An Innocent RP Side Hustle

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Josiah looked to Sapphira now. How were they supposed to explain this without fully saying what they truly were. To him, Ekko was unique in a way. He wasn’t human at the very least. But to say they were Nephilim? That was a bit forward. Sapphira simply shook her head and leaned forward to fully join the talk they were all having.

“No, not everyone. And it’s not really magic.” She said. Well, to a normal mortal it would considered magic. Maybe that was the best way to truly describe what they could do, but they were some of the few who had capabilities like this. Since they understood what they had, it wasn’t magic to them. It was…well…normal. “The extent of what we’re capable of can also vary, but it might not be the best time to discuss that.” She told him, sitting back on the couch and closing her eyes, putting her hands behind her head.

“Oh, and by the way. If you tell anyone that we’re…magical. I’ll have to deactivate you permanently.” She added in softly. Josiah’s eyes widened and he looked over at Ekko. He was about to say not to worry and that it was a joke, but he knew it wasn’t. He tried to give him a comforting smile, but he himself was a bit surprised by how forward it was.

   The fascination that painted his face as Sapphira began to explain. Sure, it was not a lot to go by and she was cutting the explanation short, but it still helped his curiosity. He understood not being a time for a talk of any topic, he learned it the hard way with his higher ups quickly after gaining his senses. Though, what she said next caught him off guard.

   “Huh?” Was the first reaction he could produce as he stared blankly at Sapphira. The threat of death and the air of seriousness did not get overlooked.

He looked to her drawing, taking in the details as best as he could. He tried to pay special attention to any little details he was able to find. Art could be a process, and someone being able to point out the small things was something he knew some people really enjoyed. There was connection in seeing someone who could appreciate everything you put into a piece. Not that he often showed off his artwork. Hannah was the main one who saw anything he drew.

“Uh. I don’t know if I really have a favorite. I learned realism so…I tend to just draw what, or who, I see.” ‘And who I remember. I don’t want to forget them.’ He leaned a little closer while examining the artwork. “An interesting choice of flow. I don’t know much about designing clothes, but I Can at least say this looks like something I could see someone wearing. You’ve done a great job creating something believable.” He told her, sitting back up.

   Listening intently to what he had to say about his own, her smile stretched to a warm embrace to look at. To a stranger, it looked safe and welcoming, something that one would give to a child of theirs. “Realism is hard to get down,” Coco mused quietly, mostly to herself.

Well, she couldn’t truly explain what it was about the indoor pools that comforted her. Maybe the calm of an empty room, the water making gentle noises when disturbed by a soft air flow. Maybe it was the smell? Even though the room had a strong scent of Chlorine, it never really bothered her. Maybe it was the difference in the atmosphere from night to day. When she was the only one in here, it felt serene, a welcoming quiet, one that wanted her to bask in it and join it. Quiet sounds felt all that much louder, but it wasn’t overwhelming by any means.

“Well, maybe you can find a new experience here and now. I’ve swam in many places. There’s even a lake on the edge of town that I’ve spent a lot of time in and around, but it’s always different from swimming here, or just staying in the gentle quiet.” She told her, taking a few steps into the room and closing her eyes, smiling as she took in the feeling, taking a deep breath. “Maybe it’s a bit odd. To be comforted by such a strange thing. But I think that’s the beauty of it sometimes. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. I think that’s kinda cool if that’s true.” She told her, looking down with a loving smile.

   Red eyes as deep as crimson turned to watch Lydia in a fascination. Her game was her focus, yes, yet her curiosity was caught in this human’s web. How could someone be so at peace by something so simple? It was something that had always eluded the vampire; how something with a life so small could be enraptured by things far too simple. There was so much more out there to experience, yet something akin to a pool is relaxing?

Josiah looked over at Sapphira as Ekko brought up the changing hair color. Of course he wouldn’t understand, not many people did. He gave her a shocked look before his face changed to that of confusion. She looked over at him and a gentle smile crossed her lips. If Ekko was paying close enough attention, he could see a small flash of light in Sapphira’s eyes, thought it was very small and lasted only a moment.

‘I got myself into a bit of a bind. I’ll tell you all about it, don’t worry. I bet you’ll be proud.’ She said, though it was inaudible to anyone but Josiah, who heard it echoing through his mind.

‘I hate when you do that when we aren’t on a mission.’ He responded in turn.

“Well! If it’s that easy to just say you’re impersonating him, we could do that. But I’m sure it’ll get annoying quickly if we’re ever out in public. So if you ever need a change in appearance let us know!” Josiah told him with a grin.

   As Ekko watched the two of them communicate wordlessly, he did not think much of it. His higher ups would often use eye movements and simple gestures to communicate things to people; though he got really good at reading what his higher ups were communicating, when others did it, he fell flat. To him, he simply thought that it was different with everyone.    There was a pause as Josiah spoke up, something that caught Ekko’s attention. The use of “we” and “us.” It could simply be a nice way of putting it, but the connotations made his wonder a few things.

He watched as she moved right past the ISPF. That was a relief. Granted, if she looked it up, she could find out what the ISPF were on the outside. But if she was willing to move past it he would be take that and run with it. Thinking about what hobbies he had, he really did wonder if they were all that strange. Maybe he thought they were.

“Uh. I like to draw.” He said quietly, avoiding eye contact as he told her. His face darkened slightly. For whatever reason he always found it embarrassing that it was something he did. He drew all the time, got pretty good at it, and never really showed people that he did.

   The flick on her screen paused as she looked to Israel, her expression a bit hard to pinpoint. A slight arch of the brow in tandem with a soft look in her eyes. Without breaking that line of sight, she scrolled back up in her phone for a few swipes. Drawing was not weird in the slightest, so she was slightly taken aback by the normalcy of it after he talking it down so much. Even his reaction now to saying that was a hobby of his was odd, and oddly adorable. He really thought this was something to be ashamed of?

“Of course! Honestly, even if I’m not swimming, sometimes I like to sit in the pool room. It’s kinda nice sometimes.” She told her, leading her down the hallway and to a glass door. It was easy enough to see the pool beyond the door, but he opened the door for her and let the young girl in.

“But it’s somewhat calming in here. Just feels calm when you step in you know?” She said, trying to make things as casual as possible. She didn’t want Lilia to feel like Lydia was some imposing authority figure, but instead make her feel very comfortable.

   The girls eyes traced the area up to the pool room and inside of the room itself with curiosity. Although she had an air of “old soul” to her, she still had that child-like wonderment to new things. Even being the old hag she is, she has rarely entered indoor pools, so it was a very genuine reaction with her looking about.

“Ehhh. You’ll get there one day champ.” Josiah said, patting him on the back with a big smile, hoping to give some sense of reassurance. He tried, and that’s really all one could hope for. You never learn if you don’t try right? Sapphira was giving a gentle smile as well, finding his attempt at sarcasm a bit endearing.

“Don’t push yourself to learn things too fast. Unfortunately, I think our minds work differently on a fundamental basis. So I don’t know what the learning process looks like for you. Try to get yourself settled in before you start pushing yourself to learn new things.” Sapphira suggested.

“Hey speaking of blending in and learning stuff, do we need to change your hair at all? It’s pretty obvious who you are just from a glance.” Josiah stated, looking over Ekko a few times.

   “Usually it’s just copy and effect,” Ekko said quietly to the comment on his learning process. Things such as site-reading music, or improv dancing was second nature to him for the years he’s been doing, but learning something new that was subject to opinion was near impossible to do quickly. There were too many vulnerabilities and, even if he was fed the perfect formula on how to do it, it would never be good as something organic.

   His gaze turned to Josiah in a quizzical manner. “Sapphira changed it for a bit when we were in a crowd, but I doubt that’s something cost effective to do long term... Though, I still don’t understand how she did it, but that’s not the point.”

      His grin only grew as he squeezed her hand– a firm grip, not underestimating her strength one bit, and soon the Chicagoan enthusiastically shook it. “ Hahah–! Don’t mind at all, missus, the name’s Max! Max Bennett– Staff-sergeant, pleasure meetin’ ya! My wife– she helps out a lot wit’ this resistance stuff n’ she’s off in Hollywood! I don’t mind workin’ wit’ a miss– or people who don’t feel like bein’ a man or miss, neither– as long as we get help? We’s GOLDEN! ” She could see the way Max did a little jig, too, fists shaking in the air in joy with a determined,

      “ YEAAA-HEAH, BA-BYYY! ” But, the staff-sergeant was quick to pause and turn, remembering that they had a job to do. “ Right! I kno’ this city like the back’uh my hand. We’re on Madison right now– if we go down Randolph street ova’ there n’ reach Washington n’ Wells, it’s under the Metro lines! Good hidin’ spot. Nazi bastards won’t get us there. ” Soon, he turned to get back onto the debris again, standing above everyone– he was a loud man, really was! He was able to yell to those people no problem. Lungs of a goddamn king, it felt like.

      “ ALRIGHT, EVERYONE, LISTEN UP! We’s gonna have all’a ya grouped up wit’ ya families or wit’ people you can consider BATTLE-BUDDIES! No complainin’– we gotta get MOVIN’! Get whatever’s important to ya n’ follow my lead, we’s leavin’ in TWENNY MINUTES! ”

      Now turning to Eve, the soldier lightly ran his fingers through his hair, hopping down with a noticeable spring to his step. Clicking his tongue, he placed his hands on his hips, “ Gonna give ‘em some time to get the stuff they need, then we’s headin’ out! What’s your name, anyhoo? Didn’t catch it. ”

   The fact that the man before her got this excited was oddly calming. Charming, sure, but the way this soldier pranced and paraded himself without a care of what others thought of him caused a pang of remembrance to flow through her. This humanity, right here, was the reason she was fighting her fights. To rid the world of evils so that unbridled joy like this could flourish. Perhaps their fights were not as different than she first thought.    With his shift in tone when she noted the next stage of the plan, she gave a hum of interest. There were always at least two sides to every coin, the fact that he could flip that easily was admirable. Her gaze moved to the small crowd, watching how they took this information and orders in turn. Most had no other choice as this was better than nothing at all.