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Post by elise13 on Sept 3, 2015 18:17:52 GMT -10
Luke leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table, almost stabilizing him. He was just glad they hadn’t immediately jumped to the crazy card. They had never thought him crazy for noting Syd’s different behavior, but saying Jay was acting weird too could make him seem like a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Luke took a deep breath before replying, “No, he’s not the weird thing. Not surprising either, he’s entirely her type, but he and that other kid are beside the point.” Luke waved a hand in the air, as if to wipe those other two from the picture.
“The weird thing is that she’s bailing on Chris and them to hang out with Cain. She hasn’t even been picking up the same chores as them. She’s always running off like she’s got better things to do, but it’s not like she’s off try to do anything or boss anyone around. But no, she’s come to terms with just doing what Cain needs her to do.” Luke fidgeted, “And, I mean, this might sound a bit self-centered, but I swear she’s avoiding me. It’s not like her to blow me off.”
He started to babble, “And I watched her sit through an entire conversation and just listen. Like she had no opinion. You know Jay enough to know the trick is shutting her up. It’s like someone sucked the personality right out of her.” Luke paused, raising his brows, “Ya know?”
“Maybe it doesn’t sound like a lot, but I /know/ Jay, this isn’t her. And with Sydney acting weird too, it just kind of puts me on edge. Like something’s wrong with them.”
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Post by smartblondie on Sept 11, 2015 11:21:09 GMT -10
-TS- Sydney had found her routine. Finally, weeks after first finding the mall, she had a smooth, easy plan to follow. She woke up fairly early and made sure that she maintained a decent appearance, in case of a run-in with Cain. She met Jay for breakfast around 9:30 every morning. Weird at first, but they'd run into each other a lot recently, and at some point they'd been doing the same job for Cain and got talking. For some reason, Jay was way more mellow than she had been, so Sydney found that she actually liked the girl. They certainly got double-takes when any Sanctuary kid saw them. Like they didn't understand that people could change. Please.
Speaking of that, Sydney felt surrounded by people who didn't really get that people change. Luke gave her the mopiest look every time they crossed paths. She exchanged awkward words with him and his new friends, Luka and Aurora. Well, at least their presence made her feel better about not hanging with him constantly. Cam was much of the same. Weird dialogue until she could sneak away. It was stifling.
Sydney sat at her usual table with Jay, scarfing down her breakfast. "So, what's the plan today? We going to Cain to see what he wants us to do?" she asked hopefully through mouthfuls.
--
Cain sat in his little office-room, with only the desk lamp on. He slumped over the desk, hair mussed and clothes rumpled. He needed to get himself composed and get to work. He was tired, though. There were so many kids here, it was almost too much. Almost. He could do it, though. He had a point to prove with his success here. He would prove it.
He was starting to feel the strain of maintaining so much control. His mind was stretching to its limit, tethered to so many others. He stared down at the tablet on his desk, the white light blaring. 42. 42 kids with asterisks beside their names. 42 kids who'd lost their own thoughts. Some of them, for almost a year. Some, a few weeks. He had a feeling that these Sanctuary kids were more trouble than they were worth. Sydney and Jay were thankfully tamed, but there were crops of trouble everywhere. Some, mild. That dude Ezra did some things that weren't exactly as Cain would have them, but he was ultimately harmless. He was just an idiot. Aurora and Luka both made him a little more nervous, though. Aurora was calmer than some of the other girls from her group, but she could be hiding her emotions. He knew firsthand it was possible. Luka was a similar case to Sydney or Jay, but less clever, perhaps. Or more clever, by not going for a full-on attack.
He would have to ask what some of his trustworthy "friends" thought of them. Yes, that was a good plan. He rose slowly, and walked to the mirror in the corner. He tucked his shirt in, smoothed the wrinkles. He ran his hands through his hair until it lay smooth and normal. He smiled at himself in the mirror, and he was a winner. Yes. Time for another charmed day.
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Post by Schailor on Sept 11, 2015 19:15:39 GMT -10
Aurora and Luka sat listening to Luke's noticings on Jay's strange behaviors. It seems she was acting out of character, just as Sydney had begun to when she suddenly changed her attitude. To be fair the whole fact that her and Sydney were hanging out at all should have been red flag enough for anyone. Those two didn't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things and now they were suddenly pretty buddy buddy. It was one thing to be civil in passing, but this was full on hanging out with each other for longer amounts of time.
Aurora offered a genuine smile towards Luke, meant to be reassuring, "Well, if you say she is acting out of character, she must be." Aurora hoped that didn't come off like she was just saying that to make him feel better. Like someone sympathizing with a crazy person or something. She really meant it. Luka quickly chimed in though, "A'ight...So these girls are actin' a fool. What're we 'sposed to do? Yell at 'em and shake 'em to be normal?" Aurora couldn't help but roll her eyes at that last remark by Luka. Sometimes his simplicity amazed her, but then again that was also why he was her closest friend. "I think we should figure out what exactly is causing them to act so strangely in the first place. Find that out, and we can probably find a way to fix it." Trying to lighten the mood she added, "Well, the do both seem to orient their day around Cain, maybe he's a witch and gave them a love potion?" That was a terrible joke and she regretted it the instant she said it. She worried it would make Luke worry that, that was really what happened. Worrying about a worrier... Oh the irony.
Tucking her hair behind her ears she looked around before speaking again, her tone as soft and calm as ever, "We at least know they have behavior in common. They're both being much more helpful to Cain, and much more avoidant of the people they used to hang out with..." She trailed off there, as if in thought the way one would be trying to figure out a mystery movie they were watching. On the contrast, Luka was fidgeting, "I say we kick ass and take names 'til we get the answers we want!" Aurora only sighed and shook her head, "Calm down hero. You can't just dive head first into things.
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Post by elise13 on Oct 5, 2015 16:43:02 GMT -10
Jay fidgeted at their usual cafeteria table, her elbows almost hovering over its gray speckled surface. She and Sydney met every morning at 9:30, give or take exactly five minutes. Jay was always sure to arrive at 9:25, not wanting to keep Sydney waiting. This often left her waiting for a full ten minutes by herself before Sydney arrived. It was torture. Each day, she grew surer and surer that everyone else knew she was waiting for Sydney like a helpless baby. Every burst of laughter was directed at her stupidity. Jay often pondered if it was all a trick from Sydney. Sure, they got along now, but maybe that was part of the joke. After all, Sydney could barely stand to be in the room with her before they arrived at the mall. And now they spent most of their days together. As 9:31 approached, Jay decided, today was the day she would find out Sydney was pulling a prank on her. And Sydney just wouldn’t show up—leaving Jay looking like a fool. The others would have an even better reason to laugh at her then.
Sydney finally arrived—at 9:32 on the nose—and began eating her breakfast in an entirely unladylike fashion. Sydney never had much in the way of manners, though she was certainly more agreeable now that they lives weren’t in constant danger like they were at the Sanctuary. And maybe it was just easier for them to be friends now without someone like Fell coming along and provoking them with his every movement. Jay daintily consumed her breakfast, leaving her eating even as Sydney’s plate emptied.
In between her frightening gasps of food, Sydney asked about their plans for the day. Jay’s heart skipped for a moment; she hadn’t thought about what they ought to do today, and now Sydney wanted her to decide? No wait, she had a suggestion of her own. Jay gulped a breath, attempting to take a sip of her milk to cover her momentary fright. Jay nodded and answered primly, “I think that would be agreeable. The kids are always trying to bury him in excessive work; a leader’s work is never done though.”
---
They were listening. And they weren’t just listening—they were agreeing. They believed him. And they were going to help him! Luke smiled despite the gravity of the situation. They were good friends. And not just because of some emergency or because they were trapped together as the Aristocrats ruined everything outside of their small pockets of safety, but because they actually cared. Or maybe they had started to be friends out of necessity, but they still cared even when they didn’t have to. Luke felt a different sort of pleasure than with their friends. Of course, Chris and everyone were his friends, but they were always their friends. Aurora and Luka were people that liked Luke for Luke and not for Luke and Jay.
But there were more important things to do now.
Aurora suggested that they try to work backwards from what they knew to figure out what they didn’t—the source of the weird behavior. Presuming that the girls had the same reason for acting so odd, of course, but that seemed reasonable. They’d both started acting strange at the same time. And they were both acting entirely differently from their usual demeanors.
Then Aurora suggested that they were under the spell of Cain’s love potion. Luke paled. Could that really be true? No, that was ridiculous. Sure, they were all mutated, but Cain couldn’t be a mutant and a witch. Luke tried to shake the thought from his head, but it remained there, floating next to his relevant thoughts and waiting for its chance to return to the forefront of his mind.
The other two talked while Luke battled against Aurora’s comment, which was surely a joke. Luka suggested just taking everyone down, but Aurora denied him instantly. Luke sighed, “It would be easier if that would just work.”
Luke added, “And they’re both being nicer to each other.” He rubbed the back of his hand, thinking. “They also spend ages getting ready to ‘go out.’” Luke suddenly exclaimed, “What if it /is/ a love potion? That’s exactly what they’re doing. Being all girly and cleaning up all the time like when you’ve got a crush on someone!”
Luke heaved a breath, he was losing it. But Aurora’s joke made perfect sense. Except for the fact that there was no such thing as magic. Or kids who could fly. Or make flames with their hands. Or teleport. Really was it that unreasonable? Luke reassured himself, that couldn’t be it. After all, Cain’s power was…
Luke’s brow furrowed, “Hey…do…Do either of you guys know what Cain’s power is?”
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Post by Schailor on Oct 26, 2015 16:20:23 GMT -10
Luka huffed and sort of pouted when he was shot down twice over on his plan about going in guns blazing. Sure, it would be reckless but why couldn't it work? Other than the fact that Cain practically had an army at his fingertips since people in this place seemed to just swoon over him and even if they didn't they were still there to fulfill his every whim.
The thought process was interrupted though when Luke seemed to stick to Aurora's love potion joke. Surely the guy knew it was just a joke? Maybe not. The more Luke talked it out though the more it kind of made sense. They were acting pretty girly, which for the two girls they were talking about was highly out of character. I mean sure of course they were girls but they were just always so much tougher and more tom boy than girly girl.
Then it came. The painful realization that none of them actually knew what Cain's power was. Luka shook his head before answering, "No, I have no idea. Maybe he is a witch!" Of course Luka was just playing further on the joke since he was pretty sure that didn't count as a mutant power. Aurora sighed and shook her head at Luka but looked seriously at Luke, "Come to think of it.... I've never even seen Cain use his powers. At least I don't think I have..... He doesn't talk about it either." Luka snorted, "but he sure wanted to know what ours were."
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Post by LycanHeart on Oct 26, 2015 19:46:46 GMT -10
It had been rather unfruitful, just listening to the three of them talk. Watching them going around in circles, from going in guns blazing to love potions made Anders just wanted to shake his head in disgust. Everyone here is a mutant, and powers range from making trees grow to gargantuan size, to even mental-based powers that is nothing to do with the physical.
Wait, mental? Mind powers?
If little Cammy has the ability of mental powers, couldn't someone else have it? While Anders had laid out several possibilities of how Cain could change the two most rambunctious of the group, he had not thought of another mind-power user, since he rarely thought of that.
The rumbling of his stomach interrupted his thoughts. "Guess I'll grab something to eat before I think more of that," he thought to himself as he walked over to the food counter, de-cloaking himself before entering visual range of anyone. He grabbed some food, which was mashed potatoes and gravy with some salads, and went to sit in an empty seat, where no one else was sitting. Grabbing a spoonful of mashed potatoes and shoving them into his mouth, Anders took out his notepad and began jotting down the thoughts and ideas.
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Post by smartblondie on Nov 2, 2015 7:33:01 GMT -10
Sydney wiped at her mouth as she finished, smiling contently. Jay was still eating, as usual. The girl was a very, very slow eater. Still, Sydney was happy enough to sit back as Jay finished, and stretched out her shoulders and back. Cain usually had the two girls helping with "renovating" the mall. Sydney could clear out stores, and Jay was generally supposed to try and fix the electricity in any way. Of course, what she had in power, she lacked in actual knowledge in how any of that worked. It wasn't like Jay was an electrician or something, so Sydney could only be glad that her jobs were never so intellectually challenging.
Once Jay was finished, the two girls got up to go about their business. They tossed their trash, and wound their way through the food court, just as Anders sat down with food. He seemed focused on something, and Sydney frowned as they passed. Still, no reason to bug him. Kids were starting to arrive in greater numbers, which was always the best time to sneak out. "Let's check his office." Sydney suggested as they climbed the stairs. It was a little weird, Cain having an office, since he wasn't like...old, or anything, but there was no better name for it, really. It was also where he slept, though he had no real bed in there. She wondered what he did when he was alone in there, because if he wasn't out and about, he was tucked away in his quiet, dark room. Maybe that was the point. Escaping the hubbub for a few moments was probably a valuable opportunity that the room raised.
Sydney knocked, louder than she meant to (like almost everything she did). After a few moments, the door swung open, and Cain beamed down at them. "Hello, ladies. Already ready to go today? You two must be the most motivated girls here." he laughed casually, and they both laughed along with him. He closed the door behind him quietly, and then clapped his hands together. "Okay. I'm thinking it's time to start a real project, ladies. I was thinking, and absolute safety needs to be a priority. I'm thinking of making it harder to get in here, even if something goes wrong with the barrier we have." he proposed as they walked, grinning at any kid that crossed their paths. He was quite talented when it came to multitasking, you'd never guess he was trying to figure out a serious topic from his friendly face.
"Sure. What exactly do you have in mind?"
--
Cam was still rubbing sleep from his eyes when he spotted Luke, Aurora, and Luka. They'd been spending more time together, which was all right by him. He liked Aurora, and Luka reminded him of Sydney. Who, lately, had been pretty distant. "Hi guys. Whatcha talking about?" he mumbled as he approached. They seemed tense, and Cam scratched at his cheek as he listened. He'd been bugged by the weirdness of Sydney too, but he'd never thought to add Cain to that. He always thought Cain was a cool guy, at least from all the times that they'd spent together.
"You guys think Cain did something?" he asked curiously, puzzling over this. "But I would've seen something bad if he was a bad guy, right? When I read his mind, it's just warm and friendly, like he always is." he chimed in. Still, this did make him pause. Now that he thought about it, it was a little weird that he never got real thoughts from Cain. Just that warm feeling. Why didn't he ever wonder about it before? "What about the tablet? Maybe he has his own power recorded with the rest of ours!" he suggested, smiling hopefully. "It's probably in his office-thingy." he guessed.
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Post by elise13 on Nov 5, 2015 18:58:15 GMT -10
Jay’s heart leapt as Sydney leaned back in her seat. She was so completely done eating that she need to stretch back to keep waiting for Jay to finish dining. Jay flushed, but steeled herself to continue eating at her current pace. She was nearly finished eating and she would not be convinced to consume so contemptuously just because Sydney lacked refinery. Despite Sydney’s garish habits, Jay did enjoy her company for meals. Lately talking to Sydney had become so much easier than talking to her friends or Luke. Maybe because Jay and Sydney had so much more in common than Jay had in common with her friends any more. Now that they weren’t in school it wasn’t like they had a reason to keep on being friends. Jay was much more interested in being friends with someone who shared the personality traits she had now instead of assuming that she would continue to behave as the misinformed girl she was when they were still in high school. Jay was so much calmer now—to everyone’s advantage.
Daintily finishing her food, Jay and Sydney made their usual path out of the cafeteria as the late-risers finally got around to eating their first meals of the day. Jay only nodded as Sydney suggested where they look to find Cain. She was most likely right, so there was no reason to comment on her suggestion. The pair walked in step up the stairs and along the hallway to Cain’s door.
Once they arrived, Cain quickly appeared and complimented them. Jay’s heart fluttered; he was too kind. She was hardly motivated enough to earn such a compliment. And certainly not pretty or clever enough to deserve his attention. But he was still sweet enough to grant her part of his time and let her help repair the mall—even when her abilities failed her.
Cain, efficient as usual, moved immediately to discussion of their next task. Apparently, it was time to add to the mall’s defenses now. A brilliant idea! They could never be too careful with security with the Aristocrats lurking around every corner just waiting to kill all of them.
Jay raised a brow as they walked,
“Do you mean like in Home Alone?” Instantly she regretted opening her mouth. Surely he was just about to tell them what he meant and he didn’t need her asking questions to interrupt his thought process. It’s not like she would come up with a better idea than he already had. As she tensed she barely kept her hands from her hair and ruining her perfected hairstyle for the day. Instead Jay wrung her hands before her, trying to placate them with a new activity in her time of stress.
---
Luke nodded as the other two came around to his question. It became more and more apparent how strange Cain’s behavior had been. Demanding information of them without ever offering any himself. Though Luke supposed that normally wouldn’t have been strange. After all, few people ran around announcing their powers publically. But given Cain’s insistence and now the inconsistencies in Jay and Sydney’s behaviors, Cain’s actions were more ominous than curious.
As they were discussing these peculiarities, Cam appeared. Luke was glad to see the kid, though he almost wished Cam hadn’t walked in on such a sensitive conversation. He wouldn’t want Cam to get rattled about Sydney’s behavior—at least until they figured out what was going on and could explain away his worries.
But it was too late for that now. Cam seemed to be handling it all maturely instead of crying or some other nonsense. Not that Luke would expect him to cry; Cam was a very centered kid most of the time. Except for when people treated him like a child (for he was a child), then he got sensitive. And that time Sydney lied to him. But Luke had been upset then too, so he supposed that wasn’t too far out of line. Until the mind attacks. Those had been concerning.
Speaking of freaky mind powers, Cam described his mental encounters with Cain. It certainly was strange that he only got good vibes from Cain. Luke wondered, “Maybe he thinks he’s doing the right thing, so you get good vibes, because he thinks he’s a good guy.” It didn’t seem likely, but Luke couldn’t think of another reason that Cain would be able to so effortlessly fool Cam’s mindreading.
Just go look in Cain’s office though? Could they just do that. Luke supposed there was no reason they couldn’t just have a peak. There was no point in not looking on the tablet, even if the information wasn’t there at all. They might find some other sort of helpful hint in the office.
There were, of course, lots of perfectly logical reasons not to go into Cain’s office. The first three of them were getting caught. The next, perhaps less logical reason was that it could be booby trapped. And if Cain did have a malevolent power, him catching them or trapping them would not be a pleasant experience. Whatever happened to Jay and Sydney could happen to them too—or something worse.
They need to do this, Luke assured himself. For Sydney. For Jay. If the situations were flipped, both Sydney and Jay would do much worse than break into an office if it meant helping Luke or Cam. Or even Aurora and Luka. So Luke couldn’t let his nerves get the better of him now. They deserved his every effort. And he had friends to help him, so he just needed to be brave and dive into it.
“We have to go look.” Luke nodded, partially to assure the others and partially to assure himself. He continued, “Cam, could you figure out where he is with your mind? Or do we have to look for him in person before we go?” Luke looked to Luka, “And you could teleport inside and let us in from there if it’s locked.” Luke half-stood up in his seat, ready to get in action. For so long they had just talked in circles and found their way back to the same blocks and mysteries. But now they had finally made a breakthrough because of Aurora’s joke that maybe revealed more of the truth than she intended, and Luke was ready to put this information to good use before someone realized their now-quartet knew anything suspicious was going on at all.
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Post by Schailor on Nov 6, 2015 13:37:43 GMT -10
Luka was getting riled up at the thought that Cain knew everything about everyone but it seemed that no one really knew anything about him. He exchanged a look with Aurora which seemed to say that they both thought something suspsicious was going on. Even if she tried to keep a calm mind about everything, he knew that even she thought everything was fishy with Cain the more they talked about it. It was like new stuff about him kept coming up. Cam joining their conversation just proved that point.
As Cam sleepily joined in their group, Aurora greeted him with the soft smile. The same kind of smile an older sister might give her younger brother. Just glancing at Luke she could tell that he was worried about Cam coming in to a conversation about such a heavy topic, and to be honest she was too. However, it seemed the young boy also noticed the strange happenings to Sydney as well. Not that, that would really be such a surprise since he and Sydney were quite close to each other. Even if their relationship had been a bit strained by the whole lie thing with Sydney. Cam did seem skeptical of Cain's involvement but his statement seemed to only confirm it with the rest of them.
How could Cain's mind possibly only be warm and friendly? I mean sure he came off as a nice enough guy, but with the stress of running the entire mall, the various things he must have had on his mind from that alone should have given off something more than a warm glow in his mind. Luke seemed to be thinking the same thing as he mentioned Cain possibly thinking he was doing a good thing, therefore nothing was wrong in his mind. "But shouldn't there be some kind of worry if he really is as concerned as he acts about the kids in this mall?" Aurora voiced.
Then came the suggestion of going into Cain's office and retreiving the tablet he seemed to keep all his information on. This naturally fired up Luka who instantly stood from his seat with a, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Aurora offered a sigh, but she had to say it was really the only plan they had. Besides they really had nothing to lose by going to look. Even if Cain caught them it wasn't like he would be able to throw them out of the mall. He may be able to shun them, but honestly they never talked to the other kids in the mall anyway. Aurora was a bit surprised by how on board Luke seemed with the idea, but she decided it would be best to be 100% in as well, just to help him reafirm this was the right thing to do.
"Right. Just talking about it won't help them, right?" She gave another smile as Luke started to layout a plan. Cam was to figure out where exactly Cain was in the mall before they went through with the plan. Hopefully they wouldn't have to go hunting for him themself otherwise they would probably have to split up or waste time. When Luke gave Luka his job of being the one to actually get in there - given his power - Luka coulkdn't help the proud grin that crept onto his face, which only made Aurora laugh a little. He was so easily flattered, but it was an adorable trait for someone who was usually a sailor mouth. Aurora decided to add in, "I don't think the mall is particularly high tech right now, but should there be some type of sound alarm you could potentially quiet it down, right Luke?"
She stood from her seat, while Luka was already - still - standing and Luke was starting to get up. She pushed hair behind her ear looking between the three with a nod, "Shall we get this project started then?"
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Post by smartblondie on Nov 7, 2015 16:49:02 GMT -10
Cain ran a hand through his hair casually, not expecting to be dealing with the girls this early. Well, it was all the same to him. He did, in fact, have a plan, and the public support of these two was just the trick. He knew not everyone would love his plan. They trusted him, of course, but did they trust him enough? He supposed this was the perfect test.
There were simply too many kids slipping out for whatever reason. They didn't understand how dangerous it was, and it wasted Jill's time on the barrier because she had to keep tabs on who left and when they came back, to later report to Cain. It was tedious, and it was going to stop. And, of course, better defenses would obviously keep the Aristocrats out even more efficiently.
He laughed at Jay's outburst, shaking his head. "Not quite, I'm afraid. I want to start with covering all windows, you know, something small." he explained slowly, leading them back down to the front of the mall. Usually, this was where anyone who wanted to do some work reported to. The barrier crew was set up as usual, snacking and gabbing as the trio approached. "We're gonna edit the rules a little bit, too. Hey, Jill." he greeted the girl in charge with a friendly voice, and the younger girl grinned over at him.
"What's up, Cain?" she asked curiously, hopping down from the perch she'd crafted for herself.
"Nothing too big, Jill. Just a little idea, figured I'd give you a heads up." he said calmly, speaking softly. "I'm thinking of developing a system for anyone leaving. The way it is, kids sneak out for kicks way too often, and it's a bother to you. So I'm thinking of coming up with a pass system, or a pardon system, that kids will need to go through to leave for errands or whatever. You get it?"
Jill paused, seeming surprised, and then glanced around, unsure. "Interesting idea, I guess...don't you think that's a bit harsh though? You're suggesting that anyone who breaks that rule, what, gets locked out?" she asked slowly, frowning.
Cain smiled kindly, holding up his hands in surrender. "No, no, c'mon, nothing too harsh. We won't kick anyone out. But keeping them from slipping back in unnoticed, yes. If you can stop them when they try to do that, I can better punish them for any rule-breaking. Nothing too crazy, don't you worry." he squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, and she sighed.
"You know I've got your back, Cain. Just let me know." she agreed, flashing him a tired smile before returning to her perch. Cain beamed and turned back to the girls.
"Great! All right, one tiny step done. Now, we'll have to go about working on windows today, and at lunch time I'll tell the whole gang the new rule deal. Sound good?" he slung his arms around them and smiled, steeling himself. They were going to be safe. No matter what.
--
Cam crossed his arms, trying to figure this out. Luke and Aurora both questioned his statement, but he shook his head. "I don't know, I don't know. I'm just telling you, it's just nice. I can't...I can't remember. It's...hard to explain, like, what a mind looks like, I guess." he huffed a sigh, frustrated. If only they could get what he meant. Still, he could figure this out. Probably. He couldn't remember any specifics from Cain's mind, that was the weird one. Aurora and Luke were both questioning why his mind was so one-track, but Cam was more puzzled by it's simplicity. He wasn't dumb or anything. He was just...hm.
Well, maybe he'd try and think about that the next time he talked to Cain. They seemed to like his idea about the tablet, at least. Cam made a face at Luke's request, unsure. "I can try, but it could be really hard if I just open my mind to everyone at once. Uh, give me a little bit, 'kay?" he scrunched his face, squeezing his eyes shut. Could he locate someone like that? He tested it, letting down his usual blocks, and made a face at the sudden noise. Okay, focus, focus. Cain. Cain?
It was puzzling, because this line of focus led him to a few minds who were absently thinking of Cain. Eventually, he found one that was quite familiar. Sydney. He never dove so deep into her brain, although it's vibe was still familiar to him. He was so used to it's presence, somehow even blocking her out made him aware of her. It was weird, very weird, and he was so unsettled for some reason, that he quickly jumped to the one beside her. "He's with Sydney. And Jay. They're near the front of the mall, I think they're coming towards the food court." he finally said, jumping back to his own, private mind and blinking in quick succession. A little smile was resting on his face, but he didn't know why, and so it fell as he looked up at the older kids. "We could go now." he concluded.
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Mischief Managed!
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Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
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Unicorn
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Post by elise13 on Nov 14, 2015 10:54:33 GMT -10
Jay flushed at Cain’s laugh. She hadn’t meant to be funny, so she was embarrassed that he’d laughed at her. For it felt like he was laughing at her, not at her joke. Sydney at least didn’t laugh, so Jay didn’t have to find a hole to wallow in for the rest of her life.
She sort of numbly followed behind Cain as they discussed the change of security with Jill and began walking in another direction. She didn’t want to open her mouth again, so she let herself just listen for once. It was almost a relief. Maybe she had always been so tired in school because she foolishly used up all of her energy to talk and entertain others. She should have taken a page from Luke’s book sooner and just kept her mouth shut.
As she walked along mutely, she found herself increasingly confused with Cain’s plan. He seemed intent on adding to security to protect them, but that wasn’t what he seemed to be doing. They weren’t adding more barriers except for boarding the windows. And boarding the windows almost seemed a bit frivolous. After all, they had a force field. Though, Jay admitted, if the force field ever came down, blocking the windows would buy everyone in the mall a bit of time. But not much. The biggest change seemed to be that people needed Cain’s permission to leave. She supposed that streamlined the process a bit, keeping kids from running around willy-nilly. But she wasn’t sure how much it would protect them. Unless these kids leaving for kicks were leading Aristocrats back here. Maybe she just didn’t understand his predicament. That was why she wasn’t leader here. Cain was much cleverer and he knew what he was doing. There was no reason for her to question him—all she had to do was help him. That would be contribution enough.
Cain threw his arms around her and Syd, walking along closely with them. Her heart skipped in her chest. She was overwhelmed by a sense of being lucky. The other girls would surely kill to have Cain so close. Some part of Jay complained that she didn’t even like Cain, but Jay ignored that. It was just a memory of before she’d gotten over herself and recognized Cain’s wonderful leadership skills.
“Sounds great,” Jay beamed. At least today she wouldn’t have to be on her hands and knees fiddling with wires and getting plaster in her hair.
---
Suddenly, they all flew into action. Luke nodded at Aurora, he could easily quiet an alarm. Luka would jump into the room. They would find the tablet and get the information they sought. The three teens were now standing. Luke nearly sat back down to slow them all down. But he was the one who’d agreed to go along with Cam’s idea, so he couldn’t back down now all of the sudden. Besides, he didn’t want to. He didn’t really care if they got in trouble, something bad was happening behind the curtains, and Luke was going to find out just exactly what Cain was up to.
Cam agreed, they all remained silent and watched as he attempted to locate Cain. His face scrunched up, maybe in pain or with the effort exerted to look for one mind among so many. Then he looked at them again and revealed his findings. He looked no worse for wear, so Luke didn’t have to worry about feeling guilty for making Cam exhaust himself after getting involved in what oughtn’t be his problem.
Luke nodded, “Alright. Let’s get out of here then.” They swept themselves away towards Cain’s office, everyone remained silent, maybe anxious about what they were about to do, or eager to finally find out what was going on. Luke wasn’t quite sure how he felt himself.
At the door to the office, they all paused a moment before Luka teleported inside. For a second, nothing happened. Luke’s heart leapt towards his throat; he had been right—the room was booby trapped. And now Luka was stuck inside, the victim of whatever horrible trap Cain has laid. Then the door handle jiggled and Luka appeared before them. Luke took a breath of relief, then slipped inside the office after Luka, leaving the others to follow behind.
Once inside, Luke shut the door, so no one from the hallway could see them. His heart had returned to his chest, but was not making any effort to sit still. Somehow they had all spread out and began looking for the tablet, first checking in the obvious places (on the table or a chair) and then progressing to look in slightly more hidden spots when they didn’t find it.
Searching under something, Luke fretted, “What if it’s not even here?” He jumped, looking at the door suddenly. Had there been someone there? No. No one could have been there and gone so quickly. His nerves were just getting the better of him because he was worried about getting caught. There was no reason for them to worry. There was no reason for Cain to come back to his office when he was gallivanting about with the girls he had so recklessly love potioned or whatever nonsense he had done.
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"On this day, I go to Soverngarde."
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Jan 22, 2018 7:10:38 GMT -10
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Marquis (Marquise)
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Post by LycanHeart on Nov 14, 2015 15:54:34 GMT -10
Fingers onto a pen that flew across the surface of a paper, writing in codes and words that only he and a select few could understand, Anders documented his memories and information down as fast as he finished his meal, only from the corner of his eyes to see the trio joined in by Cammy. They seemed to have a plan, and with little Cammy focusing, Anders could only guess what they were up to. Luke, Luka and Aurora were talking about investigating Cain, and when they all stood up in unison and left, Anders also sprung into action. Turning on his cloaking, the ex-shinobi followed them silently, his light footsteps drowned by the cacophony of noises of the mall. Even when he followed them to places of relatively less crowd, his shoes were so worn out that his already soft footsteps were silenced out, close to complete silence but to those that has extremely sharp hearing.
Hiding in literal plain sight, Anders watched behind Luke and the others as Luka teleported into the office of their mark, and after a brief period of inactivity, the door opened up. Slipping in before the door closes behind the group, Anders looked around the office for the first time since he came here. Like a real office, it has cabinets, tables and chairs as well as several other miscellaneous objects. Not wanting to raise any suspicions to his presence, Anders only swiftly looked behind the shoulders of whatever the others were looking.
Nothing under the table.
Nothing under the chair.
Maybe inside the cabinets or drawers?
Waiting for the right opportunity where one of them were not watching or not around, Anders sneaked behind the table and checked for drawers, and he found it, the handle relatively worn from use. It could be from Cain's own hands, or it could be from the previous employees of the mall. Looking over the table to see no one was approaching, he carefully slid the drawers open, finding several documents and papers as well as stationary. Anders picked one up and started reading, only to find unimportant writings. "That was not it," he thought to himself as he placed it back and checked the papers carefully.
No, nothing of importance.
Anders was starting to get edgy. For someone of that importance in the assembly of mutants here, the documents here were all about the others but nothing about himself or anything of his plans. Anders recalled seeing Cain walking around with a tablet once, and he would more likely bring it along with him when he left.
Hearing the footsteps coming closer to his location, Anders hastily placed the document back and sneaked to the side, forgetting to close the drawer. When he remembered, it was rather late, and someone had came to the table again, leaving the information papers exposed. Still, nothing of Cain that would tell Anders, or for the matter anyone, about his own powers or his schemes.
And that really frustrated him.
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Oh where do we begin? The rubble or our sins?
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Oct 25, 2017 19:12:02 GMT -10
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Post by Schailor on Dec 8, 2015 10:57:53 GMT -10
As Cam tried to locate Cain, his little face scrunched up and Aurora immediately worried that maybe they shouldn't have asked Cam to do that. He was just a kid after all. She wondered if maybe his power hurt him when he did certain stuff. She didn't really interact with Cam very often so she wasn't sure what kind of handle he had on his power. It was her experience that younger kids seemed to have a more difficult time with stuff though, so maybe that's why... But as soon as she was thinking Cam was talking. Giving them the all clear.
Luka, obviously excited, started stretching as they walked for no apparent reason. It wasn't like they were going into battle. Aurora imagined, if it wouldn't have been totally embarrassing, Luka probably would have started humming his own theme music during this 'mission' of theirs.
As they reached the office, Aurora gave a glance around, just to be sure and in the blink of an eye Luka was gone in an instant. As he finally opened the door for them Aurora let out her breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Those few seconds he was on his own felt like forever, since the office could have very well been booby trapped. But that didn't matter now. They were inside. Luke closed the door behind them and now the real hunt began.
They looked around the office, Aurora a little more methodically and carefully than Luka. She kept reminding him to put things back the way he found them, to avoid suspicion. As Luke worried aloud that the tablet may not even be here Aurora nodded, "Well it is possible that he took it with him..." This induced a 'tsk' noise from Luka who was obviously disappointed their breaking and entering was less than fruitful. "Well if it's with the guy it ain't like we can just yank it from him..." Aurora gave a sigh and a nod, "We may have to reassess and come up with a new plan." She wondered if there were any mall kids who could prove to be of some type of help. Then again it was hard to tell which mall kids liked Cain, which were indifferent and which would be in the same group as them. Suspicious.
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