The Second Soldier

Sparring and Training

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, sweetheart?"

Basta feinted left and drove hard with his right fist toward Sadie's abdomen, aiming to cut under her defenses before she had a chance to move them.

Piercing pain seared through her hand, the skin torn and jagged. Cold grey eyes bore down at her, riddled with smug disappointment.

No. She considered biting out. She hesitated.

In her distraction, she fell for the feint. Easy dodge to the left. His right fist came at her, she stepped back but still caught the tail end of the motion. A sharp ache cast through her abdomen. Far from the worst she'd experienced, but not a sensation she was eager to catch the brunt of.

Focusing in, she took his forward posture to her advantage and made to jump and swing around onto his shoulders, hoping to flip him over.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

When Sadie said she did know how Wade felt and showed her the scar from where she said she'd removed a tracker, Wade sighed a little, his expression one of commiseration. "That really sucks, I'm sorry. At least you got it out, though. But... geezus, these HYDRA guys sound like some WWII-era Na.zi bullshit or somethin'." Wade had no idea just how right he was. "How is that stuff even legal? I guess it's not. Don't tell me, they're protected by whatever government they work for, right? Above the law?" He shook his head. "I hate that. And I'm real sorry you had to deal with that. Listen, if anyone shows up on my doorstep lookin' for you, wantin' to know where you are, they're not getting anythin' outta me. Okay? That's a promise."

He understood now why Sadie was so curious about Mae, her connections to Wade, and her motivations. Wade could only imagine how paranoid someone like Sadie must be, having a dehumanizing organization like HYDRA wanting their escapee back. She wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be a liability, or bring people to her who would be, and he totally, one hundred percent got that. He nodded at her simple answer after he'd explained everything, neither needing nor wanting to push her to say more on the subject.

"A party hat? Oh my god, could you imagine?" Wade said with a grin and a chuckle. He nodded, though, at her next words. "Yeah, you both changed my day for the better, definitely. And yeah, how can anybody not say that the addition of this little furball wasn't a good thing?" he said, gesturing at Bee, who was still soaking up Sadie's scritches on her head.

“Sadie, what about Rockland? Your kid."

He'd managed to ignite the fire. But up until that point? She hadn't recognized her own friend. And even following all of that, she'd suppressed the urge to complete the mission for a long stretch of time. Once in a while, the nagging still cropped up. Quieter, but there. It had become easier to push aside, but it left her unsettled all the same.

The soldier focused back in on Wade's words, taking a second to mentally catch up after realizing she'd spaced out. He was talking about Mae saving him. The process did sound invasive. For the moment it seemed Mae had made a good choice, though. If Wade was really how he presented himself to be, he seemed a good egg. "That's understandable." She nodded, as he spoke of them each wanting to go their own ways.

Another, quiet bob of the head met his compassion when it came to the tracker. It was a little unnerving just how apt his description of the organization was. Maybe he'd learned about them at some point, and hadn't fully recalled. "That's... yeah. They worked with them back then." As for legalities, "It's not, technically, but they've infiltrated government organizations. Even Shield. That was how they found me."

She could recall a cracking pain and, "I'm sorry... have to do this." The faint memory was traced by another familiar voice. A woman's.

"Yeah..." Sadie agreed, shrugging with the apology. But then he started talking about Hydra showing up on his doorstep, he promised that they wouldn't get anything out of him, and she met his eyes with a bewildered gratitude. "Thank you." At least he had some tricks up his own sleeve, if something like that did happen. He had some means of protecting himself.

She offered a little smile as her joke landed. She could imagine, and the visual was pretty funny. She pictured the pointed hat taking up most of his forehead, maybe sitting down over his nose and the tops of his eyes a little, too. They'd both changed his day for the better. Her eyes flickered down to her lap, the corners of her lips pulled upwards. "Good." She murmured, finding it easier to focus on Bee. "I don't think it's possible." She agreed, smoothing her the pads of her fingers over the little kitten's forehead.

She could keep them? "That's... very kind, but really not necessary. I will borrow them, though. Thank you." At least for as long as it took her to wash and dry her own. Maybe she'd keep them on rotation while they traveled together. Fresh clothes in hand, she tossed a thumb towards the bathroom, "I'll um, I'll be back in a few, then?" With that, she headed for the shower. The light switch wasn't hard to find. She hesitated for a moment before closing the door behind her and locking it. It was the first time she'd done so, in memory. Back at Derek and Oline's, she'd lived on her own in the mobile, and she'd kept the door open. The few gyms she'd been to on the road had either had curtains or doors without locks, when it came to the showers. She set the clothes on the counter, and took in her surroundings more thoroughly. One toothbrush. Soap. Hand towels. A frosted window. Everything looked clean.

A white curtain was drawn across the shower. Without too much tinkering, she managed to turn it on, and grimaced as she adjusted to the bombarding cacophony of water pounding against the shower floor. Quickly changing out of her grimy clothes, she noted the second switch, and was grateful to find the fan's noise mostly muted by the shower.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

"Do you? 'Cause if you really do, then I'm sorry for that. Mental privacy's a thing I didn't even know I wanted until... I had someone else in my head," Wade shared. His question to her had been rhetorical, though. he wasn't actually expecting her to offer up that information if she didn't want to, and so he didn't pry any further about it.

"Yeah, I think I can," he said, nodding. "She seemed like she had a pretty good head on her shoulders. We got off on a really bad footing at first, but we uh... we massively misunderstood each other, and we both admitted that. By the end of... everything that happened... I think we were on the same page. The uh... the guy she wanted me to help her kill was a drug lord, like I said, but he was also Mae's ex-boyfriend, in a way? He really took advantage of her, turned her without her permission, and tried to keep her under his control, like a prisoner. He was a heartless, selfish, bastard. It was also his guys who killed Rose and the others, so... I had a beef with him too. It was pretty clear that as long this guy was around, more good people were gonna get hurt. We both wanted revenge, but we also wanted to stop him from doin' any more harm. I got a feelin' if she ever asked for my help again, it'd be someone a lot like him, someone who really shouldn't be walkin' around anymore."

Wade chuckled a bit. "Yeah, bounty hunters or vampires, right? I guess I'm kindof like an urban unicorn or somethin' like that. People don't hear about people like me very often. And to a teenage boy, I was probably even more interesting than all that. I wish my life was as interesting to me as it seems to be to other people. Though, I guess it just got a lot more interesting with you and our little fur child over here..."

Bee, for her part, was very much enjoying the scritches between her ears. She pushed her little head upwards, into Sadie's touch, her eyes closing in contentment. The remnants of biscuits were still being made, her little front beans curling and uncurling.

"Oh man, yeah! You know what I used to like? Cocoa Crispies. 'Cause when you were done with 'em, you didn't just get cereal milk, you got chocolate cereal milk," he said with a big grin. "That was the best."

Do you? She tilted her head back and forth, and then the non-committal gesture shifted into a sober nod, her eyes wandering, "Thank you. Under Hydra. Not in the same way, but..." She chose her words carefully, heart pounding, "Yes. I get it." She could share- But would he believe her? It seemed like he had so far, but a part of her still worried he might doubt her sanity. Maybe if she... Sure, it could be from something else, but at least it was some sort of proof. She pulled up her left sleeve, revealing a roughly inch long line of puckered skin from when a tracker had been removed. She had a few scars that were tied to shame. But this one? It was part of her liberation. Her eyes flickered to meet his, then, "They tracked me. So, we have that in common. More or less. They can't anymore. Not like that." She bit at her cheek and tugged her sleeve back down.

As he spoke of Mae, and the asshole they'd gone up against, she was starting to see a lot of her own past shadowed in this woman's. Someone had wanted to keep her hostage. Had worked to take away her autonomy. Had hurt many people in their strive for power. "I see. Okay." It was a simple response for all that he'd told her, but there was a weight to it. An understanding.

An urban unicorn. A little snort met that description, "Yeah, all you need is a party hat on your forehead." She could understand where he was coming from, when it came to his life and being of interest to other people. They weren't the ones enduring the firsthand stress of it all. But then he talked about she and Bee making his life more interesting, and her features warmed. "For the better, I hope. On my part, of course. How could this little girl not be?" She gestured to the kitten.

It seemed Bee was quite enjoying the affection, so Sadie continued her subconscious head scritches as she and Wade conversed.

"I don't remember trying those. They sound great, though." Chocolate cereal milk. Decadent.

Despite the knife in hand, she noted the way this man's gaze flickered to his own on the ground. An attachment? Or simply a desire for more power? Regardless, she wasn't about to ask Dustfinger to retrieve it.

Sadie craned her head to keep an eye on her adversary, and took her opportunity to crouch. The moment her hand touched the ground, turquoise energy seeped in. She could use the pavement to grab hold of the slime-ball's legs, but that would leave his hands free and armed. She could bring the pavement up further and make a go at his arms, or sink him mostly into the ground, but both option would take a moment, and she didn't trust him not to lash out at a sign of trouble. So, she curled a snake of pavement around the knife handle and tossed it her own way, free hand snatching it from the air with practiced ease.

In a practiced dance, Basta spun, taking his captive with him, wrapping an arm around his chest and holding him in front of himself, protecting his own body from any counterattack from Sadie.

Dustfinger choked, eyes blinking tight in fear.

"None of your business," Basta spat, hauling Dustfinger backward.

"Stop, I want to go!" Dustfinger gasped.

His arms dropped passively to his sides, displaying his empty hands, doing his best not to struggle or put up any sort of a fight.

"I want to go with him, Sadie. You can follow, just let me go with him."

Basta's mouth split into a soulless grin, his head tipped back in a bark of dry laughter.

"I've got something he wants, Sadie. Something he'd do anything to get his hands on."

None of her business? Her mouth parted to counter his retort, when Dustfinger spoke up instead. She could see the fear in his eyes, and fire burned in her chest.

He wanted to go? Sadie gaped at him.

"Why?" She didn't understand. Why would he want to go with this creep? Why was he being so shifty? What was he hiding?

She could follow... The soldier's jaw clenched. The man's laughter was rattling. She resisted the urge to break his nose.

Still, he gave her more intel than Dustfinger had, assuming he was telling the truth. Something he wanted. Something he'd do anything for. Unsettling. Although... her mind drifted to Rockland.

Why hadn't he told her, though?

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

He shrugged. "It's a little unnervin', to have someone else's stuff in my head. I'm still not used to it, even after a few months of this, but... the longer we're apart, it is gettin' duller and less frequent. I guess if we ever met up again, it might get stronger, but.... I doubt that'll ever happen. We left on good terms, but we definitely have our own lives and wanted to go our separate ways, so I don't think she's gonna look me up anytime soon. Not that that'd really be a bad thing, necessarily. We don't have any issues with each other. Not anymore." "

Wade thought about it for a second, wondering if Sadie was afraid that Mae might suddenly show up at their doorstep. "I guess there's always that chance that she needs my help with somethin' later on. If that happened, I'd help her out, why not. She's older than me, in terms of how long she's been a vampire, so in some ways that makes her stronger, but your strength as a vampire is proportional to how strong you were as a human. I was a lot bigger and stronger than she was as a human, so I've got a bigger potential to become even stronger than she does. She's got more experience on me, but I started out stronger, so someday I'll surpass her, even though she's my sire. That's the way she explained it to me, anyway. I've already helped her take out her own sire. He was an asshole. A Mexican drug lord. So if she ever needed my help again, I don't see why I wouldn't say yes. I owe her, after all. If not for her, I'd be dead."

Wade chuckled a little when Sadie asked what Rockland had thought of him being a vampire. "He thought it was kinda cool. He asked me questions and all that. He thought I was maybe a mutant too. I told him I had no idea. I didn't even know what a mutant was before I met him. I feel like he asked me just as many questions about bein' a bounty hunter as he did about bein' a vampire, though. He's a real curious kid."

"That's true. Hey, it doesn't seem like it really bothered her all that much, despite the uh... miasma production," he said with another chuckle. "I guess she's like any other kid, right? Treats once in a while are nice, even if they aren't the healthiest thing? I don't know what I would've done without pizza and chicken nuggets as a kid."

He noticed her hesitation and didn't want to push, but at the same time, he didn't want her to have to sit around in funky clothes or wet ones when she could be more comfortable. "It's really no trouble if you wanna borrow some stuff. Besides, I mean, you can feel free to wash your clothes if you want, but the laundry room's in the building's basement. So... unless you wanna go down there, it's gonna take a while for your clothes to dry if you hand wash 'em. Wouldn't you rather be dry and comfortable?" he asked. If she still hesitated, he wouldn't push any more, but he wanted to at least offer.

Unnerving. "Yeah... I get that." She murmured, empathetically. While what she had experienced was quite different, she understood how invasive it could feel to have your mind manipulated. To feel like there was a stranger in your home. At least the connection was fading, and there didn't seem to be hard feelings between them.

The dynamic between he and Mae did concern her, a little. Primarily because she didn't know Mae, and she didn't know Wade all that well. It seemed his loyalty may be aligned with her, somewhat, given the ease with which he agreed to work with her in a blank cheque mission. "What if she asked you to hurt someone, again? Do you know you can trust her judgement?"

Rockland had thought it was cool. Sadie snorted, a little. "Well, you don't hear of people being bounty hunters every day, either." She mused. Curious. That was probably good, as long as he didn't let his curiosity get him into trouble he couldn't handle.

A little smile tugged at her lips, as he spoke of Bee's miasma. "I'm no expert, but I would think so. She's allowed a treat now and then, as long as it doesn't result in any major health concerns." She rubbed between the kitten's ears.

Pizza, chicken nuggets, "Sugary cereal." Derek had brought a couple of bags over, shortly after she'd moved in. They'd gotten the family packs from Costco, and had decided to share. One had been Lucky Charms, and with the flavour had come a faint recollection of sitting at a barstool with a childhood friend, sipping back the marshmallow milk straight from the bowl. It was one of the first memories she'd reconnected with.

Admittedly, she has not called Rockland yet, and she feels terrible for it. She wants to do so, she wants to tell him that his mother is alive, but she wants to let S meet him on her own terms. All she can do is offer S a place to stay while the woman gets mentally prepared to reunite with her son.

Mantis' apartment is cozy and filled with plants, but not even tending to them seems to ease the restlessness growing within her ribcage. The empath nods once, barely hearing the question.

"From before or-?" She bit at the inside of her cheek. Most of the memories she did have were hazy; it was hard to decipher between recollection and simple thoughts. Others? Felt like they could overtake her at a moment's notice. She didn't want to... she didn't want to focus on those. A shaky breath, "Not much." She remembered surviving. Surviving fights. Surviving torment. Surviving lies, and pain, and exhaustion, and struggle, and inflicting as much on others amongst her instinct to survive. But living? Not much.

Still, she tried. Blue eyes focused on the counter top. She took a breath through her nose. The faint scent of wood wafted towards her. The high pitch whir of a blade through white oak. A fuzzy sense of someone else in the moment. Someone familiar. Dreams, had come to mind as well. Two, that had rattled her, stuck with her through the years; Brown fur, and warmth and comfort. A weight on her chest, waking with tears.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

He thought for a minute. "The only mental thing I noticed is that sometimes I have weird dreams or thoughts that I know aren't mine. They're Mae's. The uh... the woman who turned me. She warned me that might be a thing. It's because we've got a kind of bond between us because she's my maker or sire or whatever you call it in vampire terms. But the longer we spend apart, the more it'll fade, she said.

It was somewhat liberating to have told someone. Everywhere Wade went and whoever he talked to, he had to hide the fact that he was a vampire, but with Sadie, the cat was out of the bag. Or rather, on her lap, at the moment. It was nice to be able to be himself around someone, even if that someone was a person he'd just met having a panic attack in a supermarket. Nevertheless, he knew why she asked if he was careful who he told. "I am, yeah. Actually, you're... no joke, only the second person I've ever told in several months of being a vampire. The first was Rockland. He's a smart kid, he figured out somethin' was up with me, heh. And since he showed me a little of his powers, I told him about mine."

With regard to Bee's care, Wade nodded. "If you can, sure. I know more about dogs than cats, so I'll take any help I can get. Poor thing's got the walkin' farts 'cause I fed her fried fish, so I'm not off to too great of a start here," he said. "But I'm willin' to learn. I'll become the best cat dad I can be." It might be the only kind of dad he'd ever be, but just because it was a cat instead of a human didn't mean it didn't matter a lot to him.

She was the second person. Good. Who was the- Her eyes warmed with pride and amusement. Rockland. Out of how many people on Earth? Sadie focused in once more as Wade spoke of her son, holding onto every word. He was smart. Observant, it seemed. That was reassuring. Still, he needed to be more cautious with showing off his ability to strangers... She supposed that was a little hypocritical to consider, given she'd shared a little of her own abilities with Wade that evening, but she was a trained soldier. "What did he think?"

"Sure, I could." Sadie agreed. It shouldn't be too much trouble, contacting Oline through her burner phone. The walkin' farts. She snorted. "You made do with what you had available in the moment, and she certainly seemed to enjoy it, even if it's not a feasible long term part of her menu." She had to admit, though; a tentative warmth wormed it's way into her chest as he declared his determination to be the best cat Dad he could.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

That was nice of her to say, that who he'd been prior to becoming a vampire was relevant to her, and that he'd treated her with a lot of humanity. He hadn't expected her to say something like that, but it gave him pause nonetheless. "I guess I'm still holdin' onto my humanity a bit, even though it's gone," he mused. "Different kinds of humanity, I know, but still. Maybe I should be out there suckin' everybody dry and doin' evil vampire things, but that's just not me. I see no reason to stop helpin' people just because I've got a sun allergy and diet restrictions now. So... thanks for noticin'. It means a lot."

"Oh man, if I could only get in on like a clinical study for iron deficiency or somethin' like that, that'd be great." But the longer he thought about it, the more problems he saw with that idea. "Of course... they'd probably want blood tests and all that jazz and who the hell even knows what my blood looks like anymore. The cells are probably all weird now or somethin'. All my red blood cells swimmin' around with these tiny little fangs..." A pause, and then, "Yeah that joke was bad, sorry."

"I am? Thanks. I've always had my own style, so it's good to know I don't I'm not a generic, cookie-cutter vampire," Wade said with a big grin. He, too, was happy about being able to take pictures with Bee. There was something about the tiny, opinionated, hungry, playful, and gassy little unit Bee was that just melted his heart. She was the medicine for an illness he didn't even know he had, the disruption to his life he never knew he needed. "She really is," he said, agreeing with Sadie on that point. "From now on I'll try to feed her a little better food so she doesn't drop stink bombs on us all the time," he added.

He laughed as Sadie called Bee the queen of this domain. "Yeah, ain't that the truth. I don't know about you, but she's got me wrapped around her finger, or her paw? Her... toe beans?"

Bee, for her part, pushed herself up a bit as her head was scratched, pressing against the nice touch, before curling up tight once more.

She nodded, as he spoke of holding onto his humanity. She could understand that better than he realized. "You're still you, even if your body's changed. You still have your memories. Your mind still feels like yours?" Assuming becoming a vampire didn't alter his cognition. That was where part of her own difficulties resided; how was she supposed to trust her mind, when Hydra had picked her apart? So much of her past was still fuzzy, and she couldn't help but question whether what came to her were true memories.

Her brows raised with amusement as he continued, maybe he should be out there, sucking everybody dry? "I sure hope not." It was sweet to hear how much he valued helping others. Since she'd escaped, she'd met some very kind people. As much as she was still incredibly wary, it certainly helped to restore some of her faith in humans. Sadie nodded, as he thanked her. "No problem."

Oh, he was running with the clinical study concept. Her features shifted into a muted concern, broken into a momentary grimace at the concept of red blood cells with fangs. It was an entertaining image, but, "That does not sound comfortable." She mused, shaking her head as he apologized, "No, it's fine." She went quiet for a moment. Needles and white coats stewed in her mind. "You're careful with who you tell, right?"

As for vampire stereotypes? "Definitely." Her expression was warm, bobbing her head as he said he'd feed Bee better food. "We could do some research into different options. I know a couple of people with cats, too. I could reach out."

It was amazing how quickly people could form a bond with other creatures. "Oh yeah." Bee had them both wrapped around her toe beans, indeed. She looked down at the kitten fondly as she pressed her head into Sadie's hand, and curled up.

She didn't have to put up with this treatment. Not anymore. Part of her feared if she got up, he'd follow her. She was nearly certain he would, if she gave him a choice. Was it better to run, or stand her ground?

Her laughter clearly bothered him, and his response reminded her that this? This was just one sad little man. And this was more of a moral quandary; a matter of what she'd stand for, now that she had a choice. A part of her may feel like she deserved poor treatment, but he didn't know her past. He just saw her as someone he could try to exert power over.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Okay, so maybe she wasn't making fun of him. Maybe she was just cracked. He hadn't taken her for an unstable person, but what she said didn't make any sense. 'Bastapult' wasn't even a word.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

"Yeah, I guess..." Wade said unconvincingly. "Although, everyone who really knew me is dead, so... what I used to be before I became... this... is probably irrelevant to anyone I would meet now." Now his tone sound almost accusing, as if he was somehow blaming himself for his own transformation. Maybe he was. If he hadn't screwed things up as badly as he had on that one mission, he might still be human and a whole lotta good people might still be alive. "Yeah, that's a priority of mine, figurin' all this out without hurtin' good people and without even killin' the bad ones, if I can help it. So far, it's been okay, I just have to skip cities before my uh... feeding patterns get discovered, that's all. But maybe if I can get myself a good butcher who doesn't ask too many questions, like you said, I could stay longer."

Wade hoped that the more he practiced and the more time he spend physically as a vampire, he'd improve his skills. Maybe they'd start to feel more natural after a while, or at least improve and become more versatile. Sadie seemed to think that was possible, so for now, he was going to let himself believe it. "I guess it's just that most people, when they think of vampires, they think of some suave, mysterious guy who looks like he stepped out of a GQ magazine and who definitely knows what's up, not some baldin' dude in jeans who sometimes crashes into walls when he tries to run fast," he said with a self-deprecating smirk. "So that's why I said it seemed kinda stupid. But yeah, to be fair, it is pretty fast. I mean, I was a fairly fast runner before all this, but now I'm just ridiculous."

"That's true. Oh, you know I'll be takin' all the selfies with her. C'mon, why even own a pet if you're not gonna take pictures of 'em all the time?" Wade said.

"Damn, girl," Wade said to the oblivious kitten, laughing as he, too, tried to fan away the aftermath of Bee's fish dinner processing. "I think maybe feedin' her regular fish instead of fried stuff next time might be a better idea, so she doesn't go turnin' it all into tear gas," he complained. "Or better yet, we should look into some of that like... Smalls or Farmer's Dog or whatever those brands are that ship you fresh, human grade pet food every so often. That has to be a bit more nutritionally balanced for sensitive little kitten stomachs than fried fish sandwiches are, right?"

Bee, listening to her new humans talking but of course not understanding, made another dramatic, sleepy stretch before looking up at Wade with half closed eyes.

"Yeah, we're talkin' about you. You just gassed us out, you little stinker," he said with a big grin. He looked to Sadie. "Look at that face. She knows exactly what she did. No shame. Unbelievable," he said, feigning a fair amount of aloof annoyance.

Bee curled up tight again, and with a hefty sigh, she closed her eyes and was contented again.

She could practically see him swirling into a whirlpool of negative thoughts once again. An empathetic shrug attempted to dissuade him, "It's relevant to me. Your past is a part of you. Anyways, you've treated me with a lot of humanity tonight. Maybe that's enough." Saying as much felt vulnerable, and she hoped she wouldn't come to regret it.

"Seems like a pretty good priority. I hope the butcher idea works for you. Maybe New York will have a good handful of butchers, you could rotate through them. Make it out like you're not entirely hooked on blood themed dishes." A smirk was cast his way. "Maybe you could even say you're taking part in a long term study on iron deficiencies or something."

Sadie snorted at his description of a literary classic vampire. "You're a refreshing break from the stereotype." Selfies with the little love was an endearing concept. She usually tried to avoid ending up on camera, out of fear her image could end up in the wrong hands, and ease in the tracking of her whereabouts, but maybe she could get ahold of an instant camera, or something similar. "Cute." She mused softly.

"The grease could be getting to her, I suppose." She agreed with disgusted amusement. "I'm not familiar with those brands, but I would hope so." Maybe she could reach out to Derek and Oline, and get a reminder of what they fed their cats.

What she didn't see coming was Dustfinger lurching towards her. Turquoise energy had just seeped into the fabric of the man's jacket when hands wrapped around her arm and yanked. She lost her footing... And her grasp on the knife, stumbling backwards with a wide eyed look of agitation in Dustfinger's direction. What was that? "Let go!" She made to pull her arm free, eyes darting between Dustfinger and the other. Was he worried she was threatening his buddy? No... That was ridiculous, right? He'd been trying to protect her... He hadn't seen her fight first hand, not really. He probably just saw the knife and let his instincts take over.

Basta flipped the knife in his hand, feeling its weight in comparison with what he was used to. He didn't advance, either, well aware that he'd regained the advantage, if he'd ever really lost it in the first place.

His eyes flicked briefly to the knife on the ground, now closest to Dustfinger, who wasn't inclined to pick it up.

"Stop. Stop."

He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady himself as much as the others.

"Let's just talk!"

Basta's weight shifted from foot to foot impatiently. He knew there was no reason for a fight, Dustfinger was sure he wanted nothing more than an excuse to start one.

"We were trying that. Then your girlfriend threw me into the wall. I told you what I came to tell you. Now you get a choice: come quietly, or..."

Despite the knife in hand, she noted the way this man's gaze flickered to his own on the ground. An attachment? Or simply a desire for more power? Regardless, she wasn't about to ask Dustfinger to retrieve it.

Sadie craned her head to keep an eye on her adversary, and took her opportunity to crouch. The moment her hand touched the ground, turquoise energy seeped in. She could use the pavement to grab hold of the slime-ball's legs, but that would leave his hands free and armed. She could bring the pavement up further and make a go at his arms, or sink him mostly into the ground, but both option would take a moment, and she didn't trust him not to lash out at a sign of trouble. So, she curled a snake of pavement around the knife handle and tossed it her own way, free hand snatching it from the air with practiced ease.

headcanon prompts with questions based on plants   &   what they represent in flower language .  happy roleplaying !!  ♡

abatina :   is there anything in life your muse has changed their mind about over time   (   due to becoming more educated on the topic ,   certain experiences  ,   etc .   ) ,    or that they   would   change their mind about under certain circumstances ?  

acanthus :   is your muse deceptive ,   or willing to lie or deceive to achieve certain means ?   why or why not ?   

aloe :   how does your muse handle grief ?

amaryllis :   what is something or someone that your muse takes pride in ?   how do they express that pride ?   

anemone :   how does your muse view the world ;   as a cruel   &   unforgiving place ,   a land full of wonders ,   or something in - between ?  where does that world view come from   (   what experiences ,   life lessons ,   etc .   ) ?  

angelica :   where does your muse draw inspiration in life ?   what motivates them ?

apple blossom :   how does your muse go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality ?  

bachelor’s button :   does your muse actively seek romantic companionship ,   or cherish the liberties of being single ? 

basil :   does your muse have a love - hate relationship with anyone or anything ?

bay tree :   does your muse seek glory   &   accolades ,   or do they favour a simpler ,   more personal life ?  

begonia :   how cautious is your muse ?   are they prone to noticing red flags ,   or paranoid to the point of untrusting most everyone ?   why or why not ?  

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ?   do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ?   

bluebell :   does your muse learn from their past ,   or are they prone to repeating the same mistakes ?  

carnation :   what is your muse’s relationship with their gender ?   how do they express or not express this relationship ?  

chamomile :   what is your muse likely to take away from a painful experience ?   are they one to be haunted by adversity ,   or to use what they’ve gone through to become stronger ?  

chrysanthemum :   how does your muse express romantic love ?  how do they feel about love as a concept ?  

daffodil :   is your muse one to be loyal in relationships ,   or are they likely to quickly move from one bond to another ?

daisy :   did your muse ever feel as though their innocence had been lost ?   what moment in their life could be described as the end of their innocence ?  

edelweiss :   what was the bravest moment in your muse’s life ?  are they known to be courageous from then on ?  

fern :   does your muse believe in magic or cosmic forces ,   or are they more likely to think their life is ultimately a matter of their own control ?  

forget - me - not :   has your muse ever forgotten something that is or was important to them ?   are they afraid of forgetting things like that ?  

gardenia :   is your muse one to confess romantic feelings early on ,   or to conceal them for long periods of time ?  

gladiolus :   describe a moment from your muse’s life that they will never forget .

goldenrod :   does your muse believe in luck or fortune ?  why or why not ?   where do they believe these things come from ?  

heliotrope :   does your muse believe in soulmates ?

hibiscus :   how does your muse view the gentler ,   daintier things in life ?   as things worth preserving   &   caring for ,   or things only bound to wither   &   disappear ?  

holly :   how strong is your muse’s sense of intuition ?  are they aware of it ?   do they ever fear that it is only paranoia ?  

hollyhock :   how strong is your muse’s sense of ambition ?  what’s something they strive for in life ?  

hyacinth :   is your muse athletic ?   does it come naturally to them ,   or have they had to work for their physique and/or skill ?  

hydrangea :   how much does your muse value communication in their relationships with others ?  are they prone to being misunderstood ?

iris :   if your muse could convey one last message to someone they have lost or left behind ,   what would it be ?  

ivy :   what are your muse’s views on marriage ?   do they believe it is something strictly for love ,   or an institution rooted in business   &   social benefits ?   do they desire or have they desired to be married ?

lavender :   how easy is it to gain your muse’s trust ?  once their trust is broken ,   how might one go about mending it ?  

lilac :   what was your muse’s childhood like ?   how has their upbringing affected them as they’ve aged ? 

lily :   how does your muse view their mother ?  

lotus :   has your muse ever felt as though they’ve been reborn ?  have they ever desired the feeling of a fresh start ,   or a better understanding of themself and/or the world around them ?  

magnolia :   describe your muse’s relationship with nature   &   the natural world .  

marigold :   is your muse prone to jealousy ?  how might they handle envious feelings ?  

mint :   does your muse view themself as virtuous   &   moral ?  what do these words mean to them ?

nasturtium :   describe your muse’s relationship with their birthplace ,   or homeland .  

oak :   who would your muse consider the strongest person they know ?  

pansy :   does your muse often reflect on their own actions ?   do they ever think a lot about the past ,   and what they could have done differently ?

parsley :   describe a holiday your muse enjoys ,   and why they enjoy it .

peony :   what would a   ‘  happy life  ’   look like in your muse’s eyes ?

poppy :   what comforts your muse ?

rhododendron :   is your muse receptive to warnings   &   advice given by others ?

rose :   how much does your muse value other people ?   do they wish to have many friends ,   lovers ,   and/or associates ?   are they an easy person to love ?

sage :   what is your muse’s legacy ?   what do they want to be remembered for   &   what might they actually be remembered for ?  

salvia :   is your muse possessive over people or things that matter a lot to them ?  how do they express that possessiveness ,   or lack thereof ? 

snapdragon :   is your muse merciful ?  why or why not ?

southernwood :   how seriously does your muse take themself ?   do they prefer a solemn   &   intellectual atmosphere or do they delight in jokes   &   banter ?  

sunflower :   what brings your muse the most joy in life ?  

tulip :   how does your muse view people in general ?  

violet :   how does your muse respond to betrayal ?

willow :   how does your muse handle sadness   &   depression ?

I want to make this known; it’s OKAY to flirt with my muse, it’s okay to say flirty things to them, yes, they may not react to it, they may not respond to it positively, but know as a mun I’m 100% OKAY with it. Especially if my muse is clearly attractive appearance wise, go a head, flirt with them, if my muse is your muse’s type, it’s okay to flirt, we don’t have to be shipping, we don’t ever have to ship to have you flirt with my muse; I WON’T think you’re pushing a ship on me either. But I just feel that some people are scared to have their muse be flirty to another because we a muns might take it the wrong way.

“…- worthless if we can’t get the asset sorted out. Check into other candidates. For now, I’ll get Victor to take a look. Get the soldat in place.”

The input of a key code. A clink of locks. Rough hands grabbing at heavy arms, weighed down by drugs and metal gauntlets locked around forearms, bubbling out around outstretched fingers. She walked alongside the agents. If she didn’t, they would drag her. Moments later, and they were in another room, just as cold. She sat. Waited. - Sadie for Victor?

@sadiebrin

This really wasn't at all what Victor had in mind when he signed on to work for HYDRA. To say that they had misrepresented themselves was a gross understatement. Although he really couldn't argue with the fact that he was performing cutting edge research, he just didn't expect to be performing it on restrained and decidedly non-consenting patients.

Her thanks made his chest tighten, though, for he felt that giving someone water was no great act of charity, for having it should be a basic human right in the first place. "You're very welcome," he said nevertheless, forcing a smile for her. It wasn't a fake smile, just one he had to push past the layers of other negative emotions he was feeling at that moment. She was not the source of those emotions, nor were they her fault, so he tried not to take it out on her.

"Careful, doctor. You're presence here is suffered only for as long as you are useful to us," one of the soldiers warned him.

Victor really couldn't help the smirk that followed. "Did that feel good to say? Hmm? Don't worry, I shall be sure to tell your superiors that you kept me well in line, you needn't try quite so hard," he said. He would have added a shoulder pat, but... he knew he was on thin ice already as it was.

"Continue with the subject," ordered the other soldier, growing impatient with Victor.

"Oh, have I reached today's limit of acceptable pushback? Darn. Well, tomorrow is another day," he said, turning back to the woman. "It is a shame that I always seem to hit my limit by lunchtime. It leaves nothing left for relief of the soul, come dinner," he mumbled as he prepared the pill.

And still he pushed their buttons. Was he seeking punishment?

The doctor turned to her once again, mumbling. She responded with silence, but her eyes were fairly steady on him, now. Listening. She was rewarded with another upwards pull of his lips, as she agreed to take the medication. Was he responding positively due to her compliance? Or was he truly relieved by her agreement? Perhaps it made him feel lighter.

He began with the instructions. More water? That was certainly welcomed. She nodded, sticking her tongue out slightly and swallowing the medication back alongside the water, once both were offered. A dulled wave of nerves washed over her, but the sensation was distant enough still that she paid it little mind.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Wade shrugged, though he looked unconvinced. "Humans don't usually eat each other, so that's a big red flag. I think that's probably what most people would cite as bein' a reason why vampires aren't human." They way he said it, it sounded like he was upset about the fact that he didn't consider himself human anymore. Sad, or maybe regretful. He did notice how Sadie seemed to become subtly uncomfortable when he mentioned doctors and getting poked by them, so maybe that was a topic best left alone.

"Before. She was our bounty, actually," Wade explained. "We were supposed to arrest her in Mexico and bring her back to the states, but... obviously we had no idea what she was and she gave us the slip a couple times. And then... we got mixed up with a cartel. They wanted her, we got in the way, and shit happened. The rest you know, I guess. I don't know where she is now. We decided we'd prefer to go our separate ways, but we parted on good terms."

Wade laughed at Bee's lackluster response to him preparing to show off his abilities. "Yeah, I can tell she really cares," he said. "It's okay, whatever. Naps are really important, I get it." He chuckled again as Sadie told him there was no pressure to get ready. "I can do it, just... I'm still not like... all that great and turning it on and off whenever I want, I gotta like... get in the mood. I know that sounds stupid, but I guess I'm still learnin', heh."

"Yeah, I show up in mirrors. The longer I... uh... exist, I guess... as a vampire, the more I'm learnin' that a lot of the fantasy stuff in books and movies just isn't true," he said, shaking his head. "We don't turn into a puff of ash in the sun, we don't turn into bats, we don't sleep in coffins or on grave dirt, we have reflects in mirrors and on camera, and garlic doesn't bother me any more than any other human food does. Crosses don't do anything, I can cross flowing water, silver chains don't hold me down, I mean... there's a whole lotta bullshit out there that totally isn't true. Oh, and I can go anywhere I want, you don't have to invite me in first," he said with a half smirk.

"I did, actually. It's a little hard to get to full speed in a space this small. Smackin' myself into a pancake on the wall isn't my idea of fun, so... yeah, I held back just a bit." Wade thought he could go a bit faster if they were out in the open, but he didn't like to do anything conspicuous like that in public... not unless it was necessary. He wasn't exactly trying to broadcast that he was a superhuman something-or-such to everyone around him. He'd only told Sadie because... well, she kindof was too, and they needed to know a bit about each other's abilities to work together. And in the spirit of being honest, since she had understandable trust issues.

Wade kindof... stopped and blinked himself when he heard the diminutive poot. His brow furrowed and he started to smile. "Did she... just do what I think she did?" he asked, but just as with Sadie, Bee's brief foray into miasma expulsion soon made itself known to him. "Aw, daaamn... How does somethin' that small make a stink that potent?" he said, waving the air in front of his nose and chuckling. "Well, I guess we know all her pipes are workin' just fine, right?"

With his first line of evidence as to why he wasn't human, her lips pressed together, brows slipping down into an awkward expression. "Fair point." A pause. She noted his tone, almost grieving. "I can't say one way or another as to whether that's ever been an expression of mutations, or if it is something different. You were born a human, though. That has to count for something, right?" At what point was a human no longer considered a human? When they were turned into a weapon? An icy weight seemed to drop in her stomach. You're a person. That was just a thought. You're alright. And she was a human. So were the people who had treated her otherwise. She rubbed at her face, exhaustion setting in from the day, and the weight of her thoughts, "People can be incredibly cruel to one another. At least for you, you have a chance to figure out a fairly ethical means of getting what you need to survive, while causing minimal harm, if I've understood right?"

The woman been their bounty. Interesting. She listened quietly, a bob of the head meeting the conclusion to the intel. Good terms. At least he didn't have her on his tail. "Good."

He had to get in the mood. A playful little grin tugged at her lips, and for a moment he'd be able to see where Rockland got his smile. "Not stupid." She reassured. "Abilities are like muscles, in my experience. You don't typically become a body builder overnight. Not naturally, anyways." Accounting for super serum and the like.

Her head crooked to the side, curious, as he listed off the facts and myths of vampirism from his experience. "Noted. At least you won't have to miss out on family pictures with Bee."

A sympathetic wince met his description, a pancake Wade definitely did not sound like a good time. "Good call. That's pretty impressive. I can run faster than a lot of people, and you're definitely faster than me."

Sadie hadn't been aware of Bee applying to work in a deli, but she had certainly cut the cheese. "Yup." And then the smell hit, like rotten fish left in a garbage can in the summer, and she reached up to plug her nose. "No kidding." Only her no sounded kind of like doe, and she laughed. She contributed her free hand to the fanning process, and that helped dilute the smell soon enough. She set her palms back down, one coming to rest gently on Bee's back, the other on her lap rather than the couch.