#and feels

Kamino paused at the rumble he felt, but was unsure of what was said. Then finished filling his arms, trotting to where he heard Rey’s voice yelling that he found the powder milk. The boy was back empty handed to get the last of the bags, pausing as he saw that the giant in the store with them had found another rack and was offering it.

There was a small clattering, Jasmine came into view pulling one of the few larger carts with two ‘medium’ carts inside as she also had her other hand dragging some sort of package. Clover was not far behind with her own stack of a cart in another but had both hands on the metal and was trying to steer it more than drag like her twin.

It was a strange sight, even for Leudal as he blinked at the sight of the two skinny kids moving the things. It was so out of scale, visibly. Blinking again as they got out of sight to knock the baskets over for the bigger teen to use. Running to get more carts, and fill with things for their baby sister.

The older teen was rapidly clearing shelves of the needed powder in cans. He was being mostly neat, to fit the most in the big cart before stacking the diapers on the top, wedging other things under, and tying it with some line from his side. Well aware of what his infant siblings needed now after the last years. Damenio felt strange with so much around him, but grasped that they needed likely more if these… bigger than big brothers were going to take them to father?

Damenio was sure there would not be a thing as too much, remembering how much his baby twin sisters ate three years ago. The teen was already filling another cart, sending Rey to move the first to the opening in the side of the building… Omid made. He heard sounds outside, saw Aker running past to check, and not a few minutes later and another basket full, Abby and her group were back. 

The other teen looked shaken, but trusted Aker enough that she was shooing her group into the store, saw what had been done and then directed the kids to take a bag each and start stuffing clothes into them. She came running over, “Damenio?? What…what are those…?”

“I think…their other sons of father. It had to be from before he met momma Melody.” Damenio explained as he was almost done with his section of all the powdered milk. His baby sister settled on a cloth filled bag in the middle of the aisle. Safely out of the way but easy to get too. Now with Abby’s help they could start clearing the soft foods. Some part of him remembered these little cups. Trying to fill the next cart up as much as possible. 

“Does daddy know?” Abby asked, not wanting to miss taking anything needed, not sure what the time frame was, “That…they don’t have armor like the Pit fighters at all?”

“I…don’t think so? They know him, they could smell that the twins are siblings?” Damenio tried to explain. This basket finally filled up and it was hard to move, so he grabbed more bags of the diapers to tie tight over the top, wedging more under.

“How long do we have?” Abby asked, checking on the kids she came with, seeing the pile of hangers and bags almost over stuffed. 

“Um…um,” Damenio paused, “I think they said twenty minutes before Omid opened the… wall.”

The other teen paused, considered that then picked up one of the bigger, empty bags and ran to the next aisle. “I need to grab things!”

“What are you getting?” Damenio demanded, pausing.

“Something important- keep getting diapers and everything you can there Damenio!” Abby said, ripping boxes open to drop the bottles and tubes of pills and cream inside her bag. She knew how to read better than Damenio could, and remembered all the trouble to get these things over the last years. More so when the twins were changing so fast, too fast.

One of her little sisters, just a few years younger came over to help with ripping boxes open so they could fit more in the bag. The girls working together until a shadow passed, the two froze and looked up. Half expecting their giant father but one of the new giants was coming over, looking puzzled at their project for a moment. Then nodded as he realized they were trying to save space for what they were doing. 

“Aker?” the deep voice rumbled, attention turned away to let the nervous children be able to finish their task. There was a deeper rumble of sound coming from outside, and what Abby could tell was another death whistle sound. It had her pausing, confused, trying to remember who else had one.

The teens saw their guardian pass by again, near running but recognizing it as just his face moving pace. No signs of worry in his body language, so they turned back to the project.

Aker felt more than a few moments of annoyance, having been pulled several times away from his task of making sure kids as well as Heather had food. Yet the second death whistle call had even him confused at who it could be. Going over the list of who had one in his mind.

The hitch in the end, impossibly sounded like Angron’s whistle. Yet he should be on the other side of the city by now. 

Did he give it to someone before leaving?

Arker paused outside, glancing at Omid who was standing taller and eyeing the next group that was struggling down the street. Some older teens, two that the man recognized as only just entering the pits- one caring someone pale on his back. And from the distance, Aker recognized the amputated legs. Lean body, and then the face that looked around who carried her. He launched forward, aware that Omid was pacing him, something was in the sky moving.

“Melody! What are you doing- boys!”

“We couldn’t leave her-” the young man carrying the woman on his back said desperately.

“Mommy?” a little voice asked from back in the hole in the wall. It had Omid glancing back, startled, then peering down at the new group.

"...what?" Omid half demanded, having heard that, looking back and then forward at the new group.

What was all this ridiculousness? He almost turned around, the reflex to protect the primarch child stronger than wanting to know who the baselines were. Omid saw one of his two younger brothers scooping up the braver twin, to keep her from investigating or running into the open. Though Leudel held the comparatively tiny ‘little sister’ between his palms, fingers caging and holding. Looking alarmed that he was having to deal with the resulting wiggles.

Leudel was outright struggling to not grip, but hold, but not drop- looking alarmed until Abby staggered after. “Jazzy! Stop wiggling!”

“But it’s mommy!”

“Jasmine.” Abby gloried upwards with all the force of an older sibling that knew she was in charge of the younger ones. Had been told so by their daddy and was also just that young enough to still be mostly fearless despite the giant of metal holding that younger sibling. “You know better! Daddy is going to be so upset that you broke cover! What happens if a Master grabs you off the street?”

The primarch child froze, holding very still in Leudel’s hands now, reminded all about what she was supposed to do. Aker had not said it was safe to leave the store, just to go get things inside for her baby sister. Wide golden eyes staring out at the group that was coming over, then catching movement past them on the street. Even as Aker’s tall frame was lifting the woman off the younger man’s back. Swinging her up into his arms. The familiar amputated legs that were off set. The familiar outline wrapped in a thin blanket. 

Jasmine whined as she was pulled back into the shadow of the store building. Hand held out and flexing, even as Abby was grabbing and picking her up, though both girls stayed in the likely safety of Leudel’s shadow. Watching, waiting as the other group were shepherded back to them. Aker striding under cover and knelt down to set the mostly woman he held. 

“What are you… how did you get here?” Aker asked, trying to not show how stressed this new development made him. This little group of five adults had not been apart of any plan he knew. With the woman looking up at him, knowing exactly who she was, though this was the first time ever meeting her without the thick stone walls and bars between them. 

“The boys,” the woman, still graceful despite everything, turned, motioning with a hand holding the death whistle. “They showed up in chambers with some others. Unlocking all our cells, these four found me and insisted I not hide like the plan.”

“Why?” Aker demanded, turning to glare at the four young men. Those he knew, boys that had followed his steps almost as much as they followed Angron’s footsteps. “This is not a part of the plan, it’s blatantly clear she is a slave lent to the Pits. If anyone tied to the Masters found her-”

“We can’t find our father,” one of the young men, a more older teen than a fully mature adult, spoke up. Watching the strange giants with confusion, then wary as they tensed, clearly listening. “He’s just, he’s missing, vanished! We couldn’t find him, and everything is turning to hell at the pits, we broke off. I’m sorry Aker, but the mothers can’t escape the fires and-”

“Fires?” Aker scowled, and then saw Omid going even more rigid. Lifting a hand to his helmet. “What fires?”

“The suits and cells alike are all on fire.” the woman explained, swallowing as she grasped Aker’s hands, “The Masters, they were not even killing people as they came through, just… setting them and everything on fire regardless of who is a part of Angron’s rebellion. It was just…the fire. The boys got my cell open just before they came to the upper levels.”

“My ship is coming,” Omid spoke up hovering behind the as he looked up, tracking the ship that was coming. Then spotted that fourth group, recognizing it was mostly young as the air shifted. Bringing in the smell of smock and burning… many things burning. “Have you gotten everything?”

Omid paused, startled as he saw the look that Aker leveled at him. As if he were just a young blood hound and there were no vast differences of sizes between them. Then remembered the smaller man had pulled several times away in just the last seventeen minutes. 

“It will have to be.” Aker growled, turning and whistled into the building. Sharp and commanding.

“Gotten?” the woman asked from the floor. Then made a startled sound as Jasmine was finally aloud free and pounced on the woman gleefully.

Omid glanced outside and then back, shifting and knelt beside the two adult humans. “Are… you really the mother of the primarch children?”

“I…do not know what that word is?” The woman asked, looking confused. A little worried. “Are you asking about their father?”

She glanced to Aker, as if not sure if she should speak up. The older man hummed and then nodded, “It’s okay, Melody.”

“This is the only time I’ve been around anyone that was not Angron and the girls.” The woman, Melody spoke. “Or out of the cells… or pits.”

“She has only been aloud around him,” Aker said, making sure the kids were dragging their carts and stuffed bags over towards them. “They are his children, and Melody is the mother. The Masters picked her out to match for my friend.”