Participants:
| Scene Title | Mysterious |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Everyone is a little. |
| Date | August 27, 2011 |
This building is only 14 feet deep, and it is set up as two townhome-style apartment set side-to-side with one door on a corner of the building and one at the center of the building. A metal fire escape runs across the back of the building offering egress in case of an emergency. The bottom floor looks like every other abandoned set of ruins in Long Island City — throughout the apartments there are empty boxes and tattered mattresses that have been used by squatters in the past, various kinds of debris litter the rooms, and there's a general feel of abandonment. Windows are broken or bricked over, and the wall that separated the two townhouses has a massive hole knocked through it for passage. But the floor is not covered with a layer of dust nor is there very much dirt.
The second floor is obviously inhabited by squatters, though. The floors are kept clear and a living room/kitchen arrangement has been set up in here with three couches cadged from places like Goodwill, a couple of camp stoves rest on countertops. Once again a walk-through hole has been broken through to the townhome on the other side, and over on that side of the wall the rooms have been used as bedrooms with sleeping bags and in a couple of cases camping cots set up. Most of the windows on this floor are in decent shape, though panes are cracked or missing in some places.
The third floor also shows some signs of habitation, but the floor plan here is different. The building was intended as a family home, so the third floor is one long hallway between the two stairwells with rooms off it. It is possible to walk the entire length of the building on the hallway side and see out the few unbricked windows. Two rooftop access points are at the top of the stairwells.
If anyone has noticed, it's been a quiet few days since Elisabeth and Devon returned home one evening with Liz declaring the teenager grounded. For some strange reason understood only by the boy, he'd taken pronouncement seriously and remained in his room except to retrieve some food after everyone else has partaken in meals. Beyond that, his presence within the house has been mostly isolated, restricted within the four walls that make up his bedroom.
At present, however, it's a solid two hours after supper. Devon, after pressing his ear to the door to make sure the meal had ended and everyone else had cleared out, pulls his door open a crack. And waits. It's the same ritual, practiced in effort to avoid as many people as possible. Hearing no sounds of obvious conversation, the teen pulls the door open a little further, wide enough to slip into the hall, and proceeds toward the kitchen slowly.
There's a slight hunch to the boy's shoulders, a small curve to his posture that's difficult to discern through the lay of his hoodie. The downward cant of his head shadows his face slightly, but it doesn't fully hide the bruises that still mark his features.
Of course the telepath is out here. Of course she knows that Devon's coming. Which is why blue eyes meet Devon's face the moment he makes his entrance, Remi peeking up from her spot on the couch where she is comfortably reading her book. And it's also why, squinting, the telepath frowns at him. "You look like shit." This is all that is uttered to Devon.
Her now-blonde hair is held up in a loose pony tail, and she wears a pair of slightly loose jeans and a shirt stolen from Jaiden's closet. It's way too big on her, but she likes it.
Teeth pull at the split in his lower lip as Devon slants a look to Remi when she speaks. Despite a faint twitch to his brow, he doesn't frown at her. "Nice to see you too," he states, deadpan. He pulls his hood up and over his head as he moves into the kitchen, first claiming a bottle of water before poking around for some food. "Sorry," he continues, glancing toward the common area again, "wont interrupt you long. Just getting some food."
Peering at Devon for a moment, the telepath raises from the couch, moving to follow him into the kitchen, hands tucked into her jeans. "You aren't interrupting," she murmurs, a shrug rolling over her narrow shoulders. "What 'appened to you? 'Ave you put ice on that lip?" She actually sounds…concerned for the boy, and looks it too.
Then, she's nudging Devon out of the way, pulling out a few items of food. "I'll make you a sandwich, oui?" The tone of her voice suggests that this is not so much a question, but a declaration.
"Nothing happened, and where'm I going to get ice?" Devon does frown this time, confused more than negative in his expression. He releases the jar of peanut butter he had picked up, leaving it in its place, as he's nudged out of the way. "I… guess. If you want to make a sandwich." The bottle of water he'd grabbed is jammed into the back pocket of his jeans, and then his hands go into the hip pockets, shoulders lifting into a shrug. "…Thanks."
A few items are gathered up, then Remi moves over to a counter to work on the sandwich. "I'll get you ice, if you can't find any 'ere." She could use to go out into the world again. She's been cramped up in here for far too long. She gets to work, tilting her head to one side as she prepares as fancy a sandwich as she can manage. "So, 'oo beat you?" She's listening for any hint of a name in his thoughts, as she asks this.
The teen stares at Remi for a moment, the frown deepening as though trying to uncover some greater mystery. She'll go get ice? "You don't have to go get ice. It's not that bad." The matter of a who is locked away as much most of the other secrets Devon's never truly revealed to the telepath, guarded because he hasn't figured out how to handle what happened. "Just some guy. It's nothing. Okay?"
Jaiden's been a little scarce recently, running errands for Elisabeth on behalf of Endgame or for some other reason that hasn't been entirely explained. For whatever reason, he's been scarce, only coming home at the crack of dawn, sleeping a few hours, and then going out again. The problem is, eventually, he'll get run down and need to crash for a few hours and it seems that has occurred the night before. Remi may remember some tired static grumbling as Jaiden mounted the stairs, followed by complete silence as he passed out dead to the world. And it's with a start that he awakes, a bit of <!!> being thought that may make Remi aware that Jaiden's awake.
"It will 'elp you feel better." Remi shrugs quietly, putting the sandwich together and carefully cutting it diagonally down the center. Softly, she hums a song as she works, until she finally offers the sandwich forth for Devon's enjoyment. It's nothing special, but she made it up as fancy as she can. "It's not nothing. You didn't look like zis when you came 'ome, so someone beat you." She tilts her head to one side.
Though she makes it look accidental, the brush of Remi's hand against Devon's as she hands him the sandwich. Nor does she flinch away like she normally does. Slowly, she's coming to terms with the new side of her ability, and gaining the ability to be a bit more detached than she was to begin with.
Blue eyes turn up toward the ceiling, a faint smile appearing on her features for some reason as she broadcasts into the hydrokinetic's mind. Good morning, sunshine.
<?> Is Jaiden's reply as he sits up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, trying to will himself awake. <Be down in a second>
"I feel fine," Devon counters, brows arching at the ministrations done to his sandwich. He can't remember the last time he'd had a sandwich cut into triangles, had to have been while he was a child. He reaches out to accent the sandwich, lips thinning when Remi's hand brushes against his. What she glimpses in that touch is a fleeting memory if a three or four-year-old Devon, perched on a chair while an adult man cuts a sandwich diagonally through the middle. "No," he answers carefully, taking a step back, "I didn't look like this when I got home. But it's nothing I can't handle."
The blonde tilts her head slightly, watching Devon. She'll have to make him sandwiches like that more often. Maybe a trip out would be a good idea. She could get a few things to make some good food for everyone in the house. Lord knows they've all put up with enough of her shit. "Just…worried." She tips her head toward the teenager. "You can be pretty likable, sometimes, even if you 'ave poor tact." A faint smile is offered.
A few bangs and grumbles aside, Jaiden eventually makes his way over to the kitchen proper, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, half-dressed in sleep pants and a plain white t-shirt - a style Remi might recognize as 'Jesus, I'm tired, this is what I have to wear that's clean.' "Morning?" he grumbles to both, blinking blearily, stretching, his back going *pop* as he bounces on his toes, sinking back down with a sigh.
Shaking his head, Devon takes another step back, angled toward a spool. "Don't be worried. I'm fine." He glances toward Jaiden, brows arching slightly, before he looks to Remi again. "Yeah, I know. Charming and lovable, except I call it like it is." He pauses, glancing toward the Australian again. "Hey."
Remi's smile grows a bit more. "More like good evening. You crashed in a big way." She moves over to Jaiden, wrapping her arms around his waist and offering him a squeeze and a kiss on the chin. "Bonsoir, mon cher. J'espère que vous bien dormi?" She offers a soft laugh, before turning to peer at Devon with one raised brow.
"So charming I could pull your 'air sometimes." She says this with a faint smile on her face, with a bit of a joking tone.
French is not something he often experiences right as he wakes up, and it takes a moment before his sleep-addled brain realizes what was said and translates french to broken Australian. Jaiden smiles slightly, squeezing her back and nodding. "Pretty well, all things considered. Not too many dreams, thank goodness." His head tilts slightly to look at the battered and bruised Devon - doesn't look like he crashed on a skateboard there. "Don't test her, Devon. She pulls hair like a champ."
"I don't know," Devon muses, casting a studious look at Remi, considering. He shrugs after a beat and looks at Jaiden. "You might be right, though. Probably best if I stick to pissing her off enough that she just locks me out of the house in the rain again." Without looking at the telepath, though he's easily teasing in his manner and tone, he sits on the spool and takes a bite out of his sandwich.
Brushing blonde hair away from her face, Remi leans against Jaiden. "I wish I was so lucky." That's all she seems willing to say on the matter, shaking her head once before turning her attention to other matters at hand. Like Devon. "You're lucky I didn't try to slam the door in your face, literally. I did zat to an ex boyfriend once." She smirks.
Of course, said Ex Boyfriend is not the current Ex boyfriend standing here with his arms around her waist. At Remi's words, Jaiden does lift an eyebrow slightly, but doesn't press further, giving her another squeeze before slipping away toward the food storage stuff that Endgame has started to accumulate. "So?" He leans down to look into the 'refrigerator.' "What happened to get you all beat up, Devon? Test Remi, or something else?"
A glance goes to Remi as Devon very carefully, deliberately, takes another bite from his sandwich. "Something else," he admits, once he's finished the mouthful of food. His eyes go to the bread and fillings meal, fingers pressing into the softer baked dough exterior. "I guess I made a bad choice, got in trouble for it. Remi had nothing to do with it."
The telepath turns to peer at Devon, frowning. "'E doesn't want to talk about it, I don't think." She shrugs lightly, leaning against a counter as Jaiden moves for the 'fridge'. "We all have things we don't want to talk about these days, it seems." She pokes her head into the fridge beside Jaiden, pulling out a bottle of water and cracking it open.
"Oooh, mysterious." Jaiden says without even sounding mocking, which is a feat. It's delivered with one of those monotone voices that is easily forgotten and not taken offense to easily. And yes, he's quite aware of things that he's done and thought of that is best not shared in anywhere but a very specific company, so instead of doggedly following a lead, he lets it drop, retrieving the dozen eggs from the fridge. It may be afternoon, but he's hungry.
No, Devon doesn't really want to talk about it. But he watches Remi and Jaiden under the guise of staring at his sandwich, observing beneath lowered brows. With a sigh, he puts his plate down beside his hip then drags his hands through his hair. "To summarize, I made someone angry, then by proxy made another angry. And the second person kicked my ass."
The telepath offers a faint smile, turning to lean lightly against the hydrokinetic. "I think zat I should take it upon myself to teach you a little bit of tact, zen, non? It is ze only thing you are lacking in, really." She turns her eyes toward Devon's sandwich, tilting her head to one side, before turning to smile up to Jaiden. She sticks close to him, almost like he has some magnetic influence on her.
"Well?" Jaiden cracks an egg into a pan, starting it to heat through, cooking slowly, even with Remi hanging on. "Question is, did you deserve the ass kicking or not. IF you did, don't do that anymore. Lesson learned. If you didn't, kick his ass back when you can." There goes Jaiden being blunt again, or rather, there goes Jaiden being Australian again. He smiles down at Remi, getting the blunt-edged spatula out to flip the egg when it's ready.
"I don't know," Devon answers honestly. "I understand why the first person was pissed. What I don't get is the second person's reasoning for getting upset. It's not like I could have known for certainty that something bad was going to happen. What the person was saying, it's like I was expected to be a telepath or have precognition and it's my fault that I don't." He shakes his head, arms folding over his chest, eyes focusing on the pan holding the frying egg. "Whatever, I'll figure it out. No big deal."
Leaning back slightly, Remi gives Jaiden proper space for cooking. Blue eyes trail to the boy, her face betraying her curiosity. "Someone in ze 'ouse?" A batting of her eyelashes, and she reaches out to touch Jaiden's back, watching the eggs cook. She'll figure out who it is, somehow.
"Don't worry about it, Remi. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie." The egg is flipped with a smooth motion, Jaiden smiling over at the blonde. "That's new." He lifts a hand to brush through her hair before going back to cooking, humming a soft tune.
Devon stares at Remi for a long moment, meeting her gaze, brows knitting, drawing a crease over his forehead. When Jaiden speaks up, the boy directs a look of thanks at the Australian. Short of not speaking about it, he'd rather not go into detail. Not right now. He picks up his plate again and hops off the spool. "..Thanks for the sandwich, Remi. I need to go back to my room. —Grounded and all." He lifts the plate toward the two adults in a sort of salute, then turns to leave the kitchen. And
likely return to his room.
"Oui, I decided it was time for another change." Remi smiles faintly up to the Australian, shrugging. "Felt right." She turns her gaze back to Devon, and smiles slightly. "Rest well, Devon." Then, she turns up to Jaiden, offering a shrug. I'm not used to not knowing everything that's happening.
Her eyes drop down to the eggs that Jaiden is cooking. "We need to talk." There is not much seriousness in her voice, leaving little to fear on Jaiden's behalf of unpleasantries.