so she doesn't.
Huruma was not fully able to discard her various mission equipment until they got back; yet even now, she can't seem to find time, between herding the new refugees inside and standing off with some of the other SA soldiers- just so they can make sure that the effects of the negation gas she got a whiff of isn't taking total hold. It seems to have mostly gone from her system, thank goodness. Discarding the mask and cap, writhing out of the kevlar under her coat, it all gives her a few moments to reflect as well. On what, is not clear to the others.
When Huruma wanders silently into the room, it is also clear that she was not the one to get shot. Given that she's also here, it is unlikely that Ryans was the one either. Because god knows she would not be here. The African woman casts a steady look across the room, eyes only stopping when she finds Mynama tucked and huddling against the wall. This is probably her own fault- that karma nonsense. Huruma sighs, the noise light, before making her way over to Mynama and pitting her upper back against the wall beside her. We meet again. Again.
Delilah tilts a look to Kendall when she finally hears him speaking, only to be duly distracted when Quinn's ability- previously unknown to Dee- manifests itself in something very heartwarming. The baby in her arms watches with whatever wonder that he can muster up.
Griffin reaches for Abby's hand as he reaches her side, offering it a small squeeze, before taking a few steps back. "Yes, I'm here. I was helping Lynette and Ben evacuae Gun Hill, and…well, I got caught." He tilts his head to one side, frowning, suddenly. "Marjorie took Owain from me a few days before…you know." This is all he says on that topic, turning a frown around the crowd. He was just getting comfortable with the idea of not facing her after all has been said and done. Now he has to steel himself again.
A glance is cast around, the man catching Howard's briefly wary look. It prompts Griffin's brows to raise slightly, thoughtfully. What was that about?
Kendall smirks at Quinn's display of power, then notices something scary out of the corner of his eye, and he turns in time to catch sight of a man with a gun. Eep! He was shot with something similar a few months ago, and there were more people with guns on the 8th, shooting at them. He looks the man over, and more details are revealed to the teenager. Is that… blood? And he hasn't shaved, and looks…. kinda evil. He slowly steps so that he's between the man and Quinn and Dee, though he looks a little… scared. Or maybe traumatized, he did see that guy get his head shot.
There's a moment where Jaiden relaxes, the stress of the evening falling away, the edge that he'd been honing all night blunting. He sinks down against the wall, conveniently near Huruma and Mynama, who both get a small smile. There's a bit of rummaging in his backpack as the gun is unloaded and put away and a bottle of water is pulled out. He'd rather it were a beer, or hard liquor, but he needs the hydration right now. The liquor's in the other pocket. To be pulled out later.
Even before she hears the girl's breath hitch in her throat, Huruma knows how close to tears Mynama is. Her hands shake, the moment only steadied slightly by her death grip on her legs. She swallows, the sound echoing in her ears, before she looks up at the woman she admired so long ago and set as a model of independence and strength. The woman who has twice rescued her from uncertain fates, without being asked to.
Mynama should say thank you, but she doesn't. She doesn't say anything. Instead, she turns her face into her knees and presses it tightly there, too awash with too many thoughts to think straight enough to even formulate a sentence. She's scared. She's cold. She's tired. She's hungry. And oddly enough, she misses Oscar.
More importantly, she misses her mother.
When one is unable to pick up a toddler, it makes things such as walking a pain in the buttocks. Short legs and a tiny gait means that progress is slow and since little Emily was refusing to settle down, Kaylee Thatcher was forced to bring the tiny to with her. Thanks to the fact that the telepath can hear the silent child's thoughts, Kaylee has ended up helping out with the newest orphan in the network, her mother gunned down at the docks.
Both are bundled in jackets to ward off the chill in the castle. Kaylee wears a dark gray turtle neck and jeans, her blonde curls pulled up on the back of his head, her hair way too long to be left loose.
As the make their way into the candlelit room slowly, the toddler seems to slow up some… there are people here. However, through the sea of legs she sees a familiar person. They one with the funny faces. Glancing up at Kaylee, Emily points in that direction. The blonde glances down at the tinier blonde. "We'll go say hello in a moment. I have something I need to do. Okay?"
It must be okay, cause the toddler doesn't put up a fight, but does try waving at Abby, while Kaylee leads her to the where the notes are. The telepath nods to people in passing, before grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil, she crouches down so that the child can see what she's doing.
Both appear silent as Kaylee writes, but more then likely there is non-vocal commentary going on. The tiny blonde gets bored of watching the graphite mark the paper and reaches out to touch the twin crucifix, given to Kaylee to care for til they met again. As she looks at them, they are lifted to reveal the small and delicate cross that was given to Kaylee back in the 1890's. She wears them in the open tonight, along with the gold band that she wore to keep hope alive, since this was all about those lost. However, she doesn't write a note for missing pastor, for her to do that would be giving up.
"I'll find you after I'm done with Eileen and Barbara and help Megan with Lashirah Griffin. You find me out and keep finding me okay?" Abigail promises Griffin, eyebrows crimping down at the knowledge that he got caught that Marjorie took owen. There's more to the story, she's sure. But there's things - sorry Griffin - that are more pressing.
Like going to the quiet corner with barbara and Eileen, turning her back to the group that tends and visits the Memorial. She catchs both their eyes, making sure that her voice is low enough for the both of them. They can find Lynette later and the other surviving members of the council if it becomes something relevant.
"They have a compass"
A hand comes up to halt any questions. "Not an institute compass, thought I brought mine with me. It's sitting in a faraday bag and can't be used, it's useless for more than telling true north right now or the time. I was repairing Howards jacket for him and it fell out. It's old, looks like the pictures Cat showed that one time. It spun right round crazy in my hand, and when I walked down near the docks, put it on the ground, it just went right to pointing at the castle" She doesn't look over her shoulder to Howard or the others that were part of his entourage. "I haven't brought it up with them, I don't know why they have it. But Howard was in institute custody at some point. They done did things to him and…" Abigail shake sher head a fraction side to side. "With the helicopter incident…"
When Tasha finds Eileen, she too moves in that direction, though she stands a little apart from Abby, not wanting to interrupt or eavesdrop — the question Tasha has for Eileen is written plainly on her face, and no one need be a telepath to answer it. Where is he? is the tacit question, and Tasha wraps her arms around herself, waiting as patiently as she can to be directed in some direction, as currently she feels directionless and adrift — especially without Colette on the island.
Nora whispers to Howard, "What's going on?" when she sense the commotion of more people entering the room, feels the palpable tension and worry in the air.
As Abby wanders off, Griffin nods quietly, frowning around the room. Then, he runs a hand through his scraggly, dirty hair, glancing around once more. With nobody else to speak to, the haggard man drifts over to the wall, several paces from Huruma and Mynama, and simply slides down to his rear on the ground, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as he takes a moment to simply relax after the daring rescue took place. He'll look into a shower soon.
"Some injured folks," Howard murmurs to Nora, resting a hand on her shoulder, one finger toying with a lock of dark hair, curling it around one finger. "Dunno what's going on, sounds like there's something going on in the infirmary… I heard somethin' earlier about them going out to rescue people from the government, captivity-type things." Howard's blue eyes flick over to Nora, worriedly.
"Hannah went with 'em…" is quietly elaborated, followed by a downwards turn of his lips and a tight swallow, blue eyes flicked back up to the crowd while his hand remains firm on Nora's small shoulder.
"Dipshit's here too," is added as an afterthought by Howard.
The starling on Eileen's shoulder gives Tasha its attention, scrutinizing her with winking black eyes while the woman's rest on Abigail — or at least where she believes the origin of Abigail's face to be. "Have you told anyone else about this?" is the kind of question that she thinks she knows the answer to, or is at least vain enough to think that Abigail would come to her and Barbara about it first.
A flick of the starling's wings sends it soaring across the short distance between the gathering of three and where Tasha is standing not so far away, but rather than alight on her it spins a tight circle around her head and then scissors out into the hallway as if to say, This way.
She'll show her where her father is.
The scrape of leather on stone comes as Huruma crouches down and sits there beside Mynama. It looks to others like she knows the girl, and it's truth. There is nothing in an emotional arsenal to specifically reassure someone, but there is a certain cocktail of relief, hopeful, and calm emotions that can work just as well. Couple the little blossom of warmth in Mynama that she puts there with Huruma's hand finding the center of Mynama's shoulders, and perhaps it is a decent offering.
Delilah, near the wall, watches Kaylee as she moves directly for the table there, arms cradling Walter and eyes following the little girl that is with her. As if to test Kaylee's awareness, Delilah tries to mentally vocalize a sing-song call of her name. Dee is not a telepath, but if she thinks it hard the blonde woman might hear, right?
Hey, Kaylee.
A compass.
Those words make Barbara's posture straighten, eyes widening as she looks at Abby. It's hard to hide the fact that for a few moment, she looks really scared. Quickly, the hat is pulled back over her head in an attempt to keep reaction from being visible to anyone else. It's hard to tell just how successful she is. A look is given over to Eileen, and then back to Abby, eyes narrowing. "Perhaps someone should be pulling them aside. Soon. To find out where they got it, then. If they're here to be- plants or anything, it could be a disaster." Yes, Barbara is a little paranoid on the matter, but she has a rather good reason. "I would rather not see a repeat of Thompson. Not here, not anywhere."
A brow lifts as that bird flutters away, clearly leading Tasha on, so the small brunette chuckles a little before following, glancing once more over her shoulder at those assembled and the collage and candles to commemorate them, then she too disappears into the dark hallway to find someone still in the realm of the living.
Nora's head turns uselessly, as if trying to see through gauze and sunglasses, and the deeper darkness she's been plunged into beneath those layers of obscurement. "Hannah went? Did she come in with the people who are here?" Because if she's not here, does that mean she's in the infirmary? "If she's not here… we can… I promised to go back to the infirmary, after all," she whispers.
"I haven't told anyone, not even Ryans yet. After everything with the Helicopter…" She wants to say that after everything with Susan too. But that goes unspoken. Abigail has some belief that most of this re: The Ferry might very well have been prevented if people had acted on Susan. "I don't know what it means, but it's not a common thing to have. And he knew about me Eileen. What my ability is, which isn't that widely known much less seen what I can do. He acted as if he was familiar with me and what I do, but doesn't seem to have been expecting Brown hair and brown eyes." They're currently back to blue.
"Didn't know that I'm married" But then…Eileen doesn't know that, and no one else does unless they look at the ring. "And then add in the nature of how they came to be with us… I don't want to believe it to be true but…" But these days, it's mighty suspicious no? Abigail nods with Barbara. They need to be talked with. See how they came to have such a thing, and why. Whether it really is co-incidence. "We also need to realize the possibility that that is why Danko was on the helicopter and how they came to be where they were. They might have one too" Sorry Emily, Abby hasn't seen you yet :(
Delilah is rewarded with Kaylee's head coming up quickly and her twisting on the balls of her feet to look for the familiar mental voice. Not that she can miss Delilah in a crowd, red haired woman with a baby.
Baby?
Blonde brows lift and Kaylee brightens, glancing from baby to mother. The writing is abandoned for the moment so that the telepath can straighten and guide the toddler towards her friend. "Delilah! I… totally missed you there." Emily seems to inch her way behind Kaylee's leg, arm wrapping around it and half hiding her face, though the one pale eye showing is focused on something smaller then her, namely Walter.
Kaylee shifts forward to look down at the tiny infant. "So is this the little person I kept hearing?" It's been five years, but even the telepath remembers those fascinating moments when she's hear those undeveloped thoughts. Her head tilts a little bit, "Yup… I'd know that mind anywhere." A glance goes to Delilah, a hand moving to touch the girls arm. "He's adorable, Dee. Congratulations."
The backpack between Jaiden's legs is unzipped and, after a bit of rummaging, an oversized men's flannel shirt is offered to Mynama. "Should have offered this earlier, but we were kinda runnin' for our lives back then." His eyes flick to Huruma for a moment, and Huruma's giant gun before he offers a box of 12 gauge slugs to her. "Dunno if these are the right gauge, but they should work for reloads."
After a few moments of the emotions Huruma sends like a cleansing tide across Mynama, the girl turns her head to look at her again. She blinks away tears and swallows, awed in a way by the silhouette of the woman's face in the candlelight. It's only then, once the calm that Huruma provides settles in, that Jaiden's voice is able to break through the dizzying thoughts. Mynama blinks again, looking past Huruma to the young man seated against the wall with them. She has a coat, but the thought is still welcome. Managing a weak smile, she shakes her head. "No thanks, I'm okay."
Then, wordlessly, she scoots just that much closer to Huruma, lifting an arm to curl fingers around the woman's parka. It's an anchoring she needs right now, no matter what other sort of steadying she can provide.
"The Institute doesn't know where we are," says Eileen, and she sounds like this is the hundreth time she's reiterated it, her voice growing tired and worn, but there's a certain hardness to it too. The evidence is damning, and not in Howard's favour. "If it did, we'd have contended with more than just one helicopter. That was an unfortunate coincidence, nothing more."
It does not, however, rule out the possibility that the blonde youth and his friends are working for the government but have yet to relay what information they've been able to collect during their stay, and that transforms the Englishwoman's mouth into a muted scowl. "Confrontation is not an option if you're right," she says, "unless it produces a confession or something else we can act on."
Huruma almost flinches, eyes looking askance to Jaiden offering the flannel and silently wondering if she should be asking preemptively for a crowbar. Her arm is hovering there behind Mynama for a couple of seconds, reluctantly settling back down onto the slim shoulders when it is clear that Mynama isn't going to be doing anything weird. Eh. "Put them in th'armory, would you?" Hands full.
Delilah smiles at Emily first, the expression going to Kaylee as she meets the older girl halfway. "This is him alright. Little bugger was born in Abby's car. It was something else. And who is this here?" The redhead chirps down at Emily, friendly enough to talk directly to the shy little girl.
One askance glance to Wilhelmina, and Howard is tightening that arm around Nora's shoulders. "Hannah ain't here," he quietly offers, starting to guide her away from the courier they had been talking to. "C'mon, we'll go see if she's downstairs with the others. I don't see anyone up here that she'd give two shits about, so I figure she's downstairs…" and the rest of Howard's commentary is left as a murmur into Nora's hair as he leans his head in towards her.
With one arm around the small brunette, Howard quietly leads her away from the memorial, and out towards the door that Megan had disappeared through. If anything, even Howard just needs the peace of mind to know that Hannah is alright. They'd survived too much in the last few weeks to lose each other now.
He's just starting to get used to the idea of liking them.
"This?" Kaylee glance down at the toddler who's slowly pulling her face away from Kaylee's leg, curious. The telepath brushes fine curls at the top of the childs head. "This is Emily." Lost her mom on the 8th. The mother's status echos in Delilah's head to spare the child from hearing it. "Not much of a talker, she — ah — " Trailing off Kaylee glances down at Emily, who in turns looks up at her. " — seems to prefer to hang around me cause I can hear her."
Kaylee gives Delilah a sheepish smile and then shrugs a little. "Keeps me busy," the smiles starts to fade as she continues. "Especially, since Joseph has been missing and not knowing what's going on. Emily has been great for keeping distracted."
Barbara relaxes a bit at Eileen's instance that the Institute knows nothing of their location. "I'm sorry," she says quietly, looking between her and Abby, and then back at the others. "Tonight- remembering this summer has me a little on edge. Maybe you're right. It would be hard to confront them without things going awry. Or people assuming the worst, if word gets out." Barbara looks a bit more thoughtfil, hand moving to her chin. "It's had to say what we should do. We need to keep an eye on the somehow, be it simply checking on them, or having something like your birds keep an eye out on them."
"I'm the one that found it. It'd be hard not to notice it when I was working on his jacket. I can ask about it" She's looking between the two women for guidance. Eileen's right, the institute would be all over this place, the DoEA would and whatever other government agency would be swarming this place by now. Either it only works when you get within a specific range or… who knows.
"I'm not the best judge of character" She knows this, she bats pretty low on the whole who to trust thing. "I should go though, Megan's going to need my help and whatever bullet is in her, isn't going to get out on it's own. Howard seems to, I don't know what you would call it. But I can ask, I can bring it up"
Kendall notices Howard leading Nora away, and appears disappointed. Aww, he wanted to see if he could use his illusions on blind people too! Oh well, he has a good idea where to find her and try some other time. Now, however, he returns his attention to Quinn. "So…. you're colorblind? Were you always colorblind?"
Finally, after a while of resting in the corner, Griffin slowly raises to his feet, glancing about. Then, without another word to anyone else, he makes his way toward the general direction of a place to bathe. He stinks, and he needs new clothes. Hobbling a little on his makeshift cane, he makes his way out in silence
"As long as we're dealing with questions and not thinly-veiled accusations, I see little harm in asking, but also no real benefit. He's going to tell you a story, and unless you have Kaylee hovering over his shoulder, you'll have no way of knowing whether or not the story is true." Which is not to say that Eileen is advocating the use of a telepath. Yet.
"We'll watch them for now," she says, taking Barbara's suggestion with a half-gesture that looks like it means to be a curt nod of her dark head. "If any of them leave the island, even if it's only for a few hours, make sure they're followed. I want to know where they go and who they're talking to."
Mynama sits just like that for several more minutes until she sniffs, drawing whatever tears and other fluid that accompanied them back up into her head, and clearing her mind in the process. She gives Huruma's arm a squeeze, then looks from the wall of faces to the woman at her side. "That's for people who've died, isn't it?" she asks, her whispered voice small. "…any people? Or just…just people from the eighth?"
"As far as I can tell," Huruma's voice is virtually a rumble at this close vicinity. "It is f'those in this group that'ave died or'ave gone missing. There were hundreds of them before." The number of pictures on the wall, and the relatively small number of people here at the castle make something for Mynama to try and compare Huruma's words to.
"Well, It's nice to meet you, Emily. This is Walter." Delilah glances down at the baby, and he just seems to be dozing off again. "He's not much of a talker either, I'm afraid." Dee can understand what Kaylee is doing, and it's a blessing for the little girl. An admirable thing, taking care of a four year old like that.
"Huh?" Quinn is jerked out of her thoughs and elsewhere turned attentions, looking bacj at Kendall with a curious look. "Huh? Oh. Well, um… I was for a bit. I got better, I guess. Colette said it was a symptom of ability overuse. I've tried t' be careful since." She grins, reaching over and ruffling Kendall. "Why? Worried about me? I mean, I know we went on a date, Kendall…" Now she's just teasing, and she needs that laugh to lighten the mood at the moment.
Barbara gives a bit of a nod to Eileen, her arms crossing as gives her nonverbal agreement. "I'll make sure that note is made if they take one of the boats off, then, so someone can keep an eye on them." She seems to be a bit better minded now, sighing and shaking her head. "It may not be anything sinister at all. They could have gotten a compass at a flea market for all we know, before figuing out what it did." Unlikely, but hopefully they know what she means.
The introduction of the baby has the girl moving to glance, head stretching out and going on tip toes. Of course she's still too short for it and she looks a little upset about not being able to really see the baby. Her lower lip pokes out a little, turning it to Kaylee.
Kaylee hazards a glance around, not spotting Megan and Abby seeming to be busy, the telepath goes against orders. Bending down, the blonde lifts the child to her good hip so that she can see Walter. "That better?" she asks the little girl, who is already leaning over to to get a good look at Walter, curiosity written all over her face.
"I'll ask. Can't hurt. At least then we'll have what they want us to hear" Which may or may not be the truth. "I need to go. Megan's probably hollering for me" Who knows how bad Lash really is. Abigail looks between the two women, and digs up a hanky for Eileen and passes it over before she too takes off.
At Huruma's subtle direction, Mynama looks between those gathered and the vast array of faces on the wall. It's humbling, to be sure, and for a moment, her heart both tenses and swells with empathy before Huruma's calming effects normalize her again. She rests her chin on her knees and presses her lips together, watching those gathered to mourn or just talk out of the corner of her eye.
"She died," Mynama murmurs after a moment. "Four years ago. They never found her." It's a story true for so many, but for Mynama, saying the words aloud is important, even if it took her close to half a decade to do so. "I…I used to think she got away. That she was just hiding someplace. But she wouldn't hide for that long." The question in Mynama's voice is shrouded with a thin veil of tears, kept at bay by Huruma's influence.
Kendall grins a little weakly at Quinn. "I forgot about that." well, a lot happened since then, it was before he died after all. "Well just wondering, because I think I might be able to help out, and all. Since my illusions already make people see things that aren't there…." he takes a few steps back, looking awkward. "I met someone who asked me out on a date, so our relationship will have to remain strictly platonic, sorry Quinn. I know you're disappointed, but you'll just have to cope without me." he winks at her, then turns around…. and sees Kaylee. Oh, shit. Maybe she didn't notice him, since she's got little girl and baby distracting her. Sliiiiide behind Quinn.
Eileen turns the handkerchief between her fingers, then lifts her hand to skim them along the wall, using her sense of touch to guide her toward the table rather than her eyes, which have flown out the door ahead of Tasha. "Thank you," says, not for the handkerchief. For the information. For the suggestions. Barbara and Abigail both.
Sensing that this conversation has arrived at its conclusion, she reaches into the tin, selects a slim black pen and then a slip of paper. Her thumbnail traces its shape, tells her where to place its point.
The message begins with: Jonas—
What comes next is between her and a dead boy.
Huruma never really had much of a mother to miss. Maybe her grandmother can count instead, for using to try and relate to Mynama's loss. But knowing Etana is still alive makes it more difficult. She simply doesn't form a reply for the teenager, rather than make some hackneyed effort to say something.
Delilah, meanwhile, is letting Emily get a good look at the little boy from her new perch on Kaylee's hip. It's a very simple introduction, obviously.
Emily makes sure to get a very good look, staring at the tiny form as if she stares long enough he'll wake up. After a long moment, she glances at Kaylee who chuckles. "She says he's awfully small for playing," the telepath explains with a smirk.
Dipping a hand in her pocket Kaylee pulls out the slips of paper she was working on. "I — should finish what I was doing and see if her mom is on the board." Kaylee looks to the child who is back to staring at Walter, a finger in her mouth. "Then I think I better try again to get her to sleep, so that I can breath." Kaylee grins over at Delilah. "I'll see you around the island?"
Barbara exhales quietly, watching Eileen for a moment, simply giving a nod instead of a verbal reply. She stands for a moment, before looking over at the others and motioning that. "I am going to see what I can do to help. If you need me, I shouldn't be hard to find." There's a pause, and she looks back, leaning down to speak quietly. "If someone can get the compass to me, I will see what I can do." She has no doubt Eileen knows what she means, but for now that's the best she can offer, walking off to see what she can do to help the others.
Kendall sliding behind Quinn has her looking over to Kaylee and Delilah, her eyes lighting up. "Kaylee," she says in a happy tone as she - likely contrary to what Kendall wanted - takes the short walk back towards the toher two. "I am so glad to see that you're up an' about too. I was really worried."
Oh noes. Kendall's shield is walking away! At this point in time, Kendall is going to… exit, stage left. Unobtrusively? He can only hope! Likely Kaylee will hunt him down later, as will Melissa. Bah, older women and their protectiveness of younger siblings! Or pseudo-siblings, in Kendall's case.
As people start to disperse, Mynama takes it as a sign that it's appropriate to leave. She stands slowly, pulling herself against Huruma's arm to do so and stepping closer once she's on her feet. She doesn't say anything, but the implication that Huruma will help her to wherever she's supposed to go is strong, and emphasized as the tall teen relinquishes her grip on Huruma's arm in favor of wrapping her own around the woman's waist.
The sound of her name has Kaylee turning towards Quinn. "Hey!" is offers with a smile, "Good to see your okay too, Quinn." It's a relief when any of her friends are okay, especially since so many are missing.
Emily, however, is less enthused about another new stranger. A curled fist rubs tiredly at an eye, as the little girl settles her head on Kaylee's shoulder, though she is keeping an eye on that strange woman. It does remind the telepath of what she's doing.
Giving Quinn and Delilah an apologetic smile, Kaylee turns towards the candle again, "I'll try to catch up with you all later — maybe talk turkey, " that aimed at Delilah. "For now… I need to finish what I was doing and get this one to bed."
Emily agrees with this in the form of a yawn.
As Kaylee turns to her task, Emily turns her head to watch the distance stretch between her and the others. It's Walter and Dee that get a shy wave goodbye as she's carried away.
The last stroke of Eileen's pen carries with it the same finality in the practiced movements of her hands as she folds the slip of paper in two, brings it up to her lips and breathes a kiss against it before she, no different than everyone before her, surrenders her note to the flames. The only thing that makes this offering unique is that she does not see it burn. Feels the heat instead, fueling anger inside.
What happened on Breakneck Road was just the beginning.