#airael

Virtue sips at their coffee as the TV broadcast plays. “Notorious villain The Disparaged Baron has finally been apprehended by A-Class hero Brass Dagger. While their fight left many without a place to sleep, many more will no longer have to fear for their lives. The Hero Agency of America has offered to help rebuild those who had their homes destroyed. My name is Daven Blockett, and this is the morning news.”

The TV then shows a short video of the end of the fight. Disparaged Baron, dressed as a Musketeer, runs at Bronze Dagger with a thin sword. Bronze Dagger sidesteps the charge, and throws Baron up 20 feet into the air. There’s a glimmer as Dagger throws something, and the footage cuts to the main news desk.

“I can’t imagine doing that.” Airael walks into the living room and sits next to Virtue on the couch.

“Doing what, Hero work?” Virtue asks as they take another sip.

“I guess. I mostly mean getting involved with Powered fights.” He clarifies. “I know my Power would technically be classified as Consumption, but it still gives me an exponential boost to my physical limits. Which means that if I got involved with a fight, no matter which side I was on, both villain and Hero would try and get me out of the picture first.”

Virtue nods along as he explains. “I couldn’t even imagine what they’d do to Gemini if she got into a Power fight, or Absinthe if they-” Virtue cuts themselves off, not wanting to finish the sentiment. Airael understands, though, and sighs.

“This shit sucks.”

“More than I could imagine.”

Gemini wanders in with a piece of toast, and she raises an eyebrow at the now glum mood of the living room. “Did the kid get into a car accident? What’s with the mood?”

“Powers.” Airael says. Gemini takes a big bite of her toast, and takes her time chewing it as she thinks over the implications of that word.

Gemini swallows, and stomps over in front of the TV. She faces the pair on the couch with a sharp glare. “We can get back to the doom and gloom of our life later. Absinthe has everything set up, so all we need is Kid Strings to get his ass over here. So get your asses in there right now.”

Virtue stands up and drains the rest of their coffee. “You’re bad at pep talks.” They note, and Gemini whacks them.

“Yeah, but I got you going so I win.”

Airael gets to his feet, and wraps Gemini up in his arms. “You’re right, we gotta go make some kick ass music.”

Virtue turns off the TV and moves to the emptied out master bedroom that has become the practice space of Bardic Inspiration. Absinthe is taking out her old beat up electric guitar and leaning it up on the wall. Everything else has been set up, there’s sheets of music that Michael left behind on the one and only table in the room.

Absinthe turns around and lights up. “Oh! Hey V, didn’t see you there.”

“Most people don’t.” Virtue shrugs as they make their way to the chair put up just for them. “It’s a gift.”

“Man, what I’d do for that.” Absinthe groans.

“For being unnoticed?”

“For having a gift.”

The familiar heavy click of the front door opening cuts through the conversation before Virtue can make a response, and they hear Gemini welcome whoevers at the door with a saccharine voice. Airael mutters something, and the voice of Cato responds monotonously.

Three sets of footsteps start to make way to the practice room, and Absinthe starts to move around.

“V, he’s here, oh my god he’s here, we get to play together, I can’t believe it, can you believe it? I’m so excited, you have no-” She cuts herself off as Gemini, Airael, and Cato show up in the doorframe. “Hi!”

Gemini slides into the room as Absinthe rushes forwards to greet Cato. She shakes his hand and drags him inside, making a wide gesture to the humble setup. “Welcome to where the magic happens!”

“Uh, cool.” Cato mutters as he steps out of Absinthe’s grip. His eyes flick around, first to Virtue, then to the drum set, then to the electric guitar harmlessly sitting against the wall. “You guys, uh, already have a guitar.”

“Told ya.” Gemini elbows Cato’s ribs, making him flinch. “We didn’t know if you only had an acoustic or not. There’s also some music for the songs we’re gonna practice today on the table, if you wanna look through them.” She gestures to the handwritten sheet music, and walks behind her drum set and drops down in the seat. She grabs her drumsticks and starts to idly rap them on the rim of the snare.

Airael makes his entrance quietly, and struts to the purple and gold bass on the stand next to the drums. As he slides it on, he glances at Cato. “Last chance to jump ship, kid.”

Cato’s hand twitches, and he storms to the guitar and slings it over his shoulder. “I’m not a kid. You guys aren’t that much older than me.”

Virtue raises an eyebrow. Airael turns around and shrugs, looking bored. “We’re all out of college, and by the looks of it you’d barely’ve started if you went. Kid.”

The pair lock into a staredown, with Airael betraying no emotion in his eyes, while Cato’s are laser focused in to catch anything. Gemini stifles a snicker, and her green eyes light up with amusement as she catches Absinthe’s eye.

Her eyes dart between Cato and Airael, and wiggles her eyebrows with a large grin. Absinthe almost chokes as the laugh tries to escape her mouth, but she holds it back. Gemini and Absinthe try to hold it in, but it’s too much, and they burst into a fit of giggles and laughter, causing Airael and Cato to stop whatever they were doing.

“What’s so funny?” Cato asks, hands gripping the neck of the guitar. 

Airael whips his head around to Virtue. “What did she do?” He asks with wide eyes. “What the fuck did she do?”

Virtue looks at Gemini, who tilts her head forwards and does an overexaggerated wink, causing Absinthe to break down with laughter. Virtue sighs, and pats Cato’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. They’re like this sometimes.”

They look back to see Airael now leaning over the drums and talking to Gemini, who’s grin has gotten larger as she shakes her head. Absinthe is leaning on a wall, trying to catch her breath, but sometimes still releasing a few giggles. They sigh again, bring their thumb and pointer finger to their mouth, and whistle. The band jump at the sudden noise. Airael clutches his bass, Gemini holds her drumsticks in an ‘X’ in front of her, and Absinthe takes an absurd looking fighting stance. Cato takes a step back.

“Get to practicing. We don’t have all day.” Virtue says, and they make direct eye contact with each band member. “And we certainly don’t have our guest here all day either.”

With that, Absinthe jumps into action. She double checks that Airael and Gemini are all good to go, and makes sure that the guitar Cato’s borrowing is in tune and works fine. Once everyone is set to go, she connects the microphone and takes out the piece of paper that has the practice “schedule” on it.

“Uh, it says we’re practicing ‘Truth or Dare’, ‘No Regrets’, and ‘Sandcastles’ today. Why does it say ‘Sandcastles’ in there, that’s a piano solo.” She looks back at Airael. “Rae, you wrote the list.”

Airael shrugs. “I thought that having your best song for our guitarist would be a good idea.”

Cato mutters something about not being a guitarist while Absinthe looks at the scribbles with narrowed eyes. Then she crumples up the paper and throws it at the table. “Okay, we can do that. But let’s start with a quick runthrough of ‘No Regrets’. We didn’t play that at the last venue, so I want to see what needs some work.”

Cato flips through the stack of papers, and his eyes flick over each page with the same sort of focus he gave Airael. Then he runs forwards, drops them on the table, and runs back into place.

Gemini raps the beat with her drumsticks, and then she and Airael jump into a hard and fast rhythm. She leans forwards into the microphone set up over her drums, and screams.

“OH MY GOD THIS REALLY FUCKING SUCKS! I STILL LOVE YOUR STUPID FUCKING MUG! GOT HIT BY A FUCKING TRUCK! AND YOU’RE HERE STILL GIVING FUCKING FUCKS!” Her voice is guttural and animalistic as her hands move wildly across the drumset. She holds the last vowel as the bass and drums stop and the sound drops away.

She closes the word harshly, and restarts her playing; albeit, more restrained. Airael joins in at the same time, playing the low and slow baseline as Cato takes a deep breath, and starts playing with everyone for the first time. 

He plays incredibly well, and although the melody he plays on the guitar is different from what Michael played, it still fits well with everything else. But Virtue already knew that Cato was good, they knew that he would fit in with the band sonically. They’re waiting for Absinthe to sing.

Absinthe looks at Virtue, and nods. She rolls her shoulders back, stands tall, and opens her mouth.

“I cried alone again today.” Her voice is the winter sun cutting through the abyssal surrounding darkness. “It’s hard to heal this heartbreak. I’d rather have loved you here, but you decided to disappear.”

The weight of grieving a love and friendship suddenly lost shoves its way into Virtue’s chest as the words lilt off Absinthe’s tongue. Cato jolts, but doesn’t stop playing as he moves his eyes to look at the singer.

“Hey, it’s me, it’s about us. You said we’re still in love. And I cry curled in my bed, about the last text you sent. Who could have guessed that this is how our story ends?” Even through the waves of heartbreak and sadness, Absinthe smiles as she lowers the microphone. Gemini and Airael play their parts with the anger they’ve always infused them with, and Cato moves his fingers across the frets. He plays a dissonant melody, counteracting the smooth major that Absinthe had been singing. Absinthe’s grin gets larger.

As they continue through the song, it’s a constant fight of three emotions. Anger, from Gemini and Airael, grief, from Absinthe, and desperate confusion from Cato. The sound gets louder and louder, everyone fighting more and more, until Cato suddenly strikes a power chord, and the drums and bass stop. Airael and Gemini are looking at Cato with curiosity as Absinthe brings the mic to her lips one last time.

“I hold no regrets.” She sings lightly. “You were my best friend. But this is the end.”

There’s a still, anticipating moment. The air holds its breath as the last of the grief fades into acceptance, and fades into nothing. Absinthe breaks the silence with a ragged gasp, and she rubs at her eyes for a moment before looking at Cato.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be our guitarist?” Her voice is no longer crystalline, but instead thick and heavy. Her fingers pick at the edge of her skirt and the jeans beneath it. 

Cato takes a moment. He looks at Gemini, then Airael, then to his own hands holding a guitar that isn’t his own. “I- uh.” He stammers, and clutches the guitar tightly. “I, I think so.”

A shuddering weight is released from Absinthe. She grins, nods, and turns to the rest of her bandmates. “Cool! So I think we did really good at the first few verses, but at the second chorus we accidentally got a little lost in the middle of everything and it took some time to get back, so let’s start around there.”

When it comes down to it, Virtue thinks that Absinthe is a romantic. A fool-hearty, ridiculous, stupid romantic, but a romantic nonetheless. She’ll rant and rave up and down the halls that no she’s not and I don’t even like romance, but Virtue knows better. 

Every gesture, every gift, every heart-felt word is a sign and a treasure. The idea of a fantastical journey, even one grounded in the real world, is overly appealing to Absinthe’s soft heart, even if that journey belongs to someone else. To put it simply, every moment of Absinthe’s life is tinged gold and pink with meaning, adventure, and desire. How is that not a romantic’s view of the world?

Tonight, however, takes that to a completely new level. Whereas normally Absinthe will find cosmic meaning in what song she hears first, and that’s the extent to their fantasy, the person playing guitar in front of her has taken the toned down rose tinted glasses and shot it full of trenbolone.

It was supposed to be a relaxing night, too, which is why Virtue is so fucking annoyed at the singer. Bardic Inspiration finally got a big break, opening for a tour in a few weeks. So of course Michael decided now would be the best time to go further his game developer career, leaving the band short of a guitarist. Today was the last day of try-outs, and after a night of going out and taking it easy they would decide who would be the newest member of their little entourage.

At least, that was the plan.

Alas, the glue of the group, the poetic Absinthe Malone, chose a bar with local musicians. Secretly, Virtue was hoping that this wasn’t because Absinthe didn’t feel like anyone who tried out over the last few days was “it”. Hoping is useless when you know better. 

“Virtue, I think it’s him.” Absinthe whispers in Virtue’s ear. “I’d need to sing with him, y’know, but I’m almost positive it’s him.”

Virtue groans and rubs their hand over their face. “We just spent four days doing tryouts for 54 different people. How do you know none of them will work out?”

“You know why.” She prods them with her elbow, and Virtue almost hates that they know exactly what she means. “Besides, if this works out, and the band likes him, makes your job easier, right?”

“I don’t think you know what my job is, Sin.”

Too late, she’s already gone up to him as he finishes his song. He’s talented, Virtue will easily give him that. Almost as good as Michael was, at least on the guitar. He has Michael beat on vocal talent, no matter how easy it is to do that. 

Objectively, he’d be a good fit musically. The covers he’s been playing are in line with even Gemini’s stranger tastes, he’s clearly competent enough to learn Michael’s parts, and he can actually hold a tune.

But the biggest problem is the one that Virtue’s been having with almost everyone who tried out. One of the three band members doesn’t like them with a passion. With Gemini it’s more understandable, she’s aggressive and touchy towards almost everything in life. She’s loud and brash and gets on peoples nerves if they’re not prepared. 

In fact, that last fact was so common that a large portion of people who tried out would almost get into fights with the drummer. Granted, some of them were her fault, but nobody in the band wanted someone who Gemini could rile up so often. That fact made Virtue incredibly angry some days.

If they managed to get past Gemini, Airael was the next large obstacle. Virtue doesn’t even know why he dislikes the people he dislikes, but the fact is always loudly announced. If any person simpered or whined when told that they were an “inherently unlikeable musician” (ooh boy Virtue wanted to strangle Airael for that one), the bassist would point blank refuse to have them considered.

And most unfortunately for Virtue, it was Absinthe who took the cake in terms of most tryouts disliked. If they played fine, then Absinthe would sing with them, and then make a disgusted face and sit back down. If they didn’t play fine, she’d tell them to leave while glowering at the paper in front of her.

So overall, Virtue wishes that Bardic Inspiration was filled with anyone else right now, and wishes that everyone stop looking for the magical perfect guitarist to show up and just get on with it. Hopefully (against Virtue’s best interests), this random guy playing the guitar on a Thursday night will finally put this saga to rest.

“What’s Sin doing?”

Virtue jumps as Airael appears next to them. Considering how tall he is, it should be impossible, and yet he always finds a way to sneak around.

They sigh. “She thinks that this guy is the one.”

Airael hums in thought, and looks him up and down. “Well, he sounds good, and doesn’t look like a douchebag, so I wouldn’t mind.”

“Do you think Gems could get to him?”

Another pause as Airael looks at Guitar Guy again. “If she does, I don’t think it’d be too awful. Too early to tell, though, you know that.”

The pair watch as Absinthe moves the microphone and gets ready next to Guitar Guy. She’s almost vibrating with excitement, but Guitar Guy is chewing on his lip and shifting his feet. Whether out of nervousness or anticipation, Virtue can’t tell.

“Ooo! Is Sin gonna sing a song tonight?!” Gemini makes her way to the duo and stands in between them with a large grin. “Is he gonna be the one?”

“We don’t know, Gems.” Virtue almost sighs, the exasperation almost drowning them. Why is it that everyone they work with is so exhausting? “If, against all odds, Absinthe likes him, and Airael likes him, and you don’t kill him, then I’ll talk to him. But who knows if that’s ever going to happen.”

Gemini’s grin only grows sharper. “Cross my heart hope to die, I won’t cause any major problems.”

“That doesn’t help with anything.”

“C’mon, Virtue. She’s so cute she’d never hurt a fly.” Airael bends over towards Gemini and gives her a peck. “Look at her.”

Virtue groans. “Flies are not who I’m worried about and you know it.”

“Look at her!”

“Ahem.” The group turns to look at Absinthe standing at the front of the small stage with a big smile. Even a year later, Virtue can’t believe how perfect she looks with a microphone in her hand. “I thought you all should get a little bit extra on this beautiful night! So a little change in vocals for this song!”

She looks back at Guitar Guy and mouths a countdown. He starts to play the beginning of Absinthe’s little brother’s favorite song, and Virtue decides to watch him play instead of watching the crowd like they normally do. 

Absinthe starts to sing, and the familiar wave of unending care, love, and excitement rolls through Virtue. The dirty secret of Bardic Inspiration’s success, their singer’s ability to push their emotions out into the world using music, literally. A secret held only by her three bandmates, and one ex-bandmate. 

Virtue watches as Guitar Guy relaxes, and then tenses his shoulders. He takes a deep breath while playing, closes his eyes for a moment, and his body relaxes again. When he opens his eyes, they follow the crowd, and slowly find Virtue’s gaze. To his credit, he doesn’t flinch. He’s probably played here a few times, if a stranger’s stare isn’t startling.

Their shared gazes hold for a few seconds more, and he goes back to scanning the people who are likely looking at the stage with a new reverence. Virtue can understand their reaction. It’s similar to their first time hearing Absinthe sing. The pure force and genuinity of the emotions sent out feels like touching divinity in so many ways. 

The more that Virtue studies Guitar Guy, the more they see how subtle his reaction to the Power is. His face didn’t change, other than the initial tensing it’s not apparent what happened, but he’s truly relaxed now. The tensing in his legs is gone, he isn’t sitting perfectly straight in the chair anymore, and he’s actually looking at the crowd.

The singing stops, and there’s a taunt silence as everyone realizes that the music isn’t playing. They clap, Absinthe does a dramatic bow, returns the microphone to its stand in front of Guitar Guy, and she skips over to everyone. 

“I think he’s the one, guys.” She grins. Airael holds out the drink she’d been sipping at earlier, and she shakes her head. “I’m already on cloud nine. That was better than any time I sang with Michael.”

Virtue starts to corral them over to a table to talk as Absinthe gushes over the feeling of being on stage with Guitar Guy. She can barely sit still, and Virtue orders some food for the table.

Airael puts a hand on Absinthe’s shoulder, and she stills. “Sin, we need to talk to him first.”

She turns bright red and leans over so her candy green hair hides her eyes. “Sorry, sorry, yeah, of course. We do this together. I know that.”

Gemini cackles and ruffles Absinthe’s hair so it starts to stand up. “We know, Sin, you’re just excited.”

Absinthe whines into her hands and puts her head on the table. “Leave me alone to die of embarrassment.”

Virtue hums as the food arrives. “So I shouldn’t bring up you essentially bullied a random stranger into letting you sing one song for their set.”

There’s a muffled scream, and Virtue knows that she’d be banging her head into the table if they weren’t in public. Everyone laughs, and Airael pats her back sympathetically.

“Can someone kill me please?” Absinthe begs, and everyone laughs again. Virtue turns to watch the rest of Guitar Guy’s set absentmindedly.

“Also, what’s his name? You never told us.” They ask, and get another muffled scream in response.

“I don’t think I can do this.”

Cato paces back and forth behind the stage, wringing his hands. The heavy black and green boots accentuate every step with a dull thud as the speed starts to pick up. Virtue closes their eyes to push down their annoyance.

They grab Cato’s elbow and force him to stop. He looks at them with surprised eyes, then quickly looks away. Virtue tugs him around so that he’s facing them. 

“A few things. One, you’re here anyways, so you have to do this. No backing out. Two, you’ll be fine. And three, you’re going to ruin the look if you pace to the point of sweating.” Virtue gestures to Cato as a whole at the last point.

And they’re very serious about point three. It wasn’t easy getting a last minute creation for Cato’s inaugural concert, but they managed to get it just in time and damn it they’re not putting all that effort down the drain.

The custom neon green lightning design on the boots, the black jeans with handmade goldenrod patches sewn in the same bright green, and the dark green vest with accents of gold. 

The colors were Airael’s idea, “He’s new and shiny, green and gold work very well to say that. And black because he’s moody, like an emo teenager or some shit like that.” Making those colors neon was, as it always is, Gemini’s hand.

Absinthe hits Virtue’s shoulder. “You’re the worst at this.” She chastises, and gently removes Virtue’s hand from Cato. “Look, dude, it’s going to be terrifying the first few times, but you’re not alone. So even if you want to literally show your ass to the crowd and stare at Gem the whole time, we got you. Or stare at my new ‘do.” She dramatically flips her newly dyed, newly shaved bright blue undercut over to the side and strikes a pose. “Since, y’know, I’m the best looking person on the stage.”

“Arguable!” Airael yells from further backstage. Cato huffs out a laugh, and Absinthe stands back up in a more relaxed position.

“But seriously.” She puts a hand on Cato’s shoulder, and smiles kindly. “We’re here to help you. Rae, Gem, and I are all used to this live show environment, even if the touring part’s gonna be new. You’re new to all of it, and we want to support you however we can. Okay?”

Cato’s face breaks into a small smile, and he nods. “Okay.”

“Good.” She squeezes his shoulder, and turns back to Virtue. “You’re the worst at this.”

“And you’re not.”

Absinthe sighs, shakes her head, and leaves to find the rest of her band. Virtue looks back at Cato, who’s staring at the space Absinthe once filled. 

“Do me a favor, kid.” They say as they grab his guitar. They shove it in front of him, making him look into their eyes, startled. “Don’t get starstruck with your own bandmate.”

Cato’s face turns from awed, to afraid, to confused faster than Virtue ever thought possible. “If you say so.” He shrugs, and takes the guitar. “You’re the boss.”

He runs off in the same direction as Absinthe, and Virtue laughs under their breath once he’s out of earshot. Virtue’s not the boss, just the manager. He’ll figure it out eventually, they just hope he’s not too close to the sun when he does.

Overall, the first concert’s pretty good. Cato finally figures out how to fit the groove by song three, and looks much more relaxed by the end. And the reception to him replacing Michael was pretty good, from what Virtue saw while at the merch table. 

The lead band, Moneyz, is pretty good too. Good group of people, which Virtue had made sure of when setting up this whole tour in the first place. Once the venue had emptied of people and all the sound set up had been safely put away, and instruments secured in the van they’d be taking across the country, Moneyz invited Bardic Inspiration to a diner for some food and relaxation.

When everyone got their drinks and figured out their order, Moneyz frontman, Lim, leans in towards Virtue. “I’ve never seen a band manager so involved in the actual band itself.”

“We’re not a very typical band setup.” Virtue leans in as well. “They make all the music, and produce it. I do everything else.”

“And sometimes they play the fiddle.” Absinthe adds absently as she sips on her coffee, then returns to the conversation she was having with Gemini and the Moneyz’s drummer. 

Lim hums. “Fiddle, ey?”

They shrug. “I learned some violin in high school. They’re technically the same instrument without the bridge.”

Lim hums again and leans in closer. “So how good are you, Virtue?”

Virtue sits back and clutches their mug close to their chest. “I’m not going to join your entourage. Get another fiddler.”

Lim groans and flings backwards into the cushioned seat. “I wasn’t asking for you to join, just to play on this tour with us.”

Virtue glances at the rest of the band. Even though everyone seems to be talking to someone else, Absinthe’s shoulders tense, and Cato’s eyes flick to the side where Virtue is sitting for half a moment. 

“Only for the tour.” Virtue says. “And I get paid $300 at the end.”

“You’re underselling.” Lim narrows Lim’s eyes.

“I’m not meant to be a commodity for the stage. The 300 is for making me be one.”

“You got a deal.” Lim holds out a hand. Virtue grabs it, and they both give one firm shake before retreating back to their drinks.

Virtue falls back into their silent observation as Lim turns and starts a conversation with their lead guitarist Emen. In general Moneyz seems to have a good rapport with one another. The drummer Kuovi, while not the most bright, is incredibly earnest and clearly the emotional heart of the group. Emen is the primary songwriter and the lead guitarist, and his ingenuity shows even when just talking to others. The bassist, Shanty, is the youngest by far, just turning 18 a few weeks ago, but she has a lot of spirit and spunk for someone her small stature. And Lim, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and frontman of it all, terrifies Virtue.

While Kuovi’s enthusiasm melts all but the coldest of hearts, and the creative twist of Emen’s speech can get most to open up, Lim is the only one who truly understands how to manipulate a conversation to Lim’s benefit.

There’s the slightest hesitation before every sentence, a brief breath to make sure the just right words have been selected and put together in the just right order to get what Lim wants. If it wasn’t for their old obsession with speech and behavior patterns, they probably wouldn’t have even noticed. They didn’t even notice until watching Lim talk to Gemini and get her to soften up just a little on Kuovi. 

At least Emen, for all his charm and suave words, was just a flirt.

“Nervous?”

Cato looks up to see Bug looking at them through xyr mask. The singer sits in the chair next to Cato, shifting to face them. 

“I get it.” They say. “I was nervous the first time too. Still am, actually. You never know what those guys are gonna say out there.”

Cato looks at Bug with surprise. “You still get nervous for interviews?” They ask, and Bug laughs.

“Of course! You don’t control the questions and that’s so fuckin scary.” He ruffles Cato’s hair gently, standing up. “Now c’mon, it’s about to start.”

Cato follows Bug to where the rest of the band is standing, and they take their seats in front of the interviewer. 

Deryl Applebottom is a tall and very kind man. He has a natural charisma surrounding him, and his questions are more fun than invasive. 

He asks the band what their favorite animals were (Cato telling him that they’re fond of lizards), and smiles when Airael starts to ramble on about bats. He even asks Cato how it feels to be the band’s newest member.

“It’s like finding home after being lost for so long.” They admit. “Everyone here is like family. We care for each other and help each other succeed, and I’ve never been happier.” Cato smiles while saying that last part. It’s true, after all. They’ve never felt happier in their life.

Deryl leans forwards after that, eyes locked onto Cato as his smile becomes more teeth than lip. “And do you regret the pain you put your actual family through?”

Cato distantly hears the rest of the band loudly call the interview off, and someone gently pulls them out of the room. Blood is pounding in their ears, they can see Bug in front of them, mouthing words, and then darkness.

-

Cato is halfway to their room when the shouting starts. They can hear Gemini and Airael’s voices get louder, and a new voice full of bravado try to match their volume (it’s useless, Airael is their dedicated screamer and Gemini lived in a house with 12 people).

They reach their door when the first scream rings out. It’s Airael. There’s the sound of a door opening, and Virtue rushes out of their room. They look at Cato, eyes wide with fear and worry. 

‘What’s happening?’ They mouth, and Cato shrugs, moving past them to sneak down the stairs.

There’s the sound of something smashing into a wall, and Bug’s voice yelling at the intruders. His voice is thick and wavering and angry. Cato gets down enough to see them standing over the limp body of Gemini and what used to be the body of Airael. 

There’s a hero. A hero and a small squad of police. 

Cato watches as Bug, trembling, bandages shredded on the floor, tries to take a single step towards the group. Tries to move before getting torn to shreds by bullets and a Power. If it wasn’t for the fear that these people would do something to Virtue, Cato would have screamed.

Instead, they carefully sneak up towards Virtue, covering the manager’s mouth with a shaky hand, and motioning to stay quiet with the other.

‘Pack up.’ Cato mouths, mimicking the action of putting things in a bag. ‘We’re leaving.’ They gesture to the two of them, and hook a thumb over their shoulder. Virtue nods, having gotten the message.

The pair quickly throw some things haphazardly into some backpacks. Virtue has all of the cash that there was, some clothes and cleanliness products, and a computer. Cato throws in food, all their money, and clothes. For a moment, they stand at the edge of their room, before grabbing the CDs that the band had recorded last week and shoving them in as well. 

Cato gestures for Virtue to follow them, opening Bug’s window and slipping out onto the roof. They sneak to the back, dropping down with minimal noise. Adrenaline is rushing through their body. Had this been the first time they’ve done this, Cato would probably be shaking. Years of experience gets rid of that. 

Virtue is staring down at Cato, trembling. They slowly move to where they’re hanging off the edge, and drop. They stumble, but Cato takes their arm and drags them to the fence. There’s no time, they need to leave. 

“Give me your bag.” Cato whispers. “I’m gonna hoist you up.”

Virtue is confused, and scared, and in no position to argue. They give Cato their backpack, and let Cato lift them so that they can crawl over the fence. In the back of their mind, Virtue wonders how Cato is so eerily calm in this tumultuous moment. 

Cato throws the bag over and scales the fence, landing carefully. They grab their bag, and turn to Virtue.

“We need to get to a motel, and fast.” Cato says. “We also need to get out of this yard. Just follow me and try not to freak out too much, and try not to pass out, ok?.”

Virtue nods, silent. Everything is happening too fast. They’re supposed to be the collected one here, not this 19 year old kid who’s 7 years younger than them (how are they so calm?).

Cato leads Virtue through the streets, taking alleyways and dodging as many cop cars as possible (what the fuck happened in the house?), until the pair reach a small motel. Cato walks in easily, greeting the person at the front desk with friendly familiarity. 

“Who’s this you got with you, C? ‘Nother runner?” He says, looking Virtue up and down.

“Leave them alone, D.” Cato grumbles, rummaging around their backpack and slamming down some cash. “How many nights?”

‘D’ rolls his eyes, and counts the money. “Bout four nights.”

Cato nods. “Key.” D gives them a key. They stand there for a moment, then whisper something to D. He softens slightly, putting a hand on Cato’s shoulder.

“Five nights. Family discount.”

Cato punches his shoulder, and walks down one of the halls. Virtue spends no time following them, walking into a small two bed room. Cato throws their backpack onto one of the beds, and puts the key on the drawers between both beds. 

Virtue slumps down against the closed door, trying to keep their panic at bay. 

“What . . . Cato. What happened?” They ask, barely able to keep their voice from trembling.

Cato doesn’t move, facing away from Virtue.

“They were slaughtered.” They choke out. “All three of them . . . they’re gone.”

-

Bug is sitting at the dining room table when Cato comes back inside. They aren’t wearing any mask, instead covering his eyes with medical bandages. The fluorescent lights in the dining room make the scene feel almost sterile, if it wasn’t for the worn table that had seen so many meals and games and good memories. 

Cato sits down.

“I would like to apologize.” Bug says as Cato scoots their chair forwards. “We should have told you much sooner. You’ve been a part of the family for over a year now, it was unfair to keep such a large secret from you.” 

The formality in xyr tone and words is freaking Cato out. Bug doesn’t do formal. Ey don’t own anything more fancy than a nice t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and everything ey do is loud and bright and energetic. Something feels distinctly wrong.

“We were going to tell you after a few months, but we forgot. So I offer an explanation, if you would like that.” Bug continues. “If you would like to leave, you may as well. I only ask that you don’t tell anyone. None of us are registered, for various reasons. We would prefer for it to stay that way.”

None of us? Cato knows they should say something about how dangerous that can be, but then they’d be a hypocrite. They already are. So a bigger hypocrite. 

“I . . . I don’t want to leave.” Cato starts, trying to figure out how to put their words together. “But I do want to know what’s happening.” I should tell them-

NO

Bug nods. “We all have Powers. You saw Gemini’s. She can shift into a Dire Wolf. It was a late Power activation and has only had it for about a decade, so she doesn’t have as good control over it as other shifters. Both me and Airael decided to hide ours to avoid condemnation. When Airael has anything raw or drinks blood, they get a large energy boost and become physically stronger. I can send my emotions through music, as well as be able to sense the emotions of anyone making music. It’s-”

“How you picked me.” Cato interrupts. “Virtue said you don’t just pick anybody. You used your Power to feel who was the best fit?”

He simply nods. 

“Does- does Virtue have any powers?”

Ey shake eir head. “Virtue is Powerless. Just a very, very, very good manager.”

Cato takes a deep, shaking breath and slowly stands up. “I-I’m gonna need a few days. This is . . . a lot.”

“I understand.” Bug says. “Take as much time as you need.”

Cato turns around to see Gemini and Airael coming down the stairs, and walks past them without a word. They’re being petty, but it still stings. 

And the doorbell rings.

-