the weather today..

Lailani laid across Reese’s bedroom floor, eyeing the wall upside-down from her spot and wondering how much of the floor she could take up if her hair stood on end. She’d had the thought several times now, but never done much about it. Being on his floor meant she wasn’t really in an experimental mood.

“My head hurts,” she said, her voice as soft as the raindrops on the window. Dana had healed the gash and she hadn’t wound up with a concussion as far as anyone knew, but ever since that vision her skull felt like splitting it in two would be a breeze. Since then she had been extra careful not to touch anyone or thing which might set something else off. Sending her mind elsewhere at this moment could only be more disastrous. 

She squeezed her fists against her eyes, wishing the pressure would help. That anything would help. The rain did, a little, and so did the music. That was what she was doing there - she’d nearly forgotten already. “My head hurts and I’m scared,” she whispered. “And the ceiling, unless everything is backwards and spinning.”

And the ceiling. The three words caused him to playfully roll his eyes. So she wasn’t so far gone that she was beyond her usual humor, which was a small comfort. “I um,” It didn’t last though, was quickly replaced with that daunting dread that’d kept him pacing around the house for days since ‘’the incident”. “I feel the same.” 

Turning some more in his chair, he rested his right forearm along the back of it, his free hand smoothing his hair back as he let out a slow breath. There was no use lying to Lailani, other people in the house maybe, but not her. They were...Their relationship was interesting, almost too open. Her powers allowed that kind of thing, for her to kind of know too much right off bat. He’d been skeptical at first, of what she could do. Sounded too out there and honestly, but that feeling didn’t last long. He could control the damn weather, that was legit something straight out of X-Men. 

(He distinctly remembered thinking ‘just call me Halle fuckin’ Berry’ after Fei had first left him to dwell on things.)

Reese hadn’t meant the breathe he’d let out to turn into a sigh, but couldn’t help himself. Shifting to rest his chin on his forearm, he looked down at her, corners of his mouth pulled into a frown. “What the hell do we even do here?”

The smell of freshly brewed coffee was enough to momentarily lift Nadine’s spirits; she had tried turning to tea once, exploit a different array of morning beverages but it always went back to coffee. It was simple, it could be prepared a number of ways or it could be taken fresh off the pot —- uncomplicated and without any mysteries, the opposite of what the Councilor’s life was at that very moment. Everything had come crumbling down and Nadine felt more of an island than ever before. It was one thing to be by oneself in a place that you feel good at, it was another thing to walk through the Lair and feel as if even the weird paintings look at you with distrust. Nadine didn’t know whether to be angry at herself for actually believing those around her trusted her, or be angry at those that pretended to be on her team before immediately jumping off that boat.

With another sleepless night in her, black coffee was something she needed to drink —– or put directly into her bloodstream. The kitchen was quiet and deserted, which was exactly what Nadine wanted ( not needed, since she could enjoy sweet isolation in her bedroom ) and exactly what she didn’t get. A sharp, exasperated sigh escaped her when she heard the footsteps, putting the coffee pot back in its place. “Hey,” Nadine greeted, furrowing her eyebrows. Then, she used her powers to guide her mug to the kitchen table before she walked over to the cupboard to see what kind of quick snacks she could take. “There’s fresh coffee in the pot,” Nadine said, her voice muffled behind the open cupboard door.

“Cool.” Blunt, detached, that was probably the best way to talk to Nadine. Or lull her into talking about more. Which was a shit tactic to use, but Reese was almost beyond worrying about any of that. He needed to know what the hell was going on with everyone as quickly as possible. He gave a glance in her direction as he grabbed a mug from the cupboard above the coffee pot. “Anything good in there?” The snack cupboard, the poor thing was constantly being pillaged. He kept his tone casual as he poured himself a cup of sweet caffeine. “Think there’s probably still Oreos somewhere.” 

He just wanted to keep her talking, he wanted to keep everyone talking. Because that meant he had to listen to them and could do a little less worrying about himself for a moment. Striding over to the fridge, he began the search for the decent coffee creamer. 

Anxiety morphed into tedium as days passed following the localized pockets of chaos throughout the lair and Lani’s ominous vision. None of them knew what to do–not even Balfour–and so Azra found herself waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to get worse, for the council to devolve into complete distrust and violence. That won’t happen, don’t think like that. In her experience, the best way to combat this sort of anxiety was with action rather than time spent in thought over it, but therein lied the problem: there was nothing to do. 

Only so many times could she look through her past journals, bother Balfour, or sit with Daniel in the library pouring over research until she lost her mind. Meetings didn’t help either; everyone else seemed at a loss as well. In her darkest moments, she wished whatever wanted them separated or destroyed would just appear and try it already–at least it would be a welcome break from the resurgence of night terrors and the knotted, tense sort of anxiety that built in her stomach and between her shoulder blades.

Reese’s presence in the kitchen drew her from her thoughts and she offered him a quick, absent smile as he passed. When he pulled a second mug from the cupboard, she nodded a little, then pushed out the chair opposite her with her feet. “You can sit for a while, if you want. I don’t mind,” she said.

This was one hundred percent for him, this whole interaction. Which sounded shitty in his head. He was supposed to be there for them, that was his one damn job at this place. This was surely mutually beneficial though? He could hold off on feeling guilty about using everyone for his own peace of mind for a couple of days at least. With a slight nod, he filled both mugs before going to the fridge to rifle around for whatever creamer he could find. “I feel like we’re all about to do a lot of sitting.” It was a mumbled statement as he pulled a bottle out of the fridge. 

“You doin’ alright?” Stupid question, he was allowing himself a couple of them if this wasn’t a session. Reese shot a look over his shoulder at her, a small smile of apology adorning his lips as he poured a dash of creamer into both cups. None of them were okay period and after that stunt, he was surprised they all hadn’t pulled a Rose and headed back home. Hell, he’d looked at tickets to Sweden. Take that Eldritch bastard, I’m not doing shit for you. It was only after the creamer was back in the fridge and he’d let out a sigh did he set the other cup in front of Azra and sat down across from her. “Of course not. None of us are fine.”

“....Jack?” He stood at the door to his own room, fingers still on the doorknob, stance rigid, heart racing. He’d thrown the door open in frustration, hadn’t expected to see her just sitting there. For a moment, Reese was angry. Had she not heard him hurrying throughout the house? Why hadn’t she texted him back? The feeling was fleeting and the chastising he was going to give her died in his throat when he really looked at her perched so carefully on the edge of his bed. Her knees were drawn to her chest and her eyes were open but the bags under them suggested she didn’t want them to be. Not only that, she didn’t seem like she was mentally there. 

“What happened?” He stepped forward into the room, nudging the door closed with his foot before carefully perching himself beside her. Anxiety tightened his chest, his head swimming full of questions that he was too afraid to ask. This wasn’t like her, not like his Jack, not his voice of reason. Tentatively he reached to rest a hand on her shoulder and just like everything else melted away. It was just the two of them and his worry and whatever the hell she was feeling, but it felt grounding somehow. “What’s up?” His voice was quieter, fingers curling gently around her arm, drawing them together til their sides brushed against each other. @lcnaestclle

around eight. cool. what time was it now?

he glanced around his room before remembering that he still hadn’t bought himself a clock, and that time was an illusion anyway, so he shifted back to his seat and curled up on it, snacks in his lap.

he shrugs at the question, a handful of cheetos already in his mouth (yep, his stomach is now hungry again), wonders why reese offered, why he’s standing in the doorway and not gone away or walked in already.

“ kinda boring but kinda addictive. “ a beat of silence. “ you need something? “

sure, reese had been nice and encouraging and sort of acted like a therapist to everyone, even as he’d managed to shrug off most inquiries into his personal self, and he wasn’t interested if that was what this was but the dude was nice so-

“ do you wanna play? “ he picks up the other controller and offers it out, perhaps a human will be easier to beat than this unbeatable computer.

“No um,” It’d caught him off guard a bit, being asked to join. On one hand, more bonding, which was great and he’d like to get to know Mitch a bit more. On the other hand, his video game experience included solo player stuff in college or getting his ass handed to him as a kid by his brothers. That definitely wasn’t something ‘cool guy’ could admit to. Reese played it off by glancing at his watch and shifting his weight against the doorframe. “I’m kind of shit at them?” 

But maybe it was too late and he was too tired to keep the charade up for right now. Besides it was only them, right? Even if this wasn’t a session, it wasn’t like a little vulnerability, a little company, would kill him. He was more than just their pseudo therapist, had needs for companionship outside of ‘how does that make you feel’. 

That whole train of thought, of self care, wasn’t going to last that long so he figured he might as well make the best of it before he retreated back to his room. “More of a Zelda guy myself.” The smile he offered was shy, accompanied by the action of smoothing his fingers through his hair. “College friends used to do the whole Rockband and Guitar Hero thing outside of actual band practice but anything else and I’m not really a worthy opponent.”

So he was conflicted upon seeing her in the kitchen, occupying a spot by the coffee machine. That was one thing he did know about her for sure, she was a fellow caffeine fiend. And what were the chances that out of three kitchens, they’d both decided on the same one? Maybe it would be a chance to get an idea where her head was at. “Morning.” He regarded her with a nod, the word a soft mumble as he stepped past her to retrieve a mug out of the cupboard. @chvriot

Bree sat in ‘the chair’, the one he’d gotten to put in his room when it was apparent that he really wanted to try at all of this. “What if we took everybody to the beach? I can stop the rain in favor of some sunshine.” Reese’s attention was still on his computer as she made herself comfortable. Straightening up, he swiveled his chair in her direction and reached to run a hand through his hair as he sucked in a breath. “I feel like we could need use some ‘bonding’ right now, don’t you?” The smile that graced his lips was sarcastic in nature. That was an understatement, and also really playing down how worried he felt about the lot of them in their current predicament. @beer-me-strcngth

he had no idea what a combo was or why it kept flashing at the top of the screen, the number just growing higher as he hit every button his thumb could press, slagging off his computer generated enemy with growing vitriol as he continued to loose and continued to press ‘try again’.

he’d bought the console because he could, realising that he could own things and put them in a place and keep them. sure, he wouldn’t be able to take it with him, but while he was here he was going to spend every living second glued to the screen. (he’d gotten it earlier that day, doesn’t know how long this fixation will last) 

he didn’t notice his door creak open, before the movement of the cheeto bag in the corner of his sight led his adrenaline filled muscles to twitch and he teleported out of the room for an instant. (where did he go? he never notices) 

“ k oh “ his screen announces, his character getting uppercut in the chest and turned into a star in the sky. 

he lets out a breath and slumps in his chair, sliding down until he’s on his knees on the floor, before dragging himself to his feet and moving forwards to grab the offering. “ how long have i been playing? “ his stomach is the worst guide for timings, completely unused to any form of structure, but there had definitely been a few hours gone by. 

Don’t freak out. The teleporting thing, other people’s powers in general, it’d been six years and he still just...Life was already so goddamn weird but it still took some getting used to. Reese recovered quickly from being startled by the use of Mitch’s powers by relaxing more against the doorway and relinquishing the Cheetos. Shifting, he glanced down at his watch only to give a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I think you were still here when I left and that was around eight.” 

It was a little tidbit, the reaction. Mitch had been open to the offer, whether it was out of actual necessity for food or politeness, he wasn’t sure. But he’d take any progression, even a small one, as a win. Crossing his arms over his chest he gave a small nod towards the computer. “Is it that good or are you that bored?” Back to ‘cool guy’, back to a semblance of playfulness. Mitch gave him that vibe, that he was receptive to that kind of thing. And the question sounded better than asking if he’d actually eaten anything during that time. Or maybe Mitch was more open to that? He had no clue, getting to know somebody was such a weird territory.

Mitch’s room, “the fool”, the new guy. He was kind of a priority because of all that, to talk to. To establish some kind of trust. Everyone took time to adjust to all of this. The powers, the past lives, the ‘potentially saving the world’ kind of thing. Hell, it’d been six years and he still hadn’t really wrapped his head around all of it. He didn’t want to push Mitch, or anyone for that matter. His policy so far had been to kind of just let them know he was around to talk and knew they’d come around eventually. But this, this was an opportunity for a bonding experience outside of ‘hey I’m the group therapist, stop by if you need to talk or whatever’. So taking a risk, he stepped closer to the door, enough to be able to lean against the door frame a bit. Cool guy pose, all nonchalant as he shook the bag of Cheetos in his hand and raised his brows, a lilt of a smirk playing across his lips. “Gamer fuel?” @mitch-nom

Even so, passing Azra at the kitchen table on his way to get coffee had him conflicted. Public spaces were neutral ground, he’d long ago decided it was easier that way. Which meant he gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement and went straight to the cupboard to retrieve a coffee cup. “You want...?” Casual tone, brief look over his shoulder in her direction as he brandished a second cup. It wasn’t hard pretending to care for him, that was never the issue. The problem was always that he indeed did care far too much for everyone’s well being, despite some of them annoying the absolute shit out of him. But he couldn’t just let them all know that, he’d never hear the end of it. @suvaris